| 9 REASONS TO BUY A HOUSE NOW |
| If you're planning to buy a house right now, the next few months may be the best time to buy. Waiting for both housing prices and interest rates to fall may not be a good strategy for potential home buyers since analysts don't expect any significant declines in these two most important home-buying factors. Here's nine real estate trends that suggest you should get into the housing market sooner than later. (To learn more, check out 5 Tips For Recession House Hunters) TUTORIAL: Buying a Home 1. Lowest Housing Prices in Years Nobody knows when the housing market will hit bottom, but prices are at their lowest in several years and may soon start inching back up again. So buying now or in the near future may be the right time. An abundance of bargain-priced housing is now available because of foreclosures and falling prices. 2. Interest Rates at a 50-Year Low Interest rates are near a 50-year low, according to housing analysts. By the second week of May, 2011, 30-year fixed mortgage rates had fallen to their lowest rates of the year at 4.63%. Although mortgage rates vary from day to day, the 30-year rate at this level is an attractive inducement to first-time buyers, or buyers who want to either move up to larger residences, or others, including many empty-nesters wanting to sell and move to smaller houses or condos. 3. Interest Rates Expected to Go Up As the economic recovery gains momentum, interest rates are expected to increase, making mortgages more expensive. Even a half-percent increase in mortgage interest can add a hundred dollars or more to your monthly payments, depending on the amount of your loan. (To learn more about interest rates, read Forces Behind Interest Rates.) 4. Adjustable Rate Mortgages at Record LowsAdjustable Rate Mortgages (ARMs) are also lower now, although there are risks that interest rates may increase over the life of the mortgage and the balloon payment due at the end of the mortgage life, usually three or five years, could be substantial. Nevertheless, for new buyers who are sure they'll have enough income to meet payment obligations, an ARM may be the best way to buy a house. Keep in mind that payments may increase on a monthly basis. For a full explanation of advantages and risks in an ARM, visit the federalreserve.gov. 5. Low Down Payment Mortgages Available Low-down-payment financing through Federal Housing Administration-insured mortgages is available as an additional inducement to buy a house now. Down payment minimum requirements also fluctuate and may increase as the market heats up, so potential buyers with less cash to consummate a deal may be well-advised to buy now. 6. Easy to Qualify, Easy to Borrow Lending standards have become less rigid recently, so qualifying for a mortgage may be easier. Experts advise that a potential buyer become pre-approved for a loan by a lending institution - meaning that a lender guarantees to make the loan contingent on an appraisal of the property. But the good news in seeking pre-approval is that lenders are now willing to let a potential buyer take on more debt than the previous formula allowed - a percentage of monthly income. (For more on getting a cost effective mortgage, see Score A Cheap Mortgage.) 7. Lenders Offer No-Fee Mortgages Many banks and other lending institutions are waiving mortgage loan generation and other fees and points (each point represents 1% of the loan amount), thereby reducing the cost of buying. 8. Home Builders Eager to Sell, Offer Incentives Home builders, competing with the resale market, are offering incentives to potential buyers to reduce their inventory of unsold new homes. Incentives may include cash for furniture or free refrigerators, washers and dryers. In Seattle, for example, builders have offered opportunities to win iPads or Smart phones, and $3,000 buyer bonuses. Specific demographic groups, including military personnel, police, firefighters and health-care workers, have been targeted by builders for special offers. But virtually anyone who can qualify for a mortgage is likely to get a good deal from a homebuilder who is eager to sell. 9. Motivated Home Owners Desperate to Sell Desperate sellers of existing homes have also been offering attractive inducements to potential home buyers, including warranties on appliances, air conditioners and furnaces. Some sellers are even offering cash or have included furnishings, refrigerators, washers and dryers as a bonus to potential buyers. With so many existing homes in foreclosure or underwater - bargain prices are abound in this depressed market. (For help on buying a house, read Top Tips For First-Time Home Buyers.) The Bottom Line With a convergence of the factors above, all of which are favorable to the prospective home buyer, there may not be a better time to buy than right now. It's a buyer's market, but like everything else in life, the bargain deals won't last. (To help determine if it is the right time to buy, read Are You Ready To Buy A House?) Original story - 9 Reasons To Buy A House NowCopyright (c) 2011 Investopedia US. All rights reserved. Investopedia.com is a division of ValueClick, Inc. |
