Chance Gates' Blog

RISMEDIA, July 29, 2010—After getting the keys to their new homes, many first-time home buyers are excited about finally having the opportunity to personalize and furnish their new house. From coffee tables to lamps to lawnmowers, many previous renters leap into homeownership quickly realizing they need to do a lot of shopping to truly make their house a home.

“Whether you’ve been living in an apartment with roommates or at your parents’ house, many first-time home buyers do not think about all the items they need – and want – when moving into a house,” said Janice Jones, national vice president of merchandising for Centex. “With a little advance planning and budgeting, you won’t break the bank to make your new home a reflection of your personal style and showcase your pride of homeownership.”

A typical home buyer spends $7,400 on average on their home, with more than half of that spent in the first year after purchase, according to the National Association of Home Builders.

While many first-time home buyers may not have accounted for this level of spending, Jones offers advice on what types of items to purchase to not only properly maintain and live in the home, but also more importantly, items that help new homeowners feel like their house is a place to call home.

Furnishings
Many first-time home buyers no longer want their parents’ hand-me downs or their childhood bedroom set. From sofas to dining room sets to mattresses, many first-time home buyers take the opportunity to upgrade their furniture when moving into their new home. According to an NAHB study, furnishings take the biggest chunk of the budget, with home buyers spending about $5,300 on furnishings during the first year after buying a home. The biggest ticket item for all households is bedroom furnishings, including mattresses, followed by sofas.

Window coverings and linens
The median square footage of homes bought by first-time buyers is 1,500. So, you can only imagine the number of windows that need to be covered to ensure privacy and security in a home. According to Jones, many home buyers don’t account for this in their budget. Additionally, with the ability to now paint and decorate each room, new homeowners find that they want to purchase new bedroom and bathroom linens.

Garden tools
Since a first-time home buyer is likely to move into their home from an apartment, unless you plan on hiring a gardener, you’ll need to purchase a few basic gardening tools, including a lawnmower, garden hose, sprinkler and a shovel (for winter weather).

Flat screen TV
Let’s face it: many home buyers shop for their new home while taking into a consideration how a new, large, flat-screen television set will be situated in their new living space. So, it’s not a surprise that a hot item on the list is purchasing an entertainment system.

However, you’ll also need the basic appliances in your new home: a refrigerator, stove, and a washer/dryer. While many existing homes usually come with appliances, a home buyer needs to take inventory as to whether or not they will need to purchase these big ticket items before they purchase their new bedroom set.

Basic tool kit
Every home needs a well-stocked tool box. Many home improvement stores have sets you can purchase, but make sure it includes a hammer, screw drivers, pliers, wrenches, a tape measure and a staple gun.

“My biggest piece of advice for new home buyers is to be creative and tackle this room by room,” said Jones. “For example, after outfitting your home with the necessary items—like appliances and window coverings—move on to the kitchen and family room spaces. This area is the heart of your home where everyone gathers.

“Look for great values on the items you need that will be utilized most. Take your time and get the feel of how you want to use each space for both function and enjoyment. This strategy allows homeowners to stage their purchases and add new furnishings as the budget allows. Decorating your new home should be fun and a reflection of your personal style.”

As a Reno/Sparks real estate professional, I encourage all questions and comments on the Reno/Sparks real estate market or any of the articles posted in this blog.  You can email me @  chance at ballard-company.com or http://www.myspace.com/chancegates

For more information, visit www.centex.com.

Watch Out for  Foreclosure Rescue and Loan Modification Scams.

• Lease-Back or Repurchase Scams

This is when they promise to pay off your delinquent mortgage and possibly some credit cards and repair your credit too.  However you must “temporarily” sign the deed of house over to a third party investor.  Plus your allowed to stay in your home as a renter with option to purchase your home later.   The fact is once you sign over the deed, you have signed away any rights to your property, you may not be able to repurchase your home later even if you want to.   Once the new owner takes ownership of your property he can evict you.  Plus he is under no obligation to sell the house back to you.

