http://www.realtor.org/rmodaily.nsf/f3c66d0c6457c1e1862570af000cb13b/c615c2ff2b23951c862578c4004f1789?OpenDocument&cid=WR07062011:22822&ed_rid=1698691

How much a home buyer should have a for a down payment on a home has been up for dispute among policymakers. Some recent federal regulators and lawmakers calling for a 20 percent or 10 percent down payment in order for mortgages to be considered a “qualified residential mortgage” and not subjected to extra fees.

However, such stringent down payment requirements could price many home owners out of the housing market, argues a growing number of consumer housing advocates. (Read more about the National Association of REALTORS®’ stance).

In fact, for many creditworthy home buyers in occupations that don’t boast high median salaries, they might have to wait a decade or even longer to meet the down payment rule.

The Center for Responsible Lending, which has argued that 10 percent or 20 percent down payment requirements are too high, has a chart on its Web site boasting the length of time it would take borrowers of different occupations to save enough for a 10 percent down payment on a 2010 median-priced $172,900 home.

▪ U.S. Army Staff Sergeant: 16 years (median salary: $30,176)
▪ Public school teacher: Nearly 15 years (median salary: $33,530)
▪ Firefighter: 10 years (median salary: $47,730)
▪ Police officer: Nearly 9 years (median salary: $55,620)

“We’re not advocating for zero percent down,” Kathleen Day, spokesperson for the Center for Responsible Lending, told The New York Times. “We think down payments are good. But we think the market should set them, based on the underwriting.” (That is, based on the borrower’s credit history and income and debt levels.)

The down payment proposal comes as part of new rules for mortgage lenders in the Dodd-Frank law. Federal agencies are trying to set criteria for what should be considered a reasonably safe mortgage or QRM. Lenders issuing a QRM will be able to sell the loan to an investor and avoid retaining any of the risk. However, lenders will consider non-QRMs more risky since they’ll have to retain a 5 percent ownership. (Loans insured by the Federal Housing Agency would be exempt.) For borrowers who are unable to meet QRM, they would have to pay more for their loans because lenders would have to boost interest rates on their loans to cover the extra costs.

What You Can Do

Lawmakers have extended the public comment on the new down payment rules to Aug. 1. The REALTOR® Action Center has issued a call for real estate professionals to help ensure their clients have access to affordable mortgages. To send a letter to your state lawmakers, visit REALTOR.org.

Mark your favorite properties and get instant updates price changes,  new pictures and status changes.

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. Please feel free to use my back door to the MLS and search the houses available in the Reno/Sparks and most Northwest Nevada neighborhoods. I can be reached by email @ chance@ballard-company.comhttp://www.myspace.com/chancegates .  You can also follow me at http://www.twitter.com/chancegates .  If you are behind on your house payment and looking for a loan modification, go to making homes affordable For a free copy of my report   “5 Steps For Reno/Sparks Homeowners To Prevent Foreclosures” go to my about page http://chancegates.com/about and ask for more information on preventing foreclosures. or   to request a modification.  If the modification fails, contact your local real estate professional to help short sale your home.  To make sure there is no deficiency judgment a homeowner might find it necessary to hire an attorney

http://economistsoutlook.blogs.realtor.org/2011/06/08/rent-or-buy/?cid=WR06152011:21004&ed_rid=1698691

The cliché says that there has never been a better time to buy.  The hard data in the housing affordability index confirms that.  The affordability index, which takes into account median income, median home price, and mortgage rates, has been bouncing around in the 180 to 200 range since the beginning of this year – the highest reading since the index was first used in 1971.

Yet, you still encounter consumers hesitant about taking advantage of possibly the greatest home buying opportunity of a lifetime. Should they buy now or not?

Let’s consider the situation in which a family earns $60,000, which is about the national average.  They are renting at $1000 per month.  They are considering buying a home that requires them to take out a mortgage of $170,000, which would be fairly close to the current national median home price.

