1050-1100 S. Curtis Rd. is a occupied duplex that is all about cash flow! Unit #1 is a 2 bed 2 bath while unit #2 is 1 bed 1 bath, each have a great rental history. Take advantage of your opportunity to own a piece of Boise, Idaho and get paid in return. Any questions please call Joshua Groesbeck 208-353-7131 or josh@homeswithjosh.com

http://video.cnbc.com/gallery/?video=3000020309

Joshua Groesbeck 208-353-7131 or josh@homeswithjosh.com

A growing number of home owners whose homes have dropped drastically in value are deciding to stop paying their mortgage and walk away from the property, even though they can afford to keep making the payments–a move known as strategic default.

The exact number of strategic defaults is unknown. A study conducted by the Federal Reserve Board showed that half of home owners who walked away from their home owed twice what their house was worth.

From celebrities to prominent business people to the average home owner, strategic default is a growing option more home owners are taking. For example, Morgan Stanley walked away last year from a $1.5 billion mortgage on five buildings in San Francisco despite record-breaking profits in 2009.

For some, strategic default has spurred a debate over ethics.

“Most people considering strategic default come to me and want my permission,” says Ronald Kaniuk, a foreclosure defense lawyer. “People who cannot pay their mortgage are apologetic. For people who can afford their mortgage or can just barely afford their mortgage and see it as a losing investment, they want absolution.”

But the stigma attached to strategic defaults is influenced by how many other people are doing it, says Luigi Zingales, an economist and professor at the University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business.

“Once you think it’s socially acceptable, it becomes easier to do,” Zingales says. But Zingales cautions home owners that strategic defaults hamper neighbors’ property values and can affect the home owner’s credit scores. Plus it can become a question of ethics–they are breaking a commitment they made to pay back the mortgage.
Source: “Some Homeowners who can Afford the Mortgage Still Default as a Strategy,” The Palm Beach Post (Feb. 27, 2011

To view this and all properties available in our local treasure valley market go to visit HomeswithJosh.com

If you are trying to save your home from Foreclosure please call Joshua for free consultation!

www.homeswithjosh.com and www.idshortsale.com

More and more commercial real-estate companies are doing what many indebted homeowners would like to do: Walk away from mortgages on properties that are now worth a lot less than they paid for them.

Today’s Wall Street Journal highlights three major developers - Macerich,Vornado Realty Trust and Simon Property Group - that have recently decided to default on mortgages.

When companies do this, no one bats an eye–it’s just “smart business.”

When ordinary homeowners think about doing it, meanwhile, the mortgage industry and government begin moaning that a mortgage is more than a business contract. It’s a social contract, in which homeowners have a “moral obligation” to pay.

That’s bunk. An individual mortgage is no different than a corporate mortgage. If corporations are allowed to walk away from mortgage obligations without feeling shame and guilt, then individuals should be able to do so, too.

The contract homeowners sign when they take out a mortgage spells out exactly what happens if the homeowner stops making payments on the loan.  The lender has the right to foreclose on the house, taking the homeowner’s downpayment with it.  In addition, the borrower’s credit rating will usually get destroyed, and, in some states, the lender can come after his or her other assets to recoup the capital the lender has lost.

Those are big penalties.  They provide a major incentive for the borrower to continue making his or payments.  And that’s why the lender, a corporation, put them in the contract.

Importantly, the lender voluntarily entered into the contract–and it did so because it thought doing so was a smart business decision. That it actually turned out to be a lousy business decision is not the homeowner’s fault. It’s the lender’s fault. And the borrower, who is already feeling plenty of pain his or herself, should not have to bear the burden of guilt and shame on top of everything else.

www.homeswithjosh.com

Mls#98439454 visits www.homeswithjosh.com to view

* Every short sale seller and agent will be assigned a personal advocate who will shepherd the short sale through, using the new, simple process.  Think of this as your own ‘short sale personal representative’.

* No pre-qualifying, no hardship required.  Being upside down in the house IS the hardship.

* No documentation.

* No bank statements.

* No tax returns.

* No financial worksheets.

