Bring your cameras! Immediately after the hunt, our Eggcitement bunny is available for photographs inside the South Center.
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| When buying a first home, most people are making one of the biggest purchases of their lives. Without home buying experience, it can be difficult to separate fact from fiction.
Get the facts on these common first-time home buying myths: Myth – It takes a 20 percent down payment to buy a home. Reality – Required down payment amounts vary by type of loan and they are on average much smaller than people think. Last year, the median down payment for all first-time buyers was 6 percent, according to the National Association of REALTORS®. One reason is that many first-time buyers use FHA loans, which require down payments as low as 3 to 3.5 percent. VA loans require nothing down for qualified veterans or active military personnel. If you want to take out a conventional loan, many lenders do require 20 percent down, but you can lower that percentage with private mortgage insurance. There are also hundreds of down payment assistance programs that eliminate or reduce down payment requirements for qualified borrowers. Myth – If you owe a lot of student loan debt, there is no way you can get a mortgage. Reality – Don’t assume that having a lot of student loan debt automatically disqualifies you from getting a mortgage. The key factor is not necessarily the size of your loan obligation, but the amount of your total monthly debt payments compared to your monthly income. This is called DTI. Myth – If your credit score is low, you should not even try to get a mortgage. Reality – Millions of potential buyers assume they will not be approved for a mortgage even though many could qualify. Today, median FICO scores for mortgages to buy a home are 683 for FHA loans and 754 for conventional loans. But hundreds of thousands of buyers with scores lower than those are getting mortgages if they have good income and low levels of debt. Myth – Buying a home isn’t a good investment. Reality – Real estate, like other assets, rises and falls based on supply and demand. Over the past two years, home values in most markets have been rising. While all real estate is local, if you bought a home in March 2012, by August 2014, the national median home price as measured by Case-Shiller had risen 29.6 percent. Myth – The mortgage interest tax deduction is going away. Reality – Though the deduction has its critics, most observers believe it is unlikely that Congress will eliminate the mortgage interest deduction any time soon. Many states also allow homeowners to write off the interest they pay on their mortgages from their state income taxes. Check with your accountant or CPA on if you can qualify for this type of tax deduction. Myth – I’m about to get married and the wedding is so expensive I won’t be able to buy a home. Reality – According to TheKnot, the average wedding has 138 guests who typically give a gift valued at $100 each. That’s $13,800 in spatulas, baking pans and other things. If every guest contributed to a down payment fund instead, you could have enough saved for a down payment. |
| While homeowners may not immediately think of their attic as a major source of energy loss, the fact is, it is responsible for as much as 25 percent of the energy lost in the average American home. Air leakage, caused particularly by the attic, can place a strain on your wallet every month.
The good news is, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) says the attic is one of the easiest places within the home to address energy loss. There are several smart home renovation investments that homeowners can make to reduce excessive energy loss through the attic. One of the most effective methods to eliminate air leakage (and live greener!) is insulating your attic with a high-performance solution. Traditional insulation is prone to sagging, which can leave gaps and absorb moisture, causing a significant loss of energy. Replace your home’s insulation with a spray foam insulation to both insulate and air seal the entire attic space. According to insulation experts at Icynene, quality spray foam insulation can noticeably reduce heating and cooling costs – by up to 50 percent, in some cases! And, a growing number of building professionals are recommending spray foam insulation as a valuable, cost-effective solution. Suitable for any climate, spray foam insulation helps retain conditioned air, allowing the heating and cooling equipment to work more efficiently rather than compensating for energy losses through the attic space. Other solutions to energy loss are to have your home professionally caulked and sealed and to have whole house fans installed. These fans help by pulling air through the house and are particularly effective during warmer months. You may also want to check if your home is outfitted with a polyolefin plastic house wrap, which is designed to minimize air leakage This type of wrap is commonly installed during the construction process as part of an integrated system. Reprinted with permission from RISMedia.©2015. All rights reserved. |
By Gary S. Miliefsky
We’ve all lost our identity at least three times, with more than 930 million records breached, lost or stolen to hackers and cyber criminals, says consumer advocacy non-profit Privacy Rights Clearinghouse.
