Just A Realtor's Opinion

Interest Rates!

2010-07-16T07:49:00.000-07:00

Interest rates are at 30-35 year lows. We are seeing 30 year fixed rate loans in the mid-upper 4% range. The summer of 2010 may go down in history as one of the best times to buy that new home. The prices of another recession where interest rates approached 17% fixed rate. A $70,000 home then at 16% had principal&interest (P&I) payment of $941.33. A $140,000 home with a 5%, 30 year fixed rate loan has P&I payment of $751.55.

All time low reached Friday for Conventional fixed mortgage rates. The 30-year fixed mortgage rate available to well-qualified consumers at 1 point orgination dropped to 4.375% from 4.5%. The 15-year fixed rate also declined, from 4% to 3.875%. Never before have mortgage rates been this low.

Friday, mortgage-backed prices had a bif incerese that caused the decline in mortgage rates. MBS prices, which force mortgage rates in the opposite direction, gained +21/32 (FNMA 30-yr 4.5 at 102.23) on less than spectacular jobs numbers are more European debt concerns, this time in Hungary. Typically when we see major declines in stocks as we have recently, mortgage rates improve.

A New Email - Short Sale Help!

2010-07-16T07:18:00.000-07:00

I have run into some financial problems. I am currently delinquent on my mortgage and I don't know where to turn to. I read information on your website so I'm asking you for help.

I purchased my home in October, 2006. At the time I only had 2 kids, no credit cards (well one with only $500.00 limit) and everything ran smooth. Well, in 2008 things changed. I had my thrid child (still a single mother), and my employer does not pay maternity leave. Also if you recall the price of gasoline got expensive that year. Well, things went downhill since. I started using credit cards for gas and groceries. I obtained 2 more credit cards and personal loans (w/very high interest rates). Not only that, in 2009 my hours at work were reduced to 70-biweekly.

Last year I also got myself in school, so now i have student loans I will need to sart paying on this year. Before I knew it, I was in the hole.

My truck also got repoed early this year.

The situation with my mortgage is the following: I fell behind last year. I called my lender and they sent me a Loan Modification Agreement packet which I signed and notarized, and returned it to them along with a money order representing a one month payment in advance. Well, shortly after I returned that packet, I got another one in the mail that was very similar to it but I didn't return it as I had already accepted the prior offer, and I also called my lender to question the 2nd offer, that representative told me it was simply another offer but I didn't have to accept it. I told him I would just stick with the first offer. Well I was making my payments as the agreement said, but my monthly bills kept telling me I was delinquent. So I called my lender again, a different representative that I talked to told me that I was not under modification agreement, "that the first agreement's processing time had expired, that why they sent me the 2nd one that I declined, and that the rep. that I had talked to failed to look for the expiration time and failed to tell me that." So, I am not under a modification agreement, late fees/charges have mounted on top of my late payments. I am now about $9,000.00 in default and have received a bill asking for that amount and if not paid they will send notice of intent to accelerate - Foreclosure.

With all my other debt, I am no longer able to keep up with my mortgage. I really want to look into a Short Sale if you believe I qualify. Please help!

Midland Mortgage

2010-06-17T09:19:00.000-07:00

11/05/09 - Original contract was received and faxed to Midland Mortgage

11/09/09 - Shelter Insurance was contacted to look at the roof

11/23/09 - Shelter Insurance cut a check for $2619.48 made out to the seller and Midland Mortgage. Seller mailed the check to Midland up receipt.

11/24/09 - Received phone call from Midland stating they needed to net $50,400 after expenses in order to accept the contract.
- Received bid from Crown Exteriors from $5,500

11/25/09 - Contract addendum increasing the price to $56,000 was faxed to Midland

11/27/09 - A letter dated this date was sent to the seller stating that the check would need to be sent to Midland upon receipt, they would have the responsibility to ensure that the insurance funds are used to repair the property. In the letter for loans that are more than 90 days past due, said repairs would be paid.

11/30/09 - Seller Called to see why she hadn't received the check back yet.

12/09/09 - Received letter approvoing the contract for $56,000.

12/12/09 - Sales was closed with Alpha title in augusta Kansas. Midland was mailed a check for $50,400.

12/17/09 - Seller was told by Midland Mortgage that she should be receiving a check for the roof on Monday.

