What is Barack Obamas Answer For Housing Troubles

If you are like me, you take local, state and federal elections very seriously. I like to know what each candidate plans to do about those issues that affect my family, my business and my community. I try to avoid all the adds on television and radio, because most of the time those are 90% rhetoric and 10% spin. Instead I like to actually talk with the candidate if possible or check out their website to get my news and information. This week, the nations top Democrats met in Denver at the Democratic National Convention. Tomorrow night Senator Barack Obama will be officially selected as their party's Presidential Candidate along with Senator Joe Biden as his running mate. So I thought I would ask what President Obama would due to improve our country's current housing situation. After spending some time on his website, www.barackobama.com , I was able to find his official platform on the current crises. I took the liberty of placing it here for you to review.

Protect Homeownership and Crack Down on Mortgage Fraud

Obama will crack down on fraudulent brokers and lenders. He will also make sure homebuyers have honest and complete information about their mortgage options, and he will give a tax credit to all middle-class homeowners.

Create a New FHA Housing Security Program: Barack Obama strongly supports the efforts of Senate Banking Committee Chair Chris Dodd (D–CT) to create a new Federal Housing Administration (FHA) program that will provide meaningful incentives for lenders to buy or refinance existing mortgages and convert them into stable 30-year fixed mortgages. This plan provides an important federal backstop – not a bailout – to this growing national problem. Neither lenders nor homeowners would receive a windfall from this plan.

Create a Universal Mortgage Credit: Obama will create a 10 percent universal mortgage credit to provide homeowners who do not itemize tax relief. This credit will provide an average of $500 to 10 million homeowners, the majority of whom earn less than $50,000 per year.

Ensure More Accountability in the Subprime Mortgage Industry: Obama has been closely monitoring the subprime mortgage situation for years, and introduced comprehensive legislation over a year ago to fight mortgage fraud and protect consumers against abusive lending practices. Obama's STOP FRAUD Act provides the first federal definition of mortgage fraud, increases funding for federal and state law enforcement programs, creates new criminal penalties for mortgage professionals found guilty of fraud, and requires industry insiders to report suspicious activity.

Mandate Accurate Loan Disclosure: Obama will create a Homeowner Obligation Made Explicit (HOME) score, which will provide potential borrowers with a simplified, standardized borrower metric (similar to APR) for home mortgages. The HOME score will allow individuals to easily compare various mortgage products and understand the full cost of the loan.

Create Fund to Help Homeowners Avoid Foreclosures: Obama will create a fund to help people refinance their mortgages and provide comprehensive supports to innocent homeowners. The fund will be partially paid for by Obama's increased penalties on lenders who act irresponsibly and commit fraud.

Close Bankruptcy Loophole for Mortgage Companies: Obama will work to eliminate the provision that prevents bankruptcy courts from modifying an individual's mortgage payments. Obama believes that the subprime mortgage industry, which has engaged in dangerous and sometimes unscrupulous business practices, should not be shielded by outdated federal law.

The above information was taken directly from Senator Obama's official website. The housing market is a fundamental indicator of our nations overall economic health. It remains to be seen whether these programs and plans will help our current housing economy. For more information about Senator Obama please visit his website... www.BarackObama.com Next week I will highlight Senator McCains position on the same subject, during the Republican National Convention which is being held in St. Paul Minnesota.

Sea Turtles Hatch in Atlantic Beach!

There are many great reasons to call Jacksonville, FL home. We have great nightlife and places to eat and have an adult beverage. We have great museums, and public parks. We have a great climate that allows year round outdoor activities, including golf, tennis, boating, fishing, walking and jogging etc. But one of the very cool things that happens every year at the beaches is that loggerhead sea turtles migrate here to lay their eggs and then leave. Just like they have for thousands of years. There are some great volunteers who keep an eye out on these nests and mark them so that they do not get trampled by visitors to our gorgeous beaches. They monitor the nests and when the hatching begins monitor the babies and help them back to the sea!

This year this amazing event was caught on video by a colleague of mine and she was kind enough to share this heart warming and amazing event. So I thought I would share it with all of you. I know this is not real estate related but thought that it was really cool and something that is specific to our area.

I hope you enjoy it as much as I have.

