Connect With Me
Search For Cabins
Join My Email
Listing Slideshow
My Listing Manager
Featured Listings
Featured Video
Search Blog
iPhone-iPad Enabled
My Information
Event Calendar
Categories
- Georgia Mountain Foreclosure reVIEWS
- Family reVIEWS
- Front Porch VIEWS
- Real Estate Made Simple
- Georgia Mountain Community reVIEWS
- Georgia Mountain Real Estate VIEWS
- Georgia Mountain Home Buyer's reVIEWS
- Georgia Mountain Home Seller's reVIEWS
- Realtor reVIEWS
- Georgia Mountain Got-To-Do reVIEWS
- Georgia Mountain Dining reVIEWS
- Professional Associate reVIEWS
- Georgia Mountain Cabin Rental reVIEWS
- Georgia Mountain Market reVIEWS
- Mortgage & Finance reVIEWS
- Georgia Mountain Sightseeing
- Georgia Mountain Slang
- Clients reVIEWS
- Georgia Mountain Golf & Resort reVIEWS
- Featured Listing reVIEWS
- Georgia Mountain Home Tips
- Outdoor Adventure reVIEWS
- Georgia Mountain Shopping reVIEWS
Blue Ridge Searches
Blairsville Searches
Ellijay Searches
Hiawassee Searches
Area Information
Porch Posts
Porch Library
RE Radio Today
NAR Message
Market Trends
Touch A Life!
As a homeowner in Blue Ridge and Blairsville Georgia, your fiscal responsibility extends beyond just making mortgage payments. You must also pay your home’s real estate taxes as they come due, as well as your homeowners insurance policy premiums.
Failure to pay real estate taxes can result in Foreclosure. Failure to insure your home is a breach of your mortgage loan terms.
There are two methods by which you can pay your real estate tax and homeowners insurance bills.
The first method is to pay your taxes and insurance as the bills come due, usually semi-annually. Depending on your home’s tax bill size and the cost to insure your home, these payments can feel quite large — especially if you’ve failed to budget for them properly.
The second method of paying your taxes and insurance is to give your lender the right to pay them on your behalf, a process known as “escrowing for taxes and insurance”.
When you escrow your real estate taxes and homeowners insurance, you pay a portion of your annual obligation to your lender each month, which your lender then holds in a special account for you, and disperses to your taxing entities and insurance company as needed. Lenders prefer that homeowners escrow taxes and insurance because, in doing so, the lender is assured that tax bills remain current and that homes stay insured.
Want a discount on your next mortgage rate? Tell your lender that you’re willing to escrow.
To help calculate your monthly escrow payment to your lender, do the following :
- Find your home’s annual real estate tax bill
- Find your home’s annual homeowners insurance premium
- Add the two figures and divide by 12 months in a year
The quotient is your monthly “escrow”; the extra payment you’ll make to your lender each month along with your regularly scheduled principal + interest payment. Then, when your tax bills and insurance premiums come due, your lender will make sure the payments are made on your behalf.
If you’re unsure whether escrowing is right for you, talk to your loan officer and/or financial planner. If you do not have a loan officer, please Contact Me and I will be happy to introduce you to one on our Team. There are valid reasons to choose either path.
Subscribe to Blog Contact Me Search for Homes Daily List Alert
Everyone lives in a flood zone.
Flooding is the top-ranked natural disaster in the United States, with a dozen potential causes ranging from heavy rains, tropical storms and hurricanes to new housing developments and rain after fire. Floods can occur in all 50 states and, when they do, they leave massive damage in their wake.
Flood damages exceed $2.7 billion annually.
As a homeowner, you carry homeowners insurance to protect against theft and loss. Typical homeowners insurance, however, excludes damages from flooding. Homeowners in Blairsville , therefore, should make sure to have a separate flood insurance policy. And once that policy is in place, there are other steps you should follow, too.
First, make a log of your possessions, either on paper or by video. In your log, include everything that you own of value. Next, if you own jewelry, have it appraised and store the appraisal; if you own appliances, log the serial numbers and attach original receipts.
