Jackie Kyles ABR, CNE, RLI

Here is another great event that the City of Rock Hill is putting on this Friday September 12, 2008! This is truly a GREAT place to live!!!!

Live at the OTA (Old Town Amphitheater) is this Friday night from 7 PM - 11
PM. Come here three local favorites beginning with the Cable Knit Sweaters
followed by a seven piece bluegrass band, Neighbors Acres, with rock and
roll headliner The Heavy Sandwich. $5 gets you in to all three bands. Beer,
wine and food will be sold. ID check required. The Old Town Amphitheater is
located on Black Street behind City Hall. Cancelled in case of rain. Check
website at www.rockusa.com - downtown happenings.

I have put together a chart on how many homes are being shown to buyers by Realtors. These numbers are broken down in price ranges for Rock Hill, SC. This tells you exactly how many buyers were looking for homes from August 1, 2008 to September 1, 2008 in Rock Hill, SC. This does not tell you how many homes are on the market in Rock Hill, SC, JUST how many buyers there are.

Hooray!!! Rock Hill got a great new Earth Fare Market & Cafe. Now I don't have to drive to Charlotte! If you live in the area you have to stop by and visit this great little market & cafe. They have a lot of organic, natural and chemical free stuff here. There is a section for herbs and homeopathic type products to help with everything form ear aches to diseases of all kinds. I have purchased stuff for one of my greyhounds a few years ago that had osteosarcoma (a type of bone cancer) that eased some of his pain and discomfort before he had to go to Rainbow Bridge to wait on me to join him.

They also have excellent meats which most are from free range animals(animals that are chemical free and are allowed to roam their farms and such). I have put their newsletter here so you can see some of the great things this nice market has to offer!

This was sent to me by one of my favorite mortgage guys.

Heads Up - Housing Bill

The information being provided below is a summary of the House Bill. Please note that we are waiting on HUD to issue Mortgagee Letters to fully appreciate the final interpretation of the House Bill by HUD and their attorneys. The Mortgagee Letters will be released over the next 30-60 days. Also, we will need bulletins from our investors on their interpretation once the Mortgagee letters have been issued.

FHA Modernization Act:

Seller funded down payment assistance is no longer available after October 1^st. The loan must be final approved on September 30^th and must close by no later than October 31st. The parameters are as follows:

• If the loan is a manual underwrite, the date the MCAW is signed by the DE Underwriter is the determination of if the loan is final approved on September 30th
• If the loan is run through AUS, the date the last set of findings were run is the date used to show the loan was final approved on September 30th

NOTE: A House Bill has already been re-introduced to try to change this requirement.

1. The FHA Risk Based Premiums will be placed on hold for one year starting October 1, 2008.

NOTE: HUD has not determined what the new premiums will be as of yet. Information will follow in a Mortgagee Letter.

1. The minimum down payment has been increased to 3.5%. Therefore, the base LTV will be 96.5%. This affects High Closing Cost and Low Closing Cost states across the board. It also could potentially impact the following programs:
   • FHA Veteran program is gone
   • HUD $100 down - unsure if program will be available
   • Energy Efficient Mortgage - unsure how program will be affected
   • 203 (h)

NOTE: This is 3.5% down payment. Previously, 3% equity was required in the property which could be 2.25% down payment + the remaining .75% could be closing costs in a High Closing cost state.

1. Once the Economic Stimulus Act of 2008 expires at the end of December, a new setup of permanently higher loan limits will be put in place (although in some areas not quite as high as the Stimulus Act). The floor will increase from $200,160 to $271,050 and the ceiling will now be $625,500 for single family homes

First Time Homeowner Tax Credit:

(Available for homes purchased April 1, 2008 through June 30, 2009)

The new law will extend a tax credit of up to $7,500 to first time homebuyers. The tax credit is for 10% of the purchase price, up to $7,500, but phases out for higher-income homeowners. This is a tax credit, not a deduction. It reduces the homeowner's tax bill by up to $7,500 for the tax year in which the purchase was made (please note that taxes must be filed). It is a one time credit.

There is a catch in that the money has to be repaid over 15 years, starting two years after the home is bought. The tax credit is truly an interest-free loan. If the tax credit is taken, the individual's income tax bill will increase by $500 a year for 15 years. If the house is sold before the money is paid back, then it will be due and payable upon sale.

Hope for Homeowners Act of 2008:

This Act is intended to provide homeowners who may be in danger of losing their homes an option to avoid foreclosure by providing FHA Refinances where the homeowner is unable to pay the existing mortgage. The "board" has to write the rules so we cannot speculate on how this program will work until a Mortgagee Letter is issued.

To qualify for this program, the borrowers must meet all of the following criteria:

•o Must lack the capacity to pay their existing mortgage

•o Must have been paying at least 31% of their monthly income in mortgage payments as of March 1, 2008

•o The property must be owner occupied

•o Borrowers will have to meet the specific qualifications of the FHA program

•o The Upfront MIP and monthly insurance premiums will be different from the standard factors

One of my all time favorite places to eat would be the White Horse at 1022 Camden Avenue, just off of Cherry Road in Rock Hill, SC 29732. I was born and raised in Rock Hill, SC and of all the places I have eaten, I never get tired of the White Horse. They were located on Cherry Road until about 6 to 8 years ago...I can't remember. The first location was in an old house that had been turned into the White Horse, I really loved that place. I started eating there when I was in high school back in the early 80's and the atmosphere was great. The new location is a new building and they moved a lot of the furnishings, stained glass and artwork from the old place which gave it that familiar feel. It is a beautiful building and they did a great job but I miss the old place...except the parking.

Their menu consists of a wide variety of items. From fish to pasta to sandwiches to casseroles and tons of different appetizers. Mine and my husband's favorite appetizer is the chips and dip, their ranch dip is to die for, forget the chips just bring out a couple of bowls of your ranch dip. Their breaded mushrooms, cheese stick and breaded fresh cauliflower are the bomb too. My all time favorite entree is the Bird in the Bush which consists of chunks of boneless breast of turkey on a bed of fresh broccoli topped with Swiss cheese and hollandaise sauce, garnished with fresh broccoli and mushrooms. Served with garlic toast, which is more like a loaf and is wonderful! My second favorite is the Screaming MiMi which is a vegetarian spud with broccoli, fresh mushrooms, onions, green peppers, tomatoes, black olives, sour cream & cheese. My husband of course has his favorites but this is not his blog so I'm putting my fav's.

My favorite drink would be the cherry-lemon daiquiri, these thing are awesome! I will admit that this place doesn't have anything that's bad. As a matter of fact I haven't eaten and we are getting ready to go out for a late lunch or early dinner...which ever and I have told my husband that I wanted to go the White Horse. I could eat here everyday and not get tired of it...it's that good! That's the Realtor's pick for the day!