How to gauge your housing market's recovery and cash in

Real estate is local, but there is some common ground to cover when looking for signs of recovery and now is the perfect time to read the tea leaves.

by Broderick Perkins
© 2011 DeadlineNews.Com

Unauthorized use of this story is a copyright violation -- a federal crime

Deadline Newsroom - Real estate is local, but there is some common ground to cover when looking for signs of recovery, according to Greg Rand, author of "Crash Boom" (Career Press, $24.99), one of the latest proclaimed manual for real estate investors.

Rand, founder of OwnAmerica.com, an information portal for real estate investors, says the next boom is inevitable and now is the perfect time to read the tea leaves.

Rand says it doesn't matter which market you are examining, it's all about historic trends that tend to repeat themselves.

"The secret to making sure your real estate doesn’t turn into a money pit is to watch the trends so you can predict where the prices will rise and where they won't," says Rand.

The more trends you can find that point to recovery, the merrier for returns on your investment.

Rand says watch for these trends.

Short-Term Pain - Markets with home prices at or below where they were a decade ago have over corrected and are poised for recovery.

Among other recent reports John Burns Real Estate Consulting's "Back to the Future: Median Home Prices Mirror Years Past," recently reported markets are yielding home prices dating from 2006 to as far back as 1997, 14 years ago.

Rand suggests using Zillow's Home Value Index to examine the prices of homes sold now and 10 years ago.

"If home prices in a given market are below 2002 levels, there is a good chance that market has over corrected. Meaning, it has dropped below the level where the boom began. If it has not appreciated in ten years, it most likely has upside coming to it," say Rand.

Over-development - Markets often over correct because they were over-built and over-bought by speculators. Florida is an example. So is Las Vegas.

Job Growth – Unemployed consumers can't buy homes. Rand says track employment trends to determine where companies are moving (a la Austin, TX). That's a harbinger for long term housing demand. An eroded job base contributed to over correction conditions in places like Detroit and Las Vegas.

Lifestyle – Long term migration patterns are driven by the pursuit of happiness. Look at climate (the Carolinas), leisure trends (Colorado) and cost of living (Texas) for triggers on where the market may shift. OwnAmerica.com points to a list of research tools to use to learn about movers, often followed by shakers. CityData.com is also useful.

Responsible Government – Does local government encourage or discourage investors? Does it have rent control laws that prohibit rents based on market demand? Does it restrict short term rentals and make vacation rentals a bad investment? Seek investor- and business-friendly locals that offer incentives without barriers.

"There's nothing worse than putting your money on the table, only to have it redistributed," Rand says.

• Click on the keywords below for more stories on this subject.

© 2010 DeadlineNews.Com

Advertise on DeadlineNews.Com | Shop DeadlineNews.Com

Get "News that really hits home!" for your Web site or blog from the DeadlineNewsGroup.Com.

You are reading a sample of "News that really hits home!" now available from several beats and published in a growing number of locations.

Broderick Perkins, an award-winning consumer journalist, parlayed 30 years of old-school journalism into a digital real estate news service, the San Jose, CA-based DeadlineNews Group, including DeadlineNews.Com, a real estate news and consulting service and Web site, and the Deadline Newsroom, DeadlineNews.Com's news back shop.

Under the DeadlineNews Group umbrella:

Perkins was the first Examiner to cover three beats for the Examiner.com news service:
• National Real Estate Examiner
• National Consumer News Examiner
• National Offbeat News Examiner

Other DeadlineNews Group Feeds are available from DeadlineNews.Com.

DeadlineNews.Com's Editorial Content Is Intellectual Property • Unauthorized Use Is A Federal Crime

Read more!

Wall Street, not Fannie, Freddie to blame for housing, economic meltdown

Research from the Center for Responsible Lending (CRL) "Wall Street, Not Fannie Mae & Freddie Mac, Created & Led the Toxic Mortgage Market," says toxic subprime loans started the foreclosure crisis and the disaster spread to other mortgages approved without properly qualifying borrowers.

by Broderick Perkins
© 2011 DeadlineNews.Com

Unauthorized use of this story is a copyright violation -- a federal crime

Deadline Newsroom - A recent study puts much of the blame for the mortgage meltdown squarely at the feet of Wall Street, rather than the federal government sponsored enterprises (GSEs) Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

Research from the Center for Responsible Lending (CRL) "Wall Street, Not Fannie Mae & Freddie Mac, Created & Led the Toxic Mortgage Market," says toxic subprime loans started the foreclosure crisis and the disaster spread to other mortgages approved without properly qualifying borrowers.

"The facts show that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were followers, not leaders, in the events leading up to today's foreclosure epidemic," the report says.

"During the 2000s, subprime mortgage lending grew rapidly as Wall Street seized on the opportunity to invest in riskier, higher-interest mortgages. 'Securitization' ... made it possible for loosely-regulated lenders to make loans and then immediately sell them to private firms that created mortgage-backed securities."

CRL's report says:

• GSEs were prohibited from buying subprime mortgages because the loans were outside the prescribed GSE guidelines. Subprime mortgage-backed securities were created in the private sector by Wall Street firms.

• GSEs did purchase subprime mortgage-backed securities as investments, but not in a volume that matched Wall Street purchases.

• GSEs eventually guaranteed and created investments with "Alt-A" loans which went to relatively wealthier borrowers with higher credit scores. The loans did have risky features, such as limited documentation. These investments are primarily why the GSEs were placed into conservatorship. GSEs investments were generally less risky than Wall Street's, but the private market and the GSEs share responsibility for supporting the loans.

• Mortgage loans purchased by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac - including loans to lower-income borrowers - are performing better than those on the private market. As of June 2010, 13.35 percent of GSE loans to borrowers with credit scores under 660 were 90 or more days delinquent or in foreclosure, compared to 28 percent for subprime loans, according to Mortgage Bankers Association statistics.

• Affordable housing loans weren't the problem. GSEs' losses were generated by risky loans, primarily Alt-A loans that generally went to borrowers with higher incomes.

