While I Was Away!

Sorry but I have been closing a LOOONG transaction, taking a vacation showing my dogs, and otherwise working since my list post! It's been awhile!
So what's new? Well, "Bank" has become a 4-letter word for me as some of these short-sales are just being poorly handled by the existing lenders or some listing agents. One I just closed had teh final settlement statement sitting on a Freddie Mac bureaucrat's desk for over a month as my clients and I waited and pleaded for some news and the final approval.
Commercial properties ae possibly the next BIG shoe to drop in our economy. Many loans on commercial properties have 5 or 7 year terms before they adjust, not the 2 years we saw in residential loans. Many of these commercial loans are up for adjustment in 2010 and 2011 and many will re-set higher even given today's low rates. WIll there be money for these loans to be re-financed or re-negotiated? Most commercial loans are held by smaller, local institutions who likely wont qualify for TARP or similar bailouts. If these loans go belly-up, look for a rash of smaller bank failures as well.
Mortgage rates are at their lowest of the year now but once the government stops buying mortgage backed securities (now scheduled for Q1/2010) interest rates MUST rise. A graphic I saw a few weeks ago showed the decline in mortgage rates as the number of m-b securities purchased by Uncle Sam went up. Perfect correlation!
Locally, prices are increasing. So far, with only 44 days before the First Time Homebuyer Tax Credit expires, there is no word on an extension. Buyers who qualify are rushing to REO listings as a short-sale likely wont close escrow by Nov 30th at this point. The NAR and CAR are both pushing for an extension, an increase in the credit amount and to have it apply to ALL home purchases. More on that next time.
Good to be back! Thanks for waiting and reading!