CONSUMERS who have practically made a national sport out of hunting down the best price for everything from lipstick to laptops online often fail to comparison-shop for mortgages, finding the Web sites unhelpful or difficult to navigate.

Some of the nation’s leading mortgage sites have responded by working to become more consumer-friendly. Their revamped sites, they say, will let borrowers not only browse lender rates and terms, but learn about market trends and read comments from other shoppers.

Keith T. Gumbinger, the vice president of HSH Associates, which tracks mortgage rates and provides rate quotes from lenders, says that while there is plenty of mortgage information out there, much of what has been available on the Web until recently is “broad but shallow.”

“Consumers often can’t get some of the more technically oriented stuff,” he said, citing explanations of when an adjustable-rate mortgage actually adjusts, or prepayment penalties apply.

At LendingTree, an online marketplace that connects borrowers to lenders, consumers can browse not just quotes from various lenders but also a burgeoning array of industry articles, research tools, calculators and consumer-generated ratings and reviews of lenders.

In December, according to Nicole Hall, a spokeswoman for LendingTree, the company created an online feature in which borrowers can post a mortgage-related question to be answered by a LendingTree loan specialist. “We’ve been doing a lot of development of information resources for consumers over the past year,” she said, citing the company’s growing list of how-to tips for first-time buyers and those wanting to refinance.

Quicken Loans, an online direct lender, has an expanding number of customer-written reviews — both positive and negative — on buying and refinancing. Starting in March, consumers can also download Quicken Loan’s iPhone app and track when appraisals come in, closing dates are set, and other time-sensitive hurdles in the home-buying process are reached.

Even major banks are making changes. Bank of America said it was taking a “dual path” online, offering one set of articles and tools for first-time buyers, another for the more experienced. For all borrowers, “we shoot for a ninth-grade reading level for everything we put on the Web,” said Arturo Perez, a home loans marketing executive at the bank. “We want simpler language.”

The added educational resources and customer tools arrive amid indications that buyers aren’t shopping around for loans nearly as much as they should.

A poll of more than 1,300 homeowners conducted by Harris Interactive, a market research firm, for LendingTree, and published in December, found that while 96 percent of Americans comparison-shopped for “anything,” only 61 percent said they did so for mortgages. The remaining 39 percent took out home loans based on just one quote — even though 9 in 10 of those buyers said they knew that rates varied among lenders.

Mr. Gumbinger believes that consumers, particularly first-time home buyers, simply “get freaked out” by the entire process. “There are so many choices, decisions, time pressures, things to sign,” he said. Thomas Martin, president of America’s Watchdog, a consumer advocacy group, agreed. “They are trying to educate the consumer,” he said of the online companies, “and there’s a lot of information out there, but a lot of times, it’s overkill.”

Bob Walters, the chief economist at Quicken Loans, says online mortgage companies are generally “more uniformly educational” than the bricks-and-mortar lenders. But he agrees about consumers’ propensity to feel overwhelmed — a fact acknowledged on Quicken’s Web site with a hint of levity: during the holidays, it posted instructions for turning excess paperwork into Origami.

Source:  New York Times

MELISSA CALDERONE was ready for a fresh start when she made plans last year to move to Florida from New Jersey. Recently remarried, she signed a contract in mid-March on a house to be built in Windermere, Fla., by Pulte Homes, the nation’s largest homebuilder. The neighborhood had good schools for her three children and two stepchildren. It was also close to where Ms. Calderone’s parents lived.

Her local bank approved her for a mortgage. But then a Pulte Homes saleswoman told her that she would get a $4,000 credit toward closing costs if she took out a loan with the homebuilder’s banking unit instead. Ms. Calderone, 38, agreed. She deposited $20,000 in earnest money and set aside $80,000 more for a down payment on the $347,000 house. Her closing date, documents show, was scheduled for late summer, about six months later.

Then her troubles began. Although she had been “preapproved” by Pulte, the company ultimately denied her the loan. Then, contending that Ms. Calderone had defaulted on the purchase agreement by failing to close on time, Pulte kept her $20,000 deposit. The house went back on the market.

“They have my money and the house, which they are selling to somebody else,” Ms. Calderone said. “I have no house and no deposit.”

Asked about Ms. Calderone’s complaint, a spokeswoman for the PulteGroup declined to comment, citing concerns over customer privacy.

But the spokeswoman provided a general statement: “Preapproval does not guarantee the final approval or closing on the transaction, since a buyer’s financial situation can change during the homebuilding process or the buyer may be unable to verify certain aspects of his or her credit profile. If the buyer fails to close on his or her financing for any of these reasons, the purchase agreement allows the seller to retain the earnest money to offset any financial damages.”

