Whats up with the Real Estate Market? - PowerTeamHomes.com

New single family homes are getting smaller, and the trend is likely to last well beyond the recession, according to research from the National Association of Homebuilders (NAHB). The median size of a single-family home dropped from a peak of 2,268 square feet in 2006 to 2,100 square feet in 2009.

Homebuilders attribute the decline to consumers’ desire to keep energy costs down, the lack of equity in existing homes available to roll over into new ones, tighter credit standards, less interest in buying homes as investments, and a growing number of first-time buyers.

Despite the trend toward smaller homes, the average number of bathrooms and bedrooms has showed little change, while three-car garages, fireplaces, patios and decks have declined in popularity.

Recession is still on; the National Bureau of Economic Research finds that the economic recession technically ended in June 2009, but for 81 percent of Americans it isn’t over just yet, according to the American Pulse survey from BIG Research.

Many people are still feeling the pain of the recession; 78.6 percent report they have lost wealth in the past two years, compared with 21.4 percent who say they have not. Reasons for the perceived drop in wealth include a decline in their homes’ value, job loss and declining interest rates on savings accounts.

Looking at First-timers; spurred on by the now-expired homebuyer tax credit, first-time homebuyers accounted for a record 50 percent of all home sales in 2009, up from 47 percent in 2008, according to the “2010 NAR Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers.” The vast majority (93 percent) of first-time buyers took advantage of the tax credit, and 95 percent chose a fixed rate mortgage.

The median age of first-time buyers was 30, and the median income was $59,000. The typical entry-level buyer purchased a property with 1,540 square feet that cost $152,000 and most first timers say they plan to hold the property for 10 years.

First time home-buyer tax credit fraud; the IRS has reported it has suffered nearly $25 million in fraudulent credits from the first time or move up home-buyer credit. Approximately $9 million in credits were issued to prison inmates (they have more than plenty of time to figure that one out!). Other credits were issued to first time home-buyers who bought the property they already lived in from their relatives. No one moved in and no one moved out.

Homeownership Concerns; while 80 percent of Americans still believe buying a home is a good financial decision, concerns about job security remain a barrier to homeownership for many potential buyers, according to NAR and its “2010 Pulse Survey.” Seven out of ten Americans say job layoffs and unemployment remain big problems in their local areas, and eight out of 10 believe these issues are a barrier to homeownership.

More than two-thirds of respondents (68 percent) believe now is a good time to buy a home, down from 75 percent just a year ago, but up from 66 percent in 2008 and 59 percent in 2007. Respondents say the biggest obstacle to homeownership is having enough money for a down payment and closing costs (79 percent), lack of confidence in getting approved for a mortgage loan comes in at 73 percent.

Meanwhile, renters are warming up to the idea of homeownership. More than one-fourth of renters say they are thinking more about buying a home than they did a year ago. Nearly two thirds (63 percent) say homeownership is a priority in the future, and nearly 40 percent say it is one of their highest priorities.

It’s most definitely time for all the renters/potential home buyers to see how big of a home they can qualify them for in today’s market. If they had lost their home, they can become homeowners again for a lot less.

Deep Thoughts on Election Madness - PowerTeamHomes.com

As we enjoy our second “late summer” I could not help but to take a moment and remember Nat King Cole singing about those “lazy, hazy, crazy days of summer.” It may have been the last quiet moment as Nat was obviously not thinking about the 2010 primary election season in Illinois and all over the country.

There has been no “down time” as negative TV commercials, flyers, letters and hit pieces are crowding our mailboxes and roadside signs are jockeying for positions on street corners. Live and recorded telephone calls and campaign workers knocking on doors: it’s all a regular feature of the campaign cycle. The November 2nd election is fast approaching, it will be one for the record books as far as the most governors (37), the most U.S. senators (37) since 1962 and who controls Congress. Over 150 measures are on ballots in 35 states; reapportionment changes will shape state and local politics for a decade in 88 of the 99 state legislative chambers. It was not until 1920 that women were granted the right to go to the polls and vote after 33 of them were wrongly convicted of “obstructing sidewalk traffic” by demonstrating back in November 1917.

One of their leaders, Alice Paul, made sure that the men of her time understood that “courage in women is often mistaken for insanity”. Today we need the women’s vote more than ever before. Whatever you do, please take time to understand the real issues; don’t focus only on their accusations: based on them no one should be elected! Dig in and find out more on which candidates, regardless of their affiliation, deserve your vote.

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Near Complete Stop to Foreclosures Nationwide - PowerTeamHomes.com

What started out within a few lenders has now turned into a major halt to the nation’s REO and foreclosure business by Freddie Mac, Fannie Mae, Bank of America, GMAC, JP Morgan Chase, Wells Fargo and many other large and small lenders.

For HomeSteps a foreclosure program,Properties with Sales Pending: Per Freddie Mac, buyer must be notified,through the buyer’s attorneys and buyer’s agents, that all buyers who are under an executed, approved contract, may keep their contracts in place while the issue is being addressed and resolved. However,should any buyer wish to terminate his or her contract, Agents must work with the assigned closing agent to terminate the contract of sale and promptly return the earnest money deposit.

Buyers must be notified, through the buyer’s agents per Freddie Mac, with which Freddie Mac has only accepted verbal offers but have not executed a written contract, that the property is being taken off the market temporarily to address title related issues. Once the property is available, Agents must notify all listing agents affected, and reach out to the buyer's agents to resubmit their offer, with direction from Freddie Mac.

How did it happen? Some bank employees in multiple unrelated cases
around the country testified in court that they could not “verify the accuracy of every foreclosure” put in front of them as they were receiving between 10,000 and 18,000 cases per month. This brought into question the validity of some completed and ongoing foreclosure actions. If the foreclosure was defective because the lender bringing the foreclosure action did not have the legal authority to foreclose, then the buyer at the sheriff’s sale, along with successive purchasers, could be challenged on the validity of the title they are holding. As Wall Street was “re-packaging” loans prior to the meltdown that started in 2007 the actual“final” owner may or not have had legal title to the promissory note and mortgage therefore creating the gap causing the current issues.

If the mortgage holder who brought the foreclosure action did not have the authority to bring the action or otherwise failed to comply with the requirements of the foreclosure statues, then the court has the power to vacate the foreclosure judgment(s) for an ongoing transaction as well as prior closed ones. Lenders will not resume foreclosures until the flaws in the process are resolved, they need time to confirm that the foreclosure was properly initiated by a legally authorized party and that the due process was completely followed.

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