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Real Estate info for Phoenix, Scottsdale, and the Valley
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 The last time I posted to the blog was September 1, 2009. If you are still subscribed to this blog (and for that, I have to say, “wow!”), you may be wondering, “What the heck has Steve Belt been doing for the last 9 months?” Well, the answer is working on the creation of Echo Coffee in South Scottsdale.
I’ve written a bit about why I created Echo Coffee on my personal blog at My Side Door, so there’s no need to repeat it here. What I did want to mention is what plans I have for this blog and real estate, as it relates to me personally.
First, I should say that I am no longer a practicing REALTOR. I still maintain my real estate license, and I still have plenty of my own real estate to manage, but I’m not helping others buy, sell, or lease property. If you need help with that, I will be happy to refer you to an agent that can best help you.
Given that I’m at Echo Coffee 15 hours a day, it puts me in no position to help you with such an important investment. That is, unless you think I can work it in between making someone’s cappuccino and the next person’s latte. Better yet, I’ll make you a cappuccino and your agent a latte, before you head out on that next tour to view homes.
For this site, I’ve partnered with Nick Bastian of RailLife to continue to provide Phoenix MLS Search capabilities. If you need an agent, you can’t do much better than to work with Nick Bastian.
Nick, Justin McHood, and myself are still exploring what we should do with this blog. I’m sure something will come to us, but for now, expect updates to continue to be few and far between.
Copyright ©2007-2009 Phoenix Area Real Estate Blog by Steve Belt. This feed is intended for personal, non-commercial use only.
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 That’s right. After managing other people’s property for nearly 4 years on a full time basis, I have decided to close the doors, metaphorically speaking.
I actually made this decision a few months ago, but I’ve waited to put it on the blog until all of my landlords and tenants have had a chance to hear the news for themselves, make the decisions that are best for each of them individually, and wrap up all of the formalities associated with those decisions (primarily the transfer of repair funds and security deposits).
Why did I close my business? For a reason I never expected: my personal health. You see, with the current economic climate (and I absolutely hate that phrase, by the way), I was having approximately one unexpected vacancy every month. Whether it was an eviction; a tenant calling and saying they cannot pay; a tenant moving out in the middle of the night, never to be heard from since; or even the strangest of cases: a tenant that was kidnapped from his home and is presumed dead; at least one property a month was experiencing an unexpected vacancy.
Although I don’t actually think these vacancies were my fault, at the moment of crisis I would consider it such, and worse, would consider myself a failure. If you look at my tenant placement stats, they are kind of sick. 90% of the time, I personally find the tenant through my marketing efforts. So if I wasn’t to blame (since I found this bad apple tenant), who was? Certainly not the landlord. But we all need someone to blame, so the easy answer was me.
Unfortunately, I typically found I was nearly unable to face or discuss the situation with the landlord, often going a week or more without ever answering my phone directly. This is a horrible behavior in the face of crisis, which would further make it look like I was to blame. In reality, though, I would plummet into a state of depression that I never, ever expected of myself…and it was happening every month. Worse, the problem was affecting the way I managed every single property, not just the one in crisis.
Nine or Ten months of this scenario, and a very, very agonizing day on the sofa with my dear wife Jan, and I came to the realization that I had to stop the problem, before it stopped me. And thus, I’ve closed it down.
I am now back to managing just my own properties. And while I’m certainly not immune from the occasional bad apple tenant, I don’t fret talking to myself about the need to clean up, repair, re-market, or in other words, pay for the acquisition of the next tenant. I mention my own properties, because I’ve already had a few people say, “Hey! I thought you were closing this down, but I see one of your ads on craigslist!” Rest assured I’m not playing favorites, but rather, just trying to fill my vacancies like any other landlord.
Copyright ©2007-2009 Phoenix Area Real Estate Blog by Steve Belt. This feed is intended for personal, non-commercial use only.
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That’s right. After managing other people’s property for nearly 4 years on a full time basis, I have decided to close the doors, metaphorically speaking.
I actually made this decision a few months ago, but I’ve waited to put it on the blog until all of my landlords and tenants have had a chance to hear the news for themselves, make the decisions that are best for each of them individually, and wrap up all of the formalities associated with those decisions (primarily the transfer of repair funds and security deposits).
