About Us
Tony and Libby Kelly, MBA, M.Ed. are ranked in the top 1% of REALTORS in Portland Metro. They have been featured on HGTV's "House Hunters" 3 Episodes & "My House is Worth What?" 4 Episodes.
Mortgage Modification
It stands to reason that if a bank makes a loan more affordable for a borrower they are less likely to default on that loan. So why are banks just now deciding to finally get in there and make some modifications? Even now only 4% of homeowners in need of a loan modification are receiving them.
Some how they seemed to have finally gotten the message that they should be taking what they can get. Foreclosures are very costly because of commissions, legal expenses, taxes and the HUGE loss in value of the property that would cause the bank to take a giant hit.
Some home owners are heading to events hosted by the Neighborhood Assistance Corporation of America. Many lenders from most major banks are in attendance to help restructure loans based on what they could afford. They say that 40% of borrowers leave these events with a decision made on their loan modification.
Most of the restructured loans result in lower interest rates. Some even go as low as 2%. Looks like the banks are finally starting to play ball. Those working these events will sit down with a borrower and then start at the top and work their way down through the list of possible solutions. Then the lender decides whether this solution financially benefits the bank over foreclosure. Especially in the hard-hit areas of the country, foreclosure is just too costly.
http://money.cnn.com/2009/12/16/real_estate/great_mortgage_modifications/index.htm
PLEASE CHECK OUT OUR WEBSITE http//:www.TonyandLibby.com
Nesting
Those who have the means are fixing up their current homes. There is a lot more “nesting” going on lately as more and more people are inquiring into updating their property.
Many home owners are looking for more space but after looking at the options, decide to remodel instead of buy a new home. Often they find that they like their home, neighborhood, schools etc… That is why they bought it! Many times the numbers come out in favor of remodeling versus moving anyway.
Those in construction say that they are getting many more inquiring phone calls about remodel jobs but, because of the economy, are less likely to become a sale and if they do buy it is usually for less money. Good news Bad news. People are not quite able to spend like they did (bad news) but the interest is certainly there (good news). It is only a matter of time before the economy encourages those people to pull the trigger.
One thing holding back those who are interested in a remodel is financing. It is still quite difficult to get a loan and many of those having work done are paying in cash.
Another reason to do some updating around the house is the $1,500 federal tax credit for energy efficient home improvements. Not only will it lower your bills but also improve your tax return.
http://money.cnn.com/2009/12/04/real_estate/remodeling_picks_up/index.htmPLEASE CHECK OUT OUR WEBSITE http//:www.TonyandLibby.com
Loan Servicers Under the Microscope
The Obama administration has decided to pressure loan servicers to do what they said they would do, which is help homeowners long term.
Many, many borrowers are stuck in trial adjustments when we really need to get them into permanent modifications. The government will be sending teams to the various institutions to evaluate what is taking so long. Banks will have to submit progress reports twice a day during December.
$75 billion has been spent to help home owners but so far only 1,711 of those in the trial modifications have been moved to a permanent loan modification.
The financial institutions have claimed that home owners are simply not turning in their paperwork. Home owners are saying that their paperwork keeps getting lost by the bank. Personally I have had to spend many hours on the phone with a bank or two on behalf of clients and I have a really hard time believing that very many of these are the fault of the home owners. I believe that, that is what the government will discover as well, if they really dig deep while visiting those financial institutions.
For example, the Obama Administration has had to do this before. The Treasury and Housing department officials brought bank executives to Washington, D.C. to get them to increase their trial modifications. Then a report was published to display the efforts of each institution. This brought up numbers dramatically. That just shows that they were not doing all they could on the honor system. Hopefully this new plan will again get financial institutions to ramp up their efforts. It’s just sad that these measures are necessary.
http://money.cnn.com/2009/11/30/news/economy/permanent_modifications/index.htm
PLEASE CHECK OUT OUR WEBSITE http//:www.TonyandLibby.com
Home Sales Riding High
Many first-time home buyers decided to take advantage of the expiring tax credit. Add in low mortgage rates with falling prices and the home sales in October were their highest level in 2 1/2 years. As a result, home sales are 37 percent above from their bottom in January.
