News that may help Chelmsford, Lowell, MA Home buyers from Christina Lazrak

Sunset over Waikiki !

Real Estate Sentiment

Nearly half of consumers polled in Fannie Mae’s National Housing Survey in March expect higher rental prices in the year ahead. And 33% expect home prices to rise in the year, the highest percentage recorded in more than a year. Forty-four percent think their personal finances will get better over the next year.

As a result, 73% of the 1,000 Americans polled think it’s a good time to buy a home. More from Marketwatch.

Ron Peltier, the executive building Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (BRK/A)’s real-estate brokerage by acquisitions, said he expects a rebound in U.S. home sales as banks liquidate seized properties after settling foreclosure-misconduct claims. From Bloomberg

Home Loans

Potential buyers in the Chelmsford, Lowell, Tewksbury, MA area, please contact me if you need assistance on your FICO scores.  Home loans closed by banks and mortgage lenders in February had borrowers with a credit score of 750, up from 740 six months earlier, and an average loan-to-value ratio of 76%. The average denied loan had a credit score of 699 and a loan-to-value ratio of 83%. Story from WSJ

Home Builders

KB Home (KBH) slashes its quarterly dividend to $0.025/share from $0.0625. This cuts the yield on the stock from nearly 3% to 1.2%. 

Foreclosures

The number of foreclosure filings in the USA is continuing to fall, dropping 16% year-on-year in Q1 according the latest numbers from market monitoring service RealtyTrac. “There are hairline cracks in the dam, evident in the sizable foreclosure activity increases in judicial foreclosure states over the past several months, along with an increase in foreclosure starts in many judicial and non-judicial states in March.”

“The dam may not burst in the next 30 to 45 days, but it will eventually burst, and everyone downstream should be prepared for that to happen—both in terms of new foreclosure activity and new short sale activity.” The five states posting the largest monthly increases in foreclosure starts are:

1. Nevada: Up 153%

2. Utah: Up 103%

3. New Jersey: Up 73%

4. Maryland: Up 53%

5. North Carolina: Up 47%

Realtor Christina Lazrak - Suggestions for Home Loans Lowell, Chelmsford, MA residents.

Here are some great suggestions for Lowell or Chelmsford homeowners on creating a perfect loan file for refinancing or your first home purchase:

Is assembling the loan file becoming a challenge?

 Here is the secret to the perfect loan :


it’s one that (a) pays back the lender and (b) pays back the lender on time. Underwriting the perfect loan is not the goal that mortgage lenders aspire to today.
The real goal is the perfect loan file! For more on this article from Mark Greene of Forbes Magazine - the perfect Loan File

For help finding a responsive and responsible loan consultant in Lowell or Chelmsford area, or listing or finding your home, contact Christina Lazrak  RE/MAX New England

Realtor Christina Lazrak Interview with LOWELL,MA WCAP 980 AM

Cool Logo WCAP !
Doing my bit here to fuel Empowering women in Business !
Full Interview : 980AM WCAP Lowell

Christina Lazrak on National Mortgage Settlement - News for homeowners Chelmsford, Lowell MA

The Basics : The $25 billion in funds will be dispersed as follows:

$17 Billion National Commitment to Foreclosure Relief Efforts
The servicers collectively agree to commit a minimum of $17 billion directly to borrowers through foreclosure relief effort options, including principal reduction for qualifying borrowers, short sales, anti-blight measures, and enhanced homeowner transition programs.

$3 Billion National Commitment to Underwater Mortgage Refinancing Program
The servicers collectively agree to commit $3 billion to refinance “underwater” homes (when a homeowner owes more on a mortgage than a home’s current market value). To qualify, borrowers must be current on their mortgage payments on a mortgage owned by one of the five banks.

$5 Billion Payment to States and Federal Government
The servicers’ $4.25 billion payment to the states includes $1.5 billion for payments to borrowers who lost their home to foreclosure by one of the five servicers…$750 million of the state-federal payment will go to the federal government to resolve federal claims.

More from the FEDS here

Christina Lazrak - Home Affordable Refinance Program (HARP) - Lowell,Chelmsford MA Residents Take Notice!!

I have very responsive and responsible contacts among the HARP lending community in Massachussets, if you need assistance contact Christina Lazrak Realtor REMAX Prestige

Lenders are now offering loans under the expanded Home Affordable Refinance Program, and qualified borrowers can shop around; they are no longer limited to refinancing with the company servicing their existing loan.  The basic requirements are :

1. a source of income, 
2. be current on your payments and 
3. have a loan that was purchased by Fannie or Freddie before June 1, 2009. 
4. Your loan balance must be at least 80 percent of your home's value but there is no upper limit. If you already refinanced under Harp, you are ineligible.

Massachusetts Link
Harp 2 mortgage-refinance program

Heads up Chelmsford, Lowell MA Homeowners - on Foreclosures - Christina Lazrak

Homes stockpiled less than a year sell for about 35 percent below the value set by lenders, according to a March 15 report by the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland. At two years, the loss is close to 60 percent. A surge of cheap foreclosures may erode prices in the broader real estate market, even as the economy expands and residential building increases, said Karl Case, one of the creators of the S&P/Case-Shiller home-price index.

Foreclosures returning to market may find value eroded | The Journal Gazette

Contact Christina Lazrak

Hello Harvard - chinese students to US ?

An overwhelming majority of China's wealthiest want to send their children to foreign universities, and the United States is their first choice. Ninety percent of the country's richest people have plans to send their children abroad to study, according to an independent study released by China's Industrial Bank and Hurun Report.

Their Chinese Luxury Consumer White Paper 2012 reports 90 percent of Chinese individuals with assets of more than ¥100 million (over $16 million) plan to send their children abroad, while 85 percent of Chinese with assets equivalent to at least $1 million said they would send their children overseas for education.

90 Percent Of China’s Super-Rich Want To Send Children Abroad - International Business Times