HomeRun Homes Rent to Own Homes Blog

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HomeRun Homes is a centralized marketplace which helps people Find or Sell a Rent to Own Home, both Nationwide and Globally to the thriving Rent to Own Market. http://www.lease2buy.com
Showing posts with label foreclosed homes. Show all posts
Showing posts with label foreclosed homes. Show all posts

July 15, 2012

A Page Turns on The Housing Market

Hi All,
   Well, it finally happened. Finally. The hype and the media coverage about it's imminent return have all been fulfilled. The U.S. Housing Market has finally began crawling back up from the bottom.

   It's been a long time, about 7 years, and a lot of ugly things have happened during that time, but most of the home price indices are starting to head back up in the right direction. In a recent WSJ article by David Wessel titled, "Housing Passes a Milestone". David Blitzer of S&P stated that "We finally saw some rising home prices", and reported the first monthly increase in prices after seven months of declines.

   Aside from prices, we all know the impact of housing inventory. It's simple Supply and Demand Economics. In what was called a surprise, the inventory of existing homes for sale has fallen "close to the normal level of six months' worth despite all the foreclosed homes that lenders own", per this article, and adds two additional key points, which are that a fraction of homes that are vacant is "at its lowest level since 2006", and that the amount of existing homes that were sold in May 2012 was 10% higher that those sold in May 2011. Wessel notes that many of these homes were purchased by investors "who plan to rent them for now and sell them later", which he infers to as "an important sign of an inflection point". We can surmise from our angle that the amount of homes being sold via Rent to Own is trending upwards from what we are seeing from our Rent to Own Homes website.

But can this just be a statistical aberration?

   Wessel provides an additional reason why this seems to be the real deal. Aside from the reduced inventory of homes that will support the higher prices, he also points to the increase in construction of single-family homes. Comparing May 2012 to May 2011, "Builders began work on 26% more single-family homes in May 2012" than the previous time last year.

   There is still a long way to go. Wessel mentioned some things that we should not forget: Single-family housing starts are still 60% below the 2002 "pre-bubble pace", Americans' equity in homes 25%, less than it was in 2002, and more than one in every four mortgage borrowers "still has a loan bigger than the value of the house". But "the housing bust is over", which for many of us, is music to our ears.

   Have you seen any signs of the Housing Market turning around by you? We'd love to hear.


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Have a Great Week, and Happy Rent-to-Owning !

Regards,
Rob Eisenstein
HomeRun Homes Blog: http://blogging.lease2buy.com
HomeRun Homes Websites: http://www.lease2buy.com and http://www.homerunhomes.com

TAGS: #HousingMarket #homeprices #housinginventory #foreclosedhomes #existinghomes #builders #singlefamilyhomes #renttoown #mortgage #investors

July 5, 2012

Developers Say, "If You Build Them, They Will Rent Them"

Hi Folks,
   Hope you had a great July 4th, and if you were lucky enough to snare a 5-day weekend, then good for you !

   It always amazes me to see the things people do to adapt to the financial environment, but when you start looking at what large companies do to adapt, you quite often will see a slower response, as the inner mechanics all need to line up, however, that is not always true!

   With the bump in May building permits spanning both single and multi-family (apartment), this indicator of future construction made it to the best levels seen in about 4 years. With this market direction, a large number of Developers are building single family homes as rentals, per a recent article on CNBC.com, titled, "More Builders Are Turning to New Market: Rentals".

   The interesting point, the article says, is that, "Historically, builders did this largely in low-income, government-subsidized housing projects", but goes on to say that the "market is quite different today." One such developer mentioned was Joe Petersen of Insight Real Estate Strategies in Texas, who said that "there are so many people with mortgage issues … and just recognizing these issues will not go away soon, we felt like how could we deliver high quality rental housing in a product that single family homeowners would appreciate?”. The answer: high-end homes built specifically as rentals, which takes all of the variables into account (mortgage industry, economy, etc).

   Petersen is clearing land and raising money to build single family homes just outside Ft. Worth, and does mention that a lot will be different in this type of construction, including the maintenance and business plan, but he "believes demand is strong enough for him to be able to charge premium rents"

   Petersen is banking on the fact that since rent homes are typically "not the nicest homes", that he will be able to offer people something different, "having a professional staff on site, maintaining and managing it", in which they can "offer a lifestyle very different from a part-time Realtor or a homeowner who’s renting it because he can’t sell".

