The North Valley Team of Phoenix Arizona

Phoenix Arizona Housing Crisis Solutions for Distressed Home Owners

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If you are a Phoenix Arizona home buyer right now you already know that the Phoenix real estate market has heated up again. Low supply and high demand is creating multiple offer situations on most Phoenix homes for sale listings. On more than one occasion I have gone on day 1 to a new listing only to find 5-10 realtors with clients waiting outside to show property. Multiple offers drive up price and that will result in some appreciation in 2012 in my opinion.

We help identify solutions for distressed homeowners in the Phoenix real estate market.There are other things helping the Arizona housing crisis. The time lines for short sales has shortened with most lenders. They have streamlined their processes. One example of this is Fannie Mae was just given more authority by 5 major mortgage insurers to approve a short sale without their approval. Prior to this, the mortgage insurance approval process could add an additional 2-4 week to the timeline. This will really help and shows the intent of institutions and mortgage insurers to want to complete short sales in a more efficient time frame.

Some lenders are offering large incentives to homeowners to complete Phoenix short sale home transactions. I just completed a Phoenix short sale offered by Chase and my sellers received $20,000 at closing as a short sale incentive from lender. These offers vary and depend greatly on which investor is backing the note. Chase is not giving everybody $20,0000.

Bank of America has the cooperative short sale where they claim will shorten the short sale process and HAFA is the government incentive short sale program offering $3,000 to homeowners who qualify.

The recent revisions for Harp 2.0 should help thousands of homeowners being to now refinance their underwater homes. The extension of this to non owner-occupied homes will really help Phoenix real estate investors who are upside down from walking away.

If you feel as though you are a distressed homeowner and you would like more information on Harp 2.0 or want to talk about Phoenix short sales, visit our Distressed Homeowner Rescue website or just give me a call at 480-201-4185 and I will be happy to discuss your situation and help you identify and understand all of your options.

Phoenix Arizona Short Sale Homes Mortgage Debt Relief Act Expires at End of 2012

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In 2007, an instrument was designed which would allow taxpaying homeowners the ability to exclude having to show certain discharged debt relating to their principal residence as income when filing their tax returns. This instrument is named The Mortgage Debt Relief Act of 2007 and states that any debt that has been reduced in connection with a mortgage restructuring, a foreclosure, or a short sale, qualifies for the relief under this act.

Through this Mortgage Debt Relief Act, a homeowner may have as much as $2 million of debt forgiven ($1 million if married filing separately) depending on the homeowner’s unique set of circumstances. What Phoenix homeowners may not realize is that the Act only applies to debt which is forgiven within the calendar years of 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2012.

Decide on the short sale of your Phoenix home because debt forgiveness ends in 2012.If you own Phoenix real estate as a primary residence and you have been considering the short sale of your home, you need to make a determination as soon as possible because if you decide to short sale your property and you want to reduce your associated tax liability, you need to settle the short sale transaction and associated agreement for debt forgiveness before to the end of 2012.

Due to this narrowing window of opportunity, there will surely be a big push in the real estate industry to get homeowners considering the short sale of their house to move quickly; we would not be surprised to see a backup of transaction processing within the distressed homeowner departments of many large banks due to this timeline crunch.

If you have decided to short sale your Phoenix home, make sure you first consult a professional tax specialist. Then, contact our team of Phoenix short sale specialist real estate agents for your home valuation and listing. We handle all aspects related to the listing and COE of these transactions, from the initial property listing through the negotiation of all attached debt and final closing of escrow.

Facts Regarding VA Financing – Zero Down Option

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If you are a Veteran eligible for a VA loan, now would be a great time to use your VA loan benefits and buy a home, given the low interest rates on home mortgages. If you are not sure about your eligibility, visit the Department of Veteran Affairs VA home loan eligibility page. Many lenders are VA endorsed and can process your VA home loan very easily. We are also happy to provide a list of Phoenix Arizona VA endorsed lenders should you require assistance.

VA home loan program eligibility for a zero down payment loan on a Phoenix Arizona home.

Here are some of the other benefits of getting a VA loan:

1. VA loans include 100% financing with zero down payment required.
2. VA loan limits are $417,000 which can basically get you into an estate sized home in this current Phoenix Arizona real estate market!
3. There is no monthly mortgage insurance on a VA loan so your payments comparatively, will be lower.
4. Buyers can get up to 4% in closing costs covered by the home seller. Some VA fees (like escrow fees and lender processing fees) cannot be paid for by the buyer in a VA home loan transaction.
5. Rates are competitive because the VA home loans are guaranteed by the government; there is much less risk for the banks.
6. No pre-payment penalties if you pay off loan early.

These are only a few of the reasons why you may want to use your VA eligibility now when Phoenix Arizona homes prices and mortgage rates are so low.

You’re a United States Veteran – you deserve this home buying opportunity!

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