Do you have an idea that you believe could help people? The people at Google, in celebration of their 10th birthday want to hear your ideas, as part of the “10 to the 100 Project”.

Submit your ideas now until Oct. 20th. Google will then post a selection of 100 ideas for the public to vote on. The selection will then be narrowed down to 25 semi-finalists which will then be narrowed down to about 5.

Google has commited $10 million dollars to help these ideas become reality. Here are the categories, your idea should fit into 1 of them…………

HUD Secretary Steve Preston allocated almost 4 billion dollars Friday to all states as part of the HUD’s new Neighborhood Stabilization Program (NSP).  The NSP program will give states fund (especially harder hit ares) to purchase foreclosed properties and redevelop them.  The goal of this is to prevent abandonment of these home which would then become “eye sores” for the communities they are within. 

The funding is provided through HUD’s Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Program under the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008.

Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008

Summary of Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008

Section-by-Section of Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008

(source House Committee on Financial Services)

Every state will recieve a minimum grant of 19.6 million dollars.  There are stipulations and guidelines as to how the money will be allocated.  Communities will receive the funds as soon as they submit a plan that complies with the CDBG program.  It will be up to the local and state government to determine the best use of the fund, and develop a plan. 

HUD plans to host a national housing summit in Washington, D.C. on October 7-8, as well as a series of regional conferences to explain the details of this new program to governors, mayors, county executives and other state and local leaders.

Fayeteville State University is in the process of constructing a new $10 million building which will be located on east campus near the Charles W. Chesnutt Library. When completed in 2009 this modern 3 story building will house both instructional and research facilities including 11 classrooms, 3 labs of 36 bed, and a computer lab. In addition there will be 36 offices, 3 conference spaces, as well a smaller break out rooms and student lounge areas.

Fayetteville State University is no stranger to exploring new construction projects and having gone to the college myself, I would say has a spirit and genuine interest in growing to service the student, not just to become a bigger campus.

Some other construction projects in past years has been the Fayetteville State University, University Place Apartments. This 8 million dollar, 322 bed project completed in 02′ the apartments addressed the housing crunch brought about by increased enrollments, and also serves as a great recruiting tool.

Each apartment contains four private bedrooms with a private bath, a kitchen and dining area, a spacious living area, large windows and a washer/dryer closet. All apartments are furnished, and specific units are ADA-accessible. The complex also features a clubhouse with amenities (student lounge, foundation and property-management offices) and a central laundry facility.

Perhaps my favorite building on campus is the new Seabrook Auditorium…if you had seen the old one you would really appreciate this gorgeous new building.

This new $7 million dollar gem replaced the old auditorium which had been at FSU since the 50’s. The old stage house was completely demolished and replaced with a lobby, ticket office, and covered entrance. A historic campus gate has also been incorporated into the design. Only the auditorium shell and balcony structure were retained. All existing building systems were replaced and a new sound, lighting, and sprinkler systems were added. The two-story glass and steel lobby connects the auditorium to the campus and acts as a vibrant addition to the campus at night.

After 6 years in the making the Cape Fear Valley Hospital here in Fayetteville has just completed construction on the Valley Pavilion expansion project. The Bauhaus design influenced structure features metal archways, silvery finished wall panels and expansive glass work that gives the hospital a new sleek look.

“Its the kind of facility Cumberland County has deserved for a really long time,” says Braxton Strickland Administrative Director of Non-Invasive Cardiac Diagnostics for the Heart & Vascular Center.

The new patient friendly designed Valley Pavilion boasts larger patient rooms, enhanced reception areas for family and visitors, and a new emergency department features all private rooms.

The patient rooms are now 50% larger and more technology has been brought bedside with personal computers in every room. The new modular bed system will minimize the needs to move patients from unit to unit as they recover from surgery. Patients will be able to stay in the original room they were assigned and their status will be updated in the electronic tracking system. Even more important the number of patient beds has increased significantly. The emergency dept. has 3 times more beds than before. All total there are around 132 inpatient and observation beds.

The Valley Pavillion contains a new Heart & Vascular center boasting labs featuring the latest technology for diagnosing and treating heart disease. There is also a Bariatric center, Women’s Pavillion, Imaging Center, and a brand new Children’s Emergancy Dept.

I forgot to mention there is a new 5 story parking deck as well that makes finding parking at this hospital much easier then years past.

That’s easy principal and interest right? Wrong.  Many mortgage calculator sites let you plug in a loan amount and interest rate and spit out a low monthly payment figure.  Next to the figure there should be a few ** for fine sprint. 

The bulk of your monthly loan payments will go towards paying off principal and interest which is amortized.  Amoritization is the payment of a debt in installments over an agreed-upon period, during which principal and interest are paid off.  The formula for which looks something like this;

Wait…dont run away.  Your lender can help you figure this out.  Basically you are taking the interest for the entire life of the loan, plus the amount you are borrowing, and dividing that by the total number of payments you will make. 

 A quick example:  a $175,000 loan with 6.5% interest rate for 30 years.  The interest over the life of the loan would be $223,202 and the total interest plus the amount you originally borrowed would equal $398,202.  If you take that number and divide it by the total number of payments you would make (360) your monthly payment would be $1,106.  This is not your final payment figure however. 

Ok now that I fried your brain with some math once you figure out the monthly loan and interest payment…. you add in the taxes based on your local area, and your Home Owners Insurance.  I will spare you all the formulas involved in that.  Just remember PITI.

