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Mt Kisco Realtor | Buyer protections in ‘as is’ real estate purchase | Inman News
Buyer protections in ‘as is’ real estate purchase
REThink Real Estate
Q: What can a buyer do if the seller includes an as-is clause in the contract and “issues” are discovered from the inspection? Will the buyer lose his deposit if he walks away from the deal after the inspection uncovers, let’s say, termites or electrical problems? It would seem to me that a buyer would insist that the as-is clause be removed. –V. Wohner
A: In most states, the phrase “as is” has been defined, over time (and lots of lawsuits) as also indicating that the buyer is taking the property in “as-disclosed” condition. These same states tend to have disclosure standards that require sellers to tell buyers, even as-is buyers, about any “material” issues with the property: things that the seller knows about that would have some influence on the decision-making process of a reasonable buyer.
In other states, though, like Arkansas, “as is” does not connote any disclosure requirement on the part of the seller. I recall reading an Arkansas case where the seller had known the property’s lot flooded every year for many years, didn’t disclose it to the as-is buyer, and the court sided with the seller. In these areas, “as is” might well be interpreted as “caveat emptor” (Latin for “buyer beware”).
However, in the vast majority of cases, buyers can — and should — insert an inspection contingency into an as-is contract. In fact, the inspection is the vehicle for knowing what exactly is going on with the condition of the property. The inspection, follow-up, or specialty inspections and repair bids or estimates are really the only way for a smart buyer to know whether they should move forward with an as-is deal.
Under an as-is contract with an inspection contingency or an inspection period, the buyer will have a certain period of time to obtain his inspections and decide whether he wants to move forward with the transaction, back out of the transaction and recoup his deposit, or back out of the transaction.
If after inspections, the buyer decides to exercise the inspection contingency and back out of the transaction within the time frame provided in the contract, their deposit money is safe and must be returned by the seller.
If, on the other hand, the buyer receives troubling information during the inspection but would still like to move forward with the transaction as is, he can do that.
Some buyers do this, especially when they feel like they are getting a great deal, even with the repair costs, when they can afford the repairs or anticipated them in advance, and/or when the seller is already making nothing on the property, so a price reduction would turn the transaction into a short sale (which might or might not be allowed by the seller’s bank).
Other buyers who learn of termite or other work that needs to be done choose several tactics. Some request that the seller complete some or all of the repairs, and insist that if the seller refuses, they (the buyers) will cancel the transaction and request their deposit back. Other buyers request a price reduction, on the same condition of canceling the transaction if the seller cannot or will not do so.
I see it as highly unethical to make a “fake” as-is offer, knowing full well that you plan to come back and ask for repairs or a price cut later in the transaction.
But if you get inspections and are surprised at how much work is needed, or at what it will cost, there is no legal or ethical bar from either backing out of the transaction entirely or making an effort to renegotiate the terms of the contract, so long as you do so within the contingency or objection period time frame provided in the contract.
In most states that allow for contingencies and objections, the buyer is legally able to back out of the contract after the contingency or objection period expires, but will forfeit his deposit or other liquidated damages provided in the contract if he does so.
Consult with your local broker or agent, or a local real estate attorney, to determine what avenues are available in your state and under your contract.
Tara-Nicholle Nelson is author of “The Savvy Woman’s Homebuying Handbook” and “Trillion Dollar Women: Use Your Power to Make Buying and Remodeling Decisions.” Tara is also the Consumer Ambassador and Educator for real estate listings search site Trulia.com. Ask her a real estate question online or visit her website, www.rethinkrealestate.com
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Mount Kisco NY Real Estate | U.S. to sue big banks over mortgage securities: report | LinkedIn
Check out this website I found at linkedin.com
Mt Kisco NY Homes | Top 10 paid photography apps for Android | Inman News
Top 10 paid photography apps for Android
A list of most popular mobile downloads
Editor’s note: The following app list, ratings, and descriptions were sampled from the Android Market website on Aug. 29, 2011. View an Inman News report on popular photography apps across several mobile platforms:”Top 100 most popular photo apps for iPhone, iPad, Android, BlackBerry .”
