"Hope Now" is the project that the Government has set up to help homeowners heading to forclosure due to variable rate loans that have set to payments the homeowner is unable to afford.
The Hope Now hotline is staffed 24 hours a day, 7 days a week for homeowners who are having trouble keeping up with mortgage payments.
The free service helps borrowers contact lenders to try to work out a payment plan or modify their loan. While there are no eligibility guildines, not all callers will be able to negotiate new terms or avoid the sale of their home.
Other housing groups and counseling agencies also working with homeowners at risk. Make sure whomever you're dealing with is certified by the Department of Housing and Urban Development or the National Foundation for Credit Counseling.
Hope Now hotline 1-888-995-HOPE http://www.995hope.org/
Homeowner Crisis Resource Center 1-866-557-2227 http://www.housinghelpnow.org/
Jennifer Bunker CRS GRI
Utah Real Estate Broker
Saturday, March 22, 2008
The "Hope Now" Hotline
Thursday, March 13, 2008
Finding a "Good" School in a Foreign New Land
I'm in my 6th year of Real Estate now. It's been a fun, interesting, and an eye-opening ride. One of the most wonderful things about this profession is meeting new people and retaining their friendships for life.
ugh three excellent schools here, I continually observed involved, caring parents, intelligent and interested children, teachers who are paid too little to not be doing the job from their hearts, and the highest quality/caring staff anywhere. It's safe to say you will find those same qualities in every one of Utah's public schools. It's how we are as a people. Children are this state's priority.If you are considering a move to Utah, please call me. I'll get right to work for you. It is my job to ensure that you have the information and data that you need to feel comfortable with your difficult decisions.
Green Homes Are Red Hot
Around our Brokerage, we are becoming more and more interested in becoming "green". Not only in our homes, but for social responsibility purposes in business.
For a public tired of stories about the latest health scare, green homes have another allure: they're often healthier. Since these homes are built more tightly than drafty older homes, many builders install systems to bring in—and filter—fresh air. Green builders typically use paints that are low in volatile organic compounds, and avoid the carpeting, adhesives and varnishes that often give new homes their distinctive smell—and that have been associated with health problems. When George and Dorrie Sieburg hired Moody to remodel their Asheville bungalow in 2005, this approach was a big selling point. "At the time, we were pregnant, and we wanted to build as green as we could to make sure it was safe for our child," says George, whose wife is expecting again."
Wednesday, March 5, 2008
Utah Fine-Tunes Complicated Liquor Laws
I've lived in Utah for well over 20 years and I STILL don't understand the liquor laws! Now the legislature has passed a bill to make Utah look more "normal" in this arena. Read the story from KSL.com and you decide ... Utah Fine-Tunes Complicated Liquor Laws ....
Here's a website that explains Utah's Liquor Laws in detail.
Jennifer Bunker CRS GRI
Utah Real Estate Broker
Tuesday, March 4, 2008
South Ogden City Planning Commission
I received a call the other day from the Mayor of South Ogden, George Garwood, informing me that he had chosen me to fill a recently vacated seat on the city's Planning Commission.
No More Fear - Utah is Doing Okay!
While the national mortgage mess is very serious and poised to get worse, I am alarmed at the lack of good information available to Utahns about our local situation. Local papers and news shows are underreporting the Utah situation and this lack of good information is alarming Utahn's unnecessarily.
Utah is a well-managed, fiscally conservative state. Because of this, and because of a recent (within the past 2 years) correction in stagnating home prices, we are still enjoying appreciation in most areas.
Yet I get the same questions all day long from frightened homeowners wondering if they will somehow be affected by the same dire economic forces that are ravaging the housing situation in places such as Detroit, Ohio, and California. The answer is yes and no.
Here's the 
difference between us and them: We are still enjoying appreciation here (with the notable exception of Salt Lake City and the Provo areas) which means that if a homeowner needs to sell their home quickly, they can without worries about being upside down (owing more than the home is worth). The spring weather and low interest rates have brought out droves of buyers. As a Real Estate Broker in Utah, I've never had such a busy February!
