Breaking news. The US Senate just voted to extend the housing tax credit and the national flood insurance program to Sept. 30, 2010. This is super and the buyers will be flocking to buy with the 30 year low interest rates. If you don’t buy now, you will miss one of the best opportunities that I have seen in my 30 years in real estate!
Call me at 843-830-8669 today and I will help you acheive your dream.

Mortgage Rates Drop to Lowest Level on Record
Published: Thursday, 24 Jun 2010 | 10:19 AM ET

U.S. mortgage rates dropped in the past week, with 30-year fixed-rate loans tumbling to their lowest level in 39 years, according to a survey released Thursday by Freddie Mac, the second-largest U.S. mortgage finance company.

AP
Interest rates on 15-year fixed-rate and hybrid adjustable-rate mortgages dropped to fresh lows as well.

While low rates and high affordability helped the housing market gain ground over the past year, the sector has struggled since popular home buyer tax credits expired on April 30.

Interest rates on U.S. 30-year fixed-rate mortgages, the most widely used loan, averaged 4.69 percent for the week ended June 24, the lowest since Freddie Mac [FRE 0.462 -0.028 (-5.71%) ] started the survey in April 1971. The latest rate is down from the previous week’s 4.75 percent and the year-ago level of 5.42 percent, according to the survey.

Freddie Mac said the 15-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 4.13 percent, down from 4.20 percent last week and the lowest since Freddie Mac started tracking the mortgage type in September 1991.

“Mortgage rates for all but traditional 1-year ARMs hit all-time record lows this week in our survey while activity in the housing market slowed in May following the expiration of the homebuyer tax credit,” Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac vice president and chief economist, said in a statement.

Mortgage rates are linked to yields on Treasuries and yields on mortgage-backed securities.

Mortgages

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I just got off the phone with National Flood Services and it looks like as of Tuesday we will not be able to write new flood business until congress postpones the decision for x amount of days again or until they make a final decision on the National Flood Insurance Program. If we do have to write a new flood policy what we will have to do is complete an application with the requested eff date on it, get the insured to sign the app on or before the effective date, receive payment on or before the effective date, and once everything is back to normal the National Flood Insurance Program will most likely retroactively honor the effective date on the application. Unfortunately I doubt mortgage companies will accept this as proof of coverage. However this is a little bit of good news. If there is already a flood policy in effect it can be transferred to the new buyer. The coverage can not be altered but it can be transferred. Polices that are already in effect and coming up for renewal should be renewed just like they have been in the past. Hopefully our government will get all of this settled by Tuesday and none of this will be an issue. If I hear anything else I will keep you updated.

Disclaimer – Insurance Policies/Coverage cannot be bound or changed by email. Written or verbal confirmation from a licensed agent is required.

William Hackett

C. T. Lowndes & Company

487 Highway 174

Edisto Island, SC 29438

Phone (843) 869-2141

Fax (843) 869-3836

Dear Marie Bost,
Dear Marie Bost,

Flood Insurance set to expire May 31
Funding for the National Flood Insurance Program is set to expire on May 31. While the National Association of REALTORS is hopeful an extension to fund the program through the end of the year will pass Congress by then, it’s important for you and your clients to be prepared for what happens if the program lapses at the end of the month.

A lot of properties are affected as they are required to purchase flood insurance. CTAR estimates 40% of the properties in the CTMLS are in the flood zone requiring flood insurance.

What Are My Options?
In case the program does lapse (it would only affect buyers who can’t assume sellers’ existing policy), buyers should be working to go ahead and purchase flood insurance before closing — as permitted, which is usually no more than 30 days in advance of closing.

Also, it’s important to re-emphasize what came out of the last lapse in the flood program: although each lending authority notes considerations, the consensus is, in most cases, loan closings may still occur during the NFIP lapse with verification of the submission of a NFIP flood policy application and premium payment submission to the insurance provider.

Lenders should follow all normal flood risk evaluations prior to closing and establish follow up practices to monitor full compliance upon the re-authorization of the NFIP program. Lenders should become familiar with and follow the specific guidance offered by their lending authority.

For more information on the National Flood Insurance Program, please click here.

Flood Insurance set to expire May 31
Funding for the National Flood Insurance Program is set to expire on May 31. While the National Association of REALTORS is hopeful an extension to fund the program through the end of the year will pass Congress by then, it’s important for you and your clients to be prepared for what happens if the program lapses at the end of the month.

A lot of properties are affected as they are required to purchase flood insurance. CTAR estimates 40% of the properties in the CTMLS are in the flood zone requiring flood insurance.

What Are My Options?
In case the program does lapse (it would only affect buyers who can’t assume sellers’ existing policy), buyers should be working to go ahead and purchase flood insurance before closing — as permitted, which is usually no more than 30 days in advance of closing.

