Tag Archives: Armonk NY Homes for Sale

Armonk NY Homes for Sale

Town of North Castle cancels activities | Armonk Homes

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Due to the snow and ice forecast, Byram Hills Schools are having early dismissal.  All afternoon and evening activities of the Byram Hills Schools are cancelled.

 

Therefore, all afternoon and evening activities of North Castle Recreation which are held in Armonk are cancelled.  Additionally, Open Studio for adults and Jump Start Kinder Prep for pre-school children are cancelled today.  Programs will be made up, by adding an additional class to the end of the session. 

 

The drop in for seniors will be held at Hergenhan Recreation Center but may be forced to end early due to the weather.  There will be limited bus service.

  

No determination has yet been made for Kidz Club or any other programs at the North Castle Community Center in North White Plains.  Please call us if you have any questions, 273-3325.
To Reach Us

  

If the North Castle Recreation staff can be of any assistance to you, please call us at 273-3325 or visit us at Hergenhan Recreation Center. In general, Recreation Office hours are weekdays 8:30 AM to 4:30 PM. We can also be reached by e-mail at  recreation@NorthCastleNY.com. 

  

Best Regards

Susan Snyder,  Superintendent 

via trulia.com

Housing market’s latest obstacle: Appraisals | Armonk Real Estate

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I believe there is a screaming flaw in the mortgage process when it comes to appraisals (but it is not the appraiser’s fault). I never fully understood why this didn’t get more attention when I worked as an appraiser some 7+ years ago, and I especially don’t understand why this hasn’t gotten serious attention after the housing crash, since I believe it is a direct factor in the extent of the losses suffered by the banks. 

Disclaimer: in recent years I have not worked in the real estate business, and I don’t know if things still work exactly the same. I’m not aware of any fundamental shift.

In the mortgage process, it is the loan officer is the one who hires the appraiser in most cases (with the buyer/borrower’s money). The loan officer gets paid a commission when a mortgage loan is closed. They do not lose any money should this loan end up in default later, somewhat in the same way that a car salesman won’t lose money on a car that gets repossessed down the line. They are in effect commission based sales people, with the objective to sell and close loans for the broker or lender. This is usually true for mortgage brokers, and also direct lenders like banks.

Of course there are rules and guidelines to follow, but the fact of the matter is that the motivation of the loan officer is to close loans to earn commissions, plain and simple. Therefore, their interest is to get an appraisal with a number on it that supports the deal so the loan can close. This number is almost always made known to the appraiser (with any sale for example, the appraiser must be given a copy of the sales contract, and analyze it as part of the appraisal).

The result of this dynamic is that the loan officer can exert pressure on the appraiser to hit the magic number they need. Depending on the situation this can be implicitly done, or blatantly explicit; either way, the appraiser knows that his livelihood depends on getting jobs, and getting future jobs depends on keeping the loan officer happy. Even when the loan officer does not purposely wish to influence the appraiser, the implicit pressure is still going to be there as the appraiser knows getting future business depends on closings getting done, and naturally a loan officer prefers an appraiser that helps makes closings happen more than an appraiser with impressive analytical and research skills, and accurate assessments.

The end result is a lot of appraisals with higher valuations than the true value of the property, with of course bigger losses for the lender in the event of foreclosure later, sometimes substantially so. It can also be bad for a home buyer, who ends up borrowing and paying more than the property is really worth (though at times, especially with refi’s, the borrower knowingly pushes for as high a number as they can, so they can pull more cash out of the house).

Please understand that I’m not blaming loan officers for what they do (except in those cases where they blatantly push the appraiser for numbers they know are dishonest and/or are dishonest themselves), they are for the most part only trying to be as successful as they can at their jobs, and earn as much money as they can. It is the process that is flawed.

It is interesting that the lender’s underwriters, whose job it is to protect the lender from risk and make sure the loan is in order and everything is above board, can order a review appraisal (basically another appraiser’s review and verdict on the quality and accuracy of the original appraisal, including its own estimate of value) if they have reason to believe the appraisal is not up to par. If I was a lender that did not want to lose money on foreclosures, I would ALWAYS have the underwriter or handle the appraisal, completely detached and independent from all parties with a stake in the closing.

