Green Key Real Estate - grnkey.com -

Kelly McKnight, Real Estate Services - 1-347.762.3353

A new way forward thru the foreclosure crisis - Change the dream and you change the city

The Buell Hypothesis, at its most basic, argues as follows: Change the dream and you change the city. The private house and the city or suburb in which it is situated share a common destiny. Hence, if you change the narratives guiding suburban housing (such as that of the American Dream) and the priorities they imply—including spatial arrangements, ownership patterns, the balance between public and private interests, and the mixtures of activities and services that any town or city entails—then you begin the process of redirecting suburban sprawl.   
http://www.moma.org/interactives/exhibitions/2012/foreclosed/

Green tip of the week and fast facts... ants and real estate...

Green Tip of the Week:  Stop ants
Natural deterrents to ants include dry Cream of Wheat, which they cannot digest and is lethal to them, as well as powdered borax mixed with maple syrup (don’t use the latter if you have children or pets). If the aim simply is to deter, but not kill, then sprinkle the substances they don’t like to cross, such as ground black pepper, chalk, or cinnamon, near doors.
See 1001 All-Natural Secrets to Pest-Free Property by Myles H. Bader for more natural solutions.

For more green real-estate-related tips and discussion, visit aprHMB’s green pages (http://green.aprHMB.com) 


Fast Facts 
Calif. median home price: April 2010: $306,230 (Source: C.A.R.)
Calif. highest median home price by C.A.R. region April 2010: Santa Barbara So. Coast $879,000 (Source: C.A.R.)
Calif. lowest median home price by C.A.R. region April 2010: High Desert $127,300 (Source: C.A.R.)
Calif. First-time Buyer Affordability Index - First quarter 2010: 66 percent (Source: C.A.R.)

Mortgage rates: Week ending 6/3/2010 30-yr. fixed: 4.79 Fees/points: 0.8% 15-yr. fixed: 4.20% Fees/points: 0.7% 1-yr. adjustable: 3.95% Fees/points: 0.7% (Source: Freddie Mac) 

Horse Property Buying Tips

 
Horse Property Buying Tips - Whether you are thinking of purchasing an existing country home or ranch, buying raw land and building your dream ranch from the ground up, or something in between, the same fundamentals apply. In his article 8 Tips for Selecting and Buying Equestrian Property, Tim Carey offers time-proven tips for evaluating horse property. Keeping these concepts in mind as you search for that ideal place to call home will ensure that your final selection remains a happy one for years to come. Click here to read the full article.

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Kelly McKnight
Alain Pinel Realtors

phone:  650-438-0800
email:  kelly@aprHMB.com

websites:   http://aprHMB.com
http://HalfMoonBayHomesForSale.net

Green Tip of the Week: & Fast Facts

E-recycling earns retailers’ gift cards
RadioShack’s online electronics trade-in program allows customers to exchange used, portable electronics for a RadioShack gift card. Accepted items include GPS devices, MP3 players, notebooks, and game consoles. Visit http://radioshack.cexchange.com/online/home/index.rails to learn the trade-in value and download the prepaid shipping labels. Gift cards arrive within 10 to 14 days.
 
For more green real-estate-related tips and discussion, visit C.A.R.’s green blog (http://blogs.car.org) and C.A.R.’s Green Web site (http://green.car.org).


Fast Facts 
Calif. median home price: March 2010: $301,790 (Source: C.A.R.)
Calif. highest median home price by C.A.R. region March 2010: Santa Barbara So. Coast $890,000(Source: C.A.R.)
Calif. lowest median home price by C.A.R. region March 2010: High Desert $122,970 (Source: C.A.R.)
Calif. First-time Buyer Affordability Index - Fourth Quarter 2009: 64 percent (Source: C.A.R.)
Mortgage rates - week ending 5/6/10 30-yr. fixed: 5.00 Fees/points: 0.7% 15-yr. fixed: 4.36% Fees/points: 0.7% 1-yr. adjustable: 4.07% Fees/points: 0.6% (Source: Freddie Mac)

Use a long term budget when buying a home

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When house hunting, first-time buyers are advised to create long-term budgets to help estimate costs of home ownership.  Items such as taxes, insurance, utilities, closing costs, appraisal fees, escrow fees, homeowner’s insurance fees, and moving costs should be included in the budget.
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Kelly McKnight
Alain Pinel Realtors

phone:  650-438-0800
email:  kelly@aprHMB.com

websites:   http://aprHMB.com
http://HalfMoonBayHomesForSale.net

Make a list when buying a house...

