Ocwen Financial Will Reduce Your Loan if You Share Future Appreciation

Ocwen Financial Corp., a servicer of residential mortgages, launched a new loan modification program to reduce the principal on a mortgage for delinquent borrowers, but the borrowers must agree to let loan investors share in future appreciation of the home’s value when the market recovers.

Through the Shared Appreciation Modification program, Ocwen will write down the principal of the loan to 95 percent of the home’s current market value. The amount written down will then be forgiven in one-third increments over a three-year timespan, as long as the home owner remains current on the modified mortgage.

Then, “when the house is later sold or refinanced, the borrower must share 25 percent of the appreciation with the investors that own the loan; borrowers keep 75 percent of the gain,” the company notes.
Loan modifications will be available only to home owners in negative equity.

"Like all modifications, SAMs help home owners avoid foreclosure. But they also restore equity,” says Ocwen CEO Ronald Faris in a public statement about the program. “That's a significant benefit to the customer and, we believe, the economy and housing market. Psychologically, it's important too. Our analytics tell us that an underwater mortgage is one-and-a-half to two-times more likely to default than one with at least some positive equity.”

The program, which is expected to be rolled out into 33 states, is one of the first principal reduction programs started by a private company. 

How To Buy a Home Bellow Market Price

I don't advertise real estate specials or deals on black Friday, or other U.S holidays and we really should so I am going to let everyone in on a secret. There are thousnds of homes on the market in Los Angeles County right now and you can buy any of them for less than the asking price, just give me a call and I will leave the house and make it happen.  I will be near the phone all day.  You won't have to wait in a line and you can wait until after sunrise to make that offer.

Real estate really is the gift that keeps on giving and real estate sales are just as important to the economy as retail sales are.

Andre Plessis
Tel: 310-266-9463

7 Home Staging Tips To Sell Your Home Faster

Here’s some advice to help keep that budget down and get the home looking great:

1.    Ask for advice. Even if you don’t get a professional home stager, a second set of eyes from an experienced REALTOR, who has some knowledge about home staging will be invaluable, and could determine how much more and how fast you could be selling your home.

2.    Make breathing room. Moving things around doesn’t cost anything. Rooms that have a lot of furniture may look nice to you, but crowded to potential buyers. Spacing things out makes a room look bigger, and lets buyers mentally fill in the gaps with their own furniture.

3.    Be sparse, not Spartan. Perhaps worse than clutter is nothing at all. An empty room is not going to excite anyone, and it will draw more attention to the condition of the walls, floor, and ceiling. Think of a pleasant-looking room that could appeal to potential buyers: There are simple decorations that catch your eye, and that are spaced out. Flowers, pot-pourris or fruit baskets will look nice.

4.    Minimize personal stuff. In the bathroom and kitchen, clear the countertops and of excessive, kitchen equipment,  bottles, brushes, and cosmetics and use simple, color-coordinated towels. Take down personal photos, including off the fridge (magnets too). Pack up the knick-knacks scattered across the shelves and dressers. You don’t necessarily need to rent a storage unit for all this: You can keep it in the garage, as long as it’s tidy.

5.    Make things shine. Polish furniture. Clean windows, fixtures, doorknobs, fans, and lights. This is simple and cheap but makes a huge visual difference.

6.    Think twice about big customizations. Replacing the carpet or repainting may seem logical, but not everybody has the same taste and the buyer may want to change things again anyway. You should consider a change if age or crazy style are issues. If you do, go for simple, neutral colors.

7.    Create curb appeal. First impressions matter most. Potential buyers will drive by your house first. If they do not like the outside, they have no reason to go inside. Clear out the tools and junk, keep the lawn clean, and trim the hedges. Add fresh flowers. Fresh mulch may spruce things up cheaply, and if you don’t want to paint the whole house, paint the trim, front door, and shutters. If it’s within your budget, you could hire professional landscapers.

How to Use Your Smartphone as a Weapon

4 Safety Mobile Apps You Need

Real estate safety expert and trainer Tracey Hawkins with Safety and Security Source noticed in the real estate safety classes she teaches that practically all of the agents had smartphones lying out in front of them. That’s when she realized that the device that most real estate professionals already carry can become one of their greatest safety aids when meeting with clients and showing homes. Hawkins, a former real estate professional herself, began to research safety apps and came up with a list of her top four picks that she feels are must-haves for anyone working in real estate.

Moby
www.mymoby.com
Devices: BlackBerry, iPhone, and Android (coming soon)
Cost: Free, premium plans available ($9.95 per month/$99.94 per year)
Hawkins chooses the Moby app as one of her top picks because of its check-in feature that could be beneficial to real estate professionals at open houses and showings. The app will send messages at predetermined times that ask “Are you OK?” If two questions go unanswered, the app will automatically notify the contacts you select that you failed to respond and provide your GPS location, which it gathers automatically from your smartphone.
Some of the app’s other features:

• Tracking tool: You can selectively reveal your location to certain contacts. The app can be set to send your GPS location periodically to whomever you choose and keep others up-to-date while you’re on the go. You can also leave notes to your contacts, such as “on my way to a vacant property” or “a bit nervous around this new client.”
• Alert tool: With one touch of a button, you’ll be able to alert your contacts or emergency personnel if you need help. The alert will automatically include your GPS location.

A stepped-up premium plan is available ($9.95 per month/$99.95 per year) that can be used to send your alerts to not only your contacts but also a 24/7 security monitoring system. The monitoring system can determine the appropriate emergency services needed and dispatch police, ambulance, or fire responders using your exact GPS location from your phone.
* On iPhone, find Moby by searching “Moby by Contigo” in the iTunes app store.