But Ms. Calderone is not the only Pulte customer with this kind of complaint. Last year, the attorney general of Arizona filed a lawsuit against Pulte, contending that the company’s mortgage sales practices deceived consumers. That suit cited borrowers who thought, as Ms. Calderone did, that they had been approved for a mortgage when, in fact, they had not been. Those people lost their deposits as well.

“In the earlier contracts there was a 60-day period for refunds,” said Nancy M. Bonnell, the assistant attorney general for Arizona who litigated the matter against Pulte. “It seemed like the disapproval of the loans came after the 60-day period. Then consumers would find out they did not qualify for the loan or rate.”

Ms. Bonnell said that Pulte customers in her case forfeited deposits ranging from $2,500 to $25,000 each.

Even when a customer notified Pulte within the specified refund period, the company did not return deposits, according to the Arizona complaint. Some customers were told they had “prequalified” for a loan at one interest rate only to be charged a much higher rate when the loan came through, the complaint said. One customer was promised a 7 percent mortgage but received one carrying a rate of almost 14 percent, it said. Knowing she could not afford the loan, that customer canceled her purchase; Pulte refused to refund her deposit, the complaint said.

Pulte settled with the Arizona attorney general last August, without admitting or denying wrongdoing, Pulte agreed to pay $1.18 million, including restitution.

Under the terms of her contract with Pulte, Ms. Calderone had 45 days to cancel her purchase and get her deposit back. But as occurred in Arizona, her problems with Pulte Mortgage — indeed her first contact with the loan-processing unit — did not come until well after that period had ended.

E-mail correspondence between Ms. Calderone and Pulte shows that the lending company did not contact her until May 25, 2010 — some 67 days after she signed her contract. At that point, she began supplying documents, like the terms of her child-support agreement with her ex-husband, which was her only source of income.

Over the next three months, she continued to respond to questions and requests from Pulte, even when it asked for materials she had already submitted. Pulte also asked about small transactions in her bank account. Where did a $500 cash deposit come from, Pulte wondered? A wedding gift, Ms. Calderone replied.

AS the summer passed, Ms. Calderone kept supplying documents. But she was growing worried that she would be unable to move into the Windermere house by the Sept. 9 closing date. She was living with her parents, and a delay would mean her children could not attend the Windermere schools, where she had registered them.

America’s mortgage market almost sank the world economy. But rather than rushing to fix it, the government has blown two deadlines for proposals. The ideas are finally due as early as this week from the Treasury, and those recommendations will frame the debate. But the danger is they will be based on dogma that should in fact be seriously questioned.

Proposals have been circulating ever since the previous administration seized Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in 2008. Most agree that both entities should be wound down, one way or another. But whether government should still have a role subsidizing housing finance is still up for grabs — or rather, few seem able to resist the idea that it should, even if it is a smaller one. The trouble is that financial types have become accustomed to a government safety net, and few of the constituencies involved are willing to challenge America’s core housing myths.

MYTH 1 Significant reform will kill the housing market. Many fear any major overhaul of housing finance will slam a still tottering housing market.

THE REALITY If America scraps its current system tomorrow, that’s what will happen. At a minimum, removing the government subsidy should nudge mortgage interest rates higher, potentially knocking home prices down further. But Britain took more than a decade to phase out tax deductions on mortgage interest. Homeowners, would-be homeowners and mortgage lenders can adapt to even a potentially wrenching change if there’s a five- or 10-year transition period. The United States needs to get started on a plan.

MYTH 2 The American mortgage market is too big for the private sector to handle alone.

THE REALITY The $10.6 trillion mortgage market is huge, and Fannie and Freddie own or guarantee roughly half of it. But the size of the market — and the secondary market in securitized mortgages, and so on — was part of the problem in the years leading up to the 2008 crisis. The market is already down from its $11 trillion peak, but it is still nearly twice as big as in 2001. With the national average home price down more than 30 percent from its highs and millions of homeowners in danger of foreclosure, it’s clear only a smaller mortgage market is really sustainable.

Fully private-sector mortgages would be more expensive, but at the right price banks will lend. Studies conducted before the financial crisis suggested that government backing saved homeowners only 0.15 to 0.4 percentage point on their mortgage interest rates.

MYTH 3 Investors would stop buying mortgage bonds without government guarantees. Bill Gross, bond guru and co-head of Pimco, certainly has said he wouldn’t want to buy mortgages. Mr. Gross and others in his industry have grown used to the government guarantee. It reduces volatility and saves them some time-consuming analysis.

