March Is American Red Cross Month

l Every two seconds someone in the U.S.
needs blood.
l More than 38,000 blood donations are
needed every day.
l Donating blood is a safe process. A sterile
needle is used only once for each donor
and then discarded.
l The actual blood donation typically takes
less than 10-12 minutes. The entire process,
from the time you arrive to the time you
leave, takes about an hour and 15 min.
l The average adult has about 10 pints of
blood in his body. Roughly 1 pint is given
during a donation.
l One donation can help save the lives of
up to three people.
The American Red Cross works
with more than 50,000 blood
drive sponsors each year to hold
more than 200,000 blood drives,
providing convenient locations
for people to give blood.
www.redcross.org

Are the Holidays a Good Time to Sell?

Sixty percent of real estate professionals advise their sellers to list a home during the holidays because it’s a good time to sell, according to a new survey conducted by Realtor.com.

Why are the holidays such a good time to sell? Seventy-nine percent of the agents surveyed said that more serious buyers come out during the holidays, and 61 percent say less competition from other properties make it a great time to sell. Plus, 17 percent of agents say the cold weather is actually a benefit, making homes feel more cozy.

But online listing photos become even more crucial during the holiday season, according to the survey. Slightly more than half of agents say that the photos are more important because sellers tend to offer less open houses around the holidays, and so the online photos help buyers decide the properties to see and which ones to possibly bypass.

The biggest hurdles sellers face during the holidays, however, are keeping a home ready to show (clean and staged) as well as winter weather conditions and buyers’ vacation schedules, the Realtor.com survey found.

Source: Realtor.com (Dec. 2, 2011)

Stronger Lure for Prospective Home Buyers

Home prices and mortgage rates have fallen so far that the monthly cost of owning a home is more affordable than at any point in the past 15 years and is less expensive than renting in a growing number of cities...
WSJ
see more...

4.5 million foreclosed borrowers may be eligible for reviews

Nearly 4.5 million current and former U.S. homeowners will soon get a chance to have their foreclosure cases reviewed for mistakes and potential restitution.

Next month, the U.S. government expects the first wave of homeowners to receive its letters in the mail, informing them of their right to ask for a foreclosure review, says Office of the Comptroller spokesman Bryan Hubbard.
Last month, independent consultants hired by lenders also began combing industry data to look for mistakes in foreclosure cases handled by 14 of the nation's largest mortgage servicers: Bank of America, Citibank, JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo, Ally Financial, Aurora Bank, EverBank Financial, HSBC, MetLife, OneWest, PNC, Sovereign Bank, SunTrust Banks and U.S. Bancorp.

Reviews will take months to complete. The first consumers could see cases resolved this spring, according to deadlines imposed on the servicers.

Remedies will vary based on the degree of injury, said John Walsh, acting Comptroller of the Currency, in a speech last month.

The reviews cover homeowners in any stage of the foreclosure process on a primary home in 2009 or 2010. Anyone who meets that requirement — and was a customer of one of the 14 servicers — will get a review if they ask. The servicers include Bank of America, Citibank, JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo.

The reviews were ordered as part of federal enforcement actions announced in April after a federal investigation last year found "significant weaknesses" in mortgage servicer practices.

The actions include requirements that servicers change some foreclosure practices, such as giving distressed borrowers a single point of contact. But the foreclosure reviews are the "most ambitious and complex" aspect of the action, Walsh said.

The OCC, along with the Federal Reserve, will oversee the reviews.

Whether homeowners were wronged will be decided by independent consultants hired by the servicers but approved by regulators.

The consultants will also decide remedies, which will be spot-checked by regulators. Regulators have also instructed the consultants what errors to seek.

No estimate of cost to servicers has been provided.

One company will process claims and provide one website and telephone number for consumers wanting reviews, the OCC says. The information will be in the consumer letters.

The OCC hasn't released the names of the independent consultants. That is under consideration, Hubbard says.

Consumer advocates say more information, including the names of the consultants doing the reviews and exactly how the reviews will be done, needs to be public to assure fairness and thoroughness.

"The process does seem ambitious," says Alys Cohen, attorney of the National Consumer Law Center. "But we have a lot of questions."

Restitution could be required for a broad range of issues, including if homeowners:

•Paid impermissible fees or penalties.

•Paid too much or had payments misapplied.

•Were wrongly denied loan modifications.

•Were wrongly foreclosed upon.
--USA Today

Luxurious Bathrooms Don’t Always Need a Fancy Tub

Home owners may be starting to rethink what all makes up a luxurious, spa-like bathroom. Whirlpool tubs for several years have been on the wish-lists of many home buyers, but now some buyers are starting to show a change in preferences, swapping larger showers or extra storage space for that oversized bathtub or whirlpool, some designers say....

Goodbye Whirlpool Tub; Hello Luxury Shower.
REALTOR® Magazine

Open House today in Redondo Beach

Come and see this beautiful new residential investment property (Duplex) open today and tomorrow from 1 - 4pm.
http://412AveF.com
Front unit is almost 3100sf with 5 BR and 3.75 BA. Rear unit is almost 1800sf with 4 BR and 3 BA. Will not last!