Then, buy a safe-deposit box at a bank, for example, and store your possession log.
All of this information matters because, in the event you need to make a claim, you’ll have an easier time dealing with the insurance adjuster. It’s hard to prove possession of items that have been washed away by flood waters, after all.
You’ll also want to share this list with your insurance agent in advance so your policy is made with the proper amount of coverage.
Floods can strike anywhere and, as many people learn the hard way, standard homeowners insurance does not include flood coverage. If you’re without flood coverage, talk to your insurance agent about adding a flood policy.
Because many policies don’t take effect until 30 days from purchase, this is one form of insurance you’ll want to buy in advance.
Subscribe to Blog Contact Me Search for Homes Daily List Alert
The ranks of the landlords are growing. Along with an increasing number of “accidental landlords”, real estate investors now account for close to 20 percent of all home resales, according to the National Association of REALTORS®.
If you plan to buy a rental property in here in the North Georgia Mountains, or to convert your current residence for long-term rental, make sure your home is properly insured.
A traditional homeowners insurance policy may be unsuitable for landlords.
A landlord insurance policy typically covers the home itself; the owner’s possessions in the home; structures on the land including garages and sheds; and, minimal liability coverage in the event of injury or lawsuit.
It’s common for landlords to increase that minimal liability coverage, adding an umbrella policy for $1,000,000 or more. Umbrella policies protect your home from an unfavorable lawsuit related to just about anything — housing-related or not.
Optionally, a policy may includes provisions for “lost rental income”.
Annual premiums for a landlord insurance policy are often 20% more costly than for a standard homeowners policy. This puts the average landlord insurance premium near $950 per year.
Premiums vary by state, too. The top 3 most expensive states in which to insure a rented home are:
- Texas : $1,752 per year
- Florida : $1,668 per year
- Louisiana : $1,386 per year
At $464 per year, Idaho is the least expensive state in which to hold a landlord insurance policy.
Contact Me and I will get you in touch with an Insurance agent on my team or talk with your insurance agent about your insurance options as a landlord. There are tens of choices and coverages from which you can choose. Let a professional help you pick the best choice.
Subscribe to Blog Contact Me Search for Homes Daily List Alert
With large swaths of the country bracing for an historic Mississippi River flood, it’s important to remember that floods aren’t just regional.
Flood waters can strike any city, in any state, at any time. According to FloodSmart.gov, floods are the #1 most common disaster in the United States. $709 million in flood insurance claims were paid to households, businesses, and renters in 2010 — more than one-third of which went to people outside of “high-risk areas”.
Should a flood hit your home or place of business, will you know what to do? The first 24 hours are crucial.
First, make sure that your home is safe from danger. Floods can damage a home’s structural integrity, creating cracks and gaps in its foundation, among other problems. If you see any such damage, your home may be unsafe for re-entry.
Next, check for exposed power lines and damaged gas and sewer pipes. Notify your local utility company and be prepared to wait for a service representative. During times of natural disaster, utility companies receive a lot of inbound phone calls.
A good follow-up is to disconnect your home’s power at its circuit breaker. This way, electricity can’t mix with water in your home by accident — a potentially lethal combination.
Once your home is safe, use a camera to document damage. Note: Do this before you start removing water or making repairs because it’s evidence for the insurers.
You’ll also want to throw out food and other items that have come into contact with flood waters. Flood waters may contain raw sewage and other contaminants that can harm you.
Lastly, contact your insurer and explain your situation. Be sure to follow your insurer’s exact instructions because you don’t want to do something that will void your claim. If you plan to make an immediate repair, notify your agent. Document your conversation with date, time, and topics discussed.
Like utility companies, your insurer may be overwhelmed with phone calls during a local flood. Optionally, you may call your insurer’s headquarters instead.
Just one inch of water can cause serious damage to your home. When flood waters hit, know what to do.
Subscribe to Blog Contact Me Search for Homes Daily List Alert
For the second time this year, the FHA is modifying mortgage insurance.
Beginning with FHA case numbers issued on or after October 4, 2010, the FHA is changing its upfront and annual mortgage insurance premium structure.
