Buying A Fixer-Upper Using HUD's 203(k) Program

This may be a way to get a bargain on a house but you need some facts before you take it on. You can find a property and the seller accepted my very low bid. The house will need a lot of work, but you feel that you're more than capable of fixing it up, so you buy it. Before long, you're in over your head and you're living in a home and repairing it sometimes years down the road, on top of which you probably won't even get your money back if you sell it.

Often a bank will not grant a mortgage on a house that is in bad shape until the repairs are complete and the repairs can't be done until you buy the house. Talk about Catch 22!

One way to go is to look into HUD's 203(k) program, which makes it possible to purchase a property and include in the loan the cost of the repairs and improvements. It is an insured-loan program that is available through approved lenders all across the country but is only available to people who will occupy the house. The down-payment requirement is 3.5% of the total cost, acquisition and repairs.

Here's some information about getting 203(k) loan:

1. Locate a fixer-upper and do a feasibility analysis with your real estate agent. Then enter into a sales contract that will stipulate that you are seeking a 203(k) loan and that the contract is only in effect contingent upon approval of the 203(k).


2. Find a lender who is approved by the FHA to grant these loans. You will need a proposal spelling out in detail the estimated cost of each repair or improvement.


3. Get an appraisal to determine the value of the property after renovation.


4. If you pass the lender's credit-worthiness test, you will have your loan. The amount of the final loan will include a contingency reserve of 10%-20% of the remodeling costs to cover any extra work that needs to be done.


5. You close on the property, the seller is paid, and the money for repairs goes into an escrow account.


6. Mortgage payments begin once the loan is closed.


7. Money for the contractor will be obtained through a series of draw requests; 10% percent will be held back by the lender to assure that the work will be finished and there will be no liens on the property.

For more information, go to:

http://www.hud.gov/offices/hsg/sfh/203k/203kabou.cfm

The Basics About 1031 Exchange

1031 Exchange refers to the section of the Internal Revenue Code Section that provides for the tax deferred exchange of real and personal property.

Simply stated, a 1031 exchange allows a person to "exchange" an investment property (be it business or a home) worth a certain number of dollars for another investment of "like kind". Since any profits have been reinvested into the new property, the taxes on those profits can be deferred until ultimately , the investor divests himself of the property. At that time, the grim reaper of reality shows up, and the deferred taxes along with any new taxes on the transaction become due at once.

Some general guidelines for a 1031 Exchange:

• The value of the replacement property must be equal to or greater than the value of the relinquished property less any selling expense.
• The equity in the replacement property must be equal to or greater than the equity in the relinquished property.
• The debt on the replacement property must be equal to or greater than the debt on the relinquished property.
• All of the net proceeds from the sale of the relinquished property must be used to acquire the replacement property.
• Constructive receipt of sales proceeds is prohibited during the exchange process.
• Deadlines for identifying and closing on the replacement property must be followed.

If a few or our grandparents/great-grandparents had known about the 1031 exchange, maybe the great depression could have been the so-so depression. It's a little known fact that this suddenly popular side route that allows an investor (and that can be a private individual as well as a broker) to indefinitely delay the payment of taxes when properties are exchanged without a profit, has been legal since 1921. Unfortunately, it took the housing boom to bring it to that attention of the Real Estate savvy, and the housing slump to open the rest of our eyes to what it can do.

However, it is important to realize that a 1031 exchange is not a ride on the tax-free gravy train. Eventually the investment is sold, hopefully at a profit. Then, the taxes on the first and last sale will have to be paid.

Record Low for Mortgage Rates

Lenders are offering 30-year loans at an average rate of 4.57%, with upfront fees averaging 0.7% or the loan amount.

The rates are down from 4.58% last week and 5.2% last year this time.

The average rate for a 15-year loan rose from 4.04% to 4.07%.

Mortgages that are fixed for 5 yrs, but become variable, the average initial rate fell to 3.75% from 3.79%, taking it to the lowest in 5 years.

Well qualified borrowers, who understand the advantage of what is known as "buying points", often can get better rates.

Foreclosure Filings Drop; Bank Seizures Rise

Foreclosure activity in the U.S. continued to level off this quarter with some stage of the process falling 3%.

Last month close to 323,000 properties received some kind of foreclosure filings - either default notices, scheduled auctions or bank repossessions.

While the overall number of filings was down, and the number of homes entering the first stage of the process fell 7% from April, the pace of homes exiting foreclosure and being seized by banks hit a record high in May.

The increase in repossessions suggests that lenders are beginning to work through a backlog of properties developed after many foreclosures were frozen last year. In addition, there's been government pressure on lenders to work with defaulting homeowners.

California continued to be a hotbed of foreclosures, accounting for 22% of the national total with around 72,000 filings in May. California was fourth behind Nevada, Arizona and Florida.

A Look At Palos Verder Peninsula 1st Quarter Home Sales & Inventory

The average single-family home price was $1.36 million for the first quarter of 2010 as compared to $1.25 million in the first quarter of 2009, and increase of 9.1 percent. The median price of a single-family home in Palos Verdes

was $1.15 million in the first quarter of 2010 as to $1.05 million in the first quarter of 2009 - a 9.2 percent increase.

