Even if you have a black thumb or hate to deal with gardening, colorful flowers can create a positive emotional impact on homebuyers and visitors to your home. They are inexpensive and easy, immediately enhancing your home's "curb appeal."
You can plant them in the ground, but it is actually easier to use an inexpensive redwood planter's box. Planter's boxes are rectangular in shape and fit nicely on a porch, patio, windowsill, or practically anywhere.
For the flowers, a splash of color is what is important.
Choose whatever appeals to you, but some flowers that are are colorful and easy to deal with are marigolds, pansies, snapdragons and alyssum. You can purchase them in trays of six for two to three dollars at most places.
If you want to do one-stop shopping, just step into your local Home Depot, Lowe's, or the local equivalent.
First, choose how many boxes you feel will help fill out the desired area. A typical box is two feet long, but they vary in size.
Second, you need the flowers. Marigolds are a bright yellow and vivid orange. Pansies are a variety of dark purple to pale violet. Snapdragons are taller and range from pink to blood red. Alyssum is used to fill out between the plants and have tiny white or purple flowers on a bed of green.
Third, get a bag of outdoor potting soil. If you don't know how much to buy, ask the customer service clerk who will love to help you.
Total cost: maybe ten dollars per box, plus the cost of the box.
All you do is fill up the box to the top with potting soil, tamp it down a little bit, make a hollow space using your fingers, pop the plant from the plastic tray and...plant it.
Repeat.
Plant the snapdragons in the back or middle, as they will be taller than the other flowers. Space in the pansies and marigolds using about twelve to fourteen total plants for each box (total combination of snapdragons, marigold and pansies).
Then take the alyssum and plant those in between the other plants so that everything looks full and green.
What you have is an "immediate" result, something that looks green, colorful, lush and full from the git-go. You don't have to wait weeks for a great-looking result.
After a few weeks, the flowers will grow taller, spread out, and the alyssum will begin to spill over the edges of the planter's box.
All of these plants like sunny areas to partial shade. It does not take a gardening genius to create a great effect. Use some plant food once every three weeks and water when things get dry.
If that isn't enough, buy a 12-inch wide clay pot and drop in an Inca Lily. Inca Lilies have large pinkish flowers and eventually grow into bushes about a foot and a half tall and wide. When you buy them at the nursery, they already have flowers, usually.
Once again, you get an immediate result - you don't have to wait around and can admire your work immediately.
Still not enough?
Get some Cyclamen in small pots. These have a base foliage of green and faintly white leaves, with red, pink, or white flowers that shoot up from the leaves. They look very nice, fit in smaller pots, and enjoy shady areas.
Why use planter's boxes and pots? Because it is less work, plus after you see the result, you'll want to take them with you. If you plant them in the ground and sell your house, they are "real estate" and must remain with the property.
This way, your new home looks "dressed up and accessorized" as soon as you move in.
Source: realestateabc.com
Tuesday, October 30, 2007
Monday, October 29, 2007
How to save on closing costs
Shop around before choosing a mortgage lender, but don't stop there. When you receive your good-faith estimate of closing costs, or GFE, the negotiation hasn't ended.
The lender or mortgage broker is required to give you a GFE within three working days of accepting your loan application. The GFE comes in the form of an itemized list of estimated closing costs for everything from the lender's fees to the appraisal charge to the title insurance premium to a partial month's interest payment.
The lender or broker charges some fees, and third parties charge others. The first step is to find out which are loan-origination fees and which are third-party fees. Don't guess. Ask the lender or broker.
The big money question
"Say, 'Please explain to me what those fees are,'" says Jessica Cecere, director of the Consumer Credit Counseling Service in West Palm Beach, Fla.
Simple advice, but a lot of loan applicants don't follow it.
On the GFE, fees are categorized by numerical codes ranging from the 800s to the 1300s. Most of the negotiable lender-charged fees are in the 800s: application, origination, commitment, loan discount, broker, tax-related service and underwriting fees.
Third-party fees
Fees charged by third parties are trickier to negotiate. A few third-party fees pop up in the 800s section of the GFE: those for the appraisal, credit report and inspection. The lender is supposed to pass along these charges without marking them up. Theoretically, they are negotiable and you can ask the lender to seek good deals on these three items and pass along the savings. In practice, you probably won't get a break on those services because the lender has contracted for them at a set price.
You can realize some of your biggest savings by negotiating the items in the 1100s section of the GFE: title insurance, title search, title exam, attorney's fees and settlement fees. Most borrowers use a title company recommended by the real-estate agent or lender. But you don't have to. You can shop for title insurance and settlement services, just as you shopped for the house and for the loan.
Be prepared for resistance. Some lenders have business affiliations with title companies, and they'll pressure you to keep the title work in-house.
Title insurance, settlement services
Where you shop for these title-insurance and settlement services depends on where you live, because different places have different ways of closing real-estate and mortgage transactions. In parts of the Northeast, closings are conducted in lawyers' offices. In some places, including Southern California, closings take place at escrow or mortgage companies. In much of the country, closings take place in the office of the agency that sells title insurance.
Government regulation can limit your negotiating room. In Texas, the state sets one overall fee for title insurance, title search and settlement services, so title agencies compete on service, not price. Regulations aren't as restrictive in most other states, and you could save hundreds of dollars in settlement services by shopping around.
"I think it's a matter of what the traffic will bear," says Bob Moulton, president of American Mortgage, a brokerage on Long Island, N.Y. He gives this tip: If you're refinancing your mortgage, and you've lived in the house less than 10 years, ask to get title insurance at a less-expensive "reissue rate."
And don't forget to shop for hazard insurance -- item No. 903 on the GFE. Compare offers for homeowners insurance policies, either on your own or with the help of an insurance agent. Make sure the insurance company and settlement agent communicate with each other. You're not going to get that mortgage without proof that you have a homeowner's policy. That requirement is not negotiable.
The lender or mortgage broker is required to give you a GFE within three working days of accepting your loan application. The GFE comes in the form of an itemized list of estimated closing costs for everything from the lender's fees to the appraisal charge to the title insurance premium to a partial month's interest payment.
The lender or broker charges some fees, and third parties charge others. The first step is to find out which are loan-origination fees and which are third-party fees. Don't guess. Ask the lender or broker.
The big money question
"Say, 'Please explain to me what those fees are,'" says Jessica Cecere, director of the Consumer Credit Counseling Service in West Palm Beach, Fla.
Simple advice, but a lot of loan applicants don't follow it.
On the GFE, fees are categorized by numerical codes ranging from the 800s to the 1300s. Most of the negotiable lender-charged fees are in the 800s: application, origination, commitment, loan discount, broker, tax-related service and underwriting fees.
Third-party fees
Fees charged by third parties are trickier to negotiate. A few third-party fees pop up in the 800s section of the GFE: those for the appraisal, credit report and inspection. The lender is supposed to pass along these charges without marking them up. Theoretically, they are negotiable and you can ask the lender to seek good deals on these three items and pass along the savings. In practice, you probably won't get a break on those services because the lender has contracted for them at a set price.
You can realize some of your biggest savings by negotiating the items in the 1100s section of the GFE: title insurance, title search, title exam, attorney's fees and settlement fees. Most borrowers use a title company recommended by the real-estate agent or lender. But you don't have to. You can shop for title insurance and settlement services, just as you shopped for the house and for the loan.
Be prepared for resistance. Some lenders have business affiliations with title companies, and they'll pressure you to keep the title work in-house.
Title insurance, settlement services
Where you shop for these title-insurance and settlement services depends on where you live, because different places have different ways of closing real-estate and mortgage transactions. In parts of the Northeast, closings are conducted in lawyers' offices. In some places, including Southern California, closings take place at escrow or mortgage companies. In much of the country, closings take place in the office of the agency that sells title insurance.
Government regulation can limit your negotiating room. In Texas, the state sets one overall fee for title insurance, title search and settlement services, so title agencies compete on service, not price. Regulations aren't as restrictive in most other states, and you could save hundreds of dollars in settlement services by shopping around.
"I think it's a matter of what the traffic will bear," says Bob Moulton, president of American Mortgage, a brokerage on Long Island, N.Y. He gives this tip: If you're refinancing your mortgage, and you've lived in the house less than 10 years, ask to get title insurance at a less-expensive "reissue rate."
And don't forget to shop for hazard insurance -- item No. 903 on the GFE. Compare offers for homeowners insurance policies, either on your own or with the help of an insurance agent. Make sure the insurance company and settlement agent communicate with each other. You're not going to get that mortgage without proof that you have a homeowner's policy. That requirement is not negotiable.
Thursday, October 25, 2007
October maintenance checklist
October is the first full month of fall; by the end of this month, most of your winterization should be completed. Falling leaves and dwindling daylight signal a final opportunity to do some outdoor organizing before winter settles in.
Repair roof shingles
Try to do this on a warm day if you have asphalt shingles on your roof, so the shingles will be flexible. Use roofing cement to seal cracked and torn shingles and to reattach curled shingles. Then tack down the damage further with galvanized roofing nails, and cover the exposed nail heads with roofing cement. Split wood shingles can be patched with roofing cement as well.
Repair siding
Do a fall siding inspection and remedy any problems you find. Look for damaged paint, warped or split wood, cracks or holes in stucco, and missing or slipped siding panels. Your repair tool kit will depend on what kind of siding you have: For example, wood siding may require wood putty, waterproof glue, nails and screws; stucco may require wire mesh, stucco patching compound, a trowel and a chisel. Most types of siding require a coating of sealant or primer, and paint to finish the repair and ensure waterproofing.
Reinforce windows
Replace your screens with storm windows. If your screens are dirty or damaged, repair and clean before storing them to prevent further deterioration. Light scrubbing followed by a blast from a hose will eliminate bird droppings and other grime. Small tears can be sewn up with thin wire. If you have older single-pane windows and no storm coverings, apply heat-shrink plastic to the inner or outer window frame to create an insulating air space and save heating expense.
Fire fluency
Make sure your damper is in good working order by opening and shutting it prior to lighting the first fire of the season. If you didn't clean your chimney at the end of the heating season, do it now -- especially if you burn soft woods, which release more creosote. Often the first indication that a chimney needs cleaning is a chimney fire, so preventive maintenance is important.
Detect deadly gas
If you heat your home with wood heat or a gas heater, a carbon-monoxide detector is a must. These devices look and sound like smoke detectors, but they detect carbon-monoxide gas instead. Units that plug into an outlet are also available.
Check batteries in smoke detectors
Late October or early November is when most states switch from daylight-saving to standard time. Get into the habit of checking smoke-detector batteries when you "fall back" and "spring ahead." Also make sure household fire extinguishers are fully pressurized and in good working order.
Close seasonal air conditioners
If you live in a place where air conditioners are used seasonally instead of year-round, this is a good month to close them down. Switch off power, make sure the condensate drain is clear, and clean condenser coils and filters (a vacuum will do). Either remove window units or cover them, to protect your home from drafts and the units from inclement weather.
Bleed air from radiators
Radiators can get air pockets in them when not in use. If air pockets stay, they will keep the unit from heating up to its full capacity. If your unit doesn't have automatic air valves, you need to bleed it prior to every heating season. To bleed air out, turn on the furnace and circulator and open the supply valve to the radiator. Find the bleeder valve (it's usually opposite the supply valve) and open it while holding a pan to it. Air should be released, followed by hot water (thus the pan). Close the valve as the water comes out. Lightly feel the radiator to make sure it is heated along its entire surface; if there are gaps, repeat the procedure.
Cut brush back from the house
Before stowing all of your gardening equipment for the winter, walk around your house with a weed whacker and a pair of pruners and cut back any brush, weeds or branches that contact your house. This task will eliminate a common access point for insects, rodents and rot. It will also keep branches and shrubs from scraping away at your siding during windstorms.
Watch those leaves
If you don't want the tannin in fall leaves to leave hard-to-clean imprints on your deck and concrete walkways, keep those surfaces leaf-free. If you do get some leaf prints, try a solution of half water and half bleach (test it first in an unobtrusive spot -- it may lighten the wood on your deck) or trisodium phosphate (commonly known as TSP) and warm water. Or, just leave the prints and consider them an artistic addition to your exterior look.
Store outdoor furniture
Scrub and store outdoor furniture; even furniture designed to stay out year-round will last longer if protected from extreme cold and wet. Store or cover your barbecue unless you cook with it all year. Empty and store large planters -- clay or terra-cotta units will crack if left out to freeze and thaw. Clean and store your gardening tools, but don't put them completely out of reach -- shovels are useful year-round.
Winterize external plumbing systems
This is the most important job of fall if you live in an area that freezes in the winter. The simple fact that water expands upon freezing has caused countless homeowners innumerable woes. Ignore this job and flooding, water damage and thousands of dollars worth of plumbing bills will be your constant winter companions.
Here's your to-do list:
Drain underground sprinkler systems.
Have outdoor pools drained and professionally serviced.
Drain exterior water pipes and any pipes that run through unheated areas (such as a garage, crawlspace or unheated porch). If draining these pipes isn't possible, wrap them with foam insulation or heat tape.
Cover exposed spigots with foam covers. Or, if cosmetics and ease of removal don't matter, wrap spigots in layers of newspaper, cover the newspaper with a plastic bag, and seal the whole affair with duct tape.
Drain and store garden hoses. Leave one hose and nozzle somewhere that's easily accessible; you'll need it for gutter cleaning and car washing.
Source: realestate.msn.com
Repair roof shingles
Try to do this on a warm day if you have asphalt shingles on your roof, so the shingles will be flexible. Use roofing cement to seal cracked and torn shingles and to reattach curled shingles. Then tack down the damage further with galvanized roofing nails, and cover the exposed nail heads with roofing cement. Split wood shingles can be patched with roofing cement as well.
Repair siding
Do a fall siding inspection and remedy any problems you find. Look for damaged paint, warped or split wood, cracks or holes in stucco, and missing or slipped siding panels. Your repair tool kit will depend on what kind of siding you have: For example, wood siding may require wood putty, waterproof glue, nails and screws; stucco may require wire mesh, stucco patching compound, a trowel and a chisel. Most types of siding require a coating of sealant or primer, and paint to finish the repair and ensure waterproofing.
Reinforce windows
Replace your screens with storm windows. If your screens are dirty or damaged, repair and clean before storing them to prevent further deterioration. Light scrubbing followed by a blast from a hose will eliminate bird droppings and other grime. Small tears can be sewn up with thin wire. If you have older single-pane windows and no storm coverings, apply heat-shrink plastic to the inner or outer window frame to create an insulating air space and save heating expense.
Fire fluency
Make sure your damper is in good working order by opening and shutting it prior to lighting the first fire of the season. If you didn't clean your chimney at the end of the heating season, do it now -- especially if you burn soft woods, which release more creosote. Often the first indication that a chimney needs cleaning is a chimney fire, so preventive maintenance is important.