| A Boone - ing Business |
OCEAN VIEW REAL ESTATE WONDER WOMAN BOUGHT HER FIRST HOUSE AT 18 By Barrett Baker Judy Boone appears to have the Midas touch, but she’s also well known for being quick to share her good fortune with others. Because she “wanted to be able to retire when she got to be an old person” (at that point her definition of “old” was 55) she bought her first home at the age of 18. She and her husband, Ronald, the first man she ever dated, then continued to use their paychecks, income tax returns and work bonuses to buy and maintain rental and investment properties. By the time she was 24, she and her husband had collectively amassed more than 60 properties. Today, Judy Boone Realty employs more than 30 Realtors®, with sales, rentals and property management divisions, a large support staff, a maintenance crew and a mortgage finance company. Judy and her husband also own a development company, Boone Builders, several waterfront restaurants, the Ocean View Fishing Pier and the 100-passenger Judith Ann head boat that provides site seeing and fishing charters on the Chesapeake Bay. Because of her efforts in real estate and community service, Judy has been showered with a number of awards. In 1993, Cox Cable TV presented her with the “Great Citizen of Hampton Roads” award, and the readers of the The Virginian-Pilot have voted Judy Boone Realty Norfolk’s best every year since 1996. In 2006 Judy received the “Lifetime Achievement” award from the Hampton Roads Realtor Association for “changing the face of the community.” Judy also received the Virginia Chamber of Commerce 2006 “Fantastic 50” Top Service Award for her firm’s contributions to Virginia’s economic vitality. Hampton Roads Magazine: Have you lived in Hampton Roads all your life? Judy Boone: No, I was born in Japan. But I’m a Navy brat, and I’ve been here since I was 5. My dad was a chief petty officer, and he ended up retiring here. HRM: Would you say your success is based more on smart decisions, hard work or luck? JB: When my husband and I started, we had no idea what we were doing. But we took care of the properties we bought and that attracted a lot of other people to us. I had one guy come ring our doorbell and say, “Do you want to buy my apartment building? I want to retire and move to Florida.” When I decided to get my real estate license in 1978, I said to my husband, “Why don’t you start building houses and help me with my business.” He said he didn’t know anything about building houses so I said, “There’s a lot on Mildred Avenue. Pay a man to build one house, watch him, and he can train you to build the next house.” It could have been disastrous, but we didn’t know any better. It just all worked out well. HRM: You dug your heels in when everyone else was leaving the Ocean View area of Norfolk? Why? JB: Most of the people who left Ocean View were looking for new construction and they wanted to be near good schools that their kids could walk to, so they moved to Virginia Beach and Chesapeake. I thought if we left, we’d just be part of the problem. HRM: When you opened Judy Boone Realty in 1989, it was a big surprise. JB: I kept it a secret out of the respect for the man I worked with for 12 years at Virginia Realty. I didn’t put the sign out until the night before we officially launched, so we thought we’d only get a couple hundred people at the grand opening, but we ended up with 2,100 people. I thought I had really done something, but I think it was the Rhondels playing in the parking lot and the beer truck that attracted everyone. Really though, that first day I had something like $2 million in listings, which was pretty good considering the average sale price for a home was around $65,000. HRM: With the real estate agency, all of your other business, your charity work, your community work and all of the boards you sit on, what do you do with any spare time? JB: I’m very close with my agents, my staffs and the public, but I do have a private side, and I treasure those moments. My real joy is my grandkids—I have a 4-year-old grandson and a 16-month-old granddaughter. They call me grandma JuJu. They are my heartthrobs. HRM: Why is Hampton Roads so special to you? JB: This is a metropolitan area that’s kind of like laid-back New York but not as laid back as down south. There’s so much to do and see in Hampton Roads, and because we have the military, we’re blessed to have so many different people from so many different areas around the U.S. and other countries, and I think that makes things more interesting. We’ve got such a rich history here. And we’ve got the beaches and the mountains not too far away—we’ve got it all. They say Virginia is for lovers and I can tell you that I love Virginia, and I especially love Hampton Roads. We’ve got paradise in our own back yard. We truly do. Published in Hampton Roads Magazine |