Now that the tax credit has been extended and expanded to include more than just first-timers, the housing market is expected to be sustained next year.
The economy as a whole will benefit only slightly from higher home sales due to weak home construction, rising foreclosures and slow job creation.
The government is trying to keep mortgage rates around 5% and they are extending the tax credit for buyers. The idea is to counter-act the still falling home prices due to foreclosure after foreclosure being put on the market.
The October report of home sales reflects the offers made previous to the tax credit extension. This shows that the credit really did it’s job. Sales traditionally drop during the winter but the extended credit could mean great things for home sales in spring!
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/34105403/ns/business-real_estate/
PLEASE CHECK OUT OUR WEBSITE http//:www.TonyandLibby.com
Portland Oregon Market Report
October Residential Highlights
Sales activity in the Portland metro area continued an upward trend compared to same-month sales from a year ago. Pending sales were up 64% compared to October 2008 and closed sales rose 37.1%. New listings dropped 4.5%. The 64% jump in pending sales is the largest same-month increase since February 1996. The 2,009 closed sales this October was the highest total since August 2007 and its 37.1% same-month increase is the largest since January 2005. Compared to September 2009, closed sales increased 11.6% (2,009 v. 1,800), but pending sales dropped 9.1% (2,079 v. 2,286). New listings also fell 4.3% (3,443 v. 3,599). At the month’s rate of sales, it would take approximately 6.5 months to sell the 13,101 active residential listings. This is the lowest mark for inventory since August 2007.
Year-to-Date
Comparing January-October 2009 with the same period in 2008, pending sales are up 1.8%. Closed sales are behind last year’s total by 8.8%. New listings are down 20.5%.
Sale Prices
The average sale price for October 2009 was down 12.6% compared to October 2008, while the median sale price declined 10.9%. Month-to-month, the average and median sale price were mixed when compared with September levels; the average sale price was down
2.3% ($283,500 v. $290,100) and the median sale price increased 1.5% ($245,000 v. $241,400).
Budgeting Issues
Oregon has just been named as one of 10 U.S. states at greatest peril of following California over a state budgetary cliff.
The national economy has begun to rebound but Oregon is likely to have a harder time. Unemployment is expected to remain high, which leads to lower tax revenues, which makes coming up with enough money to pay for schools and other public services difficult.
On top of high unemployment rates voter mandates that include long sentences for repeat criminal offenders mean some budget cuts are off limits.
California drew national attention to the risk that states would go broke when it had to issue IOUs to contractors and taxpayers this year because it simply could not pay for essential state services. So now other states are being studied to see if similar issues are surfacing around the country.
There are some options that Oregon voters have to counteract this possible catastrophe. They could give lawmakers more leeway in the spending and taxing decisions. Most importantly they could reverse the mandatory kicker rebate that Oregonians get when there is left over money, this prevents the state from acquiring any reserves for a rainy day.
These options are long term solutions though and some tough choices need to be made to save us in the next year or two.
http://www.oregonlive.com/politics/index.ssf/2009/11/oregon_among_10_states_at_grea.html
PLEASE CHECK OUT OUR WEBSITE http//:www.TonyandLibby.com
Bottoming Out?
The majority of U.S. cities experienced an upswing in the median price of single-family homes sold during the three months that ended Sept. 30th. This is the second consecutive quarter of gains. Nation wide the median home price went up $7,000 from the previous quarter.
The number of homes on the market has started to decrease indicating that we are closer to price stabilization. The concern is maintaining a steady number of buyers who are employed and therefore qualified to buy a home.
Much of the recent increase in home prices has been attributed to the government’s first-time homebuyer tax credit. Which is probably why an extension and expansion to that credit was approved recently.
The $8,000 tax credit to first time buyers was scheduled to expire on Dec. 1st. Now, not only will it be in effect through the end of June, but those who have owned and occupied a residence for the last five years (out of eight) can trade up and get a $6,500 tax credit. Homebuyers must sign a contract before April 30 and close by June 30. The income limits were also raised: Single buyers can now earn up to $125,000 and still get the full credit while a married couple can earn $225,000.
