Bad neighbors can cost you

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Published Date 11/13/2017

Realtor Report

Bad neighbors can cost you

Buying a home is one of the biggest investment any person will make in their lifetime. But how often do potential buyers do as much due diligence on their next-door neighbors as they do with, say, the decor in the bathroom or square footage in the yard?

Some 25% of home buyers said they regret not asking about their neighbors, while 30% said they wish they’d looked into the local sex offender database, according to a survey of 2,000 homeowners by mortgage-information site HSH.com.

Only 16% regretted that their home was too small. But roughly 40% of people said they’ve argued with their neighbor over noise, parking, kids, pets, danger to property and other landscaping issues, according to a separate survey of 3,000 people by real-estate site Homes.com released last year.

An annual online poll has ranked noise as No. 1 year after year. That includes barking dogs, loud music, car and house alarms and domestic arguments.

Barry Covert, a lawyer, based in Buffalo, N.Y., recommends people research potential neighbors’ Facebook accounts, talk to local police, visit corner stores and local laundry services, and knock on the neighbor’s front door and find out for yourself. These steps make financial sense. And check online sex offender registries too: One study by Longwood College and Longwood University in Virginia said that registered sex offenders living nearby can reduce a home’s value by 9%, and homes near registered sex offenders can take 70% longer to sell.

Make sure the property line in the deeds of your future home matches with the actual property line, said Robert W. Zierman, a lawyer in Seattle. Few homeowners have heard of “adverse possession,” but it is the legal grounds on which a neighbor can claim “continuous, exclusive, open and notorious” use of your land if he or she has done so for a period of time. If there has been an unlawful use of land for many years, the neighbor may be able to claim ownership in some states. Ask the seller for a written disclosure of all issues presented by neighbors over the years, Borzotta said.

And the problem isn’t always next door. “We who consider ourselves good neighbors need to realize we’re not perfect,” he said, “and that introspection, maturity, and dignity are the best ways with which to handle neighbor conflicts as they arise.”

Source: MarketWatch.com

This Week's Mortgage Rate Summary

How Rates Move:

Conventional and Government (FHA and VA) lenders set their rates based on the pricing of Mortgage-Backed Securities (MBS) which are traded in real time, all day in the bond market. This means rates or loan fees (mortgage pricing) moves throughout the day, being affected by a variety of economic or political events. When MBS pricing goes up, mortgage rates or pricing generally goes down. When they fall, mortgage pricing goes up.

Rates Currently Trending: Neutral

Mortgage rates are trending sideways today. Last week the MBS market worsened by -47bps. This was enough to worsen mortgage rates or fees. Mortgage rates were fairly volatile last week.

This Week's Rate Forecast: Neutral

Three Things: These are the three areas that have the greatest ability to impact mortgage rates this week. 1) Tax Reform, 2) Fed and 3) Domestic.

1) Tax Reform: The Senate begins the mark up of their version of the Tax Bill, currently that bond market is not putting a high probability of Tax Reform passing anytime soon given at least three Republican Senators have come out against any type of reform that adds to the deficit. Any change in sentiment among those three Senators and/or movement in the Senate and House will impact mortgage rates as bonds are very reactive to any type of macroeconomic stimulation such as lower corporate taxes and the repatriation of cash from overseas.

2) Fed: The watch is on for a December Rate Hike. But any news/leaks on prospects to fill the four open Fed Governor positions will also get a lot of traction.

11/13 Patrick Harker
11/14 Charles Evans and James Bullard
11/15 Eric Rosengren
11/16 Loretta Mester, Robert Kaplan and Lael Brainard

3) Domestic: Inflation will take center stage as we get both the Producer Price Index and Consumer Price Index this week. The higher the YOY readings are, the worse it is for rates. The lower the readings are, the better it is for rates. Retail Sales will also be a very key reading.

This Week's Potential Volatility: Average

Mortgage rates could see some volatility as the markets hedge if a tax plan will go through this year. The markets will also be paying close attention to the inflation data.

Bottom Line:

If you are looking for the risks and benefits of locking your interest rate in today or floating your loan rate, contact your mortgage professional to discuss it with them.

Source: TBWS

All information furnished has been forwarded to you and is provided by thetbwsgroup only for informational purposes. Forecasting shall be considered as events which may be expected but not guaranteed. Neither the forwarding party and/or company nor thetbwsgroup assume any responsibility to any person who relies on information or forecasting contained in this report and disclaims all liability in respect to decisions or actions, or lack thereof based on any or all of the contents of this report.