Alabama Gulf Coast and Lake Lanier Real Estate News
Posted by Cal Carter Team Leader on
Wednesday, December 30th, 2009 at 9:28pm.
Shore
to Shore
Lake Lanier GA and AL Gulf Coast
Real Estate News
December 28, 2009
In this Issue:
The NorthGaLife.com Team: Buyer web traffic – heavy year end buyer traffic as is normal starting
after Christmas day.
Buyer internet activity should increase through
the year until Fall when school starts back. Those looking to list should be
proactive at this time. Buyers should be
proactive as well with preferred properties.
The GulfShoresLife.com Team: Ditto above – buyers will begin getting off of the fence as Holiday activities end on New Years Day and will have
more time to devote to real estate activity through the winter doldrums.
Buyers that have spotted bargains should become
motivated to make offers before someone else picks off these bargains with year
end bonus money.
Special
Report: Exterior remodeling best bang for your buck
Featured
Article: Why your credit score is even more important
Recommended
Resources: Confessions of an underwater homeowner
The NorthGaLife.com Team
“2009 is coming to an
end and buyers are coming out to take
advantage of the great deals in the area. The New Year will only be more
promising as buyers are realizing that now is the time to buy. There are some
great deals for the buyers out there! - Juli Bowman
Buyer registrations have increased significantly since Lake Lanier
got back to full pool. Low interest
rates and reduced prices will present many opportunities going in to 2010. Many
buyers progressing through the typical “just looking” period indicates 2010 should
have substantial increases in buyer activity.” – Laura Carter
“I’m out showing property” – Ryan Kowalske
www.northgalife.com
The GulfShoresLife.com Team
“The year 2009 saw strong condo sales in Gulf Shores
and Orange Beach.
Recorded sales are over 900 units and including remaining developer
inventory and large auctions, the total number of units sold is at
1,000 plus. The buyers have been motivated by significant price
reductions which have now bottomed out in many developments.” – Des Gatti
“Buyer activity has increased significantly as a result of
price reductions in the real estate market in the last quarter of 2009.
Numerous buyers believe the market is at or near the bottom and have decided
that now is the time to buy. They are now taking actions to position for
the future. Also, many buyers have been disappointed to learn that
homes they wanted to see and possibly "offer" on have been sold as a
result of this very active buyers market.” - Wayne Walker
"Didn't get exactly what you wanted for
Christmas? Buy yourself a condo!" – LaSha Powell
“I’m out with buyers!” – Ron Buttarazzi
“I’m working on new listings!” – Jason Will
"I'm preparing for multiple showings this week!" - Susan Trawick
“Looking forward to starting the New Year off with a total
redesign of our follow up systems, our focus will be to provide more useful
information on a timely schedule throughout the year and to be there when “buyers
are ready to buy” and “sellers are ready to sell”. I am in hopes that we become great providers
of information not only for those that are “ready, willing, and able”, but also
for those whose plans are further in the future and those who have already
taken action.” – Cal Carter
www.gulfshoreslife.com
Special Report
Exterior
Remodeling Best Bang for Your Buck
The
U.S. National Association of Realtors recently released its annual “Remodeling
Cost vs. Value Report,” and renovations this past year did not bring the bang
for their buck they did in 2008, according to the report.
The
average remodeling job cost $50,908 in 2009 and added $32,497 to the value of
the home, a ratio of 63.8 percent, according to the report. That was down a bit
from a cost-to-value ratio of 67.3 percent in 2008, when the average project was
$49,866 and the added value was $33,568.
Of
course, these figures are to be taken with a grain of salt. For example, in
some markets rapidly falling home prices can skew the value of homes. And in
some markets, remodeling costs are substantially lower than in other markets.
In any
event, the report seemed to reveal that in a slower real estate market, such as
the one the U.S.
is experiencing now, curb appeal is best improvement investment a home owner
can make.
