Installing and maintaining gutters on your homes and commercial buildings assures that you’ll drain water off your roofs and also away from your foundations.  We don’t always think about how water damages foundations. 

Keeping your gutters free of debris that clogs downspouts as well as the gutters themselves is one good precaution against costly foundation repairs in areas prone to flooding and freezing.

What happens at the end of the foreclosure process? Well, usually a bank takes possesssion of the property and gets a property manager to repair, rent and eventually sell it. But what happens if that doesn’t happen?

It’s been reported that banks in NY, MO and FL have begun to walk away from properties that cost more to maintain than they are worth. Yes, banks are simply refusing to re-take ownership, which means that the foreclosed homeowner is still in title and still responsible for taxes and maintenance, even though there may no longer be mortgage debt because no lender steps up to demand payment.

Sounds like the making of a great deal if a buyer can get clear title…

People must be sheltering the money they have taken out of the stock market in residential real estate because the investor’s share of the real estate market reported in 2008 was 21%, the same percentage as was reported in 2007.

Over half of investors in 2008 chose a property within 20 miles of their own home and two-thirds chose detached single-family homes. The typical investor had a median age of 47 and a median income of $85,000.

So these are not high-rollers or foreigners we’re seeing, these are average Americans making the most of great buying opportunities.

Florida is considering advancing $8,000 cash to first time homebuyers in order to relieve that state’s backlog of existing houses for sale, which backlog is estimated to be nearly two years’ supply.  The cash advance would be repaid when homebuyers file their tax returns and receive the federal tax credit.  Does anybody else think this might be a little risky?

Surprise…used home sales increased in February!  Sales of existing homes grew 5.1% to an annualized rate of 4.72 million, the largest monthly increase in sales since July 2003. While sales are still comparatively slow, the market may finally be coming back to life because prices are so low, prices which are are expected to keep falling throughout the calendar year. 

And we have to remember, the majority of homes in the foreclosure funnel are not yet for sale, credit is nearly non-existent and unemployment is rampant. Not a formula for great hope…

About half of the buyers in February 2009 were first-time homebuyers jumping in to snap up a good deal. The median sales price of $165,400 is down more than 15% from the median sales price of $195,800 a year ago.

Hope springs eternal.