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Offered at $349,900 ~ SALE PENDING
Location, Location, Location! This waterview raised Ranch style home has a lot of potential. Deeded Beach and Boating Rights in the Newport Beach Community!
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Offered at $309,000
This Diamond home was renovated and is a true turn-key home. The gourmet kitchen features granite countertops, Miele dishwasher, subzerio refrigerator, thermador cooktop and oven. The fully finished basement features a family room and full bath. Large backyard with above ground pool.
For more information and to view additional photographs click here: 198 Hedges Avenue, East Patchogue
Offered at $599,000 ~ Price Reduced
New construction! Four bedroom Victorian home situated on a large treed property with 75’ of water frontage on Old Neck Creek. This custom home features a full 9’ basement with 6’ patio doors that open to the backyard. The 42’ deck is easily accessible through 3 sets of doors. The open floor plan offers hardwood floors, a formal dining room and living room, main level laundry and more. An extra room off the living room would make a great den or office. The luxurious master suite is complete with a custom bath and walk-in closet. Call for more information and to schedule an appointment.
Listed by Steven Monzeglio, you can find out more information and view additional photographs by clicking here: 51 Crystal Beach Boulevard
| Special to Newsday
March 13, 2009
(Newsday Illustration / Ned Levine)
Newsday 3/13/2009: http://www.newsday.com/classified/realestate/ny-hocov6065842mar13,0,5601800.story
If all works as drawn, a mortgage rescue plan unveiled by the federal government last week will help millions of homeowners avoid foreclosure, and millions more could see a reduction in their monthly payments. For those who may need help, here’s an outline of both components of the “Making Home Affordable” plan and some points of advice to consider before calling your mortgage company.
Be persistent
Most housing experts are hailing the merits of patience. Servicers and lenders are expected to be inundated by requests, and some details of the plan are not yet clear to lenders, finance and real estate experts say. (The federal government’s Web site is asking people to “be patient” because lenders might not be ready to start the program. As lenders sign contracts to participate, a list of them will be available at financialstability.gov, according to the site.)
But as homeowners move through the process of refinancing or modifying a loan, being persistent will be a key to success, says Lynn Law, director of education and counseling at the Long Island Housing Partnership, a Hauppauge-based nonprofit that gives affordable housing opportunities. Law provides mortgage counseling and has worked with servicers on behalf of borrowers seeking mortgage modifications.
THE POTENTIAL TRAP Timid borrowers might not press servicers about the status of their applications, Law says, adding that this might cause a delay in getting help.
ADVICE Make that second call – and a third and fourth, Law says. Do not assume the lender or servicer received documents sent through the mail. Call to confirm. Law adds that, although applying for a mortgage modification can be stressful, remaining polite can go a long way with busy servicers.
Get to know your finances
Homeowners should know how much debt they have, what their monthly budget looks like and what their mortgage payment is as a percentage of monthly gross income, mortgage counselors and brokers say. Obvious? Maybe. But tell that to Bob Moulton, president of broker Americana Mortgage Group in Manhasset. Moulton says he sees prospective borrowers or homeowners seeking mortgage refinances regularly who are not aware of their financial standing.
THE POTENTIAL TRAP Homeowners unaware of their finances make uneducated decisions about how to get help, say Moulton and counselors like Joan LaFemina, a program manager with the Community Development Corp. of Long Island, a nonprofit with offices in Freeport and Centereach that helps struggling homeowners seek modifications. Also, experts point out, unrealistic household budget projections are partly what led to the economic downturn, leading many to agree to monthly payments they could not consistently meet.
ADVICE Before calling your mortgage company, have copies of important financial documents that will be required, such as recent tax returns and monthly income statements (get a list of documents you will need to refinance or modify a loan at financialstability.gov). Without preparation, making an educated decision about refinancing or modifying a loan becomes, at least, more time-consuming, Moulton says.
Caution is a virtue
Most people are not experts in mortgage finance. But, the financial experts say, that’s no reason to be unsure about the terms of a loan you might need to live with for decades.
