Prelisting Prep Works to Maximize Your ROI

Repeat buyers, especially move-up buyers, tend to want their next home to be in great condition. Usually, when homes are located in a neighborhood that attracts those buyers, homes need to be pristine to stand out from the rest. This can be achieved in part by getting the home preinspected. Research shows that 8% of sellers have a prelisting inspection before putting their home on the market.

49% of buyers end up purchasing a home in excellent condition while 40% purchase a home in good condition.

In the current market, it is fundamental for sellers to make essential repairs to their homes before listing, and curb appeal is particularly important. This is often a first step to getting buyers in the door. Sellers who choose to make enhancements to their front yards tend to have good-to-excellent results in comparison to the 68% who don't. By boosting curb appeal, sellers tend to receive their first offer six days faster and sell seven days sooner than sellers who choose not to focus on first impressions.

47% of sellers enhance their curb appeal by making changes up to five weeks in advance of listing the home. Sellers tend to spend between $150 and $1,000 when improving their curb appeal.

This Month in Real Estate - July 2011

The U.S. housing market has shown increased stability in home sales during 2011 compared to the previous year. The trend has been an upward one since the expiration of the tax credit last summer. Home prices have softened, particularly earlier this year, due to a higher-than-normal number of distressed sales. However, both the percentage of distressed sales and the amount of time they spend on the market has decreased in recent months, a positive sign for the market moving forward. In fact, prices have steadily followed a positive monthly trend since February. Mortgage defaults have also declined lately.

While interest rates continue to break new record lows, the number of buyers who are able take advantage of these savings is restricted by tougher underwriting standards for mortgages. 40% of the banks surveyed by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency tightened lending standards for mortgages within the past year. In his second press conference, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke stated that a quicker foreclosure process and additional home price stabilization are key to boosting confidence in the market and bolstering a more robust recovery in the housing sector.

As the economy improves, stimulus efforts by the government and the Fed will most likely continue to wind down, which typically spurs rising interest rates to keep inflation in check. Although inflation has been the source of recent concern, the Fed appears confident it will remain in check for the near term. Meanwhile, buyers continue to benefit from historically favorable buying conditions, and sellers are encouraged by increased market stability.

Follow the embedded links if you would like to find out more on "This Month In Real Estate" or more about homes in your area.

Did You Know? FHA Allows Bridal Registry Accounts

FHA allows for couples getting married to set up a Bridal Registry Account. The intent is to give couples planning to get married the opportunity to amass monetary gifts from friends and family for the specific purpose of making the down payment on a home.

Just like registering at a specialty or department store, the FHA Bridal Registry program allows you to register with a lender. Then your friends and family are able to make gift payments into an interest bearing account on your behalf. These gifts can be given with the assurance that the donors are providing the couples or individuals with an opportunity to purchase their first home.

Contact your local lender for more details. Click the following link to find out more about homes in your neighborhood

HUD and NeighborWorks America Announce Deadline Extension for Emergency Homeowners’ Loan Program

HUD and NeighborWorks America have extended the deadline for homeowners who have experienced a loss of income to apply for the Emergency Homeowners’ Loan Program (EHLP). The extension is provided in order to give homeowners at risk of foreclosure in the participating 27 states and Puerto Rico more time to apply for the program. Texas is one of the 27 states participating in this program.

The Emergency Homeowners’ Loan Program (EHLP) will assist homeowners who have experienced a reduction in income and are at risk of foreclosure due to involuntary unemployment or underemployment, due to economic conditions or a medical condition.

The program has been extended to 07/27/2011.

If you or someone you know is having difficulty with their mortgage due to job loss or a medical condition, they may qualify.

To find out more on home sales in your neighborhood, click the link provided.

FTC Settlement with Countrywide

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the nation's consumer protection agency, sued Countrywide for unfair and deceptive practices in servicing the mortgages of homeowners in default or Chapter 13 bankruptcy. The settlement requires Countrywide to pay $108 million in refunds. The FTC will begin sending refunds to eligible homeowners in late July 2011. If you're eligible, you'll get a check in the mail.

What's this case about? According to the FTC, Countrywide used unlawful practices in servicing homeowners' mortgages. The company allegedly (1) charged excessive fees for default-related services like property inspections. (2) Made claims about amounts owed by homeowners in bankruptcy that were false or couldn't be backed up. (3)Didn't tell people going through bankruptcy when new fees or charges were being added to their loans.

The FTC settlement includes a $108 million consumer redress fund. Countrywide also agreed to stop the illegal servicing practices and make major changes to its business practices.

Click the following link if you want to find out more on foreclosures in your area.

Survey Reveals Significant Optimism Among Distressed Homeowners who Receive Housing Counseling

A growing number of government studies show that if a homeowner in distress seeks out housing counseling, the odds of the borrower receiving a loan modification or work out plan brings better and more sustainable terms. In a news release by HPF (Homeownership Preservation Foundation), an independent national nonprofit dedicated to helping distressed homeowners navigate financial challenges and avoid mortgage foreclosure released survey findings underscoring a surprising level of financial optimism among home buyers who call HPF for foreclosure prevention counseling.

