http://www.freerateupdate.com/current-30-yr-mortgage-interest-rates-near-4-625-current-adjustable-mortgage-rates-down-4070

The Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office and Choo Choo Dive and Aquatic Center have joined together to teach more than 3,400 hundred children in Hamilton County Schools.

The lessons will be ongoing between January and May.

This program is based on the American Red Cross water safety DVD, which is watched by the students before doing hands-on work.  The class is taught by Deputy John Scruggs and Mrs. Cooke.

Aquatic Dive Center manager, Steve Newman is on hand to teach swimming lessons as well.  He feels that many of the children and their parents are not water safety aware. The purpose of this program is to teach a core of students in the hope of them passing what they have learned to their siblings, family members and friends.

One hour training is spent on learning water safety basics along with phrases that are easy to remember for helping potential drowning victims, and remembering to wear life jackets.

Other water safety ideas for the home are also discussed.  Considering that so many deaths occur as a result of drowning each year, and hospitalizations for near drowning, this is truly a valuable program.

It’s obvious that the students of Hamilton County and their safety is a concern.  Hamilton County Schools cover  a wide area of Chattanooga Tennessee.

What is an Eco-Friendly Home?

An eco-friendly home is any house that strives to reduce energy usage either during the building process or for average, everyday use. Green Home Building Standards have been established by the National Association of Homebuilders (NAHB), which strives to ensure that ecologically sound building practices meet structurally sound ones no matter where you live.

Some of the components of a “green” home include:

• Energy-efficient features, including appliances and windows with the Energy Star rating. This can also be accomplished by doing simple things like using more efficient lighting fixtures and light bulbs.

• Water-efficient features, including Energy Star ratings on toilets, showers, faucets, dishwashers, and washing machines. At a more advanced level, this can include water recirculation systems and on-site wastewater treatment systems.

• Resource-efficient features, which generally come from structural changes that have to do with house size and layout, window placement, heat conservation efforts, and even using fast-renewing resources (like bamboo) for the floor or other building materials.

• Quality air features, which provide good ventilation without introducing toxins into the air either inside or outside the home.

• Outdoor features, including landscaping that contributes to the local vegetation, and the use of permeable materials for driveways and walkway. Water waste should also be reduced wherever possible.

Purchasing a Green Home

One of the greatest things about eco-friendly homes in the Chattanooga region is that most of the costs are figured in during the building process. This means that if you’re in the market to purchase a green home, you will only have to help maintain the work that’s already been done. While this can increase the initial price tag of your new TN home, chances are that it will save you large amounts of money as the years progress.

In an age where it’s becoming increasingly more important to give back to the environment, more and more homeowners in the Chattanooga area are looking for ways to reduce their carbon footprint. It doesn’t matter whether you purchase a new home in Ooltewah or an older building with recent renovations in Hixson, Barry Evans can help you find a way to combine your love of the environment with the home of your dreams.

The rules from the U.S. Treasury, which also allow financial incentives for both sellers and lenders, could figure prominently in Central Florida’s housing market, where about one in every five existing-home purchases involves a short sale.

Gary Balanoff, a real-estate agent with Re/Max Select in Oviedo, tells his clients to expect at least a 60-day wait when they try to buy or sell a home via a short sale. And as Treasury’s expedited short-sale process emerges between now and April, he said, he’s not going to tell his clients any differently.

“It’s a very, very tough process to get some degree of standards,” Balanoff said of short sales. “I think this will help – it will put more pressure to comply and get quicker results. … Three or four months of waiting for an answer is not doing anyone any good – even lenders.”

The effect of the new rules will likely be somewhat limited because only banks that owe the federal government TARP bailout funds must comply. And according to Balanoff, even when certain banks do push for faster short sales, there is so little consistency among mortgage negotiators that he doesn’t expect the new deadline measures to be applied or enforced evenly.

In a short sale, the homeowner sells the property for less than what is owed on the mortgage, and the lender forgives the difference. Many of the single-family mortgage holders in Central Florida are “under water,” meaning they owe more than their homes are currently worth.

According to the Orlando Regional Realtor Association, 20 percent of its members’ existing-home sales in December were short sales. Another 43 percent were bank-owned properties, and the remaining 37 percent were “normal” resales.

While short sales are considered an ideal solution for banks and for “under water” homeowners on the verge of foreclosure, the deals often drag on as lenders take weeks or months to decide what to do. Frustrated buyers sometimes walk away during the delays. In some cases, lenders insist that the borrowers share in the financial loss, which holds up the transactions even longer. As a result, homes stay on the market, prolonging the housing downturn.

The Treasury rules, in addition to imposing a 10-day deadline for bank decisions, call for sellers to receive $1,500 moving allowances – and for the sellers to not have to repay any of the debt.

