Saturday, September 18, 2010

Open houses excuses to snoop and mooch http://ow.ly/2Gefn

Saturday, September 11, 2010

5.2% Rise in Pending Home Sales

The number of existing homes increased in the month of July. The National Association of Realtors said its seasonally adjusted index rose 5.2 percent from a month earlier to a reading of 79.4. Economists surveyed by Thomson Reuters had expected the index would fall to 74.9. The sales report was driven by a nearly 12 percent jump in the West and a more than 6 percent increase in the Northeast. Sales were up 4 percent in the Midwest and about 1 percent in the South.

Even-though mortgage rates are at or near the lowest level in many years, the economy remains weak. In addition, many home-buyers continue to be scared away by the possibility that home prices could experience a downward turn again — something that most analysts expect.

Colombia The Rising Star of South America

The Republic of Colombia located in the northwestern region of South America. It is the second largest country in South American after Brazil and the fourth largest in Latin America in economic terms. Bogotá is the capital and the official language is Spanish. Official data reveal that around 46% of the population has been estimated to live below poverty line, with about 17% classified as extremely poor.

However, the recent economic growth of this country has been quite impressive. Colombia's growth rate has been among the highest in Latin American countries. One of the most discouraging facts has been the wars between the government and the cocaine warlords. For the tranquility of the foreign investors the situation has improved tremendously over the last decade. I personally have been living in Colombia for the last three years and have found the country enchanting, the people welcoming and the opportunities are all over. Here are a couple facts about Colombia that you may find to your interest and should take into consideration in your decision to invest in this country:

* In 2006, Lonely Planet ranked Colombia among the top ten tourist destinations in the world.
* The ecotourism industry has been thriving enormously in recent times, providing indirect boost to the Colombian real estate market development and international real estate investment in Colombia.
* Colombia’s peso is one of the strongest currency in South America. The Colombian peso’s 13.3 percent rally this year against the dollar is the best performance among all currencies tracked by Bloomberg.
* Colombia’s credit rating outlook was raised to positive from stable by Moody’s, citing the government’s push to cut debt and “favorable” oil and mining production expectations, according to a statement on the company’s newswire. Moody’s rates Colombian foreign debt Ba1, one level below investment grade. This doesn’t apply to Colombia’s local- currency debt, which it grades one level higher at Baa3, Moody’s said.

This country is not perfect, it is country in the making which is the opportunity for the investors. Real estate, infrastructure, oil & gas, and mining investments require smaller entry fees which allows the risk on cash-to-cash investment to be lowered and the return to be increased. This country counts with qualified employment in most of the industries which permits the investor to minimize the learning curve. Also, this country continues to make improvements towards the foreign investment and improvement of the investment security.

We invite you to contact us, with any questions on how to invest in Colombia.

Saturday, September 4, 2010

Is The Homebuyer Tax Credit Coming Back?

The Homebuyer Tax Credit received an extension a couple of months ago, now we are wondering about the revival of this tax credit. Currently, there's no formal discussions of extending the homebuyer tax credit further. This situation comes after the statements Housing Secretary Shaun Donovan made on August 29, 2010, when he stated that housing sales figures were worse than expected. When extending the tax credit for a third time last fall, lawmakers stated that it would be the last one. However, when Mr. Donovan was asked about considering reviving the homebuyer tax credit in an attempt to improve the recent bad real estate news, Donovan said, "I think it's too early to say after one month of numbers whether the tax credit will be revived or not. All I can tell you is that we are watching very carefully." This remarks suggested that the revival of the tax credit might come back into play.

Lobbying again for the revival of the tax credit are 1)National Association of Realtors and 2) National Association of Home Builders. These industry groups who lobbied hard for its extension last fall, want to see it come back now that it's expired, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.

The biggest opposition on the three different versions of which were in place between April 9, 2008, and June 30, 2010 is worth an estimated $22 billion loss in revenue through 2019. To add to the opposition, eventhough more than 2.25 million homebuyers had claimed the credit in its various forms as of July 3, some critics say many of them would have bought a home anyway, and that the tax credit spurred only a fraction of those transactions.

Stay tuned!

Friday, September 3, 2010

New FHA Mortgagee Letter 10-29

Today was issued Mortgagee Letter 10-29. This Mortgagee Letter introduces new minimum credit scores and loan-to-value (LTV) ratio requirements for FHA-insured loans.This guidance is effective for case numbers assigned on or after October 4, 2010.

Basically, borrowers with credit scores at or above 580 are eligible for maximum financing. Those with credit scores between 500 and 579 are eligible for 90 percent LTV. Finally those with credit scores below 579 are not eligible for FHA insured mortgages.

You can find the complete Mortgagee Letter 10-29 Read more.