Agent Profile
Tony and Libby Kelly, MBA, M.Ed. are ranked in the top 1% of REALTORS in Portland Metro. They have been featured on HGTV's "House Hunters" 3 Episodes & "My House is Worth What?" 4 Episodes.
Considering a Short Sale
The majority of people facing foreclosure or short sales go in with the expectation that relief is on the horizon because when it’s over, they will be free of that debt. Not so fast!
If your home is taken by the bank and sold at auction, the bank could still demand the difference between what you owed and what they made on the auction sale.
A short sale is when the bank allows you to sell your house for less than what is owed. People assume that because the bank released the title that they released the debt. This is not necessarily the case. Many have had the title released by the bank thinking it was all over only to have the bank or a collection agency come after the difference years later.
A pledge of collateral and promise to pay off a loan apparently are two different things. Not knowing this can hurt you in the long run when negotiating a short sale.
Having the bank forgive your debt is up for negotiation during the short sale process. Have your attorney work it out on your behalf. If you are in a state that does not require an attorney for a home sale, get one anyway.
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Mortgage-lenders-pursue-cnnm-3107909798.html?x=0
PLEASE CHECK OUT OUR WEBSITE http//:www.TonyandLibby.com
Easier Foreclosure Prevention
Most people have heard that the foreclosure prevention programs have not been as successful as Obama had hoped. It seems that one of the road blocks has been borrowers with a second mortgage.
Apparently there has not been an agreement with the second lien holders which causes the first mortgage to be modified even lower to hit the 31% of pre-tax income mark.
Clearly banks are not eager to modify loan payments at a loss when the second mortgage holder still gets a full payment. This is also not helping the home owners because how small can a payment get when only one of the two banks is working with you.
The new federal initiative gives incentives to the second mortgage holder to work with the first. This initiative has been in the works for a while but apparently was difficult to implement. To help get it going, Bank of America is the first major bank to sign on for this program, and should cause others to follow.
http://money.cnn.com/2010/01/26/real_estate/boost_for_modification_program/index.htm
PLEASE CHECK OUT OUR WEBSITE http//:www.TonyandLibby.com
Rising Interest Rates
If you are in the market for a home with the intention to get a loan under 5%, you’d better move! The first full week of January Freddie Mac’s average 30-year fixed mortgage closed at 5.09%. And once these go up they are not coming back down any time soon.
Because of the bad economy the government had some programs going to get interest rates down. Those programs are coming to an end and interest rates will head back up.
Rates should also rise as the economy improves. As people start to borrow money again the rates will increase. There should be a small jump during the spring home buying season and rise slowly from there. At least according to CNN.
http://money.cnn.com/2010/01/07/real_estate/last_chance_refinance/index.htm
PLEASE CHECK OUT OUR WEBSITE http//:www.TonyandLibby.com
Portland Oregon in the New York Times
Here is a great article from the New York Times about all the great things about visiting or living in Portland, Oregon. Not only did the author seem to capture the vibe of the city but he visited so many wonderful spots that represent this city so well. He really hit the perfect variety and did not just stick to one section of the Portland area. Especially when it comes to our amazing food scene.
http://travel.nytimes.com/2009/05/10/travel/10Portland.html?pagewanted=1
PLEASE CHECK OUT OUR WEBSITE http//:www.TonyandLibby.com
Mortgage Modification
It stands to reason that if a bank makes a loan more affordable for a borrower they are less likely to default on that loan. So why are banks just now deciding to finally get in there and make some modifications? Even now only 4% of homeowners in need of a loan modification are receiving them.
Some how they seemed to have finally gotten the message that they should be taking what they can get. Foreclosures are very costly because of commissions, legal expenses, taxes and the HUGE loss in value of the property that would cause the bank to take a giant hit.
Some home owners are heading to events hosted by the Neighborhood Assistance Corporation of America. Many lenders from most major banks are in attendance to help restructure loans based on what they could afford. They say that 40% of borrowers leave these events with a decision made on their loan modification.
Most of the restructured loans result in lower interest rates. Some even go as low as 2%. Looks like the banks are finally starting to play ball. Those working these events will sit down with a borrower and then start at the top and work their way down through the list of possible solutions. Then the lender decides whether this solution financially benefits the bank over foreclosure. Especially in the hard-hit areas of the country, foreclosure is just too costly.
http://money.cnn.com/2009/12/16/real_estate/great_mortgage_modifications/index.htm
PLEASE CHECK OUT OUR WEBSITE http//:www.TonyandLibby.com
Nesting
Those who have the means are fixing up their current homes. There is a lot more “nesting” going on lately as more and more people are inquiring into updating their property.
Many home owners are looking for more space but after looking at the options, decide to remodel instead of buy a new home. Often they find that they like their home, neighborhood, schools etc… That is why they bought it! Many times the numbers come out in favor of remodeling versus moving anyway.
Those in construction say that they are getting many more inquiring phone calls about remodel jobs but, because of the economy, are less likely to become a sale and if they do buy it is usually for less money. Good news Bad news. People are not quite able to spend like they did (bad news) but the interest is certainly there (good news). It is only a matter of time before the economy encourages those people to pull the trigger.
One thing holding back those who are interested in a remodel is financing. It is still quite difficult to get a loan and many of those having work done are paying in cash.
Another reason to do some updating around the house is the $1,500 federal tax credit for energy efficient home improvements. Not only will it lower your bills but also improve your tax return.
http://money.cnn.com/2009/12/04/real_estate/remodeling_picks_up/index.htmPLEASE CHECK OUT OUR WEBSITE http//:www.TonyandLibby.com
Loan Servicers Under the Microscope
The Obama administration has decided to pressure loan servicers to do what they said they would do, which is help homeowners long term.