• Partial Interest Bankruptcy Scams

Basically your are asked to give partial interest in your home to one or more people.  Then you make your mortgage payments to the scam operator instead of paying the delinquent mortgage.  The scam operator does not pay the mortgage payment, but instead has the partial interest holders start to file for bankruptcy.  This temporarily delays the foreclosure while allowing the scam operator to maintain a stream of income from you.

Please remember that if it looks to good to be true it probable is.  If you need legal advice please contact your attorney.

As a Reno/Sparks real estate professional, I encourage all questions and comments on the Reno/Sparks real estate market or any of the articles posted in this blog.  You can email me @  chance at ballard-company.com or http://www.myspace.com/chancegates

A piece of spaghetti or a military unit can only be led from the front end.

A pint of sweat, saves a gallon of blood.

Accept the challenges so that you can feel the exhilaration of victory.

Always do everything you ask of those you command.

Battle is an orgy of disorder.

Better to fight for something than live for nothing.

Courage is fear holding on a minute longer.

Do your damnedest in an ostentatious manner all the time.

Don’t tell people how to do things, tell them what to do and let them surprise you with their results.

I don’t measure a man’s success by how high he climbs but how high he bounces when he hits bottom.

If a man has done his best, what else is there?

If everyone is thinking alike, then somebody isn’t thinking.

If we take the generally accepted definition of bravery as a quality which knows no fear, I have never seen a brave man. All men are frightened. The more intelligent they are, the more they are frightened.

If you tell people where to go, but not how to get there, you’ll be amazed at the results.

As a Reno/Sparks real estate professional, I encourage all questions and comments on the Reno/Sparks real estate market or any of the articles posted in this blog.  You can email me @  chance at ballard-company.com or http://www.myspace.com/chancegates

RISMEDIA, July 26, 2010—(MCT)—David Kosowski has a full-time job, a sky-high credit score, a solid debt-to-income ratio and enough cash stashed away to put a 20% down payment on the three-bedroom, two-bath home he’s had his eye on since spring.

But when he applied for a mortgage to cover 80% of the $495,000 purchase price of the Coral Gables, Fla., home last month, he was flatly denied.

His story is one that has played out with head-scratching regularity across the troubled housing market, industry analysts say, even as mortgage rates have dropped to historically low levels.

The average interest rate for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage sank to a record-low 4.56% this week, according to government-sponsored mortgage buyer Freddie Mac. Fixed-rate 15-year mortgages dipped slightly to an average 4.03%, also a record.

But even as rates fall, lenders are raising the bar ever higher for applicants, making it harder for even financially-stable home buyers to qualify, and in some cases making homes affordable only to those able to pay with cash.

Kosowski, who seems to have weathered the recession and the housing market downturn better than many—he’s employed and has considerable equity in the three-bedroom home he purchased 10 years ago—said his application was rejected because the company he works for (and owns a 25% stake in) saw its earnings drop between 2008 and 2009.

That was enough, he said, for the bank to turn down his loan application—despite his 817 credit score, a history of meeting all debt obligations and a 21% debt-to-income ratio.

“They asked me to explain the earnings decline,” he said. “I wrote a letter explaining that the economy had been down in 2009, and the next day they said the loan was denied. I was very surprised.”

Steve Schneider, his mortgage broker, and owner of Greenwich Title Services in South Miami, said he was surprised as well. “His credit is as good as anyone I’ve ever worked with,” he said. “He should’ve flown through.”

Such rejections would have been unheard of a half-decade ago, when credit was flowing freely, often to people who couldn’t afford the homes and condos they were buying, said Doug Dewitt, a Miami-based real estate broker.

“Now the pendulum has swung completely in the other direction, and lenders are making you very accountable in terms of your credit history,” he said. “It’s like they don’t want to write one more bad loan.”

With South Florida’s housing market still struggling to recover from record-high foreclosures, toppled home values and a glut of inventory, the ease with which banks now turn down applicants is nearly unprecedented, he added.

Potential borrowers are being denied access to tantalizingly low interest rates for reasons ranging from insufficient down payments, to a less-than-perfect credit history, to concerns about the property or buildings they hope to buy into.

