Uncle Sam needs you to help unload 250,000 distressed properties

Federal agencies are scrambling to come up with ways to get rid of 250,000 properties in various stages of distress and are leaning heavily toward making many of them rentals through investors and previous owners.

by Broderick Perkins
© 2011 DeadlineNews.Com

Unauthorized use of this story is a copyright violation -- a federal crime

Deadline Newsroom - Federal agencies are scrambling to come up with ways to get rid of 250,000 properties in various stages of distress and are leaning heavily toward making many of them rentals.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), in conjunction with the U.S. Department of the Treasury and U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), has announced a "Request for Information: Enterprise/FHA REO Asset Disposition", seeking input from both the public and private sectors on options for moving off the books residential real estate owned (REO) properties held by Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac (GSE's or "Government Sponsored Enterprises") and the Federal Housing Administration(FHA).

Federal agencies own a quarter million properties with only about 70,000 of them currently listed for sale. Buyers have made offers on another 22,000 of them, but the bulk, about 158,000, are in limbo.

The Feds want to reduce agencies' carrying costs, including loan losses, and address repair and rehabilitation needs (taxpayers foot the bill) in a manner that recognizes economic and real estate conditions and needs in specific locations, while helping stabilize falling pricesexacerbated by the glut of distressed properties.

"While the Enterprises will continue to market individual REO properties for sale, FHFA and the Enterprises seek input on possible pooling of REO properties in situations where such pooling, combined with private management, may reduce Enterprise credit losses and help stabilize neighborhoods and home values," said FHFA Acting Director Edward J. DeMarco.

"Partnerships involving Enterprise properties may reduce taxpayer losses and meet the Enterprises’ responsibility to bring stability and liquidity to housing markets. We seek input on these important questions," DeMarco added.

Federal agencies are looking hard at selling off pools of properties to investors who will turn the REOs into rental units. It's a strategy that could help ease tight rental markets.

The tactic is hard at work in places like Las Vegas and Florida where a glut of distressed properties have squeezed million dollar homes until they are worth only a quarter million dollars.

While some groups are purchasing distressed properties in bulk to flip and resell, others are renting them out if they can get adequate cash flow to make the deals pencil.

"It's going to be a cold winter. There's nothing we are seeing in jobs or the economy or housing to make us believe there is any more good news for this year. It's making it easy for investors to pick up homes and banks are thinking about that," said Jon Sterling, Director of Marketing at Mountain View-based Altos Research.

However, Feds aren't likely to put all their eggs in one basket.

Another idea includes allowing previous homeowners to rent properties and perhaps even buy them back under a rent-to-own deal.

Current renters could also participate in rent-to-own deals, and the homes could be put up for sale as reduced-price affordable housing.

"As we continue moving forward on housing finance reform, it's critical that we support the process of repair and recovery in the housing market," said Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner.

"Exploring new options for selling these foreclosed properties will help expand access to affordable rental housing, promote private investment in local housing markets, and support neighborhood and home price stability," Geithner added.

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Perkins was the first Examiner to cover three beats for the Examiner.com news service:
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Expect fallout from a strategic default

Some homeowners are duped into strategic defaults by fraudulent services offering faulty advice. Crooked mortgage relief services often tell homeowners to stop making payments to get the lender's attention for mortgage assistance.

by Broderick Perkins
© 2011 DeadlineNews.Com

Unauthorized use of this story is a copyright violation -- a federal crime

Deadline Newsroom - When you decide to quit making mortgage payments and walk away from home ownership, you are taking a walk down a slippery path.

It's a path to a "strategic default," which occurs when a homeowner, who can afford to make mortgage payments, but proactively decides not to in order to induce foreclosure.

The questionable strategy is often used by homeowners who are "underwater" with a mortgage that's larger than the home's value. The approach is more likely if the homeowner believes the home will take too long to recover sufficient equity and the homeowner also can rent a home for less than the mortgage payment.

Other homeowners are duped into strategic defaults by fraudulent services offering faulty advice. Crooked mortgage relief services often tell homeowners to stop making payments to get the lender's attention for mortgage assistance, say a mortgage modification or other loan workout.

Experian says in the second quarter this year, on average, 17 percent of mortgages with payments 60 days more or past due where those held by calculating homeowners bent on a strategic default. For homeowners with loan origination balances of more than $1 million, 33 percent of those 60 days or more late were strategic defaulters, Experian says.