Examine your local market conditions before buying into the scary national stories about what is happening to other homeowners in different situations than ours. If you are thinking of moving or refinancing, do your homework and find the right professionals to navigate you through the process. There are a lot of well-qualified, diligent people in this state standing ready to assist us to stay strong and prosperous together through rocky times.
Isn't that what Utah's always been about?
Jennifer Bunker CRS GRI
Utah Real Estate Broker
Monday, November 26, 2007
Who Are The Winners in the Mortgage Mess?
Senior Producer
The financial markets are pretty skittish these days as banks and other mortgage lenders continue to report big losses from mortgage loans gone bad. But in any market, one person’s loss is often another person’s gain. So where did all those “losses” from bad mortgages go? And are there any winners in all of this?
Recently you see in the headlines all of the big banks "losing" billions of dollars from their participation in the "subprime" mortgage game. What does it really mean that they "lost" this money. It didn't just disappear. Someone gained on this loss, who?— Rodney Detroit, MI
There may be some potential winners in the Mortgage Meltdown of 2007, but much of the money now being reported as “lost” will never reappear. In some cases, it was never there to begin with. So think of it as having gone to Money Heaven.
For now, the estimates of eventual losses — as much as several hundred billion dollars — are only estimates. Part of the reason is that the story is still being written. Some 2 million homeowners are at risk of defaulting on adjustable loans in the next year or so when those loans “reset” to higher payments. If those loans can be refinanced at more affordable terms, many of those people will be able to continue making payments and will avoid becoming the next foreclosure statistic. If those foreclosures can’t be avoided, you can expect to see reports of additional losses as more loans go bad and more unsold homes get dumped on an already falling housing market.
So far, the losses are being felt in several different places. The first place they’re hitting is the lenders and investors that put up the money used to fund the big pools of mortgages that Wall Street couldn’t get enough of during the housing boom. With home prices rising, lenders assured buyers eager to own a home that they could afford the big fees and high interest rates.
These investors — everyone from hedge funds to insurance companies to wealthy individuals — were looking for the higher returns they could get from bonds that were backed by the monthly payments generated by pools of bundled mortgages. The value of those bonds — and the price investors paid — was determined largely by computer models. These complex formulas looked at borrowers’ credit scores, historical defaults rates, interest rate impact, etc. and helped assure investors they were getting a higher return without taking on higher risk. On Wall Street, that’s a great deal.
In hindsight, the models didn’t work so well. It turns out they didn’t take into account a major bust in the housing market and a full-blown panic in the bond market. When it came time to sell these mortgage-backed bonds, there were no buyers. Even though the bonds are backed by loans which are backed by real houses with real value, in a falling real estate market, no one is quite sure what those houses are worth. And with no buyers, the bonds aren’t worth much.
So when banks and other financial institutions holding these mortgage-backed bonds “marked them to market,” they had to report a big loss on their books. Some adventurous buyers are stepping up and buying these bonds at fire sale prices. If and when the market for these bonds recovers, they may be winners.
The people who wrote these mortgages and then quickly sold them off to Wall Street were also winners. The lenders who originated the loans got paid up front: they collected big fees and then moved on to the next borrower without putting any of their own money at risk. (Some investors are now trying to recover some of those profits in court.)
Homeowners who can’t make their payments are also potential losers: they’ve spent thousands of dollars trying to build equity in a house and will lose all that when they lose their house. When buyers come forward to buy that foreclosed home, they may eventually profit from buying in a depressed market. But they won’t know until the market recovers whether the strategy worked.
Finally, the neighbors of people who lose their homes to foreclosure also lose. Various studies have tried to quantify just how much. But anytime you add a bunch of foreclosed properties to a local market that already has more homes for sale than buyers, the market value of everyone’s house goes down. If you want to identify the winners there, you probably have to look for the home owners who sold during the peak of the housing boom, after years of easy lending pushed prices to unsustainable levels.
