Ohh, So Fab!

Board to Buyer: Nah. Not at That Price.

2012-10-16T06:24:00.000-07:00

BUYING or selling a Manhattan co-op has long presented unexpected pitfalls and moments of unique drama. But as real estate prices continue relatively flat, one obstacle has become more prevalent: Co-op boards are rejecting sales outright if they deem the price of the apartment to be too low.

Some boards are so determined to hold the line on prices that they are unswayed by buyers’ offers to place years of maintenance fees in escrow, to increase the down payment and even to pay in cash.

Co-op boards aren’t required to disclose the reasons they reject applications, which makes it difficult to determine just how often buyers are being turned down because the offer isn’t as high as the board might like. But interviews with more than a dozen Manhattan real estate experts, including brokers, board members and real estate lawyers, suggest that boards are saying no more often as they seek to maintain the value of the apartments in their buildings amid a sea of price-conscious buyers.

“In the last month,” said Aaron Shmulewitz, a real estate lawyer, “I must have had 5 to 10 questions about that from various boards that have turned down or have contemplated turning down purchases for price, as well as various purchasers who contacted us for being turned down.” Mr. Shmulewitz oversees the co-op/condo practice at the Manhattan law firm Belkin Burden Wenig & Goldman.

“I don’t know if prices have gone down, or if boards are expecting the price to go up,” he added. But the incidence of board rejections because of low sales prices has been “markedly increasing.”

Outside of New York, such impediments to homeownership are largely unheard of, because co-ops are so rare. But they account for 75 percent of the housing stock for sale in Manhattan, according to Jonathan J. Miller, the president of the Miller Samuel appraisal firm. And although some condos now also ask buyers to submit financial information when they apply, co-op boards subject potential shareholders to more rigorous scrutiny, often requiring reams of financial and personal information, right down to references for pets.

Many buyers are willing to undergo the anxiety-inducing process to get into the Manhattan market, where inventory has become particularly tight. But few are willing to overpay. At the same time, some sellers who lack equity or the economic stability to trade up to a new apartment have decided to cut their losses and list their apartments for prices lower than they had hoped.

“If you’re desperate to get out because you’ve been waiting for two years,” Mr. Miller said, “you sell for what you think you can get.”

Evelyne Luest hasn’t quite reached the desperation level, but her patience is running thin. Ms. Luest, a professional pianist, listed the Hudson Heights one-bedroom apartment that she uses as a practice studio for about $300,000 in 2009, just as the market was beginning to plunge.

Earlier this year, after repeatedly lowering the asking price, she was pleased to receive an all-cash offer for $225,000 — slightly less than 6 percent below the asking price of $239,000 —from a fellow musician, Thomas Bergeron of South Hadley, Mass. They went into contract in the summer. Mr. Bergeron made plans to move. Everything seemed to be falling into place until the board rejected his application.

Ms. Luest said she had spoken with two board members and the building’s sponsor, who all confirmed that price had been a deciding factor. “It’s a business problem,” she said. “It’s not good business for them to sell apartments for a low price.”

After he was turned down, Mr. Bergeron, who recently began a two-year teaching fellowship, offered to put a year’s worth of maintenance in escrow upfront and to have his mother sign as a guarantor — even though he was paying the $225,000 in cash. But he drew the line at paying a higher price, which was suggested by Ms. Luest and her broker as well as Mr. Bergeron’s broker, Kelly Cole of the Corcoran Group.

“In my opinion,” Mr. Bergeron said, “the price we went into contract on was the market price.”

In the end, Ms. Luest decided not to pursue the offer. Mr. Bergeron is now renting, and she has relisted her apartment at the slightly higher price of $259,000.

The board, reached via the building’s management company, declined to discuss its decision.

For all anyone knows, there may have been other reasons Mr. Bergeron was turned down. His profession as a trumpet player could have raised the issue of a potential noise threat.

“I don’t understand how it can be legal for them to deny people without giving any reason,” he said. “It really surprised me that that was O.K. to do.”

As long as it does not discriminate illegally, a co-op can turn down a sale for practically any reason. And recent court decisions have held that a board’s decision to reject apartment sales because of a low price falls within its business judgment.

Compared with just three years ago, “a board’s price-based rejection of an apartment transfer is much more likely to be protected and insulated from challenge in 2012,” said Eva Talel, a partner at Stroock & Stroock & Lavan in charge of the co-op/condominium board representation group. In January she co-wrote an article in The New York Law Journal about co-op rejections based on pricing. “I think courts began to feel a greater comfort level in addressing the issue of the scope of the board’s business judgment to deal with what is a legitimate concern for buildings,” she said. “If prices are not sustained at a certain level, then it would likely have a negative impact on the values of other apartments.”

If the only thing holding up a sale is the price on paper, brokers say there are ways to get around the problem. Earlier this summer June L. Gottlieb, a broker at Warburg Realty, encountered a seller who would not accept her buyer’s $690,000 cash offer for a Midtown East pied-à-terre listed at $700,000 for fear the board would consider it too low and not approve the sale. The buyer refused to increase his offer because the apartment, which was part of an estate sale, needed a total renovation.

