Show me the MORTGAGE money!

Selling your house? The big 3 of real estate are.....

The big 3 of real estate are Price, Condition, and Location. You cannot change the location of your home. YOU control price and condition.

Hey First Time Buyers...Many homes are selling for less than assessed value....

Many NJ townships, such as Montclair, and Bloomfield were reassessed within the past few years and recent sales are quite often at or below the assessed value.

This also means current homeowners may be inline for lower taxes through a tax appeal.

N.J. Threatens to Block Foreclosures .....WSJ

By LISA FLEISHER

New Jersey courts are threatening to block six major lenders from foreclosing on most homeowners unless they can prove their process is sound.

In response to errors blamed on so-called "robo-signers" and other potential shortcuts, judges on Monday ordered six lenders to defend their foreclosure practices and 24 others to produce reports on their process.

click link below...

N.J. Threatens to Block Foreclosures .....WSJ

Property Owners!...start the New Year Right with a tax appeal!!!!!!

January is the month to do the research. The filing deadline is April 1. You can download the appeal forms here......

  APPEAL FORMS.

When to appeal?

Well, if you purchased last year below the assessed value and it was an Arms Length Transaction (not a short sale, foreclosure, tax sale, etc) then a tax appeal is probably in order. All you will need is a copy of your deed.

If you purchase some time ago your best evidence is an experienced appraiser.

Even if your assessed value is below current value a tax appeal may be possible. The assessment may be old, reflecting old(higher) values. You can get the ratio of value above assessment by calling the townhall and speaking with the tax assessor.

Example: Your home is worth $500,000. You are assessed at $350,000. However the town tax assessor's ratio says homes are valued at 2 times assessed value. That means the tax assessor values your home at $700,000. If you can prove it is worth only $500,000, you can get lower taxes. Again this is where an experienced appraiser comes in.

Happy New Year!

Refinancing or Purchasing, Closing Costs are....

a big deterent too mortgage seekers. But, at today's historically low rates it may be a great idea to build the closing costs into the rate and let the lender pick up most of the tab. I just refinanced a past customer at a great rate, and we are crediting $1,900 in closing costs at settlement. Win, Win, Win.

Home value estimator uses 2 indicators....

Check on home value here: HOME VALUE ESTIMATOR

Putting less than 20% down? Think Single Premium MI....

Single Premium MI

With Single Premium MI, homebuyers enjoy monthly payments that are lower than they would be with traditional mortgage insurance, FHA loans or combination loans. A single premium is either paid in full at closing or financed into the loan, and provides coverage until the loan amortizes to 78% of the original value. With Refundable Single Premium MI, any unused portion of the premium can be refunded if the MI cancels within five years.

Mortgage Insurance Simple Answers

Mortgage Insurance Simple Answers

What is Mortgage Insurance?

Mortgage Insurance helps borrowers realize the dream of homeownership sooner by enabling them to purchase a home with less than a 20% down payment. Mortgage insurance provides financial protection for lenders and investors if a homebuyer defaults on a mortgage loan. With this protection, lenders can offer more low-down-payment mortgages to homebuyers.

Refinance opportunites come with all time low mortgage rates...

Everytime we think mortgage rates are at the lowest they can possibly get.....They Drop Again!

So much so that homeowners that have purchased or even refied last year are finding it profitable to do again.

The reason? Improving your cashflow! If an extra $200 to $400 per month means anything to you (it does to EVERYONE today) you may want to look into refinancing.

Fannie Mae cracks down on "Walk Aways"

http://www.calculatedriskblog.com/2010/06/fannie-mae-cracks-down-on-walk-aways.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+CalculatedRisk+%28Calculated+Risk%29&utm_content=My+Yahoo