Next week I will be mailing out my 2009 Football Schedule Magnets:

This handy magnet will quickly show you the schedules of your favorite teams, to be sure that you get your copy in the mail, send me your mailing address by clicking here.

There are three important components to the new bill: 1) new guidelines to help homeowners refinance their existing loans to an affordable level; 2) protection for tenants that gives them a 90 day if the home they’re renting is foreclosed; and 3) notification to home owners when their existing mortgage is sold or transferred.

Email me today for full details on this important legislation.

Foreclosure scams are destructive, deceptive, and devastating to families who are fighting to survive. We have families on the edge of foreclosure that are being offered relief too good to be true, and we at HUD will take every possible measure to educate and protect consumers and homeowners, bring these scams to light, and prevent con artists from exploiting the housing crisis. There are legitimate people, places, and agencies that American families can turn to when they are facing foreclosure, and many of you are working on these efforts.

For the homeowners fighting hard to make their mortgage payments and stay in their homes, our housing plan—the Making Home Affordable Plan—will help up to 9 million Americans. Making Home Affordable will work in concert with the President’s Recovery Act and support a recovery in the housing market. Our plan is helping families in three ways. First, we are protecting housing opportunities for all Americans by taking action Administration-wide to reduce interest rates, which are now at historic lows. Second, we will assist 4 to 5 million homeowners who can’t otherwise take advantage of today’s historically low mortgage interest rates. Lastly, we have committed up to $75 billion to help an additional 3 to 4 million homeowners who are at risk of foreclosure modify their unaffordable mortgages into affordable ones. These three planks of our housing plan will keep American families in their homes and prevent the falling home prices that result from nearby foreclosures. These three planks of our housing plan will keep American families in their homes and prevent the falling home prices that result from nearby foreclosures.

Homeowners NEVER have to pay to participate in the President’s Making Home Affordable program. I encourage anyone trying to modify or refinance their loans to a monthly mortgage payment that is affordable to visit the Making Home Affordable website at makinghomeaffordable.gov.  Homeowners can also call the Homeowner’s HOPE Hotline at 1-888-995-HOPE for free foreclosure counseling assistance. 

April is National Fair Housing Month. It’s important, in that context, to recognize that the economic and housing crises, including foreclosure scams, have disproportionately impacted minority populations across the country. Unscrupulous financial institutions, brokers, and others have broken their trust as lenders, cheating and lying to families fighting to make their way through this crisis. I will renew our commitment at HUD to fair housing enforcement, particularly for lending violations that target minority communities. As part of our broader effort to combat abuse and fraud, HUD is using new tools, including the SAFE Act and RESPA, to protect American families. We at HUD will ensure that all Americans, particularly those in areas previously victimized by unscrupulous practices, are protected and will enforce our laws against those who prey upon them.

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By way of reference, two nearby cities – Palmdale and Lancaster have an almost identical number of residential properties (Lancaster has slightly less, while Palmdale has a few more) had 84 and 89 Foreclosed properties each in February versus 8 in Pasadena.

There are definitely good deals available in “Bank Owned” properties and there are new programs on the horizon that could make this an even better buying opportunity.  The key is to be pre-approved for financing and ready to move when the right home comes along.

E-mail or call (626) 354-8000 today to get started!

• The tax credit is only available on the purchase of New (never been lived in) homes purchased between March 1st 2009 and March 1st 2010.
• The maximum credit is $10,000 which can be taken in three annual installments of $3,333 against your California state taxes.
• There are no income restrictions and you do not have to be a first time home buyer.
• The total credit available under the program is $100 million, which works out to 10,000 home purchase. 
• The money is available on a first come basis, once the funds are gone the program is over.

Obviously California’s home builders must have some pretty good lobbyists!  It’s difficult to see what the benefit is to the economy of only encouraging new home purchases rather than providing a stimulus to the overall home market.

That said, we do have some wonderful new homes in our area.  This is something of a gold rush, if you’d like to get in on the action call me today at (626) 354-8000 so we can get out there looking at homes.

Here are the “revised” FHA mortgage loan limits for the counties of Southern California:

Click here to search for the new loan limits by State or County.

Call me at (626) 354-8000 if you would like to discuss your loan needs.

• Credit maximum was increased from $7,500 to $8,000. The credit is calculated as 10% of the purchase price. Example: If the purchase price is $70,000, the credit is $7,000.

• Removed the repayment requirement, provided the homebuyer does not resell the home for three years.

• Eligibility remains for first-time homebuyers only. In this case, a first-time homebuyer is defined as an individual who has not owned a primary home at any time during the three years prior to purchase, but who may have done so prior to that time. Although certain income limits do apply, the amount of the credit is the same for all taxpayers, married or single.

• To be eligible for the full tax credit, the homebuyer can have an annual adjusted gross income of no more than $75,000 ($150,000 on a joint return). A homebuyer with an annual adjusted gross income above that level and up to $95,000 ($170,000 on a joint return) is eligible for a reduced tax credit.

• The tax credit can be claimed on one’s individual or joint tax return for the purchase of any single-family home between Jan. 1, 2009 and Dec. 1, 2009. It can be claimed on a 2008 tax return (to be filed by April 15, 2009), an amended 2008 tax return, or a 2009 tax return. Individuals should consult a professional tax advisor for exact tax calculations and timing.

Call me at (626) 354-8000 to discuss how you can take advantage of this extraordinary opportunity!