Keepin’ it REAL Estate

This just in from Sibcy Cline Mortgage.

As some of you may have read in one of my recent posts regarding the future of 100% financing, its true; the days of 100% financing are gone.  However, there are creative mortgage solutions out there.  The most recent were just given to me by our mortgage officer:

Option 1:
FLEX 97 w/3% Gift:
Sale Price = $150,000
Loan Amount = $145,500
Gift = $4,5000
P&I=$849.10 + $116.40 (pmi) = $965.50

Option 2:
OHFA/FHA with a 3% 2nd mortgage
Sale Price = $150,000
Loan Amount = $145,500  Adj = $147,682
2nd - $4,500
P&I=$861.83 1st
$36.94 2nd
$61.53 pmi
= $960.30

Option 3:
FHA/AmeriDream DAP
Sale Price = $150,000
Loan Amount = $145,500  Adj = $147,682
DAP - $4,500
P&I =$861.83 + $61.53 (pmi) = $923.36

As an advocate for not having people be house poor, I want you 100% financers to realize that actually saving for a down payment is going to benefit you greatly in the long run.  If you’re not in a hurry to purchase, start saving now.  Gather 3-5000 down.  You’ll thank me for it later.

If you’re interested in purchasing a home, maybe upgrading from the one you’re presently in, feel free to give me a call.  I’ll give you the straight scoop on what the Cincinnati housing market is doing.

Duke energy is partnering with Lowe’s and offering a coupon discount for CFL light-bulbs.  What a great deal!  I wish I would have known last week when I purchased a bunch at full price. 

Just remember, they do contain small amounts of mercury, so be sure to dispose of them properly when they do burn out.

See here for details: http://www.cinergyregulatedbiz.com/AuthFiles/ee/promos/cfl-coupon.asp

Thanks to everyone’s emails and calls concerning my basement water problem.  After the HUGE rain last week, I was ready to go buy some Koi fish and make them a sweet little habitat in my basement.  That would be a good selling point right??

So, the results are in -  after 3 estimates and 3 different opinions - I feel like I’m back at square one.  The one thing we all do agree on is that there is…A WATER PROBLEM!  Duh…. and that its going to be between 4000-6000 dollars to fix.  YIKES. 

Company 1 & 3 want to fix it on the inside.  Company 2 says the outside….

I really feel like its probably going to be a combo of the two that really “fixes” the problem.  So, here is where I’m stuck, do I fix the outside or the inside first?  If I fix the inside, it doesn’t take care of the mini-river flowing down the side and front of my house - or the swamp land that accumulates in the back.  If I fix the outside and figure out how to drain it properly - I’m not guaranteed that it will slow the water seepage into the basement. 

Any thoughts or suggestions would be helpful.  I know I need to act on it, because water problems usually don’t get better over time… I’m just hesitant because of well… cost.  Like any normal homeowner, I want to save money and re-do the fun things like my kitchen.

I learned yesterday about rain gardens - I’m going to look more into this and see if this could be a sweet eco-friendly option for controlling water flow in my yard. 

More on that to come.

If you haven’t heard as of March 14 the USGBC has officially come out with a great resource on how to ‘REGREEN‘ your home.

“REGREEN is the nation’s first set of resources and tools for green home remodeling
projects. The REGREEN residential remodeling guidelines help make your home
renovation project green, from installing a new dishwasher to remodeling your master
bathroom to refurbishing an entire home interior. REGREEN addresses the major
elements of any green renovation project, including the site of the home, water
efficiency, energy and atmosphere, material and resources, and indoor environmental
quality. The guidelines blend product selection, building systems integration and
proven technologies into a seamless compilation of green strategies and case studies
for the homeowner, builder and design professional.
The REGREEN guidelines can be applied to a variety of home projects, from remodeling
a kitchen to adding a major addition, from redoing a back yard to executing a gut
rehab. Homeowners can either use the guidelines for their own do-it-yourself projects
or visit with a professional who can apply REGREEN as a design guideline.”

                                                                        -USGBC's REGREEN FAQ's

What a fantastic resource this is! So many of us have been needing a guide like this. The areas of Cincinnati that I mostly sell real estate in are homes that are between 50-100+ years old. Many times they are old and drafty, they haven’t been updated with high efficiency furnaces, etc… With the rising costs of energy bills, health care, etc, we need a guide from the expert on how to retro fit and renovate our great old homes with the charm and character we love to have modern environmentally friendly upgrades. The USGBC has done just this for us. Yeah!

If you are currently have a REGREEN project going on, I’d love to hear about it!  Send me pictures and details of what you’re doing and we can document your process!

We got a letter from our President Rob Sibcy this week about the Cincinnati Real Estate Market.  It had a lot of great information and made some good points.  I’d like to share:

KNOW YOUR MARKETPLACE

Real estate is a local business. Our market is not the same as California or Florida. “Perceptions about real estate have been skewed in recent months due to the overwhelming focus on national figures. While average sales and prices help us identify trends, the fact is all real estate is local - conditions vary greatly from one city to the next. Unfortunately, that news is largely unreported,” reports Pat V. Combs, 2007 President of the National Association of Realtors in Realty Times, Late Fall 2007. Remember everyone, a national weather forecast does not exist!

FACT

Homes in the Cincinnati Metro area are very affordable because we did not experience the large housing booms as seen in California, Florida, North Carolina triangle, Nevada and Arizona. (FALL 2007 PRICE ANALYSIS FOR CINCINNATI METRO REGION, NAR)

FACT

In the Cincinnati metro areas, home prices were off 2.5% in Fall 2007 versus 2006. That’s less than one half the national average of 6.1%.

