Northern Kentucky Household Hazardous Waste Collection 11/5/11
November 1st, 2011 § Leave a Comment
Event: Household Waste Collection Event
Time: 9:00 AM-2:00 PM
Date: Saturday, November 05, 2011
Location: Turfway Park, 7500 Turfway Rd. Florence, KY 41042
Description: The Northern Kentucky Solid Waste Management Area and the Northern Kentucky Household Hazardous Waste Action Coalition are joining forces to help you properly dispose of unwanted items. Residents of Boone, Campbell and Kenton Counties can drop off select items on Saturday, November 5th from 9:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. at Turfway Park in Florence, KY.
Collection details and restrictions are as follows:
Aerosol Cans – all aerosol cans will be accepted – excluding spray paint
Antifreeze – antifreeze only, no mixtures will be accepted
Batteries – all batteries will be accepted, including: Alkaline, Ni Cad, Lithium, Lead Acid, etc.
Bulbs – CFL bulbs, 4 ft. tubes and 8 ft. tubes will be accepted
Corrosives/Flammables – no ammunition, gun powder explosives or radioactive items will be accepted; fuel and kerosene will be accepted
Electronics – computers, TVs, laptops, cables, cameras, VCRs, monitors, keyboards, printers, cell phones, etc.
Ink Cartridges/Toner – any ink or toner cartridge that comes out of a printer, copier or fax machine will be accepted
Oil – used motor oil, hydraulic fluid, transmission fluid and brake fluid will be accepted
Paint – all types of paint will be accepted
Paper – documents to be shredded
Pesticides – 2 gallon/2 lbs. limit
Propane Tanks – only 20 lbs. tanks will be accepted
Appliances, fertilizer, mercury containing devices or tires will NOT be accepted.
All residents who plan to drop of items must complete a registration form and bring it on the day of the event. This completed form will help with the flow of traffic and will reduce your waiting time. To download a copy of the event flyer and registration form, please click here. This event will take place rain or shine.
Up to $22,500 in free money, Or even HALF PRICE on a fully rehabbed house. City of Covington, Ky
July 22nd, 2011 § 1 Comment
The City of Covington Community Development Department has issued new home buyer assistance program guidelines for the period of July 2001 – June 2012.
118 E 15th St Covington, Ky
Buyer’s who are borrowing money in the designated areas in Latonia can receive up to $12,500 to be used to cover the lender required downpayment and closing cost or ossible principle reduction if needed to help the borrower qualify for the loan. Borrowers must not earn more than $39,450 (single person) or $56,300 (4 person household), must have a credit score of 620 or higher and must attend HUD approved home buyer classes.
Maximum of $5000 for the designated areas in Latonia
Maximun of $10,000 for the designated areas in Covington
An additional $2. 500 could be allowed if the building facade is in need of repairs.
INTEREST RATE 0%, TERM 15 YEARS, NO MONTHLY PAYMENTS. if the property is sold in the first 10 years the loan must be repaid in full, in year 10, 2/3 of the loan is forgiven, from years 10-15 the loan balance is prorated. If you live in the property for 15 years the loan will be totally forgiven with no repayment.
This grant applies to properties that do not need major repairs or for properties that need repairs and the borrower is using an FHA 203K rehab loan. For rehab properties an additional $10,000 may be granted and applied to principle reduction if the property has been vacant for at least 12 months.
Not sure if your adding or not but that’s a potential $22,500 for purchasing a rehab property in the designated areas in Covington.
In an additional program through the Northern Kentucky HOME Consortium there are targeted funds for purchasers in Ludlow, Newport, Bellevue and Dayton. Up to $6,000 grant money. This program has the same purchaser qualifying guidelines as above however the home must not need repairs (Meet minimum local housing standards) You must occupy the property for 15 years and the loan is totally forgiven.
Fully rehabbed houses for HALF PRICE, Covington is currently redeveloping several properties that they have purchased from banks, etc. All of these properties will be fully rehabbed and move-in ready. You cannot earn more than $59,150 for a single person, $84,500 for a person household and a minimum credit score of 620. In this case the city will provide assistance that can cover up to 50% of the lender required down payment and 100% of the closing cost. Buyer will be required to cover at least 50% of the downpayment. Additional principle reduction may be available to make the purchase affordable. Total amount of assistance is capped at 50% of the purchase price.
