|
Short Sale in one of Downtown Boca Raton’s most desirable full-service buildings!! – $475,000.00
Short Sale subject to lender approval; all final commissions approved by lender will be split 50/50 between brokers. Experienced Short Sale Attorney handling negotiations with bank; ONLY ONE LENDER!
**A SPECTACULAR DEAL IN TOWNSEND PLACE** PRICED TO SELL, this spacious first floor residence is one of the few units in the building that experience 10ft ceilings. You will feel as if you’re in a private single family home, with the spacious floor plan and oversized 600 sq ft lanai overlooking the renowned Boca Raton Resort Golf Course!! Gorgeous Saturnia marble floors run throughout the living areas, and top-of-the-line details adorn the rest of the interior. Townsend Place, a full service 5-star building, includes in its amenities concierge service, valet, business services, a state-of-the-art fitness facility and a two-story Club Room that opens on to the recreational deck available for residents and their guests. Satellite TV, Wireless Internet at Common Areas (incl. the pool area), and on-site management are just a few other offerings in this gate-manned development. **Townsend Place is also a PET FRIENDLY building (up to two pets combined weight of 35lbs or one pet under 25lbs). Townsend Place Condo Association requires a $500 moving fee as well as 3 months of maintenance fees due from buyer at closing for capital reserve funding.
|
|||||||||||
|
All information in this site is deemed reliable but is not guaranteed and is subject to change
|
Passing through the Fort Myers, Fla., airport a few weeks ago, I noticed people eagerly signing up for a free bus tour of foreclosed real estate—with all properties offering water views. During the ride to my hotel, the young driver volunteered that he had just bought his first house, paying $65,000 for a foreclosed property in nearby Cape Coral that last sold for over $250,000. He said he had never expected to be able to buy anything on a driver’s salary, let alone something that nice.
Last week, Standard & Poor’s reported that its S&P/Case-Shiller U.S. National Home Price index of real-estate values increased this past quarter over the first quarter of 2009, the first quarter-on-quarter increase in three years. Its index of 20 major cities also rose for the three months ended June 30 over the three months ended May 31, with only hard-hit Detroit and Las Vegas experiencing declines. The week before that, the National Association of Realtors reported that sales volume of existing homes was up 7.2% in July from June.
In short, the data suggest that real-estate prices hit a bottom some time during the second quarter, and have now begun to rise. There’s no way to be certain that this marks the end of the long, painful correction that followed the real-estate bubble, but clearly prices are no longer in free-fall. That means if you’ve been sitting on the fence, it’s time to act.
Ordinarily I’d never try to time the real-estate market, but I can understand why buyers have been cautious. Few want to buy in down markets, just as stock buyers avoid bear markets. And for most people, of course, buying a house is a much bigger decision than buying a stock. But with real-estate prices nationally now down about 30% from their 2006 peak and showing signs of turning up, the prices aren’t likely to go much lower. Every real-estate market is local, and so there may be a few exceptions. Overall, though, I can’t imagine a better time to buy than now.
In addition to bargain prices, buyers also should find plenty of homes to choose from. The inventory of unsold homes was 4.09 million units in July, up 7.3% from June, according to the National Association of Realtors. And mortgage rates this week were at a two-month low of close to 5%, according to Zillow. Even the stricter appraisal process is working to the advantage of buyers. Appraisals are coming in far lower than most sellers have been expecting, forcing them to face the new reality of sharply lower prices. And with stricter standards, lenders aren’t going to let buyers borrow more than they can afford, which protects buyers and helps to keep prices down.
Unless you’re really prepared to accept the demands (and headaches) of being a landlord, I don’t recommend direct ownership of real estate as an investment. The days of buyers lining up to flip Miami Beach and Las Vegas condos are mercifully gone.
There are much easier ways to make money in real estate, such as real-estate investment trusts or buying shares in home builders and other housing-related businesses (such as Home Depot). Historically, the mean rate of return on real estate has been around 3%, according to research from Yale economist Robert Shiller, who co-developed the Case-Shiller index. Shares in REITs and other stocks have often done much better.
But there’s a good reason homeownership has been such a central part of the American dream. It delivers security, pride of ownership, a sense of community and decent investment returns as a bonus. I felt glad for my driver in Florida. He represents the other side of the foreclosure crisis. For every hardship story, and no doubt there are many, others are realizing their dreams of home ownership and getting what may well turn out to be the deals of their lives.
