Archive for tag 888-heyglen
April 03, 2010 at 01:21 PM · Posted under Glenn Hanon
New rules on lead based paint removal take effect this coming April. If you are a homeowner and your home was built prior to 1978 then remodeling your home replacing windows, scraping old windows etc will need the services of an expert. The Federal Government has enacted tougher more stringent lead based paint rules that now affect us all. The regulation will affect millions of single family homes across the United States. The EPA banned lead in paint in 1978 and it is estimated that more than 38 million homes have some type of lead paint on or in their home. In the past you could strip the paint yourself, but now with the new guidelines you will need to have a professional EPA accredited firms to remove lead paint. The new rule takes effect on April 22 of this year. When you sell your home you are required to fill out a Real Estate Condition Report (RECR). Currently the RECR does not have any questions on it that ask if you removed the lead paint from your home. It asks if you are aware of any lead paint on your property. All Real Estate transactions require that a Lead Paint Addendum be attached if the home was constructed prior to 1978. I would imagine that the RECR will be changed shortly to ask the seller of an older home if they have done any lead removal on the property. As with all new rules there were be lots of confusion. For more information on Lead Based Paint and the potential problems you can visit the EPA site for lead at http://www.epa.gov/lead/
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Glenn Hanon
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April 02, 2010 at 06:51 PM · Posted under Glenn Hanon
We have these good friends who have a knack for knowing all the quaint and sometimes quirky places to eat in the Metro Milwaukee area. April 1st proved to be a delightful day, weather wise, so we tripped over to The Rochester Deli in Waukesha off Broadway. I am always on the hunt for a good Reuben and I was not disappointed here. Because it was literally 80 degrees at 6pm, so we decided to sit outside and enjoy the delish food! I finished the Reuben which was accompanied by a great side dish of fresh coleslaw, I meandered back inside to check out the cakes, cookies and various other sweets. I had my eye on this almond cookie that was dipped in chocolate. I love almond and if you do too then this is the best almond cookie I have tasted in a long time. The Rochester Deli advertises itself as the Home of the Best Reuben and I would have to concur. This little gem is right here in our backyard and is my new fav place for Reuben’s!
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March 30, 2010 at 06:31 PM · Posted under Glenn Hanon
Just the other day I was talking with a friend and he asked, “If there are so many mortgages in real trouble why aren’t the banks working faster to fix the problem?” His question is one that I think many are asking. On the surface the simple fix seems obvious. But as you peel the layers back one can see why this just isn’t working. According to the Wall Street Journal only 170,000 borrowers have found 
relief with the government’s new HAMP program or Home Affordable Modification Program. This new program is supposed to assist borrowers who find themselves underwater. Some of the problem rests with the banks moving too slowly. To qualify for this program the homeowners must be current on their loan, occupy the home as a primary residence, document their income and assets fully, and their credit score must be above 500. Most of the requirements are okay, but let’s look at the first one. The homeowner must be current on their mortgage. This is precisely the problem. So the program is stating that if you are making your payments you qualify, but if you are having trouble making your payments there is no help with this program. Out here in the real world we are seeing just the opposite. The folks that have missed some payments are in the category that need the most help. Part of the slowness is 
that the government continues to modify the rules. Case in point as reported in the WSJ on Saturday March 27, 2010 (click the thumbnail for a larger view). Now the government is trying to figure out how they can assist the second lien holders since they are usually left holding the bag on a short sale. The steady stream of revising rules, new programs and proposed bailouts only fuels the fire of bureaucracy. If banks think that there may be a bailout or government assistance down the road do you really think they will move quickly now to resolve the growing problem. I am not putting the blame on the banks, but the government needs to realize that the mixed messages are slowing down the recovery in housing. So what is the answer? I don’t think it is easy or palatable, but the market needs to fix itself with less intervention. Housing can heal itself, but the continued intervention has the possibility of making things worse.
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March 29, 2010 at 06:41 PM · Posted under Glenn Hanon
For those of you sitting on the sidelines wondering if now is the time to buy that first house or trade up I would suggest that NOW is the time to get moving. (Sorry for the pun) The Fed has targeted this Wednesday as the deadline for their overwhelming involvement in purchasing mortgages. Currently the Fed is buying over 99% of every mortgage written, compared to a normal level of about 60%. The Fed desperately wants the private sector to reemerge as the principal purchaser of these mortgages. But at a 5% return it seems unlikely that the private investor will be lining up to buy these instruments. Perhaps at a return of 6%-7% they might find mortgages appealing. Well if you are a buyer and are waiting for the “bottom” of the market stop trying to time the market and get in. Here is why; let’s say you are looking at a $250,000 home. You think it is a good deal now but feel as though the price could drop another 5%-8%. Your friends even suggest that you might shave another 10% off the price. For the sake of the argument let us assume that your friends are correct. The payment for the $250,000 home with 5% down is $1,247.00 per month for principal & interest. Now if the house lost an additional 10% the value is $225,000.00 and if rates go up to just 6.5% the payment with the same 5% down is now $1,351! So while some are waiting for the so called bottom of the market they lose all that benefit from the bottom by the higher interest rates. I always encourage my clients to look at the entire picture. If you are buying strictly for one reason, that is your choice but it make not make the best fiscal sense.
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