Why don’t we do all we can to stay safer online?
According to StaySafeOnline.org, more than a quarter of Americans say they lack the information necessary.
So, here it is – everything you need to know to enjoy the Christmas shopping experience without losing your privacy and identity or putting your children’s safety at risk:
Gary S. Miliefsky is CEO of SnoopWall and the inventor of SnoopWall spyware-blocking technology. He also is a founding member of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and founder of NetClarity, Inc., an internal intrusion defense company, based on a patented technology he invented. More detailed consumer alert with additional tips and links is available at www.snoopwall.com/halting-hackers-on-the-holidays/.
Reprinted with permission from RISMedia. ©2014. All rights reserved.
Years after the housing market crash, one thing is certain: it’s incredibly difficult to qualify for a mortgage, and that fact is significantly holding back the housing market recovery. Thankfully, mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac took notice and, just this week, instituted new lending guidelines that will make mortgages easier to obtain for Main Street homebuyers.
The new, less rigid standards mean borrowers with lower credit scores have a much better chance of qualifying for a home loan. In the past, lenders were extremely selective when approving loans because of the penalties they faced when approving bad mortgages. The result was a reluctance to approve anyone without stellar credit and, subsequently, a sluggish market rebound.
Don Frommeyer, CEO of NAMB – The Association of Mortgage Professionals, believes the new regulations are appropriate and will go a long way to positively influencing the housing market.
“There are so many instances where a responsible buyer couldn’t finance a home because of one credit problem, such as a temporary job loss or foreclosure,” says Frommeyer. “The looser credit restrictions will put a lot of people back in homes and, we hope, will encourage Millennials to consider buying their first home sooner rather than later. I expect to see the number of approved mortgage applications skyrocket in the coming months.”
Frommeyer adds that healthy employment numbers and record low rates mean little if people can’t secure a mortgage loan. “This is exactly what we need…not just for the housing market, but for the economy as a whole,” says Frommeyer.
Reprinted with permission from RISMedia. ©2014. All rights reserved.
Following years of retrenchment among prospective first-time homebuyers and the dampening effect it has had on the recovery of the housing market, first-timers will return to the market next year, according to the realtor.com® 2015 Housing Forecast released Thursday. This is among several key developments projected for the coming year by realtor.com®, a leading provider of online real estate services operated by News Corp subsidiary Move, Inc., in a report that includes predictions for home prices, home sales, mortgage rates, and affordability, as well as the Top 10 Markets for Housing Growth.
“The residual financial effects of recession-driven job losses and subsequent unemployment have impeded millennials’ entry into the home-owning market. In 2015, increases in employment opportunities will empower younger buyers to return to the market and fuel the continued housing recovery,” said Jonathan Smoke, chief economist for realtor.com®. “If access to credit improves, we could see substantially larger numbers of young buyers in the market. However, given a high dependency on financial qualifications, this activity will be skewed to geographic areas with higher affordability such as the Midwest and South.”
Realtor.com®’s Top 5 Housing Predictions for 2015
1. Millennials will drive household formations: Both population and households have grown at a slightly higher pace in 2014 and this trend will continue in 2015 with modest improvement over this year’s increases. Households headed by millennials will see significant growth as a reflection of economic gains. Millennials will also drive two-thirds of household formations over the next five years. Next year’s addition of 2.75 million jobs and increased household formation will be the two key factors driving first-time buyer sales.
2. Existing home sales will increase +8%: Existing home sales will grow as more buyers enter the market motivated by a clear belief that both rates and prices will continue to rise. The increase in home sales year-over-year will be similar to 2012, but this time the composition of properties sold will be more normal with minimal levels of distressed properties. While the majority of housing activity next year will be driven by baby boomers preparing for retirement, millennials will account for 65 percent of first-time home buyer sales in 2015.
3. Home prices will gain +4-5%: Low inventory levels and demand driven by improved employment opportunities will push home prices up next year. While first-time home buyers have many economic factors working in their favor, increasing home prices will make it more difficult to get into high priced markets such as San Francisco and San Jose, Calif. As a result, first-time home buyer activity is expected to concentrate in markets with strong employment and affordability, such as Des Moines, Iowa; Atlanta and Houston.
