Available First Time Home Buyer Programs in California

CalPlus with Zero Interest Program :  This is a FHA loan with an exclusive down payment assistance program "ZIP" which offers to qualified buyers 3.5% for their down payment. The ZIP program defers your payment with a zero interest second mortgage that is only available with CalPlus First mortgage. 

ECTP Program: The" Extra Credit Teacher Home Purchase Program" is a deferred payment subordinate loan with simple interest charged.  Qualified teachers can use this for down payment assistance with eligible CalHFA first Mortgage loan.

CHF ACCESS Homebuyer Program: Put less than 1% down. With the Program, it may be possible to finance up to 99.5% of a home's purchase price.

Southern California Home Finance Authority (SCHFA): SCHFA offers a 4% down payment and closing cost assistance program which comes in the form of a grant and does not have to be paid back.

California Housing Down Payment Assistance (CHDAP): CHDAP offers a 3% down payment or closing costs assistance with deferred payments.

CHF Platinum Home Buyer Program Down Payment Assistance : This program is not limited to first time home buyers and is a grant of 3, 4 or up to 5% which can be used towards your down payment and/or closing cost. This is a forgivable grant and not a second mortgage.

Mortgage Credit Certificate Program(MCC) : The MCC Program offers First Time Home Buyers a yearly tax credit for as long as you own your home and carry a mortgage. This credit is for 15% of your annual mortgage interest. Using this program allows you to qualify for a higher purchase price.

CalSTRS Program : Originally expected to roll out in September the program is still on hold so come back to discover its status.

*** FHA UPDATE*** : You can now purchase a home if you have only recently reached your one anniversary of having filed a Bankruptcy or having sold your home as a Short Sale or if you lost your home to a Foreclosure. Your FICO score can be as low as 500!

For any real estate questions please call or text message me at: (323) 316-3300

Short Sale after 8-1-13

         "Many homeowners who are potential Short Sale candidates have been holding on and trying to work out a loan modification with their bank or reinstate their loan.

         Unfortunately, as well-intended as this is, it is working against many homeowners in this current appreciating market.  The banks and mortgage servicers know that even if they incur the costs of foreclosure (one of the biggest motivators for them to approve a Short Sale), that in an appreciating market, time is on their side and they can offset attorney fees, property rehab, etc. when the property value increases. 

          One of the more frustrating initiatives of Fannie Mae in particular is their stated position of countering all offers on Short Sales at 10-15% over market value.  Well, obviously this guarantees an appraisal issue even if they can find a buyer willing to overpay for the property. 

          If the Short Sale is not approved, then Fannie Mae in this case repo’s the property and sells it as an REO (foreclosure).  They are consistently overpricing the REO’s congruent with their approach when the property was a Short Sale, but, oh by the way, once it’s an REO, any buyer can purchase it with Fannie Mae Homepath financing… and guess what, there is no appraisal condition!!  See the strategy here?

          Specific changes got into effect on 8-1-13.

          On it’s face, the specifics of the release (that apply to agents and homeowners – many of the changes apply to the services  are simple enough: properties must stay on the market for 5 days + a weekend before Fannie or Freddie will consider a Short Sale.  The implications however are that Fannie and Freddie are continuing to demand sale prices that are unrealistically higher than market value (10-15%), thus the additional marketing requirement.

          On a positive note, they have further streamlined the approval process, so if they are going to approve, the process will be a little less “painful.”  

The purpose of all this is to: 

1. Quickly evaluate which sale type Fannie and Freddie will profit from more: Short Sale or Foreclosure;

2. Clear the properties they are not going to approve so they can focus on getting the highest dollar amount on the properties they will approve.

The bottom line to all of this is: if you are in a position where you think you may have to Short Sale, give me a call so you can proactively decide what your next steps are.  Time is winding down on the non-taxability of forgiven debt (was extended to 12-31-13), and banks and servicers are doing all they can to take advantage of the appreciating market… which many times spells foreclosure for the homeowner."

