Mortgage Applications Soar 4.5%

The below article probably explains the increased traffic of potential home buyers searching for homes on my website, www.NEAhomes.com.  I am literally receiving emails and/or phone call inquiries EVERY SINGLE DAY for the past week.  In all my years of real estate, I personally have not seen so much activity the first part of the year as I have in 2012.  Is this an indication of 2012?  Maybe!  I do know the record low interest rates have gotten peoples attention and many are taking advantage of it.  What I'm hearing a lot from these buyers are they have been wanting/needing to move up to a larger home and now they feel it's possible due to low interest rates.  I also have been picking up several first time home buyers for the same reason, low interest rates.  It seems people who have been sitting on the fence on purchasing a home are now getting off that fence and acting on their wants and desires.  I think it's a smart move!!!  These record low interest rates WILL NOT last forever.  If you're thinking of selling, NOW would be a good time to give me a call, so I can place your home in front of all these potential buyers that are actively searching for their dream home.  YOUR home could be the home of their dreams!   Call me anytime on my cell at 870-219-0652.

Mortgage Applications Soar 4.5%
Daily Real Estate News | Wednesday, January 11, 2012

Mortgage applications for purchase -- a gauge of future home buying -- increased 8.1 percent last week, the Mortgage Bankers Association reports. The purchase index on an unadjusted basis now stands at 41.9 percent higher than last year, signaling more people taking out loans to buy homes.
More home owners are also taking advantage of low interest rates. Refinance activity last week also increased, inching up 3.3 percent from a week earlier. Overall, mortgage applications were up 4.5 percent last week.
For the fifth consecutive week, 30-year fixed-rate mortgages have averaged at historical lows below 4 percent, Freddie Mac reported last week. For the week ending Jan. 5, 30-year fixed-rate mortgages averaged 3.91 percent, with an average 0.8 point, matching the previous record low set a few weeks ago.

Source: “Mortgage Applications Rise 4.5%,” HousingWire (Jan. 11, 2012)

Slurried Brick...What Is It?

I am often asked the question, "Exactly what is slurry brick"?    Read the blog post by Elite Homes of NEA to find out out what slurry brick is, the history, and why it is a desirable trend.

Click to read Elite Homes of NEA's blog post, "Slurry Brick, What Is it"?

Numbers Are Up, Up, Up for Jonesboro, AR

Again, numbers were up for the month of November for average price of listings, number of listings sold, average price of sold listings and the total volume sold for the year has already surpassed 2010 by roughly 15 million with another month still to go.

Furthermore, Craighead County is leading the state for a 28.06% increase from 2010 in units sold.

 Craighead County also leads the state for Highest Valuations for the year.  Valuations for 2011 are up 35.85% from 2010.

Unlike many areas in the country, Jonesboro's economy and housing market is doing good!

Now is a great time to buy and sale.  I would love the opportunity to discuss how I can successfully assist you to achieve your real estate needs and goals.  Give me a call anytime, I am here for you!

ERA Doty Real Estate
2209 Grant Ave, #A
Jonesboro, AR  72401
(870) 219-0652
www.NEAhomes.com

Quality and Details by Elite Homes of NEA

Both quality and details of a home are what really set a home apart from the others.  Homes built by Elite Homes of NEA possess both quality and beautiful details.  Click here to read their latest blog post.

Elite Homes of NEA

Fried Vermicilli With Eckrich Sausage

This recipe of my mom's has been a family favorite for years.  Was one of my dad's favorites and my husband, son and brother all ask for a good ole skillet of vermicilli often and it's easy to make.

With a medium high temperature, pour just enough oil to cover the bottom of your skillet, then place a 16 oz. package of vermicilli in skillet.

Brown vermicilli while shuffling the vermicilli with a spatula.  After vermicilli is throughly browned, reduce temperature to medium low and add 2 large cans of whole tomatoes and minced garlic.  With spatula, cut up whole tomatoes in halves or quarters.  Place lid and let simmer for about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.

While vermicilli is simmering, brown your sliced eckrich sausage in pan.  

When vermicilli is ready (when soft) add eckrich sausage and simmer on low for about 5 minutes.  If vermicilli is a little dry, add a little water.

Enjoy with salad and garlic bread or all by itself.  You can also substitute fried wienies or fajhita meat in place of eckrich sausage.

Fried Vermicilli With Eckrich Sausage

1 - 16 oz. Bag of Vermicillli

2 - 12 oz. Cans of Whole Tomatoes

3/4 Teaspoon of Minced Garlic

1 - Package of Eckrich Sausage

Enjoy!

Real Estate Appraisals 101

One very important step in almost every real estate transaction is an appraisal on the property.  Why is it so important?  A lender will order an appraisal before approving a loan on the property.  An appraisal could come back thousands less-or more-than the agreed upon purchase price in the contract.  So it's very important to know what an appraiser is looking for and takes into account in preparing an appraisal.  I found this helpful video and article on AOL Real Estate to get you started. Take a look… if you have questions, don’t hesitate to contact me.

by AOL Real EstateToday we hear more and more about appraisals as part of the real estate process. Tough markets, like the one in which we find ourselves today, bring the subject to the forefront more so than in times of booming sales and bidding wars.
 