Also, it’s important to re-emphasize what came out of the last lapse in the flood program: although each lending authority notes considerations, the consensus is, in most cases, loan closings may still occur during the NFIP lapse with verification of the submission of a NFIP flood policy application and premium payment submission to the insurance provider.

Lenders should follow all normal flood risk evaluations prior to closing and establish follow up practices to monitor full compliance upon the re-authorization of the NFIP program. Lenders should become familiar with and follow the specific guidance offered by their lending authority.

For more information on the National Flood Insurance Program, please click here.

Dear Marie Bost,

Flood Insurance set to expire May 31
Funding for the National Flood Insurance Program is set to expire on May 31. While the National Association of REALTORS is hopeful an extension to fund the program through the end of the year will pass Congress by then, it’s important for you and your clients to be prepared for what happens if the program lapses at the end of the month.

A lot of properties are affected as they are required to purchase flood insurance. CTAR estimates 40% of the properties in the CTMLS are in the flood zone requiring flood insurance.

What Are My Options?
In case the program does lapse (it would only affect buyers who can’t assume sellers’ existing policy), buyers should be working to go ahead and purchase flood insurance before closing — as permitted, which is usually no more than 30 days in advance of closing.

Also, it’s important to re-emphasize what came out of the last lapse in the flood program: although each lending authority notes considerations, the consensus is, in most cases, loan closings may still occur during the NFIP lapse with verification of the submission of a NFIP flood policy application and premium payment submission to the insurance provider.

Lenders should follow all normal flood risk evaluations prior to closing and establish follow up practices to monitor full compliance upon the re-authorization of the NFIP program. Lenders should become familiar with and follow the specific guidance offered by their lending authority.

For more information on the National Flood Insurance Program, please click here.

We saw a late week improvement in rates as the 30 year finished at 5.125%.

Where do the experts think rates are headed in 2010? Yield Views Couldn’t Differ More (WSJ 4/09)

There are very contrasting views from two of Wall Streets most respected firms. Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs are the two best economic forecasting teams of the past tow years and they could not disagree more on the direction of treasury yields. The 10 year treasury yield has a direct impact on the direction of mortgage rates. The lower the yield the lower the rate the higher the yield the higher mortgage rates will rise. The current yield sits around 3.94% which puts the 30 year mortgage rate at 5.125%. Morgan Stanley believes the 10 year yield will end the year at 5.5% which is the highest in its peer group. This yield would push 30 year fixed to the 7.0% range by year end. Goldman Sachs says yields are headed back down to 3.25% which would push mortgage rates below the 5.0% mark again.

Morgan Stanley View

- market cant withstand $2.4 trillion of debt the U.S government is expected to sell this year without yields rising…largest issuance in history

- believe the economy, private credit demand, and inflation expectations will rebound more quickly than analyst think

- have target yield of 5.5% which puts 30 year fixed rates at 7.0% by year end

Goldman Sachs View

- view record government borrowing is merely replacing missing private credit demand, which will return slowly

- unemployment, and other measures of economic “slack” will remain high, snuffing inflation, which helps contain mortgage rates lower

- believe treasury yields will be around 3.25% which puts mortgage rates at the 5.0% mark or below

There is still strong demand for treasury bonds as a Wednesday auction brought the strongest demand for the 10 year treasury since 1994. If you believe the economy is on a steady road to recovery rates will follow this view higher. If you believe the economy will remain flat to down then mortgage rates should stay in the low 5.0% range. The consensus for treasury yields is 4.24% by year end. This will push mortgage rates to an estimated 5.5% – 5.75%.

Edisto Island Historic Preservation Society is Springing into Action

Spring is bringing a lot of activity to the Edisto Island Historic Preservation Society. We’ve resumed our normal hours of operation (1-4 p.m., Tuesdays through Saturdays) at the Museum and have a wonderful new exhibit that will be on display through Memorial Day Weekend.

The “From Quilts in the Attic to Quilts on the Wall: Exploring Textile Art By African Americans” exhibit pays homage to Harriet Powers, whose work dates back to 1895, and is considered the great grandmother of art quilting, She specialized in the area of story or narrative quilting. The six artists in the exhibit explore anddepict their African heritage through cloth, and all the artists are from South Carolina.

