By Kevin G. Hall

RISMEDIA, Nov. 13, 2008-(MCT)-The Bush administration on Tuesday announced another plan to modify what it thinks will be hundreds of thousands of distressed mortgages held or backed by mortgage finance giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

More than 15 months into a deep, nationwide housing slump, several federal agencies, along with Fannie and Freddie, unveiled what they called a streamlining of modification procedures for delinquent loans. Officials hope that the effort, which begins Dec. 15, will become a standard across the private sector.

"Troubled borrowers eligible for this program have already experienced significant erosion in their credit scores, making them unlikely to obtain mortgage credit through typical means," said James Lockhart, the director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, which has assumed responsibility for Fannie and Freddie since the Treasury Department seized them in September.

Together, Fannie and Freddie own or back about 58% of all U.S. mortgage debt _ about 31 million mortgages-and they have historically been associated with the nation's decades-long expansion in homeownership.

The new plan is far short of the moratorium on foreclosures sought by President-elect Obama and the Democrats who next year will have stronger control Congress. The move follows announcements by private lenders such as Bank of America, J.P. Morgan Chase and most recently Citigroup that they would voluntarily rework troubled mortgages.

However, the plan announced Tuesday reaches only a small number of homeowners whose loans were pooled with others and sold to investors by Fannie and Freddie as bonds called mortgage-backed securities. The effort also would help an even smaller number of loans that Fannie and Freddie haven't packaged and pooled but retain on their books.

Because Fannie and Freddie were congressionally chartered private companies, they had tighter lending requirements than the Wall Street companies that securitized, or pooled, mortgages for sale to investors. Fannie's foreclosure rate through the end of September was 1.6%, versus nearly 20% for sub-prime adjustable-rate mortgages packaged and sold by Wall Street firms that have mostly gone bust.

To qualify for the new program, homeowners whose loans are owned or packaged by Fannie and Freddie must be 90 days or more past due on their payments for single-family dwellings in which they live. They must prove hardship, can't be in bankruptcy and their outstanding loan values must be at least 90% of their homes' current values.

That's important, since the program targets homeowners who are nearly or completely underwater, owing more than their homes are worth in a sinking market. This should help homeowners in Florida, Nevada and the less expensive inland parts of California that are suffering steep drops in home values.

If the program's thresholds are met, Fannie and Freddie will modify the mortgage with the goal of a monthly payment equal to about 38% of the holder's total income.

The goal could be achieved three ways: The loan could be stretched into a 40-year fixed-rate mortgage; the interest rate could be reduced; and/or money going to the mortgage balance, called the principal, could be deferred interest-free until the end of the loan and recaptured in what's known as a balloon payment. Fannie and Freddie will pay $800 to financial institutions for each loan they modify.

Officials from the departments of Treasury, Housing and Urban Development and the Federal Housing Finance Agency gave speeches touting the effort. They didn't take questions.

In a subsequent briefing conducted on the condition of anonymity, officials involved in the plan acknowledged that it might reach 200,000 or so homeowners at best next year. That's a fraction of the 2.8 million who are thought to face foreclosure this year.

"It's a first step," one official said, acknowledging that the private sector already is taking many of these steps.

Tuesday's plan was patterned after similar efforts by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., but it didn't go far enough for FDIC Chairman Sheila C. Bair.

"This is a step in the right direction but falls short of what is needed to achieve wide-scale modifications of distressed mortgages," Bair, a critic within the Bush administration of current mortgage-rescue efforts, said in a statement.

"Given continually rising foreclosures and their impact on the economy, we must address the need for appropriate economic incentives to prevent unnecessary foreclosures," she said. "As we lend and invest hundreds of billions of dollars to help institutions suffering leveraged losses from defaulting mortgages, we must also devote some of that money to fixing the front-end problem: too many unaffordable home loans."

Fannie Mae on Monday reported a $29 billion loss for the quarter that ended Sept. 30. Its leaders have warned that the current level of government support may not be enough to support its new mission of jump-starting the mortgage market.

The Bush administration to date has taken a voluntary approach on mortgage modifications, creating a program called Hope Now in which leading banks and financial institutions pledged to do all in their power to rework distressed mortgages.

