Packing can be stressful time for every member of the family. To ensure that your move goes as smoothly as possible, try the following tips!

Pack a “Red Box”

Since one in five American families moves every year, that means 22 million families may be searching for their TV remote controls!

One of the pitfalls of packing for a move is you can’t always anticipate what you’ll need when you arrive at your new home, and movers typically list only the obvious such as dishes, glasses, bedding, etc. The miscellaneous items you need in the first few hours invariably wind up on the bottom of a random box.

To start, you may want to create your own “red box” as some moving companies (“Removers”) do in Great Britain. This is the last box loaded and the first one off the truck. The one universal item in the red box is the tea kettle (perhaps this would be the coffee maker in the U.S.). This is also the place for miscellaneous but crucial items such as scissors, pens, paper, hammer, nails, hooks, screwdriver and tape measure.

Packing a suitcase for each family member as though you were going on a short vacation is another good idea. Include a few sets of clothing and sleepwear, footgear, outerwear, personal toiletries, medications and eyeglasses. Make sure to bring starter family toiletries like soap, toilet tissues and paper towels as well.

Children’s Toys and Play Dates
New York child psychologist Dr. Cindy Linde placed the school directories from both their old and new schools in an important box when she moved with her own young children. That way they could keep in touch with their old friends and classmates, and she could make play dates with her childrens’ new classmates.

Carol O’Leary recently relocated from London to New York with her family. She found she urgently needed her children’s immunization records, and had no idea which box of papers they were in. While her husband’s relocation liaison had told her to carry school records, no one had told her the children could not begin school without proof of immunizations. She also found that while she always remembered foreign currency for a vacation, it hadn’t occurred to her to carry American dollars to tip the movers and buy pizza.

While your childrens’ most cherished toys go at the top of a box, you may want to bury outgrown toys they just can’t give up at the bottom. Hopefully, out of sight will mean out of mind!

Comforts of Home
Framed photos may not seem like the first thing to unpack, but familiar photos scattered around your new home can reinforce a feeling of family. Parents of young children may want to keep some samples of their artwork handy to immediately hang up on the refrigerator.

One mom found that her teenage daughter was horrified to sleep with uncovered windows the first night. If there are no shades or curtains in your new home, an easy trick is to bring spring rods (like those in many showers), over which you hang sheets for temporary privacy.

Perhaps Dr. Carol Pluzinski, a college professor and the mother of two small boys said it best in reference to her own move “we never could have done it without the help of my sister and teen niece who came from Chicago to assist before, during and after the move. I guess that’s what parents need to pack first,a loving, fun aunt and cousin to help!”

Entertainment Issues
Hopefully, the whole family can to relax together the first night in your new home, so remember to pack TV cords, remotes, and manuals together in a box that is clearly marked. Computer cords, attachments, etc. should be packed together as well.

Use these tips to help transition after your move and good luck on your new start!

Written by Margo Rudman Gold

  It’s one of the most unsightly and often hard to fix trouble spots for homeowners — a lawn that has gone to the dogs!

This can be a very difficult problem to handle when it comes to selling your home.

A lot of things can be fixed fairly quickly like a leaky faucet, marks on walls, or a cluttered room. But ugly, patchy, lawn can be a sign of lack of care which conveys a message instantly to potential buyers. And if that poor lawn is in the front yard, an ill impression of the overall home can be formed before buyers even step inside. A home that looks appealing from the outside in is what buyers are shopping for these days. Bidding wars and flipping homes aren’t the norm right now.

So buyers are shopping the often large inventory and comparing everything. What they see when they approach your home may stay with them through their entire search. Remember the adage, “A first impression is often the last impression.” In market conditions where inventory is still high a good look at your grass and the image it presents is vital.

Poor lawn conditions may not be entirely the result of lack of care. Instead, the neighbor’s pet, or your own, might be to blame, coupled with how you’re treating the problem areas.

