Is there an unhealthy housing market brewing? The National Association of Realtors (NAR) reported March’s existing-home sales at 6.01 million. Comparisons to March 2020 may not be valid due to the start of Covid, but the year-over-year growth reflected an increase of 12.3%. This is unusually high and likely an outlier, but is consistent with the interest rate driven buying. Ongoing […]
A prior post regarding the most significant credit events included foreclosures, pre-foreclosures, deed-in-lieu, and bankruptcies as negative credit flags. These significant credit events keep the primary mortgage buyers (Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac) from purchasing a mortgage loan from an affected borrower. These events also preclude guarantees by federal agencies (FHA, VA, USDA). Private entities likely follow the timelines from […]
Do your property taxes equal your loan payment for principal and interest? Do they exceed the loan payment? That’s question wasn’t even on the radar earlier. One of the major considerations in buying the right house is the total monthly payment. Obviously a buyer is looking for the right house – architecture, location, number of bedrooms, yard or not, and […]
Estimates of the number of mortgage borrowers who entered forbearance at some point over the last year range as high as 11 million. Some borrowers used it as a precaution, others had little other choice. Because there were differing reasons for entering forbearance and differing circumstances, many borrowers were able to exit forbearance. The exit would likely be from a […]
With the extension of forbearance noted in Q1 2021, forbearance time lines for borrowers to exit are all over the map. To qualify for forbearance, borrowers were required to request forbearance and start prior to March 1, 2021. Initial borrowers may have entered in April 2020. The forbearance periods allowed for FEDERAL mortgages is 12 months. However, two additional 3 […]
Home Owner’s Associations and Condominium Associations can rack up big assessments against an owner’s property. Can you stop paying these if you have trouble affording them? There are substantial differences between Home Owner’s Associations and Condominium Associations. In general, a Condominium Association has a substantial duty to maintain a variety of insurance coverages for common areas (walls, roofs, physical structures, […]