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Sundance Village, Gastonia - Announcing a price reduction on 721 Raindrops Rd, a 2 bath, 3 bdrm 2 story. Now 
MLS® $107,000 - .
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Looking to sell your home. With the amount of competition in todays marketplace there is a more important than ever to make a succesful first impression. That first impression will make the difference between having showings and offers. SOME investors may be able to look past curb appeal but most homebuyers in todays marketplace are looking at the total picture of bang versus buck. In a recent CNN article this is expressed.
http://www.cnn.com/2008/LIVING/homestyle/04/10/curb.appeal/index.html
Your house is sitting around and you have the same situation the best answer may be to improve its curb appeal.
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Forbes magazine recently named Charlotte among the top 10 best cities for home sellers. Forbes used a variety of resources to determine how the country’s 40 largest metro areas fared according to four factors- job growth, amount of new construction, vacancy rates, and credit availability.
- San Jose, Calif. Because of a tough regulatory environment, new home construction dropped 63 percent last year.
- San Francisco. When the conforming loan limit recently jumped from $417,000 to the maximum $729,750, that made credit much easier to get for many of the city's home buyers.
- Salt Lake City. The 3 percent annual job growth rate, paired with a declining inventory of existing homes and one of the nation’s sharpest declines in construction made this market a good one for sellers.
- Austin, Texas. Texas is very affordable, plus the city has the nation’s fastest job growth at 4.1 percent.
- Kansas City, Mo. The number of unsold, vacant houses dropped by 40 percent last year.
- San Antonio, Texas. Jobs are growing by 3 percent and construction starts have dropped by 42 percent.
- Denver. The 49 percent drop in construction starts paired with the 2 percent rise in new jobs are good news for sellers.
- Providence, R.I. Vacancy rates at 1.6 percent combined with a 42 percent cut in inventory help sellers.
- Charlotte, N.C. Moderate prices and strong job growth bode well for sellers.
- Seattle, Wash. Strong job growth and a 42 percent decrease in new home construction are good news for sellers.
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The Capitol is abuzz with the news that there is movement on the housing front with a major relief plan moving forward. The major responses considered are
1) Upgrade the FHA Loan limits to new maximums after the current emergency limits expire on December 31st to $550,000.
2) 4 Billion dollar repair fund that will pay to repair homes in blighted areas and allow the community to give the homes to community organizations and improve that community.
3) 100 Million to support housing counseling agencies.
4) Larger penalties for lenders violating Truth in lending laws.
5) New Federal tax deductions to homeowners that don't itemize to allow them to deduct local tax bills.
6) 10 Billion dollars in tax exempt bonds to re-finance sub prime borrowers.
7) Extend the time frame to 4 years for builders to write off federal taxation losses.
8) A $7,000 non-refundable tax deduction for buying a foreclosed home.
Sounds Great! Problem is by the time the other branches of the government gets ahold of this there is little chance of it even having half the items on the list. So what does this mean to you? Nothing as there is as usual a LONG delay before there will ever be any movement to get relief. After all how many of you have received your economic stimulus checks?
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• 1,674 sq. ft., 2 bath, 3 bdrm single story - MLS® $145,900
Lakeview Manor, Charlotte - Full Brick on Quiet low traffic street, Brand New Windows, 2 Fireplaces (as-is)Formal Living and Dining Room. Spacious Den opens to Kitchen for entertaining. Ceiling Fans Throughout. Attic Fan, Plantation wood blinds to remain, Newer (2001) water HEater, roof and HVAC. Updated Plumbing, ceramic tile in both bathrooms with some updated fixtures. LArge level lot. Eat in Kitchen with ample cabinet space. Fireplace in Den has woodstove attached. Convenient location close to shopping, major roads and churches.
Property information
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Foreclosures are hitting record numbers across the country. To assist homeowners, FrontDoor.com, a new real estate website powered by HGTV, is offering a foreclosure guide that provides much needed resources to successfully navigate and understand today’s complex real estate market.
1) Foreclosure is a process, not a thing.
People often misuse the term “foreclosure.” Foreclosure is a series of events, not a state of being. Lenders don’t foreclose on homeowners; they foreclose on property.
2) The foreclosure process has four phases. The terms and length of each phase vary by state.
Your rights and options as a homeowner vary depending on the stage your home is in and the state you live in. Know what laws apply to you. For instance, if you’ve missed three mortgage payments or less, you typically have a little time to work with your lender to “cure” the default. In many states, you have until the auction date to get your payments up-to-date.
3) A difficult financial situation doesn’t have to lead to foreclosure.
There are several steps you can take to avoid foreclosure if your loan is about to adjust, you lose your job or otherwise anticipate that you might miss mortgage payments. For instance, if your ARM reset will double your mortgage payments, show your lender documentation of your income and debts to make a convincing case for a loan modification.
4) The mortgage lender is not eager to take your house away.
Lenders are not in the business of managing real estate, so they would rather work with homeowners to keep them in the house. And with the growing number of defaults across the country, your lender may be more open to cutting a deal.
