No thanks… I wouldn’t want to live in this neighborhood!

Too crowded!

Photo from Designer Max Kiesler.

I rarely cross-reference articles that I write for different sites, but felt this information about alternatives to foreclosure would be helpful to all readers.  From banks.com, here’s just one option that is a possibility before a foreclosure becomes necessary.

Sell and Bring Cash to Closing – Sell the house, but take out another loan so you can bring cash to the closing. You may then just have to repay the smaller amount that you borrowed rather than taking a huge hit on your credit score.

Perhaps it’s not a great choice for a lot of people, but it would save your credit score.  Read the entire article here.

A new plan by the Obama administration is being designed to help some homeowners who are “underwater” on their mortgage – or they owe more money than the home is now worth.  The program will provide new loans backed by the Federal Housing Administration to qualified borrowers.  The qualified borrowers will not include homeowners living in multi-million dollar mansions or who have vacation homes, nor will it be available to investors, for example.  According to MSNBC.com,

To be eligible for the FHA refinancing program, borrowers who owe more than the value of their homes, known as being “under water,” must not have fallen behind on their existing mortgage payments.

In addition, the program will give lenders incentives for accepting a lower principal loan balance.  The plan will also lend a hand to the unemployed,

It also includes three to six months of temporary aid for borrowers who have lost their jobs. And there will be additional payments designed to give banks an incentive to reduce payments or eliminate second mortgages such as home equity loans — a problem that has blocked many loan modifications.

The second mortgages have truly been a road block for a lot of people, especially those who hope for a short-sale to avoid foreclosure.  Here’s hoping the plan really will help a portion of homeowners burdened with owing a bigger mortgage than their home is worth.

Have a great weekend!

House pictured is a HUD-owned house in middle Tennessee.

Can you afford the little dog house or the big one?

Photo by cogdogblog via flickr creative commons.

Interest rates are still hovering just under 5 percent for a 30-year fixed rate loan.  However, they are expected to increase at the beginning of April when the Federal government stops buying mortgage backed securities.

Many buyers are thinking they can wait to make their purchases and get into a binding contract until the end of April to gain the tax credit (which is true), but what they may miss out on is a lower interest rate.  As a result, we are staring down the count-down clock to when the best time to buy will be.

At this point – March 23, 2010 – you have EIGHT days in order to get the most optimal deal…

• Tax credit of $8,000 for qualified first-time home buyers
• Tax credit of $6,500 for qualified previous home owners
• Lower mortgage rate before interest goes up because of government no longer purchasing mortgage-backed securities
• Lower MIP for FHA loans if case number assigned before April 5th (MIP go increase from 1.75 percent to 2.25 percent after April 5th)

This is it, buyers.  The countdown is on and we’re T-minus 8 until time to launch!

In what is a stunning and beautiful comparison of trends in the stock market, photographer Michael Najjar’s work was reported by infosthetics.com,

Each stock market index, such as the Nikkei, Dow Jones, Nasdaq or the more specific Lehman Brothers stock quote downfall, corresponds to a impeccably rendered unique mountain range. Or, put differently, “the virtual data mountains of the stock market charts are sublimated in the materiality of the Argentinean mountainscape“.

The photographer’s site can be found here.  His work is truly amazing.

Loan rates had been creeping up these last few months, but for the second consecutive week they again remained under 5 percent.  The average interest on a 30-year fixed loan according to Freddie Mac came in at 4.95 percent (a .02 drop from the previous week).  On a 15-year fixed-rate loan, the interest rate averaged 4.32 percent.

Along with interest rates remaining low, there is optimism that the housing market is in a slow and steady recovery.  According to Kiplinger’s writer Richard DeKaser, a springtime thaw in the housing market is coming,

A springtime rebound ought to be just around the corner, if I’m right about the winter housing downturn being due to special factors. It’s too soon to say for sure, but tentative signs of an uptick are already emerging. According to the Mortgage Bankers Association, for example, home purchase applications increased in late February and early March, pushing them above the pre-blizzard levels of early February.

Good news all around!  On a personal level, the phone has started ringing again and one of my favorite lenders agrees that business seems to be on the upswing.

Photo from Electrical Resource.

I adore cruising through Brittney’s Shared Items because she finds such unique, interesting things to talk about, share.  Here’s an assortment of some of my latest favorites related to housing, moving, real estate.

Smart Moving Tape – Of course you could always get a big sharpie and write it on the box!

If, like me, you’re a nerd for color-coded labeling systems, you’ll understand why. But this tape doesn’t just look OCD-ishly awesome. We’re told it actually can cut way down on moving day stress.

A triangular bedroom from sfhaps – photo only because words aren’t necessary!

And finally this beauty of a three-bedroom award-winning, eco-friendly house in San Fran from Curbed San Francisco.

The 3-bed, 3.5-bath house was something of a leap for Wright — ”a new palette for my canvas” — who was more known at the time for his “extravagant Beverly Hills mansions and luxurious Malibu bungalows.” The house uses an engineered lumber reportedly four times more durable than wood, and relies on a ventilation system that keeps temperature naturally regulated.

Thanks again, Brittney. Wish you were still closer to the East Coast than on the West Coast of USA!

While this video is from Japan, it rings so true even in the U.S.

Have a great weekend!

If you lose your job in Pennsylvania, but your credit has been okay up until then – help may be forthcoming.  The Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency offers help where all that’s needed is a break.  According to CNN Money.com, candidates are carefully screened but the end result is it gives people who have recently lost a job the chance to find another one without losing their house in the process.

“You must have a reasonable prospect of resuming full payments within 36 months and of paying the mortgage in full,” [Brian] Hudson [program director] said.

Loan payments are made directly to the servicers and a lien is placed on the property. The aid is repaid at a 5.25% interest rate over 10 years on average, though the borrower’s financial circumstances are taken into account.

Bravo to Pennsylvania for offering this amazing program to its citizens who are trying to survive the hardships of this economy!

Photo by mknobil via flickr creative commons.