Saturday Reporter-Herald October 8, 2011 E1
Real Estate Matters
www.reporterherald.com • Saturday, October 8, 2011 • Reporter-Herald
Lender not obligated to refinance
Green in
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ILYCE GLINK TRIBUNE MEDIA SERVICES Question: For a brief moment in August 2009, my business just all but stopped. I’m an accountant, and my clients had trouble paying their bills. I asked my lender for a loan modification. After I applied, they said everything was great except that I hadn’t sent a copy of my Social Security letter — which they had never asked for. So, I was denied. After I called them, the lender reopened my loan modification petition and made me jump through hoops forever. I was within three days of hearing back about the modification, when I called on a Thursday to verify they had everything. They did. Later, when I called again, they said I had been declined. When I asked why, they told me it was because I hadn’t sent in my Social Security letter. So I simply said, “Fine, sounds like a good court case to me, I’ll see you in court.” And I hung up. Two weeks ago a representative of the lender called and told me that they had started foreclosure proceedings. I’m just waiting for the court date because I have all my documentation from every day I tried to contact them and proof that they received all of the documentation. Shortly after I got this call, one of the big banks took over my lender. I now receive notices from the big bank and my lender, but I don’t respond to anything. I just keep the paperwork in my file. Why would I go to these people when I was refused twice for something stupid? They don’t want to help, and I am not wasting my time! I paid the modified payments on time, and I did everything they said, but to no avail. In the meantime, I am waiting for the court date. I am waiting to see if they will give me the loan I qualified for and my payments should be $257 month. Then I will be happy and pay on time just as I have done for 11 years! Answer: I’m not sure you’re going to win the game with the hand you have and how you have decided to play it. You need to know that, despite the fact that you applied for the loan modification and that you may have been qualified for it, your lender may not have had a legal obligation to give you the modification. If the lender had no legal obligation to modify the loan, and you have stopped making payments, the lender has the right to proceed and foreclose on the home. At the foreclosure hearing, the judge may only need or want to focus on the issue of whether the lender has proceeded in the foreclosure properly, with all the documentation in order. The judge may ig■ See GLINK/Page E4
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Agency and U.S. Department of Energy. When deciding which appliance to replace, Mazal recommends investing in a new refrigerator first, as it constantly running. According to Romero, an old refrigerator tends to find a new home in the garage or basement and holds excess food and drinks. He warned that the relocation could result in even higher energy costs. “The old fridge is just as inefficient in the garage as it was in the kitchen,” he said. “And now the appliance is not in a climate-controlled environment causing it to work overtime in extreme temperatures.”
KENDALL SCHOEMANN REPORTER-HERALD
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h the joys of winter: warm, crackling fires, sweet, festive aromas, soft, snuggly sweaters and your highest energy bill of the year. In preparation for the looming cold, a few home improvements done this fall can increase your home’s energy efficiency while simultaneously lowering winter energy bills. Whether it is a quick purchase or an ambitious pursuit, every bit helps in creating a warm and cozy home this winter without the soaring costs.
CEILING FAN A simple trick to push heat down to a usable space of the room is through a ceiling fan. Although commonly used in the summer months, it can be effective in redistributing heat in the winter. Mazal explains how a ceiling fan can control a room’s temperature. LIGHTING “When programmed to spin clockA simple way to lower energy costs wise at a low speed, the fan pushes is to install more efficient light warm air from the ceiling to the ocbulbs. cupied space below,” he said. “DeAccording to Gabriel Romero, an pending on the room and ceiling Xcel Energy Spokesman, a home’s height, a low-speed fan can help lowlighting accounts for 25 percent of er the thermostat without sacrificing its energy output. warmth.” “Replacing regular, incandescent APPLIANCES bulbs with more efficient options can significantly reduce energy from Appliances tend to be an overlight,” he said. looked energy contributor, because Light-emitting diodes (LEDs), they are used so frequently. Alwhich use a direct current, and com- though most appliances are expenpact fluorescent lamps (CFLs), sive up front, modern appliances are which contain a small amount of incomparable to those from 10 or mercury, are more efficient options more years ago, according to for lighting. Romero. Romero explained how to differenEnergySmart Program Manager tiate between the two bulbs. Andy Mazal explained the technolog“Although LEDs are by far the ical advancements of appliances in most efficient, they are not yet cost- recent years. effective in the short-term,” he said. “Depending on how often an ap“CFLs are the cheaper choice and pliance is used, a household could are still much more efficient than save money on a new replacement in regular bulbs.” a couple of years,” he said. “Look for the EnergyStar label to ensure the Proper disposal of a CFL bulb is high efficiency of an appliance.” essential in preventing harm from the small amount of mercury it conAn EnergyStar certification inditains. If a CFL bulb breaks, be sure cates that an appliance has passed to open the windows and dispose of the strict energy efficient guidelines set by the Environmental Protection the bulb at a recycling facility.
INSULATION After simple improvements and replacements, the next step in creating a more energy-efficient home is insulation. It is important to seal a home’s exterior to ensure heat does not escape and unwanted air does not sneak in. Because all homes are different, an energy audit is the best way to determine a home’s individual energy report. According to Mazal, an audit essentially detects how much air is lost from the home per hour and where it is escaping from. Afterward, recommendations are
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made to improve the home’s efficiency. Mazal explained the unique benefits of an audit. “Even the most handy of homeowners can benefit from the highly accurate equipment,” he said. “In fact, in 95 percent of audits, a homeowner discovers something they didn’t know.” Usually, holes in between interior walls and the attic, crawl spaces and basement walls are areas where heat and air escape undetected. Insulation is the top priority in keeping air in the home, according to Mazal. “Insulating the attic tends to be the number one thing to do for the money with a house older than 10 years,” he said. The wrath of winter tends to be met with roasting fire places, warm food and drinks and more time indoors, inevitably raising energy bills. The time to assess your home and consider energy-efficient improvements is before the cold winter months. “As a former auditor at Xcel Energy, I can tell you that peaks in energy bills are directly linked to the extreme weather of a location,” Mazal said.
Tricks to decrease water usage without sacrificing routines: According to EnergyStar, water heating is the second largest energy expenditure after heating and cooling. To reduce a large chuck of your energy bill, try these tips lower the amount of water used without forfeiting comfort. • Reduce water usage Energy efficient shower heads and faucet aerators use less water than regular ones, but they are also more pressurized so most people don’t notice a difference in their water habits. Look for the WaterSense rating or for a shower head below 2 gallon/minute and an aerator below 1.5 gallon/minute. • Wash clothes with cold water According to Mazal, 90 percent of a washing machine’s energy goes toward heating the water. Washing clothes with cold water will cut that out that energy. •Lower water heater temperature Most water heaters are installed with a setting of 140 to 160 degrees, which heats water to a scolding temperature that humans cannot tolerate. By lowering the temperature to 120 degrees, you can save energy and money.
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970-203-6100 Check the license status of your mortgage loan originator at http://www.dora.state.co.us/real-estate/index.htm Think big
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