Charles Colaco | Neev Realty Service

Press Release: Charles Colaco Earns NAR Short Sales and Foreclosure Certification

April 5, 2010 By Charles Colaco Leave a Comment

Charles Colaco Earns NAR Short Sales and Foreclosure Certification
Buyers and Sellers Benefit from REALTOR^® Expertise in Distressed Sales

Fairfax, VA, April 5, 2010 — Charles Colaco with Regal Realty Group Inc., has earned the nationally recognized Short Sales and Foreclosure Resource certification. The National Association of REALTORS^® offers the SFR certification to REALTORS^® who want to help both buyers and sellers navigate these complicated transactions, as demand for professional expertise with distressed sales grows.

According to a recent NAR survey, nearly one-third of all existing homes sold recently were either short sales or foreclosures. For many real estate professionals, short sales and foreclosures are the new “traditional” transaction. REALTORS^® who have earned the SFR certification know how to help sellers maneuver the complexities of short sales as well as help buyers pursue short sale and foreclosure opportunities.

“As leading advocates for homeownership, REALTORS^® believe that any family that loses its home to foreclosure is one family too many, but unfortunately, there are situations in which people just cannot afford to keep their homes, and a foreclosure or a short sale results,” said 2009 NAR President Charles McMillan, a broker with Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage in Dallas-Fort Worth. “Foreclosures and short sales can offer opportunities for home buyers and benefit the larger community, as well, but it’s extremely important to have the help of a real estate professional like a REALTOR^® who has earned the SFR certification for these kinds of purchases.”

The certification program includes training on how to qualify sellers for short sales, negotiate with lenders, protect buyers, and limit risk, and provides resources to help REALTORS^® stay current on national and state-specific information as the market for these distressed properties evolves. To earn the SFR certification, REALTORS^Òare required to take one core course and three Webinars. For more information about the SFR certification, visit www.REALTORSFR.org or call 1-877-510-7855.

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Filed Under: Uncategorized

Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternatives Program (HAFA)

March 26, 2010 By Charles Colaco Leave a Comment

In light of the rising number of property foreclosures in the United States, the government has expanded the Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP) to include provisions and incentives for servicers to allow short sales or deeds-in-lieu as positive options for eligible homeowners in default who wish to avoid foreclosure. The new program is called Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternatives (HAFA).

Participation in HAFA cannot save the homeowner from losing his or her property, but it can eliminate the effects of a foreclosure on the homeowner’s credit. Financial incentives for participation in the program include a $1,000 servicing bonus for lenders and a $1,500 relocation bonus for displaced homeowners.

HAFA is designed for homeowners who have applied to HAMP for assistance but have had no success with their loan modification program.

Homeowners must be considered for HAFA within 30 days if they cannot meet HAMP’s requirements
As with other short sales and deeds-in-lieu, the lender or loan servicer of the primary mortgage must approve of the transaction and conduct their own independent appraisal.
It is up to the lender or servicer of the first-lien mortgage whether they or the homeowner negotiate with any subordinate lien holders.

A short sale is a process in which the lender(s) agrees to accept less than the balance due on the mortgage(s) or lien(s) in order to avoid the cost of foreclosure.

Unlike a short sale, a deed-in-lieu simply allows the homeowner in default to transfer the deed to the property back to the lender in exchange for partial or full payoff of the mortgage.

In either case, HAFA requires that the lender agree to suspend all foreclosure sales in good faith, pending the outcome of either transaction. In the case of a short sale, the lender also must agree to pay the administrative closing costs.

The Department of the Treasury, which authorizes all programs under the Making Home Affordable umbrella, has designated Freddie Mac as its compliance agent.

The HAFA program is set to begin on April 5, 2010. Servicers may initiate a HAFA transaction earlier in 2010 under certain conditions. As of this writing, all HAFA agreements must be finalized and signed by December 31, 2012.

Addition information can be found from the below links

The Treasury Department’s Supplemental Directive 09-09 for more specific details and samples of forms to be used in processing HAFA transactions
National Association of REALTORS
Google Search for HAFA Program

Filed Under: Featured Posts, Sellers, Slider

Mumbai ( Bombay ) Real Estate Market.

February 8, 2010 By Charles Colaco Leave a Comment

Recently I was in Mumbai and visited some development site. Below are the price comparison.

