Peter Tamura

We met with our clients for inspections in a home in Owasso, they had mentioned to me that some of their friends had wondered why they were investing in inspections on a new home.

The EMP inspector (electrical, mechanical & plumbing) discovered a leak in the shower pan that was leaking water into the adjacent room. He estimated that it would be a repair that could cost as much as $3,000 as the tile would have to be ripped out to do the repair. The builder who was also there was not happy but resigned to taking care of it prior to closing. It may seem reasonable to consider foregoing inspections on a new home, but it is always easier to get repairs negotiated and done prior to closing.

It's an example of being penny wise and pound foolish, we always recommend that clients get appropriate inspections. Happy house hunting, for more tips on searching for your dream home, contact us at 918-770-6999 or email at PTamura@TulsaRealtors.com

A precautionary tale that with some hopefully nuggets of wisdom at the end.

Our seller is a hands on kind of guy that picks out his own pool service company. He has already moved out of town and is handling things remotely. I don't know how he picked out this particular pool person but it wasn't someone we knew or recommended.

It is apparent that there was some altercation between the seller and the pool person, there was a storm and some tree limbs fell into the pool, the pool needed a new liner. The cost of this was around $900.

The pool person called us and was worried that he was not going to get paid and "was thinking" about attaching a mechanics lien. We told him not to do so as the property was set to close in a week and we had his invoice arranged to be paid at close.

The home closes yet we find out a day later that a mechanic's lien had been filed a day before the close which the gap check missed. Ostensibly, the pool person's intent was to file the mechanic's lien to block the close and "punish the seller." His invoice was dated the 13th, the close was only ten days later.

The mechanic's lien includes the cost for filing the mechanic's lien and consultation with an attorney, an additional $600 over the original invoice.

Our title person is calling the seller but as the deal has already closed, the seller doesn't want to hear about it and doesn't return her calls. As the title has already changed hands, the mechanic's lien now has become the buyer's problem.

Conclusions:

* This pool cleaning company will never get business from anyone in our office. The guy was a little paranoid and didn't trust the counsel and advice from a realtor. An attorney is going to lean toward filing a mechanic's lien because he probably can't get paid for counseling the contractor not to file a mechanic's lien.

*The buyers' title company will probably end up eating the cost of the $600.

*Gap checks don't seem to do the job they are supposed to always.

*We might have given a headsup to the title company that he was thinking about filing a mechanic's lien despite the fact that we advised him not to.

*Sellers can cause problems for themselves by not using reputable contractors or people that are used to working with realtors on real estate deals. Our seller was lucky that the mechanic's lien was missed, it would have probably cost him and additional $600 to get the deal closed.

For those that are thinking about buying a home and taking advantage of the $8,000 tax credit, the window for this current tax credit is closing, the home purchase must close before December 1st, 2009.

Now this brings up several issues.

1. Will Congress extend/renew this tax credit? This will depend on the concensus of whether it is felt that the first time homebuyer has and will continue to stimulate the economy. As there is currently no assurance that the tax credit will be extended, it involves a calculated gamble of what one thinks is going to happen.

2. There is not enough time to build a house from scratch and close on time to qualify. Simmons quotes about 90 days from groundbreaking to completion and that seems quite fast. Builders, however, may have completed homes for sale.

3. Avoid short sales if you are trying to get the tax credit. In most cases, it's too difficult to predict if and when a short sale will close. Imagine the frustration of delays causing the disqualification of the $8,000 tax credit.

The typical contract period is 30 days or so, still leaving enough time to look for a house, get into contract and close. You would probably want to be in contract by the beginning of October at the latest. Keep in mind that any title issue or significant repairs may jeopardize closing on time.

As I check my clients from last year, I notice that about a quarter of them have not filed for Homeowner's Exemption. After the close of your purchase, within a couple of weeks your deed will be executed and filed at the County Clerk's office. You are now ready to file for your Homestead Exemption. Basically, you need to own and occupy the property to be eligible.

Your deed needs to be notarized before January 1st and filed before February 1st to qualify for the year.

Basically, it is a $1,000 exemption of the assessed value of your home, which will save you between $84 to $132 per year. (Tulsa County Assessor's Office)

The form is available at:

www.assessor.tulsacounty.org Go to the site and click homestead on the left hand column.

The information that you may not have at your fingertips is the legal description, ie. Block 1 Section 3 Churchill Park and the Account number. It says on the form that if you leave these areas blank and fill in the rest, they will look it up for you.

Then mail the application in to:

Ken Yazel

Tulsa County Assessor

Attn: S Denver Ave.

500 S Denver Ave.

Tulsa, OK 74103-3832

If you are not sure whether you filed or not, you can call the office 918-596-5143 between 8:30A-5:00P M-F or you can call me and I can look it up for you.

www.TulsaHomesPro.com

Peter Tamura recently completed the Certified Distressed Property Expert Designation and training and has pledged to help homeowners struggling with payments to make good informed decisions and move forward with their lives.

"The thing that was shocking to me was the knowledge that as many as seven out of ten foreclosures happen with little or no active intervention. People don't know where to turn and are at a time in their lives where it is difficult to make good decisions. Even with the help of an agent, depending on the area, as few as two out of ten attempts to do a short sale are successful! It is therefore critical that the agent involved has the specialized training that a CDPE goes through to maximize the probability that a short sale will be successful," Tamura says.

In the Tulsa, market, homeowners may have options not available in other areas.

1) Rent the house. In certain neighborhoods and depending on when one has bought a house, renting the home may cover the entire mortgage and associated homeownership costs. Tulsa is a strong rental market, to find out what a home might rent for, try logging onto www.RentTulsa.com or www.VickiBerg.com to get an idea.

2) Loan Modification. Some lenders have their act together better than others in this area, but if one is still gainfully employed but struggling with the amount of the payment due to recent resets, this may be an option. Call your lender and ask to speak to the workout specialist.

3) Short sale. In certain cases, lenders will approve a short sale of a home, the homeowner will have to write a hardship letter and put the home on the market. Sometimes, lenders will discharge the difference between the sales price and the balance owed, sometimes they won't. If one is late on payments during this process the credit ratings will be adversely affected but it is usually preferable to a foreclosure which stays on your credit record for seven years plus the 180 day period beginning with the delinquency.

Call today for a consultation to discuss your various options.

Peter Tamura e-PRO, GRI, CDPE

RE/MAX Executives

918) 770-6999

www.TulsaHomesPro.com

PTamura@TulsaRealtors.com