12/18/09 - Received Closing Worksheet, with midland netting $50,400.

12/21/09 - Contract addendum stating that the first installment check for the roof repairs of $2619.48, which she mailed to Midland on 12/21/09, was to be given to the buyer to pay Crown Exteriors. Once the roof work was completed, seller would received a check for $2552.30, which would be paid to Crown Exteriors.

12/24/09 - A letter dated this date was sent to tthe seller, returning the check for $2619.48, stating that the claim could not be processed until the paperwork from the insurance company, contractor bid, check endorsed by Monica, contractors license, contractors insurance.

1/22/10 - All above information was mailed to midland

Numerous -- The seller called numerous times trying to get the check returned.

3/03/10 - 1)Seller was told by Midland Mortgage that they were keeping the check as part of the short sale. Monica notified the insurance company.
2)Seller was told by Midland that they would issue a check back if we could show that it was part of the contract
3)Copies of the roof addendum & Crown Exterior bid was faxed to Zubaira Chowdhury at Midland.

3/09/10 - Alicia spoke with Shelter Insurance to see if there was anything they could do to help with this situation. Since the check was signed by both parties, they couldn't do anything about it.

3/11/10 - Seller was told they would call him back as soon as they were done reviewing the information that was sent to them.

3/25/10 - 1)Seller was told they were still reviewing the file by Ethel Slater
2)Final Invoice faxed to Shelter Insurance

3/26/10 - Candace emailed Latonia thrower, the negotiator for the short sale, explaining the issue and asking for her help.

3/31/10 - Alicia spoke with HUD - She was told that Midland probably offset their insurance claim with HUD. She said that was a mistake on Midland's part. They should redo the claim and the money to the roofing company.

4/08/10 - Alicai spoke with Latonia, she was told we must work with Ethel Slater as the file had be excalated. Ethyel was out of the office, so a voice message was left for her asking for an update.

4/13/2010 - Alicai left a voice message and sent an email to Ethel asking for an update.

4/16/10 - Ethel called and said that Midland had paid the money to HUD and was in the process of getting the money back.

4/16/10 - Carolyn Hanningan at HUD was assigned to help with the situation, Carolyn called asking for the lock box number and date the deposit was made to HUD. An email was sent to Ethel asking for said information.

4/19/10 - Alicia was copied on an email from Carolyn Hannigan to Ethel Slater that she was under the impression that Alicia and Ethel had communicated with each other on this file (I assume Ethel told Carolyn that she was unaware of the situation).

4/20/10 - 1)Alicia sent an email to Ethel and Carolyn stating that the buyer and roofing company were very upset, buyer was consulting his attorney.
2)Alicia received an email from Ethel stating that she didn't know anything about the lock box number and funds, but she would try to get to it.
3)Alicia received a phone call from Carolyn asking for a copy of the cancelled check from Shelter insurance.

4/27/10 - Seller mailed a copy of cancelled check to Midland

4/30/10 - 1)Alicia emailed the HUD case number to Carolyn
2)Alicia emailed Carolyn and Ethel stating that the check was endorsed by both the seller and Midland

5/03/10 - alicia received an email from Carolyn stating that she was trying to get ahold of Kortney Tibbetts, Pre-Foreclosure Sales manager at Midland Mortgage to try to get some help on the file.

5/07/10 - 1)Monica dropped off copies of the letters from Midland that she received in November and December (stated above). All information was sent to Carolyn and Ethel
2)Carolyn sent an email to Tony Hernandez at Midland, Manager for lost drafts, with about letters attached, stating that there was no evidence that the funds were ever received by HUD.

5/10/10 - Alicia called and left a voice message for Tony Hernanadez asking for an update.

5/12/10 - 1)Candace sent an email to Tony explaining that Cami Baker & Associates has been hired by the buyer, all correspondence will be turned over.
2)Candace received a phone call from Tony, he said we would check into the situation and have information for us by Monday.
3)Candace received an email from Tony stating that a check was sent to HUD for $3372.25, which included the insurance check for the roof and a rebate on taxes.
4)Carol sent the copy of the check to Sarah Martin at HUD

5/18/10 - Tony advised he was waiting on HUD to send the funds back to them for dispersement

5/19/10 - HUD required a new invoice from the roofing compnay breaking down the two installments to be paid.

