However these real estate brokers, some who represent Tampa homes for sale, don’t mean the lightning-fast sales and skyrocketing prices of the recent real estate boom. They are talking about a more moderate, predictable real estate market, the likes of which haven’t been seen for several years.

According to many real estate brokers, the past three years have been very interesting, prices were high, and then there always seemed to be several competing bids.  Now however “a sense of normalcy has returned to the market.”

In the wake of the financial crisis, the last few quarters have been characterized by unprecedented swings in activity.  The fall of 2008 saw the market at a virtual standstill; suffering begins to thaw and summer – which is normally one of the slowest season of the year – and brought an unusually high frenzy of sales.

By contrast, says a representative of a Tampa house for sale, the level of activity this fall seems to be relatively normal, settling back into its predictable seasonal patterns of years before.

Last October, the markets were frozen, but today they are moving right along, curiously, but moving said one real estate agent.

Barring any major economic surprises, brokers expect this comparatively brisk level of activity to last until the new year.

Brokers, upbeat as always, say that housing prices – for both existing houses and new houses – are at or close to their lowest point in many years.

According to Prudential Douglas Eilliman, “there is a sense in the brokerage community that either the market has bottomed out or we will experience another small decline before hitting the real bottom.”  Either way, there is more cautious optimism than there was several months ago or this gives potential home buyers the boost they need to go out and help jumpstart the economy by purchasing a new or existing home.

Several attorneys believe that potential homebuyers think the prices will continue to steadily decline.  Indeed experts appeared to be aligning with buyers and expect prices will continue to slide, although at a slower pace.

The safe mortgage education program – which is based on the Secure and Fair Enforcement Mortgage Licensing Act – a bill signed into law by former President Bush on July 30, 2008, which was a major component of the mortgage reform act.  For both pre-licensing and continuing education, the S.A.F.E. Mortgage Licensing Act sets forth national minimums standards for training.

There is also the NMLS – National Mortgage Licensing System – which provides state-banking regulators a single database to track professionals with licenses to sell mortgages.  NMLS is managed by the Conference of State Bank Supervisors and the American Association of a Residential Mortgage Regulators.

These regulations are for independent brokers or loan officers and not banks because banks feel they already face more regulations than the independent brokers and the NMLS agrees.  Among some of the provisions included are: a 24 hour pre-registration education covering federal and state law ethics; those who have been working in the mortgage industry for at least 4 ½ years are exempt as long as they can pass the first test.  Criminal background checks and fingerprints will be run to screen out people convicted of or pled no contest to misdemeanors or felonies relating to forgery, fraud, embezzlement, a financial transaction or securities transaction or any felony within the previous 10 years.  There will be a one time $350 fee plus an annual renewal fee that is to be determined in each state.  The National Mortgage Licensing System charges a fee of $30 and their annual fee is also $30; and the tests fee is $100.

The reason for the criminal background checks and credit checks for the loan officers is so that unscrupulous or predatory lenders do not ‘slip through the cracks’ and start making loans that people cannot afford which is what started the housing credit crisis in the first place.

These days, no matter who you are, you probably have some kind of debt you are trying to pay off. It could be student loans, credit cards or even your mortgage. If you want financial freedom you must pay off your debt. Even with the economy getting weaker by the day you can still improve your personal financial situation.

When you are struggling just to make minimum monthly payments, paying off your debt entirely seems very far out of reach. Don’t get discouraged though, anything is possible if you are willing to make the sacrifices it will take. The first step to a debt free life is to make a list of everything you owe; every credit card, every car loan, your mortgage, student loans, everything. Make the list as detailed as possible. Include the balance, monthly payments, due dates, and interest rates.

Next look at your belongings. How many of the things you own did you buy with money you didn’t have? If there are big screen TVs, dvds, stereos, cloths, furniture or anything else in your house that you know you couldn’t afford, now is the time to right the wrong. Sell everything you can and use the money to pay down your debt. Get out the digital camera that you really can’t afford and take pictures of everything you can get rid of and post it on Ebay or Craig’s list. You could even have an old fashion garage sale but you must sell off the things you cannot afford to own.

