Horizon Properties Inc. is Guam’s leading real estate services provider and property managementcompany. We work diligently to fulfill the requirements of buyers and renters, while working towards a smooth, hassle-free transaction for sellers. Our innovative and “customer first” approach towardsproperty management results
in outstanding property care and profitability.
Wednesday, August 21, 2013
New Missile Defense sent to Guam - www.horizonpropertiesguam.com
Horizon Properties Inc. is Guam’s leading real estate services provider and property managementcompany. We work diligently to fulfill the requirements of buyers and renters, while working towards a smooth, hassle-free transaction for sellers. Our innovative and “customer first” approach towardsproperty management results
in outstanding property care and profitability.
Friday, August 16, 2013
Tax Break: Buy Your Parents Home and Rent it Back to Them - www.horizonpropertiesguam.com
Tax Break: Buy Your Parents Home,
Rent it Back to Them
Horizon Properties Inc. is Guam’s leading real estate services provider and property managementcompany. We work diligently to fulfill the requirements of buyers and renters, while working towards a smooth, hassle-free transaction for sellers. Our innovative and “customer first” approach towardsproperty management results
in outstanding property care and profitability.
Thursday, February 14, 2013
2013 Tax Tips - www.horizonpropertiesguam.com
Be informed and ready with your
taxes, with these informative 2013 Tax Tips:
Don't-Miss Home Tax Breaks:
9 Easy Mistakes Home Owners Make on
Their Taxes:
How to Deduct Your Mortgage Interest
& Equity Loan Costs:
6 Home Deduction Traps and How to
Avoid Them:
What You Can and Can't Deduct When
You Work From Home:
Horizon Properties Inc. is Guam’s leading real estate services provider and property managementcompany. We work diligently to fulfill the requirements of buyers and renters, while working towards a smooth, hassle-free transaction for sellers. Our innovative and “customer first” approach towardsproperty management results in outstanding property care and profitability.
Monday, January 7, 2013
Realtors® Recognize Innovative Ideas from School of the Future Design Competition Winners - www.horizonpropertiesguam.com
WASHINGTON (April 27, 2012) – Six teams of middle school students participating in the annual School of the Future Design Competition were in Washington, D.C., this week displaying their plans to design environmentally responsive schools that enhance learning and engage the surrounding community. The competition encourages students from all over the world to work in teams to plan and design a school that will improve the learning environment and the facility’s energy efficiency, as well as be sensitive to the environment. This year’s winners were announced last night during an event held at the National Association of Realtors® building.
“Schools that foster student achievement, conserve resources and enhance the surrounding community are vital to every neighborhood nationwide,” said NAR President Moe Veissi, broker-owner of Veissi & Associates Inc., in Miami. “Realtors® care deeply about improving communities and these creative designs produced by six outstanding student teams do just that. Along with Realtors® in every community, I am honored to recognize each team in the School of the Future Design Competition.”
Each student-led team is required to submit a project model made from recycled materials, a short video or presentation, and a 750-word narrative description outlining the planning process and the reasoning behind their design. Six finalist teams receive a trip to D.C. to present their projects to the national design jury. The School of the Future Design Competition is part of School Building Week, April 23–27. The week is sponsored by NAR and the Council of Educational Facility Planners International along with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the American Institute of Architects, the American Federation of Teachers, the National Education Association, the U.S. Green Building Council and more than 20 associations and private companies.
This year the Awards of Excellence went to Teeland Middle School in Wasilla, Ala. and Imago Dei Middle School in Tucson, Ariz. The Awards of Distinction went to Highfield Humanities College in Blackpool, United Kingdom. Seneca Middle School in Macomb, Mich.; University Middle School in Waco, Texas; and Newtown Middle School in Newtown, Conn. received the Awards of Merit.
