How Much House Can You Get for $1?

Want an amazing deal? How about a sprawling, two-story farmhouse in Leesburg, VA for $1?

The catch: The land underneath is not for sale, and the buyer will have to pay to have the house carted away.

When Loudoun Country Day School moves this summer to a new $32 million, 70-acre campus, the eight-acre lot it is vacating will be turned into an assisted-living residence for 87 people.

In its application for a special-use permit for the site, the company agreed to investigate the history of the farmhouse and make it available to buyers interested in moving it. The 2,500-plus-square-foot house has been altered by the school, which uses it for offices and an after-school program. Whoever buys and moves it will need to get permission from the town, the county and possibly the Virginia Department of Transportation.

Cost would vary depending on how far the house had to go and how many utility lines it had to cross. But just to move it a few feet down the road, an operation that would involve lifting it off its foundation and attaching it to a tractor-trailer, would cost a minimum of $25,000.

After running two newspaper ads, the company received calls from about 10 interested buyers. Three offers were serious: a nonprofit organization, a medical facility and someone who wanted to convert it to short-term housing.

For more information regarding purchasing, selling or financing a home feel free to contact joan@roglianorealestategroup.com.

How to Sell a Vacant Home

Selling a home that is vacant can be harder than selling a lived-in home, experts say. Here are some ideas sellers should consider to protect an empty property and get it sold.

Give the house a lived-in look. Get a neighbor or family member to make the house look occupied by parking a car in the driveway, opening and closing the drapes and taking in any mail.

Groom the yard. Use a lawn service during the summer to keep the grass cut and a snow removal service in the winter to scrape the walks and driveway.

No outstanding nicks. Hide the effects of missing furniture. Paint and replace rugs so there are no faded spots or blemishes on the walls. Cover accent paint that alone looks odd.

Leave some furniture. A few chairs, tables, lamps and beds (or empty mattress boxes with spreads) give buyers a sense of space.

Keep the utilities on. Set the thermostat at a comfortable level during the winter and summer.

Hire a maid. Make sure the home remains spotless.

Check the homeowner’s policy. Understand the coverage when the home is vacant.

For more information on staging your home to sell contact joan@roglianorealestategroup.com, www.roglianorealestategroup.com.

More Single Women Buying Homes

Record numbers of single women are buying homes. If you're a single woman who wants to buy a house, the good news is the market is wide open for you.

The stats from the Joint Center for Housing Studies say:

• More than one in five home buyers is a single woman.
• Twice as many unmarried women are buying homes than single men.
• Single women make up more than one-third of the growth in real estate ownership since 1994.

Women home buyers come in all sizes, shapes and ages. They are divorced, never married, separated, widowed; some have children, others live with friends or partners and many live alone.

Trends for Single Women Home Buyers:

• 3 out of 4 women spend less than $200,000.
• Prefer 2 bedrooms or more.
• Less likely to choose new construction.
• Buy in city over suburban areas.
• Will compromise size & cost to get other amenities.
• Will not compromise on location or quality of neighborhood.
• Prefer condominiums and garden homes over single family homes.
• Smaller spaces are acceptable.
• Desire security and / or gated access.
• Like to engage in social interaction with neighbors.
• Want close proximity to stores, shopping and fitness centers.


So what are you waiting for? Get out there and find a place that you can call home that is all yours!


For information about finding your perfect home and financing programs feel free to contact joan@roglianorealestategroup.com.

Happy Earth Day!

In honor of Earth Day we would like to suggest 4 simple things you can do to make a difference:

Pay attention to how you use water. The little things can make a big difference. Every time you turn off the water while you're brushing your teeth, you're doing something good. Got a leaky toilet? You might be wasting 200 gallons of water a day. Try drinking tap water instead of bottled water, so you aren't wasting all that packaging as well. Wash your clothes in cold water when you can.

Leave your car at home. If you can stay off the road just two days a week, you'll reduce greenhouse gas emissions by an average of 1,590 pounds per year. Combine your errands -- hit the post office, grocery store and shoe repair place in one trip. It will save you gas and time. Walk or ride your bike to work, school and anywhere you can. If you can't walk or bike, use mass transit or carpool. Every car not on the road makes a difference.

Recycle. You can help reduce pollution just by putting that soda can in a different bin. If you're trying to choose between two products, pick the one with the least packaging. If an office building of 7,000 workers recycled all of its office paper waste for a year, it would be the equivalent of taking almost 400 cars off the road.

Compost. Think about how much trash you make in a year. Reducing the amount of solid waste you produce in a year means taking up less space in landfills, so your tax dollars can work somewhere else. Plus, compost makes a great natural fertilizer. Composting is easier than you think.

Joan Rogliano is the Founder of The Wildflower Group, an organization that strives to empower women with practical information about finances and real estate, and to create a sense of community. For more information visit www.wildflowergroup.net.