5) You can sell your home immediately when foreclosure is looming.
Even if you live in a tough market, being aggressive and keeping your home in good condition can help you get a speedy sale.
6) All is not lost once you get a notice of default.
If you’ve missed more than three mortgage payments, you still have some alternatives for stopping the foreclosure process.
7) A short sale is better than going through foreclosure.
Lenders don’t typically forgive mortgages, but in a market with lots of inventory, they would rather see the house sold for less than the mortgage, than deal with trying to sell it themselves.
8) Foreclosure has major legal, tax and credit consequences.
Foreclosure will heavily impact your ability to borrow money in the future, so make sure you’ve exhausted all other options first.
9) Buying a foreclosure property doesn’t always mean you’ll get a bargain.
Your buying strategy depends on the stage of foreclosure the property is in and the state you live in. Finding a turnkey property in the foreclosure market is rare. Oftentimes, the home will need some renovation. Crunch the numbers first to make sure you really are getting a deal.
10) Understanding your mortgage can help you avoid foreclosure.
Many homeowners who end up in foreclosure say they were unaware of some crucial pieces of information about their mortgage. Read all the loan documents, ask questions and consult with an attorney if you can.
http://www.realtown.com/adurbin/blog/foreclosures/foreclosure-101
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Remember those days when the interest rates were at such high rates the only way people could qualify for a loan was to get seller financing? They are back.... Well kind of....
Even though interest rates are low that has not stopped the lenders from tightening the requirements of underwriting. Just a few days ago i had an agent that appeared offended that an underwriter actually denied a loan for a past due bill. This amazing demand that the underwriter has to pay bills on time causes people to have to actually take care of their obligations. This causes a vacuum that the sellers can fill.
Land Contracts, Promissory Notes and other options are available to buyers and sellers to complete transactions. The seller gets a better interest rate than a savings account and the buyer gets the mortgage and the home they want. A Win win for all parties involved that can result in both parties achieving their goals.
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Recent census figures will show that Charlotte has the 6th fastest growing city in the United States. While some city's like Detroit are losing population as fast as the interstates can get them out of town others like Charlotte have seen significant growth. This explains why Charlotte has not experienced the significant deflation of home values like other Cites.
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Mecklenburg county was rated as the 10th fastest growing county in the nation and Union was rated as 7th by the census bureau.
That may explain why I see more cars on the roads every day
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Even if you are not going to buy a home it may be enough with the total of a 1% rate drop this week to consider re-financing. So What are you waiting on?
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The stimulus bill helped Fannie, Freddie and HUD but they overlooked the loan program that originates 11,000 loans a month. Congressmen and Senators admit in the "Rush" to get some economic stimulus VA loans were accidentally overlooked and they hoped to have it rectified in some future season. Stay Tuned to see if our elected officials can fix this "oversight" in the near future.
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40 year mortgages have a certain attraction to home buyers due to the lower payment from stretching out the payments those extra 120 payments may not save as much as you think. After you add the extra .25 to .375 percent increase in the interest rate causes the house payment to go back up. Before you jump on that longer mortgage term you need to compare the two products your loan officer is offering and make an informed decision about what would be best for you ad your family. The payment being cheaper by $50 does not offset that extra 120 payments.
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Most people use the term synonymously however there are some major differences.
A Pre-Qual is a conversation between you and the lender. they use the information you provide without checking to come up with a estimate of the amount of home you can afford.
A Pre-approval normally involves the lender pulling a credit bureau confirming your income and debts to determine the amount you can actually afford. There is no possibility of the person being unable to purchase the home due to credit or income issues as all of this has been done beforehand.
Buyers and sellers should want the pre-approval process as the only remaining issue is then an appraisal.
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New rules being considered due to the lawsuit by NY attorney general will get Fannie and Freddie to change appraisal rules. In summary the changes being considered are
1) Loan brokers will not be able to pick the appraiser.
2) In-house appraisal companies will not be allowed to be used.
3) New system to allow appraisers to advise when they are receiving undue pressure to appraise.
Lets be honest part of the housing bubble was due to bad appraisals that the appraiser sold his soul to make a small fee on appraising the home and placing to high a value on the home. Causing the homeowner to overpay, mortgage companies to issue loans they couldn't sell when defaulted and generally ripping us all off.
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Someone asked me an interesting question the other day. They wanted to know if they needed more than a 20% down payment. I know that the current economic conditions have people cautious but the facts are our oldest friends are still hard at work allowing home owners to purchase. FHA, VA are still alive and protecting people from extremes of the market.
It was sexy a short while ago to get a "stated income" interest only ARM but the facts are that is what created this entire mortgage industry mess. When the bubble broke people were stuck in loans that wouldn't help them and the only option left was foreclosure.
Our old friends are still at work like they have since the great depression. How bad is a loan program with 3% downpayement at 5.75% financing that is not totally credit driven? That is our old Friend FHA hard at work making the housing industry secure so our average homeowner doesn't spend 20 years trying to get the downpayement together to buy that dream home.
Maybe the answer is to take the extra 17% and pay down those credit cards 