How a Home Inspection Can Save You $$$

I have had the opportunity to many, many homes over the past 5 years. Every once in a while I find someone who is unwilling to order a home inspection when considering a property. This normally happens when the client is buying a new construction home. I strongly discourage this practice for all buyers. In many cases a home inspection can save the buyer hundreds or thousands of dollars in the long run. Also, at least in Florida, a buyer may save hundreds and in some cases thousands by having a wind mitigation inspection conducted. I interviewed a popular and very experienced local home inspector for his views on some issues. Here are the questions and answers.

1. Tell me about what a home buyer should expect from their Home Inspector?

The top 3 in my opinion are technical knowledge, professionalism and experience.

2. I know that some home buyers feel like they do not need a professional home inspection when buying a new construction home through a builder. What is your take on this?

Unfortunately, the construction process has a lot of areas in which the quality control process is degraded. Often you have one or two builder's representatives trying to stay on top of the quality control process for 50 or 60 homes! Most builders provide a financial incentive to their reps for closing a home early, sometimes resulting in important quality steps being overlooked or ignored.

3. Aren't most new construction homes inspected by a city inspector?

Yes. The county / city inspectors unfortunately inspect for Code NOT Quality!. The Florida building code in particular has numerous "Gray Areas" which are open to interpretation. A perfect example is the electrical system on a dwelling. Contrary to popular belief, Florida does NOT have its own electrical code!!! The NEC (National Electrical Code) is the governing standard. When a home is "signed off" for electrical code compliance, all outlets in the dwelling are not tested for polarity. Many times we've done a new construction dwelling and found numerous outlets either mis-wired or not functional at all. It is important to remember: CODE COMPLIANCE DOES NOT EQUAL QUALITY.

4. What are the most common types of issues that you discover when conducting a home inspection?

Lack of regular / interval maintenance of main systems, (i.e: A/C coils / condenser units). Organic debric on roofs, non-standard electrical installations (overloading circuit breakers, tapping off of low amperage circuits, etc).

5. Have you ever found issues with a home that were not readily observable to a buyer that would have cost the buyer lots of money to correct in the absence of a professional inspection? If so, provide some examples.

1. A/C ducting pinched, mis-routed.
2. Electrical circuits oveloaded.
3. Incorrect polarity of electrical outlets.
4. Leaks at chimney flashings only visible from attic space.
5. Non-standard plumbing installations resulting in low pressure or other issues.
6. Moisture intrusion behind walls only detectable by calibrated equipment.

6.What advice do you give home sellers about having their properties inspected prior to placing the home on the market?

1. Exterior walls / siding freshly painted and clean.
2. Landscaping trimmed and away from any exterior dwelling surface.
3. A/C system recently serviced and operating at maximum efficiency.
4. DOCUMENTATION!!! (Recent re-roof documents, permits for additions, etc.)
5. All interior systems and appliances in good operating condition.
6. Access to all confined areas (attic / crawlspace /etc.
7. Current termite bond.
8. BASIC MAINTENANCE OF THE HOME!!!

7. I have heard that having a home inspected for wind mitigation can help to reduce home owners insurance costs. Is this true? Where can people go to find out additional information about this?

Florida Statute 629.0629 REQUIRES insurers to offer Florida homeowners discounts on the Windstorm Portion of their policy for certain favorable wind-resistive features of the roof, based on the age and location of the dwelling.

8. Tell me about yourself, your company, website etc.

Not enough room in this area to describe all of our services! Please visit our website at www.teamaccutech.com for a comprehensive description of our services and company.

For more information about how getting a home inspection can help you with the sale or purchase of your next home. Or for more information about Florida's Wind Mitigation discounts please visit http://www.teamaccutech.com

As always for information about my services. You can visit my website at. http://www.MattSellsJax.com

Thinking of Selling your home by Yourself?

In my business folks who attempt to sell their home by without any representation are known as "FSBOS". Or "For Sale By Owner". You know you are one because as soon as you stick a sign in your yard you have dozens of local agents calling you to compete for your business. Not so long ago it was pretty easy for a FSBO to sell their own home. Especially if they were in a high traffic and desirable area. But times have changed. Selling your home is not as easy as it once was. So I thought I would provide some tips for those brave souls who intend to enter this difficult buyers market by themselves.

