About Ann Travis
Good news for the day!
According to the August 14th issue of Realtor magazine...
"Nearly one-quarter of metropolitan areas showed
rising home prices in the second quarter from a
year ago, with greatly mixed conditions continuing
around the country."
Hello, this is Ann Travis, Realtor with Wilkinson & Associates Real Estate
in Charlotte, NC.
If you are relocating into the Charlotte-Metro or Lake Norman areas, I hope you
will take the time to click around for a while on this site. It was designed to
provide for you the kinds of information that you will need to make a move.
Under “Search Home” you will find access to the MLS Active Inventory. You can
also search for available rentals there,
And if you will look in the left margin, you can find foreclosures and more rentals.
Best of all, on the intro' page, you can find a wealth of information under all those
tabs for the schools, entertainment and regions that are here for you.
I understand that you may not yet be ready to discuss your specific needs with me,
so rest assured thatI will respect your online privacy while you are gathering
information from this site.
From time to time, I may e-mail out the latest Interest Rates, newest Program
Comparisons, or the Hottest Super Deals around.
I know if I can provide the information you want at the right time, that you will
decide that we need to meet.
When you have decided that you are ready to discuss your real estate needs more
in-depth, I will be happy to help you. The more I understand about what you need
and want, the better assistance I can provide to you.
I look forward to meeting you, soon. Until then, enjoy your visit.
Fondly,
Ann Travis, Realtor
August 17, 2008
Food for Thought
Note for Troubled Home Owners!
I decided to leave a special note for home owners who may have
purchased new construction or newer homes between 1998 and 2004.
All too frequently, during that period, there were many home buyers
who financed costly mortgage concessions or more than prudent yet
beautiful customized upgrades to their new home.
I am sure, at the time, the thinking was that the constant appreciation rate
would more than cover the recapture of these costs before it became time
to resell their home and move away.
Unfortunately, that has not been the case. Much lower than expected
appreciation rates have affected every price range and description of
home across the board, making it more difficult if not impossible, at times,
to complete a quick resell when it became necessary to make a move.
I won't discuss why all of this has happened. We have all, heard way too
much on that subject, already. Speculation does not bring the immediate
solutions that many home owners need.
What I want to discuss is a possible solution.
Whenever a home is overly improved for a neighborhood, it is indeed
more desirable than the surrounding homes. However, its value during
the resell process will allow very little consideration for a disproportionate
amount of improvement. It does not matter how very nice those extra
touches may be or what it cost to acquire them!
And even though, it has been nice having a lower monthly payment or to
have purchased with little or no upfront cash investment, that benefit stops
with the present owner. There is no benefit for the next or any future owner.
It is when it becomes the time to resell a home, that the difficulty arises.
The mortgage balance may be extremely high. But remember, that the
pay-off balance of the mortgage has absolutely nothing to do with what the
next home buyer is going to be willing to pay or what the appraised value
will be.
Usually, there is a median price range that home buyers expect to pay to
live in a specific neighborhood. Usually that price is measured by the amount
of the house payment the buyer must pay to live there.
Thank goodness, mortgage interest rates are extremely low!
And thank goodness, may lenders are now realizing that it is far better
to re-negotiate rates and/or mortgage pay-offs than to foreclose on many of
these homes.
But to get any relief from a lender, the lender must be asked for help. And,
although this is not a blanket permission, lenders are helping when it makes
good economic sense for them to do so.
Each home owner seeking relief from a lender must prove need and the
plausibility of the request.
If you find that you can no longer continue to pay for your home, then it is
time to get with your lender to discuss the situation.
You need to get with a Realtor, too. A Realtor can approach your lender with
accurate information that can affect the degree of relief that a lender may
be willing to offer you.
Don't wait. At the first sign of trouble, get the help you need.
Back to Find a Realtor / Lender
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