Mabel Davis\’s Blog

Are you behind in payments?   Are you worried about losing your home to foreclosure?   Have you tried to work with the bank to find a way to stay in your home, and find out you don’t qualify for a loan modification.  

 Then a Short Sale Might Be Right for you.

 A short sale is a way to help you avoid forclosure, if you are no longer able to remain in your home.   A short sale will help you sell your home for less, and settle your debt with the lender.   The lender must agree to the price that the home will be sold for and the terms of the offer.

 As a home owner you will need to provide the following to determine if you are eligible for a short sale:

If you decide that a short sale is for you, or you would like to find out if this is the right way to go, feel free to contact me and we can discuss your options and contact your lender.  

Over the past year I have helped more then 10 home owners avoid foreclosure.   It cost you nothing to schedule a time to discuss your situation.

 If we determine that a short sale is the way to go and we list your home, I offer a system that will keep you and the bank informed throughout the process.   You will be able to log in anytime and see the status of your listing, and then the process of your short sale after we get an offer.

Contact me today to avoid foreclosure.   A short sale will hurt your credit but not as bad or as long as  a foreclosure.  

I can help you pick up the pieces and move on, and get a fresh start.

Nice bricker in a Beautiful setting in Tulpehocken Schools. This rancher sits on over 6 acres with a huge barn that has 5 horse stalls. Enjoy horses with in the fenced in areas and plant crops if you want on the large plowed area. Basement area is finished with a recreatonal room, powder room, and bedroom. Coal stove in basement keeps the heating cost lown on this home. Many areas of this home has been recently updated and remodeled. Schedule your showing today. The barn and horse stalls need a little work. 1 year home warranty.   For more information click here

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Stunning and immaculate Rancher features main level Living room, Huge cathedral ceiling Family room with corner stone FP, tiled kitchen with Bay window looking out over rear yard landscape, formal dining room off kitchen leads out to Newer Sunroom, 3 Spacious bedrooms with hardwood floors, full bath in MBR as well as hall bath, walk-up attic for extra storage, huge finished lower level with corner stone wall and stone fireplace (just needs gas log hook-up),bar with all stools staying, workshop area, full bath, new heating and hot water system, separate laundry and storage, basement waterproof system along back wall, oversized two car garage, gorgeous rear yard and in-ground pool with all equipment and pool house. The pool is a Chemical free Caribean Clear pool syatem. This is a home not to miss!! Less than a 1/4 mile to shopping, country club, and eateries as well as same distance to Rt 422 and minutes to Reading and King of Prussia. Your dream ranch home awaits!! Neighborhood is called Golfshire Hills

For more information Click Here

RIGHT 1: The right to view your credit report.
This portion of the law requires that the credit reporting agencies supply you with a full report on your credit transactions at any time you request one. There is no charge for the first credit report you request annually. For every subsequent credit report you request, the credit reporting agencies are allowed to charge a reasonable fee. However, if you have recently been rejected for credit you are entitled to a free credit report even if you have already requested one that year.

 RIGHT 2: The right to know who has inquired about your credit.
The law allows you to know every bank, credit card company, employer, etc. who has requested a copy of your credit report. This even includes all the times the credit reporting agency has pulled your file.

 RIGHT 3: The right to request verification of information you believe is incorrect.
This allows you to have a negative entry checked. This guarantees that every time you tell a credit reporting agency that an item is incorrect, they will investigate the item. Without this portion of the law, the credit bureaus would be able to refuse to investigate your disputes.

 RIGHT 4: The right to insert missing data into your credit file.
Often you will have credit granted to you that never makes its way into your credit report. This portion of the law allows you to report all this good credit information to the credit reporting agencies and have it entered into your credit report.

 RIGHT 5: The right to automatically remove information from your credit report
 that is over seven years old (10 for bankruptcy).
This guarantees that past financial indiscretions do not follow you for the rest of your life.

 RIGHT 6: The right to place your personal statement in your credit report.
Some people have negative credit due to extraordinary events such as loss of a job, sickness, divorce, etc. This law allows you to have a written statement of 100 words or fewer placed in your credit report. This can be used to explain to future creditors what caused the bad credit and why it was a one-time occurrence.

 RIGHT 7: The right to privacy of the information in your credit report from anyone other
 than legitimate members of credit reporting agency.
This states that no one can look at your credit report without your permission. That is why creditors have you sign a form allowing them to examine your credit report. The only exception to this right is the credit reporting agencies. They are allowed to look at your credit report without your permission as long as it is for legitimate business purposes.

