Tour de La France Comes to Anderson, SC

On Saturday September 4th, Anderson County will host the 2nd Annual Tour de La France cycling event. Activities for the 2010 Tour de La France include a 14 mile Fun Ride, a 40 mile Challenge Ride, a Charity Pedal Race and a Safe Kids Bike Rodeo; the Fun Ride and the Challenge Ride begin in La France and end in Downtown.

This year the Tour de La France also includes a US Cycling Federation and US Hand Cycling sanctioned criterium race. The criterium is a multi lap race in a closed circuit; the route begins on Main St in front of the Historic Courthouse turns left on Market St, left on McDuffie St, left on Orr St and cycles back to Main St. The event organizers anticipate as many as 300 cyclists and 2,000 spectators for the criterium.

The criterium will begin at 9 am and will end at approximately 6:30 pm. For the safety of the cyclists and spectators some road closures will be necessary; beginning at 6 am until after the race ends and staging tear down is completed. Main St will be closed from Orr St to Market St; however traveling south on Main St you will be able to turn right on W. Orr. St. and traveling north on Main St you will be able to turn left on W. Market St . McDuffie St will also be closed from Orr St to Market St; however traveling south on McDuffie St you will be able to turn left on E. Orr St and traveling north on McDuffie St you may turn right on W. Market St. Orr St , Earle St , Whitner St , Benson St , Church St and Market St will be closed from Main St to McDuffie St .

http://www.callnancylamar.com/

Market Update with Real Estate

Market Update


Last week's housing reports are not sugar-coated, but they don't necessarily foretell a "double-dip" recession in real estate. July Existing Homes Sales were off 27.2%, at an annual rate of 3.83 million, well below the expected 4.65 million rate. The months' supply went from 8.9 to 12.5 and there was also a rise in inventories. The truth is, the expectation was a bit high. An annual rate below 4 million for July makes sense, given that the home buyer tax credit was slated to end in June.Getting an $8,000 check from the government certainly encouraged lots of people to move up their purchases. For the same reason, experts also predict weak August numbers, but after that, some feel existing home sales will start heading back to about 5.5 million units annually. For the year, inventories are down 2.0%, while the median price is UP 0.7%.



July New Home Sales were down 12.4% to a 276,000 annual rate, below the expected 330,000 pace. The months' supply went to 9.1, but inventories were unchanged at 210,000, their lowest level in decades. Part of the sales drop was because the now expired tax credit required a signed contract by April 30. New homes sales are counted at contract and the April number hit 414,000. In the three months since then, sales are averaging only 291,000 annually. New home buyers may also be going for recently built homes, now at attractive prices. New homes, typically about 15% of sales, are now around 7%!



The Mortgage Bankers Association's weekly survey showed purchase loan applications UP 1% from the week before, refinance applications UP 6%, and mortgage rates at record low levels.
http://www.callnancylamar.com/

Memory Walk in Anderson, SC to Benefit Alzheimer's Association

The Alzheimer’s Association Memory Walk will be held in Downtown Anderson, SC on Saturday, October 9.

 

The Alzheimer’s Association Memory Walk registration will be at 9:00AM, with the walk beginning at 10:00AM through downtown Anderson, SC.  Participants will begin the walk at The Pavilion, walking south along Main Street,  then will cross the road at River Street, walking back to The Pavilion by heading north on Main Street. 

 

Mayor Terence Roberts and Winston of The Fox at Anderson will be the Memory Walk marshals. 

 

The Alzheimer’s Association had requested that our Downtown businesses help them “Paint the Town Purple” by decorating their Downtown building fronts on this day.  We encourage you to show your support of this worthy organization and Downtown event by participating in the decorations.  Ideas could include, but are not limited to, ribbons, window decorations, etc. 

 

Please be in consideration of what might be able to be done to show your support through decorations.  The participants are looking forward to seeing your creativity!

www.CallNancyLamar.com

Short Sale Transactions with Real Estate

A Listing Agreement states that the owner agrees to convey marketable title to the buyer free from all liens. In a short sale, third-party approval may be necessary for the owner to comply with that provision.  The listing agreement should state that the seller's acceptance of any offer will be subject to the lender's approval of the offer without requiring that the seller bring cash to closing.

Offers to purchase the property would need the same caveat regarding lender approval.  This protects the seller against agreeing unconditionally to sell the property, only to have the lender disapprove the short sale.

Whether the owner or agent contacts the lender to find out if the lender will consider a short sale is a matter of office policy.  If the agent makes the contact, he or she should also request a list of documents that the lender will require. 

 The owner of the property and the potential purchaser of the property are the actual "parties to the contract" in a short sale.  Bank approval of the short sale is a contract contingency, and should be written as such in the agreement between buyer and seller.  Serious issues arise when the buyer and seller enter into a purchase agreement where the seller requires bank approval to deliver clear title, but the buyer was not notified of the contingency in the agreement. 

