Fall Home Cleanup Tips from ShirLee

It’s about that time again!  The crisp/cool air, countless beautiful shades of colors, and plenty of enjoyable evenings around the bonfire await us.  Yet, amidst all these great things, there are certain preparations that you need to be aware of when getting ready for the fall season as well.

As a homeowner, it’s important that you take certain steps in order to protect your home’s condition and also your wallet.  So let’s explore 5 key areas that you ought to review over the upcoming weeks to be fully equipped for what lies ahead:

Routine furnace maintenance: Don’t hesitate to schedule an appointment for your furnace.  While trying to juggle work obligations, kids, school, chores, and much more, this is one of those areas that can easily be overlooked. But a couple hundred dollars now is much more reasonable than a few thousand later. 
Keep your furnace in good working condition and make sure you’re prepared for the colder temperatures.

Clean off your roof: As the leaves begin to fall, it’s important that you protect your roof from unnecessary moisture.  Take the time to clean off any debris that builds up before the winter months and ensure that your roof is patched from any basic wear and tear. 

This will be especially vital when winter snow begins to accumulate.  Also, clear out your gutters and scan the area around your chimney as well.  If there seems to be any places where water could leak in than it may be time to call a professional.

Prepare Your Pipes: First of all, don’t forget to unscrew any hoses or nozzles attached to the outside faucets.  For those who are using underground sprinklers, take the time to push out any remaining water from the summer.  Also, cleaning your septic system may be beneficial before the temperatures hit freezing.

Basic Crack Repair & Landscape: For those who have minor sidewalk or concrete damage, now may be a good time to fill some of those areas with something like Quikrete to avoid further damage.  This can help to keep water and moisture out, especially once snow hits.  Also, make sure to clear out the areas around your house where leaves have fallen, and cut back any other trees or shrubbery.

Insulation & Energy Efficiency: This can be a huge money waster!  For those who are rarely at home and constantly on the run, you may want to consider investing in a programmable thermostat.  This can save you hundreds of dollars alone by cutting back on unnecessary energy costs.  Especially with the rise in most utilities costs, this should certainly be considered.

Also, are there areas around your windows, doors or elsewhere that may be allowing draughts to enter your home?  Consider either having these places sealed or maybe investing in some new materials.  Depending on how long you plan to live at your current residence, the cost could certainly be justified.

Hopefully you have found these 5 tips to be helpful and informative.  Please visit us again soon, as we update our blog with other useful tips on a regular basis.       

Tell Congress to Reauthorize the National Flood Insurance Program

National Flood Insurance Program - Deadline September 30, 2011

The only way that a home owner can acquire a federally backed mortgage in over 21,000 communities is through the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP). There is virtually no private insurance market and standard home owner policies do not cover flood damage. Housing markets in many areas will come to a complete standstill unless this program gets reauthorized. Also, existing home owners whose mortgage requires them to have flood insurance may find themselves in default if the program lapses and they are unable to renew their policies before the 30-day grace period ends. Banks will not lend without a policy in place and the program cannot issue a flood policy without renewing the Congressional authority.

Without this insurance program more of the burden for the cleanup from a flood falls to tax payers in the form of federal post-disaster assistance. More hurricanes are already on the horizon and forecasts predict this to be a busy storm season. Combined with record rainfall and snow melt, flood disasters have also been declared all across the Midwest. We can expect to see more of the same just about everywhere. This program must be in place to help keep already fragile markets moving on the eastern seaboard and beyond

I wrote a letter to both my representatives in the Senate and Congress. Please send your call to action letter to your Senator and Congressman before the deadline of September 30, 2011. Here is an example of the letter...just personalize it.

Sep 19, 2011

Senator Orrin Hatch

Hart Senate Office Building, Room 104

Constitution Avenue and 2nd Street, NE

Washington, DC 20510-4402

Dear Senator Hatch,

As a constituent and REALTOR, I can testify firsthand about the critical need for certainty to local real estate markets, property owners and surrounding communities, particularly in times of economic recovery.  Yet, there have been nine stopgap extensions and five shutdowns of the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) since September of 2008; just one of the multi-week lapses last year alone caused 47,000 home sales to be delayed or cancelled in already down real estate markets. 

Now is not the time to add uncertainty.  For this reason, I urge you to reauthorize this vital program for a full five years, before September 30, 2011, when the program's authority is again set to expire.

