Zillow is emerging as a powerhouse of unfettered opinion in the housing sector, based on their love for housing market data.  Regional recovery is still mixed so we are going to need more than optimism to believe that this market is beginning to stabilize.  Zillow Chief Economist Stan Humphries has been in the public eye in the last few days and he outlined the housing market drivers that could stimulate or stall any recovery on CBS Moneywatch.  In the true spirit of journalism, here is a voice that doesn’t have ties to your net worth or your bonus.

Abuse to one person may be fair play to another.  Where do you stand today on the field of credit?  Many of us have watched our net worth plummet and our retirement savings disappear. Some of us have received handsome performance bonuses for generating substantial profits based on formulas that don’t take into consideration looming write-downs that substantially influence our financial system.  Do you think that regulation will help curb the instability?

I’ve attached a list that I was given for your review.  The list was described to me as potential costs that might be included in the APR (Annual Percentage Rate) of a mortgage.

Do you see anything that shoudn’t be there?  Or should be added?

APR_fees

Here’s a note that came out of the HUD newsletter on October 1st:

The National Housing Act requires that elderly homeowners seeking an FHA Home Equity Conversion Mortgage – a “reverse mortgage” – must receive counseling “provided by counselors who meet qualification standards..”    A final rule published in the September 2nd, Federal Register establishes a roster of counselors who have met these standards and from which counselors should be chosen.  For more, visit http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/2009/E9-21076.htm

It is usually a rather expensive means of gaining access to home equity, but in some cases a reverse mortgage  may fill a gap that is ultimately a real help.  The number of professionals working in this field today is growing rapidy.  Look for experience and a good referral.

You deserve to know a little about the  law that governs real estate agency in Washington State.  The Law of Real Estate Agency is required to be given to every potenial client considering entering into an agency relationship with a real estate licensee in our state.

True story; I’m an old skier.  And what does that have to do with the NAHBR?  And what does any of that have to do with deciding whether to stay in your home as you age, or sell it and move in with a group of people you hardly know? 

Tens years or so ago I met a man who was also an old skier.  We’d both spent some of our youth living in the Rocky Mountains and devoting our time testing our balance while in frictionless motion sliding down steep hillsides covered in snow.  We were working together now on the renovation of a commercial building on the shores of Lake Union.  Mike was the project manager representing the general contractor.  Mike travels in a wheelchair.  I have this memory of him negotiating over a debris covered jobsite that’s probably more romance than reality.  His people knew better than to impede the progress of his chair.  His was the only chair that I saw on a jobsite in thirty five years of my experience in that industry.  He makes an impact.

Imagine my surprise today when I saw his name as a speaker at our weekly CBBain real estate forum.  I was fascinated to see the article that was written about him on the NAHBR website: Selling Universal and Green Remodels.  

The forum is entitled “Designing for Life”.  You’ll see from Mike’s website at

Stewardship Remodeling that he believes that home design should be for life and that if it is done correctly, it should allow us to live out our lives there.  When you understand this approach you can see that one of the paths that it leads to our interest in the impact of aging on real estate.

Is it fair to ask an elder to leave the home that they’ve grown to love?  Is there a way to recognize our own concerns for the safety of our elders and the possibilities that may exist for them staying home?

I’ve just opened up a new blog on the Omnia Alliance site.  It’s a little like “work.”  The goal is to write an article a week on my experiences in International and Seniors real estate.  There should be lots of links to more information about topics that are affecting many of us now.  We’ll discuss whether it is a good time to sell a home or buy one, what sorts of experiences we are having with elders who don’t want to move away from their homes and if there are any financial tools that can help with senior care.  I hope you will join me on Capitol Hill  and comment or ask questions.  I’d love to be able to share information with you.  I look forward to seeing you there.