• GSEs' support of the Alt-A market, in a drive for profit and market share, actually weakened their performance on meeting affordable housing goals.

• The vast majority of subprime loans, 94 percent of them, were made by lenders who were not subject to the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA). The CRA covers banks and thrifts, which didn't make many subprime loans.

• Abusive loan terms were far more responsible for the foreclosure crisis than risky borrowers.

"Recent studies have shown that, comparing borrowers of similar risk characteristics, loans with sensible terms had significantly lower foreclosure rates than explosive subprime loans made by non-bank lenders," CRL's report says.

• Click on the keywords below for more stories on this subject.

© 2010 DeadlineNews.Com

Advertise on DeadlineNews.Com | Shop DeadlineNews.Com

Get "News that really hits home!" for your Web site or blog from the DeadlineNewsGroup.Com.

You are reading a sample of "News that really hits home!" now available from several beats and published in a growing number of locations.

Broderick Perkins, an award-winning consumer journalist, parlayed 30 years of old-school journalism into a digital real estate news service, the San Jose, CA-based DeadlineNews Group, including DeadlineNews.Com, a real estate news and consulting service and Web site, and the Deadline Newsroom, DeadlineNews.Com's news back shop.

Under the DeadlineNews Group umbrella:

Perkins was the first Examiner to cover three beats for the Examiner.com news service:
• National Real Estate Examiner
• National Consumer News Examiner
• National Offbeat News Examiner

Other DeadlineNews Group Feeds are available from DeadlineNews.Com.

DeadlineNews.Com's Editorial Content Is Intellectual Property • Unauthorized Use Is A Federal Crime

Read more!

Unsung hero community groups save neighborhoods

Get offbeat! Click my head!

"Implementing the Neighborhood Stabilization Program (NSP): Community Stabilization in the NeighborWorks Network" is the NeighborWorks America's report detailing a dozen "Yes, we can!" case studies about the super heroic efforts of community groups that kept neighborhoods alive during their darkest hour.

by Broderick Perkins
© 2010 DeadlineNews.Com

Unauthorized use of this story is a copyright violation -- a federal crime

Deadline Newsroom - Against all odds created by the deepest recession since the Great Depression, a network of community organizations beat back bad times and saved a host of distressed neighborhoods -- often block-by-block and home-by-home.

"Implementing the Neighborhood Stabilization Program (NSP): Community Stabilization in the NeighborWorks Network" is the NeighborWorks America's report detailing a dozen "Yes, we can!" case studies about the super heroic efforts of community groups that kept neighborhoods alive during their darkest hour.

The studies reveal the power behind the National Community Stabilization Trust's "5 Cs of stabilization" a strategy used to rescue neighborhoods submerged in foreclosures, at a time when money was tight, resources were slim and the line for help went out the door.

The trust facilitates transferring foreclosed and abandoned properties from banks to local housing organizations. The homes are "recycled" for reuse to keep neighborhoods stable.

The "Cs" include comprehensiveness, a plan that addresses all destabilizing forces in the community; concentration, targeting for maximum impact; collaboration to include a broad array of partners with a strong focus on residency; capacity from organizations with demonstrated ability in the effort; and capital, especially new sources of capital.

Here's a sampling of the neighborhoods saved by the work of NW agencies.

• Home HeadQuarters, Inc., Syracuse, NY - The agency collaborated with local residents and a wide range of stakeholders to focus community stabilization and revitalization efforts on a 15 to 20-block area known as the SALT District. Using a combination of funding, the agency acquired and redeveloped 90 foreclosed, vacant and abandoned properties.

• Housing and Neighborhood Development Services, Inc., Orange, NJ - This group worked with nonprofit, for-profit and city agencies to acquire and redevelop foreclosed inventory, first by acquiring the mortgages on 47 foreclosed properties housing 92 units.

• Neighborhood Development Services, Inc., Ravenna, OH - In the small city of Barberton, this agency helped acquire a 24-unit property from foreclosure and redeveloped it into an attractive community asset with affordable housing units. The agency collaborated with local, county and state agencies to acquire capital and worked with residents in the process of designing the improvements for the property.

• Neighborhood Housing Services of Orange County, Anaheim, CA - The agency worked with nonprofit, municipal and for-profit groups to obtain capital to acquire, renovate and re-sell nearly two dozen foreclosed homes to eligible buyers.

• Neighborhood Housing Services of Kansas City, Kansas City, MO - This agency became a one-stop shop for identifying properties, providing first mortgage loans, developing scope of rehab work, managing construction, assisting buyers with obtaining down payment assistance and closing the loans on 30 properties.

• Neighborhood Housing Services of South Florida, Ft. Lauderdale, FL - The agency worked with nonprofits to apply for and implement funding from city and county governments and to redevelop 90 foreclosed homes.

• Click on the keywords below for more stories on this subject.

© 2010 DeadlineNews.Com

Advertise on DeadlineNews.Com | Shop DeadlineNews.Com

Get "News that really hits home!" for your Web site or blog from the DeadlineNewsGroup.Com.

You are reading a sample of "News that really hits home!" now available from several beats and published in a growing number of locations.

Broderick Perkins, an award-winning consumer journalist, parlayed 30 years of old-school journalism into a digital real estate news service, the San Jose, CA-based DeadlineNews Group, including DeadlineNews.Com, a real estate news and consulting service and Web site, and the Deadline Newsroom, DeadlineNews.Com's news back shop.

Under the DeadlineNews Group umbrella:

Perkins was the first Examiner to cover three beats for the Examiner.com news service:
• National Real Estate Examiner
• National Consumer News Examiner
• National Offbeat News Examiner

Other DeadlineNews Group Feeds are available from DeadlineNews.Com.

DeadlineNews.Com's Editorial Content Is Intellectual Property • Unauthorized Use Is A Federal Crime

Read more!

Housing recovery forecasts go 'Poof!'