The owner of the property is responsible for all the usual disclosures of material defects in the property and in most instances will be required by law to give the buyer the Residential Property Condition Disclosure Form prior to the buyer's writing an offer to purchase.


Short sales present a variety of "risky issues" and should be handled with care and diligence.  The buyer must understand the timing issues involved, the necessity for third-party approval as a contingency, and the potential for the bank to ask for volumes of information from both seller and buyer. You want to work with an agent who has experience in short sales so that they know the right questions to ask to get the job done. I have successfully closed on every short sale transaction I was ever hired to represent. Call me if I can answer any additional questions for you on a short sale transaction. 

www.CallNancyLamar.com
 

Notice Public Meeting for Anderson, SC

Everyone is invited to participate!


We want to know what you want to see...and how you might use...the former Belk’s site in Downtown.

Join us: September 1, 2010

9 am or 6 pm
City Hall Council Chambers
Enter City Hall from the John St side of the building


Get Involved - We look forward to hearing from you!


The City of Anderson invites you to participate in a public meeting to be held on Wednesday, September 1st at 9am or 6pm in the Council Chambers of City Hall. The purpose of this meeting is to solicit your input on the former Belk site; specifically on elements to enhance the aesthetics and functionality of the site while generating activity to other areas of interest throughout Downtown.



If you are unable to attend one of these meetings a questionnaire can be filled out so your thoughts can be incorporated in the public process. Please share this with your co-workers, friends, family and all your social media networks. If you have any questions please call or email us.



Contact: Downtown Development Director

City of Anderson
401 S. Main St
Anderson, SC 29624

ayoung@cityofandersonsc.com

http://www.callnancylamar.com/

The Financial Market Last Week

"The great thing in the world is not so much where we stand as in what direction we are moving." Last week, the financial markets agreed with Oliver Wendell Holmes' words by looking for some more direction from the Fed after its FOMC Meeting. While the Fed didn't have much to say, they did state that Mortgage Bond holding income and proceeds would be reinvested into Treasuries. This helps the Treasury continue to pump out debt at low rates. But this relationship is a concern to the Stock market, as there is no doubt that this will lead to further problems down the road. In addition to "kicking the can," the Fed did not provide a game plan on how it could handle deflation, a Japanese type economy, or longer-term inflation. This uncertainty is something that the Stock market hates. As a result, investors pushed Stock prices significantly lower in early trading Thursday - and the cash sale proceeds from Stocks found their way into Bonds. Markets Wanted More Direction from the Fed In other news last week, the Labor Department reported that preliminary Productivity for the 2nd Quarter came in at -0.9%, which was below the 0.1% rise expected...and quite a bit lower from the 3.9% reading for the 1st Quarter. The decline in Productivity was actually the first negative reading since the 4th quarter of 2008. The slowdown in productivity is interesting, and a higher productivity does many things. It keeps operating costs lower, lessens the need for hiring, and works to keep prices down. So this unexpectedly weak number, if this trend continues, may work to ease some of the deflation fears and, ironically, could help the labor markets. Speaking of labor, last week’s Initial Jobless Claims report showed 484,000 people signing up for first-time unemployment benefits. That number was worse than expectations of 465,000 and the highest reading since February's 498,000. No matter how you slice it, this is a horrible number... and it highlights that the most important element of any real-life economic recovery is still struggling. According to the report, Continuing Jobless Claims did fall, but that number can be deceiving since the decrease has nothing to do with an improvement in the labor market. In actuality, the decrease in Continuing Claims, which lasts for the first 26 weeks of unemployment, is due to the benefit expiring - and those individuals rolling into the Emergency Unemployment Compensation benefit category. And in that category, due to the recently passed unemployment benefits extension, those collecting Emergency Unemployment Compensation, spiked a whopping, almost incomprehensible, staggering, shocking, (fill in your own favorite descriptor here) 1.2 Million from the prior week to 4.5 Million... and yet the majority of the media overlooked the real facts or were unwilling to report them.

www.CallNancyLamar.com

Is it Normal to see Foxes in Daylight?

In the neighborhood I live in, we were contacted by some HOA members that are concerned about the foxes being seen throughout our subdivision. The concerns include:

·       there appear to be more frequent fox sightings, especially in the daytime, 

·       the animals appear very thin and don't seem to be scared of humans.

This has led to speculation that the animals are sick/rabid and could thus pose a particular threat to our children. The question of whether or not the HOA should hire a trapper to capture the animals or take some other such action was raised.

We contacted the Clemson office of the SC Department of Natural Resources (SC DNR) and were told it is not abnormal to see foxes in the daytime, especially this time of year. "Tom" said that the mothers likely gave birth to their "kits" (pups) not too long ago, and the parents would be out a lot foraging for food for their young ones. He said the nursing mothers will often look very thin at this point. And he said that we are now likely seeing the offspring venturing out some too. He said that we shouldn't be too surprised that the foxes aren't that scared of us – the older ones have grown accustomed to us in "their habitat,” and the young ones are starting to explore.

