Fortmeadehomes' Blog: All Categories

Keeping an eye on the Seven Oaks community just outside the gates of Fort Meade in Odenton, MD has given us a pretty good perspective on what is happening market wide in Anne Arundel County.  This large community offers a few condominiums, along with single family home and townhomes.  We've been watching foreclosure and short sale rates rise to an incredible 33% of property activity in the neighborhood, but finally we have some good news!

There are 47 actively listed home and 20 homes or roughly 30% of inventory under contract within the past 45 days.  That may sound like a lot  of homes for sale but when you consider that there are almost 2,500 homes community wide that's one of the lowest numbers we've seen in a while.

We've seen median prices fall…

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the nations largest mortgage lenders have announced that they will halt foreclosure proceedings for the Holidays between November 26th and January 9th.
  This temporary halt will allow them to organize and implement new programs that will make troubled mortgages more affordable and keep homeowner mortgage payments under a 38% threshold of their gross income.  The "streamlined modification program" is designed to assist  borrowers who are 3 months or more behind on the payment for their primary residence that have not filed for bankruptcy.
  Options available for home owners who qualify include extending mortgages 30 year mortgages to 40 years, reducing interest rates to make payments affordable and allowing for delayed… Read Full Post

On October 10th President Bush signed The Veterans Benefits Improvement Act which adds some ground breaking improvements for home owners and home buyers who are eligible for a VA loan.   Most notably....
 

• During the housing boom many veteran's purchased homes using conventional financing to make their offers more favorable to sellers or to purchase in a price range that was higher than the current VA loan amount.  Those loans sometimes came with terms that were not as good as they could have received with a VA loan.   Previous to this act refinancing from a conventional loan (or any other type of loan) to a VA loan required that the veteran have at least 10% equity in their home.  So, for example.  If you owned a $400,000 home, VA would only allow…

HR 6694 the FHA Seller-Financed Downpayment Reform and Risk-Based Pricing Authorization Act of 2008 bill was approved by the House Financial Services Committee on September 16th.  This is a great step forward in bringing back a reasonable, balanced and managable solution that will allow Sellers to contribute some or all of the downpayment to a buyer that wants to purchase their home.
This program rasied great controversy and was deemed part of the downfall of the housing market as it incorrectly got pulled into the BCD lending "scandal".  The truth is this is a great program that can make a big difference for families with responsible credit histories that want to step into home ownership.
The revamped program has some very sensible restrictions on… Read Full Post

In this turbulent time in our Nations history and economy there are more families then ever facing late payments and possible foreclosure.  While the Federal government has changed the time line in which a bank can foreclose, the Veterans administration is being even more proactive by working directly with home owners and their lenders on VA backed loans.

If you are behind on your mortgage payment and feat that foreclosure may be your only option it would be wise to call on the dedicated financial counselors who are there to assist you at no charge.  This program can help with several options including repayment plans, forebearance and loan restructuring.  All of which are designed to keep you in your home.

 You can reach them at 1-877-827-3702.  

When…