By ALAN ZIBEL
AP Real Estate Writer

Buried in a housing law signed last week by President Barack Obama are protections that will help thousands of renters stay in their homes — at least for a while — after their landlords have been foreclosed on.

The law allows tenants to remain in their foreclosed rentals through the end of their leases and then 90 days after that before being forced to vacate by lenders. Renters without leases will have 90 days, a big improvement over what most received before: almost no notice at all.

“Until this law was enacted, there had been no national protections for any of these households,” said Linda Couch, deputy director at the National Low Income Housing Coalition. “This gives renters time to adjust their lives.”

Now, renters like Rittie Brantley, 49, have more time in their apartments. Just before Thanksgiving , a bank representative told Brantley she had to move from her apartment in New Haven, Conn., because the landlord was in foreclosure. Her lease, which expires in June, didn’t matter, he told her.

“I had a week to be out,” said Brantley, who depends on government aid to help pay the rent. “I don’t want to move to a bad neighborhood.”

Instead, Brantley took her case to the New Haven Legal Assistance Association.

With the new law, “overnight, she received the right to live there through June and three months after that,” said Amy Marx, the attorney who represents Brantley.

Interested in rental properties within the Houston, Texas real estate market?  Click here!

Home prices drop 6.7%

Houston, Texas real estate home prices fell more than any of the other large Texas markets in the first quarter.

The median price for an existing single-family home declined 6.7 percent here, compared with 4.7 percent in Dallas/Fort Worth and about 1 percent in both San Antonio and Austin, according the National Association of Realtors.

Nationwide, sales of foreclosures and short sales accounted for nearly half of all transactions in the first quarter. That’s been pulling down median prices in most markets, the association said.

In Houston, 29 percent of the homes sold through the Multiple Listing Service in the first quarter were foreclosures. A year earlier it was 23 percent.

Distressed homes typically are selling for 20 percent less than traditional homes, according to the national data.

Here, the median price of a Houston-area home sold out of foreclosure was down 13 percent in the first quarter to $81,000, according to the Houston Association of Realtors.

That compares to a 1 percent dip for a non-foreclosure home, which slipped to $163,129.

Still, Houston looks a lot better when compared to the rest of the country.

Nationwide, home prices fell 13.8 percent to $169,000 in the quarter. Houston’s median was $138,500.

Economist Jim Gaines of Texas A&M’s Real Estate Center said Houston and Dallas may have seen bigger price declines than the other major Texas cities because they attracted more new home building.

During the boom, builders developed neighborhoods with scads entry-level homes, many of which sold to subprime borrowers, and are now rife with foreclosures.

“In Houston, you have more of the lower end,” Gaines said.

A couple months ago, Mary Thai found a house for lease on Craigslist, the online database of independent classifieds.

The 27-year-old manicurist made an appointment to look at the Jersey Village property and took her husband and mother along to see it.

It was just what she wanted, so she signed a lease and forked over $1,400 in cash — $995 for the first month’s rent and the rest as a deposit.

But Thai said the man who took her money was impersonating the real estate agent who was actually listing the property for sale on the Houston Association of Realtors’ Web site. He has since disappeared.

Craigslist scams have been reported in other parts of the country since the housing market began to deteriorate, and the local realty association said it’s now started hearing about them in Houston.

The scams typically involve posting properties for rent or sale at discounted prices. The person posting the ad will ask prospective renters or buyers to mail a check, money order or cash or wire funds for the property.

Robin Mueck, president and CEO of Heritage Texas Properties, said she doesn’t see the problem as widespread, but the increasing number of real estate transactions taking place online will lead to more opportunities for fraud.

Her company was affected when a Craigslist ad described a property that was actually being listed by a Heritage Texas agent.

A consumer became interested in the property and after several conversations with the Craigslist advertiser, she drove by the house, saw the realty sign and called the company.

That’s when she discovered the scam.

Thai said she filed a police report and is now waiting to hear from a detective on her case.

A Craigslist spokeswoman said the company goes to great lengths to prevent scams from reaching users, but those that do are quickly identified and removed by user flagging. The site also publishes fraud warnings.

It will be an evening of good food and drink at the Fourth Annual Great Taste of the Heights Saturday, May 16 at All Saints Catholic Church at 215 East 10th St. (Click for Map)

Twenty restaurants will participate in the fundraising event.  All proceeds from the event go toward All Saints Church outreach programs such as St. Vincent de Paul Society, Third Age Learning, a senior support program, and their elementary outreach program.

