Ask yourself-what attracted me to my current home in the first place?

Whether or not you need schools at the time, schools will continue to play a vital roll in protecting your value and increased desirability.  Award winning schools are the most important consideration.  Great shopping centers create a lifestyle of convenience and social gathering spots.  We are all creatures of convenience and these spots are exactly that.  Whether you want to live in South Charlotte, with such shopping centers as Blakeney or Stone Crest, or up North in Huntersville where you have Birkdale Village these award winning centers are a hub for shopping and enjoyment.  Today’s buyers are focused on a community and neighborhood that offer so many choices.  Country club life style of golf, tennis, and an on site restaurant, having a club house with work out facilities and a lazy river for the family or just a well groomed community play a major roll in the ease of selling your home.

Real Estate is local in nature and not all communities are impacted by “market conditions”.  Even though we face tougher economic times not all communities are declining in value.  Some communities continue to outpace the market because of the factors I’ve listed above.

Want to know more?   Do you have questions as to which communities are the best and which schools have the best ratings?  Think before you purchase and consult your Realtor.

What is a short sale? A short sale is an option you have before you reach the point of foreclosure where you are selling your home for less than what is owed. However, the bank has to agree to a short sale as they stand to lose money via either process.  Banks do short sales because of cost.  An average cost to the bank for foreclosure is around $65,000, so they are smart to take the short sale.

You must have an offer in hand for the bank to tell you whether they will do a short sale or not.  They have the say-so whether or not a short sale will be accepted.

The 4 requirements to have a short sale are:

1. The home’s market value has dropped.
2. Mortgage is in or near default status.
3. The seller has fallen on hard times . . . unemployment, divorce, medical emergency, bankruptcy, death
4. The seller has no assets to speak of.

Foreclosure is on your FICO score for 6 years.  Short sales start to repair themselves after 2 years.

Short sales can be a win-win for the lender and the seller.  The lender recovers more of their capital faster than would be possible if they went through foreclosure.  The owner wins by relieving themselves of the financial burdens of the home and taking a smaller hit to their credit than would happen if a foreclosure occurred.

Unfortunately it’s not as simple as it appears.  Every lender and every situation is different.  There are pitfalls to be avoided and terms to be negotiated to reduce or eliminate any further obligations for the borrower after the short sale is concluded.  It is critical to have a team of experts in place to guide you through the process.  A seasoned real estate Broker and a real estate Attorney who specializes in such transactions are the backbone of such a team.

This morning I had the opportunity to hear from one of the passengers who was on USAir Flight 1549 that crash landed in the Hudson River.  He spoke about understanding why he thinks everyone survived and reminded us to think about the important things in life by being better husbands, sons, fathers, brothers and dads.

I look at what I have in my life; my family and my business.  He reminded me to be grateful for what I have and never take it or anyone for granted – not that I ever do.

Stephen Grellet wrote, “Do It Now”:

I expect to pass through this world but once.   Any good thing, therefore ,that I can do or any kindness I can show to any fellow human being let me do it now.  Let me not defer nor neglect it; for I shall not pass this way again.

This weekend I fly to NYC and back.  I wonder if I’ll be thinking about what I heard today? 

Check it out at:

Charlotte Commuting Time Estimator

EFFECTIVE TODAY:  Customers that are purchasing homes with less then 20% down, now must have a 700 credit score and have a debt to income less then or equal to 41%.   Government loans (FHA, VA) are not effected.
If the customers are putting 20% or more down then they can have a credit score less then 700, the DTI still needs to be 41%.
This is coming on the heels that the PMI companies are not wanting to insure loans to customers with lower credit scores. So if you are working with a borrower that has been in contact with their lenders, get them to call and either LOCK their loans or see about changing programs to a government loan.

I want to take a moment and try to explain what PMI does and why we have seen the latest changes.
If a borrower buys a home as many did over the past several years and needs financing for more than 80%  of the purchase price, then the banks can do that only if they can get insurance from the PMI companies for the amount above the 80%. of the purchase price

Example: 150,000
Down payment 10% $15000
Loan to Value 90%
Unprotected amount $15000; therefore covered by PMI

The insurance company will insure the bank for the other difference between 120,000 which  it would be at 80% to avoid PMI and the loan amount of 135,000…the extra $15,000.

Well, as you can imagine if a customer goes into foreclosure or default on their loan, the PMI companies must step in and pay the banks off down to the loan to value of 80%, hence making it then easier for you all to get a short sale complete at a lower than balance owed price.

So  with all the foreclosures, the PMI companies have been hit really hard with having to pay up.  With all the claims that they’ve have had to pay out . . . they have pushed back and said, “No more” . . . they do not want to take any more risks.

The insurance companies have researched and found that it is the folks with lower credit scores and higher DTIs that have defaulted. So little by little, they have been raising the credit scores and lowering the DTIs for loans they are willing to insure.

As a result the banks are having to react as well . . . if we can’t get insured for the dollar amounts we are wanting to loan above 80% then it is a risk to the banks and the banks are pushing back . . . the banks have money to lend, but they are also wanting to be protected.

Thank goodness for small favors – Government loans are not affected by this latest round of changes.

Two hours later the evening goes from good to out of this world!  Here I am a 59 year old baby boomer who remembers the 70′s like it was yesterday when the only thing I had to worry about was hanging with my best girl.  Well I married her and last evening we went to the best concert that I have ever seen and will be for the rest of my life! 

On Saturday night, two icons – Elton John and Billy Joel – rocked the house and for 3 and 1/2 hours! I felt like I was in my twenties again with not a care in the world.  I didn’t worry about lost homes, lost jobs or making that extra sale.  Yeah, I did look at my e-mail every now and then but I swear just for a moment and then I snapped another picture, sang to the music and remembered when It was great again.  They are two of the most amazing entertainers I have ever seen and I know because ’60′ is suddenly around the corner.  I may never get a chance again to see a concert like this, in a great city, at a wonderful venue, with people that bring back my youth so magically. 

So when you have nothing to do, see what’s happening in Charlotte and as the song is titled – bring your “uptown” girl uptown!   Tell me if you were there and share your thoughts!

We continue to pour money to bail out AIG, banks, auto industry and the like.  Instead of doing that, why not give every adult over the age of 18 a stimulus in the amount of 1 million dollars? That would be far less than we are pouring in to failing companies with no end in sight.  What would happen if my company fails tomorrow?  Would the government bail me out? 

Look, I love my country.  I’ve raised and educated my children, taught them how to be model citizens and not expect that they are entitled, rather they must earn their way in this world.  We are telling generations to come that it is okay to fail because someone will bail you out if you do.  In fact they will bail you out so much so that they will even pay you when you do fail.  Is that a crazy concept or what?  Don’t worry, if you fail we’ll give you money and prop you up.  

If there is no fear of loss there is no fear of failure!  Am I the only one that feels this way?  I’d like to hear your comments as well.  What happened to the american work ethic?  I know – we’ve sent it overseas!