Great article in the Savannah Morning News about the current real estate market in Savannah...and check out the spotlight on the great things happening at Keller Williams!
Posted: December 29, 2010 - 11:04pm Updated: December 30, 2010 - 8:06am
By Adam Van Brimmer
Charles Dickens didn't have the Savannah real estate market in mind when he penned the line, "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times."
The notion certainly applies, however.
The best of times: Available housing and commercial buildings are as affordable as they've ever been. Even with interest rates rallying off historic lows in the last month, it's a buyer's market. And there is plenty of property to choose from. The supply and diversity, particularly on the commercial side, should be an advantage for Savannah.
With Savannah's economic engines - the port, manufacturing facilities, distribution centers - slowly spooling up in the second half of 2010 and tourism booming, the outlook is for a busy 2011.
The worst of times: The real estate bust has handcuffed those who work in the industry and brought community banks to the brink. The area has lost 3,000 construction jobs since 2007, and the local home builder ranks have been halved over the last two years.
A handful of real estate brokerages now handle the majority of transactions. For example, residential brokerage Keller Williams Coastal Area Partners had several record months in 2010 despite the weak housing market.
As for the banks, the drop in real estate values attracted regulator attention. Two Savannah-based community banks were closed in 2010 as was another bank with a Savannah branch. Two more received a public scolding from regulators. Several others are saddled with loads of non-performing loans.
Yet the underlying reasons for the housing slump - limited job creation, stagnant incomes and constrained in-migration - will dissipate as the economy recovers.
Real estate will follow, according to economist Michael Toma, the director of Armstrong Atlantic State University's Center for Regional Analysis.
"We will continue to grow, because in the long run this remains an attractive place to live, work and retire," Toma said. "And as we grow going forward, we'll do so in a much more sustainable and healthier way economically."
Good supply
Savannah has what home buyers and businesses are looking for - and at a good price.
The average sales price of a home is relatively unchanged compared to a year ago. But buyers are getting more for their money: The average list price is down 17 percent.
Sales are up in Chatham County's traditionally desirable areas such as the Historic District, Wilmington Island, Skidaway Island and Isle of Hope. The areas that benefited most from 2009's first-time homebuyer tax credit programs were off those marks in 2010.
Yet inventory remains high across the Savannah metro area, which includes Bryan and Effingham counties, and the result is low prices and a wide range of amenities.
"We do have a little something for everyone, from starter homes to waterfront," said Monica Spillane, president of the Savannah Board of Realtors.
The commercial real estate sector is "starting to percolate," as one broker in town put it. The oversupply of space that resulted from the Port of Savannah's growth prior to the recession will be attractive to companies looking to expand and relocate.
Chatham County alone has more than 40 million square feet of ready-for-lease warehouse and manufacturing space.
"Savannah has all types of facilities, in different configurations and different increments of space," said David Sink, a commercial real estate agent with Collier Neely Dales. "Somebody coming into this market can get what they want. That's not the case anywhere else in the region."
Undeveloped land, complete with City of Savannah services and close to the interstates and the port, is also available. High-profile locations in Chatham County include the State of Georgia megasite, Crossroads Business Park, the CenterPoint Intermodal Center, Dean Forest Business Park and the Newton Tract.
Bryan County features Interstate Centre and Belfast Commerce Centre, and Effingham County boasts the Effingham County Industrial Park and the Research Forest Tracts.
Stability needed
Just as Savannah's real estate collapse trailed most of the rest of the country, the fear is a recovery may come late, too.
Residential sales and sales prices didn't start to trend down here until September 2007 and didn't enter freefall mode until a year later. Foreclosures began to mount about the same time. Values have dropped about 30 to 40 percent - depending on who you talk to - since the bust and continue to creep down.
Some bankers doubt prices have hit bottom while others believe values are "bouncing along" the bottom.
Stemming foreclosures and selling off repossessed properties will lend stability.
Unfortunately, Savannah's foreclosure rate has been climbing since April, according to foreclosure research firm CoreLogic, and the number of bank-owned properties is double what it was 18 months ago. Savannah's community banks alone count repossessed properties as 2.5 percent of their assets on average.
Throw in the market's big banks - Wells Fargo, Bank of America, SunTrust - and it's easy to see why Realtor signs with "bank-owned" scrawled on them dot seemingly every street in town.
"We're going to have to get through the majority of those issues to see across-the-board stability," Spillane said. "There are just too many things we have no control over. When a bank owns 10 foreclosures in one neighborhood, they obviously can't hold on to those, and that impacts prices. Fortunately, some neighborhoods are through it and have stabilized. Are prices moving up or are they going to move up? I'll let the statistics speak to that."
On the commercial side, all rates and prices are negotiable. Vacancy rates have risen from 7.5 percent at the end of 2007 to close to 20 percent currently. Lease rates are averaging $3.73 a square foot for warehouse space and $8.14 per square foot for office space, according to a report by Gilbert & Lattimore Commercial Real Estate.
Commercial values won't stabilize until inventory shrinks and then will likely rise rapidly as no speculative construction is under way or in the planning stages.
"Once the current oversupply of inventory is absorbed, the real estate market should turn around very quickly," said Harvey Gilbert of Gilbert and Lattimore. "It's really just a matter of when."
View original article: http://savannahnow.com/exchange/2010-12-29/real-estate-market-primed-turnaround
Thursday, December 30, 2010
Friday, December 17, 2010
Clean house: Tips for paying down your mortgage
Published: Friday, 17 Dec 2010 1:56 PM ET
NEW YORK - Don't let your biggest debt run your life. There are ways to trim your monthly costs that will move you closer to a mortgage-free retirement.
PAYING EARLY: Make one extra payment every year and apply the extra cash toward principal.
"That will cut about 8 years off your 30-year fixed loan," said Pava Leyrer, president of Heritage National Mortgage in Michigan.
There are several ways to do this. You can make a full extra payment all at once. Leyrer suggests using your tax refund.
Still, it may be easier to pay throughout the year. For example, if your monthly payment is $1,200, pay $100 each month. Another option: Some banks will deduct half the mortgage payment from your account every two weeks, which adds up to 13 payments a year.
However, a lump sum payment will shave an additional five to six months off the life of the loan, Leyrer said. That's because the amount of interest you pay will decline faster.
A note of caution: Know if your mortgage has a prepayment penalty, generally found on loans before 2008. In some cases, the penalty is only in place for the first few years and may only apply if you pay off a substantial amount (like 20 percent). This will add an extra cost if you refinance and pay down some of your debt, or sell early and pay off your loan. You also should be able to opt out of this penalty, but may see a bump in the interest rate as a result.
SEEK A LOWER RATE: You're probably aware that mortgage rates have been at their lowest level in decades. What does that mean for you as a homeowner? You could possibly shave hundreds of dollars off your monthly payment. The rule of thumb is that refinancing often makes financial sense if you can secure a rate that's one percentage point or more lower than your current loan. You will pay off the closing costs with the savings within a couple of years, and realize greater savings on interest over the life of the loan.
There are other refinancing tricks. Some of Leyrer's clients are choosing to go from a conventional, 30-year fixed loan, to one backed by the Federal Housing Administration that offers an assumability feature. It often has a lower rate, but more importantly, it allows a buyer to take on the loan if the homeowner sells the house.
For homeowners looking to increase their home's value through improvements or repairs, opt for an FHA 203K loan for expenses up to $35,000. It wraps all the loans for the repairs and renovations into the home loan and typically offers a lower rate than a personal loan.
Homeowners with jumbo loans — generally defined as mortgages over $417,000 — should consider seeking a lower rate if they come into some extra cash. These borrowers can pay off some of the loan to reduce their debt below $417,000 and then refinance. They'll be able to qualify for a conventional mortgage and likely have a lower interest rate that can slash hundreds off a monthly payment.
Others should weigh a mortgage with a shorter duration. John Stearns, a banker at American Fidelity Mortgage Service Inc., just refinanced a homeowner who had 29 years left on his 30-year fixed mortgage. The borrower refinanced into a 25-year fixed loan. He's paying $24 more each month, but will save $35,212 in interest.
INSURANCE INS & OUTS: Lenders require private mortgage insurance, or PMI, if a borrower owes more than 80 percent of the home's value. This adds to the monthly mortgage payment.
But don't get stuck paying for longer than you have to. Lenders are only required to cancel PMI when the borrower owes 78 percent of the home's value or less, Stearns noted. But borrowers can get an appraisal to prove they owe less than 80 percent and require the lender to cancel the PMI.
BE TAX SAVVY: Part of the perks of being a homeowner is that mortgage interest payments are tax deductible. To increase your deduction, make your January payment before December 31 of the previous year. That will also add up to 13 payments for the year and the bigger tax refund can be used to get ahead.
View original article: http://www.cnbc.com/id/40720989
NEW YORK - Don't let your biggest debt run your life. There are ways to trim your monthly costs that will move you closer to a mortgage-free retirement.
PAYING EARLY: Make one extra payment every year and apply the extra cash toward principal.
"That will cut about 8 years off your 30-year fixed loan," said Pava Leyrer, president of Heritage National Mortgage in Michigan.
There are several ways to do this. You can make a full extra payment all at once. Leyrer suggests using your tax refund.
Still, it may be easier to pay throughout the year. For example, if your monthly payment is $1,200, pay $100 each month. Another option: Some banks will deduct half the mortgage payment from your account every two weeks, which adds up to 13 payments a year.
However, a lump sum payment will shave an additional five to six months off the life of the loan, Leyrer said. That's because the amount of interest you pay will decline faster.
A note of caution: Know if your mortgage has a prepayment penalty, generally found on loans before 2008. In some cases, the penalty is only in place for the first few years and may only apply if you pay off a substantial amount (like 20 percent). This will add an extra cost if you refinance and pay down some of your debt, or sell early and pay off your loan. You also should be able to opt out of this penalty, but may see a bump in the interest rate as a result.
SEEK A LOWER RATE: You're probably aware that mortgage rates have been at their lowest level in decades. What does that mean for you as a homeowner? You could possibly shave hundreds of dollars off your monthly payment. The rule of thumb is that refinancing often makes financial sense if you can secure a rate that's one percentage point or more lower than your current loan. You will pay off the closing costs with the savings within a couple of years, and realize greater savings on interest over the life of the loan.
There are other refinancing tricks. Some of Leyrer's clients are choosing to go from a conventional, 30-year fixed loan, to one backed by the Federal Housing Administration that offers an assumability feature. It often has a lower rate, but more importantly, it allows a buyer to take on the loan if the homeowner sells the house.
For homeowners looking to increase their home's value through improvements or repairs, opt for an FHA 203K loan for expenses up to $35,000. It wraps all the loans for the repairs and renovations into the home loan and typically offers a lower rate than a personal loan.
Homeowners with jumbo loans — generally defined as mortgages over $417,000 — should consider seeking a lower rate if they come into some extra cash. These borrowers can pay off some of the loan to reduce their debt below $417,000 and then refinance. They'll be able to qualify for a conventional mortgage and likely have a lower interest rate that can slash hundreds off a monthly payment.
Others should weigh a mortgage with a shorter duration. John Stearns, a banker at American Fidelity Mortgage Service Inc., just refinanced a homeowner who had 29 years left on his 30-year fixed mortgage. The borrower refinanced into a 25-year fixed loan. He's paying $24 more each month, but will save $35,212 in interest.
INSURANCE INS & OUTS: Lenders require private mortgage insurance, or PMI, if a borrower owes more than 80 percent of the home's value. This adds to the monthly mortgage payment.
But don't get stuck paying for longer than you have to. Lenders are only required to cancel PMI when the borrower owes 78 percent of the home's value or less, Stearns noted. But borrowers can get an appraisal to prove they owe less than 80 percent and require the lender to cancel the PMI.
BE TAX SAVVY: Part of the perks of being a homeowner is that mortgage interest payments are tax deductible. To increase your deduction, make your January payment before December 31 of the previous year. That will also add up to 13 payments for the year and the bigger tax refund can be used to get ahead.
View original article: http://www.cnbc.com/id/40720989
Monday, December 13, 2010
Just Listed!
5607 Cherokee Avenue
Beautiful Dutch Colonial home built on a large lot and with a gambrel roof. This home has well planned space through-out including open porches on each end, wraparound porch on the front leading to a spacious patio on side. All rooms open to outside space. Comfortable Living &Dining Rooms each with the warmth of the centrally located fireplace. The open well planned kitchen is fully equipped and has light birch butcher block style countertops. This home is comfortable, open, spacious and well maintained.
Click on the image above to view a visual tour of the home.
For additional residential or historic real estate in Savannah, Georgia please visit www.DonCallahan.com
Just Listed in Kensington Park!
253 Varn Drive
Awesome mid-century modern architecture in one of Savannah's most desirable communities. This 1954 long and low ranch is on a tree lined road in the center of Kensington Park. It was recently renovated including a beautiful kitchen with raised panel birch cabinets and stainless steel appliances. The kitchen opens to a generous breakfast room. The living room has a most unusual fireplace with a very swank long horizontal hearth and mantle. It is adjacent to a family room or office also with a unique fireplace. Three spacious bedrooms, two full bath rooms and plenty of closets. The house sits on a large lot and has a quiet meditation garden tucked behind tall bamboo.
Click on the image above to view a visual tour of the home.
For additional residential or historic real estate in Savannah, Georgia please visit www.DonCallahan.com
Monday, November 15, 2010
The Shrinking House: Downsizing the American Dream
By: Cindy Perman
CNBC.com Staff Writer
Home ownership has long been a symbol of the American Dream and for a while there, we SUPERSIZED it. But since the recession, we’ve been downsizing it.
The median home size in America was near 2,300 square feet at the peak of the market in 2007, with many McMansions topping 10,000 square feet.
Today, the median home size has dropped to about 2,100 square feet and more than one-third of Americans say their ideal home size is actually under 2,000 square feet, according to a survey by real-estate site Trulia.
“The whole glow of bigness kind of wore off all of a sudden,” said Sarah Susanka, an architect and the author of “The Not So Big House” book series.
Builders are responding by chopping out rooms that people just don’t use anymore, particularly formal living rooms and sitting rooms.
“You’re not having the king and queen of England to dinner but Joe and Kathy from next door — and they’d prefer to be in your informal space!” Susanka said.
Even media rooms, game rooms and libraries are on the way out, added Boyce Thompson, the editorial director for Builder magazine.
Every year, Builder does a concept home that represents where the market’s at. This year, it was called “A Home for the New Economy,” which weighed in at around 1,700 square feet – and, interestingly, was only designed virtually. (Take a virtual tour.)
Instead of having a formal living room and a family room, the Home for the New Economy has one big “great room” and instead of a home office, an extra bedroom on the main floor doubles as a guest room/home office—or even an in-law suite. They were even careful to chop out unnecessary hall space.
“The key today is to provide flexible space,” Thompson said.
So, instead of a game room, you may have a gaming area in part of your great room. Instead of a library, you may have a reading nook.
The “proliferation of bathrooms” is also on the way out, Susanka adds. For a while there, it seemed, every room had its own bathroom and people just didn’t use them. It’s time “to bring some sanity back to the equation,” she said.
But just because a house is small, doesn’t mean it has to feel small. Architects are finding all kinds of design tricks to make a home feel bigger, from varying the ceiling height — seeing that a ceiling is higher in the next room makes it feel even bigger — or putting a direct line of sight to an outdoor space like a porch or deck. As your eye sees past the room to the outside, the space feels bigger.
