Halloween home decorating

I must say that I love dressing up my house for the holiday season. We start we Halloween. We like to dress up our front door and windows, but we also like to change out table decorations and colors for the start of the season. I think I want to try to do more outdoor decorations this year.

I am so pleased that my mailbox is constantly full of catalogs. This time of year, it seems like 2-3 come every day. Grandin Road, which I believe is part of the Frontgate parent company, has some great Halloween decorations, for those of us who would like to go all-out.
Grandin Road website here

These are some of the coolest halloween items I was contemplating myself:





I know that some decorations for halloween can be both gruesome and tacky, but I think that if done right, the decorations help get anyone who drives by in a festive mood. I was browsing through Flickr to see what type of outdoor decorations people around the country are putting out for Halloween.


Have a look. Pretty wild and crazy stuff!

95% financing will vanish on October 20th 2008

I was just made aware that the only remaining private mortgage insurer, Radian, is no longer going to be insuring conforming conventional mortgages at less than 90% loan to value. Currently, borrowers with good credit are still able to obtain a conforming conventional mortgage (under $417,000), with a 5% down payment, until the effective date of October 20th, 2008. So, if you are looking at homes above the FHA max ($346,250) and you are hoping to buy a home with less than 10% down, now is the time to act.

Here is a link to additional information on Radian's site.

Market trend: Lender-owned properties

Well, it's offical. If you are a buyer looking in the under $300,000 price range and you are viewing lender-owned properties, be prepared for multiple offers.

We have been out with buyers, writing reasonable offers on lender-owned properties, and other buyers are out there doing the same thing. It's almost like a train station inside lender-owned properties; people coming and going. So this begs the question, why would there be so much competition out there?

Simple. Buyers haven't left the market, they are just being most cautious about the price-ranges of homes they are looking at. Knowing that lender-owned properties are typically priced to sell, or better yet, under-priced, buyers are flocking to these houses. Many buyers don't want to be in the same position as many property owners are in today. Quite a few buyers think that if previous buyers hadn't bought when the market was high, or bought the best house in the neighborhood, that we wouldn't be in this housing crisis. So, what we are finding is that buyers are willing to buy into the real estate market, at the VERY low-end; I.E. lender-owned properties.

Lender-owned properties can come with many surprises that a buyer may not know about, or uncover, until they have taken possession of the house. It is important to note that almost all lender-owned properties are sold "as is", without any warranties, or history, of the property's issues/conditions. Many lender-owned properties require work to make them livable or work to make them desireable. Some houses don't have functioning plumbing (copper been ripped out by vandals or previous homeowners), roof leaks, green pools, over-grown yards, trashed carpet, etc. Then there are other properties that are pristine inside and out. We're seeing saavy buyers budgeting for repairs and not relying on home equity lines to complete the repairs. The buyers are doing the right thing by considering the costs of ownership ahead of purchasing a lender-owned property, since the availability of funds to fix up a house are reserved for property owners with a substantial amount of equity already accrued in their homes.

So what does this mean to you? Well, if you are a buyer looking at lender-owned properties, be prepared to bring your highest and best offer as your first offer. You may not get a second chance to raise your price. Also, if you are a seller in a high foreclosure area, this may impact your property value right now. 44% When buyers realize they are in competition for these lender-owned homes, it almost serves to make them want them even more. We are seeing many lender-owned properties selling at, or above, list price.

A recent study from ASU (9/12/08) showed that "Of the 7,505 resale home transactions recorded in Maricopa County in August, 44 percent were bought out of foreclosures, according to the Realty Studies department at Arizona State University. That's a two percent increase from July and more than double the 20 percent of sales recorded in August 2007."

Have you heard of Walkscore.com?

My house scores a 49 out of 100, which means Walkscore considers my neighborhood to be "car dependent". I find that interesting because I have several strip malls and restaurants within walking distance of my house. We also have walking access to one of the best parks in Scottsdale, AZ

From the Walkscore website:
How It Works
Walk Score helps people find walkable places to live. Walk Score calculates the walkability of an address by locating nearby stores, restaurants, schools, parks, etc. Walk Score measures how easy it is to live a car-lite lifestyle—not how pretty the area is for walking.

What does my score mean?
Your Walk Score is a number between 0 and 100. Here are general guidelines for interpreting your score:

90–100 = Walkers' Paradise: Most errands can be accomplished on foot and many people get by without owning a car.
70–89 = Very Walkable: It's possible to get by without owning a car.
50–69 = Somewhat Walkable: Some stores and amenities are within walking distance, but many everyday trips still require a bike, public transportation, or car.
25–49 = Car-Dependent: Only a few destinations are within easy walking range. For most errands, driving or public transportation is a must.
0–24 = Car-Dependent (Driving Only): Virtually no neighborhood destinations within walking range. You can walk from your house to your car!
The Walk Score™ Algorithm
Walk Score uses a patent-pending system to measure the walkability of an address. The Walk Score algorithm awards points based on the distance to the closest amenity in each category. If the closest amenity in a category is within .25 miles (or .4 km), we assign the maximum number of points. The number of points declines as the distance approaches 1 mile (or 1.6 km)—no points are awarded for amenities further than 1 mile. Each category is weighted equally and the points are summed and normalized to yield a score from 0–100. The number of nearby amenities is the leading predictor of whether people walk.1

Your Walk Score may change as our data sources are updated or as we improve our algorithm. Check out how Walk Score doesn't work.