That effort has been very slow, however, and John McCain last month criticized the administration for not using taxpayers' money to issue new loans that matched homes' present-day values.

"Everything to date has been voluntary, and it really hasn't worked and hasn't been enough," said Evan Fuguet, senior policy counsel for the Center for Responsible Lending, a housing advocacy group in Durham, N.C. "We think more needs to be done."

© 2008, McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.

I have a couple foreclosures that will be coming on the market soon.

Dewey ave in Watertown.  4bedroom home needs some work but will be priced well below $100,000. Good opportunity for a flip.

Falcon dr, a 3 bedroom, 2 bath home Hartford. This home is only 5 years old. It is in good shape and move in condition.

If you want any more information on these properties give me a call.  Many of foreclosre properties I sell before they hit the market. To be added to my list give me a call as well

Brad Koenig
262-719-7393
www.YourLocalHomeTeam.com

At the moment, Mortgage Bonds are trading just slightly lower as Stocks try to rebound from yesterday's sharp losses.  The selloff may have been triggered by Chairman Bernanke's talk, which painted a slow economic recovery and repair of the credit markets.  Stock Traders were groping for a more hopeful message from Mr. Bernanke and when they didn't get it, they sold with both fists.

Yesterday was also a wild one for Mortgage Bonds - prices had dropped early in the day, dipping right into a support zone marked by the price lows of 2008 and then bounced significantly higher.  Be sure to show your clients the Bond page and how prices, for the time being, have found a bottom, again marked by the price lows of 2008.

Some good news on inflation as the headline Consumer Price Index, (CPI) for September was reported at 0.0%, better than estimates of 0.2%.  And Core CPI was reported at 0.1%, also lower than forecasts of 0.2%.  Over the past year, the headline CPI has increased by 4.9% while the Core CPI has risen by 2.5%.  These tame inflation numbers are to be expected as energy prices have dropped sharply since their July highs.

Initial Jobless Claims were reported at 461,000,  slightly below expectations of 470,000.  For the week ended Oct. 4, the number of Americans continuing to collect benefits rose 40,000 to 3.71 million -- the highest level since June 2003.  The four-week average of continuing claims rose 65,750 to 3.63 million -- the highest since July 2003.  Weakness in the labor market continues.

The frozen credit market is showing signs of a thaw as the overnight and 3-month bank-to-bank rates have edged lower.  The overnight bank-to-bank lending rate, known as LIBOR, fell to 1.94% from 2.14% while the 3-month LIBOR fell to 4.50%.  As central banks continue to inject liquidity into the global financial system, LIBOR should continue to move lower.

Industrial Production for September was reported at - 2.8% versus estimates of -0.8% and Capacity Utilization was 76.4, well below expectations of 78.0.  This lower Cap Utilization number is also a good news for inflation, because it suggests that there is more room for businesses to expand before pricing pressures set in.  A Capacity Utilization reading closer to 85 suggests that businesses are operating near full capacity, which starts to fan inflation flames.

The Bond is trying to build on yesterday's gains, but will have to overtake a Window of Resistance right at present levels in order for prices to improve further.  We will continue to float carefully, but keeping a finger close to lock trigger.

Barry Habib, Mortgage Market Guide

How To Plan Ahead For The New, Lower Conforming Mortgage Loan Limits in 2009

Conforming mortgages are limited by loan size, based on average housing costs around the country.  Since 1980, as home prices have increased, so have conforming loan limits.

The current conforming loan limit on a single-family home is $417,000.

Earlier this year, as part of the Economic Stimulus Act of 2008, Congress authorized temporary increases to the conforming loan limit in high cost regions, as defined by median home sale price. In Manhattan, for example, where more homes sell for more than a million dollars than sell for less, mortgages as large as $729,750 are considered "conforming".

Beginning in 2009, however, that loan limits changes.  Effective January 1, conforming mortgages will be capped at $625,500 in high cost areas, and $417,000 everywhere else.

Therefore, homeowners in high cost areas whose mortgaged amounts exceed $625,500 are now operating on a defined timeline.  Switch to a cheaper conforming home loan prior to December 31, 2008, or risk paying the "jumbo premium".

