Erika and Greg Tansey couldn’t afford the house they really wanted in Lake Oswego, an upscale suburb of Portland, Oregon, so they opted for Plan B: buying an outdated, dilapidated Cape and remodeling it. “The bathroom was so small that your knees hit the tub when you used the toilet. The hallways were narrow and dark. And the garage was basically falling over,” says Erika.

Erika and Greg started demolition in September 2005, with more significant plans than they’d first imagined: raising the roof, putting in an addition, doubling the square footage and reconfiguring the floor plan. Erika, 34, a freelance marketing consultant, and Greg, 35, a venture capitalist, budgeted $200,000 for their extreme home makeover. But the project took six months longer than expected, cost $80,000 more than planned and finished just as the bubble began deflating. By the time they finished this past August, they were exhausted but eager to share the lessons they’d learned. (more…)

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As the number of foreclosures rises, homeowners unable to make their mortgage payments are facing another growing threat: “foreclosure rescue” scams. State and federal authorities say they are investigating an increasing number of homeowner complaints about fraud and deception by companies that engage in lending to financially distressed borrowers seeking to avoid foreclosure. Several states have recently passed or are contemplating new laws to provide more protection against dishonest businesses trying to take advantage of already vulnerable homeowners.

The problem centers on foreclosure-rescue companies, which target homeowners behind on their mortgage payments through newspaper ads or fliers claiming services such as “fast cash,” “equity funding” and “no credit check.” According to some recent cases filed by consumers and regulators, the companies mislead borrowers into believing they can save their homes from foreclosure in exchange for a transfer of the title for a year or two. The companies promise borrowers they can stay in their homes by paying rent for that period, giving them time to catch up financially until they can buy back their property. (more…)

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Americans are involved in a new “space race.” According to the American Institute of Architects, Americans are making their outside spaces more and more elaborate – and more like their inside ones. The outdoor living room trend is a wholesale repackaging of the typical patio/pool area into something much more elaborate and comfortable. It goes way beyond lounge chairs and barbecues. Outdoor living rooms often resemble plush, luxurious parlors. They feature not only cushiony furniture, they even have entertainment centers with built-in plasma screen televisions and hi-fi systems.

The feature most in demand for these modern Edens is a fireplace. These not only infuse soirees with an atavistic atmosphere, they also make it possible for those in cooler climes to enjoy being outside for a greater part of the year. Part of the impetus for these spaces may have come from the decreasing tolerance for smoking. Hosts may abhor the smell of tobacco smoke, but they also want to be hospitable. Modern guests are used to retreating to the back yard to grab a quick coffin nail. Now they can do it in style. (more…)

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It stretches nearly 2,200 miles, a ribbon of mountains and meadows, forests and fauna. But scientists, hikers and land managers say the Appalachian Trail is more than a footpath. Passing through 14 states and eight national forests from Georgia to Maine, it’s also a living laboratory that could help warn 120 million people along the Eastern Seaboard of looming environmental problems.

The Appalachian Mountains are ideal for the project because they are home to one of the richest collections of temperate zone species in the world, and the trail has a natural diversity that is nearly unsurpassed in the national park system. It also has different ecosystems that blend into one another – hardwood forests next to softwood forests next to alpine forests. The idea for the Appalachian Trail Mega-Transect is in its infancy but it already has support from the National Park Service and U.S. Forest Service, Cornell University, National Geographic Society and the earth-conscious beauty products company, Aveda Corp. (more…)

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The cost of homeowners’ claims for damage due to lightning strikes is soaring because of the burgeoning number of high-end electronic items and appliances in the average home, insurers say.

Hartford Financial Services Group Inc. says that the cost of claims the company paid due to lightning strikes rose 77% between Jan. 2001 and July 2006, even as the number of claims fell in the period by nearly half. Some of the nation’s largest insurance companies, including State Farm Insurance Cos. and Nationwide Mutual Insurance Co., also say they’re experiencing a similar trend.

Insurers partly attribute the higher losses to the growing number of home-theater systems, plasma and high-definition television sets, game consoles and personal computers in the average American home — which all can be fried by a surge of voltage in a home’s electrical wiring that can occur from a lightning strike. Rising rebuilding costs are also a factor because in the worst instances, lightning torches the house either from overloading appliances or from a direct hit. (more…)

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James Andrew Ryan pleaded guilty to four counts of forgery involving fictitious quitclaim deeds. In each instance, Ryan went looking for what he judged to be run-down homes with unkempt yards. He wrote down the address and researched the owner’s name through county records. Ryan then forged the owner’s name on a quitclaim deed and finished it off with a bogus notary public seal. The phony quitclaim deed, showing the owner’s interest conveyed to Ryan, was then recorded at the Pierce County, Wash., auditor’s office.

