Real Estates Highlights

It’s been quite awhile since I had a Sunday off, and I spent part of the day getting caught up on my blog reading.  I thought I’d share a few highlights from other real estate bloggers that I read.  Lots of changes and helpful reminders, for both buyers and sellers.

Home Loans

FHA Q&A: Addressing The Taylor, Bean, & Whitaker Shutdown

Noted blogger and active lender, Dan Green has provided a very complete and concise review of the federal government’s shutdown of the third largest FHA lender.

Do You Have A Backup Plan?

Local lender, Justin McHood recommends having a home mortgage back up plan, just in case.

HERA, HVCC, and Other Fun Acronyms- Ready for New Lending Rules?

Kelly Koehler, Tucson Realtor, describes yet another change that has occurred in the world of real estate financing.  The process is designed to better protect the consumer, and Kelly shares “you’re supposed to get disclosures earlier, not pay any big fees until you have time to review them, and if your costs and/or interest rate make a big swing, you’re supposed to get an updated disclosure.”

Home Buyers

Planning on Using the First Time Homebuyer Tax Credit? Get Busy Now! 

David Lorti, a Chandler-based real estate agent, wrote the blog post that’s been floating around in my head this week.  With less than four month before the purchase deadline, and a competitive real estate market, buyers who want to take advantage of this credit need to act now.

What am I committing to? Earnest money and contingencies explained.

Rod Rebello, a Tempe Realtor, took the time to explain how the earnest deposit works and several of the buyer contingencies that are standard in the Arizona real estate contract.

Negotiation Vs. Making Demands 

Teresa Boardman, Realtor (plus an amazing photographer) reminds buyers that negotiation is give-and-take.  True, whether you are buying real estate in her St. Paul market, or any other location in the world.

Home Owners

Guidelines For Loan Modification

Kristal Kraft in Denver discusses the in’s and out’s of loan modification, where “the lender agrees to work with the homeowner in order to make the mortgage payments “doable” so the homeowner can avoid foreclosure.”

Arizona Real Estate Foreclosure Law Change

I put this post together last month and have been keeping it updated with the latest legislative negotiations.  Comments have been coming in that show the frustration and insights that others have with this new law.

Scottsdale schools start back tomorrow morning, and although it’s still pretty warm, we are are all looking forward to what has traditionally been our second busiest real estate season of the year.  Besides knowing what the real estate market is doing in your specific area, it’s really important to know the overall real estate environment, too. Hope you found this info helpful.

Tagged as: arizona foreclosure law change, earnest money, FHA, first time homebuyer tax credit, HERA, home loans, HVCC, loan mondification, new lending rules, real estate bloggers, real estate contingencies, real estate negotiation, taylor bean whitaker