http://www.appraisersinbatonrouge.com/ - Baton Rouge Foreclosures and Delinquencies Up In October 2009

Baton Rouge Business Report and First Core Logic are reporting an increase in foreclosures and delinquencies in the Greater Baton Rouge market as of October 2009. The article is located here and here’s a snippet:

“The rate of foreclosures in metro Baton Rouge increased by half a percentage point in October, when compared with the year before. According to First American CoreLogic, which tracks real estate data, the rate of outstanding mortgage loans that were foreclosed upon in October was 1.71%, compared with 1.21% in October 2008. Despite the increase, that’s lower than the national average of 3.02%. The number of homeowners who were behind on their mortgage payments was also up. First Americans says 3.58% of Capital Region mortgages in October 2008 were 90 days or more delinquent, compared with 5.31% this year. That’s also better than the national average, where 7.7% of mortgages are three months or more past due. In October 2008, 4.54% of U.S. mortgages were delinquent.”

Bill Cobb, Appraiser, Commentary:

“This concurs with what I’ve been seeing in this local market since August 2008 where I’ve been seeing more “shadow inventory” than is being reported. Although the problem isn’t that bad as compared to some parts of the U.S., I’ve been wondering when the news would catch up with the reality of the local market.

Another issue that makes it much more difficult for appraisers to truly know the state of foreclosures in a market is here is the new foreclosure market and the way banks dispose of or don’t dispose of REOs. It’s stated here that a recent article (The Landmines Within by Michael Tarabotto http://activerain.com/blogsview/930436/The-Landmines-Within ) stated that as much as 70% of REOs never make it into the MLS – Meaning that it might be impossible to know or state the exact # of competing REOs if they’re not being listed. It’s also very difficult in our local GBRAR MLS to track short sales because both our local MLS doesn’t have a box that states the listing is a short sale and sometimes short sales aren’t reported as short sales on the MLS Sheets.”

http://www.batonrougerealestateappraisal.com/ - Baton Rouge FHA Appraisers Report: Is FHA Baton Rouge Condo Financing Evaporating?

Housingwire.com is reporting that FHA Condo Financing May Be Evaporating! Read the article here! Here’s a snippet:

“In a letter to lenders, the Federal Housing Agency (FHA) produced new guidelines that would constrict financing for condominiums. Since then, brokers and condo owners report that FHA financing for condos is going from a flood to a trickle.

In a letter released Nov. 6, the FHA provided temporary guidance effective for all case numbers assigned on or after Dec. 7, 2009 through Dec. 31, 2009. The FHA provided the letter to address current housing market conditions.

The spot approval process will be eliminated for all case numbers on or after Feb. 1, 2010 under the new guidelines. The FHA created the process, allowing consumers to purchase a unit in a non-approved condominium project that has limited FHA involvement.”

http://www.batonrougerealestateappraisal.com/ – FHA Appraisers Baton Rouge Report: FHA Loan Limits to Remain Same Through 2010

FHALoanPros.com is reporting that FHA Loan Limits To Remain Same Through 2010. The article link is here. Here’s a snippet from the article:

“Current loan limits for FHA home loanshave been extended through the end of 2010. This move is expected to help ailing US housing markets by extending the availability of FHA loans to homebuyers and homeowners in higher priced markets. FHA loan limits are based on 125 percent of local median home value, and vary by location. With the demise of sub prime lending, FHA plays a significant role in providing home loans for borrowers who cannot meet conventional mortgage lending requirements. Challenges can include:

Moderate income: FHA allows higher housing expense to income (31 percent) and debt to income (43 percent) ratios than conventional mortgage lenders. Thee ratios, sometimes called front-end and back-end ratios, are determined by dividing borrowers’ estimated housing expenses by gross income, and dividing total installment debts by gross income. FHA also allows non-resident co-borrowers (such as parents) to sign as co-borrowers for primary borrowers needing income assistance. FHA guidelines are generally more lenient than conventional lending requirements.”

http://www.appraisersinbatonrouge.com/ - New FHA Appraisers Baton Rouge Louisiana Blog Launched

Bill Cobb, with Accurate Valuations Group, has launched “FHA Appraisers Baton Rouge Louisiana” blog. The “About” page of this blog says,

Thank you for visiting the “FHA Appraisers In East Baton Rouge Louisiana Blog”. This is a Baton Rouge FHA Real Estate Appraiser Blog Site of Bill Cobb, CREA, of Accurate Valuations Group!

