Looks like April activity was well below last year with 19 less homes sold for almost $2.5 million less than last year. The chart below shows the volume sold in each price range last year and this April.

Homes priced right and dressed to sale are still moving. I previewed a home this morning that has been on the market over 900 days. The only thing I could find wrong with it is price. A home must win the beauty contest and the price war.

Market Comparison Report by Price
Dates:	04/01/2012 to 4/30/2012
	4/01/2011 to 4/30/2011
Property Types:	Single Family
Areas:	ALL

 

	Apr 1 - Apr 30, 2011		Apr 1 - Apr 30, 2012		Difference		Percentage
Price Range	Units	Dollars	Units	Dollars	Units	Dollars	Units	Dollars
0 - 29999	5	72,900.00	3	71,000.00	-2	-1,900.00	-40.00	-2.61
30000 - 39999	4	140,300.00	3	108,900.00	-1	-31,400.00	-25.00	-22.38
40000 - 49999	0	0.00	5	227,995.00	5	227,995.00
50000 - 59999	4	224,750.00	2	103,400.00	-2	-121,350.00	-50.00	-53.99
60000 - 69999	4	264,601.00	2	131,500.00	-2	-133,101.00	-50.00	-50.30
70000 - 79999	3	236,000.00	4	303,000.00	1	67,000.00	33.33	28.39
80000 - 89999	1	84,000.00	2	169,000.00	1	85,000.00	100.00	101.19
90000 - 99999	5	480,500.00	0	0.00	-5	-480,500.00	-100.00	-100.00
100000 - 119999	9	967,400.00	2	224,400.00	-7	-743,000.00	-77.78	-76.80
120000 - 139999	8	1,029,900.00	11	1,439,015.00	3	409,115.00	37.50	39.72
140000 - 159999	14	2,071,238.00	6	881,400.00	-8	-1,189,838.00	-57.14	-57.45
160000 - 179999	8	1,373,400.00	8	1,365,390.00	0	-8,010.00	0.00	-0.58
180000 - 199999	6	1,136,400.00	2	364,900.00	-4	-771,500.00	-66.67	-67.89
200000 - 249999	9	1,993,650.00	9	2,021,200.00	0	27,550.00	0.00	1.38
250000 - 299999	1	299,900.00	4	1,096,700.00	3	796,800.00	300.00	265.69
300000 - 399999	5	1,683,500.00	3	947,159.00	-2	-736,341.00	-40.00	-43.74
400000 - 499999	0	0.00	2	850,000.00	2	850,000.00
500000 - 749999	1	680,000.00	0	0.00	-1	-680,000.00	-100.00	-100.00
750000 - 999999	0	0.00	0	0.00	0	0.00
1000000 - 1249999	0	0.00	0	0.00	0	0.00
1250000 - 1499999	0	0.00	0	0.00	0	0.00
1500000 - 1999999	0	0.00	0	0.00	0	0.00
2000000 - 2999999	0	0.00	0	0.00	0	0.00
3000000 - 99999999	0	0.00	0	0.00	0	0.00
Totals:	87	12,738,439.00	68	10,304,959.00	-19	-2,433,480.00	-21.84	-19.10

Dothan Home Builders Parade of Homes started at 10:00 today. Come out and visit with us. You will find homes open in the Parade and along the way. Schedule is today from 10:00 until 6:00 and Sunday from 1:00 until 6:00. We would love to have you stop in and chat.

The chart below compares cost and payments for the purchase of a $100,000 home. Basic information shows to purchase a home in SE Alabama outside the city limits of Dothan using a USDA loan would save the buyer $3,188.75 at the time of purchase plus an additional savings of $57.10 per month compared to buying the same home with an FHA loan.

	FHA		USDA
DOWN PAYMENT	$3,500	DOWN PAYMENT	$0
MIP	$1,688.75	FUNDING FEE	$2,000.00
RATE	3.88%	RATE	3.88%
P&I	461.72	P&I	479.83
INSURANCE	66.67	INSURANCE	66.67
TAXES	50	TAXES	50
MORTGAGE INS.	99.7	MORTGAG INS.	25.2
TOTAL PAYMENT	678.09	TOTAL PAYMENT	621.8
PREPAIDS	1177	PREPAIDS	1044.17
CLOSING COSTS	2322	CLOSING COSTS	2322
Call Bobby 334-701-1102 with questions.