The Ryan case may be the first known case of real estate fraud focusing of run-down homes coupled with bogus quitclaim deeds. The most common real estate fraud known as equity skimming, or rent skimming, typically includes a supposedly good-hearted investor looking to help a desperate homeowner. Instead, the investor persuades the homeowner into believing the investor will pay the bank a sum of cash to keep the mortgage from going into default if the homeowner “rents back” the home from the investor. The investor then runs off with two to three months of rent and sometimes even the title to the house. (more…)

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Fixed-rate and adjustable-rate mortgages are the two main types of mortgages of the home-lending world. Let’s take a look at the differences. A fixed-rate mortgage is very straightforward. The borrower knows from the beginning what the interest rate will be for the entire duration of the mortgage, and the monthly payments due are likewise fixed. Simple.

Slightly less simple is the adjustable-rate mortgage, or ARM. It changes from year to year, to reflect the interest rate environment. If rates are plummeting, your rate will also drop — and vice versa. ARMs typically have an extra-low “teaser rate” for the first year, as well as an upper limit, or cap. The amount that an ARM can rise each year is also limited, so that it won’t rise too quickly. Fixed-rate mortgages are good because they come with no surprises. But for this benefit, you’ll likely pay a slightly higher rate than you would with an ARM. Fixed-rate mortgages are good for people who enjoy stability. They’re also especially attractive during periods when interest rates are low, such as they have been in recent years. At such times, fixed-rate mortgages permit you to lock in low rates for many years to come. (more…)

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What happened to the American Chestnut tree? It was wiped out by blight from a fungus, Cryphonectria parasitica. The fungus was first discovered in Bronx Zoological Park, Bronx, NY in 1904 and spread throughout the entire range of the American chestnut reaching our mountains and destroying most mature tress by 1930s and just about all by the 1950s. The fungus was introduced by Japanese Chestnut trees imported into the United States in the late 1800’s.

There are two organizations working to restore the American chestnut to the forest: the American Chestnut Cooperators’ Foundation (ACCF) and the American Chestnut Foundation (ACF). The ACCF intercrosses 100% American chestnut trees selected for native resistance to the blight and seeks to develop a tree with natural resistance. The ACF has been working on breeding hybrids of American and Chinese chestnut trees since 1983. Trees are selected from each generation based on their ability to resist the fungus and have the characteristics of the American chestnut. The early hybrids were 50% American and 50% Chinese chestnut. Today there are trees that are 94% American. The goal is to have trees with no Chinese chestnut characteristics except resistance to the blight. (more…)

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A recent analysis of American commuting habits confirms what many weary workers already know: Commutes are getting longer. More Americans than ever are leaving home at 5 a.m. to 6:30 a.m. to beat the traffic. The number of workers who drive more than an hour to work rose more than 50 percent from 1990 to 2000, a study released last month by the Transportation Research Board found. One way to escape gridlock is to work from home. You’ll get more sleep, and you may be eligible for some tax breaks. The home-office deduction lets you deduct a portion of your mortgage interest or rent, utilities, insurance and even repairs to your home.

People who work from home because their employers don’t want to provide them with office space are eligible to deduct some of their home-office expenses. If your employer does provide you with an office or a cubicle, you don’t qualify, even if you work from home most of the time, says Keith Stanton, an enrolled agent in Nashville. Once you’ve established that you’re eligible for the deduction, you’ve got another hurdle to clear. Your home-office expenses are categorized as miscellaneous expenses on Schedule A of Form 1040. Those expenses must exceed 2 percent of your adjusted gross income (AGI) before you can deduct them, says Mark Luscombe, tax analyst for tax publisher CCH. (more…)

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The development of Laurelmor, located on 6,000 acres of land between Boone and Blowing Rock NC, has been the source of much controversy since the company first announced its intentions to create a property of 1,500 single-family residences catering to high-income earners. The minimum income earned by an individual purchasing a Ginn property is around $125,000 per year, Jim Matoska, executive vice president of Ginn Real Estate, said.

