[tag]Selling a home[/tag] is no easy task, and it’s even more difficult when you’re trying to sell in the dead of winter — when the weather is bad, the days are shorter and greenery is in short supply. There are good reasons for selling in the winter, however — namely, less competition. But you still have to work hard to attract the best customers. According to Bankrate.com, it’s all about staging. Here are Bankrate’s tips for presenting your home in the best way to snag those winter buyers. Keep walkways and driveways clear of snow and ice. You may not have to mow the lawn or trim the shrubs, but in the winter, consider this duty your “yard work.”

Present a warm and cozy home. Make sure the temperature is comfortable and not too cool for visitors coming in from the outside. Turn on gas fireplaces if you have them. Show during “high-daylight” hours and make your home as light as possible. Clean blinds and curtains and keep them open during daytime showings. Put the highest wattage bulbs in amps and fixtures, and turn the lights on when you show. And wash your windows — even a little bit of grime gives the impression that the home isn’t well cared for. Set the mood with a little soft background music and some pleasant smells. Light a few [tag]candles[/tag] that give off a nice scent, such as vanilla. Just don’t overdo it — you don’t want people to think you’re trying to mask a bad smell. (more…)

After several years of a [tag]booming real estate market[/tag] – one that was decidedly to the seller’s advantage – the industry has taken a swing in the opposite direction in recent months. [tag]Higher interest rates[/tag] and a greater inventory of houses is pushing the market in the buyer’s favor. This means that enterprising individuals ready to make a purchase may come away with more than just a good bargain.

To entice people to take out mortgages in spite of rising interest rates, some lenders and builders are offering special programs. Many home builders are using “buy-down” programs, in which they buy down a mortgage by two percentage points in year one and one point in year two. This can lead to substantial savings. But watch out for deals that offer flashy savings early on but sucker-punch you later during the loan term. Pre-payment penalties or early termination fees may be in store for those who don’t do their homework before signing on the dotted line. (more…)

Although the newer mortgage products allow almost anyone to buy or refinance a house, consumer groups say the loans often contain land mines hidden in the fine print. Consumer advocates say the loosened standards are putting more people at risk as loans originally designed for sophisticated individuals are being marketed to far-less-savvy borrowers.

[tag]Alternative mortgage loans[/tag] were first developed for a handful of people with promising long-term earnings potential: young lawyers destined to make partner, doctors finishing medical school or stock brokers who get large commission checks several times a year. But as housing prices have surged, outstripping wages in the most expensive markets, alternative financing has become a popular path to homeownership. These new loans come in many forms. “[tag]Nontraditional[/tag]” mortgages allow borrowers to pay only the interest on the loan or even only a portion of the interest each month, without being required to pay down the principal. Nationwide, more than a third of borrowers who got loans in the first nine months of 2006 got nontraditional loans, up from about 2 percent in 2000, according to First American LoanPerformance, a real estate information firm. (more…)

In past decades, many people have been trained to think that a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage is the only way to go when it comes to getting a mortgage. They look negatively on [tag]adjustable rate mortgage[/tag]s ([tag]ARM[/tag]s) because they fear the adjustable part. But there are advantages to having an ARM and times where a long-term fixed-rate mortgage doesn’t really make as much sense.

An ARM, or adjustable rate mortgage, is similar to a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage in that it is also amortized over a 30-year period. But it’s usually for shorter-term situations and generally carries a lower interest rate than fixed-rate mortgages. So if you’re trying to keep your interest rate and payment low, an adjustable can be a sensible choice. And since it’s a short-term mortgage, it’s useful to have a lower rate and payment if you know you’re only going to be in your home for less than 10 years–especially when most American families generally move within nine years or less. (more…)

Americans continue having difficulties paying their mortgage obligations, with December [tag]foreclosure rate[/tag]s above the 100,000 mark for the fifth straight month. The number of homeowners entering into some stage of the foreclosure process in December was 109,652, down 9 percent from November but up 35 percent from December 2005, according to RealtyTrac. [tag]Adjustable-rate mortgages[/tag], especially [tag]subprime ARMs[/tag], continue to drive the spike in foreclosures: many of those loans are due to reset in 2007, and many of the loans written in 2006 are performing less well than in previous years.