   Now, back to those "rent homes". Per the CNBC.com article, Beazer Homes recently launched a “pre-owned” business, “for the purpose of acquiring, improving, renting and ultimately reselling previously owned homes within select communities and markets which we operate,” according to its recent 10-Q.

   Taking this a step further, Beazer is "buying foreclosed homes", "rehabbing them, then renting them with the intention to ultimately sell.", so in other words, Rent to Own. Petersen is also keen on the Rent-to-Own option. He intends to build up to 300 homes, and will use the rent-to-own option just as other builders have; "to alleviate a backlog of unsold homes and reduce carrying costs."

   What are your thoughts on this strategy?

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Have a Great Weekend, and Happy Rent-to-Owning !
Regards,
Rob Eisenstein
HomeRun Homes Blog: http://blogging.lease2buy.com
HomeRun Homes Websites: http://www.lease2buy.com and http://www.homerunhomes.com

TAGS: #realestate #developer #buildingpermits #futureconstruction #builders #rentalhousing #renttoown #rent-to-own #foreclosedhomes #rehabbing #realtor #homeowner

January 25, 2012

Buying a Home: Benefits, Mistakes, and Tips

Hello All,
   Glad to have you back with me.

   Quick Question: Are you looking to buy a home? Do you own a Home? Do you own a few homes? Do you sell homes? If you answered "yes" to any of these, this Blog post could be a huge help in meeting your goals.

   We all know the "American Dream" about homeownership, and the pride that comes along with it. As Jonathan Slappey writes in his story, "Top 5 Reasons to Buy a Home in 2012", this dream is "a very feasible aspiration for 2012."

   One of the "reasons" that Slappey lists was Appreciation, and in combination with the low current prices and historically low mortgage rates, he writes that you can "almost ensure your home’s appreciation in the future" (He adds that "many foreclosed homes are available for a fraction of the original cost.").

   Before jumping in, potential homebuyers need to plan, and then plan again, and then again.

   "Property insurance, taxes, homeowners association dues, maintenance, and higher electric and water bills are some of the costs first-time homebuyers tend to overlook.", writes Polyana Da Costa in her story titled, "Common mistakes first-time homebuyers make". Taking one step back, Da Costa writes that "Home buying doesn't begin with home searching. It begins with a mortgage prequalification". Ed Conarchy, a mortgage planner at Cherry Creek Mortgage in Gurnee, Il, was quoted in Da Costa's story, in which he said that, "You get preapproved, and then you find a home". so that you'll "financial decision versus an emotional decision". Sound advice.

   Now, about those expenses Da Costa listed above; If a homebuyer spend their entire savings for the down payment, closing, etc, then what happens? Conarchy says that this is "one of the biggest mistakes first-time homebuyers make". Additionally, in the same story, Da Costa warns that "Any new loans on your credit report can jeopardize the closing", since lenders pull credit reports prior to the closing to "make sure the borrower's financial situation has not changed since the loan was approved".

   Getting back on course, some other reasons Slappey listed as positives for buying a home this year were tax-related. "Property Tax Deductions" are a major benefit, as Slappey writes that "real estate property taxes for a vacation home and first home are fully deductible". Another reason, "Preferential Tax Treatment", which he says that since Capital Assets are given preferential tax treatment, this would benefit you if you own the home over a year and you "receive more profit than the allowable exclusion after the sale of your home" (the profit will be considered a Capital Asset).

   On the topic of Taxes, the average first-time homebuyer may not be aware of the ins and outs, since they might be buy-and-hold for many years, a real estate investor would be more aware of tax incentives. In the story, "Tax incentives and tax deductions for real estate", Iylce Glink and Samuel Tamkin write that "Real estate is one of the few businesses in which you can accumulate wealth, buy and sell properties repeatedly and never pay any federal income taxes if you follow certain rules". They add that by using certain depreciation rules, "you can make money from renting properties and create a scenario where you might make a great amount of income yearly but pay no federal income taxes on that income". This, however, is far outside the scope of this particular Blog post, albeit quite interesting.