Inspection Plus is a home inspection service working SE Alabama. I subscribe to their newsletter and have attached it with the owners permission for your use. Click on newsletter here and on his site. He not only describes some water issues your home might experience but includes how they should be.

You will be surprised how many homes in our area do have water issues. Some signs I see are wood floors buckled. Cracks in foundations and brick veneer. I have even seen concrete slabs that have moved and/or cracked due to water issues. Mold extending as much as six feet above the floor level is a good sign there is an issue with water flow.

I was showing a home with a raised flower bed built down one side of the home. The home was one side of the flower bed. All the water running off the roof on that side of the home accumalated in the flower bed with no place to go. The wood floor was buckled. I found and opened the crawl space entrance on the other side of the home. It had been several days since rain, yet the soil inside the entrance to the crawl space was still muddy.

The possible buyer had loved the curb appeal. However, once inside with all the damage they were not interested.

Thinking about buying a home? Need a mortgage? Here is iformation you will need;

1. W2's - Tax returns for past two years with all pages.

2. All paystubs for past thirty days

3. Residence addresses for past two years

4. Name and address of employers for past two years.

5. Two months bank and asset statements with all pages

6. Homeowners Insurance Agent (name and phone number)

In most case this is the minimum you will need. Don't be surprised if your loan originator ask for additional documentation.

Expect to explain any recent large deposits.

We will have 1282 homes available for sale in the Dothan Multiple Listing System to crank off May. Looking at the number of homes sold in April we are losing ground compared to last year. Really will not have accurate numbers for another ten days or so. Let you know then how we did for April and year to date.

Fresh paint to cover up nicks, blemishes, scuffs and scratches  inside and outside your home before placing the home on the market will go a long way toward completing the sale. Particularly on the trim, edges of cabinet doors and drawers. Homeowners get so used to these common items they look over them. However, they pop out to a buyer walking through.

I would think most people list their home for sale to sell it. I tried to schedule three homes in the same Dothan subdivision for showing today. One of them was easy and I showed it. One of the others wanted 48 advance notice to show their home. The third home owner decided they wanted to take their home off the market.

Not unusual to try for appoinmtments to show five occupied homes and find at least one is not available. They want us to show it another day.  

The buyer is looking for a home with your homes criteria. A lot of the times the buyer is from out of town and has a narrow window to shop. I suggest allowing the showing even if you did not make the beds before leaving.

We are here to assist when you need us. What would you like to see on this blog?I plan to share real estate stories, information, and experiences. Please feel free to share feedback or questions. In addition you can shop all the homes and real estate for sale in the Dothan area.

Looking for foreclosures. I keep an updated list of the available foreclosed properties and e-mail new foreclosed listing as I can identify them.

The speaker today for our sales meeting was one of my favorite inspectors. He has many years experience in construction. In fact he is a licensed builder. His theme today was we as real estate agents are his clients. How can he help us and how we can help him. Enjoyed the session.

We plan to have a question for the inspector button on this site. He can explain most building issues and give a good idea of a solution. I plan to have a link to his site. Look for this in the future. He is volunteering to answer your questions.

Your next home 724 Patterson Road, Dothan Al is for sale. With four bedrooms and three baths on over 21 acres you and/or your horses will have plenty of room to roam.  Woods to hunt in. Pond to fish in. Four car detached garage/workshop to play in. All this and the spouse will love the home. The home sits back off the road down a long drive. The attached garage is just off the kitchen for easy grocery unloading. The master and one bedroom are downstairs with two spare bedrooms and a bath upstairs. Fresh paint throughout along with a new mantle around the fireplace adds to the loveliness of this 3300 plus square foot home.

We will be holding open house Sunday April 22. Come visit us. I would love to show you around.

Our purchase agreement has a clause providing the buyer an opportunity to do a final walkthru before closing when purchasing a home. We highly reccomend the buyer taking advantage of this opportunity. If the buyer decides to pass we have a waiver form for them to sign.

It is not a bad idea to exercise your right to conduct this opportunity even though you have no concerns about how the property will look at closing.

Sometimes damage is inflicted during the moving process, or items scheduled via the purchase agreement to remain are no longer there.

Buyers who do a walk-through and find the sellers have neglected their contractual duties have a few options. The first step is to consult with a knowledgeable local real estate attorney.

The year you purchase or sell a home there are tax deductions you may be elgible to claim. The cost of selling or buying a home, like commission, closing cost,etc., usually are tax deductible. Often times the buyer may be able to claim closing cost even though the seller may have paid them. Take your closing paperwork with you and talk with your accountant.

