• Shop online – You can score great money-saving deals online
   while avoiding the hype, crowds, and frustration of the malls.

• Plan another outing – Spend quality time with friends
   and family by taking in a movie or making a trip to the zoo

• Clean out your closets – You’ll reclaim precious closet space,
   and get a tax write-off for items donated to charity!

• Prepare your home for winter – A bit of caulk and weather
   stripping around drafty windows and doors will reduce winter energy bills.

• Relax! – Watch TV, read, or indulge in your favorite hobby. Enjoy

The most important thing to the seller: PRICE

Every seller is most concerned with trying to get the best price possible for their home. In order to do that, they must sell now.  Banks repossessed the highest number of foreclosed homes in history last month.  These houses will come to market at dramatically discounted prices. This is the main reason analysts are calling for another dip in prices over the next eighteen months.  The best advice a seller can receive is to sell their home now before these foreclosures come to market.

The most important thing to the buyer: COST

Price plays a part in the buyer’s decision.  However, the most important thing to most buyers is the cost – the mortgage payment they must pay every month.  That payment is determined by the price of the home AND THE INTEREST RATE ON THE MORTGAGE.  Rates are artificially low because of government intervention.  That will not last forever.

The National Association of Realtors (NAR) has projected that rates will rise over the next seven quarters. What will that do to the cost? Here are NAR’s projections and what impact it will have on a $100,000 mortgage:

As we can see, the interest rate has a major impact on the COST of the home.  Even if prices continue to fall, the cost may not go down if interest rates increase.

Bottom Line

Your real estate agent is trying to give the best advice they can to every family they work with – even if that advice seems to be counter intuitive.

As we posted on recently, there may be a window of opportunity throughout the rest of 2010 as the banks try to straighten out the paperwork on thousands of foreclosures.  Once that paperwork is corrected, the flow of distressed properties coming to the market at discounted prices will begin again.

This was mentioned in the latest  Home Price Expectation Survey.  Robert Shiller, MacroMarkets co-founder and chief economist said this:

 “Over the past month, the average projection for 2010 nationwide home price performance improved slightly among our experts, but for each year thereafter it deteriorated.  One plausible explanation for this month’s more negative overall sentiment is recent news concerning foreclosure processing questions and the related possibility of extending the supply pipeline.”

Other experts are also reporting that prices will soften next year

In October’s RPX Monthly Housing Market Report, CEO Michael Feder commented:

“We are at a flex point in housing valuation. With record supply, already paltry demand and systemic threats to a possible correction, we remain terribly concerned about forward home prices.”

The very next day, in a  special release, Clear Capital reported a “sudden and dramatic” drop in U.S. home prices:

Most recent data shows a two-month 5.9% price decline representing a magnitude and speed of decline not seen since March 2009; similar declines for September and October expected to appear in other industry indices in coming months.

Bottom Line

If you plan to sell within the next year, you shouldn’t wait for the spring market.  Price your home at a compelling price to make sure it sells in the next sixty days.

The housing market today is more challenging than it has ever been and seems to be becoming more difficult each day. What impact will foreclosures have on prices? Which loan products that were available just last month are no longer available? How do you convince perspective purchasers to pull the trigger on an offer when everyone is telling them that they should see another 100 houses before they make a decision? These are tough questions for a trained, experienced professional.  The lay person would find it almost impossible to keep abreast of this rapidly evolving industry.

1. Pricing Is Difficult

Just a few years ago, you didn’t have to worry about overpricing your home. If it was too high, all you needed to do was wait as historic appreciation was taking place. The situation is quite different today. With experts calling for another drop in home values, overpricing your property will cost you time. In this market, time costs you money. A professional real estate agent will discuss how increasing inventory could dramatically impact the value of your property in the months to come. They will help you set the right price in today’s market.

2. Negotiating Ability Is Crucial

Buyers today have an almost unlimited supply of homes from which to choose. They realize that puts them in a great negotiating position. Most buyers are now being represented by an agent. Sellers need to also be represented by a professional expert trained to negotiate real estate contracts.

3. Mortgaging Is Key to the Deal

The biggest impact of the housing market collapse is that lending standards are much stricter today than they were a few short years ago. Rules are constantly changing. Even FHA has gone through a guidelines overhaul in the last several months. You need a real estate expert who has teamed up with a knowledgeable mortgage professional to make sure that the buyer in the deal is in fact capable of obtaining a mortgage. Losing time with an unqualified buyer costs you money in a market where prices are falling.

4. Your Family’s Safety

We have always found it puzzling that the same person that will lock every door and window and set the alarm today will then allow total strangers into their house tomorrow. The real estate industry trains its practitioners to take steps to protect themselves and their clients. Take advantage of putting a person between you and the person calling on an ad or yard sign.