While I never fully understood this, the best explanation for why lenders do this I have come up with, is simply greed – making as much money as possible off as many loans as possible, many of which are re-sold anyway. But then I still don’t understand why the lenders who end up holding the bag (like the secondary market) allow this situation to exist, even though if I recall correctly Fannie Mae guidelines (which lenders must adhere to if they want to sell the mortgage to the secondary market, like most do) specifically prohibits anyone with a financial interest in the closing to control the hiring of appraisers. Yet it happens all the time.

Anyway, thankfully these days I don’t have to think about this much anymore.

via marketwatch.com

Surviving the housing collapse | Armonk Homes

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The following editorial appeared in the Miami Herald on Tuesday, Jan. 22:

In his first inaugural speech four years ago, President Obama acknowledged that the nation was facing a moment of economic crisis that hit many Americans where they live. “Homes have been lost,” the president intoned solemnly, a meaningful reference to the collapse of the housing market and the urgent need to fix it.

In the ensuing four years, millions of homeowners around the country learned painfully and firsthand the meaning of “short sale,” “foreclosure,” “loan modification” and other terms describing the housing mess. They also learned about the abuses in mortgage lending that created the housing crisis.

On Monday, Obama did not make so much as a passing reference to housing or lost homes in his second inaugural, signaling that the worst of the crisis is behind us.

But few consumer advocates give the president high marks for devising effective solutions, nor should they. To the extent that the market is recovering, it is due largely to the broader improvement in the economy rather than specific programs put forth by Obama and his appointees.

In the last few weeks and months, however, a series of actions by the federal government have sought to put closure on the housing crisis through a variety of actions that we would describe as good and not so good.

The good. Last September, the Fed announced a new program to buy large quantities of mortgage bonds each month. This welcome shift in policy has done more than any other initiative to aid housing.

Last week, in another win for homeowners and buyers, the administration’s new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau issued new rules for mortgage servicers. It will require them to deal fairly with struggling borrowers and offer clear information about costs.

One week earlier, the CFPB issued new mortgage standards that should rid the market of “toxic mortgages” and thus remove a major obstacle keeping banks from making home loans.

All of these moves will benefit borrowers, as well as home sellers.

Not so good: The government announced an $8.5 billion settlement earlier this month with 10 giant banks for mortgage abuses such as robo-signing and improper foreclosure tactics.

Ostensibly this is a win for consumers – $3.3 billion will go directly to borrowers who faced foreclosure, and $5.2 billion for loan modification and reduced interest payments.

But where’s the accountability for all the misdeeds? No one is being punished. And what about making the benefit fit the level of wrongdoing? Borrowers will receive a check based on the type of error the banks made, but many will be undercompensated, and some people receiving a check suffered little or no harm.

Going forward, consumers and their advocates – and lawmakers – must ensure that the rules are applied fairly, with an emphasis on helping consumers.

One reason borrowers in this state are skeptical is because Florida has yet to provide much help to consumers under a $25 billion settlement between five big banks and 49 attorneys general, following a wrangle over the money between legislators and Attorney General Pam Bondi. The state should accelerate its response.

The federal government will follow up on the $8.5 billion settlement by spelling out enforcement actions, which must benefit consumers. Those who suffered the most wrong deserve to receive the greatest benefit.

via kansascity.com

N.Y. newspaper removes online map of gun-permit holders | Armonk Homes

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A White Plains, N.Y., newspaper has removed an online interactive map that detailed who has handgun permits in two counties. The posting of the map on the paper’s website last month had sparked outrage and prompted changes in state law to give permit holders greater privacy.

The Journal News map showed the names and addresses of people with pistol permits licensed by Westchester and Rockland counties.

Journal News President and Publisher Janet Hasson said Friday the decision to take down the map came in response to a provision in New York’s new gun law that was passed last week. The law also gives permit holders a way to request that their personal information be kept private.

Hasson criticized the new rule as overly broad, but added in a letter that “we are not deaf to voices who have said that new rules should be set for gun permit data.”

