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On January 13th the RGJ reported that since the D’Andrea golf club owed about $250,000 and until that is paid the water to the course would be shut off. D’Andrea Holdings LLC has reported because of economic conditions they could no longer pay the fees to continue to pump reclaimed water on the golf course. It has been proposed to have each of the home owners pay an additional $28.00 per month and the water will be turned back on. What this will do is to create a residents club that would give homeowners the following benefits:
- 28% discount on all food
- The restaurant would be open 7 days a week for lunch and dinner.
- 10% discount on the lowest published golf rate.
- 10% discount on all merchandise in the pro shop
- Free use of the club house for meetings.
All home owners have been mailed ballots and need to respond by March 1 to keep D’Andrea from going dry. A lot of the homeowners are playing “chicken” with their golf course, hoping that the current owners will be forced out and a new owner will take over, “really”. Even a couple of months with no water or maintenance and no one will touch it with a ten foot pole.
One other caveat, the biggest developer of houses in D’Andrea is Lennar and if they do not agree to the monthly increase there is no deal, “game over”.
Homeowners need to do the right thing and “vote yes” and keep your golf course green. This is a pretty inexpensive insurance policy to keep your property values from dropping further.
Last year Somersett had their own little crisis with the members taking over the course from the developer. Since then members have increased membership by 45% and the club is now making money and 2012 is looking great.
They are having some informational meetings before the vote, you can click here and see a schedule of the meetings and get more details of the pros and cons of this deal.
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I attended a luncheon recently where the speaker spoke about the “Big 3″ when referring to short sales. These are the 3 most common concerns for sellers when considering whether or not to do a short sale. If you are considering a short sale call an experience REALTOR today.
#1 – Deficiency Waiver
Getting the bank to release you from your obligation and waiving their right to pursue you in the future for the deficiency or short fall between what you owe and the proceeds they will receive from the short sale. Getting the bank to agree to this waiver is the primary goal in a short sale. Over the past couple years I have been able to negotiate this for my sellers 100% of the time. Often times this waiver is conditioned upon a the seller making a cash contribution at closing.
#2 Tax Liability
When a mortgage holder “forgives” debt they send a 1099 to the borrower. When you do a short sale you will receive a 1099 from your bank in the amount of the debt that was forgiven. This is taxable as ordinary income. It is vital that you consult your tax preparer or a CPA to determine what this means for your individual tax situation. There is a Mortgage Debt Forgiveness Act in place through December 31, 2012 that allows for some homeowners to be exempt.
#3 Credit Implications
The third largest concern for sellers contemplating a short sale is the effect it will have on their credit. Here is a chart from FICO that shows the impact of various short sale related events on several different credit scores. As you can see foreclosure and bankruptcy are far more impactful to credit scores than a short sale.
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The settlement that was unveiled on 2-9-2012 has the expectation of helping borrowers who are facing difficulties making their mortgage payments, those underwater and those who have lost their homes to foreclosure. It is going to take some time to see what the settlement really means for homeowners, especially since the banks have 3 years to meet their obligations.
What banks are participating? Bank of America, Citigroup, JP Morgan Chase, Ally/GMAC and Wells Fargo. But not all loans serviced by these banks will qualify. In addition if your mortgage is owned by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac they will not be a part of this settlement.
The key here is to be patient. It is going to take some time for an administrator to be put in place and for the administrator to work with servicers and attorney generals to iron out the details. In many cases borrowers will be contacted by their servicer if they qualify for any assistance.
Principal reductions (reducing of loan balances) will be part of the settlement but will be limited to loans owned by the banks themselves. Many loans these banks “service” are owned by other investors and the banks are just the money collectors. Again Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac owned loans will not qualify.
If your home mortgage is serviced by one of these big banks, and not owned by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac (visit fanniemae.com/loanlookup or freddiemac.com/mymortgage) you can visit the bank’s website for more information. Again it could be some time before homeowners actually see any benefits from this settlement.
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Colleen Reynolds of Dickson Realty was part of more than 100 Murphy-Morgan family members gathered for a reunion in August of 2009, at Meeks Bay, Lake Tahoe, where their ancestors arrived 140 years ago.
The barbecue gathering brought together descendants of George Murphy, Jim Murphy and Luke Morgan from throughout California, Nevada, Arizona and Oregon. Although some of the cousins gather regularly in the summer and maintain strong friendships throughout the year, this was the first full reunion since 1999.
The family’s roots were planted in 1872 when the Murphy brothers arrived at Meeks Bay as 16 and 14-year-olds, herding cattle. They started their own cattle and dairy business, operated McKinney’s resort for 27 years and lived on in retirement in Meeks Bay vacation homes now owned by their grandchildren.
Although most of the more than 1,000 acres of land once owned by Murphy Bros. & Morgan was sold many years ago, five cabins remain on property still owned by family members. Those properties are believed to be the oldest privately-owned land, remaining in the same family, in all of the Tahoe Basin.
The Murphy Bros. purchased the 640-acre Meeks Bay parcel for $250 in 1884. They added to their acreage after their sister married Luke Morgan and that couple homesteaded acreage north of the bay, adjoining what is now Sugar Pine Point State Park.
Their first settlement at Meeks Bay included a barn, milk house and other temporary structures on land bordering the beach. It was after the family left McKinney’s (now Chambers Lodge) in 1918 that they started building the current homes across the highway from what became Meeks Bay Resort.
The first, a still-sturdy log cabin built in 1918-1920, by Jim Murphy and Luke Morgan, is now owned by Morgan”s granddaughter, Sue Cherry.
In 1923, George Murphy added a second cabin, now owned by one of his grandsons, George Reynolds, and his wife, Dickson Realty Agent, Colleen Reynolds. The Reynolds call Reno their home now, but have their roots still over the hill in Lake Tahoe.