Why did I close my business? For a reason I never expected: my personal health. You see, with the current economic climate (and I absolutely hate that phrase, by the way), I was having approximately one unexpected vacancy every month. Whether it was an eviction; a tenant calling and saying they cannot pay; a tenant moving out in the middle of the night, never to be heard from since; or even the strangest of cases: a tenant that was kidnapped from his home and is presumed dead; at least one property a month was experiencing an unexpected vacancy.
Although I don’t actually think these vacancies were my fault, at the moment of crisis I would consider it such, and worse, would consider myself a failure. If you look at my tenant placement stats, they are kind of sick. 90% of the time, I personally find the tenant through my marketing efforts. So if I wasn’t to blame (since I found this bad apple tenant), who was? Certainly not the landlord. But we all need someone to blame, so the easy answer was me.
Unfortunately, I typically found I was nearly unable to face or discuss the situation with the landlord, often going a week or more without ever answering my phone directly. This is a horrible behavior in the face of crisis, which would further make it look like I was to blame. In reality, though, I would plummet into a state of depression that I never, ever expected of myself…and it was happening every month. Worse, the problem was affecting the way I managed every single property, not just the one in crisis.
Nine or Ten months of this scenario, and a very, very agonizing day on the sofa with my dear wife Jan, and I came to the realization that I had to stop the problem, before it stopped me. And thus, I’ve closed it down.
I am now back to managing just my own properties. And while I’m certainly not immune from the occasional bad apple tenant, I don’t fret talking to myself about the need to clean up, repair, re-market, or in other words, pay for the acquisition of the next tenant. I mention my own properties, because I’ve already had a few people say, “Hey! I thought you were closing this down, but I see one of your ads on craigslist!” Rest assured I’m not playing favorites, but rather, just trying to fill my vacancies like any other landlord.
Copyright ©2007-2009 Phoenix Area Real Estate Blog by Steve Belt. This feed is intended for personal, non-commercial use only.
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Are interest rates going to go up or down? I don't know, but the Fed is about to stop buying mortgage backed bonds and no one really knows what that means.
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One of the great things about the way the mortgage markets work in the last couple of years is that reality always trails the announcement by anywhere from a couple of weeks to a couple of months.
For example, back in July, it was announced that the Obama Refinance was expanded to allow people who owed up to 125% of their home value to refinance – where previously the limit was 105% under the Making Home Affordable plan.
So, a month and a half or so ago it was announced – and just now today I saw the first lender say “ok, we can now do the 125% Obama Refinance!”
So the good news is that at least it is now available. The bad news is that you had to wait a while after it was announced.
Which is pretty much true about anything you hear being announced by the government… listen to it, then wait a little while before it becomes reality.
But if you have been unable to refinance because you owe more than your home is worth… the time has come.
Lenders are now ready for the Obama 125% refinance.
Well, at least some of them are.
Arizona Mortgage Rates
Copyright ©2007-2009 Phoenix Area Real Estate Blog by Steve Belt. This feed is intended for personal, non-commercial use only.
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I received an email this week that made me chuckle – especially in light of the possibility of mortgage brokers just going away, so I thought I would share:
Mortgage brokers have a horrible reputation, but I love them.
They look you in the eye, use your name a lot, hold your shoulder while they talk to you, and they laugh really, really hard at your jokes.
They take you to expensive restaurants, and they ask where you went to college and all about your kids, their ages and their activities.
They suggest through body language and facial expressions that they would like to marry you.
In other words, mortgage brokers treat you exactly the way you wish everyone would treat you.
Their only flaw is, of course, that they don’t mean any of it.
But isn’t that a trivial defect, all things considered? Doesn’t their insincerity seem like a minor shortcoming when compared to the fullness and richness of their devotion?
A little light-hearted humor for a Friday… have a great weekend.
Arizona Mortgage Rates for August 14, 2009
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Another crazy week in the mortgage business. This week, one of the nations largest wholesale mortgage lenders – Taylor, Bean & Whitaker was effectively shut down by the government and as a result thousands of borrowers are now scrambling to try to find financing.
There is quite a bit of finger pointing as to whether or not the shut-down was done properly (or even should have happened at all) but to all of the people who were about to move into a home and are now back trying to find financing, I am sure that whether or not it should have happened doesn’t really matter too much to them.
Have A Backup Plan
One of the most important things that you can do when getting a loan is to have a backup plan. Backup plan as in a “backup lender” who will be able to do your loan should the lender that you are working with suddenly be unable to fund your loan for whatever reason.
Most loan officers will know how many lenders will be able to do your loan – and it may surprise you how many loans I see getting done where there is only one lender that does that type of loan. For example, if you are financing your home with a jumbo loan, it may be that there is only one lender available who does that type of loan – and if something should happen you may be left without being able to get financing on the same terms – or at all.