For whatever reason, a strategic default is a risky proposition.

"Not paying your mortgage will have a far-reaching, long-lasting impact on your ability to secure future credit, regardless of the reason for your default," said Charles Chung, Experian’s president of decision analytics.

If you strategically default on your mortgage, you'll certainly be rid of a big mortgage payment, but the burdens you'll carry for years may not be worth the savings.

• Only bankruptcy is more damaging to your credit than a foreclosure. Even if you continue to pay your other bills the foreclosure remains on your credit report for seven years. Bankruptcy's black mark remains for 10 years.

• After a foreclosure, your credit score can drop 150 points or more, according to the leading credit scoring system (FICO) architect Fair Isaac Corp.

A credit score is a numerical rendition of information on your credit report. The FICO score ranges from about 350 to 850 — the higher the number the better your credit score and the better shot you have a the best credit rates and terms.

• After a foreclosure, any credit and insurance available to you will cost more and you could find it tough to rent a home. Employers can't get your score, but they can have a look at your credit report, in some states, under certain circumstances, but always only with your written consent.

• You could experience a tax hit if the lender forgives the difference resulting from a foreclosure sale price that's less than the mortgage balance.

• You also could face legal costs if the lender comes after you for the difference.

• Finally, last year, Fannie Mae implemented a policy that prohibits strategic defaulters from getting a new Fannie Mae-backed mortgage for seven years from the date of foreclosure.

"Some may see strategic default as a way to get out of paying a bad debt," Chung says. "But its associated costs, like a lower credit score, higher interest rates and less ability to secure future credits, can wipe out the financial benefit of no longer having a mortgage payment," Chung said.

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Broderick Perkins, an award-winning consumer journalist, parlayed 30 years of old-school journalism into a digital real estate news service, the San Jose, CA-based DeadlineNews Group, including DeadlineNews.Com, a real estate news and consulting service and Web site, and the Deadline Newsroom, DeadlineNews.Com's news back shop.

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Voters united over homeownership

Voters ranked home ownership just below being successful at their jobs and slightly more important than the ability to pay for their own education or the education of a family member.

by Broderick Perkins
© 2011 DeadlineNews.Com

Unauthorized use of this story is a copyright violation -- a federal crime

Deadline Newsroom - The message American voters recently sent to legislators in Washington D.C. is pretty clear: "Don't make home ownership any more difficult than it already is."

Voters who are homeowners free-and-clear, voters who are homeowners owing more than their home is worth, voters who rent and voters who still live with parents, by and large, all want to own their own home.

A recent National Association of Home Builders' survey, jointly conducted by Republican Party-leaning Public Opinion Strategies and the Democratic Party-leaning Lake Research Partners reveals the vast majority of respondents, 74 percent, said home ownership was "very important" or "one of the most important" goals in their lives.

They ranked home ownership just below being successful at their jobs and slightly more important than the ability to pay for their own education or the education of a family member.

A full 94 percent of respondents ranked owning a home as at least "somewhat important."

"Despite the current housing downturn, Americans still see home ownership as a core value and a key building block of being in the middle class and creating strong jobs in their communities," said Celinda Lake, president of Lake Research Partners in a prepared statement.

"The bipartisan consensus outside the Beltway is that owning a home remains an essential part of the American Dream," she added.

The survey found:

• More than one in three (36 percent) said a home is their most valuable investment followed by 33 percent who said a retirement savings program was their top investment.

• When asked if owning a home is the best long-term investment they can make, even with the ups and downs in the housing market, 75 percent "strongly agreed" or "agreed" the purchase is worth the risk, compared to 23 percent who "strongly disagreed."

• When asked if owning a home is the best long-term investment they can make, even with the ups and downs in the housing market, 76 percent of voters who have a mortgage strongly agreed or agreed. The same was true for 81 percent of those who own-outright; 67 percent of renters; 72 percent of those who don't pay a mortgage and 65 percent of homeowners who owe more than their home is worth.

• There's also strong agreement to the statement over age groups. When asked if owning a home is the best long-term investment they can make, even with the ups and downs in the housing market, the "strongly agree" or "agree" came from 73 to 79 percent of age groups 18-34; 35-54; 55-64 and 65 and up.

• Ninety-five percent of all homeowners are either "very happy" or "happy" with home ownership. Among homeowners "underwater" (owing more than their home is worth), 83 percent are "very happy" or "happy" with their choice to own.

