Posts Tagged ‘property for sale’
Foreclosure Numbers
May 27, 2011 | 
Author LPS Applied Analytics recently released their mortgage performance data. Delinquencies increased slightly in April but are down almost 10% on the year and over 25% from the delinquency peak in January 2010. Improvement continues in the pipeline for early stage or newly delinquent loans. The inventory for those loans has dropped to 3 year lows. Even as the overall foreclosure pipeline remains bloated, these are positive signs for the housing recovery. According to LPS, 12.11% of owner occupied mortgages are delinquent or in foreclosure. The numbers break down like this:
2.24 million loans less than 90 days delinquent
1.96 million loans 90+ days delinquent
2.18 million loans in the foreclosure process
6.39 million total loans are delinquent or currently in foreclosure as of April
When will these properties come available you might ask? The answer isn’t clear at the moment. Lenders have, through a variety of ways, slowed the supply of available foreclosures. There have been moratoriums on foreclosures due to lender ineptitude with many overwhelmed by the sheer volume of properties now on their books. Lenders are also trying to avoid dumping too much supply on the market as it would devalue their inventory and create even steeper losses. It looks to this Troll that the supply will be brought to the market evenly over a long period of time.
The good news locally is the overall foreclosure inventory is not nearly as severe in the Pacific Northwest. Great deals are out there with short sales and the chances of them seriously tanking our market are increasingly slim.
The Troll
Posted in Troll's Blog | 
Tags: buy a home, economy, financing, foreclosures, home buying tips, home financing, home mortgage, homes, homes for sale, mortgage, mortgage blog, northwest real estate, property for sale, purchase real estate, real estate, real estate agents, real estate blog, real estate info, real estate office, realtor, realtors, realty, search real estate, seattle, seattle listings, seattle neighborhoods, short sales, wallingford, wallingford properties, wallingford real estate, washington property | 
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Why do Short Sales take Longer to Close?
After closing a few short sales the Troll wanted to pass along his 2 cents on why the process takes so long. Obviously the lender holding the note is the primary obstacle. They are either inundated with inventory and cannot keep up or they are inexperienced in this arena and have trouble with the decision making process. In either case it can prolong a closing. Something else to consider is the potential unwillingness of the occupant to help facilitate the process. Underwater home owners typically do not have much incentive to contribute their effort to the cause. They have in many cases stopped making their payments and are living “rent free”. The damage has already been done to their credit rating and in some cases they can save up money while the process draws out. The appraisal process can also be an area for delays especially in FHA loan transactions. FHA appraisals are more extensive and if there are repairs called out or required prior to closing, the process can bog down with contractors and scheduling them.
The Troll is not discouraging anyone from attempting to purchase a short sale. He is merely trying to provide some tips to avoid the dreaded nightmare closing. There are some fantastic buying opportunities out there with short sales but you have to choose wisely and finance them appropriately. Sweat equity is and always has been a great ingredient for a successful real estate opportunity. If that is your goal and a large down payment is not an option there are lenders out there that will allow you to finance less than 20% down that contain no mortgage insurance. The rate is typically a little higher (maybe .25%) but you are not throwing away money on mortgage insurance. Depending on your credit, you can put down as little as 5% which is not far from the 3.5% FHA offers. If you are fixing the property to potentially sell in the near term you will not be affected by a slightly higher rate. Additionally, if you choose to stay in the house refinancing may be the best path forward while rates are low and the equity position has improved via sweating.
The Troll
Posted in Troll's Blog | Tags: appraisal, buy a home, economy, financing, home buying tips, home financing, home mortgage, homes, homes for sale, listed properties, mortgage, mortgage blog, northwest real estate, property for sale, purchase real estate, real estate, real estate agents, real estate blog, real estate info, real estate office, realtor, realtors, realty, realty office, search real estate, seattle, seattle listings, seattle real estate, sell a house, short sales, wallingford, wallingford properties, wallingford real estate, washington, washington property, washington real estate | Comments Closed
New Gizmos
As some of you know, the Troll is also a mortgage broker. He is excited to report that he has launched his new mortgage website at www.wallingfordmtg.com. The new site has a similar feel as our well received real estate site. You will soon be able to get information and apply for a mortgage securely online. I appreciate your patience during this process but please understand that we can’t get to where we want to be without some growing pains. If the preliminary feedback is on the mark you should really enjoy the new site.
On another note, the Troll has also been busy creating his new blog. If you are reading this you are already on it! This lovely creation is where you can get information on current local and national trends in the mortgage and real estate markets. I would like to again thank the wonderful Cherie Smittle for her creativity, hard work and patience. If anyone needs some website work I would highly recommend you speak with Cherie. I can provide you her contact information when you “Ask the Troll….Anything.” Now let’s get into some news.
It appears that the light rail project that will link the University of Washington to Westlake center began its big dig today. While this project has a long way to go it will ultimately provide its riders access to downtown and the airport. This development is definitely a plus for homeowners near U Dub. The estimate on its completion is 2016 with a cost of $2 billion dollars. The ridership estimates are 70,000 daily by the year 2030.
The other big news over the weekend was the arrest of Dominique Strauss-Kahn who is the managing director of the IMF. Strauss-Kahn who reports say recently set his sights on the French Presidency will apparently no longer be viable. He was arrested while sitting on a plane bound for a meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel to discuss the European sovereign debt crisis. His arrest will undoubtedly complicate the negotiations underway today in Europe.
The Techy Troll
Posted in Troll's Blog | Tags: buy a home, economy, financing, home mortgage, homes, mortgage, mortgage blog, northwest real estate, property for sale, purchase real estate, real estate, real estate agents, real estate blog, real estate info, real estate office, realtor, realtors, realty, realty office, search real estate, seattle, seattle listings, sell a house, wallingford, wallingford properties, wallingford real estate, washington, washington property, washington real estate | Comments Closed
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