Reflecting a decision to become more proactive in the legislative and regulatory arena, the National Association of Mortgage Brokers last week outlined an ambitious policy agenda that it says is aligned with consumers’ needs. “Mortgage brokers work in the front-line” of the lending process, NAMB President Harry Dinham said in a telephone press conference outlining its agenda for 2007. “We firmly believe our issues and consumer issues go hand-in-hand.”

The NAMB also said it is embracing the Bush Administration’s proposal to reform the Federal Housing Administration, bipartisan efforts to improve the oversight and regulation of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and legislation that would allow the Department of Veterans Affairs to guarantee home equity conversion loans to eligible veterans. Joseph Falk, a former NAMB president and the current chair of its legislative committee, said that while his group’s policy agenda is wide-ranging, no one issue takes priority. “Each is important, each is critical,” the former broker from Miami said. “Each has no higher standing than the other.”

As far as a new disclosure form is concerned, Falk said that current requirements are largely inadequate and do not do enough to protect consumers. In their stead, the NAMB wants disclosure on an individual loan basis that outlines minimum and maximum payment amounts, indexes, margins, caps, pre-payment penalties and, if appropriate, how negative amortization would work.

Real estate agent Caesar Parisi stands ready with effective advice on buying or selling Boca Raton FL condos. Read the rest of this entry

search for : National Association of Mortgage Brokers, Freddie Mac, Department of Veterans Affairs

A new program is designed to take ”green” building standards beyond the steps of individual structures, down from the metro level and into smaller communities and neighborhoods. You could say it’s one small green step for humans, but because if fills a green ratings gap, it is also a giant green leap for the planet. The Congress for New Urbanism (CNU), the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) and the National Resource Defense Council (NRDC) are developing a pilot program to rate the environmental sustainability of neighborhoods.

The plan will put the spotlight on developments that incorporate high-performance buildings in compact, mixed-use strategies to reduce driving and make walking and transit attractive—and hopefully encourage more of the same kind of “green” enclaves. “Green” refers to sustainable and conservation-minded materials, designs and technology; water, energy and natural resources conservation; less waste and healthier, more comfortable living in a more holistic manner. After the Intergovernmental Panel on Climatic Change’s (IPCC) dramatic “Climate Change 2007” revealed not only is the planet in the oven, but humans are turning up the burners, a spate of activity addressing the issues of global warming and climate change has come from social and health organizations, environmentalists, scientists, even governments, legislators and bureaucrats.

Real estate agent Caesar Parisi stands ready with effective advice on buying or selling Boca Raton FL condos. Read the rest of this entry

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With interest rates falling and the nation’s housing boom in full swing, growing numbers of fellow Latinos bought into the historically African-American district. Many took advantage of new adjustable-rate loans that got them in with no money down and low initial payments. But two years ago, interest rates reversed course, sales slowed, and developers began discounting the homes they’d built nearby. Buyers with adjustable-rate loans saw their monthly payments rise. Some fell behind and were forced to sell or face foreclosure. The story is similar in many not-quite-up-and-coming neighborhoods around the country.

Mortgage delinquency rates have steadily climbed since 2005, exacerbated by a growing array of exotic loans and loose lending practices. That’s especially true in the subprime market, where many first-time buyers squeaked in with no downpayment. That gave them little reason to stick it out when they fell behind.

“Foreclosures spiked last year, and now we’re hitting a very high rate,” says Celia Chen, housing economist at Moody’s Economy.com, which expects the rate of foreclosures to increase by nearly 20 percent this year to more than 1 in about 200 homes. And if things get worse, “the [rise in] foreclosures is going to put some downward pressure on prices, which is problematic in some neighborhoods.”

Looking for a home in Delaire Country Club? Realtor® Caesar Parisi is ready to help you buy your dream property. Read the rest of this entry

search for : adjustable-rate loan, Mortgage delinquency, subprime market

A radical redesign that would abolish homestead property taxes and replace them with the nation’s highest sales tax set off a battle between struggling homeowners and local officials who claim their ability to provide services would be crippled. An average homeowner would save $2,283 while counties and cities that have taken in windfall property tax revenues in recent years would see their revenues slashed to 2001 levels, with adjustments for growth and inflation, and then capped. People with non-homestead properties would benefit from a rollback.

“Sounds good to me,” said Lawrence Morrissey, 53, who owns a West Palm Beach FL home, and was one of 500 who showed up to complain about property taxes at a legislative hearing at Palm Beach Community College last week. “That would great, oh my God. These property taxes are killing us. It’s murder.”

