Resurrect a Healthy Garden! Tips That Will Help You Burst Into Spring.

By: Jessica Schmidt, Philanthropy Manager, NHS of Baltimore

Ahh Spring!
It is that time of year, the time when everyone begins to shake off their winter blahs and emerge energized for spring. If you are a first time homeowner, this may be your first spring in your house and your first chance to get dirty in your own yard. But where to start?

Experts say that with a few easy steps you will be off and running towards the garden of your dreams. Here are 4 easy tips that anyone, green thumb or not, should be able to handle:

1. Clean out the yard! Remove any winter debris, leftover leaves and other remains from past seasons. Rake the grass and give it a chance to get some spring sun. This is a great chance to survey your yard and plan out what you want to do. Do you want to put a patio in? Do you want to put in a new flower bed? Use this time to really think ahead, sprucing up your yard is a great investment not only for your enjoyment but for when you go to sell your home someday.

2. Sharpen your tools! First time gardener? Now is the time to get all your supplies together, a rake, lawnmower, shovels, etc. Determine the scale of your gardening ambitions and then hit nurseries and gardening supply stores. Their staff is knowledgeable and should be able to help you with any questions. Looking for a good deal? Spring is a great time to check out places like Craigslist for used equipment, which could still be in great shape, just be sure to really give the equipment a good evaluation before purchasing it.

3. Prepare those flower beds! Start cleaning out or building new flower beds as soon as the soil can be worked. Experts suggest spreading a 4-inch layer of compost or well-rotted manure over soil, and cultivate it to a depth of 10 to 12 inches with a spading fork.

4. Bring on the plants! Before you make your plant purchases be sure to do some research or talk to gardening professionals about the best types of plants for your yard. Be honest about the type of sun you get, while some flowering plants are beautiful, they may not work in your yard, so do your homework. When purchasing plants, be sure to look them over carefully. Don’t immediately go for the ones in full bloom, rather looks for plants with healthy buds that are ready to bloom, much better to have them at their peak in your yard, not the store. Again, ask the professionals! That is what they are there for.

Hopefully these tips will put you on a path to your Garden of Eden. Remember that gardening takes time and effort, but the payoffs are big. Not only will you be able to enjoy it, but it will add curb appeal to your home for years to come, making it the most desirable house on the block.

Good Luck and happy digging!

Getting a Handle on Baltimore Area Home Prices: Tips From the Real Estate Wonk

This Article was written by Jamie Smith Hopkins of the Baltimore Sun

If you track home sales in neighborhoods near you, you probably have some idea why average and median price changes aren't always helpful measures. Even streets with apparently cookie-cutter houses have variations -- this one is updated, that one is pure '70s. In communities where the homes range from two-bedroom rancher to 4,000-square-foot manor, what sells one year might have no relation to sales the next.

That's why home buyers, sellers and agents (and state officials sorting through property tax appeals) focus on "comps." What's actually comparable?

If you want to know how Baltimore City or Carroll County or any individual jurisdiction fared in any particular month, you're basically stuck with average and median. That's what Metropolitan Regional Information Systems reports.

But there are other figures you can look at, if you don't mind waiting and/or taking the bigger perspective of the metro area overall.

The much-watched Case-Shiller index doesn't include Baltimore (Washington is as close as it gets), but the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight tracks the area. OFHEO measures repeat transactions -- changes in price to the same home over time. According to its number-crunching, prices dropped almost 6 percent in the Baltimore metro area during the last three months of 2008, compared with a year earlier.

The downside: a time lag, as you can see. Also, the figures include only single-family homes bought or refinanced with "conforming" loans, which means it's not capturing the universe of subprime and jumbo.

Real estate information company First American CoreLogic also tracks "increases and decreases in sales prices for the same homes over time," but it includes nonconforming mortgages. By its reckoning, prices in the Baltimore metro area dropped 8 percent in January vs. a year earlier.

That's precisely the same as the median price drop according to MRIS, as it happens. So sometimes the different measures do agree.
I've just mentioned a few, of course. There are others -- Zillow, for instance. Have you seen any you especially like?

The Fed's New Plan to Help Struggling Homeowners: Do You Qualify for Help?

