Big Banks Penalized by Fed for Foreclosure Practices

Last week U.S. regulators penalized fourteen of the country’s biggest banks for improper foreclosure practices, according to a recent Wall Street Journal article. The banks were ordered to revamp their methods for handling troubled borrowers.

While no fines were issued, officials say they are coming to the 14 banks.

This regulatory action occurred “as Obama administration officials and representatives of state attorneys general met with the bank representatives in an ongoing effort to reach a broader deal over alleged mortgage-servicing abuses, which brought foreclosures to a near halt last fall.”

This action would not interfere with possible civil fines and settlements. The banks have 60 days under the order to clean up their system, preventing documentation errors and ensuring they have the proper staff to handle home foreclosures, along with other changes.

In addition, an independent consultant must review the foreclosures from 2009 and 2010 to ensure fairness.

To read the full article, click here.

Tagged as: banks, foreclosure, government, loans, real estate

It’s Spring! The Home Market is Heating Up

 

The big day was March 20, the first day of spring. As almost everyone knows, it begins one of the most active seasons for home searches.

For good reason: If you can dodge the April showers, the weather will be nice. Flowers coming out everywhere will tempt you to drive about and see what appeals to you. Even if you haven’t decided to take the plunge, you could find that today’s bargains are hard to resist.

Home sellers will be out there with bells on. They know that buyers, dreamers and lookers will be out in force. Whichever category you fall into, they and their real estate agents will be pleased to see you.

Agents know that the lookers and dreamers of today could be buyers in the future. The agents are available in their offices or at open houses to tell you about the finer points of buying and selling. When your time comes, you will be prepared and knowledgeable.

Visiting open houses can be more than an enjoyable Sunday afternoon activity. Visitors get an idea of what features and home designs would best suit their needs, as well as what features should be added to their list of wants. Often, they can pick up a sheet of detailed information on a home, which can be referred to later on.

In spring, there are more homes on the market than at any other time of the year. You’ll find good bargains on some foreclosures that banks are willing to sell at a reduced price. But whether or not a home that interests you is in foreclosure, the price will be less than it would have sold for a few years ago.

That doesn’t mean that sellers aren’t willing to negotiate. Many have significant reasons to sell. Some sellers have to move to another city because of their work. They want to make a move well before school begins in fall.

Other properties might be part of an estate and heirs want to make a deal. Some sellers are retired and want to move to a smaller place.

There are many reasons sellers and their agents would like to see you!

Tagged as: agent, home ownership, moving, real estate

Focusing on Color: Painting your World

Wherever we go, we respond to color, though its effect is often underestimated. Color use is important to us in our homes and workplaces.

If you are selling a house, you will want to choose different colors than those you might use for your own home.

If you just purchased a house, you can add some of your own personality with paint. HGTV’s Shari Hiller says color accounts for 60 percent of our response to a room. Here is some advice.

Living room: Start with colors you love from something in the room. Consider colors from artwork, a rug, dishes, an accessory or furniture for a main color or accent. Buy two or three quarts of paint. Paint sample boards to hold up to the furniture, fabrics and surfaces you choose.

If you aren’t sure where to begin with a color, experiment in a bathroom, a small hall or area between rooms. The dining room: Do you want the area to feel social and stimulating or be formal and quiet? Warmer, contrasting and somewhat brighter colors add to a sociable atmosphere. Deeper blue-greens and neutral colors make the dining area more formal.

The monochromatic color scheme: In any room, one color need not be boring. You can create bold or subtle variations within one color group with contrasting paint finishes. It helps to use matte finish paint for walls and slightly shiny eggshell paint for wood trim. The paint will appear to be a slightly different color. It can be attractive to paint an entire wall in a lighter or darker hue of the same color.

White or off-white tint can be a striking accent when used as trim with a monochromatic color group.

For bedrooms: Softer, cool colors and neutrals create a quiet feeling.

Children’s bedrooms: Stay away from bright and intense wall colors, which are said to lead to unrest and irritability.

For an accent color in any room, select a warmer color, more toward reds, or a cooler color more toward blues, to compliment your main color group.

Tagged as: decor, home care

The “Mom Cave”

It’s new, it’s fun, and it’s strictly personal!

 

Now that the “man cave” has become an established custom in homes, women have taken the cue to establish a spot of their own. Forget men’s huge TVs, theater chairs and eating spots, where they do manly, messy, sporting things. A woman’s personal place is entirely different.

Whether it was formerly a guest room, a place next to the family room in the basement, or any unused space, the “mom cave” is generally filled with personal mementos and comfort items. It’s a room they can call their own.

Many women, not just moms, are taking over a space in their homes and turning it into a haven where they can relax and pursue personal interests. Decorators are applauding the trend.

Here’s what’s needed to create the cave: A place to sit, storage space, an area to do what they want to do, such as scrapbooking,  and space for occasional visitors. The walls can be decorated with old or new photographs in fun frames, and bright wall colors or fancy wallpaper served as a background.

New York designer Elaine Griffin embraces the concept and recently partnered with Homegoods in Manhattan to show the new decor and space suggestions. She says the mom cave is where a woman, who nurtures everyone else, goes to nurture herself.
Griffin loves color. She says mom caves should be fun, feminine and highly personalized. They should include a reading place, probably with a nice throw on the arm of a chair, or  a chaise lounge, a bookcase painted in a bright color, a fancy area rug, and maybe boxes of brightly-colored file folders and lamp shades that reflect a woman’s tastes.

If they don’t have a whole room, Griffin suggests taking over a spot, such as under a stair landing, for a sanctuary using narrow console tables, a rug and armchairs. Or part of the family room or dining room could be captured for their own.

Tagged as: decor, mom cave, stress reduction