Many, many borrowers are stuck in trial adjustments when we really need to get them into permanent modifications. The government will be sending teams to the various institutions to evaluate what is taking so long. Banks will have to submit progress reports twice a day during December.
$75 billion has been spent to help home owners but so far only 1,711 of those in the trial modifications have been moved to a permanent loan modification.
The financial institutions have claimed that home owners are simply not turning in their paperwork. Home owners are saying that their paperwork keeps getting lost by the bank. Personally I have had to spend many hours on the phone with a bank or two on behalf of clients and I have a really hard time believing that very many of these are the fault of the home owners. I believe that, that is what the government will discover as well, if they really dig deep while visiting those financial institutions.
For example, the Obama Administration has had to do this before. The Treasury and Housing department officials brought bank executives to Washington, D.C. to get them to increase their trial modifications. Then a report was published to display the efforts of each institution. This brought up numbers dramatically. That just shows that they were not doing all they could on the honor system. Hopefully this new plan will again get financial institutions to ramp up their efforts. It’s just sad that these measures are necessary.
http://money.cnn.com/2009/11/30/news/economy/permanent_modifications/index.htm
PLEASE CHECK OUT OUR WEBSITE http//:www.TonyandLibby.com
Home Sales Riding High
Many first-time home buyers decided to take advantage of the expiring tax credit. Add in low mortgage rates with falling prices and the home sales in October were their highest level in 2 1/2 years. As a result, home sales are 37 percent above from their bottom in January.
Now that the tax credit has been extended and expanded to include more than just first-timers, the housing market is expected to be sustained next year.
The economy as a whole will benefit only slightly from higher home sales due to weak home construction, rising foreclosures and slow job creation.
The government is trying to keep mortgage rates around 5% and they are extending the tax credit for buyers. The idea is to counter-act the still falling home prices due to foreclosure after foreclosure being put on the market.
The October report of home sales reflects the offers made previous to the tax credit extension. This shows that the credit really did it’s job. Sales traditionally drop during the winter but the extended credit could mean great things for home sales in spring!
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/34105403/ns/business-real_estate/
PLEASE CHECK OUT OUR WEBSITE http//:www.TonyandLibby.com
Portland Oregon Market Report
October Residential Highlights
Sales activity in the Portland metro area continued an upward trend compared to same-month sales from a year ago. Pending sales were up 64% compared to October 2008 and closed sales rose 37.1%. New listings dropped 4.5%. The 64% jump in pending sales is the largest same-month increase since February 1996. The 2,009 closed sales this October was the highest total since August 2007 and its 37.1% same-month increase is the largest since January 2005. Compared to September 2009, closed sales increased 11.6% (2,009 v. 1,800), but pending sales dropped 9.1% (2,079 v. 2,286). New listings also fell 4.3% (3,443 v. 3,599). At the month’s rate of sales, it would take approximately 6.5 months to sell the 13,101 active residential listings. This is the lowest mark for inventory since August 2007.
Year-to-Date
Comparing January-October 2009 with the same period in 2008, pending sales are up 1.8%. Closed sales are behind last year’s total by 8.8%. New listings are down 20.5%.
Sale Prices
The average sale price for October 2009 was down 12.6% compared to October 2008, while the median sale price declined 10.9%. Month-to-month, the average and median sale price were mixed when compared with September levels; the average sale price was down
2.3% ($283,500 v. $290,100) and the median sale price increased 1.5% ($245,000 v. $241,400).
Budgeting Issues
Oregon has just been named as one of 10 U.S. states at greatest peril of following California over a state budgetary cliff.
The national economy has begun to rebound but Oregon is likely to have a harder time. Unemployment is expected to remain high, which leads to lower tax revenues, which makes coming up with enough money to pay for schools and other public services difficult.
On top of high unemployment rates voter mandates that include long sentences for repeat criminal offenders mean some budget cuts are off limits.
California drew national attention to the risk that states would go broke when it had to issue IOUs to contractors and taxpayers this year because it simply could not pay for essential state services. So now other states are being studied to see if similar issues are surfacing around the country.
There are some options that Oregon voters have to counteract this possible catastrophe. They could give lawmakers more leeway in the spending and taxing decisions. Most importantly they could reverse the mandatory kicker rebate that Oregonians get when there is left over money, this prevents the state from acquiring any reserves for a rainy day.
These options are long term solutions though and some tough choices need to be made to save us in the next year or two.
http://www.oregonlive.com/politics/index.ssf/2009/11/oregon_among_10_states_at_grea.html
PLEASE CHECK OUT OUR WEBSITE http//:www.TonyandLibby.com
Recent Blog PostsConsidering a Short Sale
Thursday, February 4th, 2010
The majority of people facing foreclosure or short sales go in with the expectation that relief is on the horizon becaus Easier Foreclosure Prevention
Tuesday, January 26th, 2010
Most people have heard that the foreclosure prevention programs have not been as successful as Obama had hoped. It seem Rising Interest Rates
Tuesday, January 19th, 2010
If you are in the market for a home with the intention to get a loan under 5%, you'd better move! The first full week o Portland Oregon in the New York Times
Monday, January 4th, 2010
Here is a great article from the New York Times about all the great things about visiting or living in Portland, Oregon. Mortgage Modification
Wednesday, December 16th, 2009
It stands to reason that if a bank makes a loan more affordable for a borrower they are less likely to default on that l 
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Agency Info
Keller Williams Realty Portland Premiere
17700 SW Upper Boones Ferry Rd
Portland, OR 97224