Where to find reliable contractors

By Dian Hymer
Inman News®

You're not alone if your roof is leaking and you're kicking yourself for not having called a roofer during the summer months. Most people have a limited concept of preventative maintenance. This can lead to big problems that end up being more expensive than if you had routine maintenance in place.

Many buyers don't understand that home maintenance goes with homeownership. When you rent, someone else usually pays for repairs. As a homeowner, you're responsible for keeping your home in good condition.

Unless you're handy at home repairs, it can be costly to maintain a home properly. But there is a benefit at the end of the line. Buyers pay more for homes that are well-maintained and show a pride of ownership.

It can be a hassle to properly maintain your home unless you organize and prioritize the projects that need to be done. You also need to set a schedule and stick to it.

Most home maintenance can be done annually: roof maintenance (including gutters and downspouts); sealing exterior cracks; weatherproofing; a furnace and air conditioning inspection; and inspecting and cleaning the drainage system.

Mark these events on your calendar so that they can be scheduled for about a month before you'd like to have the work done. If you wait until just before the rainy season to start your annual maintenance, you could have trouble finding good contractors to help you.

Don't wait until your roof is leaking to repair or replace it. There will be collateral damage to the interior of the house. Your homeowners insurance company might pay to repair the interior damage, less the amount of your deductible, but it won't pay to replace the roof. Too many claims could be grounds for not renewing your policy.

HOUSE HUNTING TIP: Assemble a crew of contractors and tradespeople who can help you with your home maintenance. It's not always easy to find reliable people who do good work. You'll end up frustrated and having to do more oversight if you work with people who don't show up or do the job right.

Ask your real estate agent or acquaintances who own homes in the area to recommend tradespeople to you. If the seller is happy with people who have worked on the property, ask for a list of names and contact information when you close the sale.

Homeowners who haven't the time or expertise to determine what needs to be done to keep their home in good shape could ask the home inspector that inspected the house for them to do a reinspection periodically to point out areas that need attention.

One of the keys to good home maintenance is to take care of critical items as soon as they become apparent. For instance, don't postpone repairing a plumbing pipe leak. Have it repaired as soon as you notice it.

Don't assume that because your house is new that you won't have any maintenance issues. If the gutters back up on any house, even a new house, water can leak into the house or down the inside of the walls. This, left unchecked, can lead to a major repair to the framing. If repaired right away, you may just need to seal and touch up the paint.

Likewise, even though you just had the exterior painted, you still may have areas that will need touch up every year or so, especially if they receive intense sun exposure.

THE CLOSING: Don't go for the cheapest contractor or building materials just to save money. If an inferior-quality job has to be redone sooner than anticipated, your savings will dwindle.

Dian Hymer, a real estate broker with more than 30 years' experience, is a nationally syndicated real estate columnist and author of "House Hunting: The Take-Along Workbook for Home Buyers" and "Starting Out, The Complete Home Buyer's Guide." 

The government is changing its Home Affordable Refinance Program (HARP), making it easier for homeowners to refinance their underwater, high-interest mortgages.

Making sense of the story

• Although HARP has helped more than 890,000 homeowners nationwide by reducing their monthly mortgage payments, there are still millions of homeowners who are too far underwater to participate.
• Under the new rules, homeowners who owe more than 125 percent of the market value of their homes will be allowed to refinance into new loans.
• The program also streamlines the refinancing process for homeowners who are current on their mortgage payments and reduces or removes fees that previously hindered them from refinancing.
• Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac also will reduce the fees they charged in the past to enable borrowers to better afford the new loans.  Among the fees that will be reduced or eliminated are those for appraisals, title insurance, and closing costs.
• Fees also will be waived for some underwater borrowers who are refinancing into 20-year or shorter-term loans.
•  HARP is only open to borrowers who are current on their payments for the past six months with no more than one missed payment in the past 12 months.  The loans must have been originally issued before May 31, 2009, and purchased by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac.

  CNNMoney 

Closing costs can increase the price of a home by as much as $10,000, sometimes more.  Borrowers who are “cash-poor” can ask for assistance, or talk to their lender about a lender credit toward closing costs.

