The Stewart Team just successfully closed a short sale property on Elmwood in Willoughby. This was a HAFA Short Sale through Litton Loans. The process was very smooth taking less than 90 days from buyer offer date. Visit StewartTeamHomes.com for more infomation on our short sale programs. We are 100% getting our clients short sale properties SOLD…
On June 1, 2010 Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac announced full support of HAFA for loans owned or guaranteed through them. The program will begin August 1, 2010 and shares the HAFA Program’s projected expiration date of December 31, 2012. This announcement changed the existing condition preventing loans owned or guaranteed through the two government-serviced enterprises from being assisted through HAFA.
The Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternatives (HAFA) Program is a government-sponsored initiative overseen by the US Treasury Department and administered by Fannie Mae assisting all Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP)-eligible homeowners in avoiding foreclosure. One of the requirements is your denial for a (HAMP) Home Affordable Modification Program, Modification of your existing loan. HAFA is and excelerated short sale program being offered to help you avoid foreclosure. For more information and requirements please contact Jeff Morris of the Stewart Team…Jeff is a Certified Distressed Property Expert and fully trained on the procedures to follow in this program.
Some of the details: We will list your home and will than have 120 days to complete a short sale before the lender is able to foreclose on the home…The homeowner is also eligible for up to $3000 of moving expenses upon successful completion of the short sale. Contact us for more details…
Many homeowners in todays market have moved on to their next home. The home they are still trying to sell is vacant. If you are in this situation you need to check with your homeowners insurance agent to be sure you have coverage for a claim. Insurers are now realizing that a vacant home is a high risk for many types of claims. If your home has been vacant for more than 60 days and you try to file a claim it may be denied. Most homeowners insurers will insure your home but…with something called vacant homeowners insurance. The cost can be double the normal cost for and occupied home. Better to be safe than sorry if you have something happen to your vacant home and find out the claim is denied. Your insurer may do a drive by inspection before approving a claim, if the home looks vacant they may ask for proof of occupancy with utility bills for several months to look at avg use etc….Contact your insurance company today if you are in this situation! Currently in Lake and Geauga county there are over 150 homes either in a foreclosure or short sale status and many of these homes are vacant. Keep in mind until the home transfers to the bank at sheriff’s sale or is short sold, the homeowner is responsible to keep the property insured. We hope this information is helpful to you! Visit our website www.StewartTeamHomes.com.
With the first-time homebuyer tax credit deadline having come and gone, you may be asking yourself, “What now?” Fortunately, the door is open to a new wave of savings: distressed properties.
For many buyers, the term foreclosure brings up images of run-down homes with no heat and rotting wood. While this is still the case for some homes, it’s no longer the standard. In fact, first time buyers are snatching up distressed deals in decent condition for great prices.
According to a November 2009 Keller Williams Research Buying Distressed Properties Survey, 40 percent of all buyers for bank-owned foreclosures (REOs) were first-time buyers in 2009. 50 percent of all short sale buyers were first-time buyers.
By definition, a distressed property is one that was purchased with a loan and the homeowner is no longer able to make their mortgage payment resulting in foreclosure – or if they’re lucky a short sale – meaning they owe more on the home than it’s currently worth. With a 20 percent increase in foreclosures from 2009, distressed properties still remain a large portion of home sales and are going to continue well into 2010 as homeowners continue to feel the effects of an economy on the mend.
If you’re in the market for a home and are prepared for a unique transaction, a distressed property can be a great option. Here’s why: Prices are low – Buying a foreclosed property is an excellent way to get a home for less. Research shows you can save 10-40 percent over the price of similar properties in a traditional sale.
Mortgage costs are low – With rates hovering near historic lows, financing costs to are favorable. Keep in mind, rates are always changing. It’s important to begin the pre-approval process so that you know how much you can realistically afford.
You have options – The number of homes in some stage of the foreclosure process still remains high. RealtyTrac, a site dedicated to tracking foreclosures across the country, estimates that there are approximately 2.1 million homes in some stage of foreclosure in the United States.
Sellers and lenders are motivated – According to data from RealtyTrac, in April, one in every 387 households in the country has received a foreclosure filing. The bottom line is that many sellers are still feeling the pain of a down economy and are anxious to out get from under a home that is putting stress on their current financial frustrations. While it is still an emotional transaction, these sellers are willing to come down on price or even consider concessions such as helping out on closing costs. Banks holding on to large portfolios of Real Estate Owned (REO) properties want to unload quickly – and price these homes to sell.
