Crossroads 2.0

Tax Credit Can Be Used for Down Payment

The Federal Housing Administration has issued formal guidelines allowing first-time homebuyers to apply a federal tax credit of up to $8,000 toward the purchase of a home with an FHA-backed mortgage.

The bad news, for those hoping that the initiative would allow homebuyers to buy a home with nothing down, is that the tax credit can't be used to meet the FHA's 3.5 percent minimum down-payment requirement.

But the tax credit can be used as an additional down payment and for other closing costs, which can help borrowers obtain a lower interest rate.

For the average FHA-insured mortgage of $182,000, buyers must bring to the closing table or finance about $8,600 in costs on top of their down payment -- about $5,460 in closing costs (typically around 3 percent of the sales price) and $3,185 for FHA's initial 1.75 percent mortgage-insurance premium.

In announcing the release of the guidelines, Secretary of Housing Shaun Donovan called them "another important step toward accelerating the recovery of the nation's housing market."

The ability to "monetize" the tax credit and apply it to a home purchase will not only help families purchase their first home, Donovan said, but "present an enormous benefit for communities struggling to deal with an oversupply of housing."

The National Association of Home Builders has estimated that the tax credit will generate 160,000 home sales -- 101,000 purchases by first-time buyers and 59,000 purchases by existing homeowners who will be able to sell their home and trade up. FHA's market share has grown from 1.9 percent in the fourth quarter of 2006 to 23.7 percent in the last three months of 2008.

The guidelines for monetizing the first-time homebuyer tax credit have been anxiously awaited for more than two weeks. After Donovan announced the initiative in a May 12 speech to members of the National Association of Realtors (see story), HUD released and abruptly withdrew a set of guidelines that were later described as a draft version.

The final guidelines for lenders, spelled out in Mortgagee Letter 2009-15, explain the conditions under which FHA-approved lenders and nonprofits, and federal, state and local government agencies may purchase the tax credits anticipated by homebuyers.

Those offering tax-credit advances with second liens can't charge more than 2.5 percent of the anticipated credit, which works out to $200 in fees and costs for the maximum $8,000 tax credit.

The second lien can't exceed the total amount needed for the down payment, closing costs and prepaid expenses, and can't result in cash back from the borrower.

The homebuyer's 3.5 percent minimum down payment can't come from the lender, the seller, or any other third party or person benefiting from the transaction.

But FHA does allow parents, employers and other governmental entities to contribute towards the 3.5 percent minimum down payment.

A number of state housing finance agencies offer down-payment assistance loans that can be used to meet FHA minimum down-payment requirements, some of which already incorporate the first-time homebuyer tax credit.

"This guidance will enable more housing finance agencies to go forward with programs they've been waiting to launch until the guidance came out," said Garth Rieman, director of housing advocacy and strategic initiatives for the National Council of State Housing Agencies.

Rieman said that the mortgagee letter appears to allow housing finance agencies to continue to offer second loans that incorporate the tax credit as one of many underwriting factors, and those loans can still be used to meet the FHA's 3.5 percent down-payment requirement.

But the letter does appear to prohibit borrowers who obtain second loans based solely on their eligibility for the first-time homebuyer tax credit from using those funds to meet FHA's minimum down-payment requirement, Rieman said.

"We think the guidelines are flexible enough to allow housing finance agencies that already have (down-payment assistance) programs to continue to use them, and to allow them to use them with FHA loans," Rieman said.

The process described as "purchases" of tax credits in the FHA's letter to mortgagees is a new approach, Rieman said.

"You want to make sure it's done responsibly," and HUD has done an "artful" job balancing the need to stimulate homebuying against risk to the FHA insurance fund, he said. "When you consider all the fees and costs homebuyers must come up with, this will be very valuable in helping them raise the funds to close."

The first-time homebuyer tax credit is equal to 10 percent of the purchase price of the home, up to $8,000, for first-time homebuyers purchasing a home before Dec. 1. A first-time homebuyer is anyone who hasn't owned a primary residence in the last three years.

Individuals making $95,000 or more and married couples earning $170,000 or more can't claim the credit. Lesser tax credits are available for individuals with a modified adjusted gross income of $75,000 or more but less than $95,000, and for married couples earning $150,000 or more but less than $170,000, and filing jointly.

The IRS has created a landing page with links to a Q&A and Form 5405, the form used to claim the credit after closing on a home purchase.

Economic Overview

Housing Market Bottom???

By Julie Haviv

NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. housing markets from Florida to California have suffered price drops of 50 percent or more from their peak, but now, at long last, a bottom is within sight, likely in the fourth quarter nationally, according to a report from Moody's Economy.com.

By the end of the housing downturn, nearly 62 percent of the nation's 381 metropolitan areas will have experienced double-digit-percent declines in house prices, peak-to-trough, says the report by chief economist Mark Zandi and a team that includes Celia Chen, senior director of housing economics.

