Senior News and Information

January 2012 Monthly Newsletter

Angie Shull, Seniors Real Estate Specialist REMAX Property Centre  1134 W Granada Blvd  Ormond Beach, FL  32174 386-295-9605

 

 

Home Sales Rose 6 Percent last month

Home sales rose 6 percent across the Volusia-Flagler area in December compared to a year ago, even as sales statewide fell, ending the local housing market's year of transition on a high note.

Realtors in Volusia and Flagler counties sold 764 existing single-family homes in December -- the most sold in a single month in the two-county area since July, when 766 were sold, the Florida Realtors association reported Friday. However, the median price of homes sold remains lower than a year ago.

The association does not track sales of new homes.

December marks the sixth consecutive month that the number of homes sold in the combined Volusia-Flagler area were up compared to the same month the previous year.

"I think we're in a good little pocket here," said Travous Dever, a sales agent with The Keyes Company and president of the New Smyrna Beach Board of Realtors. "We're starting the new year with good news. We're busy, people are here looking and buying and the prices are reasonable. All combined, people are getting a great value."

While home sales have continued to climb locally, sales of existing homes for the state as a whole last month declined 2 percent, compared with the number sold in December 2010.

In the Volusia-Flagler area, Flagler County Realtors say they led the regional increase. Their records show them selling 161 homes last month, up 12.6 percent from the 143 sold in December 2010, according to a Florida Realtors association breakdown. On the other hand, Volusia County's three associations posted declining sales numbers for December: 12.6 percent down in New Smyrna Beach, 10.4 percent in Daytona Beach and 1.7 percent in West Volusia.

"Flagler activity is picking up. The investors are coming back," said Carmen Bongiovanni, a sales agent with Watson Realty Corp. and president of the Flagler County Association of Realtors. "Prices are down and the loan rates are at record lows. It's the perfect storm."

The median price -- where half sell for more and half for less -- of a home sold in December in the two counties was $108,000. That's down 2 percent from the $109,700 median sale price a year ago. However, it's up from November's $102,000, the lowest median sale price since June 2001.

"It's low, but it doesn't worry me. We're selling more than we were and that brings down inventory. We're at the point where people see they have to move now to buy and that will bring prices back up," said Sandy Alford, a sales agent with Swann & Associates and president of the West Volusia Association of Realtors. "The drop (in median prices) has stopped at the bottom now, but the rise will not be fast and that's good. We need a slow, steady and strong climb up."

For 2011, local Realtors sold 9,010 existing houses. That's up 8 percent from the 8,488 houses sold in 2010. The median sale price fell 7 percent to $110,400 from $119,100 in 2010.

December sales of existing condominiums rose 15 percent to 157 units from 137 a year ago. It's the third consecutive month of year-over-year increases. Daytona Beach agents set the pace selling 88 units, up more than 11 percent from a year ago.

The condo median sale price in December rose 4 percent to $115,00 from $111,000 a year ago. It's also higher than November's median sale price of $105,000, the lowest since Florida Realtors broke out condo sales in 2006.

Local condo sales for 2011 totaled 1,953 units, up 5 percent from the 1,857 units sold in 2010. The median sale price rose 7 percent to $131,900 from $123,000 in 2010.

No More Stuff: 10 Holiday Gifts for Seniors

No More Stuff: 10 Holiday Gifts for Seniors  

By Elyse Umlauf-Garneau

How often have you struggled to pick holiday gifts for seniors who insist that they have everything? When they say they don't need anything, they really mean it. Really, who needs more candle holders, snow globes, or decorative objects?

Consider some holiday presents that entail no objects at all.

Here are some ideas that can help seniors improve their homes (and gain short- and long-term benefits), enjoy an outing, or indulge in a hobby.

1. Tame the clutter:  A professional organizer can help seniors who are hoarders (or borderline hoarders) or those with rooms that teem with stuff. Professional organizers work side-by-side with homeowners first to purge. Then they organize the remaining things, whether those are clothes, photographs, hobby supplies, and so forth. The short-term benefit is a cleaner, more comfortable environment where things are easy to find. The long-term benefit is a tidier house that is better prepared for an eventual sale. It also makes packing for a future move less arduous.

Resources:

·        National Association of Professional Organizers, www.napo.net

·        Professional Organizers In Canada,  www.organizersincanada.com

2. Easy blooms: Though gardening is a great past time and offers a host of benefits to seniors, certain aspects of maintaining those flowery beds can get arduous.  Offer to switch out sections of a garden from high-maintenance to low-maintenance flowers or plants, such as ground cover or perennials. Future homebuyers just may appreciate a beautiful garden that requires minimal work.

