Many times when I speak with individuals it is because they want or need to sell their home or they would like to buy a home. During my conversation with them sometimes I find out that some of them are in debt and cannot afford to keep or purchase a home. Continue reading Getting out of debt starts with a simple budget
Tag Archives: home
Can I afford buying a home or do I need to make some changes
Before you even start looking to buy a home you should first find out if you can afford a home. Yes, for many, homeownership is still the ultimate dream but it is not for everybody. Sometimes you have to put your dream on hold until you are able to fulfill this dream.
To find out if you can afford purchasing a home go through the following steps first
Continue reading Can I afford buying a home or do I need to make some changes
Settles Report
Every week we pull information for the Central Indiana real estate market and look at the last week’s market condition for central Indiana. To simplify the process we are pulling the information for three counties that are part of the Central Indiana real estate market.
2015 will bring a new energy efficiency rating for water heaters
According to the National Appliance Energy Conservation Act (NAECA) there will be significant updates to water heater energy factor (EF) requirements. Due to the new requirements, all residential water heaters will require a higher energy factor. Continue reading 2015 will bring a new energy efficiency rating for water heaters
Settles Report for 7/21 to 7/28/2014
During this week Marion County Indiana has picked up steam with their active listings. They had 418 new listings that were made available to the public compared to Hamilton County who slowed down and only had 145 properties that were made available. Compared to last week Hamilton County had a drop in new listings of over 50%. Johnson County had 82 new listings that were made available to the public which was about the same number as last week.
Marion County Indiana new rental proposals
Be aware Proposal 195 which is being introduced to create a Marion County Indiana landlord registry. Landlords have to re-resister themselves on an annual basis as a landlord. The reason given for this registry is that many properties in disrepair and vacant are owned by investors. About 50% or more of them are owned by owner occupants who no longer can pay for their mortgage.
Facing the financial aftermath of a divorce, Part 1
No matter how you twist and turn it, starting over after a divorce is not easy. Not only will be the assets divided but also the liabilities most of the time. Many times, it will hit a woman much harder than a man. Traditionally the man is the one who holds all the credit because traditionally they are the “bread winners” of the household. This does not hold true 100% of the time but it is close to 95% of the time.
Continue reading Facing the financial aftermath of a divorce, Part 1
Settles Report
To make things simpler we are focusing only on three Counties that make up the central Indiana BLC for our report for the time between July the 7th and July the 13th. When you are looking for information on additional counties that are part of the Central Indiana MLS contact the Settles Team.
Marion County had the most properties listed during that week totaling 404. Hamilton County had 203 properties that where made available for sale and Johnson County had 70 properties that were made available to the public.
For Marion County Indiana, Washington township was the area where most of the homes where made available for sale with 67 new listings. Lawrence Township was not far behind with 62 new available properties. Average list price for Washington Township was $245,488 and the average for Lawrence Township was $205,026.
In Marion County 185 Properties had an accepted offer (in escrow) and 230 closed during that same time. Washington Township had the most closings totaling 41 with an average sold price of $223,859. That was about 5.5% below the asking price.
Lawrence and Perry Townships both had 30 closings each week. Perry Township had an average day on the market of 66 days and Lawrence Township had an average of 62 days on the market. The average sales price for Lawrence Township was $184,741 which was 2% below the original asking price and Perry Township had an average sold price of $116,282 which was 4% below the original asking price.
Johnson county Indiana also had a busy week. Not as busy as Marion county, but Johnson County was not sitting still. White River Township was the listing leader with 27 new available properties and Pleasant Township was not that far behind with 21. The average list price for White River Township was $249,248 and Pleasant Township was $164,333.
37 properties in Johnson County had an accepted (in escrow) offer and 45 closings occurred that same week. Pleasant Township had the most closings totaling 20, and White River Township during that same week had 14 closings. Pleasant Township had an average sales price of $120,696 which was 3% below the original asking price and White River Township had an average sold price of $260,316 which was 6% below the original asking price during the same time.
