Raleigh Real Estate Answers – I am considering purchasing a Raleigh, NC home? Should I consider an Adjustable Rate Mortgage?

Raleigh Real Estate Answers – I am considering purchasing a Raleigh, NC home? Should I consider an Adjustable Rate Mortgage? According to an article in the NY Times last week, more borrowers are opting for adjustable-rate mortgages. One has to ask why? After all, ARM’s were trademark of the subprime mortgage boom that helped to bring about the high rate of mortgage defaults and home foreclosures across the country. Adjustable-Rate Mortgages (ARM’s) are a non-traditional form of loan where the borrower takes on the risk of rising interest rates. Because ARM’s shift the risk of interest rate fluctuations to the borrower, lenders normally charge a lower rate for an ARM than for a fixed-rate loan. ARM’s are popular as they can help borrowers qualify more easily for a home loan or for a more expensive home. ARM products of the past had “gimmicky” extra-low “teaser” rates that adjust every six months or the “pick-a-pay” and “option” features that allow borrowers to pay less than the monthly interest, only to be hit with a huge bill down the road.” The majority of borrowers prefer the security of a fixed rate (provided the rate is not too high). ARM’s have maintained a place in the market despite comparatively low mortgage rates. As interest rates rise, so does ARM popularity. So, how do ARM’s work? A borrower’s interest rate is determined initially by cost of money when the loan is made. Once initial interest rate for loan is set, rate of loan is tied to a widely recognized and published index such as Average One-Year Treasury Constant Maturity Index (TCM), the Cost of Funds Index (COFI) or the LIBOR (London Interbank Offering Rate). Future interest rate adjustments for ARM loans are based on the up and down movements of the index. The larger the loan, the more significant the savings an ARM can bring but again there is the built in potential of a rate increase which can wipe out the initial savings. Thus it is important to know your goal when it comes to home ownership. If you are considering an ARM for your Raleigh Home purchase, be sure to have your lender explain the differences in your specific situation between the ARM and a fixed rate loan.

Raleigh Real Estate Answers – Raleigh Home Owners - Did you know you must comply with the Fair Housing Act?

Raleigh Real Estate Answers – Considering selling or renting your Raleigh NC home without the assistance of a realtor? Did you know you must comply with the Fair Housing Act?

Yes, it’s true. The 1968 Federal Fair Housing Act applies to all Raleigh homes including those that are being offered as For Sale by Owner. What does that mean?

Those endeavoring to sell or rent their home must not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability, or familial status in the sale or lease of residential property; these groups are protected classes. The Fair Housing Act further prohibits discrimination in: advertising, real estate brokerage, lending, against individuals associated with individuals in protected classes, and against U.S. citizens and non-citizens.

There are some exemptions for those selling their home without the assistance of a real estate agent under the 1968 Federal Fair Housing Act but under the State of North Carolina Fair Housing Act there are only a fewer exceptions.

The one exemption specific to a Raleigh home for sale by owner is in regards to “the rental of housing accommodation in a building which contains housing accommodations for not more than four families living independently of each other, if the lessor [the home owner] or a member of his family resides in one of the housing accommodations.”

One question that comes up a lot is what is “Familial status”? Simply it is anyone single, married, divorced, legal guardians, etc. who has one or more persons who have not attained the age of 18 years living with them. This includes any person having legal custody, the designee of the parent or other person having custody, provided the designee has the written permission of the parent or other person. This means that “Family” includes a single individual.

What are the penalties for breaking the NC Fair Housing law? The first offence brings a fine up to $10,000 and subsequent offences can bring fines up to $50,000. However, there is greater potential liability if a civil suit is brought for punitive damages. So, learn and obey the law. You can obtain a copy here: State of North Carolina Fair Housing Act

As always, feel free to contact the Marti Hampton Team with any questions.

