Spring Cleaning

Well spring has been here awhile in Searcy for sure, but the weather has been putting a damper on doing outside maintenance and spring cleaning as of late! Last night, once again, we had a downpour and tornado warnings.....not to scare you if you are considering a move here, we have very good warning sirens and news coverage. The local stations were on from about 6:00 to 10:00 pm covering the storms. We thankfully had no injuries or damages here and Mother's Day is supposed to be a beautiful one.....back to spring cleaning - some homeowners tend to ignore outside maintenance on their homes, but to keep your property in great condition whether you are getting ready to sell it or not, here are just 3 of the items you need to address and keep in mind:

1) Curb Appeal - if a buyer doesn't like the outside of the home, they tend to not even want to look inside. You may have the most fantastic interior and spent loads of money on it, but it won't matter if the exterior has been ignored. Clean off porches, outside lighting fixtures, wash down siding, keep the lawn mowed, the flower beds and weeded and add fresh mulch. Get rid of any spider webs and bees nests! Make sure there are not alot of items outside and that the property is clutter free. Make sure your doors have a nice coat of paint on them and if you have any rotting trim or peeling paint, get it fixed! This is a requirement when buyers are obtaining an FHA loan. It will save you time and trouble later when you are getting ready to close. Clean your windows as well and have them opened up to let as much light in as possible!

2) Decorating the exterior - If you have a porch, patio or deck, make sure it is clutter free as well, and that it looks inviting and comfortable. There are hundreds of reasonably priced patio sets to choose from and add a few pots of annuals for a spark of color! Potential buyers will see this as an ideal place to entertain family and friends. If you already have these items, make sure they are clean and ready to be used. They may not convey with the property, but homes that are maintained well attract buyers because they know that the home they are thinking of purchasing has been well taken care of.

3) Your Garage or Carport - now you may think this is not a big deal, but I've shown property where you couldn't even walk through the garage and I can tell you this - the men want to look in the attic, so make sure you can pull your access ladder down where they can get up there. Same goes for any storage areas in the garage. If people can't see what they may be purchasing, it's going to be a problem for you. So have a garage sale, donate your unused items or get a storage unit. The neater, the better, the quicker the sale, the more you make!

After posting on this subject, I must now go take care of the items above myself - I am not planning a move by no means, but the more you take care of and maintain your home, the more you'll get back from it in the future and the longer it will last for others to love as much as you do.....

FHA Secure Program

Our Searcy Board of Realtors held a meeting yesterday and included area loan officers, title companies, appraisers, inspectors and others in the local real estate industry. Our goal was to discuss what is going on at this time with our local market and to come together to help our customers achieve their goals. I found the new FHA Secure program to be a very valuable tool for those considering refinancing their homes at this time. The following is excerpts from the fact sheet provided by HUD and I have included the link directly to their site if you would like more information.

The Federal Housing Administration has helped millions of Americans secure their dream of homeownership since 1934. Now we want to keep those dreams alive.
If you have an adjustable rate mortgage coming due or your interest rate is already too high, you owe it to yourself to look at the safe and affordable financing options provided by government-insured mortgages through the Federal Housing Administration (FHA). We provide mortgage insurance on loans made by FHA-approved lenders throughout the United States and its territories. FHA insures mortgages on single family, multifamily, manufactured homes and healthcare facilities. It is the largest government backed mortgage insurer.

WHAT IS FHASecure?
FHASecure is a refinancing option that gives homeowners with non-FHA adjustable rate mortgages (ARMs), current or delinquent and regardless of reset status, the ability to refinance into a FHA-insured mortgage. With FHASecure, the lender will not automatically disqualify you because you are delinquent on your loan, and the lender may offer you a second mortgage to make up the difference between the value of your property and what you owe.

WHO IS ELIGIBLE?
So long as you are current on your mortgage and have sufficient income to make the mortgage payment, you are eligible for an FHASecure refinance. If you are delinquent, the default must have been due to the payment shock of an interest rate reset or, in the case of an Option ARM, the "recasting" of the mortgage to fully amortizing. By refinancing into a FHA-insured mortgage, you can expect to pay lower monthly mortgage payments. FHASecure can improve the quality of life for many communities by helping to reduce the number of mortgage defaults and bringing greater stability to local housing markets.

Get the facts at http://www.hud.gov/!