Major Storms Across the Southeast Could Delay Your Closing

As many parts of the Southeast recover from a wave of storms that moved through the area, Realtors and Lenders may be surprised as their borrowers encounter additional costs and/or delays before closing. If you are currently in the process of buying a home, you may be contacted by your lender and told that you will have to have a re-inspection of your property completed by the appraiser.

Collateral is one of the main components in the lending process and in the case of buying a home, the structure itself is the value backing up the loan to protect the lender in case of default. Most lending guidelines have a disaster policy that goes into effect after major storms like, hurricanes, tornadoes, hail, etc. The purpose of these policies is to make sure that the home (the collateral) is still in the same condition as it was when originally appraised. As of this morning, the entire State of Alabama has been declared a disaster area by FEMA.

What that means for those in the middle of the loan process (in Alabama) is that the lender is going to require verification that the home is marketable at the same value and in the same condition as when it was originally appraised. Hopefully, this will just mean a short delay while the appraiser re-inspects the home. If the home was damaged, then repairs will have to be made and a possible decrease in value could occur.

If the property has not been appraised, then the appraiser is supposed to try and find comparables that have sold post disaster, or they must provide photos post disaster of the subject property and all comparables to show that no damage has occurred to either the home, or the comparable sales used in the appraisal report. As of right now, no areas in Tennessee have been declared “Disaster Areas” but as reports of actual damage are analyzed, this could be updated in the future requiring compliance. Make sure that you always deal with a lender that is on top of changes in their market and can anticipate these concerns.

As a Realtor, if you know that storms have passed through the area and caused damage to homes, you may want to be proactive with your buyer and ask the Home Inspector to re-inspect the property, just to make sure that the buyer is protected.


©Richard Swan 2011
This blog is for informational purposes and is the opinion of the writer. In financial matters always solicit professional advice and legal counsel if necessary.

Identity Theft Costs Everyone Money: Protect Yourself

A friend called me today desperate for help. She had her debit card number stolen and over $10,000 had been removed from her checking and savings account. After calling her bank and filing a police report, she called me to find out what else could be done to prevent and limit the damage that can be caused by fraud.

In her particular situation, an additional card reader had been attached to an ATM or other credit card scanning device to pick up the account number of her card. The thieves then created an actual card that could be used at stores, restaurants, ATM’s, etc. This practice has been around for some time and should remind us all to be more aware and think about the location and machine that we use to scan any bank card.

Once she realized her account had been compromised, she wanted to make sure that her credit and identity were not vulnerable. The first step is to alert people that can help you, and then to monitor your credit carefully over the next several years. She was diligent and filed a local police report, but the FBI may also be interested in hearing about your situation, especially depending on the dollar amount. You can find out more about identity theft by visiting this FBI website: http://www.fbi.gov/about-us/investigate/cyber/identity_theft .

If you suspect you are a victim of identity theft, here are some important contact numbers that can help you respond:
Federal Trade Commission:
Identity Theft Hotline: 877 ID THEFT (877) 438-4338

You can also put an alert on your credit by contacting the three credit bureaus listed below:
Experian Fraud Division: (888) 397 3742
Equifax Fraud Division: (800) 525 6285
TransUnion Fraud Division: (800) 680 7289


This blog is for informational purposes and is the opinion of the writer. In financial matters always solicit professional advice and legal counsel if necessary.