BRIGHTON, Mich., April 20 /PRNewswire/ – The three most important things to remember when moving and buying a new home are: location, location, location. As potential homebuyers start looking for new homes, RelocateAmerica.com, the premier website in providing relocating consumers access to resources for their upcoming relocation, has released its 13th annual list of “America’s Top 100 Places to Live for 2010.”

The “Top 100 Places to Live” list features several breakout categories such as the Top 10 Recovery Cities, Retirement Cities, ‘Earth Friendly’ Cities, Recreation Cities and Small Towns.

New for this year, the Top 10 Recovery Cities focused on areas poised for swift economic recovery. Many of these communities did not see the massive real estate bubble that formed in other areas and have a more diverse economy.

To be considered for the list, a community is nominated at RelocateAmerica.com. From the thousands of submissions, RelocateAmerica.com’s editorial team reviews the nominations and selects the Top 100 Places to Live, as well as the Top 10 for each smaller category, based on interviews with local leaders; feedback from residents; and economic, environmental, education, crime, employment and housing data for the past year.

“Given the tough economic times our nation is facing, homebuyers have re-evaluated their priorities and are looking to relocate to communities that offer plenty of perks, but minimal hassle and cost,” said Peter Meyers, Vice President, Research and Content Development, at RelocateAmerica.com. “While some cities are facing a road to recovery that could take years, others are poised for a quick rebound – and already have seen growth. We wanted to highlight those cities that are on the road back to economic health.”

Click to view and download photos of the “Top 100 Places to Live.”

The “Top 100 Places to Live” list is organized with the Top 10 communities ranked and the remaining 90 compiled alphabetically, to recognize all the communities on the list.

The complete Top 100 List, compiled annually since 1998, can be viewed and towns can be nominated for next year’s list by visiting www.RelocateAmerica.com.

RelocateAmerica.com is operated by trueV New Media Group.

So, here’s how the process should work. Your agent should do a detailed market analysis of your area. There should be an inspection of your property, suggestions made as to the 5P’s, previews of similar homes which will be competing with yours(preferably with you so you see what the agent sees), and then a suggested price range for you to determine a list price.  Understand that the you must make a decision based on “TIME or MONEY”. If money is the most important factor, then price at the high end of the market, but be prepared to keep your home on the  market longer. If time is the key issue, then price towards the lower end in order to facilitate a quicker sale.  Or choose a price somewhere in the middle that you can live with.

In order to make  the best decision, please try to distance yourself. Remember, this is a business decision. While it is your HOME,  to a potential buyer, it is simply another house. You CANNOT  allow emotion to factor in to your pricing (or any other aspect of the process) FSBOs’  are notorious for uneducated decisions. They overprice the property because they have nothing to base their decision, they have no marketing to speak of, they  are not familiar with real estate documents, and do not understand the closing procedures. The result is that 67% of FSBOs’ end up listing with an agent.

BOTTOM LINE, choose your agent carefully; make good decisions based on accurate information; FSBOs’ do your homework and don’t base your choices on emotion. PRICE will be a major factor on days on market or whether it will eventually sell or not.  As always, we are available if you have any questions.

They say that the 3 most important aspects of selling your home is LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION. Obviously, location is a key factor in the sale of a home. However, once you own a property, you can’t move it! So, you gotta deal with it. The first key factor is PRICE. Let’s hope that between you and your real estate agent that you have priced the home at a fair market value.

The second key is the PRESENTATION of your home. This is where the 5 P’s come in. PROPER PREPARATION PREVENTS POOR PRESENTATION. So, what the heck does that mean? When you get ready to sell a car, you typically start with the decision to detail the car. But, you first have to ‘prepare the car”. I mean, you have to get rid of the gum wrappers, the coke cans, the McDonalds sacks, the kids’ toys, and whatever else might be growing!