At the current rate of 4.8 percent on a 30-year fixed rate mortgage, the monthly mortgage payment would be …(drum roll) … $891 per month.  That’s not all.  A measurable portion of the monthly mortgage payment is actually goes towards principal reduction on the loan balance.  For example, in the first year about $215 of the mortgage is for the principal payment, which in essence is a forced-disciplined savings imposed on the home buyer.  The remainder $676 ($891 minus $215) is the pure interest payment to the bank.  So the $676 monthly mortgage interest payment looks a lot sweeter than the $1000 in rent that was being shoveled out the door.  With each passing year, the principal portion gets larger while the interest portion declines because of a steadily falling loan balance.

That’s still not all.  A fixed rate mortgage means the monthly payment is fixed and will not rise for the term of the mortgage.  In this example, a person theoretically could be paying $891 in mortgage in the year 2041.  What would be the cost of living at that time? Food price? Gasoline price?  Also rent?

If rent was to rise by 3 percent a year, starting with the base $1000, the monthly rent will be $1344 in 10 years, $1806 in 20 years, and $2427 in 30 years.  If rent was to rise by 5 percent, then it goes to $1628 in 10 years, $2526 in 20 years, and $4321 in 30 years.  If monetary policy were to get of control, with too much money printing and inflation rose by 10 percent per year, then the rent becomes $2593 in 10 years, $6727 in 20 years, and $17,444 per month in 30 years.  Many economists are expecting 3% to 5% annual rent growth over the next two years based on recent falling trends in apartment vacancy rates.

When rents rise, there is also a tendency for home prices to rise.  Fundamentally, rent and home price would rise roughly in lock step – provided that home values do not contain bubbles and are back in line with their historical relationship to rents.  The chart below shows the rent (based on rental rent component of the consumer price index) and NAR median home price trend with the index set at 100 in 1980.  Well, today, home price and rent ratio are pretty much back to historically justifiable levels.  So it is reasonable to presume that any rent increase will also at some point lead to equal gains in home values.

If home values were to rise 5 percent (under rent growth assumption of the same) then the home value would rise to $178,500, translating into a gain of $8,500 in housing equity in the first year.  Subsequent cumulative gains over several years would be sizable, if the yearly 5 percent increases could be sustained.  Nationally the annual average home price increases have been at around 4 to 6 percent each year.  Even if by some strange event home value was not to increase one cent over  the next 30 years, the home would be owned free-and-clear by the 30^th year.  (Or much sooner if the family makes additional principal payments)

One always has to mindful that all real estate is local.  One cannot simply pick up a home from Detroit and plop it down in San Francisco to get a fast price appreciation. Therefore local conditions, figures, rent growth projections, and analysis will significantly vary.

Moreover, homeownership cost entails not only mortgage, but the additional costs in terms of property taxes, insurance, and money needed for maintenance and remodeling, though there are cost savings such as the mortgage interest deduction and property tax deduction for tax purposes that were not considered.

What is most important from my perspective is whether the family likes the home they are about to purchase and whether the family is willing to stay well within their budget.  If these two criteria are met, then now may indeed be a good time to consider buying.

Logging in allows you to save your favorite properties and get instant updates price changes,  new pictures and open houses on the property.

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. Please feel free to use my back door to the MLS and search the houses available in the Reno/Sparks and most Northwest Nevada neighborhoods. I can be reached by email @ chance@ballard-company.comhttp://www.myspace.com/chancegates .  You can also follow me at http://www.twitter.com/chancegates .  If you are behind on your house payment and looking for a loan modification, go to making homes affordable For a free copy of my report   “5 Steps For Reno/Sparks Homeowners To Prevent Foreclosures” go to my about page http://chancegates.com/about and ask for more information on preventing foreclosures. or   to request a modification.  If the modification fails, contact your local real estate professional to help short sale your home.  To make sure there is no deficiency judgment a homeowner might find it necessary to hire an attorney

By: Lisa Kaplan Gordon

Published: May 13, 2011

Home improvement trends embrace energy efficiency, low maintenance exteriors, and double-duty space.

Trend #1: Maintenance-free siding

We continue to choose maintenance-free siding that lives as long as we do, but with a lot less upkeep. But more and more we’re opting for fiber-cement siding, one of the fastest-growing segments of the siding market. It’s a combination of cement, sand, and cellulosic fibers that looks like wood but won’t rot, combust, or succumb to termites and other wood-boring insects.

