Adrienne Francis

WASHINGTON — Two big questions loom over the Obama administration’s latest bid to help troubled homeowners: Will it work? And who would benefit?

By easing eligibility rules, the administration hopes 1 million more homeowners will qualify for its refinancing program and lower their mortgage payments — twice the number who have already. The program has helped only a fraction of the number the administration had envisioned.

In part, that’s because many homeowners who would like to refinance can’t because they owe more on their mortgage than their home is worth. But it’s also because banks are under no obligation to refinance a mortgage they hold — a limitation that won’t change under the new plan.

Here are some of the major questions and answers about the administration’s initiative:

Q: What is the program?

A. The Home Affordable Refinance Program, or HARP, was started in 2009. It lets homeowners refinance their mortgages at lower rates. Borrowers can bypass the usual requirement of having at least 20 percent equity in their home. But few people have signed up. Many “underwater” borrowers — those who owe more than their homes are worth — couldn’t qualify under the program. Roughly 22.5 percent of U.S. homeowners, about 11 million, are underwater, according to CoreLogic, a real estate data firm. As of Aug. 31, fewer than 900,000 homeowners, and just 72,000 underwater homeowners, have refinanced through the administration’s program. The administration had estimated that the program would help 4 million to 5 million homeowners.

Q. Why did so few benefit?

A. Mainly because those who’d lost the most in their homes weren’t eligible. Participation was limited to those whose home values were no more than 25 percent below what they owed their lender. That excluded roughly 10 percent of borrowers, CoreLogic says. In some hard-hit areas, borrowers have lost nearly 50 percent of their home’s value. Another problem: Homeowners must pay thousands in closing costs and appraisal fees to refinance. Typically, that adds up to 1 percent of the loan’s value — $2,000 in fees on a $200,000 loan. Sinking home prices also left many fearful that prices had yet to bottom. They didn’t want to throw good money after a depreciating asset. Or their credit scores were too low. Housing Secretary Shaun Donovan acknowledged that the program has “not reached the scale we had hoped.”

Q: What changes is the administration making?

A. Homeowners’ eligibility won’t be affected by how far their home’s value has fallen. And some fees for closing, title insurance and lien processing will be eliminated. So refinancing will be cheaper. The number of homeowners who need an appraisal will be reduced, saving more money. Some fees for those who refinance into a shorter-term mortgage will also be waived. Banks won’t have to buy back the mortgages from Fannie or Freddie, as they previously had to when dealing with some risky loans. That change will free many lenders to offer refinance loans. The program will also be extended 18 months, through 2013.

Q: Who’s eligible?

A. Those whose loans are owned or backed by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac, which the government took control of three years ago. Fannie and Freddie own or guarantee about half of all U.S. mortgages — nearly 31 million loans. They buy loans from lenders, package them into bonds with a guarantee against default and sell them to investors. To qualify for refinancing, a loan must have been sold to Fannie and Freddie before June 2009. Homeowners can determine whether their mortgage is owned by Fannie or Freddie by going online: Freddie’s loan tool is at freddiemac.com/mymortgage; Fannie’s is at fanniemae.com/loanlookup. Mortgages that were refinanced over the past 2½ years aren’t eligible. Homeowners must also be current on their mortgage. One late payment within six months, or more than one in the past year, would mean disqualification. Perhaps the biggest limitation on the program: It’s voluntary for lenders. A bank remains free to reject a refinancing even if a homeowner meets all requirements.

Q: Will it work?

A. For those who can qualify, the savings could be significant. If, for example, a homeowner with a $200,000 mortgage at 6 percent can refinance down to 4.5 percent, the savings would be $3,000 a year. But the benefit to the economy will likely be limited. Even homeowners who are eligible and who choose to refinance through the government program could opt to sock away their savings or pay down debt rather than spend it.

Q: How many homeowners will be eligible or will choose to participate?

A: Not entirely clear. The government estimates that up to 1 million more people could qualify. Moody’s Analytics says the figure could be as high as 1.6 million. Both figures are a fraction of the 11 million or more homeowners who are underwater, according to CoreLogic, a real estate data research firm.

Q: Who will benefit most?

A: Underwater homeowners in the hard-hit states of Arizona, California, Florida and Nevada could be greatly helped. Many are stuck with high mortgage rates after they were approved for mortgages with little or no money as a down payment and few requirements. The average annual savings for a U.S. household would be $2,500, officials say.

Q: When will it start?

A: Fannie and Freddie will issue the full details of the plan lenders and servicers on Nov. 15, officials say. The revamped program could be in place for some lenders as early as Dec. 1.

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Your roof is the most important part of your home and the most neglected. Through the summer it takes the constant beating of the sun. Through the winter it resists the gusting winds and rain. The high quality roofing materials today offer protection that has not been available in the past and warranties up to fifty years are common place. The question is, how is your roof holding up.