So when getting a mortgage in today’s market, be sure that you have a backup plan.
More Information on Taylor Bean & Whitaker:
HUD Press Release
Wall Street Journal Article
Taylor Bean Press Release
Dan Green does a great job of putting together a FAQ list for many questions people have about the Taylor Bean and Whitaker event.
Arizona Mortgage Rates for August 7 2009
Copyright ©2007-2009 Phoenix Area Real Estate Blog by Steve Belt. This feed is intended for personal, non-commercial use only.
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I was having a conversation with one of my peers yesterday and I think I was called out on the carpet when he declared:
“Justin McHood has officially went crazy. No way, did I just hear that come out of your mouth!”
What did I say that made everyone think I was crazy?
I declared that I think friends are more important than money.
Keep in mind – I am in a field where money is everything. The people who I work with think about money, talk about money, try to show how smart they can be about money — anything and everything seems to be all about the money.
If I am in a money-driven, money-obsessed industry and I declare that “friends are more important than money” does it mean that I have “went soft” and am about to become a social worker?
No, it just means that tools like Facebook and Twitter have changed the way that I think about money and friends in the last year.
Now – before I go any further — I am NOT suggesting that having more friends on Facebook or followers on Twitter are more important than money. Not a chance.
But what I am suggesting by saying “friends are more important than money” some PR firms might also call “reputation management”. Translation: value money over friends and try to make an extra buck on someone and there is a good chance that all of your friends — and potential customers will hear about it.
Justin McHood Took My Money!
Justin McHood Is Awesome!
Both of those things can easily be said by people using the various social media tools out there – and both of them last forever, because Google doesn’t forget.
The smartest people in the RE.net space have figured this out – and have built in feedback tools on their sites for people either rant or rave about you.
What does this have to do with mortgages or real estate?
If you are thinking about working with a loan officer or a Realtor – do your homework first — see what their friends think about them.
Copyright ©2007-2009 Phoenix Area Real Estate Blog by Steve Belt. This feed is intended for personal, non-commercial use only.
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If you are currently shopping for a house, be aware that it is probably about to take a little longer to get your loan done.
The reason it is going to take a little longer is because there is a new law going into effect on July 30th that changes the disclosure requirements and the way that your loan officer sends/discloses to you the Truth in Lending disclosure.
The Truth in Lending disclosure (sometimes called the “TIL” by people who are in the mortgage business) is a very important disclosure because it basically tells the consumer all of the “important” numbers about their mortgage. APR, Loan Amount, Interest Rate, Whether or not the loan is assumable, Late fees for payments and probably about 10 more important things as well.
As a result of the new Truth in Lending Disclosure law, I am expecting it to take longer to get your loan done — possibly about 30-50% longer. Which means that if your loan officer used to be able to get a loan done in about 20 days, expect it to take maybe 30 now. If it was 30, expect it to take maybe 45.
Why the increased length of time? Because of the number of times the consumer must be sent a disclosure when something changes — even slightly — and then an associated “waiting period”.
Highlights of the new Truth-In-Lending law:
- No upfront fees can be charged to the customer, except for a credit report charge until they have received the TIL. ( No more up front fees for those lenders who still charged an up front “commitment fee” or anything like it)
- TIL must be disclosed to the buyer within 3 days of application.
- Once they receive the TIL, then there is an additional 7 day waiting period before the loan can close.
- Any changes to the loan that result in a change to the APR, you will need to get a new TIL disclosure and then there is another 7 day waiting period.
Generally speaking, it is not uncommon for various numbers in a transaction to change slightly during the process, and so when this happens starting in August, just be ready for an increased turn time to get your loan done.
Now, it is not every loan that will take longer to get done – but on average, I think it is safe to say that the overall turn times to get a loan done are about to go up.
So my best advice is to write a 45 day close of escrow, starting August 1, not a 30.
Arizona Mortgage Rates July 24, 2009
Copyright ©2007-2009 Phoenix Area Real Estate Blog by Steve Belt. This feed is intended for personal, non-commercial use only.
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Many people have been asking me lately about the “1% down payment program” that is supposedly new and asking me for details.
I have some good news — there is a new program that is available where people can buy a home with an FHA loan and only put 1% down.
No, FHA requirements haven’t changed – but the new program allows this to happen under certain conditions. And wait – there is more! The program is much more than just the 1% down payment program.