This includes homeowners with:

• Two mortgages -- one for $417,000 and one for "the difference"
• An ARM that was begrudingly accepted because jumbo fixed rates were too high
• An expensive jumbo fixed rate mortgage

In addition, home buyers in the $800,000-900,000 price range may want to move up their closing dates.  Today, at those price levels it takes a 20 percent downpayment to get access to conforming money.  In 2009, it will take 30 percent.

To lookup your area's conforming loan limits, visit the HUD Web site, however the loan limit charts aren't terribly intuitive.  

I found this video on line. Another reason to be involved with politics. Local, state and the federal goverment are overspending.

It doesn't matter if you you are republican or Democrat be sure to stay involved, this will effect us on all levels.

http://cosmos.bcst.yahoo.com/up/player/popup/index.php?cl=9820183

Get out and vote!!!

1. Evaluate whether prepaying is right for you. In the short term think of prepaying your loan as investing, but investing in a large, illiquid asset. That is, you must sell the house to get the money out again. If you have a low interest rate and you are making good returns on investments, it may not be worthwhile. If other debts are costing you more or if you have little or no savings, focus on those priorities first. The long term prepayment is by far the best thing to do. When the mortgage is paid off 100% of the money you would have paid can now go for investments.
2. The effect of 5% compound interest over time.Find out the interest rate on your mortgage and the remaining balance. If it isn't on your statement, call your bank or whoever is carrying your mortgage to find out.
   
3. Use a mortgage calculator  to find out how much you are paying in interest over the life of the loan.
   • Look for a calculator that gives you an amortization schedule, preferably with a graph of interest and principal paid over time.
   • Look for a calculator that will let you run scenarios and see what happens if you prepay at various rates.
4. Decide how much you will prepay. There is no one right answer to this question. Here are some possibilities:
   • Prepay a certain percentage of your income. One or even half a percent might be small enough to be painless and still make a big dent.
   • Prepay a certain amount each month. Choose a nice, round number that seems right to you.
   • Pay a monthly amount that you were paying before on a different loan. If you just paid off a car loan or credit card, put that amount towards prepaying your mortgage instead.
   • Continue to pay the monthly amount that your mortgage cost before refinancing, even though the new monthly payment is less.
   • Pay the amount of a raise you have just received. The advantage of choices like these is that they keep the rest of your finances the same as they were before. You will not notice that new, "extra" money is going elsewhere.
   • Make one extra payment per year. Divide your monthly payment by 12 and pay that much extra each month. Don't wait until the end of the year or rely on your memory.
5. Phone your bank or mortgage company and verify that any extra payment will get applied immediately toward paying down the principal. They may ask that you enclose a form letter or add a memo to each check to this effect. Prepaying a mortgage is still uncommon enough that some companies don't seem to know what to do about it.
   • Check that your first couple of payments went to the right place. Read your statement after the first extra payment and verify that the payments are being correctly applied against your principal.
6. Automate your payment. The mortgage company may be able to do this for you, or if you have online bill pay with your bank, you can make either a separate payment or an increased payment automatically that way. While you could theoretically make the extra payment manually each month, it is probably easiest to automate it once and let the bank remember the new schedule for you.
   • Make sure to include your account information and prepayment instructions with your payment.
   • It may help things get processed correctly if you send a separate check or payment for the part you are prepaying. If you are using an online bill pay service, simply set up two payments at the same time each month.
7. Look into a biweekly payment plan. Many people prefer this option because it is simple and lines up with their biweekly paycheck schedule. With a biweekly payment plan, you simply pay half the monthly amount every two weeks. This has the effect of paying one extra payment per year. Set up a biweekly payment plan through your mortgage company or through an independent service. A phone call or two should be enough to set up the payments.
   • With this choice, you must generally set up a plan specifically.
   • Make sure, if you are paying biweekly, that the mortgage company knows what to do with the extra payments.
   • Ask whatever institution sets up your biweekly plan whether the payments get applied immediately, and don't sign up if the answer is no. Some companies, especially third party services, withdraw the funds biweekly and only make the additional payment at the end of the month or year, earning interest on your money in the meantime.
   • Expect a setup fee of a few hundred dollars, and ask what the fees will be before you sign up. Although this sounds like a lot of money, the money you save over the life of the loan will be much more. If you still don't like the fee, set up an automatic transfer yourself.
   • You do not necessarily need to pay someone else to set up your payments for you once you have calculated what they need to be. It's free to do it yourself, and you will save more money (the fee associated with this plan).

