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A bill designed to strengthen the rights of people, including the disabled, living in housing with homeowner’s associations passed the Colorado House of Representatives by a vote of 61-1 on Friday morning.

HB-1135, sponsored by Rep. Morgan Carroll, D-Aurora, was introduced in the House on Jan. 15.

Homeowner’s associations (HOAs) are organizations of owners of houses, condos and other housing with common community elements. The association maintains such elements, which can include grounds, swimming pools and clubhouses.

The measure, if enacted, would do three major things:

• Provide for cheaper, faster, more effective dispute resolution, if parties in a dispute want it;
• Require due process by an impartial fact finder, before fees and fines can be assessed against a homeowner;
• Require “reasonable accommodation” to units by an HOA for people with disabilities.

“Given the modern reality of HOAs in home and property ownership, we need to ensure that we continue to guarantee basic property rights,” Carroll said. “In many cases, HOAs are aligned with home owners in protecting these rights, but occasionally, they are not.”

A report by the Colorado Legislative Council states the bill would have no fiscal impact, partly because encouraging optional mediation “may actually reduce the number of cases that will ultimately go all the way through the litigation process.”

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Jeffery McClintock is a real estate broker in Summit County and prides himself on providing clients with professional guidance in all phases of residential new construction, including market research, product development, consulting, marketing and advertising. His personal mission is to bring to you a level of knowledge, experience, commitment, high standards and results to answer your real estate needs. He believes, the most effective way to provide superior service is to build a strong working relationship with you. His system includes regular consultations and feedback, which is the best tool for identifying and clarifying your real estate objectives and help define strategic solutions.

Jeffery has been a licensed Realtor since 1995. During this time he has successfully closed over 135 million dollars of residential real estate, and 40 million dollars in un-improved land amounting to 660 real estate transactions. His professional experience includes the Denver Colorado front range and the Second Home market in Breckenridge, Colorado located in Summit County.

In my last article, I promised to explore the role of the Mortgage Broker in the current "Subprime Crisis."  Every night on cable news programs I hear at least one "expert" suggest that the subprime crisis was the fault of those darn Mortgage Brokers running amok.  Now I am a Mortgage Broker and so I would not blame you for taking what I say here with just a grain of salt.  I am hoping I can convince you using plain common sense that the expert's assertions are wrong.

Previously I have talked about that fact that mortgage companies like Countrywide, do not directly determine how high or low fixed rate mortgages are at any given time.  The actual level of interest rates are set by Wall Street investment firms, such as Bear Sterns, or Morgan Stanley, at whatever rate will prompt investors to choose mortgage backed securities over government backed securities, or other types of investments.  Mortgage Companies start with the yield required to attract investors and add a small margin to compensate them for the roll they play in the process of matching up loans with borrowers.  A mortgage company will usually try to make the same small margin originating and servicing loans regardless of where rates sit.

In order attract fixed income investors the investment firm must provide them with information about not only the yield for a mortgage backed investment, but also what criteria will be used to approve the loans within that pool so the investor can judge the risk they must take to earn the yield.  The qualifying criteria for loans in the pool must be set out in the beginning when the loan pool is established.

That means if the loans in a pool will be granted to borrowers with no down payment, and no documentation of income, and relatively poor credit, this criteria is designed into the program way before that loan product becomes available to a Mortgage Broker to offer his clients. 

What exactly is a Mortgage Broker anyway?  If we are going to blame them for everything we should probably know who they are. 

Read the rest of this entry »

Never, never make a late payment on your mortgage. Late payments on your mortgage are going to put you into the, I can't get a mortgage category. When we still had subprime lenders they would all refinance a homeowner that had late payments on their mortgage. Thanks to the recent mortgage meltdown, it is hard for a homeowner to get refinanced if they have recent late payments on their mortgage.

How far will your fico credit score drop with a 30 day late payment? About 50 pts. That's alot of fico points. There are lenders out there that will still refinance a person with lower credit scores but you better be able to prove your income and the interest rate will be higher. Low credit score and you can't show your income? Oh, you can always go with a hard money lender but they will only go up to 65% of the value of the home. So if your home is worth $100,000 they will lend you up to $65,000. The interest rate will be very high too.

Your best answer in these trying times is to make your mortgage payment on time. Keep in mind that your credit score defines your character. Mortgage lenders and credit card companies don't know you. They have to go by your credit score. Your credit score shows if you are a person that keeps your word or not. You promised to pay but did you keep that promise? Your credit report has the answers.

