Archive for the 'General' Category
May 2010 Jobs Report Gives A Temporary Boost To Home Affordability
June 4th, 2010 categories: General, Jobs
On the first Friday of each month, the Bureau of Labor Statistics releases its Non-Farm Payrolls data from the month prior.
The release is more commonly called “the jobs report” — a major factor in mortgage rates and monthly payments.
Especially now.
With the recession officially over and growth returning to the U.S. economy, the recovery’s next frontier is jobs. As job growth increases, home affordability should take a hit. Here’s why:
- As the number of working Americans increases, so should total consumer spending
- As consumer spending increases, so should a return to risk-taking on Wall Street
- As risk-taking returns to Wall Street, bond markets should start to lose
Mortgage rates, therefore, should rise.
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Will The Knoxville Housing Market Slow Down After The Tax Credit Expires??
April 22nd, 2010 categories: General, Home Price Index, Home Values, Homebuyer Tax Credit, Housing Starts, Market Trends
After a strong March showing and a surprise upward-revision for February, Housing Starts are, once again, trending better.
It’s yet another signal that the housing market in Farragut and nationwide is stabilized.
A Housing Start is a new home on which construction has started and, over the last 6 months, home builders are averaging one half-million starts per month.
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Are The Taxes High On Your Knoxville Area Home??
April 22nd, 2010 categories: Existing Home Sales, General, Real Estate Taxes, Sellers
More than 60 percent of U.S. homes are “over-assessed”, says an industry trade group. Homeowners in Farragut pay more in property taxes than they otherwise should have to. You might be one of them.
Have you considered fighting your real estate tax bill?
In this 4-minute piece from The Today Show, you’ll learn:
- When to file your tax bill dispute for the best chances of winning
- How to pull your “property card” and check for tax bill-raising errors
- What to do if the taxing authority turns down your request
Most importantly, you’ll learn that don’t need to hire an attorney to fight your tax bill. You just need to be prepared. Do your research and make your case. It’s estimated that nearly half of all contesting homeowners are successful.
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7 Steps To Have A Successful Knoxville TN Short Sale…Part 6
April 13th, 2010 categories: Buyers, General, Knoxville Short Sales, Market Trends, Sellers
Part 6 The Knoxville Short Sale Packet “Working With The Negotiator
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In my last post we talked about part 5 “Getting the packet to the lender”. Today we are going to cover working with the negotiator. This is the most crucial part of a Knoxville Short Sale. If you have done everything correctly up to this point in assembling the short sale packet it can go pretty smoothly. If you haven’t gotten the lender a complete packet it can be a complete nightmare.
You have to remember negotiators have so many files on their desks that the complete packets get done first and have a better chance to get to a closing. The negotiator is in another part of the country most of the time and doesn’t know the Knoxville TN real estate market. They have gotten a BPO (Broker Price Opinion) already with a value on the home. But along with our short sale packet we include a MLS printout on the home, three comparable homes that have sold, a detailed repair list with pictures of the home, along with a letter from me about the current market conditions and the condition of the home.
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7 Steps To Have A Successful Knoxville TN Short Sale…Part 5
April 12th, 2010 categories: Buyers, Foreclosures, General, Knoxville Short Sales, Market Trends, Sellers
Part 5 The Knoxville Short Sale Packet “Getting The Packet To The Lenders”
In my last post we talked about part 4 “About The Buyer”. Today I’m going to cover getting the “Short Sale Packet To The Lenders”
This can be the most frustrating part of a Knoxville Short Sale getting the short sale packet to the lender. The first thing my team does when we list a home for sale that is going to be a short sale is call the loss mitigation department. We confirm the correct fax number and then we fax the authorization to release information about the home. By doing this prior to having an offer it gets a file setup on the property with the loss mitigation department. Just this simple process can take up to a month and will save valuable time once you do have an offer. It has help us get our homes closed quicker .
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How To Refinance Knoxville Home Mortgage When Your Home Is Underwater
March 12th, 2010 categories: General, HARP, Knoxville Short Sales, Market Trends, Mortgage Rates, Sellers
Are You Upside Down On Your Knoxville Mortgage and Need Some Help??
The Federal Housing Finance Agency has extended the government’s Home Affordable Refinance Program by 12 months.
HARP’s new end date is June 30, 2011.
Originally known as Making Home Affordable, HARP aims to help Knoxville Tennessee homeowners refinance their mortgage who may otherwise be ineligible because of falling home values.
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Knoxville Home Buyers Only 7 Weeks Remain To Find A Home, Claim Up To $8,000 In Tax Credits
March 11th, 2010 categories: Buyers, General, Homebuyer Tax Credit, Market Trends, Mortgage Rates
Knoxville Home Buyers Now Is The Time To Buy!!
There many reasons to buy a home now like I pointed out in a post last week. This tax credit is just one of them.
In November, Congress extended and expanded the First-Time Home Buyer Tax Credit program to include a subset of “move-up” buyers — homeowners that have owned and lived in their home for 5 of the last 8 years.
The credit ranges up to $8,000 per buyer. There’s now just 7 weeks left to take advantage.
To be eligible, home buyers must be under contract for a new home no later than April 30, 2010, and must be closed no later than June 30, 2010.
In addition to meeting the deadline dates, there’s a basic set of requirements to be tax credit-eligible:
- You can’t purchase the home from a parent, spouse, or child
- You can’t purchase the home from an entity in which the seller is a majority owner
- You can’t acquire the home by gift or inheritance
- Each buyer in the purchase must meet eligibility requirements
There’s other criteria, too.
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Park in Honor Of Admiral James David Glasgow Farragut
March 8th, 2010 categories: General
On May 2,2010 there is going to be a new park in honor of Admiral James David Glasgow Farragut. The park area is next to the Town of Farragut. The park area and landscaping is already done and just waiting for the big day. There is going to to be a 7 ft statue of Admiral Farragut. The 7 ft sculpture of Admiral Farragut is being done by local sculptor Linda Rankin.
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December 2009 Case-Shiller Data Shows Battered Markets In Bona Fide Recovery
February 24th, 2010 categories: Buyers, Case-Shiller Index, General, Market Trends, Sellers, Statistics
Using data compiled in December, Standard & Poors released its Case-Shiller Index Tuesday. The report shows home prices down just 2.5% on an annual basis, a figure much lower than the 8.7% annual drop reported after Q3.
According to Case-Shiller representatives, the housing market is “in better shape than it was this time last year”, but some of the summer’s momentum has been lost. 15 of 20 tracked markets declined in value between November and December 2009.
Meanwhile, it’s interesting to note the 5 markets that didn’t decline — Detroit, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Phoenix and San Diego. Each of these metro regions were among the hardest hit nationwide when home prices first broke. Now, they’re leading the pack in price recovery.
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How To Replace Your HVAC Air Filter
February 22nd, 2010 categories: General, Home How To
If you are challenged like I am around the house. I’m always looking for little tips on “How TO” do easy things like replacing and air filter.
Replacing a home’s heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) air filter is one way to keep the unit’s motor running right. It’s an oft-forgotten part of keeping a well-run home. And, it’s simple, too.
In the two-minute video above, you’ll learn how to replace an air filter from start-to-finish. There’s no need for tools and no need for experience — the job is about as basic as home maintenance jobs come.
Air filters should be changed at least quarterly but it’s okay to change on a monthly rotation, too — especially if your home has shedding pets, or is under construction or repair. Just remember that not all air filters are created equal.
In this famous video, we see how $0.99 filters can fail to get the job done. Spending $10-15 for a filter that works is a better idea.
Save money by buying in bulk.
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