Making sense of the story

• Some lenders advertise that if borrowers agree to accept a mortgage interest rate from a quarter to a full percentage point higher than they would ordinarily qualify for, they can receive credit toward their closing costs.
• These mortgages are sometimes called no-closing-cost loans, though the term is misleading.  The credit usually covers only fees charged by the mortgage broker or bank, like the loan origination fee, the underwriting expense, and the appraisal.  That generally leaves title insurance, mortgage-recording taxes, insurance, and escrowed taxes to cover.
• The amount of credit depends on total closing costs and other loan details.  Generally, for every one-eighth of a point increase in interest rate, borrowers receive a credit worth half a percentage point of the principal amount.
• While these mortgages can be helpful to some, borrowers should carefully review all the details.  There are pluses and minuses to these loan types.  A downside is the higher rate and monthly payments remain in place through the life of the loan.
•  Doing a side-by-side comparison of loans with and without the credit can be helpful.

Bank of America has joined the Keep Your Home California principal-reduction program, making it the largest loan servicer involved in lowering loan balances for those with economic hardships.

Making sense of the story

 Keep Your Home California is a program offered through the California Housing Finance
Agency to help struggling homeowners avoid foreclosure.

 Bank of America, which services more than two million home loans in California, joins
others servicers involved in the program, including: California Dept. of Veterans Affairs,
the California Housing Finance Agency, Community Trust/Self Help, GMAC, Guild
Mortgage Company, and Vericrest Financial. Agency officials hope the list will continue
to grow, and that the program will continue to gain momentum.

 Under the program, qualified homeowners may be eligible for up to $50,000 in
assistance. The program requires the mortgage investor to match dollar-for-dollar the
amount provided by the program.

 Bank of America borrowers who do not qualify for the principal-reduction program will be
evaluated by bank representatives to explore other options, including a loan
modification.

 To be eligible for the program, applicants must: Own and occupy their homes as their
primary residence; not exceed $729,750 in current unpaid principal balances on first
mortgages; meet low- and moderate-income limits; complete and sign a hardship
affidavit to document reasons for hardships; have mortgage loans that are delinquent or
“in imminent default;” and have enough income to pay modified mortgage payments
according to guidelines from servicers participating in the programs.

 For more information about Keep Your Home California, visit
keepyourhomecalifornia.org or call (888) 954-5337(KEEP).

San Diego Union-Tribune 

Short sales: Are they worth the trouble?

Short sales – a real estate transaction in which the homeowner needs to sell the property, but
owes more on the mortgage than the home currently is worth – continue to dominate the
housing market, but these real estate transactions aren’t for everyone.

Making sense of the story

 Typically with a short sale, the homeowner is underwater and has experienced a
financial hardship such as a job loss. To limit the damage to his credit rating, a
homeowner may attempt to work with his lender to negotiate a short sale. Not only must
the bank approve of the short sale itself, it also must agree to the price, since the bank
will accept the difference as a loss.

 Unlike foreclosures, in which the owner has walked away and the bank is looking to
unload a vacant – and sometimes vandalized – property, a short sale isn’t a distressed
home that will sell at an extremely low price. According to data from RealtyTrac, short
sales typically sold for nearly 10 percent less than the market price in the first quarter of
2011, whereas foreclosures sold at an average discount of 35 percent.

 Home buyers wanting to purchase a short sale must have patience. In most cases,
when a buyer makes an offer on a house, he receives a response from the seller within
a few days, or even hours. With a short sale, the bank must approve of the sale and
bank representatives are overloaded with cases. It may take 30 days or longer for a
buyer to receive a response from the bank.

 In a traditional real estate transaction, it is common for a home buyer who currently owns
his home to make his offer contingent on selling his current home. In short sales, most
banks will not approve an offer that is contingent on the buyer selling his current home,
as too many things can go wrong.

 Banks also typically won’t consider short-sale offers that have inspection contingencies
in them, so buyers can either do an inspection prior to making an offer or forego an
inspection altogether.

 Even with the challenges associated with short sales, buyers should not avoid these
transactions. Being prepared ahead of the time and working with an experienced
REALTOR® can help buyers avoid frustration and surprises down the line. 

AOL Real Estate 

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