Now look at your car and your house. If you struggle to make car payments, sell the car. Get a more affordable car that you can pay off in just a short time. Is your mortgage sucking you dry. It is probably time to sell the house. Move into a smaller house. Rent a house until you can get back on your feet. These are tough sacrifices to make but it is the only way to get out of the hole you created by overspending.

With your debt paid down as much as possible you need to develop an organized method to pay off the rest of your credit cards. Organize your cards by interest rate. Make extra payments on the card with the highest interest rate until it is paid off. Then move on to the next card. You may have to get a second job in order to be able to pay extra. It won’t last forever though, just until you are debt free.

When you improve your financial situation you will improve your entire life. It is hard to know how to begin making your budget and prioritizing your needs. If you need help go to www.personalfinanceissues.com. They can provide the tools you need but you will have to put in the effort to make it work.

If you have young kids you may not be thinking about their college education just yet. Even though it is hard to focus on college when you are still trying to teach them to tie their own shoes, now is the perfect time to start saving. If you are just making ends meet you probably don’t think you are able to start a college fund right now. The truth is you just need a little help adjusting your budget.

If you really want to save for your children’s education you must first pay off your current debts. You will never be able to stash away enough money for their college if you are struggling to make minimum monthly payments each month.

First stop over spending. Make a list of the necessities that you buy each month and what they cost you. Make sure it includes food, gas and bills. Now create a budget that will allow you to get by without wasting any money. You won’t have to live this frugally forever, just until the debt is gone.

Now write down a list of all of your debt. You need to know all of your balances, interest rates and minimum monthly payments. Now start with the highest interest rate and put all of your extra money into paying off that card. Once it is paid off move on to the next one.

When your credit cards are paid off you can start putting that money into savings for your children’s college education. You will most likely be amazed by how quickly you can become debt free and then build up a sizeable savings.

In order to save up to the amount your children will need for college it is a good idea to find out what the average cost of a four year college degree will cost when they are ready. Many schools will be able to give you a rough idea if you call the administration office and ask. Once you have a goal calculate how much you need to put into each savings account every month so that each of your children will have enough money when the time comes.

In this day and age you have to have a college education to make it in the world. You can easily create a savings account that will get them through college with a strict budget. If you need help with the calculations necessary to pay off your debt and budget your spending use an online financial calculator at www.personalfinanceissues.com. Remember if you make the sacrifices now and they will be obliged to care for you in your old age.

When you are drowning in debt you may start to feel panicky. Late payments are piling up and the total amount that you owe is going up every month despite the payments you make. If you are thinking about bankruptcy wait! You may be able to get yourself out of this hole with a change in lifestyle, a strict budget and possibly debt consolidation.

Often times as people fall deeper and deeper into debt they stop looking at their credit card statements. If you are ready to get yourself out of debt the first thing you must do is to know how bad it is. Look at all of your statements. Make a list of all of your credit cards and loans. Write down how much you owe and how much your monthly payments are.

The next step is to check your interest rates. You need to know the interest rates on all of your credit cards and loans. This includes your car loans, mortgage and student loans. You need to know your interest rates in order to know which line of debt is hurting you the most.

Once you know where you stand it is time for the hardest part of getting out of debt. Sell off the items you don’t need. If you drive an expensive car sell it and get an affordable car. If you mortgage leaves your wallet empty; sell the house and move to a smaller house in a more affordable neighborhood.

After you have sold off some of your unnecessary purchases it is the time to think about debt consolidation. You must calculate the time it will take to pay off your debts, the interest you are charged each month and your monthly payments. You must then look into debt consolidation. You do not want to simply save yourself money each month; you want to pay off your debt as quickly as possible.

If consolidating your debt will help you pay off your debt more quickly by lowering interest rates then it might be a good idea. If consolidation will lower monthly payments but cause you to take longer to pay off the debt then it is not the best choice. Working out all of these calculations can be very time consuming and difficult. If you need help, don’t spend a fortune on a financial planner. Go to a website like www.personalfinanceissues.com. They offer online financial calculators that will help you make well informed decisions about your personal finance.

