Foreclosures

Bank of America is making it easier for states and cities to buy foreclosures before investors purchase them.The program is a result of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Neighborhood Stabilization Program, which aims to encourage redevelopment of neighborhoods hit hardest by foreclosure and the resale of properties to homeowners.Bank of America will notify participating cities that properties are available before they are listed on multiple listing services. The company will set the prices with no haggling allowed.“We’re balancing our desire to work with communities that are struggling to stabilize with our fiduciary duty to the investors that hold the paper on all these properties,” says Rob Grossman, senior vice president of community affairs for Bank of America. “We will offer them the best price.”

Economists: Slow recovery on tap

McLEAN, Va. – July 27, 2009 – The beginning of an economic recovery appears to be just a few months away but unemployment will continue to rise past 10 percent into next year, say economists surveyed by USA Today.The results lend support to growing forecasts for a sluggish and jobless start to the recovery. The jobless rate will peak at 10.2 percent, according to the median estimate of the 49 economists surveyed July 16-22. That’s up nearly a half-percentage point from the previous survey in April. The nation’s unemployment rate hit 9.5 percent in June, a 26-year high.About half of those surveyed said unemployment will peak in the first half of next year, while 16 percent said jobless rolls will swell into the latter part of 2010. The Federal Reserve forecasts unemployment peaking late this year at 9.8 percent to 10.1 percent.The economy is expected to grow again during the second half of this year, and slightly more robustly than the April survey projected. Yet, the median growth-rate estimate of 2 percent for the fourth quarter is weak by historical standards.“I think (the recovery) is going to be anemic,” says Allen Sinai, chief economist at Decision Economics. He cites debt-laden consumers as the main obstacle.“Households have to save a lot to fix their balance sheets before they can spend more,” he adds. “I don’t think consumers have the wherewithal to buy a lot of cars and a lot of houses.”Another factor slowing the turnaround is still-tight credit markets that will limit business expansion, UBS chief economist Maury Harris says.Overall, 63 percent of the economists say the recovery will be slow and gradual. Those surveyed expect businesses to continue to cut spending until early next year. As a result, Sinai says, unemployment will continue to rise.There are some bright spots.Two-thirds of economists say existing-home sales have hit bottom. Consumer spending has stabilized. And CEO confidence shot up in the second quarter, the Conference Board said recently. Such signals are prompting 37 percent of economists to predict a moderate or fast recovery.Bill Cheney, chief economist at MFC Global Investment, says the housing and automobile markets plunged so sharply that “both have the potential to generate some quite large percentage increases.” Consumers could be moved to open their wallets because of rising values on the stock market, he says.Chris Rupkey, chief financial economist at Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi, is also fairly bullish, expecting unemployment to top out at 9.7 percent this year.“I think the key to a turnaround is that job losses stop quicker than people are expecting,” he says.Copyright © 2009 USA TODAY. All rights reserved.

Remodel or Sell?

Consumer Reports latest poll on home remodeling reveals that over the next 12 months, 54 percent of homeowners plan a remodeling project, and nearly two-thirds (65 percent) plan to do at least some of the work themselves. The most popular types of work include painting (56 percent), designing (39 percent) and flooring (34 percent).The recent economic downturn has forced 67 percent of homeowners to rethink their plans, with the biggest changes including doing work themselves (42 percent), fixing or sprucing up what they already have (39 percent) and remodeling in phases (36 percent). The biggest reason consumers are cutting back on remodeling is because they simply do not have the money (42 percent).Funding for home remodeling stems from a variety of places, but two out of three homeowners (66 percent) support their projects with their savings. Others plan to cut back on travel and entertainment (29 percent), while one out of five (21 percent) is using a home equity or other loan.Ninety-one percent of homeowners have already gotten their hands dirty with either a repair or remodeling project. But not all repairs or remodeling projects went smoothly for DIY respondents, with over one third (34 percent) having at least one regret stemming from trying to fix a broken appliance, installing tile, floors or cabinets.“Whether homeowners are venturing into a project themselves or plan to hire a professional, you need to lay out a budget, decide what you want most at the end of the project – and decide what you can live without,” says Bob Markovich, senior home editor at Consumer Reports. “The more homeowners know what they’re getting into, the more money they’ll save.” According to the poll, the most popular remodeling projects for homeowners are kitchens (19 percent) and bathrooms (17 percent).

There's Gold in them walls!

