Refinance your Fannie Mae loan

Good news for people who have Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac government insured loans!

 HARP (Home Affordable Refinance Program) 2.0 is now available

Here are some of the highlights:

* No appraised value concern for primary residences (this is huge).  It doesn't matter if you've been
denied before or how much your home is underwater.  If you want to keep your home Call
* Properties listed for sale in the last 6 months are not eligible.
* Loan must be owned by Fannie Mae and have been delivered to Fannie Mae by June 1, 2009.

 To determine your eligibility give me a call at 415-690-0194

Spencer Hjort

HPInvestments & North Bay Realty & Loan

 Call to refinance your home or purchase a new one at today's low rates

Don't wait to buy or refi your home

Recent inflation data reflecting rising energy prices and the Fed’s announcement regarding an improving economy coupled to put upward pressure on bond yields. Freddie Mac’s vice president and chief economist, Frank Northaft, noted “An upbeat employment report for February caused U.S. Treasury bond yields to increase over the week and mortgage rates followed.” 30-year & 15-year fixed-rates averaged 3.92% and 3.16%, both with an average increase of .8 points.


As the economy gains momentum mortgage rates may continue to experience upward movement.
Rates are still low historically but we may have left the bottom of the housing market and all time low interest rates behind.  It's still a great time to buy or refinance your home.  Inventory is low.
Don’t delay! Contact me today regarding that new home purchase or existing mortgage refinance.

Call Spencer at 415-690-0194

North Bay Realty & Loan

Find your best loan

HPInvestments

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Home Buyer University

Here's the information home buyers and sellers need to know

Welcome to the Home Buyer University Free Online Workshops

Here your clients and prospects will find a growing library of workshops that they can view
completely free of charge.

This will provide valuable information that people need.  Complete knowledge to prepare for

a home purchase or what to do if you're thinking of selling.

There is nothing being sold here so view them all at your earliest convenience.  Send the link

to your buyers, prospects, friends and clients.

Home Buyer University free webinars

I would like to earn your mortgage business so please call me for a great proposal
on a purchase loan, a refi at today's low rates or any other reason you need for
reliable residential lending.

Spencer Hjort
415-690-0194

Historically low prices on homes and loans

As Frank Northaft, vice president and chief economist at Freddie Mac, noted “With these historically low rates and declining house prices, the typical family had more than double the income needed to purchase a median-priced home…” What are you waiting for? Call me to take advantage of record home affordability rates & prices!  Spencer  415-690-0194

Home Buyer University

It's free and very informative.  Find so many things you should know about buying a home,
getting a mortgage and more

Home Buyer University

Here you will find a growing library of workshops that you may view
completely free of charge which will provide valuable information that
you will need as you prepare for your home purchase.

There is nothing being sold here so view them all at your earliest
convenience.  All compliments of Spencer Hjort

North Bay Realty & Loan

Short sales can be a homebuyer's bargain

To avoid losing homes to foreclosure due to long response times for short sale transactions, three senators introduced legislation to speed up the short sale process.

Senators Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), Scott Brown (R-Massachusetts), and Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) proposed the bill addressing the issue of short sales timelines on February 17. A short sale is a real estate transaction where the homeowner sells the property for less than the unpaid balance with the lender’s approval.

“There are neighborhoods across the country full of empty homes and underwater owners that have legitimate offers, but unresponsive banks,” said Murkowski. “What we have here is a failure to communicate. Why don’t we make it easier for Americans trying to participate in the housing market, regardless of whether the answer is ‘yes,’ ‘no’ or ‘maybe?’”

The legislation, also known as the Prompt Notification of Short Sale Act, will require a written response from a lender no later than 75 days after receipt of the written request from the buyer.

The lender’s response to the buyer must specify acceptance, rejection, a counter offer, need for extension, and an estimation for when a decision will be reached. The servicer

will be limited to one extension of no more than 21 days. The bill will also allow the buyer to be awarded $1000, plus “reasonable” attorney fees if the Act is violated.

