F REAL ESTATE SATURDAY, MARCH 3, 2012 THE OKLAHOMAN | NEWSOK.COM INDEX Permits 6F Stone 8F HOUSE PLAN Nostalgic charm The country-style Pine Hill makes an ideal retreat cottage, but it is equally well suited for year-round living. PAGE 8F LISTING OF THE WEEK Deer Creek large home The Listing of the Week is a large home with a two-car workshop and other extras in the Deer Creek area. PAGE 7F End to mortgage relief ? Given the huge re- sources being devot- ed to helping fi- nancially distressed homeowners, you might assume that a key federal tax law benefit underpinning these efforts would be a shoo-in for renewal. Not so fast. PAGE 4F For Sarah Skinner, the world opened up when she was 13, within the four walls of a home offering everything she needed — space to maneuver her wheelchair, and the nuts and bolts of everyday life built within her reach. She was finally able to brush her teeth on her own at a bathroom sink she could access. Spina bifida has con- fined Skinner to a wheel- chair her whole life, but the 1,100-square-foot du- plex she and her mother, Margo Skinner, moved into in 2004 was the first wheelchair-accessible home she’d encountered. “It’s good,” said Sarah Skinner, 20. “It feels good to finally be able to do things on my own.” “It’s kind of a blessing and a curse, though,” her mother said, grinning at her. “You know, ‘Mom doesn’t do everything for me anymore.’” Except for occasional help locating a rogue cell- phone, Sarah Skinner has blossomed into an inde- pendent soul with her own tasks and her own dreams. She enrolled at Oklahoma State University-Okla- homa City this semester, testing the academic wa- ters. A Metro Transit bus pulls into the driveway to pick her up for class. “I want to become a sign language interpreter,” she said. “It’s so much fun.” Developer’s dream And if Jack Mills has his way, she’ll someday take that a step further — living in her own cottage just a few steps from the duplex she and her mother now share. Stakes mark where he hopes to build the 500- square-foot structure, es- sentially a studio apart- ment with few walls that will roll away with a voice command, and cabinetry situated to leave most of the space free for a wheel- chair. Monitors would allow mother and daughter to check in with each other, and each could shut her side off. The concept isn’t exact- ly new. The rising pop- ularity of the “granny pod,” a mini mobile home that could be set up in a backyard to house an el- derly relative, first got no- tice a couple of years ago. In 2010, Seattle changed its zoning ordinances to accommodate cottages similar to the one Mills en- visions, aiming to better use limited urban space, make housing more af- fordable and offer flexibil- ity to families who want to live near an elderly relative or adult child. Similar moves have been made in Denver and other cities across the country. Mills said he is picking his way through a city gov- ernment obstacle course to get his own project ap- proved. “There’s a long process to getting this done,” he said. A bright vision Sarah and Margo Skin- ner are among about a half-dozen residents living in duplexes Mills has had built on the 2½ acres sur- rounding his rock home at NW 36 and Amelia — near NW 39 and Meridian Ave- nue — a home hand-built by his grandparents just as the Dust Bowl was begin- ning to kick up across the Great Plains. Dubbed “Golden Pond” in honor of the 1981 movie, the last for Mills’ favorite actor, Henry Fonda, the miniature community fea- tures duplexes especially tailored to the hand- icapped and elderly. All back up to Golden Pond, where ducks, geese and one very vocal guinea hen provide entertainment. Mills, 74, and his family grew up in the big stone Golden Pond homes help people live freely SEE MOBILITY, PAGE 2F Sarah Skinner sits at the kitchen island designed so a wheelchair can pull up to it in her unit at Jack Mills’ On Golden Pond neighborhood. The development on the northeast corner of NW 36 and Amelia, near NW 39 and Meridian Avenue, specializes in units that are affordable and accessible to the elderly and people with dis- abilities. PHOTO BY NATE BILLINGS, THE OKLAHOMAN Jack Mills is shown near the pond at his Golden Pond neighborhood, which has affordable homes accessible to the elderly and people with disabilities, on the northeast corner of NW 36 and Amelia in Oklahoma City. PHOTO BY NATE BILLINGS, THE OKLAHOMAN BY DYRINDA TYSON For The Oklahoman [email protected]Two years ago, a young family’s hopes of buying a spacious suburban house they loved were dashed. No lender would approve their mortgage. But after cleaning up their financ- es, a few days ago these first-time buyers jumped the hurdles to become proud owners of an even bigger place. “They were shocked and thrilled at how much more house they could get than expected. They got a five-bedroom, mul- tilevel home with a three- car garage and a sunken living room. Plus it’s move-in ready,” said Jac- queline Hoff, the couple’s real estate broker. Why are many first- time buyers faring better than a couple of years ago? Hoff cited several factors. More home sellers are realistic on pricing and willing to bargain. Mortgage rates have slid to near- record lows. And many wannabe buyers have bettered their balance sheets. For instance, this fam- ily paid off their student loans and wiped out a big car-related debt. They also cut expenses, saving enough cash for a down payment on a Federal Housing Administration-backed mortgage. Their improved financial picture made them more appealing to lenders. “More buyers are get- ting back to basics be- cause they know there are amazing opportunities out there,” said Hoff, who’s affiliated with the Council of Residential Specialists (www.crs.com). Still, she said most first-time buyers now refuse to max out on a mortgage. “People are cautiously optimistic about the economy improving. But they don’t want to be house-poor. Families want to have money to go to the zoo, buy presents at holidays and to have nice dinners out,” she said. Young buyers, especial- ly, don’t want to over- extend themselves on a house, said Merrill Ott- wein, who heads a realty firm that works solely with buyers. “They’ve seen too many people in the older generation lose their properties to foreclosure and refuse to let it happen to them,” Ottwein said. Ottwein said first-time buyers with stable jobs are gradually feeling more positive about real estate. Despite the encouraging Housing market benefits buyers Ellen James Martin SMART MOVES SEE SMART, PAGE 2F Kenneth Harney THE NATION’S HOUSING IN BRIEF GOOD REPAIR MANUAL A good home repair manual is arguably just as valuable to a toolbox as a ham- mer or screwdriver. Stephen Fanuka and Edward Lewine have teamed up on one that’s easy for a first- time home- owner to un- derstand and use. “What’s a Homeowner to Do?” combines the know- how of Fanuka, a Manhattan contrac- tor featured on DIY Network’s “Million Dollar Contractor,” and Lewine, author of the Domains and Ask the Contractor columns in The New York Times Maga- zine. Their book contains information for people from raw novices to more seasoned do-it- yourselfers, address- ing everything from how to hammer a nail to how to re- place a window. “What’s a Home- owner to Do?” is published by Artisan Books and sells for $17.95 in softcover. EASY WALL TOUCH-UPS The Slobproof Paint Pen makes it easy to keep walls looking freshly painted. The pen is simply a plas- tic tube with a brush top that you fill with the same paint used on your wall, trim or other painted sur- face. A cap keeps the paint from dry- ing out between uses, so it’s always handy for touching up dings, discol- orations and other small flaws. The pen was created by Debbie Wiener, an interior designer who specializes in mess-proof interiors. It can be ordered from her website, www.slobproof.com. A set of two paint pens and a syringe for filling them costs $19.99 plus shipping. MCT INFORMATION SERVICES
Transcript
FREAL ESTATESATURDAY, MARCH 3, 2012 THE OKLAHOMAN | NEWSOK.COM
INDEX
Permits 6FStone 8F
HOUSE PLAN
NostalgiccharmThe country-style PineHill makes an idealretreat cottage, but it isequally well suited foryear-round living.PAGE 8F
LISTING OF THE WEEK
Deer Creeklarge homeThe Listing of the Week isa large home with atwo-car workshop andother extras in the DeerCreek area.
