Raleigh Durham ‘least angry ‘ Cities in America

With the known fact that the Triangle ( Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill ), boast the lowest unemployment in the state. The region always ranks high on the “Best places to live and work in the United States.

There should be no surprise that Men’s Health Magazine ranking, Raleigh Durham to be two least angry cities. These two cities are found to be the most chilled places in the Tar Heel State.

A “report” from Men’s Health Ranks Durham as 21st least angry cities. ( Note: the terms report and studies are being used loosely here. This is the Men’s Health Magazine after all. ) Men’s health did offer an explanation of how it gauged it’s range. The magazine looked at the stats for aggravated assaults per capita, number of people with high blood pressure, and the amount of time people were stuck in rush hour traffic.

I would love to see the statics, during the Final four hoops competition. Last night’s game with UNC tar heels and Dukes blue Devils, was exciting . Raising a number of fan’s blood pressure and elevating the joy’s of victory for others.

What’s not to love about living in this area!?

House Sleuthing With Home Inspections: Home & Design: REALTOR Magazine

House Sleuthing
By Barbara Ballinger | February 2011
Anticipation of the home-inspection report is one of the more nerve-racking elements of a real estate sale. “Inspections make both sides hold their breath to see if something’s serious enough to make the buyer withdraw,” says Chobee Hoy of Chobee Hoy Associates, R.E. Inc., in Brookline, Mass.

In many markets, inspections are de rigueur. But with so many foreclosures on the market (in various states of repair) and lenders requiring higher down payments, buyers may go into the inspection looking for confirmation that they’re getting a good value. You can help by making sure your buyer clients are realistic about what an inspector will—and won’t—do.

Inspector or Engineer?
Home inspections are great for uncovering red flags. They can help allay buyers’ fears of an ominous, costly surprise—leaky roof, misfiring furnace, or rotting beams—but they generally can’t guarantee structural soundness. For that, buyers may want to consider consulting with a general contractor or structural engineer.

Typically, inspectors focus on detecting common, visible problems in a home’s structure and systems. How long the inspection takes—and what it costs—depends on the size, condition, and systems within the property. Certified inspector Bob McDonough, franchise owner of Atlanta-based National Property Inspections, says he usually spends between two and four hours on a 2,000-square-foot house and charges about $325.

That fee closely matches industry norms, says Kathleen A. Kuhn, president of Bound Brook, N.J.–based franchisor HouseMaster, which has a National Institute of Building Inspectors–approved certification program. Expect to pay more for extras, such as testing for lead paint or mold.

One of the challenges with making a recommendation is that the experience and skill level among inspectors varies greatly, says David Tamny, a Columbus, Ohio, inspector and 2010 president of the American Society of Home Inspectors. There’s no single standard for the nation’s estimated 20,000 to 25,000 home inspectors. Some have only baseline training while others have mechanical engineering degrees and decades of being top-notch home sleuths.

Standards of care can be different, too, says Mary Conroy-Henderson of Coldwell Banker in Dedham, Mass: “Some are extremely thorough; they’ll look at a roof with binoculars or take a ladder and go up on it. Some will just eye it.”

Only 33 states require licensing and few require insurance, Tamny says. So it pays to check out inspectors’ professional affiliations. ASHI members must pass an exam, follow its code of ethics and standards of practice, and complete at least 250 inspections.

When recommending inspectors, remember that federal law prohibits real estate practitioners from collecting referral fees (or other things of value) for simple referrals. To avoid conflicts of interest and liability, always give buyers a choice. Bill Golden, GRI, with RE/MAX Metro Atlanta Cityside, recommends that buyers consider at least two reputable inspectors. Conroy-Henderson gives buyers a list of Massachusetts-licensed inspectors. Hoy updates a list of home experts, including inspectors, for her 22 brokers approximately every six weeks.