Concerns about the development’s impact on the Boone NC region include the possibility that it will drive up home prices in an increasingly unaffordable area and put strain on the area’s already limited natural resources, such as water. To ease some of those concerns, Ginn Resorts agreed to donate about 45 percent of the Laurelmor property to the Blue Ridge Rural Land Trust. According to a Ginn press release, this was “an unprecedented partnership agreement between a real estate developer and an environmental organization.” (more…)

search for : Laurelmor, Blowing Rock NC, Boone NC, Ginn Resorts, Blue Ridge Rural Land Trust, real estate developer, environmental organization

The value of a 40-acre wooded lot lies in the eye of the beholder. To farmers, woods have little value compared with the cropland they till. But a hunter or bird-watcher may be willing to pay thousands of dollars for a tree-lined property in the country. The growing demand for recreational land is fueling a rise in the value of wooded lots.

Real estate companies putting farms up for sale now have the option of dividing the land into sections and marketing it separately to different categories of buyers, Halderman said. The seller can make more money by selling woods for recreational use and marketing tillable land as farm ground, he said. This approach won’t work for every wooded property, Dobbins said. Recreational land buyers are looking for specific features, including trees, wildlife and ponds or rivers. The size and location of the property also affect its marketability, he said. (more…)

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For many of us, our house is our biggest cash reserve, and raiding that piggy bank made financial sense for years because interest rates were low and rising home prices kept replenishing the bank. Now, with rates up and prices soft, is there any reason to tap your home equity?

Opening a home-equity line of credit is no longer a slam dunk for three reasons. It’s not cheap money Even though rates may drop in 2007, in recent years they’ve been going up, up, up. At today’s average rate of 8.7%, the interest-only monthly payment on a $100,000 HELOC is $725 vs. $387 when rates hit their lows nearly three years ago. You could owe more than you own Lenders have made it possible to borrow 100% of your home’s value. During the housing boom, for instance, many buyers who were stretching to afford a home financed the down payment with a HELOC. Do that today and if prices fall, your home loans could add up to more than your house is worth. If you have to sell (and pay a realtor 6% or so), the difference will come from your wallet. (more…)

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In the next couple of years, a combination of rising mortgage interest rates and falling home values could sink thousands of homeowners. Being over your head means owing more than the house is worth. It’s an especially risky situation for people with interest-only mortgages and pay-option adjustable-rate mortgages because they don’t build equity unless they choose to. Some might be able to refinance or get through hard times by living frugally. Others will have to sell their houses, possibly at a loss. Still others will lose their houses to foreclosure.

If you have an interest-only or pay-option ARM, assess your situation and, if you conclude that you are in jeopardy, act quickly. “I don’t think burying your head in the sand is a viable option,” says Neil Garfinkel, an attorney with Abrams Garfinkel Margolis Bergson in New York City. Two groups of borrowers should look ahead. The first group consists of homeowners who are making the minimum payments on interest-only mortgages. Not all of these folks are at risk. The ones who should especially watch out are those who bought homes in the past year or two in markets where house values are falling, and who made no down payment or a minuscule one. (more…)

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Picture this scenario: You’ve lived in this country for the past 15 years, earned a decent wage, raised a family, always paid your rent, utilities, cell phone bills and other expenses on time, month after month. But you made little or no use of the conventional banking and credit systems — avoiding bank loans, credit cards and debts in general. Now you go to apply for a mortgage to buy your first home and get smacked with this sobering news: Sorry, but there is not enough information in your national credit bureau files to score your credit. We’ve got to either charge you an interest rate well above prevailing rates — 9 percent or 10 percent in a 6 1/2 percent market — or simply reject you altogether.

Growing numbers of lenders and mortgage brokers have begun offering alternatives to traditional credit scores. At the convention of the National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals this month, a new guide was released listing hundreds of brokers and lenders who use the Anthem system of non-traditional credit reports and scores as supplements to FICOs. Anthem, developed by First American CREDCO, the credit data subsidiary of Santa Ana-based First American, evaluates whatever information on an applicant may exist in the files of the national bureaus — Equifax, Experian and TransUnion. Then it mixes in information collected by CREDCO from other sources. These include regular child-care payments, telephone, electricity and other utilities payments, current and former rent payments, plus personal credit data from businesses that do not report to the bureaus — small local retailers that extend credit, payday lenders, rent-to-own companies and the like. (more…)

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Now that the mid-term elections are done it’s time to get on with the realities of life and some of those realities concern real estate. Writing in the Manchester Union Leader, commentator Deroy Murdock says that “since Bush’s May 2003 tax-rate reductions, total non-farm employment has expanded by 6.6 million new jobs, Americans for Tax Reform estimates. Unemployment has plummeted from 6.1 percent that month to 4.6 percent in September 2006. Average real GDP has accelerated 3.7 percent since 2003’s tax cuts.

