Would you rate your home a 10?

On a scale of 1 - 10, 10 would be the very best number rating you can receive.  Sometimes referred to as a perfect 10, this number is often associated with a sport like gymnastics or  used to describe people.  Earning a perfect 10 is not limited to people or sports.  You can rate almost anything from 1 - 10, including your home.

The Census Bureau's 2009 American Housing Survey reports that 28% of householders rated their home a 10 on a scale of 1 to 10.  Knowing that beauty is in the eye of the beholder, each of us will have our own reasons to rate our home a 10.  Perfect landscaping, the architectural style, the location, or the memories created in the home could garner it a 10 rating in the home owner's eyes.

How would you rate your home?  What makes it perfect to you?

photo credit by woodleywonderworks

Bank of American statement on stopping foreclosure sales.

Bank of America released the following statement on Friday, March 8th regarding their decision to stop foreclosure sales throughout the country.

“Bank of America has extended our review of foreclosure documents to all fifty states. We will stop foreclosure sales until our assessment has been satisfactorily completed. Our ongoing assessment shows the basis for our past foreclosure decisions is accurate. We continue to serve the interests of our customers, investors and communities. Providing solutions for distressed homeowners remains our primary focus.” Link

While the long term impact remains to be seen, initially the stopping of foreclosure sales has placed many homebuyers in a distressed situation with closings postponed and dates extended indefinitely while everyone waits for the lenders involved, including Bank of America to resolve the processing issues. 

Closings on foreclosed properties being delayed

Many buyers who have accepted offers in place on foreclosed/REO homes are receiving information from the Title Companies handling these transactions that the closing will be delayed if the lender involved is GMAC Mortgage, a division of Ally Financial, JP Morgan Chase and Bank of America.

On Monday I received information that title companies had growing concerns about the insurability of the title of properties listed, by several lenders. Until these defects have been remedied, they would be unable to proceed with the sale or closing of the foreclosed properties.

Throughout the day yesterday and again today, my agents have received word that pending foreclosure transactions involved would need to be extended.  The extension time requested has been for at least 30 days.

Buyers and agents have good reason to be concerned as this situation unfolds throughout the area.  Additional lenders could become part of the slow down as questions about their process and procedures arise.  During our meeting on Tuesday, pre-foreclosures and short sale transactions were discussed as being an alternative for buyers who want to avoid the uncertainty facing the foreclosure market.

As additional information becomes available I will share it here.  Please feel free to contact me if you are considering selling or purchasing a home in Central Florida and want to be updated on all related real estate news.

Florida Title Companies Halting REO/Foreclosure Closings

Following announcements that lenders were suspending foreclosure sales, Title companies were emailing real estate agents today alerting all that closing of REO property owned or serviced by Bank of America, Wells Fargo, GMAC and others would be halted until issues dealing with the insurability of the title were remedied.

A local Title representative notified Watson Realty associates of the situation.  On Monday, October 4^th, a memo was forwarded from Old Republic National Title Insurance Company detailing the situation and the Title rep said in part;

“We have become aware of potential defects with affidavits submitted by the servicer, in foreclosure actions, which raise concerns about the insurability of the title of the subject property. Until these defects have been remedied, we are unable to proceed with the sale or closing of the foreclosed properties.”

The sale of REO/foreclosure property has been a significant part of the resale market in Central Florida.  There are over 3600 REO/foreclosure homes in Orange and Osceola County either pended or active in the local MLS.  While not all bank owned property are affected by today’s news, until ironed out, these events will seriously impact the local market.

Should I inspect the house I am buying for mold?

Mold is commonly found in-doors including homes that are being lived in. Leaking roofs, bad plumbing, or even recent flooding can contribute to mold being found inside a person’s home. Buyers have good reason to be concerned about the possibility of mold in a home they are buying. Because of this concern buyers are encouraged to have a mold inspection preformed on the home prior to closing.


Controlling household mold

According to the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency), “If mold is a problem in your home, clean up the mold and get rid of the excess water or moisture. Fix leaky plumbing or other sources of water. Wash mold off hard surfaces with detergent and water and dry completely. Absorbent materials (such as ceiling tiles & carpet) that become moldy may have to be replaced.” However, if there is a lot of mold or it covers a substantial area, you may need to consult with or hire a remediation contractor to help you with the clean up.

