Tag Archives: Westchester

Westchester

Mortgage Defaults in Mount Kisco NY | Mount Kisco Real Estate

Leave a reply

SOME affluent homeowners have been walking away from a second home or investment property that is worth less than what is owed on the mortgage, even though they can still afford to make the payments.

But dumping that beach condo or country cottage, or even a home bought for an adult child — a practice known in the industry as a “strategic default” — is not the same as discarding a poorly performing stock or bond. Among the lingering effects is wrecked credit that can prevent the homeowner from getting another loan of any kind for 7 to 10 years.

In July, a study by researchers from the European University Institute, Northwestern University and the University of Chicago concluded that the strategic default trend was “large and rising” among homeowners with an equity shortfall of $100,000. As of last March, it said, strategic defaults accounted for 35.6 percent of all foreclosures, compared with 23.6 percent a year earlier.

“I’m increasingly seeing people who are middle class or higher on the pay scale coming to the conclusion that ‘I may be able to carry it, but should I?,’ ” said David Shaev, a bankruptcy lawyer in New York who assists homeowners in distress.

“But the question is, can the bank come after you, and if so, what is your position? What is your liability?”

The answer depends largely on where the property is.

In “recourse” states, a lender can come after you, and usually other assets like a primary residence, for the full mortgage amount. In “nonrecourse” states, a lender agrees to accept whatever the property fetches at a short sale, foreclosure sale, or a deed-in-lieu, in which the property is taken back but not formally foreclosed on, and generally can’t sue for the full loan amount. Florida, Connecticut and Arizona are among the nonrecourse states, while Colorado, Maine, New Jersey and Hawaii are recourse states.

There is a third category of state, called “single-action” or “one-action,” which allows the lender either to foreclose on the owner or file a civil lawsuit for the full loan amount. New York, California and Idaho are in that category.

Even in a nonrecourse state, however, those homeowners who opt for a strategic default on a previously refinanced property may not be protected from lenders, because the mortgage in such a case was not accorded for a first purchase, said Philip Faranda, a mortgage broker for J. Philip Real Estate, in Briarcliff Manor, N.Y.

New York Times Article

Mt Kisco NY Homes

Mt Kisco Luxury Homes

Being a Tenant in North Salem NY | North Salem NY Real

Leave a reply

 

1) “This building is in foreclosure.”

In late 2009, Melody Thompson called her landlords to ask about the well-dressed picture-takers outside her four-bedroom Portland rental home. “Oh, we’re refinancing,” she remembers them telling her. Then in late April, a formal bank notification arrived in the mail, stating that the home was in foreclosure and would be put up for sale in late August. “I was immediately angry,” says Thompson, the executive director of Financial Beginnings, a financial literacy nonprofit. “They lied.” The sale has been postponed twice as the landlords apply for a mortgage adjustment, but Thompson is still hunting for a new place.

Renters accounted for 40% of families facing eviction from foreclosure in 2009, according to the National Low Income Housing Coalition. And unfortunately, they often hear about it as Thompson did — from the bank, just weeks before the sale, says Janet Portman, an attorney and the managing editor of legal book publisher Nolo. “The landlord wants the tenant in there, paying rent,” she says. The lack of notice was so pervasive that last year Congress passed the Protecting Tenants at Foreclosure Act, which gives tenants at least 90 days from the foreclosure sale to move out. (Previously, they had as few as 30 days, Portman says.) Provided the new owner doesn’t want to live there, the law also lets legitimate tenants — those who signed a lease before the sale and pay a market value rent, among other qualifications — stay through the end of their lease.

2) “You should complain more.”

When a steady drip, drip, drip of water from the ceiling led a third-floor tenant to complain, Adam Jernow, a principal at property management firm OGI Management in New York City, assumed they were dealing with a leaky pipe. It wasn’t until a week later, when the tenants on the top floor two flights above that apartment finally called, that he realized they were dealing with a big roof leak from heavy summer rains. Had upper-floor tenants complained sooner, Jernow says, they could have limited the damage, and that third-floor tenant might not have had a problem at all. So while renters often assume quirks like hot-then-not showers or moisture on the walls is just part of big-city living – or that complaining to the landlord will just open up a can of worms – keeping a property owner informed can actually help a problem get fixed faster. Besides, most states require landlords to keep the property in good repair, with home systems and appliances in working order.

 
3) “There’s more to negotiate than the rent.”

Rental markets in many cities around the country have improved this year, which means landlords have less incentive to cut you a break. Just 31% of landlords lowered rent in 2010, versus 69% in 2009, according to property marketplace Rent.com. All the major real estate investment groups are asking for higher rent on new leases, and about half are doing so on renewals, says Peggy Abkemeier, the president of Rent.com.