THE REALITY There are plenty of deep-pocketed investors looking for good investments and with the capacity to figure out their value. Again, interest rates would have to be a bit higher, and the securitization market would probably be a good bit smaller. But what existed before the crisis was unsustainable.

MYTH 4 The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage is part of the American dream.

THE REALITY It’s true that the current standard American mortgage — one with a relatively low rate of interest fixed for 30 years that can be refinanced at almost no cost — would probably be harder to get. Yet high home ownership rates in other countries prove this structure isn’t necessary to enable people to buy homes. A longish transition period would allow mortgage borrowers to get used to less generous home financing. And that’s preferable to having them pay much more down the line through their tax bills if investors need bailing out.

MYTH 5 Government subsidies promote homeownership.

THE REALITY This doesn’t seem to be the case at all. Homeownership rates in the United States from 1998 to 2008 averaged 67.8 percent, just ninth highest out of 17 developed nations, according to a study from the University of California, Berkeley. Moreover, the study found that American homeowners paid significantly higher mortgage rates, roughly 1.5 percentage points more, than those in Europe. That means that even if homeownership is a worthy policy goal, subsidizing mortgages is not the way to do it.

Source:  New York Times ~ February 7, 2011

The unrelenting rise in oil and natural gas prices is about to run headlong into the steady approach of winter. Oil prices have roared to fresh record highs each time the U.S. government reported another fall in heating fuel stocks ahead of winter. World prices have surged on fears that the United States is running out of time to build winter fuel supplies.

The Energy Information Administration forecasts that households in the Midwest could spend 71% more this winter for natural gas and 40% more for propane than last winter; those in the Northeast that use heating oil could spend 33% more; and Southern households could see a 17% rise in their electricity bills. Nationwide, well see an overall increase of 24% in winter heat bills, the EIA forecasts.

The EIA is assuming typical winter weather, but the big forecasters call for a colder than normal season, especially east of the Mississippi.

What to do? Well, dont simply grit your teeth and wait for a big bill.

Theres a lot of things that the entrepreneurial homeowner can do, if hes a little bit handy, says John Ryan, team leader for commercial buildings for the Building Technologies Program in the Department of Energys Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, who has spent years thinking about efficiency in homes.

Here are more than a dozen simple steps you can take to slash your homes heating bill. Seven steps cost nothing. Eight more cost under $100. Combine them, and you can often expect to save 20% — and possibly much, much more — on your home heating bill this winter. And some new federal tax breaks even sweeten the opportunity.

Grab that free, low-hanging fruit
First, the freebies. These strategies may sound simplistic, but they work well:

• Turn down the thermostat. The rule of thumb is that you can save about 3% on your heating bill for every degree that you set back your thermostat full-time, says Bill Prindle, deputy director for the nonprofit American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE). Turn down the thermostat 10 degrees when you go to work, and again when you go to bed — a total of 16 hours a day — and you can save about 14% on your heating bill, says Prindle.
• Use fans wisely. In just one hour, a hard-working bathroom or kitchen fan can expel a houseful of warm air, according to the Department of Energy. Turn them off as soon as theyve done their job.
• Keep the fireplace damper closed. Heat rises, and an open damper is like a hole in the roof. Also, limit use of the fireplace, since fires actually suck heat from a room, says Harvey Sachs, director of ACEEEs buildings program. Close off seldom-used rooms. And shut the vents inside.
• Turn down the water heater. Lowering the temperature of water in the water heater to 115-120 degrees reduces power use often without a noticeable difference to the user, says Prindle.
• Keep heating vents clear. Vents blocked by rugs and furniture prevent heated air from circulating efficiently.
• Use curtains. Opening curtains and shades on south-facing windows during the day allows solar radiation to warm a living space; closing all curtains at night helps retard the escape of that heat.

Web sites on the topic abound, but one of the best is run by the Department of Energy.

Low-cost fixes
So youve put the easiest, and free, ideas to work. Now you can really make a dent in that heating bill with one cheap trip to a hardware store (Home Depot, for example, has all of the items below) and a few hours of work:

• Block that leak! The small gaps surrounding windows, doors and other areas in the American house, taken together, are like a nine-square-foot hole in the wall, according to EarthWorks Groups 30 Simple Energy Things You Can Do to Save the Earth. Plugging them can save you up to 10% on that heating bill, and the materials will pay for themselves within a year, ACEEE says.

