How long does it take to close on a home from time of contract to close of escrow? 2 months . . . .4 months. . . . .6 months? Even though there are some new and positive guidelines for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, these new requirements will most likely lengthen this time frame. I also see more confusion in the real estate market and finance industry. Let’s try and put some light on these new changes.

Lenders must now provide appraisers a copy of the sales contract and all associated addendums. If a change is made to the purchase contract, the appraiser must be notified and updated paperwork made available.

Appraisals that only value a portion of a parcel are forbidden. The comparative market analysis by the appraiser has to include the entire parcel of the subject property or parcel of land. The key word here is “entire”.

Appraisers in the past were omitting comparable sales of foreclosed homes, REO properties and short sales. The new Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac guidelines require these types of properties MUST be included in the market value of the property. This could definitely have a negative impact on our housing market.

When information about values within a neighborhood is provided by someone who has a financial interest in the transaction, the appraiser must verify this information with a third party who is “arms-length” from the transaction. One would think this would be common sense.

If repairs are needed that affect soundness, structural integrity or livability, the property must be appraised subject to the completion of those items. This is where we got the FHA 203K loan.

Supervisory authorities can no longer sign off on completed appraisals without reviewing the subject property themselves. The supervising appraiser has to personally review the property before agreeing to sign off on an appraisal completed by one of their employees.

The revised Home Valuation Code of Conduct applies many changes within the industry and was meant to stop improper influencing of values as well as protect the consumer. These changes although somewhat positive will most likely add additional delays to the transaction.

See more information about arizona realty by clicking the link: arizona realty today.

We need to look at short sales as a positive transaction instead of a negative one. There are so many Arizona short sales, foreclosures, REO’s and bank-owned properties on the market today. Short sales are by far leading the pack. We can no longer ignore these homes as it drastically limits our buyer’s choices.

There are ways to help ease the pain and frustration for your buyers when a short sale is involved. Before writing an offer on a short sale home, it is critical for the Buyer’s agent to ask the listing agent direct and specific questions. These questions will save the agent and buyer a tremendous amount of time and disappointment as well as keeping the buyer, YOUR BUYER.

Buyer’s and Seller’s depend on an agents knowledge, expertise and experience. It is of the utmost importance that the agents involved in short sale transactions are experts in the field. The following are a list of questions that should be asked by the Buyer’s agent to the Seller’s agent prior to writing an offer on a short sale home: Memorize these questions as it will place you and your clients in a better bargaining position and lessen your wait time.

Which bank are you dealing with? The more information we have about the bank, the better time line the agent can give the buyer. Banks, Mortgage companies and lenders are getting reputations as to how fast or slow they process offers they receive from a buyer.

What lender(s) carry the mortgage? Knowing which banks hold the notes is important. Some banks are responding to offers in as little as a week while others are taking several weeks or months.

Does only one bank hold the note? A short sale usually means there is not enough money to pay off the first mortgage. If there is a 2nd lien holder there is no money to pay them either, however they have to approve the short sale as does the first lien holder.

How do you handle multiple offers? This is a great question. Be sure your offer is presented to the lender ASAP and not put in a file folder and submitted if other offers are waiting for acceptance. The Arizona local boards have standard rules addressing multiple offers. Be sure all parties know these rules. Has all initial documentation been submitted to the lender?

The listing agent should assist the seller in submitting the short sale package to the lender before or at time of listing the property. Banks will not even consider offers until the seller package is complete. The buyer should consider other options if the bank hasn’t received the seller package.

Are you knowledgeable of how the lender processes offers? Experience is the key to the agents involved in the transaction and all parties to the transaction. This question will really help pinpoint the time frame when submitting an offer. Gain the knowledge you need for short sales and distressed properties and you will be successful. At the same time your buyer’s will be impressed with your expertise and you’ll have a client for life.

Lending Tree hold it’s ‘roots’ in Charlotte, North Carolina someplace it begun operations in 1998. By giving a convenient ‘one-stop-shop’ for home and loan wishes, Lending Tree has become the nation’s top online loan exchange.

Lending Tree is in a exclusive market position as a referral area for lenders, giving it the capacity to work with a some of banks, mortgage companies and online web sites.

Lending Tree associates clients with several lenders, letting customers to take from up to four reasonable loan offers from major, national, regional, and local Lenders across the U.S., consequently facilitating to safe a lower rate than would otherwise have been obtained by the borrower.

LendingTree provides access to mortgages and refinance loans, home equity loans/lines of credit, auto loans, personal loans, and credit cards. They can even connect consumers with a network of realtors, representing major franchises and independents nationwide, who can help you buy or sell your home!

So far Lending Tree has facilitated more than 23 million loan requests and $185 billion in closed loan transactions. It also owns and operates GetSmart.com and HomeLoanCenter.com

Your home is important to you and your family, so you want to do everything that you can to protect it. Just as you want to protect your investment, the bank wants to protect the investment that it has made with lending you money. That is where Mortgage Insurance comes in.

Mortgage insurance is a policy that will assure the recompense of the loan that you had acquired from the bank. There are several different sorts of Mortgage insurance that one ought to know about.

Perhaps the most common type of mortgage insurance is private mortgage insurance, or PMI. This type of insurance exists to protect lenders in case the loan goes into default. If this happens then the PMI will pay the bank part of the total loan amount.

Mortgage life insurance is a type of mortgage insurance that protect the bank counter to a loan not being reimbursed due to the death or disability of one who used at first.

Another kind of mortgage insurance is title insurance. This rule are able to be taken out in either the mortgagee or the mortgagor’s name. This type of mortgage insurance will protect both contributor from various rights claims regarding the mortgaged property.

Home Equity loans are a type of loan that permits an individual who is an owner of a home to borrow money “against” the home.

In return for the money, the people accept to set the house as a form of guarantee. This system of loan is proper for some kind individuals .

If person has a low credit rating, or need a large quantity of dollars instantly , the home equity loan is said to be perfect . This kind of loan is typically sometimes illustrated as a “second mortgage”.

Lenders are particularly “liberal” when it comes to the home equity loan because of the fact that if it is defaulted on, they will have the home in their possession.

There are many different unique benefits to acquiring a home equity loan. As state previously, if you have a low credit rating, then this is an ideal choice because you are likely to get approved. In addition to this, these types of loans typically come with an interest rate that is on the low side.

When you intend to acquire a home equity loan, you will be pleased to note that you are able to be eligible for huge amount of money with very little attempt. Finally , but not least by any means, the money that is earned from the home equity loan can be consumed towards any need!