A 1,109-square-foot furnished Mediterranean-style condominium in Avalon with two bedrooms and two bathrooms and a golf-cart parking space
DETAILS: The condo, built in 1988, has travertine tile floors and two balconies including a private deck off the master bedroom. Shared amenities include a pool, an 18-hole putting green and a croquet court.
ISLAND LIFE: Santa Catalina Island is 22 miles off the coast of Los Angeles. A ferry between Avalon and Long Beach, Calif., departs about every two hours. Most residents use golf carts for transport.
A 2,259-square-foot contemporary villa with three bedrooms, four bathrooms, staff quarters and a two-car garage
DETAILS: Completed last year, the two-story home comes fully furnished. The triple-height foyer has a wooden staircase made of Brazilian hardwood and eucalyptus railings. Floor-to-ceiling glass sliding doors opens the dining and living rooms to the pool and yard.
ISLAND LIFE:The villa is part of a private gated community called the Club Residences, Collection Guavaberry. There’s an 18-hole golf course, polo and equestrian facilities.
NEARBY SANDS: Residents have access to a private beach club and beach, a seven-minute drive away.
NEARBY SANDS: Hamilton Cove, a private beach, is just outside.
A bank-owned oceanfront home of 3,827 square feet with four bedrooms, five bathrooms and a powder room on 0.6 acres
DETAILS: This three-story home, built in 2006, includes a two-car garage, an elevator, two offices and a porch with a hot tub.
ISLAND LIFE: Harkers Island, on North Carolina’s central coast, is about five miles long and 0.75 miles wide and has a large second-home community.
NEARBYSANDS: The home sits on the edge of West Mouth Bay. There’s a beach out front at low tide. There are other sandy beaches nearby on the island.
Here are two questions getting a lot of attention on Capitol Hill and from the Obama administration: When homeowners lose their houses to foreclosure, should they be able to stay in the property, leasing it at fair market rent from the lender?
Should they also get an option to purchase the house from the bank at the end of the lease term, assuming they have the income to afford it?
Before leaving for their August break, Democrats and Republicans in the House took a rare, unanimous stand on both questions by passing the Neighborhood Preservation Act by voice vote. The bill was co-sponsored by Reps. Gary Miller, R-Diamond Bar (Los Angeles County), and Joe Donnelly, D-Ind. The bill would remove legal impediments blocking federally regulated banks from entering into long-term leases – up to five years – with the former owners of foreclosed houses. It would also allow banks to negotiate option-to-purchase agreements permitting former owners to buy back their houses.
The idea, said Miller, is, “at no cost to the taxpayer,” to “reduce the number of houses coming into the housing inventory and preserve the physical condition of foreclosed properties,” which ultimately should help stabilize values in neighborhoods with large numbers of distressed sales and underwater real estate.
If the bill is approved by the Senate, participation by banks would be purely voluntary. But the legislation might encourage banks to calculate whether they would do better financially taking an immediate loss at foreclosure, or by collecting rents and then selling the property at a higher price in four or five years.
Though it was not opposed by banking lobbies, the bill quickly attracted critics. The Center for Economic and Policy Research, a think tank based in Washington, said a key flaw is to leave decisions about leasebacks solely to banks themselves. “If Congress does want to give homeowners the option to stay in their homes as renters,” said the group, “it will be necessary to pass legislation that explicitly gives them this right.”
Some private-industry proponents of short sales – where the bank negotiates a price that’s typically less than the owners owe on their note – say turning banks into landlords won’t work well, either for the banks or foreclosed owners who want to stay in their houses.
Al Hackman, a San Diego realty broker with extensive experience in commercial transactions, argues that leasebacks with options to buy are the way to go – but not if banks run the show. Hackman and a partner, Troy Huerta, have recently begun putting together what they call “seamless short sales” as alternatives for banks and property owners. Their short sales and leasebacks are “seamless” because the financially distressed homeowners remain in their properties, before and after the settlement.
Here’s how they work:
First, the bank agrees to a short sale to a private investor, just as they often do now. In the seamless version, however, the investor is contractually bound to lease back the house on a “triple net” basis – the tenants pay taxes, insurance and utilities – for two to three years. The former owners only qualify if they have sufficient income to afford a fair market rent and can handle the other expenses, including maintaining the property. The deal comes with a preset buyout price after the leaseback period. That price is higher than the short-sale price paid by the investor, but lower than the original price of the house paid by the foreclosed owners.
