All posts by jd

Real estate broker, civil engineer and general contractor.
Real Estate

Short Sale Fraud Rampant, Investigators Say

Caution protect yourself against mortgage relief scams
Picture courtesy of Utah Home Group

 

Lenders are losing out on thousands of dollars–sometimes within just mere hours–due to short sale fraud, which is skyrocketing and plaguing the housing market, investigators say.

In one of the most common short sale scams, an investor submits a low offer on a home that is underwater, in which the borrower owes more on the mortgage than the home is currently worth. Scam artists, working with the investor, present the lowball offer to the lender, asking for a short sale to be completed. Appraisals or broker price opinions may be manipulated to help persuade lenders to do the short sale (one common method: Misstating the home’s location so that the home is compared to lower cost homes).

The lender agrees to the short sale, but is unaware that there is really a higher bid on the home from a legitimate buyer. Once the lender approves the short sale, the scammer then resells the home to the higher, legitimate bidder–often on the same day.

“These same-day resales are on average nearly $50,000 greater than the lender agreed upon short-sale price,” said Tim Grace, senior vice president of product management and analytics at CoreLogic. Short sale fraud is expected to cost lenders more than $375 million this year, which is an increase of more than 20 percent from last year, according to CoreLogic.

Last year, fraud associated with short sales comprised half of all fraud investigations for mortgage companies like Freddie Mac, said Robert Hagberg, an investigator for Freddie Mac.

Source: “Short Sale Fraud Plagues the Housing Market,” CNNMoney (July 14, 2011) 

 

Thinking of buying or selling?
For all your real estate needs, call or email:

John J. O’Dell Realtor®
Real Estate Broker
O’Dell Realty
9530) 263-1091
jodell@nevadacounty.com

Real Estate

Mortgage Rates Are Great, If You Can Qualify!

Interest rates are near historic lows and home prices are affordable; however, many borrowers are finding they must have nearly pristine credit records and hefty down payments to get the best rates.

  • Since 2009, credit standards have become much tighter.  For borrowers, this emphasizes the importance of paying close attention to credit scores.
  • New rules unveiled last week, the result of last year’s Dodd-Frank financial-services legislation, require banks and other lenders to disclose to consumers the scores used to determine interest rates charged borrowers, or to deny credit, making it easier for borrowers to see how their credit scores affect the interest rates they pay.
  • The FICO credit scores on loans that banks are giving out and that are backed by government agencies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac show the new reality.  Currently, the two agencies essentially finance 75 percent of all mortgages by purchasing the loans from banks, thus shaping how much it costs to borrow.
  • FICO scores range from 300 to 850.  Prior to the decline in home prices, a score of 700 to 725 was considered solid and, a borrower could expect to be approved for a “conventional” mortgage at the lowest rates.
  • From 2003 to 2006, 82 percent of Fannie Mae mortgages were for borrowers with a score between 700 and 750, but so far in 2011, only 13 percent of Fannie Mae mortgages carry that score, and just 1.7 percent have a score of 700 to 725.  This year, 75 percent of Fannie Mae mortgages are for FICO scores of 750 to 755, up from less than 5 percent before 2005.
  • These trends demonstrate the importance of understanding credit scores and ensuring credit reports are accurate.  Consumers can check their credit report at AnnualCreditReport.com.

Read the full story

 

Thinking of buying or selling? Call or email:
John J. O’Dell Realtor® GRI
O’Dell Realty
(530) 263-1091
jodell@nevadacounty.com

Real Estate

Banks Stop Accepting Certain Mortgage Applications

 

In anticipation of the expiration of current loan limits on Sept. 30, 2011, Bank of America has decided to stop accepting conventional and government applications for loan amounts that will exceed the permanent loan amounts.  The deadline to submit loan applications was July 1.

According to an email from Bank of America, conventional loans that exceed the permanent loan limits will now be required to use non-conforming programs.

Barring Congressional action, the maximum FHA, Fannie Mae, and Freddie Mac conforming loan limit will decline to $625,500 beginning Oct. 1, 2011, from the current $729,750 limit, though the majority of counties will fall far below the $625,500 maximum.  The conforming loan limit determines the maximum size of a mortgage that FHA, Fannie Mae, and Freddie Mac government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs) can buy or guarantee.  Non-conforming or jumbo loans typically carry a higher mortgage interest rate than a conforming loan and require a higher down payment, increasing the monthly payment and negatively impacting housing affordability for California home buyers.

 

 

Thinking of buying or selling?
For all your real estate needs, call or email:

John J. O’Dell Realtor®
Real Estate Broker
O’Dell Realty
9530) 263-1091
jodell@nevadacounty.com

Real Estate

FHA Gives Jobless Homeowners One-Year Break

 

Beginning Aug. 1, the Federal Housing Administration will extend the period for unemployed homeowners to miss mortgage payments from four months to a full year, providing qualified homeowners with more time to find employment before the foreclosure process begins.