The Teeland Middle School team received $2,000 in conjunction with their Award of Excellence. The team’s school of the future is designed on a landfill and constructed of carbon nanotubes, a strong material synthesized from carbon-rich compounds such as plastic. The interior walls would be covered in solar wallpaper and made of landfill-mined materials. Each building would have vegetative roofing that helps insulate the structure and collect storm water. The school would also house students in a dormitory, offer classes to get students interested in various career paths and a gym and pool that are open to the entire community.
A second Award of Excellence and $2,000 prize was given to the team from Imago Dei Middle School. Their plan is a school designed for the children of Niger in West Africa. The plan calls for using local resources such as plastic bottles and bamboo and is mainly powered by solar components. The structure would use natural light and shade sails of woven bamboo to provide relief from the extreme heat. The students also designed a portable school made out of the same materials as those for the permanent structure. The portable school would allow children to attend classes who cannot travel to the main campus.
The only international student-led team, Highland Humanities College, was presented with the Award of Distinction and awarded $1,500. The students’ unique design consists of a building built inside a sand dune on the seafront. A side of the building is made of glass so that at high-tide the sea covers the building, allowing students to observe sea life. Students could also sleep overnight at the school in individual pods. The entire building would be powered by renewable energy, as well as wave and wind power.
Three schools received the Award of Merit and a $1,000 prize. Seneca Middle School’s design is located in a historic Ford Motor factory and focuses on community recovery, as well as engaging students’ senses with technology and hands-on activities. University Middle School maximizes solar energy through solar panels on the roof of their school, as well as rooftop gardens allowing students to harvest food. Newtown Middle School’s design consists of a central campus surrounded by a 10 acre orchard and two community gardens. School buses would also be equipped with gasoline filters that reduce emissions.
The National Association of Realtors®, “The Voice for Real Estate,” is America’s largest trade association, representing 1 million members involved in all aspects of the residential and commercial real estate industries.
Horizon Properties Inc. is Guam’s leading real estate services provider and property managementcompany. We work diligently to fulfill the requirements of buyers and renters, while working towards a smooth, hassle-free transaction for sellers. Our innovative and “customer first” approach towardsproperty management results in outstanding property care and profitability.
Monday, December 31, 2012
Home Sales and Job Creation would Rise with Sensible Lending Standards - www.horizonpropertiesguam.com
WASHINGTON (September 17, 2012) – New survey findings, combined with an analysis of historic credit scores and loan performance, show home sales could be notably higher by returning to reasonably safe and sound lending standards, which also would create new jobs, according to theNational Association of Realtors®.
Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, said there would be enormous benefits to the U.S. economy if mortgage lending conditions return to normal. “Sensible lending standards would permit 500,000 to 700,000 additional home sales in the coming year,” he said. “The economic activity created through these additional home sales would add 250,000 to 350,000 jobs in related trades and services almost immediately, and without a cost impact.”
A monthly survey* of Realtors® shows widespread concern over unreasonably tight credit conditions for residential mortgages. Respondents indicate that tight conditions are continuing, lenders are taking too long in approving applications, and that the information lenders require from borrowers is excessive. Some respondents expressed frustration that lenders appear to be focusing only on loans to individuals with the highest credit scores.
Even though profits in the financial industry have climbed back strongly to pre-recession levels, lending standards still remain unreasonably tight.
Yun said all it takes is a willingness to recognize that market conditions have turned in the wake of an over-correction in home prices, with all of the price measures now showing sustained gains. “There is an unnecessarily high level of risk aversion among mortgage lenders and regulators, although many are sitting on large volumes of cash which could go a long way toward speeding our economic recovery. A loosening of the overly restrictive lending standards is very much in order,” he said.
Respondents to the NAR survey report that 53 percent of loans in August went to borrowers with credit scores above 740. In comparison, only 41 percent of loans backed by Fannie Mae had FICO scores above 740 during the 2001 to 2004 time period, while 43 percent of Freddie Mac-backed loans were above 740.
In 2011, about 75 percent of total loans purchased by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which are now a smaller market share, had credit scores of 740 or above.
