I’ve received more phone calls than I can count from people asking for help in refinancing their homes. The typical scenario is a family who took out an adjustable rate mortgage two or three years ago, some of them with no money down, and it is now cycling to adjust. When they took the loan out, it was foreseeable that they could refinance the home in the future into a fixed rate or into another adjustable but the values of the home are so low now that the house is no longer worth what the family owes on the home.

In response to these phone calls, I’m writing some information about what I’ve been reading and hopefully lend a helping hand for those still in need.

My first recommendation is to get prepared to contact your lender and ask for a loan modification. This website has a lender contact list for most lenders. You will need to bypass the first level customer service rep and reach out to the loss mitigation department, workout department or asset management department. You will also need to prepare some documents before you call.

Continue reading "Ideas and resources for preventing Las Vegas foreclosures" »

Posted June 17, 2008 2:21 PM by Casey Moseman | Permalink | Comments (0) | Email This

Many curious consumers are listening to news and reading headlines about the mixed messages being sent about home ownership and loans. For a typical first time home buyer all of this can be very confusing and many people don’t want to ask questions for fear of looking ignorant. I will try to sort through the mixture of reviews being heard in the Las Vegas valley concerning mortgages and explain what these opinions mean.

Most common headline #1: Las Vegas is ranked in the top 10 for foreclosures

It’s very scary for a new homeowner to enter into a purchase seeing what’s happening to other homeowners right now. New home buyers should know that steps are being implemented by our federal and local governments, by mortgage companies as well as secondary market investors so that this problem doesn’t happen again. Right now in the state of Nevada, a person without stellar credit cannot obtain a stated loan and still they are hard to come by WITH hefty down payment/equity requirements. Having that said, anyone approving you for a mortgage must review all your financials and prove that you can financially afford the home. Additionally folks are required to put down some money so they have some skin in the game as opposed to before when 100% financing was running amuck. With some skin in the game it would be much harder for the new homeowner to walk away from the investment.

Most common headline #2: Home appreciation is falling and homeowners are upside down

This is absolutely, 100%, without a doubt true. And what this translates to the first time home buyer is THIS IS A BUYERS MARKET. No one said a buyers market is a warm and fuzzy upside for everyone. It is a market advantageous to a buyer! On the opposite side of the coin someone is losing. That doesn’t mean that you are losing for picking up a home for less than its previous value. And you shouldn’t feel bad for purchasing a home for thousands of dollars less due to someone else’s hardships. People purchasing right now are helping our homes future appreciation by eating up the large supply of homes on the market. Someone really smart stated a pretty clear fact that made a lot of sense, “buy on bad news and sell good news.” Buy when the market is down or low and sell when the market is high or overpriced. Think of keeping your home long term. Don’t believe you can flip a home in this market. Appreciation will make gains again as historically they have shown us an average of 5% a year.

Continue reading "Las Vegas real estate: I hear the buzz on the street is it's a buyers market?" »

Posted May 28, 2008 10:10 AM by Casey Moseman | Permalink | Comments (0) | Email This

Stable Development, a Las Vegas-based real estate developer, has pioneered a model for business owners to build equity in commercial property. Instead of paying rent to a landlord, clients of Stable Development’s Shared Equity Program receive ownership in the building they occupy, essentially becoming their own landlord.

What’s unique about the Shared Equity Program is that it doesn’t require these new commercial property owners to make down payments or guarantee loans.

To further expand the development of the Shared Equity Program, Stable Development recently hired Michael Young and Ryan Gould as team members. Young and Gould will manage and raise awareness of the Shared Equity Program throughout the Las Vegas Valley and nationwide.

The latest example of Stable Development’s Shared Equity Program is Corporate Center at the Curve, next to the I-215 beltway at Sunset Road where a few dozen business owners have signed 10-year occupancy agreements in exchange for a portion of ownership in one of the eight Corporate Center at the Curve buildings.

Continue reading "Stable Development expands Shared Equity Program for building ownership in Las Vegas" »

Posted April 30, 2008 3:17 PM by Pete Codella, APR | Permalink | Comments (0) | Email This