Foreclosure Alternatives for Minneapolis Homeowners
For many Minneapolis home owners, this is a tough time. We are experiencing significant volatility in the mortgage arena. The guidelines by which a mortgage may be obtained are much tighter. Actually, the guidelines are back to where they were 15-20 years ago. You actually have to prove you can be a responsible home owner. The paradigm shift that occurred in the early part of the decade, to render anyone who can fog a mirror qualified to be mortgagor (meaning the person who obtains a mortgage and makes the payments toward total ownership) is now shifting back to those who have a proven track record of on time payments and make enough money to pay their bills.
There were people who met such guidelines when they obtained their mortgages, even in the free-for-all days. But, many have now fallen on a hardship of some kind. For example job loss, health crises, divorce, death of a spouse, business failure can all be life changing events that render the Minneapolis home owner unable to honor their commitment to make their housing payments as originally agreed upon. If that happens, the homeowner needs to find alternatives.
There is help available. The new programs that will go in to effect on April 5 have provisions to assist homeowners who are experiencing a genuine hardship. There are many provisions for assistance to forestall the sheriff’s sale until a short sale can be achieved and stricter guidelines that will bring pressure to bear on the banks to provide answers quicker in order to facilitate the short sales to go through. The new program, HAFA, stands for Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternatives, was developed last November and the new guidelines will go in to effect April 5, 2010. Check out the information to see what might help you or someone you love.
Susan Hofflander is a seasoned real estate professional, providing real estate consultations for home buyers and sellers in the Twin Cities since 1994. Susan specializes in homes for sale in Lake Calhoun/Lake Harriet, Minneapolis, Plymouth, MN, Minneapolis Western Suburban Cities and Downtown Minneapolis Lofts.
Well, it’s about time we have some good news in the housing market. The S&P/Case-Shiller home price index reports home price increases in 17 of the 20 most watched housing markets. Topping the list, MINNEAPOLIS HOMES FOR SALE! Minneapolis housing market saw a 3.2% increase, more than any other of the most watched housing markets nationwide. Still declining, Las Vegas, Charlotte and Cleveland.
Volatility is still the name of the game when it comes to assessing what’s going on in the housing market, nation wide and right here at home. When I look at the number of sales that have increased steadily for 8 months, I’m encouraged to know that we are making progress. That means we are able to sell the inventory that’s out there to allow for a more even market. And, while housing prices are up for the 4th month in a row, we are still a good 20-30% less than prices at the height of the market 4-5 years ago. Most of the sales occurring are in the $200K and under price category. I view these numbers with cautious optimism. If we experience another wave of foreclosures in the spring, as has been predicted, we could see another dip in prices.
When entering in to the real estate arena, there are so many terms thrown around, it can almost feel like another language. It can be very ostracizing to hear lots of language and anagrams that make no sense to you! It’s part of the function of real estate agents to become an educator for their client. And, part of that education includes familiarizing clients with the terms they with which they will inevitably be introduced.
