Los Angeles

Residential Roofers Knew How To Save Me Money

Little did I know that a simple roof repair would put me in contact with a residential roofing expert that could help me save cash and protect my residence from wildfires. I live in Southern California, in the foothills of Los Angeles. You know, the region that seems to be plagued with Santa Ana, wind-driven wildfires?

Luckily my region has not had a wildfire in decades, but when the fire of October, 2008 affected the San Fernando Valley, I started to think about my risk. I didn’t do anything about it until later when a tree limb collapsed on the roof. The limb put a gap in the roof, so I conducted some research and found some residential roofers professionals that could give me some roofing estimates for a simple roof repair.

Larry, my next door neighbor, counseled that I look around online to find some really good information on how to locate the best residential roofers in Los Angeles. In no time I had three different residential roofers come to my house and give me very competitive roofing estimates. One of the guys told me about these great tax credits that the federal government is giving away to homeowners using Energy Star compliant building materials while doing remodeling projects.

Let me tell you, all I was trying to get was residential roofers to conduct a quick roof repair. But after that, I started to think about it, and noted that my home had a roof that was nearly four decades old. Maybe it was time to completely replace it.

Larry replaced his roof around ten years ago with a tile roof, and his roof still appears almost new. But I ended up getting this new kind of environmentally friendly metal roof that reflects heat, which saves on utility cost. The metal roof has this special kind of roof coating that keeps the hot Southern California sun from turning my home into an oven.

Lori, my wife, claimed that spending the extra money on replacing the roof might not be the best idea, but after I told her about the tax credit she changed her tune in a hurry. The tax credit paid for quite a bit of the total cost and the energy savings will end up paying for the rest in no time.

Lots of homeowners in my neighborhood are deciding to look into replacing their roofs with these innovative Energy Star compliant materials. With a tax credit as an enticement, I expect that all the shake roofs on my block are going to be replaced with fire resistant materials, which means that if there is a Santa Ana wildfire by my sub-division, there is more of a possibility that the all of our houses will be safe.

Long ago I got burned by a building contractor, so if you think that you would want to look into getting residential roofers to offer you a roofing estimate, I propose you make sure that they are state licensed and fully insured. I’m sure that with a bit of research you’ll find the best person for you, out of all the residential roofers in Southern California.

What you just learned about roof repair is just the beginning. To get the full story and all the details, check us out at roofing Los Angeles. Unique version for reprint here: Residential Roofers Knew How To Save Me Money.

Los Angeles

All About Foreclosures and Short Sales in Los Angeles

A short sale occurs when a homeowner sells his or her property for less money than the remaining balance owed on their mortgage. As home values continue to decrease nationwide, a short sale is now a popular “out” for a homeowner who cannot make his or her mortgage payment and currently owes more on the home than it’s worth.

Avoiding foreclosure saves the lender lots of money in the long run. In major cities facing foreclosure situations, a short sale is used to offset the legal proceedings. The Los Angeles foreclosure situation requires just that. The short sale always seems to work for all three parties involved in the transaction. The buyer is able to purchase the short sale home at a discounted price, while the seller is able to sell their “underwater” home (a home that has a higher outstanding loan balance than the market value of the property) and avoid foreclosure.

There are some standard procedures in carrying out a short sale in Los Angeles. Like other contracts, it has a contingency where the bank must approve the sale. If the bank convinces the seller to refinance the house, the bank doesn’t approve the short sale and the buyer gets their deposit back. In this situation the bank has tied up several months of the buyer’s time who must now start the buying process over again.

People are taking advantage of the weak real estate market by buying short sale properties in Los Angeles. California has had one of the most active housing markets, and when housing is good in California, it is top notch. When it’s bad, it’s very bad.

Recent national housing crisis hit the city of Los Angeles hard. Many Los Angeles homeowners fell behind on their mortgage payments and wound up with an underwater home. There are mushrooming cases that add to Los Angeles foreclosure rates and these lowered other property values in the area. With the average number of short sales growing nationwide, more and more Los Angeles homeowners are considering a short sale of their property just to avoid foreclosure.

A short sale in Los Angeles occurs when the borrower owes more to the bank than what they can sell the home for. The borrower works out a deal with the bank to sell the property for less than what they owe. Even though the bank dismisses the debt and calls it even, before 2007, borrowers had to pay government income taxes on the debt they owed. This changed, however, when the government passed the Mortgage Debt Relief Act of 2007.

Under this program, borrowers do not have to pay taxes on short sales that occur from January 1, 2007 to December 31, 2009. In 2010, however, it is speculated that borrowers will have to pay taxes on the debt. Shorts sales on vacation or investment homes may also receive tax breaks.

Foreclosures affect a person’s credit report but a short sale is said to be less negative. Because short sales are a type of settlement, like all entries except for bankruptcy, short sales remain on a credit report for seven years. Depending upon other credit information it is typically possible to obtain another mortgage a few years after a short sale.

It’s beyond belief Los Angeles foreclosures are on the market today. All you need to do is drive a while to witness the Los Angeles short sales that witness to the bad housing market.