“The only way to get the deal done was to agree to split the flip tax,” Ms. Gottlieb said. The buyer paid more for the apartment in the contract, but at the closing the seller wrote him a check for part of the flip tax, “so the contract read at a price that would be acceptable at the board,” she said.

Another creative solution, brokers say, is to increase the purchase price on paper and create an offsetting credit, or a “seller’s concession.” A buyer willing to pay, say, $770,000 for an apartment listed at $800,000, would assent to the $800,000 price, then at closing receive a credit of $30,000 in the form of a check from the seller to be used for renovations or other improvements. That way, the buyer would pay no more than previously agreed, the seller would be able to sell the apartment, albeit at a cost, and the transaction would be recorded at a price that pleased the co-op board.

Such deals are completely legal, as long as the marked-up sales price is disclosed in the transaction documents and all parties understand and agree to it, said Mr. Shmulewitz of Belkin Burden Wenig & Goldman.

But Barry Weidenbaum, a New York real estate lawyer, pointed out that some banks and co-ops “may not view such an arrangement as proper.” Some banks, for example, limit seller’s concessions or credits, often capping them at 6 percent, he said.

While secrecy is typical in cases of rejection involving price, some co-op boards are taking a more direct approach. Steven R. Wagner, a real estate lawyer who is on the board of Southgate, a five-building co-op complex in the East 50s near the East River, said sales price had not been an issue there until earlier this year. “Suddenly, there were three or four apartments that came up, all of which were significantly lower than where the apartments had been previously selling for,” he said.

But rather than flat-out rejecting applicants who otherwise would have passed muster with the board, he said, “we actually took a chance and raised the issue with the broker and individuals and said, ‘Listen, before we say no to this application, we want you to know it’s because of this, and if you wanted to submit a different contract price, very likely no would be yes.’ And people did in fact come back.”

Still, even with the best intentions, boards that try to control sales prices may end up hurting themselves. “The irony,” Mr. Miller said, is that “by being too aggressive in policing transfers of property in your co-op, you can actually make it worse.” When apartment deals are repeatedly turned down because the board wants a higher price, the properties end up lingering on the market. The inference, he pointed out, “is they are overpriced when they’re not.”

The board unwilling to approve a lower price for an apartment may also be missing a signal from a seller who is experiencing financial distress and could end up defaulting on maintenance if unable to sell. And co-ops that repeatedly turn down applicants for price reasons also run the risk of gaining a reputation as a tough building — which could ultimately backfire.

“This always says something to me about the board in the building,” said Ms. Cole, the broker who represented Mr. Bergeron, the trumpet player, “and it sends a really bad message. Now, when working with a buyer, I say: ‘By the way, just know there was a board turndown here with a cash buyer, and they pulled the rug out from everyone. So buyer beware.’ ”

published by nytimes.com

Tips for making your house a hot sales commodity

2012-07-10T08:35:00.002-07:00

Want to be the seller who goes to market instead of the one who stays home? The difference might be a few of the things you do before you plant that "for sale" sign.
Your house has competition, and that means you have to do some work to get it ready to sell. So, while your home looks great compared to the neighbor's foreclosure, it might not quite compare to that house a block over where, rumor has it, the owner clips the lawn with an electric razor.
You don't have to spend a ton of time or money. A few simple tricks can get your home ready for the market.

Here are tips from top agents to give your home the edge:

Break out the cleaning supplies
"Give it a really good cleaning," said Jeff Wiren, immediate past president of the Portland Metropolitan Association of Realtors in Oregon.
The problem: "A lot of sellers might not have the same perception of 'deep cleaning' that a buyer would," he said. For that reason, "it might be worth spending a couple hundred dollars to have professionals come in and clean."
Two places where clean can be critical for buyers are kitchens and bathrooms, says Pat Vredevoogd Combs, past president of the National Association of Realtors. Having those rooms clean and sparkling can make a huge difference in the perception of "whether a house is kept up or not," she said.
Windows and baseboards are crucial, said Mark Ramsey, broker with The Ramsey Group at Keller Williams Realty in Charlotte, N.C. If you're not replacing carpets, have those cleaned, too, Wiren said. The potential outlay for a cleaning service and carpet cleaning is likely in the neighborhood of $300 to $500 total, he estimated. "It has a much greater impact than most sellers think."

Ditch junk and clutter
"This is now a showcase," says Patricia Szot, immediate past president of the Dallas-based MetroTex Association of Realtors. "You are no longer living in it; you are showing it."

Laundry room: Make it neat and orderly, Szot said. Your goal is to make it look like the room is plenty big enough for the job.

Pantry: It's for food only, Ramsey said. Using the pantry for general storage screams, "Not enough cupboard space."

