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Image by Sean MacEntee
mortgage

Opinion: Mortgage settlement fund must go to NJ homeowners
By Times of Trenton guest opinion column Kevin Dietsch/BloombergPresident Obama speaks about the details of a housing settlement between federal and state officials and mortgage lenders earlier today in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building in …
Read more on The Star-Ledger – NJ.com

Fannie, Freddie regulator looks to unify mortgage securities
WASHINGTON ? The US is studying a single way to package home loans into securities as an interim step toward a system that could outlive Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, mortgage-finance firms that have faced an uncertain future in the wake of the housing …
Read more on Fox News

Should Mortgage Rates Even Be Lower?
By MATT PHILLIPS Mortgage rates are the lowest on record. But by a key historical measure, they should be even lower. Over the past year, a wide gap ripped open between the mortgage rates house hunters see and a benchmark interest rate investors demand …
Read more on Wall Street Journal

Mortgage Application Volume Falls 2.5%
The number of mortgage applications filed in the US last week fell 2.5% from the prior week, the Mortgage Bankers Association said Wednesday. Refinance activity decreased 4.8%, according to the MBA's weekly survey, which covers more than three-quarters …
Read more on Wall Street Journal

$274900 Hud Foreclosed

4,900 – HUD Foreclosed – Single Family Home – Spring Park

on the property’s current mortgage.

Price: $ 274,900

Location

55384 Spring Park, USA

Gainesville – Single Family Home

on the property’s current mortgage.

Price: $ 169,900

Location

30504 Gainesville, USA

How To Write A Hardship

How to Write a Hardship Letter for Chase Bank

Step1
First brainstorm about your hardship. Sit down, and write down every idea that pops in your head about why you can’t afford your house. Why are you having financial difficulties. Loss of job, medical bills, increased property taxes, child’s college education tuition, divorce, credit card debt, etc. Write every possible thought that has any affect on your financial situation or your wanting to negotiate some kind of loan modification with Chase Bank. It doesn’t matter what you write down. Don’t think too much, just write whatever pops in your head. Sit and write until you have at least 5 ideas. If you don’t have 5, you’re thinking too much. Just write whatever pops in your head.

Step2
Now look at your hardship letter brainstorm list and pick the most obvious ones that have the most affect on your financial situation and ability to make payments on the home. Look at the list as if you were Chase Bank, or your specific bank. Which hardships would you look at as the most crucial? Once you select 3 or 4 hardships, focus on them and explain exactly why they are affecting your ability to make payments on the loan. (For example: I was laid off on Sept. 27 and as a result, my monthly income has decreased by ,100.)

Step3
Now you’re ready to begin writing and putting together your hardship letter. Rule # 1, make your hardship letter less than one page paragraph form. Loan modification or mortgage loan workout department reps look through many letters. They don’t want to be reading a novel to find out why you can’t afford your mortgage payments.

Step4
Line 1: At the top of the hardship letter type Chase Bank, or your bank’s name that you are requesting the deed in lieu from. Line 2: put their address. Line 3: type their phone number and fax number. Skip a space. Line 4: type the date. Line 5: type “RE: Request for deed in lieu – (Your Loan # and Property address).” Skip a line and start your letter with: “Dear (Chase Bank or Bank’s Name) Representative:”

Step5
First paragraph: State a change. Mention what change took place why you can no longer afford your payments. Keep it brief and simply let them know that some change happened between the time you bought the home and now which has affected your ability to pay your mortgage loan. Ex: “There has been significant changes in in my financial situation since I purchased my home in October 2001.”

Step6
2nd paragraph: State why your area is bad. Ex: “My property is located in ______ town. The taxes have increased, property values have declined, there are 5 foreclosures on my street, etc.” List any bad circumstances for your specific location that support your case for a loan modification or short sale , etc.

Step7
3rd and or 4th paragraph: List any of the following and explain using details and specific numbers as best as you can such as: wrong doing by mortgage loan broker, bad adjustable mortgage loan on the property, hardships (income I depended on is no longer available, increased bills, inability to work due to health or disability, etc. – from your brainstorm list).

Step8
Final paragraph: Clearly state that you “cannot pay” and need to negotiate some kind of modification or change to your mortgage loan with Chase Bank. You don’t have any other options available. Leave your contact info or your agent’s contact info if they require further information. Sign, date, and give to your agent, attorney, or bank. (See warnings below)

Understanding how mortgage interest rates are quoted
Video Rating: 5 / 5

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Bill Clinton

Bill Clinton
Event on 2012-03-19 19:00:00
St. Augustine, FL (November 8, 2011) – The St. Johns County Cultural Events Division announced today that Former President Bill Clinton, 42nd President of the United States, has been confirmed as the featured speaker at The Saint Augustine Amphitheatre on the evening of Monday, March 19, 2012.

Since leaving public office in 2000, Former President Clinton has remained a high profile figure of global influence. He is respected worldwide for his insights into national and international affairs and for his humanitarian efforts with the William J. Clinton Foundation to transform the global landscape.

His most recent literary project, “Back to Work” was released today, November 8^th, and focuses on economic growth, job creation, financial responsibility, resolving the mortgage crisis, and green technology- all issues that affect Americans on a local, national and global level.

President Clinton’s appearance will be particularly relevant as it occurs on March 19^th, the bicentennial anniversary of the signing of the Spanish Constitution of 1812 (commemorated in St. Augustine by a monument located in Plaza de la Constitucion), creating the perfect setting for President Clinton to speak on the impact of our historically significant community, along with the global impact of democracy.

President Clinton left office with the highest end-of-office approval rating of any United States President since World War II, and will be one of many notable U.S. presidents to visit St. Augustine.

For updates on ticket prices and the event on sale date, please check back with www.staugamphitheatre.com.

at St Augustine Amphitheatre
1340C A1A South On Anastasia Isle
Saint Augustine, United States

Real Estate Rent-to-Own Investment Seminar – Tuesday!
Event on 2012-02-21 18:45:00
You're Invited to our Free Weekly Investor Seminars!

Every Tuesday night, we will be hosting real estate investment information seminars.

Topics will include an in-depth look at Rent-to-Own, RRSP Mortgages, Refinancing your Home to Invest, and the possibility of passively investing in Land Development.

To register for these seminars please visit our website www.nearlyhome.ca/investorevents.html
Seating is limited, so you must RSVP! Feel free to bring a friend or colleague, and please indicate how many people will be joining you.

6:45 pm – Networking over wine and cheese
7:00 pm – Presentation

The agenda for this session:
• Why invest in Real Estate?
• What is Rent-to-Own?
• When is Rent-to-Own better than other investments?
• How Nearly Home ™ makes investing easy.
• What opportunities are available by investing in a professional land developer
• How you can invest in Real Estate WITHOUT DOING ANY WORK YOURSELF!

You can also RSVP by phone or email by contacting Chris at 613-220-3684
or chris@nearlyhome.ca

Please free to give us a call or send us an email if you have any questions.

at Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
New Edinburgh Park
Ottawa, Canada

Bankruptcy Mortgage Book
How To Get A Home Mortgage After A Bankruptcy Or Other Major Credit Challenge.
Bankruptcy Mortgage Book

Mortgage Loan Tips.
Why Some People Almost Always Get The Lowest Interest Rate On Their Mortgage – For The Least Points – And No Junk Fees!
Mortgage Loan Tips.

Cool Mortgage Images

A few nice Mortgage images I found:

mortgage


Image by Sean MacEntee
mortgage

Mortgage


Image by Rev Dan Catt
This is the Mortgage taken out on our house and three others in 1894, just a short 112 years ago. At about 200 UK pounds a house, that’s quite a bargin.

In some ways I’m happy to say the value has gone up a bit since then.

Original Mortgage Document


Image by Rev Dan Catt
When we moved into the house we found a box with a whole bunch of documents in. Someone else has numbered them all and unfortunately number 2 is the earliest one we have.

On the other hand, fortunately number 2 is the earliest one we have.

What The $25b Mortgage Deal

National mortgage settlement removes the foreclosure overhang, but is no panacea. Read More On Forbes: What’s In Settlement?: onforb.es Impact On Banks: onforb.es MERS Lawsuit: onforb.es

mortgage Settlement How The Negotiations

mortgage


Image by Sean MacEntee
mortgage

Mortgage settlement: How the negotiations unfolded
The banks have committed $ 20 billion in various forms of mortgage relief plus payments of $ 5 billion to state and federal governments. The nation's five largest mortgage servicers — Bank of America, JPMorgan, Wells Fargo & Co., Citigroup Inc. and Ally …
Read more on Washington Post

NY State Attorney General: Mortgage settlement is just a start
(02/10/12) New York State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman says mortgage-holders in the state could end up owing more than $ 700 million less, under the terms of a new $ 25 billion settlement between states and five of the nation's biggest lenders.
Read more on North Country Public Radio

Quitclaim Deed And Mortgage Transfer

Quitclaim Deed and Mortgage Transfer – Any Tax Implications?

Scenario: My father has been through financial problems throughout his life. 10 years ago, he and my mom have had negative credit scores due to past uses with the IRS and he even had his wages garnished. However he could scrape by and later on I helped him out by buying a home with a mortgage thereby having my name both on mortgage and title. I knew I would end up selling the property if they didn’t make payments on the mortgage as my security and I could always deduct the mortgage interest on my returns. He promised to pay off the mortgage within 2 years and in return I would give away the property to him right after that. But it’s over 6 years and the loan isn’t paid off. I have had to take out cash from my savings to keep the payments on time. The property has gone up in value over the years but my relationship with my dad has worsened. He feels I’m into stealing his money which isn’t true. My dad wants me to sign over the property to him. And he’s also looking for lenders to refinance the loan as the quitclaim would leave the mortgage payoff responsibility entirely on my shoulders. I’d like to make sure that my name is removed from the mortgage debt if at all I transfer the property and would like to know about the tax implications. Is such a transfer possible using a quitclaim? I don’t want to sell and out him in a precarious situation because he can’t make payments as he’s on social security only and in order to save a bit more, he’s looking for a refinance.

Solution:

If you’re looking to take your name off the title, you need to execute a quitclaim deed approved by your state and sign it over to your father. But, prior to recording the deed, get it signed by a notary public.

However, while you transfer the property using a quitclaim deed, your responsibility towards the mortgage doesn’t end as the deed does not free you from the mortgage payment liability. So, here’s why your father needs to do a refinance. While he refinances the existing loan with a new one in his name alone, yours is taken away from the loan doc and therefore neither are you on the title nor on the loan.

As far as taking your name off the loan is concerned, you can also request your father to talk to the lender and look into the chances of a Novation – a process by which you can simply transfer the loan to your father. But given the fact that your father has had credit and finance problems, depending upon how long they have been affecting his credit and finances, he may or may not be allowed a Novation.

However, refinance can still be a possibility if he’s looking for a reverse mortgage. But in order to qualify, he needs to be 62 years and above. Also, if your father has good amount of equity in the home, he’ll be able to get a higher loan amount with which he can pay off the current mortgage. Moreover, the property should be his primary residence and as such he needs to have his name on the title. And that’s possible only when you sign over the quitclaim deed.

The best part of taking out a reverse mortgage is, one does not have to pay back on a monthly basis. The reverse mortgage needs to be paid back only when the last surviving borrower dies or sells property or moves out.

Now, considering the tax implications of doing a quitclaim, well, if you sign over the deed, you’re the grantor and hence it’s your liability to pay taxes. If you quitclaim property without taking any money in return from your father, the transfer is regarded as a gift and the value of the gift will be the value of the property at the time of the transfer (here the value has appreciated). Now, if the value of the gift does not exceed the annual exclusion limit of 000 (for 2008) per year per person then the donor (here it’s you) need not pay federal tax on the gift.

However, if the value of the gift exceeds 000 and you have already given up ,000,000 in gifts in total till now in your life, you’ll have to pay the federal gift tax. Otherwise you need not have any tax liability as such upon transfer of property. The total gift amount of ,000,000 is the lifetime exemption for paying federal gift tax.

While the value of the gift at the time of transfer helps you decide whether to pay gift tax, it enables the recipient, your father, to determine if a deduction is available when he sells the property at a loss.

West On Cbs News Exclusive

2/6/2012 CBS News interviews Congressman West after he reveals to them the real way the two month tax deal was paid for
Video Rating: 4 / 5

Basic Principles Of Financial Management

Basic Principles of Financial management

Financial Management

Good financial planning cannot be underestimated. Many surveys have identified that around 74% of business closures were attributable to poor financial management. A good business will have a business plan that incorporates financial budget for projected sales, expenses, net profits, staff needs and capital acquisition (purchase of assets)

- The level of profitability in a business will have an impact on the liquidity of the business, and this must be continuously monitored. The amount of cash in the business daily and the credit available from bankers must be sufficient to allow the businesses to trade. The measure of business?s efficiency is the manner, in which it maintains its records promptly, collects its overdue receivables and maintains an inventory that turns over quickly.

- The ultimate measure of business success is the return on shareholder?s funds, often expressed as net profit divided by shareholders funds.

- Actual results should be reported against budgets at least monthly. This enables management to correct adverse trends . Corrections may include improved staff training, better cost control, improved purchasing from suppliers, and better marketing through advertising, etc.

- The importance of cash in a business and the speed with which it flows through the business accounts can be the difference between survival and failure. Cash is needed to pay bills. A business id deemed to be insolvent when it is unable to pay its debts as and when they arise. Bank lines of credit are very important to any business.

- The financial controls needed in s successful business are intended to minimise risk. Expense control should be firm and production costs should avoid wastage without compromising quality. Minimising risk is supplemented by insurance for fire, burglary, theft and loss of profits, etc.

- Many people enter business with little basic knowledge. Financial planning is about gaining knowledge in preparation for a course of action for any enterprise. It is important to know about financial reports such as budgets, cash flow, profit and loss statements and balance sheets. Record systems are the means of being able to check progress against past results.

- The planning cycle begins with a business looking at its present financial position. Then the managers prepare a business plan with objectives and budgets. Next are the implementation and control phrases. Planning is strategic or operational.

- Major participants in the financial market are:

- Investment/merchant banks

- Commercial banks ? provide customers with a range of products including deposit and cheque accounts, credit/debit cards, personal loans and mortgages

- Money market dealers ? buy and sell government securities on the secondary market, and offer cash or deposit facilities to major organisations.

- Finance companies ? major providers of business finance, factoring, leasing and property financing

- Insurance/superannuation funds ? involved in domestic and commercial mortgages, property developments, bonds, shares and government securities.

- Building societies/credit unions- make advances to customers for housing and personal loans, similar to banks.

- The reserve bank of Australia acts as banker for the government; implements monetary policy independently but in conjunction with the government of the day; monitors commercial banks; monitors foreign exchange rates; manages coin and note issues; and monitors economic data.

- Merchant/investment banks are major players in the short-term money markets, dealing with all money market instruments or securities such as commercial bills. They act as primary advisors to corporations seeking to issue shares or debentures/bonds. They also underwrite new share/debenture issues, and tender and deal in government securities.

- The Australian Stock Exchange Limited (ASX) has many customers, but the principle ones are investors, listed companies and stockbrokers , who are intermediaries (links) between them and the capital markets.

- Domestic market influences on our capital markets include where we are on the economic cycle; economic management policies of the Federal Government ; interest rate changes by the Reserve Bank; level of unemployment ; industrial stability; consumer demand; the level of investment in the economy; the innovation rate; and the level of inflation.

- Overseas market influences are affected by the world economic position. These effects flow into our capital markets. Interest rates, unemployment, government management, consumer demand, industrial stability and regional conflicts all affect our markets.

- Like most countries, Australia can point to certain indicators of financial health eg. Changes in inflation rates; the consumer price index; the rate of unemployment; the level of new investment; the increase/decrease in our overseas debt; rate of imports; stock market index; value of currency etc. All these indicators combine to identify trends in our financial markets.

- Internal funds are generated from monies furnished by the owners of the business. If a business is successful financially, the owners may decide to leave some or all of the profits from operations inside the business. These are known as retained profits. A large, old and well-established business may have several hundred million dollars in retained profit. A new small business may have little or no retained profits.

- When business owners decide to borrow , they must obtain the funds from external sources. Short term funding refers to borrowing likely to be repaid within one year. Long term funding refers to borrowing that will be repaid over a term as long as 10-20 years. Mortgages (loans secured by real property or business assets) and debentures (loans from the general public) are commonly used to meet long term funding needs. It is important not to confuse sources of funds (eg banks) with types of finance (overdraft, mortgages).

- Factoring allows businesses to obtain external funds by selling their accounts receivable. Factoring occurs when businesses allow credit in payment for merchandise. The factoring company charges the business a small fee and the business has the advantage of receiving an immediate credit in its bank account. As factoring has become a more common business practice, businesses specialising in factoring have been established in Australia.

- Borrowers need to take care that they will be able to repay the borrowed funds during the life of the intended business expenditure. For example, short term borrowing via on overdraft to fund and expected 90-day cash shortage is considered acceptable business practice. However, taking a long-term mortgage to fund the same expected 90-day cash shortage is generally not considered sound management.

- Philosophies vary about the right combination of debt and equity finance. If the business is unable to repay the debt, including principle, interest and associated charges, creditors may take control of the business. Too much debt financing can mean that all stakeholders are at risk.

- Gearing refers to the percentage of funding that is borrowed against an asset or the total assets of a business. The greater percentage of funding that is borrowed, the higher the gearing ratio. In most cases, a business is unwise to owe more than it owns.

- Both balance sheets and revenue statements are normally prepared at the end of the financial year. They are designed to answer two questions:

- Is the business profitable (from the revenue statement)

- What is the business?s financial position (from the balance sheet)

- The accounting equation (A=L+OE) , from the balance sheet is also expressed as (A?L=OE). For example of the assets of a business are sold for 0 000 and the owners repay all liabilities of 000, the remaining 000 is what the owner gets to keep ? that is, the owners equity

- Current ratios range from 0.6:1 to 3.0:1, depending on how easily inventories and accounts receivable can be converted to cash, and how quickly cash flows in from a sale.

- The higher the debt to equity ratio, the higher the risk for creditors and owners. Solvency (gearing) ratios, like liquidity ratios can vary widely, from debt free to over 300%. A gearing ratio below 100% is usually considered safe or conservative.

- Generally the higher a businesses gross profit ratio, net profit ratio and return on owner?s equity ratio , the better for the business. Profitability ratios are typically starting points for evaluating businesses.

- Efficient managers work to lower expense ratios by monitoring and cutting costs wherever possible. Conversely, they seek to raise accounts receivable turnover ratio by establishing realistic credit policies and monitoring credit collections.

- Ratios allow analysts to compare a business with other similar businesses. Through ratios analysts can also examine the operations of any business over time, or compare a business with a benchmark .

- Both financial reporting and ratio analysis, however useful, have limitations. One business may legally use a different accounting method of its competitors. Another business may value its goodwill differently. The true value of assets may be understated on balance sheets because of historical cost accounting . Analysts need to be wary.

- The term working capital refers to an actual dollar amount. Most businesses need more current assets than current liabilities at all times. A key management responsibility is to ensure the business always has enough working capital to pay for the continuing operating costs incurred by the business.

- The relationship between current assets and current liabilities is often expressed as a ratio.

- A business?s current mix of payables, short-term loans and overdrafts is also largely controllable. Businesses that do not control the mix of their current assets are likely to experience liquidity problems ? that is, they will not be able to pay current operating expenses. This commonly occurs when managers allow accounts receivable to become overdue.

- A business?s current liability mix of payables, short-term loans and overdrafts is also largely controllable, and is another important responsibility for managers. Normally, businesses that allow their current liabilities to become greater than their current assets are asking for trouble because creditors, such as telephone companies and suppliers, are likely to stop extending credit when accounts are not paid on time.

- A common management trend is for businesses to manage or improve their dollar amounts and their ratios of working capital by lessening assets or by selling assets and then leasing them back. Factoring is the management strategy of selling accounts receivable, at a discount, to a third party in order to convert accounts receivable to cash. Effective ways to improve the quality of working capital are to improve the collection of receivables, install just-in-time inventory controls, have sales of excess stock and install cost control programs.

- Regrettably many businesses do not recognise the importance of checking cash resource daily . This is vital knowledge to enable creditors, wages, loans and other expenses to be paid. Cash will be tied up in receivables, inventories, or in other investments the business has made. The bank overdraft , usually secured, is intended to be a fluctuating account according to the needs of the business.

- Cash flow statements are presented to management monthly. They show the opening cash flow balance from last month, the total cash received from all sources, receivables , cash sales, proceeds for asset sales, loans received etc and the total payments made out, such as expenses , new inventory and loan repayments. The balance at the end of the month should be within capability of the business bank overdraft. A good cash flow statement should also show the value of receivables, inventory and ideally the sales last month to give a trend.

- Businesses may sell goods for cash or on credit . Management should have policies for checking customer creditworthiness and effective methods of collecting accounts. Customers who do not pay on time will tie up the cash in a business and can jeopardise the success of a business

- Suppliers who value large orders often may offer a discount for bulk purchase or for earlier payment. Discounts can be very effective in lowering the costs of a business, provided the business can manage its cash well. Management can also buy goods on extended terms whereby a supplier has agreed to allow the purchaser to pay over a set period by certain instalments at fixed times.

- Management should have other strategies to ensure the available cash in their business is effectively used. They may sell off idle assets, watch for wastage, and consider factoring and leasing.

- Large companies have found that special cost centres enable different managers to overview how costs are progressing against budget. Production, marketing, administration, research and development may be cost centres. A small business usually has one cost centre. All businesses need to minimise expenses and ensure a senior person is controlling expenses. Costs are made up of two types.

- Fixed costs ? such as monthly rent, insurance and leasing charges that do not vary with volume or sales

- Variable costs ? vary with the volume of business

- Revenues may be controlled by varying the sales mix and the target markets. As effective pricing policy meets or beats competition, seeks a greater market share and sells surplus stocks.

- Unconscionable conduct usually falls into two major categories; those practices that are illegal , either deliberately or through ignorance, and those practices that may be unethical , through the use of unacceptable actions, generally dictated by the society in which we live.

- Ethics is a set of principles by which our actions are judged by others. It is about how we make decisions to do the right thing and involves honesty, fairness, caring and courage to make the right decision. Businesses can sometimes have dilemmas in deciding between the interests of shareholders , staff, customers, the environment and the wider community.

- Public companies come under more scrutiny as they involve the investment of other people?s money. All public companies must have recognised accounting firm appointed as auditors, who must complete a full investigation of the accounting records each year. The audit report to shareholders is included in each annual report.

- All businesses must follow certain reporting conventions. The Australian accounting profession has laid down minimum standards that must be followed in reporting financial results. The audit report gives a true and fair view of the company?s financial position

- The corporations Law sets out the minimum criteria all companies must meet. Directors may be personally liable for breaches, and heavy penalties can be imposed. Proprietary/private companies must also meet these standards. Certain types of illegal conduct include, bribery, misuse of funds in the business, directors acting against the interest of the company, failure to declare conflicts of interest and continuing to trade while insolvent.

- The Australian Securities and Investment Commission is empowered to administer the Corporation Law and to ensure that all businesses meet their statutory obligations. Such statutory obligations include the duty to act with reasonable care and diligence, to ensure the correct payment of taxes, to act honestly in the exercise of their powers, and to report changes of address or company directors.

- Unethical behaviour is unacceptable conduct. Excuses are often used and rejected as reasons. Certain types of conduct such as asset stripping, giving gifts for favours, illegally obtaining information through others, disposing of waste in the wrong manner and taking advantage of staff, are all unethical and in certain circumstances may be illegal.