  First, find the leaks: On a windy day, hold a lit incense stick to the most common drafty areas: chimney flashing, recessed lighting, sill plates, window and door frames, all ducts and flues and electrical outlets.

  Buy door sweeps ($3-$10) to close spaces under exterior doors, and caulk ($2-$5 per roll, plus a $10 caulk gun) or tacky rope caulk to block those drafty spots around window frames. Apply weatherstripping ($3-$6 for up to 17 feet) to moveable joints. Outlet gaskets ($10 for 10) can easily be installed in electrical outlets in a homes outer walls, where cold air often enters.

• Keep your ducts in a row. A home that uses ductwork to move heated air can lose up to 60% of that air before it reaches the vents if the ducts are poorly connected, not well insulated and travel through unheated spaces such as the attic or crawlspace, says the government. If you are a halfway savvy do-it-yourselfer, and your ductwork and heating and air-conditioning equipment are in the attic, you can do an awful lot to fix your system, at low cost, says Sachs.

  First, look for obvious places in the attic, basement or in crawlspaces where ducts have become disconnected. Reconnect them, and fix places where pipes are pinched, which impedes flow of heated air to the house, says the Department of Energys Ryan.

  Fix remaining gaps with tape, but dont use traditional duct tape, which deteriorates; instead, use metal-backed tape ($6-$10 per roll) or aerosol sealant. Where possible, wrap the ducts exterior with special duct insulation ($8-$12 for 15 feet). Though the cost will be substantially more, its a good idea to get a professional to help insulate ducts when electrical wires or lighting fixtures are nearby.

• Swaddle water heater and pipes. Unless youve got a newer water heater that already has built-in insulation, covering your water heater with an insulated jacket ($17-$20) will keep costs down, especially if your heater is in an unheated place like a garage. Also, wrap water pipes ($1-$5 per 5-foot section) when possible, especially when they run through uninsulated areas.
• Winterize windows. If you cant afford storm windows, put plastic film on those windows ($6 covers three windows) where a clear view isnt crucial, which will curb drafts and keep windows from rattling.
• Buy a low-flow showerhead. A water-efficient showerhead (often less than $20) can use 25% to 50% less hot water, saving both on water and power bills, with little to no reduction in user satisfaction, says Prindle.
• Buy a smart thermostat. If youre the kind of person who forgets to turn the temperature down at night and before work, but who doesnt mind programming things like the TV remote control, a smart thermostat ($50-$100) can be set to change the temperature for you.
• Keep your furnace in shape. Its amazing how often a heating or air conditioning unit stops working because a $3 or $15 air filter is clogged, says Sachs. Replace the air filter ($4-$16) according to manufacturers directions and your heating system will operate more efficiently.

  Oil-fired boilers should be cleaned and tuned annually, and gas systems, every two years ($100-$125). By maintaining your heating unit, you can save between 3% and 10% on heating bills, says ACEEE.

• Look for other insulation opportunities. Some well-placed insulation, especially in the attic of older homes, can save a bundle ($7-$16, in rolls from 22-32 feet, depending on insulation value).

First, however, Sachs recommends going into the attic and looking for black-stained areas on the edges of the fiberglass. Thats dust, and it shows where air is flowing up out of the living space. Sealing that area first will do more good than simply piling on more insulation.

By following all of the aforementioned strategies, the owner of an older home can likely save much more than 20% on heating bills, he says.

Thinking big
So youve spent the minimum and will now save a noticeable chunk of money. What else can you do in the future? Replace appliances, heating units, light fixtures and bulbs with high-efficiency replacements.

It costs money to save money, however. While an adequate vinyl window might cost $100-$150, a double-paned window with a low e-rating (thats a good thing) can cost $50-$100 more, says Nevil Eastwood, director of construction and environmental resources for Habitat for Humanity International in Georgia. That adds up, when youve got 15 windows in your house, Eastwood acknowledges.

Many experts therefore recommend buying high-efficiency windows and appliances as their predecessors wear out and you need to replace them anyway. Over time, the extra cost is recouped in improved efficiency.

If your furnace is over 20 years old, youre probably paying far more to use it, says Maria Vargas, spokesperson for Energy Star, a federal government-backed program that promotes energy efficiency and that lends its name to energy-saving products. Furnaces bearing the Energy Star label are about 15% more efficient than a standard conventional model, says Vargas.

A Chicago resident might pay an Energy Star premium of $1,400 or so on an average home furnace for that area, Vargas says, but the savings pay off the extra cost in three or four years.