Thought this was an interesting artical from USA Today:
Medical costs are rising fast:

Costs are up 5.7 percent from last year, while the economy declined 1.1 percent, according to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
In the next 10 years, health spending is projected to rise 6.1 percent, reaching $4.5 trillion, or nearly 20 percent of the economy.
Several initiatives in the law are designed to hold down costs, but some critics and even proponents of the new health reform legislation say it won’t do enough to slow down the trend, says USA TODAY:

Pilot programs will promote physician and hospital services under one roof, as well as paying for effective prevention and management of illness; that’s a change from today’s practice of paying for each visit or medical test.
An Independent Payment Advisory Board will study and offer recommendations on holding down both private sector and Medicare spending.
A demonstration program will research the effectiveness of medical procedures, so doctors and other health care providers can adopt best practices.
Programs will be established to standardize insurance forms, codes and billing procedures.
In addition, at least 85 percent of group plan premiums and 80 percent of individual plan premiums must be spent on care; insurers who don’t hit the mark will have to offer refunds.
Many health experts say the pilot programs could result in lower costs for consumers. These savings are far from certain, however, and others say much more could have been done to bring down costs.

I thought this was a great article from the NAR. Thank goodness we have this association for professional realtors.

Marie

The National Association of Realtors® urged Congress and the administration to move cautiously before making changes to the Federal Housing Administration program that has served the needs of millions of American families for more than 75 years without needing a federal appropriation.

FHA remains financially strong because it has taken steps to ensure solid underwriting standards and responsible lending practices, said Charles McMillan, NAR immediate past president, in testimony before the House Subcommittee on Housing and Community Opportunity today.

“As the leading advocate for housing issues, NAR believes that one of the best ways Congress can help strengthen FHA is to quickly consider and pass legislation that would make current loan limits permanent,” McMillan said. “It’s important to note that higher balance FHA loans perform better than lower balance ones. While some argue that higher balance loans put taxpayers at risk, such loans actually strengthen the program and reduce risk to the fund.”

NAR strongly supports H.R. 2483, the “Increasing Homeownership Opportunities Act.” Current FHA loan limits are as high as $729,750 in high-cost areas, and are set to expire at the end of the year and revert to lower amounts, greatly hindering the housing recovery process. A decrease of current limits would adversely affect 612 counties in 40 states and the District of Columbia.

Explaining that FHA has played an important role in the recent housing and economic crisis by filing the gap left by private lenders, McMillan said FHA insured almost 30 percent of single-family mortgages in 2009 and more than 50 percent of first-time buyer loans. “Historically, FHA’s market share has hovered between 10 and 15 percent of all loans. And when the private market is strong enough to return, we welcome a reduced FHA market share,” he said.

McMillan said NAR strongly opposes H.R. 3706 that would raise the FHA downpayment. “While that would increase an individual’s investment in the home, it would not add a penny to FHA’s reserves and would disenfranchise many FHA borrowers,” he said.

NAR also opposes a new FHA initiative that increased the up-front mortgage insurance premium (MIP) from 1.75 percent to 2.25 percent because it adds to the closing costs home buyers already face. NAR supports legislation to reasonably increase the annual MIP to replace FHA capital reserves, but in turn, FHA should reduce the up-front premium due at the closing table.

McMillan said NAR was also concerned that FHA wanted to decrease seller concessions to 3 percent. Reducing seller concessions could put homeownership out of reach for many buyers, he said, because it could require buyers to pay more at closing.

McMillan applauded FHA’s stepped up enforcement and oversight of lenders making FHA loans. In 2009, FHA removed approval of or suspended 274 lenders. “Realtors® support adding more tools to help FHA protect borrowers and taxpayers,” he said.

The National Association of Realtors®, “The Voice for Real Estate,” is America’s largest trade association, representing 1.2 million members involved in all aspects of the residential and commercial real estate industries.

Thought this might be of interest, just read this on a blog from another agent in the country. Have not verified this, you might want to check it out if you deal with Bank of America on Short Sales. Also, has anyone heard about sellers who do short sales are receiving tax bills at the end of the year from the government for the amount of the short sale being taxes as regular income.

Marie

While speaking with Bank Of America today on one of my short-sales under review I learned some new information.

The negotiator explained that the investor who will be approving the deal will be pulling my seller’s credit information to verify that the seller also stopped paying other creditors.

If BofA determines that the seller has continued payments to everyone else they will likely request a promissary note or cash contribution before approving the short-sale according to this BofA employee.

My belief is this is one more change to discourage people from attempting a short-sale. People who are walking away with a job and still paying their other bills need to either plan on giving them a promisary note/cash contribution to accept the short-sale or plan on a foreclosure on their credit.

Realtor’s who take these listings better get the facts upfront from the seller and make sure they are willing to make this contribution if requested by BofA. I personally think that what BofA is doing should be illegal and prosecuted. They have no right to pull a consumers credit without their authorization and providing a credit report has never been part of the short-sale package or disclosed previously. Legally they have no recourse if the property is foreclosed upon and it normally is easy to demonstrate that BofA benefits from accepting a short-sale vs. foreclosure option.