Real Estate Information

Real Estate Agents, Appraisers, and Loan Originators should supply owners and borrowers (and their Listing Agents) with a "flash card" to phone interview ANY Appraiser contacting them for access PRIOR to setting an appointment to help determine the competency level of the appraiser.

Here's my list of questions, with a couple of minor modifications:

• what license do you hold, what is the number?
• when did you first obtain your license?
• are you a licensed or certified appraiser, or are you a trainee appraiser?
• where are you from?
• when was the last time you appraised a property in my neighborhood?
• do you know any of the local long term Realtors or Agents in this area?
• after visiting the property how long will it be until the report is delivered to the lender?
• do you have any idea approximately how much my home is worth? ballpark? (you may not get an answer to this question)
• do you have access to the local Multiple Listing Service? Does my Assessor know you? (my Assessor-County Property Appraiser knows me, but only because I ran against her in the last election. This answer to this question is important in locations where the Assessor is THE source of property and sales data)
• please give me a general physical description to enable me to recognize you at the appointment

The appraiser's answers will help you gauge his/her Competency to accept and complete the assignment. If the Lender does not insist on Professional and Geographic Competency, the borrower should. After all, they are entitled to a copy of the appraisal report and will be responsible for repaying the loan.

Here is reprint of the COMPETENCY RULE from the 2008-2009 Edition of the Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice. My emphasis on the points that may be of interest.

COMPETENCY RULE

Prior to accepting an assignment or entering into an agreement to perform any assignment, an appraiser must properly identify the problem to be addressed and have the knowledge and experience to complete the assignment competently; or alternatively, must:

1. disclose the lack of knowledge and/or experience to the client before accepting the
   assignment;
2. take all steps necessary or appropriate to complete the assignment competently; and
3. describe the lack of knowledge and/or experience and the steps taken to complete the
   assignment competently in the report.

Comment: Competency applies to factors such as, but not limited to, an appraiser’s familiarity with a specific type of property, a market, a geographic area, or an analytical method. If such a factor is necessary for an appraiser to develop credible assignment results, the appraiser is responsible for having the competency to address that factor or for following the steps outlined above to satisfy this COMPETENCY RULE.

The background and experience of appraisers varies widely, and a lack of knowledge or experience can lead to inaccurate or inappropriate appraisal practice. The COMPETENCY RULE requires an appraiser to have both the knowledge and the experience required to perform a specific appraisal service competently.

The COMPETENCY RULE requires recognition of, and compliance with, laws and regulations that apply to the appraiser or to the assignment.

If an appraiser is offered the opportunity to perform an appraisal service but lacks the necessary knowledge or experience to complete it competently, the appraiser must disclose his or her lack of knowledge or experience to the client before accepting the assignment and then take the necessary or appropriate steps to complete the appraisal service competently. This may be accomplished in various ways, including, but not limited to, personal study by the appraiser, association with an appraiser reasonably believed to have the necessary knowledge or experience, or retention of others who possess the required knowledge or experience.

In an assignment where geographic competency is necessary, an appraiser preparing an appraisal in an unfamiliar location must spend sufficient time to understand the nuances of the local market and the supply and demand factors relating to the specific property type and the location involved. Such understanding will not be imparted solely from a consideration of specific data such as demographics, costs, sales, and rentals. The necessary understanding of local market conditions provides the bridge between a sale and a comparable sale or a rental and a comparable rental. If an appraiser is not in a position to spend the necessary amount of time in a market area to obtain this understanding, affiliation with a qualified local appraiser may be the appropriate response to ensure development of credible assignment results.

Although this Rule requires an appraiser to identify the problem and disclose any deficiency in competence prior to accepting an assignment, facts or conditions uncovered during the course of an assignment could cause an appraiser to discover that he or she lacks the required knowledge or experience to complete the assignment competently. At the point of such discovery, the appraiser is obligated to notify the client and comply with items 2 and 3 of this Rule.

Interesting Huh!!

An FHA  2/1 buydown is an option when getting an FHA loan where you can “buy down” the interest rate for a period of 2 years by putting a lump sum of money into a buydown account that will supplement the payment schedule on the loan for 2 years.

For further information on current mortgage offerings, contact me at 845 598 5083.

".........and that this affidavit is submitted by a person with knowledge of the facts and in support of Plaintiff's Motion for Summary Judgment, and hat there is no material or genuine issue of a material fact and that laintiff is entitled to enforce the Note and Mortgage and to a judgment as  matter of law.....”

