Down Payments for Lower-Priced Homes Double This is absolutely ridiculous. It makes me sick. Thank you DODD FRANK for making it nearly impossible for anyone to buy a home in the lower price range.
Monday, August 18, 2014
Wednesday, August 6, 2014
Tuesday, December 17, 2013
Stay Safe During the Holidays! Security Tips
Stay Safe
During the Holidays: 3 Security Tips for the Season
The holidays are an ideal time to celebrate with family and
friends, but unfortunately, they are also a time when greater numbers of
burglaries and break-ins occur. While we are busy shopping and attending
holiday parties, or out of town visiting with family, our homes are prime
targets for break-ins. The following tips can help you keep your home and its
contents safe this holiday season.
1. Do not neglect basic security measures. Lock your doors and
windows even when you are at home, and if you do not already have deadbolts on
your doors, have them installed. Although most burglars prefer to enter an
unoccupied home to avoid getting caught in the act, a break-in can happen when
you are sleeping. Place your Christmas tree away from any windows, and close
your window coverings at night and when you go out, so would-be thieves do not
have an easy view of tempting gifts and other valuables. Install
motion-activated exterior lights to make your home less attractive to burglars,
since they would rather not be seen. Pull inside your garage before unloading
large purchases from your vehicle, and always keep your garage door closed and
locked.
2. Put today's security technology to good use. If you already
have a security system, test it regularly to ensure that it is working
properly, and then make sure that you set the alarm. If you do not own a home
security system, having one installed before the holidays arrive could help you
prevent a break-in. Thieves are less likely to prey on homes that have alarms
and other security deterrents, because these devices increase the chances that
they will get caught. Video security cameras can offer an additional layer of
protection over the holidays, and if a break-in does happen, they can provide
valuable evidence that can help police identify the responsible party. Check
out www.securitycamerasdirect.com for more info
on video security.
3. Plan any holiday travel with your home security in mind. Call
the post office and have your mail held, and cancel your daily newspaper
delivery to make it less obvious that the house is unoccupied. Never hide a
spare key outdoors in a spot where thieves can find it. Instead, leave it with
a trusted neighbor, make sure they have your alarm code, and ask them to park
their car in your driveway occasionally while you are gone. Set some interior
lights and a television on timers so thieves who are looking for an easy target
will think someone is at home. Resist the urge to share your holiday travel
details or photos on social media while you are away, and do not leave a
greeting on your voice mail that indicates you are out of town.
Taking security precautions now can allow you to enjoy a safer,
worry-free holiday that is filled with only the best the season has to offer.
Resources:
http://news.carlsbadca.gov/news/holiday-home-security-tips-2011
http://senioralertmedical.com/159/holiday-season-home-security-tips
http://www.dailystarjournal.com/online_features/seasonal/article_18c7feb6-d235-54c0-ab6d-80b020cd12a9.html
http://www.technewsdaily.com/16028-8-tips-home-holiday-protection.html
Wednesday, November 20, 2013
Jacksonville Jaguars to have one of a kind stadium 2014
Jacksonville will soon become the home of the largest video
screen in the world! Our beloved Jacksonville Jaguars received approval from
the city council to proceed with their amazing stadium enhancements. For a mere 63 million dollars, the Jaguars will
now have the most exciting fan experience in the entire NFL!
The North end zone of
beautiful EverBank field will become a warm Sunday afternoon oasis. Complete
with several swimming pools and the best bar and food service in Northeast
Florida; our fans will be the coolest fans in the country! The pool(s) will
keep those hot Jaguar fans as cool as cucumbers.
Now for the amazing details. Are you ready for some
football? You better be at the Stadium
and not at home stretched out on the couch! The LED scoreboards in each end
zone, each measuring 55 by 301 feet, make them the largest of their kind in the
world. If that isn’t enough of a view for you, there will be two sideline
boards, each measuring 3.6 by 579 feet.
If that isn’t enough, there will also be two displays in the Bud Light
Party Deck and above the Terrace Suites in the South End Zone, each measuring
3.6 by 106 feet! And for good measure, there will be two displays over the
tunnels, each measuring 6 by 22 feet and one display in the North End Zone
measuring 10 by 400 feet.
The families in Jacksonville Florida not only have the
Jaguars to watch during football season, there is also the Gator Bowl, the
World Cup Qualifier MLS Soccer game, and of course, the amazing Monster Truck
show to enjoy. With the completion of the stadium upgrades, even more events
will be scheduled.
