Underwater houses are heading further down, thanks, surprisingly enough, to a major contributor to the recovery of the housing market: the short sale. The problem for many people trying to get a good value on their home – either for refinancing or for sales purposes – is that for every 30 days that a home is on the market, the Read full article »
Archives for May, 2010
Home Values are Getting Trickier as Short Sale Numbers Climb
category: Real Estate News
Tax Breaks for Landlords – Hidden Perks to Owning Rental Property
Note: I am not an accountant or a financial expert. You must consult a certified tax accountant or attorney to determine if and how your rental property can benefit you during tax season. I recently read an article about the tax benefits of owning rental property. The author was a mortgage broker who had interviewed a certified public accountant (CPA) who Read full article »
category: Real Estate Tips
tags: Certified Accountant, Certified Public Accountant, Cpa, Depreciation Deductions, Financial Expert, Gurus, Insurance Maintenance, Landlords, Late Night Phone, Management Company, Media Coverage, Mortgage Broker, Mortgage Interest, Owning Rental Property, Personal Time, Real Estate Taxes, Rental Properties, Tax Accountant, Tax Breaks, Vague Notion
Threatened With The Axe, Fannie And Freddie Survive Again
Note: A special free training event is being held to reveal a LOOPHOLE in the recent Freddie Mac publication that effectively eliminates the A-B-C short sale flip. Your invitation to this training is at the end of this article. In a vote split 56 to 43, senators decided to keep Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in their current forms on Tuesday Read full article »
category: Real Estate News
National Association of Realtors “Storm” The Capitol
On May 12, 2010, several thousand members of the National Association of Realtors (NAR) approached their respective members of Congress personally to advocate for the continued existence of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, “affordable and available property insurance,” and the strengthening of the FHA, reported MarketWatch . They also advocated against increased buyer down payments and to make current FHA Read full article »
category: Real Estate News
tags: Association Of Realtors, Chief Lobbyist, Commercial Real Estate, Economic Crises, Economic Recovery, Estate Concerns, Fannie Mae, Fannie Mae And Freddie Mac, Fha Loans, Freddie Mac, John Mccain, Liquidity, Members Of Congress, Nar Members, National Association Of Realtors, National Association Of Realtors Nar, Private Capital, Property Insurance, Senator John Mccain, Senior Vice President
Home Affordable Unemployment Program (UP) Goes Into Effect July 1, 2010
Unemployed borrowers could qualify for forbearance on their mortgages starting in July. UP is designed to reduce or suspend mortgage payments for at least 3 months or to reemployment, whichever period of time is less. However, servicers can extend the period of forbearance according to their own guidelines. Monthly mortgage payments can be reduced to less than or equal to 31% Read full article »
category: Real Estate News
The Politics of Real Estate
Few industries are as profoundly impacted by the political machinations in Washington as the real estate industry. Whether it's old legislation like Jimmy Carter's Community Reinvestment Act or Barack Obama's massive mortgage bailouts, the U.S. political machine has a huge impact (usually bad) on the business of real estate.
Ideally, we could ignore politics. But here at the Bryan Ellis Real Estate Letter, we insist on seeing the world with clarity - including the reality of Washington's aggressive involvement in every facet of our business, from mortgage lending to real estate sales license; from loan modification regulations to appraisal requirements... every piece of our business is profoundly impacted by politics. So rather than stick our heads in the sand and ignore reality, readers of the Bryan Ellis Real Estate Letter choose to be informed and prepared.
Mortgage Industry News
Few things change more rapidly than the mortgage market, and with the increasing dominance of GSE's Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac over the mortgage business, it's more important than ever to keep up. Here are a few recent mortgage news updates:
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Mortgage News
- HAMP Success Tally Slowly Growing
- Western States Working Through Foreclosure Backlog Quicker than Eastern
- Biggest Down Payments in the Country Found in New Jersey
- President Bypasses Congress, Appoints Director of the Consumer Protection Bureau
- Federal Reserve Recommends Expanding GSEs to Turn Housing Market Around
- Mortgage Rates Likely to Remain Low for a While Longer
- Top Former FDIC, Wells Fargo Execs Say Fannie and Freddie Must Go
- FHA Continues to Extend Anti-Flipping Waiver
- More Homeowners Using Delaying Tactics to Slow Down Foreclosures
- Now that It’s Passed: The True Cost of the Payroll Tax Cut
About Bryan Ellis
Bryan Ellis is an Atlanta-based real estate analyst and publisher of the widely read newsletter "The Bryan Ellis Real Estate Letter". With over 200,000 subscribers - including real estate investors, agents, brokers, appraisers and other real estate professionals - the Bryan Ellis Real Estate Letter is among America's largest sources of unbiased coverage of politics and public policy for the real estate industry.
Bryan Ellis serves as editor in chief for the Bryan Ellis Real Estate Letter and is assisted by an extraordinary staff of writers, researchers and editors who are each real estate experts in their own right and who assure that the news we report is well researched, factual, and highly relevant to today's real estate industry.
Bryan is very happily married and has two wonderful daughters. He makes his home in the suburbs of Atlanta, Georgia. You can contact the team at the Bryan Ellis Real Estate Letter here.