1 in 5 homeowners drowning | Bedford Real Estate
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Tag Archives: Bedford NY Luxury Homes for Sale
Area real estate market holds strong | Bedford Corners NY Homes
Global house prices: Castles made of sand | Bedford NY Homes
113 Hook Road Is The Bedford Daily Voice House Of The Week | The Bedford Realtor
Helicopter Crashes At Westchester County Airport | Bedford NY Real Estate
The 7 Steps to Buying a Home | Bedford NY Real Estate
You’ve finally found the home you love. Now what? Though every market is different, you can expect to follow these seven steps, from offer to closing.
1. Making an offer
If you’re sure the home you love is right for you, it’s time to make your move. This means writing up a formal purchase offer and signing a real estate contract.
Even though it’s early in the buying process, you still must sign a legally binding contract. With your signature, you’re committing to moving ahead with the seller. Keep in mind you can add contingencies to many real estate contracts. For example, most real estate buying offers will be contingent on a property inspection, as well as disclosure review, loan approval, appraisal and other matters. Such contingencies enable buyers to opt out of the contract if unexpected problems or concerns pop up.
2. Disclosures
In most states, sellers are legally required to provide buyers with disclosure documents, a preliminary title report, copies of city reports and any specific local documents. In California, for example, an earthquake hazards report or a geological survey is required as part of the disclosures. In some areas of the South, especially near the Gulf Coast, buyers usually receive flood maps and reports relevant to the property being considered.
In addition, sellers must disclose any known issues that might affect the property’s value or habitability. Usually, in a transfer disclosure statement, sellers must answer a series of “yes” or “no” questions about the property, the neighborhood and their experience there. If there have been leaky windows, violations from the city, work done without permits or plans for a major nearby development, the seller must disclose them. If there are significant issues, the seller’s agent would likely have brought them up before the contract signing. But if something is disclosed here that is a negative factor for you, it is your “out” of the contract.
3. The appraisal
Most buyers put a certain amount of money down toward the purchase price. The balance will come in the form of a bank loan (usually). But a bank isn’t going to hand over that money without due diligence. An appraisal is the financial institution’s way of making sure the contract price is the right price. So the lender sends out a third-party appraiser, which the buyer pays for, to confirm that the contract price is in line with the neighborhood’s comparable sales. If it’s not, the bank can deny the loan or change the terms.
http://www.zillow.com/blog/2013-12-26/the-7-steps-to-buying-a-home/
UK house prices expected to rise 8% in 2014 | Money | Bedford NY Real Estate
Existing home sales fell for the third straight month | Bedford NY Real Estate
Existing home sales fell 4.3% in November but as higher interest rates and tight inventory dampened the market, the National Association of Realtors said Thursday.
Sales dropped for the third straight month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.9 million from 5.12 million in October.
That was 1.2% off the November 2012 pace and the first time in 29 months that sales were below year ago levels.
Economists’ median forecast was for a November rate of 5.1 million, according to a survey by Action Economics.
Home sales are being hurt by higher mortgage interest rates, limited inventory and tight credit, says Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist.
The national median existing price was $196,300 in November, up 9.4% from the year before.
Distressed homes accounted for 14% of November sales, unchanged from October.
Inventory expanded to a 5.1 month supply, up from 4.9 months in October. That means all homes would be sold in that time frame at the current sales rate. A six or seven month supply is a balanced market.
In November, the inventory of existing homes for sale was 5% above a year ago, NAR says. The supply of homes for sale is up 8.4% from when it bottomed in January, on a seasonally adjusted basis, says Jed Kolko, Trulia economist.
More homes for sale mean buyers have more choices, which may lead to lower price gains going forward.
The report comes a day after a strong showing for November housing starts and the Federal Reserve’s announcement that it will trim its bond buying starting next month.
The Fed’s tapering, which was expected, will likely drive mortgage interest rates higher. That’ll be “a tough reality check for many homebuyers,” says Ellen Haberle, economist for real estate brokerage Redfin.
http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/business/2013/12/19/existing-home-sales-november/4115407/
Bedford home invasion: Queens man, 23, sentenced to 15 years | Bedford NY Real Estate
An illegal Polish immigrant who terrorized a Bedford family in a home invasion, barn-burning and extortion plot last year was sentenced Tuesday to 15 years in federal prison.
