The VA has developed new guidelines for VA-guaranteed home loans that allow servicers to “restructure distressed loans” to meet HAMP requirements if all other loss mitigation efforts have failed. Previously, veterans with VA loans could not be considered for HAMP, and the VA still wants servicers to exhaust other options first. However, ultimately, the retention of the home by the Read full article »
Tag archives for Experiences
Fannie Mae’s Anti-Investor Program ‘First Look’ Properties Now Available on HomePath.com Instead of MLS
Fannie Mae’s First Look initiative, a program that is designed to bypass non-owner occupants (read: investors) to bring owner-occupants and public entities together with REO properties, has undergone a tuneup to make it more effective. Julia Dugger, Fannie Mae’s senior manager of marketing communications, says that while the program has been successful, execution has been tricky largely because generally MLS Read full article »
category: Real Estate News
Karen Hanover – Change Of Recommendation
Notice: After recent experiences, we have terminated our relationship with Karen Hanover. With regret, we can no longer in good conscience recommend or endorse training or coaching provided by Karen Hanover. It is our belief that commercial real estate does represent an excellent investment opportunity, but those representing it as a "gold rush" misrepresent the potential and the risk involved. When evaluating Read full article »
category: Editorial
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Hard-Core Tax-Reducing Accountants
One of the primary keys of paying the least possible in taxes is to have a serious, hard-core tax accountant on your team. Unfortunately, I find myself in the position of having to find a new accountant, and I have decided that this would be a great opportunity to solicit the input of my fine readers all over the country so Read full article »
category: Uncategorized
tags: Audits, Core Tax, Corporate Accountant, Corporate Entities, Corporations, Creative Real Estate, Experiences, Hard Core, Irs, Personal Experience, Personal Returns, Primary Keys, Promises, Real Estate Investing, Real Estate Real Estate, State Tax, Tax Accountant, Tax Accountants, Tax Filings, Tax Jurisdictions, Teleseminar
Real Estate “Guru” Reviews
Yesterday I published a "review" of a real estate "guru" - and boy did that touch off a firestorm of debate! But it got me to thinking - what real estate gurus do you want to know more about? And what products/ courses/ seminars are you particularly interested in hearing about? I've got a deal for you: If Read full article »
category: Uncategorized
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.