Our EverBank field is in the heart of Jacksonville Florida
and now it’s going to be the home of the very best fan experience in the world.
Just another reason to make Jacksonville YOUR home. Hurry up
and get here! We’ll save you a seat at the Stadium.
Wednesday, November 13, 2013
Saturday, November 9, 2013
Monday, November 4, 2013
Saturday, November 2, 2013
Thursday, October 31, 2013
Wednesday, October 16, 2013
Mortgage defaulters may have to face the debt collectors now...
From Information, Inc
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WASHINGTON – Oct. 16, 2013 – Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have stepped up their
program to collect unpaid mortgage debt from “strategic defaulters” – underwater
homeowners who skipped out on their mortgage even though they had the ability to
pay.
If a home is sold at foreclosure but the proceeds don’t cover the outstanding balance of the homeowner’s loan, the mortgage giants can pursue judgments against the homeowner forcing him or her to pay the deficiency. And the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) that regulates Fannie and Freddie is pushing them to step up their efforts.
FHFA says Fannie and Freddie haven’t been aggressive enough going after strategic defaulters; and, according to the inspector general, the mortgage giants could cut their losses by making it a priority – billions of dollars, the office says.
So far, the office says it has identified about 58,000 foreclosures that Freddie Mac did not refer for collection – and estimated deficiency of about $4.6 billion.
Some states do not allow deficiency judgments, but in more than 30 states and the District of Columbia, they’re permissible. Florida is one of the states that allows Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to seek repayment of lost funds.
Going forward, FHFA says it will more closely monitor how effective Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are in collecting deficiency judgments.
Source: “Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac to go after more strategic defaulters,” The Los Angeles Times (Oct. 13, 2013)
© Copyright 2013 INFORMATION, INC. Bethesda, MD (301) 215-4688
WASHINGTON – Oct. 16, 2013 – Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have stepped up their
program to collect unpaid mortgage debt from “strategic defaulters” – underwater
homeowners who skipped out on their mortgage even though they had the ability to
pay.If a home is sold at foreclosure but the proceeds don’t cover the outstanding balance of the homeowner’s loan, the mortgage giants can pursue judgments against the homeowner forcing him or her to pay the deficiency. And the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) that regulates Fannie and Freddie is pushing them to step up their efforts.
FHFA says Fannie and Freddie haven’t been aggressive enough going after strategic defaulters; and, according to the inspector general, the mortgage giants could cut their losses by making it a priority – billions of dollars, the office says.
So far, the office says it has identified about 58,000 foreclosures that Freddie Mac did not refer for collection – and estimated deficiency of about $4.6 billion.
Some states do not allow deficiency judgments, but in more than 30 states and the District of Columbia, they’re permissible. Florida is one of the states that allows Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to seek repayment of lost funds.
Going forward, FHFA says it will more closely monitor how effective Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are in collecting deficiency judgments.
Source: “Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac to go after more strategic defaulters,” The Los Angeles Times (Oct. 13, 2013)
© Copyright 2013 INFORMATION, INC. Bethesda, MD (301) 215-4688
Wednesday, October 9, 2013
Deep Water Home Near Jacksonville Beach FL
Jacksonville Deep Water Home
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Overview Maps Photos Description |
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Ronda Densford |
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Friday, August 16, 2013
NEVER show your home without a MLS advance appointment
This is another example of how the bad guys can get very creative. You should get a phone call from your Brokerage or listing agent if your home is going to be shown. Never open your door to ANYONE that hasn't made an appointment.
Cops: Duo Pose as Agent, Buyer to Rob Homes
Cops: Duo Pose as Agent, Buyer to Rob Homes
Wednesday, August 14, 2013
Obama administration pushes banks to make home loans to people with weaker credit
Once again the American dream may be available to those with less than stellar credit.
From The Washington Post
The Obama administration is engaged in a broad push to make more home loans available to people with weaker credit, an effort that officials say will help power the economic recovery but that skeptics say could open the door to the risky lending that caused the housing crash in the first place.
President Obama’s economic advisers and outside experts say the nation’s much-celebrated housing rebound is leaving too many people behind, including young people looking to buy their first homes and individuals with credit records weakened by the recession.
Housing officials are urging the Justice Department to provide assurances to banks, which have become increasingly cautious, that they will not face legal or financial recriminations if they make loans to riskier borrowers who meet government standards but later default.
