Here are a few surprising and simple ways to cut your energy bill this season.
Put Lamps in The Corners:
Did you know you can switch to a lower wattage bulb in a lamp or lower it's dimmer switch and not loose a noticeable amount of light? It's all about placement. When a lamp is placed in a corner, the light reflects off the adjoining walls, which makes the room lighter and brighter.
Switch to a laptop:
If you're reading this article on a laptop, you're using a 1/3 less energy than if you're reading this on a desktop computer.
Choose an LCD TV:
If you're among those considering a flat-screen upgrade from your old TV, choose an LCD screen for the biggest energy save.
Give Your Water Heater a Blanket:
Just like you pile on extra layers in the winter, your hot water heater can use some extra insulation too. A Fiberglas insulation blanket is a simple addition that can cut heat loss and save 4% to 9% on the average water-heating bill.
Turn Off The Burner Before You're Done Cooking:
When you turn off an electric burner, it doesn't cool off immediately. Use that to your advantage by turning it off early and using residual heat to finish up cooking.
Add Motion Sensor:
You might be diligent about shutting off unnecessary lights, but your kids? Not so much. Adding motion sensors to playrooms and bedrooms only costs $15 to $50 per light, and ensures you don't pay for energy you're not using.
Spin Laundry Faster:
The faster your washing machine can spin excess water out of your laundry, the less you'll need to use your dryer. Many newer washers spin clothes so effectively, they cut drying time and energy consumption in half- which results in an equal drop in your dryer's energy bill.
Use an Ice Tray:
Stop using your automatic ice maker. It increases your fridge's consumption by 14% to 20% . Ice trays, on other hand, don't increase your energy costs one iota.
Use The Dishwasher:
If you think doing your dishes by hand is greener than powering up the dishwasher, you're wrong. Dishwashers use about 1/3 as much hot water and relieve that much strain from your energy- taxing water heater. Added bonus: you don't have to wash any dishes.
copyright National Association of Realtors 2010
Monday, December 27, 2010
Monday, December 20, 2010
Will We Remember the Effects of the Recession?
Is the end of the economic recession in Utah just down the road? Here are some positive "green shoots" that suggest we may be bouncing off the bottom.
Forbes Magazine, in an October article titled "The Best States For Business and Careers" , reported, :"Who's doing the best job when it comes to fostering growth?" Utah, according to our fifth-annual look at the Best States for Business. the Beehive State captured the top spot in our rankings for the first time. Utah's economy has expanded 3.5% annually over the past five years, faster than any other state except North Dakota. this is three-and-half times faster than the U.S as a whole. Total employment in the U.S has shrunk over the past five years, but in Utah it increased 1.5% annually (fourth-best in the nation.) Household incomes have surged 5% annually, which is tops in the country and twice as fast as the national average.
The November 15 issue of Newsweek had a piece headlined, "How Utah Became the New Economic Zion," in which the reporter wrote, "it set its own records for new companies (more than 40) and capital investment (nearly $2 billion)." The article provided these specifics: "Greater Salt Lake City...has absorbed massive new data centers for eBay, Twitter, and Oracle; splashy new offices for Disney Interactive and EA sports; and just last month, a commitment from Adobe... to build a 1,000 person software-development campus, where the minimum average salary will be $60,000.
At the end of September, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers announced a contract award for a National Security Agency Building at Camp Williams that will cost approximately $1.5 billion, have one million square feet and will employ 7,000 people during it's construction. It will also create several hundred permanent jobs. The winning bidder was Big-D Construction of Salt Lake City, who will have two other partners on the project from California and Texas.
The National Bureau of Economics Research declared that the Great Recession, which started in December 2007, ended in June of 2009. This may be technically correct, but some economists believe that it will be a long, slow recovery and it will be difficult to have sustained economic growth when so many people are out of work. However, history has shown that the economy is cyclical and eventually conditions will improve. Hopefully Utah is at the beginning of a recovery.
When times get better will we return to traditional spending and borrowing patterns? Will we have learned from our current experiences? My hope is we will continue our thrifty behaviors of saving, paying down debt, and not purchasing things we don't need and can't afford. I hope these lessons will be ingrained in our children and grandchildren.