Jennifer Bunker CRS GRI
Utah Real Estate Broker
Thursday, November 1, 2007
911 For Homeowners in Trouble
MSNBC
By Erika Angulo
updated 9:41 a.m. MT, Wed., Oct. 17, 2007
The numbers reveal plenty of reason for concern: Foreclosure filings are expected to exceed two million this year. In the month of August alone, one of every 510 U.S. families began the foreclosure process, according to RealtyTrac, which follows mortgage defaults across the country. That’s a 115 percent increase from the month before. If you’re among the millions struggling to hold on to your home, there are many people ready to help you. More ...
Jennifer Bunker CRS GRI
Utah Real Estate Broker
Saturday, October 27, 2007
Teeny Utah Mayor Tackles Would Be Thief
10/24/2007 6:49:00 PM The Associated Press
Utah Mayor Tackles Alleged Burglar
Awakened by Burglar, Ogden, Utah, Mayor Tackles Bike-Riding Man and Applies Headlock
OGDEN, Utah - It's not a good idea to mess with the mayor, even if he isn't very big.
Mayor Matthew Godfrey and his wife were awakened early Wednesday when somebody tried to break into their house through a side and then a rear door. Godfrey jumped out of bed, checked on his children and went outside."
He was heading across the front lawn riding a bike of ours," Godfrey said. "I ran him down and tackled him, wrestled him and put him in a headlock."
He held the man down while his wife called 911.
Curtis Poorman, 20, was arrested for investigation of burglary, robbery, public intoxication, illegal consumption of alcohol by a minor, possession of marijuana "we'll stop there," police Lt. Scott Sangberg said.
The mayor is "half the burglar's size," police Chief Jon Greiner said with a trace of exaggeration.
Godfrey, a long-distance runner, stands 5-foot-6 and weighs 135 pounds. Poorman, 20, weighs 163 pounds on a 5-foot-11 frame, jail records said.
The mayor, whose only injury was a cut behind one ear, has made reducing crime an issue in his re-election campaign. Asked if it was wise to take on an intruder in an early morning break-in, Godfrey said he would encourage others to let the police handle it.
"It should be left to mayors who are determined to make their streets safe and the police. Everyone else should call 911," he said.
The man Godfrey tackled is no stranger.
"He's from a family that we know and love and respect. They're good friends of ours, and they just have a wayward child," Godfrey said. "I taught this young man in church."
Greiner said Poorman was awaiting trial on charges involving two previous garage burglaries but had been allowed to remain free without bail.
Poorman couldn't be reached Wednesday at Weber County jail.
"With this case, I just heard about it," said his attorney, J.D. Poorman a distant cousin who said he had "no clue" what happened. "It's like what I tell my son: Between 18 and 25, that's what I call the stupid years."
Thursday, August 2, 2007
Don't Get Burned By Shoddy Home Inspection
By Herb Weisbaum
MSNBC contributor
You’d have to be a fool to buy a house without having it inspected first. The challenge is to find a competent home inspector who can give you an accurate picture of the property, so you know whether to go forward with the purchase. More ...
Friday, June 29, 2007
Outdoors is on the Way Up in Ogden, Utah
By WENDY KNIGHTPublished: June 22, 2007
New York Times
WEDGED between old stockyards and a boarded-up packing plant on the western edge of town, the kayak park is not easy to find. But it is just the kind of thing that draws outdoor enthusiasts to Ogden, Utah,
Of the 15 paddlers gathered at the park, on the Ogden River, one Saturday this spring, nearly half were from Salt Lake City, 35 miles away, while one man drove 90 miles from Provo for the day.
“Ogden is ro
cking right now,” said Craig Haaser, 44, a potter born and raised in Ogden who was among the paddlers at the park that day.Set in the western foothills of the Wasatch Mountains, Ogden, a city of approximately 83,000 people, is fast gaining on places like Boulder, Colo., as a destination for extreme sports.