Many utilities offer discounts or rebates on energy-saving products. Call and ask. Loans are also sometimes available for major improvements that will incorporate energy-efficient products or to purchase a high-efficiency home.

Thank you, George W. (sort of)
The Energy Policy Act of 2005 gives most of its $14.5 billion in tax breaks over the next 10 years to businesses, but it does throw a few bones to homeowners, says CCH Inc., a provider of tax and accounting information and software.

Homeowners who make energy-efficient improvements to existing homes can qualify for a 10% tax credit, up to $500. A credit is a dollar-for-dollar reduction in taxes, compared with a deduction, which only decreases taxable income. Improvements that can qualify include adding insulation, metal roofs coated with heat-reducing pigments, and energy-efficient windows, doors and skylights (though only $200 can come from windows).

Other items that meet certain criteria qualify for the credit with specific limitations, according to CCH: Advanced main air circulating fans can earn up to a $50 credit; some natural gas, propane or oil furnace or hot water boilers are eligible for up to a $150 credit; and qualifying electric and geothermal heat pumps qualify for up to a $300 credit. The credits can be taken on 2006 and 2007 returns, but the total credits for the two years cannot exceed the $500 maximum, says CCH.

Heres the hitch. The tax breaks dont kick in until Jan. 1, which means consumers have to decide whether to make upgrades now, or wait and pay higher fuel prices. Prindle, ACEEEs deputy directory, recommends this strategy: make any low-cost repairs and upgrades this fall, then invest in pricier upgrades as soon as the tax breaks kick in.

The act also gives homeowners a tax credit for 30% of the cost of buying and installing residential solar water heating and photovoltaic equipment, says CCH. The maximum credit is $2,000. Solar water heaters for swimming pools and hot tubs do not qualify. The credit, which expires at the end of 2007, also applies to homeowners who install fuel cells to supply electricity. The maximum credit is $500 for each .5 kilowatt of capacity.

Still need help?
If youre really in a pinch to pay that heating bill, some agencies and governments offer help. For example, the city of Bellevue, Wash., near Seattle, offers discounts for low-income seniors and low-income disabled and a tax rebate for all low-income customers who meet certain eligibility requirements. Contact your local utility or local Community Action Agency. National assistance for low-income families who want to make energy-saving home improvements is also available at the Department of Energy Web site.

Source:  MSN Money

After a wave of complaints from angry homeowners saying they couldn’t afford standard flood insurance policies covering them after their homes were added to the “high risk” flood zones last year, the Federal Emergency Management Agency will allow them to pay the much lower rates of those living outside the flood zones. The lower premium will be available for two years under the FEMA plan.

“So many people have said, ‘I can’t afford it’ – economic problems were a very high factor in this decision,” said Mary Colvin, regional head of FEMA’s flood insurance programs, about the change that will affect Long Island and many other property owners around the nation. She said the agency soon will start to notify owners and insurance agents about the change.

Bob Nethaway, 53, of Wantagh, welcomed the news. He said he missed the chance to get a less expensive “preferred risk policy” before his Wantagh home was included in a flood zone. Now, because his mortgage lender requires the insurance, he pays an $1,800 yearly premium. When told about the lower rate temporarily, he said, “That would offer me a great benefit, because like most of America, I’m living paycheck to paycheck.” 

Half are insured

More than 25,000 Long Island property owners were added to the high risk-flood zones that went into effect last September, when FEMA substantially broadened the area it considered prone to floods. The new flood zone maps were designed to reflect the latest topographical information identifying the “flood plain” – the normally dry areas where water will accumulate or flow during a 100-year flood event, such as that hurricane that ravaged portions of Long Island in September 1938.

Federal officials estimated that only about half of those homeowners have purchased flood insurance policies, which can reach from $1,000 up to $2,200 or more annually. Many of those are not required to have it, as long as they don’t have a federally backed loan on the home.

“A lot of people are retired and they can’t afford it,” Colvin said. “The largest factor is economic, but a lot of people think they’ll never get flooded” from a storm.

Many people, surprised to find they suddenly needed flood insurance, complained bitterly, said Rep. Peter King, (R-Seaford). He met with FEMA officials Friday, and said he wants the agency to extend the option beyond two years. The vast majority of the newly added properties are in Nassau, many in King’s district.

“We’ve had people who live north of Sunrise Highway who had no idea that they were in the [newly drawn flood] zone,” King said.

While the new offer will be too late for this year’s hurricane season, King said it would be prudent for property owners to get flood insurance now rather than risk storm damage before January. 