In Dayton, home prices are currently very affordable. Combined with low interest rates, this allows for many in this region to realize the American dream of home ownership. (CABR STATISTIC - WINTER 2007 PRICE ANALYSIS FOR DAYTON, NAR)

FACT

The Cincinnati Metro Region job market is important to our real estate market. In the past 12 months, 1500 jobs were added to the economy. The local economy is fundamentally sound. (FALL 2007 PRICE ANALYSIS FOR CINCINNATI METRO REGION, NAR)

FACT

One out of 16 American households bought a home in 2007 ­ it was the 5th highest year on record for existing-home sales. (INVESTORS.COM)

INTERNET IS THE PLACE TO GO FOR REAL ESTATE

According to RISMedia’s Real Estate magazine (01/2008), a polled survey indicated 88% of the public relies on websites as their primary source for the latest real estate news and information.

OPEN HOUSE ONLINE SUMMARY PAGE VIEWS AT WWW.SIBCYCLINE.COM

Thank you for reading this message. Your comments are welcome.

The time has come to finally say good bye to our Zumbiel plant in Norwood (corner of Montgomery Rd and Dana Ave.)  As you may have read in my previous posts about the coming of Xavier square, and the impending boom of the buildings that currently occupy the site.  Well, the latest date that has been set is for next Saturday, March 22 at 8 am. 

Blowing up buildings is fun for the whole family!  For more information, check out the article in the Business Courier.

As an agent I see a lot of interesting things in homes.  For the most part, you tend to look past peoples decorating ideas and just look at the layout and potential of all properties. However, weird or bad decorating can really turn a potential buyer off.  They start to focus on the “things” and not on the actual home.  That’s why home staging has been all the rage in recent years.  Buyers want homes they can move into immediately and not do a thing with and they don’t want to be distracted by the current owners.

When looking at some condos this weekend in Hyde Park, My buyers and I found a couple of funny things.   Fellow readers, if you have photos or stories of funny decorating ideas, please do share. 

Here are my favorite photos of the day - A pair of holographic pictures.  One of a kitten and the other of a unicorn!  And no, it wasn’t in a child’s bedroom.  I’m hoping that there is sentimental value attached to these pictures.

 Here is an interesting idea - if you have a finished basement and can’t have any windows (besides the glass block ones).  Just frame part of the wall out to look like a window, stick in some lights and cover with blinds!  Wa-La!  Instant windows!

There will be more to come!

With all of the melting snow, I’m gently reminded of my leaking basement…. AHHG its extremely frustrating when you cant stop the water from flowing!

I had another contractor come out this week and give me his take on my situation.  This week Dywer came out.  The gentleman who came to look at my water problem was also a foundation and structural guy - so he really knew what to look for and check out for any possible structural problems.  To my relief he said there are no structural issues.  Simply put, I have an old house with a block foundation and a lot of water running down the side of my house.  Which is bound to come into the house.

Relieved that I didn’t have any major issues with my foundations, I quickly asked him for his best and honest opinion of my water problem.  Looking outside, he quickly found that I have a multitude of drainage problems.  I’m not sure if the “marsh land” in the back yard tipped him off or what …. Basically, all of the water running from the top of my hill goes down the left side my home and creates a lot of pressure on the block foundation causing it to leak.  He feels pretty certain that the proper drainage outside, will relieve the hydrostatic pressure on the foundation, eliminating if not all but a majority of the water inflow.  Hooray!

Saturday the estimator will come out and give me the scoop on cost…

I definitely liked this approach better.  The last guy wanted to dig on the inside of my house, and provide proper drainage that way.  But to me that doesn’t cure my leaking problem, it just reroutes the water that is still coming into the basement.

I’m curious to see how the costs differ.

There are rumors in the rumor mill that the days of 100% financing are soon to be gone.   This is not so good news for those that have nothing to put down on a house.  On one hand, it makes complete sense.  If you haven’t saved up even 3% to put down on a house, are you really able and ready to purchase?  Most lenders now are saying no.  However, this is not so good news because the multitude of first time home buyers out there are used to and almost expecting 100% financing. 

These buyers are now going to have to start saving.  According to one of my lender sources, 100% financing is probably going to go away by the 17th.  She said the best alternative they can give right now is FHA with 3% down or its even rumored that FHA is going to go to 1.5% down.  Its too early to say.  But she she did indicate that there are a few other options (tricks in the bag) that may help the no-money-down buyer.  There is the OHFA money to help and the Ameria-dream program is alive and kicking as well…  She said everyday lenders are changing things and its almost too early to say how its going to pan out.

To me, it all boils down to this:

Start Saving Some Money if You Want To Buy a House.  There are costs involved with the purchase of a home that most first time home buyers don’t expect.

1. Closing Costs (can average up to 3% of the purchase price of a home)

2. Down Payment - this amount varies depending on the mortgage program you’re eligible for.

Home Buyers - As you’re shopping around for homes, start putting some money away to help cover the costs.  A couple thousand now will save you a ton on interest in the long run.

If you’d like to sit down for a free consultation and talk about what it takes to purchase a home.  I’d be more than happy to meet with you any time. 

Wow! What a huge snow we have had. I’m also pretty impressed that the weather people predicted it so accurately. Almost to the point where they said the snow would end at 4pm and sure enough at about 3:58 I looked outside and the sun was peaking out from the clouds and no more snow!! When does that happen??
I hope that everyone had a safe (and fun!) time with the wintry white stuff. Yesterday I stopped work at about 3pm and went home to put the snow pants and ski coat on and play with my 4 legged friend Stanley…

He loves the stuff. Playing in the snow makes him go CRAZY! He found a vine dangling from a tree and went to town.