Across the nation, the NFIP enables dozens if not hundreds of property owners to protect their family and property against floods, which claimed more lives and property than any other U.S. natural disaster over the past century.  Nationally, this program is the only source of flood-damage protection for 5.6 million home- and business owners, as well as the builders, remodelers, movers, furnishers, real estate professionals, mortgage lenders, investors, insurance agents and other companies upon which they relied to buy or sell property. Just as important, without a stable, functioning flood insurance program, real estate transactions in many of these neighborhoods across 21,000 communities nationwide could come to a standstill.

By ensuring access to affordable property insurance, NFIP saves taxpayers money. Insurance reduces the amount of post-disaster relief paid for by all taxpayers. However, this insurance is not available in the private market except for the wealthiest and highest valued property (at least $1 million), according to the General Accountability Office. Without this program, more property owners would have to turn back to the federal government and thus taxpayers for rebuilding assistance after the next major flood, as they did before the NFIP was created in 1968.

I respectfully request that you not allow another expiration of NFIP authority. For the sake of the communities, property owners, and taxpayers across the nation, please fully reauthorize this program for five years before the September 30, 2011, deadline. Real estate markets cannot afford any more uncertainty. 

Sincerely,

Ms. ShirLee McGarry

Gov’t Criticizes Banks for Failing More Home Owners

Bank of America and JP Morgan Chase, two of the country's largest lenders, are not doing enough th help home owners avoid foreclosure, the Treasury Departments said Thursday. Many home owners who have been eligible for loan modifications have been denied one, the Treasury Department said. The Treasury Department also criticized the lending giants for not doing enough to help home owners permanently lower their mortgage payments in the government’s Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP). Both JPMorgan Chase and Bank of America said they are working to improve their efforts with the program.
 

HAMP, which was launched in 2009, has been criticized for falling short of its goals to help millions of home owners avoid foreclosure by lowering their monthly payments. In the program, eligible home owners can receive interest rates as low as 2 percent for five years and repay their loans over a longer period. 
 

About 1.7 million home owners have received trial modifications through HAMP over the last two years, but more than half by the end of July had dropped out of the program before their loan modifications were made permanent. 

Home owners have accused banks of losing their documents or being slow in returning their phone calls, while banks have blamed home owners for failing to submit the necessary paperwork to make the loan modifications permanent.

Meanwhile, in other news on Thursday, banks are facing more criticism and possibly a lawsuit from the government. The Federal Housing Finance Agency, which oversees U.S. mortgage markets, reportedly plans to file a lawsuit against more than a dozen big banks--including Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase, Goldman Sachs, and Deutsche Bank, among others--accusing them of misrepresenting the quality of mortgages they packaged and sold during the housing bubble, The New York Times reports. The lawsuit is expected to be filed in federal court in the coming days. 

Source: “Government says Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase Need to Help More People Stay in their Homes,” Associated Press (Sept. 1, 2011) and “U.S. Is Set to Sue a Dozen Big Banks Over Mortgages,” The New York Times (Sept. 1, 2011)

Daily Real Estate News | Friday, September 02, 2011

Mortgage Rates Hover Around Record Lows

Mortgage rates this week are averaging at or near historic lows, Freddie Mac reports in its weekly mortgage market survey. 

"Weaker economic data reports eased upward pressure on mortgage rates this week and kept them at or near all-time record lows,” says Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac’s chief economist.

Here’s a closer look at rates for the week: 

• 30-year fixed-rate mortgages: averaged 4.22 percent this week, holding steady at last week’s average. Last year at this time, 30-year rates averaged 4.32 percent. Late last month, 30-year rates had reached a new record of 4.15 percent. 
• 15-year fixed-rate mortgages: averaged 3.39 percent this week, dropping from last week’s 3.44 percent average. Last year at this time, 15-year rates averaged 3.83 percent. 
• 5-year adjustable-rate mortgages: set an all-time record of 2.96 percent this week. This is the eighth consecutive week that the 5-year ARM has fallen and it is down from last week’s 3.07 percent average. A year ago, the 5-year ARM averaged 3.54 percent. 
• 1-year ARMs: averaged 2.89 percent, dropping from last week’s 2.93 percent average. A year ago at this time, the 1-year ARM averaged 3.50 percent. 

Source: “Mortgage Rates Remain at or Near Historic Lows,” Freddie Mac (Sept. 1, 2011)

Daily Real Estate News | Friday, September 02, 2011