The Department of Justice announced that its 16 month-long investigation into bank-related foreclosure abuses, following the robo-signing debacle of fall 2010, has culminated in a $25 billion mortgage relief plan aimed at helping homeowners.

The largest joint federal-state settlement ever, the deal was struck between the Department of Justice (DOJ), the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), 49 state attorneys general, and the country’s five largest mortgage loan servicers: Bank of America Corp., Citigroup Inc., JP Morgan Chase & Co., Wells Fargo & Company and Ally Financial Inc.

The settlement promises to aid underwater homeowners who are behind on payments in getting their principal balances negotiated down; to enable homeowners who are not behind to get refinanced on their mortgages; and to award former homeowners who were improperly foreclosed upon between 2008 and 2011 one-time restitution payments of about $1,500 to $2,000.

Foreclosure has become a common term in the past several years as millions of American homeowners have faced the process since the housing bubble burst. More than three million homes have been fully foreclosed upon since 2007. In 2011 alone, nearly 1.9 million homes had one or more foreclosure filings attached to them, according to RealtyTrac. CoreLogic estimates that nearly 11 million homeowners are “underwater” on their mortgages, or paying off loans that are worth more than the value of their homes.

Looking at these numbers, a $25 billion settlement that reaches only two million homeowners, despite the fact that this deal is the largest of its kind ever, seems likely to fall short of reaching all of the homeowners in need. So how will the foreclosure settlement actually affect the housing market as a whole?

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View East Shore Floor Plans:

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Mr. Brent Adams Handled the Construction loan for Prosperity Bank and the Closing was held at the Offices of Mr. John Hammond of First American Title Company.

The home is to be located on an Acreage lot with large pecan and oak trees, backing to an oxbow lake, just down the street from the FulBrook River Lodge, FulBrooks new

Recreation Center and Pool Facility, that will be breaking ground in the First Quarter of 2012.

Here are the top 10 signs of a good builder:

1. Has experience. Find out how long your builder has been in business. It says something if he has been in business a long time. You’ll never go wrong going with an established builder who has “been there, done that.”
2. Is flexible. Whether it’s a starter home or an expensive custom home you should get what you want. That’s why you’re buying new. Make sure you do – from the colors to the style. Does your builder allow your input on drafting, colors and allowances? Make sure you cando “change orders” if you want to and find out how they are handled.
3. Warranties his work. The difference between a good builder and a bad builder is that a good builder takes care of the problem. There will always be problems during construction as well as adjustments after completion. However, you’ll quickly find you have no problems if you builder warranties his work. Check out your builder’s reputation and warranty. Make sure it’s in writing. Check with previous buyers on how your builder backs his work. See if you builder has a means of tracking warranties insuring completion.
4. Clearly spells out what’s included. It’s more important to know what is not included than what is included. Any such questions should be resolved before you ever start. You should have a clear set of house building plans, a detailed specification sheet with styles, allowances, and colors. A scaled plot plan should also be included. All these should be signed by you and your builder.
5. Has clear communication with you from beginning to the end. You should always have someone to go to for answers to questions or for concerns. You should have clear-cut guidelines communicated to you from the start-up, through the construction, to the final walk-through and closing. There should be time line communication from your builder explaining what’s needed before a certain process is initiated and what is to be expected in change orders. A good builder has clear communication between his sub contractors, venders, your sales representative and superintendents. Experienced builders use the same high quality people over and over which eliminates many problems.
6. Provides quality. It’s true that you get what you pay for, however, it really doesn’t cost any more to have it done right. Quality is a by-product of demanding a good job from yourself, your venders and your subcontractors. Clear communication insures you will receive the product you set out to purchase. Your builder and builder’s subs should never compromise quality for time. Although we all want it done today, if it takes a week longer to do it right you’ll be glad in the long run.
7. Uses a good lender. The most frustrating part about buying or building a home isn’t the building process – it’s the financing. Does your builder have good preferred lenders that you can use and that will give you priority service? They not only will work well with you but they will get things done for you and your builder as they know his process and vice versa. Regardless, never start building or buying without first getting approvals and all your financial questions answered up front.
8. Understands timelines. A good builder ensures that things are scheduled properly and order on time otherwise your home could take forever – and that hurts when you’re paying the interest bill. He should have a scheduled start date and scheduled completion date. He should be able to give you a schedule of what will occur during the course of construction so that you can monitor progress. Is your builder willing to work with a late penalty for delays? These are critical signs of a good builder.
9. Belongs to a credible builder’s association with a high code of ethics and continuing builder education. With continuing education you can be assure he’s keeping up on the latest technology in home building. Local, state and national Home Builder’s Associations are a perfect example of such associations. Call your local homebuilder’s association and get a list of their builders. Call your local city inspection departments and get a list of recommended builders.
10. Provides value. Keep in mind that just because a home is less expensive than another it doesn’t mean it’s a better value. Likewise, a more expensive home does not necessarily assure higher quality. There’s always someone doing it for less. A common mistake many buyers make is using square footage cost as their measurement of value. Square footage price can be so misleading when you are talking about styles, specialty items, options, garage sizes, porches, etc. Real value is determined by you obtaining the home you want.

There you have it – the top ten signs of a good builder. With these 10 signs in mind, you’ll be well on your way to having a great building experience.

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According to CNN Money, new home construction slowed slightly in December after a strong November showing, but was still much more active than a year earlier.

In the article, the Census Bureau reported that housing starts fell to 657,000 on an annual basis, down just 4.1% compared with a strong November. Building permits, which are less affected by weather than starts, came in at a 679,000 annual rate, about the same as a month earlier.

The results lagged industry expectations. A consensus of industry experts from Briefing.com had forecast starts of 673,000 and permits of 680,000.

