via zillow.com
Tips for Renting With Bad Credit | Chappaqua Realtor
Leave a reply
Daily Archives: June 1, 2012
Kelloggs & Lawrence Marks 125 Years in Business | Katonah NY
Meet Fox Lane’s Valedictorian and Salutatorian | Bedford NY
Mortgages – Speeding Up Short Sales | Mount Kisco NY Real Estate
via nytimes.com
BofA tries turning distressed homeowners into renters | North Salem NY Real Estate
via latimes.com
Zillow: Home Values See Highest Monthly Increase Since 2006 | Cross River Real Estate
via dsnews.com
Which upfront rental fees are illegal? | Waccabuc NY Real Estate
Q: We’ve just moved into an apartment complex that charged us a nonrefundable “initiation fee” of $200, plus a security deposit (the maximum allowed by law). We knew about this fee, but it seemed cheesy for the landlord to be charging us for the routine duty of processing a new tenant. Is there any legal way to object to this fee? –Scot S.
A: Your question is quite timely. In November 2011, a federal district court judge in Boston faced a very similar question (at issue was an “amenity fee” that covered use of the pool, gym and grill). The judge decided that, under Massachusetts law, the fee was illegal. (Hermida v. Archstone, et al., No. 10-12083-WGY, D. Ct. Mass. 2011.) That’s going to result in big refunds to Massachusetts tenants: According to the National Multi Housing Council, Archstone is the seventh-largest landlord in the nation, with close to 74,000 units spread across 12 states.
The federal judge’s decision is quite clear and simple. Massachusetts allows landlords to collect upfront fees that “are not in excess of” the following: the first full month’s rent; the last full month’s rent; security equal to the first full month’s rent; and the cost of buying and installing a lock and key. The term “amenity fee” isn’t on this list.
But lawyers for Archstone argued that they could charge this fee as long as, when added to any other monies collected, the total did not exceed what Archstone could have collected in first and last month’s rent, security, and lock and key charges. Because Archstone didn’t charge these tenants for last month’s rent, a security deposit, or the cost of rekeying ($50), the sum of all money collected (including the fee in question) was, in fact, lower than what Archstone could have collected.
Article continues belowIn short, Archstone read the law as limiting only the amount of money collected; the tenants said it limits both the amount and the type of fee. The judge sided with the tenants.
Not all states insist that upfront, nonrefundable fees be counted toward the limit of permissible upfront payments. Many states apply limits only to money collected to guarantee performance under the lease (in other words, to cover damage and unpaid rent). In those states, nonrefundable fees like an amenity fee are outside of these categories and probably legal. But in states that strictly limit the amount of money collected at the start of the tenancy, tenants might have a shot at arguing that a landlord’s imposition of any fee not on the approved list is illegal. (Tenants in California already won this fight.)
Q: I rent a single-family house to a tenant who wants to give music lessons in the home. It’s legal as far as zoning is concerned, but I’m concerned about liability in case one of the students is hurt. Is there any way I can protect myself? –Martha S.
A: You’re wise to be thinking of this possibility now. Although it’s unlikely, it is possible that a student could trip, slip or otherwise become injured on your property. You don’t want to be liable for the claim or lawsuit that could result. You can protect yourself in two ways.
First, consider placing an “indemnity clause” in the lease, which will make the tenant financially responsible for any injuries suffered by students while on your property, if the cause of the accident is the tenant’s failure to maintain the property. The indemnity clause simply says that if you end up being sued by the injured tenant (which often happens, because the property owner is the “deep pocket”), any loss you suffer (such as attorney fees to defend yourself or a judgment against you) will be paid by the tenant.
Note that this might not work in many states if the cause of the accident is your faulty maintenance: Many states won’t allow commercial landlords to off-load their liability, and they may not allow residential landlords to do it, either.
Another way to protect yourself is to insist that the tenant obtain a liability policy, just as you’d demand of a commercial tenant in a commercial space. The policy, called “commercial general liability” (or CGL), insures the tenant against claims by injured customers or clients, and you can be added to the policy as an “additional insured.”
If a student sues, this means that the tenant’s policy will cover both of you. (Make sure that the tenant’s policy is described as “primary” to your own liability policy.) Demand proof of the policy (and your name on it) by asking the tenant for an “ACORD 25” form, which the insurance company will issue at no charge. The form will specify the type of insurance purchased, its coverage and limits, its expiration date, and that you’re an additional insured. Make a note of the policy period and be sure that you ask for an updated form when it’s time to renew the policy.
via inman.com
RealtyTrac: Short sales at 3-year high | South Salem NY Real Estate
A three-year high in pre-foreclosure sales, typically short sales, helped push the nation’s overall share of distressed sales up to 26 percent in the first quarter, according to a report from foreclosure data firm RealtyTrac released today.