Taken by surprise

Many insurance agents said they hadn’t heard about FEMA’s decision. Although they stand to lose some commission money from the lower premiums, they said they welcomed the change because the increases had financially stressed their clients.

“Most people who didn’t have mortgages didn’t purchase policies” before the maps changed, said Denis Miller, a Long Beach insurance agent with many clients in flood zones.

Gerald Miller, 75, of Bellmore, said he was told two years ago that if he got flood insurance he would be able to keep a lower preferred risk rate of $350 a year. When his policy expires next month, he was told it would go up to $1,381. “We’re talking about a 400 percent increase – it’s beyond my range,” he said.

When his policy expires in September, he’ll still have to pay the higher rate until next year. Since his mortgage is paid off, he won’t be required to continue coverage and said he will likely drop it. “They’re changing the goalpost in the middle of the football game.”

 http://www.newsday.com/long-island/cheaper-federal-insurance-for-liers-added-to-flood-map-1.2223484

Your home may be in good condition and well built, yet simple clutter will create a perception of chaos, confusion, and disorder. The purchase decision is an emotional and intellectual response, based on a level of trust in your home. When buyers see clutter, they assume that the home has been neglected, with more to fix than meets the eye. This perception undermines your home’s market value.

De-cluttering is an essential part of your preparation, and is virtually cost free. This activity is goes hand in hand with moving. Before you put your home on the market, have a garage sale, throw some things out, and box stuff up. Your move will be easier, and you will create an open, spacious, simplified look that buyers love. If you need support, a local home staging service can work with your furniture and create a whole new look. When it comes to selling your home, less is truly more.

I’ve included my tips on how to declutter. Put your home on a diet. If this is difficult for you, try reading one of my favorite books, “Clear Your Clutter with Feng Shui” by Karen Kingston.

1. When to Declutter: Decide how often you are going to declutter a zone. Do a little every day – use a timer. But be warned – this can become compulsive! Once you get started you will want to clean like a banshee! Don’t burn yourself out! Only do small amount at a time. The house did not get dirty overnight and it will not get clean overnight. When you set the timer you can only do two sessions at a time. This goal may seem unattainable right now, but you can do it in little pieces. In a couple of months, the whole house will be decluttered.
2. Decluttering Equipment: You will need garbage bags, boxes, magic markers, and a dust rag. Label the boxes “Give Away”, “Throw Away”, and “Put Away”. Line the “Throw Away” box with a plastic garbage bag.
3. Set your timer: for 1 hour (or 30, 15, or 10 minutes – it does’t matter how long). Just do the job as fast as you can and do not pull out more stuff than you can put away in that length of time. This means just one drawer, one closet (or even one shelf in one closet), one magazine rack, or digging under just the furniture in the zone. Not all of them at once!
4. Start at the entrance to the room: Then, work your way around the room clockwise. Do not skip a spot. Whatever happens to be next, just do it.
5. Declutter Away! With boxes at your feet and dust rag in your waistband, start off by cleaning out and getting rid of the things that do not belong in this room. Put garbage in the “Throw Away” box, donations in the “Give Away” box, and stuff that goes somewhere else in the “Put Away” box. Don’t worry that you do not have a place for everything right now. By the time you finish you will. That’s a promise from FlyLady!
6. What to declutter? Things to ask yourself as you get rid of your clutter:
   • Do I love this item?
   • Have I used it in the past year?
   • Is it really garbage?
   • Do I have another one that is better?
   • Should I really keep two?
   • Does it have sentimental value that causes me to love it?
   • Or does it give me guilt and make me sad when I see the item?

   Cleanse this room of everything that does not make you SMILE.

7. Sing this song: “Please release me, let me go” as sung from the stuff’s point of view. It needs to be loved by someone and if you don’t love it – GET RID OF IT!
8. Get rid of the garbage! When the “Throw Away” box gets full, pull out the garbage bag, close it, and put it in the trash can, the pickup truck, or wherever you keep your garbage. Put a new garbage bag in the “Throw Away” box and keep on Flying until the timer goes off.
9. Donations: When the “Give Away” box gets full, seal it off, and put it in your car. The next time you are out, you can donate to the area thrift shop. Do not save your clutter for a yard or garage sale, you will be blessed by giving it away. The value can be deducted on your income tax. Remember you are trying to get rid of clutter – not relocate it somewhere else in your home. Now, grab another box, label it “Give Away”, and get back to work.
10. “Put Away” Stuff: When the “Put Away” box gets full, take the box in your arms and run around the house (good thing you have shoes on – right?) and put the items in the room where they belong. If they have a place, put them there, if not put them in the room where they logically belong. By the time you have finished you will have a place for everything and everything will be in it’s place.
11. Timer Goes Off: When the timer goes off, you have to put away all the boxes, but first you have to empty them all. Go as fast as you can.

