Archive for July, 2009
Stop Cap & Trade To Save The Real Estate Market
Think of selling your home? Surprise! Under the new Cap & Trade bill your home must pass a stringent environmental audit before selling. Most homes over ten years old will not pass this EPA inspection without thousands of dollars in upgrades / repairs. All homes will be required meet the latest EPA standards for energy efficiency before they can be sold. Be prepared to replace appliances, windows, doors, insulation, air conditioning systems, roofs, etc. The federal building code is modeled after California’s building code that caused the cost of home ownership to sky rocket. This dangerous legislation has already passed the House, so contact your Senators today to stop the madness:
Mel Martinez – (R – FL) Class III (202) 224-3041
356 RUSSELL SENATE OFFICE BUILDING WASHINGTON DC 20510
Web Form: martinez.senate.gov/public/?p=EmailSenatorMartinez
Bill Nelson – (D – FL) Class I (202) 224-5274
716 HART SENATE OFFICE BUILDING WASHINGTON DC 20510
Web Form: billnelson.senate.gov/contact/index.cfm
Save Flatwoods Park!
Due to the 140 million dollar Hillsborough County budget cut, the Hillsborough County Regional Parks are in serious jeopardy of closing. Hillsborough County parks encompass 16,500 acres and serve 4.9 million guests annually. Some or all of these regional parks may have to close permanently by 2011 unless you act now. Please read the information below and act to save Flatwoods Park and other great escapes.
Currently there are 109 full-time regional park rangers and managers who maintain and operate the 11 regional parks. Under the proposed 2010 budget-cut plan, 54 full-time, regional park personnel will be terminated (20 of the 54 positions are already vacant due to a hiring freeze). With only 55 remaining employees, the Parks Department will have no choice but to cut the open hours of the regional parks AND close a minimum of 2 days per week. This will only allow them to skim by and just mow grass, service bathrooms and other fundamentals; maintaining boardwalks, trails, pavilions, nature centers, and other key park facilities will come to a halt. The new budget takes effect October 1, however it looks like the personnel cuts and park closings will go into effect either NEXT MONTH (July) or certainly by August 2009.
Further, the 2011 proposed budget will force the Parks Department to cut an additional 35 full-time, regional parks’ personnel leaving only 20 people to maintain 14 parks. At that time (October 2011), the Parks Department will have no choice but to close some or all the regional parks permanently. They will not have enough personnel to handle even the basic mowing let alone cleaning the bathrooms and opening and closing the gates.
Hillsborough County’s Regional Parks are literally some of the finest parks in the United States. They are always clean and always maintained to impeccable standards. As a result, the regional parks have been featured all over the world and have become a major player in the tourism and economy of the Tampa area. Not to mention they are also popular destinations for local outdoor enthusiasts to hike, bike, fish, boat, canoe, kayak, picnic, horseback ride, swim, etc. This will all be lost if YOU do not get involved!
The Hillsborough County Regional Parks in jeopardy of closing are as follows:
The Wilderness Park -
Dead River, Sargeant’s, Morris Bridge, and Trout Creek Parks – Eliminating access to the upper Hillsborough River, a Florida Paddling Trail and a Florida Birding Trail.
Flatwoods Park & Morris Bridge Cycling Area – Eliminating cycling access.
Veterans Park – Eliminating access to the War Memorial and the bypass canal.Jefferson and Oak Ridge
Equestrian Areas – Eliminating equestrian access.
Alderman’s Ford and Lithia Springs Parks – Eliminating access to the upper Alafia River, a state paddling trail and a great swimming hole.
E.G. Simmons and Upper Tampa Bay Parks, – Eliminating key access points to Tampa Bay for canoeing, kayaking, fishing, boating, et cetera.
Lake Park, Lettuce Lake Park, Edward Medard Park, Lake Rogers Park, Eureka Springs Park, and Upper Tampa Bay Trail – Other key regional parks with great family, park, and trail recreation venues.
We will also lose the county boat ramp access to the bypass canal.
Closure of the regional parks will have a catastrophic effect on the economy by giving people a lot less of a reason to purchase and rent canoes, kayaks, bikes, fishing gear, hiking gear, etc. Not to mention this will limit your ability to go out and recreate in the outdoors unless you are willing to spend hours in your car to find new places in other counties. The regional parks are a great and inexpensive way to recreate with family and friends. If economic woes worsen, the regional parks will be needed and utilized more than ever. This is not the time to close them!
