Today’s newspapers reported on the results of a survey by the Mortgage Bankers Association that indicated that more people will face foreclosure on their homes in the months ahead.   A significant portion of these potential foreclosures are from fixed-rate home loans made to people with good credit who have reduced incomes or lost their jobs. 

With that in mind, if you or someone you know, is facing such a crisis I hope these suggestions, links and articles will help.

The website for the NYS Attorney General offers the following tips for homeowners who are behind on their mortgage payment:

• Call your lender or mortgage servicer immediately to discuss the available alternatives to foreclosure.  Many lenders offer foreclosure avoidance programs and have pledged publicly to assist distressed borrowers. 
• Respond to your lender or mortgage servicer.  Some lenders and servicers contact homeowners to discuss available foreclosure avoidance options.
• Consult with a government-approved housing counseling agency. 
• To find counselors approved by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) in your local area, call 1-800-569-4287 or visit http://www.hud.gov/.  A list of housing counselors also can be found on the website of the NYS Banking Department at www.banking.state.ny.us.
• Refer to http://www.makinghomeaffordable.gov/ for useful information and resources concerning obtaining a loan modification and avoiding foreclosure.
• Call HOPE NOW at 1-888-995-HOPE.  HOPE NOW is an alliance of housing counselors, mortgage companies, investors, and other mortgage market participants that provides free foreclosure prevention assistance.

These brochures offer some good advice and are in a .pdf format for downloading.  The National Association of Realtors -  NAR “How to Avoid Foreclosure and Keep Your Home” Brochure and The NYS Attorney General’s Office – “How to Avoid Foreclosure and Rescue Scams”.

These are the direct links from HUD – Help for NYS Residents  and the NYS Banking Department – Help for Homeowners Facing Foreclosure.

If I can assist you in any way – whether preparing a free market value report for your bank or just a private consultation – no charge – to help you determine the options available to you, just call me at 631-493-0542 or email me at cheryl@liagent.com.   This is such a difficult time for so many of us – I’ll try to help in any way possible.  If I don’t know the answer, I’ll find someone who can guide you.

The CyberProfessionals Meeting in San Diego, Nov. 11-14, 2009!  We arrived on Tuesday at the Embassy Suites, Bayside – delighted and happy to see each other.   Our meeting on Wednesday started at 7:30 with a quick breakfast before getting down to business.  About 40 members attended and each one presented a 5-minute topic.  Round that out with a couple of speakers and “round-the-room” questions and it was a full day.   After a group dinner we called it an early evening. 

By 8:00 AM we were on shuttle buses taking us to the RE Bar Camp at the Stingaree in the Gaslight District where we joined about 500 other REALTORS@.  An amazing event!  About 12 new topics were available every 30-45 minutes.  You selected which one you wanted to participate in – and then moved around the stations to find the one you selected.  It was so much fun.  Full of energy.   So much to learn.   Not just a presentation by a speaker – but rather each session was led by a facilitator with everyone contributing to the discussion.  Great group of people!  So willing to share their knowledge and expertise.

One thing stood out – Almost Everyone had an iPhone.  No laptops or netbooks needed. One of the more popular sessions was about iPhone apps.

The next day was not scheduled for me.  Some of our group attended national meetings.  Friday morning my cousin picked me up and we had lunch in beautiful La Jolla. Then back to the Convention Center for the NAR Trade Show.  Usually a highlight at our fall CP meetings.  This year it was a little flat – No big “Wow” – seemed like the same stuff as last year.   The Directors for the CyberPro Group met that evening and we started making plans for our spring meeting.  Kansas City or Nashville seem to be the favorite choices.

Saturday morning the CyberPros met for breakfast to close out our meeting event.  Everyone discussed what they liked best, what could be improved and new ideas for future meetings.  And that is the beauty of being in a group like this.  Nothing is static.  There is always a challenge to learn more and to make the changes necessary to improve your skills.  Everyone is focused on being the best agent he/she can be – to provide the highest level of service available and achieve the best results for our customers and clients.  Real Estate today is fluid – full of opportunities and challenges.  I love this business.

Some Good News for Buyers and Sellers on Long Island!  Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae once again have increased the higher loan limits allowed for conforming loans.  The mortgage rates on bigger mortgages finally should come down.  Home loans up to $729,750 for single-family homes (Nassau and Suffolk qualify for the maximum limit) should be cheaper in the next few weeks.  This higher conforming loan limit is part of the economic stimulus act and is available only until the end of this year and then reverts back to the $417,000 true-conforming loan limit.    Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae can purchase or guarantee only conforming-loans-anything over the limit is a Jumbo Loan-and the interest rates are much higher.  The interest rates for these super-conforming loans may be slightly higher than the true-conforming $417,000 limit  (typically one-fourth to one-third percentage point higher) – but they still are cheaper than Jumbo loans-which average around 1 to 1 ½ points higher than conventional mortgages.

Even though the act passed in February, the criteria for these new limits were released only recently and both Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae will begin buying super-conforming loans on May 4.  Check with your mortgage officer to see when their company will start writing these loans.  (See How Much Can I Afford? for names of some mortgage lenders.)  This higher loan limit and resulting lower interest rates for mortgages up to $729,750 certainly will have a positive impact on the Dix Hills & Melville Housing Market.  Good news indeed!

For more information email me at cheryl@liagent.com.  Please visit my web site, www.LIagent.com.  New Home Searches with a great IDX company, Diverse Solutions – coming this week.

Where is the housing market headed?  Have we reached the bottom yet?  Is the housing bust over?  Three reports will be released this week that may indicate which direction the housing market is headed.   A newspaper article says that data from these reports will be focused on two parts of the housing market:  Home Sales and Home Prices.  And they don’t necessarily move in tandem.  One may recover before the other one does.

February showed an increase in numbers of home sales – for both new construction and resales – and that trend is likely to continue.  Foreclosures, record-low mortgage rates and the $8000 Tax Credit for 1^st-time homebuyers have all contributed to an increase in the numbers of homes sold. The busier spring housing market will help that momentum also.  Less likely to show an uptick are home prices.  A report due out tomorrow will address that.  Foreclosures may help home sales activity but they have a negative effect on home prices.  If home prices have “bottomed-out” and a recovery is taking place – we may not know that for awhile.  It takes time to go from looking for a home, signing a contract and then closing on that home.  The article, Housing Data Could Signal If Bust Is Over  was published April 20 in The Washington Post.

Something New!  The National Association of Realtors has a radio show about all-things real estate.  For the latest information about buying or selling a home, tips on home improvements, current market reports and more timely topics check out Real Estate Today.