Making sense of the story

  • The new Special Forbearance program falls under the FHA’s Loss Mitigation program, which FHA-approved servicers must participate in.
  • The extended grace period only applies to FHA-backed loans and homeowners in the government’s foreclosure prevention program, the Making Home Affordable Program (MHA).
  • In addition to extending the forbearance period and removing the up-front hurdles for borrowers, the FHA also reemphasized its requirement that participating servicers conduct a review at the end of the forbearance period to evaluate the borrower for all additional, applicable foreclosure assistance programs and notify the borrower in writing whether or not he/she qualifies for any other available option.
  • If the borrower does not qualify for any foreclosure assistance option, the servicer must provide the borrower with the reason for denial and allow the borrower at least seven calendar days to submit additional information that may impact the servicer’s evaluation.
  • Housing and Urban Development, which oversees FHA, hopes private lenders and government-controlled Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will adopt a similar policy.
  • For additional information on the program, including eligibility and requirements, please visit Read the full storyThinking of buying or selling?
    For all your real estate needs, call or email:

    John J. O’Dell Realtor®
    Real Estate Broker
    O’Dell Realty
    9530) 263-1091
    jodell@nevadacounty.com
nevada county fair

Still Time To Enter Your Exhibits In The Nevada County Fair

Art work by Sandy Gold Winner 2011 Fair Art Work Contest
Art work by Sandy Gold Winner 2011 Fair Art Work Contest

 By Wendy Oaks

Want to enter something in the Nevada County Fair? The deadline has been extended, so there’s still time! The deadline for submitting paper entry forms or to enter on-line using the Fair’s on-line entry system is now July 22.  There are no post entry fees, so simply visit the Fair Office on McCourtney Road or log-on to the Fair’s website at www.NevadaCountyFair.com to complete the entry process.

Join the thousands of Nevada County residents who enter exhibits each year in the more than 300 available categories. If you can make it, bake it, grow it or show it, we have a category for you! Don’t delay – enter now!

Complete descriptions of all categories are available in the Fair’s Competition Handbook, which is available on the Fair’s website at www.NevadaCountyFair.com, at the Fair office, area libraries, and local chamber of commerce offices.

The 2011 Fair is August 10 – 14. For more information, call (530) 273-6217 or visit www.NevadaCountyFair.com.

Wendy Oaks
Publicist, Nevada County Fairgrounds
(530) 273-6217
wsoaks@gmail.com

 

 

Thinking of buying or selling?
For all your real estate needs, call or email:

John J. O’Dell® GRI
Real Estate Broker
O’Dell Realty
(530) 263-1091
jodell@nevadacounty.com

nevada county fair

Idol Competition At The Nevada County Fair – 2011

Katie Howard Idol Competition - Photo courtesy of mcguireplace.net
Katie Howard former winner Idol Competition - Photo courtesy of mcguireplace.net

By Wendy Oaks

Do you love to sing? If so, you could win $100, Fair admission tickets, and money for your favorite charity! The Nevada County Fair is looking for talented vocalists to sing in the “Golden” Idol Competition at this year’s Fair.

Nevada County residents ages 16 and up are invited to participate in this crowd favorite on Wednesday, August 10, at 9 pm on the Pine Tree Stage at the Fairgrounds. The grand prize is $100, two Fair admission tickets, a parking pass and two Friday night arena tickets.  Second place is $50, two admission tickets, a parking pass and two Thursday night arena tickets; and third prize is $25, two admission tickets and a parking pass.

Singers will be judged by a panel of local celebrities, who will narrow it down to five finalists. Audience members will then vote with quarters for the grand prize winner. The quarters will be weighed on stage and the winner will be announced that night. All quarters collected will be donated to the non-profit of the winner’s choice.

Last year’s Idol Competition winner was Jennifer Davis, who received $300 for her charity, Interfaith Ministry.

Early entry is encouraged, as there is a limit of 15 contestants for this event. The entry fee is only $5, and entries close on Friday, August 5 at 5 pm. All contestants will receive a free admission pass to the Fair on Wednesday.

A complete list of rules and a registration form can be obtained from the Fair’s website at www.NevadaCountyFair.com, by calling the Fair Office at 273-6217, or sending an e-mail to debby@nevadacountyfair.com.  The Idol Competition is sponsored by Old Town Café in downtown Grass Valley, and Citizens Bank has graciously donated its time to sell quarters during the show.

Bring your friends, your quarters, and be prepared for a great night of music and entertainment at this year’s Nevada County Fair, August 10 – 14.