This could be as helpful, or maybe even more helpful then the previous version because so many more people will qualify.
http://money.cnn.com/2009/11/10/real_estate/latest_home_prices/index.htm
http://money.cnn.com/2009/11/06/real_estate/tax_credit_extended/index.htm
PLEASE CHECK OUT OUR WEBSITE http//:www.TonyandLibby.com
Bringing Predators to Justice
As we all know by now, the current state of the economy was created by mortgage lenders who were giving out money to people who did not previously qualify.
In the aftermath, many are now taking these banks to court for unfair and predatory practices. Banks have been going through these lawsuits for years but recently the number has jumped. Some have already settled out of court for millions of dollars. Banks like Wells Fargo and Countrywide have been sued by homeowners in an effort to keep their homes.
Some are seeking money for damages because they’ve already lost their house or paid off their mortgage. Others are looking for a loan modification, they just want their mortgage to be affordable.
Many have joined in on class action lawsuits because they do not agree with practices like high interest rates, misleading introductory rates and lack of income verification. These practices are called predatory because these loans are pretty much unaffordable, and given to people who do not understand what they are signing.
An example of these unaffordable loans is the originated payment option adjustable-rate mortgage. This type of loan allows borrowers to make very low monthly payments, and the unpaid interest is then added to the principal.
Even the NAACP is suing claiming discrimination against minority borrowers.
The largest predatory lending settlement was with Bank of America. They agreed to spend $8.4 billion to lower the interest rates or loan balances of nearly 400,000 Countrywide customers with subprime loans or payment option ARMs. This made the number one mortgage lender in the country accountable for putting borrowers in loans they didn’t understand, couldn’t afford and could not get out of.
PLEASE CHECK OUT OUR WEBSITE http//:www.TonyandLibby.com
Grand Hotel
Was anyone besides me wondering what in the world they’ve been building behind the Bridgeport Whole Foods? Well the Tigard Times tells me that it is a new hotel. Someone didn’t get the news about the economy. But sometimes a down economy is the perfect time to act.
A family-run Salem company called VIPS Industries opened up the Grand Hotel in August. They used to own a restaurant on this same spot but it did not work out. Then Bridgeport Village moved in and an opportunity arose. VIPS Industries always knew this location would be great, that is why they held on to it.
The new hotel has 124 rooms and suites, complimentary breakfast, meeting rooms, a pool and its own parking garage.
http://tigardtimes.com/news/story.php?story_id=125485285982056600
PLEASE CHECK OUT OUR WEBSITE http//:www.TonyandLibby.com
Priced By Location
We all know the saying Location! Location! Location! but how big of an impact does it really have on home value. How much would your house be worth if you picked it up and moved it across the country?
An index that come out on Wednesday compared similar homes in “move-up buyer” neighborhoods. It compares the prices charged for 2,200-square-foot, four-bedroom, two-and-one-half bath, single-family homes in more than 300 markets around the nation.
$363,401 is the average for the U.S. but in Grayling, Michigan it sells for just $112,675. That makes Grayling the most affordable market in the nation.
La Jolla, California is on the other end of the spectrum. A comparable house there will run you $2.125 million. What does La Jolla have that Grayling doesn’t? Weather for one. They don’t have rush hour traffic and they are 15 minutes from downtown San Diego.
Grayling has much to love, like all the outdoor activities in and around the Au Sable River, but Michigan has a much slower economy.
Variations are not only between states but within states. California holds 8 of the top 10 highest priced markets, but there are some affordable towns here too. Just north of L.A. is Lancaster where the sample home would go for $165,205 which is almost $2 million less than in La Jolla, California.
Some states have much less variation. Oklahoma’s price spread is less than $10,000. In Boise, Idaho homes cost $215,432 compared with $204,518 in Coeur d’Alene
http://money.cnn.com/2009/09/23/real_estate/home_price_comparison/index.htm?postversion=2009092316
PLEASE CHECK OUT OUR WEBSITE http//:www.TonyandLibby.com
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Tuesday, April 17th, 2012
Ten tips to prepare your home to list. Agency Info
Keller Williams Realty Portland Premiere
17700 SW Upper Boones Ferry Rd
Portland, OR 97224