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May 2007 |
A Publication of ELLIOTT®
& Company Appraisers |
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FHA
LENDING OFFERS OPPORTUNITIES |
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 For
years, the Federal Housing Administration, better known as the FHA,
was a leading source for mortgage loans. Ironically, as the mortgage
lending business blossomed earlier this decade, the FHA wilted from
its exalted position as a lender.
As the mortgage lending business grew, lenders and borrowers saw
their subprime options increase and most chose to avoid the stiff
regulations required in the processing of an FHA loan. Subprime
lending from non-FHA sources became big business. Recently, however,
the decline of subprime lending has been well documented.
Meanwhile, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
(HUD) has relaxed FHA lending regulations and, by act of Congress,
is increasing its loan levels to those of Fannie Mae. FHA appears to
be one subprime lender that is not going away. In fact more lenders
are applying for FHA approval.
At ELLIOTT® & Company Appraisers we are prepared to meet the needs
of FHA lenders who need an appraisal anywhere in the United States.
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HOME VACANCY RATE AT
ALL-TIME HIGH |
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 According
to a report from the U.S. Department of Commerce, the vacancy rate for
owner-occupied homes rose to a record 2.8% at the end of the first
quarter of this year. At the end of the first quarter of 2006 that rate
had been 2.1%.
The greatest increase in homeowner vacancy rates came in the cities,
where they increased to 4% in the latest report compared to 2.5% in the
report of a year ago. In the U.S. suburbs the vacancy rate rose to 2.4%
from 1.8% last year. In rural areas that figure held steady at 2.2%.
In the South, the homeowner-vacancy rate increased the most, up to 3.2%
from 2.3% at this time last year. That rate increased to 2.9% in the
Midwest, 2.6% in the West and 1.9% in the Northeast.
Housing stock increased by over 1.9 million in at the end of the first
quarter this year compared to that of the same time last year. There
were only 415,000 additional occupied units, but 1.5 million more vacant
units. The median asking price for vacant homes at the conclusion of the
first quarter this year was $185,200.
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ELLIOTT ADDS
PASSWORD-RETRIEVAL SYSTEM TO WEB SITE |
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In order to further assist our
clients and affiliates, ELLIOTT® & Company Appraisers has had a
"Forgot Login Information" link installed on our Web site.
Now, when a registered client or affiliate goes to
www.appraisalsanywhere.com and cannot remember his or her
Login ID and/or password, these people can enter their
respective e-mail address and receive an automatic reply from
us, which includes their Login ID and password. In order for
this to work, the e-mail address must be the one that client or
affiliate has sent us to use in his or her profile. |
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QUOTES OF WIT &
WISDOM |
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"Regret for wasted time is more
wasted time." -- Mason Cooley
"A human being must have an occupation if he or she is not
to become a nuisance to the world." -- Dorothy Sayers
"Complaining is good for you as long as you’re not
complaining to the person you’re complaining about." --
Lynn Johnson
"Those who flee temptation generally leave a forwarding
address."
-- Lane Olinghouse
"I merely took the energy it takes to pout and wrote some
blues."
-- Duke Ellington
"Eighty percent of success is showing up." -- Woody Allen
"Americans adore me and will go on adoring me until I say
something nice about them."
-- George Bernard Shaw
"Stress is an ignorant state; it believes that everything is
an emergency." -- Natalie Goldberg
"It is pretty hard to tell what brings happiness; poverty
and wealth have both failed." -- Kin Hubbard
"To achieve the impossible dream, try going to sleep." --
Joan Klempner
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