Keep in mind, forecasts, predictions, and crystal ball gazing only consider stability, the beginning of recovery, the bottom of the market. Full-fledged recovery may be a decade away.   Story includes video embed from Robert Aldana, Intero Real Estate: "What are your options after a notice of default?"  

by Broderick Perkins
© 2010 DeadlineNews.Com

Unauthorized use of this story is a copyright violation -- a federal crime

Deadline Newsroom - Remember when Zillow predicted housing was due to begin recovery in the third quarter of 2010?

Later, 2011 became the year to bank on.

Fiserv, the National Association of Realtors and others all said the end would be near in 2011.

You know how those "end-ofs" go.

Earlier this month, in the face of the dreaded "double dip," Zillow revised its forecast, putting off recovery to 2012, at best.

See where this is going?

The latest bet is on 2014 -- or later.

Probably later.

A survey by Trulia and RealtyTrac reveals 54 percent of American adults believe 2014 will be the year the housing market begins to return to the gold standard.

Six months ago, a previous survey found that 42 percent of American adults said they thought the market would turn around by 2012 or had already turned around. Now, only 23 percent continue to think this will happen.

"Most Americans, as our latest survey revealed, over estimated how quickly the housing market would bounce back, but when it does, it will likely be a long and gradual process. Looking at the recent double dips in home prices, I expect the rest of 2011 to be volatile for real estate," said Pete Flint, co-founder and CEO, Trulia.

The housing market remains sluggish for a variety of reasons.

Mortgage relief programs from the government and the private sector just can't hack it under the thumb of tight lending rules. Unemployment remains high. The supply of distressed homes is going nowhere fast.



Rick Sharga, senior vice president of RealtyTrac said, "Demand remains weak, loans are increasingly difficult to qualify for, and the shadow inventory of several million distressed properties is weighing down the market. All of these things need to improve before housing can recover."

The survey also found 45 percent of American adults say the government is not doing enough to prevent foreclosures.

About one in three home \owners reported they have or know someone who has applied for or received a loan modification, stopped paying their mortgage, foreclosed, walked away or short sold their home.

"On the flip side, mortgage rates won't stay low forever and even if home prices continue to fall for a bit, now is still a good time to enter the housing market. In my eyes, we have another 18 months until we start to see signs of price stability in the housing market," Flint said.

Eighteen months, 24 months, three years?

Keep in mind, these forecasts, predictions, and crystal ball gazing only consider stability, the beginning of recovery, the bottom of the market.

Full-fledged recovery?

A grim study last year from Fiserv Case-Shiller says the housing crash won't correct to boom-time levels of 2006-20007 until 2025 in major metro areas of some of the nation's worst hit housing markets.

The good news? If you've got the cash or can land the financing it's the best time in decades to get a piece of the American Dream.

• Click on the keywords below for more stories on this subject.

© 2010 DeadlineNews.Com

Advertise on DeadlineNews.Com | Shop DeadlineNews.Com

Get "News that really hits home!" for your Web site or blog from the DeadlineNewsGroup.Com.

You are reading a sample of "News that really hits home!" now available from several beats and published in a growing number of locations.

Broderick Perkins, an award-winning consumer journalist, parlayed 30 years of old-school journalism into a digital real estate news service, the San Jose, CA-based DeadlineNews Group, including DeadlineNews.Com, a real estate news and consulting service and Web site, and the Deadline Newsroom, DeadlineNews.Com's news back shop.

Under the DeadlineNews Group umbrella:

Perkins was the first Examiner to cover three beats for the Examiner.com news service:
• National Real Estate Examiner
• National Consumer News Examiner
• National Offbeat News Examiner

Other DeadlineNews Group Feeds are available from DeadlineNews.Com.

DeadlineNews.Com's Editorial Content Is Intellectual Property • Unauthorized Use Is A Federal Crime

Read more!

Predicted home price 'double dip' arrives, price bottom delayed until 2012

Read: Batman busted, beatdown, body slammed

And it comes with the lowest interest rates of the year, but tight credit and slow employment gains aren't allowing buyers to cash in on renewed affordability.

by Broderick Perkins
© 2010 DeadlineNews.Com

Unauthorized use of this story is a copyright violation -- a federal crime

Deadline Newsroom - The long anticipated double-dip in home prices has arrived.

Also see: Less filling 'double-dip' doom looms

And it comes with the lowest interest rates of the year, but tight credit and slow employment gains aren't allowing buyers to cash in on renewed affordability.

U.S. home values fell 3 percent from the last quarter 2010 to the first quarter this year, posting the largest quarter-over-quarter decline since the fourth quarter of 2008, when many thought the housing market had bottomed, according to the Zillow Home Value Index.

Now, says Zillow, a new home price bottom isn't likely until 2012, according to Zillow's revised forecast.

US Zillow Home Value Index

US Home Values - Interactive chart

Zillow said the first quarter home value decline matches the worst of the housing recession thus far. Negative equity reached a new high -- 28.4 percent of all single-family homeowners suffer mortgages that are underwater (the mortgage is greater than they home is worth), up from 27 percent in fourth quarter of 2010.

Zillow said home values are down 8.2 percent since the first quarter last year and down 29.5 percent since they peaked in June 2006.

The report is similar to Clear Capital's findings which found home prices dropped 4.9 percent quarter-to-quarter, slid 5 percent year-over-year and now stand at 42 percent below the market peak in mid-2006.

Clear Capital also reported home prices are 0.7 percent below the prior low set in March 2009.

A growing number of distressed properties flooding the market are contributing to the double dip in home prices.

Zillow said foreclosures rose throughout the first quarter as banks unfroze moratoriums and allowed foreclosures to resume. Foreclosures had fallen in late 2010, due to the slew of moratoriums brought about by the "robo-signing" controversy.

RealtyTrac reported foreclosure filings on 239,795 U.S. properties in March this year, a 7 percent increase from the previous month. The figure was down from 367,056 a year ago March, RealtyTrac's highest monthly foreclosure total since 2005.

Contributing to affordability that comes with lower home prices, interest rates last week fell to an average 4.71 percent for 30-year, conforming, fixed-rate mortgages (FRMs), matching the year's lowest rate originally set back on Jan. 13, according to Freddie Mac's weekly Primary Mortgage Market Survey.