At $5 to $9 per sq. ft., installed, fiber-cement siding is more expensive than paint-grade wood, vinyl, and aluminum siding. It returns 80% of investment, the highest return of any upscale project on Remodeling magazine’s latest Cost vs. Value Report.

Maintenance is limited to a cleaning and some caulking each spring. Repaint every 7 to 15 years. Wood requires repainting every 4 to 7 years.

Trend #2: Convertible spaces

Forget “museum rooms” we use twice a year (dining rooms and living rooms) and embrace convertible spaces that change with our whims.

Foldaway walls turn a private study into an easy-flow party space. Walls can consist of fancy, glass panels ($600 to $1,600 per linear ft., depending on the system); or they can be simple vinyl-covered accordions  ($1,230 for 7 ft. by 10 ft.). PortablePartions.com sells walls on wheels ($775 for approximately 7 ft. by 7 ft.).

A Murphy bed pulls down from an armoire-looking wall unit and turns any room into a guest room. Prices, including installation and cabinetry, range from $2,000 (twin with main cabinet) to more than $5,000 (California king with main and side units). Just search online for sellers.

And don’t forget area rugs that easily define, and redefine, open spaces.

Trend #3: A laundry room of your own

Humankind advanced when the laundry room arose from the basement to a louvered closet on the second floor where clothes live. Now, we’re taking another step forward by granting washday a room of its own.

If you’re thinking of remodeling, turn a mudroom or extra bedroom into a dedicated laundry room big enough to house the washer and dryer, hang hand-washables, and store bulk boxes of detergent.

Look for spaces that already have plumbing hookups or are adjacent to rooms with running water to save on plumbing costs.

Trend #4: Souped-up kitchens

Although houses are trending smaller, kitchens are getting bigger, according to the American Institute of Architects’ Home Design Trends Survey.

Kitchen remodels open the space, perhaps incorporating lonely dining rooms, and feature recycling centers, large pantries, and recharging stations.

Oversized and high-priced commercial appliances—did we ever fire up six burners at once?—are yielding to family-sized, mid-range models that recover at least one cabinet for storage.

Since the entire family now helps prepare dinner (in your dreams), double prep sinks have evolved into dual-prep islands with lots of counter space and pull-out drawers.

Trend #5: Energy diets

We’re wrestling with an energy disorder: We’re binging on electronics—cell phones, iPads, Blackberries, laptops–then crash dieting by installing LED fixtures and turning the thermostat to 68 degrees.

Are we ahead of the energy game? Only the energy monitors and meters know for sure.

These new tracking devices can gauge electricity usage of individual electronics ($20 to $30) or monitor whole house energy ($100 to $250). The TED 5000 Energy Monitor ($240) supplies real-time feedback that you can view remotely and graph by the second, minute, hour, day, and month.

Trend #6: Love that storage

As we bow to the new god of declutter, storage has become the holy grail.

We’re not talking about more baskets we can trip over in the night; we’re imagining and discovering built-in storage in unlikely spaces–under stairs, over doors, beneath floors.

Under-appreciated nooks that once displayed antique desks are growing into built-ins for books and collections. Slap on some doors, and you can hide office supplies and buckets of Legos.

Giant master suites, with floor space to land a 747, are being divided to conquer clutter with more walk-in closets.

Trend #7: Home offices come out of the closet

Flexible work schedules, mobile communications, and entrepreneurial zeal are relocating us from the office downtown to home.

Laptops and wireless connections let us telecommute from anywhere in the house, but we still want a dedicated space (preferably with a door) for files, supplies, and printers.

Spare bedrooms are becoming home offices and family room niches are morphing into working nooks. After a weekend of de-cluttering, basements and attics are reborn as work centers.

Lisa Kaplan Gordon is a HouseLogic contributor and homebuilder.

Logging in allows you to save your favorite properties and get instant updates price changes,  new pictures and open houses on the property.