Take a look at our mortgage calculator on our website. http://www.yourlocalhometeam.com/FixedRateMtgCalc

There you can see how much interest you can save by making one extra payment a month.  With a $250,000 mortage at 6% your payment is around  $1500 per month. If you make an extra payment every year will save over $70,000 in interest and cut almost 7 years off your mortgage.

Have fun with this. To see all of our calcualtors go to http://www.yourlocalhometeam.com/calculators

 Brad Koenig
www.YourLocalHomeTeam.com

IR-2008-106, Sept. 16, 2008

WASHINGTON - First-time homebuyers should begin planning now to take advantage of a new tax credit included in the recently enacted Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008.

Available for a limited time only, the credit:

• Applies to home purchases after April 8, 2008, and before July 1, 2009.
• Reduces a taxpayer's tax bill or increases his or her refund, dollar for dollar.
• Is fully refundable, meaning that the credit will be paid out to eligible taxpayers, even if they owe no tax or the credit is more than the tax that they owe.

However, the credit operates much like an interest-free loan, because it must be repaid over a 15-year period. So, for example, an eligible taxpayer who buys a home today and properly claims the maximum available credit of $7,500 on his or her 2008 federal income tax return must begin repaying the credit by including one-fifteenth of this amount, or $500, as an additional tax on his or her 2010 return.

Eligible taxpayers will claim the credit on new IRS Form 5405. This form, along with further instructions on claiming the first-time homebuyer credit, will be included in 2008 tax forms and instructions and be available later this year on IRS.gov, the IRS Web site.

If you bought a home recently, or are considering buying one, the following questions and answers may help you determine whether you qualify for the credit.

Q. Which home purchases qualify for the first-time homebuyer credit?

A. Only the purchase of a main home located in the United States qualifies and only for a limited time. Vacation homes and rental property are not eligible. You must buy the home after April 8, 2008, and before July 1, 2009. For a home that you construct, the purchase date is the first date you occupy the home.

Taxpayers who owned a main home at any time during the three years prior to the date of purchase are not eligible for the credit. This means that first-time homebuyers and those who have not owned a home in the three years prior to a purchase can qualify for the credit.

If you make an eligible purchase in 2008, you claim the first-time homebuyer credit on your 2008 tax return. For an eligible purchase in 2009, you can choose to claim the credit on either your 2008 (or amended 2008 return) or 2009 return.

Q. How much is the credit?

A. The credit is 10 percent of the purchase price of the home, with a maximum available credit of $7,500 for either a single taxpayer or a married couple filing jointly. The limit is $3,750 for a married person filing a separate return. In most cases, the full credit will be available for homes costing $75,000 or more. Whatever the size of the credit a taxpayer receives, the credit must be repaid over a 15-year period.

Q. Are there income limits?

A. Yes. The credit is reduced or eliminated for higher-income taxpayers.

The credit is phased out based on your modified adjusted gross income (MAGI). MAGI is your adjusted gross income plus various amounts excluded from income-for example, certain foreign income. For a married couple filing a joint return, the phase-out range is $150,000 to $170,000. For other taxpayers, the phase-out range is $75,000 to $95,000.

This means the full credit is available for married couples filing a joint return whose MAGI is $150,000 or less and for other taxpayers whose MAGI is $75,000 or less.

Q. Who cannot take the credit?

A. If any of the following describe you, you cannot take the credit, even if you buy a main home:

• Your income exceeds the phase-out range. This means joint filers with MAGI of $170,000 and above and other taxpayers with MAGI of $95,000 and above.
• You buy your home from a close relative. This includes your spouse, parent, grandparent, child or grandchild.
• You stop using your home as your main home.
• You sell your home before the end of the year.
• You are a nonresident alien.
• You are, or were, eligible to claim the District of Columbia first-time homebuyer credit for any taxable year. 
• Your home financing comes from tax-exempt mortgage revenue bonds.
• You owned another main home at any time during the three years prior to the date of purchase. For example, if you bought a home on July 1, 2008, you cannot take the credit for that home if you owned, or had an ownership interest in, another main home at any time from July 2, 2005, through July 1, 2008.

