Get Ready for Spring Cleaning

Spring is upon us, and it's time to dust off the old mop and get ready to do some deep cleaning. Don't worry - spring cleaning can be a fun and rewarding experience, if you approach it with the right mindset! See for yourself - with this post, I've included a list of tips to help you get the most out of your spring cleaning experience. I hope you find these special tips useful this spring. Remember to call or email me with any mortgage or real estate questions you may have, and remember to tell your friends about me! In addition, feel free to visit my Website at http://www.bryanlima.com/.

FIVE FUN AND EASY SPRING CLEANING TIPS

1. Dance while you dust: This is the perfect time to fully indulge your musical interests; break out the iPod or turn up the CD player, and you'll be singing along to your favorite tunes and won't find cleaning to be a chore at all.


2. Clear out the clutter: Take the opportunity to dig into the closets, storage spaces and, of course the garage. You've probably got a veritable treasure trove of old clutter that's just taking up space - now's the time for a yard sale. Turn that clutter into cash!


3. Room by room: Try to focus on just one room at a time, and try to complete one room each day. This will make the whole job seem more manageable, and you'll probably get things cleaned more thoroughly than if you tried to tackle the whole house at once.


4. Just a little more laundry: One of the things that we rarely attend to is the state of our draperies, shower curtains and rugs. Now is your chance: gather up every spare bit of linen in the house and have it laundered; you'll be surprised by how much brighter your home will look.


5. A room with a view: It's time to tackle those windows! Set aside a special day to give your windows a good scrubbing. Clean off any screens while you're at it: your home will literally sparkle once you're finished.

Maintenance Series:

7 Safety Tips for Your Home

Is now the right time to buy?

I'm sure there are many people asking the question, "Is now the right time to buy?". Nobody really knows for sure. However, there are some facts that you can look at to help evaluate whether or not now is the right time to buy. For one, mortgage rates are currently close to the lowest they've been in almost 50 years. In addition, home prices are low and probably close to the bottom. There may be a little more ways to go, but I think we're close. With the Spring homebuying season upon us, we may see an increase in sellers in the market, which will increase inventory and possible push home values even lower. Read more

According to Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, an economic recovery will not begin until next year. Read more

Along with low home prices and low mortgage rates, there's also the First-Time Homebuyer Tax Credit of up to $8,000. This is an additional benefit, especially for anyone that has not purchased a home in the past three years. I have an earlier post that goes into more detail about this program.

So we go back to the ultimate question, is now the right time to buy? My answer really doesn't have much to do with whether or not we've hit bottom or if we're even close to the bottom. I feel that if you can buy a home in the right location, below the current market value, with a mortgage rate currently at historic lows, then I believe it's the right time to buy.

If you're interested in purchasing a home, please feel free to contact me anytime for assistance. I will be happy to help you out. To receive a copy of my 27-page Buyer's Guide, click here.

Homeowner Affordability and Stability Plan - Part IV

I don't want to confuse anyone, but President Obama and his administration rolled out the "Making Home Affordable" Program today. As part of the roll out of this program, there is a website makinghomeaffordable.gov that went live to assist borrowers with refinancing or modifying their current mortgages. I'm not sure of the reason behind all these different names, but it's definitely very confusing to a lot of people out there. What you need to know is that a program exists to help current homeowners that are suffering some sort of hardship and are struggling to make their mortgage payments. Whether you've missed a payment or not, you may be eligible to refinance or modify your loan.

If you're still confused, don't worry because if you contact your lender to find out if you're eligible, there's a good chance they won't be able to provide you with an answer. It's going to take lenders some time to prepare for this program, if they even decide to participate. The Obama administration is asking borrowers to be patient with their lenders over the coming weeks. Read more

See below for related posts:

Homeowner Affordability and Stability Plan - Part III
Homeowner Affordability and Stability Plan - Part II
Homeowner Affordability and Stability Plan

Federal Reserve to Buy $300B in Treasurys

The Federal Reserve announced today that they would start to buy up $300 billion in long-term Treasurys over the next 6 months. In addition, they also announced that they are planning to buy another $750B in mortgage-backed securities. With these announcement we should see rates immediately come down and probably remain low over the next few months. If you're planning to refinance, now would probably be the time. Read more

These are definitely very aggressive steps by the Fed to immediately lower long-term interest rates and keep them low for some time. The timing is definitely right as we move into the spring and summer buying/selling season. Read more

If you're interested in refinancing or if you have someone that may be interested, I would be happy to help out. Please feel free to email me or give me a call today.

Homeowner Affordability and Stability Plan - Part III

It appears that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have decided to expand the type of properties available for the refinancing through the Homeowner Affordability and Stability Plan. This is great news for borrowers, especially current owners of second homes and multiple family (one to four units) dwellings. Originally, we heard that this program would only apply to owner-occupied primary residences.

The following article goes into more detail of the new rules of the program recently released by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to all participating lenders. Read more

See below for related posts:
Homeowner Affordability and Stability Plan - Part II
Homeowner Affordability and Stability Plan

Should you refinance your current mortgage now? Read more

Click here for current mortgage rates.