By BOB TEDESCHI

Published: April 28, 2010

HOMEOWNERS with secure jobs and no immediate plans to move will often watch mortgage rates anyway, just in case they have the opportunity to refinance their loans. But few of them will regularly bother to check housing sales or foreclosures, which could also affect their ability to refinance.

The market downturn has greatly reduced home values in many parts of the country, leaving homeowners with significantly less equity in their properties. According to Cameron Findlay, the chief economist at LendingTree, home prices nationally have slipped to 2003 levels.

If a borrower’s home equity falls below 20 percent, he or she must buy private mortgage insurance for a new mortgage, which adds to the loan cost, at least until the equity reaches the level where the insurance is no longer needed. So, depending on when a home was bought, refinancing now may not be a viable option.

“Compared to a year ago, many more people are calling me now and I just can’t do anything for them,” said Tom Vanderwell, a loan officer with a large regional bank, about homeowners looking to refinance. (Mr. Vanderwell also writes a blog, Straight Talk About Mortgages.)

Those seeking government-insured loans, like those through the Federal Housing Administration, will face similar insurance premium costs.

Meanwhile, those wanting a second mortgage, or home equity credit lines, and even people who already have them, can also run aground if they near the 20 percent equity threshold. This is known as the 80 percent loan-to-value ratio, or L.T.V. for short.

If a borrower’s first and second mortgages would reach a combined loan-to-value ratio of 85 percent, most lenders would reject the application for a second mortgage, Mr. Vanderwell said. And if a borrower’s home equity shrank to the point where his equity credit line neared that level, a lender might, as they have in recent years, stop him from taking out more money.

In the New York City area in March, average resale prices of homes rose by 3.4 percent compared with a year ago, according to a report last month by the National Association of Realtors. Nationally, prices rose by 0.6 percent, the report indicated. Some economists expressed concern that those increases could end with the expiration of the federal housing tax credit for home buyers on April 30.

There is no precise way to determine one’s home value, aside from applying for a loan and paying for an appraisal. But there are some tools that borrowers can use to obtain quick estimates.

Zillow.com, for instance, relies on publicly recorded sales and mortgage documents from nearby and similar homes, among other things, to determine value.

Mortgage brokers and others emphasize that Zillow should be used only as a rough guide, because it does not consider the condition of properties that have been sold, among other factors.

Meanwhile, Trulia.com offers broader information on real estate value trends, as well as local foreclosure figures. Foreclosures can suppress selling prices and, if a property falls into disrepair, even reduce the value of surrounding homes.

Mr. Vanderwell of Straight Talk About Mortgages says homeowners considering a new loan, who want to avoid the time and expense of making a formal mortgage application to determine whether they qualify, should try another route.

“Find a real estate agent who really knows the area, and ask them to come out and take a look at the house,” he said. “Tell them they’re not thinking of selling it, but want an idea of what it would appraise at.”

If the agent’s informal appraisal is close enough to the figure you would need to qualify for a refinanced loan or a second mortgage, Mr. Vanderwell said, it is worth applying. If it is significantly below, you are better off waiting for conditions to improve

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Suit Takes Aim at Recording Tax

BORROWERS in New York may not be aware of this: They pay some of the highest closing costs in the country, because of a mortgage-recording tax that few other states levy.

But depending on the outcome of a lawsuit now being argued in New York Supreme Court, those who obtain mortgages through federal credit unions in the state may be able to avoid that tax, and save thousands of dollars on a purchase or refinancing.

In the suit filed last year, the Hudson Valley Federal Credit Union (formerly the IBM Employees FCU), in Poughkeepsie, N.Y., contends that New York State is compelling the credit union to collect the recording tax, despite the credit union’s federal tax-exempt status.

Arguments are set to be heard on Tuesday before Justice Judith Gische in Manhattan; a decision could come within six weeks.

Besides New York, 10 other states charge a recording fee, including Florida and Georgia, according to Dale Lois, a lawyer representing Hudson Valley.

The state maintains that it has not violated the tenets of the Federal Credit Union Act of 1934, which stipulates that credit unions “shall be exempt from all taxation,” except on real and tangible personal property. The tax, the state says, is not on the credit union or on mortgages but for the privilege of recording a mortgage.