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. Please feel free to use my back door to the MLS and search the houses available in the Reno/Sparks and most Northwest Nevada neighborhoods. I can be reached by email @ chance@ballard-company.comhttp://www.myspace.com/chancegates .  You can also follow me at http://www.twitter.com/chancegates .  If you are behind on your house payment and looking for a loan modification, go to making homes affordable For a free copy of my report   “5 Steps For Reno/Sparks Homeowners To Prevent Foreclosures” go to my about page http://chancegates.com/about and ask for more information on preventing foreclosures. or   to request a modification.  If the modification fails, contact your local real estate professional to help short sale your home.  To make sure there is no deficiency judgment a homeowner might find it necessary to hire an attorney

What type of help can a homeowner expect to get from a counseling service and why is it such an important first step?

The HUD certified counselors review the home owner’s overall financial situation and then guide them to the solution that best suits their individual situation. Everything from assisting homeowners in reviewing their monthly budget to determining whether loan modification or other options are appropriate. They also assist the homeowner in submitting the required documentation to the homeowner’s lenders. They can guide them through the entire process including credit repair. It’s important to note that every individual or family’s situation is unique and it takes a trained counselor to look at the situation and discuss with the homeowner their options.

Is there help for homeowners who have already gone through foreclosure and need help getting back on track?

Many of the counseling agencies, as well as credit counseling agencies, can assist homeowners to get back on track with a budget and the steps to take to repair their credit. Their goal is to have these people become homeowners again in the future.

Seek Free Consultation

Other HUD approved Credit Counselors in the State of Nevada can be found at: www.hud.gov

Types of documents you will need to locate and bring to your appointment:

• Any correspondence from the mortgage company or its attorney, even if it’s unopened
• Any documentation from the courts or the sheriff regarding a foreclosure
• Most recent pay stubs for all employment
• Last two months of all bank stat ements (all pages)
• Last year’s federal income tax return
• Property tax bill
• Copy of all household bills, (ie.car payment, insurance, utility bills, credit card bills)
• Hardship Letter

Logging in allows you to save your favorite properties and get instant updates price changes,  new pictures and open houses on the property.

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. Please feel free to use my back door to the MLS and search the houses available in the Reno/Sparks and most Northwest Nevada neighborhoods. I can be reached by email @ chance@ballard-company.comhttp://www.myspace.com/chancegates .  You can also follow me at http://www.twitter.com/chancegates .  If you are behind on your house payment and looking for a loan modification, go to making homes affordable For a free copy of my report   “5 Steps For Reno/Sparks Homeowners To Prevent Foreclosures” go to my about page http://chancegates.com/about and ask for more information on preventing foreclosures. or   to request a modification.  If the modification fails, contact your local real estate professional to help short sale your home.  To make sure there is no deficiency judgment a homeowner might find it necessary to hire an attorney.

read more at http://www.foreclosurehelpfornevadans.org

STATION AREA PLAN

River Landing at Mill

River landing at Mill will be developed as one of the major transit stops along this corridor.   This plan generally covers the area north of Mill Street, south of the Truckee River, East of Highway 395, and west of Greg Street and Bible Way. This area is an apporiate location for a bus rapid transit (BRT) Station when the BRT system is expanded to this corridor.   Until such time as the BRT station can be located on Mill Street it is anticipated the bus service will be at the main existing terminal on the south side of the property.   River Landing at Mill has a Master Plan Land Use designation of Special Planning Area, indicating that this plan, not the more general provisions of the  Master Plan is applicable for the area.

The River landing at Mill Station Area has a MU (Mixed Use) base zone with an overlay zoning of RLM (River Landing at Mill). This designation refers to the Mixed Use/ River Landing at Mill section of Code. This section includes specific development requirements for the area such as setbacks, parking, site layout, architecture, and landscaping.To support transit-oriented development there are eight “Best Practices” that apply.These “Best Practices” include: identity, infrastructure, attractions, intensity/density, pedestrian connections, site layout/urban design, parking management, and public space/greenways.

Logging in allows you to save your favorite properties and get instant updates price changes,  new pictures and open houses on the property.

