Consumers, unable to handle their monthly mortgage payments often do not acknowledge the seriousness of the problem early enough to do anything proactive. Instead, most people take on credit card debt and may even refinance (using the equity in their home) to pay their mortgage. Not long after that, most people find themselves in a far, far worse situation. Collection agents are calling multiple times every day, the bank is foreclosing on the house, credit card limits have been reached and the homeowners lose their home nonetheless. Instead, contact the lender immediately and let them know that you are about to start missing payments and that you’d like a short-term fixed rate on your mortgage.

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Grown children who, for a variety of reasons, move back home are often called “boomerang kids“. They went out into the world as grown-ups, then they come back expecting their parents to resume caregiver roles as if there had been no interruption. According to a 2006 Statistics Canada study, Generation Xers, especially the later wave born between 1972 and 1976, were three times as likely to return home to live with their parents compared to baby boomers. The tendency to “boomerang” at least once has been on the rise through each of the last five successive generations, starting with the first wave of baby boomers born between 1947 and 1951. The root causes, which include overly-expensive education and escalating real estate costs, are not addressed by society when “boomeranging” is seen merely as personal failure. Ignoring the causes, and the resulting social implications, solidifies “making do” as a way of life. (more…)

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Investment potential is just one variable to consider when weighing whether to improve your home and how much to spend. Quality of life is also a major consideration. Generally, the longer you plan to stay in your home, the more it makes sense to make home improvements that will make your home more user-friendly. However, keep in mind that a basic rule of investing in real estate is to avoid over-improving for the neighborhood. Appraisal standards have tightened recently along with credit standards. To get the most “return of investment” out of a major renovation, make sure that the work is done with a building permit. An appraiser might not be able to count an attic, garage or basement conversion as livable square feet unless the homeowner could show that the work had been done with permit. This in turn could result in an appraisal far lower than the buyer might expect after spending money for the renovations.

search for : Quality of life, home improvements, building permit

While, home and condo owners remain upbeat on home improvements, the uncooperative housing market, coupled with hard mortgage money, is making them think twice about getting work completed. For those who can afford home improvements, that could mean it’ll be easier to drive a hard bargain and negotiate to get work done for less. Homeowners are also concerned about the slowing economy, falling home prices, and the resultant impact on discretionary equity-based money. Some economic indicators say the housing market recovery may not begin until the end of the decade. The Opinion Research poll conducted for Miniwax Co. asked consumers where home renovations would give them the most return and 63 percent of homeowners said a kitchen do-over while 51 percent said just buying new or refinished kitchen cabinets will add to resale value. Sixty-seven percent said painting the interior or exterior will add value. Other jobs frequently mentioned were bathroom remodels, new carpeting and new or refinished hardwood floors. (more…)

search for : home renovations

Those planning on remodeling their home or condo will now find it much easier to make intelligent choices with energy savings in mind. Experts are generally in agreement that the average kitchen accounts for 20 to 40 percent of a home’s total energy bill. If your refrigerator and dishwasher are more than 10 years old, you can reduce your utility bills by replacing those old appliances. Another money-saving trick is to size your appliances to your needs. The style of fridge is important too. In general, models with the freezer on top use up to 25 percent less energy than comparable side-by-side models. Models with through-the-door ice and water use more energy too. (more…)

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Beautiful Wilkes County NC Executive Country Club Home.

MLS Number: 51211 List Price: $359,000

Bedrooms: 3, Full Baths: 2, Half Baths: 1, Est Total SqFt: 3425+
Type/Style: Tudor, Two Story, Area: 6
Elementary School : Moravian Falls Elementary
Middle School: Central Wilkes
High School: Wilkes Central

Construction: Brick Veneer & Other, Solid Masonry Foundation: Basement, block & brick. Roof: Shingle – Composition, Two Years Old, Floors: Carpet/Hardwood/Tile
Garage/Carport: Garage-Double Attached
Interior Features: Smoke Detector(s), Ceiling Fan(s), Newly Decorated, Painted and Carpeted, Central Vacuum, Large Master Bedroom, Walk-In Closets, Hardwood Floors, Basement, Two Fireplaces (Rock and Brick), Gas Logs, Workshop in Basement, Walk-in Cedar-lined closet, Formal Living Room, Dining Room, Den with Oak Bookshelves and Cabinetry, Cable TV w. broadband Internet

Exterior Features: Tiled Patio/Deck and Walkways, Very Private Yard, Level Lot, Set Back From Street.
Subdivision: Farmington
Lot Size: 1.14 acres

Contact Elizabeth Carter, 336.973.5594 or Greg Stikeleather, Broker, 704.880.5247 or email eacarter@charter.net