The Front Porch Makes a Comeback
It’s not just the inside of the house that’s changing, it’s the outside, too. The yards are smaller, with many developments favoring shared green spaces over big private yards.
And, the front porch is back. Builders are increasingly moving the garage to the back of the house and adding a big porch on the front.
Seeing a big porch through the dining room, and a shared green space beyond that adds to the illusion that you are getting more — and it makes you want to get out there and reconnect with your neighbors.
At the height of the market it was all about “suburban sprawl,” with everyone in their back yards, with their own deck, their own swingset, their own pool — and barely knowing their neighbors. Today, the buzz word is “smart growth” — smaller more sustainable communities that really have a sense of community.
That’s partly because it’s better for the environment and community building, but there’s a more practical reason.
“Most households now have two people working,” said John McIlwain, a senior resident fellow at the Urban Land Institute. “Who wants to spend their time cleaning their house … or taking care of big yards … when they have kids to take care of?”
He said a magnet on his daughter-in-law’s fridge sums it up: “A clean home is a sign of a wasted life!”
It’s not just young people, either — empty nesters don’t want to spend their weekend mowing the lawn either!
This shift is evident in Denver’s Stapleton neighborhood, a new urbanist community built on the site of the old airport, which is meant to bring that suburban, small-town feel into a neighborhood within the city limits.
Here, their yards are tiny by design and no one has a pool — not even the million-dollar homes. Instead, they have an 80-acre shared park, aptly named Central Park, smaller “pocket parks” that become shared yards and three — soon to be four — public pools.
The Friday Afternoon Club
The concept may seem offputting to some, who may not think they want to know their neighbors. But there’s a sense of community there that you scarcely find elsewhere, with passersby saying hello to families on the porch and making plans to head out to a pocket park to play, or attend a free concert or movie in the park.
“People have just accepted the tradeoff,” said Denise Gammon, a vice president at Stapleton’s developer, Forest City Enterprises. “They think, ‘I don’t have a big, private yard, but boy do I have this amazing range of open space that’s completely accessible to me,’” she explained.
“It creates a really cohesive community,” added Heidi Majerik, the director of development at Forest City, who lives and works in Stapleton. “We get 1,000 to 2,000 people at weekend events and there are tons of informal events like the Friday Afternoon Club, where people bring out chairs, wine and appetizers and the kids play,” she explained.
“There’s a lot of movement toward neighborhoods like this,” Susanka said.
Susanka is currently designing a home in a similar neighborhood, Libertyville, Ill., just north of Chicago.
Neighborhoods like Stapleton and Libertyville are more densely populated but more vibrant, highly walkable and have charming downtown areas — something the next crop of homebuyers is demanding.
“Gen Y is looking for that kind of vibrant downtown flavor with smaller homes,” Susanka said. “They realize that there’s a value to being connected to one another but still maintain their privacy. There’s a balance between privacy and community.”
This new love affair with the front porch reflects that desire for community, and extends into the downtown area.
“They’ll go from their house down to the local restaurants, which then becomes like a part of their house,” she explained.
It's 'Back to the Future': Green Edition
It feels a lot like “Back to the Future,” with this return to small-town life. But there’s one major difference: Energy efficiency.
If it’s one thing the recession taught us, it’s to stretch our dollars further and no where is that more evident than in energy consumption.
Energy consumption has moved from an option when building a new home to the standard when it comes to appliances, windows, furnaces and climate control.
“People are really concerned after the energy scare of 2008 — they’re worried about what it’s going to cost to run their house,” Thompson said. “No one wants a gas guzzler — especially because it impairs resale down the road.”
Among the energy-smart options you may see down the road, that are just being experimented with now, are master controls for a home’s energy efficiency (much like the master control for the lights, heat and stereo) as well as private wind turbines in the backyard that may be connected to the grid — or take the home completely energy independent.
Of course, there will always be some people who want that big backyard and the fact that land prices are so cheap right now will make that more accessible for those who want it, McIlwain said.
One thing’s for sure: The memory of the recession will continue to impact the decisions people make when it comes to the home for years to come.
People are asking themselves, “How are we going to make this house in proportion to the next economic downturn, so that we’re not out on a limb?” Susanka said.
CNBC.com Staff Writer
Home ownership has long been a symbol of the American Dream and for a while there, we SUPERSIZED it. But since the recession, we’ve been downsizing it.
The median home size in America was near 2,300 square feet at the peak of the market in 2007, with many McMansions topping 10,000 square feet.
Today, the median home size has dropped to about 2,100 square feet and more than one-third of Americans say their ideal home size is actually under 2,000 square feet, according to a survey by real-estate site Trulia.
“The whole glow of bigness kind of wore off all of a sudden,” said Sarah Susanka, an architect and the author of “The Not So Big House” book series.
Builders are responding by chopping out rooms that people just don’t use anymore, particularly formal living rooms and sitting rooms.
“You’re not having the king and queen of England to dinner but Joe and Kathy from next door — and they’d prefer to be in your informal space!” Susanka said.
Even media rooms, game rooms and libraries are on the way out, added Boyce Thompson, the editorial director for Builder magazine.
Every year, Builder does a concept home that represents where the market’s at. This year, it was called “A Home for the New Economy,” which weighed in at around 1,700 square feet – and, interestingly, was only designed virtually. (Take a virtual tour.)
Instead of having a formal living room and a family room, the Home for the New Economy has one big “great room” and instead of a home office, an extra bedroom on the main floor doubles as a guest room/home office—or even an in-law suite. They were even careful to chop out unnecessary hall space.
“The key today is to provide flexible space,” Thompson said.
So, instead of a game room, you may have a gaming area in part of your great room. Instead of a library, you may have a reading nook.
The “proliferation of bathrooms” is also on the way out, Susanka adds. For a while there, it seemed, every room had its own bathroom and people just didn’t use them. It’s time “to bring some sanity back to the equation,” she said.
But just because a house is small, doesn’t mean it has to feel small. Architects are finding all kinds of design tricks to make a home feel bigger, from varying the ceiling height — seeing that a ceiling is higher in the next room makes it feel even bigger — or putting a direct line of sight to an outdoor space like a porch or deck. As your eye sees past the room to the outside, the space feels bigger.
The Front Porch Makes a Comeback
It’s not just the inside of the house that’s changing, it’s the outside, too. The yards are smaller, with many developments favoring shared green spaces over big private yards.
And, the front porch is back. Builders are increasingly moving the garage to the back of the house and adding a big porch on the front.
Seeing a big porch through the dining room, and a shared green space beyond that adds to the illusion that you are getting more — and it makes you want to get out there and reconnect with your neighbors.
At the height of the market it was all about “suburban sprawl,” with everyone in their back yards, with their own deck, their own swingset, their own pool — and barely knowing their neighbors. Today, the buzz word is “smart growth” — smaller more sustainable communities that really have a sense of community.
That’s partly because it’s better for the environment and community building, but there’s a more practical reason.
“Most households now have two people working,” said John McIlwain, a senior resident fellow at the Urban Land Institute. “Who wants to spend their time cleaning their house … or taking care of big yards … when they have kids to take care of?”
He said a magnet on his daughter-in-law’s fridge sums it up: “A clean home is a sign of a wasted life!”
It’s not just young people, either — empty nesters don’t want to spend their weekend mowing the lawn either!
This shift is evident in Denver’s Stapleton neighborhood, a new urbanist community built on the site of the old airport, which is meant to bring that suburban, small-town feel into a neighborhood within the city limits.
Here, their yards are tiny by design and no one has a pool — not even the million-dollar homes. Instead, they have an 80-acre shared park, aptly named Central Park, smaller “pocket parks” that become shared yards and three — soon to be four — public pools.
The Friday Afternoon Club
The concept may seem offputting to some, who may not think they want to know their neighbors. But there’s a sense of community there that you scarcely find elsewhere, with passersby saying hello to families on the porch and making plans to head out to a pocket park to play, or attend a free concert or movie in the park.
“People have just accepted the tradeoff,” said Denise Gammon, a vice president at Stapleton’s developer, Forest City Enterprises. “They think, ‘I don’t have a big, private yard, but boy do I have this amazing range of open space that’s completely accessible to me,’” she explained.
“It creates a really cohesive community,” added Heidi Majerik, the director of development at Forest City, who lives and works in Stapleton. “We get 1,000 to 2,000 people at weekend events and there are tons of informal events like the Friday Afternoon Club, where people bring out chairs, wine and appetizers and the kids play,” she explained.
“There’s a lot of movement toward neighborhoods like this,” Susanka said.
Susanka is currently designing a home in a similar neighborhood, Libertyville, Ill., just north of Chicago.
Neighborhoods like Stapleton and Libertyville are more densely populated but more vibrant, highly walkable and have charming downtown areas — something the next crop of homebuyers is demanding.
“Gen Y is looking for that kind of vibrant downtown flavor with smaller homes,” Susanka said. “They realize that there’s a value to being connected to one another but still maintain their privacy. There’s a balance between privacy and community.”
This new love affair with the front porch reflects that desire for community, and extends into the downtown area.
“They’ll go from their house down to the local restaurants, which then becomes like a part of their house,” she explained.
It's 'Back to the Future': Green Edition
It feels a lot like “Back to the Future,” with this return to small-town life. But there’s one major difference: Energy efficiency.
If it’s one thing the recession taught us, it’s to stretch our dollars further and no where is that more evident than in energy consumption.
Energy consumption has moved from an option when building a new home to the standard when it comes to appliances, windows, furnaces and climate control.
“People are really concerned after the energy scare of 2008 — they’re worried about what it’s going to cost to run their house,” Thompson said. “No one wants a gas guzzler — especially because it impairs resale down the road.”
Among the energy-smart options you may see down the road, that are just being experimented with now, are master controls for a home’s energy efficiency (much like the master control for the lights, heat and stereo) as well as private wind turbines in the backyard that may be connected to the grid — or take the home completely energy independent.
Of course, there will always be some people who want that big backyard and the fact that land prices are so cheap right now will make that more accessible for those who want it, McIlwain said.
One thing’s for sure: The memory of the recession will continue to impact the decisions people make when it comes to the home for years to come.
People are asking themselves, “How are we going to make this house in proportion to the next economic downturn, so that we’re not out on a limb?” Susanka said.
Friday, November 5, 2010
Daylight Savings Time Reminder
For this year in fall 2010 Daylight Savings Time comes to an end on Sunday, November 7, 2010 at 2 a.m. You will gain an hour of sleep this fall 2010 when you "fall back" and move your clocks back one hour on November 7, 2010. (or you can change your clocks before you go to bed Saturday night).
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
Ardsley Park Bungalow - Sold in 56 Days!
After being on the market with a different Realtor, Andrew and Teri decided to call Don to sell their house. The result: 56 days later and we were under contract!
Monday, October 18, 2010
6 Reasons to Reduce Your Home Price
By: G. M. Filisko
Published: March 19, 2010
Article from HouseLogic.com
While you'd like to get the best price for your home, consider our six reasons to reduce your home price.
These six signs may be telling you it’s time to lower your price.
1. You’re drawing few lookers
You get the most interest in your home right after you put it on the market because buyers want to catch a great new home before anybody else takes it. If your real estate agent reports there have been fewer buyers calling about and asking to tour your home than there have been for other homes in your area, that may be a sign buyers think it’s overpriced and are waiting for the price to fall before viewing it.
2. You’re drawing lots of lookers but have no offers
If you’ve had 30 sets of potential buyers come through your home and not a single one has made an offer, something is off. What are other agents telling your agent about your home? An overly high price may be discouraging buyers from making an offer.
3. Your home’s been on the market longer than similar homes
Ask your real estate agent about the average number of days it takes to sell a home in your market. If the answer is 30 and you’re pushing 45, your price may be affecting buyer interest. When a home sits on the market, buyers can begin to wonder if there’s something wrong with it, which can delay a sale even further. At least consider lowering your asking price.
4. You have a deadline
If you’ve got to sell soon because of a job transfer or you’ve already purchased another home, it may be necessary to generate buyer interest by dropping your price so your home is a little lower priced than comparable homes in your area. Remember: It’s not how much money you need that determines the sale price of your home, it’s how much money a buyer is willing to spend.
5. You can’t make upgrades
Maybe you’re plum out of cash and don’t have the funds to put fresh paint on the walls, clean the carpets, and add curb appeal. But the feedback your agent is reporting from buyers is that your home isn’t as well-appointed as similarly priced homes. When your home has been on the market longer than comparable homes in better condition, it’s time to accept that buyers expect to pay less for a home that doesn’t show as well as others.
6. The competition has changed
If weeks go by with no offers, continue to check out the competition. What have comparable homes sold for and what's still on the market? What new listings have been added since you listed your home for sale? If comparable home sales or new listings show your price is too steep, consider a price reduction.
Published: March 19, 2010
Article from HouseLogic.com
While you'd like to get the best price for your home, consider our six reasons to reduce your home price.
These six signs may be telling you it’s time to lower your price.
1. You’re drawing few lookers
You get the most interest in your home right after you put it on the market because buyers want to catch a great new home before anybody else takes it. If your real estate agent reports there have been fewer buyers calling about and asking to tour your home than there have been for other homes in your area, that may be a sign buyers think it’s overpriced and are waiting for the price to fall before viewing it.
2. You’re drawing lots of lookers but have no offers
If you’ve had 30 sets of potential buyers come through your home and not a single one has made an offer, something is off. What are other agents telling your agent about your home? An overly high price may be discouraging buyers from making an offer.
3. Your home’s been on the market longer than similar homes
Ask your real estate agent about the average number of days it takes to sell a home in your market. If the answer is 30 and you’re pushing 45, your price may be affecting buyer interest. When a home sits on the market, buyers can begin to wonder if there’s something wrong with it, which can delay a sale even further. At least consider lowering your asking price.
4. You have a deadline
If you’ve got to sell soon because of a job transfer or you’ve already purchased another home, it may be necessary to generate buyer interest by dropping your price so your home is a little lower priced than comparable homes in your area. Remember: It’s not how much money you need that determines the sale price of your home, it’s how much money a buyer is willing to spend.
5. You can’t make upgrades
Maybe you’re plum out of cash and don’t have the funds to put fresh paint on the walls, clean the carpets, and add curb appeal. But the feedback your agent is reporting from buyers is that your home isn’t as well-appointed as similarly priced homes. When your home has been on the market longer than comparable homes in better condition, it’s time to accept that buyers expect to pay less for a home that doesn’t show as well as others.
6. The competition has changed
If weeks go by with no offers, continue to check out the competition. What have comparable homes sold for and what's still on the market? What new listings have been added since you listed your home for sale? If comparable home sales or new listings show your price is too steep, consider a price reduction.
From a Maine House, a National Foreclosure Freeze
By DAVID STREITFELD
Published: October 14, 2010
DENMARK, Me. — The house that set off the national furor over faulty foreclosures is blue-gray and weathered. The porch is piled with furniture and knickknacks awaiting the next yard sale. In the driveway is a busted pickup truck. No one who lives there is going anywhere anytime soon.
Nicolle Bradbury bought this house seven years ago for $75,000, a major step up from the trailer she had been living in with her family. But she lost her job and the $474 monthly mortgage payment became difficult, then impossible.
It should have been a routine foreclosure, with Mrs. Bradbury joining the anonymous millions quietly dispossessed since the recession began. But she was savvy enough to contact a nonprofit group, Pine Tree Legal Assistance, where for once in her 38 years, she caught a break.