Officials are also encouraging lenders to use more subjective judgment in determining whether to offer a loan and are seeking to make it easier for people who owe more than their properties are worth to refinance at today’s low interest rates, among other steps.
Obama pledged in his State of the Union address to do more to make sure more Americans can enjoy the benefits of the housing recovery, but critics say encouraging banks to lend as broadly as the administration hopes will sow the seeds of another housing disaster and endanger taxpayer dollars.
“If that were to come to pass, that would open the floodgates to highly excessive risk and would send us right back on the same path we were just trying to recover from,” said Ed Pinto, a resident fellow at the American Enterprise Institute and former top executive at mortgage giant Fannie Mae.
Administration officials say they are looking only to allay unnecessary hesitation among banks and encourage safe lending to borrowers who have the financial wherewithal to pay.
“There’s always a tension that you have to take seriously between providing clarity and rules of the road and not giving any opportunity to restart the kind of irresponsible lending that we saw in the mid-2000s,” said a senior administration official who was not authorized to speak on the record.
The administration’s efforts come in the midst of a housing market that has been surging for the past year but that has been delivering most of the benefits to established homeowners with high credit scores or to investors who have been behind a significant number of new purchases.
“If you were going to tell people in low-income and moderate-income communities and communities of color there was a housing recovery, they would look at you as if you had two heads,” said John Taylor, president of the National Community Reinvestment Coalition, a nonprofit housing organization. “It is very difficult for people of low and moderate incomes to refinance or buy homes.”
From The Washington Post
By
President Obama’s economic advisers and outside experts say the nation’s much-celebrated housing rebound is leaving too many people behind, including young people looking to buy their first homes and individuals with credit records weakened by the recession.
More business news
In response, administration officials say they are working to get banks to lend to a wider range of borrowers by taking advantage of taxpayer-backed programs — including those offered by the Federal Housing Administration — that insure home loans against default.
Officials are also encouraging lenders to use more subjective judgment in determining whether to offer a loan and are seeking to make it easier for people who owe more than their properties are worth to refinance at today’s low interest rates, among other steps.
Obama pledged in his State of the Union address to do more to make sure more Americans can enjoy the benefits of the housing recovery, but critics say encouraging banks to lend as broadly as the administration hopes will sow the seeds of another housing disaster and endanger taxpayer dollars.
“If that were to come to pass, that would open the floodgates to highly excessive risk and would send us right back on the same path we were just trying to recover from,” said Ed Pinto, a resident fellow at the American Enterprise Institute and former top executive at mortgage giant Fannie Mae.
Administration officials say they are looking only to allay unnecessary hesitation among banks and encourage safe lending to borrowers who have the financial wherewithal to pay.
“There’s always a tension that you have to take seriously between providing clarity and rules of the road and not giving any opportunity to restart the kind of irresponsible lending that we saw in the mid-2000s,” said a senior administration official who was not authorized to speak on the record.
The administration’s efforts come in the midst of a housing market that has been surging for the past year but that has been delivering most of the benefits to established homeowners with high credit scores or to investors who have been behind a significant number of new purchases.
“If you were going to tell people in low-income and moderate-income communities and communities of color there was a housing recovery, they would look at you as if you had two heads,” said John Taylor, president of the National Community Reinvestment Coalition, a nonprofit housing organization. “It is very difficult for people of low and moderate incomes to refinance or buy homes.”
Thursday, March 28, 2013
Time to Sell Your Home in Jacksonville Beach??
The time to sell is a waiting game for some
By Megan Hopkins • March 21, 2013 •
Real estate is always a game of knowing when to make your move.
With that in mind, industry experts suggest move-up buyers remain mindful of how quickly home prices appreciate while riding the current market recovery.
For move-up buyers wanting to wait out rising home prices to ensure they can sell their current home at a maximum price, analysts say the value of such a move depends on when the homeowner purchased their current residence.
Daren Blomquist, vice president of RealtyTrac, says homeowners who purchased during the down market of the last two or three years would be wise to move up in 2013.
"Because they bought near the bottom, these homeowners should have built up some good equity that can go toward the purchase of a new home, and waiting longer to build more equity likely won’t provide much advantage given that other homes that they might want to move up to will also be appreciating at roughly the same pace," said Blomquist.
He added, "In addition, the low interest rates of 2013 are certainly not guaranteed to last forever."