Duplex For Sale in South Redondo Beach, California

Brand New Duplex located walking distance to the Riviera Village, Beach and Schools. The front unit is approx. 3078 SqFt with 5 Bedrooms, 4 Baths and the Rear unit is approx. 1782 SqFt. with 4 Bedrooms, 3 Baths. Spanish tile roof, Forced Air Heating, Air Conditioned, Tankless water heaters, Central Vacuum, Floors are tile and wood.

Housing Slump? Not in These Markets!

Home prices may be sluggish in some areas of the country but not every city is seeing a sag in prices. California cities overwhelmingly dominated the list of priciest median home prices, based off CNNMoney’s “Best Places” list. Here are the top 10 cities that made the list, factoring in the highest median home prices from 2010.
1. Hillsborough, Calif.: $2,277,500
2. Los Altos Hills, Calif.: $2,273,250
3. Montecito, Calif.: $1,864,000
4. Beverly Hills, Calif.: $1,595,000
5. San Marino, Calif.: $1,560,000
6. Tiburon, Calif.: $1,425,000
7. Los Altos, Calif.: $1,422,500
8. Manhattan Beach, Calif.: $1,360,000
9. Saratoga, Calif.: $1,349,000
10. Palos Verdes Estates, Calif.: $1,339,927

Source: “Best Places to Live 2011: Top 25 Pricey Homes,” CNNMoney (August 2011)

Gen Y to Lead 'Massive Increase in Housing Demand

Watch out for Generation Y: This large, diverse, well-educated generation will drive the housing market recovery over the next 10 years, according to the University of Southern California Lusk Center for Real Estate.

Source: “USC Lusk Center Says More Educated, Diverse Generation to Drive Real Estate Recovery,” The Hoyt Organization (July 19, 2011)

Housing Shortage Is Likely Coming, Report Says

Within the next decade, 16 million new housing units will be needed to meet population growth and shifting demands, according to Harvard University’s Joint Center for Housing Studies in its latest annual "State of the Nation's Housing" report.

That means household growth, which has dropped drastically in recent years, will need to greatly reverse its trend to meet the forecasted spike in demand. From 2007-2010, household growth averaged about 500,000 per year--less than half the 1.2 million annual pace averaged prior from 2000-2007.

To absorb the current rate of foreclosed and distressed homes plaguing most markets, a more normal rate of household formation is critical, according to the report. However, household growth partially has stalled as young adults have delayed home ownership and immigration has slowed.

As such, in recent years, builders have drastically cut production of new homes.

"With inventories of new homes at historic lows, a turnaround in demand could quickly result in tighter markets," the report notes. "Over the longer term, the number of younger households is set to rise sharply, supporting growth in the population that fuels growth in both new renters and first-time buyers. The path of the economy and evolution of the mortgage market will determine when and if this increased demand materializes."

The report predicts a need for greater housing units for several reasons. For example, the report projects demand for 1 million new homes a year is needed to meet population growth in the coming decade. The report also predicts a surge in smaller homes, estimating that 3.8 million baby boomers will be looking to downsize their homes within the next decade. Also in adding to the increase in housing units needed, Immigration growth, the need to replace existing homes, and demand for second homes will contribute to rising demand, the report notes. Therefore, researchers conclude at least 16 million new housing units will be needed over the next decade.

Source: “Harvard: Real Estate Recovery Hinges on Return of Demand,” Inman News (June 6, 2011)

Bailing on Mortgage Not a Good Idea

An estimated 11 million home owners owe more on their mortgage than their property is currently worth. That’s made more home owners consider walking away from their mortgage and home ownership, even those who can still comfortably afford to make their payments (known as “strategic default”).

Walking away from a mortgage usually results in either a short sale or foreclosure. So what are the consequences of walking away? There may be far more consequences than what most home owners ever considered.

The consequences include everything from badly affected credit to potential tax consequences and deficiency risks. There are even possible professional implications, Justin McHood with Academy Mortgage in Chandler, Ariz., warns in an article at Zillow.com.

Home owners' credit scores will be badly hit regardless of whether they attempt a short sale or have their property foreclosed on. (See How Missed Mortgage Payments Hurt Credit Scores)

There also could be the potential for deficiency risks when walking away from a home, which largely varies from state to state. (View anti-deficiency laws by state.) In some states, lenders may sue you for the difference between what you owe and what your short-sale or foreclosure proceeds are, McHood notes.

Home owners considering walking away also should weigh the potential difficulty they may face from moving too. For example, if moving into a rental property, they’ll have to convince a landlord to rent to them after they have the red flag of missed mortgage payments on their credit record. And paying for moving expenses — which many walkaways fail to consider — can quickly add up too.

Plus, home owners may find professional consequences from walking away from a mortgage, as the number of employers eyeing employees’ credit profiles continues to grow.

Source: “The Consequence of Walking Away,” Zillow.com (April 27, 2011)