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. Please feel free to use my back door to the MLS and search the houses available in the Reno/Sparks and most Northwest Nevada neighborhoods. I can be reached by email @ chance@ballard-company.comhttp://www.myspace.com/chancegates .  You can also follow me at http://www.twitter.com/chancegates .  If you are behind on your house payment and looking for a loan modification, go to making homes affordable For a free copy of my report   “5 Steps For Reno/Sparks Homeowners To Prevent Foreclosures” go to my about page http://chancegates.com/about and ask for more information on preventing foreclosures. or   to request a modification.  If the modification fails, contact your local real estate professional to help short sale your home.  To make sure there is no deficiency judgment a homeowner might find it necessary to hire an attorney.

Prepared by:
CITY OF RENO
Community Development Department

CORRIDOR PLAN

Development Concept

The majority of land within the corridor has been developed.  Non-restricted gaming is entitled on the property west of Greg Street, east of Highway 395, north of Mill, and South of 2nd Street. Much of the property in the area is in need of redevelopment and intensification to create a successful transit corridor. Development and redevelopment within this corridor and the associated station areas is required to develop at a minimum density of 18 units per acre. When a mixed-use or non-residential development is being constructed, a floor area ratio of 1.5 or greater is be required.

The Transit Corridor has a base zoning of mixed use (MU) and an overlay zoning district of the Mill Street Transit Corridor (MSTC). The zoning designation of MU/MSTC refers to MU/MSTC overlay sections of code. These sections include specific development requirements for the area, such as setbacks, parking, site layout, architecture, and landscaping. The River Landing at Mill (RLM) Station Area is locatedwithin the MSTC overlay zone and has area specific development standards differing from the other potions of the corridor.

Policy

To support transit-oriented development there are eight “Best Practices” that should be utilized. These “Best Practices” include: identity, infrastructure, attractions, intensity/density, pedestrian connections, site layout/urban design, parking management, and public space/greenways.

Each Transit Corridor should maintain its own unique identity in terms of its mix of uses, development intensity and character, should largely be informed by and relate to the surrounding development context. In order to encourage and facilitate successful transit-oriented development, a full range of public facilities must be in place. A variety of infrastructure improvements will need to be made within each corridor in order to accommodate the type of urban, mixed-use neighborhood development that is desired.

Establishing a mix of complementary land uses within a TOD corridor allows individuals
to meet their day-to-day needs within walking distance of their home or place of work;
creating a neighborhood environment that increases transit use, extends hours of
activity, and reduces traffic. Higher density development is one of the key components
necessary to create compact, vibrant transit-oriented development neighborhoods that
encourage pedestrian activity, support retail businesses, and promote transit usage.
Buildings should be placed on the street with any parking needed to the rear of the site.
In keeping with building that support pedestrian scale, pedestrian connections separate
from automobile circulation, should also be constructed between open space, stations
and high activity areas.

Parking standards should be reduced in corridor areas as well as a number of alternative parking solutions, such as shared parking encouraged. This will allow for more land to be available for higher density uses or open space. The policies that should encourage these tyes use developments are listed below.

Policy 1 -Identity

A. Provide alternative transportation between the airport and downtown.

B. Public spaces should interconnect with the adjacent Washoe Medical and Reno-Tahoe International Airport Regional Centers.

Policy 2 – Infrastructure

A. Provide pedestrian connections throughout the corridor to services, parks, theTruckee River and businesses (see Map 1).

B. Encourage the development of sidewalks, which are eight feet or wider withinthe corridor.

Policy3 – Attractions

A. Promote the improvement of key attractions in the area including recreation, the Truckee River, the Reno-Tahoe International Airport, the WasRegional Center, businesses, and natural features.
B. Provide a mix of land uses including a mix of housing types, offices, retail, personal services, hotels, restaurants, urban parks, day care, and public agencies/services.

Policy 4 – Intensity/density

A. Provide a minimum density of 18 units per acre with a minimum FAR of 1.0 through a variety of building heights and pedestrian oriented structures.
B. Require transition between the lower densities and building heights of the existing surrounding neighborhoods, to the desired higher densities and building heights along the transit corridor.

