If you have an interest in buying foreclosures in the Chattanooga, Tennessee or surrounding areas, I have a service for you. Each week my company prepares a list of the foreclosures available in the City of Chattanooga, the surrounding counties of Southeast Tennessee, and Northwest Georgia. The list is designed to be sent to local investers by e-mail.
If you would like to receive this list, please send an e-mail to foreclosures@UpwardRealty.com and include your e-mail address and your first name. We will send you an e-mail that will include the current list with information about each property for sale, including the address, some home features, and the asking price. You can then check out the ones that are of interest to you. Once you narrow the list to the homes you might want to buy, contact me for a private viewing.
As you prepare to take advantage of the deals currently available in our local market, you need to line up your funds or needed financing. Some of these properties will require repairs ranging from minor cosmetic fixes up to major structural needs. Unless you are a contractor or at least experienced in home repairs, you should also line up contractors in advance who can assist you with your property evaluations.
These houses also make great investments as your personal home and often are eligible for FHA/VA loans or first time home buyer programs. FHA even has a loan program that allows you to borrow repair money for homes that are not quite perfect. Ask you lender about FHA 203K financing. Don't be discouraged by the news reports, there is mortgage money available in the market right now!
The market has a more than ample supply of distressed properties right now, so there are some bargains to be had. Just start by getting the list at foreclosures@UpwardRealty.com.
You can also search the current HUD Homes listings here.
© 2008 UpwardRealty.com
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
Sunday, September 21, 2008
A House is Not a Piggy Bank!
In our country, we refer to owning a home as the "Great American Dream." But do most Americans still feel that is true? The current market says "no" because many dreams are available at very reasonable prices with great financing and buyers are not buying them.
If owning a home is OUR dream, then we should be doing everything possible to obtain that dream right now. We absolutely may never see another market like we presently are experiencing. Perhaps our logic has been skewed by a changing thought processes in recent years. With all the "get rich quick" shows about making our fortune by flipping houses, maybe many Americans now look at a home like a savings account. Expecting our homes to make us independently wealthy has caused us to lose our "American Dream" mentality and we have become a bit greedy.
When we hear our home may be worth 10-25% less today than two years ago, we tend to become afraid. Much like we do when we see our 401k statement has gone down. The right logic we should use here is that unless we need to sell our home right now, it really doesn't matter what someone else thinks our home is worth. It is still our home! We should have bought the home to have a safe haven for our family, a place to go when the world outside is not so pleasant. What price can we put on such feelings? What does the ideas of a talking head on TV have to do with the true value of our home?
When we want to remodel the kitchen or paint the living room or change the carpet in the den, that should not be a decision we weigh financially. However, more and more we seem to evaluate "home improvements" as investments that should have an expected return on investment. If we want (or need) a new stove, we should think about features for using it for family lunch on Sunday or baking the turkey for Thanksgiving - not getting our money back when we sell the house someday.
Our "investment" mentality has caused us to be afraid of pursuing our "Great American Dream" because if our house is just a Piggy Bank, then we need to make a cold, well calculated, buying decision based on some investment formula.
However, if it truly is a dream - then we should buy our family a home. Live there for the next 20 years, have babies, get a dog, grow some flowers, plant a tree, and build some memories. We don't write poetry, tell sappy stories, and create emotional attachments to honor our investments. Or do we?
© 2008 UpwardRealty.com
If owning a home is OUR dream, then we should be doing everything possible to obtain that dream right now. We absolutely may never see another market like we presently are experiencing. Perhaps our logic has been skewed by a changing thought processes in recent years. With all the "get rich quick" shows about making our fortune by flipping houses, maybe many Americans now look at a home like a savings account. Expecting our homes to make us independently wealthy has caused us to lose our "American Dream" mentality and we have become a bit greedy.
When we hear our home may be worth 10-25% less today than two years ago, we tend to become afraid. Much like we do when we see our 401k statement has gone down. The right logic we should use here is that unless we need to sell our home right now, it really doesn't matter what someone else thinks our home is worth. It is still our home! We should have bought the home to have a safe haven for our family, a place to go when the world outside is not so pleasant. What price can we put on such feelings? What does the ideas of a talking head on TV have to do with the true value of our home?