Garage: If it's a two-car garage, make room for two cars, Szot said. For a lot of men, if the garage "looks small because of the clutter, there's an issue."
"And while you're decluttering, you're depersonalizing," Wiren said. "You really need the buyer to be able to picture your home as their home." A picture of your kids on the nightstand is "not a big deal," he said. But you don't want the family portrait gallery lining the hallway.
With paint, stick to neutrals, several agents said.
"I have had people who painted some of their rooms and picked the colors themselves" in shades of pink and purple, said Combs, who is vice president of Coldwell Banker AJS Schmidt Realty in Grand Rapids, Mich. "And it was more of a negative than a positive when they put their homes on the market."
Their mistake wasn't DIY painting but color selection, she said. Opt for neutrals, which have broader appeal.
"Then consider the flooring. If the carpeting is old and stained, put in new carpeting," said Szot, operating principal with Keller Williams Realty, Lake Cities at Firewheel.
Keep any planned changes to the house reasonable and in character with the home and the neighborhood.
"Don't lie to yourself," said Wiren, a principal broker with Re/Max Equity Group. If the house has areas that show wear, get that work done before offering the home.
"The price of your house is going to determine what things you should do," Combs said. One client spent $10,000 putting in hickory cabinets and granite countertops in the kitchen of a home that listed in the $100,000 range, she recalled.
"In that price range, it wasn't necessary," Combs said. "And we couldn't get any more money for the house."
View the house from the buyer's perspective. "Pull up and stop right in front of it, just like a buyer's going to do," Ramsey said. Then "let yourself in the front door, like a buyer's going to do."
How does your home compare to others on the street? Is it inviting? Does it make you want to see more?
"Walk through the home with the eyes of a buyer," Szot said. If you're buying another house, think about what you want to see in your new home, she said.
Pay special attention to the entryway, Ramsey said. "You want it to be open as much as possible," he said. Look at the furnishings you have in the area, and err on the side of less-is-more. "When in doubt, get it out," Ramsey said.

Newsday.com

LI mortgage rates fall in national trend

2012-07-05T08:27:00.000-07:00

WASHINGTON -- Fixed U.S. mortgage rates fell again to record lows, providing prospective buyers with even more incentive to brave a modestly recovering housing market.
On Long Island rates followed the national trend, according to figures supplied by HSH Associates of HSH.com. The 30-year fixed was 3.77 percent, down from 3.83 percent. The 15-year fixed is 3.35 percent, down from 3.41 percent. The one-year adjustable was 2.75 percent, down from 3.27 percent.
Mortgage buyer Freddie Mac says the nationwide average on the 30-year loan dropped to 3.62 percent. That's down from 3.66 percent last week and the lowest since long-term mortgages began in the 1950s.
The average rate on the 15-year mortgage, a popular refinancing option, slipped to 2.89 percent, below last week's previous record of 2.94 percent.
The average rate on the 30-year loan has fallen to or matched record low levels in 10 of the past 11 weeks. And it's been below 4 percent since December.
Low-interest mortgages have provided some lift to the long-suffering housing market, which has slowly improved this year.

Newday.com

Kitchens Sell a House

2012-06-09T19:01:00.000-07:00

It's a tool used by house flippers all across the nation. Stagers know its power. Real estate agents push its importance. What is this not-so-well-kept secret of real estate? A kitchen can sell a house.

A kitchen is the heart of a home. This is true all across the globe. The old saying that the "stomach is the way to the heart" carries a lot of truth. Kitchens are where we spend much of our time and most of that is with our families. It's the room where we nourish our bodies and our spirits.

Kitchens are integral to entertaining and in today's age of open floor plans, they're a focal piece of many family rooms. It's because of this that kitchens play such an important role in the buying and selling process.

This one room is the showpiece of the house. You'll see it every day and your guests will see it during most visits. This means buyers want homes with up-to-date kitchens.

Kitchens, however, can be one of the most expensive rooms to renovate. These projects can also be the most labor and time intensive of all home renovations. It's not just a new layer of paint.

Instead you find a complicated array of flooring, tiling, cabinets, and counters. This means buyers may want a home with an up-to-date kitchen but they aren't willing to tackle this problem themselves. Most buyers want a kitchen that is ready to use the day they move in.

What do buyers look for in up-to-date kitchens? A lot of this depends on what price range your home is in.

The main thing to remember as a seller is to not price yourself out of your market. If homes in your neighborhood are selling for $100,000 with tidy, but not luxury kitchens, then this is no time to upgrade to granite, travertine, and marble at the price tag of $40,000+. You simply won't find a buyer.

Scope out the competition. Use open houses in your area or MLS listings to find out what your competitions' kitchens look like.

Do area homes have new solid wood cabinets and granite counters in today's designer colors? You'll be wise to consider making the same move. Are they including new stainless steel appliances and add-ons like dishwashers, wine-coolers, and trash compactors?

Are you in a higher-end neighborhood? It's time to think high-end. Your older home may have a highly functional kitchen, but a buyer will take one look at your formica counters and white appliances and become lost in the stress of how much money and time it would take to remodel. If you don't want to put in the time yourself to make upgrades then you'll have to make concessions in the price.

Don't become overwhelmed, though. Sometimes a kitchen update can mean doing just a few minor changes. Change the paint color to a warm, neutral tone. Get rid of any clutter. Update your appliances, paint your cabinets, change the pulls, or get a high-end looking counter for a fraction of the cost (faux-granite or lower end granite). You might even save a bundle by doing much of the work yourself.

The bottom line is a kitchen can sell a home. Do a little research and find out what your kitchen needs to make it competitive with area listings.