Detect deadly gas
If you heat your home with wood heat or a gas heater, a carbon-monoxide detector is a must. These devices look and sound like smoke detectors, but they detect carbon-monoxide gas instead. Units that plug into an outlet are also available.
Check batteries in smoke detectors
Late October or early November is when most states switch from daylight-saving to standard time. Get into the habit of checking smoke-detector batteries when you "fall back" and "spring ahead." Also make sure household fire extinguishers are fully pressurized and in good working order.
Close seasonal air conditioners
If you live in a place where air conditioners are used seasonally instead of year-round, this is a good month to close them down. Switch off power, make sure the condensate drain is clear, and clean condenser coils and filters (a vacuum will do). Either remove window units or cover them, to protect your home from drafts and the units from inclement weather.
Bleed air from radiators
Radiators can get air pockets in them when not in use. If air pockets stay, they will keep the unit from heating up to its full capacity. If your unit doesn't have automatic air valves, you need to bleed it prior to every heating season. To bleed air out, turn on the furnace and circulator and open the supply valve to the radiator. Find the bleeder valve (it's usually opposite the supply valve) and open it while holding a pan to it. Air should be released, followed by hot water (thus the pan). Close the valve as the water comes out. Lightly feel the radiator to make sure it is heated along its entire surface; if there are gaps, repeat the procedure.
Cut brush back from the house
Before stowing all of your gardening equipment for the winter, walk around your house with a weed whacker and a pair of pruners and cut back any brush, weeds or branches that contact your house. This task will eliminate a common access point for insects, rodents and rot. It will also keep branches and shrubs from scraping away at your siding during windstorms.
Watch those leaves
If you don't want the tannin in fall leaves to leave hard-to-clean imprints on your deck and concrete walkways, keep those surfaces leaf-free. If you do get some leaf prints, try a solution of half water and half bleach (test it first in an unobtrusive spot -- it may lighten the wood on your deck) or trisodium phosphate (commonly known as TSP) and warm water. Or, just leave the prints and consider them an artistic addition to your exterior look.
Store outdoor furniture
Scrub and store outdoor furniture; even furniture designed to stay out year-round will last longer if protected from extreme cold and wet. Store or cover your barbecue unless you cook with it all year. Empty and store large planters -- clay or terra-cotta units will crack if left out to freeze and thaw. Clean and store your gardening tools, but don't put them completely out of reach -- shovels are useful year-round.
Winterize external plumbing systems
This is the most important job of fall if you live in an area that freezes in the winter. The simple fact that water expands upon freezing has caused countless homeowners innumerable woes. Ignore this job and flooding, water damage and thousands of dollars worth of plumbing bills will be your constant winter companions.
Here's your to-do list:
Drain underground sprinkler systems.
Have outdoor pools drained and professionally serviced.
Drain exterior water pipes and any pipes that run through unheated areas (such as a garage, crawlspace or unheated porch). If draining these pipes isn't possible, wrap them with foam insulation or heat tape.
Cover exposed spigots with foam covers. Or, if cosmetics and ease of removal don't matter, wrap spigots in layers of newspaper, cover the newspaper with a plastic bag, and seal the whole affair with duct tape.
Drain and store garden hoses. Leave one hose and nozzle somewhere that's easily accessible; you'll need it for gutter cleaning and car washing.
Source: realestate.msn.com
Wednesday, October 24, 2007
Buying a Home With Resale Value - the House
Buying a Home With a View
Homes with a pleasant view of the horizon often sell at a premium above similar homes without the view. However, if a view is important to you, buy it mostly for your own pleasure and not as an investment. Though you may place a considerable dollar value on the view, future buyers may not be so like-minded. It may take you longer to find a buyer when it comes time to resell the house. Or you may end up dropping your price to more nearly match other sales prices in the neighborhood.
In short, if you are buying a house with a view, try to pay as little extra as possible. Otherwise, you might not get your money back.
Lot and Landscaping
Even though most real estate value is usually concentrated in the building, the lot is important, too. Obviously, it should be as level as possible. Assuming the property is in a typical neighborhood, the lot should be rectangular – no odd shaped lots or oddly situated lots.
Yard sizes are smaller in modern homes than in older homes, but there should still be a decently sized front and back yard. Do not buy a house where the entire back yard is taken up by a swimming pool, for example.
Do not purchase an over-landscaped property, either. You would normally pay a premium for that, which you may not be able to recover when you sell. You will get your best value if the house is moderately landscaped or under-landscaped for the area. You can always improve the landscaping during your ownership by improving the grass and adding bushes and trees. Just do not spend too much.
House Size
In each residential neighborhood, houses will vary in size and rooms, but they should not be too different. If resale value is an important consideration, you should not buy the largest model in the neighborhood. When determining market value, the homes nearest to yours are most important. If most of the nearby houses are smaller than your house, they can act as a drag on appreciation.
On the other hand, if you buy a small or medium house for the neighborhood, the larger homes can help pull up your value. This is one of those times where determining your "wants" versus your "needs" can be extremely important. Buying what you need in a more prestigious neighborhood may provide more financial reward than getting what you want in a less desirable neighborhood.
Bedrooms and Bathrooms
Three and four bedroom houses are the most popular among homebuyers, so if you can stick in that range you will have more potential buyers when it comes time to resell. Five is okay, too, as long as you do not have to pay too much extra for the additional bedroom.
There should always be at least two bathrooms in a house, preferably at least two and a half. One bathroom with a place to wash up for day-to-day visitors, one for the master bedroom, and at least one to be shared by the other bedrooms.
Closets, Garages, and Laundry
Walk-in closets are extremely desirable for the master bedroom. For the rest of the house, just be sure there is plenty of closet space. Don’t forget space for linens and towels.
Garages add to the resale value and you should always make sure to get at least a two-car garage. Lately, three-car garages have become desirable in some areas of the country.
The laundry facilities should be located somewhere convenient on the main floor of the house, but not in a place it will create an eyesore. Think about whether you want to walk up and down stairs when carrying loads of laundry.
The Kitchen
Family activity centers around the kitchen, so this is the most important room of the house. Larger kitchens are better, and they should be provided with modern appliances. Obviously, the dining room and breakfast nook should be located adjacent to the kitchen. In newer houses, the family room should also be extremely close to the kitchen.
There should be easy access to the back yard, as there will be occasions for barbecues and outdoor entertaining. In addition, it should be a short trek between the garage to the kitchen so hauling groceries in from the car does not become a horrendous chore.
Fireplaces
The only room where you absolutely have to have a fireplace is the family room. A fireplace in the living room may be nice, but you pay extra for it and will probably rarely use it. At best, it serves as a focal point of the living room, but does not add much in real value.
Swimming Pools
Swimming pools do not provide as much added value as they once did. Safety issues about families with younger children have become more publicized than in the past, so families with small children tend to avoid homes with pools. As a result, having a pool may actually reduce the number of potential homebuyers when you try to resell the home.
Buy a home with a pool for your own enjoyment, not as an investment.
Since we are on the subject of swimming pools, here is a word of advice: If you want a pool, buy a home that already has a pool. Paying a contractor to install one for you is like throwing money away. You will never get a dollar-for-dollar return on your investment.
Homes with a pleasant view of the horizon often sell at a premium above similar homes without the view. However, if a view is important to you, buy it mostly for your own pleasure and not as an investment. Though you may place a considerable dollar value on the view, future buyers may not be so like-minded. It may take you longer to find a buyer when it comes time to resell the house. Or you may end up dropping your price to more nearly match other sales prices in the neighborhood.
In short, if you are buying a house with a view, try to pay as little extra as possible. Otherwise, you might not get your money back.
Lot and Landscaping
Even though most real estate value is usually concentrated in the building, the lot is important, too. Obviously, it should be as level as possible. Assuming the property is in a typical neighborhood, the lot should be rectangular – no odd shaped lots or oddly situated lots.
Yard sizes are smaller in modern homes than in older homes, but there should still be a decently sized front and back yard. Do not buy a house where the entire back yard is taken up by a swimming pool, for example.
Do not purchase an over-landscaped property, either. You would normally pay a premium for that, which you may not be able to recover when you sell. You will get your best value if the house is moderately landscaped or under-landscaped for the area. You can always improve the landscaping during your ownership by improving the grass and adding bushes and trees. Just do not spend too much.
House Size
In each residential neighborhood, houses will vary in size and rooms, but they should not be too different. If resale value is an important consideration, you should not buy the largest model in the neighborhood. When determining market value, the homes nearest to yours are most important. If most of the nearby houses are smaller than your house, they can act as a drag on appreciation.
On the other hand, if you buy a small or medium house for the neighborhood, the larger homes can help pull up your value. This is one of those times where determining your "wants" versus your "needs" can be extremely important. Buying what you need in a more prestigious neighborhood may provide more financial reward than getting what you want in a less desirable neighborhood.
Bedrooms and Bathrooms
Three and four bedroom houses are the most popular among homebuyers, so if you can stick in that range you will have more potential buyers when it comes time to resell. Five is okay, too, as long as you do not have to pay too much extra for the additional bedroom.
There should always be at least two bathrooms in a house, preferably at least two and a half. One bathroom with a place to wash up for day-to-day visitors, one for the master bedroom, and at least one to be shared by the other bedrooms.
Closets, Garages, and Laundry
Walk-in closets are extremely desirable for the master bedroom. For the rest of the house, just be sure there is plenty of closet space. Don’t forget space for linens and towels.
Garages add to the resale value and you should always make sure to get at least a two-car garage. Lately, three-car garages have become desirable in some areas of the country.
The laundry facilities should be located somewhere convenient on the main floor of the house, but not in a place it will create an eyesore. Think about whether you want to walk up and down stairs when carrying loads of laundry.
The Kitchen
Family activity centers around the kitchen, so this is the most important room of the house. Larger kitchens are better, and they should be provided with modern appliances. Obviously, the dining room and breakfast nook should be located adjacent to the kitchen. In newer houses, the family room should also be extremely close to the kitchen.
There should be easy access to the back yard, as there will be occasions for barbecues and outdoor entertaining. In addition, it should be a short trek between the garage to the kitchen so hauling groceries in from the car does not become a horrendous chore.
Fireplaces
The only room where you absolutely have to have a fireplace is the family room. A fireplace in the living room may be nice, but you pay extra for it and will probably rarely use it. At best, it serves as a focal point of the living room, but does not add much in real value.
Swimming Pools
Swimming pools do not provide as much added value as they once did. Safety issues about families with younger children have become more publicized than in the past, so families with small children tend to avoid homes with pools. As a result, having a pool may actually reduce the number of potential homebuyers when you try to resell the home.
Buy a home with a pool for your own enjoyment, not as an investment.
Since we are on the subject of swimming pools, here is a word of advice: If you want a pool, buy a home that already has a pool. Paying a contractor to install one for you is like throwing money away. You will never get a dollar-for-dollar return on your investment.
Tuesday, October 23, 2007
Reinventing the family room
The hottest new thing in homes is a computer room with stations for parents and children. It's not without problems -- would you believe noisy kids and snooping parents? -- but it has increased family time.
The Lucido family used to spend a lot of weekday time apart -- kids in the toy room, mom Kelli working upstairs. So when they moved to a new house in Oakville, Mo., in December, Lucido says she came up with a fix: a whole-family home office, with mom-and-me desks and a new laptop for her 7-year-old. It's the "heart of the house," she says.
In an effort to eke out more quality time, some families are designing group home offices in which parents and kids can work together. Some are renovating existing rooms, installing desks and adding laptop ports for every member of the family, while others are ordering them as custom-built options in new homes. In its new Menifee, Calif., development, Capital Pacific Homes has a model outfitted with an "education space"; the bright-yellow room can fit up to eight stools and has desks that adjust to adult and kid heights.
Results are mixed. Some families say the shared workspaces help facilitate intergenerational bonding, with parents learning about YouTube and kids getting their first taste of Excel spreadsheets. But others say the new spaces are counterproductive -- after all, it isn't easy talking to clients when your kids are doing vocabulary drills in the background. And kids say it's hard to concentrate with parents interrupting their Web searches to give them unsolicited grammar lessons.
For Shannon and Fred Converse of Norwalk, Conn., a shared office has meant more time with their 13-year-old twins -- and more noise when they're trying to work. Since they converted their formal dining room into a space for everyone to work in together, the Converses say they've gotten to know each other a lot better. But when the parents, who own a tutoring business, are on the phone with clients, Eli and Jacob often erupt into cheers over computer-game victories, creating a "kind of hairy" situation, Shannon Converse says.
Eli says his parents can be a distraction, too: He recently wrote out a homework assignment, only to discover he had inadvertently copied down a transcript of his father's phone conversation instead of the schoolwork. Now, he tries to do at least some of his homework in his bedroom. "It's a lot quieter there," he says.
Interior designers say the family home office is in part a backlash against the McMansion-fueled sprawl in recent years that ceded separate bathrooms, libraries and entire wings of the house to children -- essentially cutting them off from the rest of the family. In a September survey by the American Institute of Architects, the shared office was named the most popular "special-function room," with home theaters second.
But in a BlackBerry world, it's also a way for parents who take their work home with them to not lose touch with -- or sight of -- their kids. About 20 million people did some work from home in 2004, with about half simply taking work home from the office, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Nancy Stack says she and her two teenage daughters spend hours some evenings in their family's Corona del Mar, Calif., home office, with three computers, two printers, custom workstations for the girls and a mahogany desk for Nancy Stack.
Nancy Stack uses the room to make conference calls to doctors and researchers for the nonprofit foundation she runs; 10th-grade Natalie is studying European history and 17-year-old Alex is researching saints for a religion course.
While she says the arrangement has "brought us closer together," she says it has also led to some tensions. When her older daughter started updating a MySpace page in the office, Nancy Stack objected to language and pictures other users posted on the networking site -- and banned her kids from using it. Without the room, Nancy Stack says, she "wouldn't have known about it."
Source: realestate.msn.com
The Lucido family used to spend a lot of weekday time apart -- kids in the toy room, mom Kelli working upstairs. So when they moved to a new house in Oakville, Mo., in December, Lucido says she came up with a fix: a whole-family home office, with mom-and-me desks and a new laptop for her 7-year-old. It's the "heart of the house," she says.
In an effort to eke out more quality time, some families are designing group home offices in which parents and kids can work together. Some are renovating existing rooms, installing desks and adding laptop ports for every member of the family, while others are ordering them as custom-built options in new homes. In its new Menifee, Calif., development, Capital Pacific Homes has a model outfitted with an "education space"; the bright-yellow room can fit up to eight stools and has desks that adjust to adult and kid heights.
