Factors buyers consider when choosing a neighborhood

According to the National Association of Realtors® 2008 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers, 62 percent of buyers say the quality of the neighborhood is an important influence on their neighborhood choice, followed by these factors:

• Convenient to job, 51%
• Overall affordability of homes, 41%
• Convenient to friends and family, 38%
• Convenient to shopping, 27%
• Quality of the school district, 27%
• Design of neighborhood, 24%
• Convenient to schools, 21%
• Convenient to entertainment/leisure activities, 19%
• Convenient to parks, recreational facilities, 16%

These figures reflect all buyers, but the full study also segments buyers by location, including suburb/subdivision, small town, urban/central city, rural area and resort/recreation area. For them full report, go to realtor.org.

How Smart is your thermostat?

Probably smart enough to let you program temperature settings based on the weather and household activity for the week.  But now, there is a thermostat that is smart enough to let you perform these functions via the Internet.

A “smart thermostat,” (also known as a digital programmable thermostat), lets you customize temperature settings in real time.  The ecobee Smart Thermostat, currently available for purchase online, refines this idea by adding a wireless Internet connection, so you can remotely monitor and control your home temperature from a personalized web portal.  And since heating and colling a home accounts for 70% of a home’s energy consumption, this function can help reduce energy usage and lower utility bills.

The Internet interface can be helpful to raise or lower the temperature a few degrees before family members return home from work or school.  And it can be even more useful for controlling and monitoring temperatures while the family is away on vacation.

The ecobee Smart Thermostat allows homeowners to program their thermostat easily using its touch screen, or over the Internet, in seconds.  It connects to a homeowner’s standard WiFi (wireless network), which provides remote access to their thermostat settings.  A ‘wizard’function acts as a step-by-step guide through the programming process using simple commands.

While an ecobee thermostat is $385, the ecobee website demonstrates that the device will pay for itself in energy cost savings within 18 months.

David Goldberg  -  Home Inspector                                                                     
phone:  301-913-9213
fax:  301-774-4554                                       
Reliable Home Services, Inc.
      PO Box 5159
  Laytonsville, MD 20882
 ASHI Member #101584
   MD License #29322                            

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If You have a remodeling project in mind, contact us for a list of professionals we’re proud to recommend.

I hear a lot of realtors say they don’t touch new construction.  Some think mistakenly that they won’t get a commission.  Others truly consider the buyer and advise them it would be harder for resale in the next few years.

I think there’s no one answer if new construction is good or bad.  I don’t think there’s any one answer about what the best home or best neighborhood is.  If that were the case, we’d all be fighting to buy the exact same house in the exact same neighborhood.

“Best” is truly subjective.  It depends on each individual buyers circumstances.  What’s important to the buyer?  What do they want in a home?  What do they want in a community?  What are there preferences as far as lot sizes, home sizes, interiors, exteriors, amenitie both within the home and in the neighborhood?  All these make the determination of “best” different for all of us.

New construction has a lot of benefits.  Buyers can build a home from scratch exactly how they want it.  Buyers can build one that is nearly completed and pick their fixtures and colors.  I checked on my house every step of the way and had contractors (not working for the builder) evaluate the progress with me.  I have a solidly built, brand new house and have eliminated a lot of maintenance concerns by doing so. Buyers can buy a brand new home that’s already completed for less than an existing home in the neighborhood.  Read the rest of this entry »

I went on a couple of pre-listing consultations last week.  I use the term ‘pre-listing’ because I often assign homework, prior to actually marketing the property. Remember, you never get a second chance to make a first impression, and that first person who views it, might be your buyer. (it has happened to me twice)

The reaction that I get when I say ‘homework’ is typically to same as your reaction to Mom saying it when you were 12.  Nine times out of ten, the assignment is the same – attack the clutter. We are worse than squirrels.  We don’t save for the winter; we save for ‘someday’.   I still haven’t found that day on any calendar.

When a buyer opens a closet that is packed from top to bottom, the brain doesn’t say “wow they have a lot of stuff”.  The brain says “there’s no room for my stuff”.  This holds true for garages as well.  Clutter makes an area appear smaller as well and optically it gives the eyes a lot to process, things look busy, and that translates to stress.  You want the buyer to be relaxed and feel good when they come into your home.

So, how do you combat clutter?

• Throw away things that you’ve been meaning to ‘fix’ for years.
• Donate clothing and other items to Goodwill
• Have a garage sale, if you have items of significant monetary value.  If not, you’ll get a receipt at Goodwill, which is tax deductible.
• Rent storage space until the house sells.

Do you need my services? I support local Austin, after all I think its only neighborly. 