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A new study indicating who is likely to steal your identity shifts the blame from people you know to those who are more likely to be strangers. In its “Identity Fraud Trends and Patterns“, Utica College’s Center For Identity Management & Information Protection (CIMIP) tracked Secret Service arrests and convictions of offenders and found that identity thieves used these methods of operation. ID thieves used the Internet or some other technological device in the commission of the crime approximately 50 percent of the time. Among those who did not use technology, tactics like dumpster diving and change of address forms were used 20 percent of the time. Learn about ID theft prevention strategies outlined on the Federal Trade Commission’s Identity Theft Site.

search for : steal your identity, ID thieves, dumpster diving

Vacation-home sales went up 4.7% to a record 1.07 million homes in 2006 from 1.02 million in 2005, driven largely by demographic trends. Meanwhile, investment-home sales dropped 28.9%, falling to 1.65 million homes in 2006 from 2.32 million in 2005, according to the group’s annual survey of investment- and vacation-home buyers. Vacation-home sales went up 4.7% to a record 1.07 million homes in 2006 from 1.02 million in 2005, driven largely by demographic trends. Meanwhile, investment-home sales dropped 28.9%, falling to 1.65 million homes in 2006 from 2.32 million in 2005, according to the group’s annual survey of investment and vacation home buyers. Part of the drop in the median investment price results from investors shifting away from pricier markets like Florida, Nevada and Arizona, and into affordable locations in New Mexico, Idaho, Utah, Georgia, Tennessee and the Carolinas.

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search for : Vacation-home sales, vacation home

Consumers tend not to research loan products before sitting down with their mortgage professional. While help is on the Web, consumers need to know where to look. Simply doing a search engine query for many of the popular mortgage terms will result in thousands of links — most with little or no applicability. Borrowers could do much worse than visiting the Freddie Mac “What is a Mortgage” page. This site helps consumers understand some basic mortgage concepts. Links on this page explain the pros and cons of a fixed-rate mortgage, the elements of an adjustable-rate mortgage and define balloon and reset features. Also a visit to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s site takes visitors through the home buying process step-by-step.

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Only 10% of the power used by today’s incandescent bulbs is emitted as light, while the other 90% is released as heat,” Rep. Jane Harman, D-Calif., said when she introduced her legislation to ban standard light bulbs. To eliminate this waste, Harman has proposed legislation that would effectively eliminate incandescent light bulbs from store shelves nationwide as early by 2012. Her proposal was incorporated as part of an energy bill passed by the House of Representatives earlier this month. Though the incandescent light bulb has logged more than 125 years as the reigning light technology with little competition, lawmakers supporting the legislation see the 4 billion light-bulb sockets in American homes as an obvious way to curtail energy consumption and reduce emissions of greenhouse gases.

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search for : incandescent bulbs, curtail energy consumption, reduce emissions of greenhouse gases

Frequently, homeowners do not know the exact location of their lot lines. Other times, contractors doing work for the homeowners fail to follow the property lines when making improvements to homes. The most common problem between neighbors has to do with the installation of fences. Depending on the configuration of the lots, bushes, trees, other obstacles and the location of the home on each lot, neighbors frequently pick a line that usually ends up on one neighbor’s side of the property by a couple of inches to a couple of feet.

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As housing markets deteriorate and a liquidity squeeze buffets the credit markets, mortgage delinquencies and home loan defaults have increased substantially. One forecast now predicts that these numbers will climb even higher over the next six months. The Core Mortgage Risk Monitor (CMRM), an index of foreclosure risk compiled by First American CoreLogic, increased by 1.6 percent compared with the three months ended June 30. High risk markets have foreclosure rates and fraud and collateral risk indices three times the national averages. High risk markets also have job issues such as high unemployment of low wages and wage growth, all indications of economic stress.

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search for : mortgage delinquencies, home loan defaults, Core Mortgage Risk Monitor

$5,850,000

MLS Number: 50913

City: Valle Crucis, NC
Stories: 2
Bedrooms: 4 Baths: 4.5
Area: Boone-Blowing Rock, NC
Year Built: 1990
Plus Five fully furnished 1,400 sq. ft. Rental Cottages. Each built in 1996 on approx. 1/2 acre sites. Current cottage average annual rental income $150,000.

39.4 acres with 360 degree view of Blue Ridge Mountains.

5,200 sq. ft. main house built in 1990 on 1.24 acres.

No restrictions and no zoning offer many other options:

* Family compound
* Corporate retreat
* Religous retreat
* Horse farm / Dude ranch
* Recording studio
* Cottages can be sold separately
* Land can be further subdivided if desired

Contact Elizabeth Carter, 336.973.5594 or Greg Stikeleather, Broker, 704.880.5247 or email eacarter@charter.net

click here for more information

Despite charges of improprieties against builder owned mortgage companies, home buyers themselves are generally satisfied with their builder-lenders As part of its 11th annual survey of new home buyer satisfaction with their builders, J.D. Power and Associates, for the first time measured the experience of purchasers who used their builders as their lenders in 17 markets of the 24 markets covered in the larger survey. The recent study found that the majority of those who opt to obtain financing through their builder do so because of competitive rates. They also claimed the process was easier and more seamless, according to the global marketing information services firm.

