Courtesy of National Association of Home Builders
For those whose homeownership hopes have been dampened or temporarily derailed by the housing downturn and economic recession - the people wondering if this is a good time to buy - the answer is simple: Yes. It's a very good time to buy.
Today's market, coupled with a tax credit of up to $8,000 for first-time home buyers, near-record low mortgage interest rates and ample inventory, provides an unprecendented window of opportunity for qualified prospective home buyers. In fact, there may never be another buyer's market as good as today's.
In landmark economic stimulus legislation, Congress has provided an outstanding opportunity for first-time home buyers with enactment of an $8,000 tax credit for single taxpayers with incomes up to $75,000 and married couples with incomes up to $150,000. Partial credits of less than $8,000 are available for individual taxpayers with incomes up to $95,000 and for married taxpayers with incomes up to $170,000.
But time is of the essence to take advantage of this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Only homes purchased on or after January 1, 2009 and before December 1, 2009 are eligible for the tax credit.
For more information check out the official website: http:\\www.federalhousingtaxcredit.com or call Hartland Homes 477-6668.
Thursday, March 12, 2009
Monday, March 9, 2009
Worried About Your Credit?
Are you worried about your credit history? Just about everyone has something in their past credit that is less than perfect. The most important thing is to learn what is on your report, determine what impact that information has on your credit rating, and work on repairing and restoring any damage that may have been done.
Mortgage loan options are rated by credit, labeled like school grades - "A" credit is the best, then down to A-, B, C, etc. Even if you do not have an A credit rating, I can let you know what your options are if you fall into an A- or lower category. The rates are generally going to be higher, and may require a down payment. If you determine that you are not satisfied with this type of financing, then together we can map out what you need to do with your credit and finances for the next six to twelve months in order to qualify for an A credit loan.
There are three main credit bureaus that most creditors (such as credit card companies, banks, leasing companies, etc) provide information to on a monthly basis. Each month, your credit holders report information to the credit bureaus about your current balance, minimum payment requirements, and credit history. If you need specific information from one of the major credit bureaus, following is the contact information for each of them:
Experian Information Service (XPN)PO Box 2002Allen, TX 75013(888) 397-3742
TransUnion (TUC)PO Box 1000Chester, PA 79022(800) 916-8800
Equifax Information Services (EFX)PO Box 740243Atlanta, GA 30374(800) 685-1111
For a credit report and analysis, please call Deb Melichar at 420-2380, Hamilton Lending, Lincoln, NE Or a Hartland Homes representative today! 477-6668
Mortgage loan options are rated by credit, labeled like school grades - "A" credit is the best, then down to A-, B, C, etc. Even if you do not have an A credit rating, I can let you know what your options are if you fall into an A- or lower category. The rates are generally going to be higher, and may require a down payment. If you determine that you are not satisfied with this type of financing, then together we can map out what you need to do with your credit and finances for the next six to twelve months in order to qualify for an A credit loan.
There are three main credit bureaus that most creditors (such as credit card companies, banks, leasing companies, etc) provide information to on a monthly basis. Each month, your credit holders report information to the credit bureaus about your current balance, minimum payment requirements, and credit history. If you need specific information from one of the major credit bureaus, following is the contact information for each of them:
Experian Information Service (XPN)PO Box 2002Allen, TX 75013(888) 397-3742
TransUnion (TUC)PO Box 1000Chester, PA 79022(800) 916-8800
Equifax Information Services (EFX)PO Box 740243Atlanta, GA 30374(800) 685-1111
For a credit report and analysis, please call Deb Melichar at 420-2380, Hamilton Lending, Lincoln, NE Or a Hartland Homes representative today! 477-6668
Friday, March 6, 2009
US housing crisis 'exaggerated', focused on only four states
US housing crisis 'exaggerated', focused on only four states
Geoff Elliott, Washington correspondent March 05, 2009
Article from: The Australian
THE breadth of the US housing crisis for the average American is being overstated, according to a study released yesterday.
While foreclosures have booted millions of Americans from their homes, the study from the University of Virginia shows the trouble is mostly focused on four states -- California, Florida, Arizona and Nevada -- where home prices were the most overheated in the US housing boom.
Although there are pockets of substantial declines, claims that overall housing values have plummeted nationwide are exaggerated, they say. "In the Washington, DC metropolitan area, for example, prices have barely changed," the authors wrote.
In the University of Virginia study of 50 states, 35 metropolitan areas and 236 counties, the analysis indicated that "66 per cent of potential housing value losses in 2008 and subsequent years may be in California".
Then there was another 21 per cent in Florida, Nevada and Arizona -- meaning those four states made up about 87 per cent of national declines.