The current interest rates are so desirable because they translate into significant savings in monthly and total payments for home buyers. For example, someone getting a $250,000 home loan in July 2010 would save an average of about $155 each month, compared to someone getting a similar loan last July, when the average 30-year fixed interest rate was about a percentage point higher.

Mortgage lending in 2010—down about 50% from early 2009—has shown a complete 180-degree turn from the home lending practices that reigned before the housing market bubble burst, and represents yet another obstacle stalling a recovery in the housing market, those who track the industry say.

Kosowski had very little trouble getting a loan for the home he bought back in 2000, when his income was lower than it is today. As he looked to move into a bigger home this year, the stack of paperwork he had to fill was considerably thicker than it was 10 years ago.

“It’s night and day,” he said, comparing the two loan application experiences. “I had to give about a quarter of the information that they ask for now, my income was significantly less than it is now, and there was no problem getting a loan. It’s almost like they don’t want to lend.”

The low-interest rates have done little to spur activity in the housing market. Last week, the number of mortgage-loan applications for home purchases dropped to its lowest level since the 90s, the Mortgage Bankers Association found. Nearly four out of five applications were from existing homeowners looking to refinance, many of them rejected because of insufficient or nonexistent equity.

Despite prices that have fallen drastically in the past five years, traditional home sales to traditional, middle-income buyers have been pushed to the margins.

With the expiration of the federal home buyer tax credit and many still worried about losing their jobs, the stiff lending requirements of banks offer up yet another reason for the average person to not buy a home.

Kosowski, who works for a lighting manufacturing company, ended up paying cash for the Coral Gables home in June, and is hoping to get a refinance loan soon.

Greg McBride, senior financial analyst for Bankrate.com, predicted that mortgage rates would remain low for the foreseeable future, but it will take more than low-rates to spur a recovery.

“Low mortgage rates alone are not going to revive the housing market,” he said. “People are still nervous about their jobs, and reluctant to take the plunge into home ownership. And the market continues to be plagued by a very high level of distressed properties.”

As a Reno/Sparks real estate professional, I encourage all questions and comments on the Reno/Sparks real estate market or any of the articles posted in this blog.  You can email me @  chance at ballard-company.com or http://www.myspace.com/chancegates

(c) 2010, The Miami Herald.

Home at Last™ MCC Program
Do you want to become a homeowner, but don’t think you can qualify for a loan? The Nevada Rural Housing Authority is here to help with Home at Last™ home financing programs. One of our current Home at Last™ programs is a mortgage credit certificate (MCC) program.

Home at Last™ MCC provides a dollar-for-dollar federal income tax credit equal to 20% or 30% of the interest paid on a mortgage loan. The tax credit is given to the homebuyer every year as long as they live in the home. Loans of $190,000 or less will receive a 30% credit and loans of more than $190,000 will receive a 20% credit.

What does Home at Last™ MCC offer:
• Federal income tax credit equal to 20% or 30% of the interest paid on a mortgage loan
• Annual savings estimated at $2,000 a year per household
• Savings continue each year based on actual interest paid on the home
• No asset limits for homebuyers

Savings Example:
Home A
Loan Amount: $120,000
Interest rate: 5.5%
Approximate annual interest: $6,600
Tax credit: 30% of mortgage interest
Savings: Approximately $165 a month or $1,980 a year

Home B
Loan Amount: $200,000
Interest rate: 5.5%
Approximate annual interest: $11,000
Tax credit: 20% of mortgage interest
Savings: Approximately $183 a month or $2,200 a year

Who qualifies:
• First-time homebuyers or qualified veterans who will live in home as primary residence
• Households meeting income qualifications and normal FHA, VA, Conventional or RHS underwriting requirements
• Home purchase is in rural Nevada (population fewer than 100,000) and falls below maximum price

Click here to watch a four-minute video explaining the program.