| Judy Boone: From the top, to the bottom, and to the top again |
Published on HamptonRoads.com | PilotOnline.com (http://hamptonroads.com) NORFOLK, Life is fragile, something Judy Boone learned the hard way. Six years ago she felt invincible. She'd grown up in hardscrabble Ocean View and had no college education. Yet with hard work and a shrewd calculation that waterfront property in Ocean View would explode in value, she and her husband, Ronnie, built a real estate empire. Over three decades, Ronnie's construction company built more than 1,000 homes. Her company, Judy Boone Realty, sold thousands more. They controlled nearly 2,000 rental units. They had a million-dollar home on the Chesapeake Bay. They changed the face of Ocean View, building upscale housing where none existed before. They rebuilt the wrecked Harrison's Fishing Pier and renamed it the Ocean View Fishing Pier. They owned the iconic Thirsty Camel and Greenies restaurants. Her sons were in the family business. "We were on top of the world," she said. Then her liver began to fail, and her world began to fall apart. She was placed on a list for a transplant. As she waited for an organ, she lost 60 pounds and nearly died. For months she was deemed too weak for surgery. Finally, in the summer of 2007 she was saved by a liver from a 7-year-old whose name she will never know - she has tried to contact the child's parents, but the organ agency wants to maintain confidentiality. She has slowly recovered. For more than a year, she rarely went out in public because anti-rejection drugs had so damaged her immune system. Now, she said, she is nearly as strong as she was before. On March 12, three days before her 58th birthday, Boone will play the most coveted role in Ocean View - she will be grand marshal for the St. Patrick's Day Parade. Boone said she appreciates the honor now more than she probably would have a decade ago. She says her illness changed her, and she is no longer the workaholic obsessed with selling every house in Ocean View. "Every day, every hour, every minute of life is precious to me now." Boone is only the second woman in 44 years to lead the parade. Last year Vice Mayor Anthony L. Burfoot was the parade's first African American grand marshal. "I didn't know a woman could even be grand marshal," Boone said. Woody Holmes, a parade organizer with the Knights of Columbus Ocean View Council 3548, said Bridgitt Colkitt was the other female grand marshal. She served in 1977 and was chosen because she was the oldest person in Tidewater born in Ireland. St. Patrick is the patron saint of Ireland. "She was quite a character," Holmes said. "So is Judy." Boone, also of Irish descent, was almost named grand marshal a few years ago, he said. "But then she had all of her medical problems. Her name was thrown out this year, and we said, 'Why not?' She's a good Ocean View girl." The Boones are not popular in some Ocean View circles. Some who live there have said privately, fairly or unfairly, that the Boones have tried to build a monopoly. They own three waterfront restaurants, within steps of each other, along the Bay near Ocean View Beach Park. "Not everyone likes us," Boone concedes. Yet she is proud of the changes her company helped make in Ocean View and of her work with charities, including elementary school literacy programs and the St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. "When I was a kid, we said we lived in Bayview because no one wanted to say Ocean View. I think there's more pride in our community now." Boone said she emerged from the transplant a more spiritual person. Just before her surgery, she converted to Catholicism. Her church, Holy Trinity, is the home parish for the St. Patrick's Day Parade. "When I was sick, I had more extra virgin olive oil on my head than anyone," she said of frequent anointing by Father Dan Beeman. Saturday night, she will receive her parade crown at the Emerald Ball, a celebration at the Knights of Columbus Hall. It will be a difficult day otherwise. At 1 p.m. she will attend the funeral of her brother, William Lloyd Norman, in Franklin. "I guess that makes it simple for choosing the right outfit - black business suit with a green blouse," she said. "God only dishes out what you can handle. I can juggle this one." Harry Minium, |
