Outdoor Patio Furniture

Your Home - Shopping for Outdoor Patio Furniture

Maybe you have just moved into a new home or just expanded your outdoor living space, either way if you are shopping for new patio furniture you have likely seen the brand Hanamint in you search. Hanamint sells nationally from coast to coast and is in almost every patio furniture store. But why is it so popular?

Over the past few decades, as patio furniture has evolved, one frame material seems to have moved to the forefront in popularity. That material is cast aluminum. Cast aluminum is a process that molds the most maintenance free material into beautiful pieces of patio art. Casting processes enables unique old world styling to become a standard feature in the furniture.

No one comes close to the value that Hanamint provides in their cast aluminum patio furniture. You could shop other brands but would probably be wasting your time. Hanamint has many different sets including; Grand Tuscany, Tuscany, St. Augustine, Mayfair, Berkshire, Stratford, Bella, and St. Moritz. If you want it for your patio, Hanamint makes it. Chaise lounges, dining sets, deep seating sofa arrangements, bar stools, bar height tables, counter stools, counter height dining tables, benches, fire pits, sectionals and bars.

Typically, the most desired finish is Desert Bronze but they also offer some sets in Black. Desert Bronze is a great finish because it looks great with most exterior home colors and patio color schemes. In the daylight, desert bronze shows a rich bronze color with many textures or layers in the finish. At dusk or in low light, desert bronze almost appears black. Desert bronze is that dark.

Hanamint offers an unbeatable amount of high end fabric to complement their beautiful frames finishes. Sunbrella is the industry leader in outdoor fabrics. Hanamint will buy many Sunbrella fabrics to offer as options on their cushions. Sunbrella became synonymous with quality after being one of the first to offer 100% solution dyed acrylic fabrics. An acrylic fabric will last and last because the sun can only fade the fabric one percent per year. Do yourself a favor and only buy acrylic fabric on your Hanamint cushions.

Hanamint recently introduced a 2014 collection called Stratford. Stratford appears more contemporary in design with straight line cross design.

No matter what Hanamint collection you choose, you will be making the right choice.

How to repair my credit and improve my FICO credit score!!!

How to repair my credit and improve my FICO credit score

It's important to note that repairing bad credit is a bit like losing weight: It takes time and there is no quick way to fix a credit score. In fact, out of all of the ways to improve a credit score, quick-fix efforts are the most likely to backfire, so beware of any advice that claims to improve your credit score fast. The best advice for rebuilding credit is to manage it responsibly over time. If you haven't done that, then you need to repair your credit history before you see credit score improvement. The tips below will help you do that. They are divided up into categories based on the data used to calculate your credit score.

1. Check Your Credit Report – Credit score repair begins with your credit report. If you haven't already, request a free copy of your credit report and check it for errors. Your credit report contains the data used to calculate your score and it may contain errors. In particular, check to make sure that there are no late payments incorrectly listed for any of your accounts and that the amounts owed for each of your open accounts is correct. If you find errors on any of your reports, dispute them with the credit bureau and reporting agency.
2. Setup Payment Reminders – Making your credit payments on time is one of the biggest contributing factors to your credit score. Some banks offer payment reminders through their online banking portals that can send you an email or text message reminding you when a payment is due. You could also consider enrolling in automatic payments through your credit card and loan providers to have payments automatically debited from your bank account, but this only makes the minimum payment on your credit cards and does not help instill a sense of money management.
3. Reduce the Amount of Debt You Owe – This is easier said than done, but reducing the amount that you owe is going to be a far more satisfying achievement than improving your credit score. The first thing you need to do is stop using your credit cards. Use your credit report to make a list of all of your accounts and then go online or check recent statements to determine how much you owe on each account and what interest rate they are charging you. Come up with a payment plan that puts most of your available budget for debt payments towards the highest interest cards first, while maintaining minimum payments on your other accounts.

To view the full article from myFICO.com, visit http://www.myfico.com/crediteducation/improveyourscore.aspx.

What Does 540 Calories Look Like???

What Does 540 Calories Look Like?

By Tammy Parkinson
CPT, ACSM, NASM, Nutritionist
Body Firm Personal Training & Nutrition

Each month I get a newsletter from a company called "Health Watch".  Every now and then they pass on some information I find very useful, and I'd like to forward this on to you!

What's 540 Calories?

Here's a little perspective:

One McDonald's Big Mac contains 540 calories, 29 grams of fat, and more than 40 grams of highly-processed, blood-sugar-spiking carbohydrates.  And that doesn't even count the fries and soft drink that you KNOW you're going to order with it.

At the same rate, here are a few alternative food choices and amounts that will land you at the same 540 calories:

140 medium strawberries
5 medium bananas
1 QUART of plain Greek yogurt
14 oz of grilled chicken breast
17 cups of broccoli
6 and 1/2 cups of blueberries

Better yet, go ahead and eat ALL of this in one sitting:

4 oz of grilled chicken (120 cals)
3 cups of broccoli (90 cals)
1 medium banana (100 cals)
8 oz of plain Greek yogurt (130 cals)
10 medium strawberries (40 cals)
1/2 cup of blueberries (40 cals)

So basically, you have an OVERFLOWING plate of chicken and veggies and then a HUGE dessert of yogurt and fruit. I mean, that's a massive quantity of food right there. In fact, most people wouldn't even be able to finish it.