Also, lenders will get $1,000 to cover administrative and processing costs, while investors owning the mortgages will receive a maximum $1,000 for allowing as much as $3,000 of a short sale’s proceeds to be distributed to less senior lenders.

The 83 loan servicers participating in the Obama administration’s Making Home Affordable loan-modification program, including Bank of America and JPMorgan Chase, are required to follow the guidelines for all borrowers who have requested short sales or who did not complete loan modifications.

The rules do not specifically apply to loans guaranteed by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac, which constitute about half of all U.S. mortgage debt. The two government-run mortgage companies are working on their own guidelines.

The Treasury plan, which must be implemented by lenders no later than April, is meant to help sellers like Dawn Sclafani, who has been waiting since October for her lender to approve a short sale offer on her South Florida home. A buyer has offered $155,000, and she owes $233,000.

Sclafani, a 50-year-old psychologist who lives in Margate, said she is eager for her bank to approve the deal so she can put the experience behind her. “I want to move on … but I can’t until somebody gives me permission to,” she said. “I’ve heard that this is a horrendous process. The banks are just not very cooperative. I do believe these new rules will help.”

U.S. Rep Ron Klein, D-Boca Raton, said the guidelines are meant to make short sales “a more usable tool.” Klein notes that the rules provide standardized paperwork for all short sales, and give buyers and sellers a more reasonable time frame for finding out whether or not the sales will happen.

But Klein and others say the government may have to increase the financial incentives. The $3,000 cap on short-sale proceeds to less-senior lenders is not sitting well with second-lien holders, who have been demanding more money from sellers, the first lenders and real-estate agents in exchange for releasing their claims and allowing the short sales to proceed.

“This is a great program if all these mortgages had only one lien holder,” said Travis Hamel Olsen, chief operating officer for Loan Resolution Corp., an Arizona company that helps lenders complete short sales. “But many of these properties have two liens.”

Some Florida real-estate agents remain skeptical of the guidelines. Broward County agent Ron Rosen, who urged Klein last summer to push for new regulations, said he thinks “the banks will still play their little games with people and make life difficult for everyone.”

A spokeswoman for the Treasury says it will hand down “substantial” penalties to lenders that don’t comply. The agency said it can fine lenders, withhold or reduce incentive payments, or require improperly rejected loans to be modified.

Lenders have blamed short-sale delays on the complicated nature of the transactions, sheer numbers of deals and on borrowers who don’t submit proper paperwork in a timely manner.

Because short sales involve so many moving parts, lenders will be hard-pressed to meet the 10-day deadline, said Anthony DiMarco, executive vice president of government affairs for the Florida Bankers Association.

“That will be a challenge,” he said.

In many cases, the banks are not to blame for the delays, said Ward Kellogg, chief executive of Boca Raton-based Paradise Bank. But he thinks the guidelines are necessary to help clear the market of so many distressed properties.

“I think the pressure on [the banks] is a good thing,” Kellogg said.

Mary Shanklin of the Orlando Sentinel contributed to this report. Paul Owers can be reached at powers@Sunsentinel.com or 561-243-6529. textSize()

Copyright © 2010, South Florida Sun-Sentinel

Two enterprising young adults, Greg and Wendy Lawson planned for two years to offer recycling as simple as possible to the residents to all areas of Hamilton County, outside Chattanooga city limits. Their company is called GreenWorks.

They will offer a weekly service for glass, cell phones, computer and batteries. They also will accept aluminum cans, paper products, broken down cardboard, plastics #1 and #2,

Customers will simply take their recyclables, separate them into cans, paper, plastic and glass and put into grocery plastic bags, take them to the curb and leave them for pick up.   Service is now available in Soddy Daisy on Tuesdays and on Signal Mountain on Thursdays.  Later they will provide service to Harrison, Ooltewah, Collegedale and Lookout Mountain. Hixson areas are under discussion.

This Spring, they will offer call-in curbside service for larger items such as dishwashers, tires, lawnmowers and couches.  Their concern for environmental hazards such as landfill leakage into water sources is what motivates them, and they hope it will motivate others as well.   

If you are interested in convenience and helping the environment, please contact them at 598-1008 or atyourservice@greenworksofchattanooga.com. Company website is greenworksofchattanooga.com.

Recycling as easy as this is something all of us should consider because it makes real estate more attractive, while doing ourselves good by aiming for greener and healthier areas. 

A Picture is Worth 1,000 Words

The majority of home buyers in the TN region begin their search online. The Internet is becoming an increasingly viable way to present homes from both an interior and an exterior vantage point. Although Barry Evans will help you to understand the best angles for presenting a photographic display of your house, you can help by pointing out what it is you love best about the home. A great backyard garden, a cozy front porch swing, a spacious kitchen, the tile on your bathroom floor – no matter what it is, use it as a way to entice buyers into contacting your agent for more information.