Now that you know how to get out of debt you just need to take that first step. You can do it. You know life will be better once the debt is gone so put in the hard work that it takes to get there. You will be living a debt free life before you know it.

Fannie Mae was a semi-independent company that carried out its last act as such several weeks ago. This year Fannie Mae has carried out 22 updates.

There are several parts to the new guidelines. Part one involves number of properties owned by one person. Formerly, one person could own 10 properties. However, now, if a person applies for a mortgage loan, Fannie Mae will not grant the loan for second homes or investment properties if the applicant already has loans on more than 4 properties.

This limit can be avoided if the properties have the loans in the name of a corporation, and the property owner is the single owner of the corporation. If the properties are held in such a manner, Fannie Mae won’t count them as part of limited properties.

Investors, therefore, should consider moving their properties into a corporate structure to avoid triggering Fannie Mae’s 4-property limit. Investors often take this step for liability and taxation reasons, but it’s now a good idea for mortgage approval reasons, too.

Secondly, some of the guidelines do not have such a loophole. All investment property mortgages will be assessed with new loan-to-value based loan fees by Fannie Mae.

*3.75% loan fee – Loan-to-value 80.01-90.00%
*3.00% loan fee – Loan-to-value 75.01-80.00%
*1.75% loan fee – Loan -to-value less than 75%

These fees are mandatory and are in addition to any whatever other risk-based loan fees Fannie Mae may assess. Currently, those fees amount to a half-percent at minimum for real estate investors.

The government hasn’t released any information about possible relaxation of mortgage guidelines since their Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac takeover. If the guidelines loosen up, this would be helpful for real estate investors. If those who want to mortgage property can’t qualify for a loan, lower rates aren’t going to be a lot of help.

Consider incorporating your properties. Also, if you are considering trying to mortgage one or more investment properties, it may smart and and more cost effective for you to buy over the near term

When a seller and buyer agree to a purchase agreement for a home sale, the buyer is requested to place some small amount of money into a trust account.
Such a front end deposit is referred to as “earnest money.”

A sales contract’s earnest money requirement will vary from contract to contract. It can be as high as 10 percent of the purchase price and could be as low as $500; earnest money is a negotiable item between buyers and sellers.

Some factors that can influence earnest money amounts include:

*Seller psychology: an uncertain seller may request more earnest money
*Market conditions: a stronger market may result in more earnest money
*Buyer economics: first time buyers may be asked for less earnest money

It really doesn’t matter how much or how little earnest money is provided. This fund transfer is
a “good faith” action to confirm that the buyer wants to complete the home purchase.

At some time during the process, if it should happen that the buyer doesn’t follow through to complete the sale, he will likely have to lose the earnest money paid.
It is not something that happens often because there are “outs” written into the agreement called “contingencies.”

A typical contingency is that the seller must provide a clean title policy to the buyer, or that the buyer must secure financing prior to given date, or that the home must pass a satisfactory inspection.

Earnest money will be returned to the buyer if any of the above contingencies cannot
be met. Such failure with regard to the contingencies will void the contract.

If the contingencies are me, the earnest money then becomes a deposit to be applied
To the buyer’s financial responsibilities when the sale is settled. For instance, if a buyer is
required to have $60,000 at the time the sale is scheduled for closing, the actual amount
the buyer presents will b e $60,000 minus the earnest money.

You will want to make sure your earnest money is saved. Speak to your real estate agent/attorney before signing any purchase agreement. They can help you understand
the variations in earnest money among states, cities, and towns.

A home buyer should know that there are 2 stages to mortgage loan approval. We have heard of preapproval. When the buyer submits the loan application to his loan officer for preapproval, Stage 1 begins.

Preapproval is an initial home mortgage approval. When this is requested, It indicates that the loan is likely to be approved for a predetermined down payment and purchase price.

Stage 1 ends when the buyer signs a purchase contract on a home. At this point, the “walk-through” approval is useless because the buyer now needs a real home loan approval from an underwriter and not a loan officer.