According to Edd Goerger, owner of Natural Solutions, Inc., most products don’t get rid of the ammonia that’s left in the lawn after a dog uses your yard to relieve himself. Of course, this mess leaves dead spots in the lawn and makes a lot of work for homeowners. “What the homeowner ended up doing is digging up the spot, putting in new soil and replanting grass.” Goerger says that’s a lot of unnecessary work and expenses. After he got tired of trying to fix the problem on his own lawn, Goerger and a soil scientist came up with a solution. “Rascal Spots is a product that naturally sequesters the salt that pets have in their urine and once it’s sequestered, it doesn’t bind with the soil particles and [instead] allows it to pass through the soil profile out of the roots’ zone and allows the grass to grow back and fill back in naturally,” says Goerger.

The company launched this year and Goerger is hoping to prove to homeowners that this product can simplify their lives as well as keep their lawn looking good in a short period of time and for under $40 a bottle (covers 5,000 square-feet of lawn). Rascal Spots also uses its “greenalizer technology” in the same treatment application to make the lawn more green naturally.

“On a typical spot, in 30 days you’ll see an 80-percent re-growth,” says Goerger. He says that the lawn can come back faster. “You can add seed but you don’t have to, but that will make it fill in faster.” Homeowners can also ward off dead spots by paying close attention to where the pet goes to the bathroom on their grass and then treating those areas regularly with the product. Goerger says if that’s done “then spots will never show up.” Another important consideration is safety. Goerger says treating your lawn with the product is safe. It’s not toxic to people or animals. “There’s no residue afterwards and it has almost a zero carbon footprint,” says Goerger. As with any home issue, when you get to the root of the problem, it provides a good opportunity to weed out the trouble spots.

Written by Phoebe Chongchua

  Paul Simon wrote a song called “50 Ways to Leave Your Lover” which never really got around to actually listing fifty ways. I guess it’s the thought that counts. But one of a homeowner association’s challenges is helping neighbors “make nice.” It seems that neighbors have lost the art of making friends and, instead, want the board to intervene in conflicts between the strangers that live next to each other.

What exactly is a “good” neighbor? To be one, you don’t need to be friends or hang out together. A good neighbor attitude allows you to live as privately or as sociably as you wish. Being a good neighbor is an attitude. Here’s how to cultivate and nurture it:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BCCg6XK3lCs

7 lenders get immunity from state foreclosure prevention act

By Jim Wasserman
jwasserman@sacbee.com

http://www.sacbee.com/business/story/1962447.html

Bank of America Home Loans, CitiMortgage and Carrington Mortgage Services are among the first seven lenders and loan servicers granted immunity from the state’s foreclosure prevention act launched this week in California.

The new law makes lenders prove to the state that they have a comprehensive loan-modification program that helps borrowers stay in their homes. Those that can’t prove it to the state’s satisfaction must wait an extra 90 days before foreclosing on borrowers.

More institutions that received quick exemptions from 90-day delays: EMC Mortgage, Select Portfolio Servicing and Kondaur Capital Corp., the state Department of Corporations reported on its Web site. The law, which took effect Monday, prompted 41 applications this week from lenders and loan servicers aiming to prove their modification programs meet the state’s test. Many more are expected next week.

“There are potentially hundreds of companies that should or would be involved in this,” said Corporations spokesman Mark Leyes.

State agencies reported Friday that 38 institutions received temporary 30-day immunity while the state reviews their applications. Among them were some of the Sacramento region’s leading lenders, including Wells Fargo, GMAC and JPMorgan Chase.

The state Department of Financial Institutions temporarily approved seven applicants, including several credit unions. The state Department of Real Estate also temporarily approved two.

The law aims to slow and prevent foreclosures in a state that has endured more than 365,000 foreclosures in the past two years. More than 37,000 have occurred in the capital region.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger suggested the lender-reporting concept late last year and signed legislation implementing it in February. Friday, Schwarzenegger spokeswoman Camille Anderson said the administration is “very encouraged by the progress made this week.”