Results are mixed. Some families say the shared workspaces help facilitate intergenerational bonding, with parents learning about YouTube and kids getting their first taste of Excel spreadsheets. But others say the new spaces are counterproductive -- after all, it isn't easy talking to clients when your kids are doing vocabulary drills in the background. And kids say it's hard to concentrate with parents interrupting their Web searches to give them unsolicited grammar lessons.
For Shannon and Fred Converse of Norwalk, Conn., a shared office has meant more time with their 13-year-old twins -- and more noise when they're trying to work. Since they converted their formal dining room into a space for everyone to work in together, the Converses say they've gotten to know each other a lot better. But when the parents, who own a tutoring business, are on the phone with clients, Eli and Jacob often erupt into cheers over computer-game victories, creating a "kind of hairy" situation, Shannon Converse says.
Eli says his parents can be a distraction, too: He recently wrote out a homework assignment, only to discover he had inadvertently copied down a transcript of his father's phone conversation instead of the schoolwork. Now, he tries to do at least some of his homework in his bedroom. "It's a lot quieter there," he says.
Interior designers say the family home office is in part a backlash against the McMansion-fueled sprawl in recent years that ceded separate bathrooms, libraries and entire wings of the house to children -- essentially cutting them off from the rest of the family. In a September survey by the American Institute of Architects, the shared office was named the most popular "special-function room," with home theaters second.
But in a BlackBerry world, it's also a way for parents who take their work home with them to not lose touch with -- or sight of -- their kids. About 20 million people did some work from home in 2004, with about half simply taking work home from the office, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Nancy Stack says she and her two teenage daughters spend hours some evenings in their family's Corona del Mar, Calif., home office, with three computers, two printers, custom workstations for the girls and a mahogany desk for Nancy Stack.
Nancy Stack uses the room to make conference calls to doctors and researchers for the nonprofit foundation she runs; 10th-grade Natalie is studying European history and 17-year-old Alex is researching saints for a religion course.
While she says the arrangement has "brought us closer together," she says it has also led to some tensions. When her older daughter started updating a MySpace page in the office, Nancy Stack objected to language and pictures other users posted on the networking site -- and banned her kids from using it. Without the room, Nancy Stack says, she "wouldn't have known about it."
Source: realestate.msn.com
Monday, October 22, 2007
How to hire a good home contractor
Increasing your property value often entails remodeling. Whether you have a fixer-upper or a great house that you plan to stay in indefinitely, you'll probably hire a contractor sooner or later to finish the basement, remodel the kitchen, or renovate other rooms.
Decisions on home improvement should be made in a judicious manner. If you want to recoup your investment, choose projects that are likely to add value to your home, such as a new kitchen or an extra bathroom. Although it's tempting to hire the contractor who submits the lowest bid, there are other factors to consider:
Experience. The failure of most fledgling contractors can be blamed on poor work habits and shoddy business practices, according to the Small Business Administration. Choose a contractor with a minimum of five years of experience.
License. Most contractors are licensed by the state. While a license alone doesn't guarantee an excellent contractor, it is one way to weed out unlicensed amateurs. Some states also record complaints filed against contractors—you can look these up using the contractor's license number.
Bank account. A contractor with five years of experience and a solid record of bank deposits will, in all probability, stay in business long enough to complete your project. It also indicates that the contractor has sufficient capital and doesn't need your business to pay this month's bills.
Insurance. The contractor should carry workers' compensation and general liability insurance. Lack of insurance could leave you liable for any injuries suffered on the job. Get copies of policies from the contractor's insurance company.
Workmanship. Many contractors carry photo books to show samples of their work. But the only way to judge the workmanship is through an on-site inspection. Ask the contractor for names of recent clients, and arrange to examine projects similar to yours.
Teamwork. The best contractors are those who care about the project as much as you do, and who can work around your schedule and your household's routines. If you want to be involved in every decision, hire a contractor who's comfortable with close supervision. If you want to leave the details to an expert, hire a contractor whose decisions you will trust.
The art of the bid
After you have selected several candidates for the project, the next step is to get bids from the contractors. To get comparable bids for the project, write out your project's specifications, including sample building materials and fixtures, and make copies for each contractor submitting a bid. The more detailed the specifications, the easier it will be to compare bids because all the contractors will be using the same fixtures and materials in their cost breakdown.
Project Specifications
You may want to hire a designer to create project specifications if you're not comfortable doing them yourself. Specifications for a kitchen remodeling project, for example, might include cabinets, flooring, sinks, faucets, appliances, countertops, doors, windows, and any custom carpentry specifications, such as built-in shelves.
Cost Breakdown
Most contractors have their own breakdown sheets, but you can also provide one to make comparing bids easier:
Expenses. Itemize tasks such as subcontractor bids, building permits, and finish carpentry.
Materials. Specify the costs of all building materials.
Fixtures. List the costs of all fixtures to be installed.
Labor. Calculate the cost of labor. (Note that subcontractor labor should be included under Expenses.)
Total. Add the totals from the four categories (expenses, materials, fixtures, labor) to arrive at an estimated bid.
Source: realestate.msn.com
Decisions on home improvement should be made in a judicious manner. If you want to recoup your investment, choose projects that are likely to add value to your home, such as a new kitchen or an extra bathroom. Although it's tempting to hire the contractor who submits the lowest bid, there are other factors to consider:
Experience. The failure of most fledgling contractors can be blamed on poor work habits and shoddy business practices, according to the Small Business Administration. Choose a contractor with a minimum of five years of experience.
License. Most contractors are licensed by the state. While a license alone doesn't guarantee an excellent contractor, it is one way to weed out unlicensed amateurs. Some states also record complaints filed against contractors—you can look these up using the contractor's license number.
Bank account. A contractor with five years of experience and a solid record of bank deposits will, in all probability, stay in business long enough to complete your project. It also indicates that the contractor has sufficient capital and doesn't need your business to pay this month's bills.
Insurance. The contractor should carry workers' compensation and general liability insurance. Lack of insurance could leave you liable for any injuries suffered on the job. Get copies of policies from the contractor's insurance company.
Workmanship. Many contractors carry photo books to show samples of their work. But the only way to judge the workmanship is through an on-site inspection. Ask the contractor for names of recent clients, and arrange to examine projects similar to yours.
Teamwork. The best contractors are those who care about the project as much as you do, and who can work around your schedule and your household's routines. If you want to be involved in every decision, hire a contractor who's comfortable with close supervision. If you want to leave the details to an expert, hire a contractor whose decisions you will trust.
The art of the bid
After you have selected several candidates for the project, the next step is to get bids from the contractors. To get comparable bids for the project, write out your project's specifications, including sample building materials and fixtures, and make copies for each contractor submitting a bid. The more detailed the specifications, the easier it will be to compare bids because all the contractors will be using the same fixtures and materials in their cost breakdown.
Project Specifications
You may want to hire a designer to create project specifications if you're not comfortable doing them yourself. Specifications for a kitchen remodeling project, for example, might include cabinets, flooring, sinks, faucets, appliances, countertops, doors, windows, and any custom carpentry specifications, such as built-in shelves.
Cost Breakdown
Most contractors have their own breakdown sheets, but you can also provide one to make comparing bids easier:
Expenses. Itemize tasks such as subcontractor bids, building permits, and finish carpentry.
Materials. Specify the costs of all building materials.
Fixtures. List the costs of all fixtures to be installed.
Labor. Calculate the cost of labor. (Note that subcontractor labor should be included under Expenses.)
Total. Add the totals from the four categories (expenses, materials, fixtures, labor) to arrive at an estimated bid.
Source: realestate.msn.com
Saturday, October 20, 2007
First Steps for First-Time Buyers
In his 1990 book Washington Homes, author and real estate broker Jim Stacey claims that there are three stages for the first-time home buyer: contemplation, comparison and commitment. He urges prospective buyers to get through the first stage on their own, with the help of friends and family members. The road between contemplation and being ready to commit to buying a house is arduous and emotional, and Stacey has learned that the best use of a broker's time and skills is to enter the fray after buyers have done some preliminary footwork.
Part of this background work is figuring out whether you're ready to be a homeowner—financially, psychologically and emotionally. First, make sure your credit record will appeal to a lender. If you have doubts, get a copy of your credit report in advance. (You can do this online for free at ConsumerInfo.com and other Web sites). If your credit history is less than shiny, you're probably better off renting while you buy down your debts and polish up your record.
Figuring Out What You Want
No matter how well you can picture your dream house and communicate your ideal to a Realtor, the house you finally fall in love with may have little resemblance to the image you started out with. But you have to begin somewhere, and a detailed wish list is a great head start. Let's say your wish list looks like this, in order of priority:
Two bedrooms, two baths
Safe, quiet neighborhood
Garden
Ability to add on
No major repairs needed
Near close friends or family members
Close to downtown
Craftsman-style detached home
Lots of natural daylight
Parking
Good investment with excellent resale potential
Affordable property taxes
Neighborhood matches family personality, culturally and politically
Enclosed laundry area
Walk-in closet in master bedroom
Storage space for sports equipment
Gas hookup for stove
Back deck or patio
Close to work, schools, church
Finished basement for office or guest room
No threat of commercial encroachment
Within 1/2 hour of the airport
Hardwood floors
French doors leading to backyard
Close to public transportation
Now, how would the list change if you had to settle for only 10 of your wishes in your price range? If you had to narrow it to five, would your top priorities be different? When you start looking at houses, this information will be invaluable to a Realtor as he or she matches your requirements to available houses.
What Can You Afford?
Every market is different, but the first step to answering this question is finding out what you can pay on a monthly basis after you've made your down payment—5, 10 or 20 percent of the asking price of the house.
Visit a loan officer. The best way to learn what you can afford is to get prequalified for a loan. Your Realtor may recommend someone or you can just walk into the office of a local lender. Prequalifying won't cost you anything, except a probable sales pitch, since the lender would like your business when you're ready to apply for a loan. You'll walk away with a good idea of how your income, assets and liabilities translate into what you can afford, and it can also help your chances of beating out the competition in a sellers market (where there are more buyers than houses on the market).
Do the math. You can also do a simple calculation on your own. Broker wisdom says that monthly payments should be 25 to 33 percent of your monthly gross income. To calculate: Take your monthly income before taxes, including all sources, and divide it by four. Subtract from this figure the total amount you pay per month in debts (loans, charge accounts and the like). The result is the lower end of what you can reasonably afford to pay on a monthly basis. After deducting monthly homeowners insurance (say, $50 per month) and property tax payments ($100), you'll see approximately what you can afford for your monthly loan payment. To calculate the higher end, divide by three instead of four.
To find out how this translates in terms of house pricing, multiply your final total above by 12 (months) and then divide that number by the average interest rate on loans today—say, 7 percent. The result is the approximate market you'll be focusing on.
Additional costs. Keep in mind that in addition to the purchase price you'll need extra cash for closing costs (including points and fees), inspection and future expenses. All in all, to get through closing—meaning, once you've signed the last remaining paper after agreeing on price and terms with the seller—the cost will typically be 2 to 7 percent more than the agreed-upon selling price. If you calculate that from the middle zone, at 4.5 percent, a $200,000 house will cost $209,000 to purchase. Be sure to consider annual property taxes and repairs (predictable and unexpected).
Take heart in knowing that most first-time buyers are simply getting into the market. Your dream house may be two or three houses into the future, so don't feel like you have to spend every penny you can afford if it means trading off some cherished freedom.
Starting the House Hunt
Now that you have an idea of what you can afford, you can focus on whether you're in the market for a condominium, co-op, townhouse, single-family detached home or—hey, it happens—a mansion that will accommodate 20 of your closest friends. Begin interviewing Realtors based on recommendations. A great Realtor can educate you about what to look for and avoid, provide reliable references for other experts you'll need along the line—such as lenders and inspectors—and represent you in negotiations and at closing. It definitely pays to shop around.
Now you're ready for the fun stuff: pounding the pavement. Go to as many open houses as you can stand, even at times your broker isn't available, and then go to another. (Just be sure to sign in under your broker's name.) In the neighborhoods you're considering, include some homes you know you can't afford and some priced below your means. Think of it as leveling out your learning curve.
Talk to friends and family about their buying experiences. People are often surprisingly open about what they've learned about financing, construction—and even themselves—in the course of buying their first house.
And finally, if there are times when you just can't bear to see another overpriced house with kelly-green shag carpet, take a day off—and remind yourself that someday you'll know it was all worthwhile.
Source: realestate.msn.com
Part of this background work is figuring out whether you're ready to be a homeowner—financially, psychologically and emotionally. First, make sure your credit record will appeal to a lender. If you have doubts, get a copy of your credit report in advance. (You can do this online for free at ConsumerInfo.com and other Web sites). If your credit history is less than shiny, you're probably better off renting while you buy down your debts and polish up your record.
Figuring Out What You Want
No matter how well you can picture your dream house and communicate your ideal to a Realtor, the house you finally fall in love with may have little resemblance to the image you started out with. But you have to begin somewhere, and a detailed wish list is a great head start. Let's say your wish list looks like this, in order of priority:
Two bedrooms, two baths
Safe, quiet neighborhood
Garden
Ability to add on
No major repairs needed
Near close friends or family members
Close to downtown
Craftsman-style detached home
Lots of natural daylight
Parking
Good investment with excellent resale potential
Affordable property taxes
Neighborhood matches family personality, culturally and politically
Enclosed laundry area
Walk-in closet in master bedroom
Storage space for sports equipment
Gas hookup for stove
Back deck or patio
Close to work, schools, church
Finished basement for office or guest room
No threat of commercial encroachment
Within 1/2 hour of the airport
Hardwood floors
French doors leading to backyard
Close to public transportation
Now, how would the list change if you had to settle for only 10 of your wishes in your price range? If you had to narrow it to five, would your top priorities be different? When you start looking at houses, this information will be invaluable to a Realtor as he or she matches your requirements to available houses.
What Can You Afford?
Every market is different, but the first step to answering this question is finding out what you can pay on a monthly basis after you've made your down payment—5, 10 or 20 percent of the asking price of the house.
Visit a loan officer. The best way to learn what you can afford is to get prequalified for a loan. Your Realtor may recommend someone or you can just walk into the office of a local lender. Prequalifying won't cost you anything, except a probable sales pitch, since the lender would like your business when you're ready to apply for a loan. You'll walk away with a good idea of how your income, assets and liabilities translate into what you can afford, and it can also help your chances of beating out the competition in a sellers market (where there are more buyers than houses on the market).