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search for : mortgage companies, builder-lenders

This buyer’s market is characterized in the same fashion as buyer’s markets in years past — a huge surplus of unsold properties. As a result, single home and condo prices have experienced a decline for well over the past 18 months. So, buyers need to ask themselves “is now the time to buy”? Will prices continue to decline, stay the same, or begin to edge back up to pre-real-estate-bubble prices. Either way, there may be no better time and now to act. The best strategy for real estate investing and the best way to make money in real estate is to buy low, when the conditions are in the favor of the buyer to buy.

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search for : buyer’s market, condo prices, real estate investing

The authors, drawing from sociological studies and adding anecdotes from themselves and others plow well-worn ground: that people were not meant to live in isolation — and that car-driven suburban land planning, along with the Internet, keep us in isolated cocoons, watching videos in our home theaters rather than going to the movies and having wine in our cellars rather than bars, locked away from our neighbors, rather than fostering healthy relationships in more nurturing village settings. So what’s the answer? For many community planners, it’s a return to village life known variously as Traditional New Developments, New Urbanism and Smart Growth, ideas which have been tried, though not widely adopted, since the early 1980s.

search for : return to village life, Traditional New Developments, New Urbanism, Smart Growth

The concept of staging homes was created in 1971, but staging isn’t so large that home staging businesses are fighting each other for customers says Lamay Hostetler, a partner in Phoenix-based Staging Solutions, LLC. “It seems like there’s so much business out there that there’s really no need to be competitive,” she said. “In most industries it’s not like that.” Halvorsen and Judy King, owner of Cave Creek-based Advantage Staging, worked together Tuesday on staging Randy Hunt’s vacant house in Ahwatukee. Together, they set up a temporary bed in the home’s master bedroom, using a bed skirt, boxes, an air mattress, a mattress pad, a comforter and pillows. They placed paintings and plastic plants around the house , did some light cleaning and more work.

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Runaway foreclosure numbers are impacting a new group of victims — renters. Across the country, a rising number of landlords are falling behind on mortgage payments, sending their properties into foreclosure. In many cases, their tenants are being forced out of their homes. Often, the tenants’ first notice of trouble occurs when they get a letter from the bank directing them to leave the premises. In many cases, the homes and apartments entering foreclosure are owned by investors who got low-rate teaser mortgages and intended to hold the buildings for a few years and then sell them at a profit — before their mortgage rates rose. Now, with the housing market badly depressed in many markets, the owners can’t sell the homes or afford the higher mortgage payments. Many are defaulting.

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search for : Runaway foreclosure numbers, low-rate teaser mortgage

According to a Consumer Reports National Research Center survey of 2,167 households , more than 90 percent of those who tried to talk down the price succeeded on furniture, electronics, appliances, even medical bills. The most successful hagglers shaved an average $50 off the asking price of an individual item or service. Of those who yakked their way to a better deal, 94 percent scored a lower price at least once during the past three years. Overall, 61 percent of respondents bargained at least once during that time. Not for the introverted, shy or withdrawn, successful negotiations do require a level of assertiveness and the willingness to risk rejection.

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Good credit is the number one determining factor that will convince a lender to offer you the best mortgage interest rate, at the principal amount you want. Mortgage lenders look to your ability to repay a loan, your history of credit debt repayment, the likelihood you’ll make timely payments (as indicated by past payment history), the amount you will put down on the loan, and the value of the home. Lenders analyze your credit scores (FICO) and credit history, the loan-to-value ratio of the desired loan and your (total) debt-to-income ratio.

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search for : Good credit, mortgage interest rate, credit score

We all seem to have more stuff than ever before and a lot of that stuff gets crammed into the closets. Then when you list the home on the market, and buyers come to have a look, they reach for a closet door and are greeted with an overstuffed, unorganized mess. The prospective buyers don’t see your valuables as prized possessions; instead what they see too little space closet space. Buyers have trouble picturing their belongings in a home that’s filled with clutter. Savvy agents will recommend organizing, not just the space you see immediately upon entering the home, but also all the closets in the home.

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Beautiful Wilkes County NC Timber Frame Home and Mountain Property.

MLS Number: 51166, List Price: $898,500

2 Bedrooms, 2 Baths, 2 half baths, 2 car attached garage, full basement, and a barn on 5 acres of land.

These terms are used to describe thousands of homes and yet some things just can’t be described, they have to be experienced. This is one of those homes that really has to be seen to be appreciated.

