REAL ESTATE NEWS

Some congressmen are becoming more concerned about the Federal Housing Administration’s financial plight and they want to increase FHA’s downpayment requirement to 5%. Rep. Ed Royce, R-Calif., said FHA is operating at the same dangerous leverage ratios that led to the takeover of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Rep. Scott Garrett, R-N.J., said he has drafted a bill that would increase the FHA downpayment requirement to 5% from the current 3.5% level. “There are increasing reports of the likely necessity of a taxpayer bailout for the FHA and this legislation aims to implement reforms to try to prevent such a bailout from occurring,” Rep. Garrett said at a House Financial Services Committee hearing. If this bill is passed, it would come on top of additional tighter requirements already implemented by FHA, including restrictions on refinances which are to become effective in December. Potential first time buyers may be advised to act now before qualification for the most popular first time purchase program in the nation becomes more difficult. Sources: National Mortgage News and HousingWire

Now could be the perfect time to buy a home for your post-employment years. After all, home prices are down an average of 10 to 20 percent from the peak in most areas of the country and as much as 40 percent in some of the most appealing retirement areas. Here are some factors that a potential buyer of a retirement property might consider: First: Moving to an area that has been hard hit by the housing downturn, like Miami or Las Vegas, can mean great prices for buyers. In addition, trading a big home for a smaller property will reduce the cost of maintenance, insurance, and taxes. Finally, buying a property now and renting it out can be profitable in the right areas as more people today prefer renting to owning. Source: Money Magazine

More people are becoming landlords in an economy where selling a home can be challenging. The nation’s second-largest home insurer, Allstate Corp., says the number of homeowners converting their homeowners insurance to landlord policies rose 27 percent in the first quarter of 2009. Jim Bass of Jim Bass Real Estate Group in Frederick, Md., says he has begun offering property-management services for absent owners, many of whom are convinced it will be easier to sell in a couple of years. One factor to consider is whether renting will reduce or eliminate the value of the capital-gains tax exclusion. Federal tax law requires living in the home at least two of the previous five years to qualify for the full capital-gains tax exclusion when the house is sold. Of course, if there is no profit to be had, then this isn’t a problem. Source: The Wall Street Journal

Kurt Galitski

Meet Kurt Galitski - The Kurt Real Estate Group, your new best friend. Distinctive Strategies that Deliver Record-Setting Results. When you combine Kurt’s passion and knowledge of the real estate market, you really gain an appreciation for what makes Kurt different. But what truly sets him apart from the crowd are his 5 distinctive strategies and his property management… For Kurt, getting into real estate was not an accident, it was a deliberate and calculated decision to deliver a better experience to home buyers, sellers, and landlords that they have ever received before. Today, you could ask any one of hundreds of clients, read his Yelp reviews, or look at his track record of being featured in Orange Coast Magazine in excess of eight consecu­tive years and you too will say mission accomplished. www.KurtRealEstate.com www.KurtPropertyManagement.com 877-957-6677

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