Miles of mountain biking wind through the Wasatch-Cache National Forest within minutes of downtown, and the Ogden and Weber Rivers provide ample opportunity for in-town kayaking and canoeing. In addition, Snowbasin Resort, the site f
or the 2002 Olympic downhill and super G ski events, is less than 20 miles up Ogden Canyon.Among several new developments in town is the 125,000-square-foot Salomon Recreation Center that will include a climbing wall, a surf rider pool, a bowling alley, a dance studio, a wind tunnel and a Gold's Gym. The center, which is to open this summer, is part of a multimillion-dollar entertainment and residential complex called the Junction that will occupy 20 formerly decrepit acres downtown.
While the 2002 Olympics helped raise Ogden's profile, it is the efforts of city officials, outdoor-company executives and real estate developers that are transforming the town, a former railroad hub.
The city is poised to be “the high adventure Mecca of the country,” said Mayor Matthew Godfrey, 36, over a chopped salad at Rooster's Brewing Company on Historic 25th Street.
The mayor, who took office in 2000, says he sees outdoor recreation as a means to a vibrant and financially sound community.
“We need more high-paying jobs,” he said. “We need tourism. We need a 20-to-40-year-old demographic that likes to work hard and play hard.”
To achieve that, he is recruiting recreation companies to move to town. One such company is Goode Ski Technologies, a manufacturer of carbon fiber water and snow skis and ski poles, formerly based in Waterford, Mich.
“The mayor roll
ed out the red carpet for me, literally,” recalled David Goode, the president and founder who relocated his 35-employee company to Ogden in August 2005.Other ski companies, like Scott USA and Rossignol, have established small operations downtown or in Business Depot Ogden, an industrial park north of downtown. This fall, Amer Sports, the maker of Salomon and Atomic skis, expects to move its headquarters into the former American Can Building at 20th and Grant Streets that it is currently renovating.
Though Ogden is emerging as a snow sports hub, many other sports lure visitors to town. With a $1.5 million investment from Goode Ski Technologies, the city is also building a 70-acre water ski park on an existing lake that will include a half-mile-long slalom course, a 17-acre fishing lake and an 18,000-seat amphitheater for plays and concerts, a complex that Mr. Goode hopes will help to bring the water ski championship to Ogden in 2011.
Ogden already is host of a spring marathon and the Xterra Mountain Championship, an off-road triathlon with mountain biking and trail running events. It is also on the brink of being a notable climbing destination.
TWO years ago, Jeff Lowe, 56, a former world-class mountaineer who sits on a mayoral sports advisory committee, established Ogden Climbing Parks, a nonprofit organization to “make Ogden attractive to climbers,” he said. Mr. Lowe, who moved back to Ogden after 30 years in Boulder, established a series of climbing routes using bolted ladder rungs, called a via ferrata, on private land in Waterfall Canyon last year. His current project is a tower of ice — suspended from steel cables — to be used for ice climbing. He plans to build it next winter in Ogden.
The city's commitment to outdoor recreation and an adventure-based economy is attracting young professionals, some of whom are buying and refurbishing 1920s bungalows in once rundown neighborhoods.
“We see it as a diamond in the rough,” Delanie Hill, 32, said of Ogden's downtown. She and her husband, Jeff, 34, are both graphic designers; they bought a 2,200-square-foot Arts and Crafts house in 2000 for $115,000.
“It was kind of a lot at the time,” Ms. Hill said, considering other young professionals were buying two-bedroom homes for $40,000 or $50,000 in their neighborhood around Harrison Avenue and 27th Street. Once an area of “extreme poverty with two and three families living to a house” the neighborhood has changed sharply in recent years, said Ms. Hill, who grew up near Alta Resort and worked in Jackson Hole.
“I can't afford to live in Jackson,” she said, “but I can here.”