Wendy Oaks
Publicist, Nevada County Fairgrounds
(530) 273-6217
wsoaks@gmail.com
Website: www.NevadaCountyFair.com
Facebook: Nevada County Fairground

 

Thinking of buying or selling real esta
For all your real estate needs, call or email:

John J. O’Dell Realtor®
Real Estate Broker
O’Dell Realty
9530) 263-1091
jodell@nevadacounty.com

Travel

A Patchwork to Celebrate the150th Anniversary of Italy


By Judy J. Pinegar

In north eastern Italy, on the flat landscape of the Venito region, with the spectacular Dolomite mountains in the distance, sits the city on Vicenza. It is home to one of the premier art showcases around the world, called Abilmente, with a spring showing on March 3-6, 2011, and a fall showing to be held October 20 to October 23, 2011 at the Fiera di Vicenza (Fair of Vicenza) located at Via dell Oreficeria 16, Vicenza, Venito, Italy.

A feature of Abilmente are the “Workshops”(or Ateliers), spaces where the practical aspects and exhibitions combine. The settings will highlight the work of leading artists in each sector, providing plenty of ideas to others. There are chances to participate in several courses held by the leading associations and artists in each sector. The planned workshops are: “A Voyage into the World of Color”, “Patchwork” “Natural Dye” “DIY Fashion: Bijoux and Accessories” and “Creating with Paper”:

This year in honor of the 150th Anniversary of the Union of Italy, there is a special Creative Workshop (called Patchwork Atelier). Here the Associazione Nazionale Quilt Italia, the star of this workshop, presents the Italian cultures, images and landscapes of the regions that have united to make Italy a truly great nation. The show will display, through original pieces of patchwork quilt, the distinctive features that characterize each individual region.

The website for Abilmente, http://www.abilmente.org/nqcontent.cfm?a_id=1764 contains information about how to come to the show including prices, maps and information about where to stay, for the October 20-23, 2011 fall showing.

So fashion your 2011 fall tour of Italy around a visit to the Venito region!!

Photos courtesy of Abilmente:

Written by Judy J. Pinegar
Writer, if you need something written for your blog, you can contact me for further information

For all your real estate needs call or email:

John J. O’Dell
Real Estate Broker
O’Dell Realty
(530) 263-1091
Email jodell@nevadacounty.com

Real Estate

Loan Modification Scams Increase

 

More home owners who are desperate to avoid foreclosure are finding themselves victims to loan-modification scams.

In the latest to grip headlines, attorneys in California — where these scams are particularly rampant — filed the state’s first class-action lawsuit against an alleged loan modification scam, part of RewireMyLoan.com. In the lawsuit, prosecutors charge that the company collected nearly $5,000 each from at least 90 victims, promising to do loan modifications and offering a 100 percent money-back guarantee. The victims say the company never did the loan modification or refunded their payments.

The majority of the victims in the lawsuit are Spanish-speaking, and while the advertising and discussions they had with the company were in Spanish, they say the contracts they signed were in English. The home owners say they were also told to not contact their bank directly or their contracts would be voided. (Read: How to Spot Foreclosure-Prevention Scams)

Scam Prevention Network
The Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights, government housing agencies, and other nonprofits have created the Loan Modification Scam Prevention Network to compile complaints about such fraud. From February 2010 to June 1, the network gathered nearly 15,000 complaints involving $37 million in lost money. California accounted for the majority of the losses, with 3,105 complaints filed and $11 million in losses from these scams.

For home owners who believe they were a victim of a loan-modification scam, the Loan Modification Scam Prevention Network encourages them to visit www.preventloanscams.org to file a complaint.

Source: “Lawsuit Goes After Loan-Modification Fraud,” The San Francisco Chronicle (July 1, 2011)

For all your real estate needs, call or email:

John J. O’Dell Realtor® GRI
O’Dell Realty
(530) 263-1091
jodell@nevadacounty.com

Real Estate

Foreclosure Sales Drop, But Inventories Swell

Even with continuing foreclosures, how many are started and just hang there?  I know of several people who have been in their home for six months to a year and the banks have not finished the foreclosure proceedings. The market is flooded with foreclosures, so maybe they are hanging back on some of them.  Here’s a related article:

“Foreclosure sales continue to drop, but foreclosure inventories remain high in many markets across the country. By the end of May, the number of mortgages that were 90 or more days delinquent, combined with the foreclosure inventory, outpaced foreclosure sales by 50:1, Lender Processing Services Inc. reports.

The biggest drop in foreclosure sales occurred in East Coast states. For example, foreclosure sales plummeted 96 percent in Washington, D.C., 80 percent in Maryland, and 79 percent in New York, according to Lender Processing Services’ monthly mortgage monitor report.

Mortgages that are 90 days or more delinquent, combined with the foreclosure inventory, totaled more than 4 million in May. Foreclosure sales at the end of May totaled 78,676.

The average time a home owner spends in foreclosure continues to get longer. More than 33 percent of home owners in foreclosure have not made a mortgage payment in more than two years.”

Source: “Foreclosure Sales Plummet in May,” RISMedia (July 5, 2011)

 

Facing foreclosure? Have you considered a short sale?
Call or email

John J. O’Dell Realtor® GRI
O’Dell Realty
(530) 263-1091
jodell@nevadacounty.com