• Also, in light of recent legislative and regulatory moves to mandate mortgage down payment levels, voters said the greatest barrier for those who want to own a home is the down payment (31 percent); job uncertainty (21 percent); credit score (16 percent); inability to get a loan (11 percent); current personal debt (9 percent); concerns that if home prices drop, the home investment would be worth less than the purchase price (8 percent).

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Higher conforming loan limits for another year

High conforming loan limits mean homebuyers and homeowners in expensive housing markets will continue to get a break on interest rates when they buy or refinance. Conforming loans come with cheaper rates than non-conforming or so called "jumbo" mortgages, because they are backed by the government.

by Broderick Perkins
© 2010 DeadlineNews.Com

Unauthorized use of this story is a copyright violation -- a federal crime

Deadline Newsroom - In what's at least a year-long reprieve from some higher housing costs, President Obama is expected to sign legislation that comes with a provision to extend the current high-cost-area conforming loan limit through 2011.

The provision means homebuyers and homeowners in expensive housing markets will continue to get a break on interest rates when they buy or refinance.

Conforming loans come with cheaper rates than non-conforming or so called "jumbo" mortgages, because they are backed by the government.

Now that the federal homebuyer tax credit has expired, cheaper rates are crucial to the housing recovery.

Federal lawmakers recently voted to keep the maximum size of loans guaranteed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and the Federal Housing Administration (FHA), for high-cost areas, at the current $729,750 level.

Real estate agents, mortgage bankers, homebuilders, and others, arguing the housing market would suffer with lower conforming limits, lobbied to keep the upper limit in high-priced markets.

The limit applies to areas that include California and New York. Alaska, Hawaii, Guam and the U.S. Virgin Islands get even higher conforming loan levels.

Without the change, the limits would have fallen to about $625,000. The limit was $417,000 before 2008 and remains at that level for most of the country.

"CAR applauds our congressional representatives for their actions to extend the higher loan limits through 2011," said CAR President Steve Goddard.

"Without the extension of the higher loan limits, many California borrowers would have a harder time refinancing homes and obtaining financing for new home purchases," he said.

On September 28, Erate.com reported the average rate for 30-year, non-conforming jumbo loans
came in at an average 5.18 percent. Meanwhile, conforming loan rates averaged 4.51 percent.

Many homeowners carry jumbo mortgages with interest rates in the mid to high 6s. Current conforming mortgages area available for much less to qualified homeowners who pay the standard .07 to 1 point origination fee.

If these homeowners had to refinance to a true jumbo loan of the past, they would be doing so at fixed rates in the low 5's. Even some homeowners burdened with two loans to avoid jumbo mortgage rates could benefit from refinancing both loans to today’s jumbo conforming fixed rate loan.

While borrowers must still qualify under the stiff current guidelines in today's market numerous borrowers are able to refinance to a conventional conforming jumbo loan for less, depending on their area.

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Broderick Perkins, an award-winning consumer journalist, parlayed 30 years of old-school journalism into a digital real estate news service, the San Jose, CA-based DeadlineNews Group, including DeadlineNews.Com, a real estate news and consulting service and Web site, and the Deadline Newsroom, DeadlineNews.Com's news back shop.

Under the DeadlineNews Group umbrella:

Perkins is managing editor of HomeAway.com's Gulf Coast Response Center.

Perkins was the first Examiner to cover three beats for the Examiner.com news service:
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• National Consumer News Examiner
• National Offbeat News Examiner

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Mortgage modification makers get poor grades

Mortgage servicers get sloppier during the loan modification process than they do during the loan origination process, according to the recently released J.D. Power and Associates study.

by Broderick Perkins
© 2010 DeadlineNews.Com


Unauthorized use of this story is a copyright violation -- a federal crime


Deadline Newsroom - If you thought it was tough getting up to snuff on the mortgage application process, wait until you get a load of the mortgage modification mine field.

Mortgage servicers get sloppier during the loan modification process than they do during the loan origination process, according to the recently released J.D. Power and Associates' "2010 U.S. Primary Mortgage Servicer Satisfaction Study".

That means you'll need to take the initiative and learn the ins and outs of the mortgage modification process before diving in.

"This will not come as a great surprise to many homeowners who have had to endure the tribulations of loan modification," said Bruce Hahn, president of the American Homeowners Foundation.