Q. How and when is the credit repaid?

A. The first-time homebuyer credit is similar to a 15-year interest-free loan.  Normally, it is repaid in 15 equal annual installments beginning with the second tax year after the year the credit is claimed. The repayment amount is included as an additional tax on the taxpayer's income tax return for that year.  For example, if you properly claim a $7,500 first-time homebuyer credit on your 2008 return, you will begin paying it back on your 2010 tax return. Normally, $500 will be due each year from 2010 to 2024.

You may need to adjust your withholding or make quarterly estimated tax payments to ensure you are not under-withheld.

However, some exceptions apply to the repayment rule. They include:

• If you die, any remaining annual installments are not due. If you filed a joint return and then you die, your surviving spouse would be required to repay his or her half of the remaining repayment amount.
• If you stop using the home as your main home, all remaining annual installments become due on the return for the year that happens. This includes situations where the main home becomes a vacation home or is converted to business or rental property. There are special rules for involuntary conversions.  Taxpayers are urged to consult a professional to determine the tax consequences of an involuntary conversion.
• If you sell your home, all remaining annual installments become due on the return for the year of sale. The repayment is limited to the amount of gain on the sale, if the home is sold to an unrelated taxpayer. If there is no gain or if there is a loss on the sale, the remaining annual installments may be reduced or even eliminated. Taxpayers are urged to consult a professional to determine the tax consequences of a sale.
• If you transfer your home to your spouse, or, as part of a divorce settlement, to your former spouse, that person is responsible for making all subsequent installment payments.

The 7 most important questions to ask your loan agent before starting the mortgage process

 

I advocate spending 20 minutes on the phone interviewing the loan originators you are considering working with. I recommend avoiding specifics about rates and programs; instead I believe you should use the time to get a true feel for the originator. This gives you important information to determine if they are the best fit for you and your needs.

What does that 20 minutes look like? I've prepared the 7 most important questions to ask your loan agent during that initial interview to help you determine if that originator is right for you. Ask these questions and take notes. Compare the responses you receive from the different originators. Answers to these questions reveal key insights about the person you are talking with.

A couple of notes about these questions:

1. They aren't hard. These are no-brainers for serious loan agents. If the person you are speaking with can't articulate a sound answer to the questions below they are either lying or are incompetent. Either way avoid them like the plague.
2. They are meant to elicit genuine response. If you get some canned sales pitch instead of a true answer rephrase the question and keep going until you are satisfied that you've received an honest reply.
3. These questions alone will not protect you from unsavory mortgage lenders. There is no one magic bullet; what we are doing is developing a series of tests and requirements that together build a system that helps protect you and delivers an excellent mortgage. No one element stands up to this challenge on its own.

Here are the questions - print them out and take notes for each of the three referrals you have chosen to interview from step 1 of the 8 steps to saving $2,500 game plan.

1. How are you compensated?
2. How long have you been in the mortgage business, in what capacities?
3. Do you have two (or three) customer referrals that I could speak with directly?
4. What is your lending and personal business philosophy?
5. Have you completed any licensing or continuing education?
6. What documents do you customarily provide to your your clients during the loan process?
7. Which lenders do you use and which loan programs made up the majority of your originations last year?

There you have it - 7 simple questions that will help you unlock the riddle that is your mortgage originator. Let's take a look at what responses to those questions should look like. Please note that many of the comments below could easily be follow up questions to the main 7 that let you probe deeper on each topic.

 

 

1. How are you compensated?

We don't really much care if they are compensated by commission or by salary. In fact I would argue that a commissioned loan agent will work harder to see your loan through quickly when compared to a salaried loan agent. What we are looking for here is the following:

• Honesty and confidence in sharing compensation.
• An understanding of fees charged by the originator, charged by the broker or lender, and those charged by the investor and other third parties. This will help us in our negotiation later in the process.
• An understanding of their compensation via yield spread premium or bonuses awarded for selling a particular type of mortgage product.

2. How long have you been in the mortgage business, in what capacities?

We are looking for experience in the industry. I set a minimum at 2 years. I would typically choose someone with more experience. The reason you want someone with experience is that the experienced person tends to have a better grasp of product and underwriting guidelines which will be to your benefit when your loan is structured and submitted for approval.