Still, a snapshot of the map — without the names and addresses — has been kept on the paper’s website “to remind the community that guns are a fact of life we should never forget,” she wrote.

The new law, signed Jan. 15 by Gov. Andrew Cuomo, also stopped the release of permit-holder data for 120 days. The Journal News had been battling Putnam County to release the names and addresses of permit holders, but officials there had refused.

The state government’s top open-records official had warned that refusing the request would be illegal.

In her letter to readers, Hasson said the paper published the interactive feature using public information after the Newtown, Conn., school shootings, because the “Journal News thought the community should know where gun permit holders in their community were, in part to give parents an opportunity make careful decisions about their children’s safety.”

via latimes.com

When the Fresh Prince Meets Google Translate, Awesome Ensues | Armonk NY Real Estate

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A couple of years ago, we saw Rhett & Link put a telephone conversation through YouTube’s caption generator, and the video was hilarious.  Now, YouTube’s Collective Cadenza, or “cdza,” has run the “Fresh Prince of Bel Air” theme song through Google translate several times through several languages, and the results that they received back became this entertaining video, where the song is sung with new lyrics.  One day, captioning and voice recognition won’t be so comical.  But today, it is, and it brings us some fine entertainment.

Fresh Prince: Google Translated

Here you go:

0 When the Fresh Prince Meets Google Translate, Awesome Ensues

Once again, translating technology gives us a good, hearty laugh.  People in the future must be rolling on the floor at our primitive computer translating.  But hey, what do you expect when so many languages have so many different rules?  Right now, that requires a human to correct the intent and meaning.  And thus, laughs ensue when the computer fails to recognize these differences.

This channel has a unique vibe to it, playing around and having fun with music in a variety of ways.  Their very first video covered “lyrics that aren’t really lyrics” and it chalked up over a million views.  That’s right, on their first try:

0 When the Fresh Prince Meets Google Translate, Awesome Ensues

Another big hit was when they sang “misheard lyrics:”

0 When the Fresh Prince Meets Google Translate, Awesome Ensues

The channel is fairly new, with 16 videos, so it becomes a sort of “one to watch” in the upcoming year.  If they continue to have fun with music like this, they’ll be a surefire brand name on YouTube.

via reelseo.com

Income-to-Housing Price Gap Narrows in China | Armonk Homes

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Shanghai

Kay Sun, a 32 year-old administrative assistant put down a deposit last month on a 2.85 million yuan ($460,000) one-bedroom apartment in Shanghai.

It was a financial stretch for the single Ms. Sun, who works at an information-technology firm in a position that typically pays about 15,000 yuan a month. She needed money from her parents to fund the down payment.

Her move may seem bold, but she isn’t atypical. Around China, signs are growing that a government campaign to bring housing prices closer in line with incomes is starting to bear fruit.

That is breathing new life into China’s real-estate market and economy. Data slated for release Friday is expected to show growth in gross domestic product accelerating to 7.8% year on year in the fourth quarter, up from 7.4% in the third.

Since 2009, average disposable income in China’s cities has risen around 43%, but house prices only 11% according to official data. An average-priced apartment purchased outright would now cost around 16 years of average income, still high by international comparisons but down from a high of 21 years in 2007. That raises hopes that millions of young professionals will be able to get a hand on the first rung of the housing ladder, buoying demand.

In Shanghai, the campaign—which includes purchase restrictions on multiple homes and higher down-payment requirements—has kept average property prices flat for two years, according to data from property consultancy SouFun. Meanwhile, Ms. Sun said her salary rose by more than 10% on average each year, typical of many white-collar Chinese workers, placing her at a point where a house purchase seemed within reach.

“It’s not cheap, but the location is good,” she says of the apartment in a high-rise building in a residential district north of the Shanghai Bund. “I heard that prices may start rising this year, so I thought, better to buy now, since I can afford it.”

Chinese house buyers pay a much higher multiple of their incomes on purchases than do buyers in the U.S., where prices are typically a midsingle digit multiple of average income. In 2010, as prices approached astronomical heights, the government stepped in to halt escalation, allowing incomes some space to catch up.

