EPA Extends Deadline for new Lead Based Paint Rules

Paint

Beginning April 22, the EPA instituted new rules regarding lead based paint. This new ruling affects homes built before 1978.

The ruling requires approval for your work by the Environmental Protection Agency or you could face fines of up to $37,500 per day.

Wanna know more about the new ruling?  Read the post EPA New Lead Paint Rules.

However, today the enforcement date was extended to October 1, 2010.

Seems there hasn’t been enough time to train inspectors nor to set up enforcement agencies. The EPA will also not enforce certification requirements against individual renovation workers if they apply to enroll in certified renovator classes by September 30, 2010 and complete the training by December 31, 2010.

Another change that was made in today’s update is that this latest rule removes a provision from existing regulations that allowed owner-occupants of pre-1978 homes to “opt-out” of having their contractors follow lead-safe work practices if there were no children under six years of age in the home.

You can read more about the ruling in this EPA article.

Lenders Repossessing Homes at Record Levels

House

Lenders have been repossessing homes at record levels in the first half of 2010 according to RealtyTrac.  Let’s hope banks are focused on  regulating these properties to protect market values from deteriorating even further!

Here in North Carolina, REO sales accounted for almost 15% of all sales so far this year with an average discount of about 25% off market value.

Nationally, REO sales represent 31% of all home sales!  Short sales accounted for about another 12%. Those two categories together account for almost half of all homes sold nationally!

What does this mean to the average homeowner trying to sell their property today?  Well, there are a lot of cheap properties for sale and you’ll probably have to take less than you feel your home is worth to get it sold.  If you have to move now, you may want to consider renting out your property until the market changes so you won’t have to take a significant loss with today’s competitive pricing market. I know people worry about renters messing up the property, but if you’re looking at a potential increase of $30,000 to $40,000 in the next few years, that additional income to you would buy a lot of paint and carpet!

Nationally, the average REO discount is reported to be about 34% while the average work out or short sale discount is about 15%. According to these numbers, as a seller you may want to get a discount to be able to sell your property but, as a buyer you may get a better price if you can buy the property after it has foreclosed.

RealtyTrac also announced that foreclosures were up 2500% from 2005 to 2009! Nevada, California and Arizona continue to post the highest percentage of foreclosure sales. Interestingly, Ohio, Kentucky and  Illinois post the highest percentage of foreclosure discount.

Is your house in the foreclosure process? What are you doing about it? Have you decided to let it proceed? Are you trying a workout? Are you thinking about walking away?

Leave your comment here so we can help with your efforts and decision making process.

Seller Financing Escapes Extinction

Champagne Toast

I am thrilled to announce that seller financing has escaped extinction!

The conference committee addressing HR4173 – Wall Street Reform has agreed to a licensing exemption for those who do limited seller financing. Our goal when we went to Capitol Hill had been to keep the 5 transactions per year exemption in current NC law.  That did not happen, however, a compromise led to 3 seller financings allowed per 12 months.  This is a HUGE improvement over the one per 36 months in the original proposed bill!

As worded now, a private seller, trust or estate can provide seller financing 3 times per 12 months without licensing. Contractors do not qualify for this exemption as they were the target of the legislation in the first place. Those in the “business” of contracting must get licensed to offer seller financing at all.

The changes still have to be approved by the Senate and passed into law, but it has passed the House.

Read more…

How is Your Ecomony Holding Up?


Highlights from an interview by Meredith Whitney currently on CNBC:

* A double dip in housing is a certainty
* State economies are plunging and are $200 billion underwater, will lead to 2 million in state-level layoffs leading to a low-end impact; raising taxes at state level will impact the top-end
* Retail sales have been stronger only due to consumers not paying mortgages, retail sales have already topped as is
* Second quarter bank results will finally catch up with accelerated mortgage foreclosures; charge-offs and delinquencies in credit cards are better due to mortgage non-payment cash flow going to other obligations. This will soon top as well.
* Structural employment issues in the US won’t get better any time soon

The experts are saying that the economy is going to get worse. How’s your personal economy? What are you doing to prepare and care for your family?

Again, if you’ve paid attention to global economics, I hope you’ve taken care of your personal finances. I focus on my own micro economy because I’ve done what I can to set myself up to ride this economic wave.

What have you done to prepare?

Urgent – Political Call to Action re. Lease Options!