Florida House Republican leaders on Wednesday unveiled the plan as a way to resolve a property tax crisis. The plan would ease the costs of homeownership but could drive a deeper financial wedge between the poor and the wealthy across Florida. The plan would go to voters as a proposed constitutional amendment, which, if passed by the Legislature, would raise the statewide sales tax by 2.5 percentage points, from 6 percent to 8.5 percent. California has the highest tax at 7.25 percent.

Hunting for the perfect home in Grand Orchid? Realtor® Caesar Parisi is ready to help you buy your dream property. Read the rest of this entry

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If you are among the millions of homeowners and renters who operate a profitable part-time or full-time business from your home, don’t forget to claim your home-business tax deductions to reduce your income taxes. It doesn’t matter if you are self-employed or you are an employee expected to work from home, such as an outside salesperson or a telemarketer.

However, if your employer provides suitable workspace, but you prefer working at home, then you don’t qualify for Uncle Sam’s generous work-at-home tax deductions. For example, if you are a computer programmer who prefers to work from home so you can supervise your pre-school child, you don’t qualify for home-business deductions if your employer provides suitable office workspace.

SELF-EMPLOYEDS MUST PASS THE PRIMARY BUSINESS LOCATION TEST. If you are self-employed, such as an independent contractor real estate sales broker, to qualify for the Internal Revenue Code 280A home-business tax deductions, your residence must be used either (1) to meet with clients, customers or patients or (2) as your primary business location for administrative activity if you have no other fixed business location.

In 1999, Congress changed the tax law to allow self-employeds working from home to deduct business expenses if their residence is their “primary business location.” Examples include a self-employed bookkeeper who travels to offices of her clients, a handyman who works at various job sites, and a computer repairman who works at many business offices during the week.

This tax law change was the result of the 1993 U.S. Supreme Court decision denying anesthesiologist Dr. Nader Soliman (113 Sup.Ct. 701) any home-business tax deductions although he worked many hours at his condominium reading professional medical journals and handling administrative details. Because he spent most of his work time at different hospitals, the court denied his home-business deductions. Today, however, he is entitled to deduct his home office expenses because his condo is his primary business location.

In the market for Delray Beach real estate? Consult with licensed agent Caesar Parisi. Caesar has assisted hundreds of buyers and sellers, giving sound advice on how to most effectively buy and sell property. Read the rest of this entry

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The more houses on the market coupled with the less demand interprets into dropping prices. As houses sell (because the prices finally realign) and the inventory shrinks coupled with growing demand, prices start edging up. Well, the market is starting to turn in various areas around the country. And in the Washington, D.C. area, it’s really looking better than last year at this time. Sales in January were up 18 percent and in neighboring Fairfax County; sales jumped 12 percent from the same time a year earlier.

In the market overall listings are down—some because they sold and others because they were withdrawn and still others because the sellers were distressed and went into bankruptcy or short sales. However, the effect on the overall market will be the same, shrinking inventory means buyers won’t have as much leverage as they did just a few months ago.

While the transition market was tough on a lot of people, we may have hit the bottom of the trough. Most buyers and sellers don’t realize it yet, but the numbers are pointing at a different market in the future than what we’ve been crawling through the last 18 months.

Now, one could look at last year’s numbers and say, “Well, of course the numbers are up, it was so bad last year.” Yes, last year was down for most of the time, however, the numbers are still true. Listings have dropped from their high in this market by nearly 50 percent and prices are either maintaining or moving upward. (Keep in mind, sellers, there are still plenty of competitors, so price the house to move.)

Looking for a condo in Atlantic Grove? Realtor® Caesar Parisi is ready to help you buy your dream property. Read the rest of this entry

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My wife and I want to buy. Should we wait to see if prices fall, or take advantage of today’s low mortgage rates?

If you’re asking whether a significant price drop would lower your monthly payments more than a big increase in mortgage rates would raise them, it’s easy: You should probably root for the price decline. For example, the monthly payment on a $300,000, 30-year fixed-rate mortgage at today’s rates is $1,847. Rates would have to rise to 8.1 percent – nearly two full percentage points – before a $250,000 loan would cost that much. But it sounds as if you’re really asking whether prices in your area are likely to decline enough to justify holding off on a purchase. When it comes to that, frankly, your guess is as good as ours. While there’s no lack of experts making predictions about where home prices are headed in the next year, no one knows for sure.

So instead, focus on what we do know: Over the long haul, home prices in the U.S. have appreciated at about 6 percent a year, and even in the most volatile markets, one-year declines of more than 10 percent are very rare. And if you wait to buy, you’ll still need to pay rent in the meantime, so holding off would have a cost too. Meanwhile, a buyer’s market gives you leverage to get the most concessions you can from the seller.