And if your parents still love gardening but find bending and stretching difficult, consider building some elevated garden beds that let them maintain plants with less physical exertion. Such beds even can be designed for wheelchair accessibility. 

 

Resources:

·        Thrive, a U.K.-based charity, offers some useful gardening tips for those with physical limitations. See http://carryongardening.org.uk/top-tips-for-disabled-gardeners.aspx.

·        Sunset magazine features step-by-step instructions on building a raised bed. See www.sunset.com/garden/backyard-projects/ultimate-raised-bed-how-to-00400000011938/page10.html.

 

3.  Year-round gourmet: The most obvious 12-month gift is a magazine subscription, but other year-round subscriptions can feed people's foodie passions. That could be a craft beer-of-the-month club, regular deliveries of fancy coffee, or a  CSA (community-supported agriculture) membership in which gift recipients receive boxes of seasonal produce directly from farmers.

Resources:

·        CSAs: Local Harvest (www.localharvest.org), Green People (www.greenpeople.org/csa.htm), Ontario CSA Directory (http://csafarms.ca/index.html)

·         Gifts-of-the-month: Clubs Galore (www.clubsgalore.com/index.htm) and Flying Noodle (www.flyingnoodle.com/index.html)

4. Pet Causes: Is your loved one an activist, an animal lover, or an ardent environmentalist? Consider a donation in his or her honor to a favorite charity or cause. Bluebell Giving (http://bluebellgiving.com) simplifies the process and ensures that your money goes to recipients' pet cause. You pick the denomination and order a gift card. The recipient goes online, chooses a cause, and types in the gift card's code. Then the money goes to the chosen organization. Bluebell features a huge range of categories, including animals, youth development, medical research, and international development. 

5. Experiential gifts:  Experiential gifts serve multiple purposes, including getting seniors out of the house, providing stimulation, and broadening social circles. Among those gifts could be museum and nature center memberships, art classes, and concert ticket subscriptions. If possible, get memberships and concert tickets that let a friend or neighbor tag along on outings.

 6. A dash of dazzle: Dated light and plumbing fixtures, dull wall colors, and faded window coverings can dampen homeowners' spirits and make a house dreary.  Walk through your relative's house and pick out upgrades that can be accomplished fairly easily. Then make it a fun day with that aunt or parent and shop for new faucets, chandeliers, or accent colors. The house becomes cheerier and the fresher appearance can only help when it's time to refinance or sell.

7. Banish the energy hogs:  Energy costs continue to spike and that can be especially painful for seniors living on fixed incomes. Help your family members save energy costs by making simple fixes. 

For instance, phantom power is the energy wasted by chargers, TVs, microwaves, and other household equipment that continue sucking electricity even when they're in the off position. Plug the devices into a power strip and your loved one can turn them all off with a single click.

Also replace incandescent bulbs with energy efficient compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs). According to the U.S. Department of Energy, upgrading 15 inefficient incandescent light bulbs could bring savings of approximately $50 per year. And a properly used programmable thermostat can slash energy costs by up to $180 per year, according to Energy Star.

Sit down with your relatives to discuss how changes in habits, such as turning off lights, learning to use a programmable thermostat,  and not using a computer screensaver during inactive times on the computer, can save energy and money.

8. Green house: A professional energy audit can help you determine the biggest energy efficiency problems in a house and the upgrades that will provide the greatest savings.

Some of the suggested projects often are DIY jobs that you could do with a team of siblings and other relatives. Bring a nice lunch, share it with your loved ones, and make it a DIY project weekend.

The upgrades could keep your loved ones more comfortable, reduce their energy bills, and make the house more appealing to future homeowners.

Just one common project entails sealing and insulating ducts. Such a project can make heating and cooling more efficient and improve indoor air quality. For more on duct sealing, see www.energystar.gov/ia/products/heat_cool/ducts/DuctSealingBrochure04.pdf. 

Energy Star also says that homeowners typically spend between $400 and $600 annually on water heating. Several simple fixes, including setting the temperature to 120 degrees, have the potential to slash that bill in half.

Also consider winterizing projects, such as weather-stripping windows and doors. For nine tips, see, www.proudgreenhome.com/article/182939/9-Home-winterization-projects-to-do-right-now?rc_id=523.

Resources:

·        Danny Lipford: The home improvement expert's site features green home strategies (www.dannylipford.com/category/diy-home-improvement/green-home/?post_type=video) and instructional videos ((www.dannylipford.com/category/diy-home-improvement/diy-projects/?post_type=video) on an array of home improvement projects.

·        Government sites: Energy Star (www.energysavers.gov), Natural Resources Canada (www.oee.nrcan.gc.ca/residential/personal/home-improvement.cfm) and U.S. Department of Energy (www.energysavers.gov/your_home/energy_audits/index.cfm/mytopic=11160).