Under the new terms, assuming a 30-year fixed rate FHA mortgage with at least 5 percent equity:
- Upfront MIP drops to 1.000% of the amount borrowed from 2.250%
- Annual MIP increases to 0.850% of the amount borrowed from 0.500%
For homeowners in Blue Ridge, Blairsville and everywhere else , this switch in MIP decreases the upfront cost of an FHA-insured mortgage, but increases the loan’s long-term costs.
Using a $100,000 mortgage as an example, upfront MIP falls to $1,000 from $2,250; monthly MIP jumps to $70.83 from $41.67. The FHA expects the change will yield an additional $300 million in premiums monthly.
The update is a huge win for the FHA whose reserve funds are self-proclaimed to be “perilously low”. The extra monies should help recapitalize and stabilize the government group.
The FHA is on pace to back 1.7 million loans this year.
For the majority of refinancing FHA homeowners and home buyers, the MIP change is neither good nor bad — the borrowing landscape will just looks a bit different. Yes, loans will cost more to carry each month, but also they’ll be less expensive to procure. It’s a trade-off and you can apply math formulas to solve for the best time to apply FHA.
It may be wise to get your FHA case number before October 4, for example, depending on your time frame in the home and the expected life of the mortgage. Or, it may be better to wait until after October 4 to apply.
If you’re unsure of how the new FHA mortgage premiums will impact your mortgage, be sure to call or email your loan officer for help.
NOTE : The FHA originally announced an implementation date of September 7. It was subsequently amended to October 4, 2010.
Subscribe to Blog Contact Me Search for Homes Daily List Alert
The fiscal responsibility of a homeowner — in Blue Ridge, Blairsville and everywhere else — extends beyond the mortgage’s basic principal and interest repayments. Homeowners are also responsible for the real estate taxes on the home and its insurance premiums, too.
Failure to pay taxes can lead to foreclosure, and failure to insure is breach of your mortgage contract.
As a homeowner, you have a choice about how you manage your real estate tax and insurance bills. You can choose to pay them from your own bank account when the bills come due, or you can choose to pay 1/12 of the annual bill to your mortgage servicer each month, and then let your servicer pay the bills on your behalf when they come due.
Not surprisingly, servicers prefer the latter method — it reduces two major lender risks:
- That the home’s real estate taxes go delinquent and are sold to a third-party
- That the home endures catastrophic damage during a lapse of insurance coverage
In theory, when the servicer is paying the bills, the home’s taxes are always current and the home’s insurance is always paid. This method of managing taxes and insurance is commonly called “escrowing”.
To calculate a home’s monthly escrow payment is simple. Just take the sum of the annual real estate tax bills and insurance bill, then divide it by 12 months in the year.
As a example, a $4,000 annual tax bill with a $800 insurance policy = $4,800 annually = $400 paid into escrow monthly. These monies are collected as part of the regular mortgage payment along with the mortgage’s scheduled principal + interest payment.
Homeowners choosing to escrow tend to get the lowest rate, lowest fee loans. This is because lenders often charge a premium to “waive escrow” (i.e. pay their own taxes and insurance). Escrow waiver fees vary between banks, but can range up to half-percent of the amount borrowed. The larger the loan, the stiffer the penalty in dollar terms.
Choosing to waive escrow can also raise your mortgage rate by up to 0.250 percent.
If you’re unsure whether escrowing is right for you, talk to your loan officer and/or financial planner. There’s good reason to go either route depending on your profile.
Subscribe to Blog Contact Me Search for Homes Daily List Alert
The mortgage lending landscape changes a lot. Rates and guidelines are in constant flux, and it creates preparedness challenges for buyers in the North Georgia Mountains that aren’t paying in cash.
The loan you get today won’t always be the loan you get tomorrow.
Because of how frequently bank rules are changing, it can be hard for laypersons to distinguish between mortgage fact and fiction of “what’s coming next”.
Recently, we saw this with respect to FHA home loans.