4. Mortgage rates will end the year at 5%: Mortgage rates will increase in the middle of 2015, as the Federal Reserve increases its target rate by at least 50 basis points before the end of the year. Thirty year fixed rate mortgages will reach 5 percent by the end of 2015. One year adjustable rate mortgages (ARMs) will rise minimally. Lower ARM interest rates will influence an uptick in buyer interest for adjustable and hybrid mortgages. While still at historic lows, rate increases will affect housing affordability for first-timers trying to break into the housing market and will be another factor pushing them to less expensive locales.
5. Home affordability will decrease 5-10: Affordability will decline in 2015 by 5-10 percent, based on home price appreciation and increasing mortgage interest rates. This decline will be somewhat offset by increasing incomes. When considering historical norms, housing affordability will continue to remain strong next year.
Realtor.com®’s outlook for gross domestic product (GDP) and home sales and prices is more optimistic than the National Association of REALTORS®’ forecast, which projects existing-home sales to rise 5 to 7 percent and home prices to increase 3 to 4 percent, based on GDP growth of 2.5 to 2.8 percent.
“The growth expected in 2015 is widespread, but as we put together our forecast, 10 local markets stood out as especially primed and ready for significant acceleration across housing metrics in 2015,” Smoke said. “The markets on this list range from big cities with older housing stock, big and mid-size cities with substantial levels of new construction, and up and coming markets appealing to young professionals for their job growth and high affordability. Los Angeles and Washington, D.C., were selected for their anticipated increases in home sales and household formation. While Des Moines may seem like an odd addition, its incredibly high affordability and high levels of homeownership among Millennials set the stage for strong housing performance next year.”
Realtor.com®‘s Top 10 Markets for Housing Growth in 2015
Realtor.com®‘s Forecast for Key Housing and Economic Indicators
Reprinted with permission from RISMedia. ©2014. All rights reserved.
Trash Removal Holiday Changes
If you usually have trash removed on Thursdays, please keep in mind trash is not collected Thanksgiving Day (Nov. 27), Christmas Day (Dec. 25), and New Year’s Day (Jan. 1)—all of which are Thursdays this year. The trash will be picked up on the next regularly scheduled pickup day, which is a Monday in each of these cases. Please help spread the word, so everyone can spend these holidays resting—and not looking into a street lined with trash bags and recycling bins.
Yard Debris and Holiday Trees
Yard debris pickup ends December 24. Holiday trees can be left at the curb for a special tree pickup the first two Wednesdays in January, Jan. 7 and 14. Please remove all decorations from the trees before leaving at the curb.
The day after Thanksgiving is the single busiest of the year for many plumbers. Big holiday meal preparation and cleanup can lead to a lot of unwanted waste in the kitchen drain and garbage disposal. Also, holiday house guests who require additional clothes washing, showers and toilet flushes put a strain on household plumbing.
“Often, the case is that a house already has partially clogged drains that go unnoticed, until holiday guests arrive and overwhelm the system,” said Paul Abrams, Roto-Rooter representative. Hectic houses full of people and frantic hosts quickly and easily lead to plumbing problems throughout the holiday season. “Even more problematic is that virtually every traditional Thanksgiving dish is a supreme drain clog culprit,” Abrams continued.
Thanksgiving hosts can avoid a visit from their plumber over the holiday weekend by following these clog-preventing tips:
-Never pour fats or cooking oils down drains. They solidify in pipes. Instead, wipe grease from pots with paper towels and throw in trash.
-Avoid putting stringy, fibrous or starchy waste in the garbage disposal. Poultry skins, celery, fruit & potato peels, for example, cannot be sufficiently broken down.
-Make sure the disposal is running when you put food into it. Don’t wait until it’s full to turn it on.
-For homes hosting weekend guests, it’s a good idea to wait ten minutes between showers so slow drains have time to do their job.
-Never flush cotton balls, swabs, hair or wet wipes down a toilet. They don’t dissolve and will cause clogs.