Her file was pulled, more or less at random, by Thomas A. Cox, a retired lawyer who volunteers at Pine Tree. He happened to know something about foreclosures because when he worked for a bank he did them all the time. Twenty years later, he had switched sides and, he says, was trying to make amends.
Suddenly, there is a frenzy over foreclosures. Every attorney general in the country is participating in an investigation into the flawed paperwork and questionable methods behind many of them. A Senate hearing is scheduled, and federal inquiries have begun. The housing market, which runs on foreclosure sales, is in turmoil. Bank stocks fell on Thursday as analysts tried to gauge the impact on lenders’ bottom lines.
All of this is largely because Mr. Cox realized almost immediately that Mrs. Bradbury’s foreclosure file did not look right. The documents from the lender, GMAC Mortgage, were approved by an employee whose title was “limited signing officer,” an indication to the lawyer that his knowledge of the case was effectively nonexistent.
Mr. Cox eventually won the right to depose the employee, who casually acknowledged that he had prepared 400 foreclosures a day for GMAC and that contrary to his sworn statements, they had not been reviewed by him or anyone else.
GMAC, the country’s fourth-largest mortgage lender, called this omission a technicality but was forced last month to halt foreclosures in the 23 states, including Maine, where they must be approved by a court. Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase and other lenders that used robo-signers — the term caught on instantly — have enacted their own freezes.
The tragedy of foreclosure is that some homeowners may be able to stay where they are if their lenders are more interested in modification than eviction. Without a job, Mrs. Bradbury is not one of them. Her family, including her 14-year-old daughter and 16-year-old son, lives on welfare and food stamps.
“A lot of people say we just want a free ride,” Mrs. Bradbury said. “That’s not it. I’ve worked since I was 14. I’m not lazy. I’m just trying to keep us together. If we lost the house, my family would have to break up.”
It has been two years since she last paid the mortgage, which surprises even her lawyers.
“Had GMAC followed the legal requirements, she would have lost her home a long time ago,” acknowledged Geoffrey S. Lewis, another lawyer handling her case.
GMAC, which began as the financing arm of General Motors, has received $17 billion from taxpayers in an effort to keep it from failing and is now majority-owned by the federal government. A spokeswoman for the lender declined to comment on Mrs. Bradbury’s case because it was still being litigated.
John J. Aromando of the firm of Pierce Atwood in Portland, Me., the lawyer for GMAC and Fannie Mae, the mortgage holding company that owns Mrs. Bradbury’s loan, did not return calls for comment on Thursday.
Fannie Mae and GMAC, which serviced the loan for Fannie, have now most likely spent more to dislodge Mrs. Bradbury than her house is worth. Yet for all their efforts, they are not only losing this case, but also potentially laying the groundwork for foreclosure challenges nationwide.
“This ammunition will be front and center in thousands of foreclosure cases,” said Don Saunders of the National Legal Aid and Defender Association.
Just a few miles from the New Hampshire border, this slice of Maine does not have much in the way of industry or, for that matter, people. Mrs. Bradbury grew up around here, married and had her children here, and married for a second time here. Her parents still live nearby.
In 2003, her brother-in-law at the time offered to sell her a house on property adjacent to his. It was across from a noisy construction supply site. But it was ringed by maple, evergreen and willow trees, and who does not want to be a homeowner, especially when GMAC Mortgage will give you a loan for the entire purchase price and then another loan to improve the property?
“I was very happy,” she remembered. “It was a new beginning.”
But Mrs. Bradbury lost her job as an employment counselor in 2006 and did part-time work after that. Her husband, Scott, was in poor health and had other problems. He could not work as a roofer. She fell behind and got a modification from GMAC. It increased her monthly payments and provided no relief.
Finally, in late 2008, she stopped paying altogether, and GMAC asked a court to approve her eviction without a trial. By the summer of 2009, this removal was well under way when Mr. Cox picked up her file.
Mr. Cox, 66, worked in the late 1980s and early 1990s for Maine National Bank, a subsidiary of the Bank of New England, which went under. His job was to call in small-business loans. The borrowers had often pledged their houses as collateral, which meant foreclosure.
“It was extraordinarily unpleasant, but it paid well,” he said. “I had a family to support.”
The work exacted its cost: his marriage ended and a serious depression began. He gave up law and found solace in building houses. By April 2008, he said, he was sufficiently recovered and started volunteering at Pine Tree Legal.
By the time Mr. Cox saw Mrs. Bradbury’s case, it was just about over. Last January, Judge Keith A. Powers of the Ninth District Court of Maine approved the foreclosure, leaving the case alive only to establish exactly how much Mrs. Bradbury owed.
Mr. Cox vowed to a colleague that he would expose GMAC’s process and its limited signing officer, Jeffrey Stephan. A lawyer in another foreclosure case had already deposed Mr. Stephan, but Mr. Cox wanted to take the questioning much further. In June, he got his chance. A few weeks later, he spelled out in a court filing what he had learned from the robo-signer:
“When Stephan says in an affidavit that he has personal knowledge of the facts stated in his affidavits, he doesn’t. When he says that he has custody and control of the loan documents, he doesn’t. When he says that he is attaching ‘a true and accurate’ copy of a note or a mortgage, he has no idea if that is so, because he does not look at the exhibits. When he makes any other statement of fact, he has no idea if it is true. When the notary says that Stephan appeared before him or her, he didn’t.”
GMAC’s reaction to the deposition was to hire two new law firms, including Mr. Aromando’s firm, among the most prominent in the state. They argued that what Mrs. Bradbury and her lawyers were doing was simply a “dodge”: she had not paid her mortgage and should be evicted.
They also said that Mr. Cox, despite working pro bono, had taken the deposition “to prejudice and influence the public” against GMAC for his own commercial benefit. They asked that the transcript be deleted from any blog that had posted it and that it be put under court seal.
In a ruling late last month, Judge Powers said that GMAC, despite its expensive legal talent and the fact that it got “a second bite of the apple” by filing amended foreclosure papers, still could not get this eviction right.
Even the amended documents did not bother to include the actual street address of the property it was trying to seize — reason enough, the judge wrote, to reject the request for immediate foreclosure without a trial.
But Judge Powers went further than that, saying that GMAC had been admonished in a Florida court for using robo-signers four years ago but had persisted. “It is well past the time for such practices to end,” he wrote, adding that GMAC had acted “in bad faith” by submitting Mr. Stephan’s material:
“Filing such a document without significant regard for its accuracy, which the court in ordinary circumstances may never be able to investigate or otherwise verify, is a serious and troubling matter.”
It was not a complete loss for GMAC — Judge Powers declined to find the lender in contempt — but nearly so. GMAC was ordered, as a penalty, to pay Mr. Cox personally what he would have been paid for his work on the deposition and related matters had he been charging Mrs. Bradbury. That, he says, is $27,000.
The court’s ruling on GMAC’s “bad faith” is already being taken up by foreclosure defense lawyers around the country. Mr. Cox “did a remarkable job of proving the lenders not only rubber-stamped these loans on the front end, but they rubber-stamped them on the back end,” said Mr. Saunders of the legal aid group.
GMAC, which this week expanded its foreclosure freeze to the entire country, is not giving up on Mrs. Bradbury. It will try for the third time to evict her when the case goes to trial this winter.
If Mrs. Bradbury is not quite victorious, she is still in her house, and for her that is the only thing that counts. If she can get her pickup fixed, she will go back to looking for a job.
“I am not leaving,” she said this week, standing out on her front lawn, the autumn splendor spread all around her. “We have nowhere to go.”
Original article: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/15/business/15maine.html?_r=1&emc=eta1
Published: October 14, 2010
DENMARK, Me. — The house that set off the national furor over faulty foreclosures is blue-gray and weathered. The porch is piled with furniture and knickknacks awaiting the next yard sale. In the driveway is a busted pickup truck. No one who lives there is going anywhere anytime soon.
Nicolle Bradbury bought this house seven years ago for $75,000, a major step up from the trailer she had been living in with her family. But she lost her job and the $474 monthly mortgage payment became difficult, then impossible.
It should have been a routine foreclosure, with Mrs. Bradbury joining the anonymous millions quietly dispossessed since the recession began. But she was savvy enough to contact a nonprofit group, Pine Tree Legal Assistance, where for once in her 38 years, she caught a break.
Her file was pulled, more or less at random, by Thomas A. Cox, a retired lawyer who volunteers at Pine Tree. He happened to know something about foreclosures because when he worked for a bank he did them all the time. Twenty years later, he had switched sides and, he says, was trying to make amends.
Suddenly, there is a frenzy over foreclosures. Every attorney general in the country is participating in an investigation into the flawed paperwork and questionable methods behind many of them. A Senate hearing is scheduled, and federal inquiries have begun. The housing market, which runs on foreclosure sales, is in turmoil. Bank stocks fell on Thursday as analysts tried to gauge the impact on lenders’ bottom lines.
All of this is largely because Mr. Cox realized almost immediately that Mrs. Bradbury’s foreclosure file did not look right. The documents from the lender, GMAC Mortgage, were approved by an employee whose title was “limited signing officer,” an indication to the lawyer that his knowledge of the case was effectively nonexistent.
Mr. Cox eventually won the right to depose the employee, who casually acknowledged that he had prepared 400 foreclosures a day for GMAC and that contrary to his sworn statements, they had not been reviewed by him or anyone else.
GMAC, the country’s fourth-largest mortgage lender, called this omission a technicality but was forced last month to halt foreclosures in the 23 states, including Maine, where they must be approved by a court. Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase and other lenders that used robo-signers — the term caught on instantly — have enacted their own freezes.
The tragedy of foreclosure is that some homeowners may be able to stay where they are if their lenders are more interested in modification than eviction. Without a job, Mrs. Bradbury is not one of them. Her family, including her 14-year-old daughter and 16-year-old son, lives on welfare and food stamps.
“A lot of people say we just want a free ride,” Mrs. Bradbury said. “That’s not it. I’ve worked since I was 14. I’m not lazy. I’m just trying to keep us together. If we lost the house, my family would have to break up.”
It has been two years since she last paid the mortgage, which surprises even her lawyers.
“Had GMAC followed the legal requirements, she would have lost her home a long time ago,” acknowledged Geoffrey S. Lewis, another lawyer handling her case.
GMAC, which began as the financing arm of General Motors, has received $17 billion from taxpayers in an effort to keep it from failing and is now majority-owned by the federal government. A spokeswoman for the lender declined to comment on Mrs. Bradbury’s case because it was still being litigated.
John J. Aromando of the firm of Pierce Atwood in Portland, Me., the lawyer for GMAC and Fannie Mae, the mortgage holding company that owns Mrs. Bradbury’s loan, did not return calls for comment on Thursday.
Fannie Mae and GMAC, which serviced the loan for Fannie, have now most likely spent more to dislodge Mrs. Bradbury than her house is worth. Yet for all their efforts, they are not only losing this case, but also potentially laying the groundwork for foreclosure challenges nationwide.
“This ammunition will be front and center in thousands of foreclosure cases,” said Don Saunders of the National Legal Aid and Defender Association.
Just a few miles from the New Hampshire border, this slice of Maine does not have much in the way of industry or, for that matter, people. Mrs. Bradbury grew up around here, married and had her children here, and married for a second time here. Her parents still live nearby.
In 2003, her brother-in-law at the time offered to sell her a house on property adjacent to his. It was across from a noisy construction supply site. But it was ringed by maple, evergreen and willow trees, and who does not want to be a homeowner, especially when GMAC Mortgage will give you a loan for the entire purchase price and then another loan to improve the property?
“I was very happy,” she remembered. “It was a new beginning.”
But Mrs. Bradbury lost her job as an employment counselor in 2006 and did part-time work after that. Her husband, Scott, was in poor health and had other problems. He could not work as a roofer. She fell behind and got a modification from GMAC. It increased her monthly payments and provided no relief.
Finally, in late 2008, she stopped paying altogether, and GMAC asked a court to approve her eviction without a trial. By the summer of 2009, this removal was well under way when Mr. Cox picked up her file.
Mr. Cox, 66, worked in the late 1980s and early 1990s for Maine National Bank, a subsidiary of the Bank of New England, which went under. His job was to call in small-business loans. The borrowers had often pledged their houses as collateral, which meant foreclosure.
“It was extraordinarily unpleasant, but it paid well,” he said. “I had a family to support.”
The work exacted its cost: his marriage ended and a serious depression began. He gave up law and found solace in building houses. By April 2008, he said, he was sufficiently recovered and started volunteering at Pine Tree Legal.
By the time Mr. Cox saw Mrs. Bradbury’s case, it was just about over. Last January, Judge Keith A. Powers of the Ninth District Court of Maine approved the foreclosure, leaving the case alive only to establish exactly how much Mrs. Bradbury owed.
Mr. Cox vowed to a colleague that he would expose GMAC’s process and its limited signing officer, Jeffrey Stephan. A lawyer in another foreclosure case had already deposed Mr. Stephan, but Mr. Cox wanted to take the questioning much further. In June, he got his chance. A few weeks later, he spelled out in a court filing what he had learned from the robo-signer:
“When Stephan says in an affidavit that he has personal knowledge of the facts stated in his affidavits, he doesn’t. When he says that he has custody and control of the loan documents, he doesn’t. When he says that he is attaching ‘a true and accurate’ copy of a note or a mortgage, he has no idea if that is so, because he does not look at the exhibits. When he makes any other statement of fact, he has no idea if it is true. When the notary says that Stephan appeared before him or her, he didn’t.”
GMAC’s reaction to the deposition was to hire two new law firms, including Mr. Aromando’s firm, among the most prominent in the state. They argued that what Mrs. Bradbury and her lawyers were doing was simply a “dodge”: she had not paid her mortgage and should be evicted.
They also said that Mr. Cox, despite working pro bono, had taken the deposition “to prejudice and influence the public” against GMAC for his own commercial benefit. They asked that the transcript be deleted from any blog that had posted it and that it be put under court seal.
In a ruling late last month, Judge Powers said that GMAC, despite its expensive legal talent and the fact that it got “a second bite of the apple” by filing amended foreclosure papers, still could not get this eviction right.
Even the amended documents did not bother to include the actual street address of the property it was trying to seize — reason enough, the judge wrote, to reject the request for immediate foreclosure without a trial.
But Judge Powers went further than that, saying that GMAC had been admonished in a Florida court for using robo-signers four years ago but had persisted. “It is well past the time for such practices to end,” he wrote, adding that GMAC had acted “in bad faith” by submitting Mr. Stephan’s material:
“Filing such a document without significant regard for its accuracy, which the court in ordinary circumstances may never be able to investigate or otherwise verify, is a serious and troubling matter.”
It was not a complete loss for GMAC — Judge Powers declined to find the lender in contempt — but nearly so. GMAC was ordered, as a penalty, to pay Mr. Cox personally what he would have been paid for his work on the deposition and related matters had he been charging Mrs. Bradbury. That, he says, is $27,000.
The court’s ruling on GMAC’s “bad faith” is already being taken up by foreclosure defense lawyers around the country. Mr. Cox “did a remarkable job of proving the lenders not only rubber-stamped these loans on the front end, but they rubber-stamped them on the back end,” said Mr. Saunders of the legal aid group.
GMAC, which this week expanded its foreclosure freeze to the entire country, is not giving up on Mrs. Bradbury. It will try for the third time to evict her when the case goes to trial this winter.