We’ve all heard the term, “wrap around,” but what exactly does it mean? A wrap around mortgage, or simply a “wrap,” is an agreement where the buyer of a property makes monthly payments to the seller of a property, who then pays the original lender each month. This is perceived as a way of an owner “selling” a property to a buyer without the buyer obtaining conventional financing.

While a wrap can be viewed as a traditional sale, in reality it’s anything but.

All mortgage loans contain a “due on sale” clause. That means if the current owner of the property sells or otherwise transfers ownership then the lender can immediately call the loan in completely. In other words the lender says, “Okay, you sold the property, we want our money.” In the past, the due on sale clause was not as prevalent, but now all mortgage loans contain such language.

So how would the lender ever know? First, if it’s a legal transfer of ownership, the sale would be recorded and therefore become public record. Lenders would receive notice from the companies they employ to monitor such transactions. The lender could also find out following the change of the original owner’s mailing address.

Now say the owner of the property tells you that they could “carry the note” for you if all you did was make monthly payments directly to him or her. If your agreement was to pay $2,000 per month, those funds could then be directly applied to their original mortgage payment.

Many wrap arrangements require a substantial down payment from the buyer along with the agreement to make a mortgage payment above and beyond what the real mortgage payment requires. Wraps are typically made because the buyer, the seller or both are unable to secure financing. While it may appear to be a solution to a tough problem, a wrap around mortgage is inherently problematic (and generally not worth the trouble).

For example, what would happen if the seller was notified by the lender that an illegal transfer of ownership took place and the lender activates the no-sale clause and wants all its money back?

First, the seller would have to immediately refinance the current note, which would be nearly impossible because the property would have been sold.  A new lender wouldn’t finance the new deal nor would the buyer, because the lender wouldn’t recognize the new owner.

Second, and perhaps more importantly, what if the buyer indeed made the monthly payments on a regular basis but the owner somehow fell behind and didn’t make the payments to the original lender? The lender would be forced to foreclose on the original owner, meaning that the new buyer would lose the down payment and payments to the original owner!

A wrap around isn’t a “last resort” method of financing, it’s a “no resort.”  Violating the terms of a mortgage, having the mortgage called in by the lender and the buyer losing his down payment and presumed equity with no legal ownership rights is a losing proposition for everyone!

Written by David Reed, Texas-based mortgage banker with more than 20 years experience

and author of Mortgages 101 and Mortgage Confidential.

Welcome to the fifth blog in the “Your First Home” The Proven Path to Home Ownership (Gary Keller, Dave Jenks, Jay Papasan) book discussion series.

You do not need to purchase to book to gain valuable information from this series, however it is a great resource for any first-time home buyer.   This installment will address Securing Financing. 

6 General Steps to Securing Financing (pg. 39)

1.  Choose a loan officer (or mortgage specialist) – ask for referrals from friends, colleges.

2.  Make a loan application and get preapproved.

3.  Determine what you want to pay and select a loan option. – This is where a good officer can spell out all 
your options and help you choose the best loan for your needs.  Then begin the home process, having a good ideal how much home you can afford. 

4.  Submit to the lender an accepted purchase offer contract. – Once you find the home for you.

5.  Get an appraisal and title commitment.

6.  Obtain funding at closing.

Don’t break the bank….the most important aspect of the mortgage approval process is the very first step…you have to sit down, look at your budget, and figure out what you can comfortably afford.   Worst case scenario, best case scenario,  it’s best to look at it now before it becomes a reality later on…that way you are more in control.  One feature of “the home for you” should be affordability. 

3 Key Ingredients in Your Mortgage Options (pg.48-51)

1.  Down Payment

2.  Interest Rate

3.  Term (Life of Loan)

These 3 factors are your key to determining the differences between the many loans out there.  A good loan officer can use these factors to help find the loan for you based on your needs. 

To sum it all up…. 

 1.  Find a good loan officer.  Check credentials, ask for referrals from people you know, ask for testimonials.

 2.  Remember that lenders determine what you can borrow, only you can decide what you can afford.

Visit YourFirstHomeBook.com for worksheets and other resources.

Always on the look out for the latest and greatest real estate related sites, in this new series I will pass my discoveries onto you….keeping you in the know.

Scrolling through my Google Reader  this evening I stumbled across a post from ActiveRain.com about a new blog discovery site which launched this week called Regator .  Regator gathers the webs “best blogs” and categorizes them in an easy to find format, which also serves as a great way to discover new blogs.  You will find the Real Estate section under Business & Finance. 

From Regator I discovered a mortgage search engine called RateSpeed.  RateSpeed classifies itself as a network of transparent, empowering, ethical mortgage professionals.  It is the brain child of Jeff Corbett, a former mortgage industry inside who writes The Xbroker Blog.

A search for answers on the housing bill brought me to the United States House of Representatives website.  Here you can access the laws of the U.S., Find a bill or amendment (housing bill), view floor schedule, and more.  I also stumbled upon the Committee on Financial Services blog. 

Have a link you want to share?  Post it to comments.

The recently passed Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008 has sparked many questions, many of which have been regarding the $7500 tax credit for first-time home buyers.

 I have put together the following links to help shed a little light on the Act, and how it will effect you and your family.

First-Time Home Buyer Tax Credit at a Glance

Frequently Asked Questions
About the First-Time Home Buyer Tax Credit

Other Provisions

Home Buyer Resources

The American Housing Rescue and Foreclosure Prevention Act

National Association of Home Builders