Did this man named Blaine Murphy also forge these disclosure documents? Were disclosure documents filed with the request for the deed transfer?  Are there situations when these disclosures are not required?  If not, why not?  Yep, I have a lot of questions.

I emailed John Kosich of newsnet5 to see if he can shed any light on this issue.  The story John reported on the forged deed transfer/flipping case can be found here.

This is the PD article from December 2011 written by Gabriel Baird, not only explaining  the charges and circumstances of Murphy’s alleged activities, but containing a nice map of the location of all the allegedly flipped properties in question.  

The PD article explains that delinquent tax payments seem to be what red flagged the alleged fraud, not property disclosures.  While I realize someone intent on a good scam can figure out a way to perform that scam, I’m just curious why the disclosures did not red flag anything at the Deed office. 

After I post this I will also be emailing Gabriel Baird, and maybe between the two reporters they can shed more light on this issue for all of us.

3C

My other couple are also Ohio ‘relocators’.  This time from the Akron area.  They want to live close to Downtown Cleveland so we are checking out the town house inventory for them. 

Our office phone lines (and my cell!) are still busy.  The activity indicated to me that even though it’s cold, we have an uptick in interest in buying homes.  (I have some new listings coming on board too, but those are fairly steady all year long).  So it was interesting to me to see this article from Crain’s Cleveland  on how NE Ohio home sales have steadily outpaced the rest of the State in the last 12 months.  Here is a quote: “… Unlike the rest of the state, NEOHREX total dollar volume rose by 11.2%, to $322.2 million last month from $289.9 million in December 2010.” 

  These figures include more than Cuyahoga County (Lake, Geauga, Medina, etc).  And they come from our computer multiple listing service (MLS)  called NEOREX.  This means homes sold through brokerages but it also means the stats are relatively accurate (compared to how others had been calculating stats that were not quite as accurate.)  I’m glad Crain’s is relying on the NEOREX figures because if  NEOREX says it sold, that means there are  sales records to back that up!

3C

Now here comes an article posted tonight on the PD talking about how cash purchases are up.  They also highlight a family who purchased because they are retirees who had to take a cash payment from an account and bought an upscale home with the money.

It is seriously a good time to talk to a tax accountant, your financial advisor, and your family, and see if this is also a good idea for you. 

3C

If you owed 150,000 and sold your house for 120,000, you will not owe taxes on the 30k difference. My suggestion is to check with your financial advisor, H and R Block, anyone, just be sure.

Quote from the article that just appeared on the PD website:

“…people are potentially eligible only if the debt involves their primary residence, and only for debt used to buy or improve their home….”

The “Act” is officially called Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act and Debt Cancellation.  Much more detail on the .gov link – and it applies to your principal residence only.  So if you are selling an investment property, you will probably owe taxes, unless you also live in one of the units of that property. 

Unless it gets extended, this Relief Act is good only through the end of 2012.     3C

Anyway, The Wall Street Journal’s  Rita Konig  weighs in on how to add some calm, or create an oasis amidst the chaos, on moving day.

If this is the first time you’ve moved since college when you only had a few boxes and a bed to worry about, there is one tip I usually give my buyers (and it’s included in this article).  Make up a toolbox of things you need to put things back together (include bags with screws, etc that belong to certain pieces of furniture so you can find them easily), get a small bag of paper towels, toilet paper, light bulbs of various wattage and some cleaning stuff. Put both the toolbox and this bag in your car so you will know exactly where it is.

I liked her idea of putting the bed together first.  I’ve not really done that and I’ve moved oh, 12 times or so? It sounds brilliant and one of those V8 moments where I found myself saying ‘why didn’t I think of that!’

The almost universal thing people do when they move is order pizza – that’s always a winner!   

MyMove.com is a cool site.  You can print out check lists to make sure you’ve done things like cancel utilities, etc.  You get daily tips, even tips on best way to drive a moving truck (I don’t know if they added don’t move a mattress in the back of a pick up if it’s not totally secure, but add that to your list!)

 Peace Out – 3C

Your lender can help you know:

1. What you need to ‘clean up’ on your credit before purchasing.

2. How long your lease term should be. This could be because of credit issues or could be because of a need for a salary/debt to income ratio improvement.  Or any number of things. Seriously, do not go it alone, work out a plan. Then we can find a house!

Here are some tips from two lenders.  The first one is Darrin Kresevic of First Place Bank, based in Solon  He worked with one of my buyers and now sends email newsletters to me.  I find Darrin very informative and knowledgable about lending. Here is what he kindly provided when I asked for tips on what to consider when thinking about a Lease Purchase.

“Lease to own can be tricky. Rent credit for option to purchase is an acceptable source of funds toward the borrower’s down payment. Credit for the down payment is determined by calculating the difference between the market rent and the actual rent paid for the last 12 months. From the lenders perspective the market rent is determined by a lender approved appraiser when appraising the property. For example the monthly market rent is $1,000 and the rent paid is $1,200 the credit available for down payment would be $200 per month.