PicSay Pro – Phot…
Shinycore
Rating: 4.7 stars (Above average)
(12,568 ratings)
$4.31
Award-winning photo editor with all the tools you need to spice up your pictures. Sharpen, remove red eye, crop & straighten, distort, insert cutouts of other pictures, paint, make color splash out of black-and-white pictures, add text, word balloons, apply effects like Cross Process, Lomo, Vignette, faux HDR, Tilt-shift, Pencil Sketch, and much more …
Camera ZOOM FX
androidslide
Rating: 4.3 stars (Above average)
(6,599 ratings)
$4.88
Camera ZOOM FX combines powerful camera functions with stunning post processing – creating magic moments is fun and fast!! Over 90 unique FX – combine these in a non-destructive way to create infinite processing options. Blazingly fast performance: all effects render instantly on your device …
Camera Fun Pro
SpiceLoop
Rating: 3.9 stars (Above average)
(5,026 ratings)
$0.99
Awesome point & shoot Photo effects lens for Android camera! Point & shoot Photo effects lens for Android camera. The most entertaining photography app – guaranteed! Just point your Android camera and see LIVE Photo effects on the screen BEFORE you click a picture – no fuss, no muss and no guessing how your pictures will turn out!
Vignette
neilandtheresa
Rating: 4.1 stars (Above average)
(5,295 ratings)
$4.06
Add film and camera effects to your photos: 84 effects & 59 frames; Retro/vintage styles; LOMO/Diana/Holga toy camera styles; Polaroid/instant camera styles; Cross-process, tilt-shift, photobooth, double exposure and more; Supports the full resolution of your camera (3.1MP, 5MP or 8MP); Flash (if your phone has one) (not working on Dell Streak); Front-facing camera support (on some phones); Self-timer and time-lapse; Digital zoom; Geotagging …
Camera360 Ultimate
mAPPn, Inc.
Rating: 4.0 stars (Above average)
(4,823 ratings)
$3.99
Turn your phone into professional camera. Provides LOMO, HDR, axis shift, draft, ghost, etc. and multiple styles …
Pho.to Lab Pro
VicMan LLC
Rating: 4.6 stars (Above average)
(305 ratings)
$2.99
With Pho.to Lab PRO you can easily create fun photomontages, cool contact icons, animated photo caricatures, e-cards and phone wallpapers! You will love the user friendly interface and the ease of use the app provides. Pho.to Lab PRO does not contain any ads and does not watermark your resulting images. Besides, it comes with extra groups of photo effects for which you would have to pay in the standard version …
Paper Camera
JFDP Labs LTD
Rating: 4.3 stars (Above average)
(214 ratings)
$1.94
Real time cartoon and painting effects painted on your camera video feed!! See the world through a new, original, stylish and captivating lens, have a wonder in your own home and discover how cool is now your world in cartoon! This is the ultimate collection of cartoon/sketch/comic book/half tone/noir/neon and many other effects painted directly in your camera, no more boring post-effects, it’s all real time, you simply won’t stop wandering, wherever you are, having a look at things and cartoon-ize them …
Pano
Debacle Software
Rating: 4.2 stars (Above average)
(223 ratings)
$2.02
Pano is an award-winning app that lets you take beautiful, seamless panoramic photos straight from your phone, no other software necessary …
Pro HDR Camera
EyeApps LLC
Rating: 3.5 stars (Above average)
(580 ratings)
$1.99
Introducing Pro HDR Camera, the world’s first real HDR app for Android! From the team that created Pro HDR for iOS, now you can automatically create stunning full-resolution HDR images with just a single tap on your Android phone. Please note that this app has been tested to work properly on Motorola, HTC and most Samsung phones. However, if you have a LG, Sony, or other device, the HDR capability may not function properly …
Retro Camera Plus
Urbian
Rating: 4.0 stars (Above average)
(1,462 ratings)
$2.99
The paid, ad-free version of the free Retro Camera app. Take delicious old-school pics your friends will drool over. 5 cameras, 5 sets of vintage vignetting, film scratch, black and white & cross processing effects for that off-the-hip analog look. Inspired by the Lomo, Holga, Polaroid, Diana, the toy cameras & Hipstamatic …More mobile apps reports:
- Top 100 most popular photo apps for iPhone, iPad, Android, BlackBerry
- 100 Must-Have Mobile Apps for Real Estate
- 100 Productivity Apps for Real Estate Professionals
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Mt Kisco Homes for Sale | Case-Shiller: Seasonal bump in Q2 home prices | Inman News
Case-Shiller: Seasonal bump in Q2 home prices
All 20 tracked metros see year-over-year declines
Home prices rose in the second quarter compared to the first quarter, but fell on a year-over-year basis, according to the latest Standard & Poor’s/Case-Shiller National Home Price Indices report released today.