 Anyone in foreclosure has seen this language contained in the body of their foreclosure summons or court papers, signed by a representative of the lender who is suing to possess their house, but these words actually may have strayed far from the truth. Allow me to continue:

 New York Times, Saturday, October 2, 2010 headline: "3rd Lender Will Freeze foreclosures In the Courts.” The article that follows says in part: “Bank of America, the country's largest mortgage lender by assets, said on Friday that it was reviewing documents in all foreclosure cases now in court to evaluate if there were errors........"

Are we finally unraveling the knots? Are we at last taking corrective action?? Is there also medical advice for those who have had heart attacks, loss of sleep, psychiatric imbalances due to foreclosure worries, summonses, process servers and notices of default and evictions??

 Thousands of foreclosures suspended

JP Morgan Chase suspended court cases against its defaulted homeowners after a similar publication.  Likewise, GMAC (which, lets not forget, has as a significant shareholder our own Federal Government) has also suspended thousands and thousands of foreclosure cases as a result of improper actions by its employees and attorneys who permitted these litigated actions to proceed in violation of the protected rights of our clients and homeowners.

 Over the past several weeks, we have seen that thousands of foreclosure cases have been filed in our courts and have proceeded towards judgment and eviction of homeowners whose rights have violated.  As these foreclosure flaws receive unprecedented press and publicity, we still witness in our law firm so many homeowners without hope.

Hope without action, is meaningless. Free housing counseling and non-profit foreclosure consultations are well advertised.  Our law firm provides, at no charge, free meetings and seminars to those who call and visit to discuss their mortgage arrears, defaults and lawsuits. 

 A recent increase in new summonses

We have seen a recent increase in our office of those homeowners whose homes were sold at foreclosure auctions without proper notice and are now suffering the consequences of new summonses to appear and defend their rights when the banks and lenders seek to gain possession of their homes. New "cash for keys" calls are ringing into homes from real estate brokers and property managers who are provided financial compensation by the lenders to obtain vacant possession of your homes.  

 The statistics are startling: record numbers of foreclosure actions, record numbers of foreclosure auctions, record numbers of short sales and absolute certainty of new homeowners in default, deserve our attention.  In our law firm, our clients and callers have our attention.  We urge and encourage your calls to our firm before you enter foreclosure or after you have been served with a summons and complaint or if you have neglected to answer and appear in a foreclosure action. 

 Steps to fight foreclosure

Take small steps towards a recognized and well protected path of recovery, and with these small steps you will enter upon the path to not only protect your rights, but to witness and receive the benefits of new solutions and developments against foreclosure.  For our clients who have entered the process and appeared in their foreclosure actions, and for those who have been served with lawsuits but have not yet taken the small step and little walk to open your default and seek the protection of the courts, the eviction and loss of your homes need not occur. 

 As more and more challenges are brought against wrongful foreclosure actions, our lenders and servicers will respond with a willingness to defer auction sales and evictions.  That is the court process which will develop a remedy and decision to each and every litigant. 

 If you are a defendant in a foreclosure action, engage your lender and servicer with loan modification submissions and appear and defend your rights in the courts.  If you are a defendant in a foreclosure action and have neglected to hire an attorney, do not despair, but call our office or seek professional guidance because you can seek to overcome your default in the lawsuit. 

 The projections and losses to our families, neighborhoods and national economy from each and every displaced family are immeasurable.  Keep Home Your Own.  Call our law firm and ask about your rights and options.  Take the small steps and begin the little walk and many of you will realize the immediate benefits to Keep Home Your Own.

For further information or help Contact Richard Rubin direct at 516 456 4700

Keeping tires fully inflated reduces wear and lenghtens their life, thus saving money - new tires can be expensive, on average $180 to replace all four tires. It also save precious raw material: it takes seven gallons of crude oil to create a new tire. Under-inflated tires can increase fuel consuption by up to 10%. Americans waste 4 million gallons of gasoline a day driving on tires with low pressure.

Take care to keep you car's tires at the pressure recommended by the manufacturer. Take five minutes every month to check the pressure of your tires.

Things aren't as they used to be. Replacing a 10 year old refridgerator bought in 1990 with a new Energy Star model would save enough energy to light the average household for over three months, and save more than 300 pound of pollution each eyear. In a well-equipped houshold, the fridge alone accounts or a third of electricity consumption (20% for the freezer and 12% for the refrigerator).

In order to avoid increasing your already high consumption needlessly, close the refrigerator door as soon as you have taken out what you need. Every time you open it, up to 30% of the cooled air can escape. And remember, that the tider the contents, the less time the door needs to be open.