| Room for Improvement |
| Improvement Ways to Make Your Living Room Up to Its Name Has your living room seen better days? Perhaps it’s a bit on the tired side, or so prim and proper that no one dares to cross the threshold. In either case, a transformation could be long overdue. The good news is that it doesn’t have to cost a fortune to give your living room a modern-day makeover. In fact, a limited budget can force you to be creative. And that’s exactly how the best ideas are born. The following tactics can help you overcome the challenges in your space. Whatever you decide to modify, remember that even a little tweaking can make your living room more user-friendly for you and your guests.Problem: You don’t have enough seating. Solution: Pay attention to the areas where people seem to gravitate when you’re entertaining. Does everyone head for the sofa because there’s nowhere else to go? Invest in a few lightweight pieces that are easy to move in a pinch, such as upholstered stools, ottomans, and benches that serve a purpose without taking up too much space. Just be sure that everything has at least one common denominator, like color or scale. Create cozy seating arrangements that make your guests want to stay a little longer. Experiment with existing pieces from other rooms to get a feel for what works best. Problem: Your accessories are from the dark ages. Solution: Accent pieces are often the most affordable way to change a space. Think about what you already have that will make an impact. For example, you might want to replace those dried flowers from the last century with some outdoor foliage that fills a tall vessel. Give your favorite objects greater importance by stacking decorative boxes and books beneath. Cultivate a conversation piece, whether it’s a family heirloom or some other unique antique. Any collection adds interest to the room, even if you start with three pieces of pottery from a garage sale. Problem: You want to make your formal living room warm and inviting without breaking the bank. Solution: Since it’s more common to mix things up a bit these days, it’s easier than ever to give your space a less fussy, more casual feel with some inexpensive updates. To start, an ornate lamp or chandelier can be taken down a notch with more modern shades. Don’t be afraid to combine formal with edgy for a one-of-a-kind feel. Go for something bold like an animal print or plaid, both of which are popular right now but classic enough to last a lifetime. Swap matching sofa and chair pillows for a more interesting mix of unexpected colors and patterns to spice things up. Problem: Your artwork and frames are outdated for the space. Solution: There are plenty of ways to stretch your budget with art, and you don’t have to start from scratch. Score some vintage or secondhand frames and fill them with family or vacation photos for a personal touch with a twist. Display them in a salon-style grouping for a unique effect that evolves over time. For a more cohesive feel, spray paint a series of frames in the same shade to make a statement along a staircase that can be viewed from the living room. Re-frame your favorite pieces for a fresh new look. Replace the art that no longer appeals to you and have the frames re-sized to fit other works. Problem: You want to refresh your existing furniture without replacing major pieces. Solution: Make sure the pieces that remain serve a purpose in your space, whether it’s for daily living, entertaining, or a combination of the two. Slipcovers are an obvious choice, but there are other ways to get creative with your furniture. Pillows and throws work wonders to revive tired old cushions, while a colorful quilt can be folded and placed along the backside of a sofa. Why not cover the center of a chair with a runner that is meant to be across a tabletop? This will add an unexpected element that helps to disguise wear and tear. Problem: You don’t know where to begin. Solution: Start with a focal point. If a permanent one such as a fireplace already exists, build the room around it if that works for you and your lifestyle. If not, create your own center of attention with a beautiful area rug or a large piece of art. A tall floor mirror might do the trick when secured against the wall. Or, you can simply paint an accent wall to add interest to a specific section of the room. Written by Jeanine Matlow. |
| Holiday Travel |
