HARP from Mortgage News Daily...

by Jann Swanson

The Home Affordable Refinance Program (HARP) has been extended for another year according to information released on Friday from the Federal Housing Finance Agency.

The program was due to expire on June 30 but will now continue until that date in 2012. News of the extension comes while a House subcommittee is debating the end of HARPs companion program, the Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP) and has already voted to kill the FHA Short-Refi program and the new Emergency Assistance Loan Program (EALP) which would provide 23 months of mortgage assistance unemployed and underemployed home owners.

HARP is designed to assist homeowners who owe more money on their current mortgage that the market value of their home and are thus unable to qualify for a conventional refinance. Refinancing through HARP, which is administered by the Enterprises Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae, can potentially reduce homeowners' mortgage rates and remove some of the incentives for a strategic default.

Acting FHFA Director Edward J. DeMarco that that the program will continue operating in the same manner as it has since in was started in 2009 except that Freddie Mac will exempt HARP loans from their recently announced price adjustment and Fannie Mae will conform the eligibility date to May 2009.

The use of HARP more than tripled in 2010. During the year a total of 6.8 million mortgages were refinanced nationwide and HARP, with 621,803 loan closings, represented nearly 10 percent of the total. In 2009 190,180 homeowners used the program to refinance.

To qualify for HARP you must currently have a mortgage owned or guaranteed by the Enterprises, have a one year history of on-time payments on your loan, and owe more on your loan than your home is worth. The loan-to-value, however, cannot exceed 125%.

UPDATED WITH INFO RELEASED BY FANNIE MAE...

The following changes will extend the availability of the program to additional borrowers:

* The program has been extended. Accordingly, lenders may continue to originate Refi Plus™ and DU Refi Plus™ loans with the HARP flexibilities provided the note date is on or before June 30, 2012, and whole loans are purchased by Fannie Mae no later than October 31, 2012 or in an MBS pool with an issue date no later than October 1, 2012.

* Currently, to be eligible for Refi Plus or DU Refi Plus the existing mortgage loan being refinanced had to be purchased by Fannie Mae prior to March 1, 2009 or in an MBS pool with an issue date prior to March 1, 2009. With these program changes, mortgage loans are now eligible if they were purchased by Fannie Mae prior to June 1, 2009 or in an MBS pool with an issue date prior to June 1, 2009.

Desktop Underwriter® (DU®) and the delivery system edits will be updated to reflect the additional mortgage loans that are now eligible for inclusion in the program (loans purchased or securitized by Fannie Mae between March 1, 2009 and June 1, 2009). Consequently, DU will not identify these loan casefiles as eligible to be refinanced using DU Refi Plus until April 11, 2011, and DU and manually underwritten loans meeting the new eligibility requirement can be delivered to Fannie Mae on or after April 11, 2011.

The Obamarama continues...

President Obama has approved a bill for the Housing Tax Credit Expansion and Extension. Here's what it means:

The $8,000 First-Time Homebuyer Tax Credit is Extended!
• First-time home buyers receive $8000 tax credit if they sign a purchase contract by April 30, 2010 and close by June 30, 2010.

• The home purchased must be their primary residence

• Buyer cannot have owned a home during the past three years

• Tax credit is up to 10% of the home value (not to exceed $8,000)

• Annual income caps to qualify for the tax credit have increased $125K for single filers / $225K for joint filers.

• Partial tax credit for incomes up to $145K for single filers / $245 for joint filers.

PLUS New $6,500 Tax Credit for Current Home Owners Purchasing a Primary Residence

• Eligible home buyers must have lived in their current home for 5 consecutive years of the past 8 years.

• The new home does not have to cost more than the old home.

• Eligible for homes with purchase agreements signed between November 6, 2009 and April 30, 2010, and close by June 30, 2010

• Annual income caps to qualify for the full tax credit ($125K for single filers / $225K for joint filers). Partial tax credit can be granted for incomes up to $145K for single filers / $245 for joint filers.

Monster House

The former owner of a 16,000-square-foot mansion in Encinitas that neighbors called the "monster house" has been charged with stealing $1 million worth of fixtures, appliances and doors from the bank-foreclosed home, according to a published report.

The district attorney's office on Monday sent Suzy Brown, 45, a letter informing her she was charged with felony grand theft and felony vandalism, Deputy District Attorney Robert Eacret told the North County Times.
Brown was not arrested, Eacret said. She is scheduled to be arraigned on the charges Dec. 1 at the Vista courthouse. Bail could be ordered at that hearing, the prosecutor said.

On Tuesday, detective Steven Ashkar said Brown had returned most of the items removed from the house to the bank and kept in contact with detectives throughout their inquiry.

"I am aware that she had the ability to return certain items to the bank and to the house, and to the best of my understanding, she returned everything that was in her power to return," said Bob Grimes, an attorney who represented Brown during the investigation,

The home on Fortuna Ranch Road in Olivenhain was controversial from the beginning because many neighbors didn't want the massive structure built, the paper reported earlier this year. Brown's neighbors dubbed it the Monster House after the 15-bedroom villa began construction. The house fell into foreclosure in February and was vacant for about three weeks. In March, it was stripped of up to $1 million in imported fixtures, police said.