When we want to remodel the kitchen or paint the living room or change the carpet in the den, that should not be a decision we weigh financially. However, more and more we seem to evaluate "home improvements" as investments that should have an expected return on investment. If we want (or need) a new stove, we should think about features for using it for family lunch on Sunday or baking the turkey for Thanksgiving - not getting our money back when we sell the house someday.
Our "investment" mentality has caused us to be afraid of pursuing our "Great American Dream" because if our house is just a Piggy Bank, then we need to make a cold, well calculated, buying decision based on some investment formula.
However, if it truly is a dream - then we should buy our family a home. Live there for the next 20 years, have babies, get a dog, grow some flowers, plant a tree, and build some memories. We don't write poetry, tell sappy stories, and create emotional attachments to honor our investments. Or do we?
© 2008 UpwardRealty.com
Friday, September 5, 2008
Down Payment Assistance Disappearing
For years, there have been programs that buyers with no savings could use to buy a house with cooperation from the seller. These programs allowed the seller to pay the money into a charitible organization and then the money would be used to assist the buyer with closing costs and down payment funds needed to close the sale.
These programs had names like Nehemiah, Quickdown, AmeriDream, etc. and owners would have to sign a couple of extra forms during the underwriting of the loan. Then needed funds would go from the owner's side of the closing statement to one of these organizations and then back to the buyer's side as funding assistance.
At present these programs are still available and work great with FHA financing, but you are running out of time very quickly. Some lenders are saying they need the loan in underwriting before the deadline - others are saying they will only do these if the loan closes by September 30, 2008. Either way, there is no time to spare. So you better find a house fast, if you need such assistance.
Effective October 1, 2008 all of these programs will disappear. They are going, going, and will soon be gone.
© 2008 UpwardRealty.com
These programs had names like Nehemiah, Quickdown, AmeriDream, etc. and owners would have to sign a couple of extra forms during the underwriting of the loan. Then needed funds would go from the owner's side of the closing statement to one of these organizations and then back to the buyer's side as funding assistance.
At present these programs are still available and work great with FHA financing, but you are running out of time very quickly. Some lenders are saying they need the loan in underwriting before the deadline - others are saying they will only do these if the loan closes by September 30, 2008. Either way, there is no time to spare. So you better find a house fast, if you need such assistance.
Effective October 1, 2008 all of these programs will disappear. They are going, going, and will soon be gone.
© 2008 UpwardRealty.com
Friday, August 22, 2008
USA Today Says Buyers "Get a Lot of House for Their Money" in Chattanooga
A March 2008 article in USA Today says Buyers "Get a Lot of House for Their Money" in Chattanooga. This was even before Volkswagen committed to build a new assembly plant in our scenic city.
Chattanooga, Tennessee is a great place to work and live. If you are considering our town as possibly your next home, read the USA Today article and check out my previous blog entry of August 14 titled "Chattanooga a "Not So" Well Kept Secret" which links to many accolades from other major magazines. This will be a fun and informative research activity. Then come visit...
We have everything you want from recreation to arts to a growing job market.
© 2008 EUpwardRealty.com
Chattanooga, Tennessee is a great place to work and live. If you are considering our town as possibly your next home, read the USA Today article and check out my previous blog entry of August 14 titled "Chattanooga a "Not So" Well Kept Secret" which links to many accolades from other major magazines. This will be a fun and informative research activity. Then come visit...
We have everything you want from recreation to arts to a growing job market.
© 2008 EUpwardRealty.com
Thursday, August 14, 2008
Chattanooga a "Not So" Well Kept Secret
Chattanooga, Tennessee is garnering all kinds of accolades from the outside world. National magazines are putting us at the top of the "Best of the Best" lists. Here are few articles that you might find interesting.
The September issue of National Geographic's Adventure magazine lists Chattanooga as one of The 50 Next Great Adventure Towns: Where to Live & Play Now . Check out this article.
Forbes Magazine recognized us in their April 7, 2008 magazine as one of the Great Places for Business.
In June of this year MSN Money called Chattanooga a "New Hot Retirement Spot."
Relocate America named Chattanooga as the third best place to live in the U.S. just behind Charlotte, NC and San Antonio, TX.