The declines will exceed 20 percent in about 100 metro areas, according to the report, scheduled to be discussed in a Webcast on Thursday. An advance copy was given exclusively to Reuters.

Despite the gloomy data, the report, by an independent subsidiary of Moody's Corp, paints an improving picture of the housing market, which is in the midst of its worst downturn since the Great Depression and is both the source and a major casualty of the world credit crisis.

An improvement could portend a turnaround for the world's largest economy and help stanch losses at U.S. banks, hit hard by soured mortgage securities.

"Despite the darkening national economic outlook and the weak conditions in the housing market, some positive signs give hope that a bottom in the housing market is coming into view," the report said.

"More than three years since the market began correcting, inventories are flattening, prices are coming back down to earth, and sales are approaching stability," the report said.

The outlook, however, assumes stronger action by U.S. policymakers and says that even with further government intervention, the recession will keep the housing market from fully recovering until the end of this year.

Market Update

20 hours ago

Looking to Buy a House? Read This First

Posted By:Carlo Dellaverson

Topics:Interest Rates | Credit | Real Estate | Mortgages | Housing | Personal Finance

Is now a good time to buy a home? 

It’s a common question these days as potential homeowners wonder if it’s the time to capitalize on low prices, foreclosures and fairly low interest rates. But determining when it’s right to buy isn’t all about the market, Carmen said. It’s about you and the state of your money.

Marc Hedlund, CEO of community finance siteWesabe, said that he’s noticing a lot of people are holding off on buying, even with prices down. They will start the process, and many will even make an offer to a bank for a distressed property, but the bank will take up to 90 days to review it and in that time the offer will most likely go away. Buyers are also noticing that the requirements on them are much higher than they used to be. You need two appraisals instead of one and at least 20% down. Also, you need good credit.

VOTE:

Poll of the Day: Who's Fighting For the Consumer?!

John Ulzheimer said that while a 580 credit score would have gotten you a great mortgage just two years ago, now you need to be “well well well into” the 700s to get the best deal from a lender. His best advice? Start early and give yourself time to prepare. Give yourself 60 – 90 days to do things like pay off your credit card debt and then leaving your cards dormant for the duration of the underwriting process. And hold off on financing anything else, he said. Lenders get nervous when they see inquired on your credit report about any impending debt. So if you need a new car to go along with the new digs, wait until you’ve signed the dotted line on the mortgage first. 

Signs of Market Recovery

Former Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan said the U.S. housing market will begin to recover in the first half of 2009, according to an article he wrote for Emerging Markets magazine published Friday.

Greenspan wrote that the recent slowing in the rate of decline in U.S. home prices is the first positive note in the year-long trauma and that eventually, frozen credit markets will thaw "as frightened investors take tentative steps towards reengagement with risk."

"More conclusive signs of pending home price stability are likely to become visible in the first half of 2009," he wrote.

Sneak Peak

For a preview of our new, UNFINISHED website, log on to http://beta.crossroadsrealtynj.com
Remember, the site is not complete!! To get a good idea of how the site will work, click Communities, South, Barnegat......If you see your community missing, please let me know. If you have photos of any adult community signs, I need them for the ones that are missing!! We're anticipating public release within 2 weeks. More info to come...

Cool Tip

From a recent tech tips article: "Every agent in every open house should replace the business cards from the broker tour scattered on the kitchen table with a property alert sign-up form" Use your own contact info and follow up with a drip email campaign....

Great Article by Bernice Ross

The question is how can you capitalize on today's market conditions to increase your income in 2008?

1. Target active market areas. Regardless of where you work, there are some locations and price ranges that are more active than others. Watch the sales board in your office as well as the MLS statistics. Focus your marketing efforts on those areas that have the most business. If you do face-to-face prospecting such as door knocking, calling on for-sale-by-owners, prospecting owners of expired listings, or holding open houses, make active areas your first priority.

If you normally work the $400,000+ area and the sales are currently active in the $250,000 to $300,000 price range, shift your efforts there. Also, be sure to carefully monitor activity each month. If you observe a shift, follow it.

2. Put pressure on buyers who are negotiating by doing a simultaneous price reduction. Whenever you issue a counteroffer with a lower price, ask the seller to reduce the list price. When the buyers realize that the seller is lowering the price, it places additional pressure on the buyers to take action.

3. The best buyer's market in 35 years: If you use print or Web marketing, use your marketing pieces to proclaim, "2008—the Best Year to Buy a Home in 35 Years!"

Here's how to back up this claim: In April of 1973, mortgage rates were about the same as they are today. Since that time, we have only had mortgage rates this low during 2001 and 2002, the height of the seller's markets where there was little inventory. In the last two major buyer's markets, one in the early 1980s and the other in the early 1990s, the rates were much higher. When I started in the business in 1978, interest rates were at 9.75 percent, en route to 18 to 21 percent in 1980. In the early 1990s, the rates were hovering in the 11 to 12 percent range. Thus, today's buyer's market, with exceptionally low mortgage rates plus a substantial supply of inventory, is the best time in decades to purchase.

