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Reno, NV, September 2, 2010: Nevada has been making the headlines lately if you are reading the statistics on employment, housing market and general gloom about the poor economy in the state. Local state election races are pointing fingers on either side of the political spectrum to identify who’s responsible for the current state dilemma.
Enter Reno and Northern Nevada where some positive headlines are coming to light. Enter a new focus on outdoor recreation.
In the last eight months, two national magazines have labeled Reno in their “Best Towns” features.
In the April edition of Men’s Health in an article titled “Ski and Climb Without the Crowds”, the Reno image of downtown casinos and their accompanying all-night buffets are debunked, giving way to a more “hipper” way of life. Men’s Health talks to Reno’s proximity to Lake Tahoe and the four season recreational opportunities available. It also tells about Reno’s new attractions: The Truckee River, coffeehouses, artists’ galleries and a younger-targeted night-life scene. (to read the article, go to: http://bit.ly/9lGiLb )
In a recent edition of Outdoor, the magazine labeled the down town rafting and kayaking park, the new Aces ball park, a rejuvenation of the downtown area and affordable housing prices as a reason to put Reno on your relocation list if you are an outdoor enthusiast. (to read article, go to: http://bit.ly/aIb2mh).
If outdoor recreation is your passion and a second home in an area that offers great amenities to pursue your interests is your goal, why not consider Reno? It’s really a no brainer. Currently, there are sellers motivated to sell, interest rates are low and loans are available to qualified buyers. Prices in our market are very affordable making Reno a great place to invest in a second home.
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Currently 95 homes on the market – Active and Pending
Of the homes currently on the market, there are 47 not located in Del Webb, The Vue and The Village.
Of the 47 homes, only 30 are available without an offer.
- 5 between $200k and $300k
- 10 between $300k and $400k
- 5 between $400k and $500k
- 6 between $500k and $600k
- 3 between $600k and $700k
- 0 between $700k and $800k
- 0 between $900k and $1million
- 1 over $1million
Of the 17 homes in escrow, 15 are subject to a short sale or bank owned and 2 are regular sales.
85 homes have closed in Somersett since January 1, 2010. 17 were bank owned, 27 were short sales and 41 were regular sales.
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On August 6, 2010 The Federal Housing Administration (FHA) announced it will be rolling out a new program on September 7, 2010 that will offer new FHA insured mortgages to underwater homeowners who are current on their mortgages provided the homeowner’s lender will agree to write off at least 10% of the unpaid mortgage balance.
Sound too good to be true? Well there is a catch. The homeowner must get their lender (servicer) and the investor who owns the mortgage to take a short payoff of the loan. Many lenders and investors are reluctent to do this. So although the program looks great to homeowners it may be easier said than done.
Who qualifies?
- Homeowner must be in a negative equity position (underwater).
- Must be current on the existing mortgage.
- Homeowner must occupy the property.
- Homeowner must qualify for new FHA loan and have a minimum FICO score of 500.
- The existing loan cannot be an FHA loan.
- The existing lien holder (lender) must agree to write down at least 10% of the unpaid balance.
- The new re-financed FHA first mortgage cannot have a loan-to-value greater than 97.75%.
- If there is a second lien it can be re-subordinated to the new loan, but the 2 loans combined cannot be great than 115% loan to value.
Interested homeowners should contact their servicer for more information. When I looked on Bank of America’s website, my servicer, I found mention of the program but that they had not worked out the details and to keep checking back. With the program scheduled to roll out in early September, you may find this to be the case with many lenders.
If you would like a copy of the FHA Mortgagee Letter that details the program, please feel free to contact me.
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From the Northern Nevada Business Weekly, August, 9, 2010:
Personal income
The U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis says per-capita personal income in the Reno-Sparks region in 2009 was $43,986, a 6.3 percent decline from a year earlier. The region ranks 35th in per-capita income nationally.
Underwater home owners
“Nearly 62 percent of the homes with mortgages in the Reno-Sparks market have negative equity – their owners owe more than the property would sell for – and home prices in the market are off 49.4 percent from their peak,” Zillow Real Estate Markets Reports says.
