Vermont

Vermont Mortgages - Scandal at the FDIC!!!!!!

Take a look at this video post from ThinkBigWorkSmall & tell me it doesn't get you unbelievably mad!!!!

http://www.thinkbigworksmall.com/mypage/player/tbws/23088/1020959

I spend my days doing Vermont Mortgages & blogging on Vermont Mortgages & had thought the market semi-insulated, but apparently, anyone with Vermont Mortgages held by One West Bank (formerly IndyMac Bank) may not be able to get their Vermont Mortgages to be modified by the HAMP program here in VT. Why? Click on the link above to find out the aweful truth: that IndyMac's debt (not just Vermont Mortgages) was all sold to One West in a restructuring by the FDIC (who funded the purchase of this debt for One West), insures it at 80-95% of the orignal loan amount, then allows the bank to recoup the difference. Mathematically challenged? Then follow the example of an ACTUAL deal (posted on the above link):

Borrowers wanted to go into Loan Modification, with a $478,000.00 Mortgage (no, at least it's not a Vermont Mortgage). 6 Months of missed payments brought the loan balance up to $485,200.00. One West Bank had paid 70% of that (which is what the FDIC said they could buy ALL of IndyMac's debt for) = $334,600.00 paid for that loan, which the FDIC lent for them. The borrowers were denied by One West for the loan modification, so got a short sale offer for $241,000.00, sold it, & signed a promissory note to One West Bank for $75,000.00. So the bank gets $241,000.00 and a $75,000.00 note from the sellers.

The sinister part: from the FDIC's calculation of recouping the loss, they take the ORIGINAL LOAN AMOUNT ON THE NOTE (not the purchasing note) minus the short sale, to detemine the net loss to One West, so $485,200-$241,000=$244,200.00 NET LOSS, of which they give them a check for that of 80%, or $195,360.00.

See the problem here? One West ends up getting $241,000.00 from the short sale, $195,360 from the FDIC, & then $75,000.00 from the note from the seller. TOTAL: $436,360.00 BEFORE THE $75,000.00 Note is repaid!!!! They bought it for $334,600!!!! Net profit = $101,760, before the note is repaid!!!! All with the FDIC's money, & the FDIC just asked the Treasury (our tax dollars) for more money. See why there haven't been many loan modifications done????

Please click on the link above, & forward it to your representatives, and to all news media outlets that can do a story on Vermont Mortgages, if you are as outraged as I am. This is national & not just limited to Vermont Mortgages. If you are affected by an IndyMac/One West loan modification or know of one, please let me know, regardless of if it's Vermont Mortgages or not.

And thanks again for tuning into my Blog on Vermont Mortgages.

Vermont Mortgages

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Playing Fair When Selling?

One of the great parts of working in the Montpelier real estate market is that there are some great people in the field. Agents cooperate all the time, bringing buyers, keeping deals together, etc.

I've had a couple of people ask how that cooperation works with respect to the commission. While it may be different in different parts of the country, in the Montpelier real estate market, usually the commission is paid by the seller, and it's split evenly between the cooperating brokers. That means, for example, that if a house is listed by Heney Realtors, and someone from Ajax Realtors brings a buyer, the commission is split 50-50.

It sort of makes sense. I mean, both realtors are going to work their tails off keeping everything on track.

There are over 60 agents in Washington County alone, and, as a seller, you're also looking to attract buyers from all across the country.

One question to ask when you're selling your home in the Montpelier real estate market is how the commission is shared. If the listing agency splits it evenly with the buyer agency, then you're likely to get a lot more buyers' agents showing your house. You want that.

If you run into a listing agent who has a different split, make sure you find out why, and make sure it's done with your best interest in mind. Remember, you want everyone in the Montpelier real estate market working for you.

Become an expert in the Montpelier real estate market. Remember Ray.

Barre Vermont Main Street Renovation

Nothing's official, but the city council has decided to ask voters for $1.7m in bond revenue to renovate Main Street in Barre, including updating the 100 year old municipal sewer system.

