Brent White's seminar for homeowners underwater last Thursday sold out

I attended the sold-out webinar on January 27th. Brent White is a professor at the University of Arizona, attorney, and author of the "Underwater Home". Known as a controversial figure for his academic writings, and lectures on the topic of STRATEGIC DEFAULT. He does not advocate walking away, but does insists it is not a moral issue but rather a business decision. I am seeing this shift in the Luxury home market (whereas the negative equity is over $100k) and baby boomers whom are not too far away from retirement and don't have the years to invest in waiting for the market to recover. Rather they prefer to take their losses now and wait a few years to rebuild their credit to invest in real estate again. Most economists and market analysis predict it will be years before the Phoenix area housing future comes into full view. Zipcodes like 85009 which have had an 81% drop in market value may never recover. Even if homes were to double in value twice, it still would not be worth half as much as they used to be. High unemployment rates, increase in bankruptcies, economic hardships, and more home buyers becoming renters all impact the recovery process. Brent White demonstrated many different scenarios and formulas to help homeowners attending the seminar determine whether it is worth putting themselves, and their family through the stressful process of strategic default, in some cases it is just not worth it. One concern he pointed out was supplying lenders with current financial information that could be used against them later if a loan modification does not work out.

There is a lot of emotional feelings (ups and downs like a roller coaster) when a homeowner considers "walking away". This book walks homeowners through all the parts involved in the process of considering a STRATEGIC DEFAULT. Is it a moral obligation or a business decision? Obligations to society and to your neighbors (ch.1) Brent has some great analogies to convince homeowners to stay put (ch. 3 & 4) or do you need to move because of a job transfer? He covers a wide range of topics and questions most homeowners have on their minds like: tax consequences, fear of being pursued by their lender (ch.2), buying and bailing (ch.4).

I highly recommend reading this book today if some of these concerns and questions lay heavy on your heart and mind.

Read more:
http://kathleeninarizona.com/archive.php?dfilter_id=73

HAFA Changes may begin Feb 1st - Will the revisions help Short Sales?

Short Sale vs Foreclosure is still on the minds of many homeowners in 2011.
The revisions to the HAFA guidelines are in the right direction, but the revisions to HAFA do not apply to first lien mortgages that are owned or guaranteed by Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, or insured by a federal agency such as the Federal Housing Administration. Moreover, servicers are not required to implement the new rules to any loans retroactively. It is important to find out who services your loan and get the advice from a HUD counselor for FREE.

Servicers are only required to implement these changes on new files effective February 1, 2011. So, if you have a HAFA short sale at one of the lending institutions right now, it is being reviewed under the old rules. Servicers are not required to implement the new rules to any short sales retroactively.

An example of a common short sale delay is in cases whereas a second lienholder is NOT accepting the amount offered by the first lienholder, below is the direction recommended to servicers:
Release of Subordinate Liens Subordinate mortgage/lien holders will continue to be paid in order of priority as set forth in Section 6.2.4.2 of Chapter IV of the Handbook. However, servicers are no longer limited by the six percent cap with respect to payments to each subordinate mortgage/lien holder. The servicer, on behalf of the investor, shall determine the amount or percentage of the unpaid principal balance of the lien that will be paid to each subordinate mortgage/lien holder until the $6,000 aggregate cap is reached. Each servicer must include in its HAFA Policy how subordinate mortgage/lien holders will be paid. Investors continue to be eligible for incentive reimbursement for up to one-third of the cost to extinguish subordinate liens as described in Section 12.3 of Chapter IV of the Handbook.

Mortgage servicers and investors write their own guidelines under the Federal requirements to determine how to implement the program. For more information about your options, you should contact your mortgage servicer.

If you have questions about the program, or want guidance about how these options may impact your personal situation:

Contact your mortgage servicer
http://www.makinghomeaffordable.gov/contact_servicer.html

Speak to a HUD-approved housing counselor for free.
http://www.makinghomeaffordable.gov/counselor.html

Who services your loan? (easy to use links to find out quickly below)

Does Fannie Mae service your loan?:
http://www.fanniemae.com/loanlookup/

Does Freddi Mac service your loan?:
https://ww3.freddiemac.com/corporate/

Consider all your options and consult an attorney.

HAFA proposed revisions: http://kathleeninarizona.com/archive_details.php?arch=1040

Bank of America to Halt foreclosure notices in AZ AGAIN - 1st time Judicial States/2nd time Non-Judicial States - AZ is BOTH! GETS HIT TWICE!

The first round of foreclosures halted by Bank of America were in the Judicial States, now the Non-Judicial States are being halted due to the Robo-Signing crisis. Arizona is both! (a judicial and non-judicial state). Not good, Arizona has 3 of the 4 rising foreclosure rates amoung others like California & Nevada. The halt in October caused delays in inventory coming to the market (which BOFA holds about 23% of the share of lender owned property here).

"The prolonged curtailment in NOD (notices of default) volume will lead to fewer foreclosure completions in 2011 than forecast," notes mortgage consultant Mark Hanson. "After four months of total uncertainty over the entire foreclosure process nationwide, it will have consequences on the mortgage, housing, and related sectors."

Hanson says distressed loan pipelines are "poised to get out of control beginning in Q1"

Understanding the difference
Simply stated, the non-judicial foreclosure process starts with a Notice of Trustee Sale recorded with the county. The foreclosure process is done outside of the judicial system and the home is sold at a Trustee Sale 91 days after the notice is recorded. Unless, the homeowner is able to come to terms (reinstate) with the mortgage lender prior to the trustee sale, the home will be sold. The judicial foreclosure process is a civil lawsuit filed in the court system by the mortgage holder against the borrower. Once the mortgage holder obtains a judgment, the court will direct the mortgaged property to be sold to satisfy the judgment. The property will be sold by the County Sheriff by conducting an auction. There is no right of redemption once a Trustee Sale occurs, but there is a redemption period prior to a Sheriff Sale. The borrower can pay the entire balance of the mortgage and may even have certain statutory rights of redemption after the Sheriff sale.
(A.R.S. 33-807, 33-808, 33-809 and A.R.S. 33-721, 33-752, and 33-725)

Read more:
http://kathleeninarizona.com/archive_details.php?arch=1035

Canadians will have tougher mortgage rules begining March 18th

TORONTO - Canada is tightening mortgage rules over concerns that Canadians are taking on too much debt, the country's finance minister announced Monday.
Finance Minister Jim Flaherty said the maximum amortization period for government-insured mortgages will be shortened to 30 years from 35 years.
Ottawa is also lowering the limit on how much money Canadians can borrow using their homes as equity to 85 percent of the value, from 90.

The new rules go into effect March 18.

read more: http://kathleeninarizona.com/archive_details.php?arch=1032