“Flipping” Coplan said, ” is when a house is bought and quickly resold for a profit.”  ”Foreclosed homes, typically damaged like the one [pictured] here, are being bought, fixed up, and resold for substantial profits.”

Until now there have been seasoning requirements that do not allow a property to be resold for 90 days on some loan types.  The FHA which is a large part of mortgage activity taking place is valley has suspended the 90 day seasoning requirements for 1 year starting February 1st.

Last Month, foreclosure activity was up 4 percent from the previous month in the Valley, over one in every 100 houses received a foreclosure filing during January.  Phoenix had the second highest foreclosure rate among metropolitan areas  according to the latest report from Realtytrac.

The Valley was the only metro area among the top 10 to post a month-overmonth increase in foreclosure activity.  The anti-flipping waiver isn’t the solution to the foreclosure crisis, but it’s a step in the right direction, said Jay Butler, associate professor of real estate in the W.P. Carey School of Business at Arizona State University.  The waiver includes numerous safeguards to prevent inflated pricing, such as if the price of the home is 20 percent over the previous sale, the seller has to justify that increase, he said.

Josh Coplan has been in Real Estate for 6 years and is Certified in Short Sales & Foreclosures Resources(SFR).  We congratulate Josh for making it to the front page of the East Valley Tribune, and also congratulate the Tribune for their excellent selection.

Often agents are asked to explain foreclosure/REO transactions. they are asked if a short sale is what they should do. Clients want to know which method of selling their property is best for there situation.

Clients want and need good advice, and have a right to expect agents to advise them. The problems arise when agents go beyond their level of expertise and legal capabilities. The Arizona Association of REALTORS®, through their legal counsel Michelle Lind, worked with the Department of Real Estate Short Sale Committee to develop the “Short Sale Seller Advisory” that is now available.

You can download The Form From the Arizona Department of Real Estate Here.

What you can expect in the form.

discussion of lender options,
discussion of scams and fraud,
directions to information for websites and telephone contacts for legal advice, tax advice and helpline services that are available,
discussion of options other than short sales including but not limited to Loan Modifications, Deed-In-Lieu of Foreclosures, Foreclosures, and Bankruptcy.

You can replace incandescent light bulbs (the cheap ones that glow yellow) with qualified compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs). Replacing even your five most frequently used light bulbs, will save $100 per year. You can find your exact savings here. If every family in the U.S.A. did this, greenhouse gas emissions would be reduced by one trillion pounds.

2. Program Your Thermostats

You can save 10% on your heating and cooling costs just by setting your thermostat back when you’re not home and while you’re sleeping. Program your thermostat to 78 degrees for higher in the summer and 62 degrees F or lower in the winter. If you tell it to return to your preferred temperature before you return home, you won’t ever know the temperature changed, until you look at the reduction in your energy bills.

3. Plug Air Leaks

Air leaks are the greatest energy waster in the home, but they can be simple to plug. Install weatherstripping and caulk to stop those expensive drafts and improve comfort. It’s cheap and easy, and almost anyone can do it. Look for leaks around windows, doors, electrical outlets, plumbing penetrations, and in the attic floor.

4. Tune-Up Your HVAC

HVAC maintenance is key to healthy and efficient heating and cooling. Get a professional tune-up every two years. It will cost around $100, but will save 5% to 10% on your heating and cooling bills. Also, clean or replace your filter every month. Dirty filters block normal airflow and significantly reduce the efficiency of the system, which wastes your money.

5. Go Low-Flow

Install low-flow showerheads and faucet aerators to save resources without sacrificing water pressure. An efficient showerhead will save a family of four up to $285 per year. They can cost less than $15, and installing them couldn’t be easier: they just screw on.

6. Optimize Your Water Heater

If you don’t have one installed already, put an insulative jacket around your hot water heater, and insulate the pipes around the water heater. Insulative jackets cost between $10 and $20, and you can get pipe insulation for less than $1 for six feet. Also consider turning the temperature on the water heater down to 120 degrees. It will save you money and prevent scalding.

7. Plant a Tree

Shade trees can significantly lower your cooling costs by up to 25% . They also make your home more comfortable, and provide habitat for song birds. In addition, properly placed trees and shrubs act as windbreaks, shielding your home from cold winds and reducing heating costs by 20%.

8. Check Insulation

Make sure that there are no areas in your attic floor with inadequate insulation. Insulation is your ‘Great Wall of China’ against heat loss. Imagine the effectiveness of the Great Wall in protecting against invaders if it had a 300 foot gap in it, or only stood a couple of feet high. Insulation works the same way. Even a small area with limited or no insulation, or insulation that has been damaged or compressed, can significantly decrease the effectiveness of the area’s insulation. How much insulation do you need? Follow the Department of Energy’s recommendations.

9. Request a Blower Door Test

A blower door test will uncover the hidden holes and cracks that are the main source of energy loss in your home. For example an open fireplace damper can let 8% of your heating costs slip out the chimney. Hiring a certified Home Energy Rater (HERS) costs $200 to $400 and is worth every penny. You should have the inspection cost paid for within two years, and your home should be significantly more comfortable, and green.

