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In the mortgage industry, lenders are required to send clients educational booklets relative to their loan application. I’ve always found it odd that there isn’t a centralized place for all of these booklets, so I thought I’d post them all here.
Continue reading Mortgage Educational Booklets in One Place Until the end of this month, it’s important that we know the effective date of the Home Buyer Tax Credit (HR 3548) change.
The changes took effect on November 7th, 2009 which was the day after President Obama signed the bill into law. This means that any transaction closed AFTER November 7th, 2009 will include all of the changes. This includes the provisions for Move-Up Buyers and the income limits which were raised from $75,000 single/ $150,000 married to $125,000 single/ $225,000 married. Other details of the new bill can be found at the National Association of Realtors announcment. It’s official. President Barack Obama signed the bill that includes an extension and expansion of the popular First-Time-Home-Buyer tax credit. which will now include some move up buyers. In the coming days, I will be discussing all of the details. In the mean time, here are the details I currently have. The extension and expansion of the tax credit was included in an unemployement benefits bill that also includes assistance for businesses (HR 3548).
I’m announcing an move in my career. Effective today, I’m officially working at Cobalt Mortgage. This is a move I’ve put thought and consideration into for many months. Cobalt is a company where I feel I can service my clients with the best array of products and service. I will have the ability broker loans as I have in the past but will have a very strong mortgage banking operation to support my clients needs. What this means to my clients is more options, faster responses from underwriting and better service.
This was a very difficult decision to make as I have worked with the staff at America One Finance and Loan Network for many years. Many have become very close friends of mine and I’m sad we won’t be working together. A special thanks to Matt Simmons, who has been the best boss I could ever ask for. I want to let all the clients who I’m currently working with know I’ve done all the preparations to make sure your loan will close as planned. As many of you know, my office manager Marissa is fantastic to work with and she will wait until all loans that are scheduled to close are finished before she moves to Cobalt with me. I will remain available to answer any questions regarding your loan closing. The process should be no different than what you are already accustomed to. All of my contact information will stay the same. I want to take a moment and thank the staff at Cobalt for making my transition as smooth as possible. I wanted to give thanks to Mark Everts for answering all my questions, Steven Marshall for believing in my future, Keith Tibbles and Ernie Gehre for the opportunity, and most of all, Janelle Steinberg for for being a guide, a friend and proof that there are good people in our industry. The temporary high-balance loan limits for Conforming GSE (Government Sponsored Entities) and FHA loans have been extended through 2010.
This means the current loan limits set to expire this year will continue through next year. This will help keep the real estate market on track for recovery. According to a related blog on Zillow, the bill only needs President Obama’s signature which should happen in the next few days. No word as to whether the VA plans on extending their high-balance loan limits through 2010. This is typical for the VA as their guidelines usually change shortly after changes have been made to conforming and FHA loans. Here are the links to search for your loan limits by area: Conforming loan limits (Fannie Mae) VA loan limits (only through 2009) CNBC reported on October 28th that the $8,000 First-Time Home Buyer Tax credit will be extended through April 30th, 2010 and will include a credit for “Move Up” buyers. The reports were given by Senate Majority Leader- Harry Reid’s office to CNBC.
Earlier this week, negotiations of the credit included multiple variations of an extension as mentioned in a related blog post. The new bill is different than any of the previously mentioned bills. The credit is to extend through April 30th for first time home buyers. Early news reported the credit would reduce to $7,290 but more recent reports state it will remain at $8,000. The new bill also includes a $6,500 credit to “move-up buyers”. This is designed to motivate existing homeowners to sell and buy new homes. Spencer Rascoff, COO of Zillow.com, talked in his interview on Bloomberg about how approximately One-Third of all home-owners would consider selling under the right circumstances. These homes are what he called “Pent Up Supply.” Giving a tax credit to move-up buyers may help boost the market further. The current plan is to include the tax extension in the Unemployment Extension Benefits Bill scheduled to be voted on in the next few days. UPDATE The bill has already been voted on and has passed through the senate. The details of the bill are finalized and I expect the bill will be signed by President Obama in the upcoming weeks. We have one half of the bill makers in agreement. Senate Banking Committee Chairman Christopher Dodd reported Tuesday that top Democrats in Senate have reached an agreement to extend the $8,000 first-time homebuyer tax credit. We’re now just waiting for the Republican and Democratic party to agree to the terms of the extension, which may be reached by the end of this week. There is talk of opening up the credit to all buyers, which I believe could be helpful in moving first-time homebuyers to purchase as well as homeowners who need an incentive to sell their house. A full article can be found here on www.CNBC.com UPDATE October 26th The current $8,000 tax credit for first time home buyers is set to expire in approximately a month. Since then, there has been a rush for buyers to find a home and close before the December 1st, 2009 deadline. In a related CNBC interview, several industry experts discuss whether extending the tax credit is a good idea and some details of some of the bills currently in Congress.
Every day, I watch a small internet video news report for mortgage professionals from a website called, “Think Big Work Small” (www.TBWS.com). In today’s broadcast, Frank Garay and Brian Stevens (the hosts of the show) shared some information that I thought I would share. In World War II, the government issued millions of dollars in War Bonds that were set to mature in 40 years, which means they would all mature by 1985. However, many people have not claimed their bonds either because they forgot or didn’t live long enough. Continue reading You May Have Unclaimed War Bonds! Fri. Oct. 23 2009 | 8:15 AM ET The IRS (Internal Revenue Service) is reporting there are more than 100,000 suspicious claims involving the $8,000 first-time-home-buyer Tax Credit. Currently there are 167 criminal cases regarding the tax credit. As the December 1st, 2009 deadline for the tax credit nears, many hope Congress will extend and even potentially increase the tax credit. With over one million claims submitted, there’s no question of it’s success. Continue reading Fraud Inquiries Could Be Bad News For a First Time Home Buyer Tax Credt Extension |
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