 

9. Party time: Consider hiring a personal chef to cook a special lunch or dinner for your loved ones and their friends. It allows your parents or relatives to entertain without the hassles.  Personal chefs will not only shop and cook up favorite meals, but some will set the table and use the household's fancy china and serving pieces for the party. They'll clean up too.

Resources:

·        American Personal & Private Chef Association, www.personalchefsearch.com

·        Canadian Personal Chef Association, www.cook4me.ca

·        United States Personal Chef Association, www.Hireachef.com

10. Charity starts near home:  If you don't have elderly relatives, you still can bring holiday cheer to a senior. One way is by teaming up with some neighbors and offering yourselves up for a day of home repairs or yard work for a frail or low-income senior living nearby. Of course, there's no shortage of organizations seeking holiday donations for needy seniors. Search community boards and Websites to choose a charity where you can make an  impact at the local level.

SRES August 2011 Newsletter

 

Enter Rental Investing With Eyes Wide Open

By Elyse Umlauf-Garneau

 

If you've been scanning real estate headlines, you've likely seen the stories saying that landlords are back in the driver's seat.

Demand for rentals, along with monthly rents are ratcheting up. Moreover, with the decline in condo and home prices, investors in some markets are picking up properties for a song. 

Though investing in rental property has the potential for long-term financial benefits, becoming a landlord isn't without its hazards and headaches.

Real estate experts routinely urge caution when investing and recommend that you fully understand the pitfalls and benefits of owning rental property. They also suggest that you look closely at your finances and goals and make purchasing decisions based on your individual circumstances.

 

Eyes wide open

Determining whether such an investment is right for you--financially and psychologically--and then picking the right property are among the first key decisions.

Though the list isn't comprehensive, here are eight considerations before starting a sideline as a landlord.

1. Tap experts.  Be certain that a rental is a good fit with your short- and long-term financial strategy, that a deal is structured to your advantage, and that you're properly insured.  Rely on a team of advisors that includes real estate and mortgage professionals, an accountant, a lawyer, an estate planner, and an insurance expert.

Tip: Your cadre of experts should be able to help you explore and understand all your options, including 1031 exchanges and buying investment property using a self-directed IRA. And they should address exit strategies and crunch the numbers so that you know the effect capital gains will have when you sell. And be sure someone schools you in IRS rules that affect investment property. 

2. Know thyself. Owning investment property can create a special kind of angst that you've not experienced before.  Do you deal with uncertainty well or will a one- or two-month vacancy stress you out? Do you have the skills to get along a variety of people? Can you build good will with tenants without becoming their pals? Are you assertive enough to address tenants' misdeeds and say no to unreasonable demands?  Are you able to make minor repairs? Do you want field late-night calls about burst pipes or broken air conditioners?

Tip: A property management company can remove the burdens of day-to-day contact with tenants, and manage leases, tenant screening, maintenance, rent collection, evictions, and so forth. For a price.

3. Location analysis. Understand the history and the future of a potential neighborhood. That entails more than pricing trends, which a real estate practitioners can address.

Vickey Wachtel ^{ABR,CIPS,CHMS,CRS,e-PRO,GREEN,GRI, SRES,} broker/owner of Imagine Realty International, Katy, Tex., looks beyond the obvious and checks with the city to measure, for example, the fiscal health of a city (tax hikes coming?), assess what projects are being planned (will there be new road running past your front lawn in a couple years?), and to understand how the empty lots in the immediate neighborhood  are zoned. Also look at the ratio of owners to renters in a given area. Prospective tenants look at crime statistics and school rankings, so you should too. 

Tip: Neighborhoods that are walkable, accessible to public transit, and rich with amenities--restaurants, shopping, parks, and entertainment--often trump far-flung bedroom communities, particularly if your target tenant trends to a younger demographic.  

4. Read your neighbors. Spend time in the neighborhood during all times of the day. You want to see what goes on on a Saturday night, for example. Is the neighborhood full of partying college students? If so, it may not be the place to invest if you envision your future tenant being a family. Is the neighborhood tidy? Are parks clean? Are lawns mowed?    

5. Condition and upgrades--Determine whether you want a property that is ready to rent immediately or whether you're willing to make upgrades and repairs. You'll need to factor such decisions into your budget. 

Tip: Unless it's a luxury property, don't sink money into high-end finishes and appliances. Middle-of-the road upgrades, say real estate experts, likely are a better choice.

6. Rising costs. Particularly if you buy in a condo building or a gated golf community, know that you'll face costs for assessments, club memberships, and so forth, and factor them into your decision-making.  Such costs always rise, points out Janice B. Leis ^ABR, an associate broker with Prudential Fox & Roach, who specializes in marketing property in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Florida.