There are two ways to help save the regional parks. The easy way is to start by sending an email to your (and/or all the) county commissioner(s) stating how much you love and use the parks and that cutting park staff is unacceptable (email address below). Second is to show up at the County Center and attend the county budget workshops and even more importantly the upcoming county commission meetings (schedule below). At the commission meetings you can sign up to publicly voice your opinion to the commissioners. We need as many people as possible to come to the July 16th commission meeting. This will be our biggest and best effort.
The Parks Department has done a wonderful job maintaining our public lands for us to enjoy. Let’s now come together as users and help them not only keep their jobs but keep our parks open.
Commission meetings are where we really need your support! We need those that love the regional parks to not only speak but also be there to cheer on those that are speaking on behalf of the regional parks. For far too long our parks have been looked at as some of the easiest programs to cut. It is time for our commissioners to look elsewhere for their budget cuts and we need to let them know how we feel. Looking forward to seeing all of you on July 16th.
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Remaining Budget Public Hearings (all starting at 6 p.m.): County Center, Commission Boardroom, 2nd floor, 601 E. Kennedy Blvd., Tampa.
Thursday, July 16, 2009 (PLEASE ATTEND & SPEAK FOR THE PARKS!)
September 8, 2009
September 17, 2009 (Budget adoption)
The public hearings for the proposed budget will be interactive, and allow residents to call in or email questions and comments during the meetings. In addition to attending in person, residents will be able to watch the meeting live on Hillsborough Television (HTV) on Bright House channel 622 or Verizon and Comcast channel 22 or on the County’s website at: http://www.hillsboroughcounty.org through live streaming video. Viewers then will be able to submit questions or comments to a special email address: hcbudget@hillsboroughcounty.org; by using an online budget email form on the County’s website; or with a special phone number: (813) 307-8337. The comments and questions will be relayed to the County Commissioners during the hearings and answered or read out loud as time allows. All comments will be reviewed by Commissioners.
Remaining Budget Workshops (all starting at 1:30 p.m.) County Center, 2nd Floor Boardroom:
June 18, 2009
July 16, 2009
July 22, 2009
July 29, 2009 (if needed)
July 31, 2009 – Budget Reconciliation
Commissioners may be emailed through the county’s website as follows.
http://www.hillsboroughcounty.org/bocc/about/contactusd1.cfm
District 1 Rose Ferlita (813)272-5470
District 2 Ken Hagan (813)272-5452
District 3 Kevin White (813)272-5720
District 4 Al Higginbotham (813)272-5740
District 5/At-Large Jim Norman (813)272-5725
District 6/At-Large Kevin Beckner (813)272-5730
District 7/At-Large Mark Sharpe (813)272-5735
Thanks to Brian Faulk at Canoe Escape for putting all this information together.
Doing a Short Sale without Missing Payments?
Question: I’m facing tough decisions about my financial future and am considering a short sale on my home. Do I need to miss payments in order to do a short sale?
Answer: The Making Home Affordable initiative may have changed the status quo. There is new evidence that some lenders are allowing short sales without requiring a home owner to miss payments, especially with the new government incentives to the lenders that have encouraged short sales. However, a home owner would still need to qualify for a short sale by demonstrating an acceptable hardship, by proving financial insolvency, and by documenting a monthly short fall of income. For more information short sales, contact Team Bohannon at Coldwell Banker today.
Short Sales: HELOCs and 2nd Mortgages
Question: I am upside down on my Tampa home, and I have 2 mortgages. Can I do a short sale?
Answer: Yes, absolutely. As Certified Distressed Property Experts (CDPEs), we ensure that you are aware of all options including: refinancing, modification, deed-in-lieu, short sale and foreclosure. To qualify for a short sale, you must demonstrate an acceptable hardship, financial insolvency, and a monthly short fall of income. We offer guidance, example hardship letters, a financial worksheet, and a list of documents that you would supply to your lender(s) to help make this case.