If Mrs. Bradbury is not quite victorious, she is still in her house, and for her that is the only thing that counts. If she can get her pickup fixed, she will go back to looking for a job.
“I am not leaving,” she said this week, standing out on her front lawn, the autumn splendor spread all around her. “We have nowhere to go.”
Original article: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/15/business/15maine.html?_r=1&emc=eta1
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
This Month in Real Estate (US) : October 2010
The latest from Keller Williams Realty International... "This Month in Real Estate."
Thursday, September 30, 2010
Ten Ways to Green Your Home Under Ten Bucks
(and if you don't have ten bucks, five that are free)
By Lloyd Alter
Wed Jan 21, 2009 17:08
Free. Nothing. Nada.
Things you can do that will make a real difference for no money at all.
1.Lower water heater temperature to 120°F
2.Decrease Thermostat temperature by 3°F
3.Wash clothes in cold water
4.Air dry clothes during summer
5.Turn off unneeded lights
Under Ten Bucks
Save Heat
1.Seal your windows with strippable caulk
This is the clear stuff that is designed to peel off when it is time to open the windows again, and seals the gaps that occur at any moving part of a window. This is particularly important if you have old windows where the seals have loosened up a bit.
2.Shrink-wrap your windows
Get the plastic films that tape around your windows and then shrink tight under the heat from a hair dryer. They cut heat loss and are almost invisible. Not suitable for houses with cats, as we found out the hard way.
3.Weatherstrip your doors
A surprising amount of air leaks around them. Just be sure that the door will still close properly; I have added weatherstrip and then had to remove it again as the door just wouldn't close properly with the added foam.
4.Get a snake
Or make your own—a door snake stops draughts from under a door where it is hard to weatherstrip.
5.Get some cheap slippers
Or a hoodie. The easiest way to feel warmer and save energy is to wear more clothing. It also keeps your house cleaner and warmer.
6.Change your furnace filter
The furnace has to work harder to push through all the schmutz that gets caught in your filter if it is doing its job.
Save Water
7.Lose the drips
A dripping faucet can waste 20 gallons of water a day. A leaking toilet can use 90,000 gallons of water in a month. Get out the wrench and change the washers on your sinks and showers, or get new washerless faucets. Keeping your existing equipment well maintained is probably the easiest and cheapest way to start saving water.
8.Add a faucet aerator
Mixing in the air reduces the water consumed. Some aerators have an on/off lever so that you can stop most of the water flow without affecting the temperature, saving even more water.
Save Electricity
9.Get a switched power bar
Plug all your wall-warts into the power strip so that it is easy to turn things off when you are not using them. You can't get them for ten bucks, but there are some very slick power bars out there now.
10.Change a light bulb
Still have any incandescent bulbs lighting your home? Time to change them; they have better color, faster starts and less mercury than ever. Just be sure to recycle them properly!
Original article: http://planetgreen.discovery.com/home-garden/green-home-ten-dollars.html
By Lloyd Alter
Wed Jan 21, 2009 17:08
Free. Nothing. Nada.
Things you can do that will make a real difference for no money at all.
1.Lower water heater temperature to 120°F
2.Decrease Thermostat temperature by 3°F
3.Wash clothes in cold water
4.Air dry clothes during summer
5.Turn off unneeded lights
Under Ten Bucks
Save Heat
1.Seal your windows with strippable caulk
This is the clear stuff that is designed to peel off when it is time to open the windows again, and seals the gaps that occur at any moving part of a window. This is particularly important if you have old windows where the seals have loosened up a bit.
2.Shrink-wrap your windows
Get the plastic films that tape around your windows and then shrink tight under the heat from a hair dryer. They cut heat loss and are almost invisible. Not suitable for houses with cats, as we found out the hard way.
3.Weatherstrip your doors
A surprising amount of air leaks around them. Just be sure that the door will still close properly; I have added weatherstrip and then had to remove it again as the door just wouldn't close properly with the added foam.
4.Get a snake
Or make your own—a door snake stops draughts from under a door where it is hard to weatherstrip.
5.Get some cheap slippers
Or a hoodie. The easiest way to feel warmer and save energy is to wear more clothing. It also keeps your house cleaner and warmer.
6.Change your furnace filter
The furnace has to work harder to push through all the schmutz that gets caught in your filter if it is doing its job.
Save Water
7.Lose the drips
A dripping faucet can waste 20 gallons of water a day. A leaking toilet can use 90,000 gallons of water in a month. Get out the wrench and change the washers on your sinks and showers, or get new washerless faucets. Keeping your existing equipment well maintained is probably the easiest and cheapest way to start saving water.
8.Add a faucet aerator
Mixing in the air reduces the water consumed. Some aerators have an on/off lever so that you can stop most of the water flow without affecting the temperature, saving even more water.
Save Electricity
9.Get a switched power bar
Plug all your wall-warts into the power strip so that it is easy to turn things off when you are not using them. You can't get them for ten bucks, but there are some very slick power bars out there now.
10.Change a light bulb
Still have any incandescent bulbs lighting your home? Time to change them; they have better color, faster starts and less mercury than ever. Just be sure to recycle them properly!
Original article: http://planetgreen.discovery.com/home-garden/green-home-ten-dollars.html
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
Community Profile: Historic Downtown Savannah
Savannah's founder, General James Oglethorpe, had already planned the layout of Downtown Savannah when he arrived here in 1733. His progressive ideology involved an interactive mix of architecture and green space with the intent of blending peoples from all walks of life.
Per his plans, Historic Downtown Savannah is a blend of stately homes and townhouses along with a stock of commercial spaces all centered around the original squares. The famous squares of downtown Savannah are lush green spaces shaded by magnificent live oaks dripping Spanish moss. Benches set beneath the trees allow visitors and residents alike to witness the blur of activity. From horse drawn carriage tours to darting bicycle messengers modern day Downtown Savannah is a unique microcosm that serves to confirm its founder's original intent as a vibrant urban melting pot.
Per his plans, Historic Downtown Savannah is a blend of stately homes and townhouses along with a stock of commercial spaces all centered around the original squares. The famous squares of downtown Savannah are lush green spaces shaded by magnificent live oaks dripping Spanish moss. Benches set beneath the trees allow visitors and residents alike to witness the blur of activity. From horse drawn carriage tours to darting bicycle messengers modern day Downtown Savannah is a unique microcosm that serves to confirm its founder's original intent as a vibrant urban melting pot.
Perhaps ironically, Georgia's First City is also home to the most cutting-edge art school in America, Savannah College of Art and Design. It has called downtown Savannah home for 30 years and has grown in prestige from oddball upstart status to international acclaim, all along keeping its feet firmly planted in the heart of the city.
-- Savannah College of Art and Design
-- Streetscape
-- Squares
-- Unique old structures
-- Boutiques, restaurants and galleries
-- Forsyth Park
Monday, September 27, 2010
Three Tips for Selling
Check out this short video from Keller Williams Realty: "3 Tips for Selling." Be sure to visit the Sellers Page of DonCallahan.com for additional resources.
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
7 Reasons to BUY NOW
Check out Keller Williams Realty's newest e-book "7 Reasons Why Now is a Great Time to Buy a Home!" This guide provides excellent examples as to why now is the best time to buy a house. (Also available on the Buyers page of www.DonCallahan.com) Mortgage rates have never been lower, home prices are excellent, and the inventory is full. If you are ready to buy now, contact us today at don@doncallahan.com.
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
Drama-Free Real Estate: Seller Tip #8
By Tara-Nicholle Nelson, FrontDoor.com Published: 4/14/2009
#8: Get a real estate market reality check. (And kiss fantasyland goodbye.)Walk a mile in the shoes of a prospective buyer for your home. They are out there. And they are well-educated. Today's qualified homebuyers have every piece of data about home prices and sales trends in your neighborhood. They are willing to pay a fair price, but they know how to formulate a fair offer to a degree that previous generations of buyers have never had the ability to do. All the info is just a few keystrokes away! And they have an incredible level of house hunting stamina from having seen so many foreclosed homes with abandoned remodeling projects and ripped out plumbing.
Clueless is as clueless does. So, a buyer is doing their nightly obsessive scouring of the Web listings of homes for sale in their price range in your town, and your listing comes up. What will their first response be? Do they think it's a serious prospect they should mull over? Do they instantly autodial their Realtor to set a first-thing-in-the-morning appointment to see your place? Or do they grab their sides as they roll on the floor in hysterical laughter, wondering what planet the seller is from to think someone would pay that for that place?
Long story short: clueless is a very bad look for a home seller. It's the easiest route to getting lowball offers or no offers at all. In a market like this, you might wish desperately that your home was worth more than it actually is. But check yourself -- wishing it were so doesn't make it so. If you're selling now, you probably really want or need to, so get over yourself and get clued into the realities of your market if you want to get it sold.
When on the Web, do as Web buyers do. Before you ever list your home with a Realtor, spend some time on FrontDoor.com perusing MLS listings the way a prospective buyer would. Check out the other listings in your neighborhood, and do an honest mental comparison of their homes to yours. This will start to give you a reality check on prices and price ranges. Then visit a site like Cyberhomes.com and type in your address to get an estimated value. It will show you the actual sales prices from nearby similar homes that have closed escrow, so you can begin to appreciate the difference between list price and sales price in your area.
Experience the competition, live and in person. Once you are familiar with recent sales prices and you've hired a Realtor, get up close and personal with your competition. Stroll through a few open houses and see what your house is up against, in terms of condition and staging. Then ask your Realtor to analyze the competing listings on the basis of how many days the active, pending and recently sold MLS listings in your area have been on the market. That way, you'll know up front which price points get quick buyer interest and about how long you should wait for an offer before you reduce your price.
Now, get real! Remember that the same buyers who come to see your place will have seen the other active listings too. So price or prep your place to be more attractive than the others. You will eliminate the clueless factor and get buyers to take you seriously when you get a real estate reality check, and let the data drive a fact-based pricing and property preparation strategy.
#8: Get a real estate market reality check. (And kiss fantasyland goodbye.)Walk a mile in the shoes of a prospective buyer for your home. They are out there. And they are well-educated. Today's qualified homebuyers have every piece of data about home prices and sales trends in your neighborhood. They are willing to pay a fair price, but they know how to formulate a fair offer to a degree that previous generations of buyers have never had the ability to do. All the info is just a few keystrokes away! And they have an incredible level of house hunting stamina from having seen so many foreclosed homes with abandoned remodeling projects and ripped out plumbing.
Clueless is as clueless does. So, a buyer is doing their nightly obsessive scouring of the Web listings of homes for sale in their price range in your town, and your listing comes up. What will their first response be? Do they think it's a serious prospect they should mull over? Do they instantly autodial their Realtor to set a first-thing-in-the-morning appointment to see your place? Or do they grab their sides as they roll on the floor in hysterical laughter, wondering what planet the seller is from to think someone would pay that for that place?
Long story short: clueless is a very bad look for a home seller. It's the easiest route to getting lowball offers or no offers at all. In a market like this, you might wish desperately that your home was worth more than it actually is. But check yourself -- wishing it were so doesn't make it so. If you're selling now, you probably really want or need to, so get over yourself and get clued into the realities of your market if you want to get it sold.
When on the Web, do as Web buyers do. Before you ever list your home with a Realtor, spend some time on FrontDoor.com perusing MLS listings the way a prospective buyer would. Check out the other listings in your neighborhood, and do an honest mental comparison of their homes to yours. This will start to give you a reality check on prices and price ranges. Then visit a site like Cyberhomes.com and type in your address to get an estimated value. It will show you the actual sales prices from nearby similar homes that have closed escrow, so you can begin to appreciate the difference between list price and sales price in your area.
Experience the competition, live and in person. Once you are familiar with recent sales prices and you've hired a Realtor, get up close and personal with your competition. Stroll through a few open houses and see what your house is up against, in terms of condition and staging. Then ask your Realtor to analyze the competing listings on the basis of how many days the active, pending and recently sold MLS listings in your area have been on the market. That way, you'll know up front which price points get quick buyer interest and about how long you should wait for an offer before you reduce your price.
Now, get real! Remember that the same buyers who come to see your place will have seen the other active listings too. So price or prep your place to be more attractive than the others. You will eliminate the clueless factor and get buyers to take you seriously when you get a real estate reality check, and let the data drive a fact-based pricing and property preparation strategy.
Monday, September 13, 2010
Do You Know a Homeowner Facing Foreclosure? Here’s A Way Out.
Headlines today are filled with stories about homeowners in financial distress—people who face a lender’s foreclosure on their home.
Millions of American home owners are wondering what to do.
Like most crises, this one has produced its share of rumors and misinformation. One of the biggest ones is “just let it happen." Why fight back, this line of thinking goes. It’s too emotionally draining, and the government’s loan modifications aren’t helping many people. Well, that’s only partly true.
While government loan modification programs have fallen short of the mark so far, there is another solid, sensible option for homeowners. It’s called a short sale—a sale to a buyer where the seller’s lender agrees to accept less than the full amount owned.
Why not be foreclosed? Why sell short? Agents who have closed hundreds of these transactions provide this list of reasons:
• Avoid the foreclosure stigma – Homeowners will always have to disclose that they had a foreclosure on any mortgage application and (many job applications) that they submit in the future. This can have an adverse affect on their future mortgage rates. Foreclosure is asked about specifically in credit inquiries. There is no seven-year time limit on this item.
• Protect credit score – Credit scores will be lowered by 300-plus points (per loan) by foreclosure. The impact of a short sale—about half that much.
• Improve eligibility for a government insured loan – The homeowner will be ineligible for a government insured loan for 5-7 years (only two years in a short sale). A foreclosure is the one credit report item that is almost impossible to have repaired.
• Avoid a deficiency judgment – Lenders can seek a deficiency judgment against the homeowner and collect any amount they do not recover at sale.
• Protect employment prospects – Many employers run credit checks on prospective employees. Foreclosure is one of the top items that will put a potential new hire, or even current employment, in jeopardy.
These are the top reasons, but there are more. An expert short sale specialist agent can give a full picture of the options.
One more tip. Don’t believe everything you read about how long short sales take and how few get finalized. Short sale timelines, while still longer than normal, are shrinking as lenders get their paperwork act together. I am a top short sale agents in your market. I know where to find buyers, and how to negotiate the buyer’s offer effectively with lenders and get the deal closed—so the homeowner can move on with life and recover.
Millions of American home owners are wondering what to do.
Like most crises, this one has produced its share of rumors and misinformation. One of the biggest ones is “just let it happen." Why fight back, this line of thinking goes. It’s too emotionally draining, and the government’s loan modifications aren’t helping many people. Well, that’s only partly true.
While government loan modification programs have fallen short of the mark so far, there is another solid, sensible option for homeowners. It’s called a short sale—a sale to a buyer where the seller’s lender agrees to accept less than the full amount owned.
Why not be foreclosed? Why sell short? Agents who have closed hundreds of these transactions provide this list of reasons:
• Avoid the foreclosure stigma – Homeowners will always have to disclose that they had a foreclosure on any mortgage application and (many job applications) that they submit in the future. This can have an adverse affect on their future mortgage rates. Foreclosure is asked about specifically in credit inquiries. There is no seven-year time limit on this item.
• Protect credit score – Credit scores will be lowered by 300-plus points (per loan) by foreclosure. The impact of a short sale—about half that much.
