Loan Mod, catch up on past payments and other mortgage assistance is available

Keep Your Home California

I love this site because it has all the information that you need to understand the options available to those that are at risk of losing their home.  It explains the loan modification, principle reduction and other options.

It's a well written and clear site full of information and resources to help my clients.

What I like most about this site is the "eligibility" tab. This helps you drill down quickly to what you can and can not do. Period.

I hope you like it as much as I do. I hope it helps you stay in your home.

Media: News Releases > Fannie Mae Implementing New Loan-to-Value Ceiling for Home Affordable Refinance Program

If you need to refinance [an arm] and your loan is worth more than the current home value - this is Fannie's Fix:


<cite>Media: News Releases > Fannie Mae Implementing New Loan-to-Value Ceiling for Home Affordable Refinance Program</cite>: "

News Release July 1, 2009 Fannie Mae Implementing New Loan-to-Value Ceiling for Home Affordable Refinance Program;Loans Eligible for Delivery September 1WASHINGTON, DC -- Fannie Mae (FNM/NYSE) announced today that the company is providing information to servicers regarding changes to the Home Affordable Refinance Program (HARP) that permits refinancing of existing Fannie Mae loans with loan-to-value (LTV) ratios up to 125 percent. The loans will be eligible for delivery on or after September 1, 2009.

"

It's Official: If you've been waiting for the bottom...you missed it!

The numbers have been looking up for about the last 60-90 days: inventory is dropping off, sales volume is up and the closings are up.

Industry Barometer Shows Gains in Home Prices for Second Straight Month

Prices of single-family residential homes rose for the second consecutive month in June, Standard & Poor’s reported Tuesday. Quarter-over-quarter gains were also evident during the second quarter of the year, for the first time since 2006.

Yes the new lending guidelines are a hassle, no there's no 100% no doc loans but, the huge sucking sound that was our equity disappearing alongside 200+ banks and lending institutions, has eased.

The opportunity is there but you can't win if you don't enter the race.

market conditions, real estate, short sale, REO, cash flow, houses

Is an $8K credit worth $250K fine PLUS 3 years in jail?

Don't "accidentally" claim the first time buyers credit. The IRS doesn't take lightly to "accidents".

WASHINGTON — The Internal Revenue Service today announced its first successful prosecution related to fraud involving the first-time homebuyer credit and warned taxpayers to beware of this type of scheme.

On Thursday July 23, 2009, a Jacksonville, Fla.-tax preparer, James Otto Price III, pled guilty to falsely claiming the first-time homebuyer credit on a client’s federal tax return. Price faces the possibility of up to three years in jail, a fine of as much as $250,000, or both.

To date, the IRS has executed seven search warrants and currently has 24 open criminal investigations in pursuit of potential instances of fraud involving the credit. The agency has a number of sophisticated computer screening tools to quickly identify returns that may contain fraudulent claims for the first-time homebuyer credit.

“We will vigorously pursue anyone who falsely tries to claim this or any other tax credit or deduction,” said Eileen Mayer, Chief, IRS Criminal Investigation. “The penalties for tax fraud are steep. Taxpayers should be wary of anyone who promises to get them a big refund.”

Whether a taxpayer prepares his or her own return or uses the services of a paid preparer, it is the taxpayer who is ultimately responsible for the accuracy of the return. Fraudulent returns may result not only in the required payment of back taxes but also in penalties and interest.

First-Time Homebuyer Credit

Oakland, California, passes landmark marijuana tax - CNN.com

So California:

<cite>Oakland, California, passes landmark marijuana tax - CNN.com</cite>: "

Decrease font Decrease fontEnlarge font Enlarge fontOAKLAND, California (CNN) -- Oakland's bid to become the first U.S. city to tax proceeds on medical marijuana passed Tuesday by a landslide vote.About 80 percent of people voting in the Oakland election approved the new medical marijuana tax.About 80 percent of people voting in the Oakland election approved the new medical marijuana tax.About 80 percent of voters chose to impose the tax on Oakland's medical marijuana facilities, according to the Alameda County Registrar of Voters.Some celebrated the news at Oaksterdam University by hand-rolling large marijuana cigarettes or stuffing cannabis into pipes. The school trains students for work in the medical marijuana industry.'It is important because the city of Oakland is facing a massive deficit like many jurisdictions in California,' said Steve DeAngelo, a leader of one of the city's cannabis clubs. 'And we decided to step up to the plate and make a contribution to the city in a time of need.'DeAngelo, one of the people who led the effort to get the tax approved, said his business will now have to pay more than $350,000 from the new tax next year. Video Watch report from CNN's Dan Simon �

"

Starbucks Returns to Store Expansion

Making plans as the market strengthens

<cite>Starbucks Returns to Store Expansion</cite>: "

SEATTLE-After closing hundreds of units in the last year, Starbucks Corp. is ready to expand again in 2010, executives said at the company's third-quarter conference call.The company now expects to open approximately 55 net new licensed stores in the United States and approximately 310 net new licensed stores internationally this year. Plans for 2010 are still being made, noted Troy Alstead, executive vice president and chief financial officer, and growth will largely be concentrated internationally. In addition, the company is testing a new store design in Seattle, Paris and Tokyo, and has opened a new concept, 15th Avenue Coffee and Tea, which removes the Starbucks logo and sells beer and wine as well, in Seattle.

"

Don't Gamble with your exchange funds!

Folks that were using LandAM as their exchangor when LandAm filed for bankruptcy, LOST their exchange funds!

This keeps happening! A few years ago some of the exchange companies went under and the people with their funds in an exchange lost those funds.

Don't let this happen to you:


You may have heard that LandAmerica Financial Group, Inc. and its subsidiary LandAmerica 1031 Exchange Services (LES) filed for bankruptcy protection in November, 2008. As a result, investors who had exchange accounts with LES were unable to access their funds.

Recently, the bankruptcy court issued two rulings which found that the exchange funds held by LES in either a commingled account or a separate sub-account did not belong to the individual Exchangors, but must instead be included in the bankruptcy estate. As a result, these exchange deposits became part of the general pool of money that is available to pay all the creditors of LES.

So what went wrong for the LES clients? How is First American Exchange Company different?

Most importantly, there was a provision in the LES exchange agreement where the clients explicitly gave up all right, title and interest in the exchange funds to LES. Such language is not contained in any of the exchange documents used by First American Exchange Company.

LES held some funds in a master account with sub-accounts used to identify each client's funds. The majority of the funds were held, commingled, in the LES operating account. At First American Exchange we never commingle client funds, nor do we use a master/sub-account structure. We set up an individual account for each client at an FDIC insured bank, identified with our client's name and tax identification number. Our clients receive all the interest earned on the account as reported on the 1099 issued directly by the bank. Funds are released only after receiving a written direction from our client.

LES invested a large portion of exchange funds in auction rate securities, which had become illiquid. First American does not invest exchange funds in securities. Client funds are only placed in fully liquid demand deposit accounts in highly rated banks. Deposits are monitored on a daily basis by our corporate treasury department.

Finally, the court held that state law determines whether exchange funds are a part of the bankruptcy estate, and in this case the court looked to Virginia law. First American's exchange agreement is governed by California law, which provides that exchange funds held by a Qualified Intermediary are not subject to attachment by the intermediary's creditors. This law helps protect exchange funds from outside claims.