Do the math. You can also do a simple calculation on your own. Broker wisdom says that monthly payments should be 25 to 33 percent of your monthly gross income. To calculate: Take your monthly income before taxes, including all sources, and divide it by four. Subtract from this figure the total amount you pay per month in debts (loans, charge accounts and the like). The result is the lower end of what you can reasonably afford to pay on a monthly basis. After deducting monthly homeowners insurance (say, $50 per month) and property tax payments ($100), you'll see approximately what you can afford for your monthly loan payment. To calculate the higher end, divide by three instead of four.
To find out how this translates in terms of house pricing, multiply your final total above by 12 (months) and then divide that number by the average interest rate on loans today—say, 7 percent. The result is the approximate market you'll be focusing on.
Additional costs. Keep in mind that in addition to the purchase price you'll need extra cash for closing costs (including points and fees), inspection and future expenses. All in all, to get through closing—meaning, once you've signed the last remaining paper after agreeing on price and terms with the seller—the cost will typically be 2 to 7 percent more than the agreed-upon selling price. If you calculate that from the middle zone, at 4.5 percent, a $200,000 house will cost $209,000 to purchase. Be sure to consider annual property taxes and repairs (predictable and unexpected).
Take heart in knowing that most first-time buyers are simply getting into the market. Your dream house may be two or three houses into the future, so don't feel like you have to spend every penny you can afford if it means trading off some cherished freedom.
Starting the House Hunt
Now that you have an idea of what you can afford, you can focus on whether you're in the market for a condominium, co-op, townhouse, single-family detached home or—hey, it happens—a mansion that will accommodate 20 of your closest friends. Begin interviewing Realtors based on recommendations. A great Realtor can educate you about what to look for and avoid, provide reliable references for other experts you'll need along the line—such as lenders and inspectors—and represent you in negotiations and at closing. It definitely pays to shop around.
Now you're ready for the fun stuff: pounding the pavement. Go to as many open houses as you can stand, even at times your broker isn't available, and then go to another. (Just be sure to sign in under your broker's name.) In the neighborhoods you're considering, include some homes you know you can't afford and some priced below your means. Think of it as leveling out your learning curve.
Talk to friends and family about their buying experiences. People are often surprisingly open about what they've learned about financing, construction—and even themselves—in the course of buying their first house.
And finally, if there are times when you just can't bear to see another overpriced house with kelly-green shag carpet, take a day off—and remind yourself that someday you'll know it was all worthwhile.
Source: realestate.msn.com
Friday, October 19, 2007
How to save on closing costs
Shop around before choosing a mortgage lender, but don't stop there. When you receive your good-faith estimate of closing costs, or GFE, the negotiation hasn't ended.
The lender or mortgage broker is required to give you a GFE within three working days of accepting your loan application. The GFE comes in the form of an itemized list of estimated closing costs for everything from the lender's fees to the appraisal charge to the title insurance premium to a partial month's interest payment.
The lender or broker charges some fees, and third parties charge others. The first step is to find out which are loan-origination fees and which are third-party fees. Don't guess. Ask the lender or broker.
The big money question
"Say, 'Please explain to me what those fees are,'" says Jessica Cecere, director of the Consumer Credit Counseling Service in West Palm Beach, Fla.
Simple advice, but a lot of loan applicants don't follow it.
On the GFE, fees are categorized by numerical codes ranging from the 800s to the 1300s. Most of the negotiable lender-charged fees are in the 800s: application, origination, commitment, loan discount, broker, tax-related service and underwriting fees.
Third-party fees
Fees charged by third parties are trickier to negotiate. A few third-party fees pop up in the 800s section of the GFE: those for the appraisal, credit report and inspection. The lender is supposed to pass along these charges without marking them up. Theoretically, they are negotiable and you can ask the lender to seek good deals on these three items and pass along the savings. In practice, you probably won't get a break on those services because the lender has contracted for them at a set price.
You can realize some of your biggest savings by negotiating the items in the 1100s section of the GFE: title insurance, title search, title exam, attorney's fees and settlement fees. Most borrowers use a title company recommended by the real-estate agent or lender. But you don't have to. You can shop for title insurance and settlement services, just as you shopped for the house and for the loan.
Be prepared for resistance. Some lenders have business affiliations with title companies, and they'll pressure you to keep the title work in-house.
Title insurance, settlement services
Where you shop for these title-insurance and settlement services depends on where you live, because different places have different ways of closing real-estate and mortgage transactions. In parts of the Northeast, closings are conducted in lawyers' offices. In some places, including Southern California, closings take place at escrow or mortgage companies. In much of the country, closings take place in the office of the agency that sells title insurance.
Government regulation can limit your negotiating room. In Texas, the state sets one overall fee for title insurance, title search and settlement services, so title agencies compete on service, not price. Regulations aren't as restrictive in most other states, and you could save hundreds of dollars in settlement services by shopping around.
"I think it's a matter of what the traffic will bear," says Bob Moulton, president of American Mortgage, a brokerage on Long Island, N.Y. He gives this tip: If you're refinancing your mortgage, and you've lived in the house less than 10 years, ask to get title insurance at a less-expensive "reissue rate."
And don't forget to shop for hazard insurance -- item No. 903 on the GFE. Compare offers for homeowners insurance policies, either on your own or with the help of an insurance agent. Make sure the insurance company and settlement agent communicate with each other. You're not going to get that mortgage without proof that you have a homeowner's policy. That requirement is not negotiable.
Source: realestate.msn.com
The lender or mortgage broker is required to give you a GFE within three working days of accepting your loan application. The GFE comes in the form of an itemized list of estimated closing costs for everything from the lender's fees to the appraisal charge to the title insurance premium to a partial month's interest payment.
The lender or broker charges some fees, and third parties charge others. The first step is to find out which are loan-origination fees and which are third-party fees. Don't guess. Ask the lender or broker.
The big money question
"Say, 'Please explain to me what those fees are,'" says Jessica Cecere, director of the Consumer Credit Counseling Service in West Palm Beach, Fla.
Simple advice, but a lot of loan applicants don't follow it.
On the GFE, fees are categorized by numerical codes ranging from the 800s to the 1300s. Most of the negotiable lender-charged fees are in the 800s: application, origination, commitment, loan discount, broker, tax-related service and underwriting fees.
Third-party fees
Fees charged by third parties are trickier to negotiate. A few third-party fees pop up in the 800s section of the GFE: those for the appraisal, credit report and inspection. The lender is supposed to pass along these charges without marking them up. Theoretically, they are negotiable and you can ask the lender to seek good deals on these three items and pass along the savings. In practice, you probably won't get a break on those services because the lender has contracted for them at a set price.
You can realize some of your biggest savings by negotiating the items in the 1100s section of the GFE: title insurance, title search, title exam, attorney's fees and settlement fees. Most borrowers use a title company recommended by the real-estate agent or lender. But you don't have to. You can shop for title insurance and settlement services, just as you shopped for the house and for the loan.
Be prepared for resistance. Some lenders have business affiliations with title companies, and they'll pressure you to keep the title work in-house.
Title insurance, settlement services
Where you shop for these title-insurance and settlement services depends on where you live, because different places have different ways of closing real-estate and mortgage transactions. In parts of the Northeast, closings are conducted in lawyers' offices. In some places, including Southern California, closings take place at escrow or mortgage companies. In much of the country, closings take place in the office of the agency that sells title insurance.
Government regulation can limit your negotiating room. In Texas, the state sets one overall fee for title insurance, title search and settlement services, so title agencies compete on service, not price. Regulations aren't as restrictive in most other states, and you could save hundreds of dollars in settlement services by shopping around.
"I think it's a matter of what the traffic will bear," says Bob Moulton, president of American Mortgage, a brokerage on Long Island, N.Y. He gives this tip: If you're refinancing your mortgage, and you've lived in the house less than 10 years, ask to get title insurance at a less-expensive "reissue rate."
And don't forget to shop for hazard insurance -- item No. 903 on the GFE. Compare offers for homeowners insurance policies, either on your own or with the help of an insurance agent. Make sure the insurance company and settlement agent communicate with each other. You're not going to get that mortgage without proof that you have a homeowner's policy. That requirement is not negotiable.
Source: realestate.msn.com
Wednesday, October 17, 2007
12 ways to save on homeowners insurance
You can save money on homeowners insurance if you know how. Discounts from your insurance company are available for a variety of reasons, ranging from the type of building material used to build your home to how close you live to a fire station. Here are 12 ways you can save money on your homeowners policy:
Shop around. Check with several different insurance companies to get rate quotes. Do your friends or family members like their insurance company? Get online quotes from sites like MSN Money.
Raise your deductible. The deductible is the amount of money you have to pay toward a loss before your insurance kicks in. Typically, deductibles start at $250. Increase your deductible to:
$500 and save up to 12% on your premiums.
$1,000 and save up to 24%.
$2,500 and save up to 30%.
$5,000 and save up to 37%.
Just make sure you can afford to pay the higher deductible if something should happen.
Buy your home and auto policies from the same company. Many companies will give a discount if you buy both homeowners and auto coverage from them.
Consider insurance consequences when buying a home. If you're looking at buying a home, think about the cost of insuring the home. A newer home's electrical, heating and plumbing systems, and overall structure are likely to be in better condition than those of an older home. This can lead to a discount on your premiums.
Also consider the construction of the home and your geographical location. If you live on the East Coast, you'll want the house to be able to stand up to wind damage; on the West Coast, you need to keep earthquakes in mind.
Insure your home, not the land. Although your home and its contents are at risk from fire, theft, windstorms and other perils, the land your house sits on is not. Don't include the value of the land in deciding how much homeowners insurance you need to buy.
Improve security and safety. Items such as deadbolt locks, burglar alarms and smoke detectors often bring discounts of 5% each, depending on the company. Your insurance company may also offer a significant discount of 15% or 20% if you install a sophisticated home-security system. If you're thinking about buying such a system, check with your insurer to see which systems they recommend and which will earn you a discount.
Stop smoking. Smoking accidents account for more than 23,000 residential fires every year. Some insurers offer to reduce premiums if no one in the home smokes.
Senior discounts. Insurance companies have found that retired people stay at home more and spot fires sooner than working people. Older people also have more time for maintaining their homes. If you're at least 55 years old and retired, you might qualify for a discount of as much as 10%.
Group coverage. Alumni and business associations often work out insurance deals with an insurance company, which includes a discount for association members. Ask your association's director about any such deals.
Stay with an insurer. If you've kept your coverage with a company for several years, you may receive special consideration. Several insurers will reduce their premiums by 5% after you've been with them for three to five years, and some companies will discount you as much as 10% after six years.
Check your policy annually. You want your policy to reflect the value of your home and belongings. If you review your policy every year, you will be able to make the necessary adjustments. If, for example, you just sold a valuable painting, you won't need the same amount of coverage. But if you added a garage, you'll need to increase your coverage.
Look for private insurance first. If you live in a high-risk area (one that is especially vulnerable to coastal storms, fires or crime) and think you'll be forced to buy homeowners coverage from your state's high-risk insurance pool, check first with an insurance agent. You may find that you can still buy insurance at a lower price in the private insurance market than from the insurer of last resort.
Source: moneycentral.msn.com
Shop around. Check with several different insurance companies to get rate quotes. Do your friends or family members like their insurance company? Get online quotes from sites like MSN Money.
Raise your deductible. The deductible is the amount of money you have to pay toward a loss before your insurance kicks in. Typically, deductibles start at $250. Increase your deductible to:
$500 and save up to 12% on your premiums.
$1,000 and save up to 24%.
$2,500 and save up to 30%.
$5,000 and save up to 37%.
Just make sure you can afford to pay the higher deductible if something should happen.
Buy your home and auto policies from the same company. Many companies will give a discount if you buy both homeowners and auto coverage from them.
Consider insurance consequences when buying a home. If you're looking at buying a home, think about the cost of insuring the home. A newer home's electrical, heating and plumbing systems, and overall structure are likely to be in better condition than those of an older home. This can lead to a discount on your premiums.
Also consider the construction of the home and your geographical location. If you live on the East Coast, you'll want the house to be able to stand up to wind damage; on the West Coast, you need to keep earthquakes in mind.
Insure your home, not the land. Although your home and its contents are at risk from fire, theft, windstorms and other perils, the land your house sits on is not. Don't include the value of the land in deciding how much homeowners insurance you need to buy.
Improve security and safety. Items such as deadbolt locks, burglar alarms and smoke detectors often bring discounts of 5% each, depending on the company. Your insurance company may also offer a significant discount of 15% or 20% if you install a sophisticated home-security system. If you're thinking about buying such a system, check with your insurer to see which systems they recommend and which will earn you a discount.
Stop smoking. Smoking accidents account for more than 23,000 residential fires every year. Some insurers offer to reduce premiums if no one in the home smokes.
Senior discounts. Insurance companies have found that retired people stay at home more and spot fires sooner than working people. Older people also have more time for maintaining their homes. If you're at least 55 years old and retired, you might qualify for a discount of as much as 10%.
Group coverage. Alumni and business associations often work out insurance deals with an insurance company, which includes a discount for association members. Ask your association's director about any such deals.
Stay with an insurer. If you've kept your coverage with a company for several years, you may receive special consideration. Several insurers will reduce their premiums by 5% after you've been with them for three to five years, and some companies will discount you as much as 10% after six years.
Check your policy annually. You want your policy to reflect the value of your home and belongings. If you review your policy every year, you will be able to make the necessary adjustments. If, for example, you just sold a valuable painting, you won't need the same amount of coverage. But if you added a garage, you'll need to increase your coverage.
Look for private insurance first. If you live in a high-risk area (one that is especially vulnerable to coastal storms, fires or crime) and think you'll be forced to buy homeowners coverage from your state's high-risk insurance pool, check first with an insurance agent. You may find that you can still buy insurance at a lower price in the private insurance market than from the insurer of last resort.
Source: moneycentral.msn.com
Tuesday, October 16, 2007
Don’t get caught in a tax trap
Have you refinanced your mortgage and taken a chunk of the equity in cash? Will you do so when your adjustable-rate loan resets its interest rate? If you fail to follow some little-known rules for calculating your home mortgage deduction, you may be writing off too much interest. Instead of saving on taxes, you could wind up owing them.
In general, the IRS lets you deduct 100% of the interest you pay on one or more home mortgages, up to a total loan value of $1 million. But when you refinance and withdraw cash, the rules change: Only the interest on your original mortgage balance, plus an additional $100,000, qualifies for a deduction. (If you want to take out more cash, use a home-equity loan or line of credit. The law allows a separate deduction for interest on borrowings of up to $100,000.)
It's easy to get this deduction wrong. Banks and mortgage companies send borrowers a Form 1098 early in the new year, which most use to prepare their taxes. This document shows total interest paid for the year, so many assume the number on the form is the one they should use in filing taxes. Schedule A, the tax form on which you enter home mortgage interest, makes no mention of limits on refi-related deductions, though the instruction booklet does.