And guess what? It still contains fewer calories than ONE Big Mac and it's WAY healthier.

Adding on to Health Watch's spin...here are a few more "foods/meals" which add up to about 500 kcals

• 2 small slices of pizza or 1 large slice of meat lover's pizza
• 3 chicken wings dipped in 1/4 cup of ranch dressing
• 20 oz big gulp
• 20 oz mocha drink with whole milk
• small margarita
• 2 cosmos
• 3 handfuls oil roasted nuts (small handfuls)
• 2 big chocolate chip cookies

I can go on and on...but I think you get the drift.  We can load ourselves up with non-nutritious calories which give us lots of sugar, fat and salt...but no real nutrients; or we can eat an abundance of amazing nutritious foods which heal our bodies, give us energy, clean our minds and support out health.  You be the judge!  (note...not to say a little cookie here and there isn't fun....but note it's "here and there"!)

Enjoy your health ~!

Young Adults Disappearing From Home Buying Market

By Gino Blefari
President & CEO
Intero Real Estate Services, Inc.
 
There was a time when many homeowners bought their first house in their 20s. It's not hard to see that trend has changed quite a bit in markets across the country.
 
Ten years ago, the homeownership rate among young adults under age 35 was 43.6%, according to Census data. Today, the rate stands at just over 36%.
 
But while some homeownership critics have tried to say in recent years it's because young people don't value ownership as much as they do experience and freedom, the underlying economics tell a much different story.
 
It's not that America's young adults don't want to buy homes. Instead, there are a number of factors at play: fewer jobs (or jobs that pay enough to afford a home), delayed marriage, higher debt, and poor credit scores.
 
Eric Belsky, managing director of Harvard's Joint Center of Housing Studies, told a crowd at the National Association of Realtors' conference in Washington, D.C., last week, "There really are serious issues in the first-time buyer market."
 
Belsky estimates that nearly 3 million more young adults live with their parents today compared with 2007, before the Great Recession kicked into gear. This no doubt points to underlying problems with debt, the job market, and increasing housing costs in many areas.
 
The average college graduate is already carrying a large debt load as soon as he steps off campus. Student debts collectively add up to $1.1 trillion. And the Federal Reserve Bank of New York says student loan default rates climbed to nearly 12% last year (up from 6% in 2003).
 
Of course, millions of young adults are already affected by these numbers. But what happens to the housing market when first-time buyers become more and more delayed by circumstance? At some point, many markets may start to feel the missing buyers just as much. For instance, who buys the empty nesters' homes when they're ready to retire and downsize? Who do the move-up buyers sell to when they outgrow their starter homes?
 
It's an issue that eventually impacts each stage of the housing chain. We haven't seen a lot of solutions being laid out – other than a few initiatives that aim to curb student debt or give those in some professions relief.
 
We'll be watching this area closely to see what new data impact home buying and selling.

Finances - Tax Deduction Checklist

Finances - Tax Deduction Checklist

Tax deductions are what get you bigger refunds. If you itemize your tax return you need to have a good idea of what you can deduct. This checklist covers most of the major tax deductions.

Tax Deduction checklist

Form 1098 or your mortgage statement: if you purchased a home in the previous tax year and prior tax return or if you refinanced in the prior year and are deducting points on that loan over its life.

Investment interest expense: Brokers' statements showing any margin interest paid and loan statements for loans taken out to purchase investments.

Losses due to theft: include a description of property and insurance reports showing reimbursement or any cancelled checks showing value of property.

Charitable donations: bills, receipts or cancelled checks for cash donations, mileage records for charitable purposes, receipts from charitable agency with estimated value in the case of property donations, prior years' tax returns for any unused charitable contributions.

All work related expenses : Reimbursement check stubs or reports from an employer, union dues, receipts, bills or invoices for supplies, gifts to clients, any uniforms or special clothing, seminars attended, professional publications and books. Travel information including invoices or receipts for transportation, lodging, restaurants and parking. Any job search expenses and job related educational expenses.

Misc. deductions like Tax preparation fees, cost of income tax return preparation software and books. Safe deposit box rental fees from bank. IRA custodial fees, investment advice costs.

Last year's state income tax return, W-2 and any cancelled checks for state estimates you've paid.

Medical and dental expenses including Form SSA-1099, year-end pay stub for premiums paid through your after tax wages, mileage records for trips to the doctor, clinics, etc.

Real estate tax collector bills or cancelled checks and Form 1098 or closing statement if you bought, sold, or refinanced property in the tax year.

Any tax bills or cancelled checks for personal property like automobiles.

Employee SSN and wages paid during tax year to any household employees.

Records showing any estimated tax payments or overpayments for prior years.