Hackman and Huerta already are doing seamless short-sale transactions.
Here is one that Hackman says is moving toward escrow:
A family purchased a house for $725,000 with 20 percent down in 2005, then made substantial improvements with the help of an equity line of $72,500. The house now is valued at about $500,000, but is saddled with $625,000 in mortgage debts. Enter the seamless short sale: Hackman has brought in a private investor who is willing to buy the house at current value, all cash. As part of the deal, the investor has agreed to lease back the house at $25,000 a year, triple net. In three years, assuming they’ve been good tenants, the original owners have the option to buy back the property for $550,000.
Hackman says the internal rate of return to investors can be raised or lowered based on rents and the buyback price, but typically are in the 8 percent to 10 percent range. “It’s a win-win,” he says. “The owners stay in their houses. Private investors get a moderate return on what should be a safe investment.” Plus the banks are out of the equation.
Source: San Francisco Chronicle
Regulation Z of The Truth in Lending Act (TILA) has undergone important changes that you need to know about when talking to your clients. These changes take effect for all new applications taken on July 30, 2009 and after, apply to ALL types of mortgage loans in ALL 50 states plus the District of Columbia, and could impact the overall timeline of the mortgage loan origination process.
Here are the four key parts of the new regulation you need to know:
When will the housing slump finally end? Even the experts’ crystal balls are hazy. The Wall Street Journal, which Thursday reported its latest quarterly survey of housing data, says it depends on which city or part of the country you’re talking about. Home sales were up compared to last year in Washington, D.C., and Northern Virginia, Orlando, Minneapolis, Southern California, and the San Francisco Bay area, according to findings from research firm MDA DataQuick as well as reports from local real estate practitioner organizations. Sales declined in New York City and nearby Long Island, Chicago, and Charlotte, N.C., and the outlook was particularly bleak in Miami-Fort Lauderdale and much of Florida, Detroit, and Las Vegas. But Jody Kahn, an analyst at John Burns Real Estate Consulting, a research organization, points out that there are variations even in the hardest-hit metro areas with the most attractive neighborhoods continuing to thrive. Employment is the most telling factor, says Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody’s Economy.com. “If people don’t have jobs or fear losing their jobs, then buying homes is out of the question,” he says.
Source: The Wall Street Journal, James R. Hagerty (07/23/2009)
On May 20 President Obama signed into law the Helping Families Save Their Homes Act. Understandably, primary attention has been paid to the Act’s provisions that are designed to help distressed homeowners avoid foreclosure. But the Act has other beneficiaries as well. One group that will receive particular assistance from this new law is those people who – often in good faith – are renting a property that goes into foreclosure.
Many times renters of residential properties are caught in the middle of a foreclosure situation. Frequently, they will not be aware of the fact that the owner is delinquent. Their first notice of trouble may be the posting of a sale notice on the property. That may only give them a few weeks warning that something is awry. Moreover, they may not know how this might affect them. In some jurisdictions they may be subject to eviction with little advance warning.
Sections 701 – 704 of the larger bill are cited as the “Protecting Tenants at Foreclosure Act of 2009.” This applies to all federally related loans, which is to say just about every residential loan except seller financing. Section 702 provides that any person or entity who acquires a property through the foreclosure process may give a bona fide tenant not less than a ninety-day notice to vacate the premises. This applies to tenants who are on a periodic tenancy such as the typical month-to-month rental.
If a tenant has a lease that was entered into prior to the notice of foreclosure, then the tenant has the right to occupy the property for the duration of the lease. There is one exception to this. The exception occurs if the foreclosed property is sold to someone who will occupy it as their primary residence. In that case, even if there is a lease, the tenant may be given a ninety-day notice to vacate “effective on the date of sale of the unit to [the owner occupant] purchaser.”
So, if the notice must be at least ninety days, and the termination of the lease is effective the date of sale, that would mean that the notice of termination would be given during the escrow period, not less than ninety days prior to closing. Suppose the escrow “falls out” (e.g. the buyer doesn’t qualify for a loan) during the escrow period. What happens then? The Act is silent on such a possibility, but, presumably, a new ninety-day notice period would be required if there is a subsequent sale to another owner-occupant buyer.
