Wider Choices Greet Central New Jersey First-Time Home Buyers

May 7, 2013 By Leave a Comment
 

pricesThe concept of “starter homes” cropped up after the end of the Second World War, when millions of young families took advantage of low-cost new developments to gain a foothold in homeownership: the emblematic first step in fulfilling the American Dream.

Today’s first-time Central New Jersey home buyers are a lot less predictable—just as the market itself is altogether different. As we recover from the previous years’ economic declines, which temporarily suppressed the number of area home buyers, the combination of low interest rates and historically affordable home prices allows many to aim for bigger and more accommodating housing— skipping the starter home altogether.

For sure, the market hasn’t completely abandoned the starter home idea—especially if you include Central New Jersey REO and foreclosure fixer-uppers as financially rewarding targets for handy young householders. The FHA 203(k) loan, which includes a built-in “limited repair” budget, can enable that route. But new home buyers also find other prospects can be newly within reach— among them, larger older homes and newer condominium and townhome choices.

If the combination of bargain prices and low mortgage rates isn’t enough to call prospects to action, the clear trend toward rising prices may do the trick. As inventories of the best bargains begin to shrink and mortgage rate rises look more and more inevitable, Central New Jersey home buyers could well imagine a ‘tick-tock’ sound growing louder. For area sellers waiting to make a move upward on the housing ladder, the same conditions could well make this spring’s real estate market the one they’ve been waiting for.

It all means that prospective home buyers in Central New Jersey stand to be rewarded by keeping an open mind about the variety of properties they may now find within reach. By seeking the help of an experienced agent, the widest choice of possibilities will be open for consideration.  If you are looking for the area’s most up-to-date market advice, I’m here to make sure you have access to the tools you need to make the right decision—the first time around, and every time after!

The DoorPath Team is the most comprehensive online source for Central New Jersey real estate information and services. Whether you are looking for the latest sales, trends or homes for sale in Somerset, Middlesex, Union or Hunterdon Counties in New Jersey, The DoorPath Team at Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage has it all at your fingertips. Browse information regarding short sales, foreclosures, new construction, investment property, land sales or commercial locations throughout Central New Jersey plus much more at  www.DoorPath.com or  call Michael “Mike” Downer  at 732-302-1771.

 

 
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Good News for Real Estate Short Sales

May 10, 2012 By Leave a Comment
 

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will require loan servicers who need more than 30 days to make a decision on a short-sale offer to provide weekly status updates and give a thumbs-up or thumbs-down no later than 60 days after receiving an offer.  Currently banks are taking up to a year or more to let sellers and buyers know of the decision.

Starting in June the guidelines will be in effect according to Fannie and Freddie’s regulator, the Federal Housing Finance Agency.  The goal of the program is to assist home owners in avoiding foreclosure.

FHFA said it expects additional changes to be in place by the end of the year that address borrower eligibility and evaluation, documentation simplification, property valuation, fraud mitigation, payments to subordinate lien holders, and mortgage insurance.

Freddie Mac issued more specifics on its new short-sale timeline, which applies not only to offers on properties in Freddie Mac’s traditional short-sale program, but to requests from borrowers to be considered for a short sale or deed-in-lieu of foreclosure under the Home Affordable Foreclosures Alternatives (HAFA) program.

Although Freddie Mac expects loan servicers to make a decision within 30 days, it recognizes that servicers may need more time to obtain a broker price opinion or approval from a private mortgage insurer before accepting a short-sale offer or approving a HAFA borrower response package (BRP).

If a loan servicer makes a counteroffer, the borrower is expected to respond within five business days. The servicer must then respond within 10 business days of receiving the borrower’s response.

Freddie Mac, which completed 45,623 short sales last year, said the new requirements are the latest step to comply with direction from the FHFA to set consistent servicing and delinquency management requirements.

“Short sales are more complex than routine home sales since they may involve multiple parties and long-distance negotiating,” said Tracy Mooney, Freddie Mac senior vice president, single-family servicing and REO, in a statement. “Freddie Mac’s new timelines are intended to help make the decision process more transparent and timely for short sales under the Obama administration’s HAFA program or Freddie Mac’s traditional short-sale option.”

Last week, Bank of America announced it cut decision times on short-sale offers to no more than 20 days, down from 45 days or longer. If offers fall through, agents have five days instead of 14 days to submit a backup offer.

All of these changes are long overdue and are of great benefit to the Somerset County Housing Market.  If you would like more information about the new guidelines or a list of potential short sales in Central New Jersey just drop us a line at mike@mikedowner.com with the word GUIDELINES in the subject line.

 

 
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