FHA Re-fi Opportunity for Underwater Home Owners

by William Metzker on September 1, 2010

Certain non-FHA-borrowers who are underwater but current on their loans may be eligible for new FHA loans written at current interest rates.  The catch: The current mortgage holder must agree to write off ten percent of the loan balance.

Read the details here from a post by my colleague, Fred Stewart

This is potentially huge–much more effective than the attempts at loan modifications.  The only possible flaw I see if that second trust deeds (HELOCs, etc.) are not in the discussion.  Unless holders of seconds can be dealt with in a meaningful way, I doubt they will participate and may indeed be sand in the Vaseline.

Still, it’s something underwater home owners in Portland Metro need to be aware of.

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Alphabet District Gem

August 29, 2010 Neighborhood Happenings

Kenny and Zuke’s (sandwiches) was a hit on the East Side.  Sometime, they managed to open up a West Side location on NW Thurman near 24th.  Do not miss it.
Okay, they make their own pastrami.
They sell mostly sliders, which is pretty much the size of a half sandwich, except maybe a teeny bit bigger.  Where [...]

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Take the Latest Figures with a Grain of Salt

August 29, 2010 Commentary

Some real estate and mortgage people saw the lastest numbers on the Portland housing market coming.  Yeah, they’re awful, but don’t believe them, at least in total.  Here’s why:
Some of us had real misgivings about the federal tax credit for first time buyers.  My feeling was that it would inflate prices (I had many situations [...]

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The Real Reason Behind the Real Estate Fall

August 27, 2010 Commentary

After going through the post-S&L real estate market,  I never thought I’d experience that kind of market again.
I didn’t.  Or, I am not.  The one we’re in is worse, and it’s anyone’s guess where it’s going.
A bubble I can live with.  The pop is painful, but you do come back.  Bubbles happen.  A perfect storm of circumstances [...]

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It’s the Equity, not the Price

August 26, 2010 Commentary

If you want to sell a home in Portland Metro, the news on market conditions and pricing has got to be depressing.  Here’s a fact, though: You can’t do much about the market.  But you can do something about how much equity you keep.
When I worked as a department store buyer, the ruling ethic was [...]

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Appraisals and House Values

August 24, 2010 Commentary

Home appraisers have been taking shots all around. They take it from the lenders who employ them because the values are too high. They take it from home sellers because the values are too low. They take it from real esate agents and mortgage brokers because the values coming in with the appraisal don’t support the [...]

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Do You Really Know How to Save Energy?

August 18, 2010 Sustainability

Every once in a while, I get my comeuppance on topics I thought I knew at least a little about.
Do people know how to save energy in their home? Are those actions they believe are helpful really helpful?  Well, no, actually.  Hint: It’s not keeping the lights turned off. 
This short article from Techcrunch on that topic [...]

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Don’t Tax You, Don’t Tax Me

August 18, 2010 Commentary

Tax that fellow under the tree, Huey Long reportedly said.
What brings this up is the Oregon Association of Realtor’s hyperventilating screech opposing a statewide real estate transfer tax.  A recent email to all Realtors says, “A new tax on the sale of real estate would be extremely damaging — not just to our industry, but to [...]

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Sunday in Portland

August 16, 2010 Neighborhood Happenings

After working Snday morning, we decided to just head off downtown to do…whatever, and headed for the Alberta Arts District.  It’s one of our many up and coming neighborhoods–young, vibrant, arty, laid back with none of the introspection you sense in, say, the Pearl.
We ended up at the Amnesia Bewery, where we had a grilled [...]

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Of Homes, Clothing and Thirty-year Treasuries

August 10, 2010 Commentary

After having lunch with my wife today at Washington Square, we wandered into Eddie Bauer.  I didn’t really want anything, but she needed to replace a couple of summer polo shirts the spaniel had toe nailed.
Once inside, a couple of things caught my eye–a shirt, some trousers, a sweater.  But then it dawned on me [...]

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