WASHINGTON – July 1, 2009 – What do environmental laboratories, building contractors, chemical manufacturers and air quality technicians all have in common?All these businesses are hoping to be the ones to come up with a million-dollar answer that will solve the tainted Chinese drywall problem and to secure a share of the potentially lucrative remediation of thousands of homes across the country.To be sure, the legal community has recognized the potential revenue from a bounty of lawsuits already filed in multiple states. But this month, a Chinese drywall litigation conference drew not only attorneys, but also home builders, insurance company investigators, environmental testing laboratories and construction consultants.All are looking to cash in on what could be the biggest – and most lucrative – issue to come out of the housing boom since the mortgage crisis.Questions and theories abound about what’s going on with the defective wallboard. That uncertainty has created a cottage industry for local entrepreneurs who want to find and implement solutions or simply offer testing of homes.While it’s clear that certain types of Chinese drywall give off a sulfuric gas thought to corrode metal components in homes, the reason why it’s happening and what to do about it remains foggy.The problem, which was first made public in December, started with a handful of homeowner complaints but has increasingly grown in scope.The imported drywall has now become the subject of federal inquiry, local and national legislation efforts, and hundreds of lawsuits.The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission has received complaints about the tainted material from people in 19 states and the District of Columbia. To date, more than 460 Florida residents have logged cases with the Florida Department of Health – although that number is thought to be only a small fraction of homes affected in this state.The material – which is thought to have been imported between 2000 and 2008 and used widely in construction because of building material shortages after the 2004 hurricanes and Florida’s housing boom – has also made its way into commercial structures, including office buildings and condominiums.There are no guidelines or standards for testing and remediation of the defective wallboard. The reason: it’s not clear exactly what’s wrong with it.Indeed, according to Dr. Kaye Kilburn, a California-based leading expert on hydrogen sulfide, all drywall can, under the right conditions, produce sulfuric gases.“This is not a new possibility,” he said, adding that he has worked with patients that had symptoms from hydrogen sulfide after being exposed to wet drywall in landfills. “It’s rather simple chemistry. The question is: Why did we suddenly begin with a problem with these particular types of gypsum drywall in the last several years? Why Chinese drywall? I wish I had the answer.” Some believe that the drywall was sprayed with some sort of fungicide or other material to prevent it from molding while shipping. Others argue that the drywall itself was made with a formula that included higher-than-normal levels of sulfur, bacteria or other compounds.Yet others theorize that the Chinese used a coal byproduct called “fly ash,” or that a mine that the gypsum was culled from was somehow tainted, or that perhaps the problem lies in the paper that covers the gypsum boards.For each theory, there’s a different solution. Or solutions.Entrepreneur Ken Coleman of Jupiter-based Coleman Labs has spent the past several months putting together a team of private-sector scientists, building consultants and others who he hopes will be able to come together as a “brain trust” to solve the drywall issue.Now, he’s working to try to secure more than $6 million in funding – from both private and governmental sources – to conduct the necessary research.“With all the technology out there right now from the biological, chemical and scientific communities, I bet we come up with an answer,” he said.Meanwhile, Gainesville-based U.S. Building Consultants Inc. has been conducting experiments on a Boynton Beach home affected by the tainted drywall. It believes it has found a solution to remedy the homes without tearing out drywall: an “RSU Series” machine that’s supposed to be able to catch and capture hydrogen sulfide off-gassing from the walls.At the same time, Palm Beach Gardens-based environmental firm SabCo Inc. has begun marketing what it calls a RISS System, which is meant to remove toxic and corrosive compounds from the air.Still others believe that the only true way to remediate affected buildings is to tear out the drywall – or even tear down the houses – and start over. And that, too, has attracted a gaggle of contractors and builders offering their services.In the past several weeks, Dave Laskey has been making calls to builders, homeowners and attorneys, looking to find a piece of defective Chinese drywall.A marketing consultant for a pest control company in Boca Grande, Laskey is hoping to connect his client to the drywall controversy.“If we could find a piece of the drywall, maybe we could come up with a cure,” Laskey said, adding that his client – Statewide Pest Control – works with a “national mold and pest killer manufacturer” that may be able to figure out some sort of spray or solution that would stop the effects of the tainted drywall.

Relo Georgia

Relocating to Georgia?

New Buyer Credit

A $15,000 homebuyer tax credit (or 10 percent of a home's selling price, whichever is less) in a stimulus bill passed by the U.S. Senate would apply to all homebuyers of a principle residence. Better yet: The homebuyer would not have to pay it back. The tax credit and its rules could change, however, before final passage in the House.

Stage Your Home to Sell!

1. Move it.
Simply rearranging the furniture can reenergize a room. Add and remove furniture, lamps, rugs, and accessories from other parts of the house to create a whole new look. Mirrors are particularly useful when it comes to updating a room. Try one out in different rooms to see where it fits best. Even just moving a mirror to a different wall can create a more welcoming feel.

