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Tips on How to Rebound From A Foreclosure| League City, TX
Tips on How to Rebound From A Foreclosure| League City, TX
Many homeowners facing foreclosure find themselves wanting to buy again and they want to purchase fast. Unfortunately most loan programs have a three year plus waiting period after a borrower loses their home to a foreclosure. This can be frustrating to a previous home owner who just wants their sense of stability back.
There are tips on how to recover from a foreclosure and following these tips will help you deal with the outcome of the foreclosure process.
1. Deal with the pain
Going through a foreclosure is an emotional process that must be dealt with. Being angry with the bank is not going to move anything into a positive light. The acceptance of what has happened and why it has happened will help you move forward and make rational decisions not just emotional ones.
2. Take in the loss
Individuals and couples should take time out to acknowledge what has happened, and distill and discuss mistakes that were made and insights you’ve gained so that you can avoid repeating them in the future. It’s a meaningful method for progressing past grief and repositioning yourself to make smarter decisions about your money and your mortgage for the rest of your life.
3. Avoid rebound purchasing
Trying to replace our losses on the rebound, be it after a breakup or after a foreclosure, is how people end up repeating their mistakes. Making new, unsustainable mortgage commitments and chronically overspending or over borrowing is no different from your friend who keeps repeating the same old dysfunctional relationship patterns, year after year.
4. Try to fix and heal your financial woes
Get your debt paid down or off. Change your spending habits and your overall relationship with money. Get your taxes current and paid. Save some money. Create the habit of paying every bill on time every time. Eliminate unnecessary monthly expenses.
Home Owner’s Insurance Rising?
Home Owner’s Insurance Rising?
You go to the mailbox open the mail and there it is. The bill for your home owners insurance and you are in disbelief. Across the country, state boards of insurance, are authorizing increase in rates in the neighborhood of ten percent, but as high as twenty percent in states like Florida. The rate hikes are due to the insurance company’s goal, of having enough funds for paying out claims in the future. Whether it’s wildfires in Texas, hurricanes on the east coast, or earthquakes in California, insurance companies have paid out large numbers of claims in the past five years. So what can you do to keep your homeowners insurance at a minimum?
Shop Around
This may seem obvious, but most consumers check with one, perhaps two sources to secure homeowners insurance. Obtain three different quotes, with similar coverage, and you will likely see a difference in costs.
Raise Your Deductible
The deductible is the amount of money the homeowner pays towards a loss, when they make a claim. Ask your insurance representative, for a quote with a $500 deductible and a one $1,000 deductible, to compare the difference.
Make Your Home Disaster Proof
While there is no way to make your home completely disaster proof, there are some steps you can take to make it stronger. In hurricane areas, that may be adding storm shutters or windows. In earthquake prone regions, you may want to look in to retrofitting your home to save on premiums.
Use The Same Insurance Company For Auto And Home
Most insurance companies will offer a discount for customers who insure their home and cars together. If you choose to shop around, make sure to ask your insurance company for quotes on every vehicle in you own, and your home.
Ask
Ask your insurance company representative how to lower your rate. More specifically, ask how they reward consumers with lower premiums. Good credit scores is an increasing factor in insurance quotes. Security alarms also provide discounts from most insurance providers. Perhaps you are retired or belong to a professional group that entitles you to a discount.
No one wants an increase in insurance, particularly in a tough economy. But use these tips for potential ways to save, so you don’t get shocked when that policy comes up for renewal.
Call me for more tips on how to lower your Home Owner’s Insurance
Housing Market In The Houston Texas Area Continues To Soar, August 2011
HOUSTON — (September 20, 2011) — The mercury wasn’t the only thing that soared in the month of August in Houston. Single-family home sales shot up more than 30 percent when compared to August of last year. However, as has been the case for the past several months, the rosy performance took on added luster as a result of last year’s third quarter slowdown in home sales following expiration of the 2010 tax credit. That credit pushed local real estate transactions that otherwise might have taken place later in the year into the first two quarters of 2010. August marked the third consecutive month of increased sales and the fourth time in 2011 that sales volume entered positive territory.According to the latest monthly data prepared by the Houston Association of REALTORS® (HAR), August sales of single-family homes climbed 30.2 percent versus one year earlier. This increase follows home sales gains recorded in January, June and July of this year. All segments of the housing market, from the sub-$80,000 to the $500,000 and above, experienced positive sales in August. On a year-to-date basis, sales rose 1.8 percent. Compared to August of 2009, a year with no unusual market influences such as Hurricane Ike in 2008 and the 2010 tax credit, single-family home sales were up 10.4 percent.