Unfortunately, credit remains tight and employment unstable. Unemployment rose to 9 percent in April, after falling from 9.4 percent in December 2010 to 8.8 percent in March this year.

"Home value declines are currently equal to those we experienced during the darkest days of the housing recession. With accelerating declines during the first quarter, it is unreasonable to expect home values to return to stability by the end of 2011," said Zillow Chief Economist Dr. Stan Humphries.

"We did expect substantial payback from the homebuyer tax credits, which buoyed the housing market last year, but underlying demand post-tax credit, as well as rising foreclosures and high negative equity rates, make it almost certain that we won't see a bottom in home values until 2012 or later," Humphries said.

• Click on the keywords below for more stories on this subject.

© 2010 DeadlineNews.Com

Advertise on DeadlineNews.Com | Shop DeadlineNews.Com

Get "News that really hits home!" for your Web site or blog from the DeadlineNewsGroup.Com.

You are reading a sample of "News that really hits home!" now available from several beats and published in a growing number of locations.

Broderick Perkins, an award-winning consumer journalist, parlayed 30 years of old-school journalism into a digital real estate news service, the San Jose, CA-based DeadlineNews Group, including DeadlineNews.Com, a real estate news and consulting service and Web site, and the Deadline Newsroom, DeadlineNews.Com's news back shop.

Under the DeadlineNews Group umbrella:

Perkins is managing editor of HomeAway.com's Gulf Coast Response Center.

Perkins was the first Examiner to cover three beats for the Examiner.com news service:
• National Real Estate Examiner
• National Consumer News Examiner
• National Offbeat News Examiner

Other DeadlineNews Group Feeds are available from DeadlineNews.Com.

DeadlineNews.Com's Editorial Content Is Intellectual Property • Unauthorized Use Is A Federal Crime

Read more!

Yield spread premiums make endangered loan-fee species list

Yield spread premiums are about to take a hike, much to the chagrin of mortgage brokers but to the joy of mortgage consumers. The origination practice contributed heavily to the mortgage meltdown and ultimately the greatest recession since the Great Depression.

by Broderick Perkins
© 2010 DeadlineNews.Com


Unauthorized use of this story is a copyright violation -- a federal crime


Deadline Newsroom - Newly-approved federal regulations target a mortgage brokerage and origination practice that experts say contributed heavily to the mortgage meltdown and ultimately the greatest recession since the Great Depression.

Effective April 1, 2011, the Federal Reserve will prohibit loan originators and mortgage brokers from receiving compensation based on a borrower's interest rate or other loan terms.

That will save consumers thousands of dollars on a mortgage.

In the past, brokers and originators were compensated, in part, for steering borrowers to more expensive mortgages. The more costly the mortgage, the higher the so-called "yield spread premium" (YSP) payment.

Loan originators and brokers argued YSPs were legitimate payments for their services, compensation earned in the open market and not loan costs. They also said YSPs helped consumers avoid additional closing costs. In a relatively few cases they did.

Pushing the argument, the profession fought to keep the fees off closing statements until closing day, much to the chagrin of hundreds of thousands of unsuspecting borrowers, faced with the close-of-escrow dilemma of paying the exorbitant fees or losing the deal.

Consumer advocates, and ultimately federal regulators, begged to differ, saying YSPs paid by the borrowers came with additional compensation from the lender in what amounted to kickbacks. After years of wrangling, advocates won the argument.

Under the old rules

Recently, the Center for Responsible Lending (CRL), in "Eliminating Systematic Charges on Home Loans" said YSPs often targeted minority and lower income households and were tacked onto 75 percent of all subprime loans made by mortgage brokers.

Mortgages made by brokers cost Americans nearly $20 billion more than comparable home loans made directly by the lender, as borrowers were socked with both the YSP and the higher interest rate, which often unnecessarily pushed the total loan cost up by $3,000.

Sixty percent of those who paid the YSP and the accompanying higher interest rate attached to the subprime mortgage could have qualified for a cheaper, prime loan, CRL reported.

As long ago as 2004, during the onset of predatory lending, YSPs and other exorbitant loan costs that eventually put the market in a tailspin, CRL estimated the higher interest rate attached to YSP-burdened mortgages was costing 600,000 families $2.9 billion each year.

CRL also found in the 2004 study, "Yield Spread Premiums: A Powerful Incentive for Equity Theft":

• The average amount of a YSP was about $1,850 per loan, the largest part of a broker's compensation. Broker's earned an average $1,046 more on loans with YSPs than on loans without the fee.

• Loans that included YSPs cost borrowers an additional $800 to $3,000 more than loans without YSPs.

• There was no legal requirement to inform borrowers about the connection between the YSP and the interest charged on a loan.

Under the new rules

More than a half decade later, mortgage consumers are finally getting their due -- to some extent. While those who suffered the extra costs may not benefit from the new regulations, the new rules are designed to prevent future gouging.

The Federal Reserve says :

• In addition to forbidding compensation based on the loan's interest rate or other terms, the law allows compensation based on a fixed percentage of the loan amount.

• Brokers and officers also cannot receive payments directly from a consumer, if they also receive compensation from the lender or another person.

• Brokers and offers are forbidden from "steering" a consumer to a lender offering less favorable terms in order to increase the compensation.

• To prevent steering, brokers must present consumers with all types of loans in which the consumer expresses an interest, say a fixed rate loan (FRM), adjustable rate mortgage (ARM), or a reverse mortgage.

• Loan options presented to consumers must include the lowest interest rate for which the consumer qualifies; the lowest points and origination fees, and the lowest rate for which the consumer qualifies for a loan with no risky features, such as a prepayment penalty, negative amortization, or a balloon payment in the first seven years.

Consumers can expect even greater protections against YSPs under the newly signed Restoring American Financial Stability (RAFS) Act of 2010.

