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Low prices not helping housing Premium Content

By Lou Barnes, Friday, October 30, 2009.

Credit markets shrugged off news of 3.5 percent gross domestic product growth in the third quarter, and the 10-year T-note has repeatedly held tests of 3.5 percent (3.41 percent now), mortgages 5.125 percent or better.

The GDP news intermittently ignited the stock market and caused new speculation that the Fed will soon make noises preliminary to tightening credit. (Razzing from the skeptical side: If the Fed tightened credit, how could anyone tell?)

Stripped of "Cash for Clunkers" and weird inventory adjustment, GDP really grew only about 1.5 percent, and that was mostly due to other government stimulus.  more...

Contemplating $10M condo repair

By Tara-Nicholle Nelson, Friday, October 30, 2009.

Q: I bought a condo from an agent and she gave me the packet of disclosures and told me to read everything, which I did. I saw that there was a special assessment for $7,000 coming up, and she gave me some notes that basically state that the board does not anticipate any increases in dues.

Needless to say, since I moved here the dues have gone up from $350 to $460! At the last board meeting I found out that there is a $10 million repair project slated for 2028. The board sued the builder over this problem, and settled out of court for $1 million. Why the board didn't fix it then I do not know. They decided to wait 30 years to fix it when, due to inflation, it will cost $10 million! (The board has only $2.5 million in reserves right now.)  more...

Downside to high-efficiency furnace?

By Paul Bianchina, Friday, October 30, 2009.

Q: Is a high-efficiency furnace more likely to break down compared to a mid- or low-efficiency one?

A: High-efficiency furnaces, those with a rating of 82 percent to more than 96 percent efficiency, are designed to extract and utilize some of the waste heat that would otherwise be exhausted out through the flue. Accomplishing this task requires additional fans, valves and electronic controls within the furnace, and with more moving parts you have more things that can go wrong and therefore additional potential for breakdowns. However, I'm not aware of any substantial reliability issues that would cause me to shy away from purchasing a high-efficiency unit.  more...

Loan mod 'insanity' Premium Content

By Steve Bergsman, Friday, October 30, 2009.
Flickr image by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/ginnerobot/2976270292/in/photostream/" target=blank>ginnerobot</a>.

While I applaud President Barack Obama's plan to rescue the housing market through the restructuring of distressed mortgages, the current landscape of loan modifications appears to be something of a bad joke, littered with inept, if not fraudulent, practices by many loan servicers.

"Insanity" is the word Jay Meadows uses to describe current loan modification efforts.  more...

Beating out multiple bids

By Bernice Ross, Friday, October 30, 2009.
Flickr photo by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/soschilds/790808573/" target=blank>A. www.viajar24h.com</a>.

DEAR BERNICE: I can't speak for anywhere else in the country, but there are just no decent houses for sale in our area. We wrote a good offer on one house and discovered there were four other offers on the property. The owner wrote a counteroffer that was higher than the original asking price. We didn't think we would have to pay more than the asking price to get the property. I've heard of people bidding up properties, but I didn't think it was happening in today's market. If we end up in another multiple-offer competition what can we do to make sure we get the property without overpaying? --Jeanette H.

DEAR JEANETTE: Many places in the country are reporting one to three months of inventory in the first-time-buyer price ranges.  more...

In real estate agents we trust?

By Teresa Boardman, Thursday, October 29, 2009.

It is hard to imagine or to understand, but not everyone trusts real estate agents or Realtors. According to a Harris poll, 20 percent don't trust us at all and only 7 percent trust us completely.

As an industry we shoot ourselves in the foot when it comes to being trustworthy. One example is the press releases and other information from the National Association of Realtors (NAR). NAR is a huge trade association that promotes our industry. As such, NAR tends to put a positive spin on buying real estate.

In the land of NAR, it is always "a great time to buy" real estate.  more...

Signs it's too late to renegotiate offer

By Tara-Nicholle Nelson, Thursday, October 29, 2009.

Q: My fiancé found us a home and the sellers wanted $149,900 (if memory serves me correctly). He haggled them down to $145,000 and asked for the seller to pay 6 percent closing costs, but they would agree to only a 3 percent closing-cost credit. We've had the inspection, and everything has checked out. But now my fiancé is feeling as though he should have offered less than $145,000. My question to you is: Is it too late to renegotiate? We're new to this whole process of homebuying.

A: There are really two questions at issue here: Is it possible to renegotiate? And is it sensible to try to renegotiate? Whether or not it is possible, my advice is to manage your (and your fiancé's understandable, mild panic and fear that you might not have cut the absolute best deal possible without disrupting the entire transaction by trying to get a price reduction at this late date.  more...

