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Can President Obama's Housing Plan Help You? |
Times are tough. Even if
you have tried to avoid the doom-and-gloom
reports of the terrible state of the American
economy, you still probably know that it is
shaping up to be the "perfect storm" for hard-
working families. Housing prices are falling,
so spending is decreasing, so people
continue to lose their jobs. Job loss or
income decline make it harder for people to
pay their mortgages, but lower housing
values make selling an unattractive option.
Even refinancing is challenging because
banks
don't care about the amount you
have paid into your mortgage as much
as
they care about the amount you owe on
the
value of your house.
Example: Let's say you
bought a $600,000 house and you put down
$200,000. You were probably feeling pretty
good about yourself - and with good reason.
You had to borrow only about 65% of your
home's value. However, if your home value
has dropped to $400,000, you now owe
100% of your
home's value. Banks would prefer not to
lend to people who owe more than 80% of
the value of their home.
As many as 6 million families still could be
facing foreclosure. Obama's Plan, called
Making Home Affordable, will help between 7
million and 9 million
Americans.
What I like about this housing plan is that
unlike many attempts at fixing things, this
one is proactive. If paying your mortgage
has become difficult because of job loss or
income decline, but refinancing is not
available for you, President Obama's Plan
may help.
Here are some of the specific people who
will be helped:
- Homeowners who are having trouble
making payments but have not yet missed a
payment are eligible.
- Homeowners who live in the
home in question as their primary residence.
- Homeowners with mortgages lower than
$749,750.
- Homeowners whose total debt, including
car loans and credit card debt is 55% or
more of their income - but only if they
participate in HUD debt
counseling.
- Those who want to refinance to a lower
mortgage rate but do not qualify because the
amount they owe on their mortgage
compared with their equity precludes
them.
What kind of help will the Plan provide?
Plan architects hope to spread the burden of
helping families among everyone involved
including families, the government, banks,
lenders, and others.
Homeowners facing foreclosure can have
their payments reduced in ways other than
refinancing, too. There are also incentives in
place that will discourage banks from
foreclosing as quickly as they might have
before.
Contact your mortgage professional to find
out if you are eligible for assistance under
the new plan.
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March's Home Value Improver |
7 Steps to Successful
Spring
Cleaning in the
Kitchen
Yes, the first day of
spring did arrive amid
little fanfare last week, despite the cold
temperatures. If you are anxious to get
started on some springtime activities, but
realize that garden planting is still weeks
away, why not get started with some spring
cleaning?
Since the kitchen is the place people spend
most of their time and the one that tends to
get the dirtiest - and I can't bear to write
about cleaning bathrooms - let's start there.
- Surfaces
Wipe down the
walls, including the corners, with a soft rag
soaked with warm water and a cleaner.
Don't forget the ceiling fan, as well as the
blinds, and any knick knacks and pictures.
(Be careful not to get water in the corners of
the pictures or it can leak onto the photo.)
- The Oven
If you are like
most people, you can count on one hand the
number of times you have cleaned your
oven. If you have a self-cleaning oven, be
sure to open a window in case it gets smoky
or odorous in your kitchen.
- The Pantry
While the oven
is cleaning itself or the oven cleaner is doing
its thing, take a look through your pantry.
You may be surprised to find several boxes
with only a few stale crackers taking up
valuable kitchen real estate.
- The Refrigerator
Like the
pantry, now is a good time to reevaluate
what is taking up that valuable space. After
cleaning out the food, wipe down the
shelves (most are removable) and the
sides. If you're super ambitious, you could
even unplug the refrigerator and vacuum
around the coils on the back.
- The Dishwasher
She sure
does a lot for you, so help her out by running
some baking soda or vinegar through the
dishwasher when it is empty.
- The Garbage Disposal
Chucking an ice cube down the
garbage disposal is not only entertaining, it
actually helps sharpen the disposal's
blades. Some baking soda or lemon will
keep it smelling fresh, too.
- The Drawers
How the
silverware drawer collects crumbs is a
mystery, but it happens. Clean out your
silverware drawer, and move on to those
junk drawers. Pare down drawer contents,
wipe out the bottom, and perhaps even
install some shelf liner.
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Everyone is talking about refinancing these
days. You may have heard a colleague or
friend bragging about the rate in the 4s that
he or she landed recently.
There definitely are some good rates out
there, but as always, getting them depends
on a lot of factors - are you willing to pay
points? Has the value of your home dropped
considerably? Is your credit as strong as it
could be?
If you think you may qualify for housing
related help under Obama's plan or you
would like some details about what
refinancing may look like to you, please feel
free to give me a call. I'm always happy to
do some research and get you the facts you
need!
Best regards,
Debbie Siegel
President
Westchester Mortgage
P.S. You're receiving this E-Newsletter because you have a prior relationship with me or with Westchester Mortgage. If I've sent this to you in error, or if you want to remove yourself from the list at any time, just click the "SafeUnsubscribe" link at the bottom of this e-mail.
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Click here for some tips on
how to choose a mortgage broker!
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