http://www.batonrougebpoappraisals.info/ - Home Of The Greater Baton Rouge Similar Sales Desktop Valuation Reports (SSDVR) – Compliant With USPAP & Fannie Mae & Freddie Mac, 225-293-1500

Welcome To The $100. 00 Greater Baton Rouge Comparable Sales Reports! Greater Baton Rouge Comparable Sales Reports Is A Desktop Appraisal Service Performed By William D. Cobb with Accurate Valuations Group, Serving East & West Baton Rouge Parish, Northern Ascension Parish and Western Livingston Parish. William Uses An Approved Fannie Mae & Freddie Mac Appraisal Form (SSDVR) To Complete This Report.

What Is An SSDVR Report? A desktop appraisal report conducted by Louisiana State Certified Appraiser, William D. Cobb, CREA, License #R0851. Bill will drive-by the home being appraised, rely upon the physical data the client provides, research the MLS database, select the 3 most similar and competitive sales/comps and render a value opinion.

http://www.batonrougebpoappraisals.info/ - Home Of The Greater Baton Rouge Similar Sales Desktop Valuation Reports (SSDVR) – Compliant With USPAP & Fannie Mae & Freddie Mac, 225-293-1500

Welcome To The $100. 00 Greater Baton Rouge Comparable Sales Reports! Greater Baton Rouge Comparable Sales Reports Is A Desktop Appraisal Service Performed By William D. Cobb with Accurate Valuations Group, Serving East & West Baton Rouge Parish, Northern Ascension Parish and Western Livingston Parish. William Uses An Approved Fannie Mae & Freddie Mac Appraisal Form (SSDVR) To Complete This Report.

What Is An SSDVR Report? A desktop appraisal report conducted by Louisiana State Certified Appraiser, William D. Cobb, CREA, License #R0851. Bill will drive-by the home being appraised, rely upon the physical data the client provides, research the MLS database, select the 3 most similar and competitive sales/comps and render a value opinion.

http://www.appraisersinbatonrouge.com/ – Baton Rouge Real Estate in October 2009 Ranks Within The 20 Strongest Metro Areas In U.S.

(NOTE: This Photo, Taken in 10/2009, Shows New Construction By More “Economy Builders” Priced Below $200,000 Is Still Fairly Brisk Within The Outlying Areas Of Greater Baton Rouge Itself. This is the “New” New Construction Baton Rouge housing market, a market that is much more affordable in pricing. And, this is what is selling. Some of those builders that thought buyers would just keep paying $136/sf to $160/sf and never stop are the ones still holding inventory, paying interest and their banks are sometimes taking it on the chin. In new home construction, in general, under $200K is moving fairly well; Over $250K is Still Not Selling As Fast As It Did in 2006/2007. AND, these $200,000 new homes in the photo are being built in a “former” high end subdivision where the predominant values were $350,000 or about $135/sf. The new price per sq. ft. for the remaining 85% of lots is going to be in the $96/sf to $106/sf. OUCH!!!)

Mark Perry, with Wall Street Pit Global Market Insight, is reporting, along with Business Week, that Baton Rouge Real Estate in 2009 is within THE 20 Strongest Performing Metro Areas in the U.S.. The link to the article is here. A Snippet includes:

“BUSINESS WEEK (”The U.S. Metros Least Touched by Recession”) – America’s strongest economies have one thing in common — home prices that never got too hot or too cold (see charts above comparing the home price index in California to Arkansas, Texas and Oklahoma over the last ten years).

Home prices in metros such as San Antonio, Oklahoma City, Pittsburgh, Rochester, Little Rock, Ark., and Baton Rouge, La., remained steady through boom and bust. Although no metropolitan area entirely avoided the economic downturn, the most resilient metros were protected by a potent mix of recession-resistant jobs.

The upstate New York areas of Syracuse, Rochester, Albany, and Buffalo suffered from declining jobs in manufacturing, but got significant boosts from sizable health-care, education, and government sectors. Construction is booming in Baton Rouge, Louisiana’s capital, as firms take advantage of financing for post-Katrina hurricane recovery work and service-related companies expand to meet the needs of a growing population. Omaha and the state of Iowa have relatively strong insurance sectors.

Texas, the last state to enter recession, has been bolstered by its oil and gas industries — which have also helped Oklahoma, North Dakota, and Louisiana. Texas also has many other things going for it, including affordable home prices and relatively low wages, which attract corporations.”

http://www.fhaappraisersbatonrouge.com/ - FHA Guidelines: Proposal Would Increase Downpayment, end Financing of Closing Costs

FHA Loan Pros is making more sense out of the FHA situation, read here.

