Tonya65's Blog

FHA Short Refinance option now available

tonya65 — Wed, 08 Sep 2010 00:01:56 +0000

HUD No. 10-190
HUD Public Affairs
(202) 708-0685

FOR RELEASE
Tuesday
September 7, 2010

FHA SHORT REFINANCE OPTION NOW AVAILABLE
Effort designed to encourage principal write-downs for responsible borrowers

WASHINGTON – In an effort to help responsible homeowners who owe more on their mortgage than the value of their property, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development today will begin providing an additional refinancing option for underwater borrowers. Originally announced in March, this enhancement of Federal Housing Administration (FHA) refinance program will offer certain ‘underwater’ non-FHA borrowers who are current on their existing mortgage and whose lien holders agree to write off at least ten percent of the unpaid principal balance of the first mortgage, the opportunity to qualify for a new FHA-insured mortgage.

The FHA Short Refinance option is targeted to help people who owe more on their mortgage than their home is worth – also known as being ‘underwater’ – because their local markets saw large declines in home values. As announced earlier this year, this change as well as other programs that have been put in place will help the Obama Administration meet its goal of stabilizing housing markets by offering a second chance to up to 3 to 4 million struggling homeowners through the end of 2012.

Participation in FHA’s short refinance program is voluntary and requires the consent of all lien holders. To be eligible for a new loan, the homeowner must owe more on their mortgage than their home is worth and be current on their existing mortgage. The homeowner must qualify for the new loan under standard FHA underwriting requirements. The property must be the homeowner’s primary residence and the borrower’s existing first lien holder must agree to write off at least 10% of their unpaid principal balance. In addition, the existing loan to be refinanced must not be an FHA-insured loan, and the refinanced FHA-insured first mortgage must have a loan-to-value ratio of no more than 97.75 percent and a combined loan-to-value ratio no greater than 115 percent.

To facilitate the refinancing of new FHA-insured loans under this program, the U.S. Department of Treasury will provide incentives to existing second lien holders who agree to full or partial extinguishment of the liens. To be eligible, servicers must execute a Servicer Participation Agreement (SPA) with Fannie Mae, in its capacity as financial agent for the United States, on or before October 3, 2010.

For more information on FHA Short Refinance option, read FHA’s mortgagee letter

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HUD’s mission is to create strong, sustainable, inclusive communities and quality affordable homes for all. HUD is working to strengthen the housing market to bolster the economy and protect consumers; meet the need for quality affordable rental homes: utilize housing as a platform for improving quality of life; build inclusive and sustainable communities free from discrimination; and transform the way HUD does business. More information about HUD and its programs is available on the Internet at www.hud.gov and espanol.hud.gov.

Filed under: Real Estate

Game Change

tonya65 — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 22:41:41 +0000

I can’t wait to get home, make a cup of tea and continue reading this book! John Heilemann and Mark Halperin have gained a new fan in yours truly. This is the only book about politics, or should I say, the political game, that I’ve been anxious to read. I was at the Benson Hotel in Portland (three blocks from Powell’s Books) just a few days after the book was released. Powell’s was sold out, as was everyone else when I returned to California :-(. I ordered a copy from Barnes and Noble and dove right into it on Monday night.

Politicians are such prima donna’s and we (voters) should look past, waaaaay past, what they say and look at what they DO! This book isn’t a comedy but it has me cracking up and I haven’t even gotten to John McCain and Sarah Palin, yet. (I’m chuckling just thinking about that whole deal…).

Obama, Clinton and Edwards (and many of the folks on their teams) have been dropping the “F” word all over the place. Now, I hear there’s a sex tape of Edwards. 1) Ewwww 2) Why? 3) This is funny as hell! I do, however, feel sorry for his children.

Anyhoo…the entertainment continues.

Filed under: Random thoughts

What’s wrong with us???

tonya65 — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 01:27:28 +0000

I watched the complete Chris Brown interview. I hope he uses this extremely unfortunate situation to make better choices and educate his fans about the devastating consequences of abuse . Where was the uproar back in the day, when ordinary women were beaten because their “men” were trying to beat them into submission, or came home pissed off because of a bad day at work, or the kids were too loud, or the food was cold??? Where were the anger management classes when OJ beat the crap out of his wife? Where was the uproar when ordinary women were killed by the same “men” who had restraining orders on them??? What a joke!