Lenders seeking refi customers usually don't play up that little catch. "They have no incentive to educate borrowers about the tax consequences" of refinancing, says Douglas Dachille, CEO of First Principles Capital Management, a New York investment firm. Their promotions may include a fine-print caveat to check on the tax effects of a refinancing, but they don't spell out the rules. Dachille says this refi issue came to the fore when he was considering investing in subprime mortgage-backed securities. "The tax provision could affect homeowners' cash flow, so it's yet another reason to avoid the subprime market."
Here's how the refi tax trap works. Let's say you borrowed $500,000 at 8% in 1998 to buy your house. By 2003, the house had appreciated substantially and the mortgage balance had been whittled down to $450,000. Then you refinanced, taking a new loan of $650,000 at 6%. At tax time, Form 1098 would show that you forked over about $39,000 in interest on the $650,000 mortgage in 2003.
Increasing interest
If you use that $39,000 figure to calculate your annual mortgage interest deduction and you're in the 33% marginal tax bracket, you would wind up taking $1,980 more in deductions than you're entitled to, according to William Lazor, a CPA at accounting firm Kronick Kalada Berdy in Kingston, Pa. That's because you may take a deduction on a mortgage of only $550,000 -- the $450,000 left on the original loan plus $100,000. On $550,000, the interest paid would be $33,000, says Lazor.
So what's the damage? If you had to repay the IRS for overdeducting, you would owe $2,109 including interest and penalties for one year, Lazor says. For three years, you'd be liable for more than $6,200. Greg Rosica, a tax partner at Ernst & Young in Tampa, Fla., says the IRS would not likely come after you for mistaken returns filed before 2004 because a three-year statute of limitations probably would apply.
There's no sign the IRS is currently hunting down taxpayers who may be miscalculating the mortgage deduction, but the error could trip you up in an audit. Rosica says the best way to protect yourself is to make sure you calculate this year's taxes correctly. If you've taken excessive deductions in past years, you can also file an amended return.
Source: realestate.msn.com
In general, the IRS lets you deduct 100% of the interest you pay on one or more home mortgages, up to a total loan value of $1 million. But when you refinance and withdraw cash, the rules change: Only the interest on your original mortgage balance, plus an additional $100,000, qualifies for a deduction. (If you want to take out more cash, use a home-equity loan or line of credit. The law allows a separate deduction for interest on borrowings of up to $100,000.)
It's easy to get this deduction wrong. Banks and mortgage companies send borrowers a Form 1098 early in the new year, which most use to prepare their taxes. This document shows total interest paid for the year, so many assume the number on the form is the one they should use in filing taxes. Schedule A, the tax form on which you enter home mortgage interest, makes no mention of limits on refi-related deductions, though the instruction booklet does.
Lenders seeking refi customers usually don't play up that little catch. "They have no incentive to educate borrowers about the tax consequences" of refinancing, says Douglas Dachille, CEO of First Principles Capital Management, a New York investment firm. Their promotions may include a fine-print caveat to check on the tax effects of a refinancing, but they don't spell out the rules. Dachille says this refi issue came to the fore when he was considering investing in subprime mortgage-backed securities. "The tax provision could affect homeowners' cash flow, so it's yet another reason to avoid the subprime market."
Here's how the refi tax trap works. Let's say you borrowed $500,000 at 8% in 1998 to buy your house. By 2003, the house had appreciated substantially and the mortgage balance had been whittled down to $450,000. Then you refinanced, taking a new loan of $650,000 at 6%. At tax time, Form 1098 would show that you forked over about $39,000 in interest on the $650,000 mortgage in 2003.
Increasing interest
If you use that $39,000 figure to calculate your annual mortgage interest deduction and you're in the 33% marginal tax bracket, you would wind up taking $1,980 more in deductions than you're entitled to, according to William Lazor, a CPA at accounting firm Kronick Kalada Berdy in Kingston, Pa. That's because you may take a deduction on a mortgage of only $550,000 -- the $450,000 left on the original loan plus $100,000. On $550,000, the interest paid would be $33,000, says Lazor.
So what's the damage? If you had to repay the IRS for overdeducting, you would owe $2,109 including interest and penalties for one year, Lazor says. For three years, you'd be liable for more than $6,200. Greg Rosica, a tax partner at Ernst & Young in Tampa, Fla., says the IRS would not likely come after you for mistaken returns filed before 2004 because a three-year statute of limitations probably would apply.
There's no sign the IRS is currently hunting down taxpayers who may be miscalculating the mortgage deduction, but the error could trip you up in an audit. Rosica says the best way to protect yourself is to make sure you calculate this year's taxes correctly. If you've taken excessive deductions in past years, you can also file an amended return.
Source: realestate.msn.com
Monday, October 15, 2007
Could Your Closets Be Turning Off Buyers?
Especially as the market slows in many areas, homeowners are looking to fine-tune the look of their homes before they put their house on the market. But all too often an area that gets forgotten is the closet.
Everyone seems to have more stuff than ever before and a lot of that stuff gets crammed into the closets. Then when you list the home on the market, and Mr. and Mrs. Buyer come to have a look, they reach for a closet door and are greeted with an overstuffed, unorganized mess. The prospective buyers don't see your valuables as prized possessions; instead what they see is too much stuff and too little space. Often buyers can't picture their belongings in a home that's filled with clutter. That's why a lot of agents will recommend organizing, not just the space you see immediately upon entering the home, but also the closets.
"I think that instead of being kind of a luxury, now it's something that everybody thinks they need," says Paula Gallegos, co-owner of Conejo Closet Designs in Thousand Oaks. Gallegos says an organized, well-planned closet can be a huge attraction. "Who wants just a regular shelf and pole when you have all these capabilities of the hangers and the drawers and the belt racks, shoe shelves -- everybody needs storage" she says.
The requests for closet organizers are growing in an interesting way. Closets are turning into spaces where people don't just store their clothes. They're also considered an important upgrade for many buyers. Just as a large renovated kitchen and bathroom area are typically more appealing to buyers, so too are organized closets.
"They're getting bigger. They want more bells and whistles. They want more accessory items. There is one home we're bidding [on the project] right now that has an upstairs bedroom and they're putting a refrigerator in the closet," says Gallegos.
At the top of every homeowner's list is how to maximize space. "Sometimes that might be extending your organizers higher than what you have, maximizing the overhead space and sometimes it's a matter of using the extra space you have below with baskets and shoe shelves and things like that," says Gallegos.
One of the newest trends for closets is being borrowed from the dry cleaning industry. It's a rotary closet device called Rotabob and it literally brings the clothes that are stuck in hard-to-reach places right to you.
"For instance, you probably see a lot of closets that are not too deep -- you know a reach-in closet and they've got a real long return where you look down the side of it and it's two or three feet of really hard-to-get-at space. So, with the Rotabob you can install one of those and just basically bring your clothes to you instead of having to reach in for them," explains Gallegos.
They carry a price tag of about $900 to $1,200 for a unit with installation but after it's put in there's nothing else to do. "They are stainless steel units with ball bearings so there's no maintenance and no electricity and they work for just about any closet," says Gallegos.
These units are becoming popular not just for closets but also laundry rooms, storage spaces, and garages. "Someone actually put it in a utility closet and loaded it up with baskets and hung their mops and rags on the handles and put their cleaning supplies in the basket," says Gallegos.
Being organized on the outside of your home creates curb appeal that gets prospective buyers in the door. Then keeping them there long enough to decide they can't live without your home requires careful, well-thought-out organization inside your home including those areas that you don't notice right away but your prospective buyers most certainly will.
Source: realtytimes.com
Everyone seems to have more stuff than ever before and a lot of that stuff gets crammed into the closets. Then when you list the home on the market, and Mr. and Mrs. Buyer come to have a look, they reach for a closet door and are greeted with an overstuffed, unorganized mess. The prospective buyers don't see your valuables as prized possessions; instead what they see is too much stuff and too little space. Often buyers can't picture their belongings in a home that's filled with clutter. That's why a lot of agents will recommend organizing, not just the space you see immediately upon entering the home, but also the closets.
"I think that instead of being kind of a luxury, now it's something that everybody thinks they need," says Paula Gallegos, co-owner of Conejo Closet Designs in Thousand Oaks. Gallegos says an organized, well-planned closet can be a huge attraction. "Who wants just a regular shelf and pole when you have all these capabilities of the hangers and the drawers and the belt racks, shoe shelves -- everybody needs storage" she says.
The requests for closet organizers are growing in an interesting way. Closets are turning into spaces where people don't just store their clothes. They're also considered an important upgrade for many buyers. Just as a large renovated kitchen and bathroom area are typically more appealing to buyers, so too are organized closets.
"They're getting bigger. They want more bells and whistles. They want more accessory items. There is one home we're bidding [on the project] right now that has an upstairs bedroom and they're putting a refrigerator in the closet," says Gallegos.
At the top of every homeowner's list is how to maximize space. "Sometimes that might be extending your organizers higher than what you have, maximizing the overhead space and sometimes it's a matter of using the extra space you have below with baskets and shoe shelves and things like that," says Gallegos.
One of the newest trends for closets is being borrowed from the dry cleaning industry. It's a rotary closet device called Rotabob and it literally brings the clothes that are stuck in hard-to-reach places right to you.
"For instance, you probably see a lot of closets that are not too deep -- you know a reach-in closet and they've got a real long return where you look down the side of it and it's two or three feet of really hard-to-get-at space. So, with the Rotabob you can install one of those and just basically bring your clothes to you instead of having to reach in for them," explains Gallegos.
They carry a price tag of about $900 to $1,200 for a unit with installation but after it's put in there's nothing else to do. "They are stainless steel units with ball bearings so there's no maintenance and no electricity and they work for just about any closet," says Gallegos.
These units are becoming popular not just for closets but also laundry rooms, storage spaces, and garages. "Someone actually put it in a utility closet and loaded it up with baskets and hung their mops and rags on the handles and put their cleaning supplies in the basket," says Gallegos.
Being organized on the outside of your home creates curb appeal that gets prospective buyers in the door. Then keeping them there long enough to decide they can't live without your home requires careful, well-thought-out organization inside your home including those areas that you don't notice right away but your prospective buyers most certainly will.
Source: realtytimes.com
Sunday, October 14, 2007
What the Heck Is a Short Sale?
Over the last several years a lot of buyers have bought homes, intending to live in them for many years, then something happened - maybe good, maybe bad, but regardless - they don't have a choice. Some owners have to move.
When most homeowners move, they sell their house. Usually, that's not a problem. For some people nowadays, it is a problem.
Because of the easy financing, rampant speculation, flipping, and sometimes fraud, home values skyrocketed most everywhere. That came to an end recently and values plummeted in some areas. Even when values are stable, sometimes there just isn't enough money in the property to pay off the mortgage, then pay all the selling costs and moving costs.
What happens then?
Default, sometimes bankruptcy, and maybe even foreclosure.
Or a short sale.
A short sale is when the lender agrees to accept a mortgage payoff that doesn't cover the outstanding loan.
Why do lenders accept short sales? Lenders almost always lose money when they foreclose on property. In many cases, they will lose less money through a short sale than they would by foreclosing on the home and selling it as a bank-owned property.
However, there are rules.
The borrower must experience a genuine financial hardship. If this fits, call the lender. Talk to customer service or the collection department and let them know what is going on. That way, knowledge of your hardship is communicated to the lender and becomes a part of their files. Keep your own communication log.
Eventually, you will have to document the hardship and your inability to deal with it financially by disclosing all your assets. Bank statements, stocks, bonds, tax returns, pay stubs -- the lender will want to see everything that may document that you are not hiding assets or income.
The lender will not make a commitment based solely on your hardship. You're also going to have to put your home on the market and sell it.
Once you sell the property, you have to supply additional documentation. When the property is listed, your real estate agent prepares a comparative market analysis. You're going to need that and you will need to supply a copy to the lender, along with your hardship letter, the documents mentioned above, a copy of the purchase agreement, and a "net sheet" showing how much you will net (or lose) from the sale of the home.
It may be that you actually want your real estate agent or some other professional to negotiate with your lender. If so, you need to prepare an authorization letter. That letter includes your name, property address, loan number, your representative's name, the date and your notarized signature. Your agent will know almost all of this and have the proper format.
Then your agent submits it all to your lender and...you wait.
Normally, your lender can't make the decision to accept a short sale on their own. If there is mortgage insurance, they get a say-so. Your mortgage has an investor. The investor gets a say-so.
If the deal "makes sense", they believe your hardship is genuine, and you do not own any other property -- you may get a "yes" decision. Your chances go up markedly if you have someone experienced negotiating for you.
Oh yes. If your lender does forgive part of your debt, there is something you should also know. Debt forgiveness is taxable income. The IRS will require you to pay taxes on that income.
Source: realestateabc.com
When most homeowners move, they sell their house. Usually, that's not a problem. For some people nowadays, it is a problem.
Because of the easy financing, rampant speculation, flipping, and sometimes fraud, home values skyrocketed most everywhere. That came to an end recently and values plummeted in some areas. Even when values are stable, sometimes there just isn't enough money in the property to pay off the mortgage, then pay all the selling costs and moving costs.
What happens then?
Default, sometimes bankruptcy, and maybe even foreclosure.
Or a short sale.
A short sale is when the lender agrees to accept a mortgage payoff that doesn't cover the outstanding loan.
Why do lenders accept short sales? Lenders almost always lose money when they foreclose on property. In many cases, they will lose less money through a short sale than they would by foreclosing on the home and selling it as a bank-owned property.
However, there are rules.
The borrower must experience a genuine financial hardship. If this fits, call the lender. Talk to customer service or the collection department and let them know what is going on. That way, knowledge of your hardship is communicated to the lender and becomes a part of their files. Keep your own communication log.
Eventually, you will have to document the hardship and your inability to deal with it financially by disclosing all your assets. Bank statements, stocks, bonds, tax returns, pay stubs -- the lender will want to see everything that may document that you are not hiding assets or income.
The lender will not make a commitment based solely on your hardship. You're also going to have to put your home on the market and sell it.
Once you sell the property, you have to supply additional documentation. When the property is listed, your real estate agent prepares a comparative market analysis. You're going to need that and you will need to supply a copy to the lender, along with your hardship letter, the documents mentioned above, a copy of the purchase agreement, and a "net sheet" showing how much you will net (or lose) from the sale of the home.
It may be that you actually want your real estate agent or some other professional to negotiate with your lender. If so, you need to prepare an authorization letter. That letter includes your name, property address, loan number, your representative's name, the date and your notarized signature. Your agent will know almost all of this and have the proper format.
Then your agent submits it all to your lender and...you wait.
