Is the Administration Considering Reviving the Tax Credit?
If you click on the TBWS box and view today’s video, you’ll discover that the Administration is now considering re-enactment of the expired tax credit. Talk about floating a trial balloon!
If this comes to fruition, it will:
- falsely inflate the sagging real estate market;
- drive today’s buyers very quickly into negative equity faster when it expires (assuming it will);
- buy votes in the upcoming election;
- benefit NAR union members.
IMO, re-enactment will accomplish nothing positive over the long term, and will re-introduce confusion into the free market.
Read more at : http://washingtonindependent.com/96138/a-revival-of-the-homebuyer-tax-credits
HOA/Condo Buyers Entitled to Refund of Earnest Money Deposits
Revised August 23, 2010 at 4:18pm.
Buyers who enter into contracts to purchase residential real estate in a condominium or homeowners association development are entitled to several disclosures from the seller, including notice of fees payable to the council of condominium owners or HOA; restrictive covenants that result from the property being subject to an HOA or Condo regime; and insurance coverage on common areas of the development where the property is located.
A buyer who enters into a contract but who has not received the required HOA documents and disclosures may cancel the contract any time before closing, and is entitled to “immediate return of deposits made on account of the contract.” Real Property Article 11B-108(a). A buyer who does not receive the HOA documents and disclosures at least five days prior to entering into the sales contract is entitled to cancel the contract within five days of receiving the documents and disclosures. The buyer need not state any reason for canceling the contract, as long as the cancelation is in writing. The buyer is entitled to the “return of any deposits made on account of the contract, except that the vendor shall be entitled to retain the cost of reproducing” the documents and information disclosed to the buyer. Real Property Article 11B-108(b).
A purchaser who enters into a contract of sale to purchase a condominium is entitled to cancel the contract within 7 days of receipt of the required documents and disclosures and is thereafter entitled to “return of any deposit made on account of the contract.” Real Property Article 11-135 (f).
The Real Estate Commission takes the position that the HOA and Condominium Acts allow a broker to refund the buyer’s earnest money deposit when the buyer has canceled the contract exercising the right to cancel after receipt of the HOA or Condo documents and disclosures, without first obtaining a signed release from the seller. Brokers know that the Business Occupations Article requires that they maintain deposit monies in an approved account until a transaction is consummated or terminated, written instructions from the parties are received, an interpleader is filed in court or neither party objects to the broker’s proposed disposition of the deposit. Business Occupations Article 17-505 (a). Following this new policy statement by the Real Estate Commission, a broker may return the buyer’s deposit once written notice to cancel the contract is given.
If you have any questions concerning this guidance you can review the minutes of the Real Estate Commission meetings of May and June 2010 by visiting the Commission’s website at http://www.dllr.state.md.us/license/mrec/. You may also call the Commission at (410) 230-6200.
Think Big Work Small
Highly recommended, entertaining, fast-paced daily videos on the current mortgage and real estate climate.
WARNING! Not for the faint-of-heart or squeamish!
Are American Consumers Still Tapped-Out?
It seems that despite rock-bottom interest rates, consumers aren’t flocking to real estate. Traditionally, as rates fall, home prices rise, and at least locally in the mid-Atlantic, we’re seeing price stabilization, and in some counties, the prices have indeed started to rise. However, consumers are having a tough time with creditor requirements for home loans. I don’t think you should expect the easing of requirements. Americans still need to reduce their overall debt and get their personal finances in order.
Until this is accomplished, the rising prices will moderate, if not fall once again to meet creditors’ requirements. Like it or not, banks are in the business to make money, and they, not buyers or sellers, are the real entities who set market prices. You can read more at: http://home-sweet-home.us/blog/tappedout
You can view the last 6 years of sold real estate price trends in 9 central Maryland counties by visiting:
http://www.home-sweet-home.us/blog/stats
You can also view current market conditions, selectable by individual county throughout the mid-Atlantic, by visiting:
http://www.longandfostersmarketminute.com
Is Obama now planning to outright forgive mortgage debt?
I wouldn’t have believed it either, except this came from a reliable source.
Main Street may be about to get its own gigantic bailout. Rumors are running wild from Washington to Wall Street that the Obama administration is about to order government-controlled lenders Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to forgive a portion of the mortgage debt of millions of Americans who owe more than what their homes are worth. An estimated 15 million U.S. mortgages – one in five – are underwater with negative equity of some $800 billion. Recall that on Christmas Eve 2009, the Treasury Department waived a $400 billion limit on financial assistance to Fannie and Freddie, pledging unlimited help. The actual vehicle for the bailout could be the Bush-era Home Affordable Refinance Program, or HARP, a sister program to Obama’s loan modification effort. HARP was just extended through June 30, 2011.