7. Future home? If you're planning to turn your rental into your retirement home, be certain that you like the city, the neighborhood, and the property and that you'll be happy living there. Be sure that the property can be adapted for aging in place. Sure, you're 55 now and in good physical condition. But when you're 75, do you want to be hauling groceries up three flights of stairs? 

Tip: Test-drive your choices by renting the property type and in the town in which you'll be investing and possibly retiring in, suggests Leis. She asks, "If you've always lived in a single-family home, will you like condo living?" Find out before you invest.

8. Know your audience. Pick a neighborhood and housing type and size that are in demand among prospective tenants. In some markets that might be a three-bedroom, single-family house. In others it could mean a high-rise studio. Wachtel says that renters can include anyone from divorced singles and middle-aged couples who are downsizing to recent college graduates and college students.

Tip: In a university town, you'll likely find a steady flow of student renters to tap. But, warns Leis, know that you'll probably face chronic repairs. College students aren't, after all, always gentle on property.  

Resources:

• National Apartment Association (www.naahq.org): Find education, advice, and discussion boards on topics associated with investment property ownership and management.
• Tax considerations: The Internal Revenue Service offers some documents about the tax implications of owning and selling rental property.  It's important to seek advice from qualified certified public accountants, but the IRS documents give you some insight into some of what such professionals will discuss with you. See www.irs.gov/businesses/small/industries/article/0,,id=98895,00.html and www.irs.gov/publications/p527/index.html.
• The Institute of Real Estate Management (www.irem.org): The association offers a book, Principles of Real Estate Management (www.irem.org/acb/stores/1/_font_color_FF0000_NEW_fo_P13C1.cfm), that provides introductory information for those new to real estate investing and managing.
• Local education: If you want a greater understanding about real estate investing, consider taking classes on the topic at nearby colleges and universities.

Note: In next month's issue, we'll address some of the nitty-gritty details associated with being an effective landlord.

SRES JULY 2011 NEWSLETTER

Zero In on Retirement Dollars

 

It's never a bad thing to analyze your finances pretty regularly. We've been poking around research done by Transamerica Center for Retirement Studies, a non-profit foundation focused on retirement security.

 

We found some cool tools at its site (www.transamericacenter.org/resources/tc_index.html) to help you crunch your numbers this quarter.

 

Sweet treats' worth
You've heard that ubiquitous tip about cutting wasteful little habits. It's often called the Starbucks effect. The advice usually goes like this. "Slash your daily coffee consumption and save a bundle."

A little basic math on your part shows the monthly hit your daily treats have on your  budget. But for truly eye-popping--and motivating figures--take a look at the long-term savings you could realize by eliminating that coffee-milk-caramel concoction from your daily routine.

Transamerica Center for Retirement Studies' "loose change" calculator (www.transamericacenter.org/resources/calculator_loose_change_01.asp) makes it a cinch.

 

Just plug in your age, the cost of your habit, and a few other details. You'll find, for instance, that a 55-year-old intending to retire at age 65 and who buys a $3 cup of coffee every work day will sink a total $9,045.46 on this treat by the time he or she retires. Invest the money instead, and it could grow to $13,355.44. The above figures are adjusted for inflation.

 

Up the ante a bit and see the long-term cost of a pricier treat, like a $23 weekly Sunday brunch for a 50-year-old looking to retire at age 65. By the time that “bruncher” retires, he or she will have spent $22,656.42 on bacon and eggs. Investing the breakfast dollars could yield $40,758.82. Again, the above figures are adjusted for inflation.

 

So just how sweet are those daily or weekly treats? It's your call.

 

Next Steps

Now that you've calculated where you can hunt down additional dollars to save each year, the Transamerica site offers some insight that can be a huge help in deciding how to manage and protect that found cash.

And if you've not developed a retirement strategy, it's not too late.  The site features an array of surveys, studies, tax tips, and retirement education.

 

In addition, you can learn about lesser-known benefits to tap, such as catch-up contributions for those over age 50 and the Saver's Credit, a tax credit for low- to middle-income tax filers.

 

It's little surprise that Transamerica's "The New Retirement: Working"  study (www.transamericacenter.org/resources/TCRS12thAnnual%20WorkerNewRetirementFINAL05162011.pdf) found that workers' two biggest retirement-related fears were outliving their savings and investments and not being able to meet the financial needs of their families.