Using a green mortgage originator can cost your thousands of dollars simply due to their lack of knowledge of underwriting and program guidelines. Rookie originators tend to pitch the easiest-to-qualify mortgage products which also happen to be the most expensive.

Understanding the capacities that originators have served in also helps you get a better understanding of their level of expertise in the industry. An originator who has been an underwriter may not be the smoothest salesperson, but they may be the best at getting your loan approved and funded quickly.

3. Do you have two (or three) customer referrals that I could speak with directly?

This should be a softball to a customer-oriented loan originator. They should have 3 names that they can give you along with phone numbers that put you in touch with past clients.

Red Flag #1: The originator can't give you 3 names and numbers.

Red Flag #2: It takes the originator more than 10 minutes to name 3.

You don't care about published testimonials. You want real people that you can talk to that will go to bat for the loan agent as a service provider. You want to ask your own questions and form your own opinions. If they can't deliver these people, move on.

4. What is your lending and personal business philosophy?

People that are good at their job and take pride in their work have a personal philosophy that drives them and their interactions with their customers. Their work is intentional and it is driven from a set of beliefs about lending and about providing service. Ask your loan agent what their philosophy is. What is their mission statement or personal lending mantra that drives the way they conduct business?

If they don't have a well-articulated way of doing business, or can't relay their philosophical business and lending foundation then its time to move on. Here's mine just for an example.

You ask: "What is your lending or personal business philosophy?"

I answer: "My philosophy is summed up in this way: ‘Nobody works harder to make getting a mortgage easier.' I work hard for each and every one of my clients by providing service, information and mortgage products that are aligned with the unique needs of my clients. I develop a relationship that merely begins when your mortgage funds."

Short, sweet and answers the question. Everyone that is intentional in their business has a philosophy - your loan agent should definitely have one.

5. Have you completed any licensing or continuing education?

Not all originators are required to be licensed, and not all originators are required to take continuing education. The licensing tests are mostly a joke, and obviously the system hasn't stopped anyone from hurting people if they want to. With that said, there is something to say for someone taking the time to further their education in their respective fields. Whether you agree with licensing or not; you must agree that someone who is invested in improving themselves in their profession is a better candidate to win your business than someone who merely shows up and does nothing to improve their skill in their chosen profession.

Be sure to ask about licenses held and special designations or awards that have been earned.

6. What documents do you customarily provide to your your clients during the loan process?

We are looking for loan agents who are operate in a transparent, fully-disclosed and documented manner. We want to see that they provide the following:

• Initial good faith estimate
• Revised good faith estimate if there are program changes
• Rate lock from the investor or secondary marketing department
• Automated underwriting approval if used
• Loan approval from the investor or underwriter's desk
• Estimated HUD 1-day prior to document signing

7. Which lenders do you use and which loan programs made up the majority of your originations last year?

Some of your originators will work for a broker or work for a bank. Some may work with dozens of lenders, others may have only their own lending department to work with. What we want to get out of this question is an understanding of the agent's comfort level with various products. Loan agents are creatures of habit and tend to get loans to fit guidelines that they are familiar and comfortable with first; regardless of the amount of benefit available to you through other channels.

Here are some common channels you want to know about:

• Are they a broker or a direct lender?
• Do they provide government-sponsored FHA and VA loans?
• Do they do primarily prime, Alt-A or subprime mortgages?
• Do they do 2nd mortgages and home equity lines of credit? (HELOCs)

Get percentages and numbers for each. We don't need exact numbers but rough estimates will help. If you talk to someone who is a broker who works primarily with subprime borrowers you can bet one of the quotes you get will be a short-term ARM loan through a subprime investor, regardless of your credit score. Conversely if you talk with someone who only does conforming prime loans for a direct lender they may say you don't qualify for a loan when the problem is their limited product offerings.

The Bottom Line: You need to get a feel for the loan agent's breadth and depth of product knowledge and expertise in order to asses how capable they will be in helping you secure a great mortgage. If you have a weak originator you are severely limited by their inability to identify the proper program for you.

There are definitely other important questions to ask. I encourage you to use these 7 as a jumping-off point to your relationship with your loan agent. They are not the end of the process - they are the beginning. These should be the second set of filters (after the 8 steps) that help you identify the agent that is going to best be able to assist you in finding the best loan for you and your family.