Visit me online at www.SupportLocalAustin.com

or contact me by options below:

Doreen Zelma

Realtor, GRI

T:512-531-2914

E: dzelma@kw.com 

If you are a cash buyer, there are some special situations that only you can take advantage of and get a bigger discount than a buyer who needs a mortgage.   One situation is the condo market.   Many newer condos…built in the past six year real estate boom…were purchased by investors.   Alot of these investors are now walking away from their condos and giving them back to the the bank.   With a high percentage of HOA delinquencies and low owner occupancy percentage, most lenders will no longer loan on the building or will only loan conventional.   This creates an opportunity for the cash buyer!  As fewer buyers are able to buy in the complex, prices drop even further.  Todays CONDO CASH BUYERS have AMAZING OPPORTUNITIES in the market.

The Obama administration yesterday announced plans to widen the eligibility parameters of a key housing initiative. The change would allow borrowers with mortgages valued at 125 percent of their home’s worth to refinance into more affordable loans. Previously, only borrowers with so-called loan-to-value ratios of 105 percent or less could do so. The mortgage refinancing program is part of the president’s two-pronged plan to pull the nation out of its worst housing slump since the Great Depression. Coupled with efforts to modify troubled mortgages, the government believes its Making Home Affordable initiative can reach up to 9 million American homeowners. “The president’s Making Home Affordable plan is already helping far more families than any previous foreclosure initiative, and with today’s announcement we will extend its reach still further,” Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan said.

Here are six things you need to know about the expanded rescue:

1. Fannie/Freddie only: Despite the higher loan-to-value ceiling, the original framework of the program remains in tact. For example, only borrowers with loans owned or guaranteed by government-controlled housing finance giants Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac can participate. At the same time, borrowers need to be current on their mortgage to qualify.

2. Falling prices, less equity: The expansion of the qualification parameters comes as the real estate market continues to erode. Home prices in 20 major metropolitan areas fell by more than 18 percent in April from a year earlier, according the Case-Shiller home price index. Among other things, sliding home prices suck equity out of homes. Because of plunging values, more than a fifth of American homeowners were considered “underwater”—meaning they owe more on their mortgages than the property is worth—in the first quarter of this year, according to Zillow. This evaporation of home equity threw sand in the gears of the administration’s refinancing initiative. That’s because the original terms of the program precluded borrowers with mortgages exceeding 105 percent of their home’s value from participating. But by expanding the loan-to-value cap to 125 percent, even borrowers who are significantly underwater will be eligible to refinance through Uncle Sam.

3. Efforts so far: When it rolled out the initiative earlier this year, the Obama administration said the refinancing program could reach up to 5 million homeowners. But in its release yesterday, HUD acknowledged that only “tens of thousands” of refinancings have occurred so far.

4. Expanded reach: The new standards could make up to 2 million additional borrowers eligible to refinance through the program, according to the Federal Housing Finance Agency, which regulates Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. “This program could assist many homeowners who otherwise would have difficulty refinancing due to declining house prices,” FHFA Director James Lockhart said yesterday.

5. Mortgage rate hurdle: But not all of those 2 million additional borrowers will end up refinancing. Some won’t meet other program requirements, such as being current on their loan. But it’s the recent upward trend in mortgage rates that represents perhaps the biggest threat to the program’s success. Refinancing applications surged last fall and winter, after the federal government engineered mortgage rates of below 5 percent. But as bond traders became rattled by sharp increases in government spending, they sent yields on 10-year treasury notes—which fixed mortgage rates typically tack—skyward in recent months. As a result, mortgage rates surged, hitting 5.81 percent on June 11, according to HSH.com.

Since borrowers generally need a full percentage-point difference between their current rate and market rates to benefit from refinancing, higher rates have hammered the housing market. What’s more, even as mortgage rates have drifted lower in recent weeks, refinancing applications have remained depressed. “While 30-year rates in the mid-5s are low on a long-term historical basis, they’re not very low relative to the last five or six years,” Mike Larson of Weiss Research said in a report. “The average since mid-2003 (when we had the last mega-boom in [refinancings]) is 6 percent, according to Freddie Mac. So the universe of mortgages that can be refinanced on a “rate and term” basis isn’t very large in the mid-5s. …We’re going to need to see rates head back into the 4s to get the mortgage train rolling again.”

6. Second housing tweak: The expansion of the Making Home Affordable program follows the Obama administration’s recent change to its first-time home buyer tax credit. In mid-February, the president enacted this tax incentive—which offers up to $8,000 to qualified first-time home buyers—to stimulate housing demand and help mop up excess supply. In late May, HUD unveiled a program that would provide buyers more immediate access to these funds, which they could put toward closing costs as well as a portion of their down payment.

Whether you are male or female, most Buyer’s agree that the visual first impression of a property makes a huge difference. The exterior of a home is usually the first draw.  In this age of Internet savvy Buyers, an unattractive view from the curb can turn prospects off.  Curb appeal puts money in your pockets!  (That includes the photos in MLS.)  Sellers who take the time to change a door mat, paint their door, plant a few flowers or upgrade their hardware can draw Buyers in. 