By: Alicia Schuller, Marketing Coordinator, NHS of Baltimore

On March 4, 2009 the Federal Government announced a plan to help struggling homeowners stay in their homes and avoid foreclosure. There is a lot stuff floating around out there about the guidelines and rules of the legislation, as well as who is eligible for help and who isn't.

As a homeowner, you need to know there are two facets to this legislation. 1.)The Home Affordable Refinance and 2.) The Home Affordable Modification. These were put in place to help homeowners who are either under water with their mortgages (their mortgage is worth more than the property), or who were victims of predatory lending and ended up with a bad loan with re-adjustable arms.

Eligibility (as laid out by the U.S. Department of the Treasury's Summary of Guidelines)

- loan was originated on or before January 1, 2009
- first-lien loans on owner-occupied properties with unpaid principal balance up to $729,750
- higher limits allowed for owner-occupied properties with 2-4 units
-all borrowers must fully document income, including signed IRS 4506-T, two most recent pay stubs, most recent tax return, and must sign an affidavit of financial hardship
- property owner occupancy status will be verified through borrower credit report and other documentation; no investor-owned, vacant, or condemned properties
-incentives to lenders and servicers to modify at risk borrowers who have not yet missed payments, when the servicer determines that the borrower is at imminent risk of default
-modifications can start from now until December 31, 2012; loans can be modified only once under the program

NHS of Baltimore in the News for Foreclosure Prevention

Visit the link below to read the story.

http://www.abc2news.com/news/local/story/Avoid-Foreclosure-Scams/V86e-TzRMkyk0QSluMSS9w.cspx?rss=702

How to Avoid Foreclosure Rescue Scams

NeighborWorks America, of which NHS of Baltimore is a chartered member, offers these quick tips to avoid foreclosure rescue scams.

1. When you need help with a possible foreclosure on your home, don’t hesitate to contact your local NeighborWorks organization or other HUD-approved nonprofit housing counseling agency for free foreclosure counseling. To find a local NeighborWorks organization near you, visit www.nw.org.

2. If you feel more comfortable speaking to a counselor over the phone, call the Homeowner’s HOPE Hotline at 888-995-HOPE for free foreclosure prevention counseling by expert counselors at HUD-approved nonprofit counseling agencies. The hotline is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

3. Suspect any ad, person, or company that approaches you and claims to be able to “stop foreclosure now” for a fee.

4. Never release your financial information online or over the phone to a company you know nothing about.

5. Contact your mortgage lender. Contrary to what a foreclosure scammer will tell you, you should contact your lender the minute you have trouble making your monthly payment.

NHS of Baltimore Supports Federal Efforts to Prevent Foreclosure

Today new details of the Obama administration’s plan to prevent foreclosure and stabilize communities were announced and NHS of Baltimore is committing its full support to the plan’s scope and strategy. Details of the plan clearly demonstrate the Administration’s focus on supporting foreclosure prevention and neighborhood stabilization initiatives that will help the largest number of homeowners.

“This is a promising step forward for millions of homeowners who are worried about losing their homes,” said Felix Torres Colon, NHS of Baltimore Executive Director, “The programs detailed today give hope and important guidance to millions of homeowners who thought that the only solution to their mortgage trouble was foreclosure. Foreclosure doesn’t have to happen.”

NHS of Baltimore and other HUD certified counseling organizations – important parts of the President’s foreclosure prevention plan -- stand ready to do their part to help qualified homeowners prepare to talk to their lender and to take full advantage of the bold plan announced by the Obama administration.

Long-Term Loan Modifications

In addition to low-cost refinancing and lower mortgage interest rates, the President's plan gets out in front of the foreclosure problem and creates a standard for loan modification. NHS of Baltimore is pleased to see modifications completed under the Homeowner Affordability and Stability Plan must be in place for at least five years, and that under the plan, a homeowner’s mortgage debt-to-income ratio will be brought down to 31 percent. However, we maintain that in order to achieve sustainable homeownership, loan modifications must be sustainable over the course of the loan.

The Importance of Nonprofit Foreclosure Intervention Counseling

Community-based foreclosure intervention counseling provided by nonprofit certified counselors is a critical part of the foreclosure prevention process. Nonprofit counselors help homeowners understand their options and the steps they can take to stay in their homes.