Heavily laden with stiffer mortgage protections the act establishes the watchdog Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and, among other provisions, it:

• Prohibits unfair lending, including YSPsand other financial incentives that encourage lenders to steer borrowers to more costly loans. It also prohibits pre-payment penalties that trapped so many borrowers in unaffordable loans.

• Establishes penalties for irresponsible lenders and brokers who don't comply with new standards. Lenders and brokers can be held accountable by consumers for as much as three-years of interest payments and damages plus attorney's fees. The law also protects borrowers against foreclosure for violations of these standards.

• Expands consumer protections for high-cost mortgages by lowering the interest rate level and points and fee triggers that define high cost loans. Lenders must disclose the maximum a consumer could pay on an ARM and disclose in detail how payments can vary based on interest rate changes.

• Click on the keywords below for more stories on this subject.

© 2010 DeadlineNews.Com

Advertise on DeadlineNews.Com | Shop DeadlineNews.Com

Get "News that really hits home!" for your Web site or blog from the DeadlineNewsGroup.Com.

You are reading a sample of "News that really hits home!" now available from several beats and published in a growing number of locations.

Broderick Perkins, an award-winning consumer journalist, parlayed 30 years of old-school journalism into a digital real estate news service, the San Jose, CA-based DeadlineNews Group, including DeadlineNews.Com, a real estate news and consulting service and Web site, and the Deadline Newsroom, DeadlineNews.Com's news back shop.

Under the DeadlineNews Group umbrella:

Perkins is managing editor of HomeAway.com's Gulf Coast Response Center.

Perkins was the first Examiner to cover three beats for the Examiner.com news service:
• National Real Estate Examiner
• National Consumer News Examiner
• National Offbeat News Examiner

Other DeadlineNews Group Feeds are available from DeadlineNews.Com.

DeadlineNews.Com's Editorial Content Is Intellectual Property • Unauthorized Use Is A Federal Crime

Read more!

Homebuyers have no regrets

Go offbeat. Click my head.

The Great Recession may have drained the equity from millions of homes, but when it comes to making what's often the greatest purchase of all, the vast majority of homeowners are resting easy.

by Broderick Perkins
© 2010 DeadlineNews.Com


Unauthorized use of this story is a copyright violation -- a federal crime


Deadline Newsroom - The Great Recession may have drained the equity from millions of homes, but when it comes to making what's often the greatest purchase of all, the vast majority of homeowners are resting easy.

An overwhelming 90 percent of homeowners say they don't regret buying their current home, according to a new study by Bankrate, Inc.

That's even in the face of stagnant - or sliding - home prices they've suffered and rock-bottom mortgage rates they may have missed out on.

Only 9 percent of respondents expressed second thoughts about taking the plunge. Why? Most often because they couldn't sell their home and move on, or because they were unable to afford the monthly mortgage payment.

"It's surprising and reassuring to hear 90 percent of homeowners say they don't regret the purchase of their current homes," says Greg McBride, CFA, senior financial analyst for Bankrate.com.

"And all the nasty headlines in the past two years have really moved the needle in terms of mortgage awareness, with a significant drop in the percentage of borrowers who don't know what type of mortgage they have," McBride said.

Only 8 percent of Americans don't know what type of mortgage loan they have. That's a lot lower than the 26 percent of respondents in a Bankrate study done two years ago who said they were in the dark about their mortgage type.

Being bullish on homeownership isn't necessarily new. A recent Fannie Mae report revealed 70 percent of consumers see a home as one of the safest investments to make and 64 percent think now is a good time to buy.

"The key to any real estate survey conducted in today’s market would be to factor in the state where the survey's respondents reside. In many parts of the country, particularly in the Central states, they did not experience a real estate boom like the West and East coasts and therefore are not faced with the fall out of a dramatic real estate bust today," said Nancy Osborne, chief operating officer of Erate.com, a Santa Clara, CA-based financial information publisher and interest rate tracker.

She added, "Feelings about homeownership should have changed very little in those states where home prices and equity have remained relatively stable."

Other results in the Bankrate poll of 1,001 randomly selected adults, conducted last month by Princeton Survey Research Associates International, include:

• Fixed-rate mortgages are gaining in popularity. Seventy-nine percent of respondents said they had this type of mortgage on their home.

• Wealthier Americans -- those making more than $75,000 -- overwhelmingly preferred fixed-rate mortgages. Almost 90 percent of those who were asked, said they used a fixed-rate mortgage.

Crystal Chow is a DeadlineNews Group associate editor who contributed to this article.

• Click on the keywords below for more stories on this subject.

© 2010 DeadlineNews.Com

Advertise on DeadlineNews.Com | Shop DeadlineNews.Com

Get "News that really hits home!" for your Web site or blog from the DeadlineNewsGroup.Com.

You are reading a sample of "News that really hits home!", now available from several beats and published in a growing number of locations.

Broderick Perkins, an award-winning consumer journalist, parlayed 30 years of old-school journalism into a digital real estate news service, the San Jose, CA-based DeadlineNews Group, including DeadlineNews.Com, a real estate news and consulting service and Web site, and the Deadline Newsroom, DeadlineNews.Com's news back shop.

Perkins was the first Examiner to cover three beats for the Examiner.com news service:
• National Offbeat News Examiner
• National Consumer News Examiner
• National Real Estate Examiner

DeadlineNews.Com's Editorial Content Is Intellectual Property • Unauthorized Use Is A Federal Crime

Read more!

2010's weakest, strongest housing markets

Know what's in your wallet

The real story is how many markets are still perhaps a year or more away from recovery: most of them. Even the hottest spots barely reached the threshold of "healthy."


by Broderick Perkins
© 2010 DeadlineNews.Com



Unauthorized use of this story is a copyright violation -- a federal crime


Deadline Newsroom - The U.S. housing recovery is shaping up as an uneven rebound, with only a few markets emerging as places to be for investors and home buyers looking for bargains that won't go sour.

The real story is how many markets are still perhaps a year or more away from recovery: most of them.

Even the hottest spots barely reached the threshold of a 50 score, the minimum necessary to indicate a "healthy, not weak" housing market, according to Hanley Wood Market Intelligence's "Builder Market Health Index." An MHI score of 100 indicates a market in the best of times.

