A house burnt down… nothing left but ashes. Owners have good insurance so the house will be replaced and most of the contents.  That is the good news.

 However, they were sick when they found out the cause of the fire. The insurance investigator sifted through the ashes for several hours. He had the cause of the fire traced to the master bathroom. He asked her sister-in-law what she had plugged in the bathroom. She listed the normal things…curling iron, blow dryer.  He kept saying to her, ‘No, this would be something that would disintegrate at high temperatures’. Then her sister-in-law remembered she had a Glade Plug-In, in the bathroom.

The investigator had one of those ‘Aha’ moments. He said that was the cause of the fire. He said he has seen more house fires started with the plug-in type room fresheners than anything else. He said the plastic they are made from is THIN. He also said that in every case there was nothing left to prove that it even existed. When the investigator looked in the wall plug, the two prongs left from the plug-in were still in there.

The sister-in-law had one of the plug-ins that had a small night light built in it. She said she had noticed that the light would dim and then finally go out. She would walk in to the bathroom a few hours later, and the light would be back on again. The investigator said that the unit was getting too hot, and would dim and go out rather than just blow the light bulb. Once it cooled down it would come back on. That is a warning sign

The investigator said he personally wouldn’t have any type of plug in fragrance device anywhere in his house. He has seen too many places that have been burned down due to them.

1. Home sales are dependent upon consumer confidence in the economy, which includes both their personal economy as well as that of the nation. 2. Loss of home equity will limit the inventory for buyers wishing to move up. Loss of equity and declining home values means fewer sellers will have the resources to purchase another home.3. Tougher lending restrictions combined with declining credit scores fewer buyers will qualify for home loans. 4. The continued high rate of foreclosures and REOs will depress both the housing market and the hopes of many potential buyers. Millions who have experienced foreclosure will be automatically ousted from the buying pool. 5. Slow increase in mortgage rates will reduce the number of qualified buyers. As we experience the higher mortgage payments associated with rising interest rates, many will fail to qualify for loans on the homes of their choice6. A raise in the housing market cannot occur as long as we have unusually high unemployment. Experts say unemployment could remain at higher than normal levels for several years.

Beyond the basics (the definition of a First Time Home Buyer and the fact that you must stay in the home for three years), here are a few of the lesser known talking points:

• There is an increase in Income Limits (and resulting Phase Out Limits) from $75,000 to $125,000 for single filers and from $150,000 to $225,000 for married filers.  That means many more people qualify!
  • That if you close in 2010 before the June 30^th deadline, you can get the credit in your 2009 Returns.  You can even file an extension and not even file until AFTER you have closed, or amend returns that had been filed.  Any of these actions will get you your tax credit cash in a matter of weeks, not in 2011!
  • That if there are multiple home buyers and/or co-signers that may or may not be First Timers, there are options on how the credit can be allocated.  As always, discuss these items with your accountant.
• There is a new REPEAT HOME BUYER TAX CREDIT of up to $6,500.

  Are you aware that you need NOT purchase a more expensive home to qualify?  Just be in contract by April 30, 2010 and close by June 30.  Many of your questions about either Tax Credit can be answered at http://www.federalhousingtaxcredit.com/

  When you combine these likely changes and deadlines with a probably rising interest rate market, I can’t imagine a better time to ACT NOW before rates go up, the need for cash to close goes up, and the tax credit expiration looms.

 Information provided by Dean Hartman

The Hope For Homeowners division is here to help people in our communities by giving them the information they need to either modify their loan and stay in their home or if that is not an option, to help them understand and proceed with a short sale of their home in order to avoid foreclosure.

The Hope For Homeowners team are CDPE (Certified Distressed Property Expert) trained and have invested time and money to learn and develop the systems to work with the banks and lenders with the goal of achieving a short sale approval.

Homeowners do have options and we strongly feel it is our responsibility as real estate professionals to help people explore their options and avoid foreclosure.

If you know of anyone who is experiencing hardships and are struggling making their payments please have them call the Hope For Homeowners team at (559) 683-3556.

Government announcements dominated the financial news this week. Updates on two major programs both were favorable for mortgage markets, and mortgage rates fell modestly during the week.

The most highly anticipated news concerned Tuesday’s speech from Treasury Secretary Geithner on the financial institution assistance plan. This “Financial Stability Plan” involves multiple programs to remove bad assets from banks’ books and to support new lending. It also contains funds to help prevent foreclosures. Investors were sorely disappointed by the lack of details about how the plans would work, however, and they responded to the uncertainty by purchasing relatively safer assets. The stock market plunged, while Treasury and mortgage-backed security markets rallied, pushing rates lower. Geithner suggested that more information about a plan to purchase troubled assets and a comprehensive housing program will be released in the next few weeks.

Later in the week, the House and the Senate agreed on a compromise $789 billion fiscal stimulus plan, which is expected to pass within days. The Obama administration estimates that the plan will create 3.5 million jobs. Both the House and the Senate had passed versions which were larger than the final compromise plan, and the reduction in scope helped mortgage markets. A smaller plan means that the government will have to issue less debt. Unfortunately, one of the spending cuts in the final plan was a provision for a $15,000 homebuyer tax credit, which came with an estimated price tag of $35 billion. Instead, the government will leave in place an existing $7,500 tax credit, applicable to only first time homebuyers. The primary change to the tax credit is that it will no longer need to be repaid. The estimated cost of this $7,500 tax break is less than $3 billion.

From Mortgage News.

I hope