Hamilton County Indiana had not been lazy during that week. Clay Township had the most listings that were made available during that week totaling 58, and with 46, Fall Creek Township was right up there as well. The average list price for the Clay Township was $390,620 and Fall Creek Township was $ 315,685.
111 properties in Hamilton County had an accepted (in escrow) offer and 140 closings during the same week. Clay Township had the most closings totaling 38, and Fall Creek Township during that same week had 28 closings. Clay Township had an average sales price of $379,146 which was 4% below the original asking price and White River Township had an average sold price of $260,316 which was 2% below the original asking price during the same time.
FHA flipping rule waiver still in affect
I am finding a lot of confusion and different interpretations when it comes to flipping homes using HUD/FHA loans. The last time I heard and read on the Federal Registrar website, was that HUD still has a waiver in place until the end of December 2014 that is applicable to all single family properties being resold after the 90-day holding period after acquisition.
There are some stipulations that are still in place even with the flipping rule waiver.
- The property was openly marketed and was available for any type of buyer.
- The property was not repeatedly flipped over the last 12 months
- The transition needs to be an arms-lengths transition.
When a property is marketed for more than 20% of the current sellers purchase price there will be additional stipulations before the property can close with an FHA loan.
- Property will need a second appraisal and the buyer is not allowed to pay for the additional appraisal. It has to be paid for by the investor.
- Investor has to justify and prove the value of the increase in pricing by the additional appraisal and supporting documents.
- An FHA approved inspector has to inspect the property and any needed repairs or updates need to be completed prior to closing by the investor and those repairs have to satisfy the FHA inspector.
From what I can see on my end, you still can flip a property within the 90 day period and have a FHA buyer. Just when the property is priced 20% above your original purchase price you have to jump though some extra hoops to get the property approved for the FHA.
Attached is the FHA flipping waiver ruling for your review.
When you have any questions about this or any additional Real Estate questions, feel free to contact the Settles Team.
Easy “no cost” seller ideas to use to sell your home when you are in trouble.
When you are faced with being forced to sell your home and you do not have the money to invest in repairing it, you may then have to sell it “AS-IS”.
Here are several things you can do to give your home the best chance to sell quickly even if it needs repairs.
Think of what you can do and not what you can’t do……
None of these ideas cost you money and it is possible they may make you some money! (OK one maybe will but only if you have no other option)
In the sellers disclosure identify what needs to be repaired. Better to disclose than to hope the buyer will not see the areas that need attention.
- Start clearing out and start selling items you do not need. Look in every nook and cranny.
- Remove all your personal pictures and notes from the walls, desks, tables and refrigerators. Buyers are not interested who is in the house they want to know about the house.
- Vacuum the carpets all over the house, under the bed, under the couch, and the chairs.
- Deep clean all of the bathrooms, and the Kitchen. Do not forget behind the stove and under the refrigerator. People will pull the shower curtain to see how clean the shower is.
- Take a damp sponge and clean off all the finger smudges of the walls by the light switches and other places you can find. Don’t scrub hard be very gentle.
- Clean out overstuffed closets. Put the excess in to storage or sell it.
- Organize your kitchen. Get rid of the junk drawer (we all have one).
- Clean off the kitchen counter top. If you keep it cluttered, you are telling the buyer that you do not have enough storage room for your items.
- Clean out the garage. If you have to sell some of the stuff you have then do so!! Otherwise put it into storage. Do not use the garage as storage unless you are planning on telling the buyers that the house is too small and does not have enough storage.
- Clean up the yard!!!
- Mow the yard and keep it trimmed!!!
- Ask friends or family members if they have some plants you could plant in your yard when you have none.
- Clean your windows and open the curtains to let light in!!!
All these ideas, except for putting some of your items into storage, will cost you no extra money you would not be spending anyway. What you will be spending mostly is your effort to get it done.
The faster you can sell your home, the faster you can get back on track, and the faster you might be able to get in to a new home. The longer it takes, the larger the shortfall will be. In this case time is money!!!!