Normally, your lender can't make the decision to accept a short sale on their own. If there is mortgage insurance, they get a say-so. Your mortgage has an investor. The investor gets a say-so.
If the deal "makes sense", they believe your hardship is genuine, and you do not own any other property -- you may get a "yes" decision. Your chances go up markedly if you have someone experienced negotiating for you.
Oh yes. If your lender does forgive part of your debt, there is something you should also know. Debt forgiveness is taxable income. The IRS will require you to pay taxes on that income.
Source: realestateabc.com
Saturday, October 13, 2007
14 winter-prep tips for your lawn and garden
You might think getting your lawn and garden ready for winter is as simple as Robert Frost's line to his apple trees: "Good-by, and keep cold." But not if you want them to be their healthiest come spring. In many parts of the country, now -- that is, before it gets too chilly -- is prime time to tend to your landscape so it will shine the rest of the year.
Here's what the experts advise to make your plants the envy of the neighborhood:
1. Feed that lawn! "Right now, it's key to work on your lawn," says Jim Welshans, regional turfgrass educator at Penn State University. In fact, despite what many people might think, autumn, not spring, is perhaps the most vital time in many parts of the country. Welshans explains: "In Pennsylvania we grow cool-season grasses, and during the summer they're not very active." Come autumn, however, they revive.
Lawns with these cool-weather grasses -- Kentucky bluegrass, fescues, perennial ryegrass -- should be fertilized in two waves, say Welshans and others. The first application, from mid to late September in places like Pennsylvania, should be a fertilizer that's high in nitrogen. The second application, roughly about Thanksgiving but before the ground is frozen, should be a fertilizer that's high in phosphorus, which will prepare that plant for next year, says Welshans. (Exact timing for all the advice in this story will vary depending on where you live. A good way to determine if you're giving your lawn what it needs is to get a soil test. It will give you information like soil pH and nutrient levels, and provide recommendations for fertilizer amounts.)
Bob Mugaas, a regional extension educator in horticulture who's affiliated with the University of Minnesota, recommends modest application of nitrogen during the first couple of weeks in September, and a repeat application around Halloween in the Twin Cities area. If you missed the first window, don't fret, says Mugaas, but simply make the second application around Halloween. Why not squeeze in two doses in quick succession? "You don't want to stimulate the tender, succulent growth" as the grass girds for winter, he explains; the late-season application is more for the root system. Another tip: Homeowners can drive over leaves with a lawn mower to create a fine mulch as long as the results don't blanket the lawn.
But … Exceptions to the "fertilize!" rule are the desert Southwest and the Deep South -- places like Georgia, Alabama and south Texas -- where lawns generally have Bermuda, Zoysia, St. Augustine and centipede grasses. These largely go dormant in winter and don't need fertilizer, says Dave Han, associate professor at Auburn University and state extension specialist for turfgrass. "I cut off fertilizing in this part of the world about Oct. 1," Han says. Fertilizing can be extended along the warmer Gulf Coast, however, and you can feed grass year-round in south Florida and coastal Texas, he adds.
2. Repair summer's damage. Now is a great time to repair a damaged lawn and reseed. If you're racing the cold, Welshans recommends putting down a perennial ryegrass, which germinates quickly (just four to seven days, versus two to three weeks for bluegrass). Help the seeds take root by top-dressing them with up to one-quarter-inch compost or soil, he says.
3. Don't put away the hose. Though places such as the Pacific Northwest may begin to get rain with autumn's onset, in most areas watering shouldn't end with Labor Day. Generally speaking, says Mugaas, a lawn should get an inch of water every 14 to 21 days. The ground should be moist as it heads toward winter, but not soggy, which could encourage mold.
4. Go easy on the pruning. "Probably the most common thing I see people doing is pruning," says Ginger Pryor, coordinator of the Pennsylvania Master Gardener program, citing a common mistake. As a general rule, give your loppers and shears the autumn off. Why? Pruning promotes growth, and you don't want to encourage growth when plants are preparing to go dormant for winter. There are some exceptions, so call your local cooperative extension service if you have doubts about a particular tree.
Now is a good time to cut off dead wood, however, so insects have no place to hide.
5. Don't tuck in the vegetable garden yet. "There are some great fall vegetables you can plant and still get a harvest," says Pryor. Many vegetables aren't affected by a light evening frost, so long as the days still warm up nicely. Greens like lettuce and spinach often can be harvested within 30 days of planting. Got even more time before Jack Frost really settles in? Think about carrots, broccoli or Swiss chard.
6. Cover that plot. To prep your garden for winter, plant a nitrogen-rich cover crop like clover that you can simply turn under come spring, suggests Elaine Anderson, program coordinator for the Washington State University/King County Extension Master Gardener Program. Or, "a lot of people just cover the beds in burlap -- keeps the weeds down. That's fine."
7. Transplant away! The experts agree: Autumn is a great time to transplant trees and shrubs. "By planting trees in the fall in the South we have a much longer season for the tree roots to get established" while they don't have "those other stresses" such as heat, explains Shane Harris, a regional extension agent in east-central Alabama who is affiliated with Auburn and Alabama A&M universities. In short, says Harris, the tree benefits because it's "putting all of its energy into root growth."
The same is true in other parts of the country. For example, as a general rule of thumb, evergreens should be transplanted in the first half of September in Minnesota's Twin Cities area, Mugaas advises. "Obviously you can be earlier if you're a little more north, or later if you're a little bit to the south," he says. "Deciduous trees have a little bigger window."
8. Mulch, Part 1. "We often say the mulch around the tree should look like a doughnut, not a volcano," says Pryor. Pulling the mulch away from the trunk a bit makes it less of a home and meal for voles, chipmunks and mice during the winter, she says.
9. Making the (flower) beds. Flower beds don't need a ton of work, but there are some things you can do. "One thing we do recommend for fall is cleaning out perennials -- things that have a lot of dieback on them," says Pryor. In Pennsylvania, for example, there's a lot of rain in early spring and any dead growth can keep a lot of moisture in the soil, promoting rot in plants like peonies that have heavy root systems. (Other experts disagree about the importance of cleaning up but say it doesn't hurt, and at least can make a flower bed look tidier.) Pryor recommends leaving ornamental grasses in place because they look beautiful in the winter.
10. Mulch, Part 2. Harris suggests renewing the mulch in flower beds, especially the top two or three inches of plants' root crowns, because that protects a marginal plant from hard freezes. "That's where all of your new growth is going to come back," Harris explains of the crown.
Up north, some homeowners put down hay, which "makes a very good mulch," says Mugaas. Ask at your garden center for "clean mulching hay" -- often made of oat straw or wheat straw -- but don't assume that the name alone guarantees it's weed-free. Examine the hay for seed heads and other impurities, says Mugaas. Also, hay should be applied only when the ground has gotten very cold.
11. Clean the pond. Ponds, fountains and other water features are hugely popular today -- and they, too, need care to survive the winter. Late September is a good time to clean out the pond -- in particular, netting out the abundant leaves that, upon decay, build up the nutrients and cause spikes in ammonia levels that are harmful to fish, says Brett Fogle, president and owner of Florida's MacArthur Water Gardens. If it's a small pond, you might consider tossing a cover over it from late fall through the winter. Consider using a bacterial additive in the water -- microbes that speed the decomposition of leaf scum, fish waste, etc., says Fogle. Also, he says, it's a good idea to drain your pond by 25%-50% for the winter months.
12. Put your fish on a diet. "The biggest mistake people make is they keep feeding their fish handfuls and handfuls of food" even as their metabolisms are slowing down with the onset of cold weather, says Fogle. That can make them ill, and even kill them. As the temperature hits about 60 degrees, consider switching to a lower-protein, wheat germ food that digests easier, Fogle says. When temps hit 50-55 degrees, you can stop feeding the fish entirely. Don't worry about them going hungry -- their metabolism slows enough so that they don't need to eat when the water gets that cold or colder, he says. Yet koi and other pond fish will keep eating when they shouldn't and that can hurt them, Fogle says.
13. Check pond equipment. Autumn is a good time to change out your pond gear. In warmer months, pumps are often used to circulate the water. "It's actually better for the fish not to run the pump all winter long," explains Fogle. That's because the pump disrupts the thermal layers in the water that the fish exploit to keep warm during the winter months, when they settle near the bottom in a hibernationlike state.
Shut down the pumps and filter and bring the pump inside for the winter, if possible, Fogle recommends. Loosen the fitting on what's left outdoors, so things won't crack in the cold -- especially on UV sterilizers, the units that pond owners often have installed to kill algae. Consider, too, a de-icer -- basically a floating unit that turns on at the freezing point -- or an air bubbler that keeps the top of the pond from freezing. Find more good information about pond care here.
14. Think spring. Now is the time to plant bulbs for spring. They're not very expensive, and they give you something to look forward to. "In our part of the world, our smaller bulbs need to go in now, and the larger bulbs can go in later" -- perhaps mid-October or so in Minnesota's Twin Cities area, says Mugaas. Smaller bulbs include crocus and grape hyacinth. Larger bulbs include tulips and daffodils.
Another tip: "It seems sort of counterintuitive to go shopping for plants right now," says Anderson, of the King County Master Gardener program. But she suggests buying perennials that are in bloom now, so you know what they'll look like later. In the Pacific Northwest, that could mean hardy perennials like yarrow and asters. Check the USDA's Plant Hardiness Zone Map to see what will thrive in your area.
Finally, "It's also a good time to take stock of what did well and what didn't," says Mugaas. Gardeners are inveterate tinkerers. "We never have enough time, and we never have enough room."
Source: realestate.msn.com
Here's what the experts advise to make your plants the envy of the neighborhood:
1. Feed that lawn! "Right now, it's key to work on your lawn," says Jim Welshans, regional turfgrass educator at Penn State University. In fact, despite what many people might think, autumn, not spring, is perhaps the most vital time in many parts of the country. Welshans explains: "In Pennsylvania we grow cool-season grasses, and during the summer they're not very active." Come autumn, however, they revive.
Lawns with these cool-weather grasses -- Kentucky bluegrass, fescues, perennial ryegrass -- should be fertilized in two waves, say Welshans and others. The first application, from mid to late September in places like Pennsylvania, should be a fertilizer that's high in nitrogen. The second application, roughly about Thanksgiving but before the ground is frozen, should be a fertilizer that's high in phosphorus, which will prepare that plant for next year, says Welshans. (Exact timing for all the advice in this story will vary depending on where you live. A good way to determine if you're giving your lawn what it needs is to get a soil test. It will give you information like soil pH and nutrient levels, and provide recommendations for fertilizer amounts.)
Bob Mugaas, a regional extension educator in horticulture who's affiliated with the University of Minnesota, recommends modest application of nitrogen during the first couple of weeks in September, and a repeat application around Halloween in the Twin Cities area. If you missed the first window, don't fret, says Mugaas, but simply make the second application around Halloween. Why not squeeze in two doses in quick succession? "You don't want to stimulate the tender, succulent growth" as the grass girds for winter, he explains; the late-season application is more for the root system. Another tip: Homeowners can drive over leaves with a lawn mower to create a fine mulch as long as the results don't blanket the lawn.
But … Exceptions to the "fertilize!" rule are the desert Southwest and the Deep South -- places like Georgia, Alabama and south Texas -- where lawns generally have Bermuda, Zoysia, St. Augustine and centipede grasses. These largely go dormant in winter and don't need fertilizer, says Dave Han, associate professor at Auburn University and state extension specialist for turfgrass. "I cut off fertilizing in this part of the world about Oct. 1," Han says. Fertilizing can be extended along the warmer Gulf Coast, however, and you can feed grass year-round in south Florida and coastal Texas, he adds.
2. Repair summer's damage. Now is a great time to repair a damaged lawn and reseed. If you're racing the cold, Welshans recommends putting down a perennial ryegrass, which germinates quickly (just four to seven days, versus two to three weeks for bluegrass). Help the seeds take root by top-dressing them with up to one-quarter-inch compost or soil, he says.
3. Don't put away the hose. Though places such as the Pacific Northwest may begin to get rain with autumn's onset, in most areas watering shouldn't end with Labor Day. Generally speaking, says Mugaas, a lawn should get an inch of water every 14 to 21 days. The ground should be moist as it heads toward winter, but not soggy, which could encourage mold.
4. Go easy on the pruning. "Probably the most common thing I see people doing is pruning," says Ginger Pryor, coordinator of the Pennsylvania Master Gardener program, citing a common mistake. As a general rule, give your loppers and shears the autumn off. Why? Pruning promotes growth, and you don't want to encourage growth when plants are preparing to go dormant for winter. There are some exceptions, so call your local cooperative extension service if you have doubts about a particular tree.
Now is a good time to cut off dead wood, however, so insects have no place to hide.
5. Don't tuck in the vegetable garden yet. "There are some great fall vegetables you can plant and still get a harvest," says Pryor. Many vegetables aren't affected by a light evening frost, so long as the days still warm up nicely. Greens like lettuce and spinach often can be harvested within 30 days of planting. Got even more time before Jack Frost really settles in? Think about carrots, broccoli or Swiss chard.
6. Cover that plot. To prep your garden for winter, plant a nitrogen-rich cover crop like clover that you can simply turn under come spring, suggests Elaine Anderson, program coordinator for the Washington State University/King County Extension Master Gardener Program. Or, "a lot of people just cover the beds in burlap -- keeps the weeds down. That's fine."
7. Transplant away! The experts agree: Autumn is a great time to transplant trees and shrubs. "By planting trees in the fall in the South we have a much longer season for the tree roots to get established" while they don't have "those other stresses" such as heat, explains Shane Harris, a regional extension agent in east-central Alabama who is affiliated with Auburn and Alabama A&M universities. In short, says Harris, the tree benefits because it's "putting all of its energy into root growth."
The same is true in other parts of the country. For example, as a general rule of thumb, evergreens should be transplanted in the first half of September in Minnesota's Twin Cities area, Mugaas advises. "Obviously you can be earlier if you're a little more north, or later if you're a little bit to the south," he says. "Deciduous trees have a little bigger window."
8. Mulch, Part 1. "We often say the mulch around the tree should look like a doughnut, not a volcano," says Pryor. Pulling the mulch away from the trunk a bit makes it less of a home and meal for voles, chipmunks and mice during the winter, she says.
9. Making the (flower) beds. Flower beds don't need a ton of work, but there are some things you can do. "One thing we do recommend for fall is cleaning out perennials -- things that have a lot of dieback on them," says Pryor. In Pennsylvania, for example, there's a lot of rain in early spring and any dead growth can keep a lot of moisture in the soil, promoting rot in plants like peonies that have heavy root systems. (Other experts disagree about the importance of cleaning up but say it doesn't hurt, and at least can make a flower bed look tidier.) Pryor recommends leaving ornamental grasses in place because they look beautiful in the winter.