Blog topics include local real estate market trends, appraisal-related issues, SMART Charting or Graphs documenting trends, ”photos from the field”, local interests, and anything Bill finds interesting – people, neighborhoods, coffee and events.

Bill Cobb, CREA is a real estate appraiser based in the Baton Rouge Market. He covers multiple Parishes (or Counties) in the Greater Baton Rouge Region and works for brokers, banks, governmental agencies, Real Estate Agents, attorneys, home owners, insurance agents and more. Beyond the appraisal business, Bill’s passions include building Online Video Business Cards, WordPress CMS Sites (Blogs), WordPress Video Sales Letters For Local Businesses, Embedding Video onto websites and blogs, building affiliate marketing campaigns, building the “BIG 3 In Social Media (Twitter, YouTube & Facebook”, shooting real estate videos for the Greater Baton Rouge Realty Visual Tours site, reading, local First Pentecostal Church, and spending time with family and friends. Vacations For Bill Are Behind A Computer Building Online Marketing Campaigns!

P.O. Box 40515
Baton Rouge, LA 70835
TEL: 225-293-1500
MOBILE: 225-953-0638
TOLL FREE: 1-888-678-3544
FAX: 1-866-663-6065
STAFF EMAIL: fastvalue2@cox.net
http://www.accuratevg.com

SOCIALLY:

Facebook: http://bit.ly/E0rsl

Twitter: http://twitter.com/billcobbsuccess

YouTube Channel: http://www.youtube.com/batonrougeappraiser

http://www.fhaappraisersbatonrouge.com/ – Mary Thompson, GA Appraiser, Outlines FHA’s Move Towards HVCC Appraisal Rules….Get Ready For More Change!

Mary Thompson, Flowery Branch, GA, issued a post on Active Rain this morning that outlines the changes in FHA Appraisal Policy…..AND, it includes some Good News for FHA Appraisers regarding FEES! The link to the post is here. Here’s the outline of the

1. Good news for appraisers, the AMC’s who normally pay CUT rate fees and who care less about quality appraisal reports and experienced appraisers and more about making money, must pay appraisers based upon normal market rates for completing FHA assignments. However the borrower will wind up paying more for FHA loans as the appraisal fees will be even higher….at least this is my take on the situation as the AMC’s will jack up their prices to the banks to pay the appraisers what they should and to make profit for themselves as well.

2. Mortgage Brokers will no longer be ordering appraisal reports. So this repsonsibility will go to the Banks or the AMC’s.

3. Appraisal reports will only be good for 4 months rather than 6 months.

4. Good NEWS: FHA will allow appraisal reports to be transferred to another lender rather than having another appraisal report completed.

5. The only way another appraisal report can be completed if someone does not agree with value is the report will have to be flawed in some way and it will have to be proved that flaws exist in the report

6. No one can talk to appraisers about value issues. REALTORS, you can still give Appraisers comparable sales data, that is NOT prohibited, you just cannot talk to them about value. The banks and AMC’s can discuss particulars of the assignment, but no one can pressure an appraiser for value PERIOD!

7. As of October 1st only CERTIFIED Appraisers can complete FHA appraisal assignments.

8. FHA will require that the appraiser is knowledgeable in the area that they appraise. So if you find an appraiser coming from way out of the area to do an appraisal, this would be one reason to suspect the accuracy of the report. This has ALWAYS been required of appraisers as part of USPAP ( Competency RULE) but many appraisers would take the job no matter where it was and this is not good, if they have no clue about the area.

9. Banks will be liable for the loans they underwrite, not brokers, so there may be more FHA brokers coming from the picture.

To read more about it click here for the full story:

http://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/09182009_drastic_fha_guideline_changes.asp

Pass this along, this WILL affect your business as of JANUARY 2010.