Determine what type of roof you have.

There are 4 types of roofing;

1. Composition – these are flat and the most common called shingles, or asphalt shingles.

2. Shake – These are made of wood and can be either thick or very thin.

3. Tile – Usually made of clay or concrete and can be flat, W shaped or S shaped

4. Flat – Usually covered with rock or rolled roofing

How to Inspect your roof.

The first part of your roof inspection should start on the ground. Are small or large pieces or roofing on the ground or in the trees or bushes. This should be checked after a rain or a windy day. Look around the bottom of downspouts. Are the granules washing off of the shingles?

Look at the roof itself. Can you see any pieces missing or lifting up? Can you see any bare spots where the roofing is gone and you can see the black underlayment.

Next, Look inside the house. The most obvious thing of course is to see if there are any leaks. Look also for slight discoloring or paint blistering. See if the wallpaper is peeling away where it meets the ceiling. Also, check for dampness around the baseboards or if the carpet is damp. If you have a skylight with a drop in diffuser, remove it and looks for signs of leaking.

If you have access to your attic take a good light and see if the wood is water stained or wet. Is the insulation damp or matted down. If the insulation has paper backing is the backing wet or stained.

If you are able, inspect the roof by climbing on it. Be extremely careful. Use a good ladder and do not lean over the edge. Hundreds of people fall off of roofs and are seriously injured every year, even professionals. A fall from a roof ALWAYS results in an injury requiring medical attention.

If you can inspect your roof by actually climbing up on it there are quite a few things to look for.

• What is the overall appearance?

• Are there bare spots of felt (the black

underlayment)?

• Are pieces of roofing missing?

• Can you see the heads of roofing nails?

• Check the Pipe Flashings

• Are the flashings rusted?

• Are there holes in it?

• Is the caulking cracked?

• Are there nail heads showing?

• Inspect Skylights if applicable.

• Inspect the flashings

• Slightly press on the lens and look for

water trapped between the lenses.

• Inspect the Chimney

• Inspect the flashing

• Inspect the “counter flashing”

• Is there build up of debris behind the

chimney?

• Inspect Turbines

• Give the turbine a spin. Does it spin

smoothly? Is it quiet?

• Does it stop spinning after a few

rotations?

• Is it rusting?

Evaluate

So what did you find?

• If you found a leak something has to be done as soon as possible.

If your roof has obvious signs that it should be leaking, you should get a professional to take a look at it.

If your roof looks good and there are no leaks then you should check it each year in the spring so that if you do have a leak you will have time to take care of it before the rain returns.

Leak Repairs

Most legitimate companies no longer do leak repairs. If a roofer fixes a leak on a roof he is often held liable if the roof leaks later on, even if the leak is in an area he did not work on! We are committed to being here when you need us and that means we make good choices about only doing work that will last. We don’t take risks and that means you can count on us when you need us. If your roof leaks and you can’t fix it yourself, chances are that you need a whole new roof, but if you don’t, we’ll tell you. We will still be here when your roof is ready to be redone.

Repair or Replace

If the your overall inspection shows that the roof is otherwise in good condition and the repair necessary is obvious then you probably should attempt a repair. The problem is that your roof is a system that was put on in a sequence from lowest point to the highest. A leak low in the roof could be coming from any direction even sideways or up the slope! Any work done can not possibly tie into the existing system without creating even more problems. If all that is needed is some caulking then go ahead and attempt the repair. But if the roofing, some flashing, or skylight needs to be torn up and replaced then you should hire a professional.

Cost of replacement

There is no way to say without actually looking at it. Some companies will give you a low price over the phone and hope to talk you into paying too much. Most companies provide free estimates but make sure that you ask before they come out to look at your home.

The main determinate of the cost of your roof is the size. This will be significantly greater than the interior footage of the house. This is due to the fact that the slope of the roof adds to the size and the width of the eaves add even more.

The second factor of cost is the type of material that you want. A tile roof is two to three times the cost of a composition roof.

Do it yourself, Hire a friend

If you know what you are doing and have an easy job ahead of you go ahead. But if you are reading this then you probably shouldn’t attempt it. The other option is to hire a friend or a neighbor. Read the insurance section of this brochure. What happens if something goes wrong or someone gets hurt. How long will the job take. Who do you call if it leaks. How much experience do they have?

Hiring a professional

Obviously, since this is our business we believe that only a GOOD licensed roofing contractor should re-roof your home if it needs to be re-roofed. The reason I emphasize the word GOOD is that there are so many bad contractors. A claims adjuster that specializes in insurance claims from damage from leaking roofs is quoted as saying that San Diego County has the worst roofers in the State. The Contractors State Licensing board routinely revokes five to ten roofers licenses per month.