But the market hasn’t improved so much that landlords don’t have incentive to keep good tenants, she says. The survey found that 44% of landlords are willing to lower security deposits, and 22% will offer an upgrade to a fancier unit (think better views, quieter neighbors, newer kitchen) without raising rent. And there’s still that 31% of landlords who will offer a price break. “It never hurts to ask,” Abkemeier says. In markets where vacancy rates are still high, such as Atlanta, Las Vegas, Orlando and Phoenix, tenants have a better chance.

4) “Your neighbor is not my problem.”

Loud music. Late-night parties. More foot traffic than a mall on Sunday mornings. Kevin Amolsch, the owner of real estate investment company Advantage Homes in Denver, Colo., has heard all of these complaints and more from the tenants in the buildings he manages. Trouble is, there’s not much he can do. States’ tenant rights laws make it tough for landlords to intervene when there isn’t a clear violation of the lease. Even when a “right of quiet enjoyment” is in the lease, those noisy neighbors usually have time to mend their ways. “Two weeks later [when they are free and clear], it’s going to start up all over again,” Amolsch says. And so does the clock on their grace period to pipe down.

The best bet is to reach out to the other tenant and try to smooth things over directly, Amolsch says. If that doesn’t work, report problems to the police as well as the landlord, so the situation is well-documented. That makes it easier to initiate eviction proceedings, he says.

5) “You may have more rights than I do.”

Brianne Vorse, a longtime renter, knows the number to her local tenant rights group by heart. Vorse first sought help four years ago to force her landlord to fix windows that wouldn’t shut all the way, letting in cold air and the San Francisco fog. She called again after a sub-letter offered a higher rent if the landlord would break Vorse’s lease and let him take over. “I found that [the landlord] couldn’t legally do this,” says Vorse, who sent the landlord an official tenant petition she found on the web site of the San Francisco Rent Board. “In the end, I got the apartment and kept the original lease.”

Tenant rights vary widely by state, says attorney Portman. Arkansas doesn’t even require landlords to provide “fit and habitable housing,” but that’s extreme. In the most renter-friendly states, including California, New York, Illinois and New Jersey, renters without say, hot water, can withhold rent until it is fixed (or pay to fix it and deduct that from the rent). “If the landlord tried to evict you for that, you would win that lawsuit,” she says. Landlords aren’t necessarily any better informed about what they can and cannot do, so it’s up to the tenant to figure it out. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development maintains a database of tenants’ rights by state, including groups that offer assistance with disputes.

6) “I don’t know about your problems – and I like it that way.”

Tenants who think they have a beef with the property owner may actually find their true discontent with the management company hired by the landlord. The Better Business Bureau logged 5,297 complaints about property managers last year, a 13% increase from 2008. They’re among the most-complained about industries, ranking 37th of the 3,024 the BBB tracks. “You would hope that the person who owns the property has done their due diligence, but that just may not be the case,” says Kimberly Smith, the co-founder of short-term furnished rental site CorporateHousingbyOwner.com. Inexperienced or incompetent property managers may not have a good system in place to handle repairs — especially emergencies – or neglect to keep your security deposit in a safe place, she says.

While a landlord is ultimately responsible for providing habitable housing, they hire management companies precisely so they don’t have to deal with the day-to-day decision making and every tenant request. This is a case where the squeaky wheel definitely gets the grease (see No. 2, above). If there’s a pervasive issue, try to reach the landlord directly, Smith says. Public records will list the property owner. You might also consider paying by credit card if that’s an option, she says, which can make it easier to file a dispute if requested repairs or other complaints aren’t resolved.

7) “I never wanted to do this.”

The recession has generated plenty of “accidental” landlords — property owners who wanted to sell, but can’t find a buyer. At first glance, the surge seems like a boon for renters. Inexperienced landlords’ biggest and most common mistake is not asking for enough rent, says Steve Dexter, who operates more than a dozen properties throughout Southern California and teaches real estate investment seminars. But that poor financial management can also mean a substantial rent increase upon renewal, or worse, living in a poorly-maintained home at greater risk of foreclosure.

A tenant’s best defense is to ask questions about the landlord and the property’s history, Dexter says. Among the important ones: how long has the property been a rental? Why is the landlord renting it out? If the answers involve anything that reflects on the recession or the landlord’s need to increase his cash flow, be cautious. Look for foreclosure and sale notifications on sites such as RealtyTrac, StreetEasy and Zillow.com.

8) “If you smoke, you can’t rent.”

The Fair Housing Act prohibits landlords from discriminating against a number of groups — but smokers aren’t one of them. So discriminate they do. Although smokers account for 20% of U.S. adults in most cities, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, a search of New York City apartment listings on Craigslist turned up just six explicitly allowing smoking. Nearly 700 explicitly prohibited it. Their reasoning: once a rental property is occupied by a smoker, it’s tough to rent to non-smokers without a thorough, expensive cleaning that includes repainting the walls and professionally cleaning the carpets, says Matt Kuhlhorst, who rents out four single-family homes in Allen, Texas. “Even if the tenant doesn’t get their deposit back, that’s still not enough to cover the cost,” which can easily top $2,000, he says.