5/20/10 - New invoice sent to HUD, Midland, & Shelter.

5/26/10 - HUD will cut the check after June 1st, since may business had already concluded.

6/04/10 - Midland recived the funds from HD

6/09/10 - Seller let us know that she had not received from Midland Mortgage

6/14/10 - Check received from Midland Mortgage

6/16/10 - Alicia called Shelter Insurance, they said they never received the final invoice, she faxed it over to them again.

7 Steps for Removing Mold From Listings

2010-06-09T07:05:00.000-07:00

Mold is a common home intruder that can quickly turn a desirable home into a risky purchase for potential buyers. So, what can sellers do about it? First, size up the problem, and then create a plan for safe and complete removal. If the mold is found in a small area, less than 10 square feet, removal can be a do-it-yourself project. Here's how:

1. Wear a face mask, goggles, and rubber gloves. Don't touch mold with bare skin.

2. Seal off the area to prevent the tiny spores from spreading to other parts of the house during the removal process. Open the windows and cover heat registers and ventilation ducts.

3. Wash the affected hard surface areas with a mild detergent solution, such as laundry detergent and warm water. As an added step, wipe the area with a solution of quater-cup bleach and one quart of water. (Warning: Do not mix ammonia and bleach; the fumes can be toxic.)

4.Dry the surface completely. Use fans and dehumidifiers or natural ventilation.

5. Apply a borate-based detergent solution. Don't rinse. This will help prevent the mold from growing again. (Look for "borate" listed on the ingredient labels of laundry or dishwasher detergent.

6. Don't take shortcuts. Never paint or caulk over moldy surfaces. The paint will peel and the mold will resurface.

7. Call a professional. Just when you think you finally won the battle against mold, you might see dormant spores reappear or even spread to clean areas of the house, particularly if proper removal procedures weren't take. You may need to call a mold remediation company to resovle the problem.

Complaint For the Kansas Appraisal Board

2010-02-08T09:25:00.001-08:00

I was the selling agent on a property located at 7637 SW Cedar Lane in Augusta, KS. The listing agent was with Prudential Dinning Beard. The buyers where paying cash for the property with a contract amount of $370,000 to close on January 20, 2010. The buyers did make the contract subject to the home appraising. I felt it was important because I thought they where paying too much for the property. When I did a comparative market analysis I came in with a value of $335,000 to $345,000.

I gave the buyers a list of appraisers familiar with Butler County. They pick an appraiser who went out to the property and did an appraisal that came in at $325,000, which I thought was low and so did everyone else. The seller was not lowering his price to this amount. The buyer offered to pay $350,000. Then the seller wanted to get an appraisal, the listing agent inform me that she knew an appraiser that would bring it in at contract. I wanted a fair appraisal and made this very clear. The listing agent picks an appraiser for the sellers. She gave him a copy of my buyer’s appraisal and a copy of our contract, which is wrong. I was not happy about this and informed the buyer. I also tried to call the appraiser who would not call me back. The seller of course paid for the appraisal. His appraisal came in at $371,000, imagine that. I don’t believe this appraisal would ever go through underwriting at a bank.

My buyers closed on this property for their own personal reasons. They did not believe it was worth what they paid. They where very discouraged at this entire process. I personally put 85% of our market problems with the lenders who gave out the high risk loans. Now my opinion of that has changed. Appraisers get 25% and lenders get the rest. If everyone did there job and did not think about themselves we would not be in this mess.

For the public: Your home is worth what you can find a willing and able buyer to pay for it and not a penny more. Realtors know what buyers are looking for; appraisers just try to match the contract to get the deal to go through. They get paid and the bank of course makes money.

Regards,
Candace L. Kunkel
Broker/Owner, GRI, CRI

Countrywide Short Sale Gone Bad

2009-04-06T12:55:00.000-07:00

Standing water in crawl space for over 6 months. We took these additional pictures so the bank would know how bad things where getting at the house

This is a time line of a short sale that we where trying to do with Countrywide for a client and how badly it went due to failure on Countrywide side. Countrywide is a failure for some many reasons. They do not deserve any of our hard working tax payers dollars. That includeds Bank of America who purchased Countrywide for pennies on the dollar and now they are receiving our taxpayers dollars! The banks are cheating America's out of more money. I'm very experienced in short sales and this is the only one I have not been successful at as of today. I'm now working another short sale for a client with Countrywide and starting to have the same troubles.

