Monthly Archives: September 2007

Are you struggling with a possible foreclosure looming overhead? Know someone who’s in this situation and needs foreclosure help?

Looks like Washington D.C. is trying to help.

The House of Representatives has approved a plan (named H.R. 1852) that will expand federal backing of residential mortgages to help those homeowners that are struggling with and want to avoid foreclosure.

Was it unanimous?

Well, not really, but it was pretty overwhelming. The bill went through with a vote of 348-72.

What does this FHA foreclosure bill do?

The bill is directed toward the Federal Housing Administration, a government agency that insures mortgages for low income and middle income borrowers. It now allows the Federal Housing Administration to back refinanced loans for those borrowers that have been delinquent on payments. The reason why many of these people have been delinquent is because their mortgages have been moving to massively higher levels from the “teaser” rates that were very low. These are known as Adjustable Rate Mortgages (ARM). This is why it pays to do your due diligence and not just jump into a mortgage because it sounds good! Always learn about what you’re getting into… and work with people that have YOUR best interest in mind – not just to pad their own wallets.

How many people can be helped by this?

Brian Montgomery, who is the Housing and Urban Development assistant secretary and head of the FHA, is very optimistic that this legislation can rally help the more than 200,000 people that have loans which are excluded from federal backing and help stop home foreclosure. “This is a historic day for FHA,” said Mr. Montgomery.

Has Congress done anything else to help the current mortgage situation?

This is the first stand-alone bill that has been passed in order to alleviate the mortgage-market situation of the summer, that has produced so many foreclosures and mortgage defaults around the United States. Recently, the Senate has approved $200 million dollars of aid to nonprofit groups that focus on giving counseling to homeowners that are facing foreclosure.

How is the current foreclosure situation?

RealtyTrac Inc. has said that the number of foreclosure filings has more than doubled from August 2006. That’s a huge jump! There’s also going to be an estimated 2 million to 2.5 million of adjustable rate mortgages (ARMs) that are scheduled to “reset” this year. These initial “teaser” rates are only in effect for the first two to three years and then they jump to higher rates that can it make it very hard to keep up with payments.

Looks like Coconut Grove is making an advertising push to become the newest South Florida hot-spot.

How much is this advertising push going to cost?

$300,000.

This hasn’t been the only time that Coconut Grove has advertised to bring in visitors. The difference is that the Grove is going for those that are outside the Miami, Coral Gables, and Miami Beach areas.

“For the past two years, we advertised for people to take a vacation in their own backyard,” said Marshall Steingold, the owner of MiamiMaps and coordinator of the promotion in behalf of the Coconut Grove Business Improvement Committee and the Greater Miami Convention & Visitors Bureau.

Who does Coconut Grove want to attract with this ad campaign?

Business owners in Coconut Grove want people “north and west of here within a two-hour drive” to “come here and relax,” says Mr. Steingold. “Coconut Grove is laid-back — sailboats, shopping, dining and of course, hotel rooms starting at $109 a night.”

Who will be the biggest benefactors from this?

Hotels in the Grove area are definitely going to feel the positive effects. “As a hotel, obviously what I want to do is sell a guest room, but I’m really not going to sell a guest room to somebody who lives in Miami,” says Frank Couzo, director of sales and marketing for the Sonesta Hotel and Suites. “The investment has a lot more value to us if we’re targeting people who have a greater propensity to rent a hotel room.”

Restaurants will also get the positive business push. Jackie Osorio, director of marketing and events for Cielo Garden & Supperclub said, “I think it’s a great idea. The area is very local — the tourists don’t know about it.” Doing these advertisements outside of Greater Miami “opens up Coconut Grove itself to other places and people. It exposes us a lot more.”