2. Plant it.
Houseplants are a generally undervalued design component that can add texture, warmth, and color to any room. Just drop plants in their store containers into decorative planters. Small plants can be moved easily and regrouped to change a room's look, while larger ones make a statement on their own.
Group plants of differing heights, fullness, and color for the most dramatic effect. Jettison the scraggly specimens, Westman says. "It's important to have plants that are well maintained and in tip-top condition."

3. Paint it.
Paint is one of the easiest and most cost-effective ways to make a substantial change. Use dramatic colors in powder rooms and dining rooms, and more neutral colors in living spaces. When selecting colors, "be sure to ask, 'What am I trying to do? How do I want this to feel?'" Birdsong says. "And always, always do a test before you paint the whole room."



4. Organize it.

"Clutter just happens," Birdsong says. "So neaten up!" She advocates a variety of organizing tools to make a space feel polished while maintaining utility. Hooks and shelves inside the door give people a place to hang coats and keys, while canvas bins or natural baskets help contain magazines and mail. "Just a row of hooks preattached on a board is so easy to install," she says. "And shelves are a great way to neatly display collectibles."

5. Hide it.
Have a banged-up wall? It may be easy to camouflage. Paintable wallpaper (available for as little as $16/roll from Creative Wallcovering) will smooth out an uneven wall or hide minor dents and dings. Adventurous home owners can even try a simple two-step painting process for a more complex finish. Birdsong suggests applying a solid base coat, then a glaze.
"These days, it's pretty user-friendly," she says. Caution: Your intent should never be to mislead buyers; be sure to disclose flaws that would affect home value.

6. Replace it.
Cabinet handles, switch plates, and other small pieces of housing hardware can update a home for just a few dollars a piece. Westman suggests scanning each room to see what looks worn or outdated and then replacing it. Inexpensive quick-connect faucets can make upgrading the look of your bathroom a snap. Just be sure to measure before you go to the hardware store. Some sinks are drilled for an eight-inch spread. Others require just four inches.
"And don't forget the toilet seat," adds Westman. "Fresh towels and a new toilet seat go a long way toward making a bathroom feel clean and new."

7. Light it.
Lighting can have a major impact on a home's look and feel. Whether a room seems dark or too bright and harsh, try "layering" the lighting by adding accent pendants and lamps. Make sure they have independent controls, so that you can turn them on and off at will.
"Light is such a mood setter," Westman says. "You can create a cozy feel just by turning down the lights." Add dimmers in the dining room, bathrooms, kitchen, and even the hallways for less than $4 each. Then adjust the lighting to create the mood you want.

8. Clean it.
Turn a critical eye to the flooring to make sure it's up to snuff. Scrub grout and seal natural stone. Rub out scratches and nicks on wood floors with scratch cover. "Get down on your hands and knees and detail the floors," Birdsong says. "It takes a little elbow grease, but the results are well worth it." Vinyl flooring is a bit harder to spruce up but usually can be replaced easily and inexpensively.

New BBQ Place John's Creek GA

Sanford Sanford said he's trying to bring a little bit of Hollywood to the South. He's the owner of one of Johns Creek's newest businesses, Weezy's Movin' On Up Cafe Jazz & BBQ, and Sanford happens to be the son of a Tinseltown star - Isabel Sanford, who's known for her role as Louise "Weezy" Jefferson on the TV sitcom "The Jeffersons."

Foreclosures

Research firm RealtyTrac says 850,000 foreclosed homes are already on the market and expects this number to rise by another 1 million homes in 2009, with 2 million more homes entering the foreclosure process during the same period.

Mortgage Loans These Days

Qualifying for a mortgage is not as easy as it used to be. Still, mortgages are approved every day, even for homebuyers with less-than-sterling credit records. "If you have over a 580 [credit] score, you have a chance

Foreclosures

More than 2.3 million American homeowners faced foreclosure proceedings last year, an 81 percent increase from 2007, according to RealtyTrac, a California-based research firm. The four states with the highest foreclosure rates: California, Nevada, Florida and Arizona.

Appraisers

On Jan. 9, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac announced revisions to their Home Valuation Code of Conduct. Starting on May 1, lenders that want to sell their loans to the two industry behemoths must follow new guidelines. Mortgage brokers and Realtors, for example, will not be allowed to choose appraisers.

No go on FSBO

"After unsuccessfully trying to sell our home, For Sale By Owner, Bob and Team McCormick stepped in and got the job done in just two weeks. Next time we sell a home, we'll leave it to the experts."
Graham and Laurie Argott

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