PAGE 7F
End tomortgagerelief ?Given the huge re-sources being devot-ed to helping fi-nancially distressedhomeowners, youmight assume that akey federal tax lawbenefit underpinningthese efforts wouldbe a shoo-in forrenewal. Not so fast.
PAGE 4F
For Sarah Skinner, theworld opened up when shewas 13, within the fourwalls of a home offeringeverything she needed —space to maneuver herwheelchair, and the nutsand bolts of everyday lifebuilt within her reach.
She was finally able tobrush her teeth on her ownat a bathroom sink shecould access.
Spina bifida has con-fined Skinner to a wheel-chair her whole life, butthe 1,100-square-foot du-plex she and her mother,Margo Skinner, moved intoin 2004 was the firstwheelchair-accessiblehome she’d encountered.
“It’s good,” said SarahSkinner, 20. “It feels goodto finally be able to dothings on my own.”
“It’s kind of a blessingand a curse, though,” hermother said, grinning ather. “You know, ‘Momdoesn’t do everything forme anymore.’ ”
Except for occasionalhelp locating a rogue cell-phone, Sarah Skinner hasblossomed into an inde-pendent soul with her owntasks and her own dreams.She enrolled at OklahomaState University-Okla-homa City this semester,testing the academic wa-ters. A Metro Transit buspulls into the driveway topick her up for class.
“I want to become a signlanguage interpreter,” shesaid. “It’s so much fun.”
Developer’s dreamAnd if Jack Mills has his
way, she’ll someday takethat a step further — living
in her own cottage just afew steps from the duplexshe and her mother nowshare. Stakes mark wherehe hopes to build the 500-square-foot structure, es-sentially a studio apart-ment with few walls thatwill roll away with a voicecommand, and cabinetrysituated to leave most ofthe space free for a wheel-chair.
Monitors would allowmother and daughter tocheck in with each other,and each could shut herside off.
The concept isn’t exact-ly new. The rising pop-ularity of the “grannypod,” a mini mobile homethat could be set up in abackyard to house an el-derly relative, first got no-tice a couple of years ago.
In 2010, Seattle changedits zoning ordinances toaccommodate cottagessimilar to the one Mills en-visions, aiming to betteruse limited urban space,make housing more af-fordable and offer flexibil-ity to families who want tolive near an elderly relativeor adult child. Similarmoves have been made inDenver and other citiesacross the country.
Mills said he is pickinghis way through a city gov-ernment obstacle course toget his own project ap-proved. “There’s a longprocess to getting thisdone,” he said.
A bright visionSarah and Margo Skin-
ner are among about ahalf-dozen residents living
in duplexes Mills has hadbuilt on the 2½ acres sur-rounding his rock home atNW 36 and Amelia — nearNW 39 and Meridian Ave-nue — a home hand-builtby his grandparents just asthe Dust Bowl was begin-ning to kick up across theGreat Plains.
Dubbed “Golden Pond”in honor of the 1981 movie,the last for Mills’ favoriteactor, Henry Fonda, theminiature community fea-tures duplexes especiallytailored to the hand-icapped and elderly. Allback up to Golden Pond,where ducks, geese andone very vocal guinea henprovide entertainment.
Mills, 74, and his familygrew up in the big stone
Golden Pond homeshelp people live freely
SEE MOBILITY, PAGE 2F
Sarah Skinner sits at the kitchen island designed so a wheelchair can pull up to it in her unit at Jack Mills’ OnGolden Pond neighborhood. The development on the northeast corner of NW 36 and Amelia, near NW 39 andMeridian Avenue, specializes in units that are affordable and accessible to the elderly and people with dis-abilities. PHOTO BY NATE BILLINGS, THE OKLAHOMAN
Jack Mills is shown near the pond at his Golden Pond neighborhood, which hasaffordable homes accessible to the elderly and people with disabilities, on thenortheast corner of NW 36 and Amelia in Oklahoma City.
Two years ago, a youngfamily’s hopes of buying aspacious suburban housethey loved were dashed.No lender would approvetheir mortgage. But aftercleaning up their financ-es, a few days ago thesefirst-time buyers jumpedthe hurdles to becomeproud owners of an evenbigger place.
“They were shockedand thrilled at how muchmore house they couldget than expected. Theygot a five-bedroom, mul-tilevel home with a three-car garage and a sunkenliving room. Plus it’smove-in ready,” said Jac-queline Hoff, the couple’sreal estate broker.