• Improve eligibility for a government insured loan – The homeowner will be ineligible for a government insured loan for 5-7 years (only two years in a short sale). A foreclosure is the one credit report item that is almost impossible to have repaired.
• Avoid a deficiency judgment – Lenders can seek a deficiency judgment against the homeowner and collect any amount they do not recover at sale.
• Protect employment prospects – Many employers run credit checks on prospective employees. Foreclosure is one of the top items that will put a potential new hire, or even current employment, in jeopardy.
These are the top reasons, but there are more. An expert short sale specialist agent can give a full picture of the options.
One more tip. Don’t believe everything you read about how long short sales take and how few get finalized. Short sale timelines, while still longer than normal, are shrinking as lenders get their paperwork act together. I am a top short sale agents in your market. I know where to find buyers, and how to negotiate the buyer’s offer effectively with lenders and get the deal closed—so the homeowner can move on with life and recover.
Thursday, September 9, 2010
Drama-Free Real Estate: Seller Tip #9
By Tara-Nicholle Nelson, FrontDoor.com
#9: Differentiate your home from the competition.
Between the short sale next door and the foreclosure down the street, it's very tough to demand top dollar for your home when buyers have so many bargains to choose from.
Let's get one thing straight -- this is a competition. When a buyer sees your home, they are choosing between your house and the others on the market in their price range. The home they choose is the winner.
So, how can you spank your home's competition, real estate-style?
Make your house the place to be. Short sales and foreclosures are notorious for skimping on the marketing. So go all out to get neighbors and buyers into your home and talking about it by having an Open House party that highlights the best lifestyle features of your property. If your home has ocean views, throw a twilight cocktail party. If it's a great family home in the best school district in town, have hot dogs, a bounce house and face-painting. Be a little over-the-top, and have your Realtor invite the neighbors and the local buyers' brokers.
Take your staging to the next level. When I show foreclosures to my clients, I generally keep a vat of hand sanitizer in the car and pass it around between properties; that's just how filthy they can be. You can set your house totally apart from the bargain-basement priced competition by making sure it is only shown in immaculate condition. Bathrooms, kitchens, walls and floors should be pristine, and if you can swing new chic paint and flooring choices, that's even better. Stage it with tasteful furnishings and decor that depict the uncluttered, space-maximizing life every buyer wishes they could live, even if it means you have to move out in the meantime!
Use incentives to buy some house hunter love. Any expensive lifestyle amenities that you can leave behind, especially house hunter faves like stainless steel appliances and fireplace-mounted plasma TVs, make good buyer incentives your Realtor can tout in your home's marketing. I've even seen sellers offer to park a new Prius in the garage at closing, you know, so that the new buyer can save on gas to afford their new mortgage! (Do check with your Realtor regarding incentive strategies; some items might not be allowed by the buyer's bank.)
Make your place easier to buy than a short sale or foreclosure. Every homebuyer on the market today knows that doing a deal with the bank can be, how shall we say, less than fun and less than fast. Okay, it can be slow and painful. So, your home's marketing should let the world know that buying your place will be a smooth, easy deal. If you are in the position to offer any seller-financing or other creative deal structures, like a lease-purchase option, even better -- you've just expanded the pool of folks who can qualify to buy your home!
For more drama-free real estate from FrontDoor.com visit http://www.frontdoor.com/sell/Drama-Free-Real-Estate-Guide-Tips-and-Advice-for-Savvy-Home-Buying-Selling-and-Financing-Without-the-Stress/55034
#9: Differentiate your home from the competition.
Between the short sale next door and the foreclosure down the street, it's very tough to demand top dollar for your home when buyers have so many bargains to choose from.
Let's get one thing straight -- this is a competition. When a buyer sees your home, they are choosing between your house and the others on the market in their price range. The home they choose is the winner.
So, how can you spank your home's competition, real estate-style?
Make your house the place to be. Short sales and foreclosures are notorious for skimping on the marketing. So go all out to get neighbors and buyers into your home and talking about it by having an Open House party that highlights the best lifestyle features of your property. If your home has ocean views, throw a twilight cocktail party. If it's a great family home in the best school district in town, have hot dogs, a bounce house and face-painting. Be a little over-the-top, and have your Realtor invite the neighbors and the local buyers' brokers.
Take your staging to the next level. When I show foreclosures to my clients, I generally keep a vat of hand sanitizer in the car and pass it around between properties; that's just how filthy they can be. You can set your house totally apart from the bargain-basement priced competition by making sure it is only shown in immaculate condition. Bathrooms, kitchens, walls and floors should be pristine, and if you can swing new chic paint and flooring choices, that's even better. Stage it with tasteful furnishings and decor that depict the uncluttered, space-maximizing life every buyer wishes they could live, even if it means you have to move out in the meantime!
Use incentives to buy some house hunter love. Any expensive lifestyle amenities that you can leave behind, especially house hunter faves like stainless steel appliances and fireplace-mounted plasma TVs, make good buyer incentives your Realtor can tout in your home's marketing. I've even seen sellers offer to park a new Prius in the garage at closing, you know, so that the new buyer can save on gas to afford their new mortgage! (Do check with your Realtor regarding incentive strategies; some items might not be allowed by the buyer's bank.)
Make your place easier to buy than a short sale or foreclosure. Every homebuyer on the market today knows that doing a deal with the bank can be, how shall we say, less than fun and less than fast. Okay, it can be slow and painful. So, your home's marketing should let the world know that buying your place will be a smooth, easy deal. If you are in the position to offer any seller-financing or other creative deal structures, like a lease-purchase option, even better -- you've just expanded the pool of folks who can qualify to buy your home!
For more drama-free real estate from FrontDoor.com visit http://www.frontdoor.com/sell/Drama-Free-Real-Estate-Guide-Tips-and-Advice-for-Savvy-Home-Buying-Selling-and-Financing-Without-the-Stress/55034
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
Drama-Free Real Estate: Seller Tip #10
By Tara-Nicholle Nelson, FrontDoor.com
#10: Know your power. Understand what you can do to get your home sold, fast and at top dollar.
So much of the drama of selling a home is the sense of helplessness. It can feel like you're at the whim of the market, prospective buyers and even your local force of Realtors!
Not so -- in fact, you have a huge amount of power to control the outcome of your home selling experience. You actually make the decisions that have the most impact on whether your home sells, how fast it sells and what price you get for it.
It's all about the Benjamins. You and only you get to set the price, and the price is the single most important determinant of how fast and for how much your home sells. Now, look -- you know good and darn well from your own shopping experience -- both real estate and retail -- that a bargain-priced product catches your eye much more quickly than a regular priced product. Everyone wants a deal, so if you want your home to sell quickly, either price it lower than the similar houses on the market or make sure it is tricked out in features that buyers care about to warrant a premium price. The more buyers you lure into your house, statistically-speaking, the higher the price you'll get for it. If you price your home low, you'll get more buyers in it and maybe even get multiple offers. Yep, it happens -- even in this market, but it usually happens to great homes listed at low prices.
Conditional love. You get to choose what you are putting on the market: a contractor's special, a cosmetic fixer or a Pottery Barn-chic casa in move-in condition. If your home is in really bad shape, it's probably not cost- or time-effective to fix it for sale. But if it has one major issue that you can afford to fix, like replacing the roof or trading out the rotten windows with dual-paned, it might just be worth the effort. Talk to your Realtor first about how the repair might get you more money or help you get the place sold at all!
If your home has lots of little handyman projects that need to be fixed -- a hinky bathroom exhaust fan that sounds like a lawnmower; scuff-marked walls; or grungy, old-school cabinet hardware -- get them done! Homes that are almost "there" are the easiest ones to get some big upside out of a good sprucing up. But do interface with your Realtor on this, and coordinate your spruce up with her staging strategy.
To market, to market. You control how your home is marketed, because you pick your listing agent! Be smart and pick one with a strong marketing plan that has demonstrated success attracting buyers in your area. And don't ever mentally check out of the marketing process. Until your home is sold, go online periodically and have a look-see at how your home is being presented to web-surfing house hunters. If you don't like what you see, take it up with your Realtor. They aim to please and will usually work with you to tweak your home's marketing pieces till they reflect your home in as good a light as possible without using pics of someone else's house!
See, you have a lot more power over the sale of your home than you thought. Wield it wisely!
#10: Know your power. Understand what you can do to get your home sold, fast and at top dollar.
So much of the drama of selling a home is the sense of helplessness. It can feel like you're at the whim of the market, prospective buyers and even your local force of Realtors!
Not so -- in fact, you have a huge amount of power to control the outcome of your home selling experience. You actually make the decisions that have the most impact on whether your home sells, how fast it sells and what price you get for it.
It's all about the Benjamins. You and only you get to set the price, and the price is the single most important determinant of how fast and for how much your home sells. Now, look -- you know good and darn well from your own shopping experience -- both real estate and retail -- that a bargain-priced product catches your eye much more quickly than a regular priced product. Everyone wants a deal, so if you want your home to sell quickly, either price it lower than the similar houses on the market or make sure it is tricked out in features that buyers care about to warrant a premium price. The more buyers you lure into your house, statistically-speaking, the higher the price you'll get for it. If you price your home low, you'll get more buyers in it and maybe even get multiple offers. Yep, it happens -- even in this market, but it usually happens to great homes listed at low prices.
Conditional love. You get to choose what you are putting on the market: a contractor's special, a cosmetic fixer or a Pottery Barn-chic casa in move-in condition. If your home is in really bad shape, it's probably not cost- or time-effective to fix it for sale. But if it has one major issue that you can afford to fix, like replacing the roof or trading out the rotten windows with dual-paned, it might just be worth the effort. Talk to your Realtor first about how the repair might get you more money or help you get the place sold at all!
If your home has lots of little handyman projects that need to be fixed -- a hinky bathroom exhaust fan that sounds like a lawnmower; scuff-marked walls; or grungy, old-school cabinet hardware -- get them done! Homes that are almost "there" are the easiest ones to get some big upside out of a good sprucing up. But do interface with your Realtor on this, and coordinate your spruce up with her staging strategy.
To market, to market. You control how your home is marketed, because you pick your listing agent! Be smart and pick one with a strong marketing plan that has demonstrated success attracting buyers in your area. And don't ever mentally check out of the marketing process. Until your home is sold, go online periodically and have a look-see at how your home is being presented to web-surfing house hunters. If you don't like what you see, take it up with your Realtor. They aim to please and will usually work with you to tweak your home's marketing pieces till they reflect your home in as good a light as possible without using pics of someone else's house!
See, you have a lot more power over the sale of your home than you thought. Wield it wisely!
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
Guest post by James Kelley
www.VAbenefitblog.com
Owning a home in the same place where historic battles took place and parks as old as the United States itself exist can be a true treasure to pass down to one’s children.
Buying a home, however, can be a stressful process, especially if you go the conventional route. And if we’re talking about U.S. Veterans, men and women who have done so much for the country, the last thing they need is hassle.
But even other government-backed programs are saving everyday people from the burden of conventional loan processes. Programs like the VA, USDA, and FHA mortgage plans give people the chance to buy a home without the stress and heavy expense. How? All three programs have great perks and offer lower rates. Let’s take a look at them.
FHA LoanThe Federal Housing Administration insures the FHA loan. Unlike the VA and USDA loan, the FHA has no income limits or career type requirements. It’s open to anyone and everyone.
An FHA loan has lower closing costs. The down payment is about 3.5 to 5%, which is about three times lower than conventional loans. All of the government-backed programs allow families to use gifted or borrowed money to make payments or put towards a down payment, if applicable. Conventional loans do not allow money from sources in which a proper paper trail cannot be kept.
The FHA program is a favorite among many buyers especially low to middle income families because the credit and debt requirements are not super strict. With the FHA, it is feasible for anyone with past financial errors to work his or her way back up to a decent score and obtain the loan.
USDA LoanThe U.S. Department of Agriculture secures USDA loans. Only homes within rural localities can be bought with this mortgage program. Check with a USDA lender to see which areas around Savannah, GA are eligible for the program.
The USDA, like the VA program, does not require a down payment. Other perks include 100% financing, no monthly mortgage insurance fees, and the actual mortgage payment is sometimes lower than the FHA loan. One slight downfall is the USDA does set income limits to determine eligibility.
VA LoanMany veterans do not know about the growing popularity of the VA loan. Secured by the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs, it offers amazing deals and an easy application process.
The rates are low, and there is no money down or monthly mortgage insurance.
VA loans can be guaranteed up to $729,000, in some areas. The average loan is about $207,000. There are no upfront fees, except for a possible appraisal fee, though having a service-related disability allows the lender to waive funding fees. The buyer and the lender, however, will still have to bring in a certified home appraiser as per the VA requirements.
To qualify, the service member must be able to prove that they served in the military for 90 days during wartime and 181 days during a time of peace. He or she must have been honorably discharged. Veterans, active duty personnel, reservists and National Guard members can qualify. Also, some surviving spouses might be eligible for the VA loan.
The Next StepTalk with a lending counselor today. They can help you decide which option will save you the most money.
www.VAbenefitblog.com
Owning a home in the same place where historic battles took place and parks as old as the United States itself exist can be a true treasure to pass down to one’s children.
Buying a home, however, can be a stressful process, especially if you go the conventional route. And if we’re talking about U.S. Veterans, men and women who have done so much for the country, the last thing they need is hassle.
But even other government-backed programs are saving everyday people from the burden of conventional loan processes. Programs like the VA, USDA, and FHA mortgage plans give people the chance to buy a home without the stress and heavy expense. How? All three programs have great perks and offer lower rates. Let’s take a look at them.
FHA LoanThe Federal Housing Administration insures the FHA loan. Unlike the VA and USDA loan, the FHA has no income limits or career type requirements. It’s open to anyone and everyone.
An FHA loan has lower closing costs. The down payment is about 3.5 to 5%, which is about three times lower than conventional loans. All of the government-backed programs allow families to use gifted or borrowed money to make payments or put towards a down payment, if applicable. Conventional loans do not allow money from sources in which a proper paper trail cannot be kept.
The FHA program is a favorite among many buyers especially low to middle income families because the credit and debt requirements are not super strict. With the FHA, it is feasible for anyone with past financial errors to work his or her way back up to a decent score and obtain the loan.
USDA LoanThe U.S. Department of Agriculture secures USDA loans. Only homes within rural localities can be bought with this mortgage program. Check with a USDA lender to see which areas around Savannah, GA are eligible for the program.
The USDA, like the VA program, does not require a down payment. Other perks include 100% financing, no monthly mortgage insurance fees, and the actual mortgage payment is sometimes lower than the FHA loan. One slight downfall is the USDA does set income limits to determine eligibility.
VA LoanMany veterans do not know about the growing popularity of the VA loan. Secured by the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs, it offers amazing deals and an easy application process.
The rates are low, and there is no money down or monthly mortgage insurance.
VA loans can be guaranteed up to $729,000, in some areas. The average loan is about $207,000. There are no upfront fees, except for a possible appraisal fee, though having a service-related disability allows the lender to waive funding fees. The buyer and the lender, however, will still have to bring in a certified home appraiser as per the VA requirements.
To qualify, the service member must be able to prove that they served in the military for 90 days during wartime and 181 days during a time of peace. He or she must have been honorably discharged. Veterans, active duty personnel, reservists and National Guard members can qualify. Also, some surviving spouses might be eligible for the VA loan.
The Next StepTalk with a lending counselor today. They can help you decide which option will save you the most money.