The same applies to your home! YOU have to prepare the home for sale. That means DECLUTTER and DEPERSONALIZE!! Selling a home is not exactly a fun process. People are are going to be looking in your closets, opening your kitchen cabinets, and looking who knows where! Remember this, you want them to see the house, not the pictures of your great aunt or your collection of coffee cups from around the country. (A friend in San Antonio once showed a home that had several hundred coffee cups hanging around. The only thing the potential buyer remembered were the mugs from the ALAMO and SEA WORLD SAN ANTONIO. Needless to say, that is not the house that they bought!)

Here’s the deal. You’re going to move anyway. Start packing up the 20 years worth of “important stuff” and storing it, or better yet, tossing it! Men, I’m sure that one day you intend to fix that chain saw that doesn’t work or organize your garage and arrange all those important tools that have two inches of dust on them! Ladies, what about all those magazines that you intend to read when you get around to them or better yet, how about all the dishes and glasses in the kitchen. I have never figured out how you can use 50 plates, 30 coffee cups, 40 drinking glasses, and do you really need 15 frying pans or 18 cooking pots? Now, I’m not saying to get rid of all those pots, pans, cups, plates, or glasses. Just cut back to the basics and make your home look as attractive as possible.Rent a storage building for a while until your home sells. This is called “DECLUTTERING”.

Okay, let’s talk about the personal stuff. We all have pictures of our family around the house. Just remember, we want buyers’ to PICTURE THEMSELVES in the house, not pictures of your 6 kids and 30 grandkids. Pictures should be minimized to show the home. The best way to explain this is to put yourself in the shoes of a buyer. Go look at homes on the market. Compare to yours. The more you do to prepare your home for sale, not only will you sell it faster, you will optimize your price.

A short sale can be an excellent solution for homeowners who need to sell, and who owe more on their homes than they are worth. In the past, it was rare for a bank or lender to accept a short sale. Today, however, due to overwhelming market changes, banks and lenders have become much more negotiable when it comes to these transactions. Recent changes in corporate policy and the Obama administration have also improved the chances of getting a short sale approved.

But to be technical, here’s a more official definition:

• A homeowner is ‘short’ when the amount owed on his/her property is higher than current market value.
• A short sale occurs when a negotiation is entered into with the homeowner’s mortgage company (or companies) to accept less than the full balance of the loan at closing. A buyer closes on the property, and the property is then ‘sold short’ of the total value of the mortgage.

For homeowners to qualify for a short sale, they must fall into any or all of the following circumstances:

• Financial Hardship – There is a situation causing you to have trouble affording your mortgage.
• Monthly Income Shortfall – In other words: "You have more month than money." A lender will want to see that you cannot afford, or soon will not be able to afford your mortgage.
• Insolvency – The lender will want to see that you do not have significant liquid assets that would allow you to pay down your mortgage.

This seems simple enough, but it is a complicated process that takes the expertise of experienced professionals. We are  ready to identify all possible options and, when possible, assist in the quick execution of a short sale transaction.

If you have questions or feel you may qualify for a short sale, please contact us for a free consultation.

Understanding your options now could mean all the difference in the world.

The current U.S. housing market and national financial crisis has caused untold stress and heartache for many American families. Foreclosure is one of the most devastating financial challenges that a family can face and one that many times can be avoided. The options available to San Antonio area residents for foreclosure are many. Following is a brief explanation of these solutions, including their benefits and drawbacks:

Reinstatement
A reinstatement is the simplest solution for a foreclosure, however it is often the most difficult. The homeowner simply requests the total amount owed to the mortgage company to date and pays it. This solution does not require the lender’s approval and will ‘reinstate’ a mortgage up to the day before the final foreclosure sale.

• Benefit: Does not require the mortgage company or lender’s approval.
• Drawback: Requires that a homeowner be able to pay all back payments, fines and fees.

Forbearance or Repayment Plan
A forbearance or repayment plan involves the homeowner negotiating with the mortgage company to allow them to repay back payments over a period of time. The homeowner typically makes their current mortgage payment in addition to a portion of the back payments they owe.