Houses for sale in NC that 'won't sell'

Hello Bloggers, I often receive emails from sellers and buyers. Today is no different. I received the following email. Of course, 'the names have been changed to protect the innocient' and privacy. But the content is common, and I felt you might have a friend in the same circumstance.

------- Dear Marti, My name is Jane and I have heard your name for years. In fact my best friend Susuan McWhorter knew you and almost went to work with you. I hear Glenn Beck advertising for you every day. Your reputation surely preceeds you. I am writing with probably an out of line request, but hear the desperation in my writing. We live in Small Town outside Raleigh and have our house on the market with a home town realtor. My husband has known him all of his life and in small towns, that is just how it works. He is a sweet old thing, but a fireball he is not. We are on MLS and the house address is 123 Your Street. The pictures do not do the house justice. There has been a lot of love gone into this place. several acres, kitchen totally remodeled.etc. My husband has lived here his whole life and I have been here 31 years. Our youngest son is in the AF and lives in Arizona and our goal is to go out west to live near our grandchildren. Both of my parents have passed away and I do not live near any of my siblings. I know this is TMI, but it is hard to get people to understand how desperately we want to move. This is a great place to have animals. Horses welcome. I am just afraid we are missing people that may be interested in our place. If you have anyone looking for this type of property, would you mind referring them to my agent. We would like to be able to move this summer if at all possible. Thank you for your time and feel free to disregard this message if it is too inappropriate Thanks, Jane -------

Dear Jane - please click this link for your answer. In addition, a few points I did not have time to say in my video.

* Listing agent is the controling agent, so asking other agents to bring their buyers to your property is a weak plan. What you need is an agent that finding the agents with the buyer and finding the right buyers that could be swayed to view your property. Without showings, your property cannot sell.

Raleigh Real Estate Answers – How “Green” is your Raleigh, NC Home? Do you recycle?

Raleigh Real Estate Answers – How “Green” is your Raleigh, NC Home? Do you recycle?

Wake County NC promotes recycling and most trash haulers provide recycling bids for their customers. There are other special programs where Wake County promotes recycling as well.

One of the programs offered is phone book recycling. Every February thousands of tons of new phone books are delivered to Raleigh home owners. What can you do with the old ones? In the past, there was a one month phone book recycling program. Now Wake County offers YEAR-ROUND recycling options for telephone books at all Convenience Centers and both Multi-Material Recycling facilities.

Phone book directory paper does not come from freshly cut trees and the recycling of phone books helps to provide additional recycled material for future uses. These include products like coffee cup trays, egg cartons, cereal boxes and cellulose insulation.

According to the Yellow Pages Association, they have established programs to reduce the size of directories, the use of more efficient pagination systems. In addition, the expansion of their digital and mobile search products provide consumers a choice of not using the paper phone book. All of these programs have reduced the demand for directory paper by 29 % since 2006.

Members of the Yellow Pages Association also work to reduce the environmental impacts of their phone books through the use of vegetable-based inks, eco-friendly glues and bonding agents that pose little threat to soil or groundwater supplies. These have replaced petroleum-based products.

If you are interested in making your Raleigh NC home more eco-friendly by recycling your phone books, there are currently 11 locations throughout Wake County to do this:

Click here: Telephone Book Recycling Program

If you would like to reduce waste by using online phone directories, here are a few to consider:

Yellow Pages

Super Pages

Read about opting out of delivery of the paper copy of the phone book here: Consumer Choice Opt-Out-Site

Raleigh Real Estate Answers – Are you considering refinancing your Raleigh, NC home?

It is important to understand that refinancing is not the best option for everyone. The generally accepted wisdom is that if your current interest rate is 2 percentage points higher than current mortgage interest rates, then it probably makes sense to refinance. This is based upon the average costs that are incurred in refinancing a loan.

A major factor to consider in making a decision to refinance is how long you plan to stay in your home. The costs incurred in refinancing usually take at least three years to “pay off” at the lower interest rate.