However, for homeowners who purchased near the peak of the housing market — in the past five to seven years — it’s probably better to wait for home prices to rise further before they sell and move up, Blomquist advises.
"If these folks need to move because of a job or other reason, it is worth considering renting out the property in the short term to take advantage of the strong rental market," said Blomquist.
Thursday, March 21, 2013
West Beaches Price Cut 4/2
Super Location In Jacksonville
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Overview Maps Photos Description Neighborhood |
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Ronda Densford |
Nearby properties for sale |
Tuesday, February 26, 2013
Suffered a foreclosure? You can buy again!
NEW YORK – Feb. 26, 2013 – Many former homeowners who walked away from their homes in a “strategic default” are back on the market, eager to buy a home again. Owners who go through a strategic default choose to do so, calculating that the financial loss and any resulting hit in their credit report makes more sense than staying in a home that lost value.
Nearly 80 percent of strategic defaulters say they want to buy a home again within the next 12 months, according to a survey by YouWalkAway.com, a website that helps borrowers in the legal pitfalls of strategic default.
The market potential for these comeback homeowners could be huge: The number of eligible home buyers who have a foreclosure on their record will reach 1.5 million by the first quarter of 2014, according to data by Moody’s analytics.
Borrowers who defaulted on their mortgage during the recent recession may fare better at qualifying for a loan again than those who defaulted on multiple credit accounts and auto loans too, according to a study by TransUnion conducted in 2011.
“There appears to be a pocket of opportunity among mortgage-only defaulters that is not the result of excess liquidity, but rather the unique circumstances of the recent recession,” says Steve Chaouki, group vice president in TransUnion’s financial services business unit. “This new market segment that the recession created is an important one for lenders to understand. They have the potential, today, to be stronger and more reliable customers.”
Still, some comeback homeowners will have to wait. For example, the Federal Housing Administration requires homeowners who faced a foreclosure to wait three years before they can buy again while Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac require up to seven years for a strategic defaulter to wait to apply for a mortgage again.
Source: “They Bailed on Mortgage, but Now Want to Buy Again,” CNBC.com (Feb. 22, 2013)
© Copyright 2013 INFORMATION, INC. Bethesda, MD (301) 215-4688
Nearly 80 percent of strategic defaulters say they want to buy a home again within the next 12 months, according to a survey by YouWalkAway.com, a website that helps borrowers in the legal pitfalls of strategic default.
The market potential for these comeback homeowners could be huge: The number of eligible home buyers who have a foreclosure on their record will reach 1.5 million by the first quarter of 2014, according to data by Moody’s analytics.
Borrowers who defaulted on their mortgage during the recent recession may fare better at qualifying for a loan again than those who defaulted on multiple credit accounts and auto loans too, according to a study by TransUnion conducted in 2011.
“There appears to be a pocket of opportunity among mortgage-only defaulters that is not the result of excess liquidity, but rather the unique circumstances of the recent recession,” says Steve Chaouki, group vice president in TransUnion’s financial services business unit. “This new market segment that the recession created is an important one for lenders to understand. They have the potential, today, to be stronger and more reliable customers.”
Still, some comeback homeowners will have to wait. For example, the Federal Housing Administration requires homeowners who faced a foreclosure to wait three years before they can buy again while Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac require up to seven years for a strategic defaulter to wait to apply for a mortgage again.
Source: “They Bailed on Mortgage, but Now Want to Buy Again,” CNBC.com (Feb. 22, 2013)
© Copyright 2013 INFORMATION, INC. Bethesda, MD (301) 215-4688
Saturday, February 2, 2013
Monday, January 28, 2013
Sunday, April 1, 2012
Latest update on the Jacksonville FL real estate market
Wow! What a difference a few months make! The short and sweet version of what's going on in the Jacksonvile Market is this:
Our inventory is DOWN to a 6 and a half month supply. A "normal" or stable market is considered to be a 5-6 month supply. We're almost back to normal! Break out the champagne!
Have you been house hunting lately? Good luck! The inventory is VERY low. It's hard to find very many houses to look at. Guess what this (historically) means? Yep. Supply vs Demand = Higher home prices. Keep that in mind if you're still sitting on the fence.
Need more proof? How about these factoids? New listings crept up a little in February, but not nearly enough to keep up with the number of sold properties.. I'm thinking that means that we're exactly where we were this time last year. Know what that means? Yep. The bottom is here or so close I can almost see it!
