Consumer Real Estate Blog

DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND
URBAN DEVELOPMENT
24 CFR Part 3500
[Docket No. FR–5425–IA–01]
Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act
(RESPA): Home Warranty Companies’
Payments to Real Estate Brokers and
Agents

Ok so HUD every now and then writes what are called interpretative rules. Which basically means that they resolve an issue based on past legislation by "interpreting the rule." They do this to cut red tape and bypass any formal legislation that might not be necessary and waste tax payers money. Anyways...

This latest ruling on Home Warranties was dated July 16, 2010 and basically states that it is against federal regulations (RESPA SECTION 8) to receive compensations for selling home warranties. BOOOO!!!

No more home warranty bonus every quarter from your broker folks!!! Many of us have long been suspicious of this behavior anyway right? If my lawyer and lender can't pay me a refferal fee then why should the home warranty company be able to do so? Was it because it was such a small amount of money? Who knows!

How in the world, did this go on for so long, if HUD considers it a violation? This blog here originally broke the news to Active Rain but the comments people made talk about full disclosure? Gang, disclosure is only legal to recieve a fee if you OWN the home warranty company. You can't disclose your way out of a RESPA violation.

SO, the take home point here is: Give your buyers and sellers three recommendations when choosing a Home Warranty Company. I use the following:
1.) American Home Shield.
2.) Old Republic
3.) 2-10

BUT don't expect a referral fee from the company you sold the warranty to and you never should have been given one in the first place!! Watch your RESPA regs ya'll!!

This has been an interpretaion from Lane Midgett, Richmond Virginia!!

One more time......again.

The United States House of Representatives has just passed a bill, on the Homebuyer Assistance and Improvement Act of 2010, by a vote of 409-5. This bill will extend the deadline on closings for tax credit eligible purchasers (contracted before April 30th) from June 30 to September 30, 2010. Now the bill will go to the senate and hopefully go as smoothly as the House.

This is good news because $180,000 home owners would loose their $8,000.00 tax credit through no fault of their own. In Virginia, we have close to 4,000 buyers who are counting on that deadline extension.

From our NAR President:

“We are strongly urging the Senate and the House to act quickly to pass this legislation and ease the minds and pocketbooks of these home buyers,” said NAR President Vicki Cox Golder, owner of Vicki L. Cox & Associates in Tucson, Ariz.

I am behind the president, I think that I would feel ripped off, if I was promised the $8,000 and did not get it through no fault of my own. Most of the folks I sold homes to with the tax credit, factored that money into their negotiations. Banking on that credit!

Push your senators folks, it's really not fair. I know that we are tired of hearing about the Tax Credit but lets see this through to the end. Contact your local Senator.

Laurel Lakes

Laurel Lakes in Henrico County is both a Townhouse community as well as a condominium community. A townhouse

is described as one of a row of homes sharing common walls. Differing from condominiums, townhouse ownership does include individual ownership of the land. There can also be common elements, such as a central courtyard, that would have shared ownership.

A condominium is described as: one of a group of housing units where each homeowner owns their individual unit space, and all the dwelling share ownership of areas of common use.

These units normally share walls, but that isn't a requirement. The main difference in condos and regular single homes is that there is no individual ownership of a plot of land.

All the land in a condominium project is owned in common by all the homeowners.

Laurel Lakes is located just off of Route33 or Staples Mill Rd and the intersection of 33 and Hungary. The south end of the property borders Mountain RD. So interstates 64 and 295 are moments away. Map it.

Laurel Lakes Condo and Townhomes both have park like common areas with walking trails, plush grasses, picnic areas, a several acre pond and plenty of space to spread out. Pets are allowed in both associations and there is plenty of room for romping around with man’s best friend. Children’s playgrounds are on site and the community is family friendly.

In addition to Laurel Lakes own private grounds, there are Henrico County public parks within walking distance to Laurel Lakes. For example, Laurel SkakePark is located just to the south end of Laurel Lakes Condominiums, here. The Laurel Skate Park is one of the few Henrico County maintained boarding, roller blading and biking concrete parks in the area. The youth love being close to this park. Adjacent to the skate park is a recreation park as well.