Despite a majority (52%) of survey respondents reporting a significant decline in their household income compared to a year ago and 88% reporting anxiety around their ability to make payments on their debt, nearly three-quarters (71%) of survey respondents said they are confident that they will be in their home 12 months out. Nearly three-fifths of respondents (58%) said that they expect their personal financial situation to get better over the next year. An expected reduction in mortgage payments (41%), a new job (19%), or an increase in wages (12%) was the most common reason cited for the anticipated improvement to their personal finances.

The takeaway for homeowners, there is help for you. For a list of non-profit housing counseling in your area, you can visit HUD.gov.

To find out more about the market in your area, click here.

Cedar Park Changes Watering Fines

Cedar Park could fall into a mandatory watering schedule by Sept. 1 if current extreme drought conditions continue as expected, Utilities Program Manager Katherine Woerner said during the July 14 council meeting.

The mandatory watering schedule takes effect at Stage 2 of the city's drought contingency plan and requires watering to occur a maximum of twice per week, placing additional restrictions on certain nonessential watering.

An ancillary issue the council is working out with the potential mandatory restrictions are the cost for the enforcement along with the additional load to the municipal courts.

Texas is in the midst of the third-worst drought in state history. "Typically June is a relatively wet month for us," Woerner said. "If things continue to progress, it could become the first-worst [drought in Texas history]."

To find out more about homes in Cedar Park, click here.

Short Sale vs. Foreclosure?

You make the call!

I get the question from people all the time: short sale or foreclosure, which is the better option? My knee-jerk reaction is always “Are you kidding? Short sale, of course!” This has been mostly because I was always under the impression that a short sale, although still a ding on your credit, was gentler on the score than a foreclosure.

But according to a recent blog post by FICO Banking Analytics, there is no real difference in the affect a short sale or a foreclosure has on your credit score. Both the impact in points and the time to fully recover is about the same for both events.

This put me in a precarious situation. All this time I had lauded the short sale as vastly superior to foreclosure, largely because of its less adverse affects on credit. So I was forced to do further research into which was the better option. In doing so I learned about benefits of a short sale I wasn’t even aware of, and found that the FICO blog was way off.

Each borrower’s credit situation is different, and the way that a creditor reports a short sale to bureaus is different. The reality is that hundreds of thousands of distressed homeowners who have chosen a short sale have experienced a lesser impact on their credit than those who have chosen foreclosure.

In a short sale, a distressed homeowner may be able to obtain another mortgage sooner than someone who has a foreclosure on his or her record. Also, more and more employers pull credit before hiring a potential employee, and a foreclosure can keep you from getting a job. Some employers pull credit reports on existing employees, and a foreclosure may not bode well in certain industries.

These benefits stacked against the negatives of foreclosure, including the embarrassment of public announcement and literally being kicked out of your home, make, in my opinion, short sale the reigning champion.

Now you make the call!

For more information about short sales, click here.

Bank of America Overhauls Equator System, Accepts Back Up Offers

The short sale process can be lengthy and complex. Unforeseen changes may occur during this process that would prompt you to submit a backup offer to replace the original short sale offer on the property.

This could occur if:

•The original buyer walked out during the process, but you have a backup offer ready to submit from a different buyer.
•There is a change in the buyer’s name during the process.
•The original offer was declined for being insufficient, and you have a backup offer that can be submitted.This guide outline how to submit a backup offer under any of these circumstances.

This is big news for both buyers and sellers because (1) the short sale process doesn't have to be abandoned & restarted if a buyer walks (2) your file isn't reassigned to a new processor.

If you want to search for shorts sale properties click here.

June MLS Stats - Austin

The latest stats continue to show small gains on list price & sold price in the Austin area, up 2.5% & 0.5% when compared to the same time last year. The volume of sold listing are too about the same when compared to last year, and remember last year at this time we were just coming out of the Federal Tax Credit. While it not great numbers, Austin is still seeing, overall, gains.



To find out more about homes in your neighborhood, please click here.

New Home Growth Northwest of Austin

New Home Construction is on the rise in the northwest of Austin. From Leander, Cedar Park to Round Rock 23,000 new lots are getting ready for new home construction. With the areas desirable schools, available land, access to mass transit & proximity to major employers is driving growth for this area.

To find out more about homes in the Leander, Cedar Park, Round Rock area, click here.

Leander Approves Cost for Due Diligence for LCRA bidding.

Leander is nearing the end of a process that could allow the city to purchase part of the Lower Colorado River Authority's expansive water system. At the July 7 meeting, the city council authorized $95,500 for due diligence and to prepare for a final bid.

The LCRA announced in late 2010 that it planned to sell 32 water and wastewater systems, including the Sandy Creek water system that serves Leander.

This is significant to Leander’s 9,000 LCRA customers because the sale of the plant to another entity could void contract stipulations that protect these customers.

To found out more about homes in your neigbhorhood, click here.

82nd Texas Legislature eliminates most private transfer fees on real estate transactions

Here’s the issue: Most private transfer fees increase costs to buyers and sellers, can be difficult to discover, and offer no benefit to property owners. Private transfer fees can also affect a property’s marketability and cloud its title.

What this means for you: The new law prohibits most future private transfer fees on real property and provides clarity and disclosure requirements to properties with existing private transfer fees. These measures mean fewer surprises for buyers and sellers and one less thing to derail a transaction.

To find out more about homes in the Austin area, click here.