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Bankruptcy fails as foreclosure rescue

By Tara-Nicholle Nelson, Wednesday, November 4, 2009.

In this case, homeowner David Coletta secured a note for $60,000 with mortgages on two properties in favor of mortgage holder Nicholas Mattera. After the homeowner defaulted on payments on the note, Mattera filed a foreclosure action in the county court.

The homeowner's response failed to conform to the court's rules, and he was given an extension of time to respond appropriately. Instead of responding, the homeowner filed a Chapter 11 bankruptcy action, which automatically stayed the foreclosure proceedings. His attorney was unable to provide evidence that he notified Mattera of this bankruptcy filing. The homeowner failed to follow through with the bankruptcy case, and it was dismissed. more...

Build wealth the Trump way

By Tara-Nicholle Nelson, Tuesday, November 3, 2009.

Image courtesy of <a href="http://www.wiley.com/WileyCDA/WileyTitle/productCd-0470455829.html" target=blank>Wiley</a>.

Whether or not you're an aficionado of the get-rich-quick genre, you can't deny that the name Trump signifies smart, strategic and profitable real estate investments. Today's reality TV audience might primarily identify Trump as the possessor of an extremely swoopy comb-over or the frequent-bellower of "You're Fired!" But every time I'm tempted to give Trump less real estate street cred, which is always threatened with overshadowing by his reputation as the serial ex-husband or Rosie O'Donnell's staunchest foe, I remind myself of his initial real estate deal: buying the defunct Commodore Hotel for $10 million and rehabbing it into the Grand Hyatt, eventually selling his 50 percent share for $140 million (after securing $111 million in tax savings by way of a 40-year abatement he negotiated with New York City).

Note, though, that Trump didn't actually write this book. more...

Understanding home seller behavior

By Tara-Nicholle Nelson, Monday, November 2, 2009.

Flickr photo by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/deltamike/751707089/">deltaMike</a>.

You might recall from last week that a new friend of mine, Danielle LaPorte, wrote a guide to finding your "style statement" -- a two-word phrase that "define(s) the true you." While LaPorte's style statements describe the subject individual's aesthetic and world view, I couldn't help trying my hand at creating a few homebuyer profiles based on this principle. While a true style statement might be a phrase like "elemental power," I came up with style statements of typical homebuying behavior like "Decent DIYer" and "Righteous Nit-Picker."

With sellers, more than buyers, their selling style is not necessarily their usual, personal style of interacting with the world. We're specifically talking here about their style of thinking about this particular experience and transaction of selling their home. 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...

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...

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...

Reporter relives housing nightmare

By Tara-Nicholle Nelson, Tuesday, October 27, 2009.

Image courtesy of <a href="http://books.wwnorton.com/books/detail.aspx?ID=12158" target=blank>W.W. Norton & Co.</a>

Mea culpa.

So, in essence, begins "Busted: Life Inside the Great Mortgage Meltdown," by New York Times economics reporter Edmund Andrews. The entire book is succinctly summed up by its first sentence: "If there is anybody who should have avoided the mortgage catastrophe, it is me." Andrews goes on to inform the reader that he has covered the economy journalistically, including the Asian and Russian recession of the 1990s, the dot-com bomb of 2000, and the goings on at the Federal Reserve since 2003 -- yet in 2004 "joined millions of otherwise sane Americans in what we now know was a catastrophic binge on overpriced real estate and reckless mortgages." more...

House-hunting personality test

By Tara-Nicholle Nelson, Monday, October 26, 2009.

I recently had the great fortune to become acquainted with Danielle LaPorte, co-author of a book called "Style Statement." The book's purpose is to lead each reader through a series of questions resulting in a unique, two-word style statement. A style statement describes your personal style, and according to the book, "define(s) the true you …Your style statement is where your essence meets your expression."

Sample style statements from the book include "Enduring Bold," "Sacred Elegance" and "Structured Soul." more...

Homebuyer's tax savings plan foiled

By Tara-Nicholle Nelson, Friday, October 23, 2009.

Q: I recently got into contract to buy a foreclosed home. I put $35,000 down, and the closing is in a couple of days. The first day I hired my title attorney I mentioned to her that I wanted my mother to be on the deed in order to get the taxes reduced. Now, the lawyer is telling me that I have to wait until after the closing, do a new title search under my Mom's name, and pay the attorney again to include my Mom on the deed. I feel like it's too late to stop everything now -- what did I do wrong?