Three years after government controls curtailed growth, Chinese developers have turned cautiously optimistic. China Vanke, the mainland’s largest developer by revenue, reported Jan. 7 that sales more than doubled in December from a year earlier, with sales for the year as a whole up 16.2%.

Stocks of major developers have rallied. Shares in Hong Kong-listed China Overseas Land & Investment Ltd. are among the best-performing on the territory’s stock exchange, up more than 90% from the start of 2012, compared with 26% for the overall market.

“Home buyers are returning to the market in droves. One asked me recently, ‘I bought a home on the third floor at a new launch, is that OK’? I said, count yourself lucky you managed to get a unit.” said Yang Jun, a real-estate agent in Shanghai.

Stronger sales are pushing developers to break ground on new projects. New floor area under construction was up 6.3% year on year in November, after spending much of the year in negative territory.

“We will see stronger construction in 2013,” said Jinsong Du, China property analyst at Credit Suisse CSGN.VX +1.33% .

Real estate is the single biggest driver of output in China’s economy. According to the International Monetary Fund, it accounts for about 12% of the total. Factoring in the impact on everything from steel and cement to furniture and home appliances, the sector’s contribution is even higher.

“Steel mills anticipate stronger demand from real estate in the year ahead” said Graeme Train, metals analyst at Macquarie. China’s steel production rose 15% year on year in November after flat-lining in the first half of the year. Rising iron-ore prices have prompted Australia’s Fortescue Metals Group FMG.AU -1.90% to resuscitate its plans for $1.2 billion in stalled investment projects.

Leaders now seem less nervous about a property bubble. Officials from the Ministry of Housing and Urban Rural Development have said the government will support owners looking to upgrade as well as first-time buyers, raising the prospect they will get better access to mortgage loans.

Developers caution that the recovery has come from a low base. “Although transactions in major cities rose significantly in 2012 from 2011, this is based on the low growth rates in 2010 and 2011,” said Tan Huajie, Vanke’s board secretary.

There are plenty of risks for the market. Three years of government controls have left developers with higher debt and unsold inventory. There is enough residential property currently under construction to meet about five years of demand, without new projects being started, up from 2.9 years in 2009.

A return to the boom years for China’s property isn’t in the cards. Keeping apartments affordable for first-time buyers is a priority for the government, including Vice Premier Li Keqiang who has been a prime force behind the push to build millions of subsidized homes for low-income households.

China’s house prices are edging back up now, with SouFun data showing average prices up 0.03% year on year in January, ending eight months of declines.

Analysts caution that a sharp rise in prices would likely trigger a return of strict controls by the government.

“We will be looking to invest in smaller-scale projects this year,” said Freddy Lee, chief executive of major developer Shui On Land 0272.HK +0.80% . Mr. Lee said that the developer suffered from cash flow issues following heavy investment into large-scale, mixed used projects in recent years.

via online.wsj.com

Massachusetts SJC ruling could further complicate foreclosure disputes | Armonk Real Estate

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The state’s top court on Monday ruled in favor of a Canton woman fighting her foreclosure in a decision that puts more pressure on lenders to clean up seizure procedures, but also complicates efforts for borrowers to seek court relief from property take-backs.

The decision adds to several rulings made by the Supreme Judicial Court over the last several years that require foreclosing lenders to have proper paperwork in place before seizing a home.

In this case, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court ruled that the lender, HSBC Bank USA, did not have standing to start a foreclosure process against homeowner Jodi B. Matt because it couldn’t prove that it held the mortgage on her house.

Under state law, foreclosing lenders are required to file a complaint in court under the state’s Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Civil Relief Act. That law offers certain legal protections to those who serve in the military. The lower court judge, Keith C. Long, ruled that HSBC may not have been the legal mortgage holder but had “a contractual right to become (the) holder” and therefore could start the foreclosure process.

The seven-member top court disagreed.

“We conclude that only mortgagees or those acting on behalf of mortgagees have standing to bring service member proceedings,’’ the court wrote in a decision authored by Judge Barbara A. Lenk.

via boston.com