5. You Probably Have More Important Things to Do

Selling a home could turn into a full time job. Learning the necessary disclosures, coordinating the dates of your closings, dealing with a challenge regarding your appraisal and re-negotiating the offer after an engineer’s report are just a few of the concerns you may face. You would probably be better off spending that time with the items important to you and your family and leaving the challenges to your agent.

Bottom Line

To make sure the sale of your home is handled professionally – hire a trained professional. In the long run, you will wind-up with more money in your pocket and have fewer challenges with the move.

Bankruptcies and foreclosures can remain on a credit report for seven to 10 years.  Some lenders will consider a borrower  if they have reestablished good credit.   The circumstances surrounding the bankruptcy can also influence a lender’s decision. For example, if you went through a bankruptcy because your employer had financial difficulties, a lender may be more sympathetic.  However, if you went through bankruptcy because you overextended personal credit lines and lived beyond your means, the lender probably will be less inclined to be flexible.

The holiday season always inspires generosity, and in today’s challenging economic climate, there are many non-monetary ways to give back to your community. Check out the ideas below for inspiration, then add a few new ones of your own!

• Donate “gently worn” clothing and coats to a local shelter.
• Read to at-risk kids or help them with their homework.
• Collect and deliver toys to a charity or firehouse in your area.
• Hold a canned food drive to benefit your local food bank.
• Serve a meal at a senior center or soup kitchen.
• Organize a group to sing carols at a nursing home.
• Visit hospitals or nursing homes to cheer up patients
or residents who seldom get visitors.

For more volunteer ideas in your area, check out
Volunteer-Match (www.volunteermatch.org) or
Craigslist’s volunteer section (www.craigslist.org).

Banks have lifted their freeze on foreclosures. It seems a doomsday scenario will be averted. There is no way to absolutely predict what the fallout will be from the banks’ negligence in  their foreclosure filings. There will be lawsuits and some will cry out for the banks to make forms of restitution to injured parties. However, it seems the problem will not be of the magnitude originally expected.

The title companies who were threatening not to issue insurance to some foreclosed properties are softening their position as well. The Wall Street Journal reported:

Title insurers have decided not to require lenders to provide a blanket shield from claims caused by flawed foreclosures after discussions around crafting an industry-wide agreement fell apart.

… First American Financial Corp. said Thursday that the Santa Ana, Calif., company had concluded that requiring banks to indemnify the title insurer from foreclosure errors resulting in questions about who owns clear title to a property was unnecessary “given the actions taken by lenders to remediate deficiencies and to improve their processes going forward,” said Dennis Gilmore, First American’s chief executive.

… Stewart Title Guaranty Co. said in a statement Thursday that the unit of Stewart Information Services Corp., of Houston, “stands ready to issue its title insurance to purchasers of foreclosed properties from institutional lenders representing that they have followed all applicable legal processes.”

What is the germiest item in an office? It’s the humble telephone! Telephones are constantly close to people’s mouths, and are rarely disinfected. Tables and desks rank next on the dirty “hot list.” Computer keyboards and mice, shared pens, elevator or vending machine buttons, and handrails, which are in constant contact with human hands, are also natural nesting places for germs and viruses that can live on a surface for up to three days.

So, what can you do to make your office a cleaner place? Simply put, sanitize it. Among office workers who were instructed to clean their desks daily with disinfecting wipes, bacterial levels were cut by 99 percent, drastically reducing their chance of illness. Be aware of the places germs concentrate, and wash hands frequently to further guard against illness. And if you have to eat your lunch off anything in the office, try the photocopier. With just 69 germs per square inch, it’s almost as clean as the toilet seat!

It seems that the old adage is true – laughter really is the best
medicine. Laughing a mere 15 minutes a day – whether it be
giggling, chuckling or roaring with laughter – has been proven to
effectively lower your blood pressure, decrease stress and tension,
boost your energy, elevate your mood and rev up your blood
flow. If you need a little stress relief or a quick energy boost, find
something to give you a little chuckle – or better yet, a strong
bout of laughter. After all, it’s good for your health!

Laughter also creates joyful and happy feelings. When we feel down
and frustrated because of problems, laughing allows us to pull ourselves up by
the bootstraps, get back on solid ground, and gain some new insights or find a
solution to our problem. Remember to LOL (laugh out loud) frequently to stay
on track both physically and emotionally!

Here are some helpful tips:

Indoor Chores
• Add a second layer of insulation to your attic and consider installing storm windows and doors.
• Check and replace the batteries in carbon monoxide detectors.
• Get your furnace checked and tuned up by professionals. Keeping your heating system at its optimum efficiency could save you hundreds on heating costs.
• Check the weather-stripping and caulking on all windows and doors for damage and tightness of fit. Replace if you see gaps or cracks.

Outdoor Chores
• Remove debris from gutters and downspouts.
• Make sure waterlines and hose bibs are protected from freezing.
• Check the exterior for cracked or peeling paint. Repaint if necessary. This helps protect the wood from rot.