There is a similar pattern for FHA loans. The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency has defined a prime loan as having a FICO score of 660 and above. However, the average FICO score for denied applications on FHA loans was 669 in May of this year, well above the 656 average for loans actually originated in 2001.
Loan performance over the past decade shows the 12-month default rate averaged just under 0.4 percent of mortgages in 2002 and 2003, which is considered normal. Twelve-month default rates peaked in 2007 at 3.0 percent for Fannie Mae loans and 2.5 percent for Freddie Mac loans, clearly showing the devastating impact of risky mortgages.
Yun said home buyers in recent years have been highly successful. Since 2009, the 12-month default rates have been abnormally low. Fannie Mae default rates have averaged 0.2 percent while Freddie Mac’s averaged 0.1 percent, which are notable given higher unemployment in the timeframe.
Under normal conditions, existing-home sales should be in the range of 5.0 to 5.5 million. “Sales this year are projected to rise 8 to 10 percent. Although welcoming, this still represents a sub-par performance of about 4.6 million sales,” Yun said. “These findings show we need to return to the sound underwriting standards that existed before the aberrations of the housing boom and bust cycle, and thoroughly re-examine current and impending regulatory rules that may cause excessively tight standards.”
The National Association of Realtors®, “The Voice for Real Estate,” is America’s largest trade association, representing 1 million members involved in all aspects of the residential and commercial real estate industries.
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*Data derived from a monthly survey for the Realtors® Confidence Indexbased, on over 3,000 member responses, posted at www.Realtor.org.
Horizon Properties Inc. is Guam’s leading real estate services provider and property managementcompany. We work diligently to fulfill the requirements of buyers and renters, while working towards a smooth, hassle-free transaction for sellers. Our innovative and “customer first” approach towardsproperty management results in outstanding property care and profitability.
Horizon Properties Inc. is Guam’s leading real estate services provider and property managementcompany. We work diligently to fulfill the requirements of buyers and renters, while working towards a smooth, hassle-free transaction for sellers. Our innovative and “customer first” approach towardsproperty management results in outstanding property care and profitability.
Monday, December 24, 2012
Low Valuation in Home Appraisals Causing Steady Level of Contract Glitches - www.horizonpropertiesguam.com
WASHINGTON (October 10, 2012) – The real estate market is recovering but still faces hurdles, notably from tight mortgage credit, but problems with a sizeable share of real estate appraisals also are holding back home sales, according to survey findings by the National Association of Realtors®.
Most appraisers are competent and provide good valuations that are compliant with the Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice. However, appraisals generally lag market conditions and some changes to the appraisal process have been causing problems in recent years, including the use of out-of-area valuators without local expertise or full access to local data, inappropriate comparisons, and excessive lender demands. In addition, before the beginning of last year, some lenders’ loan processors edited valuations, cutting them by a certain percentage.
Although 65 percent of Realtors® surveyed in September report no contract problems relating to home appraisals over the past three months,* 11 percent said a contract was cancelled because an appraised value came in below the price negotiated between the buyer and seller, 9 percent reported a contract was delayed, and 15 percent said a contract was renegotiated to a lower sales price as a result of a low valuation. These findings are notable given that homes in many areas are selling for less than replacement construction costs.
Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, said there has been a steady level of appraisal issues for quite some time. “Though the real estate recovery is taking place, the combined issues of stringent mortgage lending requirements and appraisal frictions are hampering otherwise qualified buyers from purchasing a home in a timely fashion, and in some cases are preventing them from buying at all,” he said.
Major problems reported by Realtors® include:
• Some appraisers are using foreclosures, short sales and run-down properties as comparable homes, and are not making adjustments for market conditions or the condition of the property.
• Appraised values that do not reflect market conditions such as rising prices, the presence of multi-bidding and low inventory.
• Appraised values are very inconsistent and fluctuate widely.
• Out-of-town appraisers, who are not familiar with the area or local market conditions, are being used.
• Turn-around time by both appraisers and banks is slow, which delays closings.
