My Answer to Ben

Recently, Ben asked a question on Trulia. I tried to answer it there, but the guidelines against spam prevented me from linking a couple relevant articles, so I'm reposting it here.

From Ben:
I have a 10 year interest only loan with 7 years left and no equity. I am current on my payments but the home is about $150,000 up side down.

I make 3 figures a year and have a 7 plus fico. I was recently denied a loan for a second home because of the status of my current home, and they think I will " Buy & Bail " The bank also countered and said I need to sell my current home to qualify. I also contacted my bank for assistence/guidence but there was'nt one thing they can do or advise. We need a bigger home, Should I sell my home short sale status?
 
Ben,


This answer is going to go against the grain, but I'm in the area and know exactly what you're struggling with. I could rent a house that is new and twice the square footage for what my mortgage payment is in the High Desert.

The first thing to remember is that CA is a non-recourse state. The only thing the bank can do is hurt your credit and foreclose. They can not go against your other assets. If the loan on the house was not used to take money/equity out of the house, and is the purchase money loan, there is a form to fill out so that you do not pay taxes on the banks loss on the loan.

As you have not paid any principal down, I would advise you to think of all the money spent as rent (that has been an interest deduction--call it a rebate on the rent). I don't believe prices are going up in the next 3 years. In fact, the there are a lot of reasons to believe the government is propping up the housing market, and the Association of Realtors spent a lot of money keeping the tax credit going.

If you need a bigger house, and the above applies to you as far as your loan goes, WALK AWAY FROM YOUR HOUSE. Possibly ask your lend for a "cash for keys" deal, where you give them a "deed-in-lieu" of foreclosure and they pay you a small amount to move. It will help you get your credit back faster.

Read these two articles( refer to my blog, Trulia won't allow me to post the links here--The articles are HERE & HERE), and portions of my blog that refer to reasons why the housing market is going to be stale. Don't worry about your credit score. A credit score is good for acquiring debt.

There are a lot of larger houses in our area that you can rent for $1500/month. You also won't have to deal with maintenance. There are even some rent-to-owns, but most RTO's and lease-options require you to assume all duties of an owner.

In two or three years, you'll qualify for a loan again. And prices are likely to be at or near the same levels UNLESS our country's economic policies end up in currency devaluation ala Venezuela or Zimbabwe in which case we all have bigger problems than home ownership.

Ben, If you've come here, do some research on "recourse vs. non-recourse states" and talk to your accountant to see where your mortgage falls as far as tax liability.

Credit Crisis brings opportunities for Seniors

Three important events have occurred that bring rise to opportunities for seniors to increase their retirement income. The drying up of much of the conventional credit market, the limitation of conventional loans for individuals, and the collapse of housing prices. Why does this bring new opportunities for seniors?

At this point everyone knows how hard it is to get a loan after the Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac failures that culminated in disaster last month. It's hard for even people with good credit to get loans at the moment, and underwriters and looking very closely at all aspects of loans they are approving. New laws to prevent real estate speculation have limited the number of mortgages and individual can have to four conventional loans. Because of these conditions, combined, with housing prices that have dropped and opportunities in the REO market, seniors have the opportunity to hold mortgage notes to increase their retirement income.

A senior I know just told me she's making three percent (3%) on her CD and she's looking for ways to increase her retirement income, as SS only pays $700 per month. She owns her home free and clear, but has repairs to do to the house, especially in the kitchen, where the sink leaks, but she doesn't want to deplete her meager savings to fix problems that are a health hazard and are damaging her house.

Seniors have the opportunity (especially in California) to take reverse mortgages out on their homes and reinvest the money or loan it out at hard money rates. By buying investment properties or mortgage notes, seniors can increase their passive income and avoid endangering Social Security income. The senior above could take a reverse mortgage line of credit to do the repairs she needs, paying 7.5% or less in most cases, then draw from her LOC to loan out at hard money rates (15-24%) secured by 1st mortgages or rehab loans, or buy rental property for cash
and rent the out.

I have 6 conventional mortgages out, on 10 properties, and 2 hard money loans, and 2 properties are paid off--I own them free and clear. I bought smartly and all of these properties have positive cash flow when rented at 80% occupancy rates. Due to the new limitations on the allowable number of conventional loans, I can not get a conventional loan on the 2 properties that are paid off. I had to go to a hard money lender to get funding. I am getting a loan for less that 50% loan to value (ltv) at 11.5% but I am paying 8 points, so my apr is basically over 17%. I am happy to get the loan because it is going to allow me to earn a return higher than what I am paying. I've even seen websites out there that say they'll loan 40%LTV at 19%.

So, the above mentioned senior could conceivably borrow $100,000 at 7.5%, fix her house for $20,000, then lend the remaining $80,000 out (I recommend smaller loans to spread out the risk) at 15% with 7 points, and she would bring in an additional $1000.00/month and as the loans mature or are paid off early she would bring in the $5600 in points, which may increase her net return, because the investors don't want to pay the 15% rate for a long time. Or, a senior could invest the $80,000 remainder in a rental or several rentals and collect rents of $750 to $1600 depending on how they did it, but that would entail more management time, and I think the return on investment in the hard money market would be better and entail less risk now that housing prices are down.

I happen to know that there are several investors out there looking for the money to make their deals happen, and wouldn't mind paying the high percentage rates to get it done.

Lender Requirements

REO’s Shortsales and Prequalification requirements

With the number of REO's (Real Estate Owned by the bank) and short sale houses on the market today, it streamlines the purchasing process if buyers have a prequalification letter from their lender. Most banks are demanding that the prequalification letter be sent in with the offer, and some require that potential buyers cross-prequalify with specific lenders (at times demanding FICO scores and proof of funds) before they'll accept an offer. With this in mind I give you a list of the 11 most common things you'll need to take to your loan officer/mortgage broker:
1. Current pay check stubs covering the past 30 (or 60) days.
2. Name address and phone number for your employers covering the last 2 years.
3. Copy of the last 2 months bank statements for all open accounts.
4. Copy of driver's license an dsocial security cards--all borrowers
5. W-2's and Federal tax return for last 2 years.
6. Mortgage statements and/or rental agreements.
7. Complete copies of divorces and final judgement.
8. Self-employment records
9. Complete copies of bankruptcy and discharge.
10. Initial award letter for social security, pension, or other income.
11. Name, address and phone number for landlord for last 2 years.