Register Real Estate Advisors

Beautiful three bedroom open floor plan home in the Cypresswood Lake Subdivision.  This community offers a lake, miles of walking trails, parks, volleyball, & a community swimming pool.  This one story home includes professional landscaping and sprinkler, tile upgrades, a flex gameroom, patio, and much more.  The home has programmable thermostats, whirlpool tub in master with double sinks and separate shower, fans in living areas, raised breakfast bar, island kitchen, built in microwave, lead glass front door, and much more.  It is a must see short sale. (more…)

Three year old Perry Built home in quiet, gated community of Spring Lakes that is convenient to I45, Hardy Toll Rd, The Woodlands, & shopping in Old Town Spring.  This community offers lakes with fountains, ducks, miles of walking trails, parks, volleyball & lighted tennis courts, & community pools. The home has an open floor plan that boasts of high ceilings, tile floors, a master down, three bedrooms up, large walk in closets, upstairs game room, tile backsplash in kitchen with granite island & stainless steel appliances.  This large lot has plenty of room for a pool or entertaining.  It is a short sale and an excellent value! (more…)

1. Hire a cleaning service. A spotlessly clean home is essential; dirt will turn off a prospect faster than anything.
2. Mow your lawn, and be sure toys and yard equipment are put away.
3. Serve cookies, coffee, and soft drinks. It creates a welcoming touch. But be sure the kitchen has been cleaned up; use disposable cups so the sink doesn’t fill up.
4. Lock up valuables like money, jewelry, etc. Although the real estate salesperson will be on site during the open house, it’s impossible to watch everyone all the time.
5. Turn on all the lights. Even in the daytime, incandescent lights add sparkle.
6. Send your pets to a neighbor or take them outside. If that’s not possible, crate them or confine them to one room (a basement or bath), and let the salesperson know where to find them.
7. Leave. It’s awkward for prospective buyers to look in your closets and express their opinions of your home with you there.

Reprinted from REALTOR Magazine Online by permission of the National Association of Realtors, Copyriht 2005, All rights reserved.

CALABASAS, Calif. (Bank of America) – Bank of America Corp. announced a $3 billion plan Wednesday that will forgive up to 30 percent of an estimated 45,000 troubled borrowers’ mortgage balances.
The plan is incorporated into the lender’s National Homeownership Retention Program (NHRP).
The new components of the agreement apply to certain NHRP-eligible loans that also meet the basic qualifications for the government’s Home Affordable Modification Program. They include:
• A first look at principal reductions in calculating an affordable payment through an earned principal forgiveness approach to severely underwater loans.
• Principal forgiveness through a reduction of negative-amortization on certain pay-option ARMs.
• Conversion of certain pay-option ARMs to fully amortizing loans prior to a recast.
• Addition of certain prime two-year hybrid ARMs as eligible for the NHRP mortgage modification programs.
• Inclusion of Countrywide mortgages originated on or before Jan. 1, 2009, as eligible for modifications under the terms of the NHRP.
• A six-month extension of the term of the NHRP program to Dec. 31, 2012.
Bank of America developed and launched the NHRP in 2008 to provide assistance to Countrywide borrowers who financed their home with certain subprime and pay-option adjustable rate mortgages.

WASHINGTON, D.C. (Washington Post) – The federal government has placed new requirements on lenders to reduce troubled borrowers’ mortgage payments to no more than 31 percent of their income for up to six months.
Several changes have also been made to the Home Affordable Modification Program. Borrowers in bankruptcy will now be eligible for mortgage relief under the federal program. Lenders will evaluate delinquent homeowners for the program before referring them to foreclosure.
The program will lower monthly payments by reducing mortgage rates to as low as 2 percent for five years and extending loan terms up to 40 years.
To complete the program, homeowners will go through a three-month trial period and provide proof of their income, as well as a letter documenting their financial hardship.

NEW YORK (New York Times) – April 5th will mark the beginning of a new program by the Obama administration intended to end the foreclosure crisis — one that will pay homeowners to sell their homes.
The program will allow owners to sell their homes for less than they owe and give them cash to expedite the process.
Hundreds of thousands of delinquent borrowers will be encouraged to sell their houses through short sales, in which properties are sold for less than the balance of the mortgage.
The new program will give the servicing bank $1,000, and another $1,000 may go toward a second loan, if one exists. The distressed homeowners will also receive $1,500 in relocation assistance.
Borrowers could suffer less damage to their credit ratings under the new program, and they will receive the lender’s assurance that they will not later be sued for an unpaid mortgage balance.

WASHINGTON (Associated Press) – After one year of activity, the government’s mortgage relief plan has helped about 12 percent of borrowers who signed up for the program.

 According to the Treasury Department, about 116,000 homeowners had completed the application process as of last month and are making permanently reduced loan payments, compared with over one million homeowners who began the process.

 Over 61,000 homeowners have dropped out of the program either because they failed to make payments or did not return the necessary paperwork.

 There have been calls recently for a major overhaul of the program, particularly for the government to further encourage banks to cut borrowers’ principle balances on their primary loans. Nearly one in three homeowners with a mortgage owes more to the bank than their property is worth, according to Moody’s Economy.com.

AUSTIN (Austin Business Journal) – RealtyTrac’s annual foreclosure report, released yesterday, revealed Texas metro rates to be under the national average of 2.21 percent.

 Austin and Round Rock area foreclosure rates increased 39.5 percent between 2008 and 2009. About 1.25 percent of all housing units, or one in every 80 homes, foreclosed last year, and 8,002 homeowners filed. This was an increase of 54.6 percent from 2007. Of the 203 metros ranked nationwide for foreclosures, the area was ranked 117th.

 Dallas–Fort Worth ranked 94th with a 1.5 percent foreclosure rate, and Houston was 111th with 1.3 percent of its area homes foreclosed upon. San Antonio ranked 109th in RealtyTrac’s report, with a 1.31 percent foreclosure rate.

Due to the massive amount of short sales and foreclosures in the Houston area I have acquired my CDPE – Certified Distressed Property Expert Designation.  This new designation has taught me the short sale process and how to get the deal closed.  It is the designation that banks require for Realtors to work on their distressed and foreclosure properties.  If you or someone you know is behind on their mortgage please choose a Realtor that holds this designation.  I enjoy helping homeowners learn how to avoid foreclosure and helping them sale their properties before they are foreclosed on.

Built in 2002, this home is the perfect floorplan for any buyer.  It is a one story open floorplan built to suit.  It includes a gas or wood burning fireplace, a brick patio and huge wooden deck for entertaining.  This home has beautiful wood floors, tile, gas stove, built in microwave, wood blinds, professional landscaping, separate tub and shower in the master bath, and much more.  The formal dining room has a painted accent wall.  The covered front porch is perfect for a quiet summer’s evening.  You are going to love this house!  It’s a short sale, but I am a Certified Distressed Property Expert and together we can get this deal done!  This home is an excellent value!

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