Valu-Rite Appraisers, Inc.

Personal Bankruptcy & Taxes

admin — Fri, 10 Sep 2010 01:34:38 +0000

If you are contemplating filing Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 bankruptcy, don’t proceed without an experienced and knowledgeable bankruptcy attorney from Legal Helpers at your side. Your taxes may qualify to be discharged in bankruptcy but it is very important to stay out of tax trouble during the process.

Who Is Really Filing for Bankruptcy?

admin — Thu, 09 Sep 2010 03:34:20 +0000

Go take a gander at your newspaper’s business section. Go ahead, take it all in. The bankruptcies you see reported are the ones alerting stockholders, financiers, and everyone else immersed in the corporate world: the Chapter 11 business bankruptcies. Even the blog you are currently reading stands guilty of

Everything You Wanted to Know about Economic Indicators – Part II

admin — Wed, 08 Sep 2010 05:33:03 +0000

More U.S. economic indicators from the Chicago Tribune…

• U.S. median existing single-family home price, the monthly median sale price for existing single-family homes. Housing prices affect perception of consumer financial health and affect consumer spending. Prices reflect state of homebuilding and related industries; $184,200 in June 2010

NMLS And FHA Training Sessions

Ken R. Trippet — Wed, 08 Sep 2010 00:28:30 +0000

Loan Officers: Sorry about the late notice, but just a quick reminder about a couple of NMLS and FHA training sessions coming up this week and next:

Mortgage Origination Mastery – 20-hr NMLS Class

with Mortgage Expert Chip Cummings

Wed-Thu Sept. 8-9

10:00am Eastern (7:00am Pacific)

20-hr NMLS-approved training

CLICK HERE FOR DETAILS OR TO ATTEND

This session will come complete with study manual and hundreds of actual sample test questions! Approximately 1/3 of ALL originators are FAILING the test – and only 56% pass it the SECOND time! If you’re just looking for a quick ONLINE Exam Prep tool – then this is perfect.

For those in the world of FHA (or looking to enter it), I am also conducting another special 6-hr. session for certification:

ABC’s of FHA Lending!

with Chip Cummings

Mon-Tue Sept 13-14th

12:00pm – 3:00pm Eastern

6-hr. training

CLICK HERE FOR DETAILS OR TO ATTEND

This session will help you get approved with lenders from around the country, and give you a jump on the competition.

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Homeowners Squeezed by Housing Costs, Report Says

admin — Mon, 06 Sep 2010 17:28:06 +0000

The Joint Center for Housing Studies at Harvard University recently released its State of the National Housing 2010 report and found that 40.3 million households spend more than 30% of their incomes on housing in 2008, and 18.6 million spend more than half their incomes on housing.

The report also found that one in seven homeowners owed more on their mortgages than their homes were worth. While the government has tried to stem the tide of foreclosures and assist some homeowners, many people who are underwater on mortgages loans have not been helped for a variety of reasons. According to the report:

As of April 2010, HAMP [Home Affordable Modification Program] had made 1.5 million offers that resulted in 637,000 currently active rial modifications and about 295,000 permanent ones. But even among those households able to qualify for this reduction in payments, the Treasury Department estimates that 40 percent will re-default.

Despite problems in the housing market, demand for housing rose in 2010, helped by many first-time home buyers claiming the governments tax credit 45% of home sales were to first-time buyers. Some repeat home buyers also took advantage of an expanded tax credit to purchase homes.

The housing report states that the housing recover is still at risk:

In addition to the expiration of the homebuyer tax credit program, which may have temporarily jacked up home sales, the market faces threats from the severe overhang of vacant units, still high unemployment, and record numbers of owners with homes worth less than the amount owed on their mortgages.

You can read more about the housing report here.

Credit Cards Differ by Rates, Fees, Terms & Rewards

admin — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 17:02:52 +0000

Despite sweeping financial reform in Washington, D.C., aimed at ending questionable credit card billing practices, banks are continuing to implement procedures that pretty much ensure borrowers accumulate as many fees as is legal.

These dubious practices occur when portions of cardholders’ balances carry different rates of interest; cash

FHA Mortgage Insurance Premium Changes Made Official

admin — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 12:14:28 +0000

Effective for FHA loans for which the case number is assigned on or after October 4, 2010, FHA will lower its upfront mortgage insurance premium (except for HECMs) simultaneously with an increase to the annual premium which is collected on a monthly basis. This policy change will decrease upfront premiums for purchase money and refinance transactions, including FHA-to-FHA credit-qualifying and non-credit qualifying streamlined refinance transactions.