You could save huge in tax preparation fees by being a bit organized. You can also save a lot of time by getting all your required documents in order before you go to a tax preparer or start your tax return online.

This communication is for information only. Please consult a tax professional regarding tax deductions.

10 Markets Where Housing Equity is Going Strong

By Gino Blefari
President & CEO
Intero Real Estate Services, Inc.
 
For quite a few years during and after the economic downturn, negative equity – when more is owed on a mortgage than a home is worth - was a real problem for homeowners. And while some markets in the U.S. haven't quite crawled completely out of the situation, others certainly have.
 
In fact, the National Association of Realtors this week released datashowing the 10 markets in the U.S. where equity has improved the greatest since the fourth quarter of 2010. They are:

1. San Jose, Calif.
2. San Francisco
3. Anaheim, Calif.
4. Los Angeles
5. San Diego
6. Boulder, Colo.
7. Honolulu
8. Riverside, Calif.
9. Cape Coral-Fort Myers, Fla.
10. Sacramento, Calif.

 It's true that in Silicon Valley and San Francisco, we've seen some of the largest increases in home prices in the last year alone, boosted by a soaring tech economy and an overall lack of inventory.
 
This is great news for homeowners and the local economies that inevitably benefit from a strong housing market. But what many watch with caution is the long-term impact on housing affordability – especially for first-time home buyers and other classes of workers that are at risk for being priced out.
 

 
 The interesting thing about these markets is that many of them are concentrated in the hardest hit areas from the housing downturn. For instance, Los Angeles, Riverside and Sacramento were all hit hard by the market decline, but have since seen sharp improvements in the last four years.
 
On the other end of the spectrum, NAR says in a blog post about the report, a number of markets that were in the bottom 10 for equity appreciation in 2006 did not see the same strong appreciation. These included Reno, Nev., Las Vegas and several Florida markets.
 
This is sort of telling about some of the ultimate truths about real estate – location and jobs are and always will be inextricably tied to the long-term health of local markets.
 
It will be interesting to see where these numbers lie at this time next year.
 

The 5 Worst Things You Can Do Before Buying a Home

Cynics may scoff, but getting under contract on the right home can turn even the most stoic shopper into a bit of a dreamer. From paint colors to planting a garden, picturing yourself in that property is critical for many buyers.

But leave a little room for pragmatism. Remember that getting pre-approved for a mortgage and even under contract isn’t a guarantee. That prefix is there for a reason. Loan pre-approval is not loan approval.

You’ll have more hurdles to clear before a lender legally commits to funding your home loan. Buyers who don’t know any better can inadvertently add obstacles to that path ? or even kill the entire deal ?between contract and closing day.

Some missteps can be costlier than others. Here’s a look at five of the worst things you can do before buying a home.

1. Go Credit-Crazy

It’s almost become cliché in the mortgage industry, but the warning still bears repeating: Don’t buy a truckload of furniture until after your loan closes. The prohibition goes beyond sofas and settees ? avoid obtaining credit for any major expense, such as a car, a boat or, yes, a new bedroom set.

Be careful with even minor expenses. If you absolutely need to obtain new credit or accrue debt before closing, talk with your loan officer as soon as possible.

New payments are going to affect your monthly debt-to-income ratio (and residual income on a VA loan), and not in a good way. Hard inquiries on your credit report could also lower your credit score. That might hurt your interest rate if you haven’t locked or even knock you out of qualifying range all together.

2. Shuffle Dollars and Cents

Lenders will scour your most recent bank statement as part of the pre-approval process. It’s not like they forget about it after that. They’ll take another look at your assets and bank records again during the underwriting process.

You’ll need to explain any unusual deposits or withdrawals. Lenders will require clear documentation and a paper trail if you’re putting gift funds toward a down payment or closing costs. Stuffing a wad of undocumented cash into your account is going to raise some red flags.

3. Get Behind on Bills

Having a late payment hit your credit report before closing can devastate your deal. Payment history comprises about a third of your credit score.

One solitary 30-day late payment can clip 60 to 110 points from your credit score. Maybe not a huge deal if you had an 800 score, right?

Possibly. But if that 30-day late blemish is a mortgage or rent payment, some lenders will boot your application altogether. Many will require at least 12 consecutive months of on-time payments to qualify for a home loan.

4. Co-Sign on a Loan

Co-signing a loan is arguably a bad financial move whenever you make it. But it’s especially risky during the mortgage lending process. It means you’re financially liable for someone else’s debt.

Yes, that someone else might be the most responsible person on the planet. Lenders will still need to factor that new monthly obligation into your overall affordability profile. Adding one more debt to the list could stretch too thin your debt-to-income ratio and assets.

5. Changes in Employment

Probably goes without saying, but losing your job is going to be a big problem. Even job-hopping can present some major hurdles. Lenders crave stable, reliable income that’s likely to continue.

Lenders are likely to slam on the brakes if you take a new job in a different field. Or if you decide to start your own business. Or even if you get a promotion but see some or all of your income shift to a commission basis.

The bottom line: Any change to your employment is significant. Keep your loan officer in the loop, and ask questions when in doubt. The last thing you want is to waste time and money on a home loan you’re never going to get.

