Eight Ways To Improve Your Appraisal (cont.)
Barli & Associates always tryies to provide useful information and today, we will continue with the 8 ways you can improve your appraisal. The entire article is written by Lou Carlozo and can be read here:
Here are more ways you can bolster your appraisal:
4) DOCUMENT YOUR FIX-UPS
If you've put money into the house, prove it, says Salem.
"Before-and-after photos, along with a well-defined spreadsheet of what was spent on each renovation, should persuade an appraiser to turn in a number that far exceeds what he or she first called out."
Don't forget to highlight all-important structural improvements to electrical systems, heating and cooling systems - which are harder to see, but can dramatically boost an appraisal. Show receipts.
5) TALK UP YOUR TOWN
If your town has recently seen exciting developments, such as upscale restaurants, museums, parks or other amenities, make sure your appraiser knows about them, says Craig Silverman, principal and chief appraiser at Silverman & Co. in Newtown, Pennsylvania.
6) DISTINGUISH BETWEEN UPSTAIRS AND DOWNSTAIRS
Many homeowners covet that refinished basement, but that doesn't mean appraisers look at it the same way. "Improvements and additions made below grade, such as a finished basement, do not add to the overall square footage of your house," says John Walsh, president of Total Mortgage Services in New York. "So they don't add anywhere near as much value as improvements made above grade."
According to Remodeling magazine, a basement renovation that cost $63,000 in 2011-12 will recoup roughly 66 percent of that in added home value. That's not as good as an attic bedroom, which will recoup 73 percent of its cost. Even similar bedrooms typically count for more if they are upstairs instead of downstairs.
We will provide the last two in the next few days. Let us know how we can help you with the purchase or sale of your home.
-Daniel Barli, Esq.
http://www.barlilaw.com
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Wednesday, February 27, 2013
Sunday, February 17, 2013
Another satisfied customer:
"Dear Mike and Dan!
My wife and I just wanted to thank you again for all of your help and efforts in working on the refinance of our mortgage last night. My wife enjoyed speaking with all of you, and the thank you gift was the “cherry on the top” of the experience. We both talked about it in the car after we left, that it was definitely the happiest time we have ever refinanced the home…period!
I was so inspired, I was already talking with several people in my office about discussing refinancing with you, and it is certainly a question on the top of my tongue, when I am reviewing coverages with my clients. So I hope to have more referrals going to both of you in the near future.
Once again, thank you again for your professional, knowledgeable, and most importantly…cheerful services! J
Sincerely,
Robert"
Let us help you with the refinance, purchase or sale of your home to ensure you have a great experience!
-Daniel Barli, Esq.
Wednesday, February 13, 2013
Eight Ways To Improve Your Appraisal
Here at Barli & Associates, we are always trying to provide useful information and today, we will continue with the 8 ways you can improve your appraisal. The entire article is written by Lou Carlozo and can be read here:
Here are eight ways you can bolster your appraisal:
1) MAKE SURE APPRAISER KNOWS YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD
Is the appraiser from within a 10-mile radius of your property? "This is one of the first questions you should ask the appraiser," says Ben Salem, a real estate agent with Rodeo Realty in Beverly Hills, California.
He recalled a recent case where an appraiser visited an unfamiliar property in nearby Orange County and produced an appraisal that Salem said was $150,000 off. "If the appraiser doesn't know the area intimately, chances are the appraisal will not come back close to what a property is really worth."
You can request that your lender send a local appraiser; if that still doesn't happen, supply as much information as you can about the quality of your neighborhood.
2) PROVIDE YOUR OWN COMPARABLES
Provide your appraiser with at least three solid and well-priced comparable properties. You will save her some work, and insure that she is getting price information from homes that really are similar to yours.
Websites including Realtor.com, Zillow and Trulia offer recent sales prices and details such as the number of bedrooms and bathrooms in a home.
3) KNOW WHAT ADDS THE MOST VALUE
If you're going to do minor renovations, start with your kitchen and bathrooms, says G. Stacy Sirmans, a professor of real estate at Florida State University. He reviewed 150 variables that affect home values for a study sponsored by the National Association of Realtors. Wood floors, landscaping and an enclosed garage can also drive up appraisals.