Your best ally when purchasing a distressed property is an expert. Always have a professional REALTOR® by your side to help you make informative decisions. The Stewart Team Is Ready to help you…Team member Pat Stewart, Realtor is a Certified Distressed Expert CDPE. Contact us today or visit our website www.StewartTeamHomes.com for additional information!
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6 Reasons to Reduce Your Home Price
While you’d like to get the best price for your home, consider our six reasons to reduce your home price. Read
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Copyright 2010 NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®
A beautiful yard is a head-turner, no doubt about it. The good news is that even if you can’t tell a tulip from a turnip at the garden center, you can still create eye-catching curb appeal by paying attention to the basics of good landscaping. Ignoring your yard—or doing something that’s out of character with the neighborhood—can jeopardize the assessed value of your home.
“We have several categories for design and appeal,“ says Frank Lucco, a real estate agent and professional appraiser in Houston. “That’s where we make those adjustments. Poorly maintained landscaping can be as much as a 5 or 10% deduction.”
If you’re installing outdoor lighting on your own, remember to highlight the areas you want people to see.
Image: www.CoeStudios.com
Appraisers are quick to praise the allure of a well-tended lawn and good-looking landscaping when it comes time to sell your home, but most do not assign any specific increase in monetary value for upkeep.
“Landscaping is going to add to the appeal of the property and it may sell quicker, but it’s hard to determine value,” says John Bredemeyer, president of Omaha-based Realcorp. “You have to have a number to compensate someone if you drove into their tree and killed it, but is it really market value? Probably not.”
Nevertheless, most professionals agree that curb appeal and a well-maintained appearance prevent your property from losing value. Here are the top suggestions from real estate agents, appraisers, and landscape designers for boosting the curb appeal of your yard:
Green up the grass
If your house has a front yard, make sure it‘s neat and green. You don’t want bare spots, sprawling weeds, or an untrimmed appearance.
“It’s so simple to go to Home Depot, buy fertilizer, apply it every six weeks, and water it,” says Mitch Kalamian, a landscape designer in Huntinginton Beach, Calif. “It will green up.”
If the yard looks really scruffy, you may decide to invest in some sod. According to the National Gardening Association, the average cost of sod is 15 to 35 cents per sq. ft. If you hire a landscaper to sod your yard for you, labor will add 30% to 50% to the total cost of the project.
Another alternative is to plant low-maintenance turf grasses. Turf grasses are durable and drought-resistant. Expect to pay $18 to $30 for enough turf grass seed to plant 1,000 sq. ft. of lawn area. Add colorful planting beds
Flower beds add color and help enliven otherwise plain areas, such as along driveways and the edges of walkways. In general, annual flowers are a bit cheaper but must be replaced every year. Perennials cost a bit more but come back annually and usually get larger or spread with each growing season.
If you’re not sure what to plant, inquire at your local garden center. Often, they’ll have a display of bedding plants chosen for their adaptability to your area. Also, they‘ll be inexpensive because they’re in season, says Peter Mezitt, president of Weston Nurseries in Hopkinton, Mass. Try pansies in the summer, and asters and mums in the fall to add vibrant color. “That’s what we do around the entrance to our garden center,” Mezitt says.
Valerie Torelli, a California REALTOR® who dresses up her clients’ yards to sell their houses faster and for more money, says that in her market, she can put in a bed of colorful annuals and bark, as well as cutting down overgrown shrubs, for less than $500. “We can buy gorgeous plants for $3.99 to $15.99,” she says. Add landscape lighting
For homeowners who have made a sizeable investment in landscaping, it makes sense to think about adding another 10% to 15% to the bill for professional lighting. “You can’t see landscaping after dark,“ says Brandon Stephens, vice president of marketing for a landscape lighting firm in Lubbock, Texas, “and buyers are not always looking at houses on a Saturday afternoon.”
The cost of a system runs from $200 for a DIY installation to more than $4,000 for a professional job. If you‘re doing it on your own, the key is to light what you want people to see, such as mature trees and flowering shrubs. Plant a tree
The value of mature trees is particularly difficult to determine. Lucco says that in his market, mature trees contribute as much as 10% of a $100,000 property’s overall value. In addition, a properly placed shade tree can shave as much as $32 a year on your energy bills. Expect to pay $50 to $100 for a young, 6- to 7-foot deciduous tree.