Neighborhood Stabilization Program Highlights:
- If you own a residence, you must be leasing your primary residence at least 12 months before applying for the program.
- You must use us a lender from the ADOH participating lender list.
- You must attend and complete an eight?hour Homebuyer Education Class provided by one of the ADOH participating homebuyer counseling agencies. (A list will be provided by your lender once you begin the process.)
- The property you purchase must be your primary residence.
- You must have a maximum debt?to?income ratio of 31/43.
- You must be AUS approved eligible.
- You must have two months PITI reserves.
- You can use any type of financing with the NSP program – including paying cash. That means you can still get up to 22% of the purchase price even if you pay cash for the house.
- You must be approved and have your paperwork completed for the program prior to submitting an offer on a house. (This means you are going to want to contact a loan officer who knows about the program as soon as possible in the process).
National Stabilization Program: 1% Down Payment?
A minimum of 3 percent of the property purchase price is required as down payment. One percent must come from the borrower’s own funds. Two percent can come from any other approved source.
National Stabilization Program: How Much Money Can You Get?
- Up to 22 percent of purchase price
- All loans are forgivable after a period of time based on the amount of the loan. * 5 years for assistance of $15,000 or less * 10 years for assistance of $15,001?$40,000 * 15 years for assistance of more than $40,000
- All loans are zero percent interest with no monthly payment.
- The balance of the loan is forgiven at the completion of the term.
Neighborhood Stabilization Eligible Property Types:
- Foreclosed properties only. A property is considered “foreclosed upon” at the point that the mortgage or tax foreclosure is complete.
- One?unit detached single family homes, condos and townhomes.
- The property must be vacant at time of listing.
Neighborhood Stabilization Program Income Limits:
In order to qualify for the Neighborhood Stabilization Program in any county in Arizona, you must have a gross income (the total income before taxes, health care costs, social security, etc.) of no more than 120 percent of the average median income for the county they want to purchase a foreclosed house in. Here are the limits for Maricopa County:
My Opinion On The Neighborhood Stabilization Program
Whether or not this program should exist is not the question in my mind — I have almost quit having an opinion about whether or not something like this should exist.
But what I can say is that the program is very real — meaning this program isn’t one of those programs that the government announces that really doesn’t exist and that there are too many “catches” where it narrows it down to where no one qualifies.
This program is very “real” and is generating a lot of excitement. The real bottom line is basically that if you are buying a foreclosed property and meet the guidelines – AND – plan on living in the home, then this program is easy to take advantage of.
With as much excitement as the 8000 tax credit has generated, I would think this will generate just as much once people get the word that free money is real and available.
Arizona Mortgage Rates July 20, 2009
Copyright ©2007-2009 Phoenix Area Real Estate Blog by Steve Belt. This feed is intended for personal, non-commercial use only.
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Fees.
If you aren’t careful, they will drive you insane.
Fees are something that no one likes to pay and yet, somehow there is a never-ending list of fees that you will be required to pay when buying or refinancing a house. Everyone likes to pick on mortgage guys about fees – but the truth is that crazy-whacked-out-insane-fees come from all different sorts of places.
Even though I realize that there are all kinds of fees and some of them are actually legitimate, I really, really, really enjoy making fun of them – and indirectly of the people who think these crazy things up.
One of my favorite “junk” fees is where occasionally, I will see a title company charge someone an “email delivery” fee of $25.
What I wouldn’t give to be able to charge even 25 cents — heck, even five cents – for every email I have to send or read.
Twenty five bucks?
For an email?
Oh, and title companies aren’t the only ones with fee-insanity. Just yesterday, I got a note that said Flagstar was going to begin charging a $50 “paper handling fee to help offset some of the costs associated with traditional closings.”
I suppose the price of paper went up recently. Or, maybe this is their way of launching the “Flagstar Green Initiative” or something.
Who knows.
But my favorite fee story of all time?
The PITA fee. That is where the client was such a PITA that the loan officer actually charged him a PITA fee of $2500. At closing, the escrow agent didn’t even blink an eye — just went through the fees and actually described the PITA fee as “normal”.
What is a PITA?
Pain In The A__.
Make sure you look twice at the fees you are being charged when buying or refinancing a house. And try to keep a sense of humor.
Arizona Mortgage Rates For July 10, 2009
Copyright ©2007-2009 Phoenix Area Real Estate Blog by Steve Belt. This feed is intended for personal, non-commercial use only.
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