Throughout the mortgage process, it can also be helpful to monitor your credit scores for changes so you can know whether you need to address any problems. To do that, you can use a free tool like Credit.com’s Credit Report Card, which updates your credit scores and an overview of your credit report every month.

Meritage Home Preview

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Lower Your Electric Bills

Electric bills are getting more expensive every year. While switching electric suppliers might help people save money this is not always an option, especially in smaller communities. There are things you can do around the house to keep your electric bill low. 

Closing the curtains and lowering blinds on the sunny side of the house will help keep the house cooler on hot days. In the winter, it will also prevent heat from escaping out of the windows. If you like looking out your windows during the daytime, window film can filter the sun in the summer and dual pane windows will retard heat from escaping in the winter. You can also consider getting outdoor awnings and painting the house a light color to reflect the heat.

Air conditioners are the biggest user of electricity, along with heaters in the winter. A heating and cooling system accounts for more than half of your electric bill. You can increase your heating and cooling system's efficiency by having annual cleanings, checkups, and changing out the filter every month.

It is also important to keep the greenery trimmed around the air conditioner to allow air to flow efficiently. The less your heating and cooling system has to work, the less electricity it will use.

The US Department of Energy recommends all window air conditioners be placed toward the center of the room on the shady side of the house. They also need to be the right size for the room. If the unit is too small, they will not cool the room efficiently causing them to run more often. If a unit is too big, it will also have reduced efficiency causing higher electric bills, uncomfortable temperature fluctuations, and excessive wear and tear.

Raising or lowering the temperature in your home can save as much as $100 a year. When at work or asleep, turn it up so the air conditioner does not click on as often and conversely turn it down in the winter. A programmable house thermostat is a great option to control the temperature. If your house utilizes a heat pump, it is best to manually set the system to be electrically efficient.

Lastly, replace light bulbs in the house with CFL bulbs, or even LED lights if they come in the correct size for the socket. These bulbs are expensive at first, but worth the investment. A single standard incandescent light bulb can cost the same amount as it costs to run six to ten CFL bulbs, which last ten times longer.

Enlarge Your Living Space

Your Home - Enlarge Your Living Space - 5 Optical Illusions Tips

I am quite sure everyone wants a big and nice house with a lot of space. However we often need to live in smaller areas. This is not a big problem, as we have prepared for you some great optical illusion tips to help you make your home brighter and more spacious.

Avoid the dark colors

The secret of the comfortable and spacious interior is to use a reasonable quantity of dark colors. For example, if you choose the furnishing of the room to be in dark colors, then the walls should definitely be bright colored – this solution will make the different elements contrast and it will help you to make the room more spacious.

Use accents in the rooms

The focus can be created by using colors – you may paint one wall in a different color, or you can put color wallpaper, and paint stripes on. If you choose floral wallpaper, its elements should necessarily be large; the same applies to ordinary wallpaper - repeating the pattern of big ornaments creates a sense of space. Horizontal stripes always make the room look wider and vertical stripes make it longer.

Avoid using contrasting colors

When you enter a room, your eyes move slowly from the floor, then they shift to the walls and finally they reach the ceiling. If the floor, walls and ceiling are similarly colored your eyes will move smoothly along the line and the space will seem larger. If all three elements are in contrasting colors, the eye will distinguish them and space automatically becomes less spacious.

Use the vertical space

When we live in a small house, it is common to feel like there is no room for any more items. Think again - the walls in most cases remain empty except for some paintings or frames. You have the option to put various shelves to store some of the items and to make more space in the room. This will open up the room and make it more vibrant.

Avoid the heavy curtains

Some large halls and living rooms usually have heavy curtains descending from the ceiling to the floor, creating a flow throughout the room. In small rooms however it is better to avoid heavy curtains as they are hard to clean and will make the space look darker and smaller.

Enlarge Your Living Space

Your Home - Enlarge Your Living Space - 5 Optical Illusions Tips

I am quite sure everyone wants a big and nice house with a lot of space. However we often need to live in smaller areas. This is not a big problem, as we have prepared for you some great optical illusion tips to help you make your home brighter and more spacious.

Avoid the dark colors

The secret of the comfortable and spacious interior is to use a reasonable quantity of dark colors. For example, if you choose the furnishing of the room to be in dark colors, then the walls should definitely be bright colored – this solution will make the different elements contrast and it will help you to make the room more spacious.

Use accents in the rooms

The focus can be created by using colors – you may paint one wall in a different color, or you can put color wallpaper, and paint stripes on. If you choose floral wallpaper, its elements should necessarily be large; the same applies to ordinary wallpaper - repeating the pattern of big ornaments creates a sense of space. Horizontal stripes always make the room look wider and vertical stripes make it longer.

Avoid using contrasting colors

When you enter a room, your eyes move slowly from the floor, then they shift to the walls and finally they reach the ceiling. If the floor, walls and ceiling are similarly colored your eyes will move smoothly along the line and the space will seem larger. If all three elements are in contrasting colors, the eye will distinguish them and space automatically becomes less spacious.

