Creating an outdoor oasis is touted as the second most popular home remodel behind a kitchen makeover. “We’re bringing the inside out because island barbecues come with refrigerators, storage drawers, side burners. Our islands are [designed] so you can put CD stereos in them, televisions, mood lighting,” says Frank Camarena, Cal Spas. But with summer winding down and the seasons turning colder, is it too late to put this remodel in the works? Not if you plan to make your outdoor oasis useable 365 days a year by creating a sunroom.

Today, many homeowners are turning sunrooms into home offices, second bedrooms, and extra sitting rooms. Inside sunrooms homeowners are building pools, spas and other relaxing amenities. A sunroom is different from a standard room addition “because of the panoramic view that you can achieve with a sunroom, you get the real feeling of having an outdoor feeling but being protected from the [weather] elements, the temperature, the bugs,” explains Chavez. Whether you’re considering an outdoor oasis or a sunroom, the most important things to consider are the size of space you want to dedicate to the addition, the glass technology that you’ll use (if you’re building a sunroom), and, as with any remodel, do your homework to find a reputable, trustworthy contractor to do the work. (more…)

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Remember the days when a home would go up for sale and within hours the homeowner would be popping open a bottle of champagne, dancing on the front lawn, and celebrating the substantially-over-the-asking-price offer they received? Then, they are gone so quick you only learn of their exit when you notice a new family working in the yard. Then, they put the very same home on market a year later, get a substantially-over-the-asking-price offer, and they disappear like smoke in a high wind. Remember those days?

It is important to note that the final listing price is always your call. But as real estate agents, it is our duty to advise you on a realistic price range based on the most current market data. However, an agent who comes in with a market value that is so much higher than anything else you have seen could push those emotional buttons and makes you forget this is a business decision and should be treated as such! Be aware because this is a tactic. It’s called “buying the listing” and it can be a very frustrating experience. You see, that agent has no intention of trying to get that price for your home. He just wants to get your signature on a contract and then beat you down—or let the market do it for him—and get a price reduction. Many times, you will have to reduce your price even lower than you would have in the beginning to just to catch up with competition. (more…)

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While a growing number of consumers are looking to cash in on the changing real estate market, another group is trying to figure out how to keep from cashing out. The 115,292 homes nationwide entering some stage of foreclosure in August remains historically low, but the rate of increase in the number is becoming alarming. August foreclosures represented a 24 percent increase from July — the second highest this year — foreclosures are up 38 percent for the year so far and 53 percent compared to where they were this time last year.

Blame it on those nasty mortgage IEDs (Improvised Equity Devices) — high leverage, high risk loans that are easy to come by, but financially explosive as time goes by. Mortgage IEDs are typically ARMs, in a host of varieties, that typically start off with low rates, but, in this market, continually adjust upward. Along with the higher interest rate, so goes your monthly mortgage payment. When the loans come with interest-only payment terms, if you only pay the interest and your home value shrinks, your mortgage could become larger than your home’s value giving you no room to bail out without coming up with the cash to cover the difference. (more…)

search for : real estate market, oreclosures, Improvised Equity Devices, ARM, monthly mortgage payment, interest-only payment

Everything looks better from above. Especially when you’re looking at autumn’s burnt ambers, scorching reds and brilliant oranges aboard a lollipop-colored hot air balloon, floating a mile over the mountains. Leaf peeping aboard a hot air balloon can be an experience of a lifetime in Western North Carolina, one full of magical views, calm winds and quiet admiration for the wondrous change of seasons.

“It’s just spectacular,” said Asheville Hot Air Balloons co-owner Rick Bowers, who helps run the business with Candler native Danny Smith. “It’s like a painter’s palette. When we have a good fall, it’s very vibrant, and you can see for miles.” Through the 25-year-old balloon company - the only one in Asheville - the owners have seen each autumn from above, watching the leaves change as the temperatures drop. “Every day is different,” Bowers said. “It’s so clear, you can see forever.” (more…)

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Reserve studies are one of the most powerful planning tools in an HOA board’s arsenal. It provides a 30 year schedule for major repairs and replacements and a funding plan so the board can gather the gold it needs to get projects done as they come due. It’s a wonderful thing.

No one has control over these elements and those triggered by the Three Ws: Weather, War and Weality (a bit of alliterative license with “reality”). Life in various forms simply happens and can have a dramatic impact on financial forecasts like reserve studies. So, all reserve studies need to be reviewed and revised each and every year to remain accurate. Not all reserve study update factors carry the same financial weight and impact. The skewing of inflation rate and investment yields alone can swing a medium sized reserve fund hundreds of thousands of dollars over a thirty year period. For the most current inflation rate, go to www.inflationdata.com. (more…)

search for : HOA, inflation rate, investment yields

Gearing up for what could be a tough year-end season, the vacation home travel industry didn’t wait for summer to end when it released tips to help property owners tune up marketing efforts to keep properties full this fall and winter. Total domestic travel expenditures by U.S. tourists is expected to rise at a rate of only 4.1 percent this year, compared to nearly twice that much, 7.5 percent last year, according to the Travel Industry Association of America.. TIA reported expenditures for domestic tourism by U.S. travelers dropped by 1.1 percent in 2002, the year after the day of infamy when terrorists turned commercial jetliners into missiles used in three U.S. cities.

