Team Thayer Property Servicing

While many analysts expected economic growth to be weak in the first quarter, no one expected it to be as weak as it actually was. The Bureau of Economic Analysis ( BEA ) “advance” estimate for the gross domestic product (GDP) growth rate in Q1  reported a rate of 0.5 percent  for the quarter. And while Q1 has had its problems in recent years—the GDP grew at only 0.7 percent for the first quarter of 2015, then shot up to 3.9 percent for Q2—none were expecting it to be that low. GDP growth was 1.4 percent in the fourth quarter of 2015. According to the BEA, the slow Q1 GDP growth reflected a larger decrease in nonresidential fixed investment, a deceleration in personal consumption expenditures (PCEs), a downturn in federal government spending, an upturn in reports, and larger decreases in primary inventory investment. These factors were partially offset by an upturn in local government spending and an acceleration in residential fixed investment, according to the BEA....

Just when the homeownership rate seemed to be on its way back after falling to a 48-year low in the second quarter of 2015, it took another step backward on Thursday. One particular demographic, however, is experiencing a dramatic increase homeownership despite the reversal of the nationwide homeownership rate for Q1. According to the  Census Bureau ’s  Housing Vacancy Survey  (HVS) for April 2016 released on Thursday, the U.S. homeownership rate for the first quarter of 2016 declined by 20 basis points over-the-year and by 30 basis points over-the-quarter down to 63.5 percent. The Q1 homeownership rate is only 10 basis points higher than Q2 2015’s 48-year low of 63.4 percent. For Generation X, however, the homeownership rate is on the way up. About 58.9 percent of Gen Xers owned homes in Q1, which is an over-the-year increase of 50 basis points. “Of particular note was the continued increase in the homeownership rate for Gen X. Households aged 35-44 increased...

The evolution of real estate investing has made financing easier to find than ever before. However, that doesn’t mean investors should rush into anything without minding their own due diligence. Simply finding a loan and receiving approval is by no means the only barrier separating an investor from acquiring an additional subject property; there are terms, rates, and a litany of other things to consider. What’s more, there are several types of loans made available to investors, each of which has their own unique distinctions. For the sake of today’s article, I wanted to discus whether or not  home equity lines of credit  (HELOCs) are a viable source of funding for investment properties. That said, it’s worth noting exactly what a  HELOC  is: For what it’s worth, HELOCs are not all that different from your standard credit card. However, whereas the most common credit cards have no collateral, HELOCs use your home as collateral. Accordingly, HELOCs coincide wi...

With the  spring real estate market  firing on all cylinders, it’s no wonder we are seeing investors come out in record numbers.  Real estate exit strategies  ranging from  wholesale deals  to full rehabs  have become incredibly attractive in today’s housing industry. However, one strategy in particular looks to be in a great place: buy and hold  rental property . Cash flow opportunities are through the roof, as rents are soaring in nearly every city from  San Diego  to  New York . Now may be one of the best times ever to acquire a rental property. However, those that have yet to do so should mind due diligence and consider what they are getting into before they make the jump. While there are a myriad of things potential landlords should consider before financing their first rental property, I highly recommend starting with the following four: Rental Property Consideration 1: The Numbers Prospective rental property buyers...

Purchasing a  rental property  is the perfect way to diversify your investment portfolio and start accumulating long term wealth.   There are a number of benefits that accompany owning a  rental property , most of which involve the passive income that comes with the investment. While passive income sounds like an easy way to make money, there is a lot of time and effort that goes into maintaining a desirable property.  The two most important questions every individual considering a rental property needs to ask themselves is whether or not they should invest in some kind of  rental property management company  or simply be their own landlord and how they plan to  finance the property . It is crucial that any rental property owner treat his or her investment as its own business. Therefore, avoiding common mistakes and attracting respectful tenants are aspects of the business that cannot be over looked. Know how to s...

As housing is inches closer to fair value due to rising home prices and distressed properties for sale continue to decline, private investors are finding it harder to find bargains in the market. A U.S.  housing market update  from  Capital Economics  by Property Economist, Matthew Pointon, showed that although there are a few roadblocks on their path, private investor demand is not likely to dry up anytime soon. "With returns on other types of assets looking low and/or risky, expectations for further gains in house prices suggest Americans will continue to see housing as a good place to store wealth," Pointon wrote. In the midst of tight supply, heightened competition for buyers, and unpredictable financial markets, U.S. home prices continued to rise in the fourth quarter. The  Federal Housing Finance Agency' s (FHFA)  House Price Index  (HPI) shows that  home prices rose 5.8 percent  year-over-year in t...