That said, Mumbai real estate is certainly over-valued at the moment — we can see this in the disparity between rents and property prices. but some experts/realty folks are saying that of all places, Mumbai will see the least impact on real estate prices. Meaning, even if prices drop, Mumbai won’t drop by much, or won’t drop at all.

Mumbai Real Estate Rates per-sq-ft comparison

Filed Under: Featured Posts, Real Estate Investment

Congress Passed Homebuyer Tax Credit Extension / Expansion

November 5, 2009 By Charles Colaco Leave a Comment

Buying a home can get bit cheaper for most of the homebuyers — $6,500 cheaper!! ( i.e. As long as you’ve owned a home for 5 years, you can get the $6500) Remeber: It’s a credit, not a deduction so you actually get $6500 that you can use for part of the down payment.

Congress and the President have extended and expanded the $8,000 tax credit for first-time buyers. You now have until April 30, 2010 to sign a contract and qualify., and starting November 7, 2009, many existing home owners also qualify. Download this informational flyer from The Virginia Association of REALTORS^®

First-time homebuyers have been getting tax credits of up to $8,000 since January as part of the economic stimulus package enacted earlier this year. But with the program scheduled to expire in end of November, the Senate voted Wednesday(11/04/2009) to extend and expand the tax credit to include many buyers who already own homes. The House is scheduled to vote on the bill Thursday.

Here in Northern Virginia the home inventory is so low and few of my clients are loosing there chance due to high volume of multiple offers. The sellers are getting 5 to 15 thousand more then there asking price. I think its going to fuel the market with buyers and the tax credit will only be on paper, because the buyer will any way end up paying more.

Metro Area: Northern Vaginia

Principal Cities:
Alexandria, Annandale, Ashburn, Arlington, Ashburn, Bristow, Burke, Centreville, Chantilly, Clifton, Dale City, Dumfries, Fairfax City, Fairfax, Fairfax Station, Falls Church, Gainesville, Great Falls, Herndon, Leesburg, Lorton, Manassas, Manassas Park, McLean, Oakton, Reston, South Riding, Springfield, Sterling, Vienna, Tysons Corner, Woodbridge

Neighborhoods and Subdivisions Served:
Poplar Tree, Franlkin Farm, Hampton Forest, Greenbriar,Faircrest,Fair Chase, Little Rocky Run,Pender Brook,

Counties Served:
Alexandria City, Arlington County, Fairfax City, Fairfax County, Falls Church City, Loudoun County, Prince William County, Town of Vienna, Town of Herndon

Filed Under: Buyers Tagged With: 8K Homebuyer Tax Credit, First Time Homebuyer, Homebuyer Tax Credit, Market Trends, Stimulus Package, Tax Credit, Tax Credit Deadline

Virginia foreclosures up in 3rd quarter

October 21, 2009 By Charles Colaco Leave a Comment

Foreclosure activity in Virginia rose 4.1 percent in the third quarter of 2009, according to RealtyTrac — and in September, foreclosures were up 10 percent over 2008.

Filed Under: About the Market Tagged With: Foreclosure in Fairfax Virginia

Buyers Rush to Beat Tax Credit Deadline

August 21, 2009 By Charles Colaco Leave a Comment

The first-time home buyers are flooding the sale market, pressed to finalize a deal before the federal government’s $8,000 tax credit offer expires on November 30.

Anyone planning to take advantage of the tax credit should act fast because mortgage approvals, residential inspections, and other steps in the buying process typically take about two months, buyers hoping to take advantage of the incentive will need to have a contract by the end of September.

The new flurry of activity in house-hunters try to meet the deadline is triggering bidding wars and energizing the property market, which historically is slow at the end of summer. As a result, more homes are getting their full asking price.

Here in Northern Virginia the home inventory is so low and few of my clients are loosing there chance due to high volume of multiple offers. The sellers are getting 5 to 15 thousand more then there asking price. I feel the bottom is here and the uptrend in the housing market has started.

Filed Under: Buyers Tagged With: Tax Credit Deadline

8K Homebuyer Tax Credit: HUD Secretary Announces Monetization of Tax Credit at NAR Real Estate Summit

May 13, 2009 By Charles Colaco Leave a Comment

HUD released a mortgagee letter with some further details yesterday. As is typical with these kinds of announcements, there are a lot of unanswered questions in regards to how lenders will implement this stimulus related strategy.