We will provide the rest of them in the next few days. Let us know how we can help you with the purchase or sale of your home.
-Daniel Barli, Esq.
http://www.barlilaw.com
Follow us on Facebook
Connect with us on LinkedIn
Follow us on Twitter
Here at Barli & Associates, we are always trying to provide useful information and today, we will continue with the 8 ways you can improve your appraisal. The entire article is written by Lou Carlozo and can be read here:
Here are eight ways you can bolster your appraisal:
1) MAKE SURE APPRAISER KNOWS YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD
Is the appraiser from within a 10-mile radius of your property? "This is one of the first questions you should ask the appraiser," says Ben Salem, a real estate agent with Rodeo Realty in Beverly Hills, California.
He recalled a recent case where an appraiser visited an unfamiliar property in nearby Orange County and produced an appraisal that Salem said was $150,000 off. "If the appraiser doesn't know the area intimately, chances are the appraisal will not come back close to what a property is really worth."
You can request that your lender send a local appraiser; if that still doesn't happen, supply as much information as you can about the quality of your neighborhood.
2) PROVIDE YOUR OWN COMPARABLES
Provide your appraiser with at least three solid and well-priced comparable properties. You will save her some work, and insure that she is getting price information from homes that really are similar to yours.
Websites including Realtor.com, Zillow and Trulia offer recent sales prices and details such as the number of bedrooms and bathrooms in a home.
3) KNOW WHAT ADDS THE MOST VALUE
If you're going to do minor renovations, start with your kitchen and bathrooms, says G. Stacy Sirmans, a professor of real estate at Florida State University. He reviewed 150 variables that affect home values for a study sponsored by the National Association of Realtors. Wood floors, landscaping and an enclosed garage can also drive up appraisals.
We will provide the rest of them in the next few days. Let us know how we can help you with the purchase or sale of your home.
-Daniel Barli, Esq.
http://www.barlilaw.com
Follow us on Facebook
Connect with us on LinkedIn
Follow us on Twitter
Sunday, February 10, 2013
FHA to hike premiums on mortgages
1/31/13 -
Government-insured mortgages are about to get more expensive.
The Federal Housing Administration, which is the largest insurer of low-down payment mortgages, announced Wednesday that it will raise premiums by 10 basis points, or 0.1%, on most of the new mortgages it insures.
A borrower opting for a 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage who puts 5% or more down will now pay an annual insurance premium of 1.3% of their outstanding balance. And someone who puts less than 5% down will pay a premium of 1.35%.
The agency said it will also raise premiums for borrowers with jumbo loans -- or loans of $625,000 or more -- by 5 basis points, or 0.05%, and increase the minimum down payment requirement on these loans to 5% from 3..5%.
You can read the rest of the article here. As always, do not hesitate to contact us for legal protection in your purchase or sale of your home. We look forward to working with you.
-Daniel Barli, Esq.
Wednesday, January 9, 2013
Hackensack approves State Street redevelopment
-Bergen Record, Hackensack - The City Council gave unanimous final approval Tuesday night to a redevelopment plan for a portion of State Street designed to attract high-density residences and businesses.
The plan allows for mixed-use development with up to 230 residential units on several lots between Warren and Bergen streets. The approval is a key step in a larger plan to transform the city’s downtown into a more modern shopping, work and living area, officials said.
“Hopefully, this is the first step and the project that will kick off the overall Main Street development progress, Mayor Mike Melfi said. “We’re hoping for a quick shovel in the ground and to see others join quickly to move this redevelopment forward.”
The plan calls for apartment or condominium buildings of up to six stories with specific amenities, including a fitness center, a common room on each floor, and rooftop perks “with at minimum a fireplace or fire pit.” The plan also allows for ground-floor storefront businesses.
The State Street redevelopment area now is home to a bank and gravel lots. Two vacant single-family homes that had been divided into several apartments and had empty ground-level commercial storefronts were demolished recently by the Building Department for safety reasons, officials said.