Once we have an offer on your home, we submit a package of information that often exceeds 100 pages to both first and second mortgage companies. If the short sale is accepted by the primary lender, then the primary lender usually offers a small amount to the 2nd mortgage company to release the lien. We have had excellent success with both first and second mortgage companies, but the negotiations can take a couple months. One caveat to consider is the HELOC. If your 2nd is really a Home Equity Line of Credit (HELOC), then many of the mega banks have been demanding a more substantial payoff to release this obligation.
Once in the short sale / foreclosure process, many homeowners stop making mortgage payments. If you have a 2nd mortgage or a HELOC, then please do everything possible to make occasional payments on the HELOC or 2nd, as banks have been selling these loans to collection agencies after 180 days without a payment. Once these loans have been charged off, or sold to collections, then the chance of a short sale are greatly diminished. For more information short sales, contact Team Bohannon at Coldwell Banker in Tampa today.
Closing Costs: What to Expect When Buying a Home in Tampa
Question: I’m a first-time home buyer and I am not clear on all the costs involved in purchasing a home in Tampa. I have enough money for a down payment, but what other costs will I see? How can I minimize the required costs?
Answer: The primary costs are listed below, along with some ideas on how to reduce the impact. We recommend contacting a local Tampa lender to obtain a pre-qualification letter and a detail “Good Faith Estimate” of closing costs. Make sure the lender has info about taxes, CDDs (Community Development District) and HOA fees (Home Owner Association) when determining your monthly payment.
- Escrow Deposit (a.k.a. Earnest Money)
In order to have a valid contract on a home purchase, Florida law requires that you put some money into escrow. When you make the offer, or upon acceptance, you would write a check to an attorney, title agency, or real estate company who hold the funds on your behalf. At closing, the funds will be credited back to you. The amount of the escrow deposit is negotiable, though 1%-3% of purchase price is customary for “normal” transactions. For “short sale” transactions, we usually see $1000 for escrow. For bank owned homes (REOs), the banks will dictate the escrow amount (usually 1%-2%). - Expenses Before Closing
The home inspector will expect to be paid when the inspection is performed, so you can budget $300-$600 depending upon the size of the home. Most lenders will charge an application or appraisal fee of $400-$800 in order to start work on a loan. - Down Payment
A down payment is the difference between the price of the home and the amount of the mortgage. If you purchase a $200,000 home with a $180,000 mortgage, then you would bring the $20,000 down payment to closing (10% down, 90% financing). USDA and VA loans allow 100% financing (zero down), while FHA loans require a down payment of at least 3.5%. Lenders occasionally offer 90-95% financing on conventional loans, though the trend is toward requiring a 20% down payment for conventional loans. Lenders will require proof of down payment funds from your bank account, or a letter from a family member offering to give you funds. There are also some city, county or state down-payment assistance programs available to help first-time home buyers (i.e., people who have not owned a home within 3 years). - Expenses at Closing
There are several customary charges a buyer can expect when purchasing a home. While costs very from market-to-market, in the Tampa Bay area a buyer can expect to pay for costs related to the loan such as: state documentary stamps on the note, state intangible tax on the note, lender’s title policy, and any lender’s fees / points. Other buyer costs include pest inspection, survey, credit report, tax service fee, flood certification, HOA fees, recording fees, underwriting fees, processing fees, closing fees, mortgage insurance, etc. We usually estimate 2%-3% of the purchase price for these costs. In the Tampa real estate market, sellers normally pay for the owner’s title policy and doc stamps on the deed. Again, the best bet is to ask your lender for a Good Faith Estimate well in advance. - Pre-paid Items at Closing
In addition to the down payment and closing costs, many lenders require the buyer to pre-pay certain expenses at closing. As a condition for obtaining the loan, many lenders will require buyers to pre-pay 3 to 4 months of property taxes, 12 to 15 months of home owner’s insurance, and a year of CDD fees (if the home is in a Community Development District). - Minimizing Costs
All of these costs add up. One strategy is to to ask the seller to incorporate some of the closing costs into the sale price. For example, on a 200,000 home, you might ask the seller to contribute up to 6% purchase price ($12,000) toward your closing costs and pre-paids. Savvy sellers know to focus on the bottom line rather than the closing costs. Most lenders will permit a 3%-6% seller contribution. Contact Team Bohannon today for other innovative ideas that we do not advertise.
