A special “Thank You!” to Julie Sandlin of First American Title for sending this along this morning.
 
Frequently Asked Questions:
First Time Home Buyer Tax Credit of $8,000
 
1. Who is eligible to claim the tax credit?
First-time home buyers purchasing any kind of home-new or resale-are eligible for the tax credit. To qualify for the tax credit, a [...]

 Just thought I’d pass along the link to the President’s plan to helping homeowners stay in their home.
FinancialStability.gov
There are lots of fact sheets, press releases, and self-assessment tools.
Personally, I think it’s great that our current administration is making efforts to not only keep people in their homes but to make it more manageable for families [...]

This article was authored by Michelle Berry, real estate broker, and Sara Blanchard, loan officer. All information contained herein should be considered accurate as of the date of this writing, but should be not be considered a guarantee of financing. Any opinions expressed in the below article are the opinions of the writers and not their [...]

A lot has happened since I’ve sent my last newsletter, and the majority has been very good.  Especially since the first of the year there have been some very encouraging signs of recovery.  But the economic hole we are in began being dug 20 years ago, when credit of all types became much more readily [...]

Thank you to Laurie SantaMaria, Stewart Title, for sending this tidbit in an email this morning.

Homesale exclusion rules tightened

Most homeowners are aware of the homesale exclusion, a provision of the
tax laws which provides that homeowners who sell their principal residence
typically don’t need to pay taxes on as much as $500,000 of their gain if
they meet certain conditions. [...]

An article by the Oregonian today states that Parmount Equity Mortgage is coming under scrutiny by both the states of Washington & Oregon.  You know who they are, they have the radio commericals, “Hello, this is Hayes Barnard….”  The allegations are that Paramount Equity was not providing proper disclosure, not lowering rates after borrowers paid discount [...]

Our market here in Portland has seen a significant increase in the number of “short sale” listings on the market.  What exactly is a “short sale”?  A short sale, very simply put, is when a homeowner is selling their home for less than they owe on the mortgage(s).  It is different from a foreclosure, or REO home [...]

Courtesy of Jerry Baker, Loan Broker, Northwest MortgageContact info below
If you don’t think its tough out there, read on!!
I’m sure most of you have been reading the news and listening to the TV and radio reports on fall-out in the mortgage industry due to foreclosures and other damaging information. While the majority of it is [...]