In fact, these days, more often than not appraisals can be one of the biggest roadblocks to a successful purchase – or sale – of a home. Why is that? What makes an appraisal so critical? And while we're at it, just exactly goes into an appraisal?

Simply put, an appraisal is an informed estimate of the value of a property. It's the number lenders refer to when deciding whether, or not to approve loans. It could be said that appraisals are meant to help buyers and lenders avoid potentially bad investments. Here's what you should know about how it works.

The seller of a home will probably have a real estate agent, who will use a CMA, or comparative market analysis, to determine a realistic asking price for the home. While the information is useful, the lender will look to a specialized, local third-party professional to provide the "official" home valuation report. And that professional is... you guessed it ...the appraiser.

You see, arriving at that final appraisal figure is no easy task -- to be accurate, an appraiser needs an educated, trained perspective and understanding of all of factors that have to be carefully weighed with respect to the state of the real estate market in that specific area.

For example, major factors of the appraisal have more to do with the neighborhood than the home itself:

The type of area: Is it part of a development? Or is it stand alone acreage?
The recent sales prices of comparable homes located nearby
The average sales time of this type of property in that area
The proximity to desirable schools and public facilities

This information can be found by various sources -- from driving down the street and observing the surroundings, to gathering information at the local tax assessor's office and county courthouses, through MLSs (multiple listing services), by conducting interviews and more.

It's a lot to consider, so you can see how having experience valuating properties within a given neighborhood is critical to arriving at an accurate appraisal.

But what about the property itself?

The appraiser will tour the home as a potential buyer would tour the home. Clean, updated, well-maintained homes will appeal more to buyers – and chances are, they'll appeal more to the appraiser as well.

First impressions aside, for his analysis the appraiser will generally consider only permanent fixtures and real property -- that is, property that's permanently dug into, or set upon, land. So, a building is real property -- a couch is not. Added touches, like sconces or other added fixtures, are nice but do not count toward the appraiser's assessment.

After taking stock of the real property, the appraiser estimates the square footage of the home. Typically, the more space in a home, the better. GLA, or gross living area, is calculated by measuring the exterior of the home. The appraiser will note the GLA and then will look to calculate actual living area space. So that means he deducts the measurements of non-living areas, such as garages or covered porches. (Although, surprisingly, finished basements are calculated separately from the above-ground GLA.)

All said and done, depending on the size of the property, an appraisal should take anywhere from 15 minutes to three hours.

But don't ask the appraiser for the value of the property while he's still there - he won't have it yet. After the walk-through, it's back to the office for some number crunching. Buyers (and lenders) can typically expect a report within a few business days.

And who pays for the appraisal? Although the Lender arranges for the Appraisal, the buyer pays the bill. For an average home, that's usually around $300 to $500.

For all your real estate needs...feel free to contact me anytime.

Oreo Cookie Turkeys...cute!!!

These turkeys are really cute and are really easy to make. I found them on a really cool blog, "The Idea Room" and pinned it on my Food Craft Board in Pinterest.  They only take about 30 minutes to make and am planning on making them with my 4 year old grandson, Blane and my two year old son, Heath.  Should be fun!

You will need the following:

Double Stuff Oreos (2 per turkey)
Small Reeses’ Peanut Butter Cups (1)
Whoppers (1)
Candy Corn
White Frosting
Black Frosting

First place your peanut butter cups in the fridge. They will cut cleaner cold. Then take an Oreo and carefully separate one of the cookies from the frosting. Gently press the pointed tips of 6 candy corns around one half of the Oreo. Take some white frosting and cover the frosting and re-attach the cookie.

Now, take the second oreo and lay it flat on the table. Pick up your Oreo with the candy corn and put some icing on the bottom of the oreo opposite from the candy corn and attach the Oreo onto the flat oreo so that it is on the back half. Prop the stuck together Oreos against a book or a wall to hold it up while the icing dries. If it does not stand up well, add some more icing.

Now take a cold peanut butter cup and cut a small section off of it so that it will have a flat side. Place some frosting on the flat section and the top of the peanut butter cup and attach it to the Oreo with the candy corn so that it becomes the body of the turkey.

Take the Whopper and put icing on the back side of it. Attach it so that it is right on top of the peanut butter cup and iced to the Oreo and Whopper. Add two drops of white icing for the eyes and a smaller drop of the black for the pupil.

For the wings, cut the very tip of a candy corn and glued a wing on both sides of the peanut butter cup. For the feet, you can use the same tip you cut off when making your wings. Let dry for about 20 minutes before handling.

I agree with the "The Idea Room", that these would be so cute to give to a friend, child or neighbor. They would also be really cute holding a name place card for your Thanksgiving Dinner. You could just put the name card behind the candy corn on the top of the turkey. So cute and easy!