Team Thayer Property Servicing

Gutters: What Material Is Best? If you're putting gutters on your home for the first time, or replacing your existing gutters, you may be surprised by just how many options there are. While there may be numerous options to choose from, it’s important to understand the various costs associated with this type of project before making a decision. In fact, experts estimate that the cost to install gutters and related components like downspouts can vary widely, with installation rates ranging from a minimum of $3 to more than $17 per linear foot. And while gutters protect the sides of the house from mud, preventing erosion, reducing water damage to the foundation, and keeping visitors from getting wet—guttering can demand more maintenance and cleaning, distract from the profile or design of a home, and be a big expense when constructing or remodeling. The four top gutter material options are aluminum, vinyl, copper and stainless steel. So, what’s the best choice for you? Consider th...

As an industry, property preservation is focused on providing the services to maintain and protect assets. To date, the industry has not really explored how software for the  “Internet of Things”  (IoT) can add a new dimension of control and help reduce costs. Is the industry missing out on an opportunity? Can the IoT help industry professionals do a better job with property preservation management? The answer is yes. The good news is, there is a solution in the entry management space. First, let’s look at the problems with traditional keys. They can be easily lost or copied, and rekeying costs money. What if there was a software that, if paired with a Bluetooth lock device, could ensure that the investor, servicer and property owner all know who enters the property, when they do so, and how long they remain inside? Imagine a digital keyless entry management system that enhances security and simplifies the management of access to properties. The good news is that digit...

Home prices continued to rise in April, with no signs of slowing down anytime soon. No real surprise, then, that a new  Gallup  survey finds most Americans anticipating that price climb to continue on its upward trajectory. But is that ongoing increase deterring those surveyed from shopping for a new home if they’re ready to do so? For a majority of respondents, that answer is no. Gallup's annual  Economy and Personal Finance poll , conducted April 2-11, found that most Americans surveyed were aware of this trend and expected it to continue. When asked, “Over the next year, do you think that the average price of houses in your area will increase, stay the same, or decrease,” 64 percent responded that they anticipated local home prices would continue increasing. That percentage is up nine percentage points over the past two years and now marks the highest percentage Gallup has measured since 2005. Twenty-six percent of those surveyed said they expected home prices ...

A “fair” credit score between 640 and 679 could cost a borrower around $720 a year in extra mortgage payments than a borrower with an “excellent” score, according to a new  Zillow study . Zillow  analyzed Annual Percentage Rate (APR) terms offered to borrowers on Zillow Mortgages and found that “a borrower with a fair score will pay 7 percent more over the life of a 30-year mortgage for the same home as an otherwise identical borrower with a credit score above 760.” To put that in clearer numbers, that 7 percent would add up to nearly an extra $21,000 during the life of that mortgage. Or, as Zillow puts it to provide context, “roughly equal to one year’s tuition costs for an out-of-state student at a public university, or the cost of a new car.” Breaking things down further, Zillow posited a hypothetical “ buyer with an excellent credit score in Los Angeles earning the area’s median income and purchasing the typical L.A. home.” That buyer could likely expect to be offere...

The GSEs,  Fannie Mae  and  Freddie Mac , completed nearly 20,000 foreclosure prevention actions in February 2018, according to the latest  Foreclosure Prevention Report  issued by the  FHFA . The exact total of foreclosure prevention actions for February 2018 came to 19,932. Since the beginning of the conservatorships in September 2008, the GSEs have completed a total of 4,084,139 foreclosure prevention actions, with more than half of those being loan modifications. For February 2018, the GSEs completed 10,606 permanent loan modifications, bringing the total under the conservatorships to 2,173,383. Forty-six percent of February’s loan modifications involved principal forbearance. Forty-two percent of February’s modifications involved modifications with extend term only. According to the report, there were 794 short sales and deeds‐in‐lieu of foreclosure completed in February. That’s down 23 percent compared to January 2018’s 1,026 total. The se...

Here are the best times to sell a house     Conventional wisdom has long held that the best time to sell a house is in the spring and summer months. But does the conventional wisdom hold up to cold, hard facts?   Property data company ATTOM Data Solutions  analyzed nearly 15 million home sales  between 2011 and 2017. Here’s some of what they found:  May is the best month to sell a home. Homes sold in this month received on average Why do warmer months perform better? According to  Realtor.com , selling a house in warmer weather means more accurate comps (since more area homes are selling), blue skies and bright flowers (which improve the appeal of nearly every property), and heavy competition for homes (which sometimes results in bidding wars).5.9% more than their estimated market value. April, May, June, and July present the top months for selling a home. Avoid — if you can — the final quarter of the year unless you’re in a warm we...

Goldman Sachs is approaching the billion-dollar mark for mandated consumer-relief actions stemming from two mortgage-related settlement agreements with the U.S. Department of Justice and three states. Professor Eric D. Green, who serves as independent Monitor for the company’s consumer-relief agreements, announced this week that Goldman Sachs has thus far provided $993,420,822 in consumer relief, or 55 percent of the $1.8-billion target. Eric D. Green, a professional mediator and retired Boston University law professor, was named by the settling parties as independent monitor with responsibility for determining whether Goldman Sachs fulfills its consumer-relief obligations. Since his previous report on February 15, 2018, Goldman Sachs has forgiven $61,610,295 in principal on 666 first-lien mortgages, Professor Green reported. The average principal forgiveness for the loans was $92,508, and the reportable credit toward the total owed was $75,278,610, “after the application of app...

The Challenges Facing Financial Services Firms Editor's Note: This piece originally appeared in the May issue of  DS News  magazine,  out now . Formerly a Deputy Attorney General in charge of the Harrisburg office of the Pennsylvania Bureau of Consumer Protection, Stephen Hladik brings a broad range of experience to his mortgage foreclosure, bankruptcy, tax sale, and UDAP legal practice. A graduate of the Pennsylvania State University, Hladik obtained his law degree from Widener University, with honors, where he served as Internal Managing Editor of the Law Review. Hladik gained significant expertise in lending law enforcement while serving in the Pennsylvania Attorney General's Bureau of Consumer Protection, handling UDAP, FDCPA, RESPA, and TILA cases. Before joining  Hladik, Onorato & Federman, LLP , Hladik was the Pennsylvania managing attorney for one of the nation's largest creditor's rights firms, practicing mortgage foreclosure and bankruptcy la...