Here’s a snippet:

“In a move intended to reduce taxpayers’ exposure to losses associated with defaulted FHA loans, legislation is being proposed that would tighten FHA loan requirements:

The minimum down payment would increase from 3.5% to 5% of the loan amount.
Closing costs would no longer be permitted to be “rolled into” the loan amount.
This would mean that potential homebuyers would need to have more cash available for coverin these costs. The principle concern behind these proposed changes is that lenient lending requirements can encourage people to take out home loans they;re not prepared to pay over the long term.

Demise of “Sub-Prime” Lending Increases FHA Market Share”

http://www.fhaappraisersbatonrouge.com/ – Greater Baton Rouge FHA Appraiser Tip: I Told You FHA Was On The Way To Imploding

It was about 1.5 years ago that I starting saying that we the U.S. Taxpayers would be bailing out FHA. After the mortgage meltdown, when FHA became the “Savoir” of the mortgage market, I began to receiving an increase in calls from the same slimy national mortgage brokers that I had already turned down doing appraisal work for because they seemed to always need $10,000 to $20,000 more than the homes were worth. They didn’t want home appraisals; they wanted a target value hitter. EXCEPT, NOW THEY WERE USING FHA LOANS FOR THEIR DIRTY (UPSIDE DOWN) LOANS. I knew then and there that FHA was in for problems.

From Appraisal Scoop, FHA, Active Rain, Inman News and the list goes on and on….Now the flood of news since yesterday reveals rumblings within FHA that losses are increasing and that FHA is implementing Appraisal Standards similar to HVCC. This is and will get more interesting as time progresses. Remember what I said above about the “slimy mortgage brokers”? Why is FHA reacting with stricter appraisal policy when it’s the slimy mortgage brokers that are wolves wearing sheep’s clothing? I’m not saying that ALL mortgage brokers are “slimy” or unethical. I have worked with reputable mortgage brokers and still do to a more limited extents these days.

http://www.batonrougefhaappraisers.com – FHA Loans Provide Refinancing Solution for Greater Baton Rouge Residents with Bad Credit

FHALoanPro’s Karen Lawson has an interesting article, “FHA Loans Provide Refinancing Solution for People with Bad Credit“. Here’s a snippet,

“FHA Guidelines: More Lenient Than Conventional Refinancing

Refinancing to an FHA mortgage loan makes sense if you’re short of cash or have bad credit. Here’s how FHA guidelines for approving a mortgage can help you:

Low down payment/home equity requirement: Down payments or home equity of as little as 3.5% of your home’s value reduces the amount of home equity and/or cash you must provide.

No minimum credit score required: Increasingly strict credit requirements are making it difficult for many homeowners to qualify for traditional refinancing. FHA guidelines don’t require a minimum credit score.”

http://www.batonrougefhaappraisers.com/ – Greater Baton Rouge Real Estate Dropped From Distressed Cities List By Mortgage Insurance Company

On July 20, 2009 The Baton Rouge Business Report reported that Genworth Mortgage Insurance Corp. dropped Baton Rouge from it’s declining and distressed cities list, which could lead to looser down payment standards locally. The link to the article is here.

http://www.fhaappraisersbatonrouge.com/ – Baton Rouge Real Estate News – Area 53 Newer Homes Under $245,000 Maintaining Stable to Increasing Pricing

A recent study of the Area 53 housing market shows stable to increasing pricing. Here are the search parameters used:

Pricing: $175,000 to $245,000

Age: New To 6-10 Years Old

Size: 1,450sf to 1,750sf

Duration: 01/01/2007 to 07/21/2009

The results of the study revealed a +2.18% increase in home selling prices since 7/2008.

Data is used with the permission of the GBRAR.

http://www.batonrougefhaappraisers.com/ - Ten Steps To Maximizing The Greater Baton Rouge Sale Of Your Home

I ran across this article this morning and thought it would be helpful for Greater Baton Rouge home sellers – 10 tips to maximizing sale of your home

Here’s a snippet from the article:

“Pay attention to the exterior first. This is what potential buyers notice. Give priority to home improvements that are visible to the naked eye. Fixing the façade will get you a better price than ensuring the foundation is solid.

Tidy up the yard and garden. If there are signs of neglect most buyers will not even step in. what one needs to do is create a presentation. Make sure there are no tires or wood lying around and any loose shutters or storm drains and gutters are properly fixed.”

Enjoy!

Bill Cobb FHA Appraiser, CREA