The State Street redevelopment plan is part of the Downtown Rehabilitation Plan that the city approved in June. That plan eased zoning, parking and other restrictions in a 39 block-area known as the city's Main Street corridor to encourage mixed-use development.
It’s designed to encourage a contemporary brand of downtown development where people can live, work, shop and find entertainment, all a short distance from mass transit and in a pedestrian-friendly setting.
Councilwoman Karen Sasso, a trustee on the Main Street Business Alliance board, said the State Street plan would be the “spark that will help other development and help realize dramatic change.”
City Manager Stephen Lo Iacono said he has been talking regularly with developers interested in investing in the city’s downtown. With the State Street approval in place, he said, developers and property owners can start submitting plans to the city’s land-use boards. The new residences, he said, would support local businesses and make the area more valuable.
The plan can be found online at mainstreethackensack.com
You can read the entire article here and as always, don't hesitate to let us know how we can help you.
Friday, December 14, 2012
Short sales jump ahead of tax hike
A soon-to-expire tax break for troubled homeowners is helping drive a spurt in "short sales."
-December 6, 2012 - During the three months ended Sept. 30, short sales in which homeowners had fallen behind on mortgage payments soared 22% over last year, according to a report released Thursday by online marketing company RealtyTrac. By comparison, short sales by people current on their payments went up 17%.
In a short sale, homeowners sell at a price that is less than what they owe the bank, and the bank agrees to absorb the loss. The bank unloads the house and the homeowner gets out of a mortgage he can't afford.
And currently, homeowners don't have to pay federal tax on the unpaid mortgage debt because of a bailout-era law known as the federal Mortgage Debt Forgiveness Act.
But the act expires on Dec. 31 and, unless it is extended, the IRS in January will start treating unpaid mortgage debt as taxable income for many borrowers. The average amount of forgiven debt in a short sale is about $95,000, according to Blomquist. The tax on that could go as high as $33,250, even more if the Bush tax cuts expire.
Read the rest of the article here and let us know how we can help you navigate through a short sale!
-Daniel Barli, Esq.
Tuesday, November 27, 2012
Tips on landing a home equity line of credit
11/16 - Property Management Software
As home prices began their long slide, banks pulled the plug on home-equity lending. Homeowners who had already snagged home-equity lines of credit lost out, too, as many received notice that their lines of credit had been frozen. Home-equity loan originations are still 80% below their peak, according to a recent report from Moody’s Analytics and Equifax. But as the housing market emerges from the doldrums, home-equity borrowing is beginning to perk up, too.
Pick your flavor. A home-equity loan, which usually comes with a fixed monthly payment and interest rate, is best for projects or purchases with a one-time, fixed cost, such as consolidating debt. Home-equity lines of credit, or HELOCs, make sense for ongoing expenses, such as long-term home-improvement projects or college-tuition payments. HELOCs usually have a variable rate that’s tied to the prime rate, plus or minus some percentage. On a fixed-rate loan, a borrower with good credit (with a FICO score of about 720 to 740) may pay 6.5%; that same borrower would likely pay the prime rate (currently 3.25%) plus 1.5 to 2 percentage points on a HELOC, says Keith Gumbinger, vice-president of HSH.com, a mortgage-information site.
Shop smart. Compare terms from several lenders, including banks with which you already have accounts or loans. Those lenders may be willing to give you a break on rates or fees, says Nessa Feddis, vice-president and senior counsel of the American Bankers Association.
HELOC shock. With a home-equity line of credit, you can usually choose to pay only interest during the draw period, which typically lasts five or ten years. After that, payments of interest plus principal kick in for ten or 20 years.
If you qualify to refinance the first mortgage, lenders that hold home-equity loans or HELOCs will typically work with you, Arnold says. If you’re not able to refinance your first mortgage, you may be able to negotiate to pay less than the full balance on your second loan.
You can read the entire article here and don't forget to let us know how we can help you with any situation you are facing.
-Daniel Barli, Esq.
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