A large concern is that some appraisers working for an Appraisal Management Company are operating under strict and limited parameters due to bank lending criteria, which appears to be related to banking regulations or risk aversion on the part of the lender. Furthermore, unreasonable “put back” risks imposed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac could also cause banks to set unrealistic requirements for appraisers.
There is a clear difference between the value of distressed property and non-distressed homes, and some appraisers do not currently distinguish between these types of properties when making comparisons for valuation purposes. NAR data shows that the typical foreclosure is sold for an average discount of 20 percent relative to traditional homes in good condition, while the typical short sale is discounted by 15 percent.
Many of the inappropriate comparisons appear to be made by appraisers lacking local expertise, who generally live outside of the market where the appraised property is located – often without full access to local data from a multiple listing service.
NAR President Moe Veissi, broker-owner of Veissi & Associates Inc., in Miami, said some appraisal practices lack common sense. “Our long-standing policy is that all appraisals should be done by licensed or certified professionals with local expertise, which also is what Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac recommend, but clearly this isn’t practiced universally,” he said.
NAR has long advocated for an independent appraisal process and enhanced education requirements that allow appraisers to produce the most accurate reports possible. However, appraisers have faced undue pressure – whether from a lender or an AMC – to complete appraisals using distressed sales as comps, to complete an appraisal in an unacceptably short time frame, and to complete a scope of work that is not justified by the fee being offered.
These are major problems. In addition, some appraisers are required to provide as many as eight to 10 comparable sales, which almost guarantee the use of distressed properties as comps in many cases.
Previously, three comparable homes were the norm for most appraisals. In many cases there simply aren’t enough apples-to-apples comps to comply with the excessive demands by lenders, so discounted distressed homes are sometimes used in valuating traditional homes in good condition without appropriate adjustments.
“In short, there has been an inconsistent appraisal process leading to disruptive delays for home buyers and sellers,” Veissi said. “All home valuations should be made without undue pressure from any source. Even so, buyers, sellers and agents are free to ask appraisers to consider additional data and to correct errors, or discuss unique aspects of the home, the neighborhood or properties used as comps.”
The appraisal industry has made strides in adapting to market conditions, expanding education and making appropriate adjustments for distressed homes that are used as comps. It appears many of the remaining problems are tied to appraisals made through AMCs.
Fortunately, the level of distressed sales is trending down – they accounted for about one-third of all sales in 2011, but have averaged roughly a quarter of sales in recent months. By 2013 NAR expects the distressed market share to decline to about 10 to 15 percent. As distressed inventory is cleared from the market over the next two years, it should help to correct ongoing problems.
“In the meantime, buyers, sellers and real estate agents need to be aware that there are problems with some real estate appraisals, but also be aware of their rights to communicate with appraisers and lenders about errors or concerns with individual valuations,” Veissi said. “In some cases, a second appraisal may be justified.”
The National Association of Realtors®, “The Voice for Real Estate,” is America’s largest trade association, representing 1 million members involved in all aspects of the residential and commercial real estate industries.
The National Association of Realtors®, “The Voice for Real Estate,” is America’s largest trade association, representing 1 million members involved in all aspects of the residential and commercial real estate industries.
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*Data on appraisal issues are from a monthly survey for the Realtors® Confidence Index, posted at www.Realtor.org. The findings from a panel of NAR members typically are based on more than 3,000 monthly responses.
NOTE: Existing-home sales for September will be reported October 19 at 10:00 a.m. EDT
Horizon Properties Inc. is Guam’s leading real estate services provider and property managementcompany. We work diligently to fulfill the requirements of buyers and renters, while working towards a smooth, hassle-free transaction for sellers. Our innovative and “customer first” approach towardsproperty management results in outstanding property care and profitability.
Horizon Properties Inc. is Guam’s leading real estate services provider and property managementcompany. We work diligently to fulfill the requirements of buyers and renters, while working towards a smooth, hassle-free transaction for sellers. Our innovative and “customer first” approach towardsproperty management results in outstanding property care and profitability.