Stemming Mortgage Fraud

Currently Utah already regulates the lending industry with background checks, prelicensing education, testing and enforcement actions against unscrupulous practices.

In October 2007, in an effort to stem mortgage fraud in our state, Governor Jon Huntsman and the U.S. Attorney for Utah, Brett Tolman formed the Utah Mortgage Fraud Task Force. The task force is a joint effort between Federal, State and Local Governments that meet regularly to plan and implement a program for stemming mortgage fraud in our state.

Now Congress is stepping it up in Title V of the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008 by creating the S.A.F.E. Mortgage Licensing Act of 2008 that requires a more coordinated effort among states to regulate mortgage loan originators and requires those getting their lending licenses to meet minimum federal standards.

So far from what we know about these actions we think these are steps in the right direction.

Perceptions

Is It Time to Refi?

Mortgages rates plunged to record lows recently and you may be asking yourself if maybe you should refinance?

Each persons situation is different and factors such as how much equity you have in your home, your debt to income ratio, your credit score and tighter credit and lending standards will determine which rate you will qualify for. But if you do qualify for the lowest rates, the savings could be quite substantial.

It's probably not a bad idea to talk to a trusted mortgage lender to see if it will benefit you or not. We have worked with hundreds of lenders over our thirteen years in the business and can recommend quite a few excellent lenders who know their stuff. If you would like a few recommendations then we would be happy to assist you with that.

Santa Baby

While listening to this holiday classic, we suddenly realized that among some of the other things she asks for is real estate. . . we think that's grand!

Santa cutie,
there's one thing I really do need,
the deed,
To a platinum mine.
Santa cutie,
and hurry down the chimney tonight.

Santa cutie,
and fill my stocking with a duplex and cheques.
Sign your x on the line
Santa cutie,
And hurry down the chimney tonight.

Is real estate on your list? Don't forget, first time homebuyers can use the $7500 tax credit, the Utah Housing grant program is still available for first time homebuyers and the market is ripe with investment opportunities! Contact us to get started!

NAR's Proposed Four Point Plan to Stimulate the Housing Market

It's no secret that the housing market is a huge factor in our current economic woes. Recently the National Association of Realtors Board of Directors approved a proposed plan to stimulate the housing market and is currently urging congress to include these points in any future legislation.

What's in the plan?

"Make the $7500 first-time homebuyer tax credit available to all buyers and eliminate repayment requirements. The credit's limited availability and repayment requirement severely limit the credit's use and effectiveness.

Make the 2008 FHA, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac loan limits permanent. New rules for 2009 will reduce them. Now is not the time to limit mortgage affordability.

Get the Treasury relief program back on track and target more funds to mortgage relief. Create a federal mortgage interest buy-down program to make below-market rates available and stabilize home prices.

Permanently bar banks from engaging in real estate brokerage and management. The banks have proved they have enough to do to simply manage the loan process. Banks should not manage home sales and purchases."

What do you think? While we realize it is a complex issue, is enough being done to facilitate a housing recovery?

Salt Lake City Among Family Friendly Places to Live

Salt Lake City was named among Forbes Magazine's Most Family Friendly Places to Live. By family friendly, they mean where average people earn enough money for their expenses typically with money left over for other things as opposed to the cities on the Least Family Friendly Places to Live whose average cost of living eats up most of their earnings.

The 10 Most Family Friendly Places to Live include:

San Jose, CA
Austin, TX
Kansas City, MO
Salt Lake City, UT
Baltimore, MD
Detroit, MI
San Francisco, CA
Seattle, WA
St Louis, MO
Chicago, IL

The 10 Least Family Friendly Places to Live:

Virginia Beach, VA
Providence, RI
Las Vegas, NV
San Diego, CA
Cleveland, OH
San Antonio, TX
Los Angeles, CA
New Orleans, LA
New York, NY

The $7500 Tax Credit

Here is a brief list to see if you qualify for the $7500 Tax Credit

[Click to enlarge]

Reprinted from National Association of Realtors [August, 2008] with permission of the National Association of Realtors. Copyright 2008. All rights reserved.

Cost vs Value

Wondering which projects will yield the highest return on your money when you go to sell? Then check out this years Cost vs Value report from Remodeling magazine.

The Cost vs Value report is an annual report put together by Remodeling magazine and with the cooperation of Realtor magazine which analyzes different projects and their returns.

You can view:

• A summary report from Realtor magazine here, including the Top 10 Project Paybacks and the National 2008 Averages.
• For more regional information, view the official Cost vs Value report.
• And Salt Lake City area specific information here

Your home is still one of your best investments! Have fun with your home improvements!

Short Sale Timelines

Now that you know what a short sale is, if you're a seller in the middle of a short sale, or a buyer trying to buy a short sale, it is important to realize just how long these can typically take.

Each bank has different policies, procedures and timelines that result in how fast they can push one through, but on average you can usually expect the following phases:

• Setup phase = 21 days
• BPO = 10 days
• Negotiation = 10 days
• First Review = 14 days
• Second Review = 10 days
• Approval Letter = 5 days

On average, that's about 70 business days, or 14 weeks. Yes, it takes quite a long time, so you must be prepared for that. The banks currently are dealing with mountains of short sales, so unfortunately pushing them to move it along any faster really doesn't work.

Once the offer is approved, the buyer has to kick it into high gear to finish their inspections, appraisal and financing.

Buying or selling a short sale takes a lot of patience. If you are a seller or a buyer, let us help you through the process.

What Is A Short Sale?

According to Wikipedia, "a short sale occurs when the proceeds of a real estate sale fall short of the balance owed on the property. In a short sale, the bank or mortgage lender agrees to discount a loan balance due to an economic or financial hardship on the part of the mortgagor."

A short sale is also:

* A way for the bank to recover more of their money than if it went to foreclosure.
* An alternative to foreclosure.
* A private matter between a borrower and a lender, it is a bank process rather than a legal matter like a foreclosure.

A short sale may be considered after all other options have been exhausted with the bank. Banks may also have other re-payment options and leniency programs that might also work and should be investigated first.

Downsides to a short sale include:
* A short sale will affect your credit score.
* Relief of the debt may be treated as income for tax purposes.
* Even if the lender agrees to a short sale, the lender may not agree to forgive the debt entirely. You may still have to pay money back.

We Work For You...Even on Vacation!

One of the things we really like is how easy it is to work while on the road these days. With cell phones, computers, internet and efaxing we can still be accessible from pretty much anywhere! Including in the middle of the Pacific ocean.

Need proof? Here is Cade on the phone negotiating one of two offers we have been working on!

Dedicated to Education

Here at One Rate Real Estate we are dedicated to educating ourselves and staying on top of the latest industry news in order to service you the best that we can. That is why we're taking one for the team and heading to the Kingman Winslow tax symposium, specifically geared towards real estate investors, brokers and real estate agents in Maui next week.

We were fortunate enough to attend last year and felt it was well worth it. And considering all that is happening in the economy and the real estate industry lately we feel absolutely positive that sitting with and learning from the best in the industry is where we need to be at and we're doing it all for you!

Aloha!

P.S. If you look here carefully enough, you will be able to see Cade from last year. One in a blue shirt at the reception dinner [he's just in the background, but you might be able to recognize the hairline] and the other sitting in class.