Homes in Greeley Blog

Banks Rethinking the Short Sales

homesingreeley — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 17:22:45 +0000

After reading the attached article, I had to chuckle to the fact that this is what we as agents have been thinking all along!! Please read.

Even before the government put pressure on them to embrace short sales, more banks were starting to take their lumps, do the short-sale deals and move on.

Three years into the housing meltdown, short sales have tripled to 40,000 in the first six months of 2009, compared to the same time period a year ago, according to data from the Office of Thrift Supervision and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency.

Wells Fargo, Bank of America Corp., and JPMorgan Chase & Co. this year have hired and trained more staff to handle short sales and also developed software for expediting them.

“It’s really finally dawning on banks that they’re better off with a short sale,” said Richard Green, director of the Lusk Center for Real Estate at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles. “I think banks were in denial.”

Source: Bloomberg, John Gittelsohn and Margaret Collins (12/4/2009)

Advantages of a Short Sale

homesingreeley — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 17:03:47 +0000

Short sales:

Consequences on a seller’s credit report

Noted as “debt settled for less than full amount due”
Potential tax relief
Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act of 2007 may allow seller to avoid adverse tax consequences
Faster resolution
Seller able to move on with their life
Easier rebuilding of credit
Typical 3-4 month process

Foreclosures:

Significant consequences on credit report
Typical 250-300 point reduction
Loss of VA eligibility
Potential loss of security clearance
Lengthy process
Typical 8-12 months

Credit Score Impact of Loan Modifications

homesingreeley — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 16:27:16 +0000

The government’s Making Home Affordable program intends to help 4-5 million homeowners refinance their mortgage to stay in their home, thereby reducing the number foreclosures and helping to stabilize home prices. However, there may be an unintended consequence to this initiative.

Up until recently, loan modifications were relatively rare and indicated increased credit risk. Many otherwise creditworthy homeowners who have modified their loan have been a drop, possibly a large one, in their credit score. The higher the premodification credit schore, the larger the potential drop.

Jack Guttentag, professor of finance at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business, has said that this may deter people from trying loan modifications, possibly resulting in fewer modifications and more foreclosures.

A new classification will be added in November that will allow lenders to specify if the modification is a part of the government program. FICO may also do more in-depth research on load modifications to gauge if their formula needs to be adjusted.

The consequences of a loan modification are less severe than a foreclosure. Any troubled homeowner seeking a modification is advised to understand the exact terms of the modification, work with a nonprofit housing counselor, and ask the lender if the modification is a part of the government program.

Troubled homeowners who don’t meet modification criteria should speak with their agents about the possibility of a short sale..

Soureces: Austin American-Statesman, Bloomberg News

Where to Retire in Colorado

homesingreeley — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 21:33:37 +0000

Where to Retire Magazine Ranks Greeley #1
Where to Retire magazine ranked Greeley number one on their recently released “eight terrific home buys with great lifestyles” list. The magazine, published six times a year, seeks to identify the best retirement regions, towns and master-planned communities. The selection was based on Greeley’s affordable cost of living combined with residents easy access to Rocky Mountain National Park, city parks and recreation, quality health care and a thriving Senior Center. In addition, the area is enriched by higher education as it is home to the University of Northern Colorado and Aims Community College. For more information about the great things going on in Greeley, you can visit the official city website at http://www.greeleygov.com.

Source: Greeley Tribune, “Greeley ranked as 1 of top 8 places for retirees” by Nate A. Miller, 8/5/09.
http://www.greeleytribune.com/article/2009908049963

Northern Colorado News Brief

homesingreeley — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 21:19:58 +0000

September 2009

Forbes taps Greeley and Fort Collins for inexpensive living
In a July article, Forbes magazine let readers know “Where to Live Cheaply.” Northern Colorado had two cities make the list with Fort Collins taking the #9 spot and Greeley #13. Forbes identified the 100 cheapest locations by studying 380 metropolitan statistical areas and metropolitan divisions. Cost of living data from Moody’s Economy.com and home affordability figures from the National Association of Home Builders and Wells Fargo was used in the study. In addition, Forbes rated cities against each of the following four quality-of-life measures: violent crime rate, unemployment rate, average salary for college graduates, and cultural opportunity.

Source: Forbes.com, “Where to Live Cheaply” by Zack O’Malley Greenberg, 7/14/09.
http://www.forbes.com/2009/07/13/cheap-cities-property-lifestyle-real-estate-cheap-places.html

Market Stats as of 09/01/09

homesingreeley — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 21:16:53 +0000

09/01/2009

Greeley’s Market Stable

homesingreeley — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 15:28:08 +0000

New stats just released indicates the prices in Greeley are stable with the average price of $179,000 remaining the same from Q4’08 -Q1’09 with the forecast for Q2’09 not changing.

Shifting Market in Greeley

homesingreeley — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 19:38:15 +0000

I read a curator’s comment the other day written by Alta West in Longmont CO and she was in a frenzy as to when was the best time to have planted her garden of vegetables etc. With all of the rain we have had in our area, should she had planted according to “the moon” or go by what the Farmer’s Almanac said? I had to chuckle to myself. It seems like everyone is in a frenzy including buyers and sellers. Do buyers wait to purchase and do sellers try to sell their house right now? Our market in Greeley and in Northern Colorado indicates that the market is shifting. Stats show that we have bottomed out and we are on our way to coming out of the housing recession. We are seeing multiple offers on houses priced under $175,000. You better be working with an agent to be “Johnny-on-the-spot” if you are looking in this price range. The idea of “waiting and thinking about it” or shooting a low-ball offer on these homes is pretty much out of the question. I know it is hard to believe, but a year ago we had a surplus of homes on the market in this price range and today we are experiencing a shortage with about a 2 month inventory rate compared to 12 months a year ago. In fact, if you are thinking of selling your home and it falls in this price range, I would love to visit with you.

Yea, it seems like everyone is in a dilema of some sort these days, but when it comes to real estate in Greeley, you better not hesitate or think too long because the market has shifted!!