Why are many first-time buyers faring betterthan a couple of yearsago? Hoff cited severalfactors. More home sellersare realistic on pricingand willing to bargain.Mortgage rates have slidto near-record lows. And manywannabe buyers havebettered their balancesheets.
For instance, this fam-ily paid off their studentloans and wiped out a bigcar-related debt. Theyalso cut expenses, savingenough cash for a downpayment on a FederalHousing Administration-backedmortgage. Their improvedfinancial picture madethem more appealing tolenders.
“More buyers are get-ting back to basics be-cause they know there areamazing opportunitiesout there,” said Hoff,who’s affiliated with theCouncil of ResidentialSpecialists(www.crs.com).
Still, she said mostfirst-time buyers nowrefuse to max out on amortgage.
“People are cautiouslyoptimistic about theeconomy improving. Butthey don’t want to behouse-poor. Familieswant to have money to goto the zoo, buy presentsat holidays and to havenice dinners out,” shesaid.
Young buyers, especial-ly, don’t want to over-extend themselves on ahouse, said Merrill Ott-wein, who heads a realtyfirm that works solelywith buyers.
“They’ve seen toomany people in the oldergeneration lose theirproperties to foreclosureand refuse to let it happento them,” Ottwein said.
Ottwein said first-timebuyers with stable jobsare gradually feeling morepositive about real estate.
Despite the encouraging
Housingmarketbenefitsbuyers
EllenJamesMartin
SMARTMOVES
SEE SMART, PAGE 2F
KennethHarney
THE NATION’S HOUSING
IN BRIEF
GOOD REPAIRMANUALA good home repairmanual is arguablyjust as valuable to atoolbox as a ham-mer or screwdriver.Stephen Fanuka andEdward Lewine haveteamed up on onethat’seasy fora first-timehome-ownerto un-derstandand use. “What’s aHomeowner to Do?”combines the know-how of Fanuka, aManhattan contrac-tor featured on DIYNetwork’s “MillionDollar Contractor,”and Lewine, authorof the Domains andAsk the Contractorcolumns in The NewYork Times Maga-zine. Their bookcontains informationfor people from rawnovices to moreseasoned do-it-yourselfers, address-ing everything fromhow to hammer anail to how to re-place a window.“What’s a Home-owner to Do?” ispublished by ArtisanBooks and sells for$17.95 in softcover.
EASY WALLTOUCH-UPSThe Slobproof PaintPen makes it easy tokeep walls lookingfreshly painted. Thepen is simply a plas-tic tube with a brushtop that you fill withthe same paint usedon your wall, trim orother painted sur-face. A cap keepsthe paint from dry-ing out betweenuses, so it’s alwayshandy for touchingup dings, discol-orations and othersmall flaws. The penwas created byDebbie Wiener, aninterior designerwho specializes inmess-proof interiors.It can be orderedfrom her website,www.slobproof.com.A set of two paintpens and a syringefor filling them costs$19.99 plus shipping.MCT INFORMATION SERVICES
2F . SATURDAY, MARCH 3, 2012 THE OKLAHOMAN | NEWSOK.COMREAL ESTATE
house, and Mills has livedthere since his mother died17 years ago.
“My brother remembers1941 — Pearl Harbor — lis-tening to the radio next tothis fireplace, and (Presi-dent Franklin D.) Roosevelttelling them about thebombing,” Mills said,pointing to a sunken fire-place in his wood-paneledliving room.
Mills said marketing ishis passion, and it has ledhim around the world. Heroutinely led junkets toAcapulco and other far-flung points through the1970s, and he briefly triedlife as a restaurateur withGeneral Jack’s Pizza inNorman before that.
Providing accessBut 17 years ago, when
he looked over renovationsa neighborhood man madeto his own home, his lifechanged direction.
“I didn’t know the word‘accessible,’ what it reallymeant,” he said.
But with his eyesopened, he made plans.
“I was sitting here withthis land all paid for, so Iwent downtown and got itrezoned,” he said.
With each new duplex,the designs have beentweaked.
Sue Dunham occupiesthe oldest, moving toGolden Pond with herhusband, Carroll C. Dun-ham, and beloved pupTroubles right after Millscompleted the first duplex.Her husband and dog havedied, but Dunham, 85,lives on amid gleaming an-tiques and treasures in her1,500-square-foot unit.Family photos scatteredaround her bedroom andacross the dresser includeone of a young man with abeaming smile: her hus-band in younger days.
“He was a sweet man,”she said.
An eating bar dividesher living room from thekitchen, a design elementMills has abandoned insubsequent duplexes.
“It’s useless, you know,for seniors,” Mills said.
But other elements,such as the oversized,step-in shower in thebathroom, are welcome,Dunham said.
“I never had a shower ’tilI got over here. I alwaysused the bathtub,” shesaid. “I wasn’t sure I’d likeit, but once I had one, Iwouldn’t go back to abathtub for anything.”
Among the newest du-plexes is the home of InolaCollard, where a center
work island in the kitchenhas replaced the eatingbar, and the stove sits low-er to accommodate awheelchair.
Collard has offered Millsconstructive criticism.
“I never use my oven.”she said. “I told him if hebuilds more, he needs todrop the counters, put aconvection oven in there
and a microwave oven, andthat’s all you need. You’renot going to do majorcooking, baking and allthat.”
The kitchen island playsa big role in the Skinners’home as well.
“Oh my gosh, she hasspent so much time at thisisland,” Margo Skinnersaid of her daughter. “It’s
the perfect height. Sheeats on it — we just love it.”
Mother and daughterhope Mills’ cottage planswill one day take shapenext door. Sarah Mills hasgrown more independentduring the years at GoldenPond, Margo Skinner said.
“Eventually, I want herto be solely in charge ofherself.”
Mobility: Developer works to make homes accessible
FROM PAGE 1F
Ilona Collard shows the lowered countertops in the bathroom of her unit in theGolden Pond neighborhood in northwest Oklahoma City.
