The US Government recently unveiled a website to inform struggling home owners of the government resources available to them. Home owners can find out answers like:
Can I refinance my house?
How do I request a loan modification?
Where do I go for help?
Do I qualify?
What lenders are participating?
Where can I apply?
How do I know if refinancing will improve my ability to stay in my home?
Get answers to these and other questions at
Check these 5 home trouble spots.
Don't let problems around the house turn into money drains. To help you protect your most valuable asset -- your home -- Consumer Reports suggests you should be on the lookout for these five potential issues and learn how to fix them:
1. Hazardous deck. Look for water stains where the deck ties to the house. Ongoing water leakage can lead to wood decay, weakening the deck structure and the house. If you have any doubt about the structural integrity of the deck, call a professional to investigate. Rid your deck of moss and mold with the help of pressure washers.
2. Dirty air conditioner. Disconnect electric power to the outdoor condenser on your air conditioner and clear it of leaves and debris with a vent brush, power blower, garden hose or the brush attachment on your vacuum cleaner. Vacuum the grille and register inside the home to ensure good airflow. And change your furnace filter.
3. Foundation fissures. Hairline cracks in foundation walls might be the result of concrete curing or minor settling and aren't automatically cause for alarm. Mark them with tape and check them again in a few months. If they've worsened, call a structural engineer. If they're stable, fill them with an epoxy-injection system. Also, fill in holes in siding and foundation walls with expandable foam. Check that the ground around the foundation slopes away from the house (about 1 inch per foot). Look for pellet-shaped droppings or shed wings from termites. Clear the area of leaves, in which rodents can nest.
4. Faulty garage-door opener. To check that the door is balanced, release it into the manual mode and lift it by hand. The door should lift easily and smoothly and stay open on its own about 3 feet off the ground. If it doesn't, hire a garage-door technician to counterbalance its overhead spring . Next, set the reversing force on the opener as low as possible. Place a 2x4 board on the ground under the door, wide side down. The door should pop back up when it hits the 2x4. If it doesn't, call a garage-door pro. Test the photoelectric eyes by holding the 2x4 between them. The door should reverse direction. If it doesn't, have it checked by a pro.
5. Leaky roof. Leaks typically occur around an inadequately flashed chimney, skylight or other opening. They're easiest to spot in the attic; inspect the rafters for water stains. Patching leaks is best left to a professional. While the contractor is on the roof, have him clean leaves from roof valleys. Examine the siding under roof eaves, and the ceilings in the rooms below, for water or discoloration, indications that ice dams might have created leaks along the roof edge.
Inspect the roof for cracked, curled or missing shingles. Asphalt shingles typically last 20 years.
 |
 |
 |
 |
 | |
|
|
INFO THAT HITS US WHERE WE LIVE Last Wednesday, the President signed an economic stimulus package with a provision that raises the conforming loan limit through the end of this year. Conforming loans can offer lower interest rates than jumbo loans. These higher limits for lower rate loans should bring more people into the market.
The new limits are calculated at 125% of the median home price in an area, with an upper cap of $729,750. Following that formula, the present $417,000 conforming limit will remain in markets where the median home price is $333,600 or less. The Federal Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has 30 days to publish median home price date for every area of the country. We need to wait for the HUD figures to know the limits for any market.
New facts on the housing situation. Studies of defaulted mortgages are showing that the number of people who bought homes as investments is far greater than anyone knew. Speculators often lied on loan applications, saying they intended to live in the homes in order to get better terms. These borrowers are now turning up on loans that default just months after origination.
A recent study looked at 45 subprime loans that defaulted in the first 12 months. In two thirds of the cases, borrowers never moved in, even though they said the home would be their residence. Investors are more likely to walk away when home prices decline.
| Christine Menker Senior Loan Officer |
|
|
|
|
|
1714 Deer Tracks Trail, Suite 225 |
THINGS ARE LOOKING UP AGAIN... To call this market hyper-volatile is truly an understatement. We began the week with a solid three-day rally that ended with the Dow up 178 points on Wednesday. Why? The economy continues to surprise on the upside. Instead of an expected decline, retail sales grew 0.3% in January. They're up 3.9% versus last year, 4.9% excluding autos. Does that sound like the death of the consumer? In addition, Coca-Cola and Applied Materials reported better than expected earnings. Other positive news: 65% of companies reporting earnings have beaten expectations, over 70% if you exclude financials.
TOP STORY: Gary Keller shares his vision for 2008Real Estate at the Crossroads: Choosing to Thrive
Recapping the shift in the real estate market at Family Reunion, Gary Keller, founder of Keller Williams Realty International, urged attendees to seize the current market to their advantage. Keller explained that the 10-year run-up in real estate that began in the early 1990s, led to an environment in which homes were no longer affordable, lenders were willing to take unreasonable risks and inventory rose to record levels.
This chain of events led to mortgage lenders pulling back, followed by a credit squeeze, increased inventory, dropping prices, rising defaults, slipping consumer confidence and reluctant buyers.
Viewing the market from another angle, Keller observed that since 1981, household incomes have increased by an average of 3.6 percent per year. During that same time period, U.S. home prices have increased by an average of 4.6 percent per year.
“Affordability is, and always will be, the primary real estate issue,” Keller emphasized. “As homes become less affordable, the number of qualified buyers declines. Rising inventories result in an eventual decrease in home prices.
Existing U.S. home sales in 2007 were down by 13 percent over the previous year, and down 20 percent from 2005, when they peaked at 7.1 million. The decrease in new home sales was even more dramatic – down 25 percent from 2006 and a two-year decrease of 37 percent.
NAR’s forecasts for 2007 were overly optimistic by an average of 9.4 percent, while the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) was overly pessimistic by an average of 8.8 percent in 2007.
Despite last year’s 13 percent decline in U.S. home sales, membership in the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR) dropped by only 1.4 percent. In the current market, there is approximately half the number of residential real estate sales per agent compared to 10 years ago. Noting that the correlation between home sales and NAR membership has historically been very strong, more competition for fewer available sales is expected to accelerate the trend of agents leaving the business in the near term.
Keller said that for agents who are determined to stand strong and build market share during the shift, opportunities are wide open. The key: “Become a productivity warrior and a market maker; know that there is enough available business for you to achieve your goals; and become the local economist of choice.”
74 percent of reported home-fire deaths result from fires in homes without working smoke alarms. This one is pretty simple: Get a smoke alarm and make sure it works. Nothing is more important than your family. You can replace your home, but this is a very small price to pay to keep your family safe.
More than 62 percent of home burglaries in 2005 took place between 6 a.m. and 6 p.m. (in which the time of the crime was known):
Six out of 10 people are being robbed while they're at work. However, there are steps you can take to ensure your home is protected when you're not there.
- A security system is a great place to start.
- If your neighborhood is prone to crime, form a neighborhood watch.
- Getting a dog can help you feel safe when you're home and an alarm when you aren't.
- Locked windows, bolted doors, and motion sensitive lights are mainstays if you don't already have them
