SIERRA VIEW FROM SHINGLE SPRINGS
Continuing with our commitment of including photographs of our beautiful area for those thinking about moving here, we submit this shot of the Sierra Range from Shingle Springs on Highwat 50.
NEW HUD HOME BUYER VIDEO: SHOPPING FOR YOUR LOAN
New HUD Home Buyer’s Video Clip: Shopping For Your Loan
The Department of Housing and Unban Development has just come out with a three video series designed to help home buyers better understand the home buying and financing process. The videos are straight forward and easy to understand. They range from 10 to a little over 12 minutes long and are a MUST VIEW for any first-time home buyer. More experienced home buyers may also find them helpful.
Here is a link to the first of the three, Shopping For Your Loan: http://www.youtube.com/user/HUDchannel#p/a/u/1/RdwxqiVwsOA
This link takes you to the video which covers the loan. It explains the Good Faith Estimate and the HUD-1 and how to interpret them. This video may be a bit dry for some viewers and a little complex for those not familiar with the loan process.
Anyone who is seriously considering the purchase of a home should take the time to view these videos. It might be prudent for home sellers to view the videos as well.
If, after viewing the video, you have any questions or need assistance in finding the best deal on a home, feel free to give us a call at (916) 337-0658, or e-mail Mike@BuyYourVilla.com.
Serving El Dorado Hills, Folsom, Cameron Park, Placerville, El dorado, Sacramento and Place counties.
KEEP YOUR HOME CALIFORNIA PROGRAM
KEEP YOUR HOME CALIFORNIA PROGRAM
The California Housing Finance Agency (CalHFA) reported this week that its “Keep Your Home California” program implementation will be delayed. They report logistical problems have delayed the original November 1st start date.
The “Keep Your Home California” program is a $ 1.83 billion-with a B-program designed to help low to moderate income California homeowners to keep their homes. They have a target of an estimated 100,000 California homeowners. A key requirement to qualify for the program is that the homeowner must have endured a verifiable loss of income.
There are two primary forms of aid. The first is $ 875 million earmarked for unemployed Californians. The program plans to help them make up the shortfall in their mortgage payments. The second is $ 790 million earmarked to directly reduce mortgage loan balances for qualified Californians.
A major reason for the delay in implementation is that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac instructed their loan servicers to participate in this program. These two quasi government agencies handle the vast majority of mortgages sold on the secondary market and the volume has overloaded the CalHFA staff.
Although the program has been delayed for several weeks, homeowners struggling to make their mortgage payments are encouraged to contact their loan servicer or lender and advise that they wish to be considered for the program. DO NOT WAIT! These programs tend to run out of funds quickly.
For more information about the “Keep Your Home California” program go 
tohttp://www.KeepYourHomeCalifornia.org .
Stay tuned for more information.
If you are in need of assistance in avoiding or stopping foreclosure contact
Mike West at (916) 337-0658 for a no cost consultation.
THE FORECLOSURE FREEZE AND WHAT IT MEANS!
The Foreclosure Freeze And What It Means
Most of us are is aware of the foreclosure freeze that has been all over the media in recent weeks. In essence, GMAC mortgage had a process in place to maximize the efficiency of their foreclosure handling process. That process had one employee in place to sign 400 foreclosures a day (good old American knowhow and efficiency) that had not been reviewed by anyone at that institution. GMAC, the nation’s fourth-largest mortgage lender, called this little omission a technicality! Fortunately, the courts forced them to halt all foreclosures in 23 states (California not included).
It turns out that Bank of America, JP Morgan Chase and other lenders were following similar practices, known as the 
use of “robo-signers.” They were processing delinquent loan files and no one in management was reviewing the files for errors. They were efficiently throwing delinquent borrowers out of their homes without reviewing the conditions of each transaction. They were not even following the law in many of the states in which they were operating. What supreme arrogance!
As a result of the actions started in Maine last month GMAC Mortgage was forced to stop all foreclosures and go back and review each file for the 23 states involved. Bank of America, JP Morgan Chase and many other lenders followed suit, in fact Bank Of America also stopped foreclosures in California.
Today Ally Financial (GMAC’s mortgage unit) and Bank Of America are now proceeding with the foreclosure process. You can guess how much scrutiny these files have received.
Unfortunately, far too many paid attention to the media storm, distressed homeowners/borrowers pinning their hopes on a moratorium, prospective buyers halting their buying plans until they could determine where all of this activity would lead. This was also an opportunity for pre-election posturing for incumbent candidates and want-to-be candidates as well.
In the end, it turned out to be a lot of noise over little. The foreclosures continue, the lenders may have changed their processes slightly, but distressed home owners are still losing their homes.
There is some positive action in this arena. The lenders are becoming more agreeable to allowing distressed borrowers to get approvals on their short sales and thus avoiding the blight of a foreclosure on their credit record. Some lenders have streamlined their processes so that short sales do not take as long. However, one factor remains constant. Distressed homeowners should engage the services of a Realtor who specializes in helping homeowners avoid foreclosure in the early stages of their foreclosure process. They need help in navigating the treacherous waters of a pending foreclosure. There are solutions available to most and the earlier one starts the more options they have.
If you have questions or want to discuss a specific situation, feel free to call for a no cost consultation. We are here 
to help by stopping foreclosure one home at a time. Call (916) 337-0658 TODAY.
El Dorado Hills, Folsom, Cameron Park, Shingle Springs, Placerville, Sacramento, it makes no difference; $ 100,000 homes and million dollar homes; banks are still foreclosing and distressed homeowners need assistance.