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As always we strive to offer Connecticut residents the best and lowest mortgage rates and fees. We offer conventional fixed and arm loans as well as jumbo, conventional jumbo, USDA and VA loans as well as second mortgages both fixed and adjustable. We are located at 3 Everlsey Ave in Norwalk CT.

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For the first time since the financial crisis has left the housing market in turmoil I have come across one of the scarce ideas and proposals from an elected government official that makes a world of sense.

I an article in the Commercial Record the State of Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal proposed a self funded state position to oversee condominium owner complaints with their condo association boards or property managers.

You can chalk one up for the “little” guy or in this case the homeowner if this goes through. In the original article below it goes into detail how this proposal will certainly help condominium owners.

 

Blumenthal Proposes State Condo Dispute

Resolution Board

Today

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Attorney General Richard Blumenthal has proposed the creation of a self-funded state Office of Condominium Ombudsman to review condo owner complaints concerning violations of state condominium laws by an association’s board of directors, officers or professional managers.

Blumenthal alleges that the current system of dispute resolution is unfair and hypocritical to unit owners, as it imposes significant costs on individuals forced to hire counsel from their own pockets while condo boards can turn to often hefty association funds.

“The current law is unfair to unit owners,” Blumenthal said in a statement. “The law imposes certain responsibilities on condominium association boards of directors and establishes certain rights for unit owners. The unit owners must hire - at their own expense - a lawyer to enforce those rights and responsibilities while the association boards of directors can defend themselves using association funds, raised through assessments on the unit owners. Thus, unit owner funds are used to defend lawsuits brought by unit owners themselves. A Condominium Ombudsman will provide much-needed assistance to unit owners and provide an important enforcement tool for our condominium laws.”

The office would be funded through a combination of new and increased fees on condo associations and condo managers that could be worth as much as $1.09 million annually.

Associations would face a $4 per unit annual assessment. There are approximately 240,000 condominium units in Connecticut, so the $4 charge will yield $960,000, Blumenthal’s office said.

Additionally, the proposal requires a filing fee of $35 paid by the complainant and another $35 filing fee paid by the association. The fee on the association also encourages the association to resolve the matter prior to intervention by the ombudsman, Blumenthal said. If there are 1,000 complaints filed, this fee will yield $70,000.

Finally, the proposal increases the condominium manager’s filing fee from $100 annually to $400 biennially. There are 300 registered condominium managers, so the fee will generate $120,000 in revenue every two years.

Blumenthal’s office said it has received hundreds of complaints from condominium unit owners regarding violations of state condominium laws or condominium bylaws by their association board of directors.

Under this proposal, the Attorney General, upon referral by the ombudsman, may bring a civil action to enforce the provisions of the condominium bylaws or state statutes regarding condominiums. A provision of the legislation would allow the ombudsman to impose a civil penalty of not more than $200 for any knowing violation.

Connecticut’s best mortgage rates are a click away www.EversleyCapital.com

Some encouraging signs ahead of the spring housing market. New home construction numbers just out have shown a steep rise. This may shed some light on the hope of a stronger housing market in 2010. The article is below and the link is here. HOUSING STARTS

Housing starts post sharp rebound

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Housing starts rebounded more strongly than expected to their highest level in six months in January, while permits fell slightly less than forecast, a government report showed on Wednesday.

The Commerce Department said housing starts increased 2.8 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 591,000 units, reversing the prior month’s weather-induced drop.

Analysts polled by Reuters had expected housing starts to rise to 580,000 units. December’s housing starts were revised upwards to 575,000 units from the previously reported 557,000 units. Compared to January last year, starts surged 21.1 percent, the largest increase since April 2004.

Groundbreaking for single-family homes rose 1.5 percent last month to an annual rate of 484,000 units after declining 3 percent in December. Starts for the volatile multifamily segment increased 9.2 percent to a 107,000 unit annual pace after rising 12.6 percent in December.

Housing, which is at the core of the most painful economic downturn since the Great Depression, is crawling out of a three-year slump, supported by government programs. New home construction contributed to economic growth in the third quarter of 2009 for the first time since 2005.

But activity slowed sharply in the fourth quarter and while homebuilder sentiment edged up this month, it remains at levels consistent with poor conditions.

New building permits, which give a sense of future home construction, fell 4.9 percent to 621,000 units last month after rising to a 14-month high of 653,000 units in December, the Commerce Department said. That compared to analysts’ forecasts for 620,000 units.

The inventory of total houses under construction fell 2.3 percent to a record low 503,000 units last month, while the total number of units authorized but not yet started eased 0.9 percent to 94,300 units.

(Reporting by Lucia Mutikani; Editing by Andrea Ricci)

The new regime in the Government did say they would pull out all the stops to try and stabilize a crippled housing market and economy. And to date there have been numerous ideas, programs and cash and tax credits implemented. And now there is a new one except this time it is Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac looking to stabilize foreclosure “hot-spots”

Fannie Mae recently announced their “deed for lease” program. Freddie Mac has already implemented this same type of program.

Countless numbers of borrowers on the verge of foreclosure will have the option of renting their homes from Fannie or Freddie. The program will allow homeowners to transfer ownership to Fannie or Freddie and rent the home back for a year by signing a lease.

While the end result for the borrower is the loss of the home for some it gives them the option to remain in the home while they try and turn around their finances. This program would be available to those who do not qualify for a loan modification.

