This Thursday, November 12th, at the National Association of REALTORS® conference and expo, NAR will unveil a new consumer Web site —HouseLogic. The new site has been designed to help home owners protect, maintain, and enhance the value of their home. The site is also designed to help REALTORS® by also including information and resources that can used for blogs, websites and even newsletters that the REALTORS® send to thier clients.
Visit Houselogic.com/members for more information on the value for REALTORS®. Look for on-site information at the NAR conference to find out when and where the new HouseLogic site will be launched. Watch for further details in your REALTORS® Magazine Daily News and at REALTOR.org.
News reports out of Washington have indicated that an extension of the extremely popular $8,000 tax credit for first-time home buyers, along with a proposal to offer a $6,500 credit for existing homeowners, has been agreed to by key members of the Senate. The new $6,500 credit would be for those existing homeowners who have lived in their current residence for a consecutive five-year period within the past eight years.
Potential home buyers would need to be under contract by April 30, 2010, and close before July 1st, 2010. Concerns have been raised by House Democrats about the cost of the program, and there have also been allegations of abuse of the program that have resulted in an IRS probe of the program.
Originally published by ARELLO in their September 2009 Newsletter – Buyers trying to work with mortgage servicers on delinquent accounts have noted delays and frustration when they are trying to take advantage of mortgage loan modifications authorized by the “Making Home Affordable” program. To help, Freddie Mac recently released a YouTube™ video that helps homeowners to determine the documents they need in order to have a “focused” conversation with authorized loan counselors.
Freddie Mac says that lenders and loan servicers are being overwhelmed by contacts from homeowners in financial trouble who are seeking to take advantage of the new loan modification and refinancing programs. The new video entitled “Stop Foreclosure: Documents Your Lender Needs to Help You,” can be seen at Freddie Mac’s YouTube™ channel online by clicking here or watching below. The two-minute production shows late-paying borrowers how to gather a few financial documents before calling a mortgage servicer. This simple step can cut the time needed for a loan servicer to understand the borrower’s situation, determine eligibility for a workout and process the application for a loan modification under the “Making Home Affordable” program or Freddie Mac’s other workout initiatives.
According to the video, the key documents borrowers should have when they call their servicer include:
• Most recent monthly mortgage statement;
• Pay stubs or other documents showing their household’s monthly pre-tax income;
• Most recent tax return;
• Second loan or home equity line of credit statements;
• Account balances and minimum monthly payments on credit cards, car loans, student loans or other debt;
• A short, concise description of the financial hardship that is causing or leading to a mortgage delinquency.
Ingrid Beckles, senior vice president of default asset management at Freddie Mac. “By taking a few moments to gather these documents borrowers can help their servicer understand their financial situation and reduce the need for repeat calls”, she said.
The Internal Revenue Service has launched an official YouTube channel. This channel will feature videos produced by the IRS on various tax administration topics. Members are encouraged to use this information to educate themselves and their clients and customers on IRS rules and regulations, as well as to learn about how changes in the tax code may affect the taxpayers real estate interests.
Available videos include discussions on withholding, home energy credits and even videos on career opportunities at the IRS. Visit the channel online by visiting the following link – http://www.youtube.com/irsvideos
NAR’s Real Estate Today radio show, available online anytime at www.retradio.com, has launched with great success and is growing in both the number of available live radio markets and in online traffic.
Started earlier this year Real Estate Today radio now includes information for consumers about the $8,000 homebuyer credit, news and housing market data. The show focuses on housing issues such as Energy efficiency and seller tips (i.e. how to sell faster or pricing it right).
Available videos include discussions on withholding, home energy credits and even videos on career opportunities at the IRS. Visit the channel online by visiting the following link – 