THE POTENTIAL TRAP Borrowers who lack financial savvy often rely too much on mortgage companies and may not understand, or even read, all the fine print of their loans, which can lead to long-term problems, says Lita Smith-Mines, a Commack-based real estate attorney. Under the government’s plan, for example, a lender may modify a loan into an ultralow interest rate (as low as 2 percent). But many modified rates will go back up over time, increasing monthly payment obligations. Also, reducing monthly payments today could mean extending the life of the loan from 30 years to 40 years, for example. That would ultimately increase the amount of money the borrower would owe over time.
ADVICE Know what you’re signing, Smith-Mines says. “I understand as well as anyone that when your May mortgage payment is due in 2009, you may not be thinking about 2012,” Smith-Mines says. “I just want people to consider the consequences of rearranging or postponing.”
Also, the government is cautioning homeowners to stay away from fee-based counselors who may be looking to prey on unsuspecting borrowers seeking help. Free mortgage counseling is available at nonprofits like the Community Development Corp. of Long Island (cdcli.org) and the Long Island Housing Partnership (lihp.org). (More HUD-approved counselors in Nassau and Suffolk are listed at www.hud.gov/offices /hsg/sfh/hcc/hcs.cfm, or call 877-HUD-1515.)
Think balance in writing a hardship letter
For homeowners looking to modify terms of their mortgages to make them more affordable and avoid foreclosure, writing a hardship letter is an essential part of the package, say mortgage counselors. Unlike all the other documents that will be required, the letter gives homeowners an opportunity to explain, in their own words, what went wrong. LaFemina suggests being brief, explaining what happened in two to three short paragraphs. In addition to your name and telephone number, be sure to date the letter and include the address of the property, the name of the mortgage servicer and the loan number. Law says proof of claims in the hardship letter, such as doctors’ notes, do not have to be attached. But borrowers should be able to prove their claims if requested, Law says.
In addition to the letter, mortgage servicers and lenders being asked to modify a mortgage will need monthly income statements, most recent tax returns and information regarding any other debt, such as student loans or credit card balances. (Again, get that complete list at financialstability.gov.)
THE POTENTIAL TRAP Letters written by struggling homeowners are often too heavy on anecdotal accounts and too light on the details mortgage companies are really looking for, says LaFemina of the Community Development Corp.
ADVICE What mortgage companies need are the specifics about why homeowners can’t meet monthly mortgage payments, LaFemina says. Did a car accident leave a primary earner out of work and without a stable income? List the date of the accident and the extent of the injuries in the letter. Has someone in the house lost a job during the economic downturn? Explain in detail how the layoff has affected the household’s budget, LaFemina says.
The ‘making home affordable’ plan
The refinancing component
SNAPSHOT Homeowners who couldn’t qualify for mortgage refinancing in the past because their houses have lost value may be eligible to refinance under the new plan to take advantage of low interest rates and get more affordable monthly payments.
WHO’S ELIGIBLE
Mortgages must be owned or guaranteed by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac. (If you don’t know, call Fannie Mae at 800-7FANNIE or Freddie Mac at 800-FREDDIE.)
Home must be a primary residence.
Homeowners must be current on their mortgage payments, meaning they haven’t been 30 days late on a payment in the past year.
The first mortgage cannot exceed 105 percent of the value of the home. For a $300,000 home, for example, a homeowner who owes $315,000 or less may be eligible, but not anyone who owes more than that amount.
The modification component
SNAPSHOT Homeowners at risk of foreclosure may be eligible for a modification of their mortgage. Under the plan, mortgage servicers can reduce the interest rate on the loan (down to 2 percent), extend the life of the loan, and defer or reduce principal (there could be a balloon payment at maturity) to make payments more affordable.
WHO’S ELIGIBLE
Home must be a primary residence.
Mortgages modified under the plan must have been originated on or before Jan. 1, 2009.