First time buyers can use their IRA as a source of downpayment money

After years of loose lending standards, which has led to the default of many homeowners, first time buyers are now required to have a minimum of a 3% downpayment. FHA loans currently require a 3% downpayment, but this is going to increase to 3.5% January 1, 2009. Most conventional loans, for borrowers with credit scores above 700, require a downpayment of 5%, if below the $417,000. Most conventional loans above $417,000 require a downpayment of 10%.

There are several ways to fund your downpayment, as a first time buyer. You can receive a gift from a family member, save it up yourself, apply for county bond money or use something you may not have previously considered: your IRA or other eligible retirement accounts.

In order to use money from your IRA to fund the downpayment, you may want to do a bit of research on your particular IRA account to ensure you can use it towards the purchase of real estate. If your IRA allows you to tap into it for your first home, each spouse is able to withdraw $10,000 for a downpayment TAX-FREE. This money can be used for the downpayment, but it can also be used refurbish your new home for up to 120 days of withdrawing the money.

For younger families that were not expecting to have to come up with a hefty downpayment, this could be the difference in getting into a new home or continuing to rent. Many lenders and financial planners have opinions about investing your IRA in real estate. We suggest getting financial and tax advice before proceeding with a withdrawal.

Withdrawing cash from an IRA before you turn 59 1/2 almost always carries hefty penalties, but the IRS makes an exception for first-time home buyers. There is no penalty as long as you put the money toward building, buying or refurbishing your first home within 120 days of receiving the money.

If your spouse also qualifies as a first-time buyer, you can get up to $20,000 to invest in your dream home. That is the equivalent of a 5% downpayment on a $400,000 house.

A first-time home buyer is anyone who hasn’t held an ownership interest in a main home for the last two years, according to IRS Publication 590.

Check out HouseTribe.com

For those of you who love looking at houses online, you should check out www.HouseTribe.com.


The best place to see and show houses on the web!
Post for-sale or rent and get worldwide exposure.
Or post just for fun, and enter our House of the Week
contest!

You can view photos of houses all across the world...modern, traditional, lofts, ranches, bungalows, apartments, etc.


And, if you go, vote for my house to win House of the Week. My profile is under the name Fifilynn

Amazing CHEAP mortgage opportunity

I am pleased to announce that Christie and I are partnered up with Dan Hrey of JP Morgan Chase Bank and can offer our buyers (and anyone across the county that might be reading this post) an amazing deal on a new mortgage.

First of all, JP Morgan Chase Bank is one of the largest, top ranked banks in the US. JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM) is a leading global financial services firm with assets of $1.8 trillion and operations in more than 60 countries. The firm is a leader in investment banking, financial services for consumers, small business and commercial banking, financial transaction processing, asset management, and private equity. A component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average, JPMorgan Chase serves millions of consumers in the United States and many of the world’s most prominent corporate, institutional and government clients under its J.P. Morgan and Chase brands.

So, when you are considering which bank to talk to when looking for a mortgage, I suggest talking to a Chase mortgage loan officer.

Right now, our preferred Chase mortgage loan officer, Dan Hrey, is offering our buyers (and anyone in all 50 states that mentions they were referred by us), the following deal:

The total bank-related closing costs for a loan through Dan Hrey will only be $400, for an application fee, which is non-refundable, when you lock your rate. There is no charge to pull your credit, make you loan offers or send you good faith estimates.

This means there is no appraisal fee (a savings of at least $350), no processing fee (a savings of at least $300), no underwriting fee (a savings of at least $295). So, the only bank-related fee for a mortgage through Dan is $400! That is likely a $600-$2500 savings, as compared to other mortgage lenders. Rates are competitive, and as of Friday afternoon, rates on a 30 year fixed conventional loan under $417,000 was 5.875%, with no points!

Another great feature of working with Dan Hrey is that if interest rates decrease 1/8%, or more, from the interest rate you locked at, for more than a 48 hour period, Dan will automatically lock you at the lower rate, free of charge!

So, if you want to compare Dan's mortgage offerings to other loan officers, please contact Dan and mention that The Real Estate Twins, Jennifer Hibbard and Christie Kinchen, referred you to him!

Dan Hrey
JP Morgan Chase Bank
8501 N. Scottsdale Rd. Ste 160
Paradise Valley, AZ 85253
Office: 480-308-5316
Toll Free: 888-242-7388 ext 5316
Fax: 866-798-4065
E-mail: dan.w.hrey@chase.com

Even if you aren't buying a home in Arizona, Dan can help you with a loan in all 50 states!