Big Changes for Real Estate Appraisals

On May 1 the national rules for real estate appraisals will change dramatically for lenders who want to sell their loans to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which accounts for the 70% of today’s loan applications.

Lenders will have to adopt what's known as the "HVCC" - the home valuation code of conduct - and guarantee that every loan they sell to Fannie or Freddie complies with the code completely.

The new code will ban mortgage brokers from ordering appraisals, and will push much of the business to third-party appraisal management companies.

Those management firms, in turn, select appraisers from their own networks, leaving many of the appraisers out of the loop.

Management companies generally only deal with appraisers who'll work for much lower fees than they'd normally charge. However, this savings is not passed on to the consumer. The management company earns a 40% -60% profit margin on each transaction.

Since many of the network appraisal may not be familiar with local markets, the quality of the appraisal as well as the turn around time may be negatively impacted. This could result in closing delays as well as additional cost for appraisal reveiws and in some cases, second appraisals.

Mortgage groups are not enthusiastic about the May 1 changeover either, and the Appraisal Institute has been scathingly critical of the mandatory push to low-pay management companies.

There is one way to avoid the hassles associated with the May 1 changes: Switch to FHA financing, rather than conventional. FHA has its own long-standing appraisal rules, and doesn't plan to adopt Fannie's or Freddie's code.

The FHA loan limit in the Denver Metro is $406,250.

For more information regarding purchasing, selling or financing a home feel free to contact joan@roglianorealestategroup.com.

More Good News About the Housing Market

Check out last week's developments:

Mortgage applications for purchases of resale and new homes were up again -- eight percent for applications using conventional loans, and a remarkable 17 percent gain in applications to buy houses using low-downpayment FHA mortgages.

Mortgage rates remain at near historic lows, though they may be bottoming out. Thirty-year fixed rates rose a tenth of a percent on average last week, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association, to 4.7 percent. Fifteen year rates stayed flat, around four and a half percent.

A group of new consumer-sentiment polls came out showing that Americans are feeling better about their economic prospects for the first time in months. A survey of 15,000 adults by Discover Financial Services recorded a significant jump in confidence between February and March. A New York Times/CBS poll of 1,000 consumers found the same. The Times even put the results at the top its front page with the headline: "Poll finds Brightening Outlook on U.S. Economy."

Members of the National Association of Home Builders reported that shoppers' visits to look at new houses for sale are "on the rise and consumer interest is increasing.” The association also announced that more than half of all U.S. households -- 55 million of them -- can now afford to buy the median priced $200,000 new home. That's up 45 percent in the past 24 months.

Even Business Week, which has been particularly harsh on housing in recent years, ran a cover story about the turnaround getting underway -- focusing on hard-hit areas of Florida, California and Las Vegas, where sales have been rising fast and unsold inventory taking a plunge.

All of this good news may be an indication that the housing market is back on its way up!

For more information regarding purchasing, selling or financing a home feel free to contact joan@roglianorealestategroup.com.

Spring Fling Fashion Show

Join Us as we Support our WFG Models!

Date:

April 23rd, 6:00 - 8:30 P.M.

Show begins at 7:00

Location:

7899 S. Lincoln Ct, Littleton, CO

Prime time clothes for prime time women accessorized with Silpada jewelry. Enjoy accessible clothes from local designer James Silvrants modeled by our very own "Wildflowers".

James is also a renowned makeup artist, and he will be choosing audience members to make simple suggestions for a fresh look.

Grab some friends and a munchie and join us as we

Fling Into Spring!

For additional information call: Joan Rogliano, (303) 667-5485

RSVP's to info@wildflowergroup.com

Joan Rogliano is the Founder of The Wildflower Group, an organization that strives to empower women with practical information about finances and real estate, and to create a sense of community. For more information visit www.wildflowergroup.net.

What is a Walk Score?

How It Works


Walk Score helps people find walkable places to live. Walk Score calculates the walkability of an address by locating nearby stores, restaurants, schools, parks, etc. Walk Score measures how easy it is to live a car-lite lifestyle—not how pretty the area is for walking.

Picture a walkable neighborhood. You lose weight each time you walk to the grocery store. You stumble home from last call without waiting for a cab. You spend less money on your car—or you don't own a car. When you shop, you support your local economy. You talk to your neighbors.

What makes a neighborhood walkable?


· A center: Walkable neighborhoods have a discernable center, whether it's a shopping district, a main street, or a public space.
· Density: The neighborhood is compact enough for local businesses to flourish and for public transportation to run frequently.
· Mixed income, mixed use: Housing is provided for everyone who works in the neighborhood: young and old, singles and families, rich and poor. Businesses and residences are located near each other.
· Parks and public space: There are plenty of public places to gather and play.
· Pedestrian-centric design: Buildings are placed close to the street to cater to foot traffic, with parking lots relegated to the back.
· Nearby schools and workplaces: Schools and workplaces are close enough that most residents can walk from their homes.