Thursday, August 12, 2010
Buying a Foreclosure
Interested in buying a foreclosure or a short-sale? Check out Keller Williams' Distressed Property E-book.
From KW.com:
The truth is: these markets demand most of the same things an ordinary market demands of buyers—only more intensely and pointedly:
Money: Buyers must be financially qualified and ready to buy. The best properties go quickly. Buyers must look strong to lenders.
Motivation: Buyers must be motivated to compete successfully. Keller Williams agents urge their buyers in this market to be clear about both their “motivating why" and their criteria for the property itself (size, location, condition, floor plan, etc.)
Location: Contrary to the rumors, prime buying opportunities exist in almost every neighborhood and price range.
Condition: Buyers should understand that repair costs are not necessarily large. The Keller Williams Distressed Property Buying Survey shows the average cost to repair to be $5,000—that’s less than 3 percent of the median purchase price in the U.S. today.
Expert Help: Finally, smart buyers know they need to be even smarter—they become a team with a local expert agent who knows local property, pricing, lenders, and the best listing agents. A strong listing agent can be a critical advantage in seeing a distressed property through from contract to close.
From KW.com:
The truth is: these markets demand most of the same things an ordinary market demands of buyers—only more intensely and pointedly:
Money: Buyers must be financially qualified and ready to buy. The best properties go quickly. Buyers must look strong to lenders.
Motivation: Buyers must be motivated to compete successfully. Keller Williams agents urge their buyers in this market to be clear about both their “motivating why" and their criteria for the property itself (size, location, condition, floor plan, etc.)
Location: Contrary to the rumors, prime buying opportunities exist in almost every neighborhood and price range.
Condition: Buyers should understand that repair costs are not necessarily large. The Keller Williams Distressed Property Buying Survey shows the average cost to repair to be $5,000—that’s less than 3 percent of the median purchase price in the U.S. today.
Expert Help: Finally, smart buyers know they need to be even smarter—they become a team with a local expert agent who knows local property, pricing, lenders, and the best listing agents. A strong listing agent can be a critical advantage in seeing a distressed property through from contract to close.
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
Money Magazine selects Savannah as one of the 25 Best Places to Retire
CNNmoney.com
Savannah, GAPopulation: 130,300
% over 50: 29%
Typical 3-bedroom home: $225,000
State income tax: 6.00%*
A stroll through the cobblestone streets in the historic downtown will take you past antebellum homes and 22 small public parks. Savannah's layout reflects the meticulous planning of founder James Oglethorpe in the early 18th century. Today, the refined city combines Old South charm, romance and history with New South energy and progressiveness.
The prestigious Savannah College of Art & Design keeps the city young and has fostered a lively art scene. Art galleries throughout the city showcase both local and national talent, and residents can enroll in a range of SCAD Community Education classes. The bustling downtown also offers a host of shopping boutiques and quality restaurants.
Other perks for retirees: Savannah has a property tax freeze, so the city assesses homes following a purchase, but does not increase the assessment until that property is sold. Memorial Health University and St. Joseph's Candler's hospitals provide top-notch healthcare.
View the original article here: http://money.cnn.com/galleries/2009/moneymag/0909/gallery.bpretire_top25.moneymag/8.html
Savannah, GAPopulation: 130,300
% over 50: 29%
Typical 3-bedroom home: $225,000
State income tax: 6.00%*
A stroll through the cobblestone streets in the historic downtown will take you past antebellum homes and 22 small public parks. Savannah's layout reflects the meticulous planning of founder James Oglethorpe in the early 18th century. Today, the refined city combines Old South charm, romance and history with New South energy and progressiveness.
The prestigious Savannah College of Art & Design keeps the city young and has fostered a lively art scene. Art galleries throughout the city showcase both local and national talent, and residents can enroll in a range of SCAD Community Education classes. The bustling downtown also offers a host of shopping boutiques and quality restaurants.
Other perks for retirees: Savannah has a property tax freeze, so the city assesses homes following a purchase, but does not increase the assessment until that property is sold. Memorial Health University and St. Joseph's Candler's hospitals provide top-notch healthcare.
View the original article here: http://money.cnn.com/galleries/2009/moneymag/0909/gallery.bpretire_top25.moneymag/8.html
Monday, August 2, 2010
Keller Williams Realty Named Highest Ranked in Home Buyer Satisfaction by J.D. Power and Associates for Third Straight Year
AUSTIN, TEXAS (July 30, 2010) —According to the J.D. Power and Associates 2010 Home Buyer/Seller StudySM, Keller Williams Realty, Inc., the third largest real estate company in the United States, has received the highest overall satisfaction ratings from home buyers among the largest full-service real estate firms for the third year in a row. The company also ranked second among home sellers in the study for the second year in a row.“We are incredibly proud of our associates for earning this distinction and want to thank them for their commitment to their clients and communities," said Mark Willis, CEO of Keller Williams Realty. “We see this honor as demonstration of our company philosophy that it is the agent’s brand that matters most and no amount of money spent on advertising can replace the influence and reputations our agents have in their local communities. Our associates have earned this on their own, by building relationships in their communities."
The study was produced by J.D. Power and Associates to measure home buyers and sellers customer satisfaction. The results of the home-buying experience were determined by three factors including the buyer’s experience with their agent, the real estate office and a variety of additional services. Keller Williams Realty performed particularly well in the agent and office factors. And, overall satisfaction of buyers for the industry was up over last year.
Additionally, the study noted that the importance of real estate agents has increased substantially in the past year, with buyers and sellers relying on the negotiating skills of their chosen agent and help in navigating the market.
“It is thrilling to see our firm, once again, get public recognition for its incredible focus on customer satisfaction from such a prestigious group. Our associates continually demonstrate that it is possible to deliver the highest level of customer service in one of the toughest real estate markets on record," said Mary Tennant, president and COO of Keller Williams Realty. “We feel incredibly fortunate to be in business with them, and want to congratulate them on their hard work and dedication."
In the past year, Keller Williams Realty has continued to grow despite the well-publicized turmoil in the real estate industry. In addition to becoming the 3rd largest real estate company in the U.S., surpassing RE/MAX®, Keller Williams Realty was ranked as the No. 1 real estate franchise on the 31st Annual Franchise 500 list by Entrepreneur magazine and was voted the Most Recognizable Brand of Real Estate Franchises and the Trendsetter of the year for 2009 in an industry-wide survey for the Swanepoel TRENDS Report.
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
Top 10 Home Selling Mistakes That Can Cost You
Avoid these common slipups to sell your home fast and for top dollar
By Shannon Petrie, FrontDoor.com Published: 8/20/2009
Mistake #10: Waiting until spring to sell
Sure, spring is traditionally the busiest time for real estate sales, but people buy homes 365 days a year. Plus, off-peak season buyers tend to be more serious, and fewer homes on the market means less competition for sellers.
Don't be daunted by the thought of selling during the summer, winter or fall. Instead, draw in buyers by playing up your home's seasonal amenities.
Mistake #9: Not understanding the terms of your real estate contract
Real estate contracts can be complex and confusing, but don't let the fine print scare you. Before accepting a buyer's offer and entering into a formal agreement, review the contract carefully with your real estate agent or attorney.
Understand the buyer's requests and know what your responsibilities are as a seller. Can the home be sold as-is, or do you have to make repairs? What's included in the sale (i.e., appliances, furniture, fixtures)? What contingencies are included?
Mistake #8: Going it alone without researching first
Faced with the prospect of forking over a hefty sales commission, you may find the FSBO route pretty tempting. But remember, selling a home sans real estate agent means dealing with mounds of paperwork, marketing and showings.
Before you sell your home by yourself, do your research to make sure you're up for the task. At the very least, you may want to hire a real estate attorney to look over the details of the deal.
Mistake #7: Ignoring lowball offers
Many home sellers in today's market need a reality check. Just because your neighbor sold for X amount five years ago, things have changed, and you can't expect to get the same amount for your home today.
If you receive an offer you think is too low, repress the impulse to feel insulted and reject the offer completely. Instead, make a counteroffer and see if the buyer is willing to negotiate. You may be able to settle on a price -- and terms -- that you're both satisfied with.
Mistake #6: Wasting time on an unqualified buyer
Today's mortgage borrowers face stricter lending standards, so it's crucial you check out the potential buyer's qualifications. The last thing you want is a buyer whose financing falls through mere days before closing.
Before accepting an offer, make sure the buyer has been pre-approved for a loan, not just pre-qualified. Also, don't compare offers based solely on price: A buyer who is putting 20 percent down is more likely to close than someone scraping in at the 3.5 percent minimum.
TIP: Protect yourself by having a backup offer or two in place. That way, you won't have to put your house back on the market if the first buyer fails to close.
Mistake #5: Skimping on marketing
In the past, an ad in the paper and a sign in the front yard might have led to a successful home sale. But today, you'll need a broader marketing strategy if you want buyers to notice your home.
Ninety percent of today's buyers start their home searches on the Web, so it's important to have an impressive online listing with plenty of high-quality photos and video. The more exposure your home gets, the better, so don't limit yourself when it comes to marketing. Pairing traditional advertising techniques with innovative methods is the most effective strategy.
Mistake #4: Sabotaging the showing
When touring a house for sale, buyers need to be able to focus, evaluate and determine if the home is right for them. The last thing they need is an overeager seller following them around and pointing out new kitchen appliances and recently renovated bathrooms. So give buyers some space!
During an open house or home tour, take a drive or a walk around the neighborhood, or confine yourself to one room if you absolutely have to stay home.
Also, give buyers enough access to see your home. An hour during the week and a Sunday Open House may not accommodate many buyers' schedules. Consider extending your showing hours or using a lockbox so agents can access the house when you're not available.
Mistake #3: Not prepping your home for sale
With the huge inventory of homes on the market, today's homebuyer can afford to be choosy. That means you've got a lot of competition and limited attention, so a clean, uncluttered and updated home is a must.
Depending on your budget and time frame, you'll either want to make simple fixes (repairing things that are broken or giving your walls a fresh coat of paint) or invest in large upgrades (new kitchen counters or new windows).
Once you've made fixes and upgrades, you must clean, clean, clean. Dirty homes get lowball offers or none at all. Staging, the process of de-cluttering and dressing up your home to make it appealing to buyers, is also key.
Before you begin your pre-sale preparation, visit open houses in your neighborhood to get a feel for your competition. This will give you an idea of what improvements will be necessary to put your home in the same league as others in the area.
Mistake #2: Over-improving
It's easy to get caught up in a home improvement project, especially if you think it'll add value to your home. But be careful that you don't over-improve for your house and neighborhood, especially if you expect to recoup your investment.
For instance, if you live in a neighborhood where all the houses have modest kitchens, you won't get your money back at resale if you put in granite countertops and Viking appliances.
In other words, keep up with the Joneses -- not outdo them. Don't try to make your home the most expensive house on the block with major upgrades -- you'll never recoup those expenses. Instead, stick to improvements that put your home on par with other homes in the neighborhood. That way, you bring out the best in your home, without going overboard.
Mistake #1: Overpricing
You obviously want to get the highest possible price for your home, but you won't be doing yourself any favors if you price your home higher than the comps, i.e. the comparable homes in your area with similar square footage, construction, age and condition that sold recently or are currently on the market.
Serious buyers are well-informed and will instantly dismiss your property if they believe it's overpriced. (Hence, all the price reductions in today's market.)
On the other hand, pricing competitively (read: lower than similar homes in your area) will spark lots of interest in your home and could lead to multiple offers -- and, ultimately, a higher sales price.
From FrontDoor.com. View original article: http://www.frontdoor.com/Sell/Top-10-Home-Selling-Mistakes-That-Can-Cost-You/55225/p1
By Shannon Petrie, FrontDoor.com Published: 8/20/2009
Mistake #10: Waiting until spring to sell
Sure, spring is traditionally the busiest time for real estate sales, but people buy homes 365 days a year. Plus, off-peak season buyers tend to be more serious, and fewer homes on the market means less competition for sellers.
Don't be daunted by the thought of selling during the summer, winter or fall. Instead, draw in buyers by playing up your home's seasonal amenities.
Mistake #9: Not understanding the terms of your real estate contract
Real estate contracts can be complex and confusing, but don't let the fine print scare you. Before accepting a buyer's offer and entering into a formal agreement, review the contract carefully with your real estate agent or attorney.
Understand the buyer's requests and know what your responsibilities are as a seller. Can the home be sold as-is, or do you have to make repairs? What's included in the sale (i.e., appliances, furniture, fixtures)? What contingencies are included?
Mistake #8: Going it alone without researching first
Faced with the prospect of forking over a hefty sales commission, you may find the FSBO route pretty tempting. But remember, selling a home sans real estate agent means dealing with mounds of paperwork, marketing and showings.
Before you sell your home by yourself, do your research to make sure you're up for the task. At the very least, you may want to hire a real estate attorney to look over the details of the deal.
Mistake #7: Ignoring lowball offers
Many home sellers in today's market need a reality check. Just because your neighbor sold for X amount five years ago, things have changed, and you can't expect to get the same amount for your home today.
If you receive an offer you think is too low, repress the impulse to feel insulted and reject the offer completely. Instead, make a counteroffer and see if the buyer is willing to negotiate. You may be able to settle on a price -- and terms -- that you're both satisfied with.
Mistake #6: Wasting time on an unqualified buyer
Today's mortgage borrowers face stricter lending standards, so it's crucial you check out the potential buyer's qualifications. The last thing you want is a buyer whose financing falls through mere days before closing.
Before accepting an offer, make sure the buyer has been pre-approved for a loan, not just pre-qualified. Also, don't compare offers based solely on price: A buyer who is putting 20 percent down is more likely to close than someone scraping in at the 3.5 percent minimum.
TIP: Protect yourself by having a backup offer or two in place. That way, you won't have to put your house back on the market if the first buyer fails to close.
Mistake #5: Skimping on marketing
In the past, an ad in the paper and a sign in the front yard might have led to a successful home sale. But today, you'll need a broader marketing strategy if you want buyers to notice your home.
Ninety percent of today's buyers start their home searches on the Web, so it's important to have an impressive online listing with plenty of high-quality photos and video. The more exposure your home gets, the better, so don't limit yourself when it comes to marketing. Pairing traditional advertising techniques with innovative methods is the most effective strategy.
Mistake #4: Sabotaging the showing
When touring a house for sale, buyers need to be able to focus, evaluate and determine if the home is right for them. The last thing they need is an overeager seller following them around and pointing out new kitchen appliances and recently renovated bathrooms. So give buyers some space!
During an open house or home tour, take a drive or a walk around the neighborhood, or confine yourself to one room if you absolutely have to stay home.
Also, give buyers enough access to see your home. An hour during the week and a Sunday Open House may not accommodate many buyers' schedules. Consider extending your showing hours or using a lockbox so agents can access the house when you're not available.
Mistake #3: Not prepping your home for sale
With the huge inventory of homes on the market, today's homebuyer can afford to be choosy. That means you've got a lot of competition and limited attention, so a clean, uncluttered and updated home is a must.
Depending on your budget and time frame, you'll either want to make simple fixes (repairing things that are broken or giving your walls a fresh coat of paint) or invest in large upgrades (new kitchen counters or new windows).
Once you've made fixes and upgrades, you must clean, clean, clean. Dirty homes get lowball offers or none at all. Staging, the process of de-cluttering and dressing up your home to make it appealing to buyers, is also key.
