Denham Springs Louisiana Real Estate Buzz!

Archive for January, 2011

http://www.denhamspringsappraisers.com/ – Must The Garbage Disposal Work For A Denham Springs FHA Home Loan?

As a State Certified Home Appraiser in Louisiana and FHA/HUD approved appraiser since 1996, I can validate that FHA Home Loans have strict requirements of operational mechanical systems placed upon the home appraiser to inspect and verify. While home appraisers aren’t necessarily “home inspectors”, FHA home appraisers are required to verify that mechanical systems are functioning properly and that they would appear to have a reasonable life left.

HUD or FHA Home Appraisers are expected to be well versed on 2 major manual plus keeping up the “Mortgagee Letters” that offer amendments and updates to HUD policy. In fact, the statement many lenders want placed in reports is, “Condition: Overall Condition is: Average. No major repairs or functional inadequacies. MEETS FHA/RD MINIMUM STANDARDS for existing dwellings as outlined in HUD Handbooks 4150.2 and 4905.1 Requirements and all applicable Mortgage Letters). SFR Dwelling was determined to be decent, safe and sanitary. Subject is connected to public or community sewer. Mechanical Systems were on and operational. Attic was inspected and appears to individually meet FHA requirements.” No, the lenders don’t tell us to use “Average” but to state a condition rating. And, FMHA or Rural Development and VA loans also have these same requirements as well.

So, can a inoperable garbage disposal hold up an FHA loan closing until repaired? There are four (4) national HUD HOC’s or Homeownership Centers in the U.S.. For Louisiana, the HUD HOC is located in Denver, CO. I called the Denver HOC Appraiser Tech Support Department at 1-800-543-9378 for a verifiable answer to this question. I spoke with “Gary” and he said that NO, the inoperable garbage disposal WILL NOT HOLD UP A CLOSING because FHA doesn’t require appliances to be installed in homes. Gary said that includes Range/Ovens, Dishwashers or Garbage Disposals. Gary said that this is a “condition” issue and that FHA appraisers should apply deductions to the subject property if the comps used have appliances and superior functioning appliances.

BEFORE YOU BUY THAT HOME, GET A HOME INSPECTION!

In the early 2000′s with FHA’s introduction of the HUD Form “HUD-92564-CN” For Your Protection: Get A Home Inspection, FHA made the distinction between the home appraiser and the home inspector and strongly recommended home buyers obtain a home inspection. This appraiser also recommends you obtain a home inspection as well to know the true condition of mechanical system and a more accurate remaining economic life. Home appraisers are fairly limited on their knowledge of such systems but home inspectors are trained to know these systems and know them very well.

Just remember that if you as a home buyer receive notice that there are FHA mandated repairs on the home being purchased, know that this is for your benefit and that generally the seller will be required to repair these items prior to closing.

Bill Cobb, with Accurate Valuations Group, is a long time FHA Home Appraiser within the Greater Baton Rouge housing market. Bill can be contacted at 225-293-1500 or info@accuratevg.com .

First Garbage Disposal Source Photo: http://www.thehandyblog.com/disposal.php

Second Garbage Disposal Source Photo: http://appliancefactory.com/

http://www.batonrougerealestatebuzz.com/ - Baton Rouge Real Estate Buzz With FREE Cool Timer Desktop App For Scheduling Reminders!

In this video below, Home Appraiser Bill Cobb shows how he scheduled some immediate reminders with an app that gets his attention and is very quick and easy to use.

Some potential uses for Bill are for scheduling email answers later in the day, calling back a client later in the day, lunch appointments, reminder to update a client on the progress of their appraisal order, etc..

Here’s the developer’s explanation of the software:

“Harmony Hollow Software: Simple, no-nonsense, handy timer utility with a cool, customizable interface. Can be used like an oven timer, alarm clock, or stopwatch. Plays wav, mp3, midi files, or any of several built-in sounds as an alarm. Can optionally display a custom, scrolling, LED-type text message when the alarm sounds to remind you why you set the timer initially. Countdown mode is great for parents or teachers to limit the amount of time kids spend on video games or the computer, or for cooking, excercise, or a quick nap. Use as alarm clock mode to wake you up in the morning or remind you when it is a certain time of day. It even has a snooze feature to let you sleep just a little longer after the alarm sounds. Use stopwatch mode to keep track of how much time spent on a project or anything similar.”

Here’s the download link on Cnet.com

http://www.denhamspringsappraisers.com/ – Denham Springs Home Appraisers: Summerfield Sudivision 2010 Price Trends Report!

NOTE: If you are considering purchasing a home in Summerfield Subdivision and don’t want to pay too much, I would advise one to order a “Pre-Purchase Appraisal” from Accurate Valuations Group as there is a gradual and steady decline of home prices in Summerfield since 2007 meaning one shouldn’t overpay for a home in Summerfield. REO or Foreclosure and Short Sales activity is increasing in Summerfield in 2010 and into 2011 as this appraiser just this week appraised a foreclosure on Summerfield Drive.

And, there is one (1) listing in Summerfield that is now pending and the listing history of this home brings the declining home prices to my attention. This is a nice 1,813sf home in good condition now listed at $170,000. This home was originally listed for $209,900 in 7/2010 and reduced to $199,900, $195,000, $189,000, $185,000 and now $170,000. It took 148 days on the market to sell this home. If this home sells for $170,000 for an 1,813sf, that would be a new benchmark low for 1813sf in this market. YES, this is a “Short Sale”, however, the market didn’t want this home at these high listing prices whether a short sale or not!

Solds In Summerfield Subdivision from 1/1/2010 to 12/31/2010 revealed:

Average Sales Price: $192,380 ($216,500 in 2009)
Avg Sold $ Per Sq. Ft.: $98.58/sf ($101.11/sf in 2009)
Median Sold Price: $189,500 ($208,000 in 2009)
Number of “MLS” Sales: 5 (4 in 2009)
Average Number of Days On Market: 103 (154 in 2009)
Low To High: $168,000 to $221,500 or $82/sf to $109/sf
Number of Sold REO/Foreclosures Noted In MLS: 1
Current # Listings: 1, 0 Are Foreclosures
Current Listings Price: $170,000 or $93.77/sf.

NOTE: Based on information from the Greater Baton Rouge Association of REALTORS®\MLS for the period of January 1, 2009 to December 31, 2010. This information was extracted on 1/10/2011. Yes, this appraiser has obtained permission from GBRAR MLS to use the above pricing chart!

Tags: Baton Rouge Real Estate, denham springs homes, denham springs homes for sale, denham springs houses, denham springs housing, Denham Springs Real Estate, denham springs real estate agents, denham springs realtor, denham springs realtors, Summerfield

http://www.batonrougerealestatebuzz.com/ – Baton Rouge Real Estate Buzz: How To Straighten A Photo Free With Windows Live Photo Gallery! In this video, Home Appraiser Bill Cobb shows how he straightened a photo for a blog post.

Windows Live Photo Gallery allows one to share photos and videos online, find the photos you’re looking for and make photos look great! And, it’s FREE!

Windows Live Photo Gallery 2011 Description: “Import photos from your camera, organize them into albums, and edit them so they look their best. Use powerful photo tools to create stunning panoramas, movies, slide shows, and more. When you’re ready to share, publish your photos and videos to your favorite websites like Facebook and Flickr directly from Photo Gallery.” Source: http://explore.live.com/windows-live-photo-gallery?os=other

Actually, I downloaded 6 more plugins that will allow me to upload directly to Twitpic, Facebook, Multiply, Auto Collage, Smugmug and Digital Frame.