Laws in several states require landlords to disclose smoking policies upfront, so if it’s important for you to be able to light up indoors check the details before signing a lease. Policy violators could find themselves facing loss of their security deposit or eviction, if their smoke wafts into a non-smoker’s domain. And if a chain-smoking neighbor is in violation, your landlord will be glad to take your complaints—it’s one thing that will allow him to evict a tenant.

9) “What you see is what you get.”

The rusty, cracked stove was nearly a deal-breaker for an otherwise great apartment in Boston’s North End. But the landlord promised to replace the clunker and make other repairs, so Joanna DiTrapano and her roommate signed a one year lease in March. Suddenly, the landlord’s tune changed — although the gas company documented the dangerous stove leaking gas, he insisted it wasn’t damaged enough to warrant replacing. It took six months, numerous phone calls and finally, a formal letter citing city tenants’ rights laws to get a new stove, DiTrapano says. The smaller repairs the landlord promised? She’s simply given up.

Some landlords were never good about making necessary repairs, but the recession has forced many to postpone anything that isn’t absolutely vital, says Dave Zundel, a co-founder of Arizona property management firm HomeLovers. The firm has seen a 70% drop in maintenance projects, and just 13% of landlords are still spending on regular upkeep and cosmetic improvements such as replacing worn carpets or repainting. Your safest bet is to assume the condition of the apartment you’re viewing is about what it will be when you move in, Zundel says. If the landlord promises to make repairs, get it in writing.

10) “You’ll pay for my rebellion.”

The building or community homeowners’ association may have it in for you. Some renters — and owners – learn this the hard way, Abkemeier says. During the downturn, many associations have taken steps to limit owners’ ability to rent out property, or require extensive screening before a lease can be signed. And owners who try to avoid or ignore the rule-changes end up making it difficult on tenants who suddenly find themselves faced with lengthy rental applications or fines for a litany of association rules they never knew they had to uphold. The extra layer of administration can also make it tough for tenants to get damage repaired, because they’re dealing with the building and not just the landlord.

Full Article

North Salem NY Homes

North Salem Luxury Homes

Mortgage Interest Deduction Pros and Cons | Katonah NY Real Estate

Leave a reply

The plan to eliminate the mortgage tax deduction was widely criticized, but the industry overreacted to the proposal. Turns out it’s not that great for most of us.

President Obama’s deficit commission came up short of votes to command quick action in Congress of a bipartisan plan that recommended eliminating or reducing long-standing credits, including the popular home mortgage interest deduction. This isn’t much of a surprise. While lawmakers acknowledge that the nation faces an incredibly worrisome debt problem and that a dramatic slash in spending needs to happen, the plan was politically unpopular from the start.

Real estate and mortgage industry experts argued the elimination of the mortgage deduction would put more pressure on an already fragile housing market. That might be the case, but if we look deeper, many of their arguments are exaggerated. If anything, once the housing market gains some strength three or so years from now, slimming the deduction down some might actually not be such a bad thing and it could save the US government billions of dollars. Here are three reasons why:

It doesn’t benefit the vast majority of American homeowners anyway.

Under the current program, taxpayers who itemize their deductions can deduct the interest on mortgages of up to $1 million for their primary and second homes, as well as on home equity loans of up to $100,000. This overwhelmingly benefits relatively wealthier households since they’re more likely to itemize their tax deductions. Middle to lower income households tend to go with standard deductions.

The deficit commission’s proposal recommended scaling the mortgage interest deduction to $500,000 from $1 million and limiting it to only primary residences and not second homes. The deficit commission also proposed eliminating the mortgage interest deduction and turning it into a 12% nonrefundable tax credit available to everyone – a pitch that some experts including Steve Ott, director the University of North Carolina at Charlotte’s Center for Real Estate says could benefit more homeowners including lower to middle-income households.

“A credit is always a benefit but the deduction is only a benefit to the extent that you itemize,” Ott says.

What’s more, even though mortgage industry leaders say doing away with the deduction could make homeownership less appealing, Chris Mayer, real estate professor at Columbia University, says the program hasn’t proven to encourage home buying. Since the deduction mostly benefits relatively wealthier households, they would own homes with or without the deduction.

Years from now, it’s anyone’s guess what could come next of the mortgage tax deduction. Efforts to change the structure have been under way before. A panel in 2005 appointed by then-President Bush proposed allowing homeowners to claim a mortgage interest credit of 15% on loans of up to $412,000. The proposal never really took off.

It doesn’t help home prices much.

In a way, the timing of the panel’s latest proposals was just bad. Because of the fragility of home prices and record foreclosures, the housing market is an incredibly touchy topic, and a very political one at that.