Before you begin your pre-sale preparation, visit open houses in your neighborhood to get a feel for your competition. This will give you an idea of what improvements will be necessary to put your home in the same league as others in the area.
Mistake #2: Over-improving
It's easy to get caught up in a home improvement project, especially if you think it'll add value to your home. But be careful that you don't over-improve for your house and neighborhood, especially if you expect to recoup your investment.
For instance, if you live in a neighborhood where all the houses have modest kitchens, you won't get your money back at resale if you put in granite countertops and Viking appliances.
In other words, keep up with the Joneses -- not outdo them. Don't try to make your home the most expensive house on the block with major upgrades -- you'll never recoup those expenses. Instead, stick to improvements that put your home on par with other homes in the neighborhood. That way, you bring out the best in your home, without going overboard.
Mistake #1: Overpricing
You obviously want to get the highest possible price for your home, but you won't be doing yourself any favors if you price your home higher than the comps, i.e. the comparable homes in your area with similar square footage, construction, age and condition that sold recently or are currently on the market.
Serious buyers are well-informed and will instantly dismiss your property if they believe it's overpriced. (Hence, all the price reductions in today's market.)
On the other hand, pricing competitively (read: lower than similar homes in your area) will spark lots of interest in your home and could lead to multiple offers -- and, ultimately, a higher sales price.
From FrontDoor.com. View original article: http://www.frontdoor.com/Sell/Top-10-Home-Selling-Mistakes-That-Can-Cost-You/55225/p1
Friday, July 23, 2010
Frugal Tips to Make a Home More Appealing
Homeowners who want to sell but don’t have a lot of cash to spruce up their properties might consider these tips from Bankrate.com for upgrading a property without spending a fortune.
Polish up the kitchen. Add new cabinet door handles, replace lighting and update the faucet set. Unless the cabinets are mica, give them a fresh coat of paint. Order new doors for kitchen appliances.
Tidy up the bath. Replace the toilet seat. Clean up the floor with vinyl tiles or sheet vinyl applied over the old floor. Re-grout the tub and, if the tub is dingy, add a new prefabricated tub and shower surround.
Paint the walls.
Add closet systems to all the bedrooms, pantry, and entry closets.
Hire a plumber and an electrician to fix anything that is loose or that leaks.
Clean the carpets or, if they are worn, cover them with area rugs.
Replace ceiling lights with inexpensive but attractive fixtures.
Refinish or repaint the front door and replace the hardware.
Mow the lawn, edge the sidewalks, mulch all the beds and put two big planters at either side of the front door.
Source: Bankrate.com (07/14/2010)
View article on Realtor.org.
Polish up the kitchen. Add new cabinet door handles, replace lighting and update the faucet set. Unless the cabinets are mica, give them a fresh coat of paint. Order new doors for kitchen appliances.
Tidy up the bath. Replace the toilet seat. Clean up the floor with vinyl tiles or sheet vinyl applied over the old floor. Re-grout the tub and, if the tub is dingy, add a new prefabricated tub and shower surround.
Paint the walls.
Add closet systems to all the bedrooms, pantry, and entry closets.
Hire a plumber and an electrician to fix anything that is loose or that leaks.
Clean the carpets or, if they are worn, cover them with area rugs.
Replace ceiling lights with inexpensive but attractive fixtures.
Refinish or repaint the front door and replace the hardware.
Mow the lawn, edge the sidewalks, mulch all the beds and put two big planters at either side of the front door.
Source: Bankrate.com (07/14/2010)
View article on Realtor.org.
8 Steps to Buying a Home
Looking for a new home can be an exciting and challenging experience. Having a real estate professional that takes the time to understand your unique needs and lifestyle is important.
Following this link to visit the Keller Williams 8 Steps to Buying a Home guide.
Following this link to visit the Keller Williams 8 Steps to Buying a Home guide.
Monday, July 12, 2010
This Month in Real Estate by KW
Check out the latest video from Keller Williams Realty International.
Saturday, July 10, 2010
Biggest Defaulters on Mortgages Are the Rich
No need for tears, but the well-off are losing their master suites and saying goodbye to their wine cellars.
The housing bust that began among the working class in remote subdivisions and quickly progressed to the suburban middle class is striking the upper class in privileged enclaves.
Whether it is their residence, a second home or a house bought as an investment, the rich have stopped paying the mortgage at a rate that greatly exceeds the rest of the population.
More than one in seven homeowners with loans in excess of a million dollars are seriously delinquent, according to data compiled for The New York Times by the real estate analytics firm CoreLogic.
By contrast, homeowners with less lavish housing are much more likely to keep writing checks to their lender. About one in 12 mortgages below the million-dollar mark is delinquent.
At a vacant house with a pool, where the lender was seeking $1.27 million, a raft and a water gun lay abandoned on the entryway floor.
Lenders are fearful that many of the 11 million or so homeowners who owe more than their house is worth will walk away from them, especially if the real estate market begins to weaken again. The so-called strategic defaults have become a matter of intense debate in recent months.
The CoreLogic data suggest that the rich do not seem to have concerns about the civic good uppermost in their mind, especially when it comes to investment and second homes. Nor do they appear to be particularly worried about being sued by their lender or frozen out of future loans by Fannie Mae, possible consequences of default.
The delinquency rate on investment homes where the original mortgage was more than $1 million is now 23 percent. For cheaper investment homes, it is about 10 percent.
With second homes, the delinquency rate for both types of owners was rising in concert until the stock market crashed in September 2008. That sent the percentage of troubled million-dollar loans spiraling up much faster than the smaller loans.
“Those with high net worth have other resources to lean on if they get in trouble,” said Mr. Khater, the analyst. “If they’re going delinquent faster than anyone else, that tells me they are doing so willingly.”
Willingly, but not necessarily publicly. The rapper Chamillionaire is a plain-talking exception. He recently walked away from a $2 million house he bought in Houston in 2006.
“I just decided to let it go, give it back to the bank,” he told the celebrity gossip TV show “TMZ.” “I just didn’t feel like it was a good investment.”
“They may be less susceptible to the shame and fear-mongering used by the government and the mortgage banking industry to keep underwater homeowners from acting in their financial best interest,” Mr. White said.
The CoreLogic data measures serious delinquencies, which means the borrower has missed at least three payments in a row. At that point, lenders traditionally file a notice of default and the house enters the official foreclosure process.
In the current environment, however, notices of default are down for all types of loans as lenders work with owners in various modification programs. Even so, owners in some of the more expensive neighborhoods in and around San Francisco are beginning to head for the exit, according to data compiled by MDA DataQuick.
The vast majority of owners in these upscale communities are still paying the mortgage, of course. But they appear to be cutting back in other ways. The once-thriving Los Altos downtown is pocked with more than a dozen empty storefronts in a six-block stretch.
But this is still Silicon Valley, where failure can always be considered a prelude to success.
In the middle of a workday, one troubled homeowner here leaned over his laptop at the kitchen table, trying to maneuver his way out from under his debt and figure out the next big thing.
His five-bedroom house, drained of hundreds of thousands of dollars of equity over the last 13 years, is scheduled for auction July 20. Nine months ago, after his latest business (he has had several) failed in what he called “the global meltdown,” the man, a technology entrepreneur, said he quit making his $9,000 monthly payments.
“I’m going to be downsizing,” he said.
The man spoke on the condition of anonymity because, he said, he did not want his current problems to interfere with his coming reinvention. “I’m a businessman,” he explained. “I have to be upbeat.”
By DAVID STEITFELD
Published: July 8, 2010
New York Times
The housing bust that began among the working class in remote subdivisions and quickly progressed to the suburban middle class is striking the upper class in privileged enclaves.
Whether it is their residence, a second home or a house bought as an investment, the rich have stopped paying the mortgage at a rate that greatly exceeds the rest of the population.
More than one in seven homeowners with loans in excess of a million dollars are seriously delinquent, according to data compiled for The New York Times by the real estate analytics firm CoreLogic.
By contrast, homeowners with less lavish housing are much more likely to keep writing checks to their lender. About one in 12 mortgages below the million-dollar mark is delinquent.
At a vacant house with a pool, where the lender was seeking $1.27 million, a raft and a water gun lay abandoned on the entryway floor.
Lenders are fearful that many of the 11 million or so homeowners who owe more than their house is worth will walk away from them, especially if the real estate market begins to weaken again. The so-called strategic defaults have become a matter of intense debate in recent months.
The CoreLogic data suggest that the rich do not seem to have concerns about the civic good uppermost in their mind, especially when it comes to investment and second homes. Nor do they appear to be particularly worried about being sued by their lender or frozen out of future loans by Fannie Mae, possible consequences of default.
The delinquency rate on investment homes where the original mortgage was more than $1 million is now 23 percent. For cheaper investment homes, it is about 10 percent.
With second homes, the delinquency rate for both types of owners was rising in concert until the stock market crashed in September 2008. That sent the percentage of troubled million-dollar loans spiraling up much faster than the smaller loans.
“Those with high net worth have other resources to lean on if they get in trouble,” said Mr. Khater, the analyst. “If they’re going delinquent faster than anyone else, that tells me they are doing so willingly.”
Willingly, but not necessarily publicly. The rapper Chamillionaire is a plain-talking exception. He recently walked away from a $2 million house he bought in Houston in 2006.
“I just decided to let it go, give it back to the bank,” he told the celebrity gossip TV show “TMZ.” “I just didn’t feel like it was a good investment.”
“They may be less susceptible to the shame and fear-mongering used by the government and the mortgage banking industry to keep underwater homeowners from acting in their financial best interest,” Mr. White said.
The CoreLogic data measures serious delinquencies, which means the borrower has missed at least three payments in a row. At that point, lenders traditionally file a notice of default and the house enters the official foreclosure process.
In the current environment, however, notices of default are down for all types of loans as lenders work with owners in various modification programs. Even so, owners in some of the more expensive neighborhoods in and around San Francisco are beginning to head for the exit, according to data compiled by MDA DataQuick.
The vast majority of owners in these upscale communities are still paying the mortgage, of course. But they appear to be cutting back in other ways. The once-thriving Los Altos downtown is pocked with more than a dozen empty storefronts in a six-block stretch.
But this is still Silicon Valley, where failure can always be considered a prelude to success.
In the middle of a workday, one troubled homeowner here leaned over his laptop at the kitchen table, trying to maneuver his way out from under his debt and figure out the next big thing.
His five-bedroom house, drained of hundreds of thousands of dollars of equity over the last 13 years, is scheduled for auction July 20. Nine months ago, after his latest business (he has had several) failed in what he called “the global meltdown,” the man, a technology entrepreneur, said he quit making his $9,000 monthly payments.
“I’m going to be downsizing,” he said.
The man spoke on the condition of anonymity because, he said, he did not want his current problems to interfere with his coming reinvention. “I’m a businessman,” he explained. “I have to be upbeat.”
By DAVID STEITFELD
Published: July 8, 2010
New York Times
Friday, July 9, 2010
How to Choose a Great Listing Agent
Ask these 10 questions to find the best professional to sell your property
The world is full of people who sell real estate. Some of them are smart, efficient, focused, versatile and willing to go the extra mile. And some of them aren't.
Finding an agent who will sell your home using a range of marketing tools to get you the best deal possible in a reasonable amount of time, all while charging a fair rate, takes some effort. Interview at least three candidates before you sign a contract.
Here, are 10 questions you really want to ask so you can identify the best real estate agent to sell your property.
1. How much? Ask potential agents how much they think they can sell your home for. If two agents say $275,000 and the third says $325,000, think hard. It's likely the high bid is an exaggeration to attract your business. In the end, you'll be the one who pays because the high price will scare away potential buyers.
2. How will you market it? Running a few classified ads in the local paper, listing it on the Internet and holding an open house shouldn't be the only answers. The practitioner should have an extensive internet reach.
3. How has your business changed in the last five years? If she doesn't talk about website tours and smart phones, chances are this is not a highly wired agent. And you may cut yourself off from opportunities.
4. Tell me how your last two deals surprised you? Every agent has a success story, but this question will give you a much better feel for what this practitioner is like as a salesperson.
5. What's your specialty? If you're selling a starter home in a community full of young families, hiring an agent who specializes in seniors is probably a bad idea. It doesn't mean that if he only sells condos that he can't sell a house, but he may not be geared up to do the best job.
6. How many people are you selling homes for right now and what are you doing for them? It may not be a bad thing that a high-powered agent is juggling 15 homes, but don't expert her to give you personal service, although her assistant should be attentive. On the other hand, be wary of an agent with no other customers because she may lack experience and contacts.
7. What do you expect of me? A good salesperson will have expectations. He may want you to leave and take the dog when the house is shown, paint the garage, move some furniture around and scrub the tile in the bathroom. It shows that he can think like a buyer and that's a good thing.
8. What advice would you have for me if I get an offer from a buyer who wants to use an FHA loan? FHA, VA, State and locally managed loan assistance programs can be key to selling a property. Real estate agents shouldn't be pushing buyers toward their favorite lenders, but they should be able to help them and you wade through complex financing issues.
9. What's your fee? Discount agents offer discount services. Be sure you get what you pay for.
10. Can I talk to one of your previous clients? You never know.
from FrontDoor.com
The world is full of people who sell real estate. Some of them are smart, efficient, focused, versatile and willing to go the extra mile. And some of them aren't.
Finding an agent who will sell your home using a range of marketing tools to get you the best deal possible in a reasonable amount of time, all while charging a fair rate, takes some effort. Interview at least three candidates before you sign a contract.
Here, are 10 questions you really want to ask so you can identify the best real estate agent to sell your property.
1. How much? Ask potential agents how much they think they can sell your home for. If two agents say $275,000 and the third says $325,000, think hard. It's likely the high bid is an exaggeration to attract your business. In the end, you'll be the one who pays because the high price will scare away potential buyers.
2. How will you market it? Running a few classified ads in the local paper, listing it on the Internet and holding an open house shouldn't be the only answers. The practitioner should have an extensive internet reach.
3. How has your business changed in the last five years? If she doesn't talk about website tours and smart phones, chances are this is not a highly wired agent. And you may cut yourself off from opportunities.
4. Tell me how your last two deals surprised you? Every agent has a success story, but this question will give you a much better feel for what this practitioner is like as a salesperson.
5. What's your specialty? If you're selling a starter home in a community full of young families, hiring an agent who specializes in seniors is probably a bad idea. It doesn't mean that if he only sells condos that he can't sell a house, but he may not be geared up to do the best job.
6. How many people are you selling homes for right now and what are you doing for them? It may not be a bad thing that a high-powered agent is juggling 15 homes, but don't expert her to give you personal service, although her assistant should be attentive. On the other hand, be wary of an agent with no other customers because she may lack experience and contacts.
7. What do you expect of me? A good salesperson will have expectations. He may want you to leave and take the dog when the house is shown, paint the garage, move some furniture around and scrub the tile in the bathroom. It shows that he can think like a buyer and that's a good thing.
8. What advice would you have for me if I get an offer from a buyer who wants to use an FHA loan? FHA, VA, State and locally managed loan assistance programs can be key to selling a property. Real estate agents shouldn't be pushing buyers toward their favorite lenders, but they should be able to help them and you wade through complex financing issues.
9. What's your fee? Discount agents offer discount services. Be sure you get what you pay for.
10. Can I talk to one of your previous clients? You never know.
from FrontDoor.com
Thursday, July 8, 2010
Mortgage Update
by Chris Vogler
Bank of America Home Loans
After dropping to the lowest level in decades last week, mortgage rates fell even further this week! Affordability hasn’t been this good for home purchases in decades.
