Real estate agents are very busy these days as they are trying to finalize deals with clients who want to take advantage of the federal tax credit for first time homebuyers. The tax credit for first time homebuyers will expire on November 30th, 2009. Will this tax credit get extended? – that’s the question everyone in the real estate industry is asking.

The National Association of Realtors and the National Association of Home Builders are engaged in campaigns so that the tax credit can get extended. Also, it has been noted that the delegations of home builders as well as realty brokers have begun descending on district offices in order to inform the higher authorities how beneficial it was to introduce the tax credit. Due to this tax credit, a large number of people have been interested in buying property even during recession. Apart from this, there have been positive economic effects on the local businesses. The tax credit had also helped in generating new jobs and providing the local government with additional tax revenue.

Thus, we can hope that some sort of extension would take place regarding the federal tax credit for first time homebuyers. But I don’t think the government would announce the extension of tax credit before November 30th. Also, we should not expect that the government would provide us with a bigger credit, or broaden the concept of tax credit to cover all buyers next year.

If you’re facing foreclosure, you can get help from your mortgage insurer. Surprised? Even I was surprised when I heard of it. Most of the mortgage insurance companies have loss-mitigation departments. The loss mitigation experts try to negotiate with the lenders and borrowers for various repayment plans.

Lenders also have their team of loss mitigation experts but most of the borrowers do not feel comfortable in negotiating with them. On the other hand, it has been noted that borrowers sometimes are more receptive to mortgage insurers. The insurer’s loss mitigation team will not call the borrower for payments but they would rather try to workout an option for the benefit of the borrowers. This attracts the borrowers to work with the mortgage insurer’s loss mitigation team.

Why will mortgage insurer help a borrower who’s facing foreclosure?

If a lender forecloses a property, it is the mortgage insurer who will have to reimburse the servicer and investor for their losses. This motivates the mortgage insurer and his loss mitigation team to negotiate workouts with borrowers and stop foreclosure.

How does the mortgage insurer’s loss mitigation department work?

The mortgage insurance companies get a list of insured loans that are in default. From this list, the insurance companies choose a group of people and contact them for a period of 60 days. The insurance companies send a letter to inform the borrowers as to who they are and why they are interested in their loan. The loss mitigation department also informs them about ways in which they can help them. If the borrowers do not respond to the letter or call the insurer, the loss mitigation department of insurance company calls them and tries to negotiate with them.

The borrower has to fill out a hardship letter informing them about his financial crisis. The mortgage insurer analyzes the borrower’s financial situation and recommends payment plans. The workout option will be finalized if the investor, servicer and mortgage insurance company approves it collectively.

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Loan modifications may or may not affect your credit score. Generally it is believed that a loan modification will have a positive impact on a borrower’s credit score. In case, if the lender has reduced the principle amount of your loan, it will also help you in reducing your debts. Also, if you pay off your debts on time after the loan modification for the next 6 to 12 months, your credit rating will start improving.

However, after the loan modification, if you’re late on your payments or start making partial payments, your credit score will get negatively affected. In addition, the lender would report the principle reduction as “debt satisfied for less than the full amount”. This will also have a negative impact on your credit score.

In certain cases, the lenders would not accept your loan modification request if you’re not delinquent on your mortgage payments. You may have to show that you are 30 days late on your payments. If the lender reports this 30 day late payment to the credit bureaus, your credit score can go down by few points.

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Hello friends,

It’s my pleasure to inform you that we’ve introduced a new look for MortgageFit to ensure a user-friendly online experience for visitors and members. We have simplified our navigation and highlighted various sections which would make it easier for the users to access information from the website.

The various sections on the homepage like - Mortgage Quote, Calculators, Forums, Ask Question and Lenders have been highlighted and given a new look. Apart from this, it has now become easier to navigate the forum section as it comes along with a drop-down menu. So, you can easily choose a category wherein you plan to post your query or participate in discussions.

We’ve shifted and highlighted the search option at the top right corner of our homepage. Members can search information regarding various topics using this option. The new look will also give the users an easy access to the Members Area which helps users to login as a members or join the Community and enjoy the benefits of being a member.

The makeover comes along with a new section - National Average Weekly Mortgage Rate has also been highlighted on the homepage. Members will be able to check out the current mortgage rates as well as last week’s rate. This section will further take you to a graphical representation of the mortgage rates.

The “Ask the Community ” section has been made more prominent in home page, thus making it more visible to the members.

At the right hand side of the homepage, we have highlighted various sections of our website including MortgageFit Blog wherein you can find the recent happenings in the community as well as financial information.

Hope you like the new design of MortgageFit. Feel free to offer your suggestions regarding our new design.