Archive for November, 2009
House Committee Weighs Scrapping HVCC
The appraisal system imposed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac last May is under attack by the House Financial Services Committee and could be on its way out.
The “Home Valuation Code of Conduct” could be terminated by the proposed Consumer Financial Protection Agency under a bipartisan amendment approved by the House committee.
The amendment would require the new agency’s director to replace the code with a set of rules developed through regular administrative procedures and public comment periods used by all federal agencies. The valuation code was the product of a settlement among New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and the Federal Housing Finance Agency.
Critics say the code created more problems than it solved and has encouraged lenders to use inexperienced appraisers who don’t know the areas where they are doing the work, which is resulting in lowball valuations as well as higher fees.
The legislation under which this code would be scrapped is likely to pass the full House, but may have a tough road in the Senate.
Source: The Washington Post Writers Group, Kenneth Harney (10/30/2009)
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Six Tips to Better Online Real Estate Photographs
With a majority of home buyers looking at listings online, you would be wise to use top-quality photos in your listings. Don’t make the mistake of taking pictures of rooms without enough light, failing to focus on the room itself, or snapping photos of rooms that have not been cleaned. Dennis Huckaby, an architectural photographer [...]
Farmers Market to celebrate old times
Enjoy a morning of sharing memories, recipes and old-fashioned good times at the Aiken Farmers Market this weekend.
The market will step back in time Saturday from 8 a.m. to noon to celebrate its ninth annual Old Fashioned Homecoming.
Farmers selling their harvest at the market, located at Richland Avenue and Williamsburg Street, will be dressed in vintage clothing, and shoppers at the market are welcome to dress in old-fashioned styles themselves.
Antique farming tools and kitchen utensils will also be on display, such as an antique corn sheller, a spinning wheel and half-gallon milk bottles from the Holley dairy.
There will be face painting for the kids.
Farmers Market committee member Coleen Reed said vendors will offer such in-season produce as collard greens, broccoli, field-grown lettuce, South Carolina mountain apples, turnips, beets, rutabagas and sweet potatoes.
Vendors will also have farm fresh eggs, beef, dairy products, plants, specialty items and quality crafts will be for sale like Uta Ryan’s homemade wreaths and natural crafts.
Reed also hopes Aiken High School FFA students will be present to sell mums.
Aiken Master Gardeners will also be on hand for the last time this season.
For more information, call market manager Paul Widener at 646-5779.
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Aikenite is threat to Breeders’ Cup.
His owner describes him as an affable horse – a pleasant sort of fellow who quietly goes about his business. But when he makes his move in a race, the horse named for his adopted hometown explodes down the track with the strength and grace that only a few athletes possess.
Aikenite.
It might be a name the world is talking about come Derby time, and he hails from our own Dogwood Stables.
Saturday will be an important test – the $2 million Breeders’ Cup at the Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, Calif.
After a strong second-place showing at Dixiana Breeders’ Futurity at Keeneland, Aikenite is a serious contender for the race that will pit the world’s fastest 2-year-olds for a 11/16-mile race.
A win might clinch the Eclipse Award for 2-year-old Champion Colt, said Cot Campbell, owner of Dogwood Stables.
If all goes well, it will be on to the Kentucky Derby in May.
Another Summer Squall – the great Dogwood Stables horse that went on to win the Preakness in 1990?
Maybe, Campbell said.
He paid $225,000 for Aikenite, who today is valued at $1 million to $1.5 million. A win Saturday will take that even higher and make him a strong Derby contender.
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The homebuyer tax credit
The homebuyer tax credit extension and expansion has passed the House by a vote of 403-12 after passing the Senate last night 98-0.
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Historic properties within City of Aiken being surveyed by preservation company.
Local historic properties within the City of Aiken are being examined for a historic resources survey.
The survey is being conducted by The Jaeger Co, a historic preservation company based in Gainesville, Ga. The survey team is composed of architectural historian Brian LeBrie, field assistant Clarie Perko and Keyes Williamson, a historian.
The team began the field work this week and will continue through Nov. 28. If needed, a follow-up survey work will take place from January through February.
For the survey, the group plans to photograph and make a notation of historic properties within City limits. The survey will be conducted along public rights-of-way; however, in some instances, the team may need more access. In those cases, property owners will be contacted for permission to come onto the property.
