Thinking of some remodels? Here are a few things that can pay back great dividends when you sell!
1. Make your kitchen really cook
The kitchen is still considered the heart of the home. For a few hundred dollars, you can replace the kitchen faucet set, add new cabinet door handles and update old lighting fixtures with brighter, more energy-efficient ones. If you have a slightly larger budget, you can give the cabinets themselves a makeover. Rather than spring for a whole new cabinet system, which can be expensive, look into refacing the ones you have. Many companies will remove cabinet doors and drawers, refinish the cabinet boxes and then add brand-new doors and drawers at a price considerably less than new cabinets. Unless the cabinets are mica, a fresh coat of paint can also do the trick.
2. Give appliances a face-lift
If your kitchen appliances don’t match, try ordering new doors or face panels from the manufacturer. Many dishwasher panels are white on one side and black on the other. It can be as simple as removing a couple of screws, sliding the panel out and flipping it over.
3. Buff up the bath
Next to the kitchen, bathrooms are often the most important rooms to update. They, too, can be improved without a lot of cash. Simple things like a new toilet seat and a pedestal sink are pretty easy for homeowners to install, and they make a big difference. You can replace an old, discolored bathroom floor with easy-to-apply vinyl tiles or a small piece of sheet vinyl — often applied right over the old floor. If your tub and shower look dingy, consider regrouting the tile and replacing any chipped tiles. A more complete cover-up is a prefabricated tub and shower surround. These one-piece units may require professional installation, but still can be cheaper than paying to retile walls and refinish a worn tub.
Summer Fun Contest Winners!!!!! JonRon Team
Top cash prize winners - Ami McGloon $225, William Anderson $150, Celeste Gonzalez $105.
$20 In and Out Burger Gift Cards:
Joanne Fitz, Rosie Flores, Lyle Radeleff, TJ Van Dusen and Carole Wood.
Wasn’t that fun? Enter our next contest soon - “Back to School” by mail or on our website - JonRonTeam.com.
Short Sale Myths
1. You must be defaulting on your mortgage to negotiate a short sale. WRONG. Short sales are not a function of default status on a mortgage. They are the result of the bank mitigating a potential default situation that, in the long run, will cost more money to the investors. We have completed many short sales in instances when the borrower was not in a default situation.
2. Listing my home as a short sale is embarrassing. WRONG. A property can be listed for sale without a sign - this keeps the neighbors from knowing about the short sale, at least for a while. Also, the fact that the home is a short sale can be kept from widespread public knowledge by a good realtor.
3. Buyers aren’t interested in short sale properties. WRONG. Short Sale properties are often times available at a competitive price to other properties on the market. In many cases, short sale properties are very well cared for and have not had to endure the deferred maintenance of a REO property. Short Sale properties are in great demand in the marketplace.
4. There’s not enough time to negotiate a short sale before foreclosure. WRONG. A good negotiator takes into account the timeline affiliated with a foreclosure. There is always a chance that a short sale can be negotiated. However, the only way to know for sure is to try.
5. The bank would rather foreclose than complete a short sale. WRONG. Banks do not want to foreclose on property. It is expensive and carries a high level of liability once the bank owns that property as an REO. Wherever possible, banks are seeking other loss mitigation options before foreclosure.
6. Short sales are impossible and never get approved. WRONG. Short sales are complicated, but not impossible. We negotiate short sale approvals every day.
THE BEST BUYS ALWAYS COME WHEN OTHERS ARE NERVOUS OR CAN’T BUY.
Check out this mortgage advice. See the linked article on mortgage rates and new loan regulations. Apparently some banks are offering “deeds in lieu” to more distressed homeowners. For most short sales are a good option.
When you are ready to buy or sell be sure to call the JonRon RE Team at Keller Williams Realty.
BE THANKFUL FOR YOUR FREEDOMS THIS WEEKEND AND BE THANKFUL TO THE ONE WHO GIVES THEM.
I understand ABC (American Broadcasting Company) is somewhat embarrassed by the flag of the USA. Please remember that FREEDOM ISN’T FREE. To do our part as Realtors we put 1200 American flags in Laguna Niguel today to help boost the spirit.
The man I never knew - That man was my uncle who was killed in the Battle of the Bulge in WWII along with three of his gunnery mates. He and his crew protected a bridge in the Bastogne area just long enough for the retreating GI’s to get to safety and then blow up the bridge. Thanks to all the vets for their service and for the fact that we are speaking English instead of German or some other language. Display your colors this weekend and be thankful to God for our freedom.