Bank of America Home Loans spokesman Rick Simon said Friday the Charlotte bank’s adherence to federal Making Home Affordable guidelines provided it the exemption from 90-day delays in foreclosing in California.

“From the start the state has indicated that the major lenders participating in Making Home Affordable go beyond the requirements of state law for an exemption,” he said.

Leyes agreed. “If they are in full compliance with Making Home Affordable there isn’t really any reason they wouldn’t comply with us.”

Making Home Affordable is the Obama administration plan begun in March. It offers lenders incentives to cut interest rates or turn loans into 40-year terms to get payments in a range from 31 percent to 38 percent of a borrower’s gross monthly income.

Waiting game on low mortgage rates backfires

By Mark Glover
mglover@sacbee.com

http://www.sacbee.com/business/story/1903523.html

Sacramento-area homeowners and prospective first-time homebuyers might be wondering: Did we miss the boat on mortgage rates?

The short answer from experts is: Probably, but rates are still very attractive.

For 10 weeks, mortgage rates were riding well below 5 percent on 30-year loans, but housing and industry analysts speculated that many first-time homebuyers and homeowners looking to refinance existing mortgages were waiting for rates to drop even lower.

Then on Wednesday, rates went the other way.

Mortgage rates at some lenders spiked anywhere from 0.5 percent to 1 percent, and industry analysts pointed to economic indicators favorable to even higher rates in the coming weeks.

Rates on 30-year, fixed-rate mortgages averaged 4.91 percent this week, according to the Sacramento Association of Realtors. Some lenders’ rates spilled into the 5-percent-plus ballpark.

For those who were waiting for rates to go lower and others who had yet to lock in rates, the window of opportunity may have closed, experts said. They added the market is still relatively good.

“Did they miss it? Well, I think they did in the short term,” said Mike Lyon, head of Sacramento-based Lyon Real Estate. “The good news is it’s still cheap. For most people, I would say, ‘Let’s not get greedy.’

“Rates are still good. For decades, we were in the 10-percent-plus range. Prices are still soft. This is not the time to lose hope, but to be a little more vigilant. Maybe this was a wake-up call for people who were waiting.”

Still, Lyon said the rate spike will have its effect – probably on 5 percent to 10 percent of escrows in the local market.

“I think the initial problem is for those who did not lock in, and thinking (rates) would go lower was really extremely optimistic,” he said. “A lot of people who are first-time homebuyers are now going to think about the price. It reduces their buying power.”

Andrew LePage, an analyst with researcher MDA DataQuick, speculated that this week’s rise in mortgage rates might have a more limited effect on the local market.

“Anything under 5 percent is really good, period,” he said. “I’d guess that (borrowers) who might affected by this are at the margins.

“There are other factors. Lenders are being very picky, home prices are still in flux. Prices are temporarily firm in some areas. (Rates aren’t) the only factor, and nobody can predict mortgage rates, because there are so many factors.”

Lyon agreed that predicting the long-range course of mortgage rates requires a crystal ball, but he said demand for refinancing remains high. He said mortgage rates will continue to be affected by numerous economic factors, including overseas bond buying and the finite number of bonds that can be purchased in the market.

Keith Springer, president of Capital Financial Advisory Services in Sacramento, agreed, noting that the recent rally in the U.S. stock market also has applied pressure for increased rates.

“(Borrowers) probably have missed the boat on the lower rates,” Springer said. “If they skipped 4.5 (percent) or 4.75 (percent), we’re probably not going to see that again for maybe a couple years.

“The good news is that they’re probably not going to raise the prime rate soon, and that’s tied to the adjustable (rates). … People shouldn’t be scared, because even 5.5 percent is a good rate.”

Springer added that heavy borrowing by the U.S. government will be critical in determining rates over the months ahead. That was echoed this week by Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, who said mortgage-rate increases are linked to concerns that enormous federal borrowing will decrease the value of government-backed assets.

