Austin Texas Real Estate Blog

Everyday you receive notices announcing your pre-approval for a credit card, visa card or membership. If you act immediately, you are told, you will be able to get the card and thus the items you want to purchase. But what happens when what you want to purchase is a house? Credit cards can’t help you there; only mortgages will. So is there some way you can ensure that the loan you need, will be given to you? Can you be pre-approved for mortgages as you are for credit cards?

Yes! Pre-approval exists in the lending world and is a smart way to make sure your dream deal becomes a reality. It allows the lender to look at your credit and assess whether you are eligible for a loan or not. If yes, you are given a pre-approval/pre-qualification letter, which automatically makes you more appealing to the seller and gives you the upper hand.

When vying for the letter, know that there are two types of pre-approval: pre-qualification and pre-approval itself. Pre-qualification means you have established an informal agreement between the lender and yourself. Rather than conducting background checks, the bank bases its opinion – namely that you are eligible for a mortgage – on how you describe yourself. If you inaccurately portray your situation, the positive opinion will be reneged.

Pre-approval is more formal. In this case, the bank checks your credit, previous and present employment, assets and liabilities. There may be a fee for this, but if you get pre-approval you are guaranteed the loan, and that, if your future house is on the line, is well worth a nominal fee.

If you want to be sure that the deal on your house doesn’t fall through for lack of funding, consider pre-qualification or pre-approval. It will give you peace of mind and a loan to boot.

In 2006, there were 818 cases of mortgage fraud, with 213 indictments, 204 convictions, $388.9 million in restitution and $1.4 million recovered. In 2007, as the real estate industry fell into an ever-growing slump and mortgages became increasingly more difficult to obtain and maintain, the situation worsened.

On May 22 2008, the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) reported it had investigated 1,204 mortgage fraud cases in the last fiscal year, which ended September 30, 2007. Through these pursuits, the Bureau was able to incur 321 indictments and $595.5 million in restitution, and recover $22 million. Those numbers will likely go up, as many investigations are still under way.

It is nice to imagine that when a country, an economy and a market experience a down time, so does everyone else. But that’s not the case for scam artists. They take advantage of the hard times, playing on prospective patsies’ desperation and need. They find victims easily as everyone, including you, likes to believe no deal is too good to be true and is quickly taken.

You must be on the lookout for fraud in your real estate dealings. Watch for misrepresentation of income/assets, forged documents, inflated appraisals and misrepresentation of a borrower’s assets. Don’t allow the frequency of fraud to rise yet again in 2009. Go to the respectable lenders and real estate professionals. They are just as if not more plentiful than the con artists waiting to disappear with your savings. They will help you complete your transaction, whether its securing a mortgage on your new home in Lost Creek or listing your property in Westfield so as to move downtown, legally, safely and smartly. You can find the best real estate agents right here, to help you wade through the muck left by the scammers.

It used to be that a house delivered pre-built to a lot wasn’t something most people considered. When they bought, there was generally a house already there. If there wasn’t, they erected one on-site, trucking in pieces rather than a structure. But times have changed, and modular housing has gone from rare to trendy to logical.

A modular home is delivered to the site approximately 90 percent assembled, saving the owner a considerable amount of time, money and frustration. Built to the same standards as a regular family home, it now garners the same respect. Awards are given for the best ones on the market – 2008’s winner was Genesis Homes‘ Bunbury, the company’s newest urban in-fill.

The beauty of the Bunbury is the combination of flexibility and aesthetics. The home is designed to fit into the typical urban lot, making it perfect for urban fill projects. It can be built with a variety of exteriors and in a variety of styles to match the environment, and a garage can easily be added into the home. Similarly, the Homestead, built by Building Systems Network, is well designed and built to last. It appeals to the buyer with its impressive use of modern construction methods and forward-thinking amenities.

Modular housing used to be a rare occurrence, but today may be a wise choice. With well-built, beautiful homes that can squeeze into even the most restricted areas, it can be the perfect solution to a difficult problem. If you’re not sure which way to go, consider a house already built and waiting for an address.

These days, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are far from the two most popular kids in town. Groups on all sides of the political and ethnic spectrums have been criticizing them for designating entire geographic regions as declining, thus causing higher down payments for home buyers and little to no sales for home sellers. But it looks like Fannie and Freddie have been attempting to change that, since June 1 of last year.

At of the beginning of the month, Fannie and Freddie adjusted to the use of a uniform down payment nationwide, meaning each region will see the same rate regardless of whether it is declining or not. All applicants approved online will qualify for a 3 percent down payment program, and those who require manual approval will be applicable for a 5 percent plan. Mortgage payments continue to be determined by the borrower’s capacity and locale.