LA Sales Statistic 2012 vs. 2011

Original one please follow this link:
http://forms.themls.com/forms/la_times_news/03_03_13_LA_Times_Article.pdf

LA Sales Statistics

Single- Family Homes/ Market Map/ Sales Volume 2011 vs. 2010

CA foreclosure activity

As both jobs and home sales remained scarce, 34% of all California home resale activity in the fourth quarter of 2011 was attributed to real estate owned (REO) inventory — approximately the same as in the prior quarter and down from an even higher 38% one year earlier.

The above chart tracks the number of California residential properties resold quarterly by lenders who acquire ownership by foreclosure. These properties are also commonly called “Real Estate Owned” properties (REOs).

61,517 notices of default (NODs) were recorded in California in the fourth quarter of 2011, down from 69,799 one year earlier. The largest numerical drops in NODs issued took place in the counties of Riverside (-871), San Bernardino (-917), Los Angeles (-1,833) and Alameda (-543).

These charts track the number of Notices of Default (NODs) and trustee’s deeds (TDs) recorded quarterly in California from 1994 to the present, along with the estimated percentage of NODs that have actually gone to foreclosure quarterly over the last four years.

Recording an NOD is the lender’s first step in the foreclosure process; the recorded trustee’s deed is the final step, at which point the property is placed in the Multiple Listing Service (MLS) as a real estate owned property (REO). The entire process takes place over a period of approximately four to five months, although this time period has recently been extended by government interference at both state and federal levels. As a consequence of this interference (designed to postpone NOD recordings and reduce trustee’s sales and evictions) we will not know the full impact of recent NODs on the total percentage of NODs which go to a trustee’s sale (and thus become REOs) until 2013.

Trustee’s sales took 31,260 homes in the fourth quarter of 2011. This is down 20% from 38,895 in the third quarter, and 12% lower than the 35,431 home foreclosure sales one year earlier. The drop is a positive sign for stabilizing the real estate market, although the still-high level of NODs suggests that many more foreclosures are still to come, and will continue for several years.

Low-tier neighborhoods continue to see the highest concentration of both NODs and foreclosure sales, with fourth quarter foreclosures of six homes for every 1,000 in ZIP codes with prices lower than $200,000. In ZIP codes with prices above $800,000, only 0.7 NODs were recorded per 1,000 homes, evidence of significant inequality in debt and employment between income tiers.

It now takes an average of ten months following the recording of the NOD to complete a trustee’s foreclosure sale in California. One year earlier, foreclosure proceedings averaged nine months in duration. The extended processing time is seen as a product of lender backlogs, the pursuit of loan modifications and shortsale approvals to circumvent foreclosure, as reported by Dataquick.

An estimated 30% of homes sold at trustee’s sales were bought by individuals other than the lender or government groups — up from 22% last year. This third-party high-bidder situation indicates speculators remain optimistic about future resale pricing.

Two quarters do not a trend make. The fourth quarter of 2011 marked a second three-month drop in foreclosures, but it is still much too early to determine whether these declines will be enough to put a stop to the bumpy plateau California has experienced since 2008 in this jobless Lesser Depression. The still-high number of NODs is evidence of more foreclosures to come (about 60% will go to trustee’s sale), as lenders make good on their promise earlier this year to increase foreclosure efficiency and clear out some of the massive backlog of serious delinquencies.

Foreclosures are sure to continue at or near their current high rate, since home prices will not rise significantly for several years and a large percentage of the 2,500,000 negative equity homeowners in California, both with and without jobs, will eventually become frustrated and default. Negative equity properties are damaging to society and must be promptly cleared out by lenders or owners in order to put an end to the drag they create for the economy— a process not likely to be concluded until roughly 2015-2016. In the meantime, lenders will work through the obscure shadow inventory of mortgaged homes backlogged as delinquent and in need of foreclosure.

