Washington has heard the message! The Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008 was signed into law by the president this morning. Many homeowners will soon have access to more affordable financing, and first-time homebuyers (those who have not owned a home for three years) will receive a tax-credit to help them enter the market.

 Last week I was interviewed on Channel 4 for Al Sunshine’s report on the bill and I supported the passing of the Recovery Act to help give people a hand up, not a hand out. You can access this interview at http://cbs4.com/video/?id=58962@wfor.dayport.com (There is a 15 second commercial prior to the interview.)

I happened to be in Miami attending a two-day training course on REO’s (real estate owned) foreclosure transactions when I heard the bill had been signed into law. As luck would have it, my instructor is Cathy McDaniel, who is a certified trainer and HUD course instructor; has her certified mortgage specialist designation and residential finance designation; and host’s 50 classes per month throughout Georgia, Tennessee, South Carolina and Florida. Cathy hosted an impromptu call this evening to educate her REO students on the highlights of the 700+ page Recovery Act! Also attending the class is one of the mortgage planners I work with, Orlando Cruz-Solano who is highly qualified to assist people that would benefit from this bill and participated with Cathy in explaining its features. As I understand it the housing bill is aimed at helping desperate homeowners avoid the pain of foreclosure as it devotes $300 billion for immediate assistance

Up to 400,000 at-risk borrowers will be able to refinance their old high-cost mortgages for new low-cost mortgages at fixed-rates insured by the Federal Housing Administration.

This bill is not intended or crafted to allow irresponsible borrowers to escape foreclosure by refinancing their homes and then turning around to sell them. Lenders will be asking borrowers to qualify for these funds and the borrower will have to have a verifiable hardship such as illness, loss of job, divorce, etc. The following are some of the criteria to be eligible:

• Must be your primary residence
• Must have received a loan between January 2005 and June 2007
• Debt ratio cannot be less than 40%
• May or may not be current on mortgage (should not be more than 90 days late)
• Must retire all debt including lines of credit
• Cannot take a new HELOC for 5 years

I am including a link to an article that was e-mailed to me by realtor.org on 7/30/08 and seems to really hit the highlights of the bill!
http://www.realtor.org/gapublic.nsf/pages/hr_3221_key_provisions?OpenDocument

One big change current buyers should be aware of is that buyers can now get a 100% loan via down payment assistance that is seller funded. After 10/01/08, seller funded down payment assistance programs will no longer be available. In addition FHA down payment will go up from 2.75 to 3.5%. So, if you are looking to buy with 0 down, make sure that you have your loan closed before October 1, 2008.

The bill has many other features for buyers and/or would-be sellers.

For more information on Seller Funded Down payment Assistance or any other questions please don’t hesitate to contact me, if I don’t have the answers I can certainly help to point you in the right direction!

For more information about the bill, visit http://www.realtor.org/governmentaffairs.

To see if you qualify for the new FHA secure loans you may contact Orlando Cruz-Solano of Stockton Turner and Company at 305 491-5771 or via email at ocs@stocktonturner.com. You can check out his website at http://www.ocsfinancial.com.

Ellen Bithell, Cerified REO Specialist, CRS, Housing Opportunities Specialist
SELLING SOUTH FLORIDA