A: It used to be the case that you couldn't put a co-owner who was not also a co-borrower on title during the course of a purchase transaction. more...

Best buyer's agent: stranger or family?

By Tara-Nicholle Nelson, Thursday, October 22, 2009.

Q: Do you think it's OK to use a member of your family as a buyer's agent? What kind of problems do you think we will run into using a family member as our Realtor?

A: I am aware of the old adage cautioning against doing business with family members and friends. However, I am also aware, from personal experience, that when the stakes are as high as they are in a homebuying transaction, it is critical that your agent care intensely about you and your best interests. Who would care more than your relative?

But you are right to have concerns and to think about the pros and cons. There are a number of implications to take into consideration before working with your family member as your buyer's agent. more...

Losing home to lender fraud

By Tara-Nicholle Nelson, Wednesday, October 21, 2009.

In the case Martin et al. v. Harpaz et al., homeowners Isaac and Lizzette Martin were building a new home and took out a series of construction loans to fund the project. The lender, Yair Harpaz of Private Investors Financing, claimed to have funded the third loan, but in fact only partially funded it.

Because the third loan was never fully funded and the lender refused to cooperate with the homeowners' efforts to refinance the loans, the homeowners could not complete the construction and the lender foreclosed on the home despite the fact that the loan was not in default. more...

Bad policies inflating new bubble?

By Tara-Nicholle Nelson, Tuesday, October 20, 2009.

Image courtesy of <a href="http://www.catostore.org/index.asp?fa=ProductDetails&method=&pid=1441442" target=blank>Cato Institute</a>.

Somewhere I once read a description of homeowners' habitual equity-tapping before the bubble burst so vivid it embossed an image permanently on my brain. The exact words I don't remember, but my mental image is of a scientific laboratory, full of cages containing miniaturized homeowners, each pressing away at a lever on their mini homes to get their addictive fix of cash from their homes. Some of them go so far as to resemble Homer Simpson after scoring a doughnut, tongues lolling out as they drool, "Moneeeeeey. Goooooood."

That image came back to me afresh when I first read the title of Johan Norberg's new book, "Financial Fiasco: How America's Infatuation with Homeownership and Easy Money Created the Economic Crisis." more...

Buyers wary of recession's bottom

By Tara-Nicholle Nelson, Monday, October 19, 2009.

Flickr image by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/thepocket/30464789/" target=blank>The Pocket</a>.

Connoisseur of highbrow culture that I am, last week I watched the Wanda Sykes standup comedy special on HBO. Hilarious, if more than a little ribald. Anyhow, she does this bit about how people from every country think their national customs are superior to all others.

Her South American tour guide described a particular bird whose behavior is viewed as a predictor of whether the weather will be the same the next day. Sykes' French wife tried to one-up the tour guide, telling of a bird that, in her native land, is believed to predict rain with its song. Sykes trumped them both, declaring that in America, we have meteorologists who can predict the weather for five days out! more...

The new REO reality: above-asking offers

By Tara-Nicholle Nelson, Friday, October 16, 2009.

Q: I am in the market for a new home, and I am worried. My friend recently put an offer in on a house of $109,000, which was the list price. The bank came back with a counteroffer of $150,000! Is that even ethical? Can they really do that? Is that something I should be looking out for?

A: Your question reflects the essence of why I write this column. I know that's a little heavy, but let me explain. Hindsight for hindsight's sake sounds a little too much like fodder for guilt or blame or regret for my tastes. Those are probably three of the most counterproductive of all the human emotions, and definitely cause more harm than good. more...

Buyers applying $8K tax credit upfront

By Tara-Nicholle Nelson, Thursday, October 15, 2009.

Q: Is it true that if you are a first-time homebuyer and you purchase your home in 2009 that you can use the $8,000 tax credit towards the downpayment?

A: You'll find, in the real estate and mortgage world, that there are a number of big gaps between what is allowed, technically, and what is feasible, realistically. You have hit on one of those gaps, my friend.

Mindset Management

Mortgage rules and guidelines change very rapidly these days. It can be very tough to keep up with them, and sometimes difficult to know what you can and cannot do at any given moment in time. more...

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