How much does it cost to perform a deep-energy retrofit at a 100-year-old single-family home? Thanks to a recent study in Utica, New York, we now know the answer: about $100,000. Read more ...

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How I Snatched a Short Sale From Foreclosure Three Times- Once After The Public Trustee's Sale

So another year has slipped by and despite all of my resolutions to be disciplined and do better than in previous years, I have only a handful of blog posts to show for a whole year of work. I feel bad about this. My husband and colleagues say to me- "Blog." Yet I procrastinate. I try to think of what to blog about and then typically I think of something while I am in the car. By the time I get to a computer I forget what it was that I thought I had to say. So here I sit, before my computer-resolute to start the New Year off by blogging, trying to think of all the real estate wisdom I could share, of all the lessons I have learned in 40 or so transactions this year.
Unfortunately the only thing that comes to mind is a true tale of my most challenging short sale.

It began like most transactions; a friend called me and said she had a friend and colleague who had been through a messy divorce and needed help selling her home, which her ex-husband currently occupied, could I talk to her? Naturally I agreed and called the friend- let's call her Hope- for reasons you will see as this tale unravels. The first time I spoke to Hope, she was about to be remarried, her ex-husband and her 2 grown children were living in the house and hadn't made a payment in over 6 months. The value of the home was substantially less than the first loan not to mention the second and of course the house was headed for foreclosure and Hope's credit was headed down the proverbial crapper.

Since Hope was still on title and the notes with both lenders I had her sign a third party authorization and made inquiries on her behalf, after which I was convinced the only way to get her out form under the house would be via short sale. Somehow we managed to get both Hope and her ex-husband to sign listing agreement, addenda and all doce required for a short sale, We quickly got offers and submitted the highest one to the first lien holder- the infamous OCWEN FEDERAL. I should probably mention that we submitted a complete packet, as we always do, offer, lender letter, HUD, copy of earnest money, listing agreement and all of the sellers doc, including tax returns, pay stubs hardship letter etc After a week or so we called Ocwen to confirm that they got the packet and were reviewing the offer (I am a bit of a dreamer). We were transferred to Ocwen India where our negotiator was named Geeta Punjabi. Now Geeta asked for duplicates of many docs and had us faxing to her daily- the largest fax I recall was 68 pages- who cares about those trees anyway? After 6 weeks or so of this Geeta continued to assure me that approval would happen "by Friday"(maybe I should have asked, " which Friday?")

Meanwhile the trustee's sale was looming precariously close and Hope was a nervous wreck as was I. Geeta assured me that the sale would be postponed because they were working an offer. Because this wasn't my first short sale and I am cursed with a non-trusting nature I called a friend of mine who is an attorney. He drafted a legal document for Hope to take to court, a Demand for a Temporary Restraining Order (TRO in attorney speak). So we held on to the doc until the day before the foreclosure sale and when neither the promised short sale approval nor the postponement of the trustees sale had come through, Hope and I went to court to plead her case. To both of our surprises she was granted a temporoary restraining order forbidding Ocwen to foreclose for another 60 days. We filed the document in all of the right places to get the foreclosure stopped and notified Ocwen's local attorney. As you might imagine noone was very pleased with this. The attorney called and informed me that I had no right to stop the trustee sale, I politely informed him that it was my client who had pled for the restraining order and the Adams county Judge who had granted it, therefor much as I would have liked to take credit, I could not. He wasn't amused.

Well we went right to work badgering Ocwen to accept that offer. Then, to our dismay, the buyer pulled out of the transaction saying it had taken too long to get approval. So we put it back up on the market and got an offer within a few days for more than the last offer and it was from a well known local agent and the buyer was a family member. WOW! We could not believe our luck adn quickly got a HUD and submitted it to Geeta, along with a termination of the previous offer. We requested a substitution of buyers which was denied; so we had to resubmit every doc- again, who cares about those trees?For the next 2 months we pushed, we shoved, we begged, we pled and we threatened, all to no avail. Geeta continued to promise approval by Friday and we continued to have no idea as to what Friday she was actually referring. By now buyer was getting nervous and we were frustrated but our next big break came when Geeta went on vacation. After much whining and complaining we managed to get a manager in India who reviewed the file and discovered that Geeta had submitted the file inocmplete. He resubmitted the file to Fannie Mae.

