Just my thoughts...

Just read this Inman News article by Steve Bergsman . It had a great analysis of the housing market. We all want a recovery of the housing market, it is a key indicator to a healthy economy. But are we being too optimistic?

Reliable trend analysis can only be established with a large data set over a longer period of time: 1-3 years. I leave the “forecasting” to the economic experts…it is basically an educated guess. I am in the trenches and can come up with my own hypothesis on continued trends, but it is more specific to my areas of expertise…southern NH. Things have been fairly stable, entry level properties in good condition sell quick, investors are busy buying and flipping, the mortgage market is loosening up, and consumer optimism is increasing.

There are so many excellent points in this article, but every area is different. We are in the slowest time of year for southern New Hampshire real estate: winter. In areas with severe winter conditions the fluctuations between seasons can be large. Therefore short trend analysis is unreliable and possibly misleading and may or may not reliably indicate the future market trends. The coming spring market is just around the corner and without the artificial boost from last years tax credit we will get a more accurate picture of the real estate health.

So I am waiting until spring to give-up on my real estate recovery. Call me an educated optimist…

-Just my thoughts.

www.TopNHhomes.com
www.JACoteAppraisals.com

Would You Buy A Home Next To A Superfund Site?

Would you?  Do you even know what that is?  How would you know?  When I do an appraisal I look at surrounding lots to determine the uses and influences that would affect the subject.  It could be conservation land, commercial or industrial businesses, high-tension power lines, or a Superfund site.  A Superfund site is a site that has been SUPER contaminated...my definition, not the actual one. 

The typical buyer wouldn't know how to begin a search on site influences other than what they see driving by the property.  Would your typical real estate agent know this information?  If they know, they should be disclosing it to you, but they don't always know.   The appraiser would be reporting site influences in the appraisal report...you need to read that report thoroughly. 

Unfortunately, by the time you get a copy of the appraisal you will be near your closing date, or worse, you find out after you move in!  In many cases these sites have been cleaned up, but it could affect the marketability long-term.

The reason for this post is because I just finished an appraisal on such a property.   The state owns the property behind the lot and the tax records do NOT indicate it's a Superfund site, but town has the owner as the State of NH, Dept of Environmental Services.  Hmmm, so I went on the EPA site and found out it indeed is a contaminated brownfield.

EPA WEBSITE Check it out to see what's near you.

 How Important Are MLS Photos? 

How many times have you seen horrible photos in MLS? I really don't get it, maybe it's my graphic design background, my love of art, landscaping, and presentation. It's the first thing a potential buyer sees when looking for a home...it's so important!

I don't care how ugly the house is, or how dated the interior, you can usually find a couple little vignettes to photograph. You can even make the vignettes: bring flowers, arrange things, groups of 3 work great. Take the photos during the day...a sunny day. Invest in a good camera...I have 3 good cameras. Wide-angle lenses are a must. If your photos don't come out...go back! Most of my listings are within a half hour, no excuses.

 

Good photos help sell a property...it gets more people in the door.

-Just my thoughts.
 

www.TopNHhomes.com

www.JACoteAppraisals.com

 How skewed can the market data be?  

Every market has submarkets, so when you watch the news about double digit declines- it’s all the markets combined. A cookie-cutter subdivision with a price point of $350,000 and up may show a larger decline than an entry-level subdivision. A contemporary home on a lake may show no decline. Bank-owned properties would most likely show the largest decline. All this within the same timeframe/market. They are examples of submarkets…move-up (mid level), entry level, standard cookie cutter, vacation, lake front, bank-owned, or unique style properties.

So depending on what submarkets posted the most sales it would skew the overall market data.  Knowing this you can now postulate that these huge declines are due, in part, from most sales being bank-owned or entry-level in the past 9 months.  It is a false representation of the market.

-Just my thoughts.

HUD Press Release

This is great news for investors!  FHA is temporarily removing the restriction for investors.  FHA didn’t allow a new buyer to purchase a home that was owned less than 3 months by the seller (typically an investor-aka flipper).  The regulation was for curtailing flipping the property.

This change is a smart move for FHA/HUD because many of the homes being purchased by investors are in pretty poor condition and a typical buyer wouldn’t want to, or just couldn’t, purchase the home.  This allows investors to purchase the property, do the necessary improvements, which will usually help the new buyer get a conventional loan on the property.  Many, and I do mean many of these foreclosed properties don’t quality for conventional lending because they are, well, basically a mess!

Doing a quick search for “Flippers” brought up some very negative comments.  They are looked at as the bad guy and that is just inaccurate.  There is good and bad in every aspect of life, profession, business…you get the point.  Flippers are ultimately just investors.  Just like any other opportunity they are looking for a profit…is that bad?  They are assuming the risk.  A property might look like it just needs a couple cans of paint and new baths, but underneath all that could be a dragon rearing it’s ugly head.  The investor will do their due-diligence, but things are missed, and herein lies the risk.

Moving foreclosures off the market is great.  In this market investors will typically price these properties low for a quicker sale and this helps your first-time homebuyer get a house that’s fixed up and a pretty good deal.  Southern New Hampshire has seen it’s fair share of foreclosures, but it has not been the dominant market.  Arms-length transactions have been the norm.

Just my thoughts…

Just finished reading: "Buyers: Why Green is Worth It"

http://realtytimes.com/rtpages/20100222_greenworth.htm

I agree, green is worth it.  From the warm fuzzy feeling you get from doing something good for the environment: your LIVING environment and the GLOBAL environment.  Green is good because you could get a TAX credit.  Green is also good because you may quality for an Energy EFFICIENT mortgage.

Did you even know that there are special mortgages designed that allow you to incorporate the price of an energy efficient improvement into your mortgage?  I just took a fantastic continuing education class that went over some details on this type of mortgage.

HUD's Energy Efficient Mortgage Program:  www.hud.gov/offices/hsg/sfh/eem/energy-r.cfm

 

1. Can be up to $8,000.  Only certain improvements/items quality. 2. You do not need to qualify for the additional funds (up to $8,000). 3. The appraisal does NOT need to come in $8,000 above. 4. A home audit will be performed.  Many utility companies  can provide. 5. The improvement is done after the loan closes.

Contact your local utility company to learn about audits.  Here's the link to New Hampshire's: NH Home Performance with ENERGY STAR®