Las Vegas, Nevada Real Estate Agent’s Las Vegas Homes, Condos, Land, Commercial Real Estate and Personal Blog

    This legislation will allow distressed home owners who qualify, to cancel their old mortgage loans and replace them with 30-year fixed-rate loans for up to 90 percent of the home’s current value. The lender has to give the owner 10% equity in the home/condo. The catch is that the home owner’s current mortgage holder to agree to this.The decision on whether to write such a loan remains up to banks, which would have to be willing to take a loss on the existing loans in exchange for avoiding costly foreclosure process.

Applicants have to prove that they have spent more than 31% of their monthly income on their mortgages as of March 1, 2008, and the loan must have originated no later than Jan. 1, 2008. Borrower has to use the property as primary residence.

 Hope for Homeowners Act takes effect Oct. 1 and runs through September 2011. Doubtlessly it will take a while for the banks to adjust to the new law, so don’t look for an immediate response from them.

Any kind of assistance toward down payment from the seller or anyone with interest in the deal will be prohibited as of Oct-1^st 2008, and a $7,500 tax credit that would be available for any qualified purchase between April 8, 2008 and June 30, 2009. The credit is repayable over 15 years.

Distressed home owners should not seek advice from their mortgage lender as they are your adversaries, they want to get paid.  Contact a local credit counselor, a bankruptcy attorney, or call the toll-free hot line of the Hope Now alliance at 1-888-995-HOPE. It is available 24 hours a day to provide mortgage counseling in multiple languages.

In talks with distressed home owners I have heard that some banks tell them that they have to wait until they miss three payments, don’t do it. Try to keep up your payments as much as you can. You still have to qualify for a lesser loan amount than the one you currently have.