In about a week we received approval for the short sale on a Thursday morning. Excellent news right? Not so much. The buyer decided she didn't want the house anymore and Ocwen foreclosed on the house the same day they approved the short sale. I had no idea what to do- so I called the attorney owner of my favorite title company- First Integrity Title (yep that's a plug for them). He counseled me to request that the foreclosure sale be rescinded. Well that did it- Ocwen India had no idea who or what rescinding a foreclosure sale was so we finally got the file transferred back to Ocwen US!! We requested that the sale be rescinded and meanwhile put it back on the market and started praying.The sale was rescinded and we got another offer, this time it was a cash offer which was darn lucky as the scheduled closing was in less then 2 weeks. I called Ocwen US and explained the situation and once again asked for a substittution of buyers, which I was once again summarily denied. I was also informed that the sale had been rescinded and the approval letter signed for the first buyer and that they, Ocwen,wouldn't sell to the second buyer, who was actually the 3rd or 4th buyer we had procured for the property. This was interesting as the net to the bank was exactly the same, as was the closing date and all other terms. The only things that were different: the buyer and the fact that he was paying cash, which we all know made him a safer bet from the get-go.

After a sleepless night I got up and compared the 2 offer contracts to see if I could ferret out what was causing Ocwen to push back. I couldn't see anything different except buyer number one was named something on the oreder of Suzy WASP Sweetheart and buyer number 2 was named something on the order of Jose Fernando Marquez. HHM, I thought and then I called the buyers agent- Lupe and said," I think your client is being discriminated against." She and I talked and decided that if Ocwen declined to sell the property to him he should probably file a Federal Fair Housing complaint against Ocwen and Fannie. Since I love being the bearer of good news I called the negotiator at Ocwen and the foreclosing attorney and informed them both that if they didn't sell to the current cash buyer they probably ought to brace for a federal Fair Housing Claim. Well that got everybody but the attorney's attention (he once again scolded me). However, by the end of the next day we had a new approval letter and I had talked to the regional manager at Fannie as well as numerous other suits. the closing went off without any further troubles after a mere 18 months adn numerous offers. My commission for this little exercise?

Less than $750, as I had conceded the rest to help my client get to the table. But it was worth every minute to get her to the table and to have the opportunity to beat the bank that was so intent on simply taking the proeprty back, without any regard for the people involved. My advice to anyone facing a short sale with Ocwen? RUN - Run and Hide. And if youare intent on pursuing it- cozy up to a nice attorney adn settle in for a really long but interesting ride.

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Congrats Louisville

For the second time Louisville in Colorado, tops Money Magazine's list of the 100 best small towns, followed by Milton, Massachusetts and Solon in Ohio. They all have populations of 50,000 or less and offer the optimal combination of jobs, schools, safety, health care, cultural activities and even weather.

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Understanding Closing Cost

As we spring forward into the active homebuying season, there are plenty of good deals to be found, thanks to continued low interest rates and slipping home prices. But do you have saved enough in your bank account to cover closing fees? We'll examine who pays for what at the closing table and how buyers can cover these costs. What's the average closing costs you can expect to pay?


Who pays for what?
You have picked the perfect place to live, you've saved up a nice down payment, you're pre-approved for a loan and you're inching ever closer to finding the right house.


But how much do you know about the closing process itself? There's more than just price to consider. There are a slew of associated expenses to pay, plus taxes, insurance, appraisals and inspections. Whether buying or selling, you will undoubtedly see a bunch of little charges that collectively start to equal a big, four-digit number.


In general, the seller normally pays for most of the closing costs. But it can vary alot depending on the market conditions, location and the seller's motivation. In today's buyers market, many transactions are subject to negotiation.


Here's a common outline of what buyers and sellers are expected to pay:


Typical Buyer Expenses

• One half of escrow fees.
• Home inspection and any other inspections such as sewer line, roofing or structural.
• Survey to identify boundardies and easements.
• Appraisal for the lender to determine value for a good loan.
• Hazard insurance premium for the first year.
• Recording fees and notary fees for documents.