Mold Inspection Addendum

The 2002 Florida Association of Realtors mold inspection addendum allows a, “mold inspection period”, giving the buyer time to hire a professional service to inspect for mold. If there is a significant presence of mold discovered during the inspection and the removal of it exceeds the agreed upon price set between the buyer and seller, the buyer will have the option to cancel the contract.

The purchase contract provides protection for the home buyer and seller. If you are purchasing or selling a home, call me for a free consultation about dealing with mold inspections and more.

Photo credit by seishin17

What personal property is included in the purchase of your home?

When negotiating an offer with a seller you will have the opportunity to list the personal property / appliances that you would like the seller to leave for you. When the seller lists their home for sale, they’ve probably already listed the items that will be staying and those personal items that will be excluded from the sale.


Appliances and the FARBAR (Florida Association of Realtors and Florida Bar) contract

The new FARBAR contract, revised in 2010, lists the personal property that is staying and allows buyers to check other appliances and property they would like the seller to leave. The pre-printed personal property includes; range, dishwasher, disposal, ceiling fan, intercom, light fixtures, rods, draperies, window treatments, garage door openers, and security gate/access devices.

What about the Refrigerator?

You will notice that there are a few obvious omissions from the pre-printed list. Refrigerators, smoke alarms, washer and dryer being the most noticeable. It is not that the seller refuses to leave them for you, with these items you will need to check a special box next to the desired personal property indicating that you desire the seller to leave them as part of the purchase. Additionally, if any of the pre-printed items are not being left as part of the sale, your agent should strike a line through them before presenting your offer to the seller.

If the seller agrees to leave their personal property, the FARBAR contract stipulates that all major appliances must be kept in working order.

When viewing the home for the first time and prior to making an offer, make sure you make a list of all of the appliances and personal property that you would like to have as part of your purchase. Failure to notify the seller in writing will result in you having to buy replacement items after you have closed.

Photo credit by ewen and donabel

Florida flood and homeowner insurance.

You should consider purchasing flood insurance as part of your homeowner’s insurance coverage. Flooding can cause thousands of dollars of damage to your home, contents and personal property and it does not require more than a few inches of flooding to be damaging.

Buying flood insurance

Flood insurance rates are determined by the risk of the area. Flood insurance maps show the high-risk areas of flooding. The cost of flood insurance will be higher in high-risk areas as compared to low and moderate risk areas. There is usually a waiting period so contact your insurer now to discuss your flood insurance needs.

Flooding concerns

Buying a home near water increases the possibility of flooding however flooding can happen anywhere regardless of water being nearby. If you are concerned with flooding check with your insurer about obtaining flood insurance when you purchase your next home.

Flood insurance maps

Comparing insurance rates

The State of Florida offers a way for home buyers to compare rates of insurance companies in hopes that this will make the buying process smoother and the home buying process less costly to the consumer. To compare rates in the county you are considering, visit http://www.shopandcomparerates.com/.

Photo credit by wyntuition

83% of Americans believe it is a bad time to sell a house

Fannie Mae's latest nationwide survey shows 83% of Americans believe it is a bad time to sell a house even though 78% of Americans believe home prices will remain flat or increase over the next year.  This would seem to be in line with a National Association of Realtors report for July that the national median existing-home price for all housing types was $182,600 in July, up 0.7 percent from a year ago.  Of course real estate markets are local and in the Orlando area the median price of all existing homes combined sold in August 2010 decreased 21.95 percent to $99,900.

The number of homes that sold during August of this year that were neither short sales or REO listings was 2,662, a decrease of over 18% from the August 2009 numbers of 3,270 according to my research of the MID-Florida MLS.

It may take a massive reduction of distressed inventory and a measureable uptick in housing prices before the non-distressed home seller will start to gain any sense of confidence in the real estate market.

Photo credit by uhuru1701

Precautions buyers should take to avoid short sale hell.

If you are actively looking to buy a house, you’ve no doubt heard of short sales.  A short sale is the name given to a transaction where the owner of the home will not be able to sell the house for enough money to pay off their mortgage.  The bank must agree to accept less money than the home owner owes in order for the transaction to close.

