Lets face it, we have another 4 to 5 years of short sales, foreclosures and bank owned properties in the Tampa Bay area. It is unfortunate, but it is reality. The bulk of the homes that are currently on the market are short sales so it is important for Realtors to educate the buyers on the short sale process. If a buyer is in a hurry, then a short sale probably isn't a good option for them because it could take three months or more for the bank to either approve or disapprove an offer. The buyers also needs to understand that they could be bound to their offer for the time it takes the bank to respond so they could be in limbo for a quite a while.
You could qualify for a short sale if you are a homeowner who is in danger of defaulting on your loan, you owe more than the home's market value or you are already in the foreclosure process. Lenders would rather loan money to other qualified buyers instead of paying $40,000+ to foreclose on a home. A short sale is a win-win for the homeowner, the bank and the buyer because it gets the homeowner out of the home debt-free, the bank saves quite a bit of money and the buyer is getting a great deal on a new home.
Foreclosure should be an absolute last resort if you are behind on your payments. Besides a short sale, there are many other options available that will allow you to retain ownership of your home.
- Refinance - with the new lower rates, this could save you thousands. The only downfall is you must have a good credit score so if you are already behind on your payments, this may not be an option for you.
- Repayment Plan - catch up on missed payments by paying more than one full payment per month until your account is current.
- Forebearance Plan - allows the suspension of all or part of client's monthly payment for a specified time period, based on lender agreement.
- Loan Modification - allows changes to the original terms of client's promissory note which may include an combination of the following: an adjustment to the interest rate; an extension of the term of the loan; or an increase in the loan amount by the amount past due.
- FHA Refi - allows the forgiveness of certain principal along with forebearance and repayment plan. Housing Bill allows lenders to write down loans to 85% of FMV and borrowers get FHA 30 year fixed at 90% of FMV. Borrowers must then share 50% of appreciation with FHA.
- Bankruptcy - may allow changes to the original terms based on loan modification.
For more information, please contact me at info@buytampafl.com
Looking for a new home? Go to www.buytampafl.com for a list of all available homes in the Tampa/St. Petersburg area.
The U.S. Housing and Urban Development Secretary announced Friday that Florida will receive $541 million in new federal foreclosure funds to help prevent further home defaults and fight the effects of blighted areas with abandoned homes. The funds are not for those already facing foreclosure. The local government is required to use the funds to buy abandoned properties, rehabilitate them and offer down payment assistance to low to middle income buyers. 
In today's market, lenders are very careful with who they give money to for a new home purchase. You definitely cannot blame them. The most important thing a potential home buyer needs to do before even thinking about applying for a mortgage is to check their credit report. Credit reporting agencies make mistakes everyday that can affect your credit rating negatively. Checking your credit report will reduce any surprises when applying for a mortgage. Not only could a low credit rating get you denied, it could get you a higher interest rate if approved. It is tough to get approved for a mortgage these days even if you have a decent credit rating. Lenders want borrowers who have a credit rating of 700 or higher on a 300 to 850 scale. If you find one or two errors and get just one of the three major credit bureaus to correct it, it could make a huge difference in your credit score. 
property taxes by as much as 40 percent and could help boost the housing market tremendously and this judge pulls it off stating he had issues with how the bill was presented to voters. Besides the obvious benefits, the passing of Amendment 5 would help remedy those who currently pay a disproportionate share of school taxes and spread it out amongst everyone (renters, those with children in private schools). It is a fairer way to collect school funds. Opponents of the bill fear it will remove much needed funds for the schools, but this is not necessarily so. Legislature will find another way to recoup the school money. They could easily raise sales taxes by one penny that would make up for the lost property tax funds. This judge's decision has pulled Amendment 5 off of the November ballot resulting in a disservice to voters. I assume an appeal is in order so hopefully we will see the amendment on a future ballot.