___________________________________________________________________________

WASHINGTON (May 12, 2009) – Shaun Donovan, secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, said that the Federal Housing Administration is going to permit its lenders to allow homeowners to use the $8,000 tax credit as a downpaypment.

More details @ HUD Secretary Announces Monetization of Tax Credit at NAR Real Estate Summit

Filed Under: Buyers Tagged With: 8K Homebuyer Tax Credit, Tax Credit

Conversion of principal residence to second home or investment property

January 14, 2009 By Charles Colaco Leave a Comment

Real estate concept with mortgage application form on white

Introduction
With this Announcement, Fannie Mae is introducing several new and updated policies that pertain to the following topics:

Conversion of principal residence to second home or investment property: new requirements for borrowers who are purchasing a new principal residence, and intend to convert their existing principal residence to a second home or investment property.

Selling Guide, Part X, Section 402.24 Rental Income, and Section 702.03 All Other Liabilities, D. Payments on real estate mortgages

Borrowers who currently own their home typically have three options when they decide to purchase a new principal residence. They can

sell the current residence and pay off the outstanding mortgage,

convert the property to a second home, assuming they can qualify with both the existing and new mortgage payments, or

convert the property to an investment property and provide documentation that they will rent the property and use the income to offset the mortgage payment.

In order to ensure that borrowers have sufficient equity and/or reserves to support both the existing financing and the new mortgage being originated, Fannie Mae is updating the policies for qualifying borrowers purchasing a new principal residence and converting their existing principal residence to a second home or investment property.

Current Requirements

Rental income that will be generated from the prior principal residence is based solely on a fully executed lease agreement for that property provided by the borrower (now landlord).

If the lender uses current lease agreements, the net rental income will be 75 percent of the gross rent from the lease agreement, with the remaining 25 percent being absorbed by vacancy losses and ongoing maintenance expenses.

Minimum reserves are required for investment properties: 2 months for one-unit properties, and 6 months reserves for two- to four-unit properties. Minimum reserves are not required for second home transactions.

New Requirements

1. Current principal residence is pending sale but the transaction will not be closed (with title transfer to a new owner) prior to the new transaction

Both the current and the proposed mortgage payments must be used to qualify the borrower for the new transaction.

2. Conversion to a Second Home

Both the current and the proposed mortgage payments must be used to qualify the borrower for the new transaction; and

6 months of PITI for both properties is required to be in reserves. Lender may consider reduced reserves of no less than 2 months for both properties if there is documented equity of at least 30 percent in the existing property (derived from an appraisal, automated valuation model (AVM), or Broker Price Opinion (BPO), minus outstanding liens)

3. Conversion to an Investment Property

Fannie Mae will continue to permit up to 75 percent of the rental income to be used to offset the mortgage payment in qualifying if there is documented equity of at least 30 percent in the existing property (derived from an appraisal, AVM, or BPO, minus outstanding liens).
The rental income must be documented with:

a copy of the fully executed lease agreement; and

the receipt of a security deposit from the tenant and deposit into the borrower’s account.

If the 30 percent equity in the property cannot be documented, rental income may not be used to offset the mortgage payment.

Both the current and the proposed mortgage payments must be used to qualify the borrower for the new transaction; and

6 months of PITI for both properties is required to be in reserves.

These guidelines are applicable to manually underwritten loans and, except for the additional reserve requirements, must also be applied (on a manual basis) to loan casefiles underwritten with DU. DU will determine the level of reserves for each casefile.

What “DU” means, it means Desktop Underwriting. It is a software program provided by Fannie Mae to the mortgage and banking industry to help them make sure a borrower meets all financial requirements for a loan.

So what does all of this mean? It means that it is going to get harder to purchase a new home before closing on the sale of your current residence, to own a second home, or to convert your current residence to investment property.

To summarize,

If you can’t close on the sale of an existing home first, you must qualify for both mortgages at the same time. For conversion to a second home, you must qualify for both loans AND have 2-6 months of PITI reserves and 30 percent equity in the existing property OR have 6 months PITI reserves for BOTH properties. For conversion to investment property, you can use 75 percent of the rental income to offset the mortgage payment IF you can document at least 30 percent equity OR qualify for both mortgage payments AND have 6 months reserves for BOTH properties. To use the rental income, you must have a fully executed lease and a security deposit from the tenant deposited in the borrower’s account.