As the lender we are required to obtain the following:
-          A copy of the rental / lease option agreement evidencing a minimum original term of at least 12 months, clearly stating the monthly rental amount and specifying the term of the lease (for example, market rent is $1,000 and the actual rent is $1,200 with $200 being credited from seller to buyer at closing towards buyer down payment).
-          Copy of all consecutive canceled rent checks for the last 12 months or actual term of lease if longer. Make sure rent is paid on time or early – this is a zero tolerance issue!
-          Market rent as determined by the lender approved appraiser.
-          A copy of the canceled check for any deposit paid at execution of the rental / lease option. (make sure the original rental / lease option agreement stipulates that the deposit paid is to be credited to the purchase price upon title transfer – if there is a separate deposit paid as a security deposit the agreement needs to stipulate that)

If the reason a person is looking at a rental / lease option agreement is due to poor credit, do not just rely on the on time monthly rent payments as the sole source for reestablishment of credit. Do not bury your head in the sand when it comes to repairing your credit. Take an aggressive approach to requesting your credit report from the three major agencies; EQUIFAX www.equifax.com, TRANSUNION www.transunion.com and EXPERIAN www.experian.com and write letters of dispute for incorrect info, pay off old bad debts and open 3-4 new accounts to establish new history even if you have to use a secured credit card. It goes without saying but I’ll say it anyway, limit the use of the secured credit card, don’t charge more than 30% of the credit limit and pay in full each month. I recommend and encourage clients to contact a credit repair company to help ensure success.”

You can reach Darrin – 440 349 7550  or via email – dkresevic@fpfc.net.

Darrin mentions contacting a consumer credit company to ensure your credit gets repaired properly and efficiently.  Remember, you need an organization that ends in .org not .com for this one. There is no reason to pay a lot of money for this service when there are excellent non profits who may charge a nominal fee (the CCC  for example, is a good place to check out and it’s Better Business Bureau approved).

The next lender is someone I’ve trusted to know lending rules and communicate well with clients - many years of experience!  Bob Wilson, Finance Manager at Howard Hanna Mortgage Services.  Here is what Bob had to say:

“Make sure all collections, judgments and charge offs are paid in full as soon as possible.  Make sure the balance on all revolving credit is kept to 50% of the credit limit and most of all payments are made on time.  No lates period.”

Bob can be reached at 216-373-7450 or bobwilson@howardhanna.com.

You really do need to string 12 months of ‘no late periods’ in a row.  Maybe you already have six months in a row, and that is your only issue, and so you can try to find someone who would give you a six month lease period.  I had that work once; that client is still living in the home (about three years later?) he purchased six months after leasing.  More common is to find someone who wants you to do a 12 or 24 month lease. Which is not bad when you need time to get your downpayment squirreled away or credit repaired.

 To recap: talk to a lender, develop a financial plan, talk to a Realtor® and start finding your ‘lease to purchase’ home.  It really is a team effort, and that is not a bad thing!   Peace Out – 3C

On both sides of the River, the total comes to 477 for that two month period.  There were 340  sold West of the River and 137 sold East of the River.  These figures only reflect homes that transferred title – there are more ‘pending’ title transfer. 

Peace Out – 3C

Jefferson Park is less than a block away, with tennis courts, basketball court, playground, and a lot of area to walk (I know, my dog and I do it all the time!)  There is a cool selection of restaurants, everything from Cambodian, Middle Eastern, Latino, Italian. Great access to public transportation.  Oh, and a great new bar called Lion On Lorain.  Jason, the owner/chef trained with Michael Symon so he knows his stuff and has his own ‘stamp’ on the menu.  (walk there from this house!) 

The councilman lives a block away so you know this house is on THE street in the hood  .   Call me to see it.  With owner occupancy, the rates are phenomenal, I don’t know any other way to put it.  Peace Out – 3C

CoStar is a pretty popular and successful commercial real estate company. One of their staff wrote a blog post about  apartments and multi-family spaces being the most popular commercial bldgs.  being purchased this year.  The rental unit supply is not keeping up with demand.  You can read the article here. 

The nice thing about this property is the ease with which the owner has been able to keep it at 100% occupancy…says a lot about the spaces and the location.  Another benefit?  It’s possible to get a residential loan on this house so that may make it much more appealing than a property that requires a commercial loan.  If you would like to learn more about this four family Ohio City property, please let me know.  carolecohen@howardhanna.com  Peace Out – 3C

Ohio City Jay Avenue Multi-Family Home For Sale

One thing they say IS true, and it gets back to the laws of supply and demand.  There are fewer single family rental homes in inventory than their are for sale.  True of two bedroom or three or four bedroom homes.  And yes, that means rental prices per unit are inching up. 

Is it cheaper to own a home?  Your monthly mortgage may be lower than the rent per month you would pay for a similar house.  And yeah, I sell homes so if you can buy, I say buy. Rates were 4.1% for a 30 yr mortgage the last time I checked (Monday).  You might not be able to rent a house with bad credit but someone might give you a break based on your rental history and salary.  Loan guidelines might not be as forgiving.   You also have to filter in closing costs and a down payment (say between 3 and 4 percent).  So if you don’t have cash on hand, renting may be the way to go.  Of course, you also need a first month rent and security deposit up front.

Here is my take on it.  There are a few choices, including ones not mentioned in this article.

1. Rent if you just don’t want to own a home or don’t have the downpayment or closing costs at hand.  Not everyone wants to be a homeowner, or should be one.  That makes sense to me.

2. If you want to own a home, but need some time to repair your credit or save money for a down payment, why not look into a Lease to Own situation? Email me if you have questions, but this can be a good solution to your problem.  You can work with a lender to determine just what needs to happen and determine how long it would take you to reach your home ownership financial goals.  It’s not true that all home owners expect a years lease in a lease to own situation.  Three months, six months, even two years are possible, as long as all parties agree. 

3.  If you have the cash and want to buy, while inventory is down, there are still many homes to choose from and rates are great.  It’s a great time for those in this category to buy.

4.  If you have money to buy a 2nd home, boy do I think you should do it.  I would also suggest more people consider buying single family homes as investment property.  They are always in the highest demand for renters.  People with dogs or kids, or those who just don’t want to have to worry about the noise of an ‘attached’ neighbor.  Single family home investment property inventory is way low in all the communities