Article by Rick Craig, President of America First Credit Union
Forbes Magazine, in an October article titled "The Best States For Business and Careers" , reported, :"Who's doing the best job when it comes to fostering growth?" Utah, according to our fifth-annual look at the Best States for Business. the Beehive State captured the top spot in our rankings for the first time. Utah's economy has expanded 3.5% annually over the past five years, faster than any other state except North Dakota. this is three-and-half times faster than the U.S as a whole. Total employment in the U.S has shrunk over the past five years, but in Utah it increased 1.5% annually (fourth-best in the nation.) Household incomes have surged 5% annually, which is tops in the country and twice as fast as the national average.
The November 15 issue of Newsweek had a piece headlined, "How Utah Became the New Economic Zion," in which the reporter wrote, "it set its own records for new companies (more than 40) and capital investment (nearly $2 billion)." The article provided these specifics: "Greater Salt Lake City...has absorbed massive new data centers for eBay, Twitter, and Oracle; splashy new offices for Disney Interactive and EA sports; and just last month, a commitment from Adobe... to build a 1,000 person software-development campus, where the minimum average salary will be $60,000.
At the end of September, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers announced a contract award for a National Security Agency Building at Camp Williams that will cost approximately $1.5 billion, have one million square feet and will employ 7,000 people during it's construction. It will also create several hundred permanent jobs. The winning bidder was Big-D Construction of Salt Lake City, who will have two other partners on the project from California and Texas.
The National Bureau of Economics Research declared that the Great Recession, which started in December 2007, ended in June of 2009. This may be technically correct, but some economists believe that it will be a long, slow recovery and it will be difficult to have sustained economic growth when so many people are out of work. However, history has shown that the economy is cyclical and eventually conditions will improve. Hopefully Utah is at the beginning of a recovery.
When times get better will we return to traditional spending and borrowing patterns? Will we have learned from our current experiences? My hope is we will continue our thrifty behaviors of saving, paying down debt, and not purchasing things we don't need and can't afford. I hope these lessons will be ingrained in our children and grandchildren.
Article by Rick Craig, President of America First Credit Union
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
Make Your Home FHA Friendly
Know the basics for FHA loan rules and you stand a better chance of selling your home.
Make your house FHA-Friendly, and it will appeal to more home buyers. Why? Because the Federal Housing Administration is insuring the mortgage loans used by 30% of today's' home buyers. If your house passes the FHA rules, it will appeal to buyers who plan to use an FHA-insured mortgage. If your house doesn't qualify for an FHA loan, you're cutting out 30% of potential buyers. FHA is especially important for first time home buyers and those with small down payments because it allows borrowers with good credit to make down payments as low as 3.5% of the purchase price.
Here is how to make your home appealing to FHA borrowers:
Know The FHA Limits in Your Area
Start by checking to see if your homes list price falls within the FHA lending limits for your area (www.fha.com/lending_limits_state.cfm?state=utah) FHA Mortgage limits vary alot.
Home Inspections
Most buyers will ask for a home inspection, whether or not they're using an FHA loan to buy a home. You must give FHA buyers a form explaining what home inspections can reveal, and how inspections differ from appraisals.
How Much Do You Have To Repair?
If their inspection reveals problems, FHA will not give the okay to buy the home until you repair serious defects like roof leaks, mold, structural damage, and pre-1978 interior or exterior paint that could contain lead.
Dealing With FHA Appraisals
Help the lender's appraiser by providing easy access to attics and crawl spaces, which usually must be photographed.
Your buyer can hire their own appraiser to evaluate your home. But FHA only relies on reports by it's approved appraisers. If the two appraisals conflict, the FHA appraisal preempts the buyers appraisal.
Help With FHA Closing Costs
Most FHA buyers need help with closing costs. so a prime way to make your home FHA-Friendly is to help with those costs.
FHA currently allows sellers to pay up to 6% of the sales price to help cover closing costs, but is considering lowering that limit to 3%.
If You're Selling A Condo
FHA also has to approve your condo before a buyers uses and FHA loan to purchase your unit. Be sure your condo is FHA-approved for mortgages the lists has been updated, so if your association was approved a year ago, check again to make sure it's still n the approved list. (https://entp.hud.gov/idapp/html/condlook.cfm)
FHA generally won't insure loans in condo associations if more than 15% of the unit owners are late on association fees. Ask your property manager or board of directors for your associations delinquency rate.
