Tuesday Town Snapshot

Derry $200,000 - $400,000: Actives, recently solds and town specific market statistics
http://www.carrieandtyhomes.com/derry-mkt-update.asp

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Monday Mortgage Market Update!

 April 25, 2011

Mortgage Market Recap

• RE/MAX reported that home sales increased by double-digits in March from February in all but one of the 54 U.S. metropolitan areas it covers. This represents a complete reversal from January, when none of the 54 cities saw even single-digit monthly sales increases.
• The National Association of Realtors corroborated Re/Max's bullish report with one of its own. The NAR's data show that March was a decent month for existing home sales, with sales up 3.7 percent to an annualized rate of 5.1 million units. Prices also firmed slightly, up 2.2 percent, to a median reading of $159,600. More homes were on the market, 3.55 million, but the solid rise in sales dropped the supply to 8.4 months.
• See more of the market recap and important dates/events at: http://www.carrieandtyhomes.com/weekly-market-recap.asp

This Newsletter is for informational purposes only. The information contained herein may not be applicable to every situation or jurisdiction and we urge you to consult your professional advisor prior to acting on information contained herein. The content, accuracy and opinions expressed herein are not verified or endorsed by the sponsor hereof.

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Sunday Funday!

Create An Outdoor Oasis for Less Than $1,000

A concrete patio is turned into a Mexican-themed outdoor room.

BeforeThis small patch of concrete is an eyesore that needs some design attention.

After
Vivid color and creative seating make this patio inviting, exciting and livable.

Plants and Pottery - $290

• A collection of terra-cotta pots hold various cacti. Sheinkopf enhances a pair of pots with an aged finish made of stain, varnish and paint thinner. Turpentine is splashed on over the finish to give it an aged look. (pots and plants: Mainly Seconds; pot: Crate & Barrel - 05155150875549; chimnea and outdoor Pots: Pottery Etc.)

Accessories - $261

• Create a shade awning out of a drop cloth. After cutting it in half  attach the ends to the house and lets one curtain fall down the side of the house to hide the meter. The other half is stretched out over the patio and secured via grommets to a pair of poles anchored in pots with concrete.

• A custom fountain becomes the focal point in the area. Make the piece out of lightweight fiberboard, which is painted with rubber paint and coverd with copper foil. Stack the pieces so that when the water cascades down the sides it will create a ripple effect. The base is lined with slate. After hooking up the irrigation system, spray an aging patina on the copper to tone down the shine.

• Use bamboo thatching on the wrought-iron fence to give the space more privacy. A pathway to the patio is defined with white landscaping rocks.

Furniture - $243

• The low concrete wall is made functional for seating and stepping with a two-level redwood bench.

• A new table and a pair of chairs provide a spot for dining. Pillows in striped outdoor fabric add comfort to the chairs and bench. (fabric used for cushions: Jo-Ann Fabrics - 6647416/Sage/Terracotta/Sand/Outdoor Fabric; outdoor table: Target - 009010904)Incidentals - $113

Paint and Supplies - $86

• The concrete is painted turquoise and the half-wall is painted a terra-cotta color. (paint: Behr - Greensleeves - 490D-7; Mojave Sunset - 220D-7)

Project Total - $993

Saturday Snapshot!

Today's Featured Town Is

Goffstown, NH 03045

To Check On Your Town

Visit

http://www.carrieandtyhomes.com/market-info--update.asp

Friday's Featured Listing

13 Lake Potanipo
Brookline, New Hampshire 

03033

$379,900



Brookline NH Real Estate: Fantastic lakefront/waterfront home on Lake Potanipo, 185ft frontage w/private beach & area for dock/slip. Enjoy waterviews from living room, 3-season porch and bedrooms. 2-car garage with large finished room above. Great kitchen with island. Wood stoves in living room & kitchen. Extra space for guests in 4-bed bunk house. Covered storage on left side of garage with shower. Fantastic large yard.

Features

Single Family Property Status: Active County: Hillsborough Year Built: 1970 2 total bedroom(s) 1 total bath(s) 6 total rooms Approximately 1162 sq. ft. Type: Modified, Ranch Style: Modified, Ranch Master bedroom is 9.5 x 15.5 2 car garage Attached parking

Parking features: 2 Parking Spaces, Auto Open, Direct Entry, Paved Driveway Heating features: Hot Water, Electric, Oil Fuel, Wood Fuel Interior features: Dishwasher, Range-Electric, Refrigerator, Finished Above Grade SQFT: 1162, Bedroom 2 is 9.5 x 12.0, Bedroom 4 is 20x9 3-seasonPch, Water Heater: Oil Exterior construction: Wood Frame, Clapboard, Concrete Foundation, Crawl Space Foundation Waterfront property Waterfront features: Lake Lot features: Landscaped, Level Approximately 0.5 acre(s) Lot size is between 1/2 and 1 acre Zoning: Residential Utilities present: Sewer: Private School District: Hollis-Brookline Cooperative

Thursday Tips For HomeOwners!

5 Steps to Owning a Home Again After Foreclosure

By: Barbara Eisner Bayer

Foreclosure is just a one-time event—with discipline and perseverance, you can get a mortgage and become a homeowner again.

It won’t be easy to obtain a mortgage after foreclosure. But with enough time, discipline, and desire, you can own your own home again. Here’s what you need to do:

1. Stick with a job after foreclosure

Did you fall into foreclosure because of the lack of a steady job? If you did, the first step toward homeownership after foreclosure is finding and holding one. And if you already have one—stick with it, unless you can move to a better one. Note that potential lenders will require stable employment before they’ll give you a new mortgage loan after a foreclosure. Even if it means taking a lower-paying job, it’s worth it.