PHOTO BY NATE BILLINGS, THE OKLAHOMAN
Left: Sue Dunham sits at her computer in the masterbedroom, which she also uses as an office, in her unitat Jack Mills’ Golden Pond neighborhood in northwestOklahoma City. PHOTO BY NATE BILLINGS, THE OKLAHOMAN
The opening of the garage door is higher than in typical garages to accommodatethe high-top van at Ilona Collard’s unit in Jack Mills’ Golden Pond neighborhood.The small development specializes in units that are affordable and accessible tothe elderly and people with disabilities. PHOTO BY NATE BILLINGS, THE OKLAHOMAN
signs, Ottwein, a pastpresident of the NationalAssociation of ExclusiveBuyer Agents (www.naeba.org), urges buyersto take special care whenselecting a home.
“People no longercount on appreciation tobail them out if they makea mistake and pay toomuch or buy the wronghouse,” Ottwein said.
Are you seeking to buy
your first home? Make your first step a
visit to the mortgagelender’s office.
Though the real estatemarket is slowly streng-thening in many areas, mortgage-lending stan-dards remain stringent.
This makes it especiallyimportant that would-bebuyers make their firststop the office of a repu-table lender.
There they can obtainmortgage “pre-approval,”
meaning the lender willverify that they have thewherewithal to buy anddefine their borrowingcapacity.
Shop for housing in thestrongest neighborhoodsyou can afford.
Because of lower homeprices, Ottwein said moreprime neighborhoods arenow within the reach offirst-time buyers.
“Look for a very viableneighborhood with strongschools and homogene-
ously good upkeep — notone where many homeshave fallen into disrepairand are going throughforeclosure,” he said.“The key for buyers is todistinguish between ahouse with little problemsthat are fixable for a smallsum and a house with bigproblems that would costa fortune to fix.”
THE OKLAHOMAN | NEWSOK.COM SATURDAY, MARCH 3, 2012 . 3FREAL ESTATE
MIDWEST CITY — Five re-al estate agents have joinedParadigm AdvantEdge Re-al Estate’s east office, 2150S Douglas, Suite F, in Mid-west City
I Kathy Waite has abachelor’s degree in busi-ness management fromPark University in Park-ville, Mo. She served forfive years in the U.S. AirForce and worked as an of-fice manager for a govern-ment contractor at TinkerAir Force Base before en-tering the real estate busi-ness five years ago.
I Ruth Johnson earned a
bachelor’s degree at theUniversity of Central Okla-homa. She was a teacher inMid-Del schools for 13years. She has been sellingresidential real estate forthe past 23 years.
I Shawna Stephens is anative of the metro areaand has been selling realestate for the past sixyears.
I Debbie Campbell hasa degree in applied science
form Rose State College.Before entering the real es-tate business seven yearsago, she worked for a den-tal practice and for a major
national bank.I Stephanie Matthews
is a native of the OklahomaCity area and studied busi-ness at Oklahoma City
Community College be-fore working in bankingand sales. She has beenselling real estate for thepast six years.
Five agents join Paradigm’s east office
Debbie Campbell Ruth Johnson Stephanie Matthews Shawna Stephens Kathy Waite
FROM STAFF REPORTS
WASHINGTON — Sales of existing homesrose 4.3 percent in January and invento-ries fell to nearly seven-year lows, as lowerprices, unusually warm weather and animproving economy all lifted demand.
The National Association of Realtorssaid that January sales were at a season-ally adjusted annual rate of 4.57 million,compared to a MarketWatch-compiledeconomist forecast of 4.7 million. Salesrose in all four major regions, including an8.8 percent pop in the West.
Job creation, mild weather, rising rents,and increased household formation con-tributed to the sales gains, according toLawrence Yun, chief economist of the Re-altors’ group.
“Things are genuinely improving,” Yunsaid. “Maybe we are seeing householdformation popping out.”
That could mean children moving outof their parents’ homes as they got a job,he said.
December’s sales were downwardly re-vised to a 4.38 million rate from a previ-ously reported 4.61million, making the fi-nal month of 2011 a 0.5 percent decline in-stead of a 5 percent gain.
December sales were downwardly re-vised as part of a seasonal adjustment thataffected monthly, but not annual, sales.That’s not to be confused with the 14 per-cent downward revision the Realtors re-
cently conducted on all sales data from2007 onward.
The Realtors called the latest revisions“minor” and said the figures didn’t affecttotal 2011 sales of 4.26 million.
“It’s still the case that existing homesales are recovering, albeit only gradual-ly,” said Paul Diggle, property economistat Capital Economics. He noted that salesare up 13 percent over the past six monthsand up 38 percent from their mid-2010low, “so there’s clearly an underlying re-covery in place.”
Median sales prices in January fell 2 per-cent from the year before to $154,700.Home prices are usually weaker in the win-ter because there are fewer transactions,and the National Association of Realtorsdoesn’t seasonally adjust the price data.
Inventories fell 0.4 percent to 2.31 mil-lion, which represents the lowest supplysince 2005. That represents 6.1 months ofinventory, the lowest since April 2006and down from 6.4 months of supply inDecember.
“The supply and demand situation maybe coming into balance,” Yun said. Inven-tories were as high as 4.04 million in July2007. Not everyone is convinced.
“We are skeptical that this trend willcontinue in the months ahead due to thewave of foreclosure activity that will likelybegin following the end to the moratori-um on foreclosure activity around thecountry,” said economists from Wells Far-go in a note to clients.
Sales of existing homes up4.3 percent in JanuaryBY MARKETWATCHMCT Information Services
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. —Buying a bank-ownedhome can be difficult.
“There’s such demandfrom buyers,” said JudyTrudel, a real estate agentfor Balistreri Realty inFlorida’s Palm Beach andBroward counties. “What-ever foreclosures hit themarket this year will beeaten up.”
