Charlotte NC Real Estate – Here’s another question I get all the time from home sellers, “What’s the advantage as a seller to do a short sale verses foreclosure? My credit will still be ruined.”
There are numerous reasons. If you are behind on your payments, most of the damage to your credit has already been done should you decide to go the short sale route. It gets worse if you go into foreclosure. For example, there is a flag for foreclosure on your credit report and this is huge. There is no such thing for a short sale.
A foreclosure is a public filing and a deficiency judgment, and can follow you forever. It asks that question on mortgage credit applications (if you’ve ever filed bankruptcy or been foreclosed on). It can affect your getting a job, it can cause your insurance to skyrocket, and you can’t get a Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, FHA, or VA loan for five years.
With a short sale you can in as little as two. There are lots of things other than just trying to salvage your credit. I always ask people when they are in this situation, “Do you want to keep your home, if so have you exhausted all efforts to get a loan modification?”
Charlotte NC Real Estate – This is a question or comment I get a lot. “I need to sell my house but I know I owe more than it’s worth, so it will have to be a short sale” To be clear, just because you have to sell and owe more than your home is worth, does not mean this is a short sale. A short sale is when the bank agrees to take less than what they are owed.
I recently sold a home for a client who had very little assets, but had near perfect credit. I’m not trying to put in a plug for myself here, but the house had been empty and she had been trying to sell it for a year. She thought she was going to have to do a short sale. I asked if she had considered borrowing the money for the shortage. I was surprised no one had thought of this.
Long story short, we were able to adjust the price and get it sold quickly, she borrowed $18,000 dollars to bring to closing for the shortage and was ecstatic to have gotten rid of the house! She was tickled to death to now have only a $200 dollar a month payment verses $2000 dollars a month payment on a vacant house. And, kept her near prefect credit rating!
Not too put too fine a point on it, there are lots of other options available if you are upside down on your home. Contact us and let us help determine whether or not this is the right option for you.
The type of wiring in residential homes generally depends on when the home was built, where it was built and if it has been updated. In the older homes, knob and tube type wiring was the norm, replaced later by plastic-sheathed wiring.
In most cases the newer plastic-sheathed wiring is copper, insulated with plastic and then wrapped with insulation and another layer of plastic for protection. Breaker boxes are another story; sometimes a well-meaning home owner can inadvertently make things unsafe.
It is always wise to consult a reputable home inspector and even an electrician before you buy. A little homework today can save you a lot of money down the road.
Single pane, double pane, thermo pane, triple pane windows, plain glass, leaded glass, low “e” glass, wired glass, and tempered glass too. WOW – There’s a lot to know!
Some children have been known to shatter a window or two. Tempered glass can prevent this. Fogged thermal pane windows might need to be replaced if their seals are broken. New argon gas filled windows work well to insulate, while low-e coatings reduce the heat transfer for south facing rooms.
There is a lot of information available on the web, but this site seems to be one of the best ones out there. We will be happy to show you the different types of windows and glass as we show you around homes, so be sure to ask us.
Many newer homes are now being sided with artificial stucco siding, or EIFS (Exterior Insulation Finishing Systems). This is essentially polystyrene foam with a base coat, reinforcement mesh, then another base coat and then a finishing coat of stucco over the top.
This is a terrific product, as it adds insulation value to the home, not to mention classy looks. However, it can also be a serious and very expensive repair if it isn’t installed correctly and/or water gets behind it.
There are several manufacturers of artificial stucco, and many builders installing it. Having it inspected allows you to know if there is a problem, and even if there isn’t, you will be aware of the areas you need to keep caulked, and what to look for in case of trouble.