In the market for Delray Beach real estate? Consult with licensed agent Caesar Parisi. Caesar has assisted hundreds of buyers and sellers, giving sound advice on how to most effectively buy and sell property. Read the rest of this entry

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After months of promising simple changes, state lawmakers today will host a tax-cutting summit where they’ll be confronted by this complex reality of property tax policy: It’s a zero-sum game in which many homeowners have benefited to the disadvantage of Florida newcomers and owners of businesses and second homes. That puts legislators in a bind because any tax change could threaten a powerful voting bloc. So they’re hosting a statewide listening tour of taxpayer gripes, and are considering some ideas once given short shrift. For example:

At the heart of the problem is not just local government needs and spending, but the Save Our Homes amendment, which took effect in 1995. It caps the assessed value of a homestead property at the inflation rate or 3 percent. A report from the state’s Office of Economic and Demographic Research says the amendment has delivered on its promises: it has lowered property taxes paid by long-time residents. According to state economists, homeowners now pay property taxes, on average, on a smaller percentage of their home’s assessed value than when the amendment kicked in in 1995. That year, the measure removed $3.5 billion from the property tax rolls. Today, it has kept a quarter of the state’s $1.6 trillion total taxable property value off the rolls. The biggest beneficiaries: coastal residents of big counties, such as in South Florida. The biggest losers: those without the exemption, such as owners of homestead properties who don’t qualify for a homestead exemption and commercial property. The Florida Chamber of Commerce wants legislators to replace Save Our Homes with a package of ‘’sweeteners’’ that would entice voters to move to a system that caps the shift in property taxes from homes to businesses.

Ready to buy or sell Palm Beach real estate? Consult with licensed agent Caesar Parisi. Caesar has assisted hundreds of buyers and sellers, giving sound advice on how to most effectively buy and sell property. Read the rest of this entry

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After much research, my husband, who is now 74, decided to get a senior citizen reverse mortgage on our home. Since I was only 60 at the time, I quitclaimed my interest in the house to him because I was too young. We chose the reverse-mortgage line of credit and have withdrawn only as much as our savings would cover if my husband dies. I know I could get a reverse mortgage, as I am now 62, but our question is whether our house will have to go into probate court when my husband dies since I am no longer on the deed. How can we avoid this because our home is our biggest asset?

Your husband can transfer title from himself to his revocable living trust, which, presumably, will name you as the successor trustee and the future beneficiary if he dies first. Reverse-mortgage lenders have no objection to borrowers placing title to their homes into their living trusts after the reverse mortgage is recorded. By placing the home title into your husband’s living trust, probate costs and delays will be avoided if he dies first. Equally important, if your husband should become incapacitated, such as with Alzheimer’s disease or a severe stroke, as the successor trustee you can then manage the living-trust assets, including selling or refinancing of refinancing the house. Details are in my special report, “24 Key Questions Answered: Living Trust Secrets Reveal How to Avoid Probate Costs and Delays,” available for $5 from Robert Bruss.

Ready to buy or sell Les Jardins neighborhood community real estate? Consult with licensed agent Caesar Parisi. Caesar has assisted hundreds of buyers and sellers, giving sound advice on how to most effectively buy and sell property. Read the rest of this entry

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Reverse mortgages have been a boon to older homeowners, as well as the mortgage industry. But the product’s popularity has brought some complications. Reverse mortgages allow people age 62 and older to draw on the equity in their primary residences, with monthly payments that co

The loans have grown so popular that they run the risk of outstripping federal limits. As of last week, mortgage industry officials said they feared they would be forced to suspend their federal reverse mortgage programs because the government had agreed to insure only 275,000 such loans—a number that is rapidly being approached. Peter H. Bell, president of the National Reverse Mortgage Lenders Association, said it was likely that Congress would lift the loan limit, at least temporarily, by the deadline, which is today. “We’re moving along, but I won’t breathe easily until it’s passed,” Bell said. Bell said lenders were issuing reverse mortgages at a monthly rate of about 8,000, compared with roughly 6,000 a year ago. “The product is somewhat counterintuitive, and as a result some people are leery about it,” he said. “But as more people have these loans, more people know someone who has one, which fuels the growth.”

Real estate agent Caesar Parisi stands ready with effective advice on buying or selling Boca Raton FL condos. Read the rest of this entry

search for : Reverse mortgages, National Reverse Mortgage Lenders Association