| IF YOU FLY Don’t pack too much. We often work right up until the moment vacation commences, which leaves little time to prepare for the trip. To save time and space, postpone a shopping trip for odds and ends until reaching your destination and simply pack essential toiletries, entertainment for the flight, and at least one versatile outfit for varied weather. Avoid packing too many items of clothing by paring your wardrobe down to items that work well with one basic solid; choose black or brown—not both. Split up the luggage. We’ve all heard the horror stories about long layovers, missed flights, and eventually lost luggage. To lessen the possibility of a traumatic trip, pack a bit of your belongings in each suitcase. Although this takes a little more planning, it is well worth the slight hassle in the long run. This practice is easier accomplished in pairs, so pack half of each parent’s clothing in each suitcase, do the same for the kids, and then redistribute once you arrive at the final destination.Check in early. Set a reminder to check in online for your flight twenty-four hours before departure time. Even if you have to wait in a line to present luggage, the checked baggage fees are usually less when scheduled ahead of time and the seats are already assigned. IF YOU DRIVE Rent a car. If you plan on putting a substantial number of miles on your everyday vehicle, avoid the wear and tear by picking up a rental car. Inquire ahead of time about mileage charges, which are often free if traveling within a few close states. If the vehicle breaks down for any reason, the company will either come fix it on the spot or provide you with a new one; if only we could be guaranteed such service on a regular basis! Car rentals are now an affordable vacation investment and a simple way to treat you and your family to a comfortable drive. Request the unadvertised weekend or week long rental prices for amazing deals. Some rental companies are partnered with airlines, so you can receive frequent flyer credits for the rental and be even closer to booking a free flight. Designate a navigator. Everyone has an opinion but sometimes it is best to hear just one. Pick one family member who understands maps, stays awake, and pays attention to detail to help the driver navigate the trip and encourage the rest of the family to enjoy the ride. Pick up maps before you get on the road or reach a new town by air. Promotional hotel maps don’t provide too many details, so select a full-size atlas or AAA map. For historical and entertainment information, pick up a pocket-size tourist map that describes the city’s main attractions. ONCE YOU GET THERE Pick a new place to eat. When traveling with children, it’s easy to find the nearest chain restaurant and order a standby meal that you know will be a crowd-pleaser; however, discovering new cuisine is one of the treasured gems of traveling. To cut costs, pick one meal each day to enjoy in a restaurant and purchase easy-to-assemble meal ingredients at a nearby market for other meals.Plan an activity. Make plans for one main activity per day. Prepare for additional adventure options if time allows, but don’t attempt to pack too much into one day. When you travel to a new place or take a fresh route, the potential for new experiences can be exciting. Focus on one excursion and set aside plenty of time so the rush to get there doesn’t overshadow the experience itself. Before you make a schedule, check for free admission days to museums and other attractions, which may be offered on a weekly basis. IT’S AN ADVENTURE Remember, traveling is about appreciating the adventure that leads you to the final destination. Sometimes taking a wrong turn or missing a ferry will lead to a grand surprise. Freeways are efficient but bypass the character of local towns; so if you get turned around, just be sure you follow the correct direction on a maintained road, and enjoy the ride. Your family might create an enduring memory by discovering a location that you never intended to find in the first place. Happy trails to you and yours. Written by Maresa Giovannini. |
| Senate combines jobless benefits, homebuyer credit |