When is enough enough? When will women stop making excuses for these sorry a** men? No one has the right to hit you. If you had been created in a factory with EVERLAST written across your forehead, then yes, are supposed to be hit because that’s was punching bags are for!!! If he hits you once HE WILL HIT YOU AGAIN! Either he has to go or you do because if his abuse has graduated from verbal to physical, he is already abusing you psychologically (because you’re still there) and he will very likely kill you. A person who loves you will not abuse you. The abused cannot fix the emotional problems of their abuser. You can be as intelligent a woman as you want, YOU CANNOT FIX THE EMOTIONAL PROBLEMS OF AN ABUSIVE MAN! Leave before he kills you! If you have female children, she may that getting her a** kicked is something she has to look forward to…it’s normal because “daddy loves me and he said he’s sorry.” If you have male children, you may be teaching them that beating women is acceptable because “daddy was very tired so I shouldn’t have made him angry, it was my fault and daddy said he was sorry.” In some cases, children know that these behaviors are unacceptable, I know from personal experience.

So, I ask again…when is enough enough? If you have to control a woman’s mind in order to get her to love you, what is wrong with you? If I allow a man to control where I go, what I wear, what I eat, what I say or any other aspect of my life, what is wrong with me? When will we learn to love ourselves so we can see through the wolf’s sheep costume? When will we learn that we can excel in spite of our environments and that education is the key to that? It’s only too late to learn when you’re dead.

When will we stop thinking that it’s cute for our one, two and three year old children to engage in sexually provocative dancing? I recently watched a video of a baby on a table, dancing like an adult. This was a baby…in a diaper…dancing on a table. Now, this family had what looked like a sheet on the window, a large flat-screen TV, a camcorder (obviously), and a baby, standing on a table shaking her diaper covered butt. I’m thinking, is there pole dancing in her future? Did they pass by the window treatments on their way to purchase the TV and camcorder in electronics? How can you possibly think this is cute? Will they expend as much energy on books and other learning materials to ensure this girl can read, write, speak (clearly) and conjugate a verb, so she can complete in this ever changing world? Will she be taught how to obtain wealth and become financially stable so when she meets her equally financially stable mate, she can lay her money next to his? Or, will hundreds of dollars be spent on gold jewelry, sneakers and clothes before she is old enough to attend school? And when she is old enough to attend school, will she go to school hungry and ignorant, but carrying a Coach bag and wearing $100 sneakers? Will they teach her how to respect herself and others, that her mind is a terrible thing to waste and how she should never allow anyone to treat her disrespectfully???

Our children to so much ugliness and often, we are the ones who exposed it to them. We allow society to dictate our morals by thinking it’s OK when Britney and Madonna kiss on live TV, but when Janet’s boob is mistakenly exposed on the same program that probably had Viagara commercials, and we learn that Tiger been cheating on his wife with a cocktail waitress (C’mon, really???…a cocktail waitress???) we act as if someone knocked us upside the head with a moral compass.

I am a huge fan of a cable series and two movies that clearly pushed the envelope of morality: The Soprano’s, The Godfather and The Godfather II. Yes, they were very violent but I also learned a lot from watching them. I also have enough sense to separate them from my reality (Michael Corleone’s guilt-ridden decision regarding his brother Freddo. The anguish on his face, priceless…good grief, I LOVE that movie!!), I digress…

Our spiritual and political “leaders” lead the battle cry for morality but they are the most heinous offenders. Jesse Jackson, please. The Governor of South Carolina says that the woman with whom he is having an affair is his soulmate. His mistress is his soulmate…not his wife! Is he any better than the writers and producers of the music we listen to and videos we watch, that promote all kinds of questionable activity? NOPE!!! Wearing a suit and tie doesn’t make you better than the man wearing the sagging pants and throwback jersey. When the rubber meets the road you respond to the same visual stimuli and you are just as likely to cheat on your wife, beat your girlfriend or abuse drugs…being hooked on prescription painkillers is no better than being an alcholic or a pot-head (just ask a mother whose child was killed by someone driving under the influence of some foreign substance).

