Raleigh-Durham Real Estate Blog

HUD’s new 3-page Good Faith Estimate will be implemented January 1, 2010.

The goal is ensure that borrowers understand the terms of their mortgage loans and can more effectively compare financing offers from different lenders. The form completely revamps the way lenders disclose mortgage terms and explains to the borrowers what fees can and can’t change at closing. It also breaks down other charges that the homeowner can shop for, in order to receive a lower fee. It is written in user-friendly, plain language and is a victory for consumer protection efforts in the mortgage lending realm. A copy of the proposed new GFE can be found at the HUD’s website at http://www.hud.gov/content/releases/goodfaithestimate.pdf

One proposed feature of The Good Faith Estimate is not going to make lenders happy. It would require that lender payments to mortgage brokers (often called Yield Spread Premiums) be disclosed. It will be interesting to see how this debate pans out. Finally, HUD is proposing that settlement agents read a "closing script" to borrowers at the settlement table and that a copy be provided to the borrower. This will likely extend the timeframe required for roundtable closings, so those of you who are used to in-and-out quick closings on your properties will need to be aware of this if mortgage financing is a part of the purchase.

Tiffany and her clients mentioned in Black Enterprise Magazine

I was thrilled to receive a call from a Black Enterprise Magazine reporter recently regarding their interest in a feature article on getting started in real estate investing. As a subscriber, I’ve always found their articles to be both motivating and informative and I was glad to have the opportunity to contribute. I’d recently closed a deal with my clients, Jahmal and Angela Pullen and thought they would be an ideal case-study for the article so I suggested the reporter speak with them about their experience investing in rental property in Durham. The final article “Who wants to be a Landlord” is a great example of sound investing, and can be read in the print and online editions of this month’s issue. http://www.blackenterprise.com/magazine/2009/12/01/who-wants-to-be-a-landlord Congrats, Jahmal and Angela, both on the feature article and on your new rental property!

Home Prices Rise in Q3

Home prices rose for the second consecutive quarter this year, according to Freddie Mac's recently released quarterly national Conventional Home Price Index (CMHPI) Purchase-Only Series, adding evidence the nation's housing market is warming up. The full article is available at:

http://www.ncrealtors.org/news_display.cfm?nid=1137

Did you know ….

• First-time homebuyers accounted for a record 47% of U. S. home sales between July 2008 and this year.
• The national median income for a first-time homebuyer is $61,600.
• The average homebuyer signs their signature 47 times from contract to closing.
• The biggest question among first-time homebuyers, “Should I buy now or wait?”
• The biggest concern for first-time homebuyer is, will they miss out on the $8,000 tax credit and will interest rates go up if they wait.
• There have been 1.6 million households that have taken advantage of the $8,000 first-time homebuyer tax credit since its inception.
• It is anticipated that an additional 2.6 million households will take advantage of the extended tax credit by April 30, 2010, now that the move up buyer has been included.
• The chief economist of NAR, Lawrence Yun, is anticipating the overall sales will be up 20% in 2010.

Triexta…a miracle carpet fiber that can save you money

For all of you landlords out there…I recently installed “triexta” carpet in a rental unit at the advice of my flooring supplier. He mentioned a new “miracle fiber” called triexta and stated that it was resistant to bleach and red dye #5 (i.e. dreaded red kool-aid stains). Apparently, rather than spraying the carpet fibers with a stain-inhibitor that can eventually wear off or wash away, the stain-resistance is engineered into the individual fibers to make it more permanent. Being the skeptic that I sometimes am, I took some of the extra carpeting from the rental unit back to the office and we poured ample bleach and red wine on it to see if the “stain-resistance” claims were valid. Note: I will not answer any questions as to why we had red wine in the office on Friday! ;-)

We let it sit over the weekend, and believe it or not, after 3 days, there were no bleach stains on the carpet or the carpet backing. The red wine wiped away as well with a little bit of elbow grease. I AM A BELIEVER and will use this carpeting in rental units from now on. Given our unofficial tests, I suspect it will clean up well between tenants and, surprisingly, the price is comparable to traditional nylon carpeting. To find out more about triexta carpet fiber, visit http://www.mohawkflooring.com/smartstrand/triexta.aspx

Happy Investing!