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Ruth A. Biafora is now a member of the
National Association of Broker Price Opinion Professionals
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Welcome to my website! I am here to provide you with first rate service for all your real estate needs! I can help you with:
-Finding the right home
-Selling your current home
-Finding Investment property
-Help with relocation
-Finance via our California West Mortgage Division
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MASTERPIECE RENTAL THAT IS TARZANA ADJACENT
IN PRIME NEIGHBORHOOD
Latest Sale Success!!!
10965 Gazette Ave.
Chatsworth, CA 91311
Closed on June 27th, 2011
Click Here: For New Listing in Walnut Cove!!
We did it! Congress Restores FHA Loan Limits!
Click Here for Timely Information on Surviving Earthquakes
Foreclosure Scam: Watch Out for Phantom Help
Short Sale Agent Update: Changes to HAFA Program
A Victory for Loan Limits
Urgent Call-for-Action: Loan Limits
FHA and conforming loan limits will drop DRAMATICALLY in just two weeks. Bank of America has already lowered theirs for new loans, and others will follow suit. C.A.R. and NAR are fighting to maintain the existing loan limits and we need your help.
Please respond to the NAR Call-for-Action NOW by clicking on this link:
https://realtorparty.realtoractioncenter.com/site/Advocacy?pagename=homepage&page=UserAction&id=1653&autologin=true&AddInterest=1064
By responding you will be urging both Senator Feinstein and Senator Boxer to work to maintain the current loan limits. If you have already responded to NAR’s Call for Action, there is more that needs to be done:
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Please urge the agents in your office to respond as well using the same link.
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Help mobilize your clients. If you or your agents have clients that will be affected by the reduction in loan limits, please have them contact our U.S. Senators Directly to urge them to maintain the current loan limits:
Sen. Dianne Feinstein -- (202) 224-3841
Sen. Barbara Boxer -- (202) 224-3553
For More Information
Please contact DeAnn Kerr at deannk@car.org or see C.A.R.’s web site: http://www.car.org/newsstand/news/loanlimitscfa/
The New SB 458-Good or Bad for short sales
The new SB 458 law extends the protections of SB 931 to ensure that any lender that agrees to a short sale for a residential 1 to 4 property, must accept the agreed upon short sale payment as payment in full of the outstanding balance of all loans. This applies to 2nd mortgage liens, 3rd mortgage liens, etc. (junior lien holders, home equity line of credit, HELOC).
For short sale sellers, SB 458 means that a short sale junior lien holder cannot require additional compensation (cash contribution or promissory note) as part of the short sale approval. SB 458 makes sure that after close of escrow of the short sale, there is no possibility that the lender will come after the borrower/seller. In effect, the lien and (personal) liability will be released by all lenders involved in a short sale.
However, SB 458 may have an opposite effect. Junior lien holders may not approve a short sale as it will limit their ability to go after the borrower for the deficiency and your short sale will be in jeopardy!
S&P downgrades Fannie and Freddie and the Impact on Homebuyers
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Standard & Poor's Ratings Services on Monday downgraded the credit ratings of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and other agencies linked to long-term U.S. debt.
The agency also lowered the ratings for: farm lenders; long-term U.S. government-backed debt issued by 32 banks and credit unions; and three major clearinghouses, which are used to execute trades of stocks, bonds and options.
All the downgrades were from AAA to AA+, reflecting the same downgrade S&P made of long-term U.S. government debt on Friday.
S&P said the agencies and banks all have debt that is exposed to economic volatility and a further downgrade of long-term U.S. debt. Their creditworthiness hinges on the U.S. government's ability to pay its own creditors.
Stocks plunged further after the downgrades. The Dow Jones industrial average fell more than 300 points, or 2.8 percent. The S&P 500 stock index tumbled 3.4 percent. Investors seeking safety drove gold prices up and Treasury yields down.
Monday's downgrades of the mortgage giants Fannie and Freddie reflected their "direct reliance" on the U.S. government, S&P said.
Fannie and Freddie own or guarantee about half of all U.S. mortgages, or nearly 31 million home loans worth more than $5 trillion. As part of a nationalized system, they account for nearly all new mortgage loans. Their downgrade might force anyone looking to buy a home to pay higher mortgage rates.
Officials at Standard & Poor's say they will also indicate shortly how local and state governments will be affected by their decision to lower the long-term U.S. debt.
S&P on Friday said it downgraded U.S. debt for the first time in history because the credit rating agency lacks confidence that political leaders will make the choices needed to avert a long-term fiscal crisis.
The downgrade of long-term debt issued by the U.S. government affects the banking and lending industries because many interest rates are pegged to the yields on Treasury securities. In addition, many companies use the securities as collateral that they would surrender if their bets lost value.
The lower credit rating for long-term U.S. debt means that it might be considered less valuable for those purposes. It might become more costly for companies to borrow or trade.
Some analysts said the downgrades were unlikely to have much effect on the companies named by S&P or the broader markets. They noted that Treasury yields remain low and the dollar is getting stronger -- signs that the world still sees the U.S. as a safe harbor in volatile economic times.
The downgrades "are as meaningless as the original action," said Daniel Alpert, managing partner at the investment bank Westwood Capital LLC in New York. He said that investors are rushing into Treasurys, and that they will do the same for "anything backed by the full faith and credit" of the U.S. government. That includes debt issued by Fannie and Freddie and bank debt that was guaranteed by regulators to ease lending after the 2008 financial crisis.
The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note fell to 2.38 percent from 2.57 percent late Friday. Analysts say traders are shifting out of bonds and European banks are snapping up U.S. debt to steel themselves for a regional financial crisis.