 RIGHT 8: The right to have your credit report transferred rom one area to another any
 time you have a relocation.
This provision of the law guarantees that your credit history follows you wherever you go. This allows your hard-earned good credit to follow you all over the United States. Unfortunately, it also means that any bad credit you have also follows you across the country.

 RIGHT 9: The right to use the small claims court system to resolve any disputes with the
 credit bureaus about incorrect or inaccurate information in your credit report.
This gives you the right to your day in court. If something on your credit report is inaccurate and you can’t get it repaired through the credit repair process, you have the right to present your evidence in a court of law to resolve the dispute.

 RIGHT 10: The right to know exactly why you were refused credit.
This means the creditor who refused you credit must inform you exactly why you were turned down. This request must be made by you to the creditor within 10 days of your being turned down.

We’re hearing more and more of people looking for Rent to Own, Lease Purchase, or a Lease to Own.   With more homeowners owning more then what the home is worth this might be an option for them to consider.   Or if you are a buyer and your credit score might be a few points shy, a lease purchase might help you until you get the few points that are needed.  

Whether you just short saled your home to avoid foreclosure and are looking to rent for a few years till you can purchase again (typically 2-3 years) or your credit score is a few points short and you need time to work on improving your score until you can get a loan, or you need time to save more money for a down payment, then a lease purchase might be helpful to you.  

In the meantime, for most people the alternative is renting.   Often, people will sign a two or three-year rental agreement and plan to buy a new home after the rental period is up.   But is some cases there might be another option, which can be a good one: a rent-to-own agreement.

Now your probably thinking how does this work?

Often referred to as a lease-purchase option or a rent-to-own agreement is a rental agreement (lease) combined with an option to purchase the property within a specific period of time (usually 1-3 years) and at a specific price.

In exchange for the option to purchase the home, the renter pays what is known as an  option fee “ typically 1-5% of the agreed-on purchase price.   Along with this  option fee, there is also a rent premium (an additional amount  that is paid above the  typical rent amount.   At the time the buyer decides  to purchase the property, the option fee and  all of the rent  premium  will be credited to the purchase price.   If after the  specific amount of time has passed that was determined at the beginning of the agreement, and the renter decides not to purchase the property and exercise his option right, then  he/she will forfeit both the option amount paid and the  rental premium.  

The features of the rent-to-own contract, according to œThe Mortgage Professor (Jack M. Guttentag, a professor of finance at the Wharton School) include:

• œThe sale price of the house and the rent are market-determined, yet subject to negotiation just as in a straight purchase or rental transaction.

• œA lease purchase also may give the renter/buyer the right to assign the option to buy. This will usually have considerable value to the buyer, because it means that the option can be sold in the event that it has value but the buyer is not able to exercise it. It is a cost to the seller for the same reason.

Now that we know what a lease purchase or rent to own agreement is, let’s consider the pro’s and con’s of it.

A longer option period, like two or three years might look great to give you more time to improve your credit score or get more money for a down payment, there is also more risk of loss.   For example, if you have a one year agreement compared to a three year agreement, and you decide not to exercise your right to purchase you will lose more money with a three year agreement with the extra you have paid in rent premium.

Now a longer agreement would be good if you do exercise your right to purchase, with having more money for closing and more equity in the home.  

A lease purchase  agreement can be particularly compelling for people who are unable to finance a home purchase because of a recent short sale or low credit score.   Now the risk and gamble you take would be that you would be able to increase your score in the amount of time of the agreement.  

Make sure you read and understand the  contract very carefully to make sure you are confident you can live up to all the terms, such as paying your rent on time, every time.

If your a home buyer or seller in the Eastern Pennsylvania area and are considering a lease purchase, give me a call to help you guide you through the process.

The lease-option agreement should give the right for the buyer to have a full property inspection.

A lease option deal should cover and include everything that would be included with a traditional sale and contract, in addition to the penalties and recourse should one of the parties default in their end of the agreement.

Make sure you get everything in writing and included in a contract to cover both the buyer and the seller within the deal.

Most important, make sure you understand everything you sign.   I would highly recommend getting a real estate agent or a lawyer to review and explain the lease purchase option and the agreement.

If done correctly, a lease purchase can be  a win-win for both the buyer and the seller.   But as with everything, buyer beware.

Know your Options

If your behind in your payments and facing foreclosure, then continue reading.   Your not alone.   Many are facing foreclosure in today’s economy.   Many people that are applying for loan modificaitons or doing short sales are  the type of people who have always paid all their bills on time.

