Posted by Tim Burrell - As a part of the new stimulus package recently signed by President Bush, the loan limits for Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and FHA loans were increased to 125% of the median price of a home in the area, up to an amount of $729,750. The Department of Housing and Urban Development has released the increased limits for the state of California yesterday,..(read more)
One of my friends who is also a Realtor had some excellent ideas when moving with Children. I would like to share them with you. Here is what she had to say:
Ok, Who decided that moving with children was a good idea? As a Realtor myself, I see families pack up their family (and lives') belongings everyday and move them to a new house. It looks like an easy task..(read more)
The Senate Finacne Committee has approved an economic stimulus package that does not include an increase in the limits for loans by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (commonly called GSE's), and does not include an increase in the limits of the guarantees allowed by the FHA. The stimulus package passed by the House of Representatives in HR 5140, the Recovery Rebates and Economic Stimulus for..(read more)
The Federal Reserve cut the Federal Funds interest rate by 1/2 point and the Discount Rate also by 1/2 point. The one is the rate of interest when banks borrow from the Federal Reserve, the other is when they borrow from each other. There were two quick financial responses.
In the first response, major banks cut their Prime Rate, the rate that their best borrowers get, from 6.5%..(read more)
Posted by Tim Burrell - When I was younger, the spin of the Media made me angry. Now, it makes me smile. There is an advantage to getting older, as you realize that sometimes journalists get an assignment to write a story on "How Bad is Real Estate" or "The Mortgage Meltdown". If the reporter is told to write a story on the Mortgage Mess, the..(read more)
One of the reasons for the decrease in the number of home sales in California is the decrease in available financing. Much of the rest of the country is selling most of its real estate using loans that are associated with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac loans, as they are able to stay within the limits allowed for those loans, so called Conforming loans. The loan limit is $417,000. ..(read more)
Posted by Tim Burrell - Many articles are appearing that analyze the Bush Administrations proposal to stimulate the economy. Virtually all of them miss the most important point for the Palos Verdes Peninsula. It is claimed that the biggest problem in the economy is the sub-prime loan fall out, and its effect on limiting the availability of financing, which in turn effects..(read more)
Posted by Tim Burrell - The pain may have been lessened for some "short" sales of South Bay Real Estate. One of the problems with a "short" sale used to be that a seller had to pay income tax on the amount the payment was "short". A "short" sale is where a home is sold and the seller does not repay the full amount of the mortgage, i.e. the payment..(read more)