You can make your own initial assessment of the value of your property’s trees by visiting the National Tree Benefit Calculator. For example, a mature Southern red oak tree with a diameter of 36 inches in the front yard of a house in Augusta, Ga., would add $70 to the property value this year, according to the calculator.
Georgia-based freelance writer Pat Curry writes extensively about housing and real estate for consumer and trade publications. While a fair hand at remodeling, she is hopeless as a gardener. As a result, her landscaping is made up of plants that thrive on neglect.
© Copyright 2010 NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® www.Houselogic.com
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(New!)
Outdoor Appliance Guide: Gas Grills
With models priced from $29 to $5,000 and up, outdoor gas grills offer convenience and ease-of-use to fit any budget. Read
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Copyright 2010 NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®
Knowing the Guidelines Solves the Mystery
The appraisal process often baffles consumers. They may feel that their home is worth a higher dollar amount, and so the appraised value doesn’t always make sense to them. It is important to know that the appraiser is completely independent from lenders, buyers, sellers, and real estate agents, and that the guidelines to which they adhere are dictated by the Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice (USPAP) and Fannie Mae. In most states, the mortgage lenders must also disclose the purpose of the appraisal, as each transaction carries its own set of rules.
In essence, these important guidelines help appraisers put a fair market value on homes based on comparable sales in the same area, and the home must be bracketed in size and value.
For example, there is no set dollar figure associated with a great view, pool, spa, bathroom upgrades, etc. If a homeowner installs a custom pool that cost them $30,000, but the local marketplace supports the value of a pool at $15,000, then that item will be bracketed as [$15,000] on the appraisal.
Upgrades can usually be expressed at a higher percentage of their value in newer homes because the only way to obtain those upgrades was to put more money into the cost of building the home. On the other hand, the upgrading or remodeling of an older home is rarely reflected in full in the final appraisal. This is because typically 25-40% of the project involves demolition and the fixing of issues that aren’t uncovered until the project has already begun, such as plumbing or wiring that may need updating.
Ultimately, the value of the upgrades must be supported by comparable examples within the same marketplace. These comparisons must be drawn from current market activity within the last six months. This is a safeguard to prevent appraisers from attaching too high a value to the home in question, and opening up the appraisal for review. This guideline further states that appraisers can only base their opinion on the value of home sales that have actually closed. The good news for sellers in Lake and Geauga County is the large increase in sales that appraisers have to to choose from for comparables!
Don’t Miss the 2010
GEAUGA COUNTY MAPLE FESTIVAL
(Admission is Free)
When: April 22 – 25, 2010
Location: Historic Chardon Square (Rt. 6 & Rt. 44) in Geauga County
Web: www.maplefestival.com
Join in the fun as Geauga County celebrates the coming of spring and the years’ maple syrup crop. This festival takes place on Historic Chardon Square in the heart of Geauga County. For visitors looking for fun there are all the traditional things a festival offers; rides, games, food & great entertainment. What sets this event aside is all of the Maple related activities that take place over the weekend like the crowning of the Maple Queen, the “sap” run, bucket painting, Maple candy carving, Pancake Breakfasts (with pure maple Syrup), and pancake eating competitions. One of the big Highlights is the area’s only BATHTUB RACES!! on Saturday, Men’s and Woman’s division.
Area sugar bushes also put their syrup to the test with syrup & maple candy judging. Winning syrups are also auctioned off as part of the weekend entertainment. Food choices include Maple candy, Maple corn, and the popular Maple stirs available at the Log cabin on the square. Grand parades take place on Saturday and Sunday and showcase a lot of the community businesses and events. Check back to the website www.maplefestival.com schedules are constantly being updated as the big event approaches. Don’t miss the fun!
Mortgage rates have moved back to less than 5 percent, which have been categorized by industry experts like Freddie Mac chief economist Frank Nothaft as “near a record low.” This move that may help boost home loan demand and lend support to the housing market recovery. On January 28, the average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage was 4.98 percent.
Affordability
Affordability remains at record levels, supported by the lowest mortgage rates in decades, low home prices, as well as the first-time buyer tax credit. So far this year, the home price-to-income ratio has fallen well below the historical average of 25 percent. The ratio now stands at 15 percent.
Sources: National Association of Realtors, Freddie Mac