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If you are struggling making your mortgage payments you need to seek help as early as possible to avoid foreclosure. Fannie Mae, an insurer of home loans, has released a new interactive tool online to help you determine what your options are. KnowYourOptions.com The website is designed to be a virtual one-stop-shop for anyone facing financial hardship and in need of foreclosure prevention solutions.
The site is available in both English and Spanish and includes tools like educational videos, mortgage calculators, financial forms and checklists. A virtual assistant will walk you through the site.
Not all mortgages are insured by Fannie Mae, but this is a great general resource. The site does provide a Fannie Mae Look-up Tool so you can find out if your mortgage is insured by Fannie Mae so you can take advantage of the Fannie Mae specific programs that are detailed on the site.
Again the key for anyone homeowner who is facing difficulties or anticpates that they may have an issue in the near future is to seek help as early as possible. This website is a great first step.
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The National Association of REALTORS released some updated infomation on the affects of short sale, foreclosure, bankruptcy and deed-in-lieu of foreclosure on FICO scores and the ability to purchase another home.
Short Sale (Deed-inlieu of Foreclosure Guidelines are similar) – According to the report the affect on your FICO score from short sale depends on how the sale is reported to the credit bureau. If reported as “not paid as agreed” the score could go down 100+ points. Late payments will also affect the FICO score and are reported for 7 years, with thier impact lessening over time. Buyers looking to purchase after a short sale will have to wait to purchase another home. If purchasing using FHA financing the wait is 3 years (possibly less if not in default at time of short sale). For a Fannie Mae insured loan buyers need only wait 2 years if putting 20%+ down, 4 years if putting between 10%-20% down, and 7 years if putting less than 10% down. If getting a Freddie Mac insured loan the wait is 4 years, 2 years if extenuating circumstance are documented.
Foreclosure – A foreclosure stays on your credit report for 7 years, with the impact lessening over time. A foreclosure could lower your FICO score 100+ points. Buyers looking to purchase after a foreclosure will again have to wait. If purchasing using FHA financing the wait is 3 years. If getting a Fannie Mae insured loan the wait is 5 years from the foreclosure sale date, 3 years if there are extenuating circumstances. Additional underwriting requirements may be required. The wait for Freddie Mac insured loans is similar with a 5 year wait, 3 years for exentuating circumstances.
Bankruptcy – Bankruptcies stay on your credit report for 7 years (10 if there was a full discharge of debt). Bankruptcies generally have a greater negative affect on the FICO score in comparison to the above mentioned issue. Buyers looking to repurchase after a bankruptcy using an FHA loan will have to wait 2 years from discharge date with a chapter 7 BK and 1 year with a chapter 13 BK. If getting a Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac insured loan there is a 4 year wait for chapter 7 or 11, and 2 year wait if chapter 13. Some allowance are made for exentuating circumstances.
Extenuating Circumstances – include serious illness or death of a wage earner, but do not include an inability to sell a house due to job transfer or relocation.
For a full copy of this report please feel free to contact me.
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According to data from the Northern Nevada Regional Multiple Listing Service, short sales posted the highest number of sales for June. In sales of residential, stick-built homes in the Reno-Sparks area there were 575 sales in June. Of that 43.2% were short sales, 33.6% traditional sales and 23.3% were REO/bank owned sales.
The median price of all sales in June in this category was $170,000. Median prices for traditional listings topped the charts at $219,950. Median for short sales was $151,000 and REO’s was $148,000. The average days on market for all lisitng types was 146 days. REO’s were on the market the least amount of time with an average of 85 days on market. Traditional sales averaged 109 days and short sales averaged 208 days.
Short sales have become very significant in our market. In June 2009 only 103 short sales closed, that is a 240% increase in the number of short sales that have closed this June over last June. Unfortunately the number of days on the market for short sales has not improved year over year – 204 days average last year compared to 208 days average this year. Although we would all like to see this improve, the complex nature of short sales may continue to keep these market times high.