The quarterly national index rose 3.6 percent in the second quarter to 130.1, after a reported “double dip” in the first quarter. That’s a 5.9 percent decline compared to second-quarter 2010, taking home prices back to what they were in early 2003.
The 20-city composite index rose 1.1 percent on a monthly, nonseasonally adjusted basis in June, to 141.3. On a seasonally adjusted basis, the composite remained essentially flat at -0.1 percent. The composite fell 4.5 percent year over year.
None of the 20 cities in the composite posted monthly declines in June, and 19 of 20 posted increases. Minneapolis and Chicago saw the largest monthly increases, at 3.2 percent each. All 20 markets declined compared to June 2010, however, with Minneapolis and Portland seeing the biggest drops, down 10.8 percent and 9.6 percent, respectively.
Annual rates of growth have improved in 13 out of 20 cities, though they remain in negative territory, the report said.
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Mt Kisco NY Real Estate | 5 reasons real estate hasn’t recovered | Inman News
5 reasons real estate hasn’t recovered
What’s happening with jobs, shadow inventory?
The housing bubble of 2006 burst in large part due to lax lending practices that led up to the housing recession. The collateral damage from these practices hammered personal fortunes through foreclosures and investment losses.
The devaluation of mortgage-backed securities tied to nonperforming mortgages kick-started the falling dominoes in this global financial crisis.
Now the mortgage lending industry is making up for their slipshod business practices by tightening credit standards to an extreme level. This has partly to do with regulations recently put in place that make one wonder if anyone consulted real estate professionals and economists before they were enacted.
It’s commonly agreed that the easy-money lending practices that were in vogue before the downturn in 2006-07 should be left behind. Then, buyers didn’t need to qualify to get a stated-income mortgage. Unrealistic teaser-rate mortgages were popular, and 100 percent and 110 percent financing was available.
Buyers had little at risk except their good credit, which for many went up in smoke when home prices stopped rising and they were left upside down in their house because the price they could sell for had dropped lower than the balance owed on their mortgage.
Not only were they precluded from borrowing more, but many who lost jobs fell behind on their mortgage payments and lost their homes in foreclosure.
It’s a good practice for lenders to actually qualify buyers before giving them a mortgage. Buyers should make a cash down payment. However, many lenders want down payments equal to 20 percent or 25 percent of the purchase price.
Proposed risk-retention rules that would require lenders have more “skin in the game” when offering loans with less than a 20 percent down payment has met opposition from real estate industry and consumer groups. Regulations should be implemented that protect lenders, buyers and investors while fueling a sustainable recovery in the housing market.
Lenders also need to streamline their underwriting procedures. Underwriting criteria have tightened in the last six months. Buyers are told their loan has been formally approved; based on that, they remove their financing contingency.
Then, it’s not uncommon for the lender to ask the buyers for more documentation. This leads to delays in closings. Some deals fall apart and put the buyers’ deposit at risk.
HOUSE HUNTING TIP: Slow job growth is holding the housing market back in many areas. On the national level, only 25 percent of the jobs lost in the great recession have been replaced. The recovery has been plagued with joblessness and underemployment. The national unemployment rate currently hovers around 9 percent.
Because the home-sale market is a localized business, the housing recovery will be uneven. Some areas, such as Texas; Washington, D.C.; and the Silicon Valley in the San Francisco Bay Area, have strong local economies and are generating sufficient jobs to actually produce a pickup in local housing markets.