Use the vertical space

When we live in a small house, it is common to feel like there is no room for any more items. Think again - the walls in most cases remain empty except for some paintings or frames. You have the option to put various shelves to store some of the items and to make more space in the room. This will open up the room and make it more vibrant.

Avoid the heavy curtains

Some large halls and living rooms usually have heavy curtains descending from the ceiling to the floor, creating a flow throughout the room. In small rooms however it is better to avoid heavy curtains as they are hard to clean and will make the space look darker and smaller.

Summer is here!!!

Now that the summer break is here (or almost here), we need to think about how to entertain our kids. There are many activities parents can plan for their kids during the summer and here are some of them. 

There are many "drop-off and pick-them-up" activities that parents can get their child involved in, like karate or dance school. Some colleges have activities for kids during the summer as well. The best way to find activities is to look in the local newspaper or in the phone book. The internet has a great deal of information for things to do with children during the summer. It is great to keep the kids' brain working during the summer break. The earlier you start the better. Some places take reservations very early and some programs will fill early, too. Start your planning today. 

On weekdays kids could go to camp. A lot of people are getting out of the tradition of sending the kids away for the whole summer to a secluded forest with a bunch of teenagers and a couple of adults. There are now camps that have a meeting place where you can drop the kids off in the morning and pick them up in the afternoon. The camp will drive a bus to the site every day so the kids still have a camp-like experience but not the whole "spend-the-night" thing. They will still get to do activities like swimming, hiking, sports, and arts and crafts. 

Taking a couple of weeks to go on vacation is a great way to get a break from it all. A lot of places have packages for early booking and the longer the stay, the better the deal. There are also good deals as more people come. Some hotels will give a discount if more than one room is booked. Amusement parks will give discounts to families and some offer deals for kids or senior citizens if the grandparents come along. If a person cannot travel for two weeks straight, then there is always traveling on weekends. The family can pack up the car to leave on a two hour drive on Friday and come back on Saturday. It could be a camping trip or going to the next town to shop and sight-see. 

Whatever you plan for this summer, make sure that your kids will get a balanced vacation with a mixture of relaxation, physical and brain activity.

Pandemonium!!!

Most people don't realize that home Prices are going up! Inventory is down, homes are being sold over asking and are getting on average, over 5 offers! SO if you were thinking of selling.... NOW is the time!!! 

Contact ME today!!

Kerri@InteroDB.com

What You Can Do to Improve Your Credit

Credit scores, along with your overall income and debt, are big factors in determining whether you’ll qualify for a loan and what your loan terms will be. So, keep your credit score high by doing the following:

1. Check for and correct any errors in your credit report. Mistakes happen, and you could be paying for someone else’s poor financial management.
2. Pay down credit card bills. If possible, pay off the entire balance every month. Transferring credit card debt from one card to another could lower your score.
3. Don’t charge your credit cards to the maximum limit.
4. Wait 12 months after credit difficulties to apply for a mortgage. You’re penalized less for problems after a year.
5. Don’t order items for your new home on credit — such as appliances and furniture — until after the loan is approved. The amounts will add to your debt.
6. Don’t open new credit card accounts before applying for a mortgage. Too much available credit can lower your score.
7. Shop for mortgage rates all at once. Too many credit applications can lower your score, but multiple inquiries from the same type of lender are counted as one inquiry if submitted over a short period of time.
8. Avoid finance companies. Even if you pay the loan on time, the interest is high and it will probably be considered a sign of poor credit management.

This information is copyrighted by the Fannie Mae Foundation and is used with permission of the Fannie Mae Foundation.

Why to Own Your Own Home!!!

7 Reasons to Own Your Home

1. Tax breaks. The U.S. Tax Code lets you deduct the interest you pay on your mortgage, your property taxes, as well as some of the costs involved in buying your home.
2. Appreciation. Real estate has long-term, stable growth in value. While year-to-year fluctuations are normal, median existing-home sale prices have increased on average 6.5 percent each year from 1972 through 2005, and increased 88.5 percent over the last 10 years, according to the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®. In addition, the number of U.S. households is expected to rise 15 percent over the next decade, creating continued high demand for housing.
3. Equity. Money paid for rent is money that you’ll never see again, but mortgage payments let you build equity ownership interest in your home.
4. Savings. Building equity in your home is a ready-made savings plan. And when you sell, you can generally take up to $250,000 ($500,000 for a married couple) as gain without owing any federal income tax.
5. Predictability. Unlike rent, your fixed-mortgage payments don’t rise over the years so your housing costs may actually decline as you own the home longer. However, keep in mind that property taxes and insurance costs will increase.
6. Freedom. The home is yours. You can decorate any way you want and benefit from your investment for as long as you own the home.
7. Stability. Remaining in one neighborhood for several years gives you a chance to participate in community activities, lets you and your family establish lasting friendships, and offers your children the benefit of educational continuity.