According to a release from Short Sale New England, short sale homes do not bring down neighboring home values like foreclosed homes do, and 83 percent of short sale buyers are satisfied with their purchase, according to a 2012 Home Ownership Satisfaction Survey conducted by HomeGain.

“The current short sale process can be time consuming and inefficient, and many would-be buyers end up walking away from a sale that could have saved a homeowner from foreclosure,” said Moe Veissi, president of the National Association of Realtors. “As the leading advocate for homeownership, realtors are supportive of any effort to improve the process for approving short sales.”

For a list of short sale homes on the market or other bargains you may be looking for call Spencer at 415-690-0194.

The best part - you can make an offer on a short sale listing with no money and no risk.
We will get you the approval and you decide to move forward or not at that time.


North Bay Realty & Loan

Real Estate in the Bay Area and across the nation

Here’s the news across the nation, home sales are up and locally the Bay Area Housing Market remains stronger than most.  Our economic outlook for the near future is strong.  Home prices and interest rates are likely to be trending up.

Single-family home sales rose 3.8 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.05 million in January from 3.90 million in December, and are 2.3 percent above the 3.96 million-unit pace a year ago. The median existing single-family home price was $154,400 in January, down 2.6 percent from January 2011.

Existing condominium and co-op sales increased 8.3 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 520,000 in January from 480,000 in December but are 10.3 percent lower than the 580,000-unit level in January 2011. The median existing condo price was $156,600 in January, up 2.0 percent from a year ago.

Regionally, existing-home sales in the Northeast rose 3.4 percent to an annual pace of 600,000 in January and are 7.1 percent above a year ago. The median price in the Northeast was $225,700, which is 4.2 percent below January 2011.

Existing-home sales in the Midwest increased 1.0 percent in December to a level of 980,000 and are 3.2 percent higher than January 2011. The median price in the Midwest was $122,000, down 3.9 percent from a year ago.

In the South, existing-home sales rose 3.5 percent to an annual level of 1.76 million in January but are unchanged from a year ago. The median price in the South was $134,800, which is 0.3 percent below January 2011.

Existing-home sales in the West jumped 8.8 percent to an annual pace of 1.23 million in January but are 3.1 percent below a spike in January 2011. The median price in the West was $187,100, down 1.8 percent from a year ago.

The National Association of Realtors®, “The Voice for Real Estate,” is America’s largest trade association, representing 1 million members involved in all aspects of the residential and commercial real estate industries.

What’s that mean in San Francisco and the North Bay?  If you’re a buyer now it’s about as good as it’s ever going to get.  If you plan to sell now is a great time to start planning and preparing

If you are planning to stay put you’ll want to make sure you don’t miss these historic lows for mortgage interest rates.  Let’s see how we can help you, Call Spencer

North Bay Realty & Loan

Who's saying Buy a Home?

Warren Buffett appeared live on CNBC’s Squawk Box this week. During the interview, he was asked about the current real estate market and whether he felt now was the time to buy. His response was rather emphatic and has been used as a headline in hundreds of articles since the interview:
“If I had a way of buying a couple hundred thousand single-family homes I would load up on them.”
However, throughout the interview, he addressed the market from a few angles. Here is what he said:

Why invest in real estate now? 

“It’s a way, in effect, to short the dollar because you can take a 30-year mortgage and if it turns out your interest rate’s too high, next week you refinance lower. And if it turns out it’s too low, the other guy’s stuck with it for 30 years. So it’s a very attractive asset class now.” 

Is buying your own home better than investing in stocks right now?

“If I knew where I was going to want to live the next five or 10 years I would buy a home and I’d finance it with a 30-year mortgage… It’s a terrific deal.”

 Should we buy multiple houses?

“If I was an investor that was a handy type and I could buy a couple of them at distressed prices and find renters, I think it’s a leveraged way of owning a very cheap asset now and I think that’s probably as an attractive an investment as you can make now.”

Over the last couple of months, there have been more and more financial analysts coming to the same conclusion: It’s time to buy real estate.

___________________

I would have to agree.  If you need help finding the right property and the right loan for you please call Spencer at 415-690-0194

North Bay Realty & Loan