A total of 233,299 properties sold in the first quarter were either in some stage of foreclosure, meaning they were subject to a default notice or scheduled auction, or had completed the foreclosure process and become bank-owned before being sold.
That total is virtually flat from first-quarter 2011, though it comprised a slightly higher share of overall sales — 26 percent — than in the same three-month period last year, when 25 percent of homes sold were distressed.
Twelve percent of overall sales and nearly 47 percent of foreclosure-related sales last quarter were pre-foreclosure homes — a total of 109,521 properties. That’s a 25 percent increase from first-quarter 2011 and the highest total since first-quarter 2009.
At the same time, sales of bank-owned homes, also known as REOs, fell 15 percent on an annual basis, to 123,778 — 14 percent of overall sales.
Article continues below“Foreclosure-related sales picked up in the first quarter, particularly pre-foreclosure sales where a distressed homeowner is selling to avoid foreclosure — typically via short sale,” said RealtyTrac CEO Brandon Moore in a statement.
“Lenders are approving more aggressively priced short sales, which in turn is resulting in more successful short-sale transactions.”
Homes in pre-foreclosure sold for an average $175,461 in the first quarter, down 10 percent on an annual basis and the lowest average since first-quarter 2005, when RealtyTrac first began keeping track. Pre-foreclosure properties sold for an average 21 percent less than a nondistressed home in the first quarter, up from a 16 percent discount at the same time last year.
The average sales price for a bank-owned home last quarter was $147,995, up 2 percent year over year and 33 percent below the average price of a traditional home. That discount has declined from first-quarter 2011, when it was 37 percent.
Foreclosure-related sales overall sold for an average of $161,214 in the first quarter, down 2 percent from a year ago and 27 percent under the average sales price of nondistressed homes during the quarter.
“The average price of a bank-owned home is stabilizing and even increasing in some areas where a slowdown in REO activity over the past year has resulted in a restricted supply of REO homes available,” Moore said.
“Still, REO sales did increase on a quarterly basis in 21 states, indicating that lenders are still working through a bottleneck of unsold REO inventory in many areas.”
Oregon was among those states with a 41 percent increase in REO sales last quarter, followed by North Carolina (23 percent), Ohio (21 percent), Florida (13 percent) and Wisconsin (13 percent), the report said. REOs sold an average of 178 days after completing the foreclosure process, up from 176 days in the first three months of 2011.
Pre-foreclosure sales jumped on an annual basis in 27 states last quarter with Wisconsin seeing the biggest increase (94 percent) followed by Michigan (81 percent), Georgia (80 percent), Texas (46 percent), and Illinois (46 percent). Pre-foreclosure properties sold in an average of 306 days after entering the foreclosure process, up from 256 days in first-quarter 2011, the report said.
Nevada, California and Georgia posted the biggest shares of foreclosure-related sales in the first quarter. In Nevada, 56 percent of sales were distressed and sold for an average $116,695, down 5 percent from first-quarter 2011. In California, 47 percent of sales were foreclosure-related and sold for an average $235,042, down 4 percent year over year. In Georgia, 46 percent of sales were foreclosure-related and sold for an average $103,909, a 10 percent price decline from a year ago.
12 states with the highest share of foreclosure-related sales (Q1 2012):
State % foreclosure-related sales Nevada 56% California 47% Georgia 46% Arizona 40% Michigan 39% Illinois 31% Colorado 30% Wisconsin 28% Oregon 27% Minnesota 27% Washington 26% New Hampshire 26% Source: RealtyTrac
Among the nation’s 20 most populous metropolitan areas, Atlanta saw the biggest jump in pre-foreclosure sales (78 percent), followed by Detroit (75 percent), San Antonio (74 percent), Sacramento, Calif. (70 percent), and Dallas (69 percent).
Minneapolis saw the largest increase in REO sales (33 percent), followed by Boston (30 percent), Philadelphia (22 percent), Atlanta (15 percent), and Chicago (13 percent).
Among metros with at 200,000 inhabitants, the 10 areas with the highest share of distressed sales were all either in California or Nevada.
