As part of  the Obama administation's $75 billion foreclosure relief effort, the treasury department is planning to rate mortage companies. The July report will include measurements on how each company is handling borrowers. More than 100 companies participate in the program, which is designed to help up to 4 million borrowers avoid foreclosure, however many companies are not responding to the needs of responsible and increasingly desperate homeowners.  

The program is designed to lower borrowers' monthly payments by reducing mortgage rates, and extending loan terms to as long as 40 years. Mortgage companies get taxpayer incentives to reduce borrowers' monthly payments. Homeowners have to complete at least three months of payments to qualify for permanent loan modifications.

If mortgage companies dont comply with the program's rules incentives will be withheld and the government will demand repayment.

Around 231,000 homeowners have completed this process so far, about 20 percent of the 1.2 million borrowers who started the program over the past year and the number of dropouts is rising.

There are a number of government programs available to provide you with solutions. See which program below matches your situation best, and then take the survey to see if you are eligible.

Take action, find out more about your options and learn if you are eligible. If your situation is urgent, or you have further questions, feel free to contact me.

Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternatives (HAFA)   · Is your mortgage currently unaffordable,    or will it be in the near future? · Even with adjusted payment plans?	Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP)   · Are you struggling to make mortgage    payments? · Could lowered mortgage interest rates    possibly make your mortgage affordable?
Home Affordable Refinance Program (HARP) · Are you making your mortgage payments    on time? · Still trying to refinance your mortgage to    a more affordable level?	Second Lien Modification Program (2MP) · Has your first mortgage been modified    under the Home Affordable Modification    Program (HAMP)? · Are you still struggling with payments due    to a second lien?

This week multiple sources have reported a rise in pending home sales for the month of March in Washington State. Many report the spike is due to homebuyers rushing to make deals before the  April 30 deadline. Local agents say there's been absolutely no talk that the tax-credit programs will be extended one more time.

The most active areas in Kitsap County with home deals pending are West Bremerton, with 127 deals in pending status since the first of the year. Bainbridge Island holds the No. 2 spot with 110 prospective deals, followed by South Kitsap west of Highway 16, with 99 pending home sales.

Our own Penny McLaughlin was quoted several times in a Kitsap Sun article printed April 5, 2010

Click Here to read the entire article!

Northwest Multiple Listing Service members reported 8,605 pending sales during March a 51% jump over the same month a year ago. Members added 12,994 new listings to the system last month and closed sales had a gain of 1,590 a 47% increase. However, prices for March closed sales of single family homes and condominiums were down about 2% from this time last year.

Congress has acknowledged the unique circumstances affecting members of the military, the foreign service and the intelligence community by making the following exceptions that apply to both the $8,000 tax credit for first-time home buyers and the $6,500 tax credit for repeat home buyers.

• Typically, homes that are sold or that cease to be used as a principal residence within three years of the initial purchase are subject to recapture of the tax credit.
• However, qualified service members who sell or move from a tax credit home within three years of the initial purchase due to official extended duty are exempt from the recapture rule.

• The home buyer tax credit is available for qualified purchases with a binding sales contract in place on or before April 30, 2010 and closed by June 30, 2010.
• However, for qualified service members who are ordered on a period of official extended duty, these dates are extended for one year. For these home buyers, the tax credit applies to sales with a binding sales contract in place on or before April 30, 2011 and closed by June 30, 2011.
• A person who is forced to return to the U.S. for medical reasons before completing an assignment of at least 90 days of qualified official extended duty outside of the United States may qualify for the one-year extension.

• “Qualified service member” means a member of the uniformed services of the U.S military, a member of the Foreign Service of the U.S., or an employee of the intelligence community.
• “Official extended duty” means any period of extended duty outside of the United States for at least 90 days during the period beginning after December 31, 2008 and ending before May 1, 2010.

This Information was provided from the National Association of Home Builders

http://www.federalhousingtaxcredit.com/service_mem.php

The government's Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternatives Program is here...and you need an advocate.

You may have heard it before, but now its taking effect: our federal government is actively trying to combat the millions of foreclosures happening across the country. To address this need for new options, an initiative is in effect called the Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternatives Program, or HAFA. While the details of what this means to the government, lenders, servicers and agents are complicated, you-the homeowner-need to clearly understand the new solutions available to you.

This report provides a straightforward explanation of HAFA and, more importantly, what it means to you.

Click Here For Your Free Report Today!