Mortgage payments before modification must exceed 31 percent of a homeowner’s gross monthly income.
Mortgages for single-unit homes must have unpaid principal balances of $729,750 or less.
Mortgage must be unaffordable for the homeowner, maybe because of a job loss or illness.
What if you don’t qualify?
Inevitably, housing counselors say, some troubled homeowners will be left out of the mortgage rescue plan. But there are options for relief, they say.
WHO’S LEFT OUT Borrowers whose mortgage payments well exceed 38 percent of their monthly gross income and others without a steady paycheck may be among those who don’t qualify, says Jerry Coppola, coordinator of the foreclosure prevention program at the Economic Opportunity Council of Suffolk Inc. in Patchogue.
OTHER OPTIONS Coppola says companies may still be willing to modify loans for borrowers who do not qualify under the plan if they show an ability to make payments.
First step, Coppola says, is to call the servicer or lender and ask for relief. Banks may allow borrowers to enter a temporary forbearance plan in which payments could be reduced, he says. Next, Coppola recommends scheduling an appointment with a housing counselor certified by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to discuss longer-term options and ways to get the borrower’s budget in order.
For borrowers with no income who cannot make payments, options are bleaker. A homeowner can voluntarily transfer the deed before foreclosure, or do a short sale. Lenders may be willing to accept a smaller payoff if borrowers cannot sell the home for at least the amount owed on the mortgage.
- JONATHAN STARKEY
MORE INFORMATION
For “Making Home Affordable,” financial stability .gov. For a local counselor, 877-HUD-1515; Community Development Corp. of LI, 631-471-1215 or 516-867-7727; LI Housing Partnership, 631-435-4710. If urgent: Homeowner’s HOPE Hotline, 888-995-HOPE
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For more information and to view additional photographs, click here: 57 S. Windhorst Avenue, Bethpage
http://www.newsday.com/business/ny-lihous056058093mar05,0,3361743.story
BY DENISE M. BONILLA
denise.bonilla@newsday.com
March 5, 2009
Trying to jolt a lethargic housing market, the Town of Babylon announced yesterday it will give middle-income families a $15,000 down payment match toward the purchase of their first home.
Those who earn 81 to 120 percent of the area’s median income will qualify for the program. For example, a single buyer can make up to $81,550 and a family of four up to $116,500, Supervisor Steve Bellone said. The home must be purchased within the town, and while the program is open to all of Long Island, priority will be given to those who are already town residents.
“We’re not going to get out of this [economic] crisis without stabilizing and fixing the part that was the source of this crisis and that is our real estate market,” he said. “[This program] is intended for us to do our part in helping to stabilize our housing market here and hopefully help move it into a positive direction.”
The $15,000 payments will come from a revolving fund that uses money from the town’s affordable housing trust fund. Developers who do not set aside 20 percent of their units for affordable housing pay into this fund. The town initially will use $1.05 million to assist 70 families, Bellone said.
The money must be repaid, he said, when the home is either sold or refinanced. Home buyers must also take part in a one-time mortgage counseling session with the Long Island Housing Partnership so they understand home ownership.
“This is not a handout, this is a help up,” Bellone said. “People will not be put into homes if they’re not able to sustain those homes.”
Purchased homes must undergo an energy audit as part of the town’s Green Long Island Homes program, which updates homes’ energy efficiency.
Peter Elkowitz, president of the Long Island Housing Partnership, called the program unique because most HUD-funded programs only provide housing assistance to families who earn 80 percent or less of the area’s median income. Under such guidelines, a family of four could not exceed an income of $77,700. Elkowitz said several families who came into his office in recent months did not meet the HUD income guidelines but would meet Babylon’s new guidelines.
“This is the first down payment assistance program that goes that high,” he said of the town’s cap of 120 percent of median income. “That’s a real number for a family of four.”
Phil Weiden of the Long Island Board of Realtors said there are 1,336 homes for sale in the town and the median selling price is $359,000. He said he hopes Babylon’s program paves the path “for other towns across Long Island to come up with their own version of what they can do.”