Information obtained from http://www.nvrural.org

As a Reno/Sparks real estate professional, I encourage all questions and comments on the Reno/Sparks real estate market or any of the articles posted in this blog.  You can email me @  chance at ballard-company.com or http://www.myspace.com/chancegates

In order to develop your budget, keep all of your receipts for a month or two. That way you can get a realistic sense of where you are in your current spending.

An Easy Start

Give couches and chairs a fresh start by draping fabric over them or decorating them with pillows or a small rug.

Paint is a cheap way to change the look of a room. (Stores will re-sell paint that wasn’t quite the right color for a previous customer but you may love it!)

Buy accessories like candles on sale at the end of the season before new colors come in.

Plants are a cheap way to dress up a room. (Just don’t forget to water them!) 

Diving In

Lighting: old lamps from thrift store or yard sale. Lampshades: glue old buttons or fabric on shade. 

Frame your own photos with cheap store frames that you can repaint. 

Go for a mis-matched look for dining room table chairs and dinnerware, buying these things from thrift stores. 

Super Saver

Get more decorating on the cheap ideas through books found at your local library.

Trade furniture with a friend or relative.

Before you buy, check for what you need on listserves like Craigslist or Freecycle.

Turn thrift store finds into something new. Teacups and bowls can be come a candle or plant holder.

Make your own curtains using fabric from thrift stores or use old sheets

All the tips came from feedthepig.org

As a Reno/Sparks real estate professional, I encourage all questions and comments on the Reno/Sparks real estate market or any of the articles posted in this blog.  You can email me @  chance at ballard-company.com or http://www.myspace.com/chancegates

If the ground shaking doesn’t scare you away here are a few of the amenities at Sommersett.

Great Room:  Basically a place to lounge and take it easy.  Has a fireplace, wireless network and an outdoor deck that overlooks the Canyon Nine Golf Course.

Media Room:  Has a 52” flat screen complimented by a state of the art audio and video system.

Aerobics Studio: Has cardio kick boxing, body sculpting, spinning, yoga and pilates classes.

Cardio-Weight Studio:  Comes with elliptical trainers, exercise bike, treadmills and a variety of Paramount strength training equipment.

Sports Court:  Has three basketball hoops, hardwood floors, community stage and NEC projector and pull-down screen.

Kids Corner:  Was designed to entertain children ages three to six.

Teen Club: Entertaining environment for teens with video games, board games and a pool table.

Arts and Crafts Studio:  This has ceramics kiln and two potter’s wheels.

Massage:  Shea butter body wrap, salt scrub or hot stone massages.

Locker Facilities:  Include day lockers, restrooms, showers, diaper changing tables, and cedar lined saunas.

Two Pools:  One an interactive pool with a 98 foot water slide.  The other one is a three lane junior Olympic pool.

Two Spas:  An adult-only and one for the entire family.

As a Reno/Sparks real estate professional, I encourage all questions and comments on the Reno/Sparks real estate market or any of the articles posted in this blog.  You can email me @  chance at ballard-company.com or http://www.myspace.com/chancegates

The best thing about animals is that they don’t talk much.

Love is an energy which exists of itself. It is its own value.

We can only be said to be alive in those moments when our hearts are conscious of our treasures.

When God loves a creature he wants the creature to know the highest happiness and the deepest misery He wants him to know all that being alive can bring. That is his best gift. There is no happiness save in understanding the whole.

I am convinced that, except in a few extraordinary cases, one form or another of an unhappy childhood is essential to the formation of exceptional gifts.

When you’re safe at home you wish you were having an adventure; when you’re having an adventure you wish you were safe at home.

Marriage is a bribe to make the housekeeper think she’s a householder.
Thornton Wilder

As a Reno/Sparks real estate professional, I encourage all questions and comments on the Reno/Sparks real estate market or any of the articles posted in this blog.  You can email me @  chance at ballard-company.com or http://www.myspace.com/chancegates

RISMEDIA, July 19, 2010—“Homeowners and buyers who are sitting on the sidelines should get moving today, unless they want to get blindsided by the impact of a new law,” said Gibran Nicholas, Chairman of the CMPS Institute, an organization that trains and certifies mortgage bankers and brokers. “The massive financial reform law that just passed Congress has two main components that could very negatively impact homeowners and home buyers in the future.”