While the number of completed foreclosures during the month of February 2016 was down by 10 percent year-over-year, February’s total is still way above the pre-crisis monthly average, according to CoreLogic’s  February 2016 National Foreclosure Report  released Tuesday. Approximately 34,000 foreclosures were completed during February, which is down from February 2015’s total of 38,000 but still elevated compared to the monthly average of 2000 to 2006 of 21,000. February 2016’s total was down by 71.3 percent from the monthly peak of 117,776 reached in September 2010. Completed foreclosures represent the total number of homes lost to foreclosure. Since the crisis began in September 2008, approximately 6.2 million homes have been lost to foreclosure. Since homeownership rates peaked in in the second quarter of 2004, the number of homes lost to foreclosure totals 8.2 million. Despite February’s total of completed foreclosures remaining elevated above pre-crisis levels, o...

San Francisco-based advocacy group  California Reinvestment Coalition  (CRC) has asked  HUD  to impose a moratorium on home equity conversion mortgage (HECM, or reverse mortgage) foreclosures by  CIT Group  and its subsidiary, Financial Freedom. CRC requested the moratorium based on new data it obtained from HUD in  the form of a fact sheet which shows that CIT Group/Financial Freedom were responsible for 39 percent of the 41,237 reverse mortgage foreclosures in the United States since April 2009 despite having an estimated market share of only 17 percent in the reverse mortgage market. Many of the reverse mortgage foreclosures that have occurred are “widow foreclosures,” or foreclosures that occur after the death of a non-borrowing spouse. These foreclosures are allowed to happen because some reverse mortgage originators name only the borrower on the reverse mortgage, which later allows the servicers to foreclose on the non-borrowing spouse. M...

Inconsistencies in the economy during the first quarter have not dampened  Freddie Mac ’s forecast for housing for the coming year. Freddie Mac has held fast to its prediction that 2016 will be the best year for housing since before the crisis. Freddie Mac doubled down on its housing forecast for 2016 as it released the results of the  latest Multi-Indicator Market Index (MiMi)  on Wednesday. The national MiMi, which consists of the purchase applications, payment-to-income, current on mortgage, and employment indicators, stood at 83 at the end of February. It was the highest level for the national MiMi since September 2008—right at the beginning of the crisis, and the same month that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were taken into conservatorship by the government. A level of 83 indicates a housing market that is on the outer range of its historic benchmark level of activity. Inside of the national MiMi, the current on mortgage indicator rose by nearly 8 perc...

The fact that mortgage delinquencies are declining steadily for a few years now has been no secret. But just how low are they getting? Delinquencies, defined as 30 or more days past due but not in foreclosure, declined by 8 percent over-the-month and 12 percent over-the-year in March down to 4.08 percent—the lowest level since March 2007, according to Black Knight Financial Services’ “First Look” at Mortgage Data for March 2016 released Friday. The rate of 30-day delinquencies fell even lower in March, down below 2 percent—its lowest level since before the year 2000, according to Black Knight. The number of 90-day delinquencies also experienced substantial declines both over-the-month (by 39,000) and over-the-year (by 193,000) in March down to 733,000. The total number of delinquencies for March calculated to slightly more than two million properties. The decline in delinquencies has corresponded with the sharp increase in prepayment speeds, which are usually a good ind...

Who is to blame for the foreclosure crisis and the subsequent Great Recession that devastated the country in 2008 and for years afterward? Democratic presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton, who is likely to win the nomination barring a huge comeback from Bernie Sanders, has the answer: It was the Republicans and only the Republicans, according to a report in The Hill . Speaking at a roundtable-style event in a donut shop in New Haven, Connecticut, over the weekend, Clinton addressed the audience about various current hot button topics, one of which was the housing crisis. Presidential candidates have largely been silent about housing and housing policy during their campaigns, though both Clinton and Sanders have unveiled grand plans to expand homeownership in the country. “This foreclosure crisis, nine million people lost their jobs in the Great Recession, and five million homes were lost. And I put the responsibility squarely on the Republicans,” Clinton said, according to th...