Diane Casale, REALTOR, ABR, SNP; North Alabama Real Estate

South Huntsville, Alabama is getting a new park! The groundbreaking ceremony was held last week on the 52 acre site. It will begin with the first phase being a dog park that officials hope can be connected to the Aldridge Creek Greenway and McGucken Park. The dog park should be completed by the end of the year. The park is a joint venture between the city and the county. Future plans for the park includes multiple use sports fields, a Babe Ruth baseball field, disc golf, gymnasium and fitness center.

District 5 Madison County Commissioner Phil Riddick is supplying the land, fences and materials for paving. The city will provide the labor and build a pavilion.

Riddick said in a news release that schools, libraries and parks are a priority for south Huntsville residents.

“This new public park initiative involves input by District 5 residents, neighborhood park boards and civic associations,” Riddick said. “We are all working together to alleviate field shortages and allow for more tournament hosting opportunities.”

So how many of you hate or love when people come knocking on your door only to try to sell you magazine subscriptions, carpet cleaning solutions or anything else that you may or may not care for?

The Huntsville City Council would like to have commercial sales people and professional fundraisers to apply to the city for solicitation permits. They would have to provide current background reports including criminal history and ex-convicts and parolees would be automatically disqualified for the permit.

Once the background check passed and an application fee paid, the solicitors would be given permits and photo identification tags. The solicitors need to wear to tags in clear view while going on door-to-door sales calls. Other stipulations of the new rule would not allow sales people to knock on doors before 8:00 am or after sunset. Homes with "No Solicitation" signs in the yard would be off limits (which I have on my own door).

This new ordinance would not affect Girl Scouts, religious groups, political candidates, student fundraisers and charitable groups (what is left?). This is just a proposal and will be discussed in a special work session later this month.

I believe they are proposing this due to a recent increase in home burglarlies~some of which, neighbors or homeowners had stated that a sales person had recently been to their home soliciting. I am not sure how this will play out. But in the meantime, my "No Soliciting" sign on our door will stay put.

How would you feel if this was happening in your neighborhood?

Being a Mom of a fourth-grader, the news I read today makes me one VERY proud and excited Parent!

It was announced today that Fourth-grade students across Alabama are going to be given a chance to be an integral part of space exploration. The Rocket City Space Pioneers announced a contest that will allow fourth-graders to name its moon lander. The students from the Huntsville Center for Technology, who are members of the Rocket City Space Pioneers team, built a full-scale model of a moon lander, which they unveiled on Tuesday.

"Every spacecraft needs a name," said Tim Pickens, chief propulsion engineer for Dynetics and the team leader for the Rocket City Space Pioneers. "We want a name that speaks to technology, innovation and a love of Alabama."

What is really cool is that the winning class will get a free trip to SPACE CAMP®. The class' teacher will receive a $500 gift card for classroom supplies. Teachers can register for the contest online. The deadline to register for the contest is Feb. 15.

The contest runs from Feb. 15 until Feb. 23. The winning name will be chosen in early March.

For those of you who may not know about SPACE CAMP®…It is a wonderful program that has been here for years. SPACE CAMP® was founded in 1982 as the U.S. Space & Rocket Center® museum’s education program to promote the study of math, science, and technology. This educational program couples classroom instruction with hands-on activities and teaches teamwork, decision-making, and leadership. Rocket scientist Dr. Wernher von Braun, while leading the team of scientists and engineers at the Marshall Space Flight Center that sent astronauts to the moon, inspired these programs that have challenged and educated youngsters from all 50 states and over 40 countries and territories. SPACE CAMP®has become known as one of the premier math/science/technology educational programs in the United States.

Camps are available for fourth grade through high school-age students. Additional programs are available for trainees who are blind or visually impaired, and for the deaf or hard of hearing. "Space Is Special" is a program for special education students.

SPACE CAMP® programs are also available for adults, and special camps have been designed for educators and for corporate groups. Additional Space Camp Family Programs are available for children as young as 7 years.

If you watched ABC’s Hallmark Hall Of Fame Series movie A Smile As Big As The Moon, you got to see a lot of what SPACE CAMP® is all about. The Movie is about a special education teacher’s dream of helping his students attend SPACE CAMP®.

Although I am a “transplant” here in Huntsville, I am so VERY proud to call Huntsville home. My Children are getting a spectacular education along with all of these added bonuses of living in such a technology driven City. Now, time to go help my daughter think of names (shhhhhh.)

Ripple Lane, Owens Cross Roads, Alabama

Are you looking for that exclusive Executive or Equestrian property so hidden away from city life that it feels like a vacation 24/7, yet only minutes everything? Look no further! Ripple Lane, Owens Cross Roads, the best kept secret in North Alabama is just what you were looking for. As you enter the Hampton Cove subdivision with its sparkling waterfall and wind through the streets lined with an eclectic mix of executive style homes, you think to yourself, “What could Ripple Lane offer that these don’t? Could it really get better than this?” And, as you make your turn onto the narrow street called Ripple Lane which is surrounded by large open fields and majestic trees, it becomes clear…each Estate sits on no less than 15 acres of land, are nestled around beautiful mountains, have elegant fencing and gates in front of winding driveways.

Estates don’t come up for sale very often on this street of 12. But, surprisingly, at the moment there are 2 along with a 296.6 acre lot on the market:

437 Ripple Lane (MLS# 874319), which sits on two lots for a total of 27.5 acres of fenced land. This Luxurious gated equestrian estate is quite special. with almost 10,000 square feet, 4 fireplaces, Brazilian hardwoods, exquisite crown molding and Italian tile/stone throughout. Your family can spread out in its six large bedrooms, home theatre, custom kitchen w/all commercial appliances (a total of 17 rooms), elevator, a beautiful wine cellar, gorgeous barn with eight stalls, tack room, riding arena, ponds and formal gardens with very large entertaining areas. There is also a separate guest house above the garage. This Estate also offers unfinished basement space/walk-up attic space and much more. And with a price of $2,900,000 you are getting an incredible bargain!