The Historic Meadow farm Museum is just down the street from the Laurel Lakes Complex. “Meadow Farm Museum, an 1860 living history farmsite and museum, presents programs and exhibits on the culture of the rural South. Costumed interpreters provide insight into the lives of Dr. John Mosby Sheppard, the owner of Meadow Farm, and his family. On selected weekends, they demonstrate seasonal activities in the farmhouse, barn, doctor’s office, blacksmith forge, kitchen, fields, and pastures. Also visit Meadow Farm’s Gift Shop for a variety of items.” From official site.

In addition to the history and peaceful park like grounds the Laurel Lakes Townhouse and Condominium Associations are close to just about every other amenity in town, including: shopping, major retailers, restaurants, cleaners, golf courses, movie theaters, gyms, grocery stores, libraries, colleges, hospitals and government buildings.

-See the Laurel Lakes walk score here.

-See the local crime reports here.

-See the demographics here.

(demographics are for informational purposes only and not to be used in conjuction with discrimination)

Laurel Lakes Town Homes and Condominiums are affordably priced, have plenty of amenities and are located in one of the best locations in Henrico County. Close to nearly everything you could want! As the saying goes, Location Location Location!!

For a peak in the inside of one of the nicest condo’s in Laurel Lakes click here. If you want to search for townhomes and other condos in the Laurel Lakes Community click here.

If you would like me to do the searching for you and email you whenever a townhouse or condo is available in Laurel Lakes click here and fill out the form.

If you have any questions about Laurel Lakes, contact me anytime.

You always want to click "open link in new window", when setting up a hyper-link from your blog.

This is important because if you don't open a new window, the page that the reader is on will become whatever page you linked them to.Example.

Simple right?

Why does this matter? How many of you came back to this post after seeing that nifty site? The reader may never come back to the page that sent them to the new material they are currently viewing. Hence the term "surfing." This is the most obvious reason for opening a new window.

Another reason, is what if their browser crashes when they try to hit the back arrow? In Firefox or Explorer you can re-install the previous pages that were up before the crash happened. Guess what it will pull back? Not your blog. At this point, is it worth the effort to come back to ANOTHER real estate site or loan officer blog {yawn}?

Capturing the readers attention online is a very difficult thing to do as it is, why hurt your chances of getting the lead or loosing the reader by not selecting the link to go to a new window? The average time spent on a web page is 33 seconds, why cut yourself short? CBS on Measuring time spent online.

{Come back for the conclusion}

When would you not want to open a new link in a new window? Only if the link is going to a lead capture site. For example, click. In this case, I don't want people going back to this post. I want them to be focused on entering their information and sending it to my data base. If going back crashes the browser, I want that lead capture page coming back. After all, I'm not here to sell words am I?

Located on the Brookwoods Golf Course in Five Lakes, Quinton Virginia in New Kent County. Close to the grocery stores, medical facilities, schools, day cares and in the center of peaceful country living. This 4 bedroom home comes with a separate office, rec/game room and TWO living areas for a total of 3000 square feet. $50,000 price reduction! That's right, reduced FIFTY THOUSAND! Come see this incredible discounted 4 bedroom home in Quinton, Virginia in the county of New Kent. http://www.2940brookblvd.com

I showed a property this past week and the heat pump looked like this:

I then decided to post this guide for people having trouble with their heat pumps, during these harsh winter months. However, if your heat-pump looks like the one in the photo above, you should call an expert in your area immediately. It is not supposed to look like that! Notice the entire area around the pump is not covered in ice/snow either. Please read: 

