Mortgage/Foreclosure Relief for Hurricane Irene Victims

Freddie Mac and the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced mortgage assistance to home owners affected by Hurricane Irene, which recently battered the East Coast, causing massive flooding and severely damaging many homes in its path. 

Freddie Mac says it will offer forbearance on mortgage payments for up to one year for home owners with property damage from Irene, as well as suspend

September 11th is National Day of Service

In celebration of National Day of Service and in honor of the 10th Anniversary of September 11, Parks Morgan and The Keyes Company have partnered with the Miami Dolphins to send care packages to our troops stationed overseas.  Troops have posted their requests and we have compiled a list of supplies needed to fulfill their requests.


I will also be collecting letters and cards to the troops as a way to let them know how much it means to us that they doing such an important and difficult job.  They are highly encouraging in keeping up morale and would be sent in the care packages.  It would truly be great if we could have at least one for every soldier, if not more.  For us this might mean taking five minutes out of our busy lives, but for soldiers, it may be the words they so desperately need to hear.


Please bring any of the below items along with your letters to the Keyes Company Fort Lauderdale branch located at 1520 East Sunrise Boulevard, Fort Lauderdale by Thursday September 8, 2011.  It would be my pleasure to pick them up from your home or office.  Whichever is most convenient for you.

Baby Powder          Foot Powder          Socks                  
Baby Wipes            Granola Bars          Toothbrush
Beef Jerky             Hair Conditioner    Wash Cloth
Body Lotion            Hair Ties               Soup
Bug Spray               Mouth Wash           Sun Screen
Coffee                    Shampoo                Tampons
Deodorant              Shaving Gel            Tooth Paste
Feminine Pads        Soap


I hope you will join us in showing our troops how grateful we are for the daily sacrifices they make for our freedom.

Fort Lauderdale Branch

1520 East Sunrise Boulevard

Fort Lauderdale, FL 33304

Existing-Home Sales up Again in January

Reprinted with permission from REALTOR®Magazine:

The uptrend in existing-home sales continues, with January sales rising for the third consecutive month with a pace that is now above levels a year ago, according to the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®. 

Existing-home sales, which are completed transactions that include single-family, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops, increased 2.7 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.36 million in January from a downwardly revised 5.22 million in December, and are 5.3 percent above the 5.09 million level in January 2010. This is the first time in seven months that sales activity was higher than a year earlier.

Real Estate Outlook: Home Sales Rebounded 4th Quarter

The latest news from the National Association of Realtors is good. According to their latest survey, home sales rebounded in 49 states during the fourth quarter with 78 markets – just over half of the available metropolitan areas – experiencing price gains from a year ago, while most of the rest saw price weakness.


Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, had positive things to say about this gain. "Home sales clearly recovered in the latter part of 2010 and are helping to absorb the inventory, including many distressed properties. Even with foreclosures continuing to enter the inventory pipeline, they’ve been selling well and housing supplies have trended down," he said. "A recovery to normalcy requires steady trimming of the inventories."

Facing Foreclosure: What to Do Right Now

Foreclosure process takes time

The entire foreclosure process can take anywhere from two to 12 months, depending on how fast your lender acts and where you live. Some states allow a nonjudicial process that’s speedier, while others require time-consuming judicial proceedings.

Once you miss at least one mortgage payment, the steps leading up to an actual foreclosure sale can include demand letters, notices of default, a recorded notice of foreclosure, publication of the debt, and the scheduling of a foreclosure auction. Even when an auction is scheduled, however, it may never occur, or it may occur but a qualified buyer doesn’t materialize.

Bottom line: Foreclosure can be a long slog, which gives you enough time to come up with an alternative. Meantime, if your goal is to salvage your home, think about keeping up with payments for homeowners insurance and property taxes. Otherwise, you could compound your problems by getting hit with an uncovered casualty loss or liability suit, or tax liens.

Have existing-home sales hit bottom?

By Inman News, Thursday, September 16, 2010.

Two leading indicators -- applications for purchase mortgages and the number of homebuyers entering into contracts to purchase homes -- suggest sales of resale homes hit bottom in July and will rebound this fall, economists at mortgage insurer The PMI Group Inc. conclude.

In their latest monthly Housing and Mortgage Market Review, PMI Chief Economist David Berson and analyst Brett Soares make a case that existing-home sales will show "some modest gains" in August, September and even October.

Tax Credits for Adding or REPLACING Insulation

A federal tax credit makes adding insulation an even cheaper way to improve your home's energy efficiency and cut your heating and cooling bills.

DO YOU QUALIFY?

• Your home's R-value is below recommended levels.
• You install qualifying insulation in 2009 or 2010.
• You haven't already maxed out the energy tax credit on other upgrades.

If putting a dent in your home’s heating and cooling bills is a priority, then adding insulation needs to be at the top of your to-do list. It’s a relatively affordable home-improvement project, and the savings can be felt almost immediately. Some DIYers can even tackle the project themselves over a weekend.