Short sales are definitely a major part of our market. Working with an “experienced” short sale agent is key to the success of a transaction when either buying or selling a home today. Prospective buyers and sellers should ask their agent to show them how many transactions they have closed on either the buy or sell side of the transaction.
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The South Tahoe Wooden Boat Classic (STWBC), a vintage boat show for charity, will be held on July 30th & 31st at the Tahoe Keys Marina & Yacht Club.
This premier judged boat show features 65 rare and beautiful antique and classic wooden boats. Thunderbird, Lake Tahoe’s most famous boat, will be showcased “Celebrating her 70th Birthday”. The 55-foot antique mahogany and stainless steel cruiser, now protected by Foundation 36, will celebrate her 70 years on the Lake throughout the summer but this will be the only place that the public will be able to see her up close outside her boat house, and learn about her history on the Lake.
We are pleased that the show supports these deserving South Lake Tahoe community charities City of South Lake Tahoe Fire Department, Boys and Girls Club of Lake Tahoe, Kiwanis Club of Lake Tahoe, Thunderbird Lodge Preservation Society.
Antique boats from the early 1900’s to the 1960’s are featured. There will be five 1960’s drag boats, including Golden Komotion, a fantastic drag boat which dominated the blown gas class.
- The Tahoe Maritime Museum booth is offering new members a ride in a beautiful boat from their collection.
- The South Tahoe Wooden Boat Classic is offering a chance to win a weekend at South Lake Tahoe, a tour of the Thunderbird Lodge and a cruise on the legendary boat Thunderbird.
- Discount tickets will be available to purchase at any Raley’s, Nob Hill, or Bel Air Market in California or Nevada.
- The boat show will be open on Friday, July 30, from noon to 5 pm and all day Saturday, July 31, from 9 am to 5 pm.
For more information, go to tahoewoodenboats.com, or contact Loni
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At the end of business today the first deadline for first time and move-up buyer tax credit expires. Now all those buyers that raced to get into contract will now be racing the clock to get their escrow closed by June 30th. With the frenzy initially over, you have to ask yourself is it still a good time to buy?
Of course it is. Homes in the Reno-Sparks market are more affordable than they have been in years. Interest rates which are predicted to rise in the coming year are still in the low 5% range. Homeownership still give you the things that your parents looked for when they bought houses – shelter, pride of ownership, sense of community, freedom to make it your own and an a great tax write-off. In many cases rent in our area is easily equilient to what you would pay for a home mortgage.
Buyers may continue to face some challenges in our market as inventory levels remain low in the super competitive price ranges under $300,000. Also with the high number of short sales in our market buyer will need a skilled agent to help them navigate listings that may have a better chance of closing sucessfully. Buyers will also continue to face mulitiple offers on bank owned and traditional sales as these properties types will continue to close more easily than short sales.
Without a crystal ball we can’t see into the future, but for now the signs all point to a thumbs up for purchasing a home.
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The Eighteenth Amendment to the Constitution ushered in a period of time known as “Prohibition”, during which the manufacture, distribution, and sale of alcoholic beverages was illegal. Fortunately, the 21st Amendment repealed that law!
Join Reno Green Drinks at one of Reno’s favorite spots – Amendment 21, as we usher in our own era of great “green” networking and information.
They’ll be featuring a few twists of fun with the inclusion of promotions by Reno’s favorite green store – EcoReno!
Don’t miss this fun Reno Green Drinks event!
Date: Thursday, May 27, 2010
Time: 5:00pm – 7:00pm
Location: 425 South Virginia Street
For more information about Reno Green Drinks or this event, go to RenoGreenDrinks.
Reno Green Drinks is a FREE networking group that creates awareness about eco-conscious businesses and concerns in Reno and the surrounding area.
Reno Green Drinks is a great way to meet like-minded people to chat, debate, socialize and connect with others who are passionate about environmental and sustainability issues. They’ve created this social networking party wth our mission to bring together the green leaders and thinkers in our community to make sustainability attainable for all.
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Thursday, September 2, 2010 By: Mary Jurkonis
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