Blog
Gov’t Considers Rental Option for Delinquent Homeowners
U.S. government officials are weighing a proposal that would allow delinquent borrowers to forfeit ownership of their property in exchange for a favorable lease that would allow them to stay in the home for several more years.
Under one idea being discussed, homeowners who are behind in their payments would surrender ownership of their home to avoid eviction. Officials are also considering whether the government should make mortgage payments on behalf of borrowers who cannot keep up with their home loans, tapping into an unused portion of the $50 billion housing aid program.
As part of the program, jobless borrowers might receive a housing stipend along with regular unemployment benefits, according to the source. All of these efforts are to help arrest the barrage of foreclosures that continue due to upwardly adjusting loans, job losses and depressed housing prices.
For any real estate questions in south Orange County, please contact the Csira Group toll free at 866.805.0555.
O.C. Market Update
Activity in the Orange County real estate market is still very strong with most of the business being conducted in the red-hot sub-$500,000 range, particularly for single family homes. These properties are commonly receiving multiple offers and are fetching prices well over asking price, in many cases. Inventory levels continue to drop, now standing at just over 9,000 listings, the lowest they’ve been since February 2006. Last year at this time there were just under 15,000 homes for sale and two years ago at this time there were 17,250.
Demand continued to rise for the month with 3,629 new pending sales added in the past 30 days for a total of 6,457 pending sales, a 56% increase over this time in 2007 and 32% more than this time last year. For all homes in Orange County, the expected time it takes to sell a property is currently 2.53 months. However, this number is largely driven by the rapid sales of properties priced at or below $500,000, where homes are selling in just over one month, on average. (…)
Tips on Improving Your Credit Score
For most homebuyers, one of the first and most important steps in buying a new home is to get approved for a home mortgage. One of the first things a lender is going to ask you when applying for a loan is how good your credit score is. Having excellent credit (720 or higher) is very important both for getting approved for a loan and for getting the best interest rates available. Having excellent credit can actually save tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars over the life of your loan by getting a more favorable interest rate.
This short video can tell you how to find out what your credit score is and provides some helpful tips on how to improve your score. Click on the following link to learn these useful techniques. (…)