By Carla Hill RealtyTimes.com

Real Estate Outlook: Home Inspections

2012-06-07T15:25:00.000-07:00

What does your home inspection cover? And who is liable if a problem develops down the road? We'll answer these questions in today's outlook.

You need an inspection on any property you are buying, regardless if it's old or new construction. An inspection is like a check-up for your house.

What repairs will need to addressed now and what might need to be addressed later down the road? This is what you have answered during an inspection.

Having an inspection done prior to signing a contract allows you to negotiate your findings into the deal. Does the roof need replaced? The seller may give an allowance to pay for the repairs. If you don't ask, you'll never know!

Perhaps you've fallen in love with a fixer-upper and are dreaming of doing the repairs yourself. If the inspection discovers hidden damage and costs, you'll be given the option to keep looking for a more suitable house.

Keep in mind, however, that simply because a house needs repairs doesn't mean you shouldn't purchase it.

Nearly every house will have a list of repairs that need to be done to get it "shipshape." It is your decision to choose how much you are willing to spend and how much work you are willing to do.

A home inspection varies depending on what type of property you are interested in.

According to the American Society of Home Inspectors (ASHI), "the standard home inspector's report will cover the condition of the home's heating system; central air conditioning system (temperature permitting); interior plumbing and electrical systems; the roof, attic and visible insulation; walls, ceilings, floors, windows and doors; the foundation, basement and structural components."

There are limits, however, to what a home inspection will cover. They aren't required to identify conditions that are concealed or are considered latent defects.

That means if personal property, plants, snow, or debris is covering an issue, the home inspector isn't require to move those items to inspect it and isn't liable if he misses it. They aren't require to make determinations on systems that aren't readily accessible.

And they aren't required to note the presence of potentially hazardous plants and animals. That includes "wood destroying organisms" or even molds.

This means you should find a home inspector that you trust. The ASHI recommends you choose from their list of licensed professionals. "ASHI members know houses, ensuring that you can find a home inspector. They are trained to objectively communicate to you, the home inspection buyer, what the house has to say. ASHI members have demonstrated technical proficiency and report-writing skills, and they have committed to continuing education in order to achieve and maintain their member status."

Having a trusted inspector means that most every problem that can be identified, will be. And inspection is about peace of mind, and a good inspector gives you that.

by Carla Hill- RealtyTimes.com

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

2011-12-30T07:16:00.000-08:00

Wishing You Your Family a

Happy, Healthy Prosperous 2012!

3 Tips for Staging Your Home to Sell

2011-12-20T09:27:00.000-08:00

Today's buyers are looking for turnkey homes. That is, they want to move right in without having to do a lot of work. Buyers with busy lifestyles pay a premium for listings that are in prime condition. Staging can make the difference between a listing selling or not, the time it takes to sell, and the ultimate sale price.

Sellers who are financially strapped often have a hard time accepting that they'll need to invest in preparing a house for sale even though they may sell for less than they paid. Fix-up costs can mount up; your agent can help you prioritize so that you don't waste money. It's important to keep your goal in mind, which is to sell your house in a difficult market.

Recently, a home in Piedmont, Calif., an affluent city neighboring Oakland, came on the market in "as is" condition. It had been lived in for decades without much upgrading. Although located in a desirable area, the listing was vacant, dark and showed poorly. The sellers refused to do any work to improve its appeal.

After months on the market with no significant interest, the sellers pulled the house off the market and made improvements. The wall-to-wall carpet was pulled up to reveal hardwood floors that were then refinished. Painters lightened the interior and a professional stager was hired to bring in furniture, artwork, house plants and accessories. The listing was put back on the market with a fresh look and sold right away.

HOUSE HUNTING TIP: Although listings staged by a good decorator show well and often sell quickly, you don't need to spend a lot to put your home into shape for marketing. Most homeowners have too many personal possessions in their home from a sale standpoint. Decluttering is something most sellers need to do.

This can generate uncomfortable emotional responses. One seller, who was cleaning out the family home of 50 years, found a packet of love letters his father sent to his mother. Of course, he had to read all of them, which delayed his fix-up schedule.

Consider hiring someone to help you sort, pack, donate and recycle items that you no longer want. You may be able to take a tax deduction for things you donate. Make sure to get a receipt. Your real estate agent should be able to recommend someone who can help you clear your house of clutter if you are overwhelmed by the project.

Your agent, or stager, may ask you to put away collections of art, personal photos, etc. This can be difficult for most sellers because, for them, it's part of the emotional appeal of their home. Your house won't look like your home after you've removed personal possessions and moved what's left around to display the house to its best advantage.

That's the point of the preparation process. You don't want prospective buyers focusing in on your personal property; you want them to focus on the house. Keep in mind that how you live in your home and how it should look when it goes on the market are not the same.

Some sellers complain that their house looks too stark without all their possessions. Even so, it helps you to detach yourself emotionally from the property. Also, less personal property usually gives homes a more spacious feel. When buyers are looking for the most for their money, bigger is usually better.

To close the deal, a listing should be spotless and inviting. Bring in new house plants to put in strategic locations, like orchids in the bathrooms. In dark spots that need a dash of warmth and color, use bromeliads.