Hanley Wood used projections for growth in employment, household formation, income and home values to determine MHIs for its annual Builder Market Health Index: Complete 2010 Rankings of 100 metropolitan areas. Only areas with the most building permit activity, albeit paltry, were included.

For the full storoy, "You've got news"...."News that really hits home," here: "10 Places Where Housing Market Is The Weakest"

Also see: "Top Housing Markets of 2010"

• Click on the keywords below for more stories on this subject.

© 2010 DeadlineNews.Com

Advertise on DeadlineNews.Com | Shop DeadlineNews.Com

Get "News that really hits home!" for your Web site or blog from the DeadlineNewsGroup.Com.

You are reading a sample of "News that really hits home!", now available from several beats and published in a growing number of locations.

Broderick Perkins, an award-winning consumer journalist, parlayed 30 years of old-school journalism into a digital real estate news service, the San Jose, CA-based DeadlineNews Group, including DeadlineNews.Com, a real estate news and consulting service and Web site, and the Deadline Newsroom, DeadlineNews.Com's news back shop.

Perkins was the first Examiner to cover three beats for the Examiner.com news service:
• National Offbeat News Examiner
• National Consumer News Examiner
• National Real Estate Examiner

DeadlineNews.Com's Editorial Content Is Intellectual Property • Unauthorized Use Is A Federal Crime

Read more!

Obama signs expanded home buyer tax credit law

Most condoms get job done...safely

The extension and expansion of the popular home buyers tax credit gives both new and move-up buyers a tax incentive to buy a home until at least April 30, 2010, longer for military personnel.

by Broderick Perkins
© 2008 DeadlineNews.Com


Unauthorized use of this story is a copyright violation -- a federal crime

Deadline Newsroom - President Barack Obama, this morning, signed legislation that extends a first time home buyer tax credit and extends a smaller tax credit to move-up and other buyers.

The extension and expansion of the popular home buyers tax credit gives both new and move-up buyers a tax incentive to buy a home until at least April 30, 2010, longer for military personnel.

The new law extends the existing credit for first-time homebuyers, worth up to $8,000, through April 30, 2010.

A new credit of up to $6,500 is available to qualifying existing homeowners who buy a new primary residence (or have one built) by April 30, 2010, if they owned their existing home for five consecutive years over the last eight years. Second homes don't qualify.

Home buyers have to repay the credit if they live in their primary residence less than 36 months and are not members of the military.

The new rule also raises the qualifying income limits to $125,000 for single taxpayers and $225,000 for joint taxpayers, from the current $75,000 and $150,000.

The maximum allowed home purchase price is $800,000.

Both first-time home buyers and others must close escrow by June 30, 2010.

Military personnel, deployed overseas for a minimum of 90 days in 2008 or 2009, would have until April 30, 2011 to claim the tax credit.

Buyers can claim the credit on their 2009 taxes, even if the purchase is made in 2010 by filing an amended return. Buyers who don't owe taxes can have the credit refunded to them.

More information is available from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS}, including a question and answer page.

That's all good news for the housing market.

The National Association of Realtors says as many as 400,000 resale transactions (1.2 million for both new and resale homes) were completed specifically because of the first-time home buyer tax credit, since it began, and that put a dent in the housing inventory.

Home sales also add property and sales tax revenues to the coffers of local governments as reduced inventory helps boost prices and home values.

Fortunately, the tax credit also has been available at a time when often have been below 5 percent.

Fortunately, the first-time home buyer tax credit's availability has coincided with mortgage rates often hanging below 5 percent, according to Jeff Howard, CEO of Erate.com.

As the Nov. 30 tax credit deadline neared, reports from the Commerce Department, revealed new home sales slipped 3.6 percent in September and were down 7.8 percent from September 2008.

Tax credit history

As part of the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008, Congress first created a $7,500 first-time home buyer tax credit for those who purchased a home between April 8, 2008, and July 1, 2009.

Later, under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, Congress extended the credit and raised it to an $8,000 tax credit for those who purchased homes by the current Nov. 30, 2009 expiration date.

By October 9, 2009, more than 1.2 million tax returns had claimed about $8.5 billion in the refundable tax credit, for both new and resale homes - according to the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA).

A TIGTA audit also revealed last month that nearly 90,000 taxpayers -- including nearly 600 children -- may have fraudulently enjoyed the credit, hoodwinking the government out of more than $600 million.

The new legislation includes provisions to stifle fraud after the Internal Revenue Service identified 167 suspected criminal schemes and opened nearly 107,000 examinations of potential civil violations of the first-time homebuyer tax credit.

Cheating the IRS is a federal felony that comes with a fine of up to $250,000 and three years in a federal pen, or both.

To combat fraud, a HUD-1 Settlement Statement will have to be attached to the tax return to secure the credit.

• Click on the keywords below for more stories on this subject.

© 2008 DeadlineNews.Com

---

Advertise on DeadlineNews.Com | Shop DeadlineNews.Com

Get "News that really hits home!" for your Web site or blog from the DeadlineNewsGroup.Com.

You are reading a sample of "News that really hits home!", now available from several beats and published in a growing number of locations.

Broderick Perkins, an award-winning consumer journalist, parlayed 30 years of old-school journalism into a digital real estate news service, the San Jose, CA-based DeadlineNews Group, including DeadlineNews.Com, a real estate news and consulting service and Web site, and the Deadline Newsroom, DeadlineNews.Com's news back shop.

Perkins is also the first Examiner to cover three beats for the Examiner.com news service:
• National Offbeat News Examiner
• National Consumer News Examiner
• National Real Estate Examiner

---

DeadlineNews.Com's Editorial Content Is Intellectual Property • Unauthorized Use Is A Federal Crime

Read more!