It doesn’t matter which political party is in office, the recent heritage of debt must be addressed. While some debt is surely acceptable, we cannot continue with massive annual deficits and not harm the economy. Moreover, the additional debt created during the past five years is not without cost. At 5 percent, the interest on our new-found additional debt is $75 billion a year. That’s money not being spent on college scholarships, higher salaries for the military, universal health care, infrastructure repair or a number of other important programs. (more…)

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A financial planner who had never seen stock prices lose value probably isn’t the best place to turn for investment advice. But many Americans are taking just that kind of a flyer when it comes to their most valuable investment – their home. Just more than half of members of the National Association of Realtors (NAR) had four years or less of experience in a 2005 survey – which means they came into this year’s real estate downturn knowing nothing but boom times.

Home sales set record after record from 2001 through 2005, as prices rose to record levels as well. But the pace of sales is off 14 percent so far this year and the year-over-year change in existing home prices has fallen in the past two monthly reports from NAR.

That’s the first time there has been a decline in that key price measure in 11 years – not even one in three Realtors today was around back then.

Buyers and sellers are negotiating this rapidly changing market with the advice and guidance of agents who may not be terribly familiar with the current landscape.
(more…)

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There’s a popular notion that baby boomers are making a habit of living like Laginess—buying second homes either on oceanfronts, lakeshores, mountains or lively urban downtowns. Some people are snapping these homes up now in part as investments, perhaps to be sold at significant profit to a retiring boomers. But Gary Engelhardt, a Syracuse University economics professor, says the notion of these waves of buyers is largely a myth. And he warns people to beware of investing based on hype that seems questionable.

In research done in conjunction with the Mortgage Bankers Association and the Radian Group credit risk management company, Engelhardt found that only a small proportion of older Americans have second residences, and there is no greater tendency by baby boomers than the previous generation to indulge in second homes. And there is actually more movement between suburbs by empty-nesters than into urban playgrounds. Only a tiny fraction of suburban empty-nesters are moving to the city, Engelhardt said. ”Suburbanites like the suburbs,” he said. Engelhardt scoured government data from the 2004 Health and Retirement Study, the 2005 Current Population Survey and 2000 Census to measure mobility by early baby boomers — people born between 1946 and 1955. The surveys do not yet capture activities by younger boomers, so Engelhardt can’t be sure what they will do. (more…)

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The elections are over, and the outcome had no detectable impact on the financial markets. Far more important than the switch in congressional control is President Bush’s transfer of national security policy from Neo-Con hands to Daddy’s bailout team — grounds for optimism for the world ahead. However, we’re not interested in the world, we’re interested in money; not the House but housing, and the bond market much prefers pessimism to optimism.

A recession from some other cause (a consumer or employment collapse, a Fed forced to overtighten into inflation) would certainly make housing worse, but not the other way around. With one exception: a mortgage-credit spiral. Housing markets are the slowest-roller of all. The last buyers in the party get burned by a routine and minor retreat in price in the year after the peak, but then prices just go flat, sometimes for decades. The bubble zones appear to be entering that flat phase now. The effect on GDP is thus far minor, mostly caused by the decline in mortgage equity withdrawal, sawing about 1 percent off of GDP — a reduction in stimulus, not a braking force. (more…)

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Private-property advocates placed measures on Tuesday’s ballot in 11 states that would restrict “eminent domain,” the government’s right to take private property. Residents of at least eight states have voted to prohibit what happened to Susette Kelo from happening in their home towns. Voters on Tuesday responded by voting in favor of the restrictive measures in eight of those initiatives – call it Kelo’s revenge.

Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Dakota, Oregon and South Carolina all passed initiatives to restrict the use of eminent domain, in most cases overwhelmingly. In Florida, 69 percent voted yes on an amendment that prohibits using eminent domain to force the transfer of property from one private individual or entity to another. In Georgia, 83 percent voted to approve an amendment to the state constitution that says eminent domain can be used only for public use. A school or park might be okay; the government taking land to give to a mall developer would not be. The most one-sided vote in favor took place in South Carolina, where 86 percent voted yes to an amendment restricting eminent domain for public use only. A ninth state, New Hampshire, was expected to approve a similar initiative, but results would not be made available until late Wednesday, Nov. 8. (more…)

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Have you ever checked out the satellite photos and market value estimates of homes in your neighborhood on Zillow.com — the Internet real estate site that offers “free, instant valuations and data for 67 million-plus homes”? Zillow was launched with major media fanfare in February, backed with a reported $57 million in venture capital. It is one of the most popular real estate sites on the Web — visited millions of times a month by sellers, buyers, agents, lenders and homeowners. It also has begun distributing its free “Zestimates” through Yahoo.com and real estate brokerage sites.