The move, if it happens, would be a stunning political and economic bombshell less than 100 days before a midterm election in which Democrats are currently expected to suffer massive, if not historic losses. The key date to watch is August 17 when the Treasury Department holds a much-hyped meeting on the future of Fannie and Freddie. A few key points:
1) Republican leaders believe this is going to happen since GOPers and Democratic moderates in the Senate are unwilling to spend more taxpayer money on more stimulus. But such a housing plan would allow the White House to sidestep congressional objections and show voters it is doing something tangible about an economy that seems to be weakening.
2) Wall Street banks are alerting their clients privately to this possibility. Here is what some are cautiously saying publicly. This from Goldman Sachs:
GSE policies are one of a dwindling number of policy levers the administration has left to pull, so it is conceivable that changes could be made, though there is no sign that a policy change is imminent. The Treasury’s essentially unlimited ability to provide financial support to the GSEs creates an interesting situation over the next twelve months: the GSEs could potentially be used to provide additional support for the housing market and, to a lesser extent, the broader economy in 2H 2001.
And this from Mizuho Securities:
As policy makers ponder their next move the data suggests that they face not only a stalling recovery but a growing risk of deflation taking root in the economy. As a result, the Administration has turned back to industrial policies by approving the purchase of a sub-prime auto lender by GM as a means for pumping up domestic sales, especially since the latest auto sales data indicates that consumers are still responsive to incentives. This precedent increases the risk that the government will use its control of Fannie and Freddie to increase consumer cash flow and juice the economy again.
Moreover, Morgan Stanley is pushing a mortgage relief plan directly to Congress. On August 3, a top Morgan Stanley economist recommended to the Senate Budget Committee that Fannie and Freddie ease their lending standards to allow millions of Americans to refinance their mortgages.
3) Keep in mind the political and economic context. The nascent recovery is already running out of steam. Wall Street economists just downgraded the government’s second-quarter GDP estimate of 2.4 percent to around 1.7 percent. And as even Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner is warning, the unemployment rate may well begin to rise back toward the politically toxic 10 percent level given such sluggish growth. Many in the White House thought the unemployment rate would be dropping sharply by this point in the recovery.
But that is not happening. What is happening is that the president’s approval ratings are continuing to erode, as are Democratic election polls. Democrats are in real danger of losing the House and almost losing the Senate. The mortgage Hail Mary would be a last-gasp effort to prevent this from happening and to save the Obama agenda. The political calculation is that the number of grateful Americans would be greater than those offended that they — and their children and their grandchildren — would be paying for someone else’s mortgage woes.
4) And don’t think the White House is worried about financial market reaction. If they thought it would pass Congress, they would be submitting a $200 billion Stimulus 2.0 (3.0?, 4.0?) right now.
August is supposed to be a slow month for Washington politics. But maybe not this one.
NOTE: the following link is to a related update story in Barron’s, published Friday, August 6:
http://online.barrons.com/article/SB50001424052970203667404575412951885388376.html?mod=BOL_hpp_dc
Fall 2010 Howard County Activity Guide
Not sure what to do or what events are scheduled in and around Howard County?
Here is a great resource for answers!
Maryland Financing Assistance Programs
Here is a handy tool to help you locate a financing program to help make your home mortgage more affordable! There are many different programs for all types of buyers, including first-time buyers, and existing homeowners to help find ways to keep housing costs manageable. The programs include all federal, State of Maryland and local programs that may be available to help with downpayment and closing assistance, low-interest mortgages, rehabilitation/repairs and taxes. Simply access the tool right here and answer a few preliminary questions, and you’ll be automatically directed to the most appropriate resource.
Do the June 2010 Stats Reflect a Turnaround?
If you’ve downloaded the .pdf of the latest statistics showing average closed prices for June 2010, you can’t help but notice the not-so-insignificant upward bounce. Giddy about the future in home prices?
You might want to take a look at the past June prices on the chart. It seems that the March-June spring selling season is reflected in the closing numbers for June of every year. It is a traditional bounce that happens on a repeated basis, and is then followed by a downturn in average sold prices over the period July through September.
So my sincere advice would be to keep an eye open for my July and August sold price updates, which usually occur between the 13th and 15th of every month. These successive months are very telling and should point out clearly whether we are in a real market turnaround or whether the stats depict the regularly expected seasonal fluctuations.
The jury is out…
Columbia, Ellicott City Just Ranked #2 in the U.S.
We moved up to the #2 spot in the annual Money Magazine rankings of the best places to live!
See how we stack up against the other Top Ten competitors by viewing this handy chart.
Congratulations Howard County!!
Updated 9 County Sales Comparison Chart for June 2010
UPDATED July 13, 2010. Our June 2010 Real Estate Price Trend Chart is a graph that compares the changes to average sold prices on a month-by-month basis for 9 central Maryland counties over the last six years. As with the other graphs, it is representative of all residential property types, e.g. a consolidation of condos, townhomes and detached single-family homes.
PLEASE NOTE: you must have Adobe Reader installed on your computer in order to view the graph.