Countrywide Short Sale Process- Why are the tax payers bailing out these idiots!
5/15/2008
Listed the property at 940 Lulu. Started getting history together to fax to lender
6/25/2008
Sent in pay stubs, bank statements, & letter
7/8/2008
Received a contract for $78,000 on 940 Lulu, Property listed at 82,500. Property had sold 1 year earlier for $84,900 and sellers paid buyers closing cost. Buyer did not take care of property and also ruined the new carpet that was put into prior to their purchase. This contract would have only made the lender short by $15,000 approximately.
7/9/2008
Sent in HUD statement & contract
7/23/2008
Revised HUD, appraisal, price change, listing agreement and MLS sheet sent for history
7/25/2008
All info has been received and being reviewed
8/6/2008
In work-out department since 7-30-08, will take a couple weeks
8/10/2009
Jennifer Cook is the negotiator for this loan.
8/12/2008
House only appraised for $78,000. We just closed on this house 1-3-2008 and it appraised then for 84,900 with seller paying $3000 in cost.
8/14/2008
Need FHA short sell packet - they will email it
8/15/2008
Called and left message, never received packet, also sent an email
8/18/2008
Left message
8/21/2008
Faxed Pre-Foreclosure form
8/26/2008
Contract fell through-Buyer backed out because it was taking Countrywide so long
9/17/2008
Emailed to see if FHA forms need to be completed or wait on a new contract.
9/22/2008
We sent complete packet even without an offer
10/1/2008
Emailed packet to Jennifer
11/18/2008
Sheriff sale was today
11/22/2008
Tried to Auction the home and only got an offer for $30,000. CK emailed Jennifer Cook a letter containing information about the auction and recent pictures on the home showing its condition.No response.
11/28/2008
CK offered $50,000 and wrote a contract and faxed it to the bank.
12/2/2008
Talked to Jennifer, need to contact Foreclosure Dept. 800-669-6607-Talked to Maria - told we needed to talk to REO 866-781-0029 - Told that Fannie Mae will be selling, no longer a short sell. We would have to wait until it became available with HUD, then submit an offer. The HUD Department told us since Countrywide is guaranteed to get paid on this loan since it is FHA they probably would not work to help complete this short sale.
12/2/2008
Called and asked about the redemption period with lost litigation.Was told that the file was not marked for a redemption period. Was referred to the Hope Dept, was told to send HUD, contract, Pre-approval letter, and bank statements, it could take up to 60 days
12/3/2008
Packet was sent
12/1/2008
Sellers moved out and CK turned utilities on in her name. Sheriff Sale was Nov. 18, 2008 we have until Feb 17, 2009 to get this complete.
12/8/2008
Called, was told to call back in a week
12/17/2008
Talked with Erica Martinez was told it was going to get assigned to a negotiator
12/19/2008
Talked with Bianca, a negotiator not assigned yet. It had not been changed to send to a negotiator. Was told they need the FHA packet. It will take 3-5 business days before a negotiator is assigned. Faxed the FHA packet again (originally sent 12-3-08)
12/20/2008
Team Leader, Juan Tovar has been assigned and should go to a negotiator in 10 days. I never got to speak to Juan. Ck
12/22/2008
Talked to Sharon, was told it would take 10 days to get assigned to a negotiator, once assigned it will take 30 days
12/30/2008
Called, was told it was closed for non-compliance, still did not show the FHA packet, call back in 72 hours to make sure it was received. Faxed again (for the 3rd time)
1/2/2009
Talked to Brian, still showed closed for non-compliance. Was transferred to Shauntel, FHA packet was there, it would be assigned to a negotiator. It will take 10 days. Was also told insurance expired in 30 days.
1/6/2009
Supposedly this has been assigned to a team leader per Kathy with Countrywide.
1/12/2009
Talked to Gary, said he would call with the negotiator assigned to the file
1/13/2009
CK talked to Gary Gibbs at 866-880-1232 ext. 8300 he told me by the end of business on the 14th we would have a negotiator by the end of the day.
1/15/2009
Talked with Rick, It would be 5-7 more days to get a negotiator. Was told there was no way this would be able to close by 2-17-09.
1/18/2009
Countrywide sent a company to change locks and winterize property.
1/23/2009
Finally short sale was assigned to Jennifer Cook who was the orginally negotiator on 8-5-08 who CK had also called when we got the second contract on 12-8-08 and she took us she would not get the file again and she could not help!
1/26/2009
Jennifer calls and says she don't have a complete file. Oddly she did on 8-18-08. We emailed her all the info again.
1/28/2009
Sent Jennifer updated paystubs and hardship letter
1/29/2009
Chris Minor is Jennifer's supervisor. Left him a message. We asked them to send us a key because an appraiser has called to do an appraisal on Countrywide behalf. We don't have a key now because Countrywide change the locks and had the property winterized! Jennifer is not aware of this.
1/30/2009
Pete will look over file and get back to us. He said the FHA packet still not there, he would also email Jennifer Cook.
2/3/2009
Randy at Countrywide said he did not see any note in the file about keys and he would check and get back with us.
2/3/2009
Jennifer Cook I emailed her and left her a message to make sure she was sending us keys.
2/4/2009
Jennifeer Cook and told me she was aware that this is the second request for keys.
2/4/2009
Jennifer sent a letter at 11:43am deny our workout. (short sale)
2/4/2009
Email Candace sent to Jennifer. You have just cost the tax payers of the USA thousands of dollars
not include doing your employer a horrible job in this entire transaction from when it started on 6-22-2008.
The original contract offer on 7-8-08 for $78,000 would have been a loss to Countrywide of $15,070
approximately, although this being a government insured loan I believe Countrywide would
have been paid this money back.
Second offer 11-28-08 of $50,000 would have been a loss to Countrywide of $40,000, which
again the government will be paying Countywide back.
Now the property has been foreclosure on and I guarantee that it will sell for less then $50,000
but who cares TAX PAYERS ARE BAILING COUNTYWIDE OUT!
2/6/2009
Received keys from Countrywide today for the house.
4/3/2009
House is still not on the market and is looking worse.