Buyer qualifications
Applicants to Babylon’s housing assistance program for middle-income families must:
Be HUD-defined first-time home buyers.
Have a total household income between 81 and 120 percent of area median income – from $77,701 to $116,500 for a family of four. Occupy purchased home as a principal residence.
Not be in contract to purchase before the start of the program (March 2).
Contribute $15,000 toward the down payment.
Buy a home in Babylon town for up to $396,150.
Participate in the Long Island Green Homes Program, which updates homes’ energy efficiency, within six months of purchase.
Attend a one-time mortgage counseling session with the Long Island Housing Partnership.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/08/realestate/08condo.html?pagewanted=1&ref=realestate
By TERI KARUSH ROGERS
Published: March 6, 2009
With sales prices of Manhattan apartments having tumbled by perhaps a quarter in just the past few months, pinpointing the bottom has become a top priority for anyone eager to buy, sell or broker a deal on a home in New York. Some industry observers foresee market drops of 40 percent, while others think that is too extreme and suggest that price reductions of 25 percent will more be likely the new norm. There’s no question, though, that the boom-or-bust experience has arrived in Manhattan, which had seemed to be avoiding the fate of Las Vegas and Florida. “It’s almost surreal,” said Dottie Herman, the president of Prudential Douglas Elliman, referring to the abrupt turnabout after the collapse of Lehman Brothers last fall. Until then, prices had been marching upward, with the median price of an apartment more than tripling in a decade. To some degree, the rise in prices was logical in New York, where a string of outsized Wall Street bonuses lined the pockets of many buyers. That wasn’t the case in other parts of the country, which suffered from speculation and a large number of subprime mortgages. No one has any hard numbers yet on New York because first-quarter reports, reflecting closing prices of deals struck last fall, will not be available for a few weeks. Looking ahead, however, some believe it is possible that the average slide from peak values could reach 40 percent by the end of 2010, with variation by neighborhood and market segment. That would put values back to levels last seen around 2002. Others are more optimistic. “I’m not disagreeing with you that values are coming down,” said Pamela Liebman, the president of the Corcoran Group. But, she said, “there’s no way the Manhattan market is dropping to those levels that are being talked about. Certain apartments might, but as a whole it will not happen.” Hall F. Willkie, the president of Brown Harris Stevens, said he, too, would be surprised by a decline that large. “A lot of negative things would have to happen in the general economy,” he said. He is seeing sales prices 15 to 25 percent below those of last summer, with renters making up an ever-increasing percentage of buyers. And he saw a positive sign in the fact that, despite all of the bad economic news, sales volume is about half what it was this time last year. Jonathan J. Miller, the president of Miller Samuel, a Manhattan research and appraisal company, estimates that contract prices have declined by about 25 percent since last summer. Just how much further prices will dive may depend more on how soon and how generously banks resume lending than on the recovery of Wall Street or the end of the recession. Ms. Herman said she expected the brunt of the pain to be borne within the next six months. Others expected the downward drift to last for a year to 18 months, until credit markets regain their equilibrium. When will we know when the market has reached the bottom? Frederick Peters, the president of Warburg Realty, noted that some deals his firm had brokered lately were nearing the lows being predicted by others. “Even if the New York market were to end up being 35 to 45 percent down,” he said, “to the degree we’re seeing deals done at 30 to 32 percent down anyway, it’s not very far away.” Mr. Miller says sales activity needs to stabilize first. “You’re approaching bottom when you start to see sales activity stop declining and level off,” he said. “Pricing begins to push up when you have an extended period, like a year, when sales activity doesn’t decline anymore.” One measure of just how anorectic sales have become is the bloated state of inventory. “It’s right now the highest since I started tracking in 1999,” Mr. Miller said. Inventory levels in Manhattan have averaged 7,021 a month for the last decade, he said, and there were 10,243 co-ops and condominiums for sale at the end of February — 38 percent more than a year ago. Many expect that the million-dollar segment will stabilize first because it is powered by first-timers who are drawn by falling prices and don’t have to sell before they buy. The process is being helped along by federal efforts to increase mortgage lending: The latest stimulus package enables Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to extend loan guarantees to New York City mortgages originated this year for up to $729,750. Mr. Peters predicted that larger apartments, in the three-bedroom-and-up category, would stabilize over the next six months. Those buyers, he said, tend to have an easier time obtaining mortgages through private banking relationships and will become more active once sellers trim prices. Large drops in prices are not new in the city. The last decade-long increase in prices was followed by about seven years of falling prices starting in the early 1990s, said Ingrid Gould Ellen, the co-director of the Furman Center for Real Estate and Urban Policy at New York University School of Law. Prices fell about 29 percent.