Here’s how buyers canfind the homes and maketheir offers stand out fromthe competition:
Find foreclosuresAsk real estate agents or
go online. Any good agentcan direct clients to bank-owned homes. Buyers whowant to do their own re-search beforehand can vis-it websites such as RealtyTrac.com, which givesconsumers a free, seven-day trial. After that, there’sa $49.95 monthly fee tosearch for property addresses. Government-run mortgage companiesFannie Mae and FreddieMac market foreclosuresnationwide on HomePath-.com and HomeSteps.com,respectively. Neither charg-
es a fee. In addition, Fannieand Freddie have a pro-gram called First Look thatgives first-time buyers andothers who need financinga head start on investors inthe search for bank-ownedhomes.
Make best offer firstThis isn’t 2007 or 2008,
when sales were sluggishand sellers were thrilledwith any offer. Demandcreates bidding wars.
“If I was a purchaser, Idefinitely wouldn’t go in(offering) less than theasking price,” said Sum-mer Greene, a Fort Lau-derdale real estate manag-er and the 2012 presidentof the Florida Realtorstrade group.
“My advice is to offer themost you feel you wouldever pay for the property,”said Laura Cameron, 51,who paid cash for a Deer-field Beach, Fla., foreclo-sure home last year.
Pay upConsider making a hefty
good-faith deposit. Uponmaking an offer, a typicalbuyer puts down $1,000 toconvey interest. Buyerswho want to impress thebank may want to offer
substantially more.But that strategy isn’t for
the faint of heart. If a buyerhas to back out of the dealfor a reason not allowed inthe contract, the deposit isat risk, Trudel said.
Be accommodatingVolunteer to close
quickly. And when sub-mitting offers, buyersshould turn in all the re-quested paperwork. If abidder forgets to include a“proof of funds” letter orother documents, the bankmay just move on to a morecomplete offer.
Stand firmDon’t cave in to unrea-
sonable demands. Trudelsaid she was told by abank’s real estate agentthat her client would haveto waive his right to a homeinspection if he wanted theproperty because so manybidders were interested.
Buying a foreclosurewithout an inspection isrisky because many of thehomes are in disrepair, andsome have been sabotagedby the previous owners.
“I 100 percent do not rec-ommend it,” Trudel said.
MCT INFORMATION SERVICES
How to beat the competition and buy a foreclosed homeBY PAUL OWERSSun Sentinel
4F . SATURDAY, MARCH 3, 2012 THE OKLAHOMAN | NEWSOK.COMREAL ESTATE
WASHINGTON — Giventhe huge public and privateresources being devoted tohelping financially dis-tressed homeowners — in-cluding the recently an-nounced $25 billion na-tional mortgage settle-ment with five majorbanks — you might assumethat a key federal tax lawbenefit underpinningthese efforts would be ashoo-in for renewal.
But it’s not. The Mort-gage Forgiveness Debt Re-lief Act is set to expire in 10months, and there areearly indications on Capi-tol Hill that it might notmake the cut. The law, firstenacted in 2007, allowshomeowners who have re-ceived principal reduc-tions on their mortgages asthe result of loan modifi-cations, short sales orforeclosures to avoid in-come taxation on theamounts forgiven.
Loss of that tax helpwould endanger hugenumbers of distressedmortgage arrangements inthe months ahead. For ex-ample, the $25 billionmortgage settlement withstate attorneys general re-quires the banks to providemore than $10 billion inprincipal reductions toborrowers. Meanwhile,other lenders and mort-gage servicers who are not
parties to the settlementalready provide principalreductions to troubledborrowers. Many of theseowners would face heftyand ill-timed taxable in-come hits if the law is notextended.
Yet election-year poli-tics and a contentiouslame-duck, year-end con-gressional session loadedwith tax and budget issuescould doom renewal of thedebt relief tax legislation.
Republican strategistssay the cost of continuingthe program — $2.7 billionfor two years — is substan-tial enough to catch theeyes of budget-deficithawks. They add thatsome members of Con-gress may be opposed towhat they see as anothertargeted federal benefit forpeople who didn’t paytheir mortgages — subsi-dized by taxpayers who didthe right thing and stayedcurrent on their loans,even while underwater orfacing financial distress.
Douglas Holtz-Eakin,
president of the center-right American Action Fo-rum, former director of theCongressional Budget Of-fice and economic adviserto Sen. John McCain’s2008 presidential cam-paign, said in an interviewthat there is “a powerfulsentiment,” especiallyamong conservative fresh-man House members sup-ported by the tea party,that tax code “bailouts” todelinquent and underwa-ter homeowners are fun-damentally unfair.
“It’s going to be an up-hill fight” to get an exten-sion through, he predicts.
Real estate and housinggroups are worried aboutthe same political dynam-ics and are gearing upcampaigns to try to savethe mortgage debt cancel-lation tax provisions in ad-vance of the Novemberelections, well before theexpected year-endsqueeze. Some industrylobbyists put the currentodds of getting a pre-elec-tion, stand-alone exten-sion bill through Congressat less than 50-50.
What’s at stakeHere’s what’s involved,
and how it might affectsomeone contemplating ashort sale or loan modifi-cation that involves debtforgiveness.
Before 2007, all cancel-lations of debt by creditors— whether on auto loans,personal loans or mortgag-es — were treated as taxa-ble events under the feder-al tax code. If you owed$200,000 but paid off only$150,000 through anagreement with the lender,the $50,000 differencewould be ordinary income,taxable at regular rates.
Under the debt relief lawfor qualified homeowners,you can avoid taxation onforgiven mortgageamounts up to $2 million(married filing jointly) and$1 million for single filers.To be eligible, the debtmust be canceled by alender in connection witha mortgage restructuring,short sale, deed-in-lieu offoreclosure or foreclosure.The transaction must becompleted no later thanDec. 31.
That impending dead-line — and the risk thatCongress won’t reauthor-ize the law in time — hasreal estate professionalsand tax planners on edge.
“This is serious,” saidHarrison K. Long, of Cold-well Banker ResidentialBrokerage in Irvine, Calif.“Anybody thinking aboutdoing a short sale this yearneeds to get moving on itnow,” given the long time-lines needed to complete
such transactions — oftenfrom four to 12 months.