Falling Foreclosures Pushing Up Home Prices

Daily Real Estate News | Thursday, October 18, 2012

  

As foreclosure backlogs have decreased, so have many of the big discounts on home prices. The slowdown in foreclosures is partially behind the recent rise in home prices, some economists say.
“Deeply discounted existing homes have been subject to strong demand from cash buyers and investors looking to lock into housing’s attractive income returns,” says Paul Diggle, a housing economist at Capital Economics. “The supply of such homes, meanwhile, has been dwindling. That has bid up existing house prices, particularly at the lower end of the price spectrum."
The median price of existing homes nationwide was 9.5 higher in August compared to a year ago, and new home prices were up 17 percent in that same time period.
Distressed properties typically sell for big discounts. For example, in 2007 during a nationwide foreclosure surge, foreclosures tended to sell for about a third of the median price of the home. The housing markets with some of the largest price falls tended to have the highest number of distressed home sales.
Lately, foreclosures have been posting big drops. Last month, new foreclosure filings reached a five-year low, according to RealtyTrac, a real estate research firm that tracks foreclosure housing data.
“There is a shortage of inventory — as crazy as it sounds to say that,” says Daren Blomquist, a RealtyTrac spokesman. “In a lot of market there's less inventory of foreclosed properties than there is demand. You’re hearing about multiple bids for these properties.”

Mortgage Rates

 

WHAT ARE CURRENT MORTGAGE RATES...... LOW!!!!

Current Rates

National	Average Rate*	Points
30-Year Fixed	3.39%	0.7
15-Year Fixed	2.70%	0.6
ARM	2.73%	0.6

* Conforming FNMA Loan Amount. Rates last updated Oct 12, 2012

Understanding Foreclosures

 

It is an unfortunate commentary, but when economic activity declines and housing activity decreases, more real property enters the foreclosure process. High interest rates and creative financing arrangements are also contributing factors.

When prices are rapidly accelerating during a real estate “bonanza”, many people go to any lengths available to get into the market through investments in vacation homes, rental housing and trading up to more expensive properties. In some cases, this results in the taking on of high interest rate payments and second, third and even fourth deeds of trust. Many buyers anticipate that interest rates will drop and home prices will continue to escalate. It is possible that neither will occur and borrowers may be faced with large balloon payments becoming due. When payments cannot be met, the foreclosure process looms on the horizon.

In the foreclosure process, one thing should be kept in mind: as a general rule, a lender would rather receive payments than receive a home due to a foreclosure. Lenders are not in the business of selling real estate and will often try to accommodate property owners who are having payment problems. The best plan is to contact the lender before payment problems arise. If monthly payments are too hefty, it may be that a lender will be able to make some alternative payment arrangements until the owner’s financial situation improves.

Let’s say, however, that a property owner has missed payments and has not made any alternate arrangements with the lender. In this case, the lender may decide to begin the foreclosure process. Under such circumstances, the lender, whether a bank, savings and loan or private party, will request that the trustee, often a title company, file a notice of default with the county recorder’s office. A copy of the notice is mailed to the property owner.

If the default is due to a balloon payment not being made when due, the lender can require full payment on the entire outstanding loan as the only way to cure the default. If the default is not cured, the lender may direct the trustee to sell the property at a public sale.

In cases of a public sale, a notice of sale must be published in a local newspaper and posted in a public place, usually the courthouse, for three consecutive weeks. Once the notice of sale has been recorded, the property owner has until 5 days prior to the published sale date to bring the loan current. If the owner cures the default by making up the payments, the deed of trust will be reinstated and regular monthly payments will continue as before.

After this time, it may still be possible for the property owner to work out a postponement on the sale with the lender. However, if no postponement is reached, the property goes on the block. At the sale, buyers must pay the amount of their bid in cash, cashier’s check or other instrument acceptable to the trustee. A lender may “credit bid” up to the amount of the obligation being foreclosed upon.

With the recent attention given to foreclosure, there also has been corresponding interest in buying foreclosed properties. However, caveat emptor: buyer beware. Foreclosed properties are very likely to be burdened with overdue taxes, liens and clouded titles. A buyer should do his homework and ask a local title company for information concerning these outstanding liens and encumbrances. Title insurance may or may not be available following a foreclosure sale and various exceptions may be included in any title insurance policy issued to a buyer of a foreclosed property.

Your local title company will be happy to provide additional information.

 Choices…they define us or they destroy us.

• Give or take
• Love or hate
• Church or watching the NFL
• Soda or Water
• Exercise or snooze bar
• Investing or buying that 60” plasma
• Smile or frown
• Going for a walk or sitting on the couch
• Operating from a schedule or just winging it
• Clean my office and be organized or leave it messy and be unorganized.
• Return all of my calls and emails or blow them off and kid myself I will do it tomorrow
• Going above and beyond or just doing the minimum
• Do a business plan and set goals or hope and wish for success
• Working hard or doing the bare minimum
• Energy giver or energy sucker
• Embrace accountability or run from it.
• Burger or salad
• Embrace change or resist it
• Positive & optimistic attitude or a negative & pessimistic attitude
• Forgive or be mad and hold a grudge
• Dress professionally or dress like a slob
• Do my homework or don’t do my homework
• Practice or don’t practice
• Shoulders back or shoulders slumped
• Laugh or yell
• Hug or fight

The most common difference between those who have an AWESOME life and those who don’t are simply the choices they make every day. It’s usually not their circumstances, the way they were raised, or their education. Most people who are not accomplishing their dreams in life are those that have chosen not to. These people just aren’t willing to do what is necessary to have a life that good.

