The Dawn of the New Normal

October 7, 2011 1 Comment

A brave new world is dawning

We’ve all heard the old adage, “The more things change, the more they stay the same.”  Well in real estate sales, you can take this cute little saying and bury it under a pile of dirt and lay an R.I.P placard on top of it.  Staying the same in this business is wishful thinking.

Consider the following five trends that are staring the average REALTOR® squarely in the face as we approach the end of 2011:

1.  Transaction Management – Never in the history of selling real estate has it become more important for the REALTOR® to stay closely involved in the transaction.  The days of writing the agreement and showing up at the settlement table to collect the commission are dead.  Between stringent inspections, mortgage approvals, title issues, appraisal valuations, complex documentation standards and increased buyer/seller expectations, agents need to hone their problem solving skills.  The most valuable sales professionals will be those that can manage this chaos.
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Spring Advertising Campaign Set to Kick-Off

March 6, 2011 Leave a comment

Real people with a real message!  That’s the theme of these three television commercials that are starting to run on WGAL, Fox 43, WHP 21, Comcast and Viamedia.  They will run through the Spring buying season and end during the latter part of May.

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Hidden Benefits of Refinancing Your Mortgage

January 18, 2011 Leave a comment

How much cash is in your home?So you’ve had your mortgage for a while and think you have a good rate.  Most people only consider refinancing if their present interest rate drops one percentage point – - – say from 6½% to 5½%.  But there are other good reasons to refinance your mortgage that will save you cash and make your life easier in the long run.  Consider the following:

1.  Dis-ARM yourself.  You may have obtained an Adjustable Rate Mortgage (ARM) when you first purchased your home and received an unbelievable rate.  You’re now probably experiencing the escalation part of the ARM which means your monthly payment is going from great to – - – hmmm - – - not so great.  Check into refinancing your loan so that you can lock in an interest rate and with it, obtain peace of mind knowing it won’t increase in the future.

2.  Eliminate Holiday Blues.  Are you like many Americans that went out and racked up credit card bills over the holidays?  If you’ve been in your home a couple of years you probably have an untapped resource in the equity sitting in your home.  Read more of this post

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The Difference Between Short Sales, Foreclosures and REO’s

September 8, 2010 2 Comments

  
Practitioners in the real estate industry sometimes throw around acronyms and terminology that we understand, but in many cases our clients do not.

Here is a prime example: short sales, foreclosures and REO’s (Real Estate Owned).  I found this short video clip that does a great job in explaining the differences.  The guy in the video is Spencer Rascoff, the COO of Zillow.

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Five Tips for Deciphering Your Home Loan’s Good-Faith Estimate

September 6, 2010 Leave a comment

I recently had an agent in my office who showed me their Buyer’s HUD-1 Settlement Statement form two days prior to settlement that had some inconsistancies when it came to the numbers jiving with the original Good Faith Estimate provided by the lender.  I found this article of the National Association of REALTORS® consumer website, HouseLogic, that provided some good answers to questions about Good Faith Estimates.  The article is reproduced here in its entirety:

Knowing how to read your good-faith estimate can help you save money on your home loan.

When you’re shopping for a mortgage loan, it’s sometimes hard to understand the jargon lenders use in the good-faith estimate explaining the costs and fees you’ll pay when taking out a mortgage.

When you apply for a mortgage, the lender has three days to give you a good-faith estimate of the fees and interest rate you’ll pay, as well as other loan terms.  Here are five tips for using the new three-page form to your advantage.

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What’s Really Happening in the Real Estate Market?

September 2, 2010 Leave a comment

The national media is constantly bombarding its readership and viewership with stories that will scare the you know what out of you.  Here’s a slideshow that presents facts on what is happening right now in the real estate market.  No fluff or unsubstantiated wild statements.  Just facts!

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A Primer for the Homebuyer Tax Credit Extension

November 6, 2009 2 Comments

The Lancaster County Association of REALTORS® Government Affairs Department, headed up by Frank Christoffel, IV, passed this Q&A along regarding the latest information on the potential extension of the homebuyer tax credit which includes an existing homebuyer credit that was not part of the first bill.

The House of Representatives passed the extension yesterday by a vote of 403-12 after passing the Senate the previous night 98-0.  The new provisions will take effect as soon as President Obama signs the bill.

Here are some of the specifics regarding eligibility requirements:

1.  Existing homeowner credit:  Must the new house cost more than the old house?   

No.  Thus, for example, individuals who move from a high cost area to a lower cost area who meet all eligibility requirements will qualify for the $6500 credit.  

2.  I am an existing homeowner.  On October 25, 2009, I signed a contract to purchase a new home.  I have lived in my current  home for more than 5 consecutive years and am within the new income limits.  I will go to settlement on November 20.  If President Obama has signed the bill by the time I go to settlement, will I qualify for the new $6500 tax credit? 

Yes.  The existing homeowner credit goes into effect for purchases after the date of enactment (when the bill is signed).   There is no reference to the date of contract for the new credit. The provision looks solely to the date of purchase, which is generally the date of settlement.

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New Home Valuation Code of Conduct (HVCC) is a Quagmire

July 12, 2009 Leave a comment

What a mess!

Image courtesy of Flickr

The real estate industry has been operating under the new HVCC guidelines for a couple of weeks now and we are beginning to see the ugly results of this misguided set of government regulations.  In a preliminary report issued this past week by the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR), it finds that the HVCC is having an adverse impact on housing markets.

Before I get into the actual results, let me spend a minute and tell you about what this new set of guidelines was supposed to do.

The HVCC was intended to promote independence in the appraisal process and, thus, help ensure that appraisers and the appraisal process may be relied upon as part of sound underwriting for financial institutions.  What that actually means is that the loan officer who is working on your loan no longer orders the appraisal on your home.  It is done through the lender who either has an in-house process for appraisal management issues or, more often, it is done through something called an Appraisal Management Company (AMC).

While this may not seem like a big change to you if you are buying a home, it can possibly be a much bigger change than you might think.  Prior to May 1, loan officers, REALTORS® and appraisers all communicated as needed regarding your home and home financing and it wasn’t uncommon for everyone to be on the same conference call if needed.  But now that the HVCC rules are in place, the only way the loan officer or REALTOR® will know who the appraiser is is if by chance the appraiser calls them.  In other words, no one talks to anyone to clarify anything!

Now, on to the findings of NAR’s analysis:

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