* No deficiency judgement.

* No financial contribution from the seller of any kind will be requested.

* Only requirements?  -A listing contract -A purchase contract -An appraisal, though we’ve been told the appraisal will not have an adverse bearing on the final acceptance.

* 2 WEEK approvals.

1. Install a programmable thermostat: Installing one of these little guys can
really help your utility bills and the earlier you get it installed, the more it saves!
Estimates are that for every degree you lower the thermostat, that’s 5% off your bill
(in the winter). I like to think of it this way – why spend money to heat or cool
something that I’m not even going to be there (or awake) and enjoy? The power
company has enough of my money!
2. Lower the temperature on the thermostat: HVAC systems have two settings
- off and on. By lowering the temperature of the thermostat, you leave it in the off
state for longer periods and thus use less energy. Less energy, lower bill!
3. Wash your clothes in cold water: Detergent technology has gotten so good
that washing in hot water is no longer necessary, you can save lots of energy by
washing with cold water rather than hot water.
4. Line dry your clothes: Get a rack or clothesline and dry your clothes on that,
instead of in your dryer. If that idea isn’t entirely appealing, consider drying larger
items (towels, sheets) on the line and your regular clothes in the dryer to cut down
on the time.
5. Lower the temperature of your water heater: You can turn the temperature
of your water heater down to conserve some extra energy, there’s no sense in
making it really hot only to add cold water to it during showers. (the only caveat is
that you should check your dishwasher for a booster, it’ll need the temps that high
for cleaning purposes)
6. Wrap your water heater with a water heater blanket: One of your biggest
energy sucks in the house is your water heater, that tank that keeps your water nice
and hot for your showers. Wrapping a blanket reduces the amount of heat it loses
into the area around it.
7. Clean out your refrigerator coils: Dust off the coils on the refrigerator and
you can improve its efficiency, thus lowering the electricity bill of the one thing in
your house that’s always on.
8. Find and plug drafts: You don’t need the cold air from the outside to infiltrate
your home (or your warm air blowing out), so try to find all the drafty windows and
doors in your home and seal them up. Your energy bill will thank you.
9. Change your air filter: The more you run your HVAC system, the more that air
filter will catch. The more it catches, the more it clogs. Yep, you guessed it, the
dirtier it gets, the harder your HVAC needs to work to push air. Swap that baby out
and improve your system’s operating efficiency.
10. Get your furnace tuned: I had no idea but you’re supposed to get your furnaced
“tuned” every few years, it could increase your efficiency considerably.
11. Swap out regular light bulbs with CFLs: The technology in CFLs now is so
good that most people can’t even tell the difference (other than by looking at them).
Swapping them out reduces your energy use and are best used in areas where the
lights are on most often. They’re more expensive but they last longer and use less
power.
12. Institute a one light, one person rule: Leaving the lights on in your house is a
great way to spend money, so try reducing your electricity usage by instituting a
one light, one person rule. Each person in the house can only have one light on at a
time.
13. Reduce phantom electricity use: Phantom electricity is the electricity your
appliances use when they’re “off.” This happens because we love our instant on
appliances! To help reduce this, you can plug them all into a surge protector and
turn that off to ensure you aren’t losing power to something you’re not even using.
14. When buying appliances, reliability trumps price: When you’re buying new
appliances, be sure to read reliability reports because you don’t want to spend less
only to find out you bought an inferior product that won’t last.
15. Shop around for homeowner’s or renter’s insurance: Renter’s insurance is
already pretty cheap so you might not get much savings there but homeowner’s can
vary greatly.
16. Consider a home energy audit: These aren’t cheap but they can identify things
you can do to make your home more efficient and thus save you more money.
17. Remember to return those cans and bottles for deposits: If you live in a
state that collects a deposit on cans and bottles, remember to redeem them!
Unfortunately in Maryland we don’t do that (but that also means we don’t pay it),
but I’d love to see it instituted here so that we could entice more recycling.

By following some of these steps you just never know you could be on your way to an early retirement……..

Joshua Groesbeck or josh@homeswithjosh.com and  www.homeswithjosh.com