The average price of a three-bedroom home in Ogden runs about $160,000, according to Stan Booth, an Ogden-based real estate agent with Coldwell Banker. Real estate “exploded”
a couple years after the 2002 Olympics, Mr. Booth said, especially in Ogden Valley, where “people from Florida and California paid asking price and felt they were getting a killer deal.” The market has since leveled off, he said.In 2004, Mr. Haaser, the kayaking potter, who lives in Ogden year round, bought a four-bedroom house, which he is remodeling, with views of Snowbasin, for $215,000. He recently received an unsolicited offer of $350,000 for the five-acre property.
Rising property values aside, it is the revitalization of downtown that is drawing the most attention. Once home to brothels and taverns frequented by railroad workers in the late 1880s, and more recently to transients and prostitutes who moved in after residents and commerce fled the downtown in the 1980s, Historic 25th Street is both a link to Ogden's past and its future as a tourist destination.
Faux gas lanterns and sycamore trees strung with white lights line the wide east-west boulevard. Shaded by striped awnings, the century-old brick storefronts house art galleries, acupuncturists and cafes.
The town's arts scene is anchored by Peery's Egyptian Theater, which is a satellite site for the Sundance Film Festival in Park City and presents theatrical and musical performances throughout the year.
There are still empty buildings and a handful of dank bars on 25th Street, where men in dirty T-shirts call out to women walking by. Near a taco stand on the corner of 25th and Washington Boulevard, a gritty man with a faded blue bandanna around his forehead waited at the bus stop.
“That's what keeps Ogden from being too cool,” Mr. Lowe said.
Despite the lingering rough-town image, development continues. The mayor is seeking to build a gondola that would connect downtown to a proposed ski and resort community that would occupy nearly 1,800 acres and include Malan's Basin, 1,440 acres of mountainside land owned by a Salt Lake developer, Chris Peterson, who is championing the idea.
Beyond the added $10 million in tax revenues the mayor expects from the private investment, the mayor says he is intrigued with the “urban to mountain experience” the gondola would create.
But some residents are skeptical. “Nothing about this makes sense from a common sense perspective,” said Dan Schroeder, a physics professor at Weber State University and board member of the local Sierra Club, referring to the logistics of relocating existing power lines and water reservoirs.
While the reduction of pollution and traffic appeals to many of the town's environmentally conscious residents, it is the development of public and private land — including a 113-acre public golf course and over 200 acres of undeveloped land currently used for mountain biking and hiking — into a private residential community of empty nesters and second-home owners that rankles some.
“Ogden is known because of its outdoor recreation,” Mr. Haaser said. “What we have here is wonderful. Let's just keep in that way.”
Eagles Soar In Utah
By Molly Bennett
Ogden Standard-Examiner
June 29
OGDEN -- With the removal of the bald eagle from the endangered species list, Utah birders believe the bird's future still hangs in a delicate balance. OGDEN -- With the removal of the bald eagle from the endangered species list, Utah birders believe the bird's future still hangs in a delicate balance. Read more here ...
Friday, June 15, 2007
Foreclosures Hit 37-year High
Daily Real Estate News
June 15, 2007
More home owners entered the foreclosure process during the first three months of 2007 than during the record-setting final quarter of 2006, according to a report by the Mortgage Bankers Association.
The MBA’s Chief Economist Doug Duncan predicts that delinquencies would continue to rise, peaking later this year. He also points out that the rate would have fallen if it weren’t for substantial increases in seven states.
"The percentage of loans in foreclosure would be well below the average of the last 10 years were it not for Ohio, Michigan, and Indiana," Duncan says. "And the rate of foreclosures started nationwide would have fallen were it not for the big jumps in California, Florida, Nevada, and Arizona. Those states have special circumstances that do not reflect what is happening in the rest of the country."
Seasonally adjusted, 0.58 percent of loans entered the foreclosure process last quarter, compared with 0.54 percent in the fourth quarter of 2006 and 0.41 percent in last year's first quarter. The rates for the past two quarters are the highest in the survey's 37-year history.
