be Wary of Fall Maintenance Scams

Be Wary of Fall Home Maintenance Scams When autumn arrives, many homeowners prepare their homes for cooler weather by hiring specialists to clean and make repairs. Be mindful of cons during this time of year – scammers use this opportunity to swindle homeowners out of thousands of dollars for unnecessary work. Be wary of these four scams typically advertised during the fall season. Chimney repairs – Scammers disguised as chimney sweeps will tell you your chimney needs to be inspected, and then use hard sales tactics to get you to make expensive, unfounded repairs. Don’t fall for it. Gutter cleaning – Fraudulent gutter cleaners tend to prey on the elderly or those who cannot clean their gutters easily. They will assure you that they’ve worked in the neighborhood before, and quote you a very low estimate in return for shoddy, incomplete work. Energy audits – Many scammers offer a “free” energy audit to reduce heating costs, claiming to be a representative from your local utility company. They insist on costly upgrades for your attic, such as solar blankets or insulation, and may or may not burglarize your home while conducting the audit. Ductwork cleaning – Ductwork cleaning is rarely a necessity, so take caution. Scammers are known to damage your heating system while cleaning it in order to leech more money out of you for repairs. They also may create indoor air hazards. Before scheduling maintenance with an unknown service provider, research the individual or company through your local BBB or the Internet. Seek out referrals from trusted family and friends, check for proper licensing and never pay upfront. Source: Consumer Reports Judy Gratton Your Real Estate Edge Reprinted with permission from RISMedia. ©2014. All rights reserved.

Bon Jovi's Penthouse Drops in Price

Bon Jovi's Soho Penthouse Drops in Price By Zoe Eisenberg If you've been looking for a high-end real estate deal, you're in luck…sort of. Jon Bon Jovi's Soho penthouse was recently reduced from $42 million to $37.5 million. The 7,452-square-foot spot has been a long-time residence of Bon Jovi and his wife and high school sweetheart, Dorothea Bon Jovi. Awww. Located in the New Museum Building, one of the tallest structures in the Lower Manhattan area, the Bon Jovi's duplex penthouse has ginormous glass walls and a myriad of terraces. The upper level of the home includes formal living and dining rooms, as well as spectacular terraces with eye-popping views of the city that never sleeps. On the second floor is a kitchen, a guest room and a screening room, perfect for watching Bon Jovi's silver screen appearances in “Moonlight and Valentino” and, weirdly enough, “Sex and the City.” The lower portion of the penthouse includes a great room with a wood-burning fireplace for those chilly New York nights, a dining area with a gourmet kitchen and bathrooms featuring spa-style marble baths. The first floor also includes five bedrooms, including the master bedroom suite, which is bordered with stunning arched windows and wallpapered with the undergarments of three decades' worth of adoring fans. (Just kidding!) Want to see more of the swankiest celebrity and luxury listings the market has to offer? Of course you do! Check out our Great Spaces Pinterest board! Zoe Eisenberg is RISMedia’s Associate Editor. She doesn't even listen to Bon Jovi. This post was originally published on RISMedia's blog, Housecall. Judy Gratton Your Real Estate Edge Reprinted with permission from RISMedia. ©2014. All rights reserved.