THE CLOSING: If you can't pull this together yourself, or with the help or your agent, hire a good stager for a consultation or a proposal for full or partial staging.

-Inman News

Before You List, Must-do Showing Tips

2011-11-16T12:39:00.000-08:00

Staging pro Sharon Brown with Homescapes by Design in Roseville, Minn., offers her clients a checklist before they list their home for sale. The point of the checklist is to make sure the home is show-ready before the for-sale sign goes up and the first potential buyer walks through the door, and even before photos are snapped for the MLS.

The following are the changes Brown most recommends to her clients in getting a home ready to list:

1. De-cluttering and removal of all personal pictures and items. Have the buyer to see the space as something they could own. Too many personal items crowded in a space makes that a challenge for buyers and clutter can detract from the features of a home.

2. New neutral, good quality rugs.

3. Re-painting several rooms into neutral colors, if needed.

4. Replacing and updating lighting fixtures.

5. Make any small repairs (or big ones if needed).

6. Purchase of matching appliances in the kitchen for a cohesive, finished look.

7. Update major furniture (furniture can be rented for the duration of the sale).

8. Move furniture to show the rooms to their best advantage, including moving very large furniture out of rooms to give them a more spacious feel

9. Incorporate decorative details that help give the home an inviting, finished feel. See the before and after photos below.

Before: Over-cluttered family room, with outdated furniture

Photo Credit: Florida High Performance Green House, www.flgreenhouse.com

After: Staged, de-cluttered room with more updated furniture.

Before: Overloaded kitchen counters and dated decor

Photo credit: Sharon Brown, Homescapes by Design

After: Completely clean counters (counterspace sells kitchens!).

On November 7, 2011, in Staging Tips, by Melissa Tracey ..

Morgan Stanley: U.S. Becoming ‘Rentership’ Society

2011-11-08T08:15:00.000-08:00

On October 31, 2011, in Breaking News, Mortgage Financing, by Robert Freedman, Senior Editor, REALTOR® Magazine

Well, there’s at least one big Wall Street banker that’s betting on the United States becoming a “rentership” society: Morgan Stanley.

The company released a report just a few weeks ago saying now is a great time for institutional investors to snap up distressed single-family homes and turn them into long-term rental units. The company says the properties don’t compete with the classic apartment rental property, so investors don’t have to worry about cannibalizing their multifamily rental investment portfolios to take advantage of the huge opportunities in single-family rental property ownership. What’s more, Morgan Stanley doesn’t see this shift to rentership as a temporary waypoint while the country sorts out its housing problems; it sees this as a fundamental shift in how the United States will define itself into the future.

“America is moving away from a home ownership society and towards a rentership society,” the company says in its report.

To emphasize the point, one of the report’s authors, Oliver Chang of Morgan Stanley’s Housing and Securitized Products Strategy division, said in a video interview (above, after a 30-second commercial), “This is really the first time in history where there’s an opportunity for institutions to own single-family rental properties as part of a larger asset allocation strategy.”

The reason for the shift to rentals, according to the company?
■Home price declines: not only are millions of homes available to investors at deeply discounted pricing but the low prices are changing consumer attitudes on housing as an investment
■Hurdles to buying: down payment requirements, higher FICO score thresholds, and income verification are making it harder for households to even consider buying
■Costs of ownership: without home price inflation, costs like property taxes, home owner association dues, maintenance and repair make ownership less attractive
■Demographic effects: Gen Y growth is heading up while baby boomer households are downsizing
■Unemployment, labor insecurity and mobility: long unemployment durations make labor mobility (and thus renting) more important
Morgan Stanley says the U.S. home ownership rate, which has fallen to about 64 percent from close to 68 percent at its peak, is really closer to 60 percent when you factor in home owners who’ve stopped paying on their mortgage and only remain in their house because the bank hasn’t finished processing their foreclosure yet. Once these cases make it through the system, they’ll move to the renter side of the equation.

When they do move to the other side of the equation, they’ll become renters of single-family houses, not of multifamily apartment units. That’s because these households, which tend to be a little older and often with children, want a single-family house in the suburbs, not a unit in an apartment building in the city. So, these households will be providing a big share of the demand for single-family rental houses into the future without necessarily adding demand to apartment rentals in the city.

To be sure, many of these households might like to buy again rather than rent given the historically low interest rates and deeply discounted home prices, but the reality is that many of these households simply can’t pass the credit score threshold. Financing is hard to get for the most creditworthy households today, so for credit-impaired households, renting is the only option.

Morgan Stanley projects some 7.5 million more foreclosures over the next five years, what it calls “liquidated” houses, providing a golden opportunity for institutional investors to snap up properties for their portfolio and get into the long-term single-family rental business.

If the company is right, then this is a great opportunity if you work with institutional buyers of real estate, whether on the buying, selling, or property management side. You have tons of inventory coming onto the market to sell to big buyers who will turn these into long-term rentals.

But you might also challenge the company’s basic premise. Is the American Dream really transitioning into a “New Pragmatism,” as the company calls it, under which rental housing is the way of the future?