-Try to address any plumbing problems before the holiday and before guests arrive. However, in holiday emergencies, don’t hesitate to ask up front about extra holiday service fees. As always, know your DIY limits. Often, minor plumbing problems turn into plumbing catastrophes if not handled properly.
Reprinted with permission from RISMedia. ©2014. All rights reserved.
Want to live in the most expensive active listing in the country? Don’t we all. At $139 million, “Le Palais Royal” has carved out space as the priciest listing currently circulating. And it’s located in Florida, of all places.
The magnificent, French-inspired Beaux Arts masterpiece sits on Florida’s Atlantic Coast. The palatial, 60,000-square-foot estate roosts on more than four acres, with 465 feet of beachfront right on Millionaires Mile.
In addition to a strip of sand named after a club of the richest of the rich, Le Palais Royal has a 492-foot private dock, perfect for that private yacht you’ve always wanted, as well as an underground garage with parking for more than 30 cars. If that isn’t enough for you, then you will be tickled to know that the entryway is marked by a 13-foot, 22-carat gold-leaf gate and a 26-foot entrance fountain, one of six outside waterfalls lining the estate.
The front doors lead to a $2 million marble staircase with a steel-iron railing and (you guessed it) more gold leaf, which supposedly took craftsmen over two years to construct.
In addition to the estate’s 11 bedrooms and 17 bathrooms, the space is also home to the first-ever IMAX Theater contracted for private use, featuring a 50 by 27-foot screen and seating for 18 with a bar.
Currently under the final phase of construction, the space is slated for completion before the end of 2015, so start breaking open those piggy banks!
Listed by: William P.D. Pierce, Coldwell Banker Residential Real Estate
Listed for: $139 million
Reprinted with permission from RISMedia. ©2014. All rights reserved.
Freddie Mac recently released the results of its third quarter 2014 quarterly refinance analysis, showing the share of borrowers who are tapping their equity by cashing out at the time of refinance has doubled from the same quarter last year as a result of broad-based house price appreciation. However, the dollar volume remains very low at an estimated $8.0 billion.
“While the share of borrowers that cashed-out some equity has increased considerably over the past year, the refinance volume has also fallen sharply, resulting in a relatively small amount of equity cashed-out, to the tune of roughly $8 billion which is less than one-tenth of what we saw at the peak in mid-2006,” says Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac vice president and chief economist. “That said, based on the analysis contained in our third quarter refinance report, we estimate that those that lowered their payment by refinancing into a cheaper mortgage rate will save more than $1.5 billion in interest payments over the next 12 months of their new loan. On average, that’s an interest rate reduction of about 1.3 percentage points — a savings of about 24 percent. On a $200,000 loan, that translates into mortgage interest savings on average of about $2,700 during the next 12 months.”
Of borrowers who refinanced during the third quarter of 2014, 36 percent shortened their loan term, a four percent decline from the previous quarter. From 1990 through 2013, on average 28 percent of borrowers shortened their term.
In the second quarter, an estimated $8.0 billion in net home equity was cashed out during a refinance of conventional prime-credit home mortgages, up from the revised $5.6 billion last quarter. Adjusted for inflation, annual cash-out volumes during 2010 through 2013 have been the smallest since 1997.
In aggregate, U.S. home equity grew by an estimated $3 trillion during the two-year period through June 30, 2014. Much of this gain was attributable to home value gains, with shorter-term loans and faster-than amortized principal paydowns also being a factor.
About 72 percent of those who refinanced their first-lien home mortgage maintained approximately the same loan amount or lowered their principal balance by paying in additional money at the closing table, unchanged from the previous quarter. Twenty-eight percent ‘cashed-out’ some equity, the highest share in five years; the peak on ‘cash-out’ share was 89 percent during the second and third quarters of 2006.
The median age of the original loan outstanding before refinance was 7.0 years during the third quarter. The median age was 7.0 years or older in each of the last four quarters, the most since the analysis began in 1985.
For more information, visit www.alyssanair.com
Reprinted with permission from RISMedia. ©2014. All rights reserved.
Kingstowne Realtor 