If the property owner is not available, the survey team will leave a note on the front door of the building saying they were on the property. If a property is gated and the survey team cannot gain access, property owners will be contacted by a City official to make an appointment.
After the field work is complete, a public hearing will be held on its findings. According to City officials, the meeting will likely be held in January.
For more information, call City planner Susan French at 642-7608.
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Credit Disputes Could Bar Home Loans
Mortgage loan applicants with a credit dispute on their records may find it impossible to get a loan even if they have a score above 800 and a large down payment, warn consumer watchdogs.
The problem stems from a Fannie Mae policy that requires lenders to hand-underwrite these loans because that practice makes it harder for scammers to use the credit dispute law to hide bad credit experiences.
Denying people who are good credit risks a loan is frequently an unintended consequence, says Christopher Cruise, a mortgage originator and a founder of Responsible Loan Officers. “There’s no question – when there are lots of other applications and business is good,” applications requiring extra time and research “just aren’t going to move.”
The policy is “extremely unfair to honest consumers who are simply doing what they should – challenging misinformation,” says Evan Hendricks, whose newsletter Privacy Times outlined Fannie Mae’s policy in a recent report.
Fannie Mae says it is reviewing the policy and may change it.
Source: Washington Writers Group, Kenneth R. Harney (10/25/2009)
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Thoroughbred museum to host artist’s showcase
The artwork of nationally renowned painter and Aiken resident Lynn Carlisle will be showcased at the Aiken Thoroughbred Racing Hall of Fame and Museum from Thursday through Nov. 22.
An opening reception for the artist will be held Thursday from 5 to 7 p.m., and is being sponsored by Horse and Farm Insurance, Betsy Minton LLC and Robyn Reilly and Cissie Sullivan of Meybohm Realtors. The public is invited to attend.
The artist, who delights in visible realities, has been able to capture the reflection of the living spirit through her artwork.
Carlisle began honing her skills at an early age, with her formal art instruction beginning when she was 9 years old at the Chicago Art Institute. She graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from Miami University of Ohio. She also had the opportunity to study with artists James Crow and Sam Savitt.
The exhibit will showcase her work in oil and watercolors. Carlisle’s work has been displayed nationwide in the Simpson Gallagher Gallery in Cody, Wyo., the Kentucky Horse Park Museum in Lexington, Ky., the Museum of Hounds and Hunting in Morven Park, Va., and the Aiken Center for the Arts.
Her pieces establish a unity of form and mood. Paintings of hounds playing in the water, a gambolling paint foal and Dinky, a miniature donkey who lives on Coker Springs Road, are featured in the display. Dogwood Stable’s Classic winner Summer Squall is among those featured in the series of watercolors.
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SPCA nixes 2009 Westmuttster show
Westmuttster, the Aiken SPCA’s annual dog show fundraiser, has been canceled this year.
SPCA Executive Director Gary Willoughby said he and the board of directors hated to call off the event this year but decided the planning process would be too overwhelming in the midst of everything else the nonprofit organization is taking on.
“There is so much that goes into that,” Willoughby said. “It takes so much time and so many committees. We believe it is better to cancel than to have a negative show.”
The SPCA is in the middle of a capital campaign to raise several million dollars for its new facility off Willow Run Road, planning the Dec. 12 opening of its dog park and had recently held its Fur Ball.
“Taking on another thing would just be too much,” Willoughby said.
Westmuttster is scheduled to return November 2010.
The popular dog show featured shelter mutts and purebreds going nose-to-nose in categories such as Prettiest Eyes, Best Tail Wagger, So Ugly It’s Cute and Grandparents and Granddogs.
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FHA 203(k) Loans on the Rise
The FHA-backed 203(k) rehab loan is an increasingly popular option in today’s market because so many available properties – especially foreclosures – are in need of repair.
A streamlined 203(k) provides money to pay for improvements such as a new roof, appliances, furnace, energy-efficient windows, and cosmetic improvements like carpet, paint, and remodeled kitchens and baths.
The maximum loan available is $35,000. The buyer must put down 3.5 percent of the acquisition plus repair costs. At closing, the seller is paid and the remaining money goes into an escrow account to pay for repairs.
A licensed contractor must complete the work within six months. Some lenders allow the borrower to do minor cosmetic work like painting themselves.