 

That May 2011 report includes some strategies that will help you to respond to those fears. They include:

 

• Formulate a plan and write it down: Only 10 percent of workers have written out their retirement strategy, according to the report.
• Get educated: The majority of workers (71 percent) say they don't know as much as they should about retirement investing.
• Weigh retirement benefits as part of your total compensation package: 53 percent of workers would select a job offer with a higher than expected salary, but poor retirement benefits over one with excellent retirement benefits and minimum salary requirements.
• Participate in employer retirement plans: 22 percent) who are offered a plan at work don't participate.
• Take advantage of the Saver’s Credit and make catch-up contributions: Just 25 percent of workers know about the Saver’s Credit. And Transamerica found that only 56 percent of workers know that those who are age 50 and older may be eligible to make catch-up contributions to retirement plans.
• Have a Plan B, if you can't keep working to your planned retirement date: Only 19 percent of workers currently have a backup plan.

 

Sighing with relief

Yes, retirement studies and calculators routinely deliver feel-bad results.

But if you're one who started saving at a young age and made all the right financial moves, run your savings figures through Transamerica's "saving up" (www.transamericacenter.org/resources/calculator_saving_up_01.asp) calculator.

 

You just might find that you're socking away enough for a comfortable retirement and that your money won't run out until you reach the ripe age of 105. Then let out a gusty sigh

of relief.

Florida leads U.S. in serious mortgage delinquencies

WASHINGTON – Nov. 19, 2010 – Florida still leads the nation in the percentage of homeowners who are “seriously delinquent” on their loans, the Mortgage Bankers Association said Thursday.

In the state, 19.52 percent of borrowers were either 90 days past due or in foreclosure in the third quarter. Add in borrowers who are 30 and 60 days late, and nearly one in four Floridians are behind on their loans.

The good news is that Florida’s seriously delinquent rate is down from 20.13 percent in the second quarter. But no other state met Florida’s lofty level of late payers. Nevada was No. 2 at 17.83 percent, while Illinois’ 10.77 percent ranked third.

With Florida’s job market still weak and home prices way down from a few years ago, it’s no surprise that the state’s delinquency rates are so high, said Jack McCabe, a real estate analyst in Deerfield Beach.

“With 48 percent of the state’s homeowners underwater, we’re going to continue to see delinquencies go up,” McCabe said. “The truth is a lot of people have given up and have stopped paying their mortgages.”

Part of the blame lies with the way foreclosures are handled in Florida, said Michael Fratantoni, the Mortgage Bankers’ vice president of research and economics. Florida and other states where foreclosures go through the courts have foreclosure inventories that are twice as high as so-called non-judicial states, he said.

Of course, the court system is only partly to blame for Florida’s delinquency problem. The bigger culprits are a withering collapse in prices and an 11.9 percent jobless rate that’s well above the national unemployment rate of 9.6 percent.

Nationally, the delinquency rate fell, too, which the Mortgage Bankers Association attributed to modest improvements in the job market. The foreclosure freeze at some lenders hasn’t played a role in falling delinquencies.

“The foreclosure paperwork issues announced by several large servicers in late September and early October are unlikely to have had a large impact on the third-quarter numbers,” Fratantoni said.

Copyright © 2010 The Palm Beach Post, Fla., Jeff Ostrowski. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.

Homebuyers get creative to close the deal

MIAMI – Nov. 19, 2010 – When Efrain Hernandez couldn’t seal a deal before the first-time homebuyer tax credit expired earlier this year, he lost faith that he would ever own a house in a market where investors and all-cash buyers are snapping up bargains and mortgages seem hard to come by.

But waiting – even though it wasn’t by choice – got him more than the $8,000 federal tax credit.

In a single day last month, Hernandez negotiated a contract on a five-bedroom, three-bath home in a development near Homestead, Fla. By the end of October, he closed, talking homebuilder Lennar into a $40,000 discount off the list price, getting it to pay $18,000 in closing costs and scoring a $7,500 no-interest loan from Miami-Dade County to lighten his downpayment.

“I was finally able to buy the house of my dreams,” Hernandez said. “Even though the tax credit was over, it ended up being a better deal.”

While cash is king when it comes to buying properties in a battered housing market, new homeowners like Hernandez are finding ways to finance their homes using hard-nosed negotiation tactics and unusual financing options they never needed during the boom.

And they are scoring deals on homes – not bedraggled or cut-rate foreclosure properties and time-consuming short sales, but well-kept homes with current mortgages.

After a long drought, more money is becoming available to buy homes. Take Wells Fargo Home Mortgage, for instance. Andre Brooks, vice president and regional sales manager for the bank’s Florida operation, said his company has made more than $3 billion in mortgages so far this year in Florida, nearly 20 percent more than last year.

But lending guidelines remain restrictive, said Terry H. Francisco, spokesman with Bank of America. Unlike the loose-money days of the real estate boom, people must painstakingly document their creditworthiness.