The average condominium prices increased to $525,000 as compared to $469,000 in 2009 - a 12.8 percent increase. The number of condominium and townhome sales in the first quarter were down 37.5 percent, with 10 sales in 2010 compared to 16 in 2009. The dollar -per-square-foot figure in the first quarter was $378 in 2010 ans $367 in 2009 - a 3 percent increase.

The number of single family homes sold in Palos Verdes was up 87 percent in the first quarter of 2010 compared to that same period in 2009. The average dollar-per-square-foot figure for single family homes sold in the first quarter was almost even: $492 in 2010 versus $494 in 2009.

According to the Palos Verdes Association of Realtors, in the month of April of 2010 pending sales are double what there were in April 2009, while the inventory is down 32 percent. In April of this year there was a 4.38 month supply of inventory compared to a 10.78 month supply in April of 2009.

These housing statistics were compiled by the Palos Verdes Association of Realtors using data maintained by the Multi-Regional Multiple Listing Service, Inc.

South Bay Waterfront Project

Despite funding challenges, phase 1 of the San Pedro downtown-waterfront project is set to go into the initial designing this summer. The design work is expected to take at least a yer to complete and have an estimated cost of $35 million, after which an additional 2 years for construction.

The first phase will include a harbor to accommodate tall ships and other vessels, plazas and a housing facility for the historic fireboat, the Ralph J. Scott. The housing of the fireboat, has drawn some criticism, primarily for the Los Angeles Fire Department, who says the ongoing maintenance would be rather expensive.

Phase 2, which will be designed to provide more pedestrian connections to downtown and the waterfront and to include a realignment of Samson Way, expansion of the Red Car line. The much anticipated part of phase 2 will be the Seventh Street pier water cut adjacent to the Los Angeles Maritime Museum.

The entire development is expected to 10 years and an estimated total cost of $1.2 billion.

Freddie Mac/Fannie Mae Details HAFA Initiative for Distressed Homeowners

In a mortgage seller/servicer bulletin released Tuesday, Freddie outlined the guidelines for HAFA, a subset of the Making Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP). It provides financial incentives to servicers and borrowers who pursue a short sale or a deed-in-lieu of foreclosure. The program, along with Fannie Mae's version, mirrors the main HAFA program, which the Treasury Department rolled out in April.

The GSE HAFA programs take effect Aug. 1, 2010, but servicers are allowed to use HAFA immediately, Freddie said. Under the guidelines, servicers must first consider a borrower for a HAMP workout plan and conduct other home retention workout options before considering the borrower for HAFA.

According to the bulletin, once all other home retention workout options have been exhausted, eligible borrowers must be considered for a HAFA short sale. If the borrower is eligible for and agrees to a HAFA short sale, but the mortgaged property does not sell within the HAFA marketing period, the servicer may offer the borrower a HAFA deed-in-lieu of foreclosure, with Freddie Mac authorization.

The GSE HAFA differs from Freddie Mac's short payoff and deed-in-lieu programs in a number of ways, including how subordinate lien holders are treated. Under Freddie HAFA, each subordinate lien holder, in order of priority, may be paid no more than 6% of the unpaid principal balance of their loan, until the $6,000 aggregate cap is reached, in exchange for release of the subordinate liens and satisfaction of the underlying debts.

Servicers are eligible for a $2,200 cash incentive for each completed short sale and $1,500 for each completed deed-in-lieu. Borrowers are also eligible for $3,000 to assist with relocation costs.

In addition, Freddie said it does not require or accept cash contributions or promissory notes from the borrower. Subordinate lien holders must also agree to release all liens without promissory notes or contributions from the borrower.

Now as for Fannie Mae:

The Fannie Mae program takes effect August 1, 2010 and is designed to mitigate the impact of foreclosures on borrowers who are eligible for a loan modification under the Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP) but were unsuccessful in obtaining one, Fannie said. Like the Treasury Department's HAFA program, servicers cannot consider a borrower for HAFA until the borrower is evaluated and eliminated from eligibility for a Making Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP) workout plan.

Also like the Treasury program, Fannie Mae will offer servicers cash incentives for completed HAFA transactions, $2,200 for short sales and $1,200 for deed-in-lieu of foreclosure agreements. Borrowers are also eligible for $3,000 in incentives.

That's more than in the Treasury's HAFA program, where servicers are eligible for $1,500. Under the Treasury program, borrowers receive $3,000. In addition, the investor is also eligible for a maximum of $2,000 incentive.

Participating servicers will be required to report on their Fannie Mae HAFA activities to both Fannie and the Treasury and the program sunsets on December 31, 2012.

After announcing the program in October 2009, Treasury's HAFA program began in April. The Fannie Mae HAFA program is the latest in a string of programs designed to help borrowers avoid foreclosure. In addition to HAFA and HAMP workouts, Fannie Mae is letting some distressed borrowers stay in their homes as renters, under the deed for lease (D4L) program.

Under D4L, the homeowner-turned-renter is required to pay fair market rent to stay in their home for up to 12 months. The renter must have enough income to sustain a 31% income-to-rent ratio and rental payments are not subsidized by Fannie Mae, but could include renters eligible for Section 8 payments.

Also, in March 2010, Fannie Mae instructed its servicers to consider an "alternative modifications" for all mortgages that did not qualify for a permanent conversion under HAMP. That "Alt Mod" program, which sunsets on August 31, 2010, is similar to HAFA.

Note: This article was written by Austin Kilgore for HousingWire.com