To illustrate how important the local factor is, Silicon Valley has strong job growth even though the unemployment rate in California is about 11 percent.
The additional major factor that’s keeping housing down is the backlog of foreclosures. Lenders are in some cases holding houses they’ve foreclosed on off of the market. This is sometimes referred to as the “shadow inventory.”
Lenders have tried to keep from flooding an already challenged real estate market with more inventory, which could cause prices to decline further.
THE CLOSING: However, for a sustainable recovery, these properties need to be sold.
Dian Hymer, a real estate broker with more than 30 years’ experience, is a nationally syndicated real estate columnist and author of “House Hunting: The Take-Along Workbook for Home Buyers” and “Starting Out, The Complete Home Buyer’s Guide.”
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Mt Kisco NY Real Estate | Student housing ripe for investment | Inman News
Student housing ripe for investment
Private sector eyes profits as government budgets shrink
About a decade ago, when looking for a real estate investment trust (REIT) to put into my stock portfolio, I chose American Campus Communities Inc., an Austin, Texas-based company that specialized in developing and managing student housing.
I enjoyed the REIT dividend and was pleased that the stock held its own through the heart of the recession when the rest of the market tumbled over a cliff like a long line of lemmings.
Otherwise, I really didn’t pay much attention to the student housing sector; then over the past year a couple of items caught my eye. First, toward the end of 2010, Campus Crest Communities Inc. of Charlotte, N.C., a student housing REIT unknown to me at the time, went public, generating net proceeds of $350.6 million.
Then I stumbled upon an interview with a REIT analyst, who, when asked by the interviewer about his favorite companies in the apartment sector, mentioned the two best-known student housing REITs: ACC and Education Realty Trust Inc. of Memphis, Tenn.
Since Campus Crest was new news to me, I decided to give the company a call to see what was up with student housing, which can be defined as off-campus, for-profit housing for college students, or cooperative developments with universities to create student housing on-campus. Others who are independently curious, like me, can also check them out online. There are ressources available at downingstudents.com/student-accommodation/cambridge/ among other great choices. So what is Campus Crest, what do they do, and how can it benefit me aswell?
First, a little background: Campus Crest was founded in 2004 by two Duke University business school buddies, Michael Hartnett and Ted Rollins. The latter serves as co-chairman and CEO, while Hartnett shares co-chairman responsibilities plus sits in as chief investment officer.
The company’s May recap of first-quarter business reported average occupancy had risen 100 basis points to 88.6 percent as compared to the same period a year ago, which seemed to be an average performance considering the bigger competition, ACC and Education Realty, were boasting average occupancy above 90 percent. A little better was same-store net operating income, up 5.1 percent as compared to first-quarter 2010.
The company suffered a bit of softness during the recession, which was surprising, as it appeared the sector was almost recession-proof.
Not recession-proof, Rollins corrected me, “recession-resistant.”
Retail, industrial, office, lodging and even the apartment property sectors experienced, as Rollins said, “a material shift in occupants,” which was a technocrat’s way of saying everybody escaped town leaving nothing behind but empty space. That didn’t happen to student housing. However, due to one or both parents either losing a job or just the fear of unemployment, student decisions on housing were delayed. Secondly, rental rates flat-lined.
Heading out of the recession, as the economy recovers, “We are now seeing less price sensitivity,” Rollins said. “We see a little uptick — after all, education is a fundamental expense for mom and dad.”
Except for the apartment sector, owners of hotels, industrial buildings, offices and shopping centers still have to worry about whether the trend lines going forward will be beneficial to their sectors and empty space worries will finally dissipate.
Here’s where student housing goes its own rebellious and separate way from its brethren in the property sector. The tea leaves portend munificence.
Demographically speaking, the children of the baby boomers (echo boomers) are reaching the peak of their college attendance years; a higher percentage of high school attendees are graduating; a higher percentage of graduates are electing to attend college full time; and the average time period that young adults attend college has been stretching from four years to five years and beyond.
“We have this demographic wave of echo boomers that is almost the size of baby boomers,” said Paula Poskon, “a REIT analyst with Robert W. Baird & Co. Inc. “Projected college enrollment is predicted to be quite strong for probably the next decade.”