The Chattanooga Area Chamber of Commerce and all of our citizens have a lot to be proud about. We are proud of our town - now it seems the rest of the world is finding out about the place we call home.
There are a number of links in this blog entry - please take a few minutes and become more familiar with the Scenic City of the South. In the top right hand corner of this blog you will find more links to Greater Chattanooga Area information.
© 2008 UpwardRealty.com
The September issue of National Geographic's Adventure magazine lists Chattanooga as one of The 50 Next Great Adventure Towns: Where to Live & Play Now . Check out this article.
Forbes Magazine recognized us in their April 7, 2008 magazine as one of the Great Places for Business.
In June of this year MSN Money called Chattanooga a "New Hot Retirement Spot."
Relocate America named Chattanooga as the third best place to live in the U.S. just behind Charlotte, NC and San Antonio, TX.
The Chattanooga Area Chamber of Commerce and all of our citizens have a lot to be proud about. We are proud of our town - now it seems the rest of the world is finding out about the place we call home.
There are a number of links in this blog entry - please take a few minutes and become more familiar with the Scenic City of the South. In the top right hand corner of this blog you will find more links to Greater Chattanooga Area information.
© 2008 UpwardRealty.com
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008
In late July, President Bush signed the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008, also know as H.R. 3221. But what was included in this new bill? I will try to give you a brief overview in this blog entry.
First, the bill permanently increased the maximum conforming loan limits to $625,500. This raises FHA, Freddie Mac, and Fannie Mae limits. FHA limits are now the higher of $271,050 or 115% of an area's median home price up to the new $625,500 limit. For Fannie and Freddie, the new max is the higher of $417,000 or 115% of the area's median price to $625,500. These are the new pemanent figures. (You may remember that in February there was a temporary increase to a max of $729,750 and that amount is still the upper limit until December 31, 2008.)
The new legislation allows about 400,000 homeowners facing foreclosure to refinance with a new FHA backed loan.
Another super feature that should help in the recovery of the home sales market is the First-time home buyer tax credit. which allows first-time home buyers to receive a tax refund for up to 10 percent of a home’s purchase price, the maximum credit is $7,500. The refund serves as an interest-free loan and the homeowner is required to repay it in equal installments over 15 years. You can discuss this program with your tax adviser to see if it is good for you. Remember, this is for the first time homebuyer.
There are a lot of detailed features in this housing bill - if I just did a list of bullet items, there would be 10+ bullets to follow below. I think I would probably lose 90% of the audience...
The good news is that this should help the real estate market in the recovery process and that should boost the entire economy. If the economy begins to recover, the current low prices will begin to rise as demand increases for the current supply. NOW is the time to start looking for your new home, before everyone else jumps in and starts bidding up the prices again.
Check out my company web site to find a full-service Realtor that can help you find your next home... we are very good at selling homes, too.
© 2008 UpwardRealty.com
First, the bill permanently increased the maximum conforming loan limits to $625,500. This raises FHA, Freddie Mac, and Fannie Mae limits. FHA limits are now the higher of $271,050 or 115% of an area's median home price up to the new $625,500 limit. For Fannie and Freddie, the new max is the higher of $417,000 or 115% of the area's median price to $625,500. These are the new pemanent figures. (You may remember that in February there was a temporary increase to a max of $729,750 and that amount is still the upper limit until December 31, 2008.)
The new legislation allows about 400,000 homeowners facing foreclosure to refinance with a new FHA backed loan.
Another super feature that should help in the recovery of the home sales market is the First-time home buyer tax credit. which allows first-time home buyers to receive a tax refund for up to 10 percent of a home’s purchase price, the maximum credit is $7,500. The refund serves as an interest-free loan and the homeowner is required to repay it in equal installments over 15 years. You can discuss this program with your tax adviser to see if it is good for you. Remember, this is for the first time homebuyer.
There are a lot of detailed features in this housing bill - if I just did a list of bullet items, there would be 10+ bullets to follow below. I think I would probably lose 90% of the audience...
The good news is that this should help the real estate market in the recovery process and that should boost the entire economy. If the economy begins to recover, the current low prices will begin to rise as demand increases for the current supply. NOW is the time to start looking for your new home, before everyone else jumps in and starts bidding up the prices again.