While the vacation rental sector says it’s weathering the slowed growth better than the overall industry, vacation home rentals are not immune to economic conditions. The industry also faces increased competition as record numbers of Americans purchased second homes in recent years. Many purchased them as investment properties, including vacation rental. “For many second home owners, vacation rental income is crucial for paying the mortgage. But with interest rates and other costs rising, it is difficult to boost rental prices since there are so many properties now on the market. It’s brutal out there,” said Yardley, PA-based Alfred Glossbrenner, who along with his wife, Emily, self-published “How To Make Your Vacation Property Work For You”, a guide book and CD-ROM for vacation home landlords. (more…)

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A lot of baby boomers are now in their 50s and in mid-life many are enjoying new-found and improved finances: The generation before is dying off, in many instances leaving behind substantial wealth, assets and ongoing income. But such munificence does not touch all households. It presumes that in an earlier time all could acquire a home with some ease, that loans were equally available on the basis of credit alone, and that we could each work for the education we wanted and in the profession we preferred and thus have equal access to income.

It wasn’t long ago that segregation was the law in many states and “gentlemen’s agreements” elsewhere prevented integrated housing. Quotas were used to keep African-Americans, Jews, Catholics, Asians and women out of colleges, banks, stock brokerages and various businesses — thus limiting incomes and opportunities. Deeds were written with specific prohibitions against possession by or resale to blacks, Jews, and Assyrians. Neighborhoods were “redlined” to reduce or eliminate mortgage options (and thus ownership opportunities) for minorities. Country clubs were notoriously restricted regardless of financial success. It wasn’t until 1960 that we had our first Catholic president, John Kennedy. (more…)

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I am selling my home myself. Am I required to disclose to the buyer that our new neighbors are considering adding an addition to their home and are relocating their driveway closer to our property line? The neighbors recently moved in and we only have spoken with them once about their plans. They have not begun any building, nor should there be any boundary dispute because they recently had a survey completed on the property.

The first is the seller’s legal obligation to disclose any known defects. Requirements vary from state to state, but in general, laws no longer uphold the “buyer beware” standard that prevailed a generation ago. Rather, the burden is on sellers to convey a property that isn’t necessarily perfect, but which has, as the old Holiday Inn commercial put it, “no surprises.”

In Ohio, the Real Estate and Licensing Division of the state’s Department of Commerce provides a four-page disclosure form on its Web site. It’s pretty straightforward and spells out the condition of all the systems that are likely to concern a buyer, from the roof to the lawn sprinklers, as well as the presence of mold and hazardous materials like asbestos and radon. It also details whether the property is in a flood plain or has historic status. By filling out the form, you’re not warranting the condition of your home; you are simply letting the buyer know what’s wrong with it and what you have repaired.

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One of the most important aspects of the investment game is creating a positive cash flow from your rental properties. The basic principles apply: buy low/sell high; cover your monthly expenses with your monthly rental payments; go to the bank a happier, richer person. Setting up just how much you want to walk away with each month, however, isn’t as simple as adding up all your expenses, tacking on an additional 25 percent and sitting back waiting for the tenants to move in.

There are two basic systems for determining the rent to charge. The first is “return on investment,” directed by how much money you want to make on your investment plus the amount of annual expenses for the investment. For example: if you put $20,000 down on a property and you want to receive a 10 percent return on that down payment (total of $2,000 per year); First add up all your expenses (say, $12,000 per year for mortgage and $2,000 for maintenance and upkeep). Then add in the desired annual return, thus you would need to bring in $14,000 per year in rental income to meet your goal — ergo, the rent charged would be $1,200 per month. (more…)

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For cash-strapped homeowners, it was a pitch they couldn’t refuse: Refinance your mortgage at a bargain rate and cut your payments in half. New home buyers, stretching to afford something in a super-heated market, didn’t even need to produce documentation, much less a downpayment. Those who took the bait are in for a nasty surprise. While many Americans have started to worry about falling home prices, borrowers who jumped into so-called option ARM loans have another, more urgent problem: payments that are about to skyrocket.

The option adjustable rate mortgage (ARM) might be the riskiest and most complicated home loan product ever created. With its temptingly low minimum payments, the option ARM brought a whole new group of buyers into the housing market, extending the boom longer than it could have otherwise lasted, especially in the hottest markets. Suddenly, almost anyone could afford a home — or so they thought. The option ARM’s low payments are only temporary. And the less a borrower chooses to pay now, the more is tacked onto the balance. The bill is coming due. Many of the option ARMs taken out in 2004 and 2005 are resetting at much higher payment schedules — often to the astonishment of people who thought the low installments were fixed for at least five years. And because home prices have leveled off, borrowers can’t count on rising equity to bail them out. (more…)

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