Good news for pest exterminators! It seems that New York’s Governor David Paterson has just signed into the Administrative Code of the City of New York an amendment to the rental code. It requires that landlords provide potential tenants with a disclosure form detailing any treatments for bedbugs in the potential tenant’s apartment building or condo. The form, provided by the State Division of Housing and Community Renewal (DHCR), is available online and must be kept updated by the landlord or building manager.

So why will this please pest controllers and exterminators? Because, with one swift swipe of the pen, the governor has effectively raised the revenues of exterminators throughout NYC. 

How so, you say? Picture this: Picture Vinny, the exterminator and Louie the Landlord are having a conversation in the dimly lit hallway of a New York City brownstone:

“Well Lou, looks like we got the bedbugs in 21-B taken care of,” says Vinnie.

Louie replies with a smirk, his gruff voice echoing down the hallway. “You mean the cock-a-roaches, don't you?”

“No,” corrects Vinny, “I treated it for bedbugs. Apartment 21-B??

Louie pulls out a fifty dollar bill and folds it in his chubby hand. “Cock-a-roaches, Vinny,” Louie says. “Them wuz cock-a-roaches. Sez so right here on my DHCR disclosure form.” Louie hands the fifty to Vinny with a wink.

 “Oh,” says Vinny, as the penny drops. “You’re RIGHT!” Cockroaches it is!” Vinny writes “Cockroach Treatment” on his exterminator’s report, pockets the fifty and heads off to his next bedbug battle with a smile on his face and an afternoon at the dog track in his pocket.

Thus, not only has the governor added yet another piece of paper to the NYC rental agreement package, but he has effectively driven bedbug treatments and the exterminators who do them underground. Landlords will still have to have the treatments done. Tenants won’t allow landlords to ignore their screams for exterminating the annoying little critters. But you can bet that when it comes time to disclose the fact, landlords will find ways to exterminate bedbug treatments from their records, one way or another.

I’m not saying we shouldn’t require transparency and full disclosure from landlords to protect the health and comfort of renters. But I don’t see voluntary disclosure by landlords as an effective way to do it.

One of the funny things about the bedbug amendment is that it does NOT require tenants to disclose the presence of bedbugs to the landlord or managing agent. So if a landlord doesn’t know about the little buggers in the first place, how can he disclose their presence to the next tenant?

Don’t know about you, but government drives me buggy sometimes!

I’ve been puzzled lately by a phenomenon I’ve noticed that I call “Unforsale-ism.” There a house in West Nyack that I know was foreclosed on. It’s been empty for months, maybe a year now. I know Deutche-Bank took it back, but to my puzzlement, hasn’t put it up for sale yet. You’d think they’d want to get rid of this “toxic asset” as it’s called in the media. But they haven’t. Why?

I got my answer listening to WNYC this morning. Brian Lehrer was interviewing Rick Sharga, Senior Vice President of Realty Trac, an internet-based housing data supplier. (Listen to the entire 13 minute interview). They were talking about the shocking number of foreclosures on the market now, and the positively astonishing number of foreclosures yet to hit the streets.

According to Sharga, just fewer than 250,000 homes were foreclosed on in the third quarter of 2010. A total of 1 million are projected to fall under the foreclosure axe by the end of the year. Banks currently have about 900,000 houses on the books. Only about 30% of these homes are for sale right now, which means there are another 600,000 houses that will eventually be on the market. This is what’s called the “shadow inventory.”

All told, there are 1.2 million people in foreclosure right now. There are 5 million homes in serious delinquency as well, with very few of the homes for sale. Many if not most of these homes will have to be absorbed by buyers at some point before the housing market can rebound.

So why don’t banks sell the homes they’ve repossessed? Part of the reason is the sheer volume of homes to be dealt with. Banks just can’t process them fast enough.

But the other problem is money. It’s not so much that the banks are warehousing these properties until better prices appear magically on the horizon. Indeed, until they get rid of them, prices won’t go up.

 According to Sharga, holding onto the properties offers certain “accounting benefits.” He explains: “Banks don’t have to mark down the value of these homes until they resell them. So there are $100’s of millions of losses they can defer by holding back the sale of these properties. We have seen a record number of bank failures this year. Banks just don’t have the capital to absorb these losses if they sold the homes,” Sharga said.

So that's the answer. It's all in the accounting. Guess it doesn’t look like the house I saw in West Nyack will be on the market anytime soon. And “unforsale-ism” looks like it’s going to hang around a while longer.