What:  20 restaurants offer a variety of dishes in one location When:  5:30 - 10pm, Saturday, May 16 Where:  All Saints Catholic Church, 215 E. 10th St. at Harvard Cost:  $20 advance tickets; $25 at the door Details:  713-446-7420 or www.greattasteoftheheights.com

Some of the participating restaurants include Bedford, Berryhill, Collina’s, Carter & Cooley, Dacapo’s, Shade, Onion Creek, Dry Creek, Cedar Creek, Hickory Hollow, Chatters, Pizzitola’s, Soma Sushi, Kojak’s Café, Houston Tamales Company, Max’s Wine Dive, Molina’s, Spanish Flowers, The Rainbow Lodge and Thai Spice.

Entertainment will be provided by The Rich Latimer Band and The Waltrip Band.

There will be a cash bar available.

Organizer Kerry Anne Mooney said the event has grown from 250-1,000 visitors during the past four years.  She credits the varied food samplings, a silent auction, a raffle and casual atmosphere to the success.

“Where else can you sit and eat four star food on a grassy knoll with your family?

For more information, you can call 713-446-7420 or go to www.greattasteoftheheights.com.

Houston, Texas real estate is more exciting than ever!  Great Taste of the Heights is a fun opportunity to check out the Heights, one of the most popular neighborhoods in the city.   

Study up before refinancing.  Home loan modifications could raise monthly payments but shouldn't hurt credit ratings. Watch out for scammers.

It's welcome relief for homeowners struggling with mortgage payments. The new federal program to let people refinance or modify their mortgages is expected to help millions of Americans lower monthly payments and avoid foreclosure. So what strings are attached?

You might be concerned about the impact to your credit report or the tax implications, for instance. Others who are still paying low introductory rates might fear their monthly bills could skyrocket. Here are some questions and answers on concerns people might have about the Making Home Affordable program.

Q: How will my credit profile be affected?

A: Refinancing generally doesn't affect your score since it's simply a rewritten mortgage, according to Norm Magnuson of the Consumer Data Industry Association, a trade group based in Washington.   This is especially true of refinancing under the federal program, since one of the terms of eligibility is that homeowners can't have missed a payment in the past year.

It's not yet clear what impact a federal loan modification - an adjustment to terms of an existing mortgage, rather than a new one - will have on credit profiles, however, Magnuson said. Regulators haven't yet determined how the loan modifications will be reported, if at all.

If you're applying for a loan modification under Making Home Affordable, it means you've already missed payments and hurt your credit profile. A loan modification should improve your credit profile in the long-run since the idea is to get you on track for meeting payments. It might also free up money to pay off other debts.

Q: Is it possible my payments will be higher?

A: If you're paying a low, introductory rate, it's possible your monthly mortgage payment will increase slightly under the federal refinancing program. But the idea is to avoid the big interest rate spikes that typically come with adjustable-rate mortgages.

After applying for the Making Home Affordable program, your lender should give you a "good faith estimate" that includes your new interest rate, mortgage payment and the total cost of the loan. Compare the numbers with your current loan; you might decide that refinancing isn't an improvement. You can also use the payment reduction estimator on the government's Web site at www.makinghomeaffordable.gov.

Q: Should I wait to see if mortgage interest rates come down in a couple of months before applying?

A: Probably not, since mortgage rates are at historic lows.  Last week, rates on 30-year mortgages inched upward to 4.87 percent, but that's still close to the lowest level in decades. Waiting for the rate to go any lower might backfire, said Ken Inadomi, director of the New York Mortgage Coalition.

Even introductory rates shouldn't be that much lower than fixed rates these days - in some cases, they may even be higher.

In case you decide to wait: The Making Home Affordable program expires on June 10, 2010.

Q: What are the tax implications?

A: Charges for refinancing a mortgage are tax-deductible. That cost should be evenly divided to be deducted over the life of the mortgage, Inadomi said. Other costs, such as attorney or appraisal fees, are not deductible. You'll also have to adjust your mortgage interest deduction if you get a lower rate.

Q: Can I try to refinance or modify my mortgage on my own?

A: Working directly with a lender shouldn't be a problem if you think you're not eligible for the federal program. Just beware of getting a third party involved, especially if they ask for an upfront fee. Government officials warn of scammers charging fees of $1,000 to $3,000 to help with loan modifications. Officials say such operations almost always are fraudulent, and that free help is available from government-approved housing counselors. Officials said the scams often go by official-sounding names designed to make borrowers think they are using the Obama administration's program.