Nationally, home prices for the third quarter fell 1.5% from the same time last year and were down 2% from the previous three months, according to data released earlier this week by the S&P/Case-Shiller index. At least for now, doing away with the deduction or scaling it down would likely push home prices even lower, especially in areas along the East Coast where home prices are higher relative to the rest of the country, says Mayer of Columbia University’s Graduate School of Business. This might help make homes relatively more affordable to a wider spectrum of potential buyers but it could also increase foreclosures since far too many homeowners already owe more on their mortgages than their properties are valued.

Mayer adds that while winding down the tax deduction would add further pressure to the soft housing market in the short-term, it wouldn’t have much of an impact on prices in the long-run. Enacting legislation that would start phasing out the program three or so years from now could be an option.

Full Article

Katonah NY Real Estate

Katonah Luxury Homes

ona

Real Estate Inventory in Bedford NY | Bedford NY Real Estate

Leave a reply

There are a lot of homes on the market currently in the Bedford NY area.  The National Association of Realtors (NAR) considers six (6) months of available homes to be equilibrium (a balance between buyers and sellers).

 

The numbers below are the available homes divided by the average homes sold per month (absorption rate)  .The towns in our area currently rank as follows.  It will take this many months to sell off the inventory at the current sales pace.

 

Armonk                      9.80

Bedford Village      18.02

Bedford HIlls            21.08

Pound Ridge           13.16

Chappaqua              10.11

Katonah                    10.58

South Salem             16.66

North Salem              19.92

Bedford Corners       10.07

 

A low number is a stronger market while a high number is weak.

 

Bedford NY Homes

Bedford Luxury Homes

4 Steps To Get a Good Real Estate Buy in Bedford Corners NY | Bedford Corners NY Real Estate

Leave a reply

No matter how low of an offer you put in for a home, it almost never fails that at some point you get buyer’s remorse wondering if you could have purchased it for even less. Some realtors might tell you that the fair market value is what you did pay, but we all know that some times buyers can, and do, over pay. Often that’s because they are thinking with their emotions rather than with their head. On the other hand, did you offer too little that you might lose the deal?

Just ask Donita Nurse how she feels about home negotiations and you’ll get an ear full of her experiences. When the 29-year-old was ready to move out of her rental in the historic Bronzeville neighborhood of Chicago into a place of her own, she didn’t want to leave the area, which is rich in African-American history and a short commute to her downtown job at the East Bank Club.

She also wanted to purchase a short sale with a minimum of three bedrooms and with about $100,000 of equity above the purchase price. Her reasons were logical: This single woman with no kids wanted a place she could grow into, and that she would not likely lose money on, even if it went down in value.

And why the short sale (other than for a great value)? When owners are selling their homes without outside pressures, like from banks, Donita says that she has found that sellers are too attached and unwilling to negotiate a fair price. She prefers to target short sales that have been on the market awhile.

“At that point they have to sell it or they’ll go into foreclosure,” she says. “It has been on the market long enough for the owners to accept that.”

So Donita did her research to find a great value on short sales. (She felt that homes already in foreclosure would be a bigger hassle with the banks). She studied the sale prices for comparable homes and over a two-year period Donita found her dream home — three times. She made an offer each time, only to run into problems on all three. But a turn of events just may make the third time the charm.

Here are seven tips for purchasing a home at your price:

1. Be prepared to walk away.Full Article

If the home meets all of your criteria related to design, convenience, amenities, etc. don’t go in with the attitude “I can’t lose this house.” That’s a sure way to overpay. Instead, be prepared to walk away if the sellers don’t meet your maximum price point for that home or for other major concessions that you want. The first home that Donita made an offer on took six months to get approved, then she learned upon inspection that some upgrades and electrical fixes weren’t done to code, so she backed out. Know that there will always be other homes. However, be realistic about your maximum purchase price. How much you can afford to spend is not the seller’s problem. It could just mean that you need to set your sights on a less expensive property.

2. Crunch the numbers.

When determining what price to make your initial offer, you need to be familiar with the “comps” — the prices that similar homes in the neighborhood (about a one-mile radius) have sold for in the past three to six months. Sometimes you might need to search back as far as a year, but of course more recent data is most valuable.

On the second home, Donita made an offer of $128,000 on a well-upgraded, first-floor unit listed at $139,000, in a small multi-family building. The bank accepted the offer but ultimately sold it for less money — $119,000 — to someone who made a cash offer. The bank said they’d approve her for another unit in the building at her original $128,000 offer, but given the very recent lower comp for a similar unit, Donita said that she’d only accept if they upgraded the unit. They said no, so again she walked.

The sold price is more relevant than list prices for similar homes, because the list price can always drop. “Solds” are the most accurate gauge of the market. You will want to compare your offer price to each comp’s sold price, its price per square foot, and even how much its sold price differs from its list price to help you best determine a range where your offer should be. (It might be drastically lower than the seller’s list price if they have overpriced their home). If you don’t have a real estate agent who can provide you with the sold data, websites such as CyberHomes.com and ListingBook list them, with the latter allowing you to display the data by price per square foot, sales data and other criteria.