But the results were considerably better than a year earlier, with permits up 7.8% and starts spiking 24.9%.

“I think it’s a decent report,” said David Crowe, chief economist for the National Association of Home Builders. “Single family starts were up 4.4% and permits were up 1.8% [compared with a month earlier]. Multi-family, [which fell] adjusted from an unusually high November.”

The trend is in the right direction though, with economic indicators such as initial jobless claims, which are at a four-year low, and consumer confidence, which jumped in both November and December, pointing in the right direction.

“We expect a better 2012, based on an economy that will continue to improve,” Crowe said.

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In the interview he talks about the benefits of joining CB/USA as a builder and as a vendor:

FH: How much can builders expect to save by buying through CB/USA?

Bill Smithers: Savings on a house or project vary by market and depend on which phases a builder buys through CB/USA. We’ve had builders tell us they’ve seen savings as high as $30,000 to $40,000 on a single house.

Here’s a recent example of before and after pricing from one of our new members. He had looked at CB/USA for a while, but believed he was already buying better than his competitors because of his volume. He placed his first lumber order in December and told us that he saved $6000 in comparison to his previous pricing. It was a large framing order, so the $6000 in savings was about 6% of the total price.

FH: Have vendors been responsive?

Bill Smithers: Absolutely. From a vendor’s standpoint, our program is set up to be pay for performance. Vendors apply to be in CB/USA just like builders do, and they pay a small fee to join. They have to be sponsored by a builder in the group, so someone has to know them and know how well they work. Once they are on board, if a builder buys from them at the price that they set and pays them on time, then they pay a rebate back to CB/USA. If the builder doesn’t pay on time, they have no rebate due. From their perspective, it’s a no-brainer.

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Houston ranked No. 19 on Brooking’s Global MetroMonitor report, which analyzed large metropolitan areas’ gross domestic product, employment, income and population rates.

Although Houston fared well — the report found income increased 5.5 percent and employment increased 2.5 percent since 2010— almost all other North American markets fell in the rankings.

Dallas was the only other U.S. market to get a strong economic growth ranking at No. 36.

The other markets that beat Houston were mainly in China, Saudi Arabia and Turkey, which all had multiple cities in the top 10 ranks.

Click here to see a map of economic performance.

Click here to view the full report by the Brookings Institution.

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By an overwhelming margin, American voters strongly value homeownership and would oppose efforts to weaken or eliminate the mortgage interest deduction or diminish a federal role to help qualified home buyers obtain affordable 30-year mortgages, according to a new nationwide survey gauging likely voters’ attitudes towards homeownership and housing policy issues.

Conducted on Jan. 2-5 on behalf of the National Association of Home Builders by the Republican and Democratic polling firms of Public Opinion Strategies in Alexandria, Va., and Lake Research Partners in Washington, D.C., the comprehensive survey of 1,500 likely voters includes data from key political “swing areas,” including National Journal political analyst Charlie Cook’s swing House and Senate seats and Stuart Rothenberg’s presidential swing states. The survey, which has a margin of error of ±2.5 percent, is a follow-up to a similar national poll conducted last May.

The poll shows that three out of four voters – both owners and renters — believe it is appropriate and reasonable for the federal government to provide tax incentives to promote homeownership. This sentiment cuts across regional and party lines, with 84 percent of Democrats, 71 percent of Republicans and 71 percent of Independents agreeing with this statement.

Also, two-thirds of respondents say that the federal government should help home buyers to afford a long-term or 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage.

Moreover, 73 percent of voters oppose eliminating the mortgage interest deduction. These figures held firm across the political spectrum, with 77 percent of Republicans, 71 percent of Democrats and 71 percent of Independents against doing away with the mortgage interest deduction.

Meanwhile, 68 percent would be less likely to vote for a congressional candidate who proposed to abolish the deduction, a figure that was virtually identical across all party affiliations (69 percent of Independents and 68 percent of Democrats and Republicans).

A majority of voters are also against proposals to reduce the mortgage interest deduction, eliminate the deduction for interest paid for a second home, limit the deduction for those earning more than $250,000 per year, scale back the deduction for home owners with mortgages above $500,000 and do away with the deduction for interest paid on home equity loans.

“With the 2012 election season in full swing, candidates running for the White House and Congress would be wise to heed the will of the American voters, who have expressed broad support for government policies that encourage homeownership and oppose efforts to make it more difficult to get a home loan and to tamper with the mortgage interest deduction,” said Celinda Lake, president of Lake Research Partners.

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The contributing Editor for HousingZone.com, Susan Bady posted an article on how to prevent problems with clients by helping them set their expectations right from the beginning.

In her article, she explains that all custom builders encounter difficulties with clients at one time or another. Unfortunately, since the housing crash, clients are getting aggravated about more than a day of inactivity on the job site or a window detail that doesn’t look the way they pictured it. Some smell blood in the water and focus only on securing the lowest bid. Others want an unreasonable amount of control over the process.

The best strategy is to try to prevent problems from occurring right from the start.

Here are 5 tips for dealing with difficult clients:

1. Explain to potential clients why it’s in their best interests to hire an experienced, reputable builder who can give them personal attention, rather than accepting the lowest bid.

2. Make sure clients understand how their home is going to look. Walk them through the blueprints before construction starts and give them access to weekly updates, such as in-progress photos, on your website once the home is under way.

3. Allow clients with cost-plus contracts to review your books on a regular basis while the home is being built.

4. To minimize surprises and eliminate most potential problems, communicate, communicate, communicate. If clients get angry, let them vent. Once they’ve calmed down, tell them you’ll address their concerns in writing.

5. Include a clause in the contract that stipulates what will happen with the project in the event of an unforeseen development with you or the client, such as death, divorce, or job loss.

Read a more in-depth version of the 5 tips here

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