Why Buyers Have Been Feeling Angry

Those who are looking to buy have been sharing opinions on what it has been like to find a home. The opinions of many of these buyers have been heated, and the debate hasn’t been the increase in insurance premiums on FHA loans either. The challenge and debate has been over the number of homes in inventory that are attractive, and apparently there hasn’t been enough of that going around. I recently read about an interview that CEO of Redfin Corporation had with a customer in California. While she works in the television industry, she is blighted by the fact that there hasn’t been much to pick from for less than $500,000 since the 90’s. How does that factor in right now? 

The Challenge of Being Outbid

This buyer’s challenge in California was not always the inventory in the price range, but the fact that so many homes were being snatched up by investors without her getting the chance to fairly bid on them. It seems that debate has been hot, and while there are plenty of homes to choose from it has posed a bit of a problem for many. I am not sure that there is a happy medium here, because depending on what shape the house is in, there are buyers who aren’t ready or willing to put money into the home upfront. I can understand that because with everyone watching every penny, including those who do have a significant down payment, after moving who wants to keep working around the clock on a new home? 

For more information on how to get the expertise and help you need in buying your new home, you can visit my website by going to www.fhaloansnow.net, or you can call me right now at 310-498-2700. I have a strategic alliance of realtors I work with and other experts that can help us get further along than you ever imagined. 

-Mayer Dallal

December Sales Report

After the holiday season we all get back into our work mode, and there is so much catching up to do that it seems impossible. Can you imagine if you were the ones doing research on the real estate market? It seems that it wouldn’t be that big of a deal, but with the revising and research to keep things up to date, it can be quite a job. December was much busier than many thought it would be, and although it didn’t surpass the numbers from the previous year, December was more profitable than November.


The sales were up 17.5 percent in fact, with more than 350,000 homes sold. In November, there were approximately 280,000 homes sold nationwide. In the grander scheme of things it may not sound like a lot, but I’ll take it. I personally wasn’t as busy with purchases, but refinances were a bulk of my business and still are. I think that this would change if banks would do better advertising to let people know that right now is a great time to buy. I also know from my own perspective in owning my own business that advertising can make you or break you if you spend your money in the wrong place. So, banks while losing money are probably not pushing the television commercials like they used to.

Sales are great, and hopefully sales will remain on an upward trend. Right now, it’s still a great time to buy; the question is whether or not families are prepared with a down payment and if their credit is in order. These two things are critical to buying a home, and if families don’t have it, they should wait awhile longer.

-Mayer Dallal

How Many Pending Sales Are There?

Every month we know there are tons of new reports out there talking about the number of foreclosures, along with the number of homes sold, homes listed, and homes that were sold in a short sale. With all the numbers being calculated it might be interesting to see how many home sales are pending. The number of home sales pending more than likely grows each holiday season, and especially this year.


Sales fell when the tax credit expired, but with the rate of joblessness remaining so high it makes everyone wonder how much sales will decrease, or for that matter how they could possibly increase. Home sales will probably stay about the same in the coming year unless there are some dramatic changes, but the number of pending sales probably did shoot up over the course of November. As Thanksgiving approaches, then with Christmas following people are not motivated to pack and move, nor do they want to spend more, so many will wait until after the holidays to start spending money on appraisals and inspections leaving tons of pending sales out there.

When it comes to short sales, those sales could take quite some time, but only time will tell overall how home sales will move in 2011.

-Mayer Dallal

What is the Alternative to a Foreclosure?

With so many foreclosures happening across the country, the government needed to come up with a solution to help homeowners. There is now hope with HAFA. HAFA is, Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternatives Program. This program is designed to help eligible homeowners by pre-approving short sales before listing and releasing them from future liability of their mortgage debt.



The HAFA program was finalized and made public on April 5th, 2010. The only mortgages that qualify are any first lien mortgages that are not backed by Freddie Mac or Fannie Mae. They may or may not come up with an initiative of their own, but that is not yet determined.



The HAFA program also bases modifications of home loans up on the financial information they receive about the homeowner. There is a waterfall process that they use to be sure that they reach the debt to income target ratio of 31%. These steps go in the following order: 1) Capital Arrears, 2) Reduce Interest Rate, 3) Extend Loan Term, 4) Forbear Principal.



Capital Arrears means that they are looking at the accrued interest and other eligible expenses used to modify the loan amount. The second step is taken because they are looking to reduce that interest rate to reach the debt to income ratio target of 31%, and that includes your mortgage payment. The third step is Extend Loan Term. This step is taken when they cannot reduce the rate enough to reach the target of 31% for the debt to income ratio. Once they know that they can’t reach the target, they will then extend your loan term to a 40 year loan. Lastly, the Forbear Principal means that the borrower can try to work out an agreement with the servicer. This is done by reducing the principal amount owed on the loan, but then it would be due later as a balloon payment.