10. Mulch, Part 2. Harris suggests renewing the mulch in flower beds, especially the top two or three inches of plants' root crowns, because that protects a marginal plant from hard freezes. "That's where all of your new growth is going to come back," Harris explains of the crown.
Up north, some homeowners put down hay, which "makes a very good mulch," says Mugaas. Ask at your garden center for "clean mulching hay" -- often made of oat straw or wheat straw -- but don't assume that the name alone guarantees it's weed-free. Examine the hay for seed heads and other impurities, says Mugaas. Also, hay should be applied only when the ground has gotten very cold.
11. Clean the pond. Ponds, fountains and other water features are hugely popular today -- and they, too, need care to survive the winter. Late September is a good time to clean out the pond -- in particular, netting out the abundant leaves that, upon decay, build up the nutrients and cause spikes in ammonia levels that are harmful to fish, says Brett Fogle, president and owner of Florida's MacArthur Water Gardens. If it's a small pond, you might consider tossing a cover over it from late fall through the winter. Consider using a bacterial additive in the water -- microbes that speed the decomposition of leaf scum, fish waste, etc., says Fogle. Also, he says, it's a good idea to drain your pond by 25%-50% for the winter months.
12. Put your fish on a diet. "The biggest mistake people make is they keep feeding their fish handfuls and handfuls of food" even as their metabolisms are slowing down with the onset of cold weather, says Fogle. That can make them ill, and even kill them. As the temperature hits about 60 degrees, consider switching to a lower-protein, wheat germ food that digests easier, Fogle says. When temps hit 50-55 degrees, you can stop feeding the fish entirely. Don't worry about them going hungry -- their metabolism slows enough so that they don't need to eat when the water gets that cold or colder, he says. Yet koi and other pond fish will keep eating when they shouldn't and that can hurt them, Fogle says.
13. Check pond equipment. Autumn is a good time to change out your pond gear. In warmer months, pumps are often used to circulate the water. "It's actually better for the fish not to run the pump all winter long," explains Fogle. That's because the pump disrupts the thermal layers in the water that the fish exploit to keep warm during the winter months, when they settle near the bottom in a hibernationlike state.
Shut down the pumps and filter and bring the pump inside for the winter, if possible, Fogle recommends. Loosen the fitting on what's left outdoors, so things won't crack in the cold -- especially on UV sterilizers, the units that pond owners often have installed to kill algae. Consider, too, a de-icer -- basically a floating unit that turns on at the freezing point -- or an air bubbler that keeps the top of the pond from freezing. Find more good information about pond care here.
14. Think spring. Now is the time to plant bulbs for spring. They're not very expensive, and they give you something to look forward to. "In our part of the world, our smaller bulbs need to go in now, and the larger bulbs can go in later" -- perhaps mid-October or so in Minnesota's Twin Cities area, says Mugaas. Smaller bulbs include crocus and grape hyacinth. Larger bulbs include tulips and daffodils.
Another tip: "It seems sort of counterintuitive to go shopping for plants right now," says Anderson, of the King County Master Gardener program. But she suggests buying perennials that are in bloom now, so you know what they'll look like later. In the Pacific Northwest, that could mean hardy perennials like yarrow and asters. Check the USDA's Plant Hardiness Zone Map to see what will thrive in your area.
Finally, "It's also a good time to take stock of what did well and what didn't," says Mugaas. Gardeners are inveterate tinkerers. "We never have enough time, and we never have enough room."
Source: realestate.msn.com
Thursday, October 11, 2007
Living in the Triangle
What’s the best thing about living in the Triangle? Kind of hard to narrow it down to just one thing. It truly is one of the best places in the nation, if not the world, to call home. But don’t just take our word for it.
The Triangle has been found at or near the top of “Best Places” lists for years, and its success continues. Most recently, the Triangle, or a city or combination within the area, has been considered to have the No. 1 Hottest Job Market (Business 2.0), the No. 2 Best Place for Business (Forbes) and the No. 6 Most Fun City (Cranium).
Let’s face it, what’s not to like? You’ve got world-class cuisine, arts, music, culture and practically every recreational activity imaginable right in your own backyard, in one of the mildest overall climes year-round anywhere. And you can afford a lot more of a backyard here than in many cosmopolitan areas around the country.
But don’t let reasonable real estate values fool you into believing luxurious living is scarce. It isn’t.
In fact, amply sized, custom built single-family homes are being constructed in numerous conveniently located communities, along with upscale condos in the Triangle’s downtown areas. You’ve got suburbia without the sprawl, or urban life without the congestion and claustrophobia.
The Triangle is situated between the captivating coast of North Carolina, with its sapphire-blue waters and clean, wide beaches. Coastal towns brimming with rich history await you for exploration, all within a two- to four-hour drive. And the majestic Blue Ridge Mountains, with the East Coast’s highest point, are just a few hours in the other direction.
Staying “home” is its own adventure. Spend a Saturday at one of the many museums in the area. Play golf or tennis, go skiing on one of several nearby lakes. Dozens of miles of wooded trails offer premium options for biking or hiking.
Take in a professional hockey game or bear witness to some of the best college basketball anywhere, with four NCAA division teams— the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Duke University, North Carolina State University, and North Carolina Central University —within a 30-mile radius of one another.
Go out! A number of restaurants feature gourmet offerings prepared by nationally renowned chefs. Try Second Empire in Raleigh, Four Corners in Durham, or Elaine’s in Chapel Hill. And the nightlife rivals any in larger cities. Glenwood South in Raleigh and the newly gentrified downtown Durham have become the hot spots for high-end clubs and a thriving music scene.
So, what’s the best thing about living in the Triangle? Darn near everything!
Source: wral.com
The Triangle has been found at or near the top of “Best Places” lists for years, and its success continues. Most recently, the Triangle, or a city or combination within the area, has been considered to have the No. 1 Hottest Job Market (Business 2.0), the No. 2 Best Place for Business (Forbes) and the No. 6 Most Fun City (Cranium).
Let’s face it, what’s not to like? You’ve got world-class cuisine, arts, music, culture and practically every recreational activity imaginable right in your own backyard, in one of the mildest overall climes year-round anywhere. And you can afford a lot more of a backyard here than in many cosmopolitan areas around the country.
But don’t let reasonable real estate values fool you into believing luxurious living is scarce. It isn’t.
In fact, amply sized, custom built single-family homes are being constructed in numerous conveniently located communities, along with upscale condos in the Triangle’s downtown areas. You’ve got suburbia without the sprawl, or urban life without the congestion and claustrophobia.
The Triangle is situated between the captivating coast of North Carolina, with its sapphire-blue waters and clean, wide beaches. Coastal towns brimming with rich history await you for exploration, all within a two- to four-hour drive. And the majestic Blue Ridge Mountains, with the East Coast’s highest point, are just a few hours in the other direction.
Staying “home” is its own adventure. Spend a Saturday at one of the many museums in the area. Play golf or tennis, go skiing on one of several nearby lakes. Dozens of miles of wooded trails offer premium options for biking or hiking.
Take in a professional hockey game or bear witness to some of the best college basketball anywhere, with four NCAA division teams— the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Duke University, North Carolina State University, and North Carolina Central University —within a 30-mile radius of one another.
Go out! A number of restaurants feature gourmet offerings prepared by nationally renowned chefs. Try Second Empire in Raleigh, Four Corners in Durham, or Elaine’s in Chapel Hill. And the nightlife rivals any in larger cities. Glenwood South in Raleigh and the newly gentrified downtown Durham have become the hot spots for high-end clubs and a thriving music scene.
So, what’s the best thing about living in the Triangle? Darn near everything!
Source: wral.com
Wednesday, October 10, 2007
Pilot Program Aims at ‘Thin File' Borrowers
A pilot program aimed at the nation's estimated 6.8 million non-owners with "thin" credit files is being tested in the nation's capital, where an alliance of public and private entities have pledged $200 million to get the initiative started.
Under the R-Home program, credit-worthy consumers who are often unable to qualify for financing under traditional underwriting guidelines or are steered toward high-price loans will be qualified using an innovative automated program powered by Anthem, First American Corp.'s alternative credit-evaluation model.
Often, originators don't bother with borrowers who have little or no credit history because they takes too much effort. And originators who do work with these applicants sometimes push them into higher priced subprime loans where they can make enough money to compensate them for their time and effort.
But with R-Home's streamlined and automated way of using rent payments, utility payments, child care and even tithing to evaluate and verify creditworthiness, borrowers can gain conditional approval "within minutes" and final clearance "within 48 hours," according to Landon Taylor, president of First American Title's Strategic Market Division.
"It makes underwriting possible at the point of sale," Mr. Taylor said.
Such proof of credit has been acceptable by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac for sometime. But they are little used by lenders.
Under the D.C. pilot, CitiMortgage will buy loans generated by nonprofit and private-sector participants and sell them on the secondary market, but retain the servicing rights.
Borrowers will be counseled before the purchase, and counseling will be made available afterwards if they have trouble making payments.
If problems persist longer than 60 days, the Neighborhood Housing Services of America says it will repurchase the loans and work "personally and patiently" with borrowers to get them back on track.
"We see this as a model of how all borrowers should be supported, not just low-income borrowers," NHSA President Mary Lee Widener said at a press conference earlier this month to kick off the program.
The partners hope to replicate the program nationally, perhaps in as soon as 18 months if the D.C. test achieves passing grades. But it will be rolled out regionally on a market-by-market basis because government involvement is necessary to make it work, Taylor said.
Here in Washington, where the program could serve up to 2,000 wanna-be home owners, the D.C. government is on board. "We take affordable housing very seriously," said Deputy Mayor Neil Albert. And counseling will be provided by two local giants, HomeFree-USA and Manna Mortgage, the city's only non-profit mortgage company.
"This is a new day," said Marcia Griffin, president of Home-Free USA, a counseling group which bills itself as a "financial empowerment organization."
"People are coming to us in droves because they don't want to be ripped off," Griffin said. "Now they don't have to worry."
Another partner in the group is State Farm, which is providing $100 million in seed money. Two mortgage insurers. MGIC and PMI, also are on board.
Under the program, borrowers who pass muster will get 30-year, fixed-rate mortgages at the prevailing rate. But Widener, a longtime advocate for low and moderate-income families, said it's "very likely" that secondary financing will be necessary. Hence, the need for local government as a partner.
In Ventura County, Calif., where the innovative underwriting technology was refined, up to "seven layers" of financing was necessary, Widener said. "So there absolutely has to be local government involvement."
Even with secondary financing, though, the partners believe R-Home will test out as "the solution for borrowers who aren't bad credit risks" but don't have a thick enough credit file to win approval the traditional way.
"R-Home is a lending program that focuses on long-term success of the borrower," Widener said. "It's a lending model that embraces the principles that are being advocated by consumer groups and policymakers."
Source: realtytimes.com
Under the R-Home program, credit-worthy consumers who are often unable to qualify for financing under traditional underwriting guidelines or are steered toward high-price loans will be qualified using an innovative automated program powered by Anthem, First American Corp.'s alternative credit-evaluation model.
Often, originators don't bother with borrowers who have little or no credit history because they takes too much effort. And originators who do work with these applicants sometimes push them into higher priced subprime loans where they can make enough money to compensate them for their time and effort.
But with R-Home's streamlined and automated way of using rent payments, utility payments, child care and even tithing to evaluate and verify creditworthiness, borrowers can gain conditional approval "within minutes" and final clearance "within 48 hours," according to Landon Taylor, president of First American Title's Strategic Market Division.
"It makes underwriting possible at the point of sale," Mr. Taylor said.
Such proof of credit has been acceptable by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac for sometime. But they are little used by lenders.
Under the D.C. pilot, CitiMortgage will buy loans generated by nonprofit and private-sector participants and sell them on the secondary market, but retain the servicing rights.
Borrowers will be counseled before the purchase, and counseling will be made available afterwards if they have trouble making payments.
If problems persist longer than 60 days, the Neighborhood Housing Services of America says it will repurchase the loans and work "personally and patiently" with borrowers to get them back on track.
"We see this as a model of how all borrowers should be supported, not just low-income borrowers," NHSA President Mary Lee Widener said at a press conference earlier this month to kick off the program.
The partners hope to replicate the program nationally, perhaps in as soon as 18 months if the D.C. test achieves passing grades. But it will be rolled out regionally on a market-by-market basis because government involvement is necessary to make it work, Taylor said.
Here in Washington, where the program could serve up to 2,000 wanna-be home owners, the D.C. government is on board. "We take affordable housing very seriously," said Deputy Mayor Neil Albert. And counseling will be provided by two local giants, HomeFree-USA and Manna Mortgage, the city's only non-profit mortgage company.
"This is a new day," said Marcia Griffin, president of Home-Free USA, a counseling group which bills itself as a "financial empowerment organization."
"People are coming to us in droves because they don't want to be ripped off," Griffin said. "Now they don't have to worry."
Another partner in the group is State Farm, which is providing $100 million in seed money. Two mortgage insurers. MGIC and PMI, also are on board.
Under the program, borrowers who pass muster will get 30-year, fixed-rate mortgages at the prevailing rate. But Widener, a longtime advocate for low and moderate-income families, said it's "very likely" that secondary financing will be necessary. Hence, the need for local government as a partner.
In Ventura County, Calif., where the innovative underwriting technology was refined, up to "seven layers" of financing was necessary, Widener said. "So there absolutely has to be local government involvement."
Even with secondary financing, though, the partners believe R-Home will test out as "the solution for borrowers who aren't bad credit risks" but don't have a thick enough credit file to win approval the traditional way.
"R-Home is a lending program that focuses on long-term success of the borrower," Widener said. "It's a lending model that embraces the principles that are being advocated by consumer groups and policymakers."
Source: realtytimes.com
Tuesday, October 9, 2007
Don’t be a drip: Conserve water
Here are 16 simple ways to use the vital resource wisely and save money at the same time.
1. Go low-flow. Listen up, water wasters: With a few twists of the wrist, you can save 25% to 60% of the water it takes and 50% of the energy necessary to shower and shampoo you and your family.
How so? Install a low-flow shower head, which restricts the water output to no more than 2.5 gallons per minute, the federally mandated limit for new fixtures. The shower heads generally run $10 to $20 a pop (some utility companies give them away) and screw into existing fittings.
You'll squeeze the most out of the low-flow strategy if you live in a home built before 1994 and if you haven't renovated your bathroom: Older shower heads send as many as 5.5 gallons per minute down the drain. The new fixtures go as low as 1.5 gpm, saving 7,300 gallons and $30 to $100 a year over their 2.5-gpm counterparts.
