Administration Pressured To Give People Good News- Can They Help Housing Recover Faster?

The Administration is probably under a lot of pressure to help housing since so many have been affected by it. The tax credits were easy to apply and did help. Extending the tax credit and expanding it was a good idea but this new idea to possibly require lenders to modify is a scary scenario that could backfire as lenders may then raise fees to cover their risk. I do think that offerring an incentive to servicers of loans is a good idea and especially for the servicer of the second loan since they have often been the problem. Nevertheless, the idea to offer homeowners tax payer money to relocate when they defaulted on a loan is wrong in the short-term and even worse in the long-term. Should government be the parent? Will the government take care of those struggling to pay car loans, credit cards? Where will it end and how is this good for the country? Do we want to make it easier for people to depend on the government? I thought this Country put faith in the people.

Here's what is happening in Real Estate Today:

The housing market needs time to recover and the recovery most likely will be slow and will depend on how quickly jobs are created. There is no quick fix.

1. Commercial Real Estate is a problem that lenders are currently trying to work out with borrowers. There are many properties going back to the lenders while there are terrific opportunities for> qualified investors to pick up these properties at about half what it may have been 2 years ago! There are plenty of investors ready to buy distressed commercial properties.

2. Residential is picking up due to lower prices and tax credits that pushed the low-end home buyers initially and now with Sellers lowering their prices in all markets, more traditional sales are occuring and>> more higherd homes are moving. There is still a problem getting bigger loans (jumbos) and this has shut out many buyers.

3. Today buyer's expect a DEAL. If your property is priced too high, it may be ignored by buyers today.

4. Many buyers wasted a lot of time and money chasing distressed sales>> and lost to other buyers or wasted a lot of their time and money chasing short-sales. If a short-sale was placed on the market without approval from the lender then it could take months or in my case, 5 months, before approval. Many buyers can't wait that long and after waiting there is no guarantee it will be approved so the buyer may have to> start looking all over again.