3. Drive by the comps.

It’s important that you go see the comps in person, because a photo can sometimes mask whether a home needs an exterior paint job, a new roof or fresh blacktop on the driveway. If you were doing due diligence during your home search, some of these comps are probably homes that you toured earlier in your quest.

4. Determine a price.

Once you’ve determined, that say, the comps sold on average for about 95 percent of the asking price, you might want to make your first offer at 90 percent of the asking price, with your limit being that you’ll pay 97 percent of asking price.

For example, if the home has a list price of $250,000, you might make your first offer at $225,000, which is 90 percent of the list price. The sellers might counter, and you might counter again and ultimately settle at $237,500, which is 95 percent of the asking price — the norm for nearby comparable homes. Also, you might be surprised and buy the home for the lower amount, especially if it has been on the market for 90 days or longer, or a previous sale for the owner has already fallen through.

Donita currently has an offer in on a large, and move-in condition duplex unit, with four bedrooms and three baths. It has a list price of $100,000 and an appraised value of $196,000. She offered $90,000, but it was rejected for a better one. The deal isn’t over, however. The other offer fell through, and the bank’s negotiator called Donita to ask if she was still interested. Now she’s waiting for the banks to approve her offer.

Bedford Corners NY Homes

Bedford Corners Luxury Homes

Buying A Foreclosure Home in Chappaqua NY | Chappaqua NY Real Estate

Leave a reply

Four years into the housing crisis, myths about foreclosure still litter the minds of even the smartest of real estate consumers. When it comes to matters as high stakes as your home, confusion can cost you thousands – or even your home. Whether you’re a buyer looking at foreclosures, a homeowner struggling to keep your home or a seller concerned making sure your home can compete with the foreclosed homes on your block, these foreclosure myths are prime for the busting, with no further ado. 

Myth #1:  Foreclosure happens fast. With unemployment and underemployment still affecting nearly 1 in every 4 Americans, no one is immune from fears that a pink slip might quickly turn into a foreclosure notice.  According to NeighborWorks America, nearly 60 percent of families seeking foreclosure counseling cited a lost job or cut wages as the reason they were facing foreclosure.  

While the Obama Administration’s Home Affordable Programs haven’t been nearly as effective as predicted in actually preventing foreclosures, they have had the effect of extending the foreclosure process for many families.   Even though the legal process of foreclosure can happen in as few as 6 months in most states, it is currently taking much longer for the average foreclosure to get to completion.  Recently, JP Morgan Chase revealed that their average borrower who loses a home to foreclosure has not made any payments in 14 months nationwide; 22 months in FLorida and 26 months in New York. 

To be sure, some see this as a good, others view it as unnecessarily dragging out the overall market’s recovery. Many insiders will point out that these delays in foreclosure may be calculated to save the banks the costs of owning and maintaining foreclosed homes, not to help homeowners.  In any event, the fact that foreclosure does not happen nearly as fast, in many cases, as expected does give families who are temporarily down on their luck some extra time to try to get back on their feet and save their homes. 

Myth #2:  Buyers can’t get clear title or title insurance on foreclosed homes.  When the foreclosure robo-signing scandal first hit, there was widespread concern that buyers would not be able to get clear title on foreclosed homes, because the former foreclosed owners might be able to come get their homes back when the improprieties in the bank’s foreclosure documentation processes came fully to light.  At the same time, several of the country’s largest title insurance companies publicly balked at issuing policies on bank-owned homes until the issue was resolved.  At this point, the banks claim they have revamped their processes, and all banks have stated that they have found not a single borrower whose home was repossessed without them having missed the requisite number of mortgage payments.  Nevertheless, a number of governmental investigations are still in progress. 

The fact is, buyers of bank-owned properties in nearly every jurisdiction are protected from later title attacks by foreclosed homeowners by the bona fide purchaser rule, under which courts would prefer to simply award cash damages to be paid by the culpable bank to a wrongfully foreclosed-on homeowner, rather than reversing the sale or ownership to the new, innocent buyer.  Additionally, the title insurers have now changed their tune and restarted issuing insurance policies on bank-owned homes which protect buyers’ interests, after working with the banks for them to take responsibility in the event a former homeowner prevails in a wrongful foreclosure suit.  

While there are still many intricacies of title to be resolved for foreclosure buyers who purchase homes at trustee sales and auctions, or for cash buyers who often went without title insurance in the past, on the average, Trulia-listed, bank-owned property purchased with an average mortgage and title insurance, the chances a buyer’s title will later be successfully challenged by the foreclosed homeowner on the basis of robo-signing?  Exceedingly slim. 

