Increase Your Home's Value

There is probably nothing you can do cheaply to counter the market's devaluing of your home, however there are some inexpensive improvements you can do to make your house feel like a home and slow the devaluation.

First, it would be a good idea to readjust your mindset and accept that you will be in your home longer than the current average of 5 years. The improvements you are going to be making are for YOU, not with "the next owner".

Spring is a great time to start home projects, and the hardware stores generally have great deals going on for indoor and outdoor items. Before you head to the store take a few days and really evaluate your home, and your lifestyle. Begin to prioritze the most important rooms and their purposes. Then start to break down the tasks. Once you've done that you can put together a materials list and a contractor list (for the items that are above your "pay grade"). All that is left is the execution!

Naturally you are wondering how you are going to pay for this. I get it! Times are tough for a bunch of us. Considers starting with some less expensive items and save up for the larger purchases. By the end of the season you may have enough to move forward. If you are tackling some major projects you may want to consider a taking out a loan, or refinancing your home. YourCreditCompnay.com has you covered check out these great links!

Home Loans and Refinance

Personal Loans

Mortgage Modification

All the Best!

Matt Kemper

YourCreditCompany.com

Homeowner Affordability Plan Is Out!

The Obama Administration and U.S. Treasury released more details on the Homeowners Affordability Plan today. The plan is meant to assist responsible homeowners that are in danger of entering foreclosure or going "under water" by lowering their monthly payments.

YourCreditCompany.com is dissecting the plan and will bring you specific details on plan, which goes into effect immediately. You can find the plan here, and read it for yourself to determine if you qualify or how it might affect your business.

We highly reccomend reading the text. Thus far the television coverage has just scratched the surface of what the plan entails. We can tell you that there are requirments that homeowners will have to meet. Homeowners will have to provide some documentation and will have to show hardship. The lender/servicer that carries your mortgage will also have to participate in the program, however if your home is serviced by Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, or certain banks that took TARP funds will be required to participate in the plan.

Look for more details tomorrow!

Matt Kemper
YourCreditCompany.com
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What Is The Priority?

I know I am barking up the same tree, or preaching to the choir, but here I go again (remember, this is coming from an X mortgage lender, turned conservative)...

I was reading this a.m. on the HUD web site about the allocation of more that $10 billion of funds being distributed to HUD from the Recovery Act. Well really, who wouldn’t be excited about that? When these government loans where given they were insured by the government. They insure these loans with Mortgage Insurance, which is required on government loans, and the home owner pays for it directly out of his own pocket. This insurance does not benefit the borrower, it benefits the servicer of the home loan. The government is now funding a bail out or recovery plan for these loans. Who will this money help and what houses will it recover?

The plan is said to modernize public housing and fund energy-efficient programs. Is this a primary concern at the present time? The Native American Housing Block Grant will receive $255 million, again to be used for energy efficient modernization. $100 million to be allocated for lead based paint and hazard reduction. Tax Credit Assistence Program coming in with $2.25 billion. The list goes on and on…

These grants will help “State Housing” to kick start affordable rental housing projects that rely on low housing tax credit, and a measly $2 billion to be allocated to help section 8 project-based housing contracts. ( Since this is were we are all heading anyway) Is this the primary concern of the public right now? Is this really creating stable communities when the owners are walking away from there home because they can longer afford to support their families?

Lead based paint or going green…is this a priority to anyone else except the politicians? When you can’t go home, does it matter that you can’t afford to go green? Green…I think we are all seeing red right now.

Renee
YourCreditCompany.com

Help The Consumer

Welcome Back!

This morning I found an article from the Associated Press stating...

"...the Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke has steadied Wall Street by telling Congress the recession might end this year. Bernanke predicted the economy is likely to keep contracting in the first six months of 2009. But he also said, "there is a reasonable prospect" the recession will end this year. He reports, and warns that a recovery will require getting credit and financial markets to operate normally."

What does this mean to the average consumer? The consumer's confidence spending index for February came in at 25 on a scale of 100. That is obviously well below expectations. These concerns attribute to unemployment rates on the rise, adjustable mortgages increasing, and the stock market remaining in an unstable position. The Home Owner Affordability and Stability Initiative has not been implemented. However, it will affect the consumers on many different levels. It is intended to keep people in their homes first and foremost. Further, it aims to lower monthly payments, thus it could change spending habits in a positive manner.

In an effort to get the credit and financial markets to operate normally the Treasury Department, the Federal Reserve, and other banking regulators said Monday that they could exercise an option to convert to government's stock in the banks from preferred shares to common shares upon results of a "stress test" of the banks the government has a stake in through TARP funds. The stress test will help the Treasury Department identify and weigh the toxic assets on the banks' books.

the President will address the U.S. congress this evening. It is important that all of us, as consumers, work to move forward and find solutions.

Renee Fogle
YourCreditCompany.com

Homeowner Affordability and Stability Plan

Homeowner Affordability and Stability Plan

To open, I should remind everyone that The Homeowner Affordability and Stability Plan is a proposed initiative. President Obama has set Wednesday March 4, 2009 as the day he would like it enacted. The Initiative is valued at approx. 75 billion dollars, intended to help homeowners that are currently or soon to be in danger of losing their home to foreclosure.

The Initiative will begin with 3-4 million “at risk” homeowners targeted. These homeowners have loans that are conforming and secured by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The total Initiative’s goal is to help 7-9 million families save their homes. To achieve this Mr. Obama would like lenders to refinance loans or modify loans. In return, the government will give monetary incentives to the lenders as borrowers make payments on time. Additionally, the government intends to incentivize the homeowner for making payments on time.

Affected by the collapse of the housing market are a great many people. Housing lead us into this recession and many hope housing will lead us out. Mr. Obama’s Initiative seems to have that in mind. A major question that you should be considering over the nearly 2 weeks before this Initiative is enacted is: “How does the government define “at risk” or “responsible” homeowners? This will help you identify if you will qualify this Inititaitive.

I would like to close by pointing out two axioms of the real estate industry. First, all markets are local (do not look too closely at the nationwide scope). Second, real estate is a cyclical market. Every homeowner must endure down markets and enjoy up markets.

Stay tuned for more details!

Matt Kemper

www.YourCreditCompany.com