Three quarters of the edible varieties of produce that were cultivated at the beginning of the twentieth century have disappeared. Today's fruits and vegetables, which have survived the race to increase productivity, are mostly hybrid varieties chosen for their ability to withstand the various demands of mechanized farming and produce distribution. Picked prematurely and ripened artificially, once they are on the shelf, their appearance is almost perfect-and generally hides their lack of flavor and nutritional value.

Buy your fruit and vegetables in the market, from local producers. You will be supporting the local economy, and your purchases will be environmentally friendly, because the involve less transport and packaging, and therefore less waste and pollution. They will taste better too!

For more information on where to find local Farmers Markets check out Living In Rockland on Facebook.

Finding Fall Foliage at its Finest!

It’s Autumn, and once again, the leaves rustling overhead are soon to change into their glorious fall colors before rustling beneath our feet. Here in the lower Hudson Valley, the fall foliage is particularly spectacular.

“According to www.sciencemadesimple.com, the leaves of deciduous trees change color as a way of preparing for the onset of winter. The website says:

“As summer ends and autumn comes, the days get shorter and shorter. This is how the trees "know" to begin getting ready for winter. “

 “During winter, there is not enough light or water for photosynthesis. The trees will rest, and live off the food they stored during the summer. They begin to shut down their food-making factories. The green chlorophyll disappears from the leaves. As the bright green fades away, we begin to see yellow and orange colors. Small amounts of these colors have been in the leaves all along. We just can't see them in the summer, because they are covered up by the green chlorophyll. “

“The bright reds and purples we see in leaves are made mostly in the fall. In some trees, like maples, glucose is trapped in the leaves after photosynthesis stops. Sunlight and the cool nights of autumn cause the leaves turn this glucose into a red color. The brown color of trees like oaks is made from wastes left in the leaves. ”

The further north the forests, the sooner they turn color. Prime leaf peeping on the eastern seaboard starts early in Maine and southern Canada, and marches progressively south as the days of late September and early October wane. By November, the show is over, at least for those of us in the lower Hudson Valley.

Going on leaf peeping trips this time of year is a favorite pastime for people living in Rockland and Orange counties in the Hudson Valley. One of my favorite places is the Walkway Over the Hudson. The trees along the Hudson River make a spectacular backdrop to views along the river.

Instead of driving, how about touring the leaf scene by boat? Get on The Pride of the Hudson Cruise in Newburgh. This narrated Hudson River adventure begins at the Newburgh Landing in Newburgh, NY. Your captain will point out the sights along the river including Mt. Beacon, Bannerman Island, Storm King Mountain, Breakneck Mountain, The Catskill Aqueduct, World's End, Cold Spring, and West Point. The price is a reasonable $20 per adults, less for seniors and children.

You can also take the Rip Van Winkle in the Roundout in Kingston. The experienced guide will point out millionaires' sumptuous estates, picturesque Hudson River lighthouses and quaint sleepy villages surrounded by the natural beauty of vineyards, orchards and scenic preservation sites. Or take a Hudson River water taxi shuttle on board their newest vessel, The Lark, from the dock in Kingston, NY to Rhinecliff, where you can dine, shop, and explore the New York shore of the beautiful Hudson River.

A non-nautical way of taking in the colors is a ride on the Catskill Mountain Railroad, departing from Phonecia or Mt. Tremper on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. Experience sights you just can't get from your car, and without the hassle of driving. Take a comfortable seat in one of the vintage coaches, or enjoy the fresh air and panoramic views from their open carriages! Season specials run from October 1 to October 31.

Of course, if you must drive, there are plenty of driving tours available.  Some of my favorite tours are in Dutchess County. You can do the Rhinebeck area, Pine Plains to Stanford, the Hyde Park area, Washington, Poughkeepsie and LaGrange, Unionvale, or Wappinger, Fishkill and Beacon. Read more about these fall foliage driving tours on the Dutchess County website. Their department of tourism also has posted their 10 top spots for leaf peeping in Dutchess County.

So enjoy the season in this spectacular part of New York. It’s you last chance to get out and enjoy the weather before winter sets in!

If you need to do something noisy at home, take care not to cause a nuisance in your neighborhood, or disturb its quiet. A drill can produce between 90 and 100 decibels; the threshold of discomfort is 60 decibels.

We all contribuite to the audible environment. Be aware of the time of day that you run a lawn mower, or revert to using a manual mower. Rake leaves instead of investing in a leaf-blower. Enjoy the time in your yard with the sounds of birds and the wind in the leaves, not your machinery.