One in three 2008 mortgage applicants denied

Pistol-packing mom shot dead

Loan originations fell by nearly 33 percent from 2007 to 2008, half what it was in 2006, as nearly a third of applicants were turned down.

by Broderick Perkins
© 2008 DeadlineNews.Com

Unauthorized use of this story is a copyright violation -- a federal crime

Deadline Newsroom - It's hard out there being a home loan applicant, especially if you are an ethnic minority.

The Federal Reserve said 32 percent of all home loan applicants -- new home buyers and refinancing homeowners -- got the ax in 2008.

The Fed's "2008 HMDA Data: The Mortgage Market during a Turbulent Year"
found that while whites were turned down only 34 percent of the time, American Indians and Native Alaskans were told "no dice" 57 percent of the time.

Blacks were declined 53.3 percent of the time, 51 percent of those with interracial blood were turned down, 46.3 percent for Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders and 43 percent for Hispanics got the big "no."

The Fed says the 2008 numbers reflect turbulence in the mortgage market, after the housing bust and ensuing unemployment and other economic woes.

All things considered, loan application and originations fell by nearly 33 percent from 2007 to 2008. In 2008, mortgage activity was half what it was in 2006.

• Click on the keywords below for more stories on this subject.

© 2008 DeadlineNews.Com

---

Advertise on DeadlineNews.Com | Shop DeadlineNews.Com

Get "News that really hits home!" for your Web site or blog from the DeadlineNewsGroup.Com.

You are reading a sample of "News that really hits home!", now available from several beats and published in a growing number of locations.

Broderick Perkins, an award-winning consumer journalist, parlayed 30 years of old-school journalism into a digital real estate news service, the San Jose, CA-based DeadlineNews Group, including DeadlineNews.Com, a real estate news and consulting service and Web site, and the Deadline Newsroom, DeadlineNews.Com's news back shop.

Perkins is also the first Examiner to cover three beats for the Examiner.com news service:
• National Offbeat News Examiner
• National Consumer News Examiner
• National Real Estate Examiner

---

DeadlineNews.Com's Editorial Content Is Intellectual Property • Unauthorized Use Is A Federal Crime

Read more!

It's a trend: home prices are increasing

Obama assassination poll worst,
best of social networking culture

After the third straight month of price increases for the 20-market average, as well as the smaller 10-city composite, it's a wrap. The trend of higher home prices is on -- even if they are still down from a year ago.

by Broderick Perkins
© 2008 DeadlineNews.Com

Unauthorized use of this story is a copyright violation -- a federal crime

Deadline Newsroom - Home prices are still at 2003 levels, but after six months of improved home price index readings, it's official.

Home prices are trending up, according to the S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Indices.

The national average of home prices increased 1.6 percent from June to July in 20 metro markets tracked by the report, but are still down 13.3 percent from a year ago.

However, after the third straight month of price increases for the 20-market average, as well as the smaller 10-city composite, it's a wrap.

The trend is on.

Whether the trend can sustain itself, given the highly popular first-time home buyer tax credit ends Nov. 30, that's the question.

Some say home price recovery is being artificially supported by the $8,000 first-time home buyer tax credit and artificial and unsustainable home price elevations is what left the housing market with the headache it has today.

"The rate of annual decline in home price values continues to decelerate and we now seem to be witnessing some sustained monthly increases across many of the markets," David M. Blitzer, chairman of the index committee at Standard & Poor's, said in a prepared statement.

"The two composites and all metro areas are showing an improvement in the annual rates of return, as seen through a moderation in their annual declines."

However, whatever happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas and home price declines are no exception. Only Las Vegas (down 1.1 percent month to month and 31.4 percent for the year) and Seattle (down 0.1 percent for the month and 15.3 percent year-over-year) revealed month to month home price declines.

Blitzer said the report indicates a continued "stabilization in national real estate values," but added, "we do need to be cautious in coming months to assess whether the housing market will weather the expiration of the Federal First-Time Buyer's Tax Credit in November, anticipated higher unemployment rates, and a possible increase in foreclosures."

Both the National Association of Realtors and the National Association of Home Builders are lobbying hard for an extension of the tax credit into next year.

NAR said 350,000 new buyers would not have purchased a home this year, ending in September, without the credit.

Opponents say enough ($15 billion) is enough. An extension would be too costly for taxpayers and the national budget.

• Click on the keywords below for more stories on this subject.

© 2008 DeadlineNews.Com

---

Advertise on DeadlineNews.Com | Shop DeadlineNews.Com

Get "News that really hits home!" for your Web site or blog from the DeadlineNewsGroup.Com.

You are reading a sample of "News that really hits home!", now available from several beats and published in a growing number of locations.

Broderick Perkins, an award-winning consumer journalist, parlayed 30 years of old-school journalism into a digital real estate news service, the San Jose, CA-based DeadlineNews Group, including DeadlineNews.Com, a real estate news and consulting service and Web site, and the Deadline Newsroom, DeadlineNews.Com's news back shop.

Perkins is also the first Examiner to cover three beats for the Examiner.com news service:
• National Offbeat News Examiner
• National Consumer News Examiner
• National Real Estate Examiner

---

DeadlineNews.Com's Editorial Content Is Intellectual Property • Unauthorized Use Is A Federal Crime

Read more!

'Layaway Vacation Plans' lure vacation rental guests

Giving kids credit, when credit's due

Investment Advice: The economy's summer doldrums have forced many vacation rental owners to succumb to accepting lower rates from haggling guests. The Layaway Vacation Plan may be a better idea.

by Broderick Perkins
© 2008 DeadlineNews.Com

Unauthorized use of this story is a copyright violation -- a federal crime

Deadline Newsroom - Vacation home owners pinched by this summer's travel season squeeze, may want to consider a new option for attracting guests -- the Layaway Vacation Plan.

Get guests to opt for an installment payment plan now so they can secure their vacation later.

Not only will stretching out the payments be easier on guests' travel budgets, it'll also keep vacation property owners from guessing about occupancy next year.

This summer, thanks to the lingering soft economy, many vacation home owners have been besieged by vacation and daycation bargain hunters, forcing some property owners to succumb to accepting lower rates than preferred.