Making purchases happen now often requires creativity and calculation.

“Creative financing is about to become the primary means of financing,” said Joe Manausa, a broker and owner of a Century 21 First Realty in Tallahassee, Fla., who has blogged about the topic.

One fruitful financing option is a loan backed by the Federal Housing Administration. FHA loans can require a downpayment of just 3.5 percent compared with the much larger upfront investments many banks require.

FHA loans do have their limitations. For one, like other loans with a downpayment below 20 percent, these require the buyer to get mortgage insurance.

Another limiting factor: FHA loans have a maximum limit. They are available to people who don’t already have an FHA loan and plan to make the property their primary residence.

A private loan – made by a noninstitutional investor who does not advertise himself or herself as a mortgage lender – is another alternative, but requires some networking and using personal relationships to make a connection.

Grant S. Stern, president of Morningside Mortgage Corp. in Bay Harbor Islands, brokered a loan this summer for a condo buyer, financing half the purchase price.

The borrower had made a preconstruction downpayment of $90,000 on a two-bedroom, two-bath $300,000 condo in Sunrise, Fla. He had another $65,000 cash to close, but during the lending process, Fannie Mae’s approval for the project expired.

Stern said he learned that the developer was on the verge of default, and that his client’s money was in jeopardy if he didn’t close the deal quickly. There wasn’t enough time to get a conventional bank loan, so Stern arranged for a real estate investor to fund a five-year, fixed-rate loan in a hurry.

“They said, ‘Close in one week.’ We closed in one week,” he said.

The borrower, a 35-year-old wholesale electronics distributor with good credit, could conceivably arrange a more conventional refinance in the future.

“If this is the only way you are going to close, then it’s a really good option,” Stern said.

Part of real estate agent Gene Mastro’s strategy for buyers is avoiding foreclosures and short sales – especially for those buyers who intend to live in the properties they purchase.

Owners of nondistressed properties are “more ready to correct problems, any minor deficiencies,” said Mastro, who works for Coldwell Banker in Miami-Dade.

Another advantage: Sellers may be willing to pay all or part of closing costs, which can range from 2 percent to 7 percent of the purchase price.

Dilihara Martin said Mastro negotiated a seller’s contribution for closing costs on a home she bought near Kendall this month. The 1,700-square-foot home sits on nearly a quarter-acre.

Martin, 25, said the new place will be a nice change for her, her husband Julio and 6-month-old daughter Isabella, who have been living with her parents.

“He managed to negotiate down to $200,000 and we got a 3 percent seller’s contribution on top of that,” said Martin, an accountant. “He fights for you.”

Another client, Daniel Diaz, closes later this month on a three-bedroom, two-bath home in Kendall, Fla. The price is $150,000. Though Diaz, 28, said he’s a saver, he doesn’t have enough put away for a 20 percent downpayment, so he opted for an FHA-backed loan.

The sellers will contribute 4 percent of the home’s purchase price toward closing costs, said Diaz, who manages a Sports Grill.

“I had no idea about this,” he said. “Gene’s been educating me along the way.”

Another way to cover closing costs is a fast, short-term loan that doesn’t show up on credit reports.

Todd Hills noticed that some of the recent users of his company, Boomerang Lending, wanted fast cash to pay closing costs. His Colorado-based business works like a pawn shop for those with pricier assets, including paintings and fine jewelry. A recent borrower offered a 1955 Picasso sketch.

“It’s not something we’ve experienced before the last six months,” said Hills, the company CEO, but “it makes absolutely perfect sense. This is a way this consumer can get the cash that they need.”

A Texas woman who recently needed an additional $3,500 to pay closing costs sent the company several pieces of jewelry. They gave her the money, and she was able to close.

“They get their house deal done, then they have six months to make the determination about whether they want to come back and retrieve their asset,” Hills said.

Yet another possibility for buyers is a lease-to-own option, Manausa said. “It’s a purchase agreement with a very delayed closing – three months or three years.”

Tom Nisbet and fiancée Greta Leber have just such a contract on their condo. They are living in the 1,600-square-foot unit they hope to buy. It comes with two parking spaces, a pool and a gym, and it’s close enough to the University of Miami, where Leber is working on her Ph.D.

After watching others’ experiences with short sales and foreclosures, they steered clear. “This is by far the best place we saw on the market,” Nisbet said.

© 2010 The Miami Herald. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune News Service, Nirvi Shah, Ina Paiva Cordle and Toluse Olorunnipa.

Mortgage rates jump to 4.39% as Treasurys rise

Mortgage rates jump to 4.39% as Treasurys rise

NEW YORK – Nov. 19, 2010 – Rates on fixed mortgages jumped from their lowest levels in decades this week.

Mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday the average rate for 30-year fixed loans rose to 4.39 percent from 4.17 percent, the lowest level on records dating back to 1971. The 15-year loan also climbed to 3.76 percent from 3.57 percent, the lowest since that survey began in 1991.

Rates rose because Treasury yields climbed to their highest level since July. Mortgage rates tend to track those yields.

The yields rose mostly because traders dumped Treasurys they bought up before the Federal Reserve announced its $600 billion bond-buying program to spur the economy. Republican economists and lawmakers have criticized the Fed program, saying it could lead to runaway inflation. Those fears have led investors to sell their bonds.

Before last week, mortgage rates had been at or near historic lows since April as investors, worried about the economy, shifted money into the safety of U.S. Treasurys. Mortgage rates fell to their lowest point as traders snatched up Treasurys ahead of the central bank’s announcement.

The recent jump in rates rippled through the mortgage market. The number of people filling out mortgage applications slumped last week, the Mortgage Bankers Association said Wednesday. Purchase applications dropped by 5 percent from the previous week, while refinance applications tumbled 16.5 percent.

While refinancing activity got a boost, low rates did little to buoy the struggling housing market. Potential buyers are worried about their jobs or unable to qualify for a loan because of tighter credit standards. Others can’t sell their own homes before buying another.

To calculate average mortgage rates, Freddie Mac collects rates from lenders across the country on Monday through Wednesday of each week. Rates often fluctuate significantly, even within a single day.

Rates on five-year adjustable-rate mortgages averaged 3.40 percent, up from 3.25 percent, the lowest rate on records dating back to January 2005.

Rates on one-year adjustable-rate home loans were unchanged at 3.26 percent.

The rates do not include add-on fees, known as points. One point is equal to 1 percent of the total loan amount.

The average fee for 30-year mortgage in Freddie Mac’s survey was 0.9 point. It was 0.7 point for 15-year fixed loans and five-year mortgages. It was 0.6 point for 1-year mortgages.
Copyright © 2010 The Associated Press, Janna Herron (AP real estate writer). All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

A Home Inventory Can Save You From Insurance Headaches

by: Laura Daily | from: AARP Bulletin | June 8, 2009

 

Floods, fires, hurricanes, tornadoes and even construction cranes toppling into apartment buildings: No home is completely safe from natural or man-made disasters. But while almost half of Americans say they have an inventory of their possessions to document losses in case of a disaster, you couldn’t prove it by Garry Kaufman’s experience.

After last year’s Hurricane Ike hit Texas, Kaufman, president of Galveston Insurance Associates, had more claims than anyone in the state. “I have 38 employees, and as far as I know, none of them encountered a homeowner who had a complete inventory,” he says. “A few customers stored a printed one in a file cabinet. That isn’t much use when your home is flooded by a 20-foot storm surge.”

Now that the hurricane season is gearing up, home inventories are essential. Most of us can’t remember what we had for lunch much less what’s stashed in the hall closet. That’s why you need to take stock of what you have. In the event of a claim, insurers require you to substantiate your loss in as much detail as possible. “It’s one of the most important documents a consumer can put together,” says Jeanne Salvatore, spokeswoman for the Insurance Information Institute, which has provided free downloadable software to consumers for years.

For those who find the prospect of cataloging everything they own daunting, there is some good news. Sure, you can get the job done with a notebook and disposable camera, but why not let computers do the heavy lifting? A number of new home inventory software programs let you list items room by room and attach photos and receipts, all the while storing everything securely in cyberspace. The real advantage: You can print a report anytime and from anywhere and turn it over to your insurance company with a total sum of your assets.

Internet makes it easy

Carol Edgar, 63, of Bigfork, Mont., lives adjacent to a wilderness area where wildfires occur every summer. “If there was fire, we’d pack up the animals and be out of here,” she says. Edgar was one of the first to try the Insurance Information Institute’s Web-based Know Your Stuff program, launched in March. “It was incredibly easy,” says Edgar, who has so far inventoried her furniture, quilts, sewing room supplies and office equipment.

These programs usually include fields to note item name, room, category, date purchased and replacement cost. When an item is added, you can upload digital pictures and scanned receipts. Then you can print a household summary or detailed inventory by room or by category. Because the systems are completely Web-based, you can access them from anywhere—invaluable if your computer is destroyed, stolen or inaccessible.

Before starting an inventory, contact your insurance agent. Ask what sort of documentation is required should you ever need to file a claim. Anything of special value, such as art or collectibles, might need to be independently appraised. Or try Edgar’s method: Do a Google search for the item (like sterling silver flatware) to locate a replacement value.