Unlike older versions, which put you under a sprinkle, one new low-flow maintains decent pressure by forcing air into the mix, and another channels water into massagelike streams. A third type, the H2Okinetic Technology shower head, by Delta, shoots bigger droplets at a higher speed than the other two, approaching the feel of an old-fashioned soaker at a parsimonious 1.6 gpm. The fixture runs about $55 at retail stores.
If you haven't a clue how fast the water runs through your shower head, put a bucket under the nozzle and time how many seconds the water takes to get to the 1-gallon mark. If it's less than 20 seconds, head for the hardware store.
2. Retrofit your faucets. As you browse the plumbing aisles, check out faucet aerators -- doohickeys that screw into your faucet threading and cut the water flow from 3 to 4 gallons per minute (the rate on older fixtures) to as little as a half-gallon. As with shower heads, you can figure out how fast your faucet flows by putting a quart container under the stream. If the container fills in less than five seconds, your faucet could use this fix.
As their name suggests, aerators blend water and air, reducing the flow without sacrificing pressure. At 50 cents to $3 apiece, the devices are some of the cheapest green gadgets available. Your utility company may even offer you a rebate or hand them out free.
Aerators come in a range of flow rates, up to 2.2 gpm. A faucet that flows at 1 gpm gets your toothbrush and washcloth plenty wet. But unless you want to grow old waiting for your pasta pot to fill, you'll need to give your kitchen faucet a bit more oomph. Use an aerator with a flow rate of at least 2 gpm.
3. Have a little WaterSense. Soon, you won't have to worry about bringing home products that promise a deluge and deliver a dribble or that don't live up to their water-saving claims. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency recently launched a certification program that vets devices for water efficiency and performance, and awards the WaterSense label to those that do the job right. You can already find the label on high-efficiency toilets; bathroom faucets and aerators are next in line. The WaterSense program also certifies landscapers who have been trained to use water wisely.
4. Go with a trickle. For kitchen chores that demand an open spigot, go with a trickle, not a torrent. Restrict the water flow to the width of a drinking straw and save up to a gallon of water per minute.
5. Stop the flow. Turn the water off while you brush your teeth. Running the water for two minutes -- you are brushing for two minutes, right? -- sends 2 gallons of water down the drain.
6. Forget to flush once in a while and save up to 4.5 gallons per memory lapse.
7. Use the right setting. The permanent-press setting on your washing machine uses 5 gallons more per load than the regular setting. Reserve it for clothes that need line-drying.
8. Shower. Switch from a bath, which requires 30 to 70 gallons, to a shower, which uses 25 gallons in 10 minutes under a 2.5-gpm shower head. Then shower shorter.
9. Plug the leaks. A leaky faucet wastes as much as 2,700 gallons in a year -- if it doesn't drive you crazy first. So fix it already.
10. Fill 'er up. Run the dishwasher and the clothes washer with full loads.
11. Raise the mower blades. Adjust your lawn mower to the 3-inch setting. Shaggy grass holds moisture longer, requiring less watering.
12. Test the toilet. Put a drop of food coloring in the toilet tank. If the color shows up in the bowl, your tank is leaking and you're wasting up to 200 gallons of water a day.
13. Turn off the water while you shave and soap up. If you shave in the shower, outfit the wall with the nifty Shower Mirror, complete with clock, razor holder and light.
14. Water early. Water your outdoor plants in the early morning, before the sun can burn off moisture.
15. Don't overwater. Before starting your sprinkler, step on the grass. If the blades spring back, hold off on watering for a day or two. The average lawn needs only one hour of watering a week.
16. Get your car washed. Take your car out for a shampoo and rinse. Commercial car washes save up to 100 gallons of water per wash over the do-it-yourself kind, and they often reuse the rinse water, according to "The Green Book." If every American took the lazy way out just once, total savings would amount to 8.7 billion gallons of water.
Source: realestate.msn.com
1. Go low-flow. Listen up, water wasters: With a few twists of the wrist, you can save 25% to 60% of the water it takes and 50% of the energy necessary to shower and shampoo you and your family.
How so? Install a low-flow shower head, which restricts the water output to no more than 2.5 gallons per minute, the federally mandated limit for new fixtures. The shower heads generally run $10 to $20 a pop (some utility companies give them away) and screw into existing fittings.
You'll squeeze the most out of the low-flow strategy if you live in a home built before 1994 and if you haven't renovated your bathroom: Older shower heads send as many as 5.5 gallons per minute down the drain. The new fixtures go as low as 1.5 gpm, saving 7,300 gallons and $30 to $100 a year over their 2.5-gpm counterparts.
Unlike older versions, which put you under a sprinkle, one new low-flow maintains decent pressure by forcing air into the mix, and another channels water into massagelike streams. A third type, the H2Okinetic Technology shower head, by Delta, shoots bigger droplets at a higher speed than the other two, approaching the feel of an old-fashioned soaker at a parsimonious 1.6 gpm. The fixture runs about $55 at retail stores.
If you haven't a clue how fast the water runs through your shower head, put a bucket under the nozzle and time how many seconds the water takes to get to the 1-gallon mark. If it's less than 20 seconds, head for the hardware store.
2. Retrofit your faucets. As you browse the plumbing aisles, check out faucet aerators -- doohickeys that screw into your faucet threading and cut the water flow from 3 to 4 gallons per minute (the rate on older fixtures) to as little as a half-gallon. As with shower heads, you can figure out how fast your faucet flows by putting a quart container under the stream. If the container fills in less than five seconds, your faucet could use this fix.
As their name suggests, aerators blend water and air, reducing the flow without sacrificing pressure. At 50 cents to $3 apiece, the devices are some of the cheapest green gadgets available. Your utility company may even offer you a rebate or hand them out free.
Aerators come in a range of flow rates, up to 2.2 gpm. A faucet that flows at 1 gpm gets your toothbrush and washcloth plenty wet. But unless you want to grow old waiting for your pasta pot to fill, you'll need to give your kitchen faucet a bit more oomph. Use an aerator with a flow rate of at least 2 gpm.
3. Have a little WaterSense. Soon, you won't have to worry about bringing home products that promise a deluge and deliver a dribble or that don't live up to their water-saving claims. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency recently launched a certification program that vets devices for water efficiency and performance, and awards the WaterSense label to those that do the job right. You can already find the label on high-efficiency toilets; bathroom faucets and aerators are next in line. The WaterSense program also certifies landscapers who have been trained to use water wisely.
4. Go with a trickle. For kitchen chores that demand an open spigot, go with a trickle, not a torrent. Restrict the water flow to the width of a drinking straw and save up to a gallon of water per minute.
5. Stop the flow. Turn the water off while you brush your teeth. Running the water for two minutes -- you are brushing for two minutes, right? -- sends 2 gallons of water down the drain.
6. Forget to flush once in a while and save up to 4.5 gallons per memory lapse.
7. Use the right setting. The permanent-press setting on your washing machine uses 5 gallons more per load than the regular setting. Reserve it for clothes that need line-drying.
8. Shower. Switch from a bath, which requires 30 to 70 gallons, to a shower, which uses 25 gallons in 10 minutes under a 2.5-gpm shower head. Then shower shorter.
9. Plug the leaks. A leaky faucet wastes as much as 2,700 gallons in a year -- if it doesn't drive you crazy first. So fix it already.
10. Fill 'er up. Run the dishwasher and the clothes washer with full loads.
11. Raise the mower blades. Adjust your lawn mower to the 3-inch setting. Shaggy grass holds moisture longer, requiring less watering.
12. Test the toilet. Put a drop of food coloring in the toilet tank. If the color shows up in the bowl, your tank is leaking and you're wasting up to 200 gallons of water a day.
13. Turn off the water while you shave and soap up. If you shave in the shower, outfit the wall with the nifty Shower Mirror, complete with clock, razor holder and light.
14. Water early. Water your outdoor plants in the early morning, before the sun can burn off moisture.
15. Don't overwater. Before starting your sprinkler, step on the grass. If the blades spring back, hold off on watering for a day or two. The average lawn needs only one hour of watering a week.
16. Get your car washed. Take your car out for a shampoo and rinse. Commercial car washes save up to 100 gallons of water per wash over the do-it-yourself kind, and they often reuse the rinse water, according to "The Green Book." If every American took the lazy way out just once, total savings would amount to 8.7 billion gallons of water.
Source: realestate.msn.com
Monday, October 8, 2007
How FHA and VA Loans Affect Your Offer
If you are obtaining a VA or FHA loan in order to finance your purchase, you must include that information in your offer. This is because government loans place additional financial and performance obligations on the seller.
Non-Allowable Fees
First, VA and FHA loans prohibit buyers from paying certain types of fees that are often charged by lenders, escrow companies, settlement agents, and title companies. They are called "non-allowable" fees. They still get charged anyway, but as the buyer, you are "not allowed" to pay them. The result is that the seller ends up paying them instead of you.
Most of these "non-allowable" fees come from your lender. By the time you are making an offer you should have already been pre-qualified by a loan officer, so you or your real estate agent can ask how much the lender’s non-allowable fees will be. Experienced agents should also have an idea of what non-allowable fees will be charged by the escrow or settlement agent and the title insurance company.
Since these are fees the seller would not pay on an offer with conventional financing, this information must be included in your offer. You should also realize that since the seller will be paying these additional fees, they may be a little less negotiable on the price.
VA and FHA Appraisals
Home appraisal inspections on FHA and VA loans are a little more detailed than on conventional loans (and more expensive). The appraisers are required to perform certain minimum inspections as well as evaluate the market value of the property. Although these inspections are not as detailed as a professional home inspection and should not be considered a substitute, sometimes repairs are required.
These are additional costs the seller would not be obligated to pay for someone obtaining conventional financing, so your offer should include a maximum figure for these repairs. Otherwise the seller is signing the equivalent of a blank check, and they do not want to do that.
At the same time, whatever figure you put in will most likely affect the seller’s willingness to negotiate on price. If you put $500 as an estimate, the seller may be $500 less negotiable on their price. If no repairs are required, you may have been able to get the house for $500 less than what you and the seller agreed on as the price. The solution is to add a clause to your offer that goes something like this. "If required repairs cost less than the maximum amount allowed, the excess will be credited toward buyer’s closing costs."
Source: realestateabc.com
Non-Allowable Fees
First, VA and FHA loans prohibit buyers from paying certain types of fees that are often charged by lenders, escrow companies, settlement agents, and title companies. They are called "non-allowable" fees. They still get charged anyway, but as the buyer, you are "not allowed" to pay them. The result is that the seller ends up paying them instead of you.
Most of these "non-allowable" fees come from your lender. By the time you are making an offer you should have already been pre-qualified by a loan officer, so you or your real estate agent can ask how much the lender’s non-allowable fees will be. Experienced agents should also have an idea of what non-allowable fees will be charged by the escrow or settlement agent and the title insurance company.
Since these are fees the seller would not pay on an offer with conventional financing, this information must be included in your offer. You should also realize that since the seller will be paying these additional fees, they may be a little less negotiable on the price.
VA and FHA Appraisals
Home appraisal inspections on FHA and VA loans are a little more detailed than on conventional loans (and more expensive). The appraisers are required to perform certain minimum inspections as well as evaluate the market value of the property. Although these inspections are not as detailed as a professional home inspection and should not be considered a substitute, sometimes repairs are required.
These are additional costs the seller would not be obligated to pay for someone obtaining conventional financing, so your offer should include a maximum figure for these repairs. Otherwise the seller is signing the equivalent of a blank check, and they do not want to do that.
At the same time, whatever figure you put in will most likely affect the seller’s willingness to negotiate on price. If you put $500 as an estimate, the seller may be $500 less negotiable on their price. If no repairs are required, you may have been able to get the house for $500 less than what you and the seller agreed on as the price. The solution is to add a clause to your offer that goes something like this. "If required repairs cost less than the maximum amount allowed, the excess will be credited toward buyer’s closing costs."
Source: realestateabc.com
Monday, October 1, 2007
Why Buying a Home is a Good Idea
Income Tax Savings
Because of income tax deductions, the government is subsidizing your purchase of a home. All of the interest and property taxes you pay in a given year can be deducted from your gross income to reduce your taxable income.
For example, assume your initial loan balance is $150,000 with an interest rate of eight percent. During the first year you would pay $9969.27 in interest. If your first payment is January 1st, your taxable income would be almost $10,000 less – due to the IRS interest rate deduction.
Property taxes are deductible, too. Whatever property taxes you pay in a given year may also be deducted from your gross income, lowering your tax obligation.
Stable Monthly Housing Costs
When you rent a place to live, you can certainly expect your rent to increase each year – or even more often. If you get a fixed rate mortgage when you buy a home, you have the same monthly payment amount for thirty years. Even if you get an adjustable rate mortgage, your payment will stay within a certain range for the entire life of the mortgage – and interest rates aren’t as volatile now as they were in the late seventies and early eighties.
Imagine how much rent might be ten, fifteen, or even thirty years from now? Which makes more sense?
Forced Savings
Some people are just lousy at saving money, and a house is an automatic savings account. You accumulate savings in two ways. Every month, a portion of your payment goes toward the principal. Admittedly, in the early years of the mortgage, this is not much. Over time, however, it accelerates.
Second, your home appreciates. Average appreciation on a home is approximately five percent, though it will vary from year to year, and in some years may even depreciate.. Over time, history has shown that owning a home is one of the very best financial investments.
Source: realestateabc.com
Because of income tax deductions, the government is subsidizing your purchase of a home. All of the interest and property taxes you pay in a given year can be deducted from your gross income to reduce your taxable income.
For example, assume your initial loan balance is $150,000 with an interest rate of eight percent. During the first year you would pay $9969.27 in interest. If your first payment is January 1st, your taxable income would be almost $10,000 less – due to the IRS interest rate deduction.
Property taxes are deductible, too. Whatever property taxes you pay in a given year may also be deducted from your gross income, lowering your tax obligation.
Stable Monthly Housing Costs
When you rent a place to live, you can certainly expect your rent to increase each year – or even more often. If you get a fixed rate mortgage when you buy a home, you have the same monthly payment amount for thirty years. Even if you get an adjustable rate mortgage, your payment will stay within a certain range for the entire life of the mortgage – and interest rates aren’t as volatile now as they were in the late seventies and early eighties.
Imagine how much rent might be ten, fifteen, or even thirty years from now? Which makes more sense?
Forced Savings
Some people are just lousy at saving money, and a house is an automatic savings account. You accumulate savings in two ways. Every month, a portion of your payment goes toward the principal. Admittedly, in the early years of the mortgage, this is not much. Over time, however, it accelerates.
Second, your home appreciates. Average appreciation on a home is approximately five percent, though it will vary from year to year, and in some years may even depreciate.. Over time, history has shown that owning a home is one of the very best financial investments.
Source: realestateabc.com
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