If you do end up with late payments on your credit you can always hire a credit repair company to get off any negative information. It's best not to be late on your mortgage payment in the first place but if you are you can always turn to credit repair.

You may also enter a mortgage sweepstakes to win a free mortgage payment up to $5,000.

Have a Great Day,

Countrywide Financial CEO, Angelo Mozila, is giving up his severence pay and other perks that he was suppose to receive after retirement. In addition to giving up $36.4 million in cash severance payments,  he will also walk away from a $400k per year consulting contract that he had signed with Bank of America and the use of a private jet.

Mozila states "I believe this decision is the right thing to do as Countrywide works towards the successful completion of the merger with Bank of America. That's the least that he can do, right?

Mozila was suppose to receive a package of about $66 million, according to estimates by The Hay Group, a compensation consulting company. Those figures are crazy, especially when the company is almost bankrupt. Now Mozila will receive about $23.8 million. Poor, poor Mozila. How will he ever survive? :)

Just more craziness from the mortgage industry. Overpay someone that ran a company into the ground. Only in America!! If he was in China, he'd already be dead. Either as punishment by the government or by his own hand.

ECONOMY HITS HOME: REFINANCING

While you weren't watching ...

... mortgage rates were tumblingBut joining the refi rush won't be so easy this time

By Michael Oneal and Mary Umberger

TRIBUNE REPORTERS

January 26, 2008

Overall volume jumps 8.3%, spurred by surging refinancings as interest rates drop, according to Mortgage Bankers Association's survey.

January 23 2008: 4:04 PM EST

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Mortgage application volume rose 8.3 percent during the week ending Jan. 18, according to the trade group Mortgage Bankers Association's weekly application survey.The MBA's application index rose to 981.5 from 906.4 the previous week.

Sometimes due to bad credit or market conditions, it is not possible to get lower monthly payments on your home loan by refinancing. This is due to the fact that those with bad credit usually can not get a lower interest rate and that sometimes, market conditions push the mortgage loans’ interest rate up. However, you can still get lower installments by refinancing your loan with a longer repayment program.

The term extension will get you lower monthly payments because the loan’s capital is spread over a higher number of installments. With this method, if you could not afford your current mortgage loan’s monthly payments, you can obtain lower and affordable installments that you will be able to pay without having to make sacrifices. 

Home Loan Repayment Programs

The home loan repayment program or schedule is the duration in time of the home loan. It determines the number of installments you will need to pay throughout the whole life of the loan. Payments can be done one a monthly basis, on a weekly basis, or biweekly too. Depending on the way payments are done and on the duration of the loan, you will obtain the resulting number of monthly payments.

For example: if a home loan has a 10 year repayment program, you will have 120 installments to repay the loan if payments are made monthly. But if payments are made biweekly, you will have 240 installments that will of course be of a lower amount than in the case of the loan payable on a monthly basis.

A mortgage loan repayment program can be as long as 30 years. However, the average mortgage loan has duration of 20 years or just a bit more. Thus, if you need to obtain lower monthly payments, it is always possible to refinance your home loan in order to extend the repayment schedule and thus, obtain a lower installment in return. 

Consequences of Extending the Loan Term

The consequences of extending the loan term are varied, some of them are positive and others are negative. Thus, you will need to ponder them in order to decide whether home loan refinancing for a longer repayment program is the right option for you. Basically you will need to compare the resulting terms with your needs in order to see if the costs of refinancing are equal or lower than the benefits.

Ultimately, by refinancing for a longer repayment program, you will obtain lower and more affordable monthly payments. If you are lucky enough to refinance with a lower interest rate, you might be able to compensate the higher costs that a longer repayment schedule represents with the savings that a lower interest rate provide, or at least part of them.

This is due to the fact that when you refinance for a longer repayment program you are actually adding interests to your overall loan repayment. Since interests are based on time, a longer repayment program implies more interests and thus an overall larger debt. Even if you obtain lower monthly payments, you are actually paying more on the long run. It is just that the costs are spread over more installments.

Despite doom and gloom in the national press, recent mortgage lending figures paint a healthier picture. Barney McCarthy looks at the facts.

January is often portrayed as a bleak month and it’s no wonder. With harsh weather, a dire financial situation plaguing many people, not to mention bulging waistlines after the excess of the festive season, it is easy to see why it is renowned for being the most depressing month on the calendar. If you are trying to sell your property, your mood is likely to have been darkened further by recent reports of a house price crash or, at the very least, a flattening out in values.

