Limited Seller Financing Allowed Once Again

The Texas Department of Savings & Mortgage Lending, Commissioner Doug Foster issued a notice on August 12th that allows the continuation of the de minimis exemption until further action is taken by the Legislature.

Foster's notice states, in part, "Seller Financing in part or in whole has historically been an important part of facilitating real estate sales transactions. To depart from long standing Texas de minimis tradition in the midst of the current credit restrictions and a market where sellers have difficulty selling homes would run counter to the efforts of stabilizing the housing market & reviving the economy"

Source: Texas Realtor Magazine (Sept/Oct 2010)

Mineral Rights in Texas

Do you own the mineral rights to the property you currently own? It depends. Mineral go with the land being conveyed unless the minerals or an interest therein, were previously severed. The mineral estate is known as the dominant estate in land, meaning the owner of the minerals has the right to come on to the land and take the minerals.

If are going to purchase or sell a property were mineral rights come into play you may want to ask for “Information About Mineral Clauses in Contract Forms” (TAR 2509).

This form gives the basics about mineral rights.

Dispute over fire coverage costs could affect 1,700 homes

TCESD 14 notified Cedar Park city officials June 16 that it intended to terminate a fire service contract, effective June 15, 2011. TCESD 14 contracts with Cedar Park for the city’s fire department to provide fire services to more than 1,700 homes in the ETJ.

Residents in Bella Vista, Twin Creeks Country Club, Ranch at Deer Creek and Cypress Canyon subdivisions receive fire services from Cedar Park’s top-rated fire department, but could receive lower-rated coverage from the Volente Fire Department if the contract ends.

The change in the service contract may also affect homeowner insurance rates.

Click Here to read entire story

Growing your Real Estate Practice: The Next Wave

In the coming years, it is estimated 55M “seniors” born 1925 to 1946 (G.I. Generation, Silent Generation & Boomers) will be entering the residential housing market place. When will depended on your market but it would be wise to being your preparation now.

Prepare now in order to tap into the “senior” resource by actively marketing and building referral base.

To effectively work with this demographic:
• Know the your local market
• Reach where they live, eat and meet
• Find and tap into local senior resources
• Build a senior friendly network
• Actively market to seniors moving into/out of your area.
• Learn what is important to them

Monthly Review of the Texas Economy - August 2010

Texas' economic recovery is strengthening. After 16 months of job losses, the state's economy experienced its third month of positive annual employment growth. The growth rate from July 2009 to July 2010 was 1.3 percent compared with a rate close to zero percent for the nation. The state’s private sector posted a positive annual employment growth rate of 1.2 compared with a zero percent for the United States.

The monthly report is by Ali Anari and Mark G. Dotzour. To read the entire report: http://recenter.tamu.edu/econ/

Cost to Value Report on Remodel Projects

Recent article on Realtor.org looks at the cost and investment return on remodeling.

On average, the return on investment recoups approximately 63.8% of cost. Upgrading the kitchen and bath are still a smart bet but forego the super expensive, deluxe projects. Instead, take a look at what is selling in your neighborhood at top dollar and use similar costs in your upgrades.

Worth mentioning, the greatest rate of return at a whopping 128% is upgrading the front door. Its one of the least expensive projects and immediately changes the first impression of your home!

To read the entire article: www.realtor.org

Safeguarding your Identity & Using Social Networking

The popularity of social networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn is continuing to grow dramatically. Sometimes we forget that hackers are using social networking too to gain access to personal information. Some of the following times from ICSA Labs, which is an independent division of Verizon Business.

1. Be wary of worms, Trojans and botnets that can infect and take control of your computer. Access to sensitive documents and personally identifiable information poses a significant threat to users.

2. If you receive a request to connect from someone you do not know, do not accept it. Trojans are infamous for tricking victims into providing sensitive information and are increasingly surfacing on social networking websites. By taking over a user's contacts or "friend" list, the Trojan sends invitations to the user's friends to try to infect their computers as well. The ZeuS Trojan is one example of malware that is remotely controlled by criminals who infect computers, wait for users to log on and then try to gain access to their bank accounts.

3. Do not share too much personal information. Hackers can easily piece together different bits of information posted to Facebook and other sites and compile a complete profile of an individual's identity, especially using birth date information. With this knowledge, hackers can trick users with targeted information that only a "friend" would know.

4. Be careful where you click. Just because a link came to a user from someone the user knows - a "friend" - does not mean it is safe.

5. Use and frequently update software security programs. Updating security software is the simplest way to protect a computer from malware like worms, viruses, Trojans and clickjacking.

Five Mistakes Home Buyers Make

In reading an article from the Wall Street Journal, I am happy to see a major publication to focus on the home buyer, something most news articles do not address as of late. In summation it reminds home buyers the benefits of working with a real estate agent.

For some areas, it’s easy to figure out comparables in the area to base your asking price, but there is much more to a transaction that putting an offer. Buyers must navigate the lending process, repairs, inspections, closings and more.

Guessing what you can afford can create a real headache. Getting a lenders pre-approval letter before submitting a offer to a seller is critical. It shows you are a qualified buyer ready to purchase.

Buying a home is an emotional process for most home buyers; a realtor assists the buyers in keeping a level head in the buying process.

To read the WSJ article “5 Mistakes Home Buyers Make”

FHA Launches Short Refi Opportunity for "Underwater" Homeowners

Federal Housing Administration (FHA) announced earlier this month a new program “FHA Short Refinance” to help responsible homeowners who owe more on their mortgage than the value of their property. Starting September 7th, 2010 FHA will offer certain “underwater” non-FHA borrows who are current on their existing mortgage and whose lenders agree to write off at least 10% of the unpaid principal balance of the first mortgage, have the opportunity to qualify for a new FHA-insured mortgage.

There are qualifications that must be met. The homeowner must qualify for the new loan under standard FHA underwriting requirements and have a credit score equal to or greater than 500. The property must be the homeowner's primary residence. And the borrower's existing first lien holder must agree to write off at least 10% of their unpaid principal balance, bringing that borrower's combined loan-to-value ratio to no greater than 115%.

To read more on this topic, you can refer to FHA’s published mortgage letter that provides guidance.