| By STEPHEN OHLEMACHER (AP) – June 30, 2010 WASHINGTON — Senate Democrats are working on a new way to jump-start their stalled election-year jobs agenda while saving unemployment benefits for hundreds of thousands of laid-off workers. The plan combines in one bill the unemployment benefits with an extension of a popular tax credit for people who buy new homes. Under current law, homebuyers who signed purchase agreements by April 30 must close on their new homes by Wednesday to qualify for credits of up to $8,000. The bill would give those buyers until Sept. 30 to complete the purchases and qualify for the credit. Democrats hope to pick up Republican support for the bill by combining the two provisions. They have been trying for weeks to pass an extension of unemployment benefits as part of a larger tax and spending package, but the larger bill died in the Senate last week. Without an extension, unemployment payments would continue to be phased out for more than 200,000 people a week. Many Democrats see the benefits as insurance against the economy sliding back into recession. Many Republicans, however, worry that adding nearly $34 billion to the budget deficit will only contribute to the nation's economic problems. "Both sides have offered ways to address the programs in this bill that we agree should be extended," said Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky. "The only difference is that Democrats are demanding that we add the cost to an already unsustainable $13 trillion national debt." Republicans want to pay for the unemployment benefits with unspent money from last year's massive economic recovery package. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., filed a motion Tuesday to end debate on the bill and force a vote by Thursday — if Democrats can round up the necessary 60 votes to end a Republican filibuster. "These commonsense solutions to help millions of Americans deserve bipartisan support and should be passed swiftly," Reid said. The House, meanwhile, overwhelmingly passed a bill Tuesday to extend the deadline for the homebuyer tax credit. House Democrats plan to vote on a bill extending unemployment benefits as early as Wednesday. House Republicans blocked the unemployment bill Tuesday, denying Democrats the two-thirds majority they needed to pass the bill under a special procedure that limited debate and allowed no amendments. Afterward, the House Rules Committee passed a rule allowing a vote on the unemployment benefits anytime this week with only a simple majority needed for passage. The measure, which is the same as the one in the Senate bill, would provide up to 99 weekly unemployment checks averaging $335 to people whose 26 weeks of state-paid benefits have run out. The benefits would be available through the end of November, at a cost of $33.9 billion. There are no offsets in the bill, so the cost would add to the budget deficit. It's a tough vote for some lawmakers who want to help constituents hit hard by the recession but are wary of being labeled big spenders. The economy is starting to pick up, but unemployment is still high as the nation continues to struggle from the loss of more than 8 million jobs. At the same time, angst over deficit spending is growing as midterm congressional elections loom in November. The homebuyer tax credit is a much easier sell. Nearly 3 million taxpayers claimed the tax credit through May 22 — totaling more than $21 billion — according to the Treasury Department. The National Association of Realtors estimates that 180,000 homebuyers who already signed purchase agreements are likely to miss the Wednesday deadline because mortgage lenders and appraisers were swamped with borrowers trying to get approved by the end of the month. |
| New Rules may help homeowners during a short sale |
Published on HamptonRoads.com | PilotOnline.com (http://hamptonroads.com) By last April, J.J. Pompi realized he could not afford his Virginia Beach home. He had tried for months to find a job. He and his wife had separated. And the part-time job at a bowling alley wasn't enough to keep up with his house payments. "When it comes down to feeding your kids or paying the mortgage, which one are you going to do? Feed the kids, obviously," said Pompi, 39. But selling the house wasn't going to be easy. As real estate values fell in recent years, the value of Pompi's three-bedroom house in the Strawbridge neighborhood of Virginia Beach suffered. He purchased the property for $195,000 in 2005, but, including a second mortgage he later took out, Pompi owed his lender about $216,000. His real estate agent valued the home at about $185,000. The only way forward seemed to be a short sale, which involves selling a house for less than what the seller owes the lender. Such sales have become more common as housing values have fallen. Lenders must agree to take a loss in a short sale in hopes of avoiding the added costs of a foreclosure and trying to maintain and resell the property. Short sales have gained a reputation for being long and complicated, both for the seller and potential buyers. Sellers first must convince their lender that they are not in a position to make payments and are likely headed toward foreclosure. Then, when an offer comes in, banks sometimes take months to decide whether to accept it. The federal government in recent weeks launched a program aimed at speeding