Myth #3:  Buyers should wait for the shadow inventory to be released.  Many a buyer, discouraged with the homes they see on the the form in their price range, has decided to sit still and wait for the banks to release for sale what is called their “shadow inventory” – rumored to be anywhere from 4 to nearly 6 million homes that have already been foreclosed, but not listed for sale, or will be foreclosed in the near future. The fact is, to the extent that the banks have acknowledged the existence of a pool of homes they own but are not selling, they have expressed that their reasoning for holding the homes off the market is to avoid flooding the market and driving home values down any further.  For that reason, buyers should not expect to see a massive influx of these shadow homes onto the market anytime soon – if ever.  

The banks’ current modus operandi is that as they sell a home, the replace it with another home in that market – if they sell 50 homes in a town that month, they’ll put another 50 on the next.  So, don’t hold your breath waiting for a fabulous new flood of homes.  Instead, set up a Trulia alert to notify you when homes that fit your search criteria come on the market, and be ready to call your agent and go visit any and every one that looks like it might be a good fit. 

Myth #4:  If you’re looking for a deal, you’re looking for a foreclosure.  Despite what they may say, no buyer’s heart’s fondest desire is to buy a foreclosure.  But almost every buyer dreams of buying a great home – and getting a great deal on it.  Many people think that to get a great value on their home on today’s market, it means they must buy a foreclosure.  As a result, the value and other advantages of buying an individually-owned home on today’s market are frequently overlooked.  Individual sellers with homes on the market right now are generally quite motivated, and understand that their homes are competing with discounted short sales and foreclosed homes.  Many of these sellers are slashing prices in an effort to get them sold – the most recent Trulia Price Reduction Report revealed that 27 percent of homes on the market across the country have had at least one price reduction.  Now that’s what I call a sale! 

Further, individual owners are often much more negotiable on a wide range of contract terms than a bank which owns a foreclosed home.  You can work with non-bank owners on things like repairs, closing dates, choice of escrow provider, closing costs and even included personal property much more flexibly than you can when the bank is on the other side of the bargaining table.  On top of that, many individually-owned homes are in pristine, move-in condition; that is much rarer with foreclosures.  So, don’t underestimate the value of the deal you might be able to get on a non-foreclosed home.  Just get clear on what you can afford and look at all the homes that are available in that price range, without discriminating against non-foreclosures. 

Myth #5: Having a foreclosure on your credit history means it’ll take years and years before you can buy again.  One of the most Frequently Asked Questions in the Trulia Voices Community by homeowners who are facing or have just lost a home through foreclosure is how long it will take before they’ll be able to buy again.  Until recently, the standard wisdom was that 5 years, minimum, would have to have elapsed between the foreclosure and the new home purchase.  Now, though, borrowers can obtain an FHA loan with the low, 3.5 minimum down payment requirement as soon as 3 years following a foreclosure.  To do so, though, all your other ducks must be in a row. 

Tara-Nicholle Nelson on Trulia

Chappaqua NY Homes

Chappaqua Foreclosures

Time To Refinance Your Mortgage Loan In Armonk NY | Armonk NY Real Estate

Leave a reply

Lured by low mortgage rates, many homeowners have been rushing to refinance. Interest is gaining for good reason: Eligible borrowers can lock in rates that haven’t been this attractive in decades.

“With interest rates hovering around 5% for conforming loan amounts, homeowners should begin to seriously consider refinancing into a new fixed-rate mortgage, especially if they currently have an adjustable-rate mortgage,” said Lisa Weaver, president of Columbia, Mo.-based Certitude Financial Group. And don’t drag your feet, either, she said.

Rates on jumbo mortgages are still high, she said, but the national average rate on a 30-year fixed-rate conforming mortgage is the lowest in at least 37 years, according to Freddie Mac. The conforming loan limit in 2009 is $417,000 for most areas of the continental U.S., although in designated high-cost markets it will be up to $625,500.

Given the volatility in the mortgage market this year, Greg Gwizdz, national retail sales manager for Wells Fargo Home Mortgage, also advises homeowners to be proactive. It’s possible that rates will be low for a while, but in this turbulent economy, it’s not best to gamble that tomorrow will bring a better deal.

“Don’t sit back and say I’m going to wait for something to happen and for rates to go even lower,” he said. If you’re able to refinance into a mortgage that will be better for your finances, don’t pass up the opportunity, Gwizdz said.

Below are other points to consider:

1. Have an idea of home’s value

Prior to starting the refinancing process, call a real-estate agent or look online at sites including Zillow.com to get an estimate of what your home could be worth, said Scott Everett, founder and president of Dallas-based Supreme Lending. If you’re “drastically upside down” on your mortgage, meaning that you owe a lot more than your home is now worth, the possibility of refinancing might end right there.

“If you owe $250,000 and the house is worth $250,000, it [refinancing] is worth discussing,” he said. But if you owe $250,000 and “the house is worth $150,000 and you’re in Southern California, then you probably won’t be able to do it,” he said. Many Southern California markets have experienced a drop in home prices.