Source: Minneapolis-St. Paul Star-Tribune, Lynn Underwood (10/25/2009)
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Remodeling Costs Decrease
Remodeling costs are down an average of 5 percent to 10 percent nationwide with some areas down 20 percent, the remodeling industry reports.
In the 12 months that ended in March 2009, the most recent data available, $118.2 billion was spent on home-improvement projects, down from $146 billion in the 12 months ending in March 2007 – the national peak of remodeling activity – according to a report from the Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies.
One of the reasons for the price decline is competition. Most home buyers spend the most on remodeling within the first two years after purchasing a home. Not only are there fewer home sales, but also strapped home builders are seeking remodeling work, confirms David Crowe, chief economist for the National Association of Home Builders.
Source: The Wall Street Journal, M.P. McQueen (10/28/2009)
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Fed Calls Housing Upturn a Good Sign
The Federal Reserve’s “Beige Book” report, released Wednesday, points to housing as a bright spot in the economic landscape and applauds banks that lent to first-time homebuyers.
It calls commercial real estate a consistently weak sector, weighed down by business closures and the difficulty in refinancing.
In a separate report Wednesday, the U.S. Labor Department said the number of jobs fell in 43 states and the District of Columbia, with the unemployment rate rising in 23 states.
Industries with the strongest economic gains were residential real estate and manufacturing.
Source: Washington Post, Neil Irwin (10/22/2009)
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Half of States Avoid Big Housing Drop
Parts of the U.S. with plenty of open space and moderate prices have mostly escaped the housing meltdown.
Over the past three years, home prices have risen in most of the metro areas of 23 states, according to analytics firm Fiserv. States mostly likely to escape the housing meltdown were in the South, the Plains states, and most of the non-coastal West.
The state that is the best example of this phenomenon is Texas, where home prices rose in all 26 metro areas over the last three years.
The 16 states hardest hit by the decline were in New England and the Northeast, plus California, Florida, Nevada, and Arizona.
The seven cities that are the best bets for a quick recovery are San Francisco, Seattle, Pittsburgh, Rochester, N.Y., Memphis, Tenn., Oakland, Calif., and Birmingham, Ala.
Source: CNNMoney.com, Les Christie (10/21/2009)
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Dog park construction on schedule.
Soon local pups will have a place to roam free. Aiken’s first dog park is scheduled to open on Dec. 12.
The dog park is a joint project of the City of Aiken and Aiken Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.
Barbara Nelson, president of the SPCA, said work for the park is on schedule. A driveway made of gravel was recently completed at the site, located on Willow Run Road behind the Willow Run Industrial Park. Nelson said the next step for the project will be to install a 5-foot chain-link fence around the park. The 2.3-acre dog park will include separate areas for small and large dogs.
A 30-foot by 30-foot square-shaped splash pool also will soon be installed at the site. The pool will be about 10 inches deep and will resemble a ground-level swimming pool, according to Nelson.
“Dogs are going to love to splash around in it,” she said. Pet owners will be required to register their dogs with the SPCA or the City of Aiken Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism before they are able to bring them to the facility.
Nelson said the registration will ensure what pets are being taken to the park and that they have been vaccinated. The registration will cost a small fee.
The City has put about $30,000 into the park, which will pay for the cost of the fencing, said Nelson. Aiken SPCA has also invested about $30,000 into the project.
The splash pool will cost about $16,000. The money is being donated by a local family in celebration on their parents’ 50th wedding anniversary.
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New-Home Sales Decline
After increasing for five consecutive months, new-home sales declined 3.6 percent in September compared with August to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 402,000, the Commerce Department reported yesterday.
Sales were down 7.8 percent compared to September 2008.
Most of the decline was in the West and the South, where sales fell 11 percent and 10 percent respectively. These reduction were offset by transactions in the Midwest, where sales jumped 34 percent.
Analysts were surprised by the decline, and some blamed it on the first-time home buyer tax credit, which sucked up customers eager to buy foreclosure bargains. Others said that the new normal for time between signing the sales contract and closing is two months or longer, a reality that could be reflected in these numbers.
“We don’t know yet if it’s anything more than a blip,” says Steven Ricchiuto, an economist for Mizuho Securities USA.
Source: Washington Post, Renae Merle (10/29/2009)
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