100 years old? Seriously? Turns out that in 1982 failures were discovered. For the past almost 30 years, then, the city has had to patch up what needed patching, and hope everything else continued working. 100 years.

I'm scratching my head a little that it's taken this long, but I'm also proud of Barre for taking the plunge to get the project started.

Downtown Barre deserves a little love. The proposal is to upgrade the sewer and water lines, as well as fix sidewalks, landscape along Main Street, add bike racks, and just overall spiff it up. Good for Barre!

According to the article in the Times Argus, work could begin as early as 2011. What's a couple more years, right?

For more on this and to become an expert on the Barre real estate market, visit RayMikus.com.

February 4th, 2010

Burlington Vermont

Vermont continues to have the lowest foreclosures of any state in the entire United States. Recent information reported by Bloomberg BusinessWeek indicate that Vermont has suffered the least with ONLY 143 foreclosures in the entire state for all of 2009!

RealtyTrac, in its monthly report from December 2009, reported that only 6 homes in all of Chittenden County (includes 17 towns around and including Burlington VT) went into foreclosure or 1 in every 10,479 housing units.

Put another way, The Vermont Housing Finance Agency (VHFA.org) reported from the Bloomberg.com website that as of January 29th, 2010, Vermont had the lowest foreclosure rate in the country at 0.04% of all homes in the state. The Bloomberg article went on to report that Vermonters are avoiding the foreclosure mess in part owing to traditions of "thrift, modesty and self-reliance - bolstered by laws that protect buyers and land".

In addition, the article went on to say "state and local laws discourage the kind of speculation that spurred development in some states, said Robert Hill, executive vice president of the Vermont Association of Realtors in Montpelier. "If a site for home construction is found to be on prime agricultural soil, the project is halted. The house must be built elsewhere, other land must be purchased and put in a trust as an offset, or the builder must go to court to seek clearance," he said.

Hill continued saying, “The permitting process is extremely difficult to maneuver in Vermont.” “Any developer or builder has to make a significant investment of time and effort. You just can’t come in here and throw stuff up overnight.”

Whatever the reasons, tiny Vermont (pop. 621,270) leads the nation in a category we can be extremely grateful for. With stringent environmental and zoning laws on the books for decades supply has been kept low. This enraged developers looking to make a fast buck during the go-go years. Hill added, as a result, "demand has outstripped the supply of housing. With no surplus of homes, prices didn’t collapse (like in many other states) when buyers decreased," Hill said.

If you are considering listing your home for sale or buying a home, condominium or other real estate in Burlington, Vermont, please give me a call or email me to discuss the market and your options. I would be delighted to assist you. I can be reached on my direct line at 802.238.5256 or email me at Chris@ChrisHurdVT.com

Armed with solid numbers, buyers and sellers alike can manage their expectations and the current realities of our local market.

As always, please feel free to post any thoughts and comments right here on Hurd's The Word

Just what can be done with Spruce Tree Sap?, will two brothers came up with an idea over a 100 years ago. The two brothers by the name of Curtis, started making two chewing gum flavors by the names of American Flag and Licorice Lulu. These two brothers lived in Maine, and in 1848 started making their chewing gum, from the sap of spruce trees, packeaged, and marketed under the name of State of Maine Pure Spruce Gum. This American chewing gun company was the first of many to come.

The next time you see that sap has dripped on your vehicle, in-stead of getting upset, why don't you come up with a new marketing idea!!!

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Disclaimer: Any of the information herein may come from various sources, some of which may not be reliable and may change without any kind of notice. Dale Baker does not guarantee or is in any way responsible for the accuracy of the information in this blog and the information provided is without any kind of warranties, either express or implied. The information on this blog represents the opinions and ideas of the author; comments left by others may not express the views of the author. Dale Baker Owner: Baker Home and Commercial Properties Inspections. Copyright 2010 By Dale Baker-all rights reserved.

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