But there’s no rule that a downturn has to be six or seven years,” she said. “It’s possible that rather than seeing price declines spread out over a six-year period, this time it could be concentrated in a two-year period.”
Indeed, both Ms. Herman and Ms. Liebman note that this recession differs from previous ones in that there are buyers on the sidelines this time.
“We see a real increase in traffic and a lot more buyers out there,” Ms. Liebman said. “The fish are circling and they will eventually get hungry and start biting. What we’re seeing is a big disconnect — sellers need to get more realistic, but buyers don’t even think it’s enough. Buyers are not hesitating to walk in and bid 40 percent off the price, but sellers aren’t taking it.”
Recovery, when it arrives, is predicted to be modest. Lenders aren’t expected to return to the open-valve position of the boom years.
Ms. Herman said she anticipated a return to annual appreciation rates of 5 to 7 percent. At 6 percent annual appreciation (should that occur after the market stabilized), it would take about nine years for an apartment worth $1 million at peak — and about $600,000 at bottom — to regain its value, according to calculations by Mr. Miller.
The degree and rate of recovery will be influenced by various factors. A Goldman Sachs analysis of the New York City condo market published in early January addressed the possibility that pay cuts in the financial industry or a significant departure of affluent residents could reduce incomes to their pre-Wall Street boom levels of two decades ago. If per-capita incomes were to revert to twice the national average (versus more recent measures of three times the national average), condo prices would need to fall by 58 percent to match the price-to-income ratios of the late 1990s, before the run-up in the real estate market, according to the analysis.
The leveling of the boom may strike condos and co-ops differently.
As prices head south, Mr. Miller said that he expected condos to be more volatile. New construction, including condo conversions, seems likely to suffer the most. “Contract activity on new development has been much harder hit than co-op resales because of credit,” Mr. Miller said.
Co-op boards, however, could damage themselves, he said, if they become too picky with buyers.
“The danger they face is that co-op boards are in denial about the change in the market,” Mr. Miller said. “They’ve been even more conservative with this downturn in terms of financial qualifications — if you work on Wall Street now that’s like a liability — and they’ve been killing sales that they feel are low, to protect values in the building.”
That sort of behavior only depresses values within a building. “It gets a reputation in the brokerage community of being unrealistic about market conditions and that makes it much more difficult to attract buyers,” Mr. Miller said. “I’m not saying they shouldn’t be prudent, but by overreacting they are doing what lenders are doing, which is damaging the collateral they are trying to protect.”
Mr. Peters said his firm had negotiated some co-op deals “dramatically below where prices have been.”
“What we see is that boards are scrutinizing the purchases carefully but not striking down the deal because the price isn’t high enough,” Mr. Peters said. “I definitely agree that in the current environment, that would be profoundly foolish, because the world is a different place.”
A different place and possibly a better one, said Ms. Liebman, who like many brokers manages to see the positive in any environment that comes along. “Why should an average one-bedroom with nothing special to offer cost well over a million? The market got ahead of itself, and this correction is good for New York because it brings the affordability back in line.”