January 20, 2010, the FHA issued a press release with new lending guidelines. Specifically, it announced 3 changes that will be effective starting April 5, 2010:
1. Upfront mortgage insurance premiums increase from 1.75% to 2.25%
2. Allowable seller concession reduced from 6% to 3%
3. FICO scores of 580 or lower are subject to a minimum 10% downpayment
But, also in its official statement, the FHA announced it would ask Congress for permission to raise monthly mortgage insurance premiums. This is where the rumors started.
Nestled on page 348 of the Budget of the United States Government, Fiscal Year 2011, in a section titled Special Topics, there is a 1-paragraph notation that details the FHA’s petition.
1. Raise monthly premiums by roughly 0.30%, or $25 per $100,000 borrowed per month
2. Lower upfront mortgage insurance premiums by 1.25%, or $1,250 per $100,000 borrowed at closing
For now, the request is neither approved nor acknowledged by Congress. It’s merely a request. And in the event that Congress does approves it, that doesn’t mean that FHA has to stand by its initial projections.
Truth is, about the only thing we know about the future of FHA lending is that, come April 5, 2010, borrowing money is going to be tougher, and more expensive. These are the facts as we know them today.
Home buyers should plan accordingly.
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=88bd9e25-510d-4c6e-ac52-48bab0a19e18)
Subscribe to Blog Contact Me Search for Homes Daily List Alert
Securing an FHA mortgage in Georgia is about to get more expensive.
In a statement issued Wednesday, the Federal Housing Authority outlined policy changes to its mortgage assistance program. The shift is meant to both reduce the government group’s portfolio risk while strengthening its overall financials.
For consumers, the changes mean higher costs.
As listed in the official announcement, there are 3 major guideline updates for the FHA:
1. Upfront mortgage insurance premiums are increasing to 2.25% from 1.75%
2. Minimum downpayments for applicants with sub-580 FICOs are rising to 10 percent
3. Seller concessions are being limited to 3%, down from today’s allowable 6%
Furthermore, the FHA has appealed to Congress to raise an FHA borrowers’ monthly mortgage insurance premiums.
To read the FHA’s statement, it’s clear what the group is trying to balance. On one side, the FHA wants to provide affordable financing to families that need it. That’s its mission statement. On the other side, though, the FHA must manage the risk that comes with insuring lesser-quality loans.
To that end, the FHA is stepping up its enforcement of “bad lenders” in hopes of stopping problems where they start.
Also in its new policies, the FHA is introducing a “termination clause”. If banks or loan officers that produce more than their fair share of bad loans, they lose their right to originate FHA mortgages.
As a result, home buyers in Blairsville, GA. should expect tougher FHA underwriting in 2010. Not because the FHA says so, necessarily, but because banks don’t want to do “bad loans”. Lenders are incented to turn down at-risk applicants and, already, we’re seeing examples of this. Despite FHA allowing 580 FICOs and lower, many banks have made 620 their minimum.
Some have other guideline overlays, too.
The FHA’s new guidelines don’t go into effect until spring. So, between now and then, the old guidelines will apply. Therefore, if you know you’re going to need an FHA home loan in the next few months, consider moving up your time-frame.
If nothing else, you’ll save some money at closing.
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=33841f9a-0aad-402d-ab48-6cd2f65e02d8)
Subscribe to Blog Contact Me Search for Homes Daily List Alert
An escrow account is a designated savings account into which funds get deposited for a specific purpose.
With respect to real estate and home loans, escrow accounts are used to pay real estate tax bills and homeowners insurance payments.
Escrow accounts are managed and disbursed by lenders.
When a homeowner “escrows” his mortgage, along with his scheduled monthly mortgage payment, he must also send an additional payment to the lender equal to 1/12 of the home’s annual real estate tax bill plus 1/12 of the annual homeowners insurance bill.
By sending a pro rata portion of the tax and insurance bill each month, the homeowner’s escrow account will always, in theory, have enough funds to make payments in full as tax bills and insurance premiums come due.
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=06087369-c4aa-4465-b5e9-6663038a88f6)
Subscribe to Blog Contact Me Search for Homes Daily List Alert
