The internet is slooooowwww and spotty so sorry for not getting in touch sooner! This has been a full and busy trip! Our hearts have been encouraged at the faithfulness of God in caring for orphans. The children we have been with get daