Fernandina Beach Mortgage Information

What’s First? The House or the Mortgage? by Dean Hartman on October 20, 2011 · 0 comments ShareShare Most people get it backwards. They shop for a home, THEN, they try to structure the financing for it. They make the emotional decision of buying the home of their dreams, THEN, try to apply logic in how they pay for it. Many even go “online” and play with what is affordable by underwriting standards without TRULY considering their future. I am always fascinated by mortgage underwriting “standards” when they don’t even take into account some very large variables that affect an applicant’s cash flow, and thereby, their ability to repay the loan or maintain a lifestyle they want: Are you single or a family of six? Costs for food and clothing alone are very different. Do you live in a state that requires State Income Tax or not? Another significant part of the equation. How often do you like to eat out or vacation? Are you willing to sacrifice these things for a bigger or nicer home? Falling in love with a home without considering the REAL impact on your lifestyle is a recipe for unhappiness….either in re-adjusting to a “lesser” home or disappointment over the lack of vacations or nights out. My advice is to first work on your financing. Go the logic route. Find out what you can afford from a lender’s underwriting perspective, but then, spend some time considering the the cash flow realities of your choice. Work with your loan officer to make wise choices. Additionally, your loan officer should be advising you on ways to properly represent and transfer your assets, how to explain and document your income, as well as, assisting you in methods to get your optimal credit score. This counsel can be invaluable in smoothing out some of the bumps in the mortgage process, besides giving you the best chance to get the most aggressive pricing available. To me, the choice is crystal clear…the mortgage before the house! John Holbrook - Realtor Amelia Island, Fernandina Beach & Yulee, Florida Cell: 904-415-0171 Email: holbrook66@msn.com Web: www.nassaumls.net www.johnholbrook.blogspot.com

Prudential Chaplin Williams Realty - Amelia Island

Prudential Chaplin Williams passes 235 real estate sides closed for 2011. This includes homes for sale, vacant lots and condos in the Fernandina Beach, Amelia Island and Yulee areas as well as Callahan and Hilliard. Prudential Chaplin Williams is currently the number one office in sales, listings and closed units in Nassau Couty for 2011. John Holbrook - Realtor Amelia Island, Fernandina Beach & Yulee, Florida Cell: 904-415-0171 Email: holbrook66@msn.com Web: www.nassaumls.net www.johnholbrook.blogspot.com

2511 Tennis Villas, Fernandina Beach/Amelia Island, FL 32034 :: Prudential Chaplin Williams Realty

$299,000 for a tennis villa on Amelia island Plantation.
2511 Tennis Villas, Fernandina Beach/Amelia Island, FL 32034 :: Prudential Chaplin Williams Realty

John Holbrook - Realtor Amelia Island, Fernandina Beach & Yulee, FloridaCell: 904-415-0171 Email: holbrook66@msn.com Web: www.nassaumls.net
www.johnholbrook.blogspot.com

1815 S 8TH STREET, Fernandina Beach/Amelia Island, FL 32034 :: Prudential Chaplin Williams Realty

$325,000 for a new commercial building and lot on 8th Street in Fernandina Beach.
1815 S 8TH STREET, Fernandina Beach/Amelia Island, FL 32034 :: Prudential Chaplin Williams Realty

John Holbrook - Realtor Amelia Island, Fernandina Beach & Yulee, FloridaCell: 904-415-0171 Email: holbrook66@msn.com Web: www.nassaumls.net
www.johnholbrook.blogspot.com

3201 Eventide C0urt, Fernandina Beach/Amelia Island, FL 32034 :: Prudential Chaplin Williams Realty

$449,000 for 2900 sq ft detached home near The Surf Reastaurant on Fletcher Ave.
3201 Eventide C0urt, Fernandina Beach/Amelia Island, FL 32034 :: Prudential Chaplin Williams Realty

John Holbrook - Realtor Amelia Island, Fernandina Beach & Yulee, FloridaCell: 904-415-0171 Email: holbrook66@msn.com Web: www.nassaumls.net
www.johnholbrook.blogspot.com

160 AC Tompkins Landing Rd, Hilliard, FL 32046 :: Prudential Chaplin Williams Realty

160 acres in Hilliard for $750,000
160 AC Tompkins Landing Rd, Hilliard, FL 32046 :: Prudential Chaplin Williams Realty

John Holbrook - Realtor Amelia Island, Fernandina Beach & Yulee, FloridaCell: 904-415-0171 Email: holbrook66@msn.com Web: www.nassaumls.net
www.johnholbrook.blogspot.com

A202 The Landings, Fernandina Beach/Amelia Island, FL 32034 :: Prudential Chaplin Williams Realty

$863,500 for a new riverfront condo thats over 3000 sq ft.
A202 The Landings, Fernandina Beach/Amelia Island, FL 32034 :: Prudential Chaplin Williams Realty

John Holbrook - Realtor Amelia Island, Fernandina Beach & Yulee, FloridaCell: 904-415-0171 Email: holbrook66@msn.com Web: www.nassaumls.net
www.johnholbrook.blogspot.com

Old Dixie Highway, Callahan, FL 32011 :: Prudential Chaplin Williams Realty

$2,470,000 for 759 acres in Nassau County

Old Dixie Highway, Callahan, FL 32011 :: Prudential Chaplin Williams Realty

John Holbrook - Realtor Amelia Island, Fernandina Beach & Yulee, FloridaCell: 904-415-0171 Email: holbrook66@msn.com Web: www.nassaumls.netwww.johnholbrook.blogspot.com

REO Market Peak Levels

Monday, October 17th, 2011, 4:15 pm The sale of properties repossessed through foreclosure may not peak until 2013, keeping home prices from a meaningful recovery for some time, analysts estimated Monday. Nearly half of the more than 552,000 REO properties liquidated in the first half of 2011 were held by private banks. In the years ahead, the government — including the Department of Housing and Urban Development, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac — will begin taking a majority of the activity. In 2013, REO sales could reach 1.48 million properties, according to estimates from Bank of America Merrill Lynch analysts, a 10% increase from projected amount in 2012. "We do not expect to see anywhere near the downward pressure on home prices that we had back in 2008, since the expected percent changes in liquidation volumes are so much smaller," BofAML analysts said. "But home prices are starting from a negative point, so the implication is that home prices will continue to decline as the foreclosures transition through the pipeline." Most of the projected increase will come as the government begins to unload its backlog. The government-sponsored enterprises and HUD, analysts estimate, will liquidate roughly 595,000 properties in 2013 alone. Total REO liquidations wouldn't drop below 1 million until 2015, according to BofAML. The Obama administration began work last month developing new strategies for selling this mass of properties, which may involve renting more of them. The Federal Housing Finance Agency is also working on a way to refinance more underwater borrowers to entice them from walking away. "I would essentially rent the house back to those who are living in them now," said Susan Woodward, an economist with Sand Hill Econometrics. "I don't think it makes a lot of sense to push 4 million people out of their homes when they're victims of a slower economy they had nothing to do with." Other analysts were skeptical of anyone who could predict accurately what the GSEs or Washington would do, especially after the elections in 2012. "Do they really think that the government under any administration would let 500,000 homes hit the market and crash prices all over again, six years after the first crash?" said Scott Sambucci, chief analyst at Altos Research. He said even if unemployment improved by a full percentage point or two — which he said would be a stretch — the market would still struggle to meet such a supply influx. "It would crash the market, so no, it'll never happen," Sambucci said. Daren Blomquist at RealtyTrac, which monitors foreclosure filings across the country, said the sale of REO is on track to reach 825,000 by the end of 2011. "We do expect the REOs to pick back up in 2012 as lenders push through some of the foreclosures delayed by processing and paperwork issues," Blomquist said, adding the inventory needed to be sold could reach well into the millions. If half of the 800,000 mortgages currently somewhere in the foreclosure process and another half of the 1.5 million loans in serious delinquency end up REO, it could mean an additional, 1.15 million properties that would need to be liquidated — not including new foreclosures that enter the process, according to RealtyTrac. "That's very possible given continued high unemployment rates and high underwater rates," Blomquist said. RealtyTrac estimates roughly 27% of all outstanding mortgages are worth more than the underlying property. Woodward said refinancing borrowers, in negative equity or not, down to current market rates could result in a total savings for U.S. households at $250 billion annually. When asked if private investors would return to fund the future mortgage market after such a radical change, she said they would. "I think the whole world would see this as a one-time fix. We did similar extreme things during the Great Depression," Woodward said. Investors themselves, though, showed little confidence they would take on such a risk again. In fact, most are trying to keep the government involved in the housing market for the future, to keep risks as low as possible. Otherwise, foreign investors would flee. While the estimates on how many REO will be sold in the future are extremely difficult to nail down, the size of the best projections share a common and threatening scale. Analysts said major refinancing schemes or new strategies for liquidating REO on a local level would need to be completed soon to rescue house prices from the still increasing pressure of mounting foreclosures. "The need for policy support would therefore be considered urgent," the BofAML analysts said. John Holbrook - Realtor Amelia Island, Fernandina Beach & Yulee, Florida Cell: 904-415-0171 Email: holbrook66@msn.com Web: www.nassaumls.net www.johnholbrook.blogspot.com