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Breaking up is even harder to do
If you are contemplating a divorce, you should know that your home’s value could affect your finances for years to come. Before setting foot in a lawyer’s office, read about the five most common scenarios that divorcing couples now find themselves in when they can’t sell their house – or don’t want to – right away.
Scenario 1
LIVE AN UPSTAIRS/ DOWNSTAIRS LIFE
How it works “I call this ‘The War of the Roses’ option,” says Jacqueline Harounian, a matrimonial law attorney at Wisselman, Harounian & Associates in Great Neck, referring to the 1989 movie starring Michael Douglas and Kathleen Turner.
In this scenario, the husband and wife agree to live together either before, during or after the divorce while the house is for sale. “Someone usually lives in a spare bedroom, the basement or on the couch,” Harounian says.
Advice To limit battles, Harounian suggests negotiating a legal agreement on issues such as kitchen use, picking up the kids and grocery shopping. Work out arrangements for home repairs and monthly bills, she adds. Typically, she says, people contribute to household expenses proportionately, based on each spouse’s income. If there are children, the parents must negotiate how their expenses will be paid. Child-support payments usually don’t begin until parents are living apart.
Handling the house sale “It’s crucial to provide for automatic reductions in the listing price,” says Harounian. For example, if a house is worth $600,000, the couple could agree that the listing price will go down $20,000 for every three months the house is not sold. She also advises negotiating on the lowest acceptable selling price, as well as whom the Realtor will be, to avoid arguments later.
Upside This situation not only gives couples a chance to save money by sharing costs but to see if the housing market improves. It also allows for parents to continue joint care for their children and to ease into living separately.
Downside “While this option can be a short-term solution for some couples,” Harounian cautions, “it’s not going to be realistic or safe in cases where there is child abuse, domestic violence, mental illness, drug and alcohol issues, or new paramours.”
The bottom line, says Pia Riverso, a matrimonial law attorney at Rivkind Radler LLC in Uniondale, is that some divorcing couples can’t afford to move until the house is sold because of unemployment, income reduction and the cost of renting. “The ‘upstairs/ downstairs’ life is one that I increasingly see many of my clients take,” says Riverso. “Unfortunately, however, in this housing market, it’s a short-term solution that may end up lasting much longer than either side ever imagined – or wanted.”
Scenario 2
KEEP JOINT OWNERSHIP
How it works At the height of the housing market, at least one divorcing spouse usually wanted the house sold as soon as possible to make as much a profit as possible, says Riverso. Now divorcing couples say, “Let’s hold on to the house and wait out the market,” she says.
This is done, she says, when there is negative equity, which is when the mortgage and home equity loans exceed the value of the house. With negative equity, or an “upside-down mortgage,” the homeowner would still have to pay off a portion of the mortgage even after selling the house.
With joint ownership, the couple gets divorced with only one party residing in the house, usually with the children. The couple agrees to postpone the sale of the house until a mutually agreeable date in the future (when the youngest child goes to college, for instance), or when the house can sell for more than the current mortgage, Riverso says. “Both names, however, remain on the title,” she says.
Handling the house sale “The parties will sometimes agree that once the house is sold, whoever paid the larger share of the expenses to carry the house will receive a larger percentage of the net proceeds,” says Riverso.
Upside Riverso says this is a good option for parties who have the financial ability to wait out the market, as long as they can get along well enough to deal with the issues that arise with owning a property together after a divorce. Other issues that often arise: figuring out who will pay a greater portion of the mortgage, who will be responsible for major and minor repairs, and who will claim the mortgage and tax deductions for the home.