Existing Home Sales Rise, Foreclosures Trickle Down

\Existing Home Sales Rise, Foreclosures Trickle Down The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) recently released the July edition of the Obama Administration's Housing Scorecard—a comprehensive report on the nation’s housing market. The latest data show progress among key indicators, including rebound in the sale of existing homes and the continuing downward trend of foreclosure starts and completions. This month’s Housing Scorecard also features a spotlight on the Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD Metropolitan Statistical Area (Philadelphia MSA). While this scorecard notes positive overall trends in the housing market, officials caution that more work needs to be done as the economy recovers from the Great Recession. The full Housing Scorecard is available online. “The market indicators for the housing market recovery were mixed in July as foreclosure filings continue to improve, but home sales, particularly for new homes, showed unexpected weakness,” says HUD Assistant Secretary for Policy Development and Research Katherine O’Regan. “Home prices, while still increasing, are doing so at slower rates. Indications are that continued improvements in the economy, such as the July employment report which marked the sixth straight month that more than 200,000 jobs have been added, along with slowly easing mortgage credit, will keep the U.S. housing market on the path to recovery.” The July Housing Scorecard features key data on the health of the housing market and the impact of the Administration’s foreclosure prevention programs, including: Sales of previously owned (existing) homes rose for the third consecutive month in June after a lackluster performance in the previous two quarters. The National Association of Realtors® (NAR) reported that existing homes—including single-family homes, townhomes, condominiums, and cooperatives—sold at a pace of 5.04 million (SAAR) in June, up 2.6 percent from May but remain 2.3 percent below the 5.16 million pace a year earlier. Sales are at their highest pace since October 2013 (5.13 million). Foreclosure starts and completions continue their downward trend. Lenders started the public foreclosure process on 47,243 U.S. properties in June, down 4 percent from the previous month and down 18 percent from one year ago to the lowest level since November 2005—more than an 8½ year low. Lenders completed the foreclosure process (bank repossessions or REOs) on 26,889 U.S. properties in June, down 5 percent from the previous month and down 24 percent from one year ago to the lowest level since June 2007—a 7 year low. (Note however that foreclosure starts and completions were up from a year ago in about 15 states). House prices appreciate in May while year-over-year gains continue to slow. The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) seasonally adjusted purchase-only house price index showed home values appreciated by 0.4 percent over the prior month and 5.5-percent over the previous year, marking the fifth straight month of more modest annual growth in home prices. The FHFA index shows that U.S. home values are on par with prices in mid-2005.The S&P/Case-Shiller 20-City Home Price Index (not seasonally adjusted) posted month-over-month returns for May of 1.1 percent and gains of 9.3 percent over the past 12 months. The Case-Shiller index shows annual rates of gain in home prices slowing over the last six months; home values are at September-2004 levels. (The Case-Shiller and FHFA price indices are released with a two-month lag.) Sales of new homes fell in June and sales in May were revised sharply downward. New home sales declined 8.1 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR) of 406,000 in June, following sales of 442,000 in May that were 12.3 percent lower than estimated last month. Sales were at their lowest level since March and down 11.5 percent from one year ago. The weakness in sales reflects strict bank lending standards, less favorable housing affordability, and low inventory. (Source: HUD and Census Bureau). The Administration’s foreclosure mitigation programs continue to provide relief for millions of homeowners as the recovery from the housing crisis continues. In all, more than 8.5 million mortgage modification and other forms of mortgage assistance arrangements were completed between April 2009 and the end of June 2014. Nearly 2.1 million homeowner assistance actions have taken place through the Making Home Affordable Program, including nearly 1.4 million permanent modifications through the Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP), while the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) has offered more than 2.3 million loss mitigation and early delinquency interventions through June. The Administration’s programs continue to encourage improved standards and processes in the industry, with HOPE Now lenders offering families and individuals more than 4.1 million proprietary modifications through May (HOPE Now data are reported with a 2-month lag). This month’s Housing Scorecard also features a regional spotlight on market strength in the Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD Metropolitan Statistical Area (Philadelphia MSA).Like many areas across the country, the economic and housing market conditions in the Philadelphia area are improving, but the housing crisis and peak of foreclosures hit this area later than the rest of the country and the subsequent recovery has been progressing more slowly. The Administration’s broad approach to stabilize the housing market has been provided help to homeowners throughout the Philadelphia MSA. The housing market in Philadelphia MSA is showing important signs of improvement. As with similar areas along the East Coast, the initial downturn from the foreclosure crisis in the Philadelphia MSA was less severe than in some areas of the nation but the recovery from the crisis and subsequent recession has been slower. The share of mortgages at risk of foreclosure (those 90 or more days delinquent or in the foreclosure process) did not peak in Philadelphia until the beginning of 2013--three years later than for the nation -- and at a much higher rate, although the share of distressed mortgages was higher going into the crisis. Contributing to the current high share of distressed mortgages is a longer than average foreclosure processing time in Pennsylvania and New Jersey, which keeps homes in the foreclosure pipeline longer. The share of mortgages at risk of foreclosure has now begun to decline in Philadelphia–the result of four years of modest job growth, fairly stable gains in home prices, and local legislation in 2008 that sharply curtailed foreclosure activity. Administration programs are providing much needed relief to Philadelphia MSA. From the launch of the Administration’s assistance programs in April 2009 through the end of May 2014, more than 151,800 homeowners have received mortgage assistance in the Philadelphia MSA. Nearly 89,000 interventions were completed through the HAMP and FHA loss mitigation intervention programs. An additional 62,800 proprietary mortgage modifications have been made through HOPE Now Alliance servicers. While some homeowners may have received help from more than one program, the number of times assistance has been provided in the Philadelphia metropolitan area is more than four times the number of foreclosures completed during this period (37,300). In addition, the landmark National Mortgage Servicing Settlement in February 2012 has benefitted more 9,418 Pennsylvania homeowners as of June 30, 2013. HUD’s Neighborhood Stabilization Program is funding community improvements. The Neighborhood Stabilization Program helps localities work with non-profits and community development corporations to turn abandoned and foreclosed homes that lower property values into homeownership opportunities and the affordable rental housing that communities need. In the Philadelphia MSA, $86.8 million in NSP funds have been awarded to local communities along with an additional $22.4 million which the State of Delaware has sub-allocated to communities in the MSA. The scorecard spotlight describes some of the NSP investments made by the City of Philadelphia. For more information, visit www.hud.gov. Judy Gratton Your Real Estate Edge Reprinted with permission from RISMedia. ©2014. All rights reserved.