A Guide to Heat Pumps

Heat pumps make use of the same basic technology utilized in air conditioning systems to provide for both the heating and cooling needs of a house. In cold weather, a heat pump uses the heat present in outdoor air or stored in the earth to provide heat to the inside of a house. In warm weather, the same equipment works in a reverse manner, removing heat from indoors and transferring it to the outdoors. For this reason, heat pumps are sometimes referred to as reverse-cycle air conditioners. Heat pumps are very energy-efficient heating systems. Since they do not generate heat like conventional fuel-burning systems, but only transfer it from one location to another, they require much less energy to produce the same amount of heat as other heating systems. While it may be hard to comprehend, there actually is enough “heat” in outdoor air or below the frozen earth surface to heat a house during the winter months. However, the amount of available heat decreases dramatically at lower temperatures. Consequently, the efficiency of a heat pump also decreases significantly as the temperature of the heat source drops below moderate levels; a factor that indicates heat pumps are not well suited for all climates. Most houses with heat pumps also need a supplemental source of heat for low-temperature conditions (typically when air temperatures fall below about 40º F or 4º C). Heat pumps are able to transfer heat by the movement of a refrigerant through an alternating cycle of evaporation and condensation. An electric-powered compressor drives the refrigerant through the cycle – as it does in most residential air conditioning and refrigeration systems – allowing it to absorb heat at one point and give it up at another. The primary components of a heat-pump system are basically the same as those found in air conditioning and refrigeration systems. But a heat pump uses a special four-way (reversing) valve that automatically changes the direction of the refrigerant flow – allowing the system to remove heat from outdoors in winter and from indoors in summer. There are two basic types of heat pumps: (1) air-source and (2) geothermal heat pumps. The majority of heat pumps are air-source systems, which use outdoor air as a heat source in winter, and air as the medium to which heat is transferred to in the summer. Geothermal systems make use of the heat available year round in the earth or water. There are two types of geothermal systems: (1) open systems, which use the water from a well as a heat source, and (2) closed systems, which use a liquid run through a continuous loop of piping buried in the ground or installed in a body of water. Geothermal heat pumps are very efficient systems but also very expensive to install. In cold weather, a fan draws outdoor air across a coil containing an even colder refrigerant. The refrigerant absorbs the heat in the air (as heat moves from hot to cold) and is drawn as a gas into the compressor where a pressure increase creates a temperature increase. The refrigerant is then pumped to the indoor coil where a fan blows air across the coil (condenser) and the refrigerant’s heat is transferred to the cooler household air. The resulting warmed air is distributed throughout the home via a duct system. Meanwhile the refrigerant, which has condensed to a liquid, travels back to the outdoor coil where the cycle begins again. In warm weather, the reversing value automatically changes the direction of the refrigerant flow and heat from indoors is transferred outdoors. When the outdoor air temperature dips appreciably, a supplemental heating system (often electric resistance coils) provides the needed heating boost. As in all electrically heated homes, adequate wall and ceiling insulation, as well as insulated windows or storms, is a necessity if utility bills are to be kept reasonable. One issue to note: The temperature of the heated air provided by a heat pump (90°-100°F, 32°-38°C) is lower than that provided by a conventional warm air system (+120°F, +99°C), and may even be lower than body temperature. For this reason, a high volume/low velocity duct system with properly placed supply outlets is required to maintain heating comfort. Heat pump manufacturers recommend homeowners consider the following operational and maintenance issues: Air filters should be cleaned or replaced on a regular basis (typically monthly in season). A heat pump works most efficiently when it maintains room temperature; avoid large temperature setbacks overnight or during the work day. While it may seem cold air is coming from the supply outlets during the heating season, this is a factor of heat pump design; comfort heating should still be attainable with a properly designed and used system. The system will periodically go into a defrost mode to remove any ice build-up on the outdoor coil in the winter. The outdoor unit should be positioned above the prevailing snow line with suitable clearance around the unit maintained year round. Expect the unit to run continuously at low outdoor temperatures, or a switch over to the supplemental heat system. Modern heat pumps have an expected economic life span of 6- 12 years, with annual servicing and proper use. Remember, these tips are only general guidelines. Since each situation is different, contact a professional if you have questions about a specific issue. More home safety and maintenance information is available online at housemaster.com.

Winterizing Your Home

Whether you are buying or selling a home, you should have a professional home inspection performed by an experienced inspector.