To get the California economy recovering and restore strength and stability to the real estate market, it is imperative lenders quickly clear out the delinquencies on their books, either by repairing those defective loans with cramdowns for employed owners or, more brutally, by foreclosing.

“California foreclosure activity drops,” from Dataquick

Loan Modification to Avoid Foreclosure

9 Options Facing Foreclosure

 If you’re facing foreclosure, then you are probably under stress. You don’t know what is going to happen. How long will it take before the bank kicks us out on the street? Will I owe my lender any? Will I ever get my life back? That’s why I put this blog together. You need to know what your options are. So, let’s go thru them here.

Option #1: Do nothing and the lender forecloses on the house. Your credit report will show this damaging information for years to come. Please be aware that the foreclosure process can take some time. I’ve seen it take some lenders up to a year to foreclose on a house. Some banks have better and faster process and can get a foreclosure done in 3-4 months. This is certainly not the best option!
Option #2: Deed-In-Lieu of Foreclosure. A “Deed-in-Lieu” is disposition option in which you voluntarily deed your home to the lender in exchange for a release from all obligations under the mortgage. It has certain eligibility requirements and may not be accepted from homeowners who can financially make their mortgage payments. What benefit does it give you? None. Do not consider this option unless the lender gives you something in return
Option #3: Loan Modification to reduce your mortgage payment. If you want to keep your home, then it is a good option. Many lenders will reduce your interest rate, or extend the term of the loan. To qualify, you often have to send your lender all of your pay stubs, bank statements, and other financial documentation. If you need loan modification kit, let me know.
Option #4: Reinstatement. This is when you pay the lender entire default amount plus interest, attorney’s fees, late fees, taxes. After that you start making normal monthly payments. This restores your account to its former current status. The only problem is that it requires you to come up with all the back payments and other fees.
Option #5: Payoff or Refinance is completely pay off your old loan plus any default amount and fees. However, the new loan may have a higher interest rate and there may be a pre-payment penalty because of the recent default, plus your credit history and score. If you owe more than your home is worth, then it will be impossible to find a lender willing to pay everyone off. This is a good option if you still have equity in your home.
Option #6: Forbearance is an agreement made between you and your bank in which your bank agrees not to exercise its legal right to foreclose on your home and in which you agree to a payment plan that will bring you loan current over a certain short time period. Information will be required from your bank to show that you are able to meet the new payment plan requirements.
Option #7: Rent the property. This is a good way to earn some extra money. However, many mortgages are written with legal clauses that force you to forward any rent proceeds to the lender. In addition, governments have recently written laws forbidding you form renting a property unless the mortgage is current.
Option #8: Bankruptcy is an option that can liquidate debt and/ or allow some time to stay in your home This could be a great option for a fresh start. There are several types of bankruptcy and you would need to consult a qualified Bankruptcy attorney for more information…
Chapter 7- [Liquidation]: Completely settles personal debt.
Chapter 13- [Wage Earner Plan]: Payments are made toward a plan to pay off debts in 3-5 years. Many people find themselves stuck under the same burden of debt that caused the problem in the first place. Only this time, they have to pay all the extra costs associated with the bankruptcy.
Chapter 11- [Business Reorganization]: A business debt solution.
Option #9: Sale.
Sell with Equity: If your home has equity (money left over after all loans and monetary encumbrances are paid), you may sell your home without lender approval through a conventional home sale. In this case, you could get cash from the sale proceeds.
 Short Sale. If you can’t afford your house anymore or your property value is upside down, then this is a good option to consider. A short sale is when you owe more than your home is worth. You sell it with the assistance of a licensed real estate agent. It costs you nothing. The agent gets paid by your lender. It is well known that a lender will net more money on a short sale than taking a home back thru foreclosure. Why? A lender saves money on interest, attorney fees, and other related foreclosure costs.

If you have any specific questions or need help to evaluate your situation to see which options you qualify for and which one will most benefit you and your family give me a call at (323) 316-3300. Remember I’m here to help you in any way that I can.