Interest rates are at lows not seen in 50-60 years, and home prices and selection continue to be the best seen in many years. These two things add up to the fact that buying is affordable and in many cases cheaper than renting. However, the supply of homes in the tri-county area seems to be decreasing slightly and the demand is increasing.
This supply and demand function means that the selection and prices of homes won’t last long. Interest rates for a typical mortgage are in the mid to upper 4% range INCREDIBLE; rates can’t and won’t stay this long for too much longer!
Bank of America Home Loans
After dropping to the lowest level in decades last week, mortgage rates fell even further this week! Affordability hasn’t been this good for home purchases in decades.
Interest rates are at lows not seen in 50-60 years, and home prices and selection continue to be the best seen in many years. These two things add up to the fact that buying is affordable and in many cases cheaper than renting. However, the supply of homes in the tri-county area seems to be decreasing slightly and the demand is increasing.
This supply and demand function means that the selection and prices of homes won’t last long. Interest rates for a typical mortgage are in the mid to upper 4% range INCREDIBLE; rates can’t and won’t stay this long for too much longer!
Thursday, July 1, 2010
Home Buyer Tax Credit Closing Date Extension & Flood Insurance Extension
From: NAR Government Affairs
After a close brush with the deadline, Congress has passed an extension of the Homebuyer Tax Credit closing deadline, the Homebuyer Assistance and Improvement Act (H.R. 5623). The extension applies only to transactions that have ratified contracts in place as of April 30, 2010 that have not yet closed. The legislation is designed to create a seamless extension the new closing deadline for eligible transactions is now September 30, 2010. There is will be no gap between June 30 and the date the President signs the bill into law.
NAR worked closely with Congressional leaders on both sides of the aisle to enact this important legislation. Extending the Tax Credit Closing deadline will help provide additional stability to real estate markets across the nation.
For additional information on the extension visit www.realtor.org/government_affairs
Additionally, the United States Senate has passed the National Flood Insurance Program Extension Act of 2010 (H.R. 5569) an extension of the National Flood Insurance Program until September 30, 2010. This will allow transactions to move forward. The bill is retroactive and covers the lapse period from June 1, 2010 to the date of enactment of the extension.
For more information on the flood insurance program visit www.realtor.org/government_affairs
After a close brush with the deadline, Congress has passed an extension of the Homebuyer Tax Credit closing deadline, the Homebuyer Assistance and Improvement Act (H.R. 5623). The extension applies only to transactions that have ratified contracts in place as of April 30, 2010 that have not yet closed. The legislation is designed to create a seamless extension the new closing deadline for eligible transactions is now September 30, 2010. There is will be no gap between June 30 and the date the President signs the bill into law.
NAR worked closely with Congressional leaders on both sides of the aisle to enact this important legislation. Extending the Tax Credit Closing deadline will help provide additional stability to real estate markets across the nation.
For additional information on the extension visit www.realtor.org/government_affairs
Additionally, the United States Senate has passed the National Flood Insurance Program Extension Act of 2010 (H.R. 5569) an extension of the National Flood Insurance Program until September 30, 2010. This will allow transactions to move forward. The bill is retroactive and covers the lapse period from June 1, 2010 to the date of enactment of the extension.
For more information on the flood insurance program visit www.realtor.org/government_affairs
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
7 tips for picking a real estate agent
by Dana Dratch
updated 6/22/2010 9:33:34 AM ET
Ever wish you could see through the hype to hire the best real estate agent for buying or selling your home?
When it comes to choosing real estate agents, "we don't have the information that we have about other service professionals," says Stephen Brobeck, executive director of the Consumer Federation of America, in Washington, D.C.
However, there are things you can do to pull back the curtain and accurately assess a real estate agent's past performance and potential success with your home. Whether you're the buyer or the seller, here are seven ways you can find out more about your agent before you hire.
1. Talk with recent clients
Ask agents to provide a list of what they've listed and sold in the last year, with contact information, says Ron Phipps, president-elect of the Chicago-based National Association of Realtors. Before you start calling the names, ask the agent if anyone will be "particularly pleased or particularly disappointed," he says.
With past clients, "I'd like to know what the asking price was and then what the sales price was," says William Poorvu, professor emeritus at Harvard Business School and co-author of "The Real Estate Game: The Intelligent Guide to Decision-making and Investment."
And, if you're the seller, ask if these past properties are similar to yours in price, location and other salient features, Poorvu says. What you want is someone who specializes in exactly what you're selling.
Another good question for sellers is: How long has the home been on the market?
2. Look up the licensingStates will have boards that license and discipline real estate agents in those states, says Phipps. Check with your state's regulatory body to find out if the person is licensed and if there have been any disciplinary actions or complaints.
Some states, including Virginia, Arizona and California, put the information into online databases that consumers can search. "But I think very few people do," says Robert Irwin, author of "Tips & Traps When Buying a Home."
3. Pick a winnerPeer-given awards count, says Phipps. One that really means something is the "Realtor of the Year" designation awarded by the state or local branch of the National Association of Realtors.
"These agents are the best as judged by their peers," he says. "That's a huge endorsement."
4. Select an agent with the right credentialsJust as doctors specialize, so do real estate agents. And even generalists will get additional training in some areas. So that alphabet soup after the name can be an indication that the person has taken additional classes in a certain specialty of real estate sales. Here's what some of the designations mean:
•CRS (Certified Residential Specialist): Completed additional training in handling residential real estate.
•ABR (Accredited Buyer's Representative): Completed additional education in representing buyers in a transaction.
•SRES (Seniors Real Estate Specialist): Completed training aimed at helping buyers and sellers in the 50-plus age range.
If the agent calls himself a Realtor with a capital "R," that means he's a member of the National Association of Realtors. By hiring a Realtor, "the most important thing you get is an agent who formally pledges to support the code of ethics," says Phipps.
Five years ago, one-third of real estate licensees were Realtors, he says. "Now, it's half."
5. Research how long the agent has been in businessYou can often find out how long the agent has been selling real estate from the state licensing authority. Or, you can just ask the agent.
"If they haven't been in business five years, they're learning on you and that's not good," says Irwin.
Ultimately, what you're looking for is someone who is actively engaged in a particular area and price range, says Phipps. You'll want to know what knowledge of those two factors they can demonstrate and "what kind of market presence they have," he says.
6. Look at their current listingsCheck out an agent's listings online, says Brobeck. Two places to look are the agency's own site and Realtor.com, a website that compiles properties in the Multiple Listing Service into a searchable online database.
Most buyers start their search on the Internet, and you want an agent who uses that tool effectively. "A key thing is an attractive presentation on the Web," says Brobeck.
You also can look at how closely the agent's listings mirror the property you want to buy or sell. Are they in the same area? Is the price range similar? And does the agent have enough listings to indicate a healthy business but not so many that you'd just be a number?
7. Ask about other houses for sale nearby
A good agent should know about other available area properties "off the top of his head," says Irwin, who wrote "Tips & Traps When Buying a Home." Mention a house in your area that's sold recently or is for sale. If the agent knows the property and can give you a few details, that means he or she really knows your area, he says. Says Irwin: "You want someone like that who's on top of the market."
© 2010 Bankrate.com
View the original article here: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/36786169/ns/business-real_estate/
updated 6/22/2010 9:33:34 AM ET
Ever wish you could see through the hype to hire the best real estate agent for buying or selling your home?
When it comes to choosing real estate agents, "we don't have the information that we have about other service professionals," says Stephen Brobeck, executive director of the Consumer Federation of America, in Washington, D.C.
However, there are things you can do to pull back the curtain and accurately assess a real estate agent's past performance and potential success with your home. Whether you're the buyer or the seller, here are seven ways you can find out more about your agent before you hire.
1. Talk with recent clients
Ask agents to provide a list of what they've listed and sold in the last year, with contact information, says Ron Phipps, president-elect of the Chicago-based National Association of Realtors. Before you start calling the names, ask the agent if anyone will be "particularly pleased or particularly disappointed," he says.
With past clients, "I'd like to know what the asking price was and then what the sales price was," says William Poorvu, professor emeritus at Harvard Business School and co-author of "The Real Estate Game: The Intelligent Guide to Decision-making and Investment."
And, if you're the seller, ask if these past properties are similar to yours in price, location and other salient features, Poorvu says. What you want is someone who specializes in exactly what you're selling.
Another good question for sellers is: How long has the home been on the market?
2. Look up the licensingStates will have boards that license and discipline real estate agents in those states, says Phipps. Check with your state's regulatory body to find out if the person is licensed and if there have been any disciplinary actions or complaints.
Some states, including Virginia, Arizona and California, put the information into online databases that consumers can search. "But I think very few people do," says Robert Irwin, author of "Tips & Traps When Buying a Home."
3. Pick a winnerPeer-given awards count, says Phipps. One that really means something is the "Realtor of the Year" designation awarded by the state or local branch of the National Association of Realtors.
"These agents are the best as judged by their peers," he says. "That's a huge endorsement."
4. Select an agent with the right credentialsJust as doctors specialize, so do real estate agents. And even generalists will get additional training in some areas. So that alphabet soup after the name can be an indication that the person has taken additional classes in a certain specialty of real estate sales. Here's what some of the designations mean:
•CRS (Certified Residential Specialist): Completed additional training in handling residential real estate.
•ABR (Accredited Buyer's Representative): Completed additional education in representing buyers in a transaction.
•SRES (Seniors Real Estate Specialist): Completed training aimed at helping buyers and sellers in the 50-plus age range.
If the agent calls himself a Realtor with a capital "R," that means he's a member of the National Association of Realtors. By hiring a Realtor, "the most important thing you get is an agent who formally pledges to support the code of ethics," says Phipps.
Five years ago, one-third of real estate licensees were Realtors, he says. "Now, it's half."
5. Research how long the agent has been in businessYou can often find out how long the agent has been selling real estate from the state licensing authority. Or, you can just ask the agent.
"If they haven't been in business five years, they're learning on you and that's not good," says Irwin.
Ultimately, what you're looking for is someone who is actively engaged in a particular area and price range, says Phipps. You'll want to know what knowledge of those two factors they can demonstrate and "what kind of market presence they have," he says.
6. Look at their current listingsCheck out an agent's listings online, says Brobeck. Two places to look are the agency's own site and Realtor.com, a website that compiles properties in the Multiple Listing Service into a searchable online database.
Most buyers start their search on the Internet, and you want an agent who uses that tool effectively. "A key thing is an attractive presentation on the Web," says Brobeck.
You also can look at how closely the agent's listings mirror the property you want to buy or sell. Are they in the same area? Is the price range similar? And does the agent have enough listings to indicate a healthy business but not so many that you'd just be a number?
7. Ask about other houses for sale nearby
A good agent should know about other available area properties "off the top of his head," says Irwin, who wrote "Tips & Traps When Buying a Home." Mention a house in your area that's sold recently or is for sale. If the agent knows the property and can give you a few details, that means he or she really knows your area, he says. Says Irwin: "You want someone like that who's on top of the market."
© 2010 Bankrate.com
View the original article here: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/36786169/ns/business-real_estate/
Thursday, June 3, 2010
Top 9 Green Home Improvements
RISMEDIA, April 29, 2010—HomeGain, a leading website that connects real estate agents with home buyers and sellers recently announced the results of its Green home improvement survey.
Receiving responses from nearly 1,000 real estate agents and brokers nationwide, HomeGain configured a list of the top nine do-it-yourself (DIY) Green home improvements that cost under $300 and that benefit sellers most when they sell their homes.
The top nine Green home improvements that real estate professionals recommend to home sellers based on cost and return on investment to the sellers include:
1. Plant trees and shrubs
2. Replace air filters
3. Green home staging
4. Weather strip and caulk doors and windows
5. Install programmable thermostats
6. Install low flow shower heads
7. Use auto turn-off power strips
8. Install CFL or LED lights
9. Paint with low VOC paint
Planting native trees and plants in the perimeter of a home for sale ranks as the top suggested green home improvement, recommended by 65% of agents and brokers, costing under $150 and returning a value of nearly $400 to a home’s selling price, which is a 284% return (ROI).
“Our survey shows that going green is not only good for the environment, but makes dollars and cents for home sellers,” stated Louis Cammarosano, General Manager at HomeGain. “Buyers want energy efficient homes and appreciate the aesthetics of natural vegetation and are willing to pay for these features.”
Real estate professional are taking note of the growing interest in green real estate practices. Eco-broker certified Realtor and HomeGain member Jeffrey Bastress of Startpoint Realty in Massachusetts commented: “We have been advocates of green real estate and green issues for many years now. We use virtual office websites to communicate with customers and a transaction platform to post all documents. For closing gifts, we give trees to our buyers and donate trees in the name of our sellers. Our website is a green resource for buyers and sellers, and I advise my agents on how to green their websites and better consult with their clients.”
For more information, visit http://www.homegain.com/.
Receiving responses from nearly 1,000 real estate agents and brokers nationwide, HomeGain configured a list of the top nine do-it-yourself (DIY) Green home improvements that cost under $300 and that benefit sellers most when they sell their homes.
The top nine Green home improvements that real estate professionals recommend to home sellers based on cost and return on investment to the sellers include:
1. Plant trees and shrubs
2. Replace air filters
3. Green home staging
4. Weather strip and caulk doors and windows
5. Install programmable thermostats
6. Install low flow shower heads
7. Use auto turn-off power strips
8. Install CFL or LED lights
9. Paint with low VOC paint
Planting native trees and plants in the perimeter of a home for sale ranks as the top suggested green home improvement, recommended by 65% of agents and brokers, costing under $150 and returning a value of nearly $400 to a home’s selling price, which is a 284% return (ROI).
“Our survey shows that going green is not only good for the environment, but makes dollars and cents for home sellers,” stated Louis Cammarosano, General Manager at HomeGain. “Buyers want energy efficient homes and appreciate the aesthetics of natural vegetation and are willing to pay for these features.”
Real estate professional are taking note of the growing interest in green real estate practices. Eco-broker certified Realtor and HomeGain member Jeffrey Bastress of Startpoint Realty in Massachusetts commented: “We have been advocates of green real estate and green issues for many years now. We use virtual office websites to communicate with customers and a transaction platform to post all documents. For closing gifts, we give trees to our buyers and donate trees in the name of our sellers. Our website is a green resource for buyers and sellers, and I advise my agents on how to green their websites and better consult with their clients.”
For more information, visit http://www.homegain.com/.
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
New Listing! - 110 East Duffy Street
New construction free standing townhouse built with respect for the turn of the century structures that surround it, in a manner appreciated by historic enthusiasts. The quality and attention to detail is apparent in the craftsmanship and products used throughout this property. The typical side hall home offers a modern nod with it's open double parlors, tall ceilings and deep moldings. The kitchen is outfitted with hand crafted cabinets, stainless steel appliances and finished with granite counters. Rear porch and courtyard garden offer privacy and a relaxed setting. Above the garage is a luxurious one bedroom apartment or guest suite. The main house has a spacious master suite with bay front window sitting area, two additional bedrooms and one and a half baths. Located just one block to Forsyth Park and priced reasonably. Offered at $425,000.
To view a visual tour of the property please click the image. For additional information about this home or other real estate in Savannah, please visit DonCallahan.com
To view a visual tour of the property please click the image. For additional information about this home or other real estate in Savannah, please visit DonCallahan.com
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