GREAT NEWS? IF YOU DIDN'T THINK YOU COULD QUALIFY TO BUY A HOME, YOU MAY NOW! FICOs AND FHA: 2 BIG LENDERS LOOSEN UP!

This according to an article written by

Here’s some unexpected good news for anybody working to get buyers into houses, especially first-timers who don’t have much down payment cash on hand: The door to an FHA-insured mortgage just opened a little wider.

With no fanfare or public announcements, two of the largest FHA-approved lenders have backed off their controversial “overlay” requirements on FICO scores (lender overlays are qualification requirements that can be more stringent than FHA’s own requirements).

Both Wells Fargo and Quicken Loans confirmed to me last week that they will now lend to applicants with 580 FICOs and 3.5 percent down payments.

Their revised standards conform in most respects to FHA’s own minimums, and open the agency’s financing to large numbers of buyers whose credit scores have sagged during the recession. Wells Fargo is the largest originator of FHA-insured mortgages; Quicken ranks third, according to industry data.

Along with most other major lenders, both companies previously had insisted on minimum FICOs of 620 for otherwise qualified borrowers seeking 3.5 percent down payment loans. If your score came in even slightly lower, they wouldn’t even look at your application.

An estimated one third of Americans now have FICO scores below 620, according to one consumer group’s estimate.

The lending industry’s rationale for imposing a higher bar than FHA’s own: They need an extra cushion of protection against potential defaults by borrowers with subpar credit scores. Many of those defaults, they said, could prompt indemnification demands by the Federal Housing Administration — essentially punitive repayments for insured loans that go belly up.

Michael D. Berman, chairman of the Mortgage Bankers Association, said last week that lenders have adopted FICO score minimums and other overlays that add to the costs of getting a loan because they “are just afraid. We are not going to play out on the edge if we’re going to get stuck” with buybacks or indemnification demands.” Similarly, FHA lenders want to avoid the costs of servicing nonperforming defaulted mortgages.

FHA commissioner David Stevens says he understands the lenders’ concerns, but that many applicants with 580 scores have solid incomes and generally good credit histories. Their current scores are depressed, he argues, because “they went through the recession and suffered some damage, such as short-term loss of income,” which caused them to be late on some payments.

If lenders look hard at the causes of their problems and underwrite carefully, such borrowers “do not present excessive risks of default,” he says, which is why FHA set the FICO score bar for 3.5 percent down payment loans at 580.

The mortgage industry’s overlay policies have prompted criticism from Realtors, builders and consumer groups. The National Community Reinvestment Coalition filed complaints against 23 lenders — Wells and Quicken were not among the targets — charging that setting tougher credit standards than required by FHA discriminates against minorities and violates federal fair lending and equal opportunity statutes.

Wells’ newly revised policy actually dips the FICO score cutoff line well below 580 — all the way down to deep subprime 500 — but also sets strict underwriting hoops and snares to weed out unqualified applicants.

For example, borrowers with scores between 500-579 will need a 10 percent down payment from their personal resources. They will not be able to use gift money from relatives, friends or a charitable down payment assistance program to meet the 10 percent upfront equity test.

Home buyers with scores of 580-599 will need 5 percent down payments, and will be prohibited from supplementing their own cash with gifts. Borrowers with FICOs above 600 will qualify for 3.5 percent down payment FHA deals, but will be allowed to use gift money.

Contributions from home sellers to defray buyers’ closing or loan origination costs will be limited to 3 percent. Debt-to-income ratios will be tight: 31 percent for monthly housing-related expenses, and 43 percent for total household debt service.

The expanded program will only be available through Wells’ retail lending channel, not through third-party brokers or correspondent lenders.

Tom Goyda, a Wells vice president and spokesman, told me that “these requirements are designed to ensure that we lend to customers who we believe will be able to manage their finances, given the anticipated ongoing challenges in the economy.”

Bob Walters, Quicken’s vice president for capital markets and chief economist, said his firm will now accept FICO scores down to 580, but no lower. Quicken also insists on key underwriting restrictions on debt-to-income ratios and limits on gift funds.

Walters would not disclose the specifics, but said they are “very close” to Wells’ 31 percent and 43 percent requirements, and that all borrowers with low FICOs must be able to demonstrate that their down payments are from their own funds.

In a phone interview last week, FHA’s Stevens told me that the Wells approach “is well thought out and could serve as a model” for other large lenders to consider in the coming weeks.

He would not identify other major companies that may abandon their 620-640 FICO minimums, but said he hopes that many more will take a hard look and follow suit.

“The idea is not to have habitual late-payers” get FHA-insured mortgages to purchase houses, Stevens said, but rather to provide homeownership opportunities to genuinely qualified buyers who simply have temporarily depressed credit scores.

“Anybody who is lending” during the current environment of falling home prices and high unemployment “has to be extremely careful about making policy changes that add to their risks, but we also need not to exclude qualified families from access to homeownership,” Stevens said.

If the mortgage industry adopts the Wells and Quicken guidelines in some form, tens of thousands of consumers — along with the real estate professionals assisting them — could be beneficiaries in the weeks immediately ahead.

But keep this in mind: You may need to reach out to loan officers to inquire about any policy changes. So far, nobody’s been on the rooftops shouting about the good news.

Ken Harney writes an award-winning, nationally syndicated column, “The Nation’s Housing,” and is the author of two books on real estate and mortgage finance.