The 30-year fixed mortgage rate was at a record low of 4.78 percent in April, which analysts linked to the Fed buying more than $1 trillion in mortgage securities and $300 billion in Treasury notes. Some analysts hope the Fed will continue to take aggressive steps, saying that U.S. economic recovery depends heavily on free-flowing credit and a stabilized housing market.

The same analysts point out that homeowners who refinance their mortgages tend to spend their extra cash more freely on goods and services, providing an overall lift to the economy.

The downside of more Fed action is that increased yields on Treasury notes tend to drive mortgage rates higher. Another potential downside of buying more Treasury notes is that it creates inflation.

Information on the Home Loan Program

PDF Documents – To read PDF documents, you need a PDF viewer. Links to viewer software can be found at this link.

http://www.homeloans.va.gov/veteran.htm

IN THE NEWS:

Effective immediately, Certificates of Eligibility will no longer display a veteran’s date of birth. This change was made to limit the amount of personal data being displayed on Certificates of Eligibility. Please note, however, that veterans will still need to provide their date of birth when submitting an application for a determination of eligibility in order to process their request.

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Act now to get the help you need through the Making Home Affordable Program. This part of the President’s Homeowner Affordability and Stability Plan was created to help millions of homeowners refinance or modify their mortgages to a payment that is affordable, both now and in the future. Please use the self-assessment tools provided on MakingHomeAffordable.gov to see if you are among the 7 to 9 million homeowners who may be able to benefit from Making Home Affordable. For more information about the plan, and to find out if you are eligible, please go to this link.

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VA Reaching Out to Vets with Mortgage Problems. Please read this link for important information to veteran homeowners. Additionally, please read this link which provides some additional information and assistance for Veterans.

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Enhanced VA Mortgage Options Now Available for Veterans Of Potential Benefit to Those in Financial Distress. Please go to this link for more information.

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Please go to this link for 2009 VA County Loan Limits and this link for 2008 VA County Loan Limits. This link has examples for calculating the VA guaranty.

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On October 10, 2008, the President signed S. 3023, the Veterans’ Benefits Improvement Act of 2008. Please go to this link for important information to veteran homeowners.

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If you have been affected by natural disasters, please click on this link for important information to veteran homeowners.

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Public Law 110-289 has expanded the Specially Adapted Housing (SAH) grant program, and increased SAH grant amounts. Click on this link to read the most recent release regarding these changes. Please note that updates to Specially Adapted Housing Fact Sheet (SAH) – October 2008 and Special Housing Adaptation Fact Sheet (SHA) – October 2008 have been posted, and can be found at www.homeloans.va.gov/sah.

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About the Loan Guaranty Service
The VA Loan Guaranty Service is the organization within the Veterans Benefits Administration charged with the responsibility of administering the home loan program. See an independent evaluation of the Loan Guaranty program here: Final Report | Final Report Appendices

Link To Online Videos for Veterans
Short videos provide information on the VA Home Loan process.

Pamphlets on the VA Home Loan Program
On-line copies of VA Home Loan Pamphlets.

Home Ownership Education for First Time Buyers
Valuable information for first time home buyers from the Ginnie Mae Home Ownership Center.

Frequently Asked Questions
Answers to questions most frequently asked about he VA Home Loan program.

Information on Specially Adapted Housing for Disabled Veterans
Information on the Specially Adapted Housing program for certain seriously disabled Veterans.

VA Regional Loan Centers
Addresses, telephone numbers and websites of our Regional Loan Centers.

Contact VA Loan Guaranty Service
E-mail, phone numbers and website addresses for the Loan Guaranty Service

Interest Rate Reduction Refinancing Loans
Have interest rates fallen since you obtained your VA loan? Do you have an Adjustable Rate VA loan that you want to convert to a fixed rate loan? The IRRRL program, also called the VA streamlined refinancing program, may be for you. No appraisal or underwriting is required and a certificate of eligibility is not necessary.

If You Have Trouble Making Your Payments
If you have a VA loan but are having trouble making your mortgage payments, it is very important that you take steps to avoid a foreclosure. VA may be able to help.