2. Rebuild your nest egg after foreclosure

Establish a safety net. Financial planners generally recommend three to six months of living expenses in a liquid account, but since you’re coming out of foreclosure, six is a minimum to show stability and that you’re able to pay your bills—including your mortgage—for an extended period if you lose your job.

 

3. Raise your credit score after foreclosure

This is the hardest and most time-consuming part. After foreclosure, your credit score, according to myFICO, probably dropped by about 150 points. You’ll need to raise it back up with perseverance.

Pay bills on time and keep your credit card balances below maximum levels. The foreclosure will stay on your credit report for seven years, but if you prove your money management skills have matured, it will become less of a red mark as years go by.

Tip: Consult a housing counselor. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development offers free housing counseling for distressed homeowners with a foreclosure in their past. A counselor can help you with money management and budgeting. Counseling works—an evaluation of a program in Indianapolis discovered that credit scores greatly improved because of education and counseling, and increased average borrowing power by $4,500 per family.

4. Reduce your waiting time for a mortgage after foreclosure

Normally, you would have to wait seven years after foreclosure before you can apply for a new mortgage under Fannie Mae rules. (Fannie Mae changes rules frequently. You can check the latest rules at Fannie Mae’s site.)

However, you might wait only three years if you can show extenuating circumstances for your foreclosure, which are defined as “events that are beyond the borrower’s control that result in a sudden, significant, and prolonged reduction in income or a catastrophic increase in financial obligations.” These include:

• Losing a job
• Getting divorced
• Having unexpected medical expenses

There’s one last alternative if waiting isn’t your thing—you can obtain seller financing, essentially bypassing the traditional mortgage. If both parties are amenable, you can enter into a lease with an option to buy, or take a mortgage directly from the seller. You’ll most likely have to show some hefty reserve funds, but if you’ve turned around your financial situation quickly after your foreclosure, it’s worth a shot to deal directly with the seller.

Keep in mind that sellers may be motivated to agree to this if they need to sell and the potential buyers they’ve met with can’t obtain a conventional mortgage—perhaps because they’ve been through foreclosures, too.

5. Be honest about your foreclosure

When you’re ready to apply for your new mortgage, don’t try to hide your foreclosure. On the contrary, be proactive and reveal the steps you’ve taken to remedy the problems that led to your foreclosure.

Tip: Try a mortgage broker, who can work with a variety of lenders to find you a loan. When you work directly with a retail lender, like a bank, they have a limited pool of loans to offer you. But a good mortgage broker—one with a vast network of lendersóhas many options, and may be able to find a mortgage solution if the foreclosure in your past is creating challenges in obtaining one.

If you stay disciplined and positive, the American dream—obtaining a mortgage and owning a home of your own—can, indeed, be yours again. Even after foreclosure

Work Together Wednesday!

Boost Your Neighborhood’s Walkability

By: Sacha Cohen

You can’t move your neighborhood closer to shops, restaurants, and offices, but if you can improve its walkability, you might make it more valuable.

The more walkable your neighborhood, the more valuable your home, studies say. To boost your neighborhood’s walkability—how quickly and comfortably you can walk to stores, schools, restaurants, offices, and parks—you can either get more close-by amenities, or make it easier to walk to what you’ve got.

How much is that walkability worth?

Having shops and gathering spots like schools and restaurants located within a quarter-mile to one-mile from the homes in your neighborhood can add from $4,000 to $34,000 to home values, according to “Walking the Walk,” a study from CEOs for Cities, a nonprofit that works to improve cities. The increases were largest in large cities like San Francisco and Chicago and smaller in smaller cities like Tucson, Ariz., and Fresno, Calif.

What are walkable communities?

Dan Burden, founder of Walkable Communities, defines them with his a 12-step checklist, which includes:

• Great public places to get together and socialize

• Speed-controlled key streets

• Pedestrian-centric design

• A town center with a wide variety of shops and businesses

Maybe you’ve been to one of the communities he says has high walkability, like:

• Bethesda, Md.

• Jackson, Wyo.

• Madison, Wis.

• Savannah, Ga.

How do I make my neighborhood more walkable?

To have great walkability, you have to have something worth walking to, such as restaurants or parks, and a critical mass of people living around those amenities. To make a difference, get your neighbors together and go talk to local officials. Your group can push the planning and zoning board for changes that make your town more walkable, like putting multifamily housing to the town core or allowing home owners in nearby neighborhoods to build a rental apartment in their home.

All those new residents will want to mingle somewhere. So plan to lobby for more welcoming public spaces where you can mix and socialize (think library, park, coffee shop) to increase your neighborhood’s walkability.

How does walkability affect drivers?

To heighten walkability, make the streets kinder to walkers and, possibly, crueler to drivers. Put these items on your city planning list:

• More and wider sidewalks

• Lower speed limits

• Pedestrian-friendly laws, like New Hampshire’s rule that drivers have to hit the brakes for pedestrians in crosswalks even if the light is green

Try applying peer-pressure power to get drivers to ease up on the gas pedal. Pedestrian safety advocates persuaded 6,000 Atlanta home owners to put up yard signs asking drivers to slow down.

If you’re serious about increasing walkability, gather neighbors and town officials for a walking audit, where the group walks along a particular route and stops periodically to discuss how to improve the walking experience with landscaping, safety improvements, or accessibility improvements.

If mixing it up with politicians and planning committees isn’t your bag, try these much easier tips for improving walkability from John Wetmore, producer of Perils For Pedestrians Television:

• Trim shrubbery that’s blocking the sidewalk in front of your house.

• Pick up trash and litter as you walk along.

• Support initiatives in your town to build new sidewalks and repair existing sidewalks.

• Be polite to other drivers and pedestrians when you drive.

And maybe the best walkability tip of all? Just get out and walk