Source: http://www.Makinghomeaffordable.gov 

Amid volatile energy prices and dire predictions about the worldwide impact of climate change, efforts to make residential homes more eco-friendly have blossomed in recent years, but so far have been available almost exclusively to the wealthy.

That soon may change.

The city of Houston has initiated a program to subsidize solar-powered, hyper-energy-efficient homes for low-income residents, among the first of its kind nationwide. So far, 10 homes have been built in northeast Houston, and City Council is scheduled to vote Wednesday on 13 more, planned for the Third Ward.

“This city and state and nation need this kind of construction for middle-class homeowners if we’re going to reduce energy bills and reduce emissions,” said Houston Mayor Bill White. “Politicians have talked for decades about the need for greater energy efficiency, more renewables and less dependency on imports and new power plants. … We’ve shown that it’s possible.”

Each home will cost around $135,000 and will be built with a $45,000 subsidy from the city, which will allow the builder to incorporate energy-efficiency innovations, such as solar panels, insulating the entire structure with foam that seals the indoors and water heaters that rely on outdoor temperatures to reduce energy requirements.

Low utility costs

A couple living in a prototype built in the 4300 block of Elysian has received no energy bill for the past three months, said developer Zack Burghli, who built that home and the 10 in northeast Houston and is slated to build the 13 being considered by council. Utility costs in the homes — including electricity, water, sewer and natural gas — are not likely to amount to higher than $50 a month for a 2,000-square-foot residence, depending on usage, Burghli said.

“Everybody has been talking about solar panels and going green and so forth in the past few years, but it has been restricted to the elite,” Burghli said, noting that going “green” in some quarters equates to having a floor made with bamboo or a door made from recycled material in China. “It does not make any sense in the industry we’re in. If you want to make a difference, you have to be able to mass produce it.”

Down payment help

White said that was his goal when he initiated the program, to spur demand from consumers in Houston and to show home builders that a market existed for such housing among working families to “revolutionize patterns in residential energy use.”

Asked whether the money allotted for the project could have been spent in a way that would provide more housing for the funds available, White acknowledged that “time will tell,” but said it is an important time for governments to step in and invest in projects to promote sustainability and energy independence.

Stephan Fairfield, CEO of Covenant Community Capital, a nonprofit that provides financing and technical assistance for community-based housing developments, said Houston’s plans will make the city a pioneer throughout the south.

“Helping working families save on their utility bills is the next frontier for innovation in affordable housing development,” he said.

The homes are part of a raft of initiatives White has championed to spur investment in struggling neighborhoods . Many of those who signed purchase agreements for the 10 homes built so far have received $30,000 to $37,500 in down payment assistance from the city.

To qualify to purchase one of the homes, a family of four can have a combined income of no more than 110 percent of the average median income in the region, or $70,194, according to city guidelines. Such a family would qualify for $30,000 in down payment assistance by moving into the historically underprivileged neighborhoods in which these homes will be built.

- Bradley Olson
Houston Chronicle

The 22nd Annual
Houston Art Car Parade
will be held on

May 9, 2009

Friday, May 8th
Sneak Peek at Discovery Green sponsored by Opportunity Houston
Get your first look at the new art cars for 2009, plus see some old favorites. There'll be live music and Art Car films on the main stage with art and entertainment throughout the park.
7pm - Discovery Green - 1500 McKinney - FREE

Saturday, May 9th
The Houston Art Car Parade
Watch as over 250 wheeled wonders turn concrete into a colorful canvas that celebrates the artist in everyone…including you! The cars start lining up at 9am - come early and get a view that's up close and personal. Vendors and refreshments on site.
Parade rolls at 1pm
Allen Parkway between Taft and Downtown.  FREE

VIPit Party
(during the Art Car Parade)
It's where the elite meet to check out the street! The VIPit offers the absolute best views of the Art Car Parade, plus ice-cold beverages and tasty treats from Houston-area restaurants.
(Money raised helps to cover parade costs)
11am-3pm - The Heritage Society - 1100 Bagby - Tickets: $125

Sunday, May 10th
The Art Car Brunch
and Awards Ceremony
Art Car artists, family and friends gather to celebrate a job well done at this last blast of the weekend. Food, drinks and live music guarantee a good time.
11am - 2pm - The Orange Show - 2402 Munger Street 
- FREE