But it is important to retain a balanced perspective on things. House prices may be reaching a plateau, but they are still at historically high levels. The phenomenal growth spurt of the last few years had to end some time and a slight cooling of the market needn’t represent the nightmare some have been envisaging in recent months.

Lies, damn lies and statistics

Halifax’s reported growth across all regions in 2007, revealing that UK house prices increased by 5.2% between the end of 2006 and the same period in 2007. Looking ahead, Halifax envisages a flat period for house prices with modest price growth continuing in certain areas such as southern England and Scotland. Martin Ellis, chief economist for Halifax, says sound economic fundamentals and lower interest rates will support house prices in 2008. “The UK economy is expected to deliver its 65th successive quarter of GDP growth during the year, extending the longest running period of unbroken growth on record. The Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee is likely to follow up December’s cut by reducing the Bank Rate at least twice in 2008.”

According to the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML), 2007 was the strongest year ever for gross mortgage lending. It rose by 5% to an estimated £362bn, outstripping the CML’s October 2007 forecast of £360bn. This means that the amount being borrowed is at a record high and supports the Halifax’s claims that house prices have continued to rise.

Andrew Montlake, partner at independent mortgage broker Cobalt Capital, maintains a pragmatic attitude. “I agree with the CML that the outlook is more positive,” he says. “There is a very good chance of an interest rate cut in February and at least one more during 2008, which will incentivise borrowers and restore much needed confidence. At the same time, falling LIBOR and swap rate are bringing succour to the banks. We’re by no means out of the woods yet but I’m confident things will be a lot rosier by Spring.”

Research conducted by Your Mortgage shows that while most areas are expected to see slight price falls in 2008, the majority will recover and experience growth in 2009 and beyond. All regions are expected to have posted improved figures by 2012, although some rises are more modest than others. Average house prices in Walsall in the West Midlands for example are only expected to improve by 1.1% by 2012, while some areas in London could rise by over 30%. To see how house prices will change in your area over the next five years, visit our property price predictor.

As first-time buyer, falling prices may seem like manna from heaven, but it is worth bearing in mind that the credit crunch has led to lenders being more cautious with their criteria, so you may still not be able to borrow as much as you would like. The beginning of the year has traditionally been a quiet of time for buying and selling as people avoid the upheaval of all the paperwork and moving house over Christmas, plus the current market conditions would seem to suggest now may not be an opportune time given the expected lull.

But don’t let the harbingers of doom put you off for too long. It is important to put the present climate in context of the astronomical rises of the last few years and realise that the current calm may not be such a bad thing.

I rarely post "calls to action" for work on this site, but I just can't pass the opportunity. Check out the little flyer below and give me a call if you need me! I've come across SEVERAL foreclosures, pre-foreclosures, and short sales! Usually, investors take these before they go public, but there are so many  right now that they are available to the public!

Yall have a great day!

Ray

Parents giving their children money for a down payment on their first home is certainlynot a new idea. We see a variety of choices being made in the marketplace. Some elect to co-sign on the mortgage with the children. It doesn’t cost Mom and Dad any money, but it may help the children qualify for a loan. Others either give or lend money for the down payment. A few even decide to put enough money to “buy down” the mortgage interest rate, allowing for the rate to be lower in the first few years, making it easier to qualify for the loan by lowering the monthly payment. The concept of equity sharing, although used by builders and real estate investors, may also be one of the best methods for helping the kids buy a house. Shared equity allows the children to feel less indebted than with an outright loan, and at the same time gives parents an added tax advantage. An equity sharing arrangement might work like this: The young homebuyers purchase a home jointly with their parents, they split  the down payment and ownership costs including monthly payments, and the children rent the parent’s share of the home. The benefits to the young homebuyers include affording a larger home for less money, having lower down payment and ownership costs, ease of qualifying for the loan, and the beginning of building an investment portfolio. The benefits to the parents include helping the children to afford a home, receipt of rental income, financial and tax benefits, increasing their investment portfolio, and having a reliable tenant. When the home is sold, perhaps after a specified period of time, the parents get back their initial investment, and the additional proceeds are shared in proportion to each one’s investment. While shared equity can be arranged between perfect strangers, the beauty of this agreement is seeing a family investing wisely together, with both parents and their children gaining benefits they may not otherwise obtain alone. Both parties should exercise due diligence by receiving counsel from experts in the areas of accounting, financial planning, and legal.