Buyers are making offers on short sales for good reason.  Short sale listings are usually as competitively priced as bank owned foreclosure property and they make up a huge portion of the Central Florida listing inventory.  As of this post, there are over 17,000 active short sale properties listed in the Mid-Florida MLS.

Sounds good, right?  For many buyers the experience has been anything but good.  These buyers have found themselves smack dab in the pit of short sale hell.  There is plenty of wailing and gnashing of teeth but very few closings.  Buyers have been known to be locked into this nightmare for months on end with no expectation as to if or when they might be freed.  At times it would seem to the buyer that the only one that knows they are still is the process of a transaction is the buyer, themselves.  As there is little news or hope offered from the real estate agent or seller.

How can you avoid falling into short sale hell?  What precautions should you take before entering into a binding contract on a home being sold subject to a short sale?  While there are no guarantees, the following precautions could help you close on your short sale transaction.

1.       Ask to see a current market analysis of the home before making an offer.  If the home is priced at a level that seems too good to be true, it probably is.  The lender will require an estimate of value be provided them before they make a decision on the short sale.  Offering prices falling well below market value will rarely be accepted by the lender and will result in wasted time for you and the seller.  A current market analysis will give you confidence that while you are buying the home at a fair price, it is also a competitive price for the area.

2.       Ask your agent how many short sale transactions they have closed.  If the agent has never closed a short sale transaction you will want to be careful signing up as their guinea pig.  It is ok to ask them to enlist the help of an experienced agent or their broker to guide them through your transaction.  And while we are on the subject of agents, if your agent is not full time, move away quickly.  Short sale transactions are too complex and require full time attention if they are going to be successful.

3.       Find out if the seller mortgaged the farm.  Is there more than one mortgage on the home?  This could slow down the process.  Are there more than two mortgages on the home?  You are facing a tough road.

Buying a short sale does not have to result in futility.  There are a number of precautions including the 3 discussed here that can help you end up at the closing table and not sitting in the single, straight-chair that seems to be the norm at the short table sale (from hell).  Over 13,000 homes that were sold this year subject to a short sale have closed.  You can just as easily be part of that group.  As a Certified Distressed Property Expert, I can confidently guide you through the short sale maze.  Give me a call, today.  

Photo credit by Pefect Pose         

50,000 backlog foreclosure cases in Ninth Judicial Circuit

The Ninth Judicial Circuit which includes Osceola and Orange County reports over 50,000 backlog foreclosures cases. The Florida Bar News article, Rainy Day Dollars Used to Alleviate Foreclosure Backlogs, lists foreclosure backlog totals throughout the 20 judicial circuits in Florida. Ninth Circuit Chief, Judge Belvin Perry was quoted in the news article; “People in the banking community seem to think there will be an increase in filings”.

Increase in foreclosure filings

What are the signs that would suggest that the “people in banking” might be right in thinking there will be an increase in foreclosure filings?

Mortgage delinquencies

 The August housing scorecard prepared by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the U.S. Department of the Treasury noted that; “the market remains fragile with foreclosure starts showing a slight increase and serious delinquencies continuing to work through the pipeline.”

The Mortgage Broker Association has reported that the number of households that are now 30 days late have increased. They say the increase is related to the increase of first time unemployment claims. If this is true, additional late payments may be on the horizon with Florida’s unemployment rate increasing to 11.5% in July.

Unnecessary slowdowns in the marketplace

Right now there are over 5,000 homes in the MLS listed as being sold subject to a short sale. While a number of these homes have had foreclosure proceedings started, it is reasonable to think that some of the homes were presumptively listed in order to avoid foreclosure. However, with lender delays in processing short sales, coupled with low appraisals landing on the desks of the buyer’s lender, these homes may eventually add to the already existing backlog.

Lenders need to continue to work on increasing the lines of communication and streamlining the short sale negotiation process so more homes can end up sold to ready, able and willing buyers, thereby reducing the number being foreclosed.

If you are facing foreclosure you need to know that their may be options for you. These options include programs and solutions that might allow you to stay in your home. HUD’s foreclosure avoidance counseling directory and Making Home Affordable.gov are two great resources of information for you.

Pick up the phone and call your lender, your attorney or me to receive additional information.