Policy 5 – Pedestrian Connections

A. Promote the enhancement of the identified pedestrian corridor connections within the plan. B. Encourage the installation of wider sidewalks, landscaped parkways, street trees, street furniture, and other pedestrian amenities.

Policy 6 – Quality Site Layout/Urban Design

A. Commercial and office land uses should be concentrated near Mill Street
and the transit stations.

B. Incorporate residential units into the upper floors adjacent to Mill Street and within the transit stations.

C. Encourage a variety of building heights and forms to create visual interest and establish a distinct identity with architecture detail that provides a high level of interest at the street level.

D. Buildings within the corridor should be oriented toward the primary street frontage or provide a prominent pedestrian access.

E. Buildings should front the sidewalk edge on major streets, providing for compact development and creating public space along the street frontage.

Policy 7 – Parking Management

A. Encourage shared parking in mixed land use development to decrease the amount of parking on the site and decrease the emphasis of private vehicles.

B. Parking should be located inside, underground or behind buildings.

Policy 8 – Public Space

A. Encourage the use o f public space for recreation entertainment, restaurant,
and other commercial land uses.

Continued May 5th

Logging in allows you to save your favorite properties and get instant updates price changes,  new pictures and open houses on the property.

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. Please feel free to use my back door to the MLS and search the houses available in the Reno/Sparks and most Northwest Nevada neighborhoods. I can be reached by email @ chance@ballard-company.comhttp://www.myspace.com/chancegates .  You can also follow me at http://www.twitter.com/chancegates .  If you are behind on your house payment and looking for a loan modification, go to making homes affordable For a free copy of my report   “5 Steps For Reno/Sparks Homeowners To Prevent Foreclosures” go to my about page http://chancegates.com/about and ask for more information on preventing foreclosures. or   to request a modification.  If the modification fails, contact your local real estate professional to help short sale your home.  To make sure there is no deficiency judgment a homeowner might find it necessary to hire an attorney.

Prepared by:
CITY OF RENO
Community Development Department

INTRODUCTION

Plan Organization

The Mill Street Transit Oriented Development (TOD) Corridor Plan is divided into two sections: Corridor Plan and Station Area Plans. The Corridor Plan describes the boundary, time frame, relationship to other plans and identifies policies for development within this TOD. The development concept, circulation, land use, and zoning that apply to the parcels are included in the plan for each station area. Development standards and processing provisions are included in the Reno Municipal Code.

Boundary

The Mill Street TOD Corridor area is shown below. In conformance with the Truckee Meadows Regional Plan, the Mill Street TOD Corridor is generally located ¼ mile on each side of the route beginning at the Washoe Medical Regional Center. From that point the corridor travels east on Mill Street to Terminal Way and then south on Terminal Way to the Reno-Tahoe International Airport Regional Center. The adjacent regional center plans include all station areas in the TOD corridor except one. The Station not included in one of the adjacent regional centers is River Landing at Mill Street.

West and north of the plan area lays the Reno-Sparks Indian Colony. This area has
established land uses and proposed land development under the Colony’s jurisdiction,
hence residential adjacency standards are included to provide appropriate transition
between uses. This will maintain separation between the lower density housing on the
Colony and the high density housing proposed by the plan.

Time Frame

The planning horizon for development and redevelopment of this area is twenty years.

Relationship to Other Plans

This plan is an element of the City of Reno Master Plan prepared in accordance with
Nevada Revised Statutes (NRS 278.150 through 278.170).
Policies of the Truckee Meadows Regional Plan are applicable region wide. The Reno
Master Plan has three different levels of applicability: Citywide, Center and Corridor,
and Neighborhood. Citywide plans include the Land Use Plan and other plans that
apply to the entire City and its sphere of influence. Center and Corridor plans are for
the nine centers and five transit oriented development corridors in the City and its’
sphere of influence. Neighborhood plans cover other areas, not in centers or corridors,
which have been designated as appropriate for more detailed planning. Policies in
center, corridor and neighborhood plans elaborate, with greater detail, upon general
policies contained in the citywide and regional plans. Center, corridor and
neighborhood plans must conform with and not be in conflict with policy direction of the
citywide plans and the Truckee Meadows Regional Plan. Similarly, appropriate
municipal code provisions (e.g., zoning, development standards and processing
requirements) must be consistent with these plans.
Outside of centers, corridors are comprised of a series of station areas, or activity
station areas, and the links between them. Each transit corridor plan is comprised of a
series of station area plans. Transit corridors contain land use, circulation, density, and
general design standards. As new station area plans are prepared, they are added to
the appropriate transit corridor plan.