Refinancing your Raleigh NC home might also be a good idea if you have an adjustable rate mortgage (ARM) and you would like to have the certainty of knowing exactly what the mortgage payment will be for the life of the loan.

If you want to build equity in your home or pay it off quicker, you might want to refinance into a shorter term loan. Current 15 year interest rates are still very low – today’s 15 year fixed rate for very well qualified borrowers from at least one mortgage broker is 4.0% , APR 4.135%.

Another reason to refinance may be to draw on the equity that you have built up in your home to get cash for a major purchase or to pay for the education of your children.

For more information on Home Mortgages check out the following resources published by the Federal Reserve Board:

A Consumers Guide to Home Mortgages

A Consumer's Guide to Mortgage Lock-Ins

Understanding the Process and Your Right to Fair Lending

The Marti Hampton team would be happy to recommend a number of qualified mortgage lenders to help you with your particular situation.

Raleigh Real Estate Answers – Are you considering refinancing your Raleigh, NC home? I’ve heard that mortgage rates went up – is this a good idea?

Raleigh Real Estate Answers – Are you considering refinancing your Raleigh, NC home? I’ve heard that mortgage rates went up – is this a good idea?

Here’s some information on refinancing Raleigh Real Estate.

It is important to understand that refinancing is not worthwhile for everyone. The generally accepted wisdom is that if your current interest rate is 2 percentage points higher than current mortgage interest rates, then it probably makes sense to refinance. This is based upon the average costs that are incurred in refinancing a loan.

A major factor to consider in making a decision to refinance is how long you plan to stay in your home. The costs incurred in refinancing usually take at least three years to “pay off” at the lower interest rate.

Refinancing your Raleigh NC home might also be a good idea if you have an adjustable rate mortgage (ARM) and you would like to have the certainty of knowing exactly what the mortgage payment will be for the life of the loan.

If you want to build equity in your home or pay it off quicker, you might want to refinance into a shorter term loan. Current 15 year interest rates are still very low – today’s 15 year fixed rate for very well qualified borrowers from at least one mortgage broker is 4.0% , APR 4.135%.

Another reason to refinance may be to draw on the equity that you have built up in your home to get cash for a major purchase or to pay for the education of your children.

For more information on Home Mortgages check out the following resources published by the Federal Reserve Board:

A Consumers Guide to Home Mortgages

A Consumer's Guide to Mortgage Lock-Ins

Understanding the Process and Your Right to Fair Lending

The Marti Hampton team would be happy to recommend a number of qualified mortgage lenders to help you with your particular situation.

Raleigh Real Estate Answers – Should I obtain my own home inspection on a newly constructed home, or is the inspection by the building inspector OK?

Raleigh Real Estate Answers – Should I obtain my own home inspection on a newly constructed home, or is the inspection by the building inspector adequate?

Several weeks ago I discussed the topic of home inspections in the Marti Hampton Blog and you may wonder why I am writing about it again.

The answer is that questions about inspecting new homes are asked very frequently and the answer is vital to anyone planning on purchasing a new Raleigh home.

The experts tell us that all new homes have defects of one kind or another, regardless of the quality of construction or the integrity of the builder. This is because home construction is complex, home builders are human and as a result no construction is done flawlessly.

Further more, it is unrealistic to think that all construction defects will be discovered by the local home building inspectors. This is not to suggest a lack of professionalism on the part of those inspectors. The purpose, scope, time allotment and procedures for Raleigh and Wake county home inspections are not the same as for licensed home inspectors.

Raleigh and Wake County inspectors inspect primarily for code compliance, not for quality of workmanship. They can cite a builder for improper structural framing and require the Raleigh home builder to make corrections. They do inspect the home for plumbing problems like non-complying drain connections. The electrical inspection will make sure the home meets the North Carolina Electrical code as well. However, a poorly fitted door, an uneven tile countertop and slipshod finish work are not included in the list of concerns.

