Green Appliances

Choosing the right appliances for a new home or a remodel is easy if you apply a few simple steps. Do you know how you use the appliances you currently have? How many loads of laundry do you do a week? What kinds of laundry loads- mostly utilitarian clothing on normal cycles or would you benefit from a machine that accommodated handwashing and delicates? There are machines designed for energy efficiency like front loaders as well as top loaders that act as front loaders. Do you do a lot of dry cleaning? One way to help the environment and your wallet is to buy a washer that will handwash and a dryer unit that will dry flat items and those on hangers. How many dishwasher loads do you do? Are you often running a half full machine or do you have trouble fitting everything in one load? There are dishwashers that have 2 drawers you can run separately as well as considering adding a second drawer- type dishwasher in addition to a standard unit. How about the oven? Large family and lots of casseroles? There are a variety of double ovens available from two unit wall ovens to stoves that are double. If you are a gourmet, consider dual fuel which allows gas cooktop and electric oven for maximum efficiency. And keep in mind adding a convection oven for quicker cooking, energy efficiency and improved baked goods. Microwaves come with this option as well which can be a huge energy savings. The refrigerator needs special consideration. If you entertain a lot you might appreciate a armoire style which gives maximum shelf space to accommodate large platters. The freezer on the bottom of these units can also be larger and more efficient use of space. Remember to look for the energy star certification. Appliances use an estimated 20% of your total energy use for your home so energy efficient appliances can make a huge impact on your costs and the environment.

Prejudice against Pregnancy

The news coming from the mortgage industry seems to change on a daily basis.  Mortgage applications are on the rise; mostly due to refinancing of existing loans.  Mortgage profits are down, due to the rise in costs for appraisals and documentation for underwriting.  The mortgage industry is in a tizzy trying to comply with regulations that seem to change on an hourly basis.  The latest twist in lending is this: if you are a pregnant woman on maternity leave your income will not be considered as qualifying toward a loan.  In the past, if you had a letter from your employer guaranteeing your job upon the end of your leave, that was sufficient to secure your loan. Most Californians need two incomes to make the qualifying ratios for a home mortgage.  Eliminating your pregnant wife's income could eliminate your chances of obtaining a mortgage.  Lenders are running scared and rightly so.  First they are blamed for the lenient policies of the past which lead us to the sub prime lending debacle, when in fact, it was government policy that strongly encouraged them to enable everyone who wanted one to get a loan.  Now HUD has announced that they will investigate this discriminatory trend. Why do they require an "investigation"?  Why don't they just notify lenders that they will not prosecute them if a loan made to a pregnant woman who never returns to her job defaults?  Then lenders will return to moderate lending policies and everyone will benefit.

Repaint and Refresh

It is the standard advice from a sales professional to paint a home in neutral colors to facilitate an easy resale.  But what about your enjoyment of your home while you live there?  Paint is a quick and inexpensive way to update your home and it is easily changed. There are buyers who find  "Builder Beige" cold and off-putting.  So if you would like to know what the key color trends will be in 2011, here are some predictions covered in  Benjamin Moore's ColorPulse web conference:
Farm- colors influenced by nature.  Whites will be creamier, butter yellows and green will remain popular.  Earthy brown will replace cooler gray tones as the neutral.
Order- a sort of return to minimalism with strong graphic design in monochrome, primaries, or black and white with a hit of color.
Escape- influenced by fantasy and lush digital worlds.  Satin, pearl, frosty finishes in fairytale or dreamy shades.Think pink!
Tribe- rich spicy tones of orange, berry, brown and  bronze metallic. Texture in textiles and tribal patterns will influence this trend.
So if you are looking for a home improvement project to tackle consider refreshing your home with fresh paint.

Conservation in Your Backyard

The lack of water is a constant dilemma for California residents, as it is for many other states.  Our Mediterranean climate may be beautiful but it does not provide sufficient moisture to accommodate lush landscapes.  In many parts of our region, the terrain is considered semi-arid.  When we try to impose traditional ideas and standards of landscape to our climate we cause water usage to soar.  Xeriscaping, is the method of choosing drought tolerant plants suited to the local climate, along with garden design that captures environmental water.  Have you lost plants from water loss when watering restrictions are in place?  How much did that cost, not only in dollars but time and effort?  Some plants that are frequently used for xeriscaping are agave, cactus, lavender, juniper, sedum, and thyme.  Plants that are indigenous to our area would be ideal.  Local garden centers are a good resource as are several websites including http://xeriscapelandscaping.org.  Mulching and grading of soil are also used for rainfall retention.  So if your neighbor takes a backhoe to his front yard and creates a desert landscape, he just may be insuring you have enough water for your bubble bath tonight.

4 Trillion Upside Down

Bloomberg reports that American homeowners are 4 trillion dollars in the hole.  They took figures from the Federal Reserve on the outstanding mortgages versus market values to arrive at that number.  How will the housing market recover?  A large obstacle is the National Appraisal Protocol Policy which has established guidelines for appraisers that makes it practically impossible for values to begin to recover.  When an appraiser is limited to considering comparable properties for a sale that have closed in the last 3 months only, how can values creep up?  REO's now outnumber New Home Sales 19.5% as compare to 11%.  Does an REO property reasonably set the value for a neighborhood?  Resales account for 69.5% of sales but included in that figure are Short Sales which NAR  (National Association of REALTORS) reports count for  most of the homes closing today.  Short Sales are REO's waiting to happen and are by nature sold at fire sale pricing.  How can this be an accurate portrayal of true value?

Will Short Sale Incentives Succeed?

An interesting article in the current issue of DS ( default servicing) News explores the dilemma of  secondary lender capitulation in the short sale process.  Many short sales have been derailed by the second lien holder refusing to cooperate and agree to take little or nothing in the impending deal.  Under the Treasury Department's HAFA program there are a host of financial incentives for borrowers, servicers, and investors. But are the incentives for secondary lien holders enough to convince them to cooperate in a short sale scenario?  The secondary lien holder has other avenues for pursuing borrowers for the debt owed.  Statistics show that 52.2 percent of all second liens were held by Bank of America, Wells Fargo, JP Morgan Chase, and Citigroup as of the fourth quarter of 2009.  Do these names sound familiar?  These are our primary sources here in California.  How many borrowers in our area can buy a home without a second mortgage?  If these secondary lenders can pursue debtors, can HAFA incentives sweeten the deal enough?  In a non-HAFA transaction, Realtors, buyers, and even the primary lien holder can contribute to the second's portion of the deal.  But the usual result of a secondary lien holder's refusal or foot dragging is a foreclosure.  And in foreclosure nobody wins.

Short Sale Fraud?

The government program HAFA has strict guidelines concerning buyer responsibilities in a Short Sale.  As mentioned in our blog yesterday, the buyer can have no personal connection to the seller or lender in the transaction.  In addition, the buyer may not receive any funds from the transaction so no seller concessions can be demanded.  Lastly, the buyer cannot sell the property for 90 days after closing.. This is designed to prevent "flipping" of property.  These programs are aimed at homeowners, not investors.  There has been some issue of fraud being reported where a property is resold at a higher price a mere 2 months after closing as a Short Sale.  However, in these examples it is likely that the property was distressed and sold at a reduced rate.  The investor poured time and money into rehabilitating the property and then sold it at market value.  Should investors be able to take advantage of the current market?  Holding a property for the full 3 month time period could eliminate all the profit.  Improving properties and getting higher values for them increases the property values in a community which is good for everyone and is key to the housing recovery.  What do you think?