This majestic Timber Frame home of the Bob Timberlake genre is not just another house, it provides a feeling of home that is not about walls and floors and windows and doors. It creates a feeling of the flow between your outdoor and your indoor environment that is seamless. Everywhere you look there is a view. Everything you touch feels natural and beautiful in a way that cannot be described, only owned.

Contact Elizabeth Carter, 336.973.5594 or Greg Stikeleather, Broker, 704.880.5247 or email eacarter@charter.net

click here for more information

Congress gave homeowners facing financial distress some good news last week. The House of Representatives overwhelmingly approved legislation that would end the controversial practice of imposing federal income taxes on borrowers whose mortgage lenders forgive a portion of their debt as part of a pre-foreclosure short sale arrangement. The House-passed bill (HR 3648) would prohibit income tax levies on home mortgage debt discharges. Similar legislation is pending in the Senate (S 1394). The House bill is retroactive to Jan. 1, 2007, thereby assisting borrowers who received debt relief any time this year, and in future years. It would not apply, however, to transactions closing in 2006 or earlier.

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A recent spike in foreclosure filings is helping self-storage facilities here thrive like never before, according to those who manage them. Many self-storage facilities are near capacity. Thousands of units are filled with furniture, appliances and decorations owned by people whose mortgages are in default — and those in the industry are hoping it stays that way. When people are in need of space, the cost is usually not a major concern. Storage unit operators say that most people don’t fuss about price. People say they’re going to stay one to two months but most people stay seven to eight months. Once it’s out of sight, it’s out of mind. They come and pay their rent and say they’re going to get it out but never do.

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search for : foreclosure, Storage unit operator

With pending home sales at a six-year low and home prices flat, people are no longer willing to sink as much money into their kitchens as they were during the boom. Spending on kitchen renovations costing more than $20,000 was $53.4 billion in the year ending August 2007, a 40% drop from the same period a year earlier. For people who bought at the top of the market, having little or no equity to borrow against means having to tap other sources. Also trouble for the home-renovation industry: Money is drying up for people seeking home-equity loans or lines of credit to finance projects.

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search for : pending home sales, home-renovation, home-equity loan

For decades solar energy use was largely confined to a small fringe of diehard conservationists. And their sole option was typically a “solar thermal” system that stores heat from the sun to warm pools or appliances. But these days, solar power is going mainstream in many more homes, helped along by a proliferation of new solar technology like cheaper photovoltaic cells and new solar-powered gadgets.

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Beautiful Wilkes County NC Log Home and Mountain Property.

MLS Number: 50863, List Price: $359,900

Bedrooms: 3, Full Baths: 2, Half Baths: 0, Est Total SqFt: 2600, Type/Style: Log Home, Area: Area 6, Middle School: Cntrl Wlks, High School: Wlks Cntrl, Construction: Log

Foundation: Combination, Roof: Metal Roof, Floors: Carpet/Hardwood/Tile, Garage/Carport: None-Garage, None-Carport, Interior Features: Master Bedroom, Main Level, Large Master Bedroom, Walk-In Closet(s), Hardwood Floors, Fireplace(s), Great Room, Exterior Features: Double Pane Windows, Wooded Lot, 1-5 Acres, Hot Tub, Subdivision: N/A, Lot Size: 2.47, Apx SqFt: 2600 – 2800 SF, Basement: None

Contact Elizabeth Carter, 336.973.5594 or Greg Stikeleather, Broker, 704.880.5247 or email eacarter@charter.net

click here for more information

In many communities, where homes, condos, or apartments are in close proximity, nuisances are bound to annoy neighbors. Noise is the most common complaint followed closely by odors, health and sanitation issues, cigarette smoke and curb appeal. Some nuisances are clear violations of law and should be handled by law enforcement. Among these are domestic disputes, out of control parties, abuse of alcohol and use of illegal drugs should all be directed to law enforcement. These are not situations that neighbors or boards are prepared to deal with and there is a chance attempts to do so could escalate to physical altercations. The complainer should be directed to call the police immediately.

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search for : annoy neighbors, Noise, cigarette smoke

Even though the number of foreclosures is at the highest since the Mortgage Bankers Association began keeping records in 1979, they are concentrated in a few states and still represent fewer than 2 percent of all mortgages. And while foreclosures can be deals, not all are bargains. Pitfalls vary. The likelihood of making money on foreclosures has not necessarily increased with the rise in foreclosures. Certainly bargains exist, and the occasional unsophisticated buyer has gotten a great deal in the past, fixed the house up, lived in it and sold it several years later for great profit. But making money in foreclosures can be trickier now that the market has soured because prices have not yet bottomed out in some regions.

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search for : foreclosures, making money in foreclosures