• Benefit: Allows the homeowner to make back payments over time.
• Drawback: Requires that a homeowner be in a financial position to pay not only their current mortgage, but also a portion of the back payments owed. Some mortgage companies will require a homeowner to ‘qualify’ for forbearance.

Mortgage Modification
A mortgage modification involves the reduction of one of the following: the interest rate on the loan, the principal balance of the loan, the term of the loan, or any combination of these. These typically result in a lower payment to the homeowner and a more affordable mortgage.

• Benefit: Reduces the payment a homeowner is required to make on a monthly basis and may reduce the principal balance of the loan
• Drawback: Requires that a homeowner ‘qualify’ for the new payment and will often require full documentation. Lender has to be actively pursuing modifications.

Rent the Property
A homeowner who has a mortgage payment low enough that market rent will allow it to be paid, is able to convert their property to a rental and use the rental income to pay the mortgage.

• Benefit: Allows homeowner to keep property indefinitely.
• Drawback: The issues that can arise with a rental property are many, and rent often does not cover the full cost of property ownership and maintenance.

Deed in Lieu of Foreclosure
Also known as a ‘friendly foreclosure’, a deed in lieu allows the homeowner to return the property to the lender rather than go through the foreclosure process. Lender approval is required for this option, and the homeowner must also vacate the property.

• Benefit: Many times in a successful deed in lieu, the lender will forego their right to a deficiency judgment.
• Drawback: Requires that a homeowner vacate the property, and a deed in lieu may be reported to credit bureaus as a foreclosure.

Bankruptcy
Many have considered and marketed bankruptcy as a ‘foreclosure solution,’ but this is only true in some states and situations. If the homeowner has non-mortgage debts that cause a shortfall of paying their mortgage payments and a personal bankruptcy will eliminate these debts, this may be a viable solution.

• Benefit: Does not require lender approval.
• Drawback: If a homeowner cannot afford their mortgage payment, a bankruptcy will only stall—not stop—the foreclosure process. Bankruptcy can be costly, is damaging to credit scores, and can only be declared once every seven years.

Refinance
If a homeowner has sufficient equity in their property and their credit is still in good standing, they may be able to refinance their mortgage.

• Benefit: In some cases, this will lower payments.
• Drawback: In today’s market, a refinance will almost always raise mortgage payments, and is an expensive process.

Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (military personnel only)
If a member of the military is experiencing financial distress due to deployment, and that person can show that their debt was entered into prior to deployment, they may qualify for relief under the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act. The American Bar Association has a network of attorneys that will work with servicemembers in relation to qualifying for this relief.

• Benefit: If qualified, this will lower payments on all consumer debt in addition to mortgage payments.
• Drawback: Must be active military to qualify.

Sell the Property
Homeowners with sufficient equity can list their property with a qualified agent that understands the foreclosure process in their area.

• Benefit: Allows homeowner to avoid foreclosure and harvest some of their equity.
• Drawback: In many cases today, homeowners do not have sufficient equity to sell their property without negotiating a short sale (see next solution).

Short Sale
If a homeowner owes more on their property than it is currently worth, then they can hire a qualified real estate agent to market and sell their property through the negotiation of a short sale with their lender. This typically requires the property to be on the market and the homeowner must have a financial hardship to qualify. Hardship can be simply defined as a material change in the financial stability of the homeowner between the date of the home purchase and the date of the short sale negotiation. Acceptable hardships include but are not limited to: mortgage payment increase, job loss, divorce, excessive debt, forced or unplanned relocation, and more.

• Benefit: A short sale allows the homeowner to avoid foreclosure and salvage some of their credit rating. This also keeps foreclosure off the individual’s public record, and in many cases will allow the homeowner to avoid a deficiency judgment. Borrower may qualify for another mortgage in as little as 24 months (as opposed to five years for a foreclosure).
• Drawback: Short sales can be a trying process in which a homeowner is best served by contracting with a qualified real estate agent to guide the way.

This represents only a summary of some of the solutions available to homeowners facing foreclosure. Please call us today for a free confidential evaluation of your individual situation, property value, and possible options.