Stage 2 of the process occurs when a mortgage underwriter is reviewing credit, income, assets, job history and probable other things. It is the job of the underwriter to insure that the buyer can meet the lending institution’s criteria for loans.

This procedure should be a formality if the Stage 1 loan officer did an appropriate job. Usually this stage moves along as anticipated. However, sometimes the buyer changes his loan “risk” without intending to do this, but affecting the mortgage approval. The buyer doesn’t mean to decrease his loan probability, it “happens.”

It is important for the buyer to maintain a consistent “risk profile”. The following is the “DO NOT DO” list of 6 activities for a buyer to avoid during the period between Stage 1 and Stage 2 of the mortgage loan process:

1. Don’t buy a new car (or take on a larger lease payment) 2. Don’t quit your job or change industries (and certainly don’t switch to a heavily commissioned role) 3. Don’t transfer large sums of money into or out from your bank accounts (and remember that “large” is relative) 4. Don’t miss a payment to a creditor (even if you don’t think you owe it) 5. Don’t open a new credit card (even if you’re getting 10% off your new bedding) 6. Don’t accept a cash gift without talking to your loan officer first (because there’s rules on how to accept them)

This is the basic starter list of things not to do. You may still make some errors, but talk to your loan officer if you have concerns or need to break a “rule.” There can be “glitches.” throughout the mortgage loan process. Therefore, keep the lines of communication open between you and your loan officer.

Refinancing is the repayment of a loan with funds from a new loan secured by the same property as the first loan. The new loan may be from the same or a different lending institution.

Three main reasons make a number of homeowners decide to go for a mortgage refinancing: to lower their mortgage rate; to make their mortgage term shorter; or to get additional money.

When mortgage refinancing, you should always shop around and speak to more than one lender. One way to get a better deal which will allow you to pay less each month is to tell the loans officer that you are shopping around for the lowest rate or best deal because you want to reduce your monthly payment. This openness at the start will let them know they need to give you their best offer to get your custom. This should result in you getting a great deal and slash you monthly costs.

Take note that short term mortgage refinancing will cost money. The borrower has to pay the costs associated with closing an existing loan and opening a new one and this could amount to a few thousand dollars.

A better deal when mortgage refinancing would probably be yours if you have a better credit score. If your credit score is poor, obviously, you won’t get a better deal than someone whose credit rating is good.

What is important in credit scoring is verification. The information that can not be verified must be deleted. The good part of it is that if you have a better credit score, you can get better interest rate when mortgage refinancing, applying for home equity loans or credit lines.

You can use your mortgage refinancing loans for different reasons. But remember that if you are applying for one just to lower down your monthly bills, there are other ways to do it.

Homeowners with bad credit may decide not to apply for a mortgage refinance. The majority of people assume that their application for a loan will be turned down due to a bad credit rating. While this is partly true, many homeowners have succeeded in refinancing their mortgage despite having a low credit rating. Nevertheless, always try to keep a good credit rating

The definition of refinancing is when you pay off an existing loan with the proceeds from a new loan, usually of the same size, and using the same property as collateral.

What are the different types of refinancing?

We can have two general categories of mortgage refinancing: no cash-out refinancing and cash-out refinancing. For no cash-out refinancing, the amount of the loan is under the mortgage money currently owed. Up to 95 percent of the appraised price of the home is permitted for the applicant. It is a great benefit as it makes the monthly expenses and all related final and financial costs lower.

Cash-out refinancing, however, allows the loan taker to have a loan of more than the quantity owed on the present mortgage. However, loan takers are normally limited to take loan of no more than 75 to 80 percent of the assessed value of the home.

You can pay off other loans with the excess money. Or you can take a much needed vacation or buy something for the home or you can simply keep the money for any unexpected expenses.

Another option is going for an extended time refinancing as it can make your lower installments even lower. This option is quite popular that many people are using this method into making the mortgage term longer and using the net savings to pay their debts.

Another advantage of refinancing loan is tax advantage. You can convert into tax-deductible money the non-tax deductible unpaid amount.

So, are you ready to refinance?