To get a better idea on a home’s value, borrowers might ask their mortgage firm if the appraiser it works with could give a ballpark estimate before starting the process, said David Adamo, CEO of Luxury Mortgage, in Stamford, Conn. But that’s still just an estimate until an appraiser comes out to your home, he pointed out.

2. Get ready for a thorough screening process

It’s not impossible to get a mortgage in today’s environment. But lending standards are likely a lot stricter than they were the last time you applied for a mortgage, so expect a thorough and frank discussion of your finances with a mortgage banker or broker before the application is even filled out.

Lenders are asking would-be borrowers to document income and assets thoroughly. In general, many also want FICO credit scores of 660 or 680 for conventional conforming mortgages; requirements are lower for loans backed by the Federal Housing Administration, Gwizdz said.

Those who might have a particularly tough time getting a mortgage today are self-employed homeowners who don’t have two years of income documentation — even if they have the income to support the mortgage, Adamo said. The availability of stated-income mortgages, which don’t require borrowers to fully document their income, is limited, he added.

3. Know what you’ll be saving

The old rule of thumb was that your rate should drop two percentage points for a refinance to be worth it, but that doesn’t always apply anymore, Adamo said. If you can recoup closing costs of the new mortgage in the first 12 months — and can save three-quarters of a percentage point on your interest rate every year thereafter — it’s probably economically justifiable to refinance, he said.

In any case, have a conversation about what rate would make refinancing worthwhile, and be prepared to take action. Borrowers also need to consider how long they want to stay in the property to determine which mortgage makes the most sense for their situation, Weaver said.

Sometimes you could be better off refinancing even if you don’t get a better rate, Gwizdz pointed out. If you have an adjustable-rate mortgage that resets in a year, but can get a fixed-rate mortgage at the same rate, it’s probably a good idea to refinance now if you plan on being in the home for years to come, he said.

He also cautions people about refinancing into mortgage terms that extend the life of the loan; doing so may bring monthly payments down, but will probably make the loan more expensive in the long term. “However, for homeowners that must have the lowest payment possible, it may be the right choice when combined with a lower fixed-rate product,” Ms. Weaver said.

4. Don’t count on cashing out

Tapping home equity through a cash-out refinance is much more difficult these days, due to stringent credit standards and loan-to-value requirements, Weaver said.

According to Freddie Mac, the share of refinances with a cash-out component was 63% over the first three quarters of 2008, the lowest level since 2004. Cash-out refinance mortgages have loan amounts at least 5% higher than the paid-off mortgage balances.

 

Armonk NY Homes

Armonk Luxury Homes

 

 

Robert Paul, Prudential Holmes and Kennedy, 914-325-5758

 

By Robert Paul, Prudential Holmes and Kennedy, 914-325-5758 | Agent in Bedford, NY

First Time Buyer Market in Bedford NY Up 21% | November 2010 | RobReportBlog

Leave a reply

The First-Time Bedford NY Homes market are homes selling under $500,000. Sales in this market are up 21% over the last six (6) months compared to the same period in 2009.

In 2010 the average First-Time Buyer home sold was 1748 square feet, took 167 days to sell, at $237 per foot. The Median Price in this category is $415,000 and the average home sold at 94.09% of asking price.

In 2009 seventy (70) homes sold. The average home was 1741 square feet, took 154 days to sell, sold at $230 per foot. In 2009 the Median Price was $382,000 and was sold at 93.33% of asking price.

　

Bedford Homes

Bedford NY Homes

Bedford NY Luxury Real Estate Report | RobReportBlog | November 2010

Leave a reply

 

The Bedford NY Luxury real estate market is up 3.7% compared to the same period in 2009. Twenty-eight (28) Bedford Luxury Homes have sold over $2,000,000. The average home sold is 5922 square feet, sells for $468 per foot, sold in 223 days and at 93.27% of asking price. The Median Price of a Bedford NY Luxury Home is $2,290,000.

In 2009 twenty-seven homes sold. The average 2009 sold Bedford NY Home over $2,000,000 was 6585 square feet, sold at $419 foot, in 230 days and at 91.46% of asking price. The Median Price in 2009 of a luxury area home was $2,450,000.

Bedford Luxury Homes

Bedford Luxury Realtor

10 Laws For Dealing With Bedford NY Real Estate Clients | Bedford NY Real Estate

Leave a reply

Customer loyalty matters, because selling more to current customers is easier and cheaper than finding and selling to new ones. Loyal customers tend to buy more, more regularly. And they will frequently recommend your business to others.

A Clear Eye for Branding     . Successful marketing also requires being relevant and unique, which brings us to Tip 2. 

Here are 10 tips for you to consider if you are sincerely interested in having a business that is notable for its customer loyalty and referrals. I propose that these tried-and-true tactics with interpersonal strategies can deepen relationships with customers, establish greater levels of trust, and build stronger customer loyalty.