   "Equity Building", which Slappey calls a "new trend being used by some homeowners", basically means that homeowners can/do add money to their monthly payment to pay it down faster. The result is a shorter home loan length, which means owning their home faster, along with some additional benefits.

   The final reason Slappey listed as a reason to buy a home this year: Pride. An example he gives is blasting your music as loud as you want! "No matter who you are, homeownership is a purchase, commitment, and journey that’s sure to bring you pride", says Slappey.

   Do you agree?


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Have a Great Week, and Happy Rent-to-Owning !
Regards,
Rob Eisenstein
HomeRun Homes Blog: http://blogging.lease2buy.com
HomeRun Homes Websites: http://www.lease2buy.com and http://www.homerunhomes.com

TAGS: #buyhome #sellhome #foreclosedhome #lowmortgagerates #homebuyers #downpayment #closing #PropertyTax #CapitalAsset #realestate #incometax #rentproperties

December 12, 2011

Occupy Foreclosure Homes Hits Multiple Cities

Hi Folks,
   It's been a short while since we spoke, as I have had some unforeseen personal issues develop in my life over the past few weeks, but things are clearing up and the posts will start getting back on track for you!

   Unless you have been living under a rock for the past few months, I'm sure that when you turn on your TV, you keep hearing the same word over and over; "Occupy". Just slip a location after it, and you have Occupy Wall Street, Occupy Oakland, etc. Up to this point, the Occupy movement has been done in a Public fashion (Public Parks, etc), however, as it was recently discussed in a Newsday article from The Associated Press ("Occupy protests move to foreclosed homes"), Occupy protesters across the country are "reclaiming foreclosed homes and boarded-up properties", which they write, is "signaling a tactical shift for the movement against wealth inequality".

   These are not isolated incidents.

   Apparently, in excess of 25 cities were "occupied" by these groups who were protesting "on behalf of homeowners facing evictions". Jeff Ordower, one of the organizers of Occupy Homes, was quoted as saying that "It's pretty clear that the fight is against the banks, and the Occupy movement is about occupying spaces. So occupying a space that should belong to homeowners but belongs to the banks seems like the logical next step for the Occupy movement".

Some of the areas that the groups were protesting in were:
* Seattle: The article says that Seattle "has become a leader in the anti-foreclosure movement as protesters took over a formerly boarded-up duplex last month. They painted the bare wood sidings with green, black and red paint, and strung up a banner that says "Occupy Everything - No Banks No Landlords."

* Atlanta: At a Foreclosure Auction at a county courthouse, what was called a "boisterous rally", took place, along with "whistles and sirens to disrupt an auction of seized houses", per the story. The Occupy Atlanta spokesman, Tim Franzen, said that "We don't know how many homes we saved for one more month during the holiday season", and added that, "It was kind of a Christmas gift to the people."

* New York: Protesters marched through a residential neighborhood in Brooklyn carrying signs that read "Foreclose on banks, not people", per the Story.

* Southern California: In another familiar protest, the "protesters rallied around a family of six that reclaimed the home they lost six months ago in foreclosure".

* Portland: The home of a woman that was defiant about leaving that home, Deb Austin, was the site of a press conference. Austin, who's is facing foreclosure next March, per the AP Story, vowed to stay in her house until authorities take her out. The reason she fell behind was the result of both her cancer diagnosis, and also job loss.

   It appears that these protests will keep regenerating across the country, and perhaps the upcoming Election year will fan the flames even more. One such "desired result" could potentially be the use of abandoned foreclosed houses "that could be housing people", say the protesters.

   This will all remain to be seen, but it certainly is not a headline that will be dropping off the radar any time soon. What do you think?

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Have a Great Week, and Happy Rent-to-Owning !
Regards,
Rob Eisenstein
HomeRun Homes Blog: http://blogging.lease2buy.com
HomeRun Homes Websites: http://www.lease2buy.com and http://www.homerunhomes.com

TAGS: #OccupyWallStreet #foreclosedhomes #homeownersfacingevictions #ForeclosureAuction #residentialneighborhood #banks #Seattle #Atlanta #NewYork #Portland #Elections #California