This is a definite move in the right direction for Fannie and Freddie, but it may be too little, too late. Private mortgage insurers will remain keenly aware of the areas previously marked as depressed and will refuse to touch those loans. Through the last year since this was put into place, the market has improved some, in different area’s, but not all. The hardest hit area’s still have problems with lenders accepting those loans.

So while Fannie and Freddie get an A for effort, they fail to help all area’s. The real estate world needs a nationwide plan everyone can agree to, so that currently dwindling markets have the opportunity to come back to life. After all, not every city is Austin. Not every city can succeed without the economy’s help. Sometimes, they need a little push.

One of the tested answers to the housing crisis was to make jumbo loans more accessible by allowing Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to buy more expensive mortgages, ones that were higher than the conforming loans, which capped at $417,000, they had previously been restricted to. Once purchased, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac could sell the jumbo loans on the secondary market. In theory, it would keep the market moving and prevent it from falling into an even deeper crisis. But theory is not reality, and it didn’t work as well as it should have. Why?

To begin with, the move, which should have paved the way for lower prices on larger loans, created more of a price gap, rather than less of one. Interest rates on jumbo loans were almost immediately a point to a point and a half higher than those on conforming loans, automatically making them more expensive. Secondary market buyers were wary to purchase the jumbo loans, and so prices remained high.

Moreover, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac treat jumbo loans differently, because they are different. They come with their own risk factors, their own geographic limitations and their own types of homeowners. They can’t be lumped into the same category as conforming loans. That will only cause problems in both sectors. So what is to be done?

It’s too soon to tell. However, legislators met on May 22 to discuss the problem and many pointed out that the higher prices, which seemed monumental at the start of last year, are disappearing. Benefits are starting to appear. Adjustments to the legislation need to be considered in order for the new laws to work, but it may just be a matter of time before the small changes grow to meet the size of the loans they are stemming from.

You have amazing plans. They involve you buying a house that might need a little work but has a lot of potential. You’ll take that potential and use it to create a green haven. Your home will be more eco-friendly than even you had ever imagined. Everything in it will work to sustain some part of the environment, from the roof, which will hold a garden, to the cooling system, which will be energy efficient and made from recycled parts. You have grand plans, but there is one small problem: your wallet, for the money in your savings and checking accounts won’t go as far as you may think.

HyoJung Kim and husband Seth Garland of New York both thought they could easily renovate their home, making it green for as little as $70,000. What they found instead was that going green was putting them in the red. Units that were energy efficient and moderately priced were costing them thousands of extra dollars to install. Architectural designs that would save money in the future were causing complications and costing money they didn’t have in the present. And the falling real estate market was only adding to the real estate debt they had already accumulated. To make ends meet, they had to forgo many of their plans, sell their mortgaged condo and attempt to make the house, rather than a green place to live, a livable place to live.

Before you wind up in the same situation as Kim and Garland, assess your finances. Whatever you imagine it will cost to make all of the renovations you are envisioning, add a little more. And then, find ways to go green that you can afford. You don’t have to knock down walls, build roof gardens or use only plastic plumbing to help the Earth. There are other things you can do, less costly things that will keep the world and you in the green.

In most cases, your property tax bill will be automatically adjusted if a change is deemed necessary, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t pay active attention to the details of your bill. Mistakes happen. Homes can be overvalued, foreclosures can be mistakenly foreseen and clerical errors can (and often do) lead to incorrect assessments. Regularly examine your property tax bill to make certain that your home has been properly described, there is no unexplainable discrepancy between the assigned value of your property and neighboring houses, and that depreciation and value reducers in the area have been accounted for.

If you find that a mistake has been made, appeal your bill. But when you do, be prepared for a long journey. It’s going to take a lot of time and energy to guarantee the adjustment you deem warranted. To begin with, you will have to find three or more homes in your neighborhood with lower assessments. The more you get and the lower they are the better. However, this doesn’t mean you should randomly select houses just to build a case. The properties should be similar to yours in layout, size, age and improvements. Hiring a professional, such as an appraiser or real estate agent, can make this step less difficult, but it will cost money.

Once you’ve prepared your case and issued the appeal, should you lose, you can appeal to a higher authority, but before you do, make sure that it’s worth it. If you are doing this to prove a point rather than receive something you justly deserve, stop now. You won’t triumph in the end, and you will have wasted much time if not money. However, if you have examined the situation rationally and objectively and know that the adjustment is necessary, don’t give up. Keep appealing and right the wrong.

