Shaun Donovan, Secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), spoke to a members of the National Association of Real Estate Editors yesterday afternoon in Washington, D.C. After he made his prepared remarks, Donovan took questions from the media on the topics of foreclosures, mortgage lender compensation, and whether he is satisfied with the response from mortgage lenders to the loan modification program.
Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Shaun Donovan spoke at the National Association of Real Estate Editors Annual Conference. Secretary Donovan spoke about how HUD is involved in President Obama's plans for the economic crisis and the Making Home Affordable act, FHA reform and how that will affect the housing markets, consumer protection, and building more sustainable communities. The transcript of the speech is below. See the blog for more details from Ilyce at the National Association of Real Estate Editors conference.
Can you be a real estate agent and a mortgage lender in the same deal? In many cases, you cannot. RESPA (Real Estate and Settlement Procedure Act), has restrictions on what certain parties to a real estate transaction can and can't do. The Federal Housing Administration (FHA) has its own rules and requirements for real estate agents and mortgage lenders. But the essence of these rules is to protect the home buyer from undue influence from real estate agents and mortgage loan officers.
You know that the real estate market has hit bottom when buyers are starting to bid above the list price for homes. With the large number of homes on the real estate market, real estate investors and first time home buyers are looking at the best priced homes. At times, bidding wars arise and homes are sold above the list price. With the first time home buyer federal income tax credit of $8,000, quite a number of first time home buyers are out there looking.
Generally when people buy homes, they don't buy them on the basis of the number of square feet the home has. If the square footage of a home is important, the parties to that transaction need to make sure that they know and understand how the square footage of the home is computed and what happens if the numbers are wrong. Can you cancel a contract if the square footage is less than what is advertised? How difficult is it to cancel a contract? Can you get your money back?
What can you do when you need to sell your home fast? If you aren't using a real estate agent, you'll need to use grass roots marketing to gun the home sale process. For starters, you will need to talk to your neighbors, real estate agents and real estate brokers that work in the community. And, don't forget, to use the resources available on the internet.
If you are moving to another state, and looking for a new job, wait until you have found that new job before applying for a mortgage and buying a new home. In the current economic crisis, lenders are more cautious about approving mortgage loans. Lenders will require extensive documentation and will require confirmation from your employer of your status of employment. Make sure you talk to a mortgage lender or mortgage broker about your move and job prospects before buying a new home or applying for a mortgage. Or you may find you're unable to get to the closing table.
Even if you have purchased a home in the past, you can still be considered a first time home buyer. In particular, if you are looking to take advantage of the $8,000 first time home buyer federal income tax credit, you might be in luck. To qualify as a first time home buyer for the tax credit, you must not have owned a home for the prior 3 years. But if you owned investment property or rental property, the circumstances of how a person owned any specific property and whether a person lived there might affect whether that person would still be considered a first time home buyer.
Ilyce is away from the Ilyce Glink Show and she's talking with Doug Page in The Press Room News & Tech Radio Network Show about the housing market and personal finance issues as they affect the newspaper industry and consumers. Listen to this hour-long podcast for Ilyce's take on the economy, newspapers, and real estate. Ilyce discusses home prices, the housing market and home values, car sales and gas prices, mortgages and refinancing, foreclosures and short sales, the status of banks, current legislation including the Making Home Affordable Plan and more.