1. Make sure your home is ready to be shown. What does this mean? It means you have to look at your home as a buyer, not yourself. It's called staging. I use a professional stager for each one of my listings. You see...that velvet Elvis, and shag carpeting are not cool to most people. I once had a client tell me that she thought most buyers hated ceramic tile! WRONG! Take a good look at your home and remove clutter, and nick knacks and clear off counter tops. Have the floors cleaned, freshen the paint.

2. Sticking a sign in your yard with your phone number does not equate to your home being on the market. What it does do is let your neighbors know you are selling your home and all those pesky real estate agents know to start calling on you. But you have to do it. Let's talk about marketing your home. Most folks think that placing a sign in the yard and running an ad in the Sunday paper are all they have to do to sell the house. Nearly 90% of all home buyers use the Internet to search for their next property. So if your home is not on line...good luck.

3. Never let a stranger in off the street after knocking on the door to see the house. This is a serious one. There are weirdo's out there folks! If someone wants to see the house, make sure that you are not alone in the home with the person. Doesn't matter if they are male or female. This is simple safety. Then before showing the home ask to see their pre-approval letter from their lender and call to verify the info from the lender. Why show your $500K home to someone who is only qualified to buy a $250K home? Be Safe!

4. Work with a REALTOR. I know you are trying to avoid having to pay the REALTOR commission. The fact is that if you begin interviewing REALTORs know before you try to sell it yourself you will be able to avoid it later. Believe me I like to help FSBO's when they call. I know that if I take care of them now that perhaps they will give me the opportunity to earn their business later. Use the REALTOR to provide you with a Market Analysis or Brokers Opinion of Price. The RELATORs know the market better than you do! We do this for a living! If you don't know what your home is worth how will you price it correctly? And don't tell me Zillow or some other website. Can they see your home? Can they see the comparable sales? Does Zillow know if a factory is about to close down or open or that highway is going to get built? Of course not. There are many factors that go into establishing a value for a home. Call an expert.

5. The fact is that in today's market 95% of those folks who absolutely need to sell their home will end up using a REALTOR. For goodness sake interview more than one person. See what kind of marketing and advertising plan they have. Get to know them and their backgrounds and do your research. Not every REALTOR is created equally.

I hope this has been helpful. If you would like to learn more about selling your home visit my website www.MattSellsJax.com and click on the Buyer/Seller Tips button.

$7500 Tax Credit for 1st Time Homebuyers!

I know what you are thinking. What's the catch? Before I get there let me fill you in on some changes that were included in the recent Housing Bail out bill that was passed by congress recently.

The current market benefits first time home buyers tremendously. Home values have come down and sellers have been able in many cases to cover buyers down payments and closing costs. That is all about to change. Effective October 1st 2008 sellers and third party gifting programs, such as Ameridream, and Nehemiah will no longer be able to gift the required 3% down FHA requires from buyers. In addition the minimum down payment will increase from 3% to 3.5%. Sellers are still able to contribute up to 6% towards the buyers closing costs and pre-paid items(Taxes, Insurance etc). However the required down payment funds most now come from the buyer alone. So if you have been on the fence about buying a home and need down payment and closing cost assistance you have until September 30th to close! So get moving!

O.K. so that is not the best news for some 1st time home buyers out there. But there is some real exiting news as well. First. The FHA loan limits for the Jacksonville area have increased to $387,500.00! This is great news if you have been looking for a home in that price range but did not have the 10% - 20% down that most conventional lenders are requiring for loans at this level. Rates are still very strong and have been holding around 6.5%. So take advantage of this time. This FHA loan limit is temporary and can be reduced at any time. In addition to increasing the loan limits the Feds are allowing a Tax Credit up to $7,500 or 10% of the purchase price, whichever is less, for first time home buyers. As you may know a tax credit gets subtracted from your tax liability at the end of the year. For example if you owe $1,500 at tax time in April you will get a refund of $6,000. Now this credit must be paid back in equal installments over a 15 year period at tax time. Interest free.

That is pretty good news for buyers in a market that favors buyers at the moment. For more information feel free to contact me or visit my website http://www.MattSellsJax.com