Here is a list of the rehab properties available
Mao for Covington’s Central Core Target Area
Map for the Latonia Target Area
For more specific information just call us and we can help you through the red tape at no charge to you.
CENTURY 21 Garner Properties 859-363-9900
Title Insurance Protects Your Home Investment
June 22nd, 2011 § Leave a Comment
A home is usually your largest single investment. When you purchase a home, you purchase homeowner’s or hazard insurance to protect against loss from fire, theft or wind damage.
Title insurance protects against hidden title hazards that may threaten your financial investment in your home. You see, when purchasing a home, you are really purchasing the title to the property – the right to occupy and use the land and improvements.
Other types of insurance focus on possible future events and charge an annual premium. Title insurance is purchased with a one-time premium and safeguards against loss from hazards and defects that already exist in the title.
There are two basic kinds of title insurance: lender or mortgagee protection, and owner’s coverage. Most lenders require mortgagee title insurance as security for their investment in real estate.
Owner’s title insurance lasts as long as you, the policyholder – or your heirs – has an interest in the insured property. Depending on local practices and state law where the property is located, you may pay an additional premium for an owner’s policy or you may pay a simultaneous issue charge for the separate lenders coverage.
Title search and examination is the first step
Insuring a home’s title begins with a search of public land records affecting the property. The title agent or attorney working on behalf of the title underwriter examines pertinent documents to determine whether the property is insurable.
Those documents (among others) include deeds, wills, trusts, outstanding mortgages and judgments, property liens, highway or utility line easements, pending legal actions and notary acknowledgements.
When title problems are disclosed during the search process, they are corrected whenever possible to avoid future claims. According to surveys done by the American Land Title Association (ALTA), title problems consistently arise in 36 percent, or one out of threereal estate transactions.
The process of performing title searches and curing title problems does not come cheap. Industry studies find that title insurers spend an average of 92 cents out of every premium dollar as their cost of doing business.
What if a problem is hidden or missed?
After all this searching and examination, title problems may still be hidden or missed. A signature can be forged on a deed; an unknown heir can step forward to claim ownership of the property; a power of attorney used during a property transfer could have expired or been forged; a public record may be incorrect.
In each of these cases and many more, when there is the appropriate title insurance coverage, a policy will offer financial protection (subject to the terms and conditions of the policy). The title insurer defends the title and either “perfects” the title or pays valid claims.
In 2005, title insurers paid approximately $916.4 million in claims, up from $699.1 million the year before.
With title insurance, you have financial protection against covered title hazards. Your home is your most important investment – protect it with an owner’s title insurance policy.
Steve Glacken
Business Development Officer
Stewart Title
2116 Chamber Center Drive
Fort Mitchell, KY 41017
859-547-1153 Office
859-547-5158 Fax
859-240-1532 Mobile
sglacken@stewart.com
Checklist for Selling Your Shop Worn Home
April 18th, 2011 § 1 Comment
Agents refer to you as an expired listing. The MLS now has your CDOM (cumulative days on market) number and all the buyers will know you’ve
Photo from Flickr by Cristiano Betta
been trying to sell for awhile. Many northern Kentucky home sellers are in the same boat. Listing inventories are high and not really expected to change significantly in the next year. This simple checklist will go a long way to determining your successful sale. If you’re like most people you need to change your mindset about “getting rid of the old” and focus on merchandising your property for favorable appeal. All of the checklist items must be in place in order to insure that your property is marketable at top dollar, in today’s environment.
- PRICE, PRICE, PRICE. Are you priced better than the competition? Today’s buyers are informed, they have market data information at their fingertips. Believe me, they know how much every house in neighborhood is priced at. They are shopping and comparing like no other time in the past. You MUST be priced at just under your closest competition.
- FINANCING. Is your property available for all types of financing? Over 50% of all transactions last year were financed on FHA loans. Your home needs to be FHA approvable or you’re going to be missing out on 50% of the buyers. Better yet, why not make your property more attractive than the competition by offering to pay the buyers closing cost, a key element in decision making for cash strapped buyers.
- COMPLETE REPAIRS or DEFERRED MAINTENANCE. This kind of goes along with the financing item from above but you need to take it one step further and remove any possible objections to the condition of your home. Is your carpet worn, dirty or stained? Replace it now, before your home hits the market.
- CURB APPEAL. You curb appeal must be pristine and inviting. First impressions are a huge factor in buyers determining likeability. Paint the front door, weed and mulch the landscaping and add some potted flowers near the door.