.
The market in Laguna Niguel is doing the normal summer shift again - it appears that much of the buyer pool purchased during the period of time when the federal tax credit was in place up until April 30th. Why do we say that? Check out the numbers below and see for yourself.
AS OF APRIL 28th, 2010:
ACTIVE - 298; IN ESCROW - 260
AS OF JUNE 28th, 2010:
ACTIVE - 364; IN ESCROW - 205
It may be that the market is changing, or that the normal summer inventory increase as well as the additional buyers which were pulled from the market because of the tax credit have made the market appear to be changing. However, either way you cut it, we’re in a softer sellers market in Laguna Niguel than we were 60 days ago.
THAT BEING SAID - the inventory is still less than HALF of what it was at the peak in 2006!! Depending on your read of the future TODAY may be the best time to sell in the next year.
.
Fannie Mae says it won’t let you get a Fannie-backed mortgage for seven years if you strategically default. I doubt this policy will prevent many strategic defaults. (A strategic default happens when you can afford your mortgage payments, but you stop paying and let the house go in foreclosure.)
I doubt the effectiveness of this policy because it merely adds two years to the time that defaulters will have to rent. Until now, Fannie’s lockout period was five years — in other words, if you went into foreclosure, you had to wait five years to get another Fannie-backed loan. So now people will have to rent for seven years instead of five. Big whoop.
Fannie’s lockout period used to be four years. When Fannie increased that to five years in 2008, did it prevent many foreclosures? I doubt it. So now the lockout period has gone from four years to five years to seven years.
Freddie Mac’s lockout period is five years. I wouldn’t be surprised if Freddie matched Fannie. The FHA’s lockout period is three years. Unless that policy is changed, you could default on your Fannie-backed mortgage and get an FHA-insured home loan three years later.
Now I have to clarify something I said in the second paragraph. I said the policy “merely adds two years” of renting. That’s in comparison with the old policy and its five-year lockout period for all foreclosures. Now Fannie says it’ll give you a loan three or even two years after foreclosure — as long as you tried to work things out with the servicer and you have extenuating circumstances.
Old policy: You’re locked out of a loan for five years after foreclosure, regardless of circumstances.
New policy: If you walk away from a mortgage that you could afford, you’re locked out of another loan for seven years. If you tried to modify the mortgage, you’re locked out for three years. If you worked with the servicer but lost the house because you were laid off from your job, then you might be locked out for only two years.
.
Many mortgages today are being resold in the secondary markets. The Federal National Mortgage Association (Fannie Mae) is a government-sponsored organization that purchases mortgages from lenders and sells them to investors. Mortgages that conform to Fannie Mae’s standards may carry lower interest rates or smaller down payments. To qualify, the mortgage borrower needs to meet two ratio requirements that are industry standards.
The housing expense ratio compares basic monthly housing costs to the buyer’s gross (before taxes and other deductions) monthly income. Basic costs include monthly mortgage, insurance, and property taxes. Income includes any steady cash flow, including salary, self-employment income, pensions, child support, or alimony payments. For a conventional loan, your monthly housing cost should not exceed 28% of your monthly gross income.
The total obligations to income ratio is the percentage of all income required to service your total monthly payments. Monthly payments on student loans, installment loans, and credit card balances older than 10 months are added to basic housing costs and then divided by gross income. Your total monthly debt payments, including basic housing costs, should not exceed 36%.
Many home buyers choose to arrange financing before shopping for a home and most lenders will “prequalify” you for a certain amount. Prequalification helps you focus on homes you can afford. It also makes you a more attractive buyer and can help you negotiate a lower purchase price. Nothing is more disheartening for buyers or sellers than a deal that falls through due to a lack of financing.
In addition to qualifying for a mortgage, you will probably need a down payment. The 28% to 36% debt ratios assume a 10% down payment. In practice, down payment requirements vary from more than 20% to as low as 0% for some Veterans Administration (VA) loans. Down payments greater than 20% generally buy a better rate. Lowering the down payment increases leverage (the opportunity to make a profit using borrowed money) but also increases monthly payments.
For calendar month May – DataQuick’s freshest stats — Laguna Beach homebuying patterns showed:
- Homebuying +54% vs. a year ago.
- Laguna Beach’s median selling price was $960,000 – that’s +113% vs. countywide pricing.
- A year ago, that Laguna Beach home-price “premium” was 156% vs. the countywide median selling price.