Think about your life for a moment, what do you want and what does it take to get it? So, why haven’t you been doing what it takes to get it?

Before you start with all of the excuses, ask yourself - if you really had to do it, could you? Let me make it clear how this is a choice - I don’t even like to think these thoughts, but it will help you understand that you can do it, if you want it bad enough. If the person or people you care about the most lives depended upon it (life or death), could you do it? We both know the answer. Of course you could and would. Life is a series of choices - I call them the Y’s in the road. In most cases if you take the easy path - the one most people take - you will experience short term gain and long term pain. On the other hand if you have the courage to take the other path - the one most will not take - you will have some short-term pain, but long-term gain. So, make the right choice and have a life of pure magic!

Start by making the choice every day to FEEL GOOD. Because when you FEEL GOOD you are ATTRACTIVE. When you are ATTRACTIVE, you have AMAZING PRODUCTIVITY. When you have AMAZING PRODUCTIVITY, you have EXTRAORDINARY RESULTS. And when you have EXTRAORDINARY RESULT, you feel even better! It is the circle of success.

By Tom Tognoli
COO, Founder
Intero Real Estate Services

Getting your Deam Home!

In 1750, Samuel Johnson wrote that “to be happy at home is the ultimate result of all ambition.” And there’s truth to this; for most Americans, our homes are our launch pads for being and doing our best in the world, and the places where we live out our most precious, private moments. So, if you follow our most important dreams to their logical conclusions, they almost all boil down to having a happy home, where we and our families can thrive and enjoy happy, secure lives.

Fortunately, dreams do come true - and dream homes can become reality. Here is a short list of musts for developing the vision, strategy, commitment and effort it will take to make your dream home your actual home.

1. Know what a dream home is - and is not. Like anything else in life, you can’t realize your dream home if you don’t know what it is - and isn’t, definitionally. For purposes of this conversation, our definition of a dream home is closely related to our aspirations and our visions in a couple of key ways. Aspirationally, dream homes take some work and effort to achieve - they aren’t usually handed to us on a silver platter.

And our dream homes are related to our holistic visions for our lives, as well. By that I just mean that our dreams of home are less about owning a particular building, and more about creating a vision for our whole life as it will be impacted by our choice of home. We want a home that will allow our children to flourish, that is safely located, that allows us to personalize it and either does or doesn’t require much work, depending on our personal preferences. By the same token, our dream home is also one that doesn’t create problems for our lives or prevent us from doing the things we want and need to do.

If a given home is beautiful, but owning it requires us to work overtime at a job we hate, causes relationship problems, or simply requires too much repair or work for the time and resources we have, then that home is - by definition - not our dream home.

Here are some other concepts of home that are often confused for dream homes, but don’ fit the bill. Your dream home should not be defined by:

• the over-the-top fantasy mansion you saw on TV (if it’s bizarrely unattainable, in other words, it’s a fantasy home - not a dream home)
• some antiquated notion of the biggest, flashiest home with the most amenities
• the most expensive home you can afford
• your mother’s, sister’s or best friend’s dream home.

Understanding what makes for a dream home - and what doesn’t - can help you avoid the common pitfalls of being upset when your dollar doesn’t stretch to get you a home like the one you saw on Million Dollar Listing, overextending yourself, or assuming that the types of homes your friends and relatives think are ideal for you are the same as your dream home. While they might overlap, they don’t always - and trying to fulfill someone else’s idea of what your dream home should be is the fastest way to create a nightmare home buying experience.

2. Get and stay clear on your personal vision. There are various tools you can use to create a clear vision of your dream home, to avoid the above pitfalls. The most important of these is to sit in a still and quiet place and literally start writing down what you want your life to look like after you’re in the home of your dreams.

Don’t start with the technical characteristics of the building: you’ll get there soon enough, and the reality is that your co-buyer’s wants and needs, your budgetary limitations and the inventory available on your local market at the time will all impact the granular details of the property you end up with.

Instead, start with big picture life objectives, like who lives with you; what activities everyone does in the home that may require dedicated nooks, crannies, whole rooms or outbuildings; where and how much you work (at home? 3 towns away? around the clock?); how you get there and home every day; and what you do in your down time - be it hiking, home fixing, entertaining or strolling to the corner cafe.

3. “Be stubborn on the vision and flexible on the details.” Amazon founder Jeff Bezos delivered this one-liner in explaining his philosophy of creative problem-solving. And it applies just as powerfully to the creativity that is essential when hunting for your dream home. Compromise is unavoidable. Whether you’re spending $25,000 or $2.5 million on your next home, you will be required to compromise in order to reconcile your dream with your financials, the dreams of any co-buyers you have and realities of the real estate market, the inventory of available homes and geographic and other realities.