Guest Post

Please read!  CALL TO ACTION

Last year, our N.C. Coalition worked very hard with all real estate industry stakeholders to reach a compromise on a bill introduced to regulate foreclosure rescue purchases, lease/options, and contracts for deed.  We negotiated in good faith, and a compromise bill was agreed upon, recommended by a committee with blessing from all stakeholders, and passed in the N.C. Senate. This year, a new “proposed committee substitute” version of that bill, Senate Bill 1015 regulating lease/option, contract for deed and foreclosure rescue, is being introduced in the North Carolina House. This new version is COMPLETELY different and absolutely goes against everything negotiated last year. Here are just a few highlights:

    Read more…

Short Sales – The Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act

Mortgage relief

If you owe a debt to someone else and they cancel or forgive that debt, the canceled amount may be taxable.

In US law, when a lender decides to forgive all or a portion of a borrower’s debt and accept less, the forgiven amount is considered income for the borrower and is liable to be taxed.

Have you done a workout on your home loan?  Have you had any of your mortgage forgiven?  If so, law states you would be taxed on the amount of the forgiveness.  Debt that is forgiven or canceled by a lender must be included as income on your tax return and is taxable.

However, the Mortgage Debt Relief Act of 2007 allows some debt to be forgiven.  If your mortgage debt is partly or entirely forgiven during tax years 2007 through 2012, mortgage restructuring, even mortgage debt forgiven due to foreclosure, may be forgiven from your income. Up to $2 million dollars of debt, $1 million if married filing separately,  may be excluded on your principal residence.

Read more…

Plastic Bag Tax

Plastic Bags

According to the Washington Post, Washington DC’s 5 cent tax on plastic bags, instated in January, has already dropped the number of plastic bags handed out by food stores from an average of 22.5 million per month in 2009 to just 3 million in January!  What a huge difference!  And, the tax not only significantly reduces plastic waste, it has also generated $150,000 in revenue.

Who charges this tax?  Bakeries, delicatessens, grocery stores, drugstores, convenience stores, department stores and any other “business that sells food items” must charge the tax on paper or plastic bags.

I love this–I really do.   A simple 5 cent tax–with revenues going towards an environmental cause voters rallied around–and consumer behavior is changed for the better in a truly big way.   I love that just 5 cents is enough to make consumers reconsider taking a plastic bag.

The results are nothing short of miraculous so far–there are 19 million less plastic bags in a landfill because of this tax!

Is this new?  Here maybe.  But, San Francisco, Los Angeles, China, Tanzania, Mumbai, Mexico City and others have already implemented bans or fees for plastic bags.

I, personally, am thrilled.  I think plastic bags should be outlawed.  Not that paper bags take any less energy to produce or don’t harm the environment, but they at least degrade and are not choking and suffocating wildlife.

I suggest reusable bags and the ones I love and always carry I received as a gift.  They came from Envirosax.  Thank you, Carolyn.

Whatever you choose to use, please, No More Plastic Bags!

Your Property Rights are Still Intact, today..

The Senate “Restoring American Financial Stability Act of 2010″ failed to pass yesterday.  Chances are, it will be voted on again today.

The Senate goal yesterday was to vote for cloture, passing the bill without debate, and needed a vote of only 60 to achieve it. They fell short of their goal with a vote of 57 to 41. Two Senators did not vote and Senator Ben Nelson (D-Neb.) was the sole Democrat or Independent to vote against cloture.

With a large majority of the Senate favoring the bill, supporters vowed to continue working to bring the bill to the floor and pass it.

The main reason for this legislation is to regulate Wall Street and the mortgage industry from unscrupulous lending practices that have hurt the public.  Good intentions.  We agree.

What concerns us with these bills is Read more…

Day on the Hill, follow-up

US Capitol

Thank you to everyone for the fabulous comments to my post Protecting Your Property Rights, Our Day on the Hill.  The comments are so well said and so varied that I’m going to re- post many of them here.  This legislation is huge and I want my readers to know that many of us are concerned for and passionate about what’s happening in/with/to our government.

If you haven’t read the original post, please take a moment to do that so these comments make sense to you.  And, please, add your comments to the end of this article.

Read more…

National Real Estate Investor 3rd Annual Day on the Hill

National Real Estate Investors Association’s 3rd Annual Day on the Hill was officially deemed a success but it is important to point out that our fight is not over! Our efforts to connect and communicate with legislative officials from across the country were targeted and we were able to conduct nearly 30 meetings we had scheduled with confidence and veteran-like poise.

During the meetings with legislators and many staffers we discussed several pieces of legislation, including the Senate Finance Reform legislation, S 3217 – Restoring American Financial Stability Act of 2010, which is currently being debated in the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee, under the direction of Senator Christopher Dodd (D-CT). This is 1,400+ page legislation.

HR 4173 – Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, is the current bill in which that text can be found, in Title VII.  The specific language that has investors across the country worried is in Section 101(3)(e):
Read more…