Homes For Sale

Remember when black and mauve was the hot color combination and when mirrors were all the rage? Well, in case you are too young to remember, those were some of the staples of 80s home décor.

The 80s were indeed the decade of opulence, marble, gold, and mirrors; however these days, the trend is toward minimalism and more subtle design. Even so, it may not be unusual for a potential buyer to travel back in time when faced with an apartment that has not been renovated since its 80s glory. As an interior designer who often works on renovations, and a home stager used to working with furniture and accessories limited to a home sellers own possessions, my biggest tip is to embrace the past!

I was recently asked by the extraordinarily talented real estate agent Angela Rapoport of The Corcoran Group to stage her Penthouse listing located at 255 East 49th Street on Manhattan’s East Side. As

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Dan Green, a mortgage originator with Waterstone Mortage and author of the fabulous blog, The Mortgage Reports, wrote a terrific (and truly important) piece, FHA Streamline Refinance Changes : Banks To Stop Verifying Income, Job, And Credit.

Go. Read it.

In  nutshell, if you have an FHA mortgage, you can refinance it.

Even if you are underwater (owe more on your mortgage than the house is worth. A likely scenario in the Phoenix area).

Even if you have lousy credit (though you can not have had any late mortgage payments in the last 12 months).

No job, income or credit score verifications are done. N

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Citizens, Florida’s insurer of last resort with 1.5 million policyholders, announced Friday it will allow qualified appraisals among other options to set premiums — no longer insisting customers have little choice but to accept results from software known as 360Value.

“We believe that providing these options gives our policyholders and agents more confidence in the valuation process while providing policyholders with adequate protection for their homes,” said Citizens President Scott Wallace.

Advocates for homeowners welcomed the news.

“That’s totally a win,” said former state insurance consumer advocate Sean Shaw. “That’s a common sense win.”

Citizens said it will accept replacement cost estimates from 360Value, MSB, and e2Value, but also from a licensed appraiser if it is formulated specifically to establish the insurance reconstruction cost rather than market value.

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Linda Sapp’s reaction to her insurance bill was sticker shock: The annual premium doubled to $4,800, adding hundreds to her monthly mortgage payment.

Her first thought: “There’s no way I can afford my house.”

Her son needs daily help with a medical condition that causes severe swelling in his legs. The Acreage resident works 20 hours a week at Subway to supplement her husband’s income as service manager for a fire-sprinkler company. Her State Farm bill sent her scrambling to find another insurer.

In Boynton Beach, retiree Thomas Spatafora is on a fixed income and said he has never filed a property claim. But annual premium increases just keep on coming from the state’s insurer of last resort, Citizens.

“How the hell much is enough?” Spatafora said. “They keep increasing the cotton-picking premiums.

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NEW YORK—Despite having intimate knowledge of real estate and business in their neighborhoods, realtors can sometimes disappear when they return to the opaque walls of their offices.

To bridge the divide, Live Open House, a real estate marketing company, developed videos and software in a touch screen that is designed to be placed in the windows of realty offices, and dubbed it “LOH Vision.” Passersby can interact with the screen to view photos and videos of properties in the neighborhood, share them via social media sites, and get info about local shops and attractions.

“It’s a different way for people to connect with brokerages,” said Vernon Jones, CEO of LOH. “It allows brokerages to catch people organically on the street while they are walking.”

More than 90 percent of realtors use social media to some extent, according to REALTOR.org. But Jones’s bus

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