"California had only 10 per cent of the nation's housing units, but it had 34 per cent of foreclosures in 2008," say the report's authors, William Lucy and Jeff Herlitz. They say California was vulnerable to foreclosures because the median value of owner-occupied housing in 2007 was 8.3 times the median family income, while the 2007 national average was only 3.2 times higher than median family income.
Another vulnerability to foreclosures was seen in the Los Angeles metropolitan area, where over 20 per cent of mortgage-holders in each county were paying at least 50 per cent of their income in housing-related costs.
They add that the number of foreclosures usually were lower in central cities than in some suburban counties, probably due to less demand in those suburbs.
The study notes the huge run-up in housing prices in California created opportunities for large gains for home buyers if price increases continued. "Thus, more households may have been attracted to potential gains, worried, perhaps, that they would be priced out of the home buying market if they did not act quickly," they said of the speculative bubble that emerged. They added that lenders such as former US mortgage giant Countrywide, which specialised in no-principal, interest-only and no-income check loans, got their start in California and focused there.
"But even in California, enormous variations existed among jurisdictions, such as in the San Francisco area, where (the outlying) Solano County had 3.69 per cent of housing units in foreclosure in November 2008, while only 0.24 per cent of housing units were in foreclosure in the City of San Francisco -- a 15 to 1 difference," Lucy and Herlitz say.
And of the financial crisis, the authors note that potential losses in housing values from 2008 foreclosures in all 50 states -- if values decline to 2000 levels -- were less than one-third of the $US350 billion provided to banks and insurance companies to cope with losses in mortgage-backed securities, Lucy and Herlitz add.
"Damage to the balance sheets of large banks and (insurer) AIG occurred not mainly from losses on foreclosed residential mortgages, but because of borrowing short-range to buy long-range derivatives and from selling credit default swaps insuring derivatives backed by mortgage payments," they write. "These financial manipulations had high-speed forward gears, but when the housing bubble burst, the banks and AIG discovered they had neglected to create a reverse gear with which they could separate foreclosed properties from some forms of mortgage-backed securities."
Geoff Elliott, Washington correspondent March 05, 2009
Article from: The Australian
THE breadth of the US housing crisis for the average American is being overstated, according to a study released yesterday.
While foreclosures have booted millions of Americans from their homes, the study from the University of Virginia shows the trouble is mostly focused on four states -- California, Florida, Arizona and Nevada -- where home prices were the most overheated in the US housing boom.
Although there are pockets of substantial declines, claims that overall housing values have plummeted nationwide are exaggerated, they say. "In the Washington, DC metropolitan area, for example, prices have barely changed," the authors wrote.
In the University of Virginia study of 50 states, 35 metropolitan areas and 236 counties, the analysis indicated that "66 per cent of potential housing value losses in 2008 and subsequent years may be in California".
Then there was another 21 per cent in Florida, Nevada and Arizona -- meaning those four states made up about 87 per cent of national declines.
"California had only 10 per cent of the nation's housing units, but it had 34 per cent of foreclosures in 2008," say the report's authors, William Lucy and Jeff Herlitz. They say California was vulnerable to foreclosures because the median value of owner-occupied housing in 2007 was 8.3 times the median family income, while the 2007 national average was only 3.2 times higher than median family income.
Another vulnerability to foreclosures was seen in the Los Angeles metropolitan area, where over 20 per cent of mortgage-holders in each county were paying at least 50 per cent of their income in housing-related costs.
They add that the number of foreclosures usually were lower in central cities than in some suburban counties, probably due to less demand in those suburbs.
The study notes the huge run-up in housing prices in California created opportunities for large gains for home buyers if price increases continued. "Thus, more households may have been attracted to potential gains, worried, perhaps, that they would be priced out of the home buying market if they did not act quickly," they said of the speculative bubble that emerged. They added that lenders such as former US mortgage giant Countrywide, which specialised in no-principal, interest-only and no-income check loans, got their start in California and focused there.
"But even in California, enormous variations existed among jurisdictions, such as in the San Francisco area, where (the outlying) Solano County had 3.69 per cent of housing units in foreclosure in November 2008, while only 0.24 per cent of housing units were in foreclosure in the City of San Francisco -- a 15 to 1 difference," Lucy and Herlitz say.
And of the financial crisis, the authors note that potential losses in housing values from 2008 foreclosures in all 50 states -- if values decline to 2000 levels -- were less than one-third of the $US350 billion provided to banks and insurance companies to cope with losses in mortgage-backed securities, Lucy and Herlitz add.
"Damage to the balance sheets of large banks and (insurer) AIG occurred not mainly from losses on foreclosed residential mortgages, but because of borrowing short-range to buy long-range derivatives and from selling credit default swaps insuring derivatives backed by mortgage payments," they write. "These financial manipulations had high-speed forward gears, but when the housing bubble burst, the banks and AIG discovered they had neglected to create a reverse gear with which they could separate foreclosed properties from some forms of mortgage-backed securities."
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