According to the National Center for Education Statistics, college student enrollment will continue to increase through 2019.
All of this means universities have to prepare for more students and how to house them. Unfortunately, many schools are already working from a position of weakness, and with state and city budget crises, the situation won’t get any better.
“Universities are ill-equipped to meet this growing demand because they have housing inventory that is old and obsolete, and they don’t have the money, expertise or desire to build new housing,” said Haendel St. Juste, a REIT analyst at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods.
“In addition, the large state schools are dealing with budget caps. When you talk about funding to build new housing, this is not at the top of the priority list.”
This is where the private sector comes in.
“The student housing REITs have the development capability, but more importantly they have access to capital via the public market. And also, because they are large, established organizations they have access to construction financing to meet this need for housing,” St. Juste said.
While new construction elsewhere remains dismal, Rollins said his company is completing six projects this summer and will be kicking off another six to eight developments in the autumn.
“Student housing remains a highly fragmented industry,” Poskon said. “There are three publicly traded REITs, but there are a whole slew of local and regional players, some of which are sizable” — which can be a problem because it is relatively easy to overbuild small college markets.
Student housing revenues are less affected by economic forces such as job growth, changing interest rates, the spread between cost to own vs. rent, and the strength or weakness of the homebuying market, Poskon said. “Most people think about student housing as a tangent to multifamily, but the drivers are different: enrollment for student housing, and job growth for multifamily.”
And, oh, by the way, none of this should hurt the small-time real estate investor who buys a house or two near a campus for student rentals. The evolution of students’ housing needs hasn’t changed since the 1950s: freshman live in dorms; sophomores and juniors stay in dorms or move to apartments; seniors and grad students find a rental house.
There’s no new learning curve for this business.
Steve Bergsman is a freelance writer in Arizona and author of several books. His latest book, “Growing Up Levittown: In a Time of Conformity, Controversy and Cultural Crisis,” is now available for sale on Amazon.com.
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Mount Kisco NY Homes | SEO & Search Engine News : SEJ
Mt Kisco NY Homes | Updated: Hurricane Watch in Effect for Northern Westchester – Bedford-Katonah, NY Patch
The National Weather Service has issued a hurricane watch for various parts of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut, including Northern Westchester, as Hurricane Irene makes its way towards the East Coast.
According to the alert, the storm could hit the area tomorrow night. “The worst conditions are likely late Saturday night into Sunday afternoon with increasing potential for damaging winds…flooding rains…and signficant coastal flooding across much of the region.”
In Bedford, the NWS forecast for Saturday night calls for a 100 percent chance of rain, with accumulations of about two to three inches and winds hitting as much as 46 mph. On Sunday, the chance of rain stays at 100 percent, with “tropical storm conditions possible.”
Bedford Police Chief Williams Hayes says they are “reviewing all of our procedures and plans” and working together with the other town departments to ensure preparedness.
He urged residents to sign up for the recently reinstated Nixle alerts so as to receive notifications via text or email from the department with updates on road closures, accidents and more. You can sign up for the alerts by going to the town website or at www.nixle.com.
Hayes also suggested residents visit www.ready.gov and to “always have a plan.” Currently, information on important items to have on hand and safety tips can be found on the town’s website.
Officials from the town supervisor’s office says that if the situation is warranted, the Bedford Hills Community House would be opened in case of emergency. The public will be notified of this from the radio and updates posted on the town’s website.
Bill Heidepriem, the superintendent of parks and recreation for the town says the department has been hard at work preparing for the storm, clearing catch basins, putting away trash bins and taking various other measures to try and lessen the damage.
As of now, the pools will likely be open for at least part of the day on Saturday, according to Heidepriem. He says that they’ll be monitoring the situation throughout the day and then determine whether or not to close the pools. They will likely be closed on Sunday, he said.
As for the parks, they’re open as well, although Heidepriem noted that if necessary, the department would “barricade park access roads.”
The American Red Cross also issued a “safety and prepardness checkist,” which can be found here and Westchester County is updating their website regularly with information on closures, outages and more, which can be found here.
Mt Kisco Realtor | Commercial real estate outlook turns grim
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