Harder to qualify for a mortgage
“The new law dictates certain guidelines that lenders must follow when making loans,” Nicholas said. “Some of these guidelines are simply a copy of the current situation. However, now that the guidelines are built into law, lenders will find it even more difficult to loosen their guidelines once the economy and housing market improves.” For example, consider a business owner with a very high 750 credit score, plenty of equity in their home, no history of late payments, and plenty of cash in the bank. If this responsible homeowner experienced a loss in their business last year, they may be prevented from qualifying for a home mortgage under the new law because of the temporary decline in income from their business. The new law requires lenders to document a borrower’s income, but it does not specifically state the terms under which loans can be made. “Regulators may address this ambiguity when writing the regulations implementing the law,” Nicholas said. “However, if they don’t, many lenders will be tempted to tighten their guidelines even further in order to err on the side of caution and stay in compliance with the new law.”

Higher mortgage rates
“There are two sections of the law that will cause mortgage rates to increase in the future,” Nicholas said. “The new law requires lenders to keep a 5% stake in the mortgages they originate unless the loans meet a certain criteria. This means that lenders won’t be able to offload some of the higher risk associated with these loans, and interest rates on these types of loans will go up.” For example, homeowners who have had financial or credit challenges due to divorce or bankruptcy, business owners with fluctuating income, and other homeowners and buyers who fall “outside the box” may need to pay higher rates on their home loans in the future. “Also, the future of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac remains uncertain,” Nicholas said. “The market doesn’t like uncertainty, and mortgage rates could go a lot higher in the future depending on when and how the issue of Fannie and Freddie is resolved.”

“To be clear, there are a few positive elements to the bill,” Nicholas said. “These include consumer protections involving pre-payment penalties and loans originated in states that have laws that prohibit lenders from pursuing judgments against homeowners who owe more than the value of their homes. However, the main takeaway for homeowners and buyers is that mortgage rates are currently very low, and lending guidelines are not as bad as they could be once the new law goes into effect. This means that if you can qualify for a mortgage now, you should do so, and not gamble your homeownership goals on the future impact of the new law.”

For more information, visit www.cmpsinstitute.org.

As a Reno/Sparks real estate professional, I encourage all questions and comments on the Reno/Sparks real estate market or any of the articles posted in this blog.  You can email me @  chance at ballard-company.com or http://www.myspace.com/chancegates

Sometimes that extra room you’ve always wanted is right under your feet. Elizabeth Willett, an interior decorator in Atlanta, was looking to fulfill several needs in her family’s 1927 Tudor-style house when she saw untapped potential in its walk-out basement. “It already had a fireplace and a tiny bath, but it had never really been properly finished,” she says. While the ceiling was low, it wasn’t too low, and moisture—that bane of basement remodels—wasn’t a problem.

Soon Elizabeth and her husband, Chris, were picturing the equivalent of an 830-square-foot addition, minus the new footprint, with a whole host of amenities. Working with architect Jack Davis and contractor Rod Boyer, the couple created a family retreat and entertainment space at the bottom of the stairs. Guests can hang a left to check out the wine cellar or plop down on a sofa facing the stone fireplace and a TV. Davis even managed to fit in a full bath, a laundry area, a food pantry, and a home-office space. “There were lots of nooks and crannies, and we’ve used every square inch,” Elizabeth says.

While their redo was unusually ambitious, it involved design solutions to problems that crop up in any basement conversion. Read on to learn how the family went from floor plan to finished space, then find five extra basement design ideas.

read more of the article from Deborah Baldwin @ http://www.thisoldhouse.com/toh/photos/0,,20339435,00.html

As a Reno/Sparks real estate professional, I encourage all questions and comments on the Reno/Sparks real estate market or any of the articles posted in this blog.  You can email me @  chance at ballard-company.com or http://www.myspace.com/chancegates