Mortgage Scams

With so many foreclosures nationwide, it's no surprise that people con artists are getting creative with mortgage scams. Nonprofit organizations and government agencies are now getting together to advertise some of these mortgage relief scams and teach homeowners how to avoid them. The local Jacksonville movers learned several Florida men were just arrested last year and charged with defrauding homeowners under the company name of Home Owners Protection Economics or H.O.P.E. This fraudulent company was trying to copy the public-private alliance of lenders, Hope Now, which is actually a group of nonprofit housing counselors and other mortgage industry participants. The H.O.P.E. scammers were telling desperate homeowners that they were approved for a loan modification and asked for upfront fees. These can be anywhere from $1000 to $5000, with an average of $3000.


The All My Sons of Jacksonville movers learned that many scammers use names that are very similar to the government programs and even add logos to their marketing material to give credibility to their fraudulent activity. If you're looking for mortgage relief help, you should try to contact the free Department of Housing and Urban Development approved housing counselors on Hud.gov. The local Jacksonville moving specialists remind you that any legal help will be free, you shouldn't pay any fees.

Fannie Mae Has New Guidelines

All My Sons of Jacksonville learned that Fannie Mae will be having tighter underwriting guidelines as of October 20th of this year. It will make it harder for people to refinance or even purchase a condo. These new guidelines are meant to reduce risk for Fannie Mae and encourage potential homeowners to shop around for their mortgages. One of the new guidelines suggests condominium unit buyers will have to fill out a 2-page condo when they're putting less than 20% down for their down payment. The old rule used to be documentation with 10% down. This questionnaire is in addition to other documents such as insurance policy and homeowner's association financials.


There will also be no more discretionary approvals except for Fannie Mae's Home Affordable Refinance Program. These used to help people with a less than perfect mix f loan to value or debt to income ratio, but with these new guidelines borrowers that are borderline so to speak are out of luck. The local Jacksonville movers learned that self-employed potential homeowners looking for a mortgage will have to provide two consecutive years of federal tax returns instead of just one. Borrowers also have to prove they're in the same business for at least two years. This means one bad year could derail the chance of getting a loan.

What do you think of the new guidelines? Would you be eligible if you were looking for condo mortgage?

Short Sales and Tax Bills

More people these days are going through short sales thanks to better procedures and less hold up, however many aren't aware that they might be facing a deadline. Unless things change and Congress extends the tax exemptions that were in place currently, underwater homeowner will owe taxes after their short sale goes through. The local Jacksonville movers learned that, presently, if someone owes debt on their primary home and it's forgiven through a short sale they won't have to pay federal income tax on it. But if that debt is forgiven after December 31, 2012, borrowers will owe income tax on that amount. The All My Sons of Jacksonville found out that the same rule in some states regarding homeowners going through foreclosures and principal reductions that are part of mortgage modifications. So for example, a $100,000 can add up to over $20,000.


In 2007, Congress passed the Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act, which temporarily exempted debt used to acquire and renovate a principal residence. The exemption doesn't apply to mortgage refinancing where cash is taken out and used for something other than buying, building or renovating a home. It doesn't apply to investment property. So if you're thinking of applying for a short sale, the local Jacksonville moving specialists suggest you try to beat the deadline.

Improving Real Estate Markets

According to the National Association of Home Builders//First American Improving Markets' analysis, the number of real estate markets that are improving went from 80 to 99 in September. The Jacksonville movers learned the study looked at improvements across home prices, building permits and unemployment. The All My Sons of Jacksonville movers were happy to learn that Jacksonville, Florida made it onto the September list among Tucson, Arizona, Des Moines, Iowa and Sacramento, California. 12 cities fell off the list and 69 maintained their past position. The markets is slowly improving, however there's an up and down pattern. That real estate market that are improving number was 101 back in April and 80 in June. The rising home prices the local Jacksonville moving specialists learned was more due to a shortage of homes for sale versus demand. The actual number of homes listed for sale decreased by one third since 2011, putting it at an eight year low.


If the real estate market is improving in your area and you're looking to move, call the Jacksonville moving company for professional moving services at a great moving quote. The Jacksonville movers are experiences in all types of moves from commercial moves to residential moves and long distance moves. The All My Sons of Jacksonville movers are part of the All My Sons Moving and Storage family of movers so you can expect quality service and a stress-free moving day.

Lessen the Moving Costs

Moving involves a lot of planning but it also involves a lot of costs, some directly related to the actual transferring of belongings and others are related like the cleaning crew you might bring to clean your house before you get settled, or the first supermarket trip that you'll make which will include many items you won't purchase again for a certain amount of time and so on. You might have to by paint and other supplies to spruce up your new place. The All My Sons of Jacksonville say you can reduce the cost of your residential move by making some changes in your plan. For example, before you start packing the moving boxes take an inventory of what you actually need to move. You might not want to move your old CD collection if all the music you hear is now on your handheld device.


When you're looking for moving boxes, the local Jacksonville movers suggest you save on boxes. Try to find recycled or used moving boxes. You can also suitcases or travel bags if you have any to pack some of your personal belongings. Hiring reliable movers who can offer you professional moving services really helps reduce the cost because you won't risk having your things damaged. You'll get an insurance and are sure that your new place won't get damaged during the process of the move.

Don't Turn Off Your Buyers

This real estate market is definitely a buyers' market so if you're looking to sell your home so you can move into a newer space, make sure you feature your home in the best light. You might think you have the situation under control, but cleaning up and getting rid of the clutter is not enough. The local Jacksonville moving specialists remind you that there are certain items that potential buyers don't want to see when their touring your house and envisioning it as their own.

For example, the All My Sons of Jacksonville movers say get rid of all the signs that you have pets. That means removing the litter boxes or the dirty chew toys laying around your home. You also want to make sure that your home doesn't have that dog smell. Not everyone loves pets and you want to make sure that your four-legged best friend doesn't ruin the sale for you.

If you have a baby, you certainly have your fair share of play areas around the house filled with kid stuff like extra diapers, toys and other items. Another way to turn off potential buyers is an unclean kitchen. The kitchen is the heart of any home, so make sure it's spotless. No dishes in the sink, no food laying around, and organize your storage because they might be inspected. Think about toiletries as well, no personal products, ointments or garbage in the trash cans.


With sellers offering great prices on their homes, it's definitely a competitive space out there. The local Jacksonville movers want you home to shine the brightest.

More Refinancing Thanks to HARP

According to a new report from the Federal Housing Finance Agency, there are 53,758 borrowers owing more than 125% of what their home is worth that refinanced in June. The local Jacksonville moving specialists learned that that number represents almost five times the number of people that took advantage of the HARP program in the first five months of the year. An extra 24,258 who were less several underwater also refinanced. The All My Sons of Jacksonville moving team found out that to be eligible for the HARP program, homeowners had to be current on their mortgage with loans backed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Some lenders are also reducing principal on severely underwater mortgages. The local Jacksonville movers have refinanced about 422,969 loan through HARP this year, with over 400,024 in 2011. In Nevada, Arizona and Florida, over 80% of the loans refinanced through HARP in June were for homeowners who owed over 105% of the value of their home.