The fact is, if lenders simply dialed back their underwriting requirements to the sound policies they used before the housing boom, home sales would pick up, inventories would shrink, prices would start heading up in more than a few markets, and that 7.5 million in foreclosed houses Morgan Stanley predicts over the next five years will be a smaller number. And those that want to rent can rent and those that want to buy can buy rather than having to rethink their priorities in a new rentership society.

In any case, a survey that just came out today from Meredith Corp., one of the biggest magazine publishers in the country, finds that home ownership remains all-important to most households. Some of its findings:

■86 % of homeowners polled still feel owning a home was a good investment.
■85 % say they feel, “owning a home is one of their proudest accomplishments.”
■Of Americans that don’t currently own a home, 69 % agree, “No matter what happens in the U.S. housing market, owning a home is still an important goal in my life.”

Go to that Meredith home ownership survey now

The Morgan Stanley report is called “Housing 2.0: The New Rental Paradigm,” and it’s dated Oct. 27, 2011. If you can’t find the report or a summary, you can hear Oliver Chang talking about it in the video above although you have to watch a 30-second commercial before the video comes on.

FALL BACK!

2011-11-05T07:21:00.000-07:00

FALL BACK TONIGHT!

Just a Reminder- Don't forget to Turn your clocks back tonight!! Turn your clocks back one hour at 2:00am (or before you go to sleep).

... One more hour, WHOO HOO!!

That's one extra hour of sleep!
One extra hour of partying!
One extra hour of facebooking!
One extra hour of reruns!
One extra hour of time to work!
One extra hour before that paper is due!
One extra hour before it's Monday!!

So ENJOY your one extra hour, whatever you may be using it for =)

https://twitter.com/FabbieGabbai

Like, Follow & Share Me!

2011-10-15T06:45:00.000-07:00

https://twitter.com/FabbieGabbai

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Listingbook

2011-06-23T12:01:00.001-07:00

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Ohh, My Aching Back!

2011-05-02T18:17:00.000-07:00

Last week I twisted the wrong way while working hard on an eliptical machine at the gym. The squash sound was less than comforting. Later the tingling down my legs had transformed into shooting pains, then just became a constant ache all over my back & hips.

I came across this ball chair and realized that sitting on this chair allowed my body to rest without pressure pushing up into the base of my back. I then found that my mother would be proud as my posture was improving and i was starting to develop quite a bit of muscle in my back!

10 Great Reasons to sit on a ball:

It forces proper spine alignment
It causes you to constantly change positions
Fitness without even realizing it
Improve your balance
Get a great set of abs!
Improves your circulation
You'll have so much more energy
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Honeymooning couple survives six natural disasters!

2011-04-06T20:09:00.000-07:00

Oh, what a marriage can survive. A Swedish newlywed couple tested theirs sooner than most--when they experienced no fewer than six natural disasters while honeymooning.

Stefan and Erika Svanstrom, who have a remarkably positive attitude about their four-month ordeal, brought their infant daughter with them on what they'd hoped would be a globetrotting adventure to celebrate their marriage. Instead, the pair encountered a monster snowstorm, a major tsunami, two earthquakes, catastrophic flooding, and a cyclone as they made their way through the doomed itinerary of Germany, Bali, Australia, New Zealand, and Japan.

While in Munich, the Svanstroms first found themselves stuck in the snowstorm that blanketed Europe in December. Hoping to escape, they made their way to Cairns, Australia, where a disastrous cyclone forced them into a group shelter with thousands of others seeking refuge. Once the family arrived in Brisbane, flooding had put much of the city underwater. The Daily Mail writes they "narrowly escaped" bush fires in Perth.

"We escaped by the skin of our teeth," Stefan told the AP of their time in Australia. "Trees were being knocked over and big branches were scattered across the streets."
A few hours before the newlyweds arrived in New Zealand, a 6.3-magnitude earthquake struck. Two days after they finally got to Tokyo, the devastating earthquake and tsunami hit, sparking a nuclear crisis in the nation's power plants.

The bride told The Times of London (article behind a paywall) that at the beginning of the trip, in Germany, she thought "things will get better. We're in love. And just think of the beaches we're heading for in southeast Asia."

But when they arrived in Bali they were met by a monsoon.

"We are thinking, are we weather haunted? What will happen next?" Erika, who just started a new job in the Swedish Parliament, told the paper. She might have a point--her husband says he also survived the 2004 tsunami in southeast Asia.

They returned to Stockholm on March 29, after a delightfully uneventful final stop in China, they told the Swedish Expressen newspaper.

"At least we are fortunate when it comes to love," she said.

The couple told Expressen they've been flooded with media requests from all around the world as their story went viral, and may even be flown to New York to appear on Good Morning America. They've also been offered money by the Swedish travel company Ving to take a trip to Aruba, which is--knock on wood--usually disaster-free.

Article courtesy of Yahoo

With a hat that size, you will have no trouble!

2011-04-05T19:47:00.000-07:00

5 Mortgage and Foreclosure Myths

2011-03-28T22:05:00.000-07:00

In a mortgage market that changes as quickly as this one, today’s fact is tomorrow’s fiction. For buyers, misinformation can be the difference between qualifying for a home loan or not. Sellers and owners, knowledge is foreclosure-preventing, smart decision-making power! Without further ado, let’s correct some common mortgage misconceptions.