A home inspection will look at the systems that make up the building such as:      

•     Structural elements, foundation, framing etc
•     Plumbing systems 
•      Roofing
•      Electrical systems
•     Cosmetic condition, paint, siding etc 

If you are buying a home, you need to know exactly what you are getting. A home inspection, performed by a professional home inspector, will reveal any hidden problems with the home so that they may be addressed BEFORE the deal is closed. You should require an inspection at the time you make a formal offer. Make sure the contract has an inspection contingency. Then, hire your own inspector and pay close attention to the inspection report. If you aren't comfortable with what he finds, you should kill the deal.

Likewise, if you are selling a home, you want to know about such potential hidden problems before your house goes on the market. Almost all contracts include the condition that the contract is contingent upon completion of a satisfactory inspection.

And most buyers are going to insist that the inspection be a professional home inspection, usually by an inspector they hire. If the buyer's inspector finds a problem, it can cause the buyer to get cold feet and the deal can often fall through. At best, surprise problems uncovered by the buyer's inspector will cause delays in closing, and usually you will have to pay for repairs at the last minute, or take a lower price on your home.

It's better to pay for your own inspection before putting your home on the market. Find out about any hidden problems and correct them in advance. Otherwise, you can count on the buyer's inspector finding them, at the worst possible time. Old Man Winter is settling in for a long chilly season. Before the temperatures dip too far south, follow these simple guidelines to winterize your home and save money on utilities.

Inside Your Home

• Have your furnace system serviced to ensure it's working efficiently and not emitting carbon monoxide.
• Clean permanent furnace filters and replace paper or disposable filters.
• Replace the batteries in smoke and carbon monoxide detectors.
• If you have a wood stove or fireplace, have your chimney swept thoroughly. It should be cleaned before the soot build up reaches one-fourth inch thickness inside the chimney flue.
• Check your hot water heater for leaks and maintain proper temperature setting (120 degrees recommended by Department of Energy). On older water heaters with less insulation, for every 10 degrees Fahrenheit you lower the temperature, you save 6 percent of your water heating energy.
• Check the attic to see if insulation needs to be added or replaced. This is the most significant area of heat loss in many homes, so it is also important to see that it has proper ventilation. Inadequate ventilation could lead to premature deterioration of the insulation materials. You may also need to check insulation in exterior walls, crawl spaces and along foundation walls.
• Check all windows and doors for air leaks. Install storm windows and putty, caulk or add weather stripping as needed.
• Check basement and cellars for seal cracks or leaks in walls and floor.
• Make sure all vents are clean and operating properly.
• Clean and vacuum baseboard heaters, heating ducts and vents.
• Remove or winterize air conditioning units.

See the following chart on common air leaks:

Click here to find the US Department of Energy's web site on saving $$(energy): 

Outside Your Home

• Store or cover outdoor furniture, toys and grill.
• Purchase rock salt for melting snow and a shovel or snow blower if you don't already have one. Make sure you have the right kind of gas and oil on hand for your snow blower in the case of an unexpected snowstorm.
• Caulk joints and minor cracks on exterior walls and siding.
• Look for deteriorating finishes. Minor problems can be patched to preserve the wood. Put bigger jobs, such as scraping and refinishing painted or stained areas, on the calendar for next spring or early summer.
• Drain and shut off sprinkler systems and other exterior water lines to avoid frozen and broken pipes. Leave all taps slightly open.
• Insulate exterior spigots and other pipes that are subject to freezing but can't be drained or shut off.
• Rake and compost leaves and garden debris, or put out for yard-waste pickup.
• Clean storm drains, gutters and other drain pipes.
• Check the foundation for proper drainage. To do this, spray yard with a hose to see if water runs away from the house. A little shoveling to reshape the earth next to the house may make the water run away from the foundation.
• Make sure dirt or piles of wood don't come into contact with or touch siding, inviting termites and carpenter ants into the house.
• Seal driveway and walkway cracks, if needed, before ground freezes regularly.
• Inspect the roof for loose, damaged or missing pieces.
• Check attic vent openings for nests or other blockages.

Lane Midgett

Associate Broker, ABR®, e-PRO®

1776 Real Estate Group

901 Register Parkway Suite A
Richmond, Va, 23226

Work: 804-565-1776

 Fax:    800-618-0383

lane@lanemidgett.com

www.lanemidgett.com

"I work for your trust and referrals, not for the commission"