Upfront Premiums

Effective for FHA loans for which the case number is assigned on or after
October 4, 2010, for FHA traditional purchase and refinance products, the upfront premium, shown in basis points below, will be charged for all amortization terms.

The upfront premium for Purchase Money Mortgages and Full-Credit Qualifying Refinances will be 100 BPS
The upfront premium for Streamline Refinances (all types) will be 100 BPS

Annual Premiums

Effective for FHA loans for which the case number is assigned on or after
October 4, 2010, FHA will increase the annual premiums collected on a monthly basis. For FHA traditional purchase and refinance products, the annual premium, shown in basis points below, is to be remitted on a monthly basis, and will be charged based on the initial loan-to-value ratio and length of the mortgage according to the following schedule:

For Loans with terms greater than 15 Years, and:

Loan to Value Equal to or less than 95 percent the annual premium will be 85 BPS
Loan to Value greater than 95 percent, the annual premium will be 90 BPS

The annual premium for amortization terms equal to or less than 15 years remains unchanged and is collected according to the following schedule.

For Loans with terms equal to or less than 15 year, and:

A loan to value equal to or less than 90 percent there will be NO annual mortgage insurance premium
A loan to value greater than 90 percent, the annual mortgage insurance premium will be 25 BPS

Cancellation of FHA’s Annual Mortgage Insurance Premiums

The cancellation policies defined in Mortgagee Letters 2000-38 and 2000-46 remain unchanged.

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Boon or Burden? California Bill Restricting Local Government Bankruptcy Returns to Capitol

admin — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 19:00:56 +0000

California city and county agency budgets are about to get a lot tighter. A bill that would restrict local government bankruptcies is being heard this week by the Senate Local Government Committee. The bill in question, California Assembly Bill (AB) 155, has been recently amended in efforts to tackle

Strike-Out for Former MLBer?

admin — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 22:53:38 +0000

Lenny Dykstra, former star of the Philadelphia Phillies and New York Mets, has encountered still another snag in his long-running Chapter 7 bankruptcy chronicle. In a court filing, Arturo Cisneros has resigned as the trustee in the Lenny Dykstra case “after consultation with the Office of the United States

Debtpidemic!

admin — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 00:50:11 +0000

Debtpidemic [det-pi-dem-ik] – noun a rapid spread or increase in the occurrence of toxic debt, affecting individuals, corporations, as well as local, state and national governments: Doan Law Firm has officially declared a debtpidemic.

Our collective debt load has reached such a level that we need a new word to describe it. We propose “debtpidemic”. The pivotal concept behind this newly coined word is that an epidemic changes the lives of everyone in a society whether they are infected or not. At this point in our history, national and personal debt is taking a heavy toll on our families, friends and loved ones.

Imagine if the bubonic plague swept our great land. It would command our instant attention. Each of us would take the utmost precautions. We’d be hand-washing, antidote-seeking, near-hysteria fools. We would implicitly understand the severity of the situation, the stakes are high, it’s life or death.

We’re in the same predicament now, it’s just a different plague. Our government has emptied its arsenal; stimulus, bailouts and special programs. At home we have pounded the pavement for work, tightened our belts and then tightened them some more, yet the debtpidemic rages on.

What is the antidote? The first step is to stop the debtpidemic at home. Take a good, hard, objective look at your personal financial situation. Do you wonder how to keep the hamster wheel spinning? Do you engage in creative accounting to get everyone, or almost everyone, paid? Most importantly, does your financial situation keep you up at night?

Come talk to us at Doan Law Firm. We get it and we can help. We even published a full page of quality content in the Orange County Register to explain this concept. Our team of bankruptcy attorneys have cured over 25,000 people of their own debtpidemic, one family at a time. We can provide you with the antidote.

PS While we’re at it, here’s another word to add to your vocabulary: Debtpandemic det-pan-dem-ik – noun: a rapid spread or increase in the occurrence of toxic debt across nations, affecting individuals, corporations, as well as local, state, national, and international governments. The debtpidemic is now reported to be a full blown debtpandemic.