That’s my interpretation. Some bank might have a different one.
The provisions of the Act do not supersede any federal or state subsidized tenancies – or any local provisions – that might provide for even longer notice periods.
For purposes of Section 702, a tenancy is bona fide only if (1) the tenant is not the borrower who has been foreclosed on, (2) the tenancy was created as a result of an “arm’s length” transaction, and (3) the tenancy requires a rental payment that is “not substantially less than fair market rent for the property.”
These provisions are effective immediately and will terminate December 31, 2012.
Source: Bob Hunt
Potential first-time buyers have yet another reason to consider purchasing a home: the monetization of the tax credit.
Here are four ways you can get access to those funds for upfront costs.
Short-term bridge loans are now available from a variety of lenders so that buyers can tap the benefits of the $8,000 Federal Housing Tax Credit for First-Time Home Buyers upfront. If you are eligible for the tax credit, these bridge loans will enable you to use the money for your down payment and closing costs with the credit as collateral. You will have to pay the money back after they’ve filed their tax return and received a refund.
There are essentially four sources for this type of financing, and their terms can vary considerably.
1. State HFA Bridge Loans
As of early June 2009, 10 state Housing Finance Agencies offered tax-credit bridge loans, and more were planning to do so. Although each state HFA loan differs, here are some typical characteristics:
Since the bridge loans are made in tandem with your HFA’s financing products, you apply for the loans when you apply with the HFA-approved lender for your mortgage financing. You should be able to find a list of approved lenders on the HFA’s Web site.
2. Local Government or Nonprofit Loans
If your state HFA doesn’t offer the loans, you can ask an HFA staff person to direct you to local nonprofits or state or local government agencies that do. If that person can’t help you, a good place to start a search is with a national nonprofit group called NeighborWorks, which maintains a list of more than 200 local affiliates that provide housing assistance. The loan programs for each of these affiliates differ, so you will need to check with them on their underwriting standards and loan terms—and even on whether they make bridge loans repayable with the tax credit.
3. Local HFAs
Another source, if your state HFA can’t help you, might be the National Association of Local Housing Finance Agencies. Local HFAs are much like state HFAs but with jurisdictions limited to their locality. To learn whether there’s a local HFA in your area, call NALHFA at 202/367-1197.
4. FHA-approved Lenders
If you’re unable to identify a state or local HFA or other governmental agency or nonprofit to assist you, you can tap bridge-loan assistance if you work with a lender approved by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to originate FHA-backed loans. HUD maintains a database of FHA lenders on its Web site that’s searchable by a number of criteria including city, state, county, and service area.
In a difference with the assistance provided by state and local agencies or nonprofits, the bridge loans provided by private, for-profit FHA-approved lenders must be structured in the form of a personal loan or line of credit collateralized by the tax credit. The bridge loan can’t be structured as a second mortgage.
Also, although FHA allows you to use the bridge loan to cover your closing costs or to buy down your interest rate, you can use it for the down payment only after you’ve covered the 3.5 percent minimum that’s required on any FHA loan. Thus, you’ll have to come up with the 3.5 percent minimum down payment yourself or else tap another source of assistance for it. That can include gifts from family. Seller-funded down-payment programs are not permitted. HUD provides complete details in a May 29 Mortgagee Letter on “Using First-Time Homebuyer Tax Credits” (2009-15) that went to its approved lenders.
Since it’s the HUD-approved lender and not FHA itself that’s making the bridge loan, actual loan terms will vary. At a minimum, though, the bridge loan must meet certain restrictions, most of them imposed to weed out fraud or ensure borrowers aren’t getting in over their heads. These include:
Start with the Deepest Assistance First
Since state HFA bridge loans are typically allowed for as much of the downpayment as possible (up to the credit limit of $8,000), your best bet is to start with the state HFA. If it doesn’t have a program in place, learn what you can from it about other state or local programs, including nonprofits. If these sources don’t pan out, you can work with an FHA-approved lender. However, since HUD requires borrowers to put down a minimum of 3.5 percent, they can access bridge-loan assistance only for other upfront expenses such as closing costs, an interest-rate buy-down, or a portion of the downpayment above 3.5 percent.
**For more information on the First-Time Home Buyer Tax Credit, please visit my website
