HOA facts

Each HOA, a volunteer group of neighbors who manage common areas of a subdivision, creates its own covenants, conditions, and restrictions. These CC&Rs cover resident behavior (no glass containers around the pool), property management (no fences higher than 8 feet) and common responsibilities (fee schedules and fines for non-compliance).

Average annual dues for a homeowners association is $420, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. And there’s value in the fee. A 2005 study, which appeared in the Cato Institute’s Regulation magazine, compared a group of Washington, D.C., area HOA properties with similar homes without community benefits—a total of about 12,000 homes. The HOA house values were found to be 5.4% higher. That’s $1,067 on the average U.S. home value of $197,600.

When you don’t like the rules

Some boards can impose what some homeowners believe are invasive, silly, or elitist rules. In 2008, some news outlets reported on a homeowner in an upscale gated community in Frisco, Texas, who was threatened with fines for parking his new Ford F-150 series truck in his driveway overnight. The board made exceptions for several luxury brands, but his mid-range truck was ruled “not classy enough.”

Even if you disagree with the rules, keep paying your dues. HOAs have broad legal powers to collect fines and fees and regulate activities. If you don’t respond to letters from the board, property manager, or a collection agency, the HOA can and will turn to small claims court or file a lien against your property.

You can handle some issues, if they don’t affect the CC&Rs, with a phone call. For example, adding recycling to the garbage collection route is a budget, not a rules, issue. Call the board member who oversees trash collection to find out if there’s leeway in the budget. Also, the board might find a way to add a service by cutting back on something else.

If you want to do something that’s against the rules—like flying the American flag in your yard—start by making a written request for variance, using the appropriate HOA form in your CC&R documents. A variance gives you permission to be the exception to the rule. Submit your request to the board and property management company.

Help your cause by seeking a compromise: That you’d like to fly the American flag, but only on national holidays.

Don’t expect a quick solution

Some HOA boards meet as little as twice a year. If the board decides the issue is worth pursuing, it may require a community vote. If it passes a majority, the board will adopt it. Board members also may consult the HOA attorney to see if there’s a legal liability if they rule against you.

If you don’t get a timely response, request a hearing and resubmit your request for variance with as much support for your cause as possible.

If the board rules against you without a community vote, you can appeal the ruling with a petition signed by a majority of other homeowners.

But if you fly your flag without permission, expect to get fined. Fines can range from a nominal $25 to a painful $100 or more depending on the issue. Your CC&Rs will indicate the fine schedule—per day, per incident, etc. Interest for nonpayment can accrue, and the HOA can sue you in small claims court.

If you feel the ruling or the fines are unjust, the last resort is to hire an attorney and sue the HOA, as a flag-flying couple did in 1999. They battled their HOA in court for nine years before the case was settled in their favor.

Become the rule-maker

If you don’t like the rules, the best way to change them is to become part of the process.

1. Know your CC&Rs, annual budget, and employee contracts. Do you see areas where expenses can be cut? Are service providers doing their jobs?

2. Volunteer for a committee or task. If the board needs to enforce parking rules, for instance, you can volunteer to gather license plate numbers of residents’ vehicles. In addition, put your professional expertise to work: Assist the board with data entry, accounting, or website design.

3. Stand for election to the board. When a position becomes open, the board notifies the members, and you can put your name forward. New board members are elected at the annual meeting by member majority vote. Many boards are three to nine members large, with terms of one to two years.

Involvement drawbacks

As a board member, be prepared to spend two to four hours a month reviewing property management reports, monitoring budgets, or talking to other board members and residents. Most boards meet quarterly; small boards only meet twice a year, for a couple of hours.

Accept that you might become less popular if homeowners don’t like your decisions. In the worst case, you could be sued, along with the rest of the association.

Involvement benefits

But their are rewards. You’ll feel more in control of your community’s fate. You may find that some rules you didn’t support have merit after all. But most of all, you’ll know you’re doing all you can to protect your quality of life and your home’s value.

By: Blanche Evan – Courtesy of HouseLogic.com

Unfortunately, I do not know the specifics at this time and we still have to wait for the Senate and Gov to pass the bill so stay tuned.

A mold remediation will typically take a few days, depending on how extensive the mold growth is. Image: QuicDry

If you’ve found mold growing in your home, what you should do next depends on where you find it and how much there is. But eliminate mold promptly, because delay can mean an expensive repair that may not be covered by your homeowners insurance.

Professional mold elimination may take a few days and costs roughly $500 to $6,000, but can easily reach five figures if the problem is severe. If drywall, studs, or other building materials must be replaced after cleanup, you’ll need to hire a building contractor for that service as well.

“I had a case of roof damage where water infiltrated the kitchen, and mold damaged the kitchen, the foyer, the bedroom, and the family room,” says Jason Yost, owner of Solutions Indoor Environmental Consulting in Terre Haute, Ind. “Because the home wasn’t maintained properly and was cluttered, the mold amplified quickly. The total bill came to $60,000 to remediate and reconstruct the house.”