Brad Koenig
www.YourlocalHomeTeam.com

 

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Dear Friends and Volunteers of Jefferson County WI Habitat for Humanity,

On September 13, 2008, Modern Woodman's Insurance Company is sponsoring an event at Fort Atkinson High school's beautiful auditorium on behalf of Jefferson County Habitat for Humanity, and has offered to match up to $2,500 for every dollar raised!

The event is a dinner and show which features "Tony Rocker and the Come Back Special Band" and a pasta buffet provided by Capn's Catering.   Tony is an award winning Elvis Tribute Artist who in January of 2004 won 3^rd place at the "Midwest Tribute to the King Contest".  Capn's Catering is known throughout Jefferson County for their quality, fabulous catering menu.  We are pleased that both the Tony Rocker and Come Back Special Band, and Capn's Catering have agreed to provide their creative talent and services to help Modern Woodman's raise money for this event.

Advanced Tickets are $45 for VIP seating, $35 Preferred seating, $30 Standard seating

After September 1:  $50 VIP seating, $40 Preferred seating, $35 Standard seating

All tickets include dinner and beverages.

Call Rick or Mary Olson for more details or tickets at (920) 563-9405 or

Jefferson County Habitat for Humanity (920) 397-736

Come out and enjoy an evening of fabulous food, great entertainment, an atmosphere suitable for the entire family, and the satisfaction of knowing that every dollar raised will be used to build the next Habitat for Humanity home in Jefferson County.  This means that you will help a deserving, low-income family achieve the dream of homeownership.  Dinner, show, and helping those less fortunate all for under $50!  How could one go wrong?          

Thank you so much of your time and support of Habitat for Humanity.  Hope to see you there!

As you are probably aware, the president signed into law the new housing bill.  We are getting some preliminary indications of exactly what effect this will have on the mortgage industry and there are some dramatic changes.  Some appear to be very positive and some I have my reservations about (the ability to refi endangered mortgages from their delinquent loan into an FHA loan has some very nice thing to it, but it also has some very very definite "catches" to it as well)....this bill is set to take effect on 10/1/08 and as I get information about the specifics on this new law I will forward them to you.   Here is one such item and it is a VERY STRONG POSITIVE for our industry!  Click on the link below to view it for yourself, the "First Time Homebuyer Tax Credit"....   www.federalhousingtaxcredit.com

First Time Home Buyers qualify for a  $7,500  Tax Credit(Married of Single) on the purchase of a home to be used as a principal residence.

Buyer cannot have owned a residence in the past 3 years.

Any property that qualifies for Mortgage Interest Deductability qualifies.

Income limit.....$75,000 for an individual and $150,000 filing jointly.

There is a phase out for incomes above these numbers. 

Eligible purchasers may claim credit for homes purchased on or after April 8, 2008 and before July 1, 2009. 

There is a repayment provision....those who use it we be required to pay it back over 15 years in increments fo $502.

http://www.realtor.org/press_room/news_releases/2008/realtors_pledge_support_housing_stimulus_bill

Over the weekend the Senate passed ground braking legislation aimed at helping troubled homeowners, adding confidence to the mortgage markets, and encouraging home buying by first time homebuyers.  The same bill was passed by the House of Representatives last week (as described below) and the President has publically said that he will sign this bill into law if passed by Congress.  So, with so much going on I thought I should get the weekly report out to you a day early.  I have read many articles on the subject and found an article from Friday's New York Times to be the most informative.  Please click on the link below to see how the housing bill may benefit you.

 http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/25/business/25money.html?scp=1&sq=housing+bill%2C+something+for+everyone&st=nyt

 As always, feel free to contact me at any time with questions and I hope you have a great week

I would like to welcome back Kati Hatfield. Kati was with me for almost 2 years prior to leaving to try a new career.  Kati has knowledge in all parts of real estate including working with buyers, sellers, bank reo properties and marketing.  She will assist me in the office but will also help me out with appointments to provide even better service for our clients and customers.

With over 70% of our business coming from refferals from our clients and business partners we really strive for service beyond expectations.

Welcome back Kati!!

Your House As Seen By:

Yourself...





Your  Buyer...