Further, the state says that Hudson Valley, in its initial challenge of the tax in 2008, did not exhaust its administrative options in seeking a refund of the roughly $1.8 million in recording taxes it had paid for borrowers on about 3,700 mortgages and home-equity loans, advertised as “no cost,” from 2006 to 2008.

The credit union’s advocate in the case is the Justice Department, which filed a brief in October, stating, “Because the United States has not waived immunity to the type of tax imposed, the Court should determine New York’s system unconstitutional.”

New York’s taxpayers stand to lose a considerable amount of revenue if the court agrees with the federal government. According to Richard Bamberger, a spokesman for Andrew M. Cuomo, the state attorney general, federal credit union mortgages yielded the state tens of millions of dollars in recording taxes last year.

The state could see revenue drop further if it lost the suit, because more borrowers would be likely to seek credit union loans and thereby avoid the tax.

But Michele Raab-Francis, the chief executive of the Safe Harbor Capital Group in Bellport, N.Y., and a director of the New York Association of Mortgage Brokers, said that if the credit unions prevailed, “it would be an extremely huge benefit to the consumer.”

The mortgage-recording tax in New York City is 2.05 percent of the total loan amount, up to $500,000, and 2.175 percent on loans of $500,000 or more. On a $500,000 loan, that would add $10,875 to the closing costs. In Westchester, by contrast, the rate is 1.3 percent for a single-family home; in Nassau and Suffolk County, the rate is 1.05 percent. (Refinance borrowers can sometimes avoid the recording tax, if the lender agrees to waive it.)

Ms. Raab-Francis, who brokers loans on behalf of both banks and credit unions, says that obtaining loans through a credit union “is a much more pleasant experience for the consumer,” and that the loan terms are often competitive with those of larger banks.

In the greater New York City area last week, the Bethpage Federal Credit Union of Long Island was offering 30-year fixed-rate loans at 5.125 percent. The Polish and Slavic Federal Credit Union, which makes mortgages in New York and New Jersey, offered 5.25 percent.

The average rate at the time, according to Freddie Mac, was 5.21 percent.

Credit unions usually charge only a nominal fee but require an affiliation of some kind. Bethpage Federal, for instance, is generally open to anyone who lives, works, worships or conducts business on Long Island, and to members’ immediate relatives.

A list of local credit unions can be found at the Credit Union National Association’s Web site, at www.cuna.org.

Court Throws Out Suit Against Moody’s and S.&P.

By REUTERS

Published: April 1, 2010

// A federal judge in Manhattan threw out a class-action lawsuit accusing the ratings agencies, Moody’s Investors Service and Standard & Poor’s, of defrauding investors about the safety of $63.4 billion of mortgage debt.

Judge Jed Rakoff of Federal District Court also dismissed some claims against the Bank of America Corporation, JPMorgan Chase & Company and the ABN Amro unit of Royal Bank of Scotland Group. And he dismissed the case against Credit-Based Asset Servicing & Securitization, or C-Bass, which packaged debt underwritten by the banks.

Judge Rakoff, in a two-page order late Wednesday, said he would spell out his reasoning in a later opinion.

“It is going to be a major ruling by a prominent jurist about one of the largest securities cases coming out of the subprime crisis,” said Carla Walworth, a partner at Paul, Hastings, Janofsky & Walker in New York who represented C-Bass.

Plaintiffs, led by the Public Employees’ Retirement System of Mississippi, accused rating agencies and banks of misleading them about the safety of 84 mostly investment-grade offerings of residential mortgage-backed securities.

The plaintiffs said the securities they bought were in fact “not of the ‘best quality,’ or even ‘medium credit quality.’ ” They said that, after being downgraded to junk status, the securities were worth far less than they paid.

Many underlying loans were made by mortgage lenders that later became distressed or defunct, including three of the largest: the Countrywide Financial Corporation, the American Home Mortgage Investment Corporation, and IndyMac Bancorp.

A spokesman for Moody’s, Michael Adler, and one for S.&P., Frank Briamonte, said their agencies were pleased with the ruling. Other spokesmen — Bill Halldin at Bank of America, Brian Marchiony at JPMorgan and Michael Geller at RBS — declined to comment.

David Stickney, a lawyer representing the Mississippi fund, did not immediately return a call.

Another judge in Manhattan federal court, Lewis A. Kaplan, dismissed claims in January against Moody’s and S.&P. over nearly $100 billion of mortgage-backed debt sold by Lehman Brothers Holdings.

A third judge in that court, Shira A. Scheindlin, is considering a separate lawsuit by Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank and King County in Washington State over whether Moody’s and S.&.P deserve free speech protection for their ratings.