S&P Managing Director John Chambers said that the credit rating agency believes the dollar won't be weakened "under any plausible scenario." He said it will remain the dominant international currency, and that will reduce interest rates for governments and the private sector.
Ten of the country's 12 Federal Home Loan Banks also were downgraded from AAA to AA+. The banks of Chicago and Seattle had already been downgraded earlier to AA+.
A spokesman for Freddie Mac declined to comment on the move.
Home owners receiving loan mods are being viewed as short sellers by Fannie Mae!
when it seems sanity is returning to the lending industry….this gets dropped on us.
Homeowners receiving loan modifications for their primary residence (and noted on their credit report); are now being treated as short sellers by Fannie Mae…even if the homeowner was never late on their mortgage.
In other words: A responsible homeowner, who made their payments on time and received a loan mod for their primary residence will now have to wait three (at least) years before they can purchase their NEXT home (or refi their current residence).
The only exception to the rule: If a homeowner received a loan modification on an “investment property/second home” may receive financing on another property (primary residence only) on a case by case basis (underwriter’s discretion) within 2 years.
Here are the Fannie rules:
o Refinance transactions: On previously modified loans…refinancing is not permitted.
o New purchase transactions: When a borrower’s current residence (previous loan) was modified AND the property is being retained as a 2nd home/investment property…financing for another home…will NOT be permitted.
o New purchase transactions: ..When a borrower’s previous loan was modified AND the property is being sold…the borrowers loan application …should be treated with caution and reviewed for delinquencies and short payoffs.
o New purchases of 2nd home or investment properties: When a borrower’s current residence (owner occupied) has been granted a loan modification…financing for the next home will not be NOT permitted.
o Refinances where another property (not the subject property) has a loan modification should be reviewed with "caution" to ensure that there was no short refinance (treated as a short sale).
C.A.R. recently launched its Home Payment Protection Program (HPPP), which provides a home buyer with mortgage payment assistance in the event of a job layoff. To find out more, click here.
JOSEPH AND STEFI BIAFORA ON 9/11/2010, celebrating Mr. Biafora's 90th birthday!!
24 YEARS IN REAL ESTATE
SHORT SALE SPECIALIST SINCE 1991
CERTIFIED SFR & HAFA SHORT SALE SPECIALIST
"You are what you love, and you love whatever you give your attention too"
- Emmanuel Swendenborg
Latest Short Sale Success!!!
11958 Dunnicliffe Court
Northridge, CA 91326
Closed on December 20, 2010
Short Sale Successes!!!
236 Wetherley Dr
Bakersfield, CA 93309
Closed on July 26, 2011
19350 Sherman Way #131
Reseda, CA 91335
Closed on June 23, 2010
24136 Hamlin Street
West Hills CA 91307
Closed on May 26,2010
8326 Washington Avenue
Whittier, CA 90602
Closed on December 18, 2009
22307 Appleberry Court
Corona, CA 92883
28576 Santa Catarina Road
Saugus, CA 91350
Closed on June 11, 2009
12210 Calvert Street
North Hollywood, CA 91606
Closed on July 30,2008
1780 Shawness Court
Westlake Village, CA 91362
Closed on July 1, 2008
11227 Yarmouth Ave
Granada Hills, CA 91344
Closed on June 17, 2008
17575 Bromley Street
Encino, CA 91316
Closed on June 11, 2008
11427 Tampa Ave # 78
Northridge, CA 91326
Closed on April 29, 2008
26975 Hillsborough Parkway #89
Santa Clarita, CA 91354
Closed on March 4, 2008
20146 Cohasset Street Unit #10
Winnetka, CA 91306
Closed on December 20,2008
819 West Beach Avenue #6
Inglewood, CA 90302
Closed on March 20,2009
REO Closed Sales!!!
1205 South Fir Avenue
Inglewood, CA 90301
Closed February 20,2008
7354 LaSaine Ave
Van Nuys, CA 91406
Closed February 29, 2008
939 East 116th Place
Los Angeles, CA 90059
Closed July 7, 2008
Testimonials
What Our Clients Say...
I met Ruth a few years back when I was looking for someone to assist me in the re-financing of my house. I had spoken with several people previously before Ruth and everyone I spoke with told me the same thing. I was not going to be able to keep my house. I was not in a position to where anyone wanted to take the time and fight for me. I did not have a job or enough assets to get an loan I could afford. A friend of mine actually my Regional Center case worker referred me to Ruth. I called Ruth and told her the mess I felt I was in and was determined to keep my house. She was so wonderful because all she said to me was " well of course you are." I met with her at her office and she was very patient with me. Ruth went over the whole process step by step. I believe it was pretty much everyday she would call to check on me and tell me how well it was going. She found me an affordable payment and helped me to believe that there are still people out there that care. I have found Ruth is not about making money but making friendship. About three years has passed and Ruth and I have always kept in touch. I just a year ago got back together with a man whom I am now married to (thanks again to Ruth) who's parents found themselves in a much worse circumstance. My husbands parents were going into foreclosure and were 3 months behind on their mortgage. I of course called Ruth right away. Ruth met with my in laws and reassured them everything would be fine. Once again she was right. Ruth convinced my mother in law to get renters and get control of her bad habits. She made several suggestions which have all been a blessing. Working with Ruth my in laws pulled their house out of foreclosure, got a mortgage they could afford and brought in renters to make their life more comfortable. I adore Ruth not only because she is a very smart business woman but because she truly wants what is best for her clients. Ruth is willing to do everything she is able to do even if she does not make money. I recommend Ruth Biafora Realty not just for you business needs but personal as well.
Kallista Churchill-Aragon