"Obviously, the best way to avoid last-minute hagglers who want your place for a song is to make sure you're booked up well in advance," says Christine Karpinski, director of Owner Community for HomeAway.com, a vacation rental portal for property owners and travelers.

"And one way to set yourself up for success is to make it as easy as possible for budget-conscious travelers to choose your property," added Karpinski, author of "How to Rent Vacation Properties by Owner" (Kinney Pollack Press, $26.00).

Vacation travelers typically have more discretionary cash than those who don't travel, but coming up with a lump sum that amounts to a few thousand dollars is daunting even for them.

Karpinski suggests the following approach:

• Instead of asking for the traditional 50 percent down, get 20 percent down and divvy up the rest in monthly installments. Charge a small administration fee of, say, $25 for the installment plan effort.

"The real risk is that if you require 50 percent down, you alienate potential renters who might have booked with you if you had offered a payment plan. You never know how many great guests might be passing you up because of your inflexible payment policy," Karpinski says.

• Use a solid contract. Vacation rental owners should already have a solid rental agreement. Update it with a new payment plan option that includes the down payment amount, amount and date due of monthly installments and the cancellation policy. Include a contractual provision for your right to cancel the reservation and to recoup a portion of what's paid should the guest miss a payment.

Karpinski says you can decide to be flexible and allow slow-paying guests to catch up payments, or decided to refund money already paid.

"But the contract just lets everyone know up front what to expect, so there are no misunderstandings and no surprises," she says.

• Suggest travel insurance. Some guests do face emergencies and must cancel their vacations. Vacation property owners should be informative and make a strong travel insurance pitch along with any payment plan. The guest buys the insurance, but the property owner can include travel insurance information in early contacts with the guest and in the rental agreement.

Travel insurance is relatively cheap about 5 to 7 percent of a trip's cost for the "trip cancellation" variety. For example, a $5,000 trip would cost roughly $250 to $350 to insure, according to the Insurance Information Institute.

• Advertise flexibility. Prominently advertise you are in the layaway vacation business and you have some flexibility to let guests determine how to pay. Stating "Require down payment" and "Will work out a payment plan" is a good lure.

"The more you accommodate your guests' wallets, the more likely your vacation home will accommodate their families. It positions you as someone with whom they want to do business. It sets you apart from the competition," Karpinski says.

There's a lot more vacation rental, vacation home, investment property, and second home news that really hits home.

• Click on the keywords below for more stories on this subject.

© 2008 DeadlineNews.Com

---

Advertise on DeadlineNews.Com | Shop DeadlineNews.Com

Get "News that really hits home!" for your Web site or blog from the DeadlineNewsGroup.Com.

You are reading a sample of "News that really hits home!", now available from several beats and published in a growing number of locations.

Broderick Perkins, an award-winning consumer journalist, parlayed 30 years of old-school journalism into a digital real estate news service, the San Jose, CA-based DeadlineNews Group, including DeadlineNews.Com, a real estate news and consulting service and Web site, and the Deadline Newsroom, DeadlineNews.Com's news back shop.

Perkins is also the first Examiner to cover three beats for the Examiner.com news service:
• National Offbeat News Examiner
• National Consumer News Examiner
• National Real Estate Examiner

---

DeadlineNews.Com's Editorial Content Is Intellectual Property • Unauthorized Use Is A Federal Crime

Read more!

Foreclosures ease, torrent now a downpour

Nines have it on 9/9/09

August's foreclosure activity actually decreased from July, but only by 1 percent, and the 358,471 foreclosures in August were also up 18 percent from a year ago.

by Broderick Perkins
© 2008 DeadlineNews.Com

Unauthorized use of this story is a copyright violation -- a federal crime

Deadline Newsroom - Foreclosures backed off their record pace, but not by much as default notices, auctions and bank repossessions continued to pour through the pipeline in August.

August's foreclosure activity actually decreased from July, but only by 1 percent, after record numbers of foreclosures were set in three of the previous five months.

The 358,471 foreclosures in August were also up 18 percent from a year ago, according to RealtyTrac.

"The August report demonstrates that there is still an ample supply of properties filling the foreclosure pipeline even while the outflow of bank-owned REO properties onto the resale market is being more carefully regulated," said James J. Saccacio, chief executive officer of RealtyTrac.

Nevada lead the way, with one in every 62 housing units receiving a foreclosure filing in August, despite an 8 percent decrease in foreclosure activity from the previous month.

Florida followed with the second highest rate, with one in every 140 housing units receiving a foreclosure filing. California was nearly neck-and-neck for second with one in every 144 housing units receiving a foreclosure filing.

Arizona, Michigan, Idaho, Utah, Colorado, Georgia and Illinois also recorded high rates of foreclosures.

Foreclosurelistings.com tried, with little success, to put a positive spin on the foreclosure numbers.

As foreclosure filings have eased, prices are increasing in some locations, indicating some growing demand.

Foreclosurelistings.com said prices are up, if only a tad, less than 1 percent in California and Florida. Michigan's home prices were up by 1.4 percent, Texas by 4.8 percent, according to Foreclosurelistings.com.

• Click on the keywords below for more stories on this subject.

© 2008 DeadlineNews.Com

---

Advertise on DeadlineNews.Com | Shop DeadlineNews.Com

Get "News that really hits home!" for your Web site or blog from the DeadlineNewsGroup.Com.

You are reading a sample of "News that really hits home!", now available from several beats and published in a growing number of locations.

Broderick Perkins, an award-winning consumer journalist, parlayed 30 years of old-school journalism into a digital real estate news service, the San Jose, CA-based DeadlineNews Group, including DeadlineNews.Com, a real estate news and consulting service and Web site, and the Deadline Newsroom, DeadlineNews.Com's news back shop.

Perkins is also the first Examiner to cover three beats for the Examiner.com news service:
• National Offbeat News Examiner
• National Consumer News Examiner
• National Real Estate Examiner

---

DeadlineNews.Com's Editorial Content Is Intellectual Property • Unauthorized Use Is A Federal Crime

Read more!