Typical Seller Expenses

• One half of escrow fees.
• Title insurance, to assure the lender that the property has a free and clear title.
• Repairs or remediation of any harzard or damage.
• Real-estate commission for seller's and buyer's agent.
• City and county transfer fees.
• Homeowners association transfer fees and any unpaid balance.
• One year home warranty to ease the buyer's doubts.
• Payoff for any bonds, special assessments and existing liens.

The tab for closing expenses can vary widely, from about 1% of the purchase price to 3% for Federal Housing Administration loans that require a mortgage-insurance premium and additional lender fees.


Many buyers are now requesting sellers to help assist them with covering these steeper FHA fees, in essence lowering the purchase price of the home.


However, there isn't as much room for expense negotiation with short sale or bank-owned properties. In fact, most don't provide a home warranty, and many won't cover any repair work unless it's a hazard to the buyer. Of course, the tradeoff is that these homes are often priced at a significant discount compared to normal listings.

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Expand your living space into the outdoors

Choosing Between A Deck Or Patio

What's the greenest way to build a deck? Would it be okay to utilize pressure-treated lumber? What's the simplest way to add on to your house? What type of decking is regarded as being sustainable, and what is the best way for attaching boards to the framing? Should the surfaces be finished? What product should I select? These are a few of the questions I hear about when designing outdoor living spaces.

Generally, the greenest deck is often a patio. Sure, wooden decks or balconies will be the only options should they have to be significantly above ground level, although there are masonry- and petroleum-based options that can be used in place of true lumber.

Outdoor living is a great way to expand our living space without increasing the level of conditioned space: it gets us out into the open air, to the nature we’re looking to preserve using the green building movement. But asking any “green” material to face up to the environmental exposure a deck is meant to is asking a lot. When the outdoor living area is going to be at or near grade, a patio-the masonry equal to a deck-can be a greener choice.

 When the word “patio” conjures images of dirty concrete with weeds sprouting up  through cracks, there are better options. Harvesting “urbanite” for reuse by breaking apart that old concrete into manageable pieces is one example; overlaying a drainage layer and topping it with permeable surface material. An intricate recessed patio can be assembled using salvaged granite stones from an old  foundation.

 Commercially ready, cement-based, interlocking modular paving blocks is definitely an affordable choice, although I'm partial to square concrete pavers occur a bed of crushed stone for any more formal look, or flagstones (flat, natural “cleft” surface fieldstone) for a rustic feeling. A designer I know built an extremely interesting patio using a mix of broken stone countertops, tiles, and glass. Slate roofing could be recycled into patio paving, but, like tile, the little, thin pieces would not be stable underfoot unless set into a bed of mortar. Stacked closely together on edge, though, the thin edges would create a unique, usable surface.
Brick, an old time patio surface, is hard to beat because of its combination of warm color and texture. Bricks could be locally made in most parts of the country or recycled from fine old buildings. Durability is definitely an issue in areas that freeze, though; search for “hard” bricks, tempered to be used as paving, or perhaps be prepared for them to disintegrate with time to their original type of clay particles.

Drainage options will be different based on several factors. If the patio sits over a well-draining site, it will likely be best and easiest to use a permeable base layer for instance crushed stone and leave gaps within the paving material to allow stormwater to drain through. The gaps could be filled with exactly the same material, or planted with moss (if it’s shady) or thyme (if it’s sunny). Weeds can be simply killed having a 50% solution of vinegar, or scraped out having a brush created for the purpose. Personally, I would not make use of a chemical for example Round-Up or burn the weeds having a flame, but those are other options, probably forget about harmful than standard deck maintenance techniques. If the site doesn't drain well, start with a well-compacted base of gravel with graduated particle size so the particles lock together. On top of that, construct a drainage layer using crushed stone, with a drain tile (4-in. perforated pipe is effective) to direct water to another the main site if necessary.

 Keep the size to roomlike dimensions, and when in doubt, make the length 1.6 times the width for any pleasing proportion. Patios require a sense of enclosure to feel inviting; masonry walls or shrubs and plantings produce a sense of containment. Whenever a tall wall looms over an abutting patio, bring the scale down with a trellis or pergola, or pull the patio from the house a little and plant a tall shrub or small tree between it and also the house. Full sun can make a patio (or deck) uncomfortably hot; a patio umbrella or perhaps a trellis engrossed in vines provides respite.