Filed Under: Featured Posts, Real Estate Investment, Sellers Tagged With: Buying Real Estate, Conversion of principal residence to second home or investment property, Market Trends, Mortgage Help, Real Estate News

Choosing a Real Estate Agent

January 13, 2009 By Charles Colaco Leave a Comment

The sales agent is not always the one with the most sales under his or her belt, or the most years on the job. The agent is one who listens to you, is easy to get along with, and has the tools and skills to address your unique situation.

Every home buyer is different. Some have credit issues. Some are buying from out of state. Some need help selling their current home in addition to buying a new one. Just as buyers have different needs, real estate agents have different skills and specialties.

Here’s how to find the agent who’s right for you:

1. Ask friends and family for agent referrals.

Nobody knows you as well as your friends and family do. So they’re often in the best position to recommend an agent who is well-suited for your needs. You can also trust a referral from friends or family more than one that comes from a stranger.

2. Talk to multiple agents.

You must make inquiries before you sign with an agent or broker. Commissions are usually substantial, so some real estate agents will try to sell you anything. They’ll tell you every house is the best house they’ve ever seen, every room is the prettiest, your kids are going to love it, and your dog is going to bark nicely. They’ll tell you anything!

You don’t have to exhaust yourself interviewing agent after agent, but at least talk with two or three to see who you’re most comfortable with (which leads to the next point).

3. Consider the vibe factor.

Professional expertise is an important criterion when choosing a real estate agent. But interpersonal skills are equally important. After all, you’ll be working with this person anywhere from 2 to 12 months, so it helps to get along with them. We all have unique personalities, and that’s the way it should be. But when working with someone professionally, if helps if their personality “meshes” well with your own.

4. Ask how they hunt.

When deciding on a real estate agent, ask how they search for homes. Some agents have their own preferred listings that they favor. But you want what’s best for you, not what’s best for your agent. You’re paying them, right? So make sure the agent is willing to search high and low to find the best home for you. That includes using the Multiple Listing Service (MLS) as well as their own personal network.

5. Read paperwork carefully.

This advice is heavily used for a reason. It’s critical that you examine all documents during the home buying process, and that includes your agent agreement. At some point during the relationship, your agent will probably ask you to sign an agent agreement. Basically, it just means that if the agent shows you a particular property, your purchase of the property should be credited to that agent. In most cases it’s a simple, standard document, just be sure to read it carefully and ask questions.

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Filed Under: Buyers, Featured Posts, Sellers, Slider Tagged With: Choosing a Real Estate Agent Interview

HUD Announces Revised Downpayment and Maximum Mortgage Requirements

September 15, 2008 By Charles Colaco Leave a Comment

On September 12, 2008, the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) released Mortgagee Letter 2008-23 outlining new downpayment and maximum mortgage requirements as found in the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008 (HERA). This letter implements three new requirements: 1) mortgagor will pay in cash or cash equivalent not less than 3.5 percent of the appraised value of the property; 2) the variable loan-to-value (LTV) limits that were based on the combination of property value and average state closing costs (known as “downpayment simplification”) is eliminated; and 3) the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) insured first mortgage is limited to 100 percent of the appraised value and requires the inclusion of the upfront premium within this limit. The revised requirements take effect for all new FHA case number assignments on or after January 1, 2009.

The mortgage letter states that closing costs may not be used to help meet the minimum 3.5 percent downpayment requirement. The LTV is 96.5 percent (the reciprocal of the 3.5 percent downpayment requirement). However, when combined with an FHA first mortgage, government subordinate liens are not limited to 100 percent. Sellers are still permitted to provide financing concessions of up to 6 percent of the sales price. Refinances, including FHASecure, are not subject to the 3.5 percent downpayment requirement as there is no “downpayment” on a refinance.

More details on the HUD Mortgagee Letter 2008-23

Filed Under: Buyers

Traditional Closing Expenses
Discount Points
Origination Fee	%
Lender Processing Fees	$
Credit Report	$
Appraisal	$
Title Insurance	$
Reconveyance Fee	$
Recording Fee	$
Wire and Courier Fees	$
Endorsement Fee	$
Title Closing Fee	$
Title Document Prep Fee	$
Other Fees	$

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