Taking the inventory

Now get organized. Dig out every receipt. Remove garments from dry cleaning bags. Take stuff out of boxes. Open drawers and cabinets and pull out anything hidden on back shelves.

 

Then proceed room by room, suggests Ilene Drexler, a certified professional organizer and owner of The Organizing Wiz in New York. Make a list of your personal possessions, describing each item and where you bought it. Take pictures of every room, then focus in on valuable items. “It’s probably sufficient to photograph the inside of your closet and guesstimate the approximate number of slacks or shirts you own, but take additional pictures of those expensive shoes or custom-tailored suit,” she says.

After being burglarized a couple of times, Dan Merrell of Austin, Texas, started using eProoft (annual subscription, $39.99), another Web-based inventory management system that debuted in 2008. “Each time I’ve been robbed, the police and insurance company ask, ‘What did you lose?’ Six months later I think of something I forgot to mention,” says the 62-year-old custom picture framer and watercolorist. Merrell first tried to store an inventory on his home computer, “but when I upgraded some software, I lost it,” he says. “Then I heard about eProoft. I admit it scared me at first to have an inventory of my stuff stored online, but once I saw the safeguards, I was convinced this was the way to go.”

Merrell started by photographing all the artwork and furniture in his living room. He uploaded the photos, and then added information such as description, purchase date and serial numbers for each item. “I like taking the photos first so I can refer to them as I add the data,” he says.

The little things can add up. So photograph the inside of your medicine cabinet and arrange your bed so you can see the various components—box spring, mattress, linens and pillows. Count your dishes and silverware and itemize small kitchen appliances and cookware.

One way to get the entire family involved: Use a video camera. “Have one person be the director-cameraman and another the actor who opens the drawers, shows the items and narrates,” Drexler suggests.

Once you have your information, enter it into your chosen software program. For inherited items include as much information as possible, such as “this was Grandma’s hardwood rocking chair that she inherited from her grandmother.” Scan receipts, price tags, warranties and appraisals into your computer. No scanner? For $30, Shoeboxed will digitize 100 paper receipts into images you can download to your home inventory program.

An alternative: desktop storage

For those nervous about keeping their inventory online, one option is Quicken Home Inventory Manager ($29.99). Others include Computerize Your Assets ($29.95) and Cover Your Assets ($49). All perform just like the Web-based systems but reside on your own desktop, so you have to take an extra step to ensure you can access your records.

As Hurricane Ike victims discovered, even the most complete home inventory is worthless if you can’t get to it. At a minimum, copy your files to a CD and give them to a friend or relative in another location or e-mail the file to yourself. You might also check into an offsite backup service. Quicken’s runs from $9.99 for up to 100 MB to $149.99 per year for 10 GB. The backup service from Cover Your Assets costs $99 a year, with discounts for multiyear plans.

 

Don’t worry about completing your entire inventory in one day. Spread the task over a series of weekends or 30-minute stints. Once you have your stuff cataloged, be sure to add new items as you acquire them.

Even if you never need to file a claim, home inventory software pays. According to Salvatore, a majority of homeowners are underinsured. “A complete home inventory can help you purchase the right amount of insurance,” she says. Edgar likes the fact that she is creating not only an inventory of her possessions but a record for her children and grandchildren. “It gives them an idea of what’s what and its history, should they ever need to know,” she says.

And should the worst happen? Says Kaufman, who is now offering eProoft free to thousands of his Galveston clients: “Those who have an accounting of their possessions move to the front of the claims line.”

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Laura Daily is a Denver-based writer.

Survey: Mortgage closing costs 37% higher

from: USA Today | August 31, 2010

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Reverse Mortgage Alternatives

Explore all of your options before resorting to a costly reverse mortgage.

by: Jonathan Pond | from: AARP | September 9, 2010

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New Weekly Article - Recipes

New Weekly Article - Recipes

After a year of decline, Florida's population sees a slight amount of growth

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Florida added an average of 125,000 people annually from 1950 to 2008, Smith said. During the boom years last decade, the population grew by 400,000 per year. Without more job growth, the population growth will remain slow, driven more by births and foreign immigration than by people moving from other states as in the past.

The biggest percentage increase in population was in north Florida's Lafayette County. It grew by 5.2 percent, but that was mostly because of an increase in the number of inmates at state prison, Smith said.

The biggest decline was in Seminole County, which lost 3,659 residents, followed by Pinellas with 3,199.

New Weekly Article - Magic Mirrors

http://www.yourhomeandlifestyle.com/pages/article/YHL_SEP_10_01/40033/index.html

Pie Recipes - New Weekly Article -

New Weekly Article - Pie Recipes