New Homes Need it
For more protection, suggest buyers pick an expert who’s familiar with both local building codes and the home’s type of construction and age. Yes, even new construction should be inspected. “It’s wrong to think only old homes have problems,” says Robert Clein, a certified home inspector who’s also a structural engineer and president of Georgia Engineering Associates in Atlanta. “It’s even more important with a new home, since nobody has lived there.”

Tips for Working with an inspector
Review the contract up front. Most contracts contain standard terms describing services and limiting liability—typically to the price of the inspector’s fee, says Marian Kornilowicz, partner with Cohen Seglias Pallas Greenhall & Furman in Philadelphia.

Study the report with your buyer clients. Inspectors should put their observations in writing, says HouseMaster’s Kathleen Kuhn, whose franchisees provide computerized reports with photos. Sit down with the report and reconcile it with the sellers’ disclosure statement. If necessary, suggest a second opinion.

Be ready to recommend specialists. When an inspector finds a red flag, the buyers may need to bring in another expert, such as an HVAC contractor, plumber, or structural or civil engineer. Buyers should get estimates for needed repairs, and—before they make an offer—decide what they’d like the sellers to fix or offer as credit. Many general contractors like Matt Lederer of Mahogany Builders in Chicago routinely perform such services.

Discourage seller participation. Inspectors may not feel comfortable pointing out problems when the sellers are in the room, Tamny says.

Shadow the inspector. Thorough inspections cover major systems—electrical, plumbing, roofing, HVAC, and more. “Inspectors look for things that represent significant deficiencies but are in view. We won’t pull up carpet or look for hidden defects in walls,” says Columbus, Ohio, inspector David Tamny. Chobee Hoy, a Brookline, Mass. practitioner, notes that buyers can seek sellers’ permission to remove carpet or paneling if something seems suspect. Besides exposing problems, inspectors will point out systems and provide buyers with guidance on how to maintain them.

Understand options if the inspector misses a major visible defect. “Many inspectors carry errors-and-omissions insurance, but their contracts often limit their liability to a refund of the fee,” says Kornilowicz. “They rarely will pay for needed repairs, unless the defect is so blatant that they might be deemed grossly negligent [for having missed it] or have engaged in willful misconduct.”

HOMETIP FROM HOUSELOGIC
Owners should inspect their roof annually for signs of wear.
Early signs of trouble include:
+ Dark areas on ceilings
+ Peeling paint on the underside of roof overhangs
+ Damp spots alongside fireplaces
+ Water stains on pipes venting the water heater or furnace

Read more at http://www.houselogic.com.

“Rent vs. Own Ratio to Flip in 2011?”

Rent vs. own ratio to flip in 2011?
Posted by Nin-Hai Tseng, writer-reporter

Many Americans are content to rent after witnessing the crumbling housing market in recent years. But with rents on the rise and home prices continuing to fall, a reversal is in sight.

It wasn’t hard for many homeowners to bid adieu to 2010. It was the year where, in many metropolitan areas across the country, rents surged as home prices fell, leading a growing chorus of skeptics to question the so-called American Dream of homeownership.

Perhaps not surprisingly, it makes more financial sense to rent than buy today in many U.S. cities, according to the latest data from Moody’s Analytics. After declining during the depths of the latest recession, prices for rentals nationwide increased modestly by about 3% in 2010, partly driven by a record number of homeowners looking for new digs after foreclosing on their homes. In Moody’s latest list of rent ratios (which is the price of a typical home divided by the annual cost of renting that home) for 54 U.S. metropolitan areas, 39 fell into the ‘better to rent’ category — roughly the same level it’s been for the past year.

But that may finally be about to change. Moody’s chief economist Mark Zandi expects the trend to reverse this year in many major cities. This would be a positive development, as a healthy housing market typically puts renting and owning at more equal footing.

“By mid 2011 and certainly by end of 2011, buying will be superior to renting in most parts of the country,” Zandi says.