Real Alert
For iPhone: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/real-alert/id436455476?mt=8
For Android: https://market.android.com/details?id=com.realalert.android
Devices: iPhone and Android
Cost: $1.99
Jones’ app has gotten lots of buzz lately within the industry from REALTOR® associations and practitioners inquiring about it since it debuted late in May. The app allows you to quickly alert your emergency contacts or police when you feel threatened as well as discreetly record “creep data,” key details about suspicious people you encounter.
The app features:

• A quick tap — one-button push — to speed dial and alert your emergency contacts when you need help.
• A quick-tap button (double tap in this case to avoid accidental calls) to instantly call 911.
• The ability to record “creep data,” which allows you to detail physical descriptions, vehicle information, and other important information for police. You can also record audio details or even take a photo.
• Retrieve the location of nearby hospitals by using your GPS location.
• A quick-tap button to sound an alarm to ward off potential attackers. (The volume will depend on the sound setting on your phone.)
• The ability to turn your smartphone into a flashlight.

SafeTREC
http://safetrec.com
Devices: Most mobile devices
Cost: Free limited plan; full-featured plan $9.95 per month
With this app, whenever you feel in danger, you can press a panic button on your phone that instantly alerts others that you need help. E-mail and text messages then will be sent to your emergency contacts, along with your precise location using your phone’s GPS technology. The paid version of this app will also send the message to a 24/7 live conference call help center, which will contact emergency responders if necessary.
The paid version of this app also features an “Emergency Safety Profile” that is sent with your messages. This profile can provide critical details of your emergency situation to responders, such as your location, suspect information, and your one-hour location history. You also can upload images, sounds, and video to the profile to provide responders with extra details. The profile also includes your medical information, such as allergies, blood type, and your physical description (along with your photo).

IcePics
http://www.icepics.com
Device: iPhone
Cost: $2.99
Take a photo of a suspicious person with just one press of a button and have it e-mailed instantly to your emergency contacts, along with your location information — you can even do it without that person ever knowing. IcePics (In Case of Emergency Pictures) is an iPhone app that makes your camera instantly accessible via an icon on the front screen of your phone. You can snap a photo discreetly too: Hold the phone to your ear and pretend you’re making a phone call but tilt the phone toward the person to take the photo — the photo is taken without a click sound and is instantly sent to your emergency contacts, without making any noise.
The e-mail to your emergency contacts will include the photo as well as your GPS coordinates and a link to a Google map so your contacts can pinpoint the precise location at which the photo was taken.

Help on the Way for Underwater Home Owners

A bill introduced in the Senate aims to remove barriers for underwater home owners looking to refinance. “The Helping Responsible Homeowners Act” would order Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to waive fees and remove barriers that are keeping underwater borrowers from refinancing to lower mortgage rates.

The bill, authored by Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., has gained more momentum in Congress after Sen. Johnny Isakson, R-Ga., who ran one of the nation’s largest real estate brokerages, also signed on to sponsor it.

“The time to help struggling home owners is now while interest rates remain at near-historic lows,” Boxer says. “This legislation would help millions of responsible home owners who are making their payments, but are still struggling to make ends meet. By helping these home owners refinance at lower rates, we will put thousands of dollars back in the pockets of families and strengthen our economy.”

Secrets To Getting a Mortgage Even With Bad Credit

Getting a mortgage can be tough these days, even people with near-perfect credit have been rejected for loans. But for some lucky borrowers, things aren't so bad.

At a recent press conference, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said lending standards for mortgages have tightened so considerably that "the bottom third of people who might have qualified for a prime mortgage in terms of, say, FICO scores a few years ago, cannot qualify today."

one-in-four mortgage applicants was denied in 2010, up from about 18% in 2003, according to data from the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council. And those are just the ones that apply, many discouraged potential borrowers don't even bother to apply anymore.  Yet, there is money to lend.

Most of the major mortgage underwriters have only returned to the more prudent standards of the days before the housing bubble. Now, according to Tuck Bradford, a branch manager with lender Mortgage Master, borrowers usually must meet four criteria in order to get a mortgage backed by Fannie Mae (FNMA, Fortune 500) or Freddie Mac (FMCC, Fortune 500), the two government-run mortgage giants:

• The ability to make a 20% down payment, plus closing costs.
• A good credit score. Borrowers usually need a minimum credit score of 620.
• Enough income to afford payments. The general rule of thumb: no more than 28% of your gross income should go toward housing costs.
• A loan-to-value ratio of 80%. Lenders want the home value to far exceed the mortgage balance because if a borrower defaults, the bank sells the home to recoup the loss.

In today's market, however, even having all four of these factors in place doesn't always guarantee that you will get a loan. But, for every client who gets rejected, there are those who have been much luckier at landing mortgage loans. And typically, they have turned to the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) for help.

Standards for these loans, insured by the FHA and issued by regular mortgage lenders, are flexible and aimed at making mortgage borrowing easier, especially for working-class Americans.
For years, the FHA had no minimum credit score requirement at all. Now though, it requires a minimum of 580 credit score to qualify for a 3.5% down-payment and 500 credit score for a 10% down-payment.

FHA is willing to overlook a blemish on a credit report, even a big one,  if other factors are favorable.
Do you have problem getting a loan, even though you have perfect credit? GO FHA!

Andre Plessis, REALTOR & Financial Educator
Los Angeles, CA
http://www.wealthcreationteam.net/

Are You Owed Money?

According to the National Association of Unclaimed Property Administrators, state treasurers currently hold $32.9 billion in unclaimed bank accounts and other assets. (You can search for unclaimed assets at MissingMoney.com .)

If your heirs don't know about these accounts, they won't be able to lay claim to them, and the money could languish. The U.S. Department of Labor estimates that each year tens of thousands of workers fail to claim or roll over $850 million in 401(k) assets. You can track unclaimed pensions, 401(k)s and IRAs at Unclaimed.com.