MORTGAGE FRAUD - FLORIDA GROUND ZERO

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PRICES DOWN - SALES UP!

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Foreign Nationals: Buy Your Way Into the USA!

Lake Buena Vista Resort Sports EB-5 Visa For Foreign Nationals

In a first for Florida, the developers of Lake Buena Vista Resort Village & Spa are able to invite foreign nationals to become lawful permanent residents of the United States.

The resort’s application with the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service which will permit foreign investors in Lake Buena Vista Resort Village & Spa to apply for conditional, lawful, permanent resident status with subsequent full residency has been approved.

The catch? You will need to demonstrate a net worth of at least $1 million USD or income of $200,000 annually for the last two years, a clean personal history, and intent to immigrate to the United States. This application can include all members of your immediate family!

For more information see the full length condo resort blog at CondoMetropolis.com

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Election Candidates: What (they say) they stand for:

Both presidential candidates have announced plans to help voters deal with the challenging housing economy.

Here are their ideas as posted on their election Web sites according to The San Diego Union-Tribune (10/19/08):

Sen. John McCain:

• Direct assistance to homeowners. No taxpayer money should go to real estate speculators who made bad decisions about investments.
• Reform financial and lending systems to prevent a repeat.
• Require participating lenders to forgive part of subprime borrowers’ loan principals and place them into new 30-year Federal Housing Administration loans.
• Give financing to municipal and civic groups trying to solve problems within their own communities.

Sen. Barack Obama:

• Create a standardized disclosure plan that allows for full-disclosure of loan costs and provisions.
• Crack down on mortgage fraud.
• Give a mortgage credit to those who don’t itemize deductions.
• Create a fund to help homeowners who face foreclosure refinance.
• Allow bankruptcy courts to modify a homeowner’s mortgage payments.

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Orlando Not Quite Top For Foreclosures

 

Who woulda thunk it? Only 8th? Then why does it feel like we’re #1? I have to confess to feeling a little disappointed.

About 1.87 percent of the homes in the area received a foreclosure notice during the third quarter, according to the latest RealtyTrac U.S. Foreclosure Market Report.

However, Florida ranked second in the number of total foreclosure filings in the third quarter. Foreclosure filings were reported on 127,306 properties statewide, nearly 109 percent up from the same period in 2007.

Florida also reported a 9 percent month-over-month increase in foreclosure rate, ranking it second in the nation for September with one in every 178 households reporting a foreclosure filing. A total of 47,956 foreclosure filings were reported during the month, an increase of 44 percent from September 2007, the report said.

Vermont reported the lowest foreclosure rate with only six properties in some state of foreclosure reported in September and 23 in the third quarter.

Lucky people. And they have those beautiful leaves too.

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Orlando Home Auction

A global auction of selected luxury homes and properties at the renowned Ginn Resorts — Reunion, Bella Collina and Hammock beach, all in the heart of Central Florida will take place on October 25, 2008 at 11:00 am EDT.

More than twenty homes, ranging in price from $300’s to $4 million, are expected to be auctioned. Properties will be available for sale in person or online.

Located in the theme park capitol of the world, Reunion is within minutes of Disney World, Sea World, Universal Orlando Resort, Florida’s famous beaches and dozens of other world-class attractions. Orlando draws 50 million visitors each year, 3.5 million being international visitors.

The organizers are expecting a great deal of interest from buyers across the especially in the United Kingdom, Canada and northeast United States. value of the pound, and increased value of the Canadian dollar — matched with current hot housing deals in Central Florida — this auction is expected to deliver great value for discriminating buyers.

But sellers are also in luck. Stirling Sotheby’s is still accepting auction properties for Reunion, Bella Collina and Hammock Beach property owners interested in taking advantage of this opportunity to sell their resort homes with ease and speed.

For more information and to register contact the Orlando Real Estate Pros at: 407-290-3408 or email: Info@OrlandoRealEstatePros.com

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Home Sales Activity Increasing

Pending home sales jumped by 7.4 percent in the latest month, according to the National Association of Realtors, which is the strongest figure in more than a year.

The pending home sales index measures new contracts for home purchases that haven’t yet closed, but are expected to do so in the near future. It’s a widely accepted predictor of sales activity two to three months down the road.

As you’ll know, I don’t put great faith in NAR statistics but there does seem to be some mounting evidence that pent-up demand for housing, plus rock bottom bargain prices in many markets, may have finally convinced buyers that this is a good time to get off the sidelines and into the game.

Mortgage rates and new loan applications also defied the negative spiral in the stock market: Applications for home purchases to be financed with conventional mortgages jumped by three percent last week, and new FHA applications were up by nearly 10 percent, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s national survey.

Interest rates on 30 year fixed rate loans dropped to 5.9 percent and 15 year rates hit 5.7 percent.

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A Slap in the face for investors

Investors: Start Your Engines… 6 weeks to go…

Investors hoping to finance through a lender who sells on to Fannie Mae, 12/1/08 is a date to remember. Nail your mortgage commitments quickly - in the next six weeks if you can. Because Ms. Mae - plans to load on extra fees across the board for investor loans purchased after December 1st (due to market conditions?)

Freddie Mac is imposing similar fees, and its increases take effect even earlier on November 7th.

Worse still, some large private mortgage insurers plan to stop underwriting investor loans altogether, effectively cutting off financing support for low-downpayment, high leverage rental home deals, no matter where the property is located. This could mean a minimum of 20% down. Just like the old days.

Fannie’s new fees will hit the full range of investors, from those with low downpayments to those who are able to put down a wad of cash. Come 12/1/08, investor applications where the downpayment is between 10 and 15 percent, can expect a 3.75 point “adverse market fee” - up from two and a half points currently.

Loans where an investor can lay down 20 to 25 percent will be subject to a three point add-on, and those able to do even better than that (40% or more) will have to cough up one and three quarter points.

The new fees come on top of earlier Fannie Mae restrictions, including limiting investor applicants to no more than four rental properties, plus a variety of restrictions on condos, including bans on mortgages in projects where more than 49 percent of the units are owned by investors.

It’s a harsh world.

Brought to you by the Orlando Real Estate Pros

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Orlando Home Sales: August 2008

Orlando Home Inventory
There are currently 24,834 homes available for purchase through the MLS. Inventory increased by 92 homes in August 2008, which means that 92 more homes entered the market than left the market. Compared to last year, the August 2008 inventory level (24,834) is 5.62 percent lower than it was in August 2007 (26,313).

 
The current inventory level reflects a 20.27-month supply at the current pace of sales, which is up from the 16.81-month supply recorded July. Altogether, inventory months-of-supply has declined 35.92 percent since January 2008.

There are 18,363 single-family homes currently listed in the MLS, a number that is more than 1,000 less than this time last year. Most (3,047) are listed in the $200,000 - $250,000 price range. Condos currently make up 4,377 offerings in the MLS, while duplexes/town homes/villas make up the remaining 2,094. Most condos (607) are priced at $120,000 - $140,000. The majority of duplexes/town homes/villas (383) are listed in the $200,000 - $250,000 price category.

By: Orlando Real Estate Pros.com

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