A few factors will be at play. For one, home prices are expected to fall further, with some economists expecting a 15% to 30% drop this year. This might be bad news for household finances and current homeowners fearing that their most prized asset stands to lose more in value. On the flip side, this makes homes more affordable and might finally spur more home sales, especially at a time when the rate of home construction has been the lowest since before the Second World War.

Just last week, the S&P/Case-Shiller index of property values reported a 0.8% fall in prices from October 2009 – the biggest year-over-year drop since December 2009. Eighteen of 20 cities showed a drop in prices in October. This was led by a 2.1% decrease in Atlanta, followed by a 1.8% drop in Chicago and Minneapolis. What’s more, six markets, including Atlanta, Miami, Tampa and Portland, Ore., reached their lowest levels in October since prices started to retreat.

Indeed, the housing market continues to suffer from too much supply. Though rent prices are generally expected to continue rising modestly this year, the overhang will probably help keep prices from rising too much. “Expect more declines in home prices and more rent stability,” Zandi says.

Still, the comparative costs between renting and buying will largely depend on individual market conditions. For instance, cities in Florida and Arizona, which continue to experience high foreclosure rates, falling home prices and widespread unemployment, will be areas where homeownership will likely be more affordable than renting, says Daisy Kong at Trulia, a San Francisco-based real estate data provider. Meanwhile, renting will probably continue to make more financial sense in national and regional job centers such as New York, Omaha and Seattle, she says.

And while it could become more attractive to buy than rent this year, it’s anyone’s guess how long it could take before a flurry of home sales transpires. Household finances have improved only modestly and are still quite a mess. Also, lending standards for new mortgages have tightened considerably and many economists have said a housing rebound will likely fall mercy to the unemployment rate, which is expected to improve some but still hover over 9%.

Will the American Dream return to your town?

Location Price-Rent Ratio
Atlanta, GA 12.82
Austin, TX 21.08
Boston, MA 17.71
Baltimore, MD 17.42
Charlotte, NC 25.98
Chicago, IL 15.09
Cincinatti, OH 13.74
Cleveland, OH 11.43
Columbus, OH 15.61
Dallas – Fort Worth, TX 16.98
Denver, CO 22.08
Detroit, MI 12.32
East Bay, CA 35.06
Fort Lauderdale, FL 15.19
Hartford, CT 18.52
Honolulu, HI 34.72
Houston, TX 16.01
Indianapolis, IN 14.68
Inland Empire, CA 14.75
Jacksonville, CA 15.12
Kansas City, KS 14.4
Las Vegas, NV 13.89
Long Island, NY 21.09
Los Angeles, CA 14.99
Memphis, TN 17.92
Miami, FL 14.57
Milwaukee, WI 22.36
Minneapolis, MN 14.04
Nashville, TN 23.88
New Orleans, LA 15.66
New York, NY 15.43
Norfolk, VA 19.88
North – Central New Jersey 24.69
Oklahoma City, OK 16.11
Orange County, CA 27.14
Orlando, FL 13.1
Palm Beach County, FL 16.64
Philadelphia, PA 15.94
Phoenix, AZ 12.35
Pittsburg, PA 11.71
Portland, OR 25.74
Raleigh, NC 24.39
Richmond, VA 22.18
Sacramento, CA 15.85
Salt Lake City, UT 18.05
San Antonio, TX 17.77
San Diego, CA 21.75
San Francisco, CA 27.17
San Jose, CA 32.27
Seattle, WA 26.96
Bridgeport, CT 18.49
St. Louis, MO 14.04
Tampa, FL 13.08
Washington – Northern Virginia – Maryland 18.48
Manhattan, NY 28.34
Metropolitan Area Average 14.85
U.S. 10.42
Source: Moody’s Analytics, price-rent ratio for third quarter of 2010. As a general rule of thumb, you should often buy when the ratio is below 15 and rent when it’s above 20. If it’s between 15 and 20, lean toward renting.