A mortgage modification occurs when the lender reworks the terms of an existing home loan, typically to lower payments and make the home more affordable, according to a helpful and inexpensive resource, Silver Spring, MD-based mortgage expert Peter Miller's "The Quick & Dirty Guide To Successful Mortgage Modifications" (Silver Spring Press, $2.99).

To get the payment down, mortgage modification lenders lower the interest rate, extend the loan term, reduce the principal or use any combination of those approaches. Modification are often use as an alternative to foreclosure.

"With more than a million borrowers signed up for mortgage modification programs the overall result is that most are wildly unhappy with their loan servicers," says Miller, whose publication uses an easy-to-understand linear approach that takes the mystery out of the mortgage modification process, a process which apparently stymies even lenders.

According to J.D. Power, compared with the loan origination process, mortgage servicers do worse in mortgage modifications in a host of areas.

• In terms of providing and meeting a time frame for approval.

• In terms of asking for information more than once (in order to be sure to obtain information crucial to the modification).

• When explaining the entire process during application.

• In terms of providing proactive status updates during the process.

The study measured customer satisfaction with five areas of the mortgage servicing experience: fees; the billing and payment process; escrow account administration; website; and phone contact. The study is based on responses from 4,516 homeowners queried May through June 2010.

"While the loan origination process is already a milestone event for most homeowners, the stakes are even higher for those going through the modification process," said David Lo, director of financial services at J.D. Power.

J. D. Power says there are several key service practices that can have a particularly strong positive impact on customer satisfaction:

• Fee transparency. Communicating all fees in a concise way to ensure complete understanding and no surprises.

• Informative account statements. Providing account statements to ensure that the most important information customers need is easily found.

• Billing and payment by preferred method. Ensuring that customers are able to receive account statements and make payments through their preferred method.

• Problem resolution. Ensuring that once a problem is identified, it is resolved quickly and efficiently.

Says Miller, "You can easily understand that clarity is required with the first three items, it’s the fourth which is a problem. "Resolution" may not possible and in cases where a borrower has lost a job there’s nothing the servicer can do to help the homeowner short of offering them employment."


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You are reading a sample of "News that really hits home!" now available from several beats and published in a growing number of locations.

Broderick Perkins, an award-winning consumer journalist, parlayed 30 years of old-school journalism into a digital real estate news service, the San Jose, CA-based DeadlineNews Group, including DeadlineNews.Com, a real estate news and consulting service and Web site, and the Deadline Newsroom, DeadlineNews.Com's news back shop.

Under the DeadlineNews Group umbrella:

Perkins is managing editor of HomeAway.com's Gulf Coast Response Center.

Perkins was the first Examiner to cover three beats for the Examiner.com news service:
• National Real Estate Examiner
• National Consumer News Examiner
• National Offbeat News Examiner

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Mortgage modification video a valuable tool for distressed homeowners

Video teaches that a mortgage modification occurs when the lender reworks the terms of your existing home loan, typically to lower payments and make the home more affordable for you. Lower payments can result from a lower interest rate, extended loan term, reduced principal or any combination of those approaches.

by Broderick Perkins
© 2009 DeadlineNews.Com



Unauthorized use of this story is a copyright violation -- a federal crime



Deadline Newsroom - A new video helps struggling homeowners navigate the federal mortgage modification program.

Offered for free to anyone by mortgage insurer and risk management company PMI Mortgage Insurance Co., the two-part video "Navigating the Home Affordable Modification Program" is a helpful adjunct to existing information about the federal Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP) on the MakingHomeAffordable.gov Web site.

A mortgage modification occurs when the lender reworks the terms of your existing home loan, typically to lower payments and make the home more affordable for you. Lower payments can result from a lower interest rate, extended loan term, reduced principal or any combination of those approaches.

A mortgage modification is not a refinanced mortgage, which replaces the old mortgage with a new loan.

Part I of the "Navigating HAMP" video provides basic orientation for homeowners who may not have heard of HAMP, it covers the objectives of the program, and helps you determine if you qualify for a HAMP modification.

Under HAMP, you may qualify for a mortgage modification if your home is your primary residence; your first mortgage's balance is no more than $729,750; you face financial hardship that is affecting or will affect your ability to make mortgage payments; you signed for your current mortgage on or before January 1, 2009 and your payment on your first mortgage (including principal, interest, taxes, insurance and homeowner's association dues, if applicable) is more than 31 percent of your current gross income.