What does my score mean?

Your Walk Score is a number between 0 and 100. Here are general guidelines for interpreting your score:
· 90–100 = Walkers' Paradise: Most errands can be accomplished on foot and many people get by without owning a car.
· 70–89 = Very Walkable: It's possible to get by without owning a car.
· 50–69 = Somewhat Walkable: Some stores and amenities are within walking distance, but many everyday trips still require a bike, public transportation, or car.
· 25–49 = Car-Dependent: Only a few destinations are within easy walking range. For most errands, driving or public transportation is a must.
· 0–24 = Car-Dependent (Driving Only): Virtually no neighborhood destinations within walking range. You can walk from your house to your car!


Want to know your walk score? Just go to http://www.walkscore.com/ and type in any address in the U.S.


If you would like information on real estate in your area feel free to contact joan@roglianorealestategroup.com, http://www.roglianorealestategroup.com/.

Here Comes Peter Cottontail...

The Friends of the Littleton Library and Museum's 43rd Annual Easter Egg Hunt will be held this weekend.

Saturday, April 11, 2009 - 10:00 a.m.

Ketring Park 6000 S. Gallup St., Littleton (just north of the Littleton Historical Museum)

The Easter Bunny will be hiding Easter eggs and goodies at Ketring Park and all children under 11 are invited to bring their Easter baskets and join in the fun & frenzied egg hunting.

The egg hunt starts promptly at 10:00 a.m. and will be broken down by age group.

The event is outdoors, free to the public and will take place come rain or shine -- be sure to dress your little egg hunters accordingly.

For more information or directions, please call the Littleton Historical Museum: 303-795-3950

Joan Rogliano is the Founder of The Wildflower Group, an organization that strives to empower women with practical information about finances and real estate, and to create a sense of community. For more information visit www.wildflowergroup.net.

Along with the Spring Flowers We Welcome Promising Numbers in the Housing Market

The good news keeps rolling in about the small but important turnaround underway in the home real estate market.

Last week's headliner was the second straight monthly gain in pending home sales -- up nearly 11 percent in the Northeast, 15 percent in the Midwest, and 4.4 percent in the Southern states.
On top of that, the ability of consumers to buy a house, as measured by the National Association of Realtors' Affordability Index, hit a record new high last month thanks to declining home prices and record-low mortgage rates.

Bottom line is that median priced houses haven't been more affordable to more households in decades!

Mortgage rates continued to drop last week -- even from the record lows the week before, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. Thirty year rates now average just 4.6 percent and 15-year fixed loans average 4.45 percent with about a point.

Meanwhile, there were other positive economic signs popping up like spring daffodils. For example, both the major indexes that measure consumer confidence, which is a key driver of home buying, were up slightly in the last month. The University of Michigan's survey and the Conference Board's index both registered small gains. Both, however, remain at low levels in comparison to non-recession periods in past years.

Also, Consumer spending registered a small increase, up by seven tenths of a percent in the last month. Personal income was up slightly as well.

All in all, not a bad set of reports in the middle of an economic recession and financial crisis.
It all points to much better days for real estate as we proceed through the year.

For information about finding or selling a home feel free to contact joan@roglianorealestategroup.com.

Mortgage Reform Bill Proposed

A massive new mortgage reform bill, introduced by House financial services committee chairman, Barney Frank, has Washington real estate and banking groups buzzing.

The bill, which is expected to pass the House easily this month and go to the Senate in May, would change home mortgage lending fundamentally.

Here's how. It would discourage lenders from making anything but "plain vanilla" 30-year fixed rate mortgages with full documentation and strict underwriting.

It would require lenders that originate other types of loans to retain at least a five percent ownership stake in the loan for its full term, even if it gets sold in the secondary mortgage bond market.

If the loan ultimately went bad, the originator would own a piece of the loss -- unlike today's system, where they can sell them and forget them.

A second major change -- the bill would prohibit loan officers from receiving any fee tied to the interest rate or terms of the mortgage. During the boom years, mortgage brokers routinely were paid fatter fees by Wall Street for delivering higher-rate, higher-risk mortgages.

The bill also creates what it calls a new "federal duty of care" that would legally require lenders to ensure that a mortgage is suitable for the borrower in terms of income and ability to repay.
All refinances would have to pass what the bill calls a "net tangible benefit" test before closing. In other words, homeowners couldn't be refinanced unless the replacement loan is better for them financially than their existing loan.

Critics say forcing small and mid-sized mortgage companies to set aside capital to cover potential losses would put many of them in financial hardship.

Supporters say the 151-page bill would have gone a long way to preventing mortgage lending excesses during the housing boom, especially no-documentation, negative amortization and zero down payment deals, had it been federal law before the boom started in 2002 or 2003.

For more information regarding purchasing, selling or financing a home feel free to contact joan@roglianorealestategroup.com.