Other rules cover insurance, cash reserves and how many units are owned-occupied and the types of condos that can be purchased with an FHA mortgage.
FHA sometimes issues waivers for healthy condominiums that don't' meet regular rules. If your condo isn't FHA-approved, it doesn't necessarily have to meet every single rule to gain approval. Ask your REALTOR to consult with local lenders about getting an FHA waiver for your condo if it doesn't meet all the requirements.
FHA also limits its mortgage exposure in homeowners associations. With some limited exceptions, no more than 50% of the units in an association can be FHA-insured.
FHA Loans For Planned Unit Developments
FHA no longer requires lenders t review budgets and legal documents for planned-unit-developments.
Houselogic.com by Terry Sheridan
Make your house FHA-Friendly, and it will appeal to more home buyers. Why? Because the Federal Housing Administration is insuring the mortgage loans used by 30% of today's' home buyers. If your house passes the FHA rules, it will appeal to buyers who plan to use an FHA-insured mortgage. If your house doesn't qualify for an FHA loan, you're cutting out 30% of potential buyers. FHA is especially important for first time home buyers and those with small down payments because it allows borrowers with good credit to make down payments as low as 3.5% of the purchase price.
Here is how to make your home appealing to FHA borrowers:
Know The FHA Limits in Your Area
Start by checking to see if your homes list price falls within the FHA lending limits for your area (www.fha.com/lending_limits_state.cfm?state=utah) FHA Mortgage limits vary alot.
Home Inspections
Most buyers will ask for a home inspection, whether or not they're using an FHA loan to buy a home. You must give FHA buyers a form explaining what home inspections can reveal, and how inspections differ from appraisals.
How Much Do You Have To Repair?
If their inspection reveals problems, FHA will not give the okay to buy the home until you repair serious defects like roof leaks, mold, structural damage, and pre-1978 interior or exterior paint that could contain lead.
Dealing With FHA Appraisals
Help the lender's appraiser by providing easy access to attics and crawl spaces, which usually must be photographed.
Your buyer can hire their own appraiser to evaluate your home. But FHA only relies on reports by it's approved appraisers. If the two appraisals conflict, the FHA appraisal preempts the buyers appraisal.
Help With FHA Closing Costs
Most FHA buyers need help with closing costs. so a prime way to make your home FHA-Friendly is to help with those costs.
FHA currently allows sellers to pay up to 6% of the sales price to help cover closing costs, but is considering lowering that limit to 3%.
If You're Selling A Condo
FHA also has to approve your condo before a buyers uses and FHA loan to purchase your unit. Be sure your condo is FHA-approved for mortgages the lists has been updated, so if your association was approved a year ago, check again to make sure it's still n the approved list. (https://entp.hud.gov/idapp/html/condlook.cfm)
FHA generally won't insure loans in condo associations if more than 15% of the unit owners are late on association fees. Ask your property manager or board of directors for your associations delinquency rate.
Other rules cover insurance, cash reserves and how many units are owned-occupied and the types of condos that can be purchased with an FHA mortgage.
FHA sometimes issues waivers for healthy condominiums that don't' meet regular rules. If your condo isn't FHA-approved, it doesn't necessarily have to meet every single rule to gain approval. Ask your REALTOR to consult with local lenders about getting an FHA waiver for your condo if it doesn't meet all the requirements.
FHA also limits its mortgage exposure in homeowners associations. With some limited exceptions, no more than 50% of the units in an association can be FHA-insured.
FHA Loans For Planned Unit Developments
FHA no longer requires lenders t review budgets and legal documents for planned-unit-developments.
Houselogic.com by Terry Sheridan
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
6 Tips for Buying a Home in a Short Sale
When Sellers need to sell their home for less than they owe on their mortgage they're shooting for a short Sale. Short Sale homes can sometimes be bargains, but only if you do your homework, stay patient, and remain unemotional during the sometimes lengthy and difficult short sale process.
Here are 6 steps for protecting yourself emotionally and financially when bidding on a short sale.
