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Short Sale Links and Information

January 10, 2011 By

A short sale is when a borrower is forced to sell their home for less than they owe on it. Typically, it is the result of some kind of hardship. Sellers are forced to ask the lender to take less than the full amount owed. Considering a Short Sale is a stressful and overwhelming process. Finding the facts and reliable information is even harder. Part of that is caused by the fact that there are many different loans, lenders and real estate agents all with their own requirements and experiences. Below is a list of links for information and sources that we trust.

Disclaimer – The rules and regulations change frequently as the government and lenders work to develop better processes.

Filed Under: Distressed Sales, Feature Story, Seller Info Tagged With: ,

Real Estate Closing Instructions & Possession

December 24, 2010 By

Closing procedures vary by state, region and lender. In Kansas and Missouri sellers and buyers do not close together in the same room at the same time. The seller typically closes a couple of days before the actual closing date. The buyer normally closes on the agreed contract date.

HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE – about 30-45 minutes [Read more...]

Filed Under: Buyer Info, Feature Story

New Home Permits see 10% increase in Kansas City Area

December 23, 2010 By

The Kansas City metro area is experienced nearly a 10 percent increase in new permits over last year.

In the eight-county metro area, 2,262 housing permits were pulled through November. In the entire 2009 there were a total of 2,155.

Experts predicted that the nation would average a 10 percent growth this year. This puts the Kansas City [Read more...]

Filed Under: Feature Story

USDA RD Property Eligibility

December 23, 2010 By

USDA Rural Development ( RD ) Loans allow buyers to purchase homes with little or no money down. There are some restrictions, mainly the property has to be in an approved area and the buyer has to be qualified.

It is not as complicated as some other government loan programs as well. The key to closing and closing on time is finding a [Read more...]

Filed Under: Buyer Info, Feature Story

Ways To Volunteer Over Holidays

December 21, 2010 By

Project Shining Star Catholic Charities

http://www.volunteermatch.org/search/opp601094.jsp

Crittenton Children’s Center
10918 Elm Ave, Kansas City, MO 64134
Contact Gayla Guthrie at 816.767.4124 to volunteer.
Looking for sponsors for their Adopt-an-Angel program. Adopt youth and/or provide items off their general wish list. 20 volunteers needed to plan [Read more...]

Filed Under: Feature Story, Misc

Final Walk through

December 21, 2010 By

Final Walk through

Normally the day before or the day of closing a buyer has a “final walk through”. The purpose of this is to:

1) see that the home’s condition has not significantly changed. Such as flooded, burned down, gotten hit by a tornado, or the sellers moving truck did not back into it.

2) Check that the sellers did perform the repairs they agreed to perform. This might be done a week before closing.

3) Pick up the keys from the lock box.

4) House is clean. In Kansas & Missouri, when a transfer of possession occurs a home is required to be “broom swept clean” and all personal property is to be removed from a property. That means if the buyer and seller have not agreed to leave a piece of personal property, and the buyer wants it removed, the seller my remove it or pay to have it removed.

Let me know what time is convenient for your final walk through.

PS. A  new home is a bit different.

Filed Under: Buyer Info, Feature Story

Insurance and Utilities

December 21, 2010 By

INSURANCE & UTILITIES

The next steps are getting the utilities set-up and a home owners insurance “binder”.

UTILITIES

You are responsible for the utilities from midnight the day of closing. In other words, the seller pays until 12:01am the day after closing.

Here is a link to the local utility companies – http://stevekornspan.com/utilities.htm

HOME OWNERS INSURANCE

Insurance can vary significantly from client to client and company to company. On day one company can give great rates for one client the next day they can be much higher. The company’s change their rating procedures all the time so it is hard to keep up with them.

I have a few trusted people that I recommend. I suggest you contact a couple to get quotes. Be careful to see what each actually covers. Coverage and premiums really do vary. Be sure to ask about roof coverage, sewer backup, and basement flooding.

Here is a link to some of my trusted insurance friends – http://stevekornspan.com/referrals.htm#insurance

You do not have to pay the premium. It can be paid at closing from the title or lender company. Please have the insurance company furnish an insurance certificate/binder for the title company and lender. We cannot close without it.

Let me know if you have any questions or need more information.

Filed Under: Buyer Info, Feature Story

Buyers Came Back in October

December 5, 2010 By
National Association of Realtors

More home buyers  signed purchase contracts in October compared to September, pushing up a monthly index of pending home sales, according to the National Association of Realtors.

Pending sales of existing homes rose 10.4 percent month-to-month in October.

Default rates on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac loans have been very low, NAR said, “much lower than the vintages of 2002 and 2003 before the housing boom.”

All regions except the West saw month-to-month increases in pending home sales. The index dipped 0.4 percent in the West, to 104.3. The region also saw the smallest year-over-year decrease, however: 15.6 percent.

The Midwest saw the biggest month-to-month increase, 27.3 percent, to 81.7. Year-over-year, the region saw the second biggest drop: 24.8 percent. The index rose 19.6 percent from September in the Northeast, to 71.3. The region saw the largest year-over-year drop: 27.3 percent. The South experienced a 7.1 percent month-to-month index jump. Year-over-year, the index fell 18.4 percent in the region.

In its latest economic outlook, NAR upwardly adjusted the forecast for an expected drop in existing-home sales in 2010 to 6.4 percent. The association expects sales to rise 6.2 percent in 2011 and 2.7 percent in 2012. The 2012 projection fell from 4.7 percent in last month’s outlook.

The association revised its latest projections for median existing-home prices slightly downward. NAR forecasts a median $172,500 for 2010 (flat from 2009) with hardly an increase in 2011: $173,500. The forecast for 2012 is better, but not by much: $177,700.

NAR expects the median price for new homes to be $220,100 this year, rising to $223,000 in 2011 and $230,700 in 2012.

Filed Under: Feature Story

Johnson County KS UNOFFICIAL Election Results as of 9:45pm 11/3/10

November 3, 2010 By

Election Summary Report
2010 Kansas General Election Summary For All Races
Johnson County Kansas – Unofficial Final Results

 11/02/10
21:41:02

To summarize –
Yoder Wins US Congress;
Grosserode upsets Rardin For KS House; Denning over Furtado;
Eilert over Surbaugh for County Commissioner – a very close race;
Osterhaus over Winn for Commis, Ashcraft over Woods for Commis; more details
[Read more...]

Filed Under: Feature Story, Legislation

The Mortgage Foreclosure Crisis: What You Need To Know

November 1, 2010 By

Right from the MO Attorney General – Foreclosure Information

Missouri law generally allows foreclosures to take place very quickly, relative to other states. It is important for homeowners to understand their rights concerning foreclosures and to recognize the need for legal representation at the earliest possible time. In some instances, foreclosures may be stopped [Read more...]

Filed Under: Distressed Sales, Feature Story
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