Mark Daya- Foreclosure Prevention/ Short Sale Specialist

Over the past few months, C.A.R. has worked with Bank of America to make changes to the bank’s short sale purchase contract addendum and Short Sale Real Estate Licensee Certification.  Starting April 14, along with other changes, agents and brokers are no longer required to sign the Short Sale Addendum.

C.A.R. is pleased BofA has made these changes to its short sale documents in line with C.A.R. recommendations and looks forward to continuing to work with BofA to improve the short sale process in ways that will mutually benefit both REALTORS® and lenders.

https://realestateagent.bankofamerica.com/shortsale/default.aspx

• Contracts for deeds, also known as land contracts and installment sale agreements, are arrangements where a home seller provides the financing for a buyer.  Over the last few years, this unconventional type of financing has gained popularity.
• However, with the rapid growth has come an increasing amount of complaints about the terms of such deals.  While a popular last resort for house hunters who cannot get approved for a traditional mortgage, contracts for deeds are largely unregulated and are ripe for abuse.
• The most common problems are associated with terms that favor the sellers, including high interest rates and short repayment terms.
• Typically, a contract for deed is offered by a seller who doesn’t have a mortgage on the property.  The sales price is paid in installments, and often the interest rate is a couple of percentage points higher than market rate and the term is usually five to seven years.  This requires the buyer to refinance or make a large balloon payment when the contract expires.  Once all the payments have been made, the owner gives the buyer the deed to the property.

CalHFA has announced it will end its School Facility Fee Down Payment Assistance Program, which has been responsible for providing more than 14,000 grants totaling more than $61 million. Associated with this down payment assistance was more than $3.3 billion in first mortgage loans for people purchasing newly constructed homes throughout California. The program currently has approximately $700,000 left in funds, and CalHFA anticipates the final funds being expended by the end of April.

CalHFA will continue to accept applications for SFF until funds are exhausted. Applications will be accepted on a first come, first served basis.

CNNMoney
To help struggling homeowners, Bank of America recently launched a test initiative that will give some a chance to rent the very homes they risk losing.

Read the full story
http://finance.fortune.cnn.com/2012/03/26/bank-of-america-foreclosure-rental/?iid=HP_River

Data through January 2012, released this week by S&P Indices for its S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Indices showed annual declines of 3.9 percent and 3.8 percent for the 10- and 20-City Composites, respectively. Both composites saw price declines of 0.8 percent in the month of January. Sixteen MSAs also saw home prices decrease over the month.  Eight MSAs and both composites posted new index lows in January. The 10- and 20-City Composites recorded marginal improvements in annual returns over December 2011 when they each posted declines of 4.1 percent. In addition to the composites, Dallas, Denver, Miami, Minneapolis, New York, Phoenix, San Diego, Seattle, Tampa, and Washington D.C. saw their annual rates improve compared with December; while nine of the MSAs saw their annual returns worsen compared with what was reported for December 2011.

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