1. Get Help From a Short Sale Expert.
A real estate agent experienced in short sales can identify which homes are being offered as a short sale, help you determine a purchase price, and advise you on what to include in your offer to make the lender view it favorably. Ask your agents how many buyers they've prospected in a short sale and of those, how many successfully closed the transaction.
2. Build a Team
Ask agents to recommend a real estate attorneys knowledgeable in short sales and title experts. A title officer can do a little title research to identify all the liens attached to a property you're interested in. Because each lien holder must consent to a short sale, a property with multiple liens, like first and second mortgages, mechanics and condominium liens, or homeowners association liens, will be harder to purchase.
A title search may cost up to $250 to $300 up front, but it can help weed out less desirable properties requiring multiple approvals.
3. Know the Home's Market Value
By agreeing to a short sale, lenders are consenting to lose money on the loan they made to the sellers to purchase the home. Their goal is to keep those losses as low as possible. If your offer is dramatically less than the home's fair market value, it may be rejected. Your agent can help you identify the price that's good for you. the lender will determine whether to approval is in it's best interest.
4. Expect Delays
There are two stages to a short sale. First, the sellers must consent to your purchase offer. Then they must submit the offer to their lender, along with documentation to convince the lender to agree to a short sale.
The lender approval process can take a few weeks or months, even longer if the lender counteroffers. Expect big delays if several lien holders are involved; each can make a counteroffer or reject the offer.
5. Firm Up Your Financing
Lenders will weigh your ability to close the transaction. If you're pre-approved for a mortgage, have a large down payment, and can close at any time, they'll consider your offer stronger than that of a buyer whose financing is less secure.
6. Avoid Contingencies
If you must sell your current home before toy can close on the short sale property, or you need to close at a form deadline, your offer may present too many moving parts for a lender to approve it.
Also, consider ordering inspections so you're fully informed about the home. Keep in mind that lenders are unlikely to approve an offer seeking repairs or credits for such work. you'll probably have to purchase the home "as is" which means in its present condition.
Houselogic.com by G.M Filisko.
Here are 6 steps for protecting yourself emotionally and financially when bidding on a short sale.
1. Get Help From a Short Sale Expert.
A real estate agent experienced in short sales can identify which homes are being offered as a short sale, help you determine a purchase price, and advise you on what to include in your offer to make the lender view it favorably. Ask your agents how many buyers they've prospected in a short sale and of those, how many successfully closed the transaction.
2. Build a Team
Ask agents to recommend a real estate attorneys knowledgeable in short sales and title experts. A title officer can do a little title research to identify all the liens attached to a property you're interested in. Because each lien holder must consent to a short sale, a property with multiple liens, like first and second mortgages, mechanics and condominium liens, or homeowners association liens, will be harder to purchase.
A title search may cost up to $250 to $300 up front, but it can help weed out less desirable properties requiring multiple approvals.
3. Know the Home's Market Value
By agreeing to a short sale, lenders are consenting to lose money on the loan they made to the sellers to purchase the home. Their goal is to keep those losses as low as possible. If your offer is dramatically less than the home's fair market value, it may be rejected. Your agent can help you identify the price that's good for you. the lender will determine whether to approval is in it's best interest.
4. Expect Delays
There are two stages to a short sale. First, the sellers must consent to your purchase offer. Then they must submit the offer to their lender, along with documentation to convince the lender to agree to a short sale.
The lender approval process can take a few weeks or months, even longer if the lender counteroffers. Expect big delays if several lien holders are involved; each can make a counteroffer or reject the offer.
5. Firm Up Your Financing
Lenders will weigh your ability to close the transaction. If you're pre-approved for a mortgage, have a large down payment, and can close at any time, they'll consider your offer stronger than that of a buyer whose financing is less secure.
6. Avoid Contingencies
If you must sell your current home before toy can close on the short sale property, or you need to close at a form deadline, your offer may present too many moving parts for a lender to approve it.
Also, consider ordering inspections so you're fully informed about the home. Keep in mind that lenders are unlikely to approve an offer seeking repairs or credits for such work. you'll probably have to purchase the home "as is" which means in its present condition.
Houselogic.com by G.M Filisko.
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