Interest payments are deductible every year.

This home had some issues we were aware of before the inspection. An add on room had parquet floor covering. The slab has actually sunk up to an inch inside the footers. This sinking left the parquet flooring over the footers up while the  flooring over the slab dropped.

 All indications the slab movement was from water pooling against the home. The water is from the roof with landscaping trapping the water to pool against a front wall. Appears the easiest path for the water is seep thru the brick and cinder blocks and under the slab.

The buyer is planning to take action one step at a time to eliminate the water first. First agenda is gutters to take care of the roof water. Then grade the high spots in the yard to allow water to flow away from the home. May have to pull all the dirt away from the wall and seal the wall similar to a basement wall. Then push dirt back to the wall with sufficient fall to allow the water to flow away  from the home. Then they can level up the floors.

Sure hope their plans work.

If you are shopping homes for sale in the Dothan area The Bobby Dean Team is here to assist. Give us a call 334-701-1102 anytime.

In addition to higher fees scheduled for April 1, 2012 FHA announced new rules yesterday to start Monday. Home buyers with ongoing credit disputes over $1,000 will no longer be approved for a mortgage insured by the FHA. Buyers with collection accounts will either have to pay the debt off or enter into a documented payment plan.

If they choose the payment plan buyers will also have to show that three payments have been made toward the debt. The payment will be factored into the buyers debt-to-income rario.

Credit accounts more than two years old or those related to identity theft will not be factored into the new rule. The lender, however, must document the fraudulent charge with a police report. 

To avoid the above changes a case number must be assigned to the property before close of business Saturday. In most cases this means close of business Friday.

If you are considering purchasing a home via FHA mortgage we encourgage you to act today. The Bobby Dean Team would love to help you shop for a home in the Dothan area. Call Bobby 334-701-1102 any time.

Interest rates quoted yesterday were 4%. FHA Mortgage Insurance Premium fees will increase April 1. To avoid this premium increase a case number must be assigned before the April 1 date. Most likely you cannot wait until March 30 to go shopping.

This morning the Dothan MLS has 1190 homes available. You will find multiple homes available in most any price range.

Need help shopping. Call Bobby 334-701-1102 any time. We are here to assist.

We hear about short sales in every form of media. Below is an article recently published by the National Association of Realtors worth sharing.

What You Need to Know about Cancellation of Mortgage Debt

Posted By susanne On March 11, 2012 @ 1:07 pm In Consumer News and Advice,Home Owner News,Real Estate Information,Today's Top Story,Today's Top Story - Consumer | No Comments

The Dothan Multiple Listing System sold 64 homes in February 2012 for an average price per home sold of $133,540. These numbers compare to 72 homes sold February 2011 for an average price of $165,353.

Currently we have 1200 homes for sale in the Dothan MLS. This number is about double the volume we need for a balanced market.

For those looking to buy you will find a large volume to choose from in almost any price range. Interest rates are being quoted under 4%. It is a great time to buy.

We love to help you shop for a home that works for you. Give us a call 334-701-1102 or e-mail bobby@DothanHomesForSale.info.

FHA Loan Fees Change April1, 2012

 

The agency is raising its fees in an effort to try to recoup some of its depleted reserves*, which suffered from the rising number of home owners who defaulted on their mortgages. The agency also says it’s raising fees to try to encourage the return of more private capital to the market.

FHA loans allow for smaller down payments, as low as 3.5 percent compared to traditional loans, and they often have less stringent credit requirements, which have made them soar in popularity in recent years. (The agency insures loans but doesn’t issue them.) About 40 percent of all new mortgages for home purchases in 2010 were FHA-backed mortgages.

In particular, FHA will increase two fees that borrowers pay. Starting April 1, it will increase its annual mortgage insurance premium for loans under $625,500, bringing the total cost from 1.15 percent of the loan amount to 1.25 percent. Starting June 1, larger loan premiums will see an increase of 0.35 percent of a percentage point, bringing the total premium costs up to 1.5 percent of the loan amount, The New York Times reports.

FHA also announced it will raise a fee for the upfront mortgage premium by 0.75 of a percentage point, which will now total 1.75 percent of the loan amount.

On a $100,000 loan this will mean the borrower will pay an additional $750 up front plus monthly payments will increase $8 per month. Mortgage loans assigned a case number before April 1 will pay mortgage insurance at the old rate.

We would love to help you search for a home. Call 334-701-1102.

Thanks,

Bobby