Continued Tuesday 5/3/2011

Logging in allows you to save your favorite properties and get instant updates price changes,  new pictures and open houses on the property.

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. Please feel free to use my back door to the MLS and search the houses available in the Reno/Sparks and most Northwest Nevada neighborhoods. I can be reached by email @ chance@ballard-company.comhttp://www.myspace.com/chancegates .  You can also follow me at http://www.twitter.com/chancegates .  If you are behind on your house payment and looking for a loan modification, go to making homes affordable For a free copy of my report   “5 Steps For Reno/Sparks Homeowners To Prevent Foreclosures” go to my about page http://chancegates.com/about and ask for more information on preventing foreclosures. or   to request a modification.  If the modification fails, contact your local real estate professional to help short sale your home.  To make sure there is no deficiency judgment a homeowner might find it necessary to hire an attorney.

http://www.realtor.org/rmodaily.nsf/f3c66d0c6457c1e1862570af000cb13b/8929c93ef2c9a10b862578710052da32?OpenDocument

Do your clients aspire to live mortgage free? Here are a few ways they can pay off their mortgage early, according to a recent article at Bankrate.com.

Image via Wikipedia

Add a little payment to principal. Use mortgage calculators to see how adding a little extra payment to your principal–even $100–can shorten the length of your loan and reduce the amount of interest you’ll pay on it. Tracy Piercy, CEO of MoneyMinding.com, says home owners can just round their monthly payments up (e.g. $644 to $650) to find savings too–just an extra $6 per month on a $200,000, 30-year loan can save you four payments at the end of your mortgage loan.

Refinance. Interest rates are low and you can often can get an even better rate if you refinance into a shorter loan term. For example, 15-year loans are a popular refinancing choice. You’ll have higher payments, but you’ll be paying less overall interest. Or if you don’t want to commit to the higher payments, take out a 30-year loan but make payments as if you had a 10- or 15-year loan, experts recommend.

Make biweekly payments. Pay half your regular mortgage payment every other week instead of once a month. By doing so, you’ll have made 13 full monthly payments by the end of the year and on a 30-year mortgage, that extra payment can chop about six years off your mortgage.

Source: “4 ways to pay off your mortgage earlier,” Bankrate.com (April 2011)

Logging in allows you to save your favorite properties and get instant updates price changes,  new pictures and open houses on the property.

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. Please feel free to use my back door to the MLS and search the houses available in the Reno/Sparks and most Northwest Nevada neighborhoods. I can be reached by email @ chance@ballard-company.comhttp://www.myspace.com/chancegates .  You can also follow me at http://www.twitter.com/chancegates .  If you are behind on your house payment and looking for a loan modification, go to making homes affordable For a free copy of my report   “5 Steps For Reno/Sparks Homeowners To Prevent Foreclosures” go to my about page http://chancegates.com/about and ask for more information on preventing foreclosures. or   to request a modification.  If the modification fails, contact your local real estate professional to help short sale your home.  To make sure there is no deficiency judgment a homeowner might find it necessary to hire an attorney.

http://www.realtor.org/RMODaily.nsf/pages/News2011040502?OpenDocument

Some Americans who owe more than what their house is currently worth are opting to walk away from their mortgage. But a new survey finds Americans don’t agree with home owners who make that choice.

Sixty-percent of Americans say it is “never OK” for home owners to stop making payments on their mortgage, according to a new survey of 1,000 American adults by FindLaw.com, a legal information Web site. However, 34 percent say it’s OK for home owners to walk away from their mortgage if they are no longer able to make their monthly payments.