Marie Morgan Coyle and her husband, Cyril, built on a lot above the original cabin in 1935. That home is now owned by their son, Cyril (Cub) Coyle and his wife, Yvonne.
Jim Murphy joined his daughter Margaret and her husband, Harry Lawson, adding a cabin in 1936. It is now owned by Jim Lawson and his wife, Marie.
The most recent house in the family group was built by Isabel Morgan Liddicoat and her husband, Elmer, in the late 1950‘s. It is now owned by the Liddicoat children.
The third generation of the Murphy-Morgans, the current seniors at the reunion, have only heard and read about those early days. Their memories are of full summers, every year, at a complete Meeks Bay community developed by the Kehlet family.
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If you have been exploring short sale now is the time to look a bit harder at this option. Why you ask? A couple reasons. First, over the past couple of years the lien holders (banks) have developed systems that streamline the short sale process. Some banks are better than others but overall they have improved. Second, with the passage of Nevada AB284 which went into affect in October 2011 many banks are delaying the foreclosure process while they work to get their paperwork in order. This may afford sellers an opportunity to negotiate from a position of power and with the luxury of time. And lastly, the IRS Debt Forgiveness Act is set to expire in December 2012. This act provides sellers who have had debt forgiven through foreclosure or short sale with some exemptions. Many sellers, especially primary residence owners, benefit from this act. Now is the time to call a real estate professional and explore the short sale option.
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Dickson Realty announced that Eagle Home Mortgage has become the preferred lender for their clients. As reported in the Reno Gazette Journal today, Eagle Home Mortgage is a full-service mortgage banker and subsidiary of Lennar Corporation in seven western states with offices in Reno. Eagle offers services to Dickson clients that include conventional and jumbo loans, fixed and adjustable rate mortgages. In addition they provide Federal Housing Administration and Veterans Affairs loan products, Rural Housing/USDA loans, renovation and manufactured housing financing and state bond loans.
Dickson Realty’s Caughlin Ranch, Damonte Ranch and Sparks offices have an Eagle Home Mortgage loan officer on-hand to help you.
If you have more questions, please call or write me an email!
Esther Ramage - Dickson Realty
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Starting January 1, 2012, residential and commercial property sales in all of Placer County must participate in Section 303 of Rule 225, Wood Burning Appliances, Sale or Transfer of Real Property.
Section 303 prohibits the sale of real property with a non-EPA Phase II Certified free-standing woodstove. Non-compliant freestanding woodstoves do not have to be replaced or removed, but must be made permanently inoperable. Fireplaces, inserts, gas stoves, pellet stoves and dedicated cook stoves are exempt.
For more information on this mandatory measure, visit our website.
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As you may know Assembly Bill 284 took affect on 10/1/2011 and requires that lenders have proof of ownership prior to filing a Notice of Default on delinquent mortgages in Nevada. This legislation intended to put an end to the nasty “robo-signing” issue. Well it certainly has done that and then some. We’re nearly three months into this and NOD’s have virtually come to a halt. Is this what our legislators intended? I hope not….
First of all, is this legislation a direct challenge to MERS? (the Mortgage Electronic Registration System). An explanation of that system follows below and has been copied directly from their web-site:
MERS is an innovative process that simplifies the way mortgage ownership and servicing rights are originated, sold and tracked. Created by the real estate finance industry, MERS eliminates the need to prepare and record assignments when trading residential and commercial mortgage loans.
Simply put, MERS allows banks and investors to exchange mortgages without the typical title and escrow work we’re all familiar with when we buy, sell or refinance our homes. While your home may have stayed with you all these years, your mortgage has likely changed hands many times. This system has served the banks well for many years. However, at this point bankers are clearly lacking in confidence when it comes to risking a felony offense.
Secondly, this will no doubt have an affect on housing inventory in Nevada. At some point in the near future the inventory of available bank owned homes will drop dramatically. Short sale home sellers may delay their plans. Why rush to sell short if the lender isn’t going to rush to foreclose? I’m very concerned that this will create a false sense of demand in the market. Prices may rise due to scarcity but there’s no doubt reality will roar into the market someday soon.
Last but not least, why would any bank want to lend in Nevada? Let’s think about this… High unemployment, declining home values, state mandated foreclosure mediation and now this. Seriously, I’m no big fan of the banks but common sense would seem to dictate that Nevada is not a great place for banks to do mortgage business. Home financing is already tough in our market. No doubt this will only make things tougher in the long run.
Let’s hope our legislators do a little more homework before they pas the next round of laws intended to protect us all.
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Need a stocking stuffer? Or a present so special it will be remembered forever?
For $10 you can obtain a ticket for the January 20 event featuring three original Tuskegee Airmen which entitles you or your giftee to meet and greet with these historical figures, enjoy refreshments, take a tour of the Air Guard Facility, and gain admission to the movie, “Red Tails”.
Sponsored by “Our Story, Inc” and the Nevada Air National Guard with assistance from Cinemark, the event starts at 11:30 at 1776 National Guard Way in Reno. Admission is by pre-purchased ticket only. Movie attendance is at one’s convenience at any local Cinemark.
For more information, ticket purchase and details, call 775.741.4869
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(Bill Stevenson / Northstar-at-Tahoe)
You can once again ski or ride at huge discounts when you purchase Skiing for Schools lift tickets. Proceeds go directly to the Excellence in Education Foundation.
Lift tickets (non-refundable and purchased in advance) will be valid for any one day within a specified week at one of several local resorts.
For a list of resorts and dates plus more information on the Excellence in Education Foundation, visit our website and support our schools!
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Friday, February 24, 2012 By: David Hughes
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