Information for Elderly Home Owners
Information for Elderly Home Owners covers Reverse Mortgages, Interest Rate Reduction Refinancing Loans, and Home Equity Fraud.

VA Direct Home Loans for Native American Veterans Living on Trust Lands
VA direct home loans are available to eligible Native American Veterans who wish to purchase or construct a home on trust lands.

Part 2: Nuts and bolts of mortgage modification
By Jack Guttentag, Monday, May 11, 2009.

http://www.inman.com/buyers-sellers/columnists/jackguttentag/loan-mod-go-it-alone

Editor’s note: This is Part 2 of a two-part series. Read Part 1.

Last week, I went over the steps involved in getting a loan modified. This article examines which, if any of these steps, may require a borrower to seek help.

The bottom line is that many, perhaps most, borrowers can handle it all themselves, but some may need an assist here or there. And some may want to delegate the entire responsibility.

Negotiating the Deal: Firms hustling for modification business sometimes pretend that they have the knowledge and skills needed to negotiate a favorable deal with the loan servicer. In fact, a modification is not negotiated — it is granted (or denied) by the servicer, applying rules or principles set out by the investors who own the loans. In the case of modifications under the Making Home Affordable (MHA) program, the rules are set by the federal government, but these do not override investor rules. If the documents governing the servicing of a particular loan — known as the Pooling and Servicing Agreement — prohibits a particular modification, the MHA program will not help.

Delivering Information to the Servicer: Legitimate firms in the modification business know the information that each servicer wants and where to deliver it. This is their principle stock in trade. But borrowers can now obtain this information from my Web site, see Mortgage Servicer Information.

Assuring the Accuracy of Information Provided: Filling out the servicer’s questionnaire form correctly is a challenge to some borrowers, but free help is readily available. One of the purposes of HOPE NOW, the alliance of servicers, investors and counseling agencies established last year to help borrowers in trouble, was to provide free counseling. Borrowers can call 1-888-995-HOPE, or they can find a HUD counselor in their state by going to http://www.hud.gov/local/index.cfm.

Follow-Up: Mistakes happen in modifying loans because the process is complex, and servicer employees may be overworked and/or undertrained. Either the borrower or the borrower’s designee should follow up the request for modification to make sure the papers haven’t been lost and the case is in an active queue. If the request has been rejected on the grounds that the borrower is not eligible, the borrower or the borrower’s representative should find out why and attempt to confirm the reason is legitimate.

Many, if not most, borrowers can do it all themselves, perhaps with some assistance from free counselors. But some borrowers are clueless — they need to be represented, not just counseled. They want someone to “take over” the process for them and follow it to a conclusion.

Fed says more banks tighten home loan standards

ShareThisBy JEANNINE AVERSA
www.sacbee.com/830/story/1832585.html

WASHINGTON — A larger share of banks has made it more difficult for people to obtain home mortgages over the last three months even as demand has grown, the Federal Reserve reported Monday.

The Fed’s new quarterly survey found that about 50 percent of U.S. banks tightened their lending standards on prime mortgages, up from about 45 percent in the survey issued in early February.

Meanwhile, 65 percent of banks said they tightened standards on nontraditional mortgages, such as adjustable-rate loans with multiple payment options. That was up from 50 percent in the last survey.

“Even if you had a stellar credit history, banks were reluctant to lend in this environment,” said Richard Yamarone, economist at Argus Research. With unemployment rising, it raises the odds of more people defaulting on their mortgages, he said.

Demand for nearly all types of consumer and business loans continued to weaken over the last three months, with one exception. Demand for prime mortgages registered its first increase since the Fed began to track those loans separately in April 2007.

That uptick in demand comes as mortgage rates dropped, helped by a concerted effort by the Fed to drive down rates to help revive the crippled housing industry.

Rates on 30-year mortgages slid to 4.78 percent last week, trying a record low, according to figures compiled by mortgage giant Freddie Mac.