Only 3 percent of those surveyed said home owners should be able to walk away from their mortgage anytime they want.

“Many home owners are currently facing very difficult and complicated situations involving their home mortgage, in some cases even including the threat of foreclosure,” says Stephanie Rahlfs, an attorney and editor for FindLaw.com. “But before making any major decisions, home owners should consult with financial and legal professionals, including accountants, real estate attorneys and financial advisers. Any major change to a mortgage situation could lead to serious and unanticipated consequences involving taxes, contract law, credit scores, ability to borrow in the future, potential for lawsuits, and much more.”

Source: “Most Americans Opposed to Homeowners Walking Away From Mortgages, Says New FindLaw.com Survey,” FindLaw.com (April 5, 2011)

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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. Please feel free to use my back door to the MLS and search the houses available in the Reno/Sparks and most Northwest Nevada neighborhoods. I can be reached by email @ chance@ballard-company.comhttp://www.myspace.com/chancegates .  You can also follow me at http://www.twitter.com/chancegates .  If you are behind on your house payment and looking for a loan modification, go to making homes affordable For a free copy of my report   “5 Steps For Reno/Sparks Homeowners To Prevent Foreclosures” go to my about page http://chancegates.com/about and ask for more information on preventing foreclosures. or   to request a modification.  If the modification fails, contact your local real estate professional to help short sale your home.  To make sure there is no deficiency judgment a homeowner might find it necessary to hire an attorney.

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An almost hysterical antagonism toward the gold standard is one issue which unites statists of all persuasions. They seem to sense… that gold and economic freedom are inseparable.

Any informed borrower is simply less vulnerable to fraud and abuse.

Anything that we can do to raise personal savings is very much in the interest of this country.

History has not dealt kindly with the aftermath of protracted periods of low risk premiums.

I don’t know where the stock market is going, but I will say this, that if it continues higher, this will do more to stimulate the economy than anything we’ve been talking about today or anything anybody else was talking about.

I guess I should warn you, if I turn out to be particularly clear, you’ve probably misunderstood what I’ve said.

I have found no greater satisfaction than achieving success through honest dealing and strict adherence to the view that, for you to gain, those you deal with should gain as well.
Alan Greenspan

I was a good amateur but only an average professional. I soon realized that there was a limit to how far I could rise in the music business, so I left the band and enrolled at New York University.

I’ve been in and out of Wall Street since 1949, and I’ve never seen the type of animosity between government and Wall Street. And I’m not sure where it comes from, but I suspect it’s got to do with a general schism in this society which is really becoming ever more destructive.

Look, I’m very much in favor of tax cuts, but not with borrowed money. And the problem that we’ve gotten into in recent years is spending programs with borrowed money, tax cuts with borrowed money, and at the end of the day that proves disastrous. And my view is I don’t think we can play subtle policy here.

Protectionism will do little to create jobs and if foreigners retaliate, we will surely lose jobs.

The true measure of a career is to be able to be content, even proud, that you succeeded through your own endeavors without leaving a trail of casualties in your wake.
To succeed, you will soon learn, as I did, the importance of a solid foundation in the basics of education – literacy, both verbal and numerical, and communication skills.

We need, in effect, to make the phantom ‘lock-boxes’ around the trust fund real.

Whatever you tax, you get less of.
Alan Greenspan

Logging in allows you to save your favorite properties and get instant updates price changes,  new pictures and open houses on the property.

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. Please feel free to use my back door to the MLS and search the houses available in the Reno/Sparks and most Northwest Nevada neighborhoods. I can be reached by email @ chance@ballard-company.comhttp://www.myspace.com/chancegates .  You can also follow me at http://www.twitter.com/chancegates .  If you are behind on your house payment and looking for a loan modification, go to making homes affordable For a free copy of my report   “5 Steps For Reno/Sparks Homeowners To Prevent Foreclosures” go to my about page http://chancegates.com/about and ask for more information on preventing foreclosures. or   to request a modification.  If the modification fails, contact your local real estate professional to help short sale your home.  To make sure there is no deficiency judgment a homeowner might find it necessary to hire an attorney.