Tom also said a rabid fox will typically behave in one of two ways: 

·       "drunk" - stagger and wander as if it can hardly see where it's going, or

·       "furious" - attacks pretty much everything in site -- rocks, sticks, itself, etc.

No one has currently mentioned any rabid-like behavior to us, so based on that and the info from the DNR, we do not want to take steps to eradicate the foxes or other such wildlife in Teakwood unless it poses an extreme nuisance to a considerable number of us, or it represents imminent and obvious danger to us.

Note that the SC Dept. of Natural Resources does not trap and remove such wildlife. If you follow this link to their website (http://www.dnr.sc.gov/wildlife/nwco.html), you will see the web page starts off with, “In South Carolina, control of nuisance wildlife and animal damage is the responsibility of the individual property owner.” The SC DNR simply refers you to a list of private individuals and businesses (a.k.a., Wildlife Control Operators, or WCOs) that have agreed to provide trapping services.

To minimize potential encounters with any wildlife, the DNR's advice is:

1. do not leave any pet food outside, especially overnight

2. do not leave any garbage outside where a wild animal could easily access it

3. consider even removing bird feeders (or food from the feeders) for a while, as the foxes will come by to eat the bird seed.

If you Google search “red fox daylight” or “red fox daylight in SC”, you should find a number of articles that provide essentially the same type of info as we heard from our local DNR office. Here are a few links that may be of interest if you want to read more about this subject:

Humane Society: http://www.hsus.org/wildlife/a_closer_look_at_wildlife/foxes_the_red_and_the_gray.html

Clemson Extension Office: http://www.clemson.edu/extension/natural_resources/wildlife/publications/fs28_terrestrial_furbearers.html

News Story from a Rhode Island Paper:

http://www.scindependent.com/articles/2009/06/25/local/doc4a439a20346cc059711725.txt

www.CallNancyLamar.com

Right of Redemption with Real Estate

The right of redemption is the right of a property owner to redeem his or her real estate from foreclosure by paying the lender the outstanding principal and interest due, plus the lender's costs in foreclosure, or to redeem foreclosed real property from whoever purchased it at the foreclosure sale. It can vary from state to state on how long the owner has after the property goes to auction, exactly what has to be paid, and even what the process is called. There are two key reasons why a foreclosure investor needs to be familiar with the right of redemption. One is that you need to know when you buy a property at auction whether or not the owner can get the property back if he somehow comes up with sufficient funds (typically the outstanding balance, accrued interest, late fees and costs). The second is that you may be able to buy the redemption rights whether or not you actually buy the property. Protecting your investment In states that provide the right of redemption after the foreclosure auction, you want to be sure you're not going to be faced with a situation where you buy the property, spend time and money fixing it up and putting it on the market, then have the owner (or another investor who has purchased the redemption rights) take the property and your potential profits away from you. The redemption period is set by state law and typically ends at some point before the sale or up to a year after the sale. If the redemption period in your state ends before or at the sale and you buy the property at auction, this shouldn't be an issue. But if the owner has weeks, months, or even up to a year or more after the auction to redeem the property, you have a level of uncertainty that most investors would find unacceptable. Most people who lose a house in foreclosure aren't likely to have the means to redeem it later, but circumstances can change and financial windfalls do happen. Also, because most of the secondary liens are wiped out with the foreclosure, it's possible that the owner could put himself in a better financial position by waiting until after the foreclosure to redeem the property rather than trying to pay those debts and stop the foreclosure. Please see FHA guideline attached below If the property was acquired by foreclosure, the acquisition date is the date the lender acquired full rights to the property. The Decisioner must review and approve documentation to support the date of acquisition. This documentation may include, but is not limited to: a copy of the property sales history report, a copy of the property tax bill, the title commitment or binder demonstrating the seller's ownership of the property and the date it was acquired, or documentation issued by the Court or by the Sheriff. The document(s) must validate the date the lender attained full rights to the property after a redemption period has expired, if applicable.
www.CallNancyLamar.com

When is a Septic Inspection required to get a Home Loan

ALL USDA loans require septic inspections no matter if it is owner occupied , rental, fannie mae owned, etc.


FHA requires septic inspections usually if the house is vacant or if the underwriter feels justification to request. Which means if the home inspection or appraisal notes that they would recommend a licensed plumber to inspect.

http://www.callnancylamar.com/

Now is the Time to Buy Real Estate

Home loan rates continue to be at historical low rates... which is why now is the perfect time to buy real estate, while home loan rates continue to be some of the best they have ever been! If you or anyone you know would like to learn more about this exceptional opportunity, please don't hesitate to call or email. I'd be happy to talk to them about this extraordinary time to invest in real estate!

http://www.callnancylamar.com/