Good news for Connecticut homebuyers, both first time purchasers and “move-up” buyers as well. As LoanClassroom has continuously kept you abreast of legislation for the extension of the homebuyer tax credit with no surprise it is official. It is signed sealed and delivered.

The new tax credit is in effect until April 30, 2010. You must be in contract by that date and will then have sixty days from that date to close. Also as anticipated the income levels to qualify have been increased as well.

I am always getting questions from clients in regards to the tax credit. While I do my part to stay informed there are some questions that I am not always sure of. I found the best question and answer site for the tax credit. It was so well done I found it un-necessary to create my own. It is on the NAHB (National Association of Home Builders) website.

If you are a first time homebuyer click on the link to TAX CREDIT QUESTIONS FOR FIRST TIME HOMEBUYERS

If you are a “step-up” buyer, meaning you are selling and buying a new home click on the link to TAX CREDIT QUESTIONS FOR REPEAT BUYERS

And if you need to get pre-qualified for a mortgage or are in the need of financing fill out the form on the site and we will be sure to get in touch with you.

The Senate voted cloture last night on the bill containing the extension of the first time homebuyer tax credit. What that means is by this Friday the tax credit shall be inked. And in laymen terms cloture is a procedure by which the Senate can place a time limit on a bill, the maximum is 30 additional hours of consideration.

 

 

The terms of the new tax credit remains at $8,000 for first time home buyers and a new feature of a $6,500 tax credit to move-up buyers as well. The income limits were adjusted upward as well to $150,000 a year for a single filer and $225,000 for joint filers. The tax credit requires purchase and sale contracts dated by April 30^th and allows for a sixty day window to close.

While this is not a final vote the cloture vote by the Senate all but wraps up the extension of the home buyer credit.

The deadline to take advantage of the first time home buyer tax credit is approaching quickly. In my previous post  I mentioned that the NAR (National Association of Realtors) was lobbying Congress to extend the program. As it stands any purchase transaction must close by the 30^th of November to take advantage of the tax credit.

In the past week U.S. Senate leaders have moved closer to extending and amending the current tax credit. While the bill is still being worked on the current state of the bill that was headlined in Bloomberg news would be slightly lower than the present $8,000 tax credit in place. It would be reduced to $7,290 and would be in effect for home purchases that are under contract prior to April 30^th and homebuyers would have an additional sixty days to close.

The income eligibility would remain the same $75,000 for individuals and $150,000 for couples. The current version of the bill would also allow for step-up buyers and not just first time homebuyers.

In the past several months sales of existing homes have increased mainly in fact to the expiration of the first time home buyer tax credit. LoanClassroom is committed to keeping you up to date on this matter as it materializes.

 

As if the homeowners in the lovely state of Florida did not have enough to be worried about with the housing and mortgage markets they can add whether or not their home was built using Chinese dry wall to the list of problems.

The dry wall in question was imported during a four year span from 2004-2008. There was enough imported to the US to build tens of thousands of homes with Florida getting the lion share of the material. So there is a good chance if you have a new home built within that time frame your home may contain Chinese dry wall.

The problem is that the dry wall emits sulfuric fumes and corrodes pipes. The worst part is insurance companies not only will not accept claims if your home is found to have Chinese dry wall but they are dropping and opting not to re-insure homeowners.

The state of Florida is not alone. The majority of the dry wall was used in the South. The government is currently investigating the problem and there may be some sort of relief program established. LoanClassroom will update any links or news that becomes of this story.

The question here is do we really know? In March of this year both real estate and the equity markets began to move up. Housing has inched a percent here and there every month. The equities market has ascended like it was the pre dot com era.

So finally sales of existing home sales retreated. It fell 2.4 percent as reported and released today by the National Association of Realtors. It is the first decline in housing sales since March. All of this a day after the Fed gave an upbeat forecast of the state of the economy and that it intended to slow down their intervention into buying treasury debt and mortgage backed securities. The Fed has aggressively been buying both in a 1.25 trillion pledge to help keep mortgage rates low.

Where does that leave us? Well we now know what the economy looks like when the Fed is the backstop for banks, the auto industry, low mortgage rates and induced home buying due to the 8,000 home buyer tax credits. What will the economy look like once the Fed is not there propping us all up? That is the scary part.

Home sales have increased mainly in part due to the home buyer tax credit and low mortgage rates. Take the credit away which it expires as of now in November and if the Fed is scaling back on keeping its finger pressed to push mortgage rates lower has the housing market really been slowly recovering?

Does the Fed see something that no one else can? The job report that was out today was less than expected. But by no stretch of the imagination was it a sign that the employment arena is showing signs of life. Could the Fed really not have that much of a clue? I have pointed out my facts what do you think? Submit your comments.

The National Association of Realtors is presently lobbying Congress with a full court press to extend the 1^st time home buyers tax credit. The extremely successful tax credit which Congress enacted to help prop up the devastated real estate market is due to expire on November 30^th. To clarify, if you qualify for the tax credit your purchase needs to close by the 30^th of November.

Presently there are limitations to qualify for the $8,000 tax credit. You need to be a first time home buyer which is defined as never owning a home previously or not owning a home within the last three years. There are also income limitations to qualify which are $75,000 for a single person and $150,000 for a joint couple.

In the previous months real estate sales have been up mostly in part due to the looming deadline of the tax credit. The National Association of Realtors is looking to get the tax credit extended into next year and remove the income limitation.

It would be in Congress’s best interest to extend the tax credit but only time will tell if that happens and seeing as the deadline is November, 30 LoanClassroom will be updating this info as soon as we get any new info.