HOME TIPS

The Chilling Danger of Carbon Monoxide

For most of us January brings bitter winds, icy paths and dipping temperatures. But perhaps the most chilling result of wintry weather is the marked increase in home injury during this season. "Carbon monoxide, home fires and power outage hazards pose harmful threats to our families and their well being," says Meri-K Appy, president of the Home Safety Council. "Unfortunately, only 35 percent of homeowners have a carbon monoxide detector in their home - leaving more than half of families exposed to this silent killer." See the Home Safety Council's recommendations for these simple steps to avoid potential dangers during the winter months.
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Amazing Handyman Tricks

It's winter and you're indoors more and you should have time to get to some of those minor door, floor, window and ceiling repair projects around the house that you have been putting off for too long. Even if you are not much of a Do-It-Yourselfer, you may wish to check out a useful list of some of "Super Handyman" Al Carrell's quick fixes compiled by textfiles.com from a Mother Jones Magazine article. Examples: pushing your drill bit through a throwaway aluminum pie pan or a plastic butter tub when drilling into the ceiling to keep the dust mostly out of your eyes and off the floor, or using talcum powder to help quiet a squeaky floor.
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Garbage Disposers - Use, Care and Safety

Consider the lowly garbage disposal. It's one of those unheralded, generally overlooked little things that make our lives today so much easier than they used to be. If you don't remember, or are too young to know, how much bother and time cleaning the food mess in the kitchen and scarps from dinner plates and serving dishes used to be - consider yourself lucky. We've compiled a guide to the use, care and safety of garbage disposals at Home Hints eNews.
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Green Cleaning

Most of us are interested in trying to decrease our own contributions to the ubiquitous air and water pollution that so bedevils modern living. Here are some eco-friendly cleaning procedures you may wish to try. To clean a toilet bowl try pouring a can of Coca-Cola® into the toilet bowl. Let the "real thing" sit for one hour, then brush and flush clean. Kool-Aid© will also clean a toilet as will Alka Seltzer®. Drop in two tablets; wait twenty minutes, brush, and flush. The citric acid and and/or effervescent action in these products will clean vitreous china.
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Winter Home Maintenance - Easy Steps to Prevent Winter Home Disasters

The extremes of winter temperatures and the rapid shifts between them can be a real challenge for homes and homeowners. Winter conditions may shift from mild to extreme cold and can permanently damage many components of your home. Jay Banks, who lives in Vancouver British Columbia and ought to know of such things, has compiled a Winter Home Maintenance Guide - Eleven Easy Steps to Prevent Disasters, to help prevent home disasters such as broken pipes.

MORTGAGE NEWS

HOW DID THIS HAPPEN??

The recent real estate boom was fueled by a period of record home appreciation and historically low interest rates. Banks, in order to compete, loosened guidelines and began offering more funding to more borrowers through riskier, non-conforming or "exotic" mortgages.

These ideal lending conditions persisted for several years, supported by high demand, historical real estate data, home prices, and massive trading volume/profits on mortgage-backed securities and other financial instruments on Wall Street.

Then, in 2006, a slowdown in real estate led to a deterioration of home values, an increase in inventories, and ultimately to today's tightening of credit guidelines, leaving many investors unable to sell or refinance out of their existing positions. Many Americans who had tapped into their equity were suddenly tapped-out and overextended as home values fell. Foreclosures followed in record numbers and a re-valuation of mortgage bonds and other financial instruments created the credit/liquidity domino effect we're now experiencing.

Unfortunately, it's going to get a lot worse before it gets better. According to the latest estimates, over 2 million subprime and Alt-A adjustable rate mortgage (ARM) holders will face payment increases of up to 30%-100% when their loans reset in the next 2 to 18 months. These loans make up less than 40% of the total mortgage market, but the negative effects, as we have seen, of increased foreclosure activity can have a ripple effect throughout the industry and around the globe.

What does this mean to you and your mortgage?

Sellers: If you're planning on selling your home, be prepared for an even smaller pool of qualified buyers. While some experts predict a settling of this credit crisis over the coming year, tightened credit guidelines and diminishing mortgage products could knock out as many as 15%-30% of potential qualified buyers. Now is not the time to sit and wait for the best possible price. Have a serious talk with your Real Estate Agent. Having experienced buying/selling transactions in your area, he or she can help you price your home accordingly. He or she can also help ensure that your buyers are pre-approved and stay pre-approved throughout the entire transaction.

Buyers: Get pre-approved by your mortgage professional. While there are a lot of great deals out there, getting credit is becoming tougher and tougher, and it's taking longer and longer to complete a transaction. Remember, what you qualify for today could change tomorrow in a volatile market. For those looking to refinance, keep this in mind. There is no time to delay! Communicate with your lender. Don't do anything that could negatively affect your credit, and make sure you get all your documentation in on time.

ARMs Borrowers: If your ARM is scheduled to reset in the next 2-18 months, you need to schedule an appointment with a mortgage professional right away. Whether your ARM is subprime, Alt-A, or even if you have a pre-payment penalty, don't let a default or foreclosure situation sneak up on you. Did you know that your monthly payments can increase anywhere from 30% to 100% once your loan resets? At the very least, give yourself the peace of mind of knowing what your adjusted payment will be. A good loan officer can help calculate the numbers.

Borrowers with less-than-perfect credit: Each week it seems lenders are shedding more and more mortgage products. Many lenders have stopped offering No-Doc loans and are reducing all forms of Stated-Income loans. While it might be challenging, borrowers with credit issues need to see a loan expert. Often they have credit repair resources and other strategies to help you reach your financial goals.

Finally, don't let the headlines get to you! While all looks bleak and scary now, there's an important concept to embrace: all markets, while cyclical in nature, are self-correcting, be it credit, real estate, stocks, or bonds. For the last 6 or 7 years, real estate was booming and riding high. The correction we're experiencing now – while it seems harsh and could get much worse – is, in a sense, "natural" and directly related to the extremely loose guidelines and perhaps overzealous lending and leveraging during the boom cycle.