On a
national level, eight out of the top 10 projects in terms of costs recouped
were exterior replacement projects that cost less than $14,000, according to
the NAR’s news release. Said the NAR:
“Certain types of door and siding
replacements, as well as wood deck additions all returned more than 80 percent
of project costs upon resale. A steel entry door replacement – a new addition
to this year’s list – recouped 128.9 percent of costs, followed by upscale
fiber-cement sliding replacements at 83.6 percent. Wood deck additions recouped
80.6 percent of costs.”
“Once
again, this year’s Remodeling Cost vs. Value Report highlights the importance
of a home’s first impression,” said NAR President Vicki Cox Golder, in a
released statement.
Featured Article
Why Your Credit Score is Even More
Important
Fannie
Mae announced this month that it was raising its credit score requirement for
borrowers, even if they have 20 percent as a down payment.
Fannie
Mae is the government-sponsored entity that purchases loans from banks, making
it the leader lenders follow when it comes to home-loan rules. It was announced
that even with a 20-percent down payment, borrowers will now need at least a
620 credit score to qualify for a loan. This is up from a 580 score.
While
it shouldn’t come as any surprise that standards are tightening again as banks
try to reign in their risks as mortgage delinquencies continue to rise, this
latest requirement could bog down your efforts to finance a home if you’re
already close to buying one.
There
are, however, some ways to bump your credit score by a few points in a
relatively short amount of time:
Get a copy of your report
Yes,
every article ever written about credit scores tells you to do this. You read
it constantly. Everybody does. But not everybody takes the advice and looks at
their reports frequently enough. You should do this once a year, and if you’re looking
to buy a house, do it soon!
Any and
all possible mistakes or issues should be addressed. Write letters, make phone
calls, challenge derogatory information. The time spent is well worth the
effort. Get any mistakes OFF your report!
Don’t open new accounts
If
you’re going to apply for a home loan soon, don’t apply for another credit card
or open a new retail store account just to save money on your next purchase.
Newer accounts can cost you a few points, score-wise. Wait until after your
home loan is approved. That brings us to the next point …
Don’t close existing accounts
The age
of your accounts affects your score, as does your ratio of credit used to
credit available. The more credit you have that you are not using, the better.
So even if you’re tempted to close that account after you’ve paid it off;
don’t. In fact …
Ask for credit increases
Because of that ratio of available credit to credit
used, you can often bump your score by improving that ratio a little bit. One
way, of course, would be to pay down debt you have – reducing the credit used;
that’s an obvious route. But the other side of the coin is to increase the
amount of credit available. You can call or write to have your limits
increased. A small increase on every account you have can add a few points to
your scores.
NOTE: The
caveat to this approach is that while having more available credit than you’re
using will help your actual scores, having TOO much credit available could hurt
your chances for qualifying for a home loan because of your debt-to-income
ratio. You want to make sure that all your minimum monthly payments, plus any
other fixed, long-term debt (car, student loans) is equal to less than 31
percent of your monthly gross income.
You probably aren’t going to be able to go from
Fannie Mae’s previous standard of 580 to the new 620 in a very short period of
time, but if you’re out looking at houses now, it never hurts to bump your
scores by a few points before you have to apply for financing. A better score
helps you get a better interest rate, too, remember.
Recommended Resources
Confessions
of an Underwater Homeowner
The media are full with
doom-and-gloom stories about the foreclosure crisis, “underwater” borrowers and
falling home prices. The headlines are enough to make you wonder why anyone
would want to buy a home.
Of course, it’s the sensational
headlines that sell. I recently found an article about an underwater homeowner,
and it’s a pragmatic, honest first-person account of someone who owes more on
their mortgage than their home is worth. The buyer isn’t a sub-prime borrower
and doesn’t see himself as a victim of predatory lending. This
un-sensationalized look at one family’s situation is definite recommended
reading! The article comes from the Wall Street Journal via Yahoo! Finance.
Click
here to read “Confessions of an Underwater Homeowner”
Have a
great week!
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