This may be your year to appeal you property taxes

2009-01-18T17:57:00.000-08:00

If you are in an area that you know the current market value of your home is less then it was a year ago, consider appealing your property taxes. You shouldn’t continue to pay property taxes based on a higher value. Higher taxes may also make a property less appealing and affordable to buyers.

How do most counties figure what to charge a homeowner? Residential property values are based on the amount a willing buyer would pay a willing seller without duress. Key word is “without duress” this means, if you have a lot of foreclosures in your area, the county does not have to lower your value based on those sales. Assessments are generally not reviewed on an annual basis, so a property’s assessment will never be 100 of market value. In Butler and Sedgwick County, the comparables are a year behind the current year that we are being tax on. It may be next year before you see a decrease in your value. I strongly feel it will be difficult to get the county to lower our properties value because the governing bodies need MONEY!
If your home value seems to be out of line here are some steps for you to follow:

1. Make sure the county has the correct information on your home.
2. Public records are available for you to find out what other homes are appraised for in your area. You can use these for comparables.
3. Make sure you are familiar with the comparables the county used to assess your value. If you know those homes where in better condition such as; updating, new carpet, new roof, and fresh paint then you need to point that out to the county. Make a list of the positive and negative items that affects the value.
4. To find out the value of your home; you can call your local Realtor request them to run comparables or pay for a professional appraiser to do an appraisal.

Last thought- taxes will go up if in your area if the local mill levy has increase. That has nothing to do with the value of your home. For example; school, road or city improvements can increase taxes.

Good Luck

Auto Industry Bailout

2008-12-28T19:33:00.000-08:00

I did not believe in the bail out, because I have a small business and know the government would never come by my rescue if I had to close my doors. Car companies have made millions for years; they should have saved for a rainy day just like I was told to do. I hate to see people lose their jobs and see the cars I have grown up with go away. We can't keep printing money without having gold to back it up. The car companies can file their bankruptcy and continue to build their cars. If they develop new hybrids and other fuel-sippers and convert old SUV plants into factories turning out hot cars able to compete with those from Toyota and Honda. Then maybe they will be successful again. All America’s are going to have to learn to be leaner in the next few years. The UAW members need to realize in order to have jobs they need to come to grips that thirty-five dollars per hour, unbelievable work hours and great benefits are not a reality to make this happen and be successful. A job is better then no job.