Another contributor is that some lenders tried to maintain business in a slower market. To do that, some relaxed their underwriting standards, approving more marginal borrowers for loans. Interest rates were also higher for the year, putting additional strain on borrowers. Doug Duncan, chief economist for the Mortgage Bankers Association, estimates that $500 billion to $800 billion in loans outstanding went to borrowers who may face difficulties. “Some of that,” Duncan says, “would go into foreclosure.” A sustained increase in the number of foreclosures could accentuate the decline in the housing market, according to Duncan. “It could take longer to work the inventory down,” he says. (more…)

Americans continue to move from [tag]adjustable rate mortgages[/tag] to fixed-rate programs, or take advantage of today’s low long-term rates by refinancing their current [tag]fixed-rate mortgage[/tag]s, as evidenced by this morning’s Market Composite Index, released by the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA). The Index, which measures and compares mortgage loan application volume from week to week, showed that overall refinance activity increased 6.3 percent for the week ending January 12.

“With nearly $400 billion in adjustable rate mortgage set to adjust in 2007, we still expect the strong [tag]refinance[/tag] trend we’ve seen the last four months to continue,” says Bob Walters, chief economist of Quicken Loans. Purchase activity surprisingly tapered however, dropping seven percent following last week’s double-digit gains. “December’s employment numbers were higher than expected, and long-term interest rates remain near their lowest point in more than a year. Jobs and interest rates are two of the most significant factors influencing people’s decision to buy or refinance a home, so the dip in purchases was unexpected” (more…)

The Web frontier for [tag]vacation-home owners[/tag] is vast and continuing to grow as they tap into new resources to market their properties. And networking Web sites can offer a support network for owners navigating the apparently bump-filled rental market. “Making a video is so much better than trying to put all that into words.” Mr. Gilbert has two videos, both on [tag]YouTube[/tag] and [tag]Google Video[/tag]: One showcases the house and some of its features, like the brand of mattresses in the home. The other focuses on the community, [tag]Bear Trap Dunes[/tag], which has three golf courses and two swimming pools.

Any vacation-home owner is likely to confess that marketing the house to renters is only half the battle. And, perhaps the easy half, once you read through the postings on Lay my Hat (www.laymyhat.com). The site allows vacation homeowners to hash out the apparently neverending string of problems that arise when renting out their second home. Owners vent about problem guests, like those who complain about the lack of ketchup and mayonnaise in the refrigerator or refuse to obey the no smoking policies. Some get advice on larger issues, like what to do when an hour before a renter arrives the electricity in the house fails. The solution, wrote one poster, is to light candles and “gets lots of drinks” for the guests. (more…)

Recent years have seen a flurry of proposals and legislation directed toward [tag]predatory mortgage lending[/tag]. The focus, however, has been almost entirely on loan originations. Aside from a few well-publicized lawsuits, predatory servicing has attracted little attention, yet in many respects it is more vicious, and the adverse consequences are more far-ranging. The loan origination market is a minefield for borrowers, to be sure, but they do have choices. Exercising intelligence and care, and with a little homework, they can find a loan provider who will treat them fairly. When the loan is closed and shifted to a servicing agent, however, the borrower’s choices disappear.

An incentive to provide good service doesn’t exist at all for specialized servicing firms who have nothing to sell. Such firms will not get more customers by improving service quality — only higher costs — nor will they lose customers if they provide poor service. Their incentive is to generate as much revenue as possible from borrowers. It is hardly surprising that such firms figure so prominently in discussions of predatory servicing. Predatory servicing could be reduced or eliminated by legislation that restricted the sale of servicing contracts, or gave borrowers the right to change servicers. However, these would be drastic changes that would be very difficult to enact. The alternative is to identify predatory practices and make them illegal. (more…)