But now Zillow is coming under harsh scrutiny. In a complaint filed Oct. 25 with the Federal Trade Commission, the National Community Reinvestment Coalition charged that Zillow knowingly deceives the public by presenting its property estimates as accurate, whereas in fact they are frequently far off the mark. The non-profit coalition, which consists of housing and economic justice organizations around the country, says its own audit of Zillow’s accuracy documented that its valuations are within 10 percent of actual market value “less than one-third of the time.” The allegedly erroneous estimates are especially harmful in low- and moderate-income and minority neighborhoods, according to the complaint. (more…)

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The site of the old Mountain Park pool will soon be transformed into a teen-oriented passive park under a contract awarded Tuesday by the Gwinnett County Board of Commissioners. The old pool was demolished after the opening of the new Mountain Park Aquatic Center.

New facilities will include a small skate park, a sand volleyball court, an irrigated lawn for free play, a playground with climbing boulders and swings, a small picnic shelter and restrooms. A drinking fountain, bike rack, picnic tables and landscaping are also included in the million-dollar contract awarded to low bidder Lewallen Construction.

“This is another example of how we’re revitalizing the infrastructure in existing neighborhoods in the southern part of the county,” District 3 Commissioner Mike Beaudreau said. “These investments will help attract and encourage growing renovation and renewal in the area.” (more…)

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If you qualify for prime lending terms, there isn’t much reason to select an adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) in the current market. For most such borrowers, the temporary rate benefit in the early years is too small to justify the risk of higher rates later on. This is a consequence of what has been referred to as a “flattening of the (bond) yield curve.” The yield curve is a graph that shows, at any given time, how the yield varies with the period to maturity. A flat yield curve means that yields on long-term bonds are not much higher than those on short-term notes.

Bond markets affect mortgage markets, and vice versa, because a large part of all new mortgages are converted into mortgage-backed securities (MBSs), which investors view as close substitutes for government securities and high-quality corporate bonds. Developments in the MBS market, in turn, are immediately reflected in the primary mortgage market where individual borrowers obtain their loans. When the bond yield curve flattens, the mortgage yield curve facing borrowers flattens as well. This means a marked reduction in the rate differences between fixed-rate mortgages (FRMs) and ARMs. It also means smaller rate differences between FRMs with different terms. (more…)

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During the last couple of years, new listings sold in a matter of weeks in many areas. Home prices escalated at a record pace. Financing a home purchase was rarely a problem — money was easy and interest rates were low. Few buyers wanted to miss the opportunity to make fast money in a market that seemed to defy gravity. What a difference a year makes. Now, the appreciation rate is running at a snail’s pace, and declining in some areas. According to the National Association of Realtors, the median home price nationally declined a little over 1 percent in August from a year ago.

Until recently, home buyers bought not with an eye to a quick profit but in order to gain control over the place where they lived. As a homeowner, you don’t need the landlord’s permission to make modifications to the property to suit your needs. You aren’t at the mercy of a landlord who might raise the rent or ask you to move. Now there’s no guarantee that you’ll find a place to rent in a neighborhood where you’d like to put down roots. Also, rents are rising after years of lackluster performance. Additionally, homeowners tend to take a serious interest in preserving and enhancing the quality of the neighborhoods in which they live. Renters tend to be transient. The tax benefits of home ownership shouldn’t be overlooked. While restrictions do apply, homeowners can claim a deduction for mortgage interest and property taxes from their federal income tax returns. This effectively lowers the cost of home ownership for taxpayers who itemize deductions. (more…)

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I’m a recent college grad and now a young working professional making $39,000 a year who’s at a crossroad in life: I’m moving away from home and have to decide whether I should buy or rent a home. I find it hard just to pay rent, but when I think of the down payment, closing costs, taxes and homeowners insurance, all I see are $$$ signs. I’m also a little concerned about the uncertain housing market.