“The Houston real estate market’s vital signs appear to be quite healthy as we move from the summer buying season into the fall, but we must remain mindful that we are still comparing 2011 home sales to that period last year when transactions slowed dramatically after the tax credit expired,” said Carlos P. Bujosa, HAR chairman and VP at Transwestern. “It is encouraging to see how well the August numbers stack up against August of 2009, which was the last ‘normal’ year for our housing market.”
The average price of a single-family home rose 0.7 percent from August 2010 to $217,047, the second highest level for an August in Houston. The August single-family home median price—the figure at which half of the homes sold for more and half sold for less—was statistically flat at $159,000.
Foreclosure property sales reported in the Multiple Listing Service (MLS) increased 26.2 percent in August compared to one year earlier, suggesting added interest in investment-related home buying. Foreclosures comprised 19.8 percent of all property sales, which is consistent with the levels it has maintained since May. The median price of August foreclosures declined 5.4 percent to $80,375 on a year-over-year basis.
August sales of all property types in Houston totaled 6,524, up 29.0 percent compared to August 2010. Total dollar volume for properties sold during the month soared 29.4 percent to $1.34 billion versus $1.03 billion one year earlier.
August Monthly Market Comparison
The month of August brought Houston’s overall housing market positive results when all sales categories are compared to August of 2010. However, as HAR has noted for the past several months, sales volume gains were distorted by the 2010 tax credit that resulted in a decline in home sales following its expiration. Total property sales and total dollar volume rose on a year-over-year basis. The average price rose while the median price held steady.
Month-end pending sales for August totaled 3,970, up 21.0 percent from last year. The rate is slightly above levels typically observed during the late summer home sales period, continuing to reflect the rapid pace at which 2010 sales went under contract prior the tax credit closing deadline.
The number of available properties, or active listings, at the end of August declined 11.5 percent from August 2010 to 48,752. The inventory of single-family homes was reduced to 7.1 months compared to 7.8 months one year earlier. That means it would take 7.1 months to sell all the single-family homes on the market based on sales activity over the past year. The figure is significantly better than the national inventory of single-family homes of 9.4 months reported by the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR).
| CATEGORIES | AUGUST 2010 | AUGUST 2011 | PERCENT CHANGE |
| Total property sales | 5,058 | 6,524 | 29.0% |
| Total dollar volume | $1,039,737,400 | $1,345,502,442 | 29.4% |
| Total active listings | 55,079 | 48,752 | -11.5% |
| Total pending sales | 3,281 | 3,970 | 21.0% |
| Single-family home sales | 4,257 | 5,543 | 30.2% |
| Single-family average sales price | $215,506 | $217,047 | 0.7% |
| Single-family median sales price | $158,500 | $159,000 | 0.3% |
| Months inventory* | 7.8 | 7.1 | -8.7% |
Single-Family Homes Update
August sales of single-family homes in Houston totaled 5,543, up 30.2 percent from August 2010. This marks the fourth increase of the year after an 8.4 percent gain in January, and 1.1 percent and 14.9 percent increases in June and July, respectively. The August number represents the second highest sales volume month of the year. June was higher with 5,601 homes sold.
On a year-to-date basis, sales are ahead 1.8 percent. When compared to August of 2009, a year in which there were no unusual real estate market effects such as Hurricane Ike in 2008 and the 2010 home buyer tax credit, single-family home sales were up 10.4 percent.
Broken out by segment, August sales of homes priced below $80,000 skyrocketed 45.4 percent; sales of homes in the $80,000-$150,000 range climbed 26.2 percent; sales of homes between $150,000 and $250,000 increased 35.8 percent; sales of homes ranging from $250,000-$500,000 advanced 32.5 percent; and sales of homes that make up the luxury market—priced from $500,000 and up—jumped 22.4 percent.
Please Contact me for more information on buying or selling in our Houston Metroplex – Nannette Delaney – 713-952-2244 or nan@houstonhomes.com
