Posts Tagged ‘Home Appraisal’
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Inspired by Tuscany — The Vineyards
Inspired by Tuscany, and coming to the Yakima Valley, is “The Vineyards”, Washington wine country’s most spectacular 500-acre resort community, with 600 planned home sites, a boutique hotel and a vintner’s club, as well as 65 to 70 vineyard bungalows and condominiums that will be built into right into working vineyards.
Read more about this grape-infused lifestyle:
Guy Hand interviewed Ron Bitner, who shares that the development will be themed around wine country — some homes will include “wine pods” — a high-tech machine for the amateur vintner. It works by adding 30 pounds of grapes to the device, hooking it up to your computer… and a month later you’ve got a good chardonnay! This grape-infused lifestyle is sprouting up all over the Northwest: Oregon has developments, as well as Washington, where an application for a new winery is filed every 6 days.
There will be between 20 and 30 acres of active vineyards at “The Vineyards” – where residents can even play golf on the property.
But all this winery-living is giving some long-time Northwest locals a hang-over. Dan Clark, an attorney in Walla Walla, worries about the abrupt cultural changes wine has wrought on his once sleepy town. He says, “There’s excitement through all sectors about the vitality of the community, and yet there’s concern about sprawl into the fields; about being overtaken by a culture that is in effect driving out working people because they can’t afford to live here although they do need to work here.” He asks…“How much is enough?”
Back in Idaho, Ron Bitner thinks the wine-centric development in his area will actually help rural Idaho stay rural. Bitner says roughly half of the nearly 2 square miles slated for the “Polo Cove” development will remain in farm land. And, he believes that the new community will bring more traffic, more people, and become a destination — with tourist hotels that allow people to stay and live.
One thing is for certain: The view from this hill of rolling fields, modest farmhouses, and the occasional magpie, is going to change. Dramatically. And that change will be fueled by wine.
Taking calls… Refinancing – if your home has lost value.
- Karen from Washington, DC called in wanting to know: “I want to refinance to take advantage of today’s lower rates. But I’m concerned that my home may have slipped in value, and won’t appraise for what I bought it for. I don’t want to proceed with a refinance, and pay $350 for an appraisal, just to be told my property won’t appraise. Should I try anyway?”
It’s true, if your mortgage is upside down, you won’t be able to refinance. Take your down payment into consideration. If your home is still worth more than the mortgage, even if it’s slipped in value, you’ll be able to refinance. But, if you’ve truly got an upside-down mortgage, it’s better to know now.
Why it may be worth it to appraise:
If you pay for the appraisal and the house value falls, at least your property taxes should go down. Karen is doing the right thing in keeping on top of her home value, and she’s in a good position: Even if she can’t refinance, she’s still not in danger of foreclosure.
Here’s how to keep your mortgage in a good position, too, even if your house loses value.
Don’t count on refinancing. Never accept a loan if you know you’ll have to refinance in order to afford it. A responsible lender would never give you a mortgage on those terms. So you don’t want to take a loan from a lender who’d do that. Refinancing is for a situation like Karen’s:
- You’ve got a good credit
- And you want to take advantage of low rates.
And right now, rates really are as low as they could be. If you can refinance, it may be worth it. If you can’t afford your mortgage without refinancing, don’t despair. Lenders are interested in you paying off your mortgage. They don’t want you to default any more than you do.
Everyone makes the mistake of not communicating with their lenders enough. More than half of the people who lose their home to foreclosure never contacted their lenders when they realized they were having trouble. Your lender will lose money if you foreclose; they’re likely to work with you to keep you on your feet and paying your mortgage. Just remember to be honest, and open, and to call them sooner rather than later. Let them know you’re not just trying to walk out on your loan.
Ways a lender may be able to help:
- They can help you refinance
- They can work out a repayment plan for the amount you’re past due
- They can restructure the interest rate
- They can even postpone payments for a short period
If your mortgage is worth less than the price of the home, take into account the natural ups and downs in the housing market, and let your investment grow over time.
Las Vegas - Bus Tour
THE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® 2011 Home Ownership Matters Bus Tour has been all across the nation...