What does the 2010 Census mean for AZ?

February 8, 2010

Every 10 years the US Census is sent out to count to count the number of people in the US. The 2010 US Census is due to arrive in your mailbox in March.
Why is it important to fill out the Census? It is no secret that we have experienced severe budget cuts to programs due to lack [...]

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New Short Sale Seller Advisory in Arizona

February 5, 2010

As further evidence that Short Sales are not going away anytime soon in Arizona, the Arizona Association of Realtors (AAR) and the Arizona Department of Real Estate have created a Short Sale Seller Advisory.
The Short Sale Seller Advisory is five pages long. It is intended to be used to educate sellers about the different issues and the [...]

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Homeowner’s Survival Event Saturday, March 20, 2010 10am-4pm

January 29, 2010

I received an e-mail from Sandra DiCosmo, Account Manager, with First American Title  to notify me and spread the word about an upcoming event,  “The Homeowner’s Survival Event”. 
This event is intended to educate distressed homeowners about their options and to provide assistance to them. This event will NOT be used as an opportunity to promote [...]

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First Time Home Buyer & Move-Up/Repeat Home Buyer Tax Credit Outlined

January 29, 2010

Still thinking about taking advantage of the First-time Buyer and Move-Up/Repeat Buyer tax credit? If so, an outline of the terms and conditions that need to be met to qualify can be found here.
$8,000 First-time Home Buyer Tax Credit at a Glance

The $8,000 tax credit is for first-time home buyers only. For the tax credit [...]

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Typical Counter Offer to Buyer’s Short Sale Offer

January 25, 2010

Lately I have been working with buyer’s that are looking at Short Sales, as a result, a lot of my recent posts have focused on this topic. Today will be more of the same!
I am starting to see more and more short sale listing agents respond to buyers offers with a counter offer asking the buyer to [...]

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HUD Announces Changes to FHA Today

January 20, 2010

Earlier this week I reported that HUD would be making changes to FHA. Here is the HUD press release outlining the changes.
WASHINGTON – Federal Housing Administration (FHA) Commissioner David Stevens today announced a set of policy changes to strengthen the FHA’s capital reserves, while enabling the agency to continue to fulfill its mission to provide access [...]

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Household Tip: Use Your Ceiling Fan to Stay Warm

January 20, 2010

Reverse the switch on your ceiling fan to run counterclockwise (reverse; this looks clockwise as you are looking up). This will redirect the warm air from the ceiling and down the walls and into the living space. Run the fan at a low speed so that you don’t actually cool the warm air that you [...]

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Additional Changes Planned for FHA

January 19, 2010

This week FHA will announce major changes to ensure its long term financial soundness. FHA is trying to balance three fundamental objectives: 1) financial soundness – ensuring that its capital ratio returns above 2 percent, 2) fulfilling its mission of serving borrowers not adequately served by the private sector and 3) facilitating the recovery of [...]

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New Good Faith Estimate and HUD-1

January 18, 2010

In my “What Is RESPA” blog post I mentioned that the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) was implementing significant revisions to the Good Faith Estimate (GFE) and the HUD Settlement Statement (HUD-1) in order to provide borrowers with greater transparency when comparing settlement charges at closing and to make it easier for borrowers [...]

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FHA lifts 90 days Seasoning Rule

January 17, 2010

On Friday, January 15th, 2010, the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced that they are lifting the 90 days seasoning rule in order to “stabilize home values and improve conditions in communities where foreclosure activity is high. The waiver will take effect on February 1, 2010 and is effective for one year, unless otherwise [...]

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