| New York program helps one homeowner since July, Crain’s says
The state's program originally was limited to single-family houses, which excluded most of the city's foreclosures, Crain's said in tomorrow's issue. While the Federal National Mortgage Association, known as Fannie Mae, waived that stipulation, it does require borrowers to be less than 60 days late on payments when they refinance. About 1,250 New York City residents are expected to lose their homes through foreclosure by the end of the year, the weekly magazine reported. That number could triple annually for the next two years, PropertyShark.com Chief Executive Officer Ryan Slack told Crain's. New York's real estate market doesn't fall under the guidelines of some refinancing plans to help homeowners with risky mortgages, Crain's said. Most programs stipulate the refinanced loan must have the backing of the Federal Housing Administration, which won't insure most of New York's loans because they are too large to qualify.
Checklist: Reasons to Hire an Appraiser
Real estate appraising is the evaluation of property including the land, the dwellings and all the features on it. Although everyone knows it is necessary to appraise real estate to sell it, there are many other reasons people would contact a real estate appraiser. Establish value to buy insurance. Settle insurance claims. Establish market value to sell a home or buy new property. Establish market value to refinance or use for collateral on another loan. Assess current value to get rid of obligation to buy property mortgage insurance. (If value has risen, owner's percentage of equity in property may have increased enough to eliminate the lender's requirement to pay for property mortgage insurance.) Reduce property taxes.
Centro CEO falls on his sword
The head of the embattled property group, Centro, has resigned. Chief executive officer Andrew Scott will be immediately replaced by Glenn Rufrano. Centro has been struggling to refinance its debts as a result of the global credit market problems and had halted share trading last week. The company lost more than 80 per cent of its market value in December when it revealed it was having problems financing its debt because of the credit crunch. Australian fund manager MFS has offered to take over supervision of about 35 unlisted retail property funds owned by Centro. Centro says it has attracted extensive interest from both local and offshore investors as it struggles to refinance its debts. It expects to open its books to a number of parties shortly and also says there is interest in the potential sale of its holdings in two investment funds.
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