Mold and insurance

Mold remediation isn’t necessarily covered by homeowners insurance, which typically pays only if the problem results from a sudden emergency already covered on your policy, such as a burst pipe. Insurance usually doesn’t pay if the problem results from deferred maintenance or floodwaters (unless you have flood insurance).

Everyday mold growth

When mold is growing on household surfaces, both its spores (reproductive structures) and any toxins it produces can become airborne. This can aggravate asthma and allergies and sometimes contribute to more serious diseases, especially in children, the elderly, and those with weak immune systems. Mold also ruins porous materials such as drywall and carpeting and can damage woodwork, although serious damage to structural elements is rare.

Expect to find mold occasionally in wet areas such as kitchens and bathrooms. Confined to washable surfaces, it’s fine as long as you clean it promptly with soap and water. Disinfecting the area after cleaning with a 1:9 bleach-to-water solution can also help.

If you find small amounts of mold growing in places that shouldn’t be wet—such as floor grilles—address your moisture problem so it doesn’t return after you clean it up.

Calling for help

If you find mold growing on drywall, trim, or unfinished wood surfaces (studs, joists, subfloors), especially if the affected area exceeds 10 square feet, it’s time to seek a professional, scientific opinion. Your best bet is an independent consultant with credentials in mold investigation.

Less-than-ideal choices would be a home inspector, who likely doesn’t have mold training, or a mold remediation company, which can increase its profits by recommending cleanup procedures that aren’t necessary. On the flip side, you want someone who isn’t motivated to minimize costs to keep insurance companies happy.

The mold industry is largely unregulated, says licensed professional engineer and certified industrial hygienist Wane A. Baker of Michaels Engineering in La Crosse, Wis., because the word “mold” encompasses thousands of different types of fungi, whose health effects are highly individual and still under study. This lack of government oversight means almost anyone can hang out a shingle.

Look for the right credentials

Reputable mold remediation companies will hire a third-party inspector to determine the scope of work and roll that into the project cost. Also consider hiring our own inspector to  ensure you have an advocate in the cleanup process.

A good mold inspection professional:

• Has at least an undergraduate degree in a science or engineering field
• Will provide a customized written report as part of his fee that includes the lab results of any air or surface samples taken
• Doesn’t hype one species of mold as being significantly more dangerous than another
• Doesn’t sell mold-related products
• Has completed industry-approved coursework in mold investigation, preferably from the American Board of Industrial Hygiene or the American Council for Accredited Certification (formerly the American Indoor Air Quality Council). He or she should also bear respected industry credentials, such as PE, CIH, CIEC, and CMRS.

What to expect from inspection and cleanup

Expect to spend $250 to $500 for a site visit from a qualified inspector that takes 20 minutes to two hours, depending on the scope of the problem, and a detailed report of findings and recommendations. Individual air samples, if necessary, may or may not be included in the price (ask your inspector ahead of the visit) and cost anywhere from $18 to $225 apiece, depending on the laboratory used to process results.

If mold growth is visible, air or surface sampling may not be necessary; it depends on the situation. It’s not important to identify the actual mold species unless there are specific legal or medical reasons to do so—say, if you have an allergy to a certain species. If mold growth is suspected but not visible—for example, if it’s concealed within walls—sampling may help confirm its presence.

Sampling is also typically used after the cleanup process to verify whether the job was successful. Ask inspectors why they’re performing any sampling that occurs on the initial visit; they should be able to articulate clearly whatever hypothesis they’re trying to confirm.

If the cleanup is simple enough to perform yourself, a mold inspector can advise you on procedures, protective equipment, and tools. The inspector should also be able to pinpoint the moisture issue that led to the mold problem so that you can correct it.

If you need a remediation pro

If a professional remediation is necessary, the inspector can recommend a company or you can choose one yourself. The cleanup process generally takes a few days, depending on the extent of mold growth, and may involve cleaning and disinfection, removal of drywall, professional cleaning of personal belongings, and HEPA (high-efficiency particulate air) filtration. The severity of the problem determines whether you’ll be able to remain in your home during the project.

“I’d like to stress that a mold remediation isn’t about kill, kill, kill,” Baker says. “Even dead mold can still be allergenic. Remediation is really about the physical removal of mold from water-damaged materials.” The remediation company should follow the work plan designed by your mold inspector, who will return for follow-up sampling to ensure the job was successful. Once the cleanup is approved, you can hire a building contractor to replace any drywall or other materials that were removed.

Home testing kits

Don’t bother with hardware store petri-dish kits, which claim to help you identify whether you have mold in your indoor air. “These kits are completely ineffective,” Baker says. The kits might grow a bit of mold for you—because mold spores are always present in indoor air—but they can’t guarantee a statistically significant sample of air, confirm the presence of dead mold spores (which also cause health symptoms), or determine baseline levels of mold in your home in order to compare results.

The key to dealing with mold quickly and effectively is finding a qualified professional inspector whom you trust.