So, being licensed is not enough. The following list is a minimum standard that the company roofing your home should meet.

Experienced

As with anything there is a learning curve. You don’t want to hire someone who is at the beginning of the learning curve. The company itself should have a long track record. Only time can test the quality of a Roofing contractors work. Don’t hire an old roofer with a new company. Ideally, the company you hire will have had years of experience and learned long ago that the secret to success is to make customers happy who will refer him to others.

Insurance

Workmen’s Compensation Insurance

You have probably heard the horror stories of contractors who didn’t have the right kind of insurance. The state only requires Workman’s Compensation Insurance. But if the contractor claims he has no employees then they will waive that requirement. If you hired the contractor and he or one of his workers got hurt they could sue you. It sounds unbelievable but call your agent. Somewhere buried in your homeowners policy is an exclusion for coverage for contractors. If the injuries are severe or fatal then you could lose everything defending yourself in a lawsuit.

Do Not Use Subcontractors

If you hire someone and they “sub” it out to someone else then you end up paying a middle man to do nothing. Also subcontractors do not work for you. They only receive their orders from the “middle man”. Subcontractors are paid by their volume of work so their main goal is to finish your house as quick as possible and to move on to the next one and they often cut corners to save time.

Have Large crews

This is critical if you are going to have your roof torn off. Roof removal is a dirty business and the saying “many hands make light work” definitely applies here. The volume of debris is enormous and unless you are willing to put up with debris around your house for days possibly killing your grass or getting tracked into the house then it is best to use a company that has lots of “hands” to clean up quickly. Most roofs should be torn off and cleaned up in one day. They should use trucks instead of the roll off dumpsters since this could block your driveway for days or create an attractive nuisance.

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So you’re invited to Thanksgiving dinner. How do you decide what wine to bring with you? Here are ten selections guaranteed to pair well with turkey and the trimmings. Since most of them are priced under $20, you shouldn’t hesitate to put them on your own table as well. These Top 10 Thanksgiving Wines reflect the diversity and variety of U.S. wine production. We’ve included whites and reds, sparkling and sweet wines, from California to Georgia and Michigan to Texas.

L. Mawby Blanc de Blancs

Larry Mawby has been producing wines on Michigan’s Leelanau Peninsula since 1978. All of his L. Mawby label sparkling wines are made using the traditional Méthode Champenoise and are aged in the bottle before disgorging. Made mostly from Chardonnay grapes, the Blanc de Blancs is nicely structured with medium bubbles. Aromas of crisp spiced apple and baked peach follow through to fresh and lively flavors of ginger and grapefruit.

Rating: 14/20

Price: $20

Kluge Estate 2008 SP Rosé

Acquired by Donald Trump in April 2011, Kluge Vineyard and Estate in Charlottesville, Virginia, is now Trump Winery and Vineyard Estates. Kluge’s red and sparkling wines have been served at the White House and at Chelsea Clinton’s wedding rehearsal dinner. Made according to the Méthode Champenoise, the SP Rosé is composed mostly of Chardonnay grapes with the addition of five per cent Pinot Noir. Raspberry and rose on the nose and strawberry on the palate make this a light and fruity sparkler.

Rating: 14/20

Price: $35

Shaw Vineyard 2007 Dry Riesling

Although Steve Shaw has been growing grapes in New York’s Finger Lakes region for over thirty years, he only began making wines under his own eponymous label in 2002. His 2007 Dry Riesling is pleasantly dry and well-balanced, with flavors of ripe peach and tropical fruit. Enjoy it paired with Thanksgiving foods or on its own.

Rating: 13/20

Price: $20

Biltmore Reserve 2010 Chardonnay

The most visited winery in the United States, Biltmore benefits from proximity to railroad baron George Vanderbilt’s massive French chateau in the mountains of North Carolina. Made from estate-grown grapes, this oaky Chardonnay offers aromas of lemon, pear and apple. On the palate, a pleasant acidity is balanced by smooth tannins for a fuller mouthfeel.

Rating: 13/20

Price: $15

Conundrum2010 California White Table Wine

A blend of Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Muscat Canelli, Viognier and Semillon sourced from Napa, Monterey, Santa Barbara and Tulare counties, Conundrum, while not exactly representative, is truly a California wine. Sweet and slightly effervescent, Conundrum’s originality lies in the complexity resulting from this non-traditional blend. Heady aromas of honeysuckle, together with hints of peach and vanilla, mingle on the palate with melon, pineapple and pear.

Rating: 14/20

Price: $22

Messina Hof 2010 Sophia Marie Rosé

Paul and Merrill Bonarrigo, owners of Messina Hof Winery and Resort in Texas, trace their family heritages to Messina, Sicily, and Hof, Germany. Their Sophia Marie Rosé, named for their first grandchild, is composed entirely of estate-grown, hand-picked Lenoir grapes. Sweet and slightly effervescent, this young and fruity wine is not a typical rosé.