Picture this scenario:You negotiate for monthswith your lender, realtyagents and potentialbuyers. You pull together ashort-sale package callingfor the bank to forgive$100,000. But the dealruns into hitches anddoesn’t close until afterthe Dec. 31 expiration date.
Now your house is gone,
your credit is shot, you’relooking for a place to rent,and the Internal RevenueService demands taxes onyour phantom “gain” of$100,000 on the sale.
With that sort of night-marish liability on the line,it’s worth it to gear up foraction sooner, not later.
Occupy LA activists rally outside the Bank of AmericaPlaza in Los Angeles on Feb. 9. A landmark $25 billionsettlement with the nation’s top mortgage lenderswas hailed by government officials as long-overduerelief for victims of foreclosure abuses. The settle-ment also ended a separate investigation into Bank ofAmerica and Countrywide for inflating appraisals ofloans from 2003 through most of 2009. AP PHOTO
KennethHarney
THE NATION’S HOUSING
WASHINGTON — Thegovernment regulator forFannie Mae and FreddieMac has submitted a planto Congress that wouldshrink the mortgage gi-ants’ role in the housingmarket.
The Federal Housing Fi-nance Agency’s proposalfor a leaner Fannie andFreddie would mean fewermortgages are backed bythe government. Thatcould make buying a homemore expensive because itwould lead to higher inter-est rates.
Under the plan, Fannieand Freddie could also in-crease prices to guaranteeloans and establish agree-ments with private inves-tors to take on added creditrisk.
The Obama administra-tion last year laid out threeoptions to wind down thegovernment’s support forthe mortgage marketslowly. Rather than mak-ing a single recommenda-
tion, the administrationleft the decision to Congress.
Fannie and Freddie buymortgage loans from pri-mary lenders, pool them,and sell them with a guar-antee that investors will bepaid even if borrowers de-fault. The agencies havehelped people buy homesat affordable interest rates.
But the two nearly col-lapsed in 2008, after thesubprime mortgage mar-ket collapsed and defaultsand foreclosures piled up.The government seizedthem in September 2008.
The bailouts of Fannieand Freddie have so farcost taxpayers roughly$150 billion, and that figurecontinues to grow. Repub-licans have called for Fan-nie and Freddie to be abol-ished, and have largelyblamed the two for leadingthe country into the 2008financial crisis.
But there is a growingrecognition that drasticaction would upend thehousing finance system.
Government seekssmaller role forFannie, Freddie THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
THE OKLAHOMAN | NEWSOK.COM SATURDAY, MARCH 3, 2012 . 5FREAL ESTATE
PIEDMONT — DebbieWintermute has joinedParadigm AdvantEdge Re-al Estate’s west office,13100 Colony Pointe inPiedmont, as a residentialreal estate sales associate.
Previously, she was a le-gal assistant at an El Renolaw firm for 20 years.
Wintermuteadded byParadigm
PIEDMONT — Jane Drozehas joined Paradigm Ad-vantEdge Real Estate’swest office at 13100 ColonyPointe Blvd., Suite 109, inPiedmont, as a residentialreal estate sales associate.
The Oklahoma City na-tive has been selling realestate in the metro area for32 years.
Jane Droze
Droze joinsParadigmwest office
Maggie (Margaret) Shirkhas joined Paradigm Ad-vantEdge Real Estate’ssouth office, 1530 SW 119,as a residential real estatesales associate.
She holds the GraduateRealtor Institute (GRI)professional designation,Certified Residential Spe-cialist (CRS) and the Na-tional Association of Real-tors’ ePro technology des-ignation. She has servedon the board of directors ofthe Oklahoma City MetroAssociation of Realtors,the Oklahoma Associationof Realtors and the Multi-ple Listing Service.
She serves on the Okla-homa Real Estate Com-mission’s Education Advi-sory Committee. She wasawarded the metro Real-tors’ Board of DirectorsAward in 2004 and wasvoted Realtor of the Year in2008.
Maggie Shirk
Shirk joinsParadigmAdvantEdge
The National Associ-ation of ProfessionalMortgage Women Okla-homa City Chapter willhave its annual VIP Nighton March 13 at the Petro-leum Club to thank mem-bers and recognize the VIPMember of the Year.
The event, for anyonewho works in the mortgagebusiness, will begin with asocial hour at 5:30 p.m.,followed by dinner, a pro-gram and entertainmentby Michael Hix. The Pet-roleum Club is at 100 NBroadway, 34th floor.
“This is an evening to berewarded for accomplish-ments, dedication andperseverance our membersdemonstrate through hardwork and teamwork. It is anight to showcase and give
thanks for each and everymember, as well as recog-nize the VIP Member ofthe Year,” said Lauren Lay-man, marketing commit-tee chairwoman.
“Many have contributedto the success of (thechapter) throughout theyear, which has helped tocreate a friendly atmo-sphere among all organi-zations and the opportu-nity to share valuable in-sight into the mortgage in-dustry with one another.”
The cost is $35. Reservea place with Gaye Liddle bysending an email to [email protected] calling 354-4848.
Reservation deadline isThursday.
Mortgage groupto host VIP Night
PHILADELPHIA — Whenshould you repair andwhen should you replace?With the economic down-turn keeping people intheir homes longer andmoney ever tighter, it is achoice being considered bymore homeowners now.
For example, duringconcerns about energycosts mounting, manycash-strapped homeown-ers are trying to figure outhow to reduce the $1,900per year that the Depart-ment of Energy says thetypical family spends onutilities.
A new furnace or ener-gy-efficient windows, al-though both obvious waysto lower heating costs, maynot be in the budget.
In the meantime, caulk-ing around windows anddoors doesn’t cost thatmuch and can reduce theflow of cold air into thehouse. Opening the cur-tains, shades, or blinds ona sunny winter’s day canadd warmth to a room.
The Home Builders In-stitute of the National As-sociation of Home Build-ers suggests a few otherinexpensive ways, includ-ing applying weatherstripping around windowsand doors, changing the
filter in the furnace, usingdraft dodgers inside exte-rior doors, and installingprogrammable thermo-stats to control when thefurnace goes on and off.