Jacksonville Buyers Report

Jacksonville, FL – Buyers Running for the Hills with Cloud of Uncertainty Looming (3,381 single-family permits in 2010, 26th largest market in the country) Traffic falls further as index reaches new lows for the year. Traffic fell sharply in September, as our traffic index dipped to 23 from 39 in August, missing agents’ expectations for this time of year (readings below 50). This marks the region’s lowest reading since October 2010. Agents highlighted that buyers were only looking if they “truly needed a home,” otherwise they remained on the sidelines. Economic concerns, volatile stock market activity, and an overall lack of confidence all worked to keep buyers away from the market in September. One agent mentioned, “There is a sense of folks hunkering down.” Another agent noted, “Job security is a real issue for people. They don’t feel comfortable making such a big ticket commitment.” Traffic has been choppy since peaking in May, with September marking the lowest reading. One agent thinks the trend could end up looking worse as the year progresses, commenting, “Foot traffic is ok, but phone traffic is slower, meaning the end of the year could be really slow.” Agents also mentioned that would be buyers have had continued difficulty securing financing. Pricing continues to fall as homes linger on the market. Home prices continued to face pressure in September, as our home price index came in at 32 (from 23 in August), closer toward a neutral reading, but still falling short, pointing to sequentially lower prices (readings below 50). We think recent inventory trends may have helped our price index, as inventory levels were stable for the second consecutive month. Our home listings index came in at 50 (unchanged from our reading in August), with readings of 50 pointing to flat inventory levels. However, the time to sell increased again in September, which we expect to remain a drag on the region’s pricing. Our time to sell index came in at 14 (from 23 in August), with readings below 50 pointing to an increased time to sell. John Holbrook - Realtor Amelia Island, Fernandina Beach & Yulee, Florida Cell: 904-415-0171 Email: holbrook66@msn.com Web: www.nassaumls.net www.johnholbrook.blogspot.com

95016 PASO ROBLES COURT Fernandina Beach, FL 32034 Hot Off The MLS!

95016 PASO ROBLES COURT Fernandina Beach, FL 32034 Hot Off The MLS!

John Holbrook - Realtor Amelia Island, Fernandina Beach & Yulee, FloridaCell: 904-415-0171 Email: holbrook66@msn.com Web: www.nassaumls.netwww.johnholbrook.blogspot.com

86961 WORTHINGTON DRIVE Yulee, FL 32097 Hot Off The MLS!

86961 WORTHINGTON DRIVE Yulee, FL 32097 Hot Off The MLS!

John Holbrook - Realtor Amelia Island, Fernandina Beach & Yulee, FloridaCell: 904-415-0171 Email: holbrook66@msn.com Web: www.nassaumls.netwww.johnholbrook.blogspot.com