Cincinnati Area Real Estate News

Waiting to Close on a Home? Don't Buy on Credit

If you have picked out your home, made and offer and are justing waiting for the closing so you can move in, it can be very tempting to buy furniture and other items you will want for that new house. Don't do it. Your loan approval was based on your finances at the time you filled out the application. Additional credit could negatively change your credit status and jeopardize the loan. Be patient and wait until after the closing.

Time is Running Out on the 1st Time Homebuyers $8000 Tax Credit

If you have not owned a home for the last 3 years and want to take advantage of the $8000 1st Time Homebuyers Tax Credit you need to act quickly.The guidelines are that you must close on the property by November 30, 2009. Yes that is 2 months from now but a lot of people are trying to get homes purchased to meet that deadline. That will put a time constraint on the lending companies, the appraisers, the home inspectors, the title companies and all the entites involved in buying and closing on a home.

So what shoudl you do now.?
1. Contact a Realtor. They can put together a search  based on your needs and wants that will narrow down your choices.
2. Get preapproved by a lending company (a Realtor can offer suggestions here also).

You will probably be limited to a home being offered by an owner but not a short sale or bank owned property. The chances of getting a short sale or bank owned property closed by November 30th are slim.

There are still a lot of homes available and rates are still low so get searching now.

Countrywide to modify troubled home loans

Countrywide Mortgages, now owned by Bank of America Corp. has agreed to the largest program ever to modify home loans in response to a potential lawsuit over deceptive lending practices.

Countrywide will modify troubled mortgages with up to $8.4 billion in interest rate and principal reductions for almost 400,000 customers.

The settlement should help about 8,000 Ohioans. About one-fourth to one-half of all Countrywide subprime loans in the Ohio are delinquent according to Ohio Attorney General Nancy Rogers ."Foreclosures have devastated our communities and crippled our economy," she said.

Borrowers whose first payment was due between Jan. 1, 2004, and Dec. 31, 2007, can participate in the settlement. Their loan balance must be at least 75 percent of the current value of the home, and the borrower must be able to afford the adjusted monthly payments.

The mortage aid program is set to begin in December. Some borrowers stuck with Countrywide mortgages could qualify for having to pay nothing but interest for a decade.

The program will focus on borrowers who were placed in the riskiest loans, including adjustable-rate mortgages whose interest rates reset significantly higher several years after the loans were made.