— REALTOR® Magazine Online and The Wall Street Journal
Damian Paletta and James R. Hagerty (06/15/07)
Builders Add Features, Not Space
Daily Real Estate News
June 15, 2007
What sells in a down housing market? Builders report that their top-selling high-end homes feature less conventional floor plans, many of them designed to accommodate shrinking lot sizes. Also, the popular models include ways to cleverly do more, often with less space.
The best-selling La Jolla model by Drees Homes in Fort Mitchell, Ky., puts the front door off to the side of house instead of at the center, which creates a slanted hallway to the main rooms. Bensalem, Pa.-based Orleans Homebuilders’ Bradford Grand II offers a similar idea, twisting the center staircase so it opens to the side rather than the front, improving sightlines throughout the house.
Instead of a formal living room, the 2,300-square-foot Cartier plan offered by David Weekley comes with a study and a sunroom, both with angle walls that keep the floor plan from feeling boxy. Nationwide, sunrooms are becoming a standard feature in many of the top-selling models. Hovnanian’s Hartford model, the company’s best seller in the Northeast, has both a sunroom at the back of the house and a conservatory to the side.
Even the smallest of the best sellers at the upper end of the price range have retained dining rooms. Builders say buyers want them even if they don’t use them. Meanwhile, many of the homes also feature spacious “morning rooms” for family meals and two butler’s pantries to accommodate this design are becoming more popular.
Source: The Wall Street Journal, June Fletcher (06/15/07)
Friday, June 1, 2007
Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Organic Gardening From HGTV
Healthy grass that's free of chemicals, veggies and fruit that are free of pesticides, a yard that's a self-sustaining mini-biosphere; why not make a difference on your little corner of the planet? Gardening the organic way is as easy on you as it is on Mother Nature. More from HGTV ...
Thursday, May 31, 2007
Utah Parade of Homes to Kick Off Its 2007 Season
RISMEDIA, May 31, 2007-(MCT)-
Some Utahns are drawn to the Parade of Homes for the decorating or design ideas. Others are in the market for a new home. Some just like to tour model homes for fun.
Whatever the reason, thousands of Utahns are expected to attend the half-dozen Parade of Homes events staged now through early September.
For the builders that organize them, the events provide a way to showcase the latest in design, features and gadgets.
"It's difficult to know who is seriously looking for a home and who is just looking for decorating ideas," said Clark Ivory of Utah's Ivory Homes. "But it's still a great marketing tool."
There are plenty of choices beyond the Salt Lake Parade of Homes, scheduled for July 27-Aug. 11. Other parades include the Northern Wasatch Parade of Homes, which includes homes as far south as North Salt Lake and as far north as Willard. There are also Parade of Homes covering Cache and Iron counties and the Park City area. St. George builders held their own event in February.
Homes are generally scattered throughout a fairly large area rather than being located on just one street or in one neighborhood. Attendees pay one fee to drive around and see the different homes.
While there are certainly homes with price tags out of reach of most buyers, most Parade of Homes properties these days include a mix of lower- and higher-end homes.
The Northern Wasatch Parade of Homes, for example, features more than two dozen homes scattered from North Salt Lake to Eden in Davis and Weber counties, houses ranging in price from $275,000 to $2.3 million.
"Whether you're looking for a starter home or something bigger, there is going to be something for you," said Jared Wangsgard of the Northern Wasatch Parade of Homes. St. George builders already have staged their Parade of Homes, but builders in several other areas are staging them now through September. Prices vary. For more information, contact www.utahparade.com.
MORE INFO:
–Northern Wasatch Parade of Homes: June 1-9
–Cache Valley Parade of Homes: June 15, 16, 19-23
–Salt Lake Parade of Homes: July 27-Aug. 11
–Park City Area Showcase of Homes: Aug. 26-27, Sept. 2-4, 9-10
–Iron County Area Parade of Homes: Aug. 31, Sept. 1-3, 7-9
Copyright © 2007, The Salt Lake TribuneDistributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.
