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Thought for the Month: “A difference of opinion is not a difference of principle”
Thomas Jefferson
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HUD Requiring Two Appraisals for Jumbo Loans
Mortgages that exceed the Jan. 1 conforming loan limit of $417,000 may require two appraisals, HUD says in a mortgage letter (2008-09). A second appraisal is required for these loans if the loan-to-value ratio (excluding mortgage insurance premium) equals or exceeds 95 percent and the property is in a declining market. A declining market is determined by the appraiser or the lender.
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Mortgage Debt Cancellation Relief - H.R. 3648 - Public Law 110-142 General Information and Provisions
Individuals who are relieved of their obligation to pay some portion of a mortgage debt on a principal residence between January 1, 2007 and December 31, 2009 will not be required to pay income tax on any amount that is forgiven.
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Thought for the Month:
“Every man should be born again on the first day of January. Start with a fresh page. Take up one hole more in the buckle if necessary, or let down one, according to circumstances; but on the first of January let every man gird himself once more, with his face to the front, and take no interest in the things that were and are past.”
~Henry Ward Beecher
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Are you willing to forget what you have done for other people, and to remember what other people have done for you ... to remember the weakness and loneliness of people who are growing old ... Are you willing to believe that love is the strongest thing in the world ... stronger than hate, stronger than evil, stronger than death... Then you can keep Christmas! But you can never keep it alone.
-Henry van Dyke
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House Committee Passes FHA Reform Bill
The House Financial Services Committee passed H.R. 1852, a bill to reform the FHA mortgage insurance program. The bill increases the FHA loan limits nationwide, eliminates the 3% downpayment requirement for first time homebuyers, streamlines FHA purchases of condominiums, allows FHA to risk-based price loans, eliminates the cap on the number of reverse mortgages FHA can insure, and increases the loan limits for multifamily properties in high cost areas.
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In our golden land where everything seems to reinvent itself, the REALTOR community should be keenly aware of new laws and regulations which can impact the value of private property.
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Agents of Equity Purchasers - Existing law effectively (and inappropriately) precludes legitimate agents from representing investor purchasers of properties that are in foreclosure. The prohibition is the inadvertent result of requiring buyers’ agents to purchase a bond for the sale at twice the value of the property. This bill will allow alternate means of demonstrating financial responsibility; either by maintaining E&O insurance in a similar amount or by certifying that the licensee is in good standing with the DRE and that consumers have access to the Real Estate Recovery Fund for fraud that he or she might commit.
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Please join your CVAR colleagues for our Lincoln Day Breakfast on February 12th. Our breakfast will feature the newly elected members of the California Assembly – Anthony Adams – AD 59th, Charles Calderon – AD 58, Michael Eng – AD 49 and Dr. Ed Hernandez – AD 57. The breakfast will begin at 7:30 am at Blake’s Restaurant in Covina. Cost for CVAR members is $10.00 per person. Please RSVP to Bill Ruh – 909-305-8880 by Monday February 5th.
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The Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight (OFHEO) announced that the maximum 2007 conforming loan limits will remain at 2006 levels. The conforming loan limit defines the maximum mortgage size that Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac can buy or guarantee in the residential secondary mortgage market. A mortgage beyond that limit is in the jumbo market, which is reserved to private sector mortgage lenders. The new conforming loan limits are:
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