Saturday Reporter-Herald October 16, 2010 E1
Real Estate Matters
www.homeandrealtyguide.com • Saturday, October 16, 2010 • Reporter-Herald
What to expect when you refinance ILYCE GLINK TRIBUNE MEDIA SERVICES
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y husband and I closed on our refinance this week. It’s a 15-year fixedrate loan at 3.75 percent. Although we’re only going to save about $50 per month from the 15-year, 4.25 percent loan we closed on last November, I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to get a loan at this interest rate. It feels a little like free money, and after our mortgage interest deduction (assuming we’re still able to qualify for it), it will be as if we’re paying almost nothing to borrow these funds. But the best part about refinancing again was to see some of the new rules the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has put in place in order to help shut down the financial fraud that has permeated the world of mortgage financing. As for making the process more understandable to consumers? Having just gone through it, I’d say there’s a lot more work to be done. What can you expect when you’re closing on your mortgage loan? Here are some of the highlights from our own loan closing: • Expect to sign your name or initial every page. Our loan package (the collection of loan documents, disclosures, tax forms, etc.) was more than 80 pages long, I think. We had to sign just about all of the documents, and in some cases we had to initial virtually every page of the document. • Expect at least some of your information to be incorrect. Although the title company had access to much of my information, and other identifying information, my name was spelled incorrectly (several different ways) across the loan documents. On most pages, I simply corrected it, but that required me to initial next to the changes in addition to initialing the page at the bottom. But then we got to the HUD-1 form (the closing statement) and my name was spelled incorrectly there. And that caused a little bit of a snag, since you can’t change anything on the HUD-1 form (ostensibly to protect the borrower). We signed the forms anyway, and the title company was going to redo the first two pages of the form and then attach the signature page. Of course, the fact that the title company can make that switch is a huge red flag and an opportunity for fraud. • Expect the numbers to be wrong. After we had signed all the documents, we noticed that
Homeowners reinvent current spaces JENNIFER LEHMAN SPECIAL SECTIONS REPORTER
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he housing market is keeping some people in their homes that may have otherwise moved. Judy Magara, owner of Colorado Discount Blinds and Home Accent Warehouse, is doing a lot of remodels these days as people aren’t buying new homes as much, she said. “(Before) it was just too easy to sell that house and buy something bigger. They could make something on their house and leverage them up to buy. Let’s not bother with remodel, let’s just sell it and move up. Now they aren’t doing that as much,” Magara said. Homeowners also know that remodeling will make their home nicer if they choose to sell in the future. Cindy Corbett, owner of Loveland Design Carpet One, said she has seen a shift in how much energy people are focusing on reinventing spaces in their current homes. People are actively wanting to create a functional, comfortable, inviting space, a desire that is more prominent now, she said. “They are really focusing on things that they’ve always wanted to do in something they already own,” she said. “Before it was, let’s just get this home built and we’ll do that later.” One focus of optimizing and reinventing existing spaces within the
home is entertaining. “People are even taking out walls in their houses and opening up their kitchen and living room,” to make it more open for entertaining, Magara said. “It’s really fun to see houses get opened up, it just feels like a whole new house.” Corbett is seeing people tie high traffic areas like hallways, kitchens and great rooms together with hard surfaces and then using area rugs to create a sense of gathering where they want people to sit, such as beneath a dining room table or in a great room. Another focus is comfort, Magara said. People are very stressed with the economy and looking to their home for comfort, she said. “I think people are wanting to slow down,” Corbett said. “People are stressed and challenged now, and they want to create a safe home, a place that can really be a retreat for them and their family, and they are willing to invest in it.” Corbett said people are looking for flooring that feels good, and there is an increase in styles of softer carpets on the market. “There’s a lot you can do even with old fireplaces, lighting and area rugs and even just the right paint color on the wall can make a difference,” Magara said. Pillows, a throw blanket draped over a couch and even the right art on the walls can change the
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space, she said. Corbett and Magara have seen this trend of optimization and reinvention across age groups. Older couples make the choice to stay in their homes and want
to update it, and younger families are opening up their current space so they can hold family gatherings. Corbett described the shift in the perception of the home as moving
from a landing spot to crash and then zoom out the door the next morning, whereas now people are seeking a greater connection to their homes and to their families, she said.
FALL HOME IMPROVEMENT EDITION Starting on page E4
I See GLINK/Page E14
Inside this week’s Home & Real Estate
Real Estate Transactions Listings from Front Range properties recently sold
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Real Estate Marketplace update Interest rates on 15-year loans drop further
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Realtor of the Week Kristen Kasney, Velocity Real Estate & Investments, Inc.
Director y
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