“In normal times, most of us would never consider forgiving unpaid tax bills, but these are not normal times.”
-Dave Liniger, RE/MAX co-founder and chairman

Not all eyes are on the election. Some of us are looking past it, focusing on changes and proposed changes to the mortgage and real estate markets that could undermine home sales, home values and consumer finances in the very near future.

One of those pending changes is the Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act of 2007 which is scheduled to expire on Dec. 31.

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Quick and easy, that’s the name of the game. When it comes to federal housing programs, if recent changes aren’t centered on expanding the pool of qualified borrowers, they’re focused on streamlining the process to make it simpler and easier.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency announced on Tuesday that new short sale rules will go in effect on Nov. 1, 2012. The changes are designed to “enable lenders and servicers to quickly and easily qualify eligible borrowers for a short sale.” While I certainly won’t quibble with a clearer and more concise set of rules for short sale approval, I’m just a little skeptical these changes (many which are very general) will have a meaning impact. As the old cliché goes, actions speak louder than words.

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The post below was written by HSH.com contributor Michele Lerner. Michele has contributed several features to HSH.com, including her most-recent work, “Conventional vs. FHA financing: Which is cheaper?” and “How to challenge that low appraisal.” This is Michele’s first blog post for HSH.com:

While much of the focus on the robo-signing settlement has been on restitution and relief for foreclosure victims and underwater homeowners, part of the settlement also impacts short sales. The settlement forces mortgage servicers to meet a strict short sale timeline or face financial penalties.

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As most of us are already familiar, distressed real estate–foreclosures, bank-owned or real estate owned (REO) properties and short sales–is taking over many neighborhoods, weighing down home prices and making it harder for homeowners to sell.

However, this very same distressed real estate can come at a steep discount, and pending the condition of the home, could be a great buy for you and your family.

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The results of RealtyTrac’s “Q1 2011 U.S. Foreclosure Sales Report“ are taking up a lot of headlines across the web. The report, providing little encouraging news to a housing market desperate for a recovery, should however, open the eyes of some prospective homebuyers sitting on the sidelines.

In the first quarter of 2011, distressed real estate–foreclosed homes, short sales and bank-owned properties (REOs)–made up 28 percent of all the existing home sales, a slight increase from the previous quarter. Also, the discount at which foreclosed homes sold at remained unchanged from the previous quarter at 27 percent (the foreclosure discount was 26 percent in the first quarter of 2010). Read the rest of this entry »

If you’re looking at today’s mortgage rates you know that loans never really come with one price. Instead, there are different prices depending on how you structure your loan and how you qualify.

One factor that will influence your mortgage rate is your credit score. The higher your credit score, the greater the chance you’ll qualify for a lower rate. For example, on a scale between 300 and 850, someone with a score of 700 might qualify for a 5 percent mortgage rate while someone with a score of 630 might pay 6.25 percent for the same loan.

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Last year was a record-setting year, one of highs and lows. Mortgage rates bottomed out to multi-generational lows, and foreclosures soared to a new record high. RealtyTrac — the leading online marketplace of foreclosure properties — reports today that 3,825,637 foreclosure filings were sent to 2,871,891 properties, an increase of nearly 2 percent from 2009.

It could have been worse

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The National Association of Realtors released their Existing-home sales report for October this morning. Reversing two months of positive gains, October’s numbers registered a decline of 2.2 percent. Existing sales are down 2.9 percent from October of last year.

Poor sales figures and erratic reports are expected to continue for quite some time, noted the NAR’s chief economist Lawrence Yun: Read the rest of this entry »

When you read the results of the Campbell/Inside Mortgage Finance Monthly Survey of Real Estate Market Conditions, it’s easier to understand why September’s Pending Home Sales Index recorded its first decline since June.

For the first time in the Campbell/IMF survey’s history, cash became the number one source of financing for homebuyers. Recently, the FHA has been the predominant source of funding for buyers: Read the rest of this entry »

Any seasoned investor gauges the current state of the market(s) they are in and makes the necessary adjustments to stay at the head of the pack. Real estate investors are no different.

A novice real estate investor would look at the current state of the housing market and say, “Since prices are cheap, I’ll buy a house and sell it as soon as prices increase enough for me to make a reasonable profit.” Even some house flippers are saying to themselves, “I’ll continue to flip, but my profits aren’t going to be as high as they used to be. I’ll just have to work a little harder.”

On the flip side, the real estate investors who really know the pulse and the behaviors of the current market — beyond cheap prices, tight credit and low rates – realize that it’s time to change focus. Goodbye short-term perspective, hello long-term.

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