After surveying thou-sands of its readers on thematter, Consumer Reportsmaintains that if your ap-pliance is eight or moreyears old, usually it makessense to buy a new one.
If you have a favoritehigh-end, older appliance,you may want to repair it.Consider replacing a new-er model if it has been re-pair-prone. But skip anyrepair that costs more thanhalf the price of a newproduct, the magazinestaff recommends.
Costly processThe magazine found
that its readers sometimesbegan the repair processbut stopped in midstreamin frustration. That, too,can be a costly process,because a repair shop willstill charge you even if youchange your mind and buya new whatever.
AARP has millions of ol-der members on fixed in-comes. It recommendsconsidering the “50 per-cent rule,” which financialexperts have long advocat-ed as a gauge when deter-mining the cost-effective-ness of replacement versus
repair.Those experts say that if
a repair was estimated tocost 50 percent or less thanthe amount you paid forthe item, it was usuallybetter to have it repaired.
AARP, however, sug-gests that the 50 percentrule should be based on re-placement value, not orig-inal purchase price.
One of the factors gov-erning the decision to re-pair or replace is life ex-pectancy of the product.
Most refrigerators last 15to 19 years. Unless thefridge has been a lemonsince the day it came intothe house, the newer it is,the more considerationshould be given to repair-ing it.
Owners of homes facereplacement dilemmaBY AL HEAVENSThe Philadelphia Inquirer
6F . SATURDAY, MARCH 3, 2012 THE OKLAHOMAN | NEWSOK.COMREAL ESTATE
The Listing of the Week is alarge home with garage space forfive cars — an attached three-cargarage and a detached two-car“man cave.”
The home at 14450 Cotton-wood in the Deer Creek area hasfour bedrooms, 3 ½ baths, twoliving rooms and two dining ar-eas. The living-dining room hasa tray ceiling, fireplace and ceil-ing fan. The family room has aceiling fan. The kitchen hasstainless-steel appliances, gran-
ite counters, a pantry, breakfastbar and eating space.
The master bedroom has aceiling fan, walk-in closet andbath with double vanities and aspa tub. Two other bedroomshave full baths, walk-in closetsand ceiling fans. The home has astorm cellar, covered patio, stor-age area, underground sprinklersystem and security system.
The home, built in 2008, islisted for $395,000 with EmilyTalmadge of The Covington Co.
Open house will be from 2 to 4p.m. Sunday. From PortlandAvenue and Waterloo Road (NW248), go west to the Antler Ridgeaddition, on the north side; enterthe addition, turn left and followthe curve to the home. For moreinformation, call 694-5678 or840-4141.
Nominations for Listing of the Week arewelcome. Send information on single-familyhomes to The Oklahoman, Richard Mize, P.O. Box25125, Oklahoma City, OK 73125. Nominationsmay be faxed to 475-3996.
LISTING OF THE WEEK
The Listing of the Week is at 14450 Cottonwood in the Deer Creek area. PHOTO PROVIDED
Deer Creek home hasspace for five cars
8F . SATURDAY, MARCH 3, 2012 THE OKLAHOMAN | NEWSOK.COMREAL ESTATE
While the country-stylePine Hill makes an idealretreat cottage, this homeis equally well suited foryear-round suburban liv-ing. Wooden shutters anda wraparound front porchadd their nostalgic charm.
Light spills into the en-try through sidelights thatflank the door. The stairsdirectly ahead of the entrylead to the three bedroomsand two bathrooms up-stairs.
On the first floor, fourlinked family living areaswrap around all sides ofthe staircase. Familieswith young children canset them to counting thecircles they can run thereon rainy days. The entry isopen to the living room onthe right, and a den on theleft. The fireplace serves asa focal point on the livingroom’s exterior wall.
A wide arched openinglinks the living room to adining area that is expand-ed by a window bay. Slid-ing glass windows thereaccess a large deck, down afew steps from the mainfloor. The dining room istotally open to the kitchen,where a large work islandadds to the counter andcabinet space. Standing atthe kitchen sink, you cankeep close tabs on the din-ing room, patio and back-yard.
Just around the cornerare a good-sized utilityroom and a small bath-room. In the utility room,cabinets line the wallabove the appliances. Thehallway leading to theserooms ends with an exte-rior door that leads outonto the covered porchand then on to the patio.Installing a dog flap in this
door would allow wet petsto get dry without muddy-ing the rest of the house.
The Pine Hill’s owners’suite has a second fire-
place, a deep soaking tuband a dual vanity.
A review plan of the Pine Hill, includingfloor plans, elevations, section andartist’s conception, can be purchased for
$25 by phone, mail or online. Add $5 forshipping and handling. AssociatedDesigns, 1100 Jacobs Drive, Eugene, OR,97402. www.associateddesigns.com.(800) 634-0123.
HOUSE PLAN
Pine Hill has nostalgic charmDEAR BARRY: We
hired a home inspector be-fore buying our home, buthe dismissed a defect thathas now become a prob-lem. In the room below themaster bathroom, therewere water stains on thewall around a drain clea-nout. We asked the in-spector about it, and hesaid it wasn’t a problem.
At the time, the stainswere dry because thehouse had been vacant formonths. But he didn’t evenrun water in the shower orsink and didn’t mentionthe stains in his report. Af-ter we moved in and begantaking showers, the wallsurface became wet.
The inspector now saysthat it was not his respon-sibility to figure out if theleaking would continue inthe future. Besides this,the seller says that shenever had a leak while shelived in the home. Thisseems unreasonable andunfair. What can we do?
JohnDEAR JOHN: If the sell-
er denies having knownabout the leak, she may ormay not be telling thetruth. There is probably noway to prove or disproveher position, so that issuemay be a stalemate. Theproblem with the homeinspector, however, is an-other story and involvesthree main issues:
I It is understandablethat an inspector might failto notice a leak or evidenceof a past leak, but to dis-miss an issue that is spe-cifically pointed out by abuyer is inexcusable. Ifyour inspector didn’t wantto test for leaks, he shouldhave recommended in his
report “further evaluationby a licensed plumber.”