RISMedia welcomes your questions and comments. Send your e-mail to: realestatemagazinefeedback@rismedia.com.
Jennifer Bunker CRS GRI
Utah Real Estate Broker
Saturday, May 12, 2007
So You Think Your Job is Dangerous?
Real Estate Agent Stabbed to Death During Open House
National Realty News
STUART, FL – Sarah Anne Walker was found face down on the kitchen floor of a model home on Saturday. She had been stabbed at least 27 times.
Walker was working by herself at an open house in McKinney, Texas - about 32 miles 
north of Dallas. Police report that Walker made a cell phone call to a friend at 12:30pm and she was found dead at 1:23pm. Walker’s phone call was a normal friendly chat and she did not mention plans to meet a client or anyone else. Her body was discovered by a couple looking to buy a home in the neighborhood of Hemingway at Craig Ranch, developed by D.R. Horton and Craig International.
Police reports indicate that Walker tried to fight off her attacker and that defensive wounds like blood and skin under her fingernails could be used to identify the killer. The weapon has not yet been found.
Police are looking into all potential suspects. An autopsy is likely to show whether the stabbing continued after walker died. This would indicate that the killer knew Walker and killed her in a rage. Walker was still wearing her jewelry and her car was still at the murder scene when police arrived.
Walker had just finalized her divorce with ex-husband Randy Tate in February. Her attorney, in a televised interview, indicated the divorce was amicable. Tate is also in the real estate field.
Police also learned that Walker had been dating online, or at least exploring the possibility of. She recently posted a personal ad on MillionaireMatch.com, a site where successful people can search for other successful people.
A memorial fund has been set up in Sarah Anne Walker’s name. Donations can be made at any Bank of America branch. Also, a $30,000 reward has been posted for information leading to an arrest and indictment in the case. Walker’s employer, Developers D.R. Horton and Craig International contributed $10,000 to the reward.
Read the followup story here: Alledged Open House Murderer Arrested
Jennifer Bunker CRS GRI
Utah Real Estate Broker
Body Found When Agent Was Showing Home
From National Realty News
JANESVILLE, WI – A real estate agent said she was showing a home to her buyers when they discovered a woman who was dead, according to a report published in the Janesville Gazette. The body was later identified as the owner of the home. 
Linda Chabucos-Galow, is a Realtor with Shorewest, she reportedly said she was showing a house to Justin and Colleen McKeen when she heard Colleen McKeen scream from the doorway to the front bedroom.
"I thought, 'What's wrong?' Maybe it was a dead mouse or something," Chabucos-Galow said according to the report.
The real estate agent said she entered the room and saw a shape that looked like a dummy on the bed.
"It looked like a Halloween prop," Chabucos-Galow said.
However, the shape was the body of the owner of the home.
Jennifer Bunker CRS GRI
Utah Real Estate Broker
Do You Know What's Lurking on Your Credit Report Today?
One in 4 people have a serious error on their credit report. Have you checked your credit lately? You may be surprised what's lurking there. Last year when I began the process of purchasing my current home, the lender pulled my credit and it showed 24 errors. Most were problems that were from my ex-husband's credit, some were old accounts with erroneous information, some were collections from long ago, and some were completely unknown to me. Some were quite serious, including a $30,000 WaMu line of credit from in 1996 that was still showing as active and with a balance!
Also see this one from Bankrate: Checklist to Fix Credit Report Mistakes
Top 7 Tips When Buying a HUD Home
By Eric Bramlett, Broker Agent News
(Note: HUD homes can be a great deal when the market is in a *BUYERS* market. I repeat, a *BUYERS* market. This is when there is so much inventory that buyers can pick and choose amongst the choices. This is typically when foreclosure rates are high, hence more HUD homes all around. However, in a Seller's market, which is what Utah is currently experiencing, there are more buyers than there are homes. This leads to less foreclosures, and ultimately less HUD homes on the market. Then, when one comes up, there is a feeding frenzy. This is because ...
... there exist a whole lot of people who think a HUD Home = instant equity (good deal, etc) but this is not the case in a Seller's market. Many investors will bid up the price of the few HUD homes available (thinking incorrectly that because they are a HUD home that they must be a killer deal) that the eventual winner almost always overpays significantly for the home. And let me say, it is highly likely that it's a home full of problems that nobody is going to fix except you!
1. All HUD Homes Aren't Great Deals
Many buyers mistakenly assume that, if the US Department of HUD is selling, it must be a great deal. This couldn't be further from the truth! Many Realtors relentlessly market HUD homes to drum up business, and this can create a glut of HUD buyers. When the HUD inventory is particularly low, oftentimes buyers will bid the property up to, or above the fair market value. Look at every HUD deal on its own merit, and make your decision based on that. (Really take this advice to heart).
2. Understand the Bidding Process
HUD purchases are very different than conventional deals because they follow a "blind" bidding process. The bidding date is released by HUD, and each buyer submits their best offer-without the knowledge of any other bids. As long as HUD finds the highest offer acceptable, that offer is accepted. HUD retains the right to refuse all offers. (But they don't because newbie investors are so sure they are getting a killer deal that they way overbid the price. HUD wins, you lose.)
3. Know the Difference Between "Owner-Occupant" & "Investor"
One of HUD's goals is to increase the number of US citizens who own homes. Because of this, they give preferential treatment to owner-occupants over investors. Owner-occupants have the first 10 days to bid on any home before it is released to investors. A buyer may bid as an owner-occupant once every two years. Make sure and bid honestly-otherwise it is illegal, and can result in hefty fines. (HUD means business here and keeps a beefy eye towards buyers)
4. Anticipate Repairs
You are allowed the opportunity of a third party inspection before closing, but buyers cannot negotiate repairs based on the results. Backing out of HUD deals & retaining your earnest money is trickier than conventional purchases, too, so you may run the risk of losing your earnest money. Make sure and go through the home thoroughly before bidding on it. (Hello HUD? This is hard to do when you haven't kept the utilities on, yanno).
5. Continuously Monitor the Inventory
As foreclosure rates rise and fall, so does HUD's inventory. The laws of supply & demand definitely apply here-when the inventory is high, your chances of getting a great deal are higher than when they are low. Follow the asking price & sales price of HUD homes-if they are selling far over asking, it might not be the time to buy. (Keep your emotions out of it and make a clear-headed decision).
6. Make Sure Your Realtor & Lender Know the Process
After your bid is accepted, the paperwork begins! In Texas , HUD requires that you submit original signed (in blue ink) paperwork to the HUD agent's office within 48 hours of the bid's acceptance. If the paperwork is incorrect, you are allowed one revision-which must be received within 48 hours. They are just as strict with a lender's closing documents-so make sure both your Realtor & lender are very familiar with the HUD process. Oftentimes, the HUD agent's office will be located in a different city-and often, the escrow agent will be located in yet another city-this can put a very interesting twist on the process, and time constraints. (From a REALTOR's perspective, this is a nightmare. We don't like to do them, but HUD requires that your bid be submitted by a licensed Broker).
7. Act Quickly & Decisively
Because HUD places very strict time constraints on bidding, and due to the bidding process, you must act quickly & decisively. You will typically have 1-2 weeks from the date HUD places the property on the market until the bidding period begins-and more often than not, the property will be purchased on the first day of bidding. Make sure & exercise your due diligence, and make your decision quickly-you often won't get a second chance.
HUD homes can be fantastic opportunities for a buyer or investor to get a great deal on a property. However, because the purchase process is quite different, make sure & do your research before attempting to find your first buy.
Follow these tips, & you will be on your way to a successful transaction!
Disclaimer: The information above is based on Eric's experiences with HUD in Texas from 2004-2007. The process continually changes, so make sure & get the most up-to-date information for your area before bidding. (Disclaimer: The editorial above is based upon several of Jennifer's miserable HUD experiences in Utah 2002 - 2007 :-)
