Market Update: Sunday Snippets-Real Estate Changes : ALL ABOUT.....Portland.Oregon.Real Estate

Market Update: Sunday Snippets-Real Estate Changes

Date: Sep. 27, 2009
Tags: Firsttime Home Buyer Tax Credit, Foreclosures, Subprime Mortgages

There is so much happening in real estate that it is hard to keep up with everything.

If you read my Oregon Financing Update post last Thursday by Bob Chiodo you know that the FHA approvals for condos has received a reprieve - I understand until November 30th although looking on FHA's website I didn't see a date anywhere.
Attending the PMAR® luncheon meeting the other day, it was mentioned that the HVCC appraisal rules have also been put on hold but I don't have verification of this as yet either but will dig into it closer.
If you're buying to get the first-time home buyer tax credit and closing before October 15th, be advised that most lenders will now require a tax holdback (where escrow holds money until tax bills come out) and that can be as much as 14-15 months of taxes and any reserves. Regarding closing for a seller before October 15th, be advised that they will receive a debit on their HUD statement from July 1st to closing, even if they have an escrow account, because the taxes are not paid until November 15th by their escrow account.
Remember that question "Where's The Note?" that some homeowners asked before they were facing foreclosure. Turns out, many of those loans that were sold didn't get recorded against the properties. They were being tracked by MERS but not recorded in any county recorder offices. Now when a house goes in foreclosure, many of the second lien holdholders are left out in the cold and won't be receiving any of the left-over monies. Poetic justice?
Lenders are coming under more scrutiny from putting borrowers in jeopardy with high-risk loans. There are some new rules soon to protect the consumers from borrowing more than they can afford, albeit a little too late for this housing crisis.
And from the Washington Post yesterday came news that another bill was introduced by Charles B. Rangel (D-N.Y.), chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, sponsored the bipartisan Service Members Home Ownership Tax Act (H.R. 3590), which would extend the home buyers tax credit for another 12 months for thousands of military, Foreign Service and intelligence agency personnel who've been posted abroad during 2009. Rangel's bill, with 29 cosponsors, would keep the credit alive through Nov. 30, 2010, for service members who had at least 90 days of overseas duty assignments during 2009 and who otherwise meet the eligibility requirements. The bill would also prohibit the IRS from "recapturing" the $8,000 credit when service members are forced to sell or rent out their houses because they are ordered to deploy to a different duty station, overseas or inside the country. An indication that the home buyer tax credit will be extended for all buyers?