Downside “Deciding when the right time is to sell the house can be a thorny issue for couples to agree on,” says Riverso. “Often, one partner is more anxious to limit his or her losses created by a depressed market and more willing to break the financial and emotional ties. “
Another downside, warns Riverso, is that joint ownership can affect both partners’ credit rating if payments aren’t made on time. “A way to minimize this risk,” says Riverso, “is to remove one of the parties’ names from the mortgage through a refinance – which, in this economy, with lowering interest rates, may be beneficial in itself. I’ve had many cases where the wife was living in the house, always late with the mortgage payment, and to protect his credit, the husband made a check out to the mortgage company instead of sending his wife maintenance money. The balance, if any, went to the wife. “
Scenario 3
BUY ME OUT
How it works The “buyout” is another possibility to consider: This is when one ex buys out the other ex’s interest in the house (either in a lump sum or installment payments); lives in the house; and takes on the loan obligations. “The buyout is usually achieved with a refinance or home- equity loan,” says Harounian, “either at the time of the divorce agreement or an agreed-upon future date, such as when the youngest child graduates elementary school. ” In cases where the buyout is delayed for several years, the parties continue joint ownership of the house, and, in most cases, both benefit when the value of the house appreciates and is sold, she adds.
But if a refinance or home equity loan isn’t feasible due to the current lending restrictions, the buyout can be accomplished by trading the house for other assets – one spouse keeps the home and, for example, the other keeps the 401(k), stock account, second home or business. “This reduces how much the spouse remaining in the house owes the other,” Riverso says.
Upside This scenario allows one party to take advantage of the reduced equity in the house while saving on the usual expenses of selling a house to a third party (the broker fees and the transfer taxes, for instance), Harounian says. If the buyout is done simultaneously with the divorce, it will almost always be based on its current value. But if the parties agree to defer the buyout, they can have the house reappraised and renegotiate the numbers. “It all depends on how much risk and uncertainty each party wants to take on,” says Harounian.
Downside Both parties remain on the mortgage, which, again, can harm both parties’ credit ratings if there is a loan default. “The divorce agreement should have language triggering the sale of the house in the event of a default,” says Harounian.
Getting a couple to agree on a buyout can be tricky. Harounian describes one client who was offered an “excellent” buyout by her husband. But because of the wife’s anger, she didn’t want her husband to end up with the house. She knew her teenage children would want to spend more time in the house they grew up in than in her small, rented apartment. The negotiations fell apart, and a year later the couple is divorced – but still living in the house.
Scenario 4
TAKE IN A BOARDER
How it works “If it’s economically possible, I try as hard as I can to keep a mother in the home with her children,” says Robert Mangi, an attorney and chairman of the Matrimonial Law Committee at the Nassau County Bar Association. One way to defray housing costs is to rent out part of the house. Taking in a boarder can bring in $500 to $1,000 or more a month.
Handling the house sale To keep yourself out of landlord tenant court, make sure you have an agreement that establishes tenancy for a short time. Having a month-to-month agreement, for instance, is important if you want to sell your house. A lease, on the other hand, is usually for a year.
Upside “Renting space is a way to wait out the market until the house appreciates in value,” Mangi says. “Continued home ownership provides tax benefits, and the children have the security of a familiar home and school district. “
Downside “If you rent to a stranger, you have no way of being sure of their ethics, friends, alcohol use or cleaning habits,” Mangi says. “If you want to throw someone out, you could end up with a landlord-tenant dispute. And, disgruntled renters often wreck a place on their way out. ” If possible, rent to a relative or a friend, he advises.
Renting out a portion of a house often requires permits from the town. There also are safety concerns (fire hazards, overcrowding, etc.). And many exes will threaten to reveal an illegal rental to the town after a fight, Mangi adds.
Scenario 5
STOP PAYING THE MORTGAGE
How it works Legal experts agree that foreclosure, like bankruptcy, is a legal option that should be considered as a last resort and only after consultation with a lawyer. “This is an absolute worst-case scenario for divorcing couples who have negative equity in their home or can no longer afford to make payments,” says Harounian. In this scenario, the couple stops paying the mortgage and bides time until there is a short sale or a foreclosure.
Upside Couples often can pay for critical expenses such as food, utilities, medical bills, credit card debt and litigation with the money that normally goes for mortgage and taxes.