1.       Myth: Buyers with bad credit can’t qualify for home loans. Obviously, mortgage guidelines have tightened up, big time, since the housing bubble burst, and they seem likely to tighten even further over the long-term. But just this moment, they have relaxed a bit. In the last couple of weeks, two of the nation’s largest lenders of FHA loans announced that they’ve dropped the minimum FICO score guideline from 620 (which allows for some credit imperfections) to 580, which is actually a fairly low score.

At a FICO score of 620, buyers can qualify for FHA loans at many lenders with only 3.5 percent down. With a score of 580, the lenders are looking for more like 5 to 10 percent down – they want to see you put more of your own skin in the game, and the higher down payment lowers the risk that you’ll default. However, if your credit has taken a recessionary hit, like that of so many Americans, this might create a glimmer of hope that you’ll be able to take advantage of low prices and interest rates without needing years of credit repair.

2.     Myth: The Mortgage Interest Deduction isn’t long for this world. Homeowners saved over $85 billion in 2008 by deducting their mortgage interest on their income tax returns. A few months ago, the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform caused a massive wave of fear to ripple throughout the world of real estate consumers and professionals when they recommended Mortgage Interest Deduction (MID) reform, which would dramatically reduce the size of the deduction.

Fact is, the Commission made a sweeping set of deficit-busting recommendations to Congress, a few of which are likely to be adopted. Fortunately for buyers and sellers, MID reform is not one of them. Very powerful industry groups and economists have been working with Congress to plead the case that MID reform any time in the near future would only handicap the housing recovery. Congress-folk aren’t interested in stopping the stabilization of the real estate market. As such, the MID is nearly universally thought of as safe – even by those who disagree that it should be.

3.       Myth: It’s just a matter of time before loan guidelines loosen up. The US Treasury Department recently recommended the elimination of mortgage industry giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. I won’t get into the eye-glazing details of it here, but the long and the short is that (a) this is highly likely to happen, and (b) it will make mortgage loans much harder and costlier to get, for both buyers and homeowners.   It’s possible that loans are as easy to get as they’re going to get. So don’t expect that if you hold out, zero-down mortgages will come back into vogue anytime soon. Fortunately, Fannie and Freddie aren't likely to disappear for another 5-7 years, so you have a little time to pull your down payment and credit together. If you want to get into the market, the time to get yourself ready is now!

4.       Myth: If you don’t have equity, you can’t refi. Much ado is being made about how stuck so many people are in their bad loans, because they don’t have the equity to refinance their way out of them. If you’re severely upside down (meaning you own much, much more than your home is worth), stuck may be the situation. But there are actually a couple of ways homeowners can refi their underwater home loans. If your loan is held by Fannie or Freddie (which you can find out, here), they will actually refinance it up to 125% of its current value, assuming you otherwise qualify for the loan. That means, if your home is worth $100,000, you could refinance a loan up to $125,000, despite the fact that your home can’t secure the full amount of the loan.

If your loan is not owned by Fannie or Freddie, you might be a candidate for the FHA “Short Refi” program. While most mortgage workout plans are only available to people who are behind on their loans, the Short Refi program is only available to homeowners who are current on their mortgages and need to refinance up to 115 percent of their homes’ value. So, if you owe $250,000 on your home, you can refinance via an FHA Short Refi even if your home’s value is as low as $217,000. If you think you’re a good candidate for a short refi, contact your mortgage broker, stat – there are some in Congress who think that this program is so underutilized (only 245 applications have been submitted since it rolled out in September – no typo!) that its funding should be diverted to other needy programs.

5.       Myth: If you’ve lost your job and can’t make your mortgage payment, you might as well mail your keys in. Until recently, this was essentially true – virtually every loan modification and refinancing opportunity required that your economic hardship be over before you could qualify. And documenting income has always been high on the requirements checklist. But there are some new funds available in the states with the hardest hit housing and job markets, which have been designated specifically for out-of-work homeowners.

The US Treasury Department’s Hardest Hit Fund allocated $7.6 billion to the states listed below – all of which are now using some portion of these funds to offer up to $3,000 per month for up to 36 months in mortgage payment assistance to help unemployed homeowners avoid foreclosure. Contact the state agency listed below if you need this sort of help:

Alabama: http://www.hardesthitalabama.com/
Arizona: https://www.savemyhomeaz.gov/
California: https://www.keepyourhomecalifornia.org/
Florida: https://www.flhardesthithelp.org/
Georgia: http://www.dca.state.ga.us/housing/homeownership/programs/hardesthitfund.asp
Illinois:http://www.ihda.org/
Indiana: http://www.877gethope.org/
Kentucky: http://www.kyhousing.org/
Michigan: http://www.michigan.gov/mshda/buyers/save_the_dream/helping+hardest+hit+homeowners+-+contact+your+mortgage+servicer+for+assistance
Mississippi: http://www.mshomecorp.com/firstpage.htm
Nevada: http://www.nahac.org/
New Jersey: http://www.state.nj.us/dca/hmfa/home/foreclosure/homekeepers.html
North Carolina: http://www.ncforeclosureprevention.gov/
Ohio: http://www.savethedream.ohio.gov/
Oregon: http://www.oregonhomeownerhelp.org/
Rhode Island: http://www.hhfri.org/
South Carolina: http://www.scmortgagehelp.com/
Tennessee: http://www.thda.org/
Washington D.C.: http://www.dchfa.org/