Listen (you know what I mean ): Think.For.Yourself. Don’t allow someone to dictate their morality to you. No flawed human being has the right to do so. Don’t let anyone abuse you in ANY form. I am no prude and no angel; I am responsible for the decisions I make and God will determine where I will spend eternity.

Peace…

Posted in Random thoughts

Chris Brown’s interview with Robin Roberts 12/3/09-GMA

tonya65 — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 18:43:12 +0000

Good morning. Watched Robin Roberts’ interview with Chris Brown this morning; would like to see more of it though. Chris Brown is such a young man and he reaches millions of young people (many of whom are abusing their girlfriends). Robin asked what could be done to highlight the devastation caused by domestic abuse (I’m paraphrasing). Perhaps Chris’ response is in the rest of the interview because I didn’t hear it (I was also getting dressed for work and talking back to the TV. Yes, I talk to the TV). We all know that abuse takes many forms: physical/sexual, verbal, mental. I would step it one step further by saying that a lack of self-esteem is another form of abuse; self-abuse. People do to us what we allow them to do. An abuser studies you and learns when and how to push your buttons. An abuser takes gradual steps in trying to control you. You must learn to study yourself. Learn what pushes your buttons so you know how to walk away from situations and people. A person who will abuse in ANY FORM does NOT love you. Love is kind, and patient, and long-suffering. A person who loves you wants the best for you. An abuser dislikes himself (or herself) and steps on you to build THEIR self-esteem. Why do we think we can fix people? Because as women, it is our very nature to nurture. Let me back up, I don’t believe for one moment that Chris Brown is an abuser; I believe he got caught up in the moment. I also believe that this was a blessing in disguise for him because he will now: think before he acts; and learn to identify the qualities in a woman whose personality has the potential to take them THERE; and try to nip that relationship in the bud before it blossoms into something ugly. Women, know your power and use it for good (Eh Hmm)…Can’t we all just get along???

Posted in Random thoughts

New Mammogram Guidelines

tonya65 — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 19:59:25 +0000

Why would a doctor discourage most women over 40 from getting annual mammograms and performing breast self-exams? The recommendations from this task force are ridiculous. Not every woman knows if she is medium to high risk for breast cancer. Many women don’t know our medical history, such as women who were adopted. Continue getting an annual mammogram! Continue your breast self-exam!

Posted in Random thoughts

Time Report: Women are more powerful but less happy

tonya65 — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 15:50:16 +0000

So, I’m standing in line at the grocery store the other night, to pay for my lemons. I glance over at the magazines and honed in the the October 25, 2009 edition of TIME. Why? The cover story GRABBED my attention because, earlier in the afternoon, I sent a survey to a few women, asking them, among other things, what prompts them to pick-up a magazine. I certainly do not believe in coincidence. Anyhoo…the cover story is a special report on: The State of the American Woman. A new poll shows why they are more powerful-but less happy...by Nancy Gibbs. Our (California) First Lady, Maria Shriver, contributed a Viewpoint article: The Unfinished Revolution, but I’ll talk about that another time.

Wow! Since I am just beginning my research about what (we) women want, this issue is giving me some of what I needed: some good questions, poll numbers and statistics to use. The statistics, gathered by Andrea Ford and Deidre Van Dyk, compare women of the 1970′s to today.

Now here are a few things to ponder …Women have made gains in annual salary: 1972 Men/$46,956; Women/$27,169. 2008 Men/$46,367; Women/$35,745 but still lag behind. In 1972 women earned 58 cents for every $1 men made. In 2008 women made 77 cents for every $1 men earned.

Today 57% of college students are women; in 1972, 43% were. OK, so I asked if you are happy, right? First, you have to define what happeness means to you. Does having a fulfilling spiritual life make you happy? A career? Children? Money? A husband? An emerald cut 3-carat diamond set in platinum? Heck yeah, but, I digress…

Of the people polled: Which would you most want a daughter of yours to have? Happy marriage and children: Women 56%; Men 63%. Financial success: Women 20%; Men 15%. An interesting career: Women 23%; Men 17%. Hmmm…

So, are you happy and how do these statistics speak to you?

Posted in Us Girls