“I had a divorcing couple with a special-needs child who went to a costly private school and needed expensive private therapy,” Harounian says. “When the appraisal revealed that the house was worth less than the outstanding mortgage, the parties agreed to not pay the carrying charges on the house, await foreclosure and pay tuition instead. As it turned out, the bank didn’t commence foreclosure proceedings, and the couple is trying to work out an arrangement with the bank. “
Downside “Eventually, if you don’t catch up on your mortgage, or modify your loan, you will be evicted,” which can take six months or longer, says Nancy Sherman, an attorney in Lake Success specializing in divorce and real estate. “While some people may stop paying their mortgage, they should make sure the homeowner’s insurance remains current because the foreclosure process can take a long time. This will protect them in case of a fire, or for liability purposes if someone is injured on their property. “
If there is an order issued by the court in an ongoing divorce action directing that one party pay the mortgage, failure to comply could lead to imprisonment, a fine or both, she warns.
And, “for allowing your loan to go into arrears, your credit rating will be affected for seven to 10 years,” Sherman says. “This can also interfere with renting an apartment of your choosing in the future, because landlords generally run a credit search.”
Copyright © 2009, Newsday Inc.
9.2 acre equestrian property that went to contract February 2009
Their are five pending sale of homes in Manorville for the month of January 2009 . Of the five, two were condominiums in Greenwood Village, a fifty five and over community, one was a condominium in the Greens, one was a condominium in Silver Ponds and the fifth was a 9.2 acre equestrian property.
What is important to realize from this is that no “traditional” single family homes sold in January last month in Manorville.
The numbers are not very different from the same time last year. In 2008, six properties sold in January in Manorville. Of the six, five were single family homes ranging in price from $425,000 to $625,000 and the sixth was a condo in the high $400,000′s. A far cry from this years spread of $90,00 to $310,000.
In February of 2009 we have nine sales. Three are condos in Greenwood Village from $90,000 to $145,000. One is a condo in Silver Ponds that was asking $309,000, and five are single family homes ranging from $389,000 to $499,000.
- Clancy Road ~ Sold Feb 2009
In February of 2008 we had twelve sales (homes that went to contract in that month). Two were Greenwood Village condos under $100,000 and eight were single family homes ranging in price from $385,000 to $615,000.
What we see from this trend is that the upper end of the market is “missing”. Homes are selling but mostly in the lower price brackets. We will continue to track these sales for the comming months and I will also compare all of 2008 to 2007.
In January of 2009 Center Moriches had five home sales ranging in price (asking) from $225,000 to $549,000 with an average 290 days on the market. In 2008 we had four sales ranging from $300,000 to $560,000 with an average 120 days on the market. February of 2009 showes six sales. Two homes are new construction asking $399,000 and $539,000 and four are resales ranging from $199,000 to $469,000. In February of 2008 we had three sales ranging from $250,000 to $449,000. Center moriches had a very good 2009.
East Moriches had only one sale for the month of January 2009, a $280,000 ranch with 3 bedrooms and 2 baths. In 2008 we had five sales ranging in price from $379,000 to $414,000. For February 2009 we had only one sale, a contemporary home in Baywood that had an original price of $699,000 and sold for below $500,000. In February of 2008 we had three sales ranging from $330,000 to $524,000. Check back for a more detailed report on this town in the next week or so.
Lilly Pond Lane Eastport sold February 2008
Eastport had two contracts for the month of January 2009. One was a $499,000 condo in Encore, a fifty five and over community with large luxury homes and a clubhouse. The other was a single family home that was for sale for several years and was asking $599,000 at the time of the sale. In 2008 we had no contracts for January in Eastport. February shows the reverse of January with no contracts in 2009 and only one in 2008 for a single family home asking $699,000 and selling for $560,000 after 144 days on the market.
Changes in the market are the source of many articles and newscasts as well as this blog. I will be compiling a chart to compare 2009 to the last few years. Clearly homes are still selling but changes are evident. It will be interesting to track the months ahead.
Source: Multiple Listing Service of Long Island