Metro area % of all sales Avg sales price Avg discount (%) Modesto, Calif. 65.3 $132,696 7.2 Stockton, Calif. 61.6 $154,868 7.3 Vallejo-Fairfield, Calif. 61.0 $181,197 10.8 Las Vegas-Paradise, Nev. 58.6 $115,459 15.2 Merced, Calif. 54.1 $109,044 12.2 Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, Calif. 52.9 $171,181 18.8 Visalia-Porterville, Calif. 52.2 $117,643 16.3 Sacramento-Arden-Arcade-Roseville, Calif. 52.2 $176,962 21.8 Salinas, Calif. 50.9 $270,444 27.7 Reno-Sparks, Nev. 49.5 $134,911 24.6 Source: RealtyTrac
In a separate report this week, real estate and loan data aggregator CoreLogic found that there were 15 percent fewer foreclosures completed nationwide in April compared to the same month last year — a total of 66,000.
Foreclosure inventory — homes currently undergoing the foreclosure process — stood at about 1.4 million homes in April, or 3.4 percent of all homes with a mortgage (about one-third of homes do not have mortgages). That’s a slight decline from 1.5 million, or 3.5 percent, a year ago.
“There were more than 830,000 completed foreclosures over the past year or, in other words, one completed foreclosure for every 622 mortgaged homes,” said Mark Fleming, CoreLogic’s chief economist, in a statement.
“Nonjudicial foreclosure markets, like Nevada, Arizona and California, completed two and a half times as many foreclosures over the past year as judicial foreclosure states.”
Source: CoreLogic
Five states accounted for nearly half (49 percent) of completed foreclosures nationwide in April: California (142,000), Florida (92,000), Michigan (60,000), Texas (58,000), and Georgia (57,000). All but Florida are nonjudicial foreclosure states where foreclosures do not generally go through the courts.
“The inventory of homes in foreclosure in judicial foreclosure states is growing, but this increase is being more than offset by declining inventories in nonjudicial states where the processing timelines to clear a foreclosure are shorter,” said Anand Nallathambi, CoreLogic’s CEO, in a statement.
Of the five states with the highest foreclosure inventory as a percentage of all mortgaged homes, only Nevada, with 5 percent of homes in the foreclosure process, was a nonjudicial foreclosure state. The remaining four were judicial foreclosure states: Florida with a foreclosure inventory of 12 percent, New Jersey (6.7 percent), Illinois (5.3 percent), and New York (5 percent).
via inman.com
Home Prices Zooming in Hawaii | Katonah NY Real Estate
There are many home price measurements and not all agree at any single moment in time, but one consistent trend in recent months is that more and more markets are showing recovery. Whether it is NAR median price, Case-Shiller price index, LPS price index, Core Logic, or Dataquick, home price trends are clearly moving in a better direction. In some cases there has been a quite a robust rebound. The latest home price information is from the Federal Housing Finance Agency and it showed that home prices in Hawaii have zoomed up by 10 percent in the first quarter from a comparable period one year ago.
By ranking the top ten states with price gains were (based on home purchases only and not refinances):
The big gain in Hawaii is a bit mysterious because the Honolulu market is not experiencing such outsized gains. North Dakota lost the top position, which it had for some time, but is still moving ahead at a decent good pace.
As to the metro markets, cheers go to Joplin, Mo for hard work in rebuilding the city after the tornadoes and in getting the best price appreciation. Cape Coral-Ft. Myers was a close second. Bend (OR), Bismark (ND) and Ames (IA) rounded out the top five metro list.
It is a long report, and you most likely will not want to print out all pages. State data is on page 20. Metro data is on page 36. The full report can be found here.
Local Market Reports: Unemployment Rate | Bedford Hills Real Estate News
Since March of 2011, the labor market has improved dramatically. While the national unemployment rate remains high, regional markets are experiencing varying degrees of improvement. The ten markets with the strongest improvement in their unemployment rate are a varied mix. Birmingham topped the list with a 22.6% decline in the unemployment rate from 8.4% in March of 2011 to 6.5% in March of 2012. Mid-sized cities dominated the list with three coming from Michigan; Detroit, Lansing, and Grand Rapids. Healthy growth of the manufacturing industry has benefited many of these markets, but resurgence in consumers’ willingness to spend on tourism has also helped markets in Florida as well as Nashville and Birmingham.
For more information on employment patterns in local housing markets, see the Local Market Reports for the 1st quarter of 2012.