Rent reduction sought for pool closure

By Janet Portman, Thursday, October 29, 2009.

Q: My sister has lived in a nice apartment building with about 200 units for 15 years and has enjoyed using the pool there each summer. This year, the owner decided to close the pool because of the maintenance expense, to the dismay of many tenants. The tenants met with the owner to discuss the issue and he said he would "sell" the pool to them for a penny and it would then be up to them to maintain it. Most of these people moved into the building thinking they would have continued use of the pool without the worry of maintenance or expense, and now they just walk by it each hot day to see it covered and going to waste! What is their recourse? --Pearl M.

A: Your sister's landlord is imaginative, I'll give him that. But he's also avoiding his contractual obligations, and even setting himself up for a nightmarish legal mess. Let's get to the simpler issue first.  more...

The pitfalls of property exchanges

By Tom Kelly, Thursday, October 29, 2009.

With the number of bargain properties now on the local real estate market, you would think both investors and owner-occupants would be racing to take advantage of attractive deals.

While many potential homeowners -- especially first-time buyers attempting to beat the Nov. 30 deadline and take advantage of the $8,000 federal tax credit -- have re-entered the market and have made compelling offers to purchase Puget Sound homes, investors have been reluctant to capitalize on reverse tax-free exchanges.  more...

Rethinking the assisted-living model

By Mary Umberger, Thursday, October 29, 2009.

Earlier this year, Steve Gurney was filling out an application for a small apartment. One of the things his new landlord wanted to know was which funeral home to contact if he died.

Gurney wasn't moving into an ordinary apartment -- he was going to an assisted-living facility, where the units usually are occupied by older people who aren't terribly sick but nonetheless need help with day-to-day activities.

Gurney isn't elderly -- he's 43, married and has two children. He's in good health.  more...

Suing over excess loan fees

By Tara-Nicholle Nelson, Wednesday, October 28, 2009.

In the case Thomas et al. v. US Bank et al., several Missouri homeowners received high loan-to-value-ratio second mortgages from an originator, up to 125 percent of the appraised value of their homes. The mortgages were later sold to various lenders.

After the originator, FirstPlus Bank, went out of business, the homeowners filed suit against the lenders, alleging that they were charged loan fees in violation of the Missouri Second Mortgage Loan Act (MSMLA), which regulates lending practices on second mortgages secured by homes located in Missouri.  more...

Real estate can be a lonely place Premium Content

By Kris Berg, Wednesday, October 28, 2009.
Flickr photo by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/bionicteaching/2041278305/" target=blank>bionicteaching</a>.

My husband was talking to another agent about the latest drama in our little real estate neighborhood. It involved one more in the steady stream of personnel changes we have become accustomed to in this market.

"Did you hear that (Agent 'X') left (Company 'A') to team up with (Agent 'Y') at (Company 'B')?" he asked.

Agents change logos all the time; this is nothing new.  more...

Secret to painting galvanized steel

By Bill and Kevin Burnett, Wednesday, October 28, 2009.

Q: I have galvanized steel railings that were painted a few years ago with two coats of epoxy paint. Now it is peeling off in large chunks.

I can't seem to get a definitive answer from the painters I've asked as to what paint to use and how to apply it. Recommendations have included everything from Rust-Oleum to oil-based paint to using epoxy again. I was hoping you could steer me in the right direction.

A: The secret to a long-lasting paint job on any surface is in the preparation. A good-quality paint should not fail after only a few years.  more...

Transparency works both ways Premium Content

By Robert Hahn, Wednesday, October 28, 2009.
Flickr photo by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/spilt-milk/2882642676/in/set-72157604069131486/" target=blank>yoppy</a>.

There was a time when baseball was called America's pastime. Ah, those innocent bygone days of lazy Saturday afternoons in Mayberry ...

The America we live in today is a little bit different. Our national pastime is probably video games, and our national sport is without question the grand obsession that is the National Football League. Football is America writ large: aggressive, competitive, passionate.  more...

House of horrors

By Bernice Ross, Wednesday, October 28, 2009.
Flickr photo by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/barelyfitz/28626934/">BarelyFitz</a>.

When you're in the real estate business, sooner or later there will be a house that someone says is haunted. The story below is true. Were these events just coincidence or were they something else?

When I was working on my doctorate, my closest friend and study partner was living in a new house in Orange County, Calif. She was in the antique business. Her home was like a showcase, every last inch of it beautifully decorated. When I met her, she was in the process of getting a divorce.  more...

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