10. Use Low-VOC products

After painting, the volatile organic compound level can be 1,000 times the healthy normal level. Select low or no-VOC paints and finishes to combat this health hazard. When selecting paints, look for the Green Seal. When cleaning around the house, use non-toxic natural products or make your own green cleaning products.

Bode Miller Skis For RE/MAX

As a RE/MAX Agent who specializes in Phoenix Real Estate it is always a pleasure to see the powerful RE/MAX brand at work. To be a part of RE/MAX Alliance is truly a joy! Check out this Wall Street Journal Article where a photo of U.S. skier Bode Miller accompanied a story about tape delays for 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver on the front of the Marketplace section. CLICK HERE to read the full article.

The photo was snapped January 25, 2010 when Miller competed during the slalom of the FIS Alpine Skiing World Cup in Wengen, Switzerland. For the second year in a row, RE/MAX sponsored the event in Wengen and in Kransjka Gora,Slovenia.

RE/MAX will get even more exposure during the Olympics.

Thank you RE/MAX The power of the brand is always at work!

In a study that analyzes trends for total crime, Gilbert was named the safest municipality in Arizona.  Gilbert has a population of 220,000 and was ranked 24th in the entire united states.

The good news continues to pile up this year for Gilbert. In the annual heads of households survey 97 percent expressed satisfaction with the town of Gilbert.  Also, 2009 showed a great deal of community involvement.  The Gilbert days parade was revived by its citizens after being canceled due to a lack of funding, also there was an uptick in participation at community events such as block parties and watch programs

Gilbert Homes have and will continue to see an increase in sales over the next several years. Already, since August of 2008 to August of 2009, Gilbert home sales have seen an increase of nearly 20% which is far better than most other cities located in Arizona. 

Please take some time and go through out site. The Reeves Team has been buying and selling Gilbert Homes for over 15 years. Whether you are looking to buy a home or sell a home in Gilbert or any other surrounding cities, the Reeves Team is confident in their ability to make your next home buying experience pleasurable and memorable.

Contact us today to learn more about Gilbert and why we think it is one of the best cities to live in!

Let’s say you bought a house with no money down for $300,000 in early 2006. A few years later, the house is now worth $200,000, so your negative equity is 50% of the market value. Yet only 17% of people in your situation would walk away from the house. The other 83% would continue to pay the mortgage,  this is where the expression “throwing good money after bad” might come in.

Today’s “home rescue” programs – loan modifications and the like – are based on the assumption that homeowners will not default on mortgages as long as they can afford to make the payments. In many cases, this assumption may be mistaken.  The Making Home Affordable program has resulted in far fewer trial loan modifications than had been anticipated. In partial response to this disappointing fact, the administration raised the eligibility bar from a 105% loan-to-value ratio to 125%

A recent report from CNNMoney.com cites a Deutsche Bank analysis that estimates “25 million borrowers, representing 48% of all Americans with mortgage loans” will owe more than their house is worth by 2011. Other estimates have been similar. Moreover, the Deutsche Bank forecast is that the percentage of borrowers underwater by 25% or more will at least double to 28% of those who are upside down. This would suggest a dramatic increase in the number of strategic defaults to come.

To be effective, more loan modifications are going to require reduction of principal as well as payments. On the other hand, if principal reductions are granted in a manner that seems unfair, that might weaken the existing moral constraints against walking away.

Looks like were still in for a ride.

“As bad as the 2009 numbers are, they probably would have been worse if not for legislative and industry-related delays in processing delinquent loans,” said James Saccacio, chief executive officer of RealtyTrac.

Saccacio said that monthly foreclosure filings hit their peak in July, then declined for four months before rebounding at years end. He said trial loan modifications, state legislation extending the foreclosure process and an overwhelming volume of inventory clogging the foreclosure pipeline were the main factors contributing to the second-half declines.

But “in the long term, a massive supply of delinquent loans continues to loom over the housing market, and many of those delinquencies will end up in the foreclosure process in 2010 and beyond, as lenders gradually work their way through the backlog,” he said.

There were a record 41,000 single-family home foreclosures in the Phoenix area last year. A new Realty Studies report from the Arizona State University’s W.P. Carey School of Business and ASU economist Jay Butler also said there were 4,000 foreclosures in Phoenix in December and 3,000 in November.

Median home price in the area was $140,000 in December compared to $148,600 in December 2008.

There were also 600 condos that were foreclosed on in December versus 285 such defaults in 2008.

Butler said the rebound of Phoenix’s housing market remains elusive to many.

“Recovery is a perception issue,” said Butler. “Some people believe they will see recovery when their home values are back where they were, and that’s going to take a long time. As for the economic recovery, Phoenix-area layoffs are still coming, and there’s an expectation interest rates may get higher, so the housing market will probably bounce around for a while longer.”

the Seattle-based real estate company Zillow says the state’s average 30-year fixed mortgage rate is 5.08 percent for the week ending Dec. 27, a major jump up from 4.9 percent the week prior.

the national average of 30 year fixed mortgages is 4.93 percent, up from 4.77 percent.

Arizona had the second highest rate covered by the Zillow Index. Illinois came in with the top spot at 5.10 percent, Colorado had the lowest rates at 4.86 percent.

Mortgage requests fell 26 percent nationally last week. 63 percent were for the purchase of a new home, while 35 percent were to refinance a current mortgage.

See You There!