up short sales and making them simpler and more transparent by encouraging lenders to use agreed-upon guidelines for processing the sales. The program began about a month too late for Pompi. The 20-year Navy veteran spent most of last year trying to push through his short sale. For months, he e-mailed and faxed disclosure forms, pay stubs and distress letters to loss prevention specialists at his lender, Navy Federal Credit Union. He hired an attorney to help him with the paperwork and to communicate with the credit union, which, according to e-mails Pompi provided, seemed willing to consider a short sale. By November of last year, a buyer had offered $170,000 for the Lewisham Way home. After a month, the credit union notified Pompi's attorney that it would be willing to approve the sale if Pompi signed a note agreeing to pay back $28,000 over 15 years. The process then unraveled. Pompi's Norfolk attorney, Brett Thompson, refused the deal and suggested Pompi could file for bankruptcy. The credit union responded Dec. 29 that the short sale was denied and it planned to foreclose. A month or so passed, and the potential buyer raised the offer to $180,000. Pompi's attorney contacted the credit union to renegotiate the short sale. According to e-mails, the credit union seemed willing to approve the new offer if Pompi agreed to the $28,000 note and paid $350 for a new appraisal on the property and $1,756 to postpone the foreclosure auction. "Mr. Pompi is under tremendous financial stress at this time," Thompson e-mailed on Feb. 28. "Can the attorney fees be added to the promissory note he will sign at closing? The buyers have conducted the final walk-through inspection and would like to close on the purchase this week." No response came from Navy Federal, Pompi said. On March 2, the credit union took ownership of the house at a foreclosure auction after no offers came in higher than their minimum bid of $203,292. "It would have been nice to sell it, but now I've got a foreclosure on my record," Pompi said. "This could have been prevented." Jennifer Sadler, a Navy Federal spokeswoman, declined to comment on Pompi's situation but said the credit union tries to work with their distressed borrowers to prevent foreclosures. "We have very few short sales and foreclosures," she said. "We work first with our members in our own loan modification program. Quite honestly, we find that the program we offer to members is a bit better typically" than the national programs. Stories like Pompi's have become increasingly common, said Dotty Acampora, a foreclosure prevention counselor at the Virginia Beach Community Development Corp. Some lenders appear ill-equipped and understaffed to handle the volume of distressed borrowers applying for loan modifications and short sales, she said. Some appear to have rules in place for processing short sales, while other seem to have difficulty with them. "Everyone's shooting at the hip here," Acampora said. "People are putting in a contract and waiting to hear back, several months sometimes." She hopes the new short sale guidelines, which are part of the Treasury Department's Making Home Affordable program, will help keep more homes from going into foreclosure. When a house becomes a candidate for a short sale, lenders participating in the program must determine the price that they'd accept on the home. If an offer comes in above that price, the lender will be compelled to accept it. In addition, the lender has just two weeks to respond to an offer. The program also offers sellers $3,000 in moving expenses and an incentive of $1,500 for loan servicers to process the paperwork and complete the transaction. The Treasury Department's plan also includes guidelines for processing a "deed in lieu of foreclosure," in which a borrower gives ownership of the property to the lender, which in turn agrees that the debt has been satisfied. Both a short sale and a deed in lieu of foreclosure damage a homeowner's credit, but not as much as a foreclosure. Charlie Newsome, a real estate agent for William E. Wood and Associates, said he thinks the federal program could help push more short sales through. "This is exactly what we should be doing," he said. "It's very frustrating as an agent to do these things. The banks have not had any time to work up any industry guidelines for doing short sales. Some banks do them one way, others another way." Last fall, a buyer withdrew an offer on one of Newsome's listings when the bank failed to respond to a short sale offer. The buyer was rushing to take advantage of the $8,000 first-time homebuyer tax credit. In March, the bank called Newsome to see if the offer was still valid. "The buyer was long gone," he said. "A