"Distressed homeowners who are facing the prospect of losing their home need to know that help is available for those truly interested in saving their homes. This instructional video leverages the growing popularity of internet-based video to give homeowners an overview of how HAMP works and their important role in the process," said John Jelavich, head of PMI’s Homeownership Preservation Initiatives group.

Part II of the "Navigating HAMP" video uses examples to demonstrate how affordability is achieved with a loan modification, it walks homeowners through the steps necessary to obtain a modification and discusses the information homeowners need to provide their mortgage servicer, including:

• Pay stubs or other verification of your monthly before-tax (gross) income.
• Your most recent income tax return.
• Statements for savings and other assets.
• Your first and second mortgage (if any), home equity loan or line of credit statements
• Account balances and minimum monthly payments due on all of your credit cards, car loans, student loans and other debts.
• A completed Hardship Affidavit describing any circumstances that caused your income to be reduced or expenses to be increased.

"The jury is still out on the success of the HAMP program. Progress has been slow in materializing but may finally be gaining steam as many of the trial loan modifications are finally beginning to transition into permanent ones," said Nancy Osborne, chief operating officer of Erate.com, a Santa Clara, CA-based financial information publisher and interest rate tracker.

Osborne added, "A large part of the problem has been getting the loan servicers ramped up with the staff and technology to handle the massive wave of modifications, something they had no real experience with previously."

To learn more about loan modifications visit "Mortgage Modification Madness", "Mortgage Modification Updates" and watch "Navigating the Home Affordable Modification Program."

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Perkins is also the first Examiner to cover three beats for the Examiner.com news service:
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Mortgage manipulation affects credit scores

More credit score addition, subtraction

If you are struggling financially as a homeowner, you may be considering some of the new ways to make your mortgage more affordable, but beware. Modifications, workouts and short sales can impact your credit score.

by Broderick Perkins
© 2008 DeadlineNews.Com

Unauthorized use of this story is a copyright violation -- a federal crime

Deadline Newsroom - How you manage your mortgage can help or hurt your credit score.

Your credit score, a numerical rendition of your creditworthiness - or lack thereof - should be at 760 or above if you want the best interest rate, according to FICO, the leading credit scoring system provider.

Mortgage lenders as well as other creditors take a hard look at your credit score when you want to borrow against your home, refinance or buy anew.

If you are struggling financially as a homeowners you may be considering some of the new ways to make your mortgage more affordable, but beware.

Look beyond the monthly savings you can net on a mortgage modification, workout or short sale and also carefully consider how those savings will affect your credit score.

According to FICO, if you:

• Get a mortgage modification or short sale, expect some negative impact.
There are many variables here: how the lender reports the deal; what's already on your credit report (negatives compound), etc. A loan modification or short sale are certainly less damaging than a foreclosure or bankruptcy.

Consumer Reports' Money Advisor suggests that before you enter a mortgage modification or short sale, ask how the lender will report it so you can weigh your priorities. If you need the break, take the deal sooner rather than later, even if it will hurt your credit score. Negatives on your credit file are removed after seven years. The sooner you get the clock ticking, the better.

• Are rejected for a loan several times, expect a small negative. It's the inquiries the credit scoring model sees, not the rejections. Too many rejections may indicate you are trying to pile up a lot of credit in a short time and that's deemed risky behavior.

Consumer Reports advises loan shop within a 14 to 30 day period. FICO counts all mortgage inquiries within that period as one inquiry. Also consider applying for credit in person so you can ask about the lender's requirements and your chances for approval. If one lender's underwriting standards are too tight, seek a more lenient lender, Consumer Reports also advises.

• Have a subprime or adjustable rate mortgage (ARM) on your credit report, expect zero impact. The FICO scoring system isn't privy to the underwriting terms of your loan. Keep making payments on time and or refinance to a lower fixed rate if you can and you'll keep your score intact or boost it over time.

• Get debt relief from a credit counselor, expect a ding. That's because you aren't living up to the original terms of the credit agreement. Get the help if you need it, again, the sooner you begin to correct credit problems, the sooner they leave your credit file.

Consumer Reports advises working with certified counselors from the Association of Independent Consumer Credit Counseling Agencies or the National Foundation for Credit Counseling. For housing issues, see counselors certified by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Affairs

• Get a "goodwill correction" from your lender, expect a positive effect on your credit score. If, say, you were late once on your mortgage and never again in several years, it can't hurt to ask your lender to remove the one ding.