One of the COOLEST videos!

You're not going to believe this! Whether you're a Formula 1 racing fan or not, this video will definitely capture your attention. It starts with a couple die hard Lewis Hamilton fans that worked on a side project where they placed a bluetooth receiver in an RC car and controlled the car with a BlackBerry Storm cell phone. When Lewis Hamilton's F1 team caught wind of this, they recreated this process in a real Formula One race car. You have to see this to believe it! By the way, there are less than 15 days left before the official start of the Formula One racing season.

7 Safety Tips for Your Home

For all you current homeowners, this is my first post in my "maintenance series" of posts that I'm planning on blogging about over the next couple months. I hope you find this information helpful as you get settled in your new home. If you have any questions or need additional advice, remember that I'm just a phone call away.

When you first move into your new home it is a good idea to take care of a few small things that can make a big difference when it counts.

1. Change the locks on all your exterior doors. Unless your house is brand new you never know how many strangers may have a key to your front door.


2. Replace the batteries in all the smoke detectors in the house. Record the date in your calendar so you will remember to do the same thing next year!


3. Unless your heating/air units are new, have the vents and filters cleaned or replaced.


4. Create a fire-hazard plan with your family and conduct a practice drill with the children.
   
5. Replace or clean the exhaust hood filter above the range.


6. Check all your electric outlets for loose-fitting plugs, as these can pose a fire hazard. These outlets are inexpensive and fairly easy to replace.
   
7. Have the fireplace chimney cleaned. While you are at it go ahead and install a rain cap and a screen to keep the birds out of your chimney.

GOOG-411 - This is great!

I recently discovered a great new service brought to you by Google. If you're tired of paying to call 411, this is a perfect alternative. It's called GOOG-411 and it's free!

All you have to do is dial 1-800-GOOG-411 from you phone. For all you BlackBerry users it's 1-800-466-4411. You can access the service from a mobile phone or a land line. It's also voice activated, so you don't have to press any numbers on your keypad if your driving or busy doing something else. It's very simple, just say where you're looking and what you're looking for. The service will then connect you directly with the business you've selected.

To find out more about GOOG-411 and how simple it really is, click here.

Homeowner Affordability and Stability Plan - Part II

On March 4th, 2009, the Obama administration released detailed guidance on the Making Home Affordable Program.

Below are the key elements of the plan:

1. The Home Affordable Refinance Program. Under this program, eligible borrowers may refinance loans that Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac (the government sponsored enterprises, or GSEs) own or guarantee. The program can help homeowner-occupants who are current in making loan payments and have loan-to-value ratios (LTVs) above 80 percent but not more than 105 percent. Cash out refinancings are not permitted. The program ends in June 2010.

2. The Home Affordable Modification Program. This is a $75 billion program with lender, servicer, investor, and borrower incentives to make it work. The program is limited to homeowner-occupants who are at risk of default or already in default and who have loans at or below the maximum GSE conforming loan limit of $729,750 (or higher for 2-, 3-, and 4-unit properties). Loan modifications under the program may be made until December 31, 2012.

3. More Support for the GSEs. President Obama also announced more support for the GSEs, including doubling of potential Treasury investment from $100 billion to $200 billion for each GSE, to maintain their positive net worth. The plan also raises the cap on mortgages that the GSEs may hold in their portfolios by $50 billion to $900 billion.

For a more detailed summary of the program brought to you by the National Association of Realtors, click here.

Obama's plan was created to help millions of homeowners modify or refinance their current mortgages. To find out if you are eligible, click here. Once you land on the page, click on "FIND OUT IF YOU ARE ELIGIBLE".

Click here for some more details of the plan brought to you by Bankrate.com.

Homeowner Affordability and Stability Plan (HASP)

On February 18, 2009, President Obama announced his Homeowner Affordability and Stability Plan (HASP), designed to help up to 7-9 million families avoid foreclosure by restructuring or refinancing their mortgages. Click here for a summary of the new housing plan.

There are three main elements of the HASP:

1. GSE Refinancing for Responsible Homeowners Suffering from Falling Home Prices.
   
2. $75 Billion Homeowner Stability Initiative to Reach up to 3 to 4 Million At-Risk Homeowners


3. Supporting Low Mortgage Rates by Strengthening Confidence in Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac

Some of the highlights of the HASP are:

• Ability to refinance up to 105% of the loan-to-value (LTV)


• Government subsidized loan modification up to 150% LTV


• Uniform guidance for loan modifications


• Bankruptcy judges can modify loans
  

The HASP will help many people, but not all. Also, lenders will be provided with incentives to help, but they do not have to participate. Click here to read more.

The guidelines of the plan are expected to be finalized by March 4th. At that time, all the requirements should be defined. Below you will find additional information provided by the U.S. Department of the Treasury.

Executive Summary

Fact Sheet

Consumer Q&A

Housing Example Sheet