Stop to think for a minute.   When you made the agreement to pay on your mortgage, your job or business was going well.   You didn’t predict that the market’s bottom was going to fall out.    If you are one that took an adjustable mortgage,  you probally planned on the interest right going up  a  little.   You had a plan for that if it happened.   Your would cut back and eat out less, cut out on other luxuries, or maybe even pick up some overtime hours.    I’m sure when you thought  this  out at the time of taking the mortgage, you never planned on being out of work or maybe losing your business.   Did you plan on your investments, in either Real Esate or stocks getting cut in half the value?  

Now the time has come that you are facing this reality of being out of work, past due on your mortgage payments, and facing foreclosure.   Your home is worth less now then when your purchased it due to the declining market and you can’t even sell it and break even to get out of your loan.   Now what?

Reality. Could you have prevented the market from crashing?   No, your not  responsible for what has happened or will happen with the  market.   The market changed in a huge way and almost over night.   Right now about 1 in 4 homes are worth less  then what is owed on them.   So where does  leave you for options?  

Try and get a better job, or maybe even a part-time job.   This would solve or at least help with your problems if you are able to get a better job, or a part-time job.   If you have been searching and finding that better employment or a part-time job is hard to come by then what?

Foreclosure.   On the plus, and let me state a very small plus to this, would be that you can live in your home without making payements until the bank finally forecloses on your home and sell’s it at Sheriff Sale.   Now the big negative to this idea is that a foreclosure on your credit record will be there for a long time, and keep you from buying another home for at least 7-10 years.   Now if that isn’t a big enough negative, you could still owe the difference to the bank for what is owed compared to what the home was sold for.

The new debt relief bill has just been extended until 2012 so there may be some relief for you, especially if your loans are the original loans you secured when you purchased the property. Talk to your accountant and attorney before you make any decisions. I am neither and do not give that kind of advice.

Get a loan modification. The plus on this option is that if you are  offered an acceptable loan modification it will reduce your monthly payments. You can try and get the bank to lower the  principle balance and what  you actually  owe on your house, however this is very unlikely.

What you normally get is a lowered interest rate and whatever you haven™t paid is tacked onto the balance of the loan. If you hire a company to do a loan modificaiton for you there  is also a cost to do loan modification, usually $2500 or more.  

If you choose to have a loan modificaiton company work for you, remember they won’t tell you that alot of loans that have been successfully modified eventually end in foreclosure or a short sale.  

If you are considering this option, and when you recieve your modified loan, make sure you review it and take an honest look at if you can make the new modified payments.   If you answer no to this, then you need to look at either foreclosure or a short sale.   A short sale will almost always be a better choice.  

Do a Short Sale. In fact, the short sale process is anything but short. When an agent negotiates a short sale with a bank, they are dealing with someone that has huge stacks of files on their desk.   Remember if you are going to do a short sale, the people that your file is given to has other files that look just like the yours.   A short sale, normally takes  3 to 9 months and sometimes even  longer to complete.

The short sale is used to stop a foreclosure. During the short sale process the foreclosure is put on hold while we work to get the short sale through. Remember,  the foreclosure process will resume if you the seller doesn’t  cooperate and sign any and all necessary paperwork and let people in to do inspections, appraisal, and so on.    Foreclosure will also resume if the bank decides not to accept a short sale, this is why it is important for us to get the highest and best  price for the house, and make sure it is listed at or as close to market value as possible.    Most banks would consider accepting a short sale  because it  costs them less than going through a full foreclosure.

There is also zero cost to sell your home when we do a short sale. Of all the  short sales I have done, I always  negotiate all the fees of selling a home  with the bank. This saves you, the seller from having to bring not even a dime to the table for closing.  

The biggest benefit to doing a short sale is the opportunity for a fresh start. Most  sellers can be back in the housing market within 24 months after doing their short sale.

If you would like more information on short sales, loan modifications and foreclosures in Pennsylvania free free to contact me either by phone or email.   Click here to  find useful information on my website about this also.

Highview at Temple Heights  

MODEL HOME OPEN SUNDAYS 1-4 PM and anytime by appointment

Starting at $164,900

The neighborhood that I’m going to feature under the Fave Neighborhood section is Highview at Temple Heights.

Highview is located in Berks County, Pennsylvania.   Highview is a  charming community that has 24 semi-detached homes.   The  amazing views of the Blue Mountains from your deck.