Your  Lender...




Your  Appraiser...



Your County's Tax Assessor...

Decisive moves from government agencies have helped the stocks of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac rebound.

The Fed and the Treasury Department on Sunday offered plans. The Treasury Department's package includes "foreclosure rescue to help strapped homeowners get new, more affordable government-backed mortgages through the Federal Housing Administration, and creates a new regulator and tighter controls for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac." (MSNBC)

Shares of both Fannie and Freddie went up 13% at the opening bell yesterday. This increase helps absorb a portion of the near 60 percent loss they have sustained through the first quarters of this year.

While there are mixed responses to the governments plan, it appears to have had a soothing effect on the stocks.

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke told Congress yesterday that the troubled mortgage institution are in "no danger of failing."

Market Conditions by Carla L. Davis RealtyTimes.com

The Fed announced yesterday morning that it would tighten rules on lending to subprime and exotic loan borrowers. What does this mean for the real estate market?

Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke said, "Unfortunately, in the past few years, many mortgage loans were extended that were poorly underwritten or whose terms were inadequately disclosed, particularly in the subprime market. As you know, those poor lending practices have contributed to a sharp increase in mortgage delinquencies and foreclosures. The resulting costs have been felt not only by borrowers but also by entire communities, as foreclosure clusters have caused neighborhoods to deteriorate and reduced municipal tax bases. "

In response to these subprime issues, the Fed is prepared to put a heavy hand on subprime and exotic mortgages -- issuing new lending rules to restrict exotic mortgages and high-cost loans for those with weak credit. Hopefully these efforts, said Bernanke, will "help the financial system return to more normal functioning."

He continued that designing rules for this complex system is not an easy task -- but one which is worth the Fed drawing their attention to.

Do we really need the government making more rules. What about just educating consumer's that thes loans are not good. I have seen homeowners use the these loans to pay off their credit card debt. This is ok, until they charge up those same credit cards in the next 6 months. America is not a saving nation. Everyone should have at least 6 months of salary in savings.

I think high schools should have a class on the credit cards, mortgages and other pros and cons of compounding interest. Maybe they do now. I learned this on my own.  Any comments?

HUD has proposed yet another rule trying to eliminate charitable down payment assistance programs like AmeriDream!

This action would prevent us from together providing annually over 200,000 qualified homebuyers across America the opportunity to own a home.  Take action today and tell HUD the negative impact their proposed rule will have on you and your customers.

After more than 15,000 comments opposing the last proposed rule and being defeated in two lawsuits, HUD is still trying to eliminate homeownership opportunities for homebuyers throughout America. Tell HUD that they are wrong again!

As you know, many depend on the help and hope charitable down payment assistance programs provide. Tell HUD to make sure that AmeriDream and other similar programs remain in place so that the promise of homeownership remains a reality for the individuals and families FHA was created to serve.

Tell HUD today that you support homeownership and tell them to find a way to keep down payment assistance porgrams such as AmeriDream. The comment period ends August 15, 2008, please make your comment now.

Go to www.supporthomeownership.com to make your comments.

Your voice may be the one that makes the difference!

Think a gallon of gas is expensive?

This makes one think, and also puts things in perspective.

Diet Snapple 16 oz $1.29 ........ $10.32 per gallon

Lipton Ice Tea 16 oz $1.19 ...........$9.52 per gallon

Gatorade 20 oz $1.59 ...... $10.17 per gallon

Ocean Spray 16 oz $1.25 . $10.00 per gallon

Brake Fluid 12 oz $3.15 . $33.60 per gallon

Vick's Nyquil 6 oz $8.35 .... $178.13 per gallon

Pepto Bismol 4 oz $3.85 ..... $123.20 per gallon

Whiteout 7 oz $1.39 ......... .. $25.42 per gallon

Scope 1.5 oz $0.99 .$84.48 per gallon

And this is the REAL KICKER...

Evian water 9 oz $1.49..........$21.19 per gallon?!
$21.19 for WATER

And the buyers don't even know the source. (Evian spelled backwards is Naive.)

So, the next time you're at the pump, be glad your car doesn't run on water, Scope, or Whiteout, or God forbid Pepto Bismol or Nyquil.

Just a little humor to help ease the pain of your next trip to the pump...