lot of times on these short sales the buyers walk because it takes so long to get an answer. It's hard to hold these deals together." Erin Wells of Virginia Beach had a similar experience. The 41-year-old single mother of three children had been scouting for her first home when she found a three-bedroom townhouse listed as a short sale for $169,900. "It's an end unit," she said. "It had more space than the middle units. It had all the bedrooms I needed." She made an offer on the Pembroke Park townhouse in June. The seller initially turned her down, but, in October, decided to accept her bid for $163,000, she said. "Then it was just a waiting game," she said. She paid $325 to have a home inspection. Several months passed with no word from the seller's lender. In January, she saw the home advertised for a foreclosure auction. "I was heartbroken," Wells said. "It has been an emotional roller coaster." In most cases it makes sense to accept a short sale if the offer is deemed to be a fair market price, said Tom Kelly, a spokesman for JPMorgan Chase & Co. "If the offer is for the market value that we think is current, I think it makes sense to accept that offer," he said. "Generally, the investor will receive more money, have a smaller loss, with a short sale at a fair market price than with the time risk and expense of a foreclosure." The problem arises when a potential buyer low-balls an offer, Kelly said. "Short-sale buyers think they're going to get a terrific price," he said. "We believe they should get a fair price. The difference between those can sometimes be sizeable." Most mortgages serviced by JP-Morgan are owned by outside investors, he said. "If you do a short sale, it automatically means the investor is going to take a loss," he said. "So we have a legal obligation to minimize the loss of the investor who owns the loan." The servicer also is in the position of making sure the borrower is actually distressed and might end up in foreclosure, Kelly said. "If the house is worth less than you owe, but you can afford to pay for the loss, then you should pay for it," he said. Josh Brown, (757) 446-2318, josh.brown@pilotonline.com Source URL (retrieved on 05/13/2010 - 14:48): http://hamptonroads.com/2010/04/new-rules-may-help-homeowners-during-short-sale |
| Using iPods To Sell Homes: New Podcast Service for Real Estate Agents Launches |
November 15, 2005 -- David Lawrence, award winning network broadcaster and pod casting personality, unveiled a revolutionary pod casting"service bureau" for real estate agents today.Speaking at the Pod castand Portable Media Expo, in a session entitled Creating the Commercial Connection: Speaking to Vendors, Customers, and Consumers via Podcasting, Lawrence took the wraps off of http://NewHomePodcast.com, a powerful and elegant way for real estate professionals to reach home buyers via the power of pod casting."An agent can simply pick up the phone, talk with me for 10 minutes, and speak to potential clients about local real estate news, demystifying sometimes scary home buying terms and concepts, and walking us through their spotlight addresses,"Lawrence explained. "It all gets packaged in an easy to listen to,highly produced podcast that I host and that the real estate agent stars in." The podcast appears on both the New HomePodcast site and the agent's own home page.Within minutes of the recording session, is available to MP3 player-toting buyers, all hungry for any information on available homes in their desired area. "Those home buyers will also find a treasure trove of information at NewHomePodcast.com that will help them find the home of their dreams, and buy it with confidence,"said Lawrence. Agents reserve zip codes on a yearly basis, and air atleast one podcast per month. Lawrence noted, "Pod casting has changed the way people get information and entertainment in a very short time.When looking for a home in this highly competitive seller's market, any advantage a home buyer has can mean the difference between getting just the right home and months of further searching. For real estate agents, many of whom embraced the Web very early on, pod casting represents yet another way to communicate with savvy buyers and to increase their profile in the real estate community." http://NewHomePodcast is officially open for business, and has already has over 200 zip codes reserved by real estate professionals. Their first client, Javiera Garcia, said "I listen to David's radio show here in the [San Francisco Bay area, and was thrilled that he said yes to helping me out with my podcast." Lawrence noted that three listeners called within 24 hours wanting his services producing pod casts, and NewHomePodcast.com was born. |
