POCONO COMMUTERS EFFECTED BY GAS PRICES

The last time gas prices spiked sharply in 2007 was the beginning of the end for the "Real Estate Boom". At that time, commuters rethought their idea of moving to the Poconos due to the high cost to commute from NYC and back. With the bus companies hauling the majority of commuters into the city each day, they are raising their prices in accordance with the rising gas prices. These additional commuter costs may be enough to deter the person looking to move to the area from doing so until the price of gas comes down to an affordable level. Hopefully this doesn't adversely effect the amount of home a buyer can be prequalified to purchase.

Andy Williams
President
Abacus Regional Mortgage
484 695 5972

Short Sales are really Long Sales

Many of the homes being sold today are from "Short Sales". This is when a seller owes more on their home than the home is actually worth. The new buyer bids on the property, the seller goes back to their bank and negotiates a sale whereby the bank has to forgive some of the current mortgage, and the current mortgage holder accepts less than what is owed. This process takes many weeks, in many cases, months to come to an end. The current lien holder has negotiators from different departments that have to get involved. Since this process has to go through many steps, the buyers can wait endlessly for an answer from the bank. Some buyers wait it out while others grow weary and move on to another potential house. The next time you consider bidding on a "Short Sale" property consider the time, energy and money spent in waiting for a "Long Sale" to come to fruition.

Andy Williams
President
Abacus Regional Mortgage
484 695 5972

Oil Price Scare is only temporary

There's been a lot of talk lately about the U.S. increased demand for oil and its effect on the price of crude oil. Some economists predicting gas prices could hit $ 6.00 per gallon by the summer. This is another example of the media blowing everything out of proportion. News like this is all we need to make home buyers shy away from purchasing homes. Believe me, the prices will come down soon. All we need to do is increase our oil drilling within our country and continue to drill in the arctic where they have found large oil deposits. In addition, since most of our oil imports come from Canada, Mexico, South America and Western Africa, we can become less dependent upon Saudi Arabia and other parts of the Middle East. We simply have to import more oil from these other countries. We are well diversified as it is as the middle east gives us less than 20% of our current oil supply. So don't panic. The gas prices will go down again.

Andy Williams
President
Abacus Regional Mortgage

COMPS BASED ON CURRENT FORECLOSURES

Real estate appraisals base their values on three comparable homes that have sold within 6 miles in the past 6 months. They are supposed to use only comps that are similar to the subject property, if available. Since many of today's recent sales have been foreclosures and short sales (distress sales), they are using listings which were foreclosures and short sales. When a buyer is purchasing a foreclosure it is reasonable to assume that an appraiser will use other distress sale properties for comps. However, what isn't right is when they are using distress sale comps on existing homes where there is no distress sale. Using distress sale comps on normal seller to buyer transactions only brings the prices of homes down further. The appraisers need to make sure that they use only appropriate comps even if they have to go farther distances and further in time of closings.

Multiple Financed Properties

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have limited the number of financed properties allowed by an individual to no more than four. Because of this restriction, many investors can't finance another one with most lenders until they either sell one of their existing properties, or they must pay off one of their existing mortgages. I have a few select lenders who don't sell their mortgages, so they don't imposed this limit. This is an example of how the constraints of the lending industry can limit our abilty to do business. This is why I am always searching for alternatives to help Pennsylvania realtors sell more real estate.

Any questions please call:


Andy Williams
President
Abacus Regional Mortgage
484 695 5972

IDENTITY THEFT

Recently my 82 year old mother became a victim of identity theft.  Someone from Kentucky stole her name and social security number and opened a credit card with Capital One.  The culprit not only received the card, but they charged it to the limit and never made a payment. 

 

All of this was discovered when she inquired into moving into a different apartment.  Upon inquiring into her credit, the landlord informed her of this account with Capital One which had been placed for collections.  This is where the fun begins.

 

Both my mother and I have spent countless hours on the phone  being transferred between departments at Capital One.  From one ignorant or unhelpful representative toe the next, each time resulting in an ultimate transfer direct to their collection agency.  Needless to say,  this has become a very stressful and frustrating situation.  These so-called "Customer Service Representatives" either hung up the phone, refused to transfer our call to a supervisor.  When asked to speak with the fraud department, they asked for the account number of the credit card, and transferred the call right back to the collections agency.

 

Now I know why Capital One has that commercial about vikings pillaging a suburban mall.  After several unsuccessful attempts to reach the appropriate individuals in the fraud department,  I felt like pillaging Capital One's corporate offices myself.  The truth is that Capital One is just as guilty as the person who stole her identity in that they granted this credit without asking for any identification.  This whole situation destroyed my mother's credit in the process.

 

The one thing I learned from all of this is that you can avoid identity fraud.  You need to write to all three credit companies(Equifax, Trans Union, Experian) and ask to add a "Consumer Statement" to your credit report.  This is a statement that tells any potential creditor, who is inquiring into your credit, that you must be notified by telephone before extending credit.  This is a safety net in the event that someone is using your identity.  Each time your credit is inquired this statement will appear on your credit report. 

At least this can avoid any potential future problems.  The next time someone asks you "What's in your wallet?", tell them it's none of their business.

 Don't let this happen to your get yourself, your family or your buisness protected today  Click here

 

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Andrew Williams

President

Abacus Regional Mortgage