10 • March 2015


The Mortgage Coach Short Sold or Foreclosed?


SANTA ROSA, CA. ~ The turbulent course our econo- my has traveled has not come without its collateral dam- age. The fi nancial crisis of 2008 took more than just equity from our homes; it knocked the wind out of our sails and lead us down a path of despair. The sav- ings and wealth homeo wners once had counted upon evaporated over night.


Jobs


and incomes shrank while some just disappeared.


The


“American Dream” of home ownership had morphed into the “American Nightmare”. Neighborhoods became pick- et fenced lines of homes “For Sale”.


The recorder’s offi ce


was busy with fi lings of “no- tices of default” and “notices of foreclose”.


These were


dismal days that seemed to drag on for years. It took leg- islators and policy makers to lay down the ground work to put us back on track. Now, Sonoma County home values are back!


Many home-


owners had to “short sale” or lost their home to foreclosure, and these actions had consequences. Those that lost a home one way or another had a


mark on their credit which has limited their ability to pur- chase another home. Home- owners that were bruised and battered from the fi nancial crisis were limited to Gov- ernment programs such as FHA, USDA and VA to help them. Time has passed and by now their bruised credit scores have begun to mend.


JOKES & Humor # 4 by Barry O'Meara • barryo@stearns.com


The homes that were pur- chased with these programs have fi nally acquired some equity.


Loan programs like


the FHA and the USDA have had some hefty mortgage in- surance premiums. Conven- tional fi nancing has modifi ed its rules over the past few years allowing borrowers with a short sale, foreclosure or bankruptcy to use conven- tional fi nancing.


Documen-


tation of extenuating circum- stances leading to the events is necessary. Interest rates are still his-


torically low and with each passing year those individu- als that were displaced by an economic event are get- ting back in the market to buy a home. The surplus of inventory seems to be non- existent. We don’t hear of distressed properties domi- nating the market anymore. Those that have not owned a home for three or more years


are now considered fi rst time homebuyers. With those that bought a few years ago, now have equity and can now use that equity to become move up buyers. With a new wave of “fi rst time homebuyers” and “move up buyers” enter- ing the market, could sound like the beginning ground work of another “housing bubble”.


I see these factors


as a market correction. With the current guide- lines established through the Consumer Financial Protec- tion Bureau (CFPB), we are much more protected from a housing bubble based on liar


loans. Everything is


documented now. You can- not state an income that you cannot prove.


If you do not


report the income on your taxes, we cannot qualify you with it. With the ability-to- repay rule, no one can qualify for a home they cannot af- ford. Lenders are much more cautious now.


One of the


triggers that brought down the fi nancial markets was all of the buy-backs that lenders and mortgage brokers had to deal with as defaults started to raise. The banks that felt they were too big to fail came begging for redemption. The taxpayers had to bail them out.


If the timing is right, let me guide you through the maze of guidelines and see what will work best for you. It is only a matter of time before the economy will be fully mended and interest rates will be on the rise. The time to act is now.


One day the Library was lonely with no one in it for the librarian to help. These two chickens came through the door screeching “bouk bouk.” The librarian quickly got up and gave them each 5 books. The two chickens left satisfi ed. Just a few minutes later the same two chickens come through the door with no books screeching “bouk bouk.” The librarian once again jumps up and gives each chicken 15 books this time. The chickens leave satisfi ed once again. Then again for the third time the chicken return screeching “bouk bouk” But this rime being suspicious the librar- ian gives each chicken only one book because they have still have not returned the other books. As the chickens leave the librarian slowly follows behind to see where all the books are going. The chickens come to a stop and start throwing the books into a pond where some frogs grab the books and throw them behind their back croaking “red-it red-it”


Do not plant your dreams in the fi eld of


indecision, where nothing ever grows but the weeds of


“what-if.” Dodinsky


POP’S AFFORDABLE ROTOTILLING 707-321-0082


DONALD “POP” McGUIRE


wwwpopsaffordablerototilling.com 10 • March 2015 • UPBEAT TIMES Some persons are very decisive when it comes to avoiding decisions. ~Brendan Francis


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