A common mistake many home buyers make is being too close-minded while searching for a home.  To avoid this, home buyers should sit down with their REALTOR® and create a needs/wants list.  The list should include items that are must-haves or deal-breakers, as well as those that are not necessary, but would be nice to have in the home.
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Kelly McKnight
Alain Pinel Realtors

phone:  650-438-0800
email:  kelly@aprHMB.com

websites:   http://aprHMB.com
http://HalfMoonBayHomesForSale.net

March reminders

 

MARCH

1 - Shoulder season starts today and runs through May. Look for bargains on travel.
3 - Keep an eye out for proxy forms. They'll let you vote on shareholder issues without being present at the annual meeting.
6 - Think taxes: Assign value to stuff you donated to charity if you itemize deductions.
14 - Daylight Savings Time begins. Spring forward.
15 - Deadline to empty your 2009 health-care flexible spending account (if your plan allows the 2½-month grace period).
16 - Federal Open Market Committee meets to review interest rates.
19 - Triple Witching Day for the stock market: Contracts for stock-index futures, stock-index options and stock options all expire together. Brace for volatile trading.


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Kelly McKnight
Alain Pinel Realtors

phone:  650-438-0800
email:  kelly@aprHMB.com

websites:   http://aprHMB.com
http://HalfMoonBayHomesForSale.net

Shopping for a loan? A good faith estimate will protect you

Beginning Jan. 1, the Dept. of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) required lenders to issue Good Faith Estimates to protect consumers applying for mortgage loans.  Some loan officers, however, sidestep the new requirement by giving their initial quotes on informal worksheets that carry no federal consumer protections.  It is important that consumers understand the differences between the federally mandated good faith estimate form and a lender’s informal worksheet.

 

MAKING SENSE OF THE STORY...

  • Last month, HUD told lenders and loan officers that under no circumstances can worksheet quotes be issued to a mortgage applicant in lieu of a good-faith-estimate form.

  • Under the new law, once a mortgage applicant supplies the essential application information, including Social Security number, property address, and estimated value, among other data, lenders must issue a binding-cost good-faith estimate.  Once this information is provided, lenders are required to issue the good faith estimate within three days of the application.

  • Loan officers cannot refuse to provide a good faith estimate to an applicant who requests one, nor can they tell applicants that they must commit to moving forward with their mortgage company to obtain a mortgage prior to receiving a good faith estimate.

  • Once an applicant has received a good faith estimate, they can take the form with them to comparison shop.  The new form includes itemized boxes allowing mortgage applicants to compare quotes from up to four lenders, such as interest rates, loan fees, prepayment penalties, and total settlement expenses.

  • The good faith estimate also ties upfront estimates to later charges at closing, and encourages borrowers to check line by line for any discrepancies.  The form explains which fees come with zero tolerance for changes between upfront estimates and closing—generally the lender’s own fees and local transfer taxes—and which fees allow a 10 percent fluctuation for changes higher than the estimate, such as certain title and closing-related services.

  • Some worksheets resemble good-faith estimates, but have titles such as “estimated settlement costs” at the top of the page.  Others indicate on the bottom of the form that the worksheet is not a good faith estimate, so consumers should carefully review documents before making any decisions.
     

To read the full story, please click here


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Kelly McKnight
Alain Pinel Realtors

phone:  650-438-0800
email:  kelly@aprHMB.com

websites:   http://aprHMB.com
http://HalfMoonBayHomesForSale.net

The federal tax credit for home buyers was extended and expanded late last year.

  • Qualified first-time buyers may be eligible to receive a tax credit of up to $8,000 on homes purchased before April 30, 2010.  Repeat buyers may be eligible for a tax credit of up to $6,500. Click here for more information about the federal tax credit for home buyers, including eligibility requirements.

  • To receive the tax credit, home buyers must comply with the IRS’s documentation requirements, including a fully executed IRS Form 5405.  On the form, which is available on the IRS’s Web site, taxpayers provide information supporting their claim of eligibility, such as income and home purchase date.

  • The IRS also requires home buyers to submit a copy of the closing or settlement statement that proves the transaction took place.  The IRS previously said that the statement should show “all parties’ names and signatures, property address, sales price, and date of purchase.”  However, since closing or settlement statements vary by state, and in some cases the form does not include both the seller’s and buyer’s signatures, the IRS has revised this requirement.  As long as the closing or settlement statement conforms to prevailing local practices, the IRS will accept it.

  • One stipulation for repeat buyers is they must provide documentation they lived in their former property for a consecutive five years out of the previous eight years.  Accepted documentation may include property tax records, hazard insurance records, or copies of annual mortgage interest statements filed with their federal taxes.

    • To read the full story, please click here.