Rating: 12.5/20

Price: $14

Meiomi 2010 Pinot Noir

Among the Wagner Family of Wine’s many labels is Meiomi (pronounced May-oh-mee), which means “coast” in the now extinct Yuki and Wappo languages of northern California. Blended from grapes sourced in Sonoma, Santa Barbara and Monterey counties, this Pinot Noir is broad and balanced. Aromas of blackberry and cola reveal successive layers of cherry, vanilla and oak leading to firm tannins and a long finish.

Rating: 13.5/20

Price: $22

Dancing Bull 2009 Cabernet Sauvignon

Dancing Bull Winery in Modesto, California, began by producing a Zinfandel in 2002. Since then, their line has expanded to include Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon. The latter is made partially with grapes sourced from Sonoma County, leading to darker coloring and more fruit forward flavors. A robust, full-bodied wine, this Cabernet offers ripe plum, cherry and black currant flavors with hints of clove and chocolate.

Rating: 13/20

Price: $12

Eberle 2009 Barbera

In 1973, Gary Eberle began working in his family’s pioneering winery, Estrella River (which is now Meridian). He co-founded the Paso Robles appellation in 1980 before opening his own eponymous winery in 1983. Eberle focuses on Rhône varietals with a little bit of Italy in the mix, such as this Barbera. It is medium-bodied with soft tannins and a balanced acidity. Ripe red fruit flavors with vanilla and a touch of spice make this Barbera a food-friendly wine.

Rating: 14/20

Price: $26

Chateau Elan Muscadine

Reminiscent of a French country estate, Chateau Elan Winery and Resort, near Atlanta, was founded by pharmaceutical tycoons Donald and Nancy Panoz. On a visit to their research lab in Gainesville, they became fascinated by Georgia’s indigenous Muscadine grapes and decided to cultivate their own. Like their fruit-infused Muscadine blends, this pure Muscadine wine is sweet and foxy.

Rating: 13/20

Price: $11

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By Holden Lewis • Bankrate.com

House prices are falling in much of the country, and a report by Merrill Lynch says a record 2.2 million single-family homes and condos are on the market — almost 1 million above normal levels.

It’s a buyer’s market, but don’t despair.

Selling in a buyer’s market:

You can increase your chance of selling your house in a reasonable time by following a few good guidelines.

5 tips for sellers

1.Play the cards you’re dealt.

2.Scope out other houses for sale.

3.Make it a turnkey, not a turkey.

4.Offer incentives.

5.Be realistic.

1. Play the cards you’re dealt.

A successful poker night begins before you reach the table, when you resolve not to chase after hands that you have no realistic chance of getting. Similarly, a successful home sale begins before the house is listed, when you decide not to expect to make a killing.

“All you can do in a falling market, if you have to sell, is have the best possible product out there at the price it should be,” says Diane Saatchi, an agent with Corcoran Group in East Hampton, N.Y. “Not what you wish you could get, not what the neighbor got two years ago, but at the price you should get now. That’s the reality.”

It takes discipline to face that reality. Humility, too. For many sellers, “the only disappointment is that their friend, six months or a year ago, got more than they’re getting,” says Bill Christiano, a loan officer with MortgageIT in White Plains, N.Y. “Ego gets in the way when they’re trying to sell. Or stubbornness, I should say.”

2. Scope out other houses for sale.

Break through your ego and stubbornness by looking at the good deals that your neighbors are offering. “The most important thing is to really shop the competition on the market right now,” says Elizabeth Razzi, author of “The Fearless Home Buyer,” published in 2006, and of “The Fearless Home Seller.”

Put on your shopping shoes and look at everything from a buyer’s viewpoint. “Get out in the car and spend a weekend looking at everything you can,” Razzi says. “Visit some weekend open houses. Just get a feel for what your buyers are looking at.”

Visit newly built houses and find out which amenities and incentives builders are offering. Eavesdrop on other visitors to open houses to find out if there’s something in particular they’re looking for — something you should do to make your house more presentable.

3. Make it a turnkey, not a turkey.

The word “turnkey” is used in commercial real estate. It means a property is ready for immediate use. Your house has to be that way when buyers have a cornucopia of houses to choose from. “You have to make it a 100 percent turnkey situation,” Razzi says. “Everything has to be ready to roll, because buyers never want to buy a house that needs a lot of work unless it’s an absolute bargain. You have to take away all their opportunities to say no.”

Saatchi says that when buyers outnumber sellers, you can get away with selling a house with ratty carpet, smelly furniture and walls that need painting. The market was like that two years ago, but not now. Saatchi suggests hiring a house inspector before putting the house on the market. “Know now, and fix it,” she says.

Read more: 5 tips: Selling a house in a buyer’s market