Hey, what’s the rush about buying a house? If you’ve just finished college and are moving out of your parents’ place, why not take some time to get your career going, save some money, build a 401(k) or other retirement account going and then think about buying a house? I say this not because I’m down on the joys of home ownership. I think having your own hacienda is great. It makes you part of a community and over the long term the appreciation of home values can be a great way to build wealth. (more…)

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Sometimes even a stuffed hunting trophy and a modern sofa can exist in harmony, if left to redesign professionals. Challenged by cavernous ceilings, off-center fireplaces, unmanageable collections, odd traffic flow or any of several decorating dilemmas, more homeowners are hiring redesigners to breathe new life into their rooms.

Handing over a home to an objective outsider for a few hours may save thousands of dollars otherwise spent on new furniture and accessories. As trained redesigners mix and match items from several spots in the house, group accessories for impact and rehang artwork, clients are reintroduced to underutilized spaces and their nearly forgotten possessions long relegated to storage. Others learn that limiting display items to a few favorites or rotating accessories is an effective fix. (more…)

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So you and Uncle Benny want to buy a rental unit together. He’s got the down payment money. Your income will most assuredly make the deal work. The rentals in your area are creating positive cash flow of up to $500 per month. Hey, that’s $6000 per year (as long as there are no major household breakdowns). So, what’s not to like?

Well, what if you find out later that Uncle Benny took out a cash advance from one of his credit cards, so naturally, he wants that payment of $150 to be paid each month out of the cash flow before you two touch the money (he says). So now you’re not so interested in owning the rental with him anymore. Or in another scenario Uncle Benny’s got plenty of money and he wants to buy you out, or worse, your good old uncle dies of a heart attack while fixing up the fixer upper. So what happens when a partner/co-owner of a piece of real estate passes away or wants to get out of the ownership of a property? How you hold title to the property is one of those points in the transaction that need to be discussed, researched in detail, and then decided upon before you sign the bottom line to the deed transfer, mortgage and all the other pieces of paper involved in owning real estate. (more…)

search for : positive cash flow, real estate

That is the latest marketing twist from Bank of America Corp. With competition for home loans increasing, the Charlotte, N.C., lender is encouraging its customers to apply for a mortgage with the bank and then shop around. If they decide to get their home loan elsewhere, Bank of America will write a $250 check to cover a portion of their closing costs. The Bank of America offering is the latest sign some lenders are beginning to emphasize price, service and stronger customer relationships in the face of slowing loan volume. Mortgage originations fell 29% in the third quarter compared with the same period last year, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association, as the housing market cooled and rising interest rates made it less attractive for borrowers to refinance.

Lenders are using rewards programs to try to boost customer loyalty. National City Corp. gives customers enrolled in its rewards program 50,000 bonus points when they take out a mortgage with the bank. Customers also earn bonus points for tapping a new home-equity line of credit. Citigroup Inc. offers special reward points to customers with a Citibank mortgage or home-equity loan, provided they also have a Citibank checking account and debit card. The points can be redeemed for a variety of rewards, from gift cards to plane tickets. The offers represent a new tactic for lenders, which for years vied for customers by rolling out mortgage products that allowed borrowers to lower their monthly payments. These include interest-only mortgages that allow borrowers to pay interest and no principal in the loan’s early years, option adjustable-rate mortgages that let borrowers make a minimum payment but can lead to a rising loan balance, and mortgages with 40-year terms. But the flow of new products has slowed and bank regulators have raised questions about the risks some nontraditional mortgages may pose to borrowers and lenders. (more…)

search for : Bank of America, home loans, monthly payments, interest-only mortgages, nontraditional mortgages

Considering a remodeling project to boost the value of your home? Before you drop $40,000 or more on a new kitchen or master bath, consider the newcomer on the renovation block: a rooftop solar-power system that not only will lower your overhead costs and insulate you from a volatile energy market but will likely add just as much to your home value over the long haul. The technology has come a long way in the past 30 years. And what’s starting to be good for contractors is looking sweet for homeowners too. For starters, today’s solar systems are far more efficient than their commercial predecessors, and most are warranted to last 25 years.

Home systems are still rare, so their value is difficult to assess, but home appraisers follow this general rule of thumb: Half the gross cost can be recouped in the home sales price as soon as it is installed. True, that’s well below the recovery rates for kitchens and bathrooms (which range from 70 to 90 percent), but your kitchen doesn’t pay the power bills. And solar’s ability to lower energy costs also adds value. A study in Appraisal Journal found that for every utility-bill dollar saved annually because of an improvement, you gain $10 to $20 in property value. So if you can zero out a $1,000 annual electric tab by installing solar, you’ll get back $10,000 to $20,000 in home value. (more…)

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