Located in the mountain foothills in Muhlenberg Township, Highview Estates combines the serenity of beautiful mountain settings with contemporary city conveniences. Experience charming hillside vistas and see-for-miles views every time you step out onto your patio or terrace. The best part is that the natural setting outside will emanate inside because your home meets NAHB Green Building Guidelines, promoting energy, health and resource efficiency. Highview is truly the community  that fits your life. Your Budget. Your Dreams. Nearly sold out, so schedule your showing today!  

 Description/Features of Entry:

• Best value in the Reading area with spectacular views located in Muhlenberg School District
• 3 BR, 2.5 BA, 1 car garage with opportunity to personalize your home
• Charming community of 24 semi-detached homes with easy access to retail, medical, hospitals, educational facilities, major highways and MORE!
• Almost 2,000 Sq. Ft. of living space, including home entertainment area w/walkout lower level
• Public water and sewer, high efficiency propane heat
• Spacious open floor plan with lots of flexibility designed to appeal to a multitude of lifestyles
• Gourmet kitchen island included
• 10 year structural warranty
• GOTTA’ CHECK THIS OUT!

DIRECTIONS: Route 222 to Kutztown Road (at Wal-Mart) in Temple. Left on Hay Road to community on right. See Sign. Only .8 miles from Route 222.

Featured Model Lot 17 Parade Of Homes Winner  
 

Now available for SALE!
Custom decorating & paint.   Many upgrades
QUICK DELIVERY – Finished Walk-out Basement!
- Distinctive Open Floor Plan  
-1700+  SF  
- 3 bedroom, 2.5 bath
-  Gorgeous gourmet custom Kitchen with island/bar
$179,900

OTHER HOMES ARE ALSO AVAILABLE. STOP BY AND VIEW ALL AT OPEN HOUSE.
Mention this ad and get a builder credit on certain models.

You’re hearing about the Tax Credit all over, but wonder if you qualify for it and if so how it works.   Right now is a great time to jump in and use your tax credit before it runs out.   Right now there is a decrease in the prices of homes, and combine that with  historically low mortgage interest rates available today, makes it a good time to buy.   Add to the  equation,   the Home Buyers Tax Credit and it makes it a great time to buy.  

The  United States Federal Government was you to invest in a home.   To help you invest in a home, they have not only extended the  First Time Home Buyer Tax Credit, but also revised it in November 2009 to include first time home buyers as well as current home owners that have owned their home for 5 of the past 8 years.    Visit my website for more information on First Time Homebuyer’s and Buying a home.

Eligibility

The Home Buyer Tax Credit is now available to first time home buyers as well as existing homeowners.

What is a First Time Home Buyer?   The Tax Credit Program defines a First Time Home Buyer as someone who has not owned a home within the past three year.   First time Home Buyer’s credit remains the same, where they can get up to $8,000 tax credit.  

Who qualifies for the Existing Homeowner Credit?   The Tax Credit Program defines and existing Homeowner, as sone who is selling or have sold a primary residence, a place that you have occupied, for five of the past eight years.

Income Limits

Single home buyers with incomes up to $125,000 and married couples with a combined income up to $225,000 may receive the full benefit of the tax credit. Between $125,000 and $145,000 for single home buyers and $225,000 and $245,000, the credit begins to phase out, eligibility ceasing over $145,000 and $245,000.

There also is no purchase limit on the price that you can spend on a primary residence under the new Tax Credit.  

Deadline

The deadline for the  Home Buyer Tax Credit is  April 30, 2010.   This deadline is for a buyer to be under contract, and  they have until June 30,2010 to  close the deal to be eligiable for the tax credit.      

There is an exception to anyone that is members of the Armed Forces, or  some  federal employees, that are located and are serving outside the United States.   The deadline for people that meet these guidelines is  April 30, 2011.   Once again  you will have to be under contract by April 30, 2011 and close the deal by  June 30, 2011.

Note:   If you take the Home Buyer Tax Credit, and do not remain in the home for three or more years you will have to pay the credit back at the time sale of your home.   Most buyers will stay in a home on average for 5-7 years.  

Tax Credit Use as a Down Payment

In some states, getting a mortgage through the Housing Finance Agency might be eligable to use the tax credit as a down payment.   Check with either a loan officer or an agent if the state you are looking in participates or has a program like this.  

Welcome to Mabel Davis’s Blog! This blog will provide you with valuable information, tips, and general insight into the real estate market in West Lawn.