HARP 3 May Provide Refi Help For Non-GSE Mortgages Page 14
Volume 12
No. 2
GEORGIA REAL ESTATE REPORT
Today’s Reverse Mortgage A New Financial Tool
GRER
Less Government, Lower Taxes, More Freedom
Page 3
$2.00
July 2012
GA Spends $99 million in Foreclosure Atlanta Real Estate Recovery Hurt By Anemic Economy And Endless Flood Of Foreclosure Homes Funds on Rural Development By Guest Columnist KATE LITTLE, president of the Georgia State Trade Association of Nonprofit Developers
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n February of this year, the federal government and 49 of the 50 state attorneys general announced that they had reached a settlement regarding foreclosure fraud with the nation’s five major financial institutions: Ally Bank, Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase, Citi, and Wells Fargo. Known as the National Mortgage Settlement or NMS, the agreement calls for the big banks to provide an estimated “$25 billion in relief to distressed borrowers and direct payments to states and the federal government.” According to language in the settlement, the direct payments to states should “fund housing
counselors, provide legal aid, and other similar purposes determined by state attorneys general.” However, NMS does not contain any enforcement mechanisms, allowing some states the leeway to use the money for things entirely unrelated to housing and the foreclosure crisis. Georgia’s share of the settlement totaled nearly $99.4 million. According to Georgia’s Attorney General Sam Olens, the state’s Constitution requires such funds to be deposited in the general fund with the General Assembly responsible for determining how to allocate the See Foreclosure Funds page 12
Four Smart Moves for Right Now Your Credit Score Can Be Improved Sooner Than You Might Think
By John Adams
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f you are a homeowner, you’re probably wondering about the economy and when the housing market is going to begin a solid recovery. Most Americans believe that housing will recover sooner or later, but in the meantime, what can you do to better your own economy right where you are? As an owner of real estate, you have certain responsibilities year round, some are obvious, like mowing the lawn. Others will benefit you in the long run, but can be easy to postpone or
overlook altogether. That’s what we are talking about today. 1. TAKE COMMAND OF YOUR CREDIT NOW A huge number of Americans have taken a hit to their credit in the past several years. Now is a great time to face the music, see how much damage has been done, then start repairing it. If your score is above 780, you have the JOHN ADAMS seal of approval. Below 720, you need some work. Below 620, you need a lot of work. Get started at See Credit Score page 11
By John Adams
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ccording to the latest S&P CaseShiller numbers, housing prices in the 20 largest metro areas fell by 3.5 percent from February 2011 to February 2012. In the broad metro Atlanta region, however, the year-to-year price decline was 17.3 percent, posting the largest fall in the nation. The decline was twice that of Las Vegas, the second worst-performing metro region in the country. For most of this year, the Atlanta housing market has consistently showed weakening results in home prices and foreclosure reports, while similar national markets have begun to show
signs of stabilizing, if not rising, toward a full recovery. Georgia now holds the dubious honor of having the highest foreclosure rate in the country. It recently jumped ahead of more famously devastated states like Nevada and Florida. But the Atlanta mystery may not be so much about its decline, only the timing of it, according to local economists quoted in The Housing Wire: “So much of the local economy involved construction. But if you look See Endless Flood page 14
How To Beat A Low Appraisal When You Need A Higher Value Homework and Preparation Key To Success in Valuation
By John Adams
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n today’s slow real estate market, one of the biggest challenges facing your sale is the appraisal. Almost every buyer needs a loan in order to buy, and the lender won’t approve the loan if the property appraises for even one penny less than full contract price. In the Atlanta area, the flood of foreclosure sales has made estimating values very difficult, and as a result, low appraisals are the number one cause of unsuccessful contracts. An appraisal is an OPINION, not a FACT! Opinions can be influenced. BEFORE THE APPRAISAL IS ORDERED: 1. Have a JUSTIFIABLE TARGET VALUE in hand before you start. That
means you need to find 3 or 4 comparable sales from the past 6 to 12 months. Your See Low Appraisal page 12
Real Estate Reboot Seminar 2012 Saturday, July 21, 2012
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see page 16
9:00 a.m. til 3:30 p.m.