They come to the job site with a clipboard and a codebook. They are not looking closely at the finishes, appliances, etc. A home inspector will often spend two to three hours at the home and will test the stove top, oven, hot water heater and other appliances. The Home Inspector Licensure Board does not require a home inspector to inspect for pools and spas, detached structures and certain other items.

Since licensed NC (Raleigh) home inspectors are not required to inspect for these items it is important to ask what the new Home Inspection will cover.

In conclusion, if you want to buy Raleigh real estate do not forego the benefits of a thorough home inspection.

And be sure to find an inspector with years of experience and a reputation for thoroughness – ask the Marti Hampton team and we’ll be happy to recommend several qualified home inspectors.

Thinking of buying a Raleigh home? Don’t forget title insurance. Raleigh home sellers, this is important information for you too!

Title Insurance is often misunderstood or not even considered by home buyers, sellers and sometimes even Raleigh, North Carolina real estate agents. Yet title insurance is one of the important parts of the real estate transaction.

Did you know that purchasing Title Insurance does NOT mean that the title to your Raleigh home is “good”, and it does NOT guarantee that you can maintain possession of your property? A title to real estate in Raleigh (or anywhere for that matter) can be lost due to unrecorded documents, errors in public records, identity theft or a host of other things.

OK, so what do Title Insurance Companies do? Title Insurance Companies "insure” “title” to “real property”. This means that they indemnify or make payment for loss or damages that arise as a result of defects in title. This is the equivalent of an insurance policy that compensates the insured for loss or damage up to the limit of the title policy.

Title insurance is not like other kinds of insurance. It covers past risks and for the most part it does not cover future risks like a home owner’s policy does for things like fire, storm damage, accidents, etc.

If the homeowner leaves the stove on, causing a fire, their hazard insurance policy covers the loss. But, if the owner adds a deck to his home, doesn’t pay for it, and has a mechanic’s lien filed, the title company will NOT pay off the lien.

So what typically is covered by a title insurance policy? All title companies do not have the same coverage, but the following are the general categories:
•Someone has an interest in the property that has not been disclosed
•Invalid documents
•Undisclosed Liens including: Taxes, Assessments, Mortgages, Judgments, State or Fed Tax Liens, Mechanic’s Liens, and Homeowners Association Liens
•A deed executed under falsified power of attorney, forgery or impersonation or by a person who is insane or mentally incompetent or a minor

Don’t forget – you can always ask the Marti Hampton team (your Raleigh Realtors) to answer any questions you may have.

It’s Almost Tax Time – Here are some Tax Tips for Raleigh area homeowners.

April 15 is fast approaching and while the Marti Hampton Team are not accountants or tax attorneys, we have learned a few things that you should consider if you own Raleigh real estate and particularity if you purchased a home last year.

If you are a Raleigh area homeowner, these tips can potentially save you thousands of dollars on your tax bill.

The first item that is usually deductible for your primary residence is the mortgage interest that you paid during the tax year. This includes interest paid on your first and second mortgages, home improvement loans and home equity lines of credit.

If you purchased a home this past year the closing costs you paid are usually not deductible, but if you paid points they may be. Points are the amount of money you paid to reduce the interest rate on your loan. If you purchased last year, the points you paid to reduce the interest rate on the original loan or loans are usually deductible in the year they were paid.

Should you have refinanced your home last year, the points are usually deducted each year over the life of the loan.

Another item that is usually deductible is the real property taxes on the home. If you had to pay some form of special assessment to the city, county or Home Owners Association for improvements for things such as water, sewer, and street repairs or common area maintenance – I am sorry but these usually are not deductible.

Did you pay your mortgage late (like so many others) and have to pay a late fee? Again, these are usually deductible as are fees charged for paying off the home loan early.

What about private mortgage insurance (PMI)? If the loan was originated after January 1, 2007 this can be deductible, but there are limitations.

All of these are governed by strict rules and not everyone may be eligible. Be sure to check with a qualified tax preparation professional before taking any deductions on Raleigh NC real estate.