• Pay the mortgage but fall behind on other bills, expect black marks that negatively effect your credit score. FICO doesn't weigh your payment history on one type of loan more than another.

Consumer Reports says there are no "less important" creditors when it comes to your credit score. Call creditors before you get into trouble and try to work something out.

• Get more help from the Deadline Newsroom's Mortgage Modification Manual.

• Learn more about credit from the DeadlineNews Group's Consumer Examiner.

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© 2008 DeadlineNews.Com

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Broderick Perkins, an award-winning consumer journalist, parlayed 30 years of old-school journalism into a digital real estate news service, the San Jose, CA-based DeadlineNews Group, including DeadlineNews.Com, a real estate news and consulting service and Web site, and the Deadline Newsroom, DeadlineNews.Com's news back shop.

Perkins is also the first Examiner to cover three beats for the Examiner.com news service:
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Moving Away From Heavy Gasoline Use

Transit oriented developments allow you to live nearer necessary destinations and give you more transportation options. That means you'll spend less money on the growing cost of gasoline.

by Broderick Perkins
© 2008 DeadlineNews.Com

Unauthorized use of this story is a copyright violation -- a federal crime

Deadline Newsroom - You may have to move to get away from the high cost of gasoline.

Well, you really can't get away from the high cost, but a move could help you use less gas.

That is, if you move to a transit oriented development (TOD).

If your next home is in a TOD community, your housing choice could help defray the cost of gasoline by lowering demand and dependency on its use while easing the environmental impact of burning fossil fuels and sprawl.

With a gallon of gasoline above the $4 mark -- up more than a buck from a year ago nationwide -- a group of organizations say housing affordability isn't only a measure of what portion of your income you shell out for the mortgage and related costs, but also the cost of transportation to and from work, school, worship, shopping, medical care and the host of other destinations you regularly visit.

Simply put, the nearer you live to those destinations or the more transportation options available to you from your community, the more opportunities you'll have to spend less on petrol fueled transportation.

When the Center for Neighborhood Technology (CNT) and Surface Transportation Policy Project (STPP) last calculated the effects of gasoline costs on the household budget, gasoline was only $1.85 a gallon nationwide, and some communities were spending as much as 20 cents on every dollar for gasoline. Imagine what a more than doubling of gas prices has done to a household budget that hasn't has the benefit of higher incomes.

That makes TODs more viable than ever, primarily for the gasoline savings, but also for a host of other reasons.

• A well-conceived and developed TOD is designed to focus compact growth around transit stops to bring riders closer to transit facilities, to encourage walkable infill development, and save land. They can be built to contain many elements of the so-called "new urbanism" or "neo-traditionalist" developments named for a more traditional pedestrian-friendly, easy-access-to-essentials approach to development that has less impact on the infrastructure than sprawl.

• TODs are viable in both urban and suburban settings, provided development is not simply adjacent to transit, but shaped by transit in terms of parking, density, and building orientation.

• TODs provide mobility options, very much needed in the most congested metropolitan areas. This allows young people, the elderly, low-income people, people who prefer not to drive or own cars the ability to get around.

• TODs can lower annual household drive times by 20 percent to 40 percent for those living, working and/or shopping near transit stations. Reduced driving time means reduced driving expense to the tune of thousands of dollars a year. That can land a TOD home owner what's called a "Location Efficient Mortgage" or LEM where they are available.

Just as "Energy Efficient Mortgages (EEMs)" allow a home owner with a more energy-efficient home to spend more money on housing instead of energy, LEMs allow home owners to spend a greater percentage of their income on housing when they spend less on transportation.

• Reduced drive time also means reduced air pollution and energy consumption. TODs can reduce rates of greenhouse gas emissions by 2.5 to 3.7 tons per year for each household. Likewise, TODs typically consume less land than low-density, auto-oriented growth and it reduces the need to convert farmland and open spaces to development.

• Also, by creating active communities that are busy through the day and evening, TODs put more "eyes on the street" and that increases safety for pedestrians, transit-users, and others.