In April, Brown told the paper that she didn't know who stripped the structure but said she wasn't surprised by the turn of events. Brown, who built the house in 2004, had planned to turn it into a "recovery house" for patients looking to escape the clutches of drugs and alcohol, but the city killed the plan after neighbors complained about the $13 million villa.

People who live in Glass Houses....

Top-secret glass house can be yours
This Laguna Beach, Calif., home is invisible from the street, but boasts 180-degree beach views (and an $11.85 million price tag).
Posted by Mai Ling at MSN Real Estate on Wednesday, October 21, 2009 9:54 AM

This $11.85 million home in Laguna Beach, Calif., features floor-to-ceiling glass with panoramic views of the ocean. (© Realtor.com)It's not that I wasn't intrigued by all of the homes listed in Forbes' write-up of America's Strange Homes for Sale, but when Move.com referred to this house as the bat cave...


Photos of the house, which features ceiling-to-floor glass walls that provide a 180-degree view of the ocean, certainly didn't hurt.


But the part I like best about this house in Laguna Beach, Calif., is its stealthiness. Not only is the home invisible from the street, but the owners also get to take a secret tunnel into the subterranean garage that also includes a hydraulic lift so you can bring a car straight into the home.



I don't know how much more like "Batman" you could get!

http://realestate.msn.com/blogs/listedblogpost.aspx?post=1330351&_blg=1,1330351

The Hamptons, darling, LONG ISLAND

Four mansions on exclusive Georgica Pond in the Hamptons are on sale and are asking big bucks despite the recession.

The most recent addition to the market is a 25,000-square-foot estate on 5.5 acres that boasts 8 bedrooms, 11.5 baths, an indoor heated wave pool and a Turkish bath. The home, at 30 Wainscott Stone Highway, also includes an outdoor pool, tennis court and a 110-seat movie theater that is a replica of the famed Zeigfeld Theatre. Among its former renters are Madonna, Warren Beatty, Kevin Costner, Jay Z, Damon Dash and Jennifer Lopez.

According to real estate site StreetEasy, the home was put on the market on Friday for $19.995 million. It can also be rented for $200,000.

The property that has been for sale the longest is 81 Briar Patch Road. The mansion has been on and off the market for the past year, and most recently saw its price chopped by 1%, to $39.5 million.

Sotheby's first listed the 12,00-square-foot home for $40 million last April. It removed the listing in September for several weeks, according to StreetEasy, only to put it back on the market later in the fall at the same price. It then removed the listing, to put it back on in May 1% lower, although it isn't clear whether the cuts have gone deep enough. The home, which is next to a 16-acre meadow, boasts 18th century stone fireplaces, a walnut-paneled library, 30-foot ceilings in the living room and a separate 2- bedroom guest cottage.

Brown Harris Stevens has the listing of a 3.7-acre property on the east shore of Georgica pond. Facing west, it has more than 400 feet of water frontage, and boasts a four bedroom home designed by Peter Marino. The home is new, built in 1990, and includes a large living room, country kitchen and a master suite. It has been listed on the market for $27 million since November, 2008, according to StreetEasy.

Another property on the market is at 40 Laforest Lane. Unlike some of the other properties, it is near East Hampton Village, which could be a perk if you prefer not to be isolated in your estate, and choose to walk among the masses (albeit East Hampton masses) shopping at Calypso or Coach.

The home, which has been on the market since January for $13.5 million, boasts 250 feet of waterfront, a dock, waterside pool, and 5 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms.

Four mansions on exclusive Georgica Pond in tony East Hampton, Long Island are now on the market. Could it be the recession that's forcing them to sell?

The most recent addition is a 25,000-square-foot estate that boasts 8 bedrooms, 11.5 baths, an indoor heated wave pool and a 110-seat movie theater that is a replica of the Zeigfeld Theatre. Madonna, Warren Beatty, Kevin Costner, Jay Z, Damon Dash and Jennifer Lopez are among those who've rented the home, which is on the market for $19.995 million.

Ferris Bueller's Ferrari House For Sale

By James Grahame

Here's your chance to own a piece of cinematic history - the location where Ferris Bueller's pal Cameron accidentally sent his father's prized Ferrari plunging through a picturesque plate glass window into the ravine below.
"The Ben Rose Home - site of the famous movie "Ferris Bueller's Day Off." Cantilevered over the ravine, these two steel and glass buildings - which can never be duplicated - have incredible vistas of the surrounding woods. This is a unique property designed by A. James Speyer and David Haid, both notable architects of the 20th Century."
These magnificent examples of mid-century minimalism (that's an exterior shot of the garage on the left) can be yours for only $2,300,000, or $433.96 per square foot.
370 Beech Street, Highland Park, IL [via Cory O'Brien]
Ferris Bueller's Day Off - Ferrari Scenes [YouTube]

Posted by James Grahame on May 26, 2009 at 03:12 PM in Household + Design, Movies & TV Shows | Permalink

wacky houses

http://www.thisoldhouse.com/toh/photos/0,,20268781,00.html