Appraisal Pros Prose

If you live in the NE portion of the United States, chances are your heating bills last winter were nearly as much, if not more, than your car payment!

If you are thinking about ways to save energy this winter and are in the market for a new furnace, the following information may interest you.

What you may not know about heating with wood:

• Wood is environmentally friendly. It may not seem so, since trees have to be cut down, but trees are a renewal source of energy. Trees are also carbon neutral; that is, they absorb carbon dioxide while living, and release carbon dioxide whether they burn or decompose. Fossil fuels, on the other hand, are a one way street - only releasing green house gasses that have been captured deep in the earth for millions of years.
• Wood can save money. With the new generation of high efficiency hydronic furnaces (or wood boilers), the heat generated is much more intense than in the older furnaces and very little is lost up the chimney. These new furnaces can be used as a secondary heating method and have been shown to save up to 70% in reduction of oil, propane, and natural gas heating bills.
• Wood can be clean. Because the new furnaces burn wood at much higher temperatures, there is almost no smoke. Also, there is very little ash and the firebox only needs to be cleaned once a month, rather than every day. And, the furnace can be installed outdoors, eliminating the need to lug your logs through the house.
• Wood is safe heating method. Of course, as with any type of heating material, the proper precautions must be taken. Be sure to look for a wood boiler system that is both UL and CSA approved.

I cannot recommend a brand for you, as I don't yet have a wood burning system, but if you are interested in researching your possibilities or want more information, visit www.greenwoodfurnace.com

Happy Burning! And, as always, 'til tomorrow - it's all good

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• Borrowers must have at least 3% equity in the home. That requirement alone is going to eliminate many borrowers who now owe more on their home than it is worth.
• More than a quarter of subprime borrowers have missed a payment before their rates reset. That is a fact making political solutions more difficult.
• About 48% of the subprime borrowers won't qualify to refinance into a mortgage that conforms to the new standards given by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
• The 1/2 point interest rate cut just passed by the Federal Reserve will do very little to help those whose mortgages are adjusting.
• U.S. home prices fell by 3.2% in the second quarter of this year, setting a new record.
• It would take nearly 10 months to sell off all the existing homes on the market right now; the longest amount of time in at least 8 years.
• The average increase for a rate reset is 26%, or about $400.00 per month.

Here's hoping that there will be better news to relay to you next time! As always, 'til next time - it's all good!

The Wall Street Journal's on-line Guide to Property announced today that federal and state banking regulators are urging lenders and investors to restructure the loans of homeowners with interest rates that are resetting to amounts beyond their means to repay.

Many of these same loans are no longer on the books of the original lender, and so have been extremely difficult to rework with the homeowner. There will be fewer negative tax of accounting implications for those lenders and investors who buy these loans to restructure.

This is just one other initiative coming out of Washington to assist everyone in the housing industry - especially those homeowners who could afford their house payments until their interest rates reset.

Spokespeople for the National Consumer Law Center are encouraged by these new actions; stating that the consideration of loan modification is on it's way to becoming a standard practice.

As always, 'til tomorrow, it's all good!

It was announced Friday, August 31st, that HUD will offer help to an estimated 250,000 families to avoid foreclosure on their homes by allowing them to refinance at a lower rate. This aid is available immediately.

And, in addition, HUD will launch it's new FHASecure plan in January, 2008, which will allow families that had strong credit histories before their interest rates reset to qualify for refinancing. These new programs will charge a risk-based premium based on the borrower's credit profile. Those with riskier credit will pay a higher insurance premium.

FHA transactions are expected to surpass 100,000 loans by the end of this fiscal year. And those figures do not include refinancing for delinquent borrowers.

To qualify, homeowners must meet the follow criteria:

1. On time mortgage payments before interest rate reset.
2. Interest rate reset between June 2005 and December 2009.
3. 3% cash or equity in home.
4. Sustained history of employment.
5. Sufficient income to make the new payment.

For more information, call 800-CALL-FHA or visit www.fha.gov and look through your old files to see if you have customers that may need your assistance with these new programs.

And, as always, remember that we are FHA certified and would love to do business with you!