1. Understand the true purpose of marketing

Effective marketing is in large part about building trust and developing relationships.The purpose of marketing is to “create and maintain a strong feeling with customers so they are mentally predisposed to continually choose and recommend you,” according to Tom Asacker, author of

2. Identify and build your brand

We’re not talking about your logo, marketing “look,” or tagline, although you should have those tools in your marketing kit. Branding that builds genuine customer loyalty goes beyond what the eye can see. It’s branding at the emotional, sensory, and gut-feeling level.

Your brand is what your business is known for, how you engage with customers, and what people can depend on you to consistently deliver. It’s a compilation of your most-important strengths.

What should a customer who is referring someone to your business say about you? “They go out of their way to find resources and solutions for me.” “The staff is warm and caring; you can feel it the minute you walk through the door.”

Identify your brand, and leverage it to see customer loyalty and referrals increase. Don’t be shy about showcasing your uniqueness and strengths.

3. Tap into what customers want

To appeal to a customer’s needs or desires, you must first understand their motivations, values, and priorities. Each customer has unique needs and wants.

Being tuned in to what customers want and being sensitive to their evolving needs will help you become more resourceful and innovative over time. That is an excellent way to set yourself apart from other businesses and help you build memorable, lasting customer relationships.

4. Understand what customers actually are paying for

We like to believe customers are paying for our expertise. Yet most clients or customers cannot evaluate our expertise and so they simply assume we are experts by virtue of our brand credentials.

What customers can assess is whether they experience positive outcomes, if the relationship they have with you is meaningful, if they feel valued, and if they receive a high level of service. If you’re selling a service, you’re selling a relationship.

5. Outcomes matter

Practicing good interpersonal skills and maintaining solid customer relationships are important for developing customer loyalty. But what really matters to customers are results they can see, count on, and talk about.

Customers might come to you a few times because you have the right product or service for their needs, but they won’t keep coming to you based on your business personality alone. Customers must trust you to help them; they must see results and learn something from you to make it worth their while to continue as your customer.

Remember, customers refer friends and family members with comments such as “I’ve never seen such great service before”—not “Customer service staff are great conversationalists.”

6. Integrity leads to trust, which leads to a relationship

Integrity involves fundamental behaviors such as keeping your word, being honest, providing a consistent level of service, and being reliable. Businesses that demonstrate a high degree of integrity are seen as trustworthy.

Building trust requires the businesses to continually put the customer’s interests ahead of their own and display a genuine “other” orientation. You demonstrate that by being interested rather than interesting, and by not treating every interaction as an opportunity to share your message.

All that adds up to doing business with integrity. Without integrity, there is no trust, and without trust, there is no enduring relationship.

7. What have you done for me lately?

One of the most common mistakes businesses make is focusing primarily on the early part of the sale. They wrongly assume that once a customer is happy, that customer will stay happy and continue to use the services.

Each customer’s experience is the sum of every small experience that customer has while in your place of business. Ask yourself, If I were this customer right now, what would I really want in terms of product, care, and service?

Remember, your customer is always thinking, What’s in it for me? What you do (or fail to do) at every point during a customer’s course of care makes an impression.

8. Never take loyalty for granted

A successful external marketing campaign will encourage people to try you out, but only good outcomes and an authentic relationship with you will keep them coming back.

Customers’ willingness to return to your business depends only partly on their need for your product or services. They can easily choose another business or provider, or even a different product, if they are not happy with what they experience.

Never take loyalty for granted. Never underestimate the power and value of the one-to-one relationship customers have with you and your staff.

Customers return to where they feel connected, where they have a sense of belonging, where there is mutual esteem, where they are treated with respect, and where their care results in positive outcomes.

9. Word-of-mouth marketing isn’t new

Third-party endorsement or customer referral has long been the foundation of marketing.

What is new is that the bar for what customers expect in the way of service is higher today. Being good isn’t good enough to get customers talking about you. Outstanding is the new good.

Polls repeatedly show the quality of customer service is on the decline across industries. When you consistently exceed expectations, customers become “raving fans.” Those are the customers who refer their friends, relatives, neighbors, and co-workers.

10. Know and appreciate your ambassadors

In his bestselling book The Tipping Point, Malcolm Gladwell says people who refer fall into one of two categories: connectors or market mavens.

Connectors are social. They have a gift for knowing people and naturally make connections among their network.

Market mavens are people who have “the goods.” They have a desire to be of service and influence others. They are databanks of information, they know how to get the best deals and the best service, and they share information with enthusiasm.

According to Gladwell, “Word-of-mouth begins when someone along the chain tells a connector or a maven.” Learn to recognize those customers, cultivate them, and express your appreciation accordingly.

Bedford NY Homes

Bedford Luxury Homes

 

 

 

dford