I Testing showers, tubs,and sinks with runningwater is normal operatingprocedure for a home in-spector. The idea that ahome inspection wouldnot include a routine testof the plumbing fixtures isoutrageous. An inspectorwho won’t turn on faucetsor test for leaks should findanother line of work.
I Now that the leak hasbeen confirmed, the in-spector needs to be ac-countable for his failure toprovide disclosure. All in-spectors miss some de-fects, regardless of theirlevels of competency. Butan inspector who will dis-miss this kind of situation,without assuming somedegree of responsibility, isnot a true professional.
Hopefully, the repair isnot an expensive one.Have it evaluated by a li-censed plumber. It is pos-sible that this is a minordefect that will not requirelegal action against thehome inspector.
It would also be wise tohire another home inspec-tor for a second evaluationof the property. Additionaldefects will most likely bediscovered.
To write to Barry Stone, visit him on theweb at www.housedetective.com.
ACTION COAST PUBLICATION
Ignoring room leakcould become issue
BarryStone
INSPECTOR’S IN THEHOUSE
THE OKLAHOMAN | NEWSOK.COM SATURDAY, MARCH 3, 2012 . 9FREAL ESTATE
DETROIT — Make way for the woman cave.Birmingham, Mich.-based interior designer Michelle
Mio said that more of her female clients are staking out aroom or nook in their home just for them.
No husbands, kids or sticky fingers allowed.Whether they are used for sewing, scrapbooking or
just paying bills, the rooms women want are typicallyprivate, pretty and functional, Mio said.
“With the workload women carry at home, they need aspace that is organized and one that they can call theirown,” she said. “It seems imperative with our clients tobe able to find things in a moment’s notice. A space thatcan accommodate anything from a kid’s daily schedule tobill paying is growing in trend.”
More than 80 years ago, writer Virginia Woolf pennedthe essay, “A Room of One’s Own,” about how women,especially those who want to practice a form of creativity,need a place to do it. In 2012, given the explosion of thehandmade and creative arts movements, many womenare finding that as true as ever.
Here, a couple of women share the spaces they havetaken over in their homes to fulfill their creative pursuits.
For scrapbookingAlison Oleshansky, 38, of Birmingham hired Mio and
her design team from Rariden Schumacher Mio InteriorDesign to decorate her entire home. The space that pre-sented a big question mark? Two adjoining closets in thebasement. Oleshansky didn’t need them. And so herscrapbooking room was born.
The room features a few statement-makers. The flooris a glittery light pink. The back wall is dressed in a brightpink, large-scale damask print that’s velvety to thetouch. A light metallic wallpaper covers the other walls.
Four crystal chandeliers gleam from the ceiling andcast a pretty but bright light on the space; it’s good for thecreative work Oleshansky wants to do.
A waist-high, custom-made rolling table fills the mid-dle of the room. Surrounded by four white leather barstools with pink trim, it’s the nerve center where the cre-ative work happens. The table top — white and shimmery— is made of recycled materials, including bits of mirror.
“Everything sparkles,” said Dayna Rasschaert, an inte-rior designer who worked on the room.
The custom white cabinets and drawers — 26 of them— provide room to organize everything.
“I love that I can have everything out and not have tobox things up or spread them out on the floor in anotherroom,” said Oleshansky, who also works as a consultantfor the scrapbooking supply company Creative Memo-ries. “I just love it in here; it’s so bright. It’s happy.”
For pretty packagesWhen they bought their home in 2006, Mike and Elise
Hindelang had no set purpose for the all-beige, dull-looking suite that makes up the entire third floor of their1939-built French Colonial in Grosse Pointe Park, Mich.
But soon, a thought dawned on Elise Hindelang: She’dlove a space devoted solely to gift wrapping.
“Otherwise I’d be wrapping gifts on the guest bed, mak-ing a mess,” said Hindelang, 32. “Here, I can make a messand, if I need to, I can just shut the door and leave it there.”
Over a two-month period, with some help from fam-ily, the Hindelangs turned the space into a lively light-green and soft-pink haven for stamping, wrapping andmaking bows. And they did it without breaking the bank,
estimating that the entire renovation came in around$2,000.
A polka-dot wallpaper set the tone for the colorscheme, said Hindelang, a mother of two. She also paint-ed the ceiling and trim a crisp white and splurged on a$350 green-and-pink area rug from Pottery Barn Kids.
The rest of the room was completed in a thrifty man-ner: IKEA furniture and bins and baskets from places likeMarshall’s.
The couple made the craft table out of two IKEA night-stands, a door they salvaged from a previous home and afloor-model hutch that Elisa Hindelang spotted on clear-
ance at Bombay Co.She scored a turning display rack from a store going out
of business, and uses it to hold her ribbon spools. A smallmetal table holds a variety of wrapping paper. Each bin andbasket is labeled and organized — there’s a home for pipecleaners, poof balls, markers, stamps and more. An oldspice rack now holds small baubles, sequins and buttons.
“It’s fun and relaxing up here,” Hindelang said. “Menhave their spaces. You always hear about the man cave.My husband has a very nice office that’s decorated justfor him. It’s nice to have a girl space, too.”
MCT INFORMATION SERVICES
A polka-dot wallpaper set the tone for the color scheme and design plan for EliseHindelang’s room. She also painted the ceiling and trim a crisp white and splurgedon a $350 green-and-pink area rug from Pottery Barn Kids. MCCLATCHY-TRIBUNE PHOTO
Alison Oleshansky, right, of Birmingham, Mich., is among a trend of women decorating or reorganizing a roomin their family’s home that is totally for them. She got assistance with the design and feel of the room fromprofessionals Michelle Mio, owner, left, a partner in Rariden Schumacher Mio Interiors, and senior designerDayna Rasschaert. MCCLATCHY-TRIBUNE PHOTO
BY KRISTA JAHNKEDetroit Free Press
Women seek a room to call their own
Elise Hindeland has cre-ated her own room in herhome in Grosse PointePark, Mich. She calls ither craft-wrapping room.
MCCLATCHY-TRIBUNE PHOTO
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