Once inside, the clutter free homes with attractive wall colors also sell quickly.  The “devil is in the details,” they say.  To be honest, it doesn’t cost a lot of money to spruce up your home.  Make sure that your carpets are clean and vacuumed.  You should avoid bright and dark colors on the walls.  And clean out those closets!  Now you are dressing your home for Buyers.  So, in a nutshell your taste goes out the window and the Buyer’s tastes need to come in.  Remember, you are setting the stage so that your home addresses the tastes of as many people as possible.  As unique as you are, you don’t won’t to have to find another person just like you to buy your home.

So get out the boxes, empty out those closets and make room for the next homeowner.  The sooner you let go, the sooner someone else can move in.

Here’s an interesting statistic.  When surveyed, 1000 first time home buyers said that they anticipated living in their first home for a total of 10 years.  In a similar survey, 1000 first time home sellers (meaning that they were currently living in their first home) were selling the home after an average of only 4.5 years of ownership.

I think that this is a really informative survey, and over the years, I’ve found these results to be pretty consistent with what I’ve seen from my clients.  Most first time home buyers…  Get Full Blog Post

Even though the market here in Montana is much better than in the rest of the country, certain price ranges are moving slower than others. It seems that homes under $200K are selling at a brisk pace whereas homes in the upper $200-300K range are not moving as fast. Here are some tips to help you sell your home faster:

1. Lower your asking price to 10 percent to 15 percent below what comparable properties in the neighborhood are selling for.
2. Spruce up the outside. Update the landscaping. Power-wash the exterior and paint the door.
3. Appeal to first-time buyers. Advertise on younger consumers’ favorite Web sites, such as Facebook and Twitter. Hire a photographer to shoot the house with a wide-angle lens so the rooms look bigger in online photos.
4. Price the house in the lower end of the range. A $299,000 house is in the high end of the $250,000 to $300,000 range but a $301,000 home is in the low-end of the $300,000 to $400,000 range.
5. Do what you can to make the deal close quickly. Be ready to move, offer to pay part of the closing costs, and/or throw in a year’s worth of association fees, or offer a home warranty. Source: Money Magazine, Beth Braverman (06/30/2009)

Call me for additional tips on how to sell your home faster. 406-600-0432

Regards,

Karina

When consulting a homeowner facing a short sale, the first question I am usually asked is “What will this do to my credit?”  Now comes the generic answer…it depends!  With the large amount of foreclosures and late notices, banks have had to take into consideration the overwhelming amount of delinquencies.  This has caused them to take a less aggressive approach to how they handle consumers with poor credit.  But again, each scenario is different.

If you stopped paying your mortgage, it does not matter what you do your credit will be impacted!  A short sale will not save your credit from the 30-day late notice…but it is significantly better than what a foreclosure will do.  Even in this scenario, a short sale can be reported that can eliminate the negative account which will help your overall score.

When you list your home as a short sale, it does not necessarily mean that you are facing a foreclosure.  Plenty of people are being transferred out of the area for work that owe more on their home then what it is worth.  These are employed individuals who can meet their monthly payment requirements, but just owe more on their house.  This is where the “it depends” part comes in.  When your short sale is accepted, the key ingredient to a “Success” is how you are able to negotiate the note.  This means that when the bank accepts your payoff, they report to the credit bureau on the mortgages status.  The best solution is a “Paid In Full” or “Paid As Agreed” status.  This should have no impact on your credit score and is the ultimate goal.  These are easier to get accepted when there is an agreement between the bank and the seller for a payment schedule on the amount owed.  It is definitely a scenario that you must keep on the table to avoid the damage that a lowered credit score can have on you.  Remember, this does not just impact future loans - it impacts rates you have on credit cards, insurance rates, and even some job opportunities.

If you are in a scenario where you are asking for the bank to forgive the debt you owe them, the first priority you have to get them to forfeit the rights to a deficiency judgment.  Basically this is simply wording in the acceptance letter saying they will not seek a judgment against you.  Now, if you are not able to negotiate out a “Paid In Full” status, you may have some credit implications.  Do not let anyone tell you that you will never be able to get a home loan, or that you will have to wait “X” amount of years until you can get one.  That is dictated by the loan you had, and the Fannie and Freddie programs usually will make you wait 2 years before you can get a home loan.  However, there are too many banks out there that are all competing for business and one may give you a loan.

Most short sales have a minimal impact on your credit scores with a 100 point drop being an extreme case.  The most important factor in what your credit will look like is whether or not you missed any payments.  If not, then a successful short sale will allow you to continue on the road to financial freedom and ease the troubles of a home that is underwater.

Jimmy Mulhern

http://www.HowToAvoidForeclosureInVirginia.com