- OCCUPANCY AT CLOSING. The days of the seller remaining in a property for 30 days after closing have long since past. Anything less than day of closing occupancy will probably deter buyers from even comparing your property.
- ALL APPLIANCES INCLUDED. Today’s buyers are usually scraping together every bit of cash they can in order to qualify for a loan. Some buyers are very concerned that they will be cash poor after the purchase and will not be able to afford appliances. Homes with all appliances included will be more competitive in the market.
- AVAILABLE FOR IMMEDIATE SHOWINGS with KEYBOX. Yes, I know, what a huge inconvenience. But, so important in today’s market. Not always, but occasionally an agent will call to set an appointment with very little notice and you need to be ready to show at anytime. Today’s buyers will not work around the sellers schedule; they simply move on to the next property and don’t look back.
- HOME WARRANTY included.
- STAGED. Stage your interior for selling. For most people it means getting rid of 20%-50% of your stuff. Kitchen counters cleared, no refrigerator magnets, remove family photos from the walls, clear out closets, put some furniture in storage etc. Or, get a home stager to come in and tell you what needs to be done.
These are just some of the things your CENTURY 21 agent can help you with in order to market your home effectively.
Give us a call at 859-363-9900 or
contact us on our web site at http://NorthernKentuckyHomes.com
If a bank listed a house for $25,000 more than they paid at the foreclosure auction, will they take $35,000 less?
April 4th, 2011 § Leave a Comment
If a bank listed a house for $25,000 more than they paid at the foreclosure auction, will they take 35,000 less?
The house was foreclosed on in Boone county Kentucky and the foreclosure sale did not bring what the bank had hoped for so they bought it for $160,000 and have it listed for $185, 000, What are my chances the bank would take a $150,000 offer?
________________________________________________
It depends. First off, the people who are handling the sale of the property now that the bank owns it probably (sometimes they do) have no idea what the bank had to bid for it. Actually, the bank didn’t really pay anything for it at the court house steps, they were just protecting what they had invested. There was no one else at the foreclosure sale willing to bid any higher than the banks last bid.
After foreclosure, an asset manager is charged with getting the maximum dollar from the resale. Sometimes the resale is for far more than the amount owed when they foreclosed and many times here recently it’s for far less than what was owed. The asset managers will usually get a licensed appraiser to give them a current value, as well as getting marketability report from a couple different brokers .
The asset manager then has to decide what price to offer the property for sale. Based on their own “unscientific” plan they considering what is a reasonable amount of time on the market and how badly they need to get rid of it. If the property doesn’t sell in the time frame they had established they will reduce the price. I’ve always considered it, and explained it as, a reverse auction. I’ve seen offers rejected by the bank this week and then a price reduction next week to a price lower then they just rejected. With some asset management companies / banks the person who reviews the offer is not the same person who manages the marketing efforts.
The trick is, knowing when to jump. Here are a few questions I always try to ask or determine of buyers for foreclosed properties (or any property really). Maybe answering some of these questions for yourself will help you make a good decision.
- How bad do you want it?
- Is this the “house for you” or are you buying strictly as a business decision/ investment?
- How long have you been looking for a house? Is a “really great deal” the most important aspect in buying?
- If you don’t get this one are there half a dozen others for sale that you’d be happy with or is this the only one that fits your buying parameters?
- What’s the property worth to you? If it’s $170,000, then offer $170,000 and if you get it GREAT! But if you don’t get it be satisfied that you made your best offer. But if it’s worth $182,000 to you, then offer $182,000.
Just be happy with the price you decide to offer. Have your agent do all the home work for comparable sales, time on the market and current competition. They can help you answer the questions you need to know to make an informed decision.
Inspect, inspect, inspect. But don’t be unreasonable, not everything will be perfect. Just last month we had a buyer turn down a house from inspection because the listing agent could not get the water on for inspection in a reasonable time. The buyer self proclaimed getting the house for 85% of the value, so basically they turned down $25,000 of built in equity, for a maximum, $2,500 in plumbing repairs. As it turned out, the agent finally got the water on and the only repair needed was a new shut off valve for $150.
Buying a foreclosed property is not for everyone. There are some great deals to be had, but having an agent who is knowledgable in foreclosures could save you time and money. If you want to buy a foreclosed home interview some agents and find out how many foreclosed homes they have sold in the past 6 months.
Doug Garner, Principal Broker
CENTURY 21 Garner Properties