4. Show first-time buyers the cost of waiting. There are several different ways that first time buyers lose money by waiting to purchase. The first is loss of tax deductions. In most cases, people who lack a mortgage pay more federal and state income taxes than those who qualify for a mortgage deduction. You can use a mortgage calculator to illustrate this point. For example, assume that a buyer is currently paying $1,500 per month on a rental. If the buyer purchases a $300,000 property with $30,000 down and a fixed-rate 30-year mortgage of $270,000 at 6.25 percent, the buyer actually nets $24,262 more, assuming that appreciation keeps pace with inflation, the buyer owns the property for eight years, and is in the 28 percent bracket.

Another way renters lose money is through wealth accumulation, generally in the form of creating equity by paying down the loan and through appreciation. According to the Federal Reserve, the average homeowner between 1995 and 2004 had a net worth of $184,400, of which approximately $60,000 was due to home ownership appreciation. To account for the difference of $60,000 of wealth accumulation, a $200,000 house would have to decline by 30 percent. Thus, each year a buyer waits to purchase a median-priced home, they lose $6,000 in potential wealth accumulation.

An additional way that renters lose money is through increased interest rates. For example, on a $200,000 mortgage, assume that interest rates increase from six to seven percent. By waiting, the buyer's payments increase by $1,578 each year causing a total loss (in payments and wealth accumulation) of $7,578. If interest rates increase from six to eight percent on that same loan, they will pay an extra $3,221 per year resulting in a total loss of $9,221.

Vacation Home 1031

Daily Real Estate News  |  March 10, 2008

IRS Releases Vacation Home Ruling

The Internal Revenue Service recently issued a Revenue Procedure ruling that spells out how vacation properties can qualify for 1031 exchanges, which involve the exchange of investment properties.

The guidance aims to clear up the debate about whether vacation homes are investment or personal use properties. The ruling states that the property must be held by the taxpayer for 24 months. The holding period is broken into 12-month blocks, and during each the property must be rented at the fair market rate for no less than 14 days.

Additionally, the owner can use the property for 14 days or 10 percent of the days rented, whichever is greater, plus a "reasonable" number of days devoted to maintenance tasks. Because it is a safe harbor ruling, experts say failing to comply with all the rules does not mean the exchange will be denied or an audit will automatically occur.

However, they underscore the importance of keeping good records of the property's rental history and the dates the property was occupied by the owner for maintenance.

From Broker Agent News-Short Sale Questions

Number 10
I can't make my house payments, but I do have an ability to pay back all or part of the negative equity. Also, I want to preserve my credit score...is a short sale right for me?

Probably, not. In cases where the seller can pay back all or part of the negative equity (usually to the 2nd lien holder), it makes sense for them to work out a repayment plan. The lender will then release the lien and allow the home to close.

Number 9

If I pay mortgage insurance and default on my loan, why wouldn't that cover the deficiency amount?

The mortgage insurance is not there for your protection, just the mortgage lender's.

Number 8

Do I have to have my home "Approved" by the lender prior to offering it for sale as a short sale?

No. Technically speaking there is no such thing as being "Short Sale Approved." The actual approval only happens with an accepted offer.

Number 7

I just missed a payment and I know I will miss more...how long does the foreclosure process take and is there time to do a short sale?

The foreclosure process takes differing times depending on your state.  In the Midwest a foreclosure can take over a year. In California its taking 6+ months.  Generally speaking a well priced short sale being processed by an educated short sale listing agent will sell and close in less than 120 days.

Number 6

Will I still have to pay property taxes if I do a short sale?

Property taxes will always have to be paid as part of any accepted short sale. Whether it's you or the lender, it depends on their policies and the specific agreement you reach while negotiating the short sale.

Number 5

I owe more than my home is worth and I can't make the payment. Do I have to somehow qualify for a short sale?

The simple answer is NO. If someone can't make their payment and they are otherwise insolvent, they qualify for a short sale. Note: insolvent simply means their total debts are great than their assets.

Number 4

Do I have to pay income taxes...I have heard that I will get a 1099. Will the loss the bank takes be treated as a taxable gain to me...the seller...is this true?

It WAS true, now it's not. Consult your Tax Attorney or Qualified CPA.  Very recently the tax law was modified and now most people who do a short sale will have no taxes due.

Number 3

How do you, my listing agent get paid...who pays your commission?

The bank will pay the commission along with all the other usual closing costs.

Number 2

Do I have to miss a payment to do a Short Sale?

No. Late last year most major lenders started accepting short sale offers from sellers who have never missed a payment.

Number 1

I want to do a short sale and have a 2nd mortgage, does this make me ineligible?

No. Both of your lenders will need to be satisfied in some way to complete the short sale. If your first lender will be paid off by the sale, then you just negotiate the terms with the second lender. Most short sales do involve 1st and 2nd lien holders.