More evidence? The median sales price was down a whopping 0.2% over last year. I say that doesn't count. I'm going to call it a wash and say that the median sales price didn't fall. I mean seriously, 0.2%? I'm thinking that means that we're exactly where we were this time last year. Know what that means? Where are all of the REO's and Foreclosures that were headed to the market? They haven't made it here YET. CAN IT BE THAT WE'VE HIT BOTTOM??
Just maybe. Pending sales are up 26.5%. Yes, you read that right UP 26.5%. About half of those (47.4% to be exact) were distressed sales (short sales, foreclosures, REO's) and the rest were gool old fashioned seller owned properties.
Can it be? Someone pinch me. I think we've hit bottom and maybe, just maybe, with this shortage of new listings, prices just might to start going up. I will be happy if they just stablize and stop falling. Afterall. All we want is a healthy market where Sellers can Sell and Buyers can afford to buy.....
I think we just might be there now. What do you think?
Our inventory is DOWN to a 6 and a half month supply. A "normal" or stable market is considered to be a 5-6 month supply. We're almost back to normal! Break out the champagne!
Have you been house hunting lately? Good luck! The inventory is VERY low. It's hard to find very many houses to look at. Guess what this (historically) means? Yep. Supply vs Demand = Higher home prices. Keep that in mind if you're still sitting on the fence.
Need more proof? How about these factoids? New listings crept up a little in February, but not nearly enough to keep up with the number of sold properties.. I'm thinking that means that we're exactly where we were this time last year. Know what that means? Yep. The bottom is here or so close I can almost see it!
More evidence? The median sales price was down a whopping 0.2% over last year. I say that doesn't count. I'm going to call it a wash and say that the median sales price didn't fall. I mean seriously, 0.2%? I'm thinking that means that we're exactly where we were this time last year. Know what that means? Where are all of the REO's and Foreclosures that were headed to the market? They haven't made it here YET. CAN IT BE THAT WE'VE HIT BOTTOM??
Just maybe. Pending sales are up 26.5%. Yes, you read that right UP 26.5%. About half of those (47.4% to be exact) were distressed sales (short sales, foreclosures, REO's) and the rest were gool old fashioned seller owned properties.
Can it be? Someone pinch me. I think we've hit bottom and maybe, just maybe, with this shortage of new listings, prices just might to start going up. I will be happy if they just stablize and stop falling. Afterall. All we want is a healthy market where Sellers can Sell and Buyers can afford to buy.....
I think we just might be there now. What do you think?
Thursday, January 12, 2012
Jacksonville Market Improving
You can almost feel it in the air. Now that the inventory of
homes on the market continues to drop........ Buyers really aren't in
the drivers seat anymore. I sold a house last week and we (of course)
got into a multiple offer situation. I explained to my Buyers how it
works in great detail. Then I suggested that they "sleep on it" and
consider their "highest and best offer". Keep in mind, they LOVE this
house. We looked at a dozen others AFTER we looked at this one back in
November. Everytime we left a home, they compared the others to this
one. They asked me if I thought they should go in at full asking price.
After another CMA and a lot of discussion, they decided they wanted it
bad enough to offer full price. We did and we got it! I had written a sweet cover letter and I'd like to
think that helped the Seller make his decision. My Buyers are ecstatic
and we're well into the process of getting the financing together. So
there you go... Another home in Jacksonville sold at asking price. The numbers don't lie. According to the National Assoc of Home Builders, our market has shown improvement in housing permits, our employment numbers have improved and house prices have improved for at least six consecutive months. This is another indicator that our overall real estate market is improving. According to NAHB: "The three indicators that are analyzed are employment growth from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, house price appreciation from Freddie Mac, and single-family housing permit growth from the U.S. Census Bureau. NAHB uses the latest available data from these sources to generate a list of improving markets. A metropolitan area must see improvement in all three areas for at least six months following their respective troughs before being included on the improving markets list."
There may never be a better time to buy in Jacksonville. The interest rates remain low (my latest buyer locked in at 4%) and the home prices have stabilized at historical lows. We are attracting new companies and according to the Chamber of Commerce 8,000 new jobs were created in 2011. Not a huge number, but better than most cities.
We're excited about the real estate market in Jacksonville Florida! Things are looking up and we're looking forward to market growth.
Contact us today for more information.
Some information from the National Home Builders Association
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