These days, concern for the environment has us focusing on clean air outside. We attempt to reduce carbon emissions by walking rather than driving, limiting unnecessary pollutants and supporting eco-friendly organizations. However, that’s not the only air we should be concerned about. Indoor air quality is important, too, especially in our homes where the air can be two to five times more polluted than it is outside. Fortunately, thanks to a few tips from the American Lung Association, you can easily conquer indoor air pollution.

First, create an environment conducive to clean indoor air, i.e. enable ventilation. Add some window fans that blow air out, open your windows when the weather allows for it and use exhaust fans in the bathroom and kitchen. Don’t be afraid to let the fans run for a while; they not only get rid of moisture but a lot of pollutants as well. If you are installing flooring, think wood. It’s the easiest to breathe with, although tile and linoleum are safe bets, too. Make sure that all of your appliances are properly installed and functioning, and that there’s no opportunity for something like carbon monoxide to leak into your home. And finally, maintain a relative humidity level higher than 50 percent. This will cut down on mold and dust (and bugs!).

Once you’ve created the proper environment, keep it that way. Clean! Regularly dust surfaces using a damp cloth or a damp mop. Select cleansers with a minimal amount of lung irritants and toxic chemicals. Purchase either a central vacuum cleaner that vents to the outdoors or one with a micro filter bag. Keep everything as dust and allergen-free as possible to guarantee that, when you’re indoors at least, you’ll breathe easy.

The Department of Energy (DOE) and Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) have been both creative and enthusiastic in their efforts to educate, accelerate, and motivate the population at large about the enduring benefits that come when we reduce the impact on the environment that is generated from fossil fuels, nuclear energy and natural gas.

To motivate our future engineers, architects, researchers, and homeowners to connect with nature’s natural resources, namely solar energy, the DOE challenged college student to design, build, and operate an energy efficient solar powered house. The expectation of the award winning model is to inspire consumers, builders, and end users to incorporate an innovative way of building or redesigning homes that reduce the carbon footprint to the environment.

That avant-garde by the DOE and EERE gave rise to the introduction of the Solar Decathlon event. The competition began in 2001 when organizers selected14 teams from colleges or university students. The event took place at the “Solar Village” on the grounds of the National Mall in Washington D.C. In the fall of 2002, the University of Colorado was the overall winner.

The judges for this competition were selected from the top professionals from their fields of expertise that would address each category of the competition.

The ten categories of the 2002 competition were:
• Design and Livability
• Presentation and Simulation
• Graphics and Communication
• Comfort Zone
• Refrigeration
• Hot Water
• Energy Balance
• Lighting
• Home Business
• Getting Around

The Solar Decathlon is gearing up for its third event and 20 teams have been selected to compete for the $100,000 award. This decathlon will be an international collegiate competition that will incorporate integrated photovoltaic (BIPV). The event is scheduled to take place at the National Mall in Washington D.C., in the fall of 2009.

The categories for the 2009 contest are:
• Architecture – 200 points
• Engineering – 150 points
• Marketing Viability – 150 points
• Communications – 100 points
• Comfort Zone – 100 points
• Appliances – 100 points
• Hot Water – 100 points
• Energy Balance- 100 points
• Getting Around – 100 points

For more information visit: www.solardecathlon.org/contests_scoring.html

A Living or Planted roof is not a new concept, in fact the concept dates back to the ancient times of Babylon when they displayed hanging gardens and built terraces of stone with lush layers of reed and tar on which plants and trees grew in soil.

Today we live in a time where we must become more aware of the impact we make within our own lives that effect the environment and the world which belongs to our children and grandchildren.

Let’s examine what it would take to create a living or green roof system. There are four basic components: a waterproofing layer, a drainage layer, a growing medium, and vegetation. There are other elements that can be added by are not necessary are root retention and irrigation systems. We are going to stick with the basics.

Now we will list the benefits.
• Reduces heating and cooling
• Reduces heat requirements during cold months
• Reduces ambient temperature of the roofs surface
• Reduces cooling costs
• Reduce Storm water drainage
• Protects from extreme temperatures and harsh weather conditions.
• Filters pollutants and carbon dioxide
• They increase insulation to the roof
• Creates a bird and wild life habitat

A green roof is not for everyone. For those who choose to explore this energy efficient option, there are many resources available. There are nurseries that specialize in growing specific plants will thrive in that environment.

Explore this option, it might be fun!