U.S. District Judge Kenneth Karas went above the sentencing guidelines for Bartek Zajkowski, calling what the 23-year-old Queens man did “an exceptionally evil and cowardly crime.”
Zajkowski apologized, calling his crimes “the actions of a boy,” after hearing victim Leonardo LeBrun discuss the ongoing trauma his family is experiencing. LeBrun said his wife does not leave the house without their new guard dog and his youngest child, a 6-year-old daughter, does not walk around the house at night unattended.
“This is a deep and lasting emotional distress that’s really changed our lives forever,” said LeBrun, a former top executive at UBS Bank. “We’re suffering every day for what he’s done to us.”
Dressed in black, wearing a mask and carrying a BB gun, Zajkowski approached the Broad Brook Road mansion on the night of May 5, 2012. He encountered LeBrun in the driveway, tied his arms and legs and duct-taped his mouth. He took LeBrun’s wallet and watch, then went inside and confronted LeBrun’s wife, Lara LeBrun. She fought back and was shot in the stomach with a BB before Zajkowski tied her up as well.
She freed herself and triggered the alarm. Zajkowski fled the house without any of the expensive paintings or gold bullion that was inside.
But he didn’t stay away for long.
Two days later, a barn on the LeBruns’ property burned down. A week after that, the couple received a letter demanding they wire $3 million to a bank account in the Netherlands within five days or their three children would be harmed.
Zajkowski revealed how much he knew about the LeBruns’ children’s routines, like what time their son would get off the school bus. He also indicated he had been watching the property while the barn burned down, and said the fire was set in retaliation for Lara LeBrun’s feistiness during the home invasion.
“Your wife mess with me, she should let me do my thing,” he wrote. “For that she can consider her horses very lucky that they didn’t fry in that barn. Imagine running horses on fire …”
5 predictions for housing in 2014 | Bedford Corners NY Homes
The housing market may quite return to normal next year, but it’s getting there.
Dusting off their crystal balls, real estate experts can at least spy the path toward for the sector in 2014. According to real estate listing and research site Trulia, sales and prices of of non-distressed homes are almost back to normal, while foreclosures are ebbing and fewer homeowners are behind on their mortgage payments.
Yet while this march toward a more stable housing market is a welcome one, it’s creating new problems along the way. Expect less highs and lows next year, but not smooth sailing. Here are five trends to look for in the new year:
Mortgage rates will top 5 percent. This is a matter of when, not if, as well as how high interest rates on mortgage loans. As 2013 draws to a close, mortgage rates have increased 1 percent over last year, rising on the back of a strengthening economy. Stronger economic growth will eventually lift the Federal Reserve’s hand out of the mortgage market in 2014, causing it to taper its bond-buying stimulus program. When the Fed merely mentioned tapering the program last June, rates jumped nearly half a percentage point overnight.
Housing market research firm Zillow predicts that interest rates for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage will surpass 5 percent for the first time since early 2010.
“While this will make homes more expensive to finance – the monthly payment on a $200,000 loan will rise by roughly $160 – it’s important to remember that mortgage rates in the 5 percent range are still very low,” said Erin Lantz, Zillow director of mortgages, in an e-mail.
Mortgages will be easier to secure. Although loan rates are likely to rise, getting a mortgage should be easier next year.
“Rising rates means lenders’ refinance business will dwindle, forcing them to compete for buyers by potentially loosening their lending standards,” Lantz said.
One wild card is a new federal rule kicking in on Jan. 10 that sets mortgage standards. Lenders that don’t follow the rules will face greater legal liability and potential penalties if that loan defaults. It remains to be seen whether that could constrain lending.
Inventory will stabilize. The National Association of Realtors, a Washington trade group, characterized 2013 as the “year of low inventory.” That wasn’t all bad, with low inventory driving most of the explosive price gains in the spring and summer. But the shortage was short-lived, as inventory has since returned to 2012 levels. Cash-carrying investors are also exiting the market.
Trulia chief economist Jed Kolko said that means home buying will look far less frenzied than it was this year.
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/5-predictions-for-housing-in-2014/