Virtual tours are becoming a very popular way to showcase your home online, as well. Allowing viewers to “walk through” your home gives them a stronger connection to it.

Signs and Advertisements

The more traditional Tennessee home selling options include putting up a sign or placing an ad in the newspaper, in your local real estate magazine, or even on direct mailing advertisements. These steps have long been a part of the buying and selling market, regardless of where you live.

The truth of the matter is, there’s a reason these actions are relied upon so heavily: no one will know you’re selling your Chattanooga home unless you post it somewhere! While decisions related to where you place the signs and advertisements will most likely be made with the assistance of Barry Evans, you can help by finding additional ways to spread the word of your sale. Online home selling postings for Ooltewah or Hixson are fairly common, and oftentimes, simply letting your friends and family know that your Chattanooga home is on the market can go a long way in spreading the word.

Rely on Barry Evans

 Of course, the most important home marketing step you can take is trusting Barry Evans to work hard to sell your home as quickly and efficiently as possible. Like any real business partnership, selling a Tennessee home is all about finding someone you can trust and working together to get the best possible results.

47% of buyers were first time buyers.        

The median age of all buyers was 39.        

83% of all first time buyers are under the age 44.         

62% of all buyers are under age 44.         

63% of all buyers had no children under the age of 18 residing at home.        

90% of all buyers used the internet to search.        

 84% of buyers reported the photos to be the most useful information.        

The number one action taken after viewing a home online was to drive by or visit the home.        

77% of buyers purchased their home with an agent.        

85% of sellers sold their home with an agent.        

87% of buyers view real estate as a good investment.

These, of course, are national statistics.  Chattanooga real estate will always vary.  We have seen mostly first time home buyers this year at the closing table.  Next year should draw a lot more variety of age groups with the additional new stimulus for home sellers who have been in their home for at least 5 years.  We should also start to see some benefit from Volkswagen.  Best wishes for all of us in 2010. 

Barry Evans 

Keller Williams Realty

664-1700 Main office 826-4987 e-fax

barry@chattanoogahomes.com 

However, almost every homeowner will tell you that these costs are definitely worth buying a TN house. Not only are you purchasing a place to call home, but you’re making a financial investment with potentially huge returns. That’s why you should always consider a home inspection before signing on that dotted line, even if the added expense isn’t one you’re looking forward to.

What is a Home Inspection?

Many people equate a home inspection with a home appraisal, and with good reason. At their core, the two processes are very similar: in both, a trained professional goes through the home and inspects it with the intent of informing all parties involved on making the smartest buying and selling decisions.

However, the similarities stop there. Home appraisals are done to give buyers, sellers, real estate agents, and financers a better idea of what the home is worth (based on “surface” things like square footage, number of rooms, and amenities like a fireplace or granite countertops). A home inspection, on the other hand, is all about informing buyers about the potential problems that lie underneath the surface.

For example, a home inspector will be able to answer the following questions:

• What is the condition of the plumbing and/or electrical system, and how easy is it to access in the event of a problem?

• What will be the realistic costs and challenges of heating or cooling the house?

• What is the state of the foundation, the roof, and other structural components?

• How many years of use will you be able to get out of the electrical/plumbing/heating systems?

• What are the potential safety hazards of the house (lead paint, radon, termites, asbestos, mold, etc.)?

What a Home Inspection Does for You

Although most home inspections cost the potential homebuyer hundreds of dollars up front, they typically end up saving homebuyers thousands of dollars in the end. When you get a home inspection, you can not only step away from a purchase that might not be right for you, but you can also require sellers to either “fix” the problems before you buy the home, or adjust the price in order to allow you to make the repairs.

Of course, there’s also the benefit of knowing that the home for sale in Chattanooga that you purchased is safe and comfortable. It can be difficult to know just what a house has in store for you until you’ve lived in it for a few months. A home inspection is the best way to take the house for a “test drive” before you make the investment. And with so many choices currently on the Tennessee real estate market, you’re in a perfect position to make a smart, financially-sound choice for your entire family.

The new Chattanooga accommodations are right in the middle of the vibrant North Shore scene at Coolidge Park Landing. A quick water taxi ride to the Southside and an ideal base of operations for your exploration of Chattanooga attractions.

In addition to being one of the most unique Chattanooga hotels, the Delta Queen features live music, theatrical performances and romantic dining and drinks overlooking the Tennessee River. Group tours will be available, allowing visitors to learn first-hand about steam technology and the colorful history of a legendary paddleboat.

So, if you’re looking for something extraordinary among the offerings of Chattanooga hotels, right in the middle of the action, choose the Delta Queen for an unforgettable stay in the Scenic City.

I would encourage those of you who visit our city or live here and want a pleasant experience, to get down to the Delta Queen. You’ll be glad you did.