You may want a water view, but your wife wants to walk to the shops - and no home exists with both of those things. Or maybe you want to keep your payment below $2,500 per month, but you also want to buy a move-in ready home in The Best School District Ever. And all of those things are simply not possible with the down payment money you have in hand.

Bottom line: you’ll need to be somewhat flexible on the precise specs of the home you end up in as your ‘dream’ home - and the only way to do this is to ensure that you know what your whole-life vision is. Once you have your vision of life/home document ready,
then you can get granular about the number of bedrooms, bathrooms and square feet you need, as well as location specifics, brushing your absolute must-haves and absolute deal-breakers in the most minimalistic of strokes.

Adopting this Amazon-style ‘flexibility on the details’ empowers your experienced local agent/partner to suggest creative solutions for homes that will allow you to create the happy home life you’re trying to achieve, despite the circumstantial limitations.

In any event, hold onto your vision of life vis-a-vis your home journaling document for later. If you end up in contract on a home and have second thoughts, it’s a powerful document to revisit before you finalize the deal, to make sure the inevitable compromises haven’t completely wiped out all traces of the life you hoped to create in this dream home.

4. Communicate your dream vividly to those who need to know. A frequently expressed dilemma of wanna-be dream home buyers is that their agent is not showing them homes that fit the bill. In my experience, this issue often arises when buyers’ champagne tastes and beer budgets don’t align, and their agent is trying hard to show them the best they can afford, but it still disappoints.

To make sure that you are communicating your vision and dream to your agent with crystal clarity, consider doing some or all of the following:

• Send your agent the Trulia listings for homes that reflect features of your dream home - or the whole enchilada, if you can find it.
• Attend Open Houses and save flyers of homes months, even years, before you start house hunting in earnest, to share what you loved about them with your agent when the time is right.
• Ask your agent to show you at least one home that reflects what they *think* you want in your dream home - regardless of price. You might be stunned and astonished at what your dream home really costs, but the experience can help you manage your own mindset, and expectations, back into the realm of reality.

5. Mind your business. Dreams may seem fluffy and soft, but the dream of a home is one which requires you to click into hard-core numbers mode in order to make things happen. Don’t fall into the trap of fixating on images of wainscoting and tree-lined streets until your money matters have been fully handled. I’m often surprised at how many buyers believe their dream home is just out of their financial reach, but have so much fat that can still be cut from their monthly budgets: money they spend on things they would say are much lower than their home on their priority list.

Sit down and comb through your existing spending patterns with a fine-tooth comb and ask yourself whether your fantasy football habit is truly more or less important than getting closer to affording the home of your dreams. Talk with a financial planner and your mortgage broker about putting an action plan in place to eliminate bills that are impacting your ability to afford and/or qualify for your target type of home. Get clear, in your own household and spending plan, on what you can truly afford to spend on housing every month, versus looking to your mortgage broker to tell you what you can afford.

Making your dream home come true involves some heavy duty bookkeeping and an intense commitment to managing your finances in a way that lines up with your values.

6. Get uncomfortable. Being a grown-up is full of paradoxes, isn’t it? A few of my faves:

• Living an easy life takes a lot of hard work.
• With fashion and food, often less really is more.
• I get younger and younger with every day that passes. (Humor me, please.)

Here’s one more to keep in mind as you pursue your dream home: creating a comfortable home might require you to do some uncomfortable things. Writing - and sticking to - a spending plan, is one. Reading eye-glazing contracts and hundreds of pages of uber-boring HOA disclosures is another. Having frank conversations with your partner, negotiating, managing your emotions around affordability and the like - there are loads of uncomfortable moments that take place in and around the process of buying your home.

These discomforts are temporary. But avoiding these uncomfortable moments can get you into some long-term un-dreamy drama: surprise HOA special assessments, a decade of living in a home you (or your partner) truly despises and years of living paycheck-to-paycheck from having overextended yourself are a few that come to mind.

So, dive on into being uncomfortable for this short period of time, with the knowledge that doing so will set you up for long-term success in your dream home.

7. Know the difference between your vision for “this” dream home, and your long-term vision. The home you buy now might not be your forever home. It’s essential that you feel comfortable with the prospect of staying put for at least 5-7 years before you buy, in most areas. But don’t feel like this home must have every feature you’ll ever want to have in a home. Especially if you’re buying your first home, the reality is that you’ll likely move up several times in your future, as your career, earnings and savings grow over time.

Also, if your ‘dream’ home features list is particularly aggressive and/or your budget is particularly tight for your area, you might have to exercise serious visionary powers to visualize how you can develop the home you can currently afford into your dream home over time. Focus on location, expandability, and these other characteristics of a hidden gem of a home, and find someplace that is livable right now, but has the potential, with your hard work, to become the home of your dreams down the road.

So tell us, have you scored your dream home? If you're still on the hunt, what's on your short list of features that makes a home your family's ideal?
From Turlia