Article Courtesy of Trulia.com

5 Tax Tips, Tricks and Traps for Homeowners

2011-03-23T20:13:00.000-07:00

Ask a roomful of homeowners what's so great about owning versus renting, and you'll hear them holler in unison: "the tax deductions!" And it's true – homeowners who itemize their taxes are able to deduct 100% of their mortgage interest and property taxes from their income tax returns.

That means that if you're in a 28% tax bracket, Uncle Sam effectively subsidizes about a third of your borrowing costs or more, making your home more affordable or allowing you to buy a larger home than you could have otherwise. Also, big chunks of your closing costs are tax deductible, and hundreds of thousands of dollars of any profit (or capital gains) that you realize when you sell your home are exempt from income taxes.

At tax time, it's critical to know what you're entitled to, so you can claim it. So, here are five essential need-to-knows about home-related income tax tips to help you get the most tax-reducing bang out of your home-owning buck – and to avoid hefty home ownership-related tax traps.

1. You Have to Itemize Your Return to Claim Your Deductions

During the recent debate on Capitol Hill about whether the mortgage interest deduction should be eliminated (it won't be, not anytime soon), it came out that nearly 40% of homeowners lose out on their major tax advantages every year when they fail to itemize their income taxes. If you own a home and otherwise have a fairly simple return, it might be tempting just to take the standard deduction – and if your mortgage, property taxes and income are low enough, the standard deduction might outweigh your homeowners' deductions. But you'll never know if you're losing out on the tax advantages of itemizing unless you try; before you grab a pen and start filling in that 1040-EZ grab those forms from your mortgage company and answer the questions on tax software like TurboTax, which will automatically do the math on whether itemizing or taking the standard deduction will result in the lowest tax bill – or the highest tax refund – for you.

2. Plan Ahead and Be Strategic When Taking a Home Office Deduction

According to the Small Business Administration, the average home office deduction is $3,686 – multiply that by your tax bracket – 15%, 20%, 30% or whatever it is, and that's what you'll save on your taxes by writing off your home office. Know, though, that the space you designate as your home office cannot be exempted from capital gains tax when you sell your home later. The $250,000 (single)/ $500,000 (married filing jointly) income tax exemption for capital gains is only good on your personal residence, after all – not including any space in your home you've claimed as your tax-advantaged office. If you foresee selling your home for much more than you bought it in the future, near or far, discuss this with your tax preparer to see if the few hundred bucks you save is worth the capital gains complication later.

3. Tax Relief for Loan Modifications, Short Sales and Foreclosures Is Only Around Through 2012

While the long-term housing outlook is beginning to look up, 2011 is projected to be the peak year for foreclosures during this market cycle. Distressed homeowners who are on the brink of a short sale, loan modification or foreclosure should be aware that normally, any mortgage balance that is wiped out by one of these outcomes is taxed as what the IRS calls Cancellation of Debt Income, or CODI.

Under the Mortgage Debt Forgiveness Relief Act of 2007, the IRS is currently not charging income taxes on CODI incurred through a loan mod, short sale or foreclosure on most primary residences through 2012. But right now, banks are taking many months, or even years, to work out mortgages in all of these ways; the average foreclosure in New York state right now occurs only after 22 months of missed mortgage payments. If you foresee any of these outcomes in your future, don't put things off. Do what you can to get to closure on your distressed home and loan, ASAP, while you won't have income taxes to add as the insult on top of your significant housing injury.

4. Project the Income Tax Consequences of a Refinance or Property Tax Appeal

Homeowners everywhere are working on applying for a lower property tax bill on the basis of the last few years' decline in their home's value. Those who have equity have flocked en masse to refinance their 7% home loans into the 4% to 5% rates of the last few months. These strategies offer some of the heftiest household savings out there for the corresponding investment in time and money they take. But here's a caveat for savvy homeowners who slash these costs: remember that property taxes and mortgage interest, the very costs you're minimizing, are also the basis for the major tax benefits of being a homeowner. So plan ahead for your income tax deductions to go down along with your taxes and interest.

5. Don't Forget Those Closing Costs
If you bought or refinanced your home in 2010, you may be so focused on your mortgage interest and property tax deductions that you forget all about your closing costs. Any origination fees or discount points that were paid to your mortgage lender at closing are tax deductible on your 2010 return, get this – even if the seller paid your closing costs. If you can't figure out exactly what you paid, look for your HUD-1 settlement statement, that legal sized paper full of line item credits and debits that you should have received from your escrow provider or title attorney at, or just after, closing. Can't find it? Drop your real estate agent or mortgage broker an email; they can usually get a copy to you quickly.

Article Courtesy of Trulia.com