Your Certified Mortgage Planner — Michael Eiden, Mortgage Blogger

Tax Credit Dates for Veterans Until 2011

When HR 3548 – Tax Credit Extension for First Time Home Buyers and Repeat Buyers was extended, there was a special rule included for members of the Armed Forces.

Who Qualifies:

• Member of “uniformed” services
• Member of Foreign Service of US
• Employee of Intelligence Community
• Extended Duty (defined as “official orders outside the United States for a at least 90 days during the period of 12/31/08 to 05/1/2010

What They Get:

• Tax Credit Date Extended
• Sign contract by April 30th, 2011 and fund/close by June 30th, 2011

Thanks to all folks serving our country. This is the least we can do for your service, especially  if you are trying to become a home owner!

This is a great list to be excluded from too!

What list am I speaking of?  It’s an article from Forbes online:  America’s Worst Selling Housing Markets.

The one’s that did make the list are as follows:

1. Milwaukee
2. Denver
3. Los Angeles
4. St. Louis
5. San Francisco
6. New York
7. Cincinnati
8. Cleveland
9. Atlanta
10. San Diego

Couple notes on the list from Forbes. The cities were ranked according to the biggest increases in inventory and the largest decline in home sales during the fourth quarter of 2009. Two cities, Nashville and Detroit, were excluded because there wasn’t enough sales data. New York and San Francisco made the list primarily because they don’t have large numbers of single-family homes compared to condominiums.

Even if you have no intention of selling your home this year, regular maintenance is essential for preserving your home’s appearance and value. If you do plan to sell, your well maintained home should fetch a higher asking price while avoiding last minute repairs before closing.

This spring, concentrate on these important fix-ups:

• Inspect gutters  and downspouts and check to see that splash blocks are properly positioned. To see if the weight of snow, ice and leaves has twisted your home’s gutters out of shape, pour a large container of water into each one. If water pools in one spot or flows away from the downspout, the gutter may need repair or replacement.
• All homes settle a bit each year, which can stress the foundation. Look carefully for hairline cracks and repair them immediately with the proper sealant.
• If your home is a brick exterior, inspect the bricks and mortar for any signs of wear or damage. If your home has wood or vinyl siding, look for loose panels and trim. Inspect the soffit and facia below the gutters for rot and insects.
• Examine all doors and windows for warping and re-caulk all seams every two years.
• On the roof, look for missing, loose or cracked shingles. Areas of mold or evidence of moisture accumulation may mean that water is not draining properly toward the gutters.
• Decide if your deck needs a fresh coat of stain or preservative and tap in any protruding nails.
• Inspect all visible pipes for leaks, drips or corrosion. Also look for water stains on the ceilings and walls that could indicate roof or window leaks.

Most of this routine maintenance can be done yourself. However, if you find yourself in need of a handyman whether it be lack of expertise or time, send me an email and I get you a referral. You can also use Angie’s List to find a reputable handyman.

Zeus Has Unleashed the Cracken on MBS

I know, cheesy headline but c’mon. Look at the chart above. See that last big Red Bar on the right? That represents the price drop in the 4.5 FNMA Mortgage Coupon. Too technical? Just know that if a price of a bond goes down, the yield or interest rates that is passed on to borrowers is higher. So, the more and bigger the red bars you see, the worse rates get.

This is a significant argument that the FED MBS purchase program that was announced in Nov 2008 had a definite impact on mortgage rates. Most experts agree the FED intervention affected rates by over 1% If that’s true, then rates could be headed up over 6% in short order.  They spent $1.25 trillion on the program, affected the range by 1.75 (6.25% – 4.5%) and rates changed up to 5 times per during the program term Nov 2008 to March 2010.

Do You Know When to Lock Your Rate?

During the timeline outlined above, rates were on a nauseous roller coaster ride. The above chart is a snapshot of the market in real time. Most consumers don’t have access to this info, but a good loan officer does, at least they should. If you are out rate shopping in Oregon or Washington for a home loan, I am an active loan officer and if you have questions about rate volatility, when to lock or other mortgage related questions, give me a call or send me an email.

“Unleash The Cracken”! — Zeus