Karin Beuerlein has covered home improvement and green living topics extensively for HGTV.com, FineLiving.com, and FrontDoor.com. In more than a decade of freelancing, she’s also written for dozens of national and regional publications, including Better Homes & Gardens and the Chicago Tribune. She and her husband started married life by remodeling the house they were living in. They still have both the marriage and the house, no small feat.

By: Karin Beuerlein – Courtesy of houselogic.com ]]> http://www.erikymer.com/2010/06/how-to-eliminate-mold-from-your-home/feed/ 0 http://www.erikymer.com/2010/06/6-tips-for-buying-a-home-in-a-short-sale/ http://www.erikymer.com/2010/06/6-tips-for-buying-a-home-in-a-short-sale/#comments Wed, 02 Jun 2010 17:00:10 +0000 eymer http://www.erikymer.com/?p=512 When sellers need to sell their home for less than they owe on their mortgage, they’re shooting for a short sale. Short sale homes can sometimes be bargains, but only if you do your homework, stay patient, and remain unemotional during the sometimes lengthy and difficult short sale process.

Here are six tips for protecting yourself emotionally and financially when bidding on a short sale.

1. Get help from a short sale expert

A real estate agent experienced in short sales can identify which homes are being offered as short sales, help you determine a purchase price, and advise you on what to include in your offer to make the lender view it favorably. Ask agents how many buyers they’ve represented in short sales and, of those, how many successfully closed the transaction.

2. Build a team

Ask agents to recommend real estate attorneys knowledgeable in short sales and title experts. A title officer can do a title search to identify all the liens attached to a property you’re interested in. Because each lienholder must consent to a short sale, a property with multiple liens, like first and second mortgages, mechanic’s and condominium liens, or homeowners association liens, will be harder to purchase.

A title search may cost $250 to $300 up front, but it can help weed out less desirable properties requiring multiple approvals.

3. Know the home’s fair market value

By agreeing to a short sale, lenders are consenting to lose money on the loan they made to the sellers to purchase the home. Their goal is to keep those losses as low as possible. If your offer is dramatically less than the home’s fair market value, it may be rejected. Your agent can help you identify the price that’s good for you. The lender will determine whether approval is in its best interest.

4. Expect delays

There are two stages to a short sale. First, the sellers must consent to your purchase offer. Then they must submit it to their lender, along with documentation to convince the lender to agree to the sale.

The lender approval process can take weeks or months, even longer if the lender counteroffers. Expect bigger delays if several lienholders are involved; each can make a counteroffer or reject your offer.

5. Firm up your financing

Lenders will weigh your ability to close the transaction. If you’re preapproved for a mortgage, have a large downpayment, and can close at any time, they’ll consider your offer stronger than that of a buyer whose financing is less secure.

6. Avoid contingencies

If you must sell your current home before you can close on the short-sale property, or you need to close by a firm deadline, your offer may present too many moving parts for a lender to approve it.

Also, consider ordering an inspection so you’re fully informed about the home. Keep in mind that lenders are unlikely to approve an offer seeking repairs or credits for such work. You’ll probably have to purchase the home “as is,” which means in its present condition.

This article includes general information about tax laws and consequences, but isn’t intended to be relied upon by readers as tax or legal advice applicable to particular transactions or circumstances. Consult a tax professional for such advice; tax laws may vary by jurisdiction.

By: G. M. Filisko – Courtesy of houselogic.com

2.  Be ready for complications

3.  Work with your agent to set a price

4.  Get your financing in order

5.  Expect an as-is sale

2 – Buy a car before you buy a house – Purchasing a car or other big ticket item can affect your credit score.

3 – Skimping on a home inspection – Never buy a home without a home inspection! You want to know what kind of costs you may be facing.

4 – Not hiring an attorney – Hiring an attorney to make sure your interests are protected is always a good idea.

5 – No contingencies – As a buyer you always want to keep your options open in case costs of repairs exceed more than you can afford.

6 – Not budgeting for insurance – You should know how much and what kind of coverage you may need.  It is also a good idea to find out what is not covered.

Source: CNNMoney.com

With everything associated with buying a home and so many ways a simple deal can become complicated, inspections, negotiations, waiting on bank approvals for short sales, mortgage commitments… You can easily find yourself under the gun.

Here are a few tips to help you navigate the terrain between contracts and closing to be sure you meet the time line.

1 – Short sale approvals can take from 45 days to up 6+ months. You may want to make sure that the listing agent of the home you are interested in has already started communicating with the bank to help save time.

2 – Make sure your mortgage company has all your paperwork needed to close your loan and have a reputable company that can process your deal in time.

3 – Make sure you have a competent real estate agent, preferable a full time agent so you know your needs are not secondary.

Fannie Mae also created a site to help sell their inventory of foreclosed homes, HomePath.com

Note: Fannie Mae is a government controlled company who is the largest American home funder in the United States.
To find out more and the qualifications click here