Championing the TOD cause, The Center for Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) is an initiative that includes input from a host of like-minded organizations including:

• Congress for the New Urbanism; Reconnecting America; Center for Neighborhood Technology; New Urbanism; Surface Transportation Policy Project; and the Urban Land Institute

Experts from some of those groups helped contribute to the documentary "End Of Suburbia" which reveals that the depletion of oil and the ensuing economic and social chaos are inevitable.
© 2008 DeadlineNews.Com

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Broderick Perkins, an award-winning consumer journalist of 30 years, is publisher and executive editor of San Jose, CA-based DeadlineNews Group -- DeadlineNews.Com, a real estate news and consulting service and Web site and the new Deadline Newsroom, DeadlineNews.Com's news back shop. In both cases, it's where all the news really hits home.

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How To Find A Solar System Contractor

Finding a contractor to install a photovoltaic solar system on your home is not unlike finding any other specialist to complete a home improvement, provided the contractor has solar savvy.

by Broderick Perkins
© 2008 DeadlineNews.Com

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Deadline Newsroom - With city, state and federal initiatives shouting 'solar!' from the rooftops, finding competent solar equipment installers is paramount.

Solar and other renewable energy rebates and initiatives from the federal government down to city jurisdictions are prompting more contractors to hang a "solar installer" shingle, take to rooftops and cash in on the demand.

It's relatively simple to install and maintain a $30,000 flush-mounted, rooftop, 320-square-foot, PV array efficiently generating 3 kilowatts -- enough power to meet the needs of a 2,500 square foot home.

Simple that is, provided the PV panel installer is experienced in the task at hand.

As with hiring any professional, a good start to finding a solar contractor is to seek referrals from family, friends, neighbors, co-workers and others you trust who also recently purchased a system with which they are satisfied.

The referrals should be to licensed contractors or, better yet, licensed solar contractors who work in your area. Contractors typically obtain a license by proving their skills through education or training, testing, in-the-field experience or some combination of all those efforts.

More specifically, solar contractors are licensed after meeting requirements specific to the specialty.
In some states, designated solar contractors are licensed to perform solar energy work and only other building or construction work necessary to install an active solar system.

The licensing process typically also comes with continuing education services to keep contractors current on techniques, codes and the like. It also includes a regulatory system that helps weed out the bad apples. Consumers get an official agency where they can check the record of contractors, lodge complaints and seek redress for problems.

Truly professional contractors also won't work without a permit, which means the local building inspector will examine the work for compliance with current building codes. Avoid any contractor who attempts to circumvent the permit process.

Most states don't have regulations for a designated "solar contractor," but each state's renewable energy incentive program can help.

The Database of State Incentives for Renewable Energy offers a clickable-map data base of federal, state and local renewable energy programs, each of which can help you find qualified contractors and educational and financing information for consumers.

Even where there's no "solar contractor" license category, incentive programs typically come with state-registered or program-registered contractors and or approved solar and other renewable energy systems.

You can also tap solar energy trade groups to find contractors, especially in areas where they aren't regulated. Trade groups typically come with a code of ethics, training requirements and a network of product research, development and educational services for its members.

Home owners considering hiring a professional solar system installer should also get schooled in solar technology to be better equipped to interview prospective contractors.

Select a contractor who has years of experience installing grid-connected systems and who isn't afraid to refer you to satisfied customers.

The contractor should also have site savvy -- clear, unobstructed access to the sun is crucial. The contractor should also be able to help you decide what size system you need to generate all the power necessary for your home or just a portion. It's up to you not to let the contractor sell you more power than you need.

The incentive programs and utilities can help you calculate how much of a rooftop array you really need based on past energy use.

The contractor should also be familiar with special features your system may need including an inverter necessary to change the direct current (DC) power from the solar panels into alternating current (AC) electricity to power your electrical devices and to be compatible with the electric grid. Batteries, which increase your cost, provide back-up and storage power for your home during grid outages and gray days.

Each incentive program explains the local utility connection requirements including which utilities will buy excess power and which will let you pump juice back into the grid without reimbursing you, but the contractor also should be familiar with grid connections, metering and what happens to excess power.

Finally, get several bids and make sure the bids are for the identical solar system.

© 2008 DeadlineNews.Com

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Get news that really hits home for your Web site or blog from DeadlineNews.Com.
Broderick Perkins, an award-winning consumer journalist of 30 years, is publisher and executive editor of San Jose, CA-based DeadlineNews Group -- DeadlineNews.Com, a real estate news and consulting service and Web site and the new Deadline Newsroom, DeadlineNews.Com's news back shop. In both cases, it's where all the news really hits home.

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