Check out my company web site to find a full-service Realtor that can help you find your next home... we are very good at selling homes, too.
© 2008 UpwardRealty.com
Saturday, July 19, 2008
Chattanooga Welcomes Volkswagen
Unless you have been in a coma or visiting another planet since last Tuesday (July 15, 2008), you should know that Chattanooga has been selected as the site for a new $1 Billion VW production plant to be built. A lot of local folks are shaking their heads in amazement - but they are still smiling.
Everyone in the area knows this is big news, but most of us have yet to realize just what this means for the Southeast Tennessee and Northwest Georgia areas. In fact, Northeast Alabama and the Western regions of the Carolinas are going to benefit as well.
This is fantastic economic news for our area - especially at this time when we are seldom hearing even good economic news. Every area of the community should reap major, long-term economic growth and some stability to soften the natural ups and downs of the economy.
As a Realtor®, you know I have to look at the changes that are expected in the local housing market. While the changes will begin slowly and expand more quickly with time, you can and should expect not only to recover any property values lost over the last two years - you should expect price increases for the entire region. There will be a tremendous increase in the local payroll with VW and with the support businesses that move to the area. More money will be chasing a housing market that will have to expand to meet the demand. That means you will pay more for housing in the region.
If you've been sitting on the sidelines listening to the "Network Naysayers" (Network Nitwits), you might want to start thinking about YOUR future beyond the next 3-6 months. NOW IS THE TIME TO BUY A HOME! This is the best buyer's market Chattanooga has seen in probably 15 years or more. YOU may not see this kind of market again ever when the Rabbits start to multiply around here. Do you want a house? Yes, THEN GET OFF THE FENCE while you can afford a home.
When someone in New York (who sells stock on Wall Street) tries to give you real estate advice for Chattanooga, Tennessee, be very suspect about the value of that advice. (Stock brokers don't like real estate anyway, they like for you to pay them big fees then they lose your money for you.) Like politics, all real estate is local. And you know that local for us is promising - not the NY gloom and doom.
If you don't know where to start, contact me. My sales team and I live here in the Chattanooga area - we market this area all day - everyday, and we will still be here in a year or five years from now. We know a great place to live and we want to share it with you.
Here is a link to my company web site: http://www.upwardrealty.com/.
© 2008 UpwardRealty.com
Everyone in the area knows this is big news, but most of us have yet to realize just what this means for the Southeast Tennessee and Northwest Georgia areas. In fact, Northeast Alabama and the Western regions of the Carolinas are going to benefit as well.
This is fantastic economic news for our area - especially at this time when we are seldom hearing even good economic news. Every area of the community should reap major, long-term economic growth and some stability to soften the natural ups and downs of the economy.
As a Realtor®, you know I have to look at the changes that are expected in the local housing market. While the changes will begin slowly and expand more quickly with time, you can and should expect not only to recover any property values lost over the last two years - you should expect price increases for the entire region. There will be a tremendous increase in the local payroll with VW and with the support businesses that move to the area. More money will be chasing a housing market that will have to expand to meet the demand. That means you will pay more for housing in the region.
If you've been sitting on the sidelines listening to the "Network Naysayers" (Network Nitwits), you might want to start thinking about YOUR future beyond the next 3-6 months. NOW IS THE TIME TO BUY A HOME! This is the best buyer's market Chattanooga has seen in probably 15 years or more. YOU may not see this kind of market again ever when the Rabbits start to multiply around here. Do you want a house? Yes, THEN GET OFF THE FENCE while you can afford a home.
When someone in New York (who sells stock on Wall Street) tries to give you real estate advice for Chattanooga, Tennessee, be very suspect about the value of that advice. (Stock brokers don't like real estate anyway, they like for you to pay them big fees then they lose your money for you.) Like politics, all real estate is local. And you know that local for us is promising - not the NY gloom and doom.
If you don't know where to start, contact me. My sales team and I live here in the Chattanooga area - we market this area all day - everyday, and we will still be here in a year or five years from now. We know a great place to live and we want to share it with you.
Here is a link to my company web site: http://www.upwardrealty.com/.
© 2008 UpwardRealty.com
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