Consider low-level lighting and a source for cooking fuel-wood or gas-in the look stages. Outdoor cooking appliances keep heat out of the house (look for Energy Star models) and may be connected to gas or large propane tanks, if on site. Or, develop a fire pit or an outdoor barbecue. Your kitchen has had over the indoors as the heart of the house, the main gathering spot; duplicating kitchen functions outdoors will guarantee the patio is well-used.

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What Is A Walk Score

Walkable neighborhoods offer surprising benefits to the environment, our health, our finances, and our communities.

• Environment: Cars are a leading cause of climate change. Your feet are zero-pollution transportation machines.
• Health: The average resident of a walkable neighborhood weighs 7 pounds less than someone who lives in a sprawling neighborhood.
• Finances: One point of Walk Score is worth up to $3,000 of value for your property.
• Communities: Studies show that for every 10 minutes a person spends in a daily car commute, time spent in community activities falls by 10%.

Find A Walkable Place To Live

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Increase Your Energy Efficiency

Unless your home was specially constructed for energy efficiency, you can usually reduce your energy bills by adding more insulation. Many older homes have less insulation than homes built today, but adding insulation to a newer home may also pay for itself within a few years.

Heat flows naturally from a warmer to a cooler space. In the winter, this heat flow moves directly from all heated living spaces to adjacent unheated attics, garages, basements, and even to the outdoors. Heat flow can also move indirectly through interior ceilings, walls, and floors—wherever there is a difference in temperature. During the cooling season, heat flows from the outdoors to the interior of a house.

To maintain comfort, the heat lost in the winter must be replaced by your heating system and the heat gained in the summer must be removed by your cooling system. Properly insulating your home will decrease this heat flow by providing an effective resistance to the flow of heat.

To determine whether you should add insulation, you first need to find out how much insulation you already have in your home and where.

A qualified home energy auditor will include an insulation check as a routine part of a whole-house energy assessment. An energy assessment, also known as a home energy audit, will also help identify areas of your home that are in need of air sealing. (Before you insulate, you should make sure that your home is properly air sealed.)

When insulating your home, you can choose from many types of insulation. To choose the best type of insulation, you should first determine the following:

• Where you want or need to add insulation
• The recommended R-values for areas you want to insulate.

Understanding R-Value

The R-value is a measure of thermal resistance used in the building and construction industry. The higher the R-value, the greater the insulating effectiveness. Under uniform conditions it is the ratio of the temperature difference across an insulator and the heat flux (heat transfer per unit area). Heat transfer through an insulating layer is analogous to electrical resistance. R-value is the reciprocal of U-value. The U-value (or U-factor), more correctly called the overall heat transfer coefficient, describes how well a building element conducts heat.

The US Department of Energy has recommended R-values for given areas of the USA based on the general local energy costs for heating and cooling, as well as the climate of an area. There are four types of insulation: Rolls and batts, Loose-fill, Rigid foam, and Foam-in-place. Rolls and batts are typically flexible insulators that come in fibers, like fiberglass. Loose-fill insulation comes in loose fibers or pellets and should be blown into a space. Rigid foam is more expensive than fiber, but has a higher R-value. Foam-in-place can be blown into small areas to control air leaks, like those around windows. Increasing the thickness of an insulating layer increases the thermal resistance. For example, doubling the thickness of fibreglass batting will double its R-value,

The R-value is a measure of insulation's heat loss retardation under specified test conditions. The primary mode of heat transfer impeded by insulation is convection but unavoidably it also impedes heat loss by all three heat transfer modes: conduction, convection, and radiation. The primary means of heat loss across an uninsulated air-filled space is natural convection, which occurs because of changes in air density with temperature.

The amount of insulation or R-value you'll need depends on your climate, type of heating and cooling system, and the section of the house you plan to insulate.
Properly insulating your home will not only help reduce your heating and cooling costs but also make your home more comfortable.

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Have A Safe Holiday

Residential fires during the holiday season are more frequent, more costly, and more deadly than at any other time of the year.

Read more: http://www.houselogic.com/articles/holiday-fire-safety-tips/#ixzz18J4tTol4

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Thinking about remodeling in your home. Kitchen and baths give your home the biggest bang for your buck. Here are 11 kitchen and bath trends for 2010

Read on...

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Solar power meets consumer power: Group discounts help you buy home solar power. See how to save and be green.

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