Waiting With Baited Breath For a New Mortgage Relief Program From the White House

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It was not long ago when the government announced an attempt to make home mortgages affordable for homeowners through a program designed to benefit more than several million Americans.  That attempt totally backfired when only a fraction of the intended population actually availed the opportunity presented through the Home Affordable Refinance Program – but it’s a new day at the White House and according to msnbc.com, we are looking at another round of something similar.

What can be expected with this latest try at the government’s hand to make housing a reasonable feat for many families?  How can we see this panning out this time around?  Well, the short answer is that it is too soon to tell.  There is far too much information that we do not yet know about the proposed new program  For the time being though it is expected that sometime in the near future the mortgage plan will be revealed.

At a time when many American families are struggling to get by in this economy, maintaining homeownership has been a very daunting uphill battle.  Though on the one hand we see incredibly low interest rates (which translate to a fantastic opportunity to refinance for existing homeowners) on the other hand we are witnessing an unprecedented level of job loss or cutbacks. Couple that with tightening mortgage underwriting guidelines after the robo-signing fiasco and recent stock market volatility, and it is near impossible for regular, responsible families to get out of this rut.  But government intervention to these guidelines may help to get over this hurdle and depending on the details of the plan, are yet to be ironed out at the White House level.

Important Details Remain Unclear

There are some questions that ensue.  It is still hazy as to whether or not those borrowing under this proposed new plan would be allowed to borrow more than 80% of the value of their home.  If not, this would of course pose a serious problem for many homeowners since the primary problem faced by those currently dodging foreclosure is that they owe more on their home than its value.  Still, historically low interest rates can play a significant role in the rehabilitation of these people’s mortgages by slicing off a sizable amount from their payments in a lot of cases.

Another concern in the industry is that the program is designed only to assist those people holding distressed mortgages for their primary residence.  In the Grand Strand there are a number of second homes and rental resort properties where owners are finding themselves in the same thick soup as far as values plummeted versus more owed on the property.  If such a program were to go into effect, all the property owners of these units would be left out in the cold.

Slow But Steady Recovery In The Grand Strand

It is important to keep in mind that unlike other mainstream markets, here in the Grand Strand where as a resort town we have a different make up of properties, recovery from housing market fluctuation is on a different schedule.  Where major markets like New York City, Los Angeles or other cosmopolitan metropolises would bounce back ahead of schedule, we tend to see change come anywhere from six, twelve, eighteen or even twenty four months after the rest.
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Despite the government’s attempts to ease our country’s housing burdens for those who need it most nowadays, this is still the best time to buy that I’ve seen in many years of experience as a top-producing Realtor.  You simply cannot beat the combination of low home prices with low interest rates.  Regardless of where you are financially, if at all possible, getting in on the action now will indeed be a fruitful endeavor later.