In other lending, nearly 60 percent of banks said they tightened standards on credit card loans over the last three months, the same proportion as in the previous Fed survey.

There were some spots of improvement in the latest Fed survey. About 40 percent of banks said they tightened standards on commercial and industrial loans over the last three months. That was down from around 65 percent in the last survey.

Looking ahead, however, “the vast majority” of banks said they expected deterioration in credit quality for all types of household and business loans.

More than 70 percent said the quality of their banks loan portfolio was likely to deteriorate this year with nontraditional mortgages and credit cards figuring prominently in that scenario. That response was to a special question contained in Monday’s survey not asked in the previous one.

Regulators are scheduled to release the results of “stress tests” on the nation’s 19 largest banks on Thursday, shedding light on which ones may need government support to withstand a more severe recession.

The Fed survey was based on the responses of 53 domestic banks and 23 U.S. offices of foreign banks.

Getting banks to boost lending is critical to lifting the country out of recession.

The Fed has slashed a key bank lending rate to a record low near zero and is expected to hold it there well into next year to entice businesses and consumers to spend more.

The Obama administration is counting on tax cuts and increased government spending to revive the economy. And it has put forward plans to rescue banks and curb home foreclosures, also key ingredients to turning the economy around.

Lax lending standards during the housing boom allowed some people to buy homes that they couldn’t afford. When the boom ended, dragging home values down, foreclosures skyrocketed and banks wracked up huge losses on soured mortgage investments.

Recycled-water reservoir idea pushed

By Cathy Locke
clocke@sacbee.com
Published: Tuesday, Apr. 28, 2009 – 12:00 am | Page 2B
http://www.sacbee.com/ourregion/story/1815217.html

Being green doesn’t come cheap, but El Dorado Irrigation District officials were urged Monday not to let costs derail plans to expand the district’s recycled-water system.

“This is your opportunity to save thousands of acre-feet of water forever,” said Albert Hazbun. “Please do it.”

Hazbun, a civil engineer who pioneered use of recycled water in El Dorado Hills’ Serrano development, called on district directors to proceed with plans to build a reservoir to store recycled water during winter to irrigate landscaping during summer.

Staff members during a workshop Monday presented the board with an economic evaluation of a long-contemplated seasonal storage project.

Capital costs to build a reservoir west of Latrobe Road and south of the Valley View residential development are estimated at $52.5 million.

The board in 2004 adopted a policy requiring new development, primarily in the El Dorado Hills area, to use recycled water for outdoor irrigation wherever feasible.

Since then, director George Osborne said, “We had a little sticker shock when we found out how much this little pond was going to cost.”

The annual recycled water demand of 3,900 acre-feet is expected to double with the buildout projected in the county’s general plan, in about 2025. An acre-foot is the amount of water required to cover an acre to the depth of 1 foot.

To reuse all water discharged from the district’s wastewater treatment plants during a wet season would require 5,000 acre-feet of storage capacity. Because the district lacks adequate storage for recycled water, it has had to supplement it with potable water during summer.

Without additional storage, 2,500 acre-feet of either raw or potable water would be required to supplement the system by the projected buildout, staff members said.

Alternatives to the reservoir include constructing a pipeline to deliver raw water from Folsom Lake, or expanding water treatment facilities to provide additional potable water for irrigation.

Staff members said the storage reservoir, as a “green” project, would be more likely to qualify for grants or low-interest loans. But they recommended postponing construction because of the poor economy.

Hazbun urged the board to move ahead with the project. He suggested partnering with the city of Folsom to develop a regional storage facility that could serve development planned south of Highway 50 within the city.

General Manager Tom Gallier said Folsom officials have expressed interest in such a project.

“But, as with us, there is concern about their own economic situation,” he said. “They’re not quite ready.”

Mike McDougall, a spokesman for AKT Development, which owns much of the land proposed for the reservoir site, said the firm is willing to make the property available for the project.

Staff members will provide additional information for consideration at a future meeting.