The Federal Housing Administration (FHA) is giving homeowners and buyers until October 4 to lock in a low monthly insurance premium, according to Gibran Nicholas, chairman of the CMPS Institute, an organization that trains and certifies mortgage bankers and brokers. “After October 4, the monthly insurance premiums on FHA loans will increase by over 63%.”
What does this mean for home buyers?
A home buyer purchasing a $200,000 home using a $193,000 FHA mortgage before October 4 would pay an insurance premium of $88.46 per month. If the same home buyer waits until after October 4, the insurance premium would jump to $148.01.
“In this example, the home buyer would lose $59.55 per month, or $7,146 over a 10-year timeframe,” Nicholas said. “Although the upfront mortgage insurance premium is going down after October 4, the real impact to the home buyer is actually a net increase in their out of pocket costs because the monthly premium is going up by 63%. Remember, sellers can pay the upfront premium or it can be financed into the loan amount, so homebuyers rarely pay the upfront premium out of pocket. On the other hand, the increase in the monthly premiums will be paid right out of the home buyer’s pocket with their mortgage payment each month.”
Ironically, home buyers who plan to be in the mortgage for less than three years and decide to pay the upfront fee themselves (instead of having the seller pay it for them), may actually save money by waiting until after October 4 to apply for an FHA loan.
“Home buyers with a short term time horizon may actually benefit from this change because the upfront premium will be reduced to 1% from 2.25%,” Nicholas said. This change will impact over 30% of the home buyers in today’s market who use FHA-insured financing.
Contact Premier Mortgage for all your home financing questions – (610) 351-7888.
Excerpted from RisMedia/Lowe’s Newsletter, September 1, 2010.
For 158 years, the Great Allentown Fair has celebrated the rich achievements of farmers, gardeners and homemakers in the Lehigh Valley. But today the Fair looks much different than it did in its early years. International cuisine, musical concerts, and exciting rides are hallmarks of the Labor Day weekend event on the Fairgrounds. For the kids (in all of us), the Midway is packed full of rides, amusements and thrills. Check out the new gondola Ferris wheel this year with 40,000 LED lights to illuminate the night. And the real roots of the Fair are beautifully presented in the indoor and outdoor agricultural and livestock exhibits. If you miss this, you have missed the best of The Great Allentown Fair!
There is an abundance of musical entertainment – from Grandstand shows like Lady Antebellum and Justin Bieber to big band and blues in the free music tent – and theater entertainment including the extreme canine stunt dog show.
Fair hours are 1 pm until about 11 pm and tickets cost $6 for 12 and over. Kids under 12 are free. Check the event website for more details on directions, parking, concerts and fair schedules. See you on the Midway!
Now that summer is beginning to wind down and cooler weather is on its way, it’s time to get some of the routine home maintenance out of the way before it gets too cold. If you don’t prepare your home in the fall season, and clean up the yard, when spring comes along, you could be left with an unsightly mess. Lisa Udy, a Realtor in Utah offers the following tips to prepare your home for the cold months ahead.
Clean out the rain gutters – If you have rain gutters on your home, fall is the best time to get them cleaned. Cleaning rain gutters isn’t that difficult of a task, it’s just a tedious one. The easiest way to get rid of the junk is to use a high pressure hose, and then use a small trowel to get rid of the rest of the debris. Once you have gotten rid of all the debris, give your gutters a final spray.
Take care of your pots and planters – If you’re like most homeowners, you have some planters or potted plants sitting around the yard. Before it gets too cold, be sure to empty the dirt out of any pots or planters and put them in a place where they won’t freeze. If you don’t empty or store your planters, there’s a good chance they will either crack or fall apart.
Rake the leaves – Keeping your yard free of leaves is an important task for homeowners. If you have numerous trees in your yard and piles of leaves that you don’t take care of, you might find that your grass is dead once spring arrives. Leaves can smother your lawn and replacing a lawn can cost a lot of money, so it’s a good rule of thumb to get rid of the leaves in the fall.
Weed and feed the lawn – The best time to weed and feed the lawn is in the fall. If you add weed killer in the fall, the weeds will store the poison in their roots during the winter season, and will prevent a breakout in the spring. By feeding your lawn with fertilizer in the fall, you are promoting healthy root growth, and this will help your lawn grow greener and faster in the spring.
Give your tools a tune-up – Once you have finished your fall maintenance chores, make sure you clean your tools and store them in a dry place so they will be in working order once spring arrives. Be sure to store metal shovels with the head upwards, as this will help detour rusting when it dries. Sheers need to be oiled up, wheel barrels should be left upside down and don’t forget to spray off the underside of the lawnmower.
Excerpted from RisMedia/Lowe’s newsletter, August 27, 2010. Written by Paige Tepping.
Bethlehem
Come out on August 28th for Sustainable Bethlehem. There will be an awareness event from 2 – 6 pm prior to a screening of the movie Dirt at 8:30 in Friendship Park. Come see some new inventions that you can use in your home to heat water with the sun, generate your own electricity, fight the cold and heat with better insulation, reduce the electricity you use with more efficient appliances and more. Bring your friends and neighbors and enjoy some hot dogs, popcorn and other treats from the Friends of Friendship Park, East North Street in Bethlehem.
Macungie
The Wheels of Time Rod and Custom Jamboree is this weekend (8/27 – 8/29) at Macungie Memorial Park. These auto aficionados started small, meeting in garages of members and gaining members as time went on. The three day Jamboree (with over 2,200 of the finest modified cars on the East Coast) takes place each August and was originally a one day “Run to the Grove” in Alburtis, PA. It has grown over the years to the fantastic show it is today. Check out the Wheels of Time website for more information http://www.wheelsoftime.org/jamboree.shtml
Easton
Enjoy music under the stars at the Live in the Square Summer Concert Series in Centre Square on Friday, August 27 from 7:30 – 9:30. Summer is almost gone – don’t miss an opportunity to enjoy those fleeting summer nights. Entertainment provided by Burnt Toast.
Whether you are buying or selling property, you want a Realtor® adviser to ensure your transaction makes it to settlement. Between the initial sales agreement and closing, questions may arise. For example unexpected repairs are required to obtain financing or a cloud in title is discovered. The required paperwork alone is overwhelming for both buyers and sellers. Who is responsible? Who will pay? Your Realtor® is the best person to objectively help you resolve these issues and move the transaction to settlement. And when the big day comes, you want your trusted adviser by your side to answer any issues or questions that arise through the closing process so that everything flows smoothly. When you want to minimize surprises, have a Realtor® on your side.
Excerpted from http://www.realtor.com/basics/allabout/realtors/why.asp
The slow economy is influencing home design, says the American Institute of Architects. The Institute’s first quarter 2010 Home Design Trends Survey shows that more home owners are favoring small spaces that are often cheaper to maintain. There’s also an increased demand for flexible, informal layouts. While increased outdoor living space continues as a trend, there has been a drop in upscale property enhancements such as formal landscaping, decorative water features and gazebos. The “less is more” trend is even affecting higher end homes – in both square footage and ceiling heights – so overall volume is shrinking across the housing spectrum.
Excerpted from Realtor® Magazine, September 2010 and from AIA Home Design Trends Survey http://www.aia.org/practicing/AIAB083430 .
Most people would be surprised at the value of the belongings in their home. There’s free software that can help you keep track of everything that fills your home – from artwork and furnishings to jewelry – and quickly see how much it would cost to replace. Once you download the free What You Own software, you can create a room-by-room inventory that serves as a record that’s helpful for determining how much insurance to purchase. Users can even add images and receipts which is very useful when settling insurance claims. The software is compatible with Windows and Mac systems. http://www.whatyouown.org/
Excerpted from Realtor® Magazine, September 2010.
Roughly 230 new units went into foreclosure status in Lehigh County for July 2010, according to RealtyTrac. That brings the current foreclosure inventory to about 1,400 units. Allentown had 164 of those new July units and Whitehall and Catasauqua were distant seconds with 10 units each. While new foreclosure units hit their peak in February of this year in Lehigh County – around 272 units – the rate has been declining since. The average sales price for homes in Lehigh County was about $200,000 in June and the average sales price of homes in foreclosure was about $106,000. In Allentown, the comparison is even more striking. The average sales price of homes sold in July was $160,814 and those in some stage of foreclosure averaged $52,400. The national foreclosure rate is .25% and Lehigh County runs about .18%, still outpacing the Pennsylvania average of .09%. Interestingly, the foreclosure auction rate in Lehigh County peaked in July with 142 units of the total 230 slated for foreclosure auction.
In Northampton County, there are about 850 foreclosure units for sale with an average sales price of $156,387. Of the 175 new units in July, 60 were in Bethlehem and 55 were in Easton. Bangor added 21 units last month. This is the highest rate of new foreclosure units added in a month for the past 12 months. The majority of Northampton County homes in foreclosure are 3 bedrooms, 1,200 to 1,399 square feet and priced between $100,000 to $200,000. Foreclosure auction accounted for about 88 units in July and REO (bank-owned) activity accounted for 80 of the 175 total new units. In comparison to Lehigh County’s foreclosure rate of .18%, Northampton County is slightly lower at .14%, still ahead of our state’s average of .09%.
Lehigh Valley residents should take some comfort in these figures. The top foreclosure city nationally is Las Vegas where they added 8,307 new units in July and where 1 in every 75 housing units received a foreclosure filing in July 2010. While their peak was in September ’09 at roughly 11,600 new foreclosure units, they still significantly outpace the national average.
To see the local inventory of foreclosure homes for sale, visit http://www.pattwhite.com/company/foreclosures.php?
Foreclosure Data courtesy of RealtyTrac: http://www.realtytrac.com/home/
Within a stone’s throw of each other, Emmaus has two fantastic dining options depending on your budget, appetite and mood. The first is The Burgery Company at 1458 Chestnut Street. With just a little over 7 months under its belt, The Burgery is very busy building a perfect burger for its loyal customers. Whether you’re of the plain beef variety or more interested in the specialty burgers like bison, elk, venison or ostrich, the Burgery will build your meal to your liking. The Original will run you about $6.25 and the most expensive option, the ostrich-meat Roadrunner, is about $13. Add some sweet potato fries and a Burgalicious shake to round out a delicious meal. For non-beef eaters, there are chicken, fish and veggie options – something for everyone in the family. The Burgery has an eat-in area or you can order your meal for pick up to go.
On the other side of the street is the award-winning Farmhouse Restaurant at 1449 Chestnut St. For twenty years, the Farmhouse has been serving up seasonal, local, organic, sustainable, farm-to-table cuisine. On August 3rd, their new chef, Javan Small, took over the kitchen bringing his unique experience favoring European styles and techniques. The dinner menu changes frequently, but a peek at their website shows some tasty options: roasted squash soup, mussels a la basquaise, crab crusted salmon filet and summer woodfire lamb chops. Most entrées run between $20 and $30. Be sure to save room for dessert! Classic crème brûlée, lignonberry tart or rustic summer fruit cobbler are just a few of the “not to miss” conclusions to a superb meal. The Farmhouse has also been rated the number one beer bar in Pennsylvania, the East Coast and the country year after year by Beer Advocate. There’s a cozy English style Pub room for sampling what’s on draught as well as choosing from the extensive wine and single malt list. Whether it’s for business or pleasure, The Farmhouse will deliver a memorable, delicious evening.
The Burgery Company: http://www.theburgerycompany.com/The_Burgery_Company/Home.html
The Farmhouse Restaurant: http://thefarmhouse.com/
Buying a home? Make sure you have a Realtor® on your side! First, your Realtor® can help you determine your buying power. If you give your trusted advisor some basic information about your available savings, income and current debt, he or she can refer you to lenders best qualified to help you. There are many financing options and choosing a qualified lender is critical to the success of your home purchase. Second, your Realtor® can help you negotiate for that dream home. There are a myriad of negotiating factors, including but not limited to price, financing, terms, date of possession and often the inclusion or exclusion of repairs, furnishings or equipment. The purchase agreement should provide a period of time for you to complete the appropriate inspections and investigations of the property before you are bound to complete the purchase. Third, your Realtor® can advise you as to which investigations and inspections are recommended or required and provide due diligence during the evaluation of the property. Depending on the property, this could include inspections for termites, asbestos, roof condition, septic tank and well tests, just to name a few. Your Realtor® can assist you in finding qualified responsible professionals to do these investigations and provide you with written reports. You will also want to see a preliminary report on the title of the property. Title indicates ownership of property and can be mired in confusing status of past owners or rights of access. The title to most properties will have some limitations, for example, easements for utilities. Your Realtor®, title company, or attorney can help you resolve issues that might cause problems at a later date.
Excerpted from http://www.realtor.com/basics/allabout/realtors/why.asp
