Short sales on the rise

Wed, 03/17/2010 - 04:23 — admin

Short sales on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac homes (that's 57% of U.S. mortgages) nearly quadrupled in the first nine months of 2009 compared with the same period in 2008. At the nation's largest mortgage servicers, short sales soared 165% to 74,513 in the first nine months of 2009 from the year-earlier period.

Resistance is softening. Banks and investors are increasingly willing to agree to a short sale as a less costly option to foreclosure.

Modular Mansion Madness

Sat, 03/13/2010 - 10:54 — admin

 

A prefabricated home for $2.5 million? Believe it or not, not only do they exist, but the market for these modular mansions is booming.

How to buy a short sale

Wed, 02/24/2010 - 15:22 — admin

 

Buying a short sale can be tremendously profitable, and the current condition of the market makes it a great time to buy.

A "short sale" is a home sale where the selling price is below the amount owed to the lender on the home. Lenders may agree to such a sale if foreclosure seems imminent.

Buying foreclosures - How to pick the right neighborhood?

Fri, 02/12/2010 - 17:15 — admin

Location, location, location.
We're all heard that song before, haven't we?

So the question becomes, how DO you choose the right neighborhood when looking for a new home? Sometimes the choice is made for you - Grandma lives in Lancaster, the wife wants to be near Mom, and Lancaster it is for the family. Or a job opportunity takes you to Chicago, in which case your options are still many - as long as they're within 40 miles of downtown.

Sometimes though, the options are wide open.

Why wait? Four reasons to buy a home now!

Thu, 02/11/2010 - 17:00 — admin

Why wait? Buy a home now!

Seriously, this is one of those times. You'll be kicking yourself down the road if you don't.

First of all, interest rates, currently at an all-time low in decades, are very likely to start creeping up later this year. The reason for this is that the Federal Reserve has been able to keep rates low by buying debt and mortgage-backed securities from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac - but that won't go on forever. Most likely is will stop after March, and then we'll see rates go up.