SANPETE HOME OWNER SAVVY

STAGING A HOME CAN PAY FOR ITSELF MANY TIMES OVER!!!

If I only had a dollar for every time I tried to get clients to spruce things up... Of course a home is to live in, even while selling, but you're moving away, RIGHT? 

This link to "This Old House" has some of the best ideas ever for staging your home.  In fact, I'm NOT  thinking of selling, but I like these ideas, period.  You'll note that many of them DID NOT REPAINT OR REDECORATE, just made minor changes!

http://www.thisoldhouse.com/toh/photos/0,,20209521,00.html

FALL CHECKUP FOR YOUR HOME

This good bit of advice comes from Home Warranty of America's monthly newsletter!With the fall and winter months upon us, now is the time to do some routine maintenance around your home to prepare for the changing weather ahead. Taking the time to do some work now may save on some major expenses later. Some of these tasks can be performed by you, and some may need to be done by a professional.

Outside your home

   1. Clear debris out of window wells, gutters, downspouts, and storm drains.
   2. Remove garden hoses from spouts. Drain and store for the winter. Wrap spouts in insulation.
   3. Drain in-ground sprinkler systems.
   4. Check windows, doors, and siding for holes and cracks. Caulk as necessary.
   5. Check weather stripping on windows and doors for fit and condition. Replace as necessary.
   6. Inspect all soffit vents and other venting systems to make sure they're clear of debris.
   7. Check painted surfaces for paint failure, water damage, or mildew. Repair or repaint if needed.
   8. Check caulking where two different materials meet, where wood siding joins the foundation wall, at inside corners, and where the window and door trim meets the siding.
   9. Check for broken or cracked glass and damaged screens or storm windows. Check for loose putty around glass panes. Repair glass if necessary.
  10. Insulate outdoor faucets, pipes in unheated garages, and pipes in crawl spaces with materials such as rags or newspapers.

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Inside your Home:

   1. Have a heating professional check your heating system every year. Replace your furnace filter.
   2. Woodburning stove connector pipes and chimneys should be inspected by a certified chimney sweep at least annually.
   3. Make sure you have proper insulation in both your attic and basement. While checking your insulation, if you see any dark, dirty spots, it may indicate you have air leaks coming into your home.
   4. Remove hair from drains in sinks, tubs, and showers.
   5. Test all smoke alarms. Replace batteries as necessary.
   6. Check your home around windows and doors for air leaks. An easy way to check for leaks is to move a lighter around the window or door frame and see if the flame moves with a breeze. If you find a leak, you can caulk it or you may have to replace the wood frame. Repairing these leaks can save you money on your energy bill during the cold months.
   7. Check for water leaks on the ceiling. Repair if needed.
   8. Make sure there are working nightlights at the top and bottom of all stairs.
   9. Protect your home from frozen pipes. How to do this.
  10. Test your emergency generator.

REVERSE MORTGAGE? MAYBE, MAYBE NOT

Seniors and Their Home Equity Threatened as Subprime Lenders, Abuses Appear in Reverse Mortgage Market

RISMEDIA, October 8, 2009—Abuses and abusers from the subprime mortgage market have begun showing up in the reverse mortgage market, putting at risk the equity and savings of millions of seniors.

That’s the main finding of “Subprime Revisited: How the Rise of the Reverse Mortgage Lending Industry Puts Older Homeowners at Risk,” a report issued recently by the National Consumer Law Center.

“In the reverse mortgage market, seniors face some of the same aggressive lending practices that were common in the subprime lending boom,” said Tara Twomey, an NCLC attorney and author of the report. “Well-funded marketing campaigns and perverse incentives to brokers are targeting seniors’ home equity and using reverse mortgages as their tools.”

As the new NCLC report notes: “Many of the same players that fueled the subprime mortgage boom—ultimately with disastrous consequences—have turned their attention to the reverse market. Lenders, including some of the nation’s largest banks, view that market as a source of profits that have dried up elsewhere. Mortgage brokers see it as a new source of rich fees. Predators who once reaped profits from exotic loans have now focused on wresting more wealth from vulnerable seniors. And securitization, which allowed subprime loan originators to disassociate themselves from the downside risks of abusive lending, is becoming commonplace in the reverse mortgage industry.”

U.S. Senator Claire McCaskill said this report validates the need for regulatory improvements in this industry in order to protect America’s seniors as well as our tax dollars. “We’ve seen this movie before and it didn’t have a pretty ending. Abuses in the subprime lending market almost brought down our economy. Now we’re seeing similar abuses with reverse mortgage lending–something needs to be done before more lifesavings are depleted and more tax dollars are drained,” McCaskill said.

This report describes the growth of an aggressive and dangerous reverse mortgage sales culture that has outstripped the limited resources and uncertain funding for the counseling agencies that current laws rely on to prevent reverse mortgage abuses.

“We urgently need stronger protections for reverse mortgage borrowers, especially a suitability standard that obligates those who arrange and profit from reverse mortgage deals to seek to avoid harming the financial interests of elderly clients,” Twomey said.

The report also calls for the extension of reverse mortgage protections to all equity conversion products aimed at seniors, a prohibition on yield spread premiums and other perverse incentives in the reverse mortgage market and better data collection by lenders.

“Reverse mortgages are complicated and expensive financial products that must be used wisely and regulated carefully, or profit and volume driven sales efforts can open the door to abuses and fraud,” said Odette Williamson, an NCLC attorney.

The report also highlights the danger of predators who use reverse mortgages as tools in schemes to steal the home equity of unsuspecting seniors, or to fund the purchase of expensive insurance and financial products that pay high commissions.

For more information, visit http://www.consumerlaw.org.

RISMedia welcomes your questions and comments. Send your e-mail to: realestatemagazinefeedback@rismedia.com.

HOMEBUYERS ARE PAYINGS CLOSER TO LISTING PRICE, BUT NEGOTIATE DISCOUNTS

U.S. Homebuyers Pay Closer to Listing Price in August, but Are Still Negotiating Thousands in Discounts

lead webRISMEDIA, October 9, 2009—Home buyers in much of the U.S. are still paying thousands of dollars below the home’s asking price, but had slightly less negotiating power in August 2009 than they did in July, according to the August Zillow Real Estate Market Reports. Buyers paid a median $6,525, or 3% less than the last listing price on homes bought in August, down from $7,018, or 3.3%, less for homes bought in July. Negotiating power peaked in January 2009, when buyers were paying 4.5% less than last listing price, a median of $10,096. Meanwhile, sellers continue to cut prices on unsold homes. One quarter (24.7%) of all homes listed for sale on Zillow had at least one listing price reduction as of Oct. 1, 2009. The median U.S. price reduction was 6.6% off the original listing price.

Florida home buyers again in August had the most negotiating power, with buyers in the Vero Beach metropolitan statistical area (MSA) paying 8.9%, or a median $20,974, less than the last listing price. Buyers in the Naples MSA paid 8% less than list price. The Naples, Daytona Beach, Miami-Fort Lauderdale, Ocala, Lakeland, Punta Gorda, Melbourne, Gainesville, Tampa, Jacksonville and Fort Myers MSAs also ranked, in that order, as the top markets for negotiation.

But in two California markets, buyers paid more than asking price during August. In the El Centro MSA, buyers paid 2.2%, or a median $2,479, more than asking price. In the Stockton MSA, buyers paid 1.3%, or $2,515, more.

“Negotiating power is a clear reflection of inventory levels, which dropped nationally in August. Tighter supply in some markets is translating into less of a discount off listing price,” said Zillow Chief Economist Dr. Stan Humphries. “Unfortunately, the brisk spring and summer home shopping season is drawing to a close now, and with foreclosures on the rise again, inventory levels will likely head back up in the coming months, leading buyers’ negotiating power to regain the ground it lost in August.”

For more information, visit www.Zillow.com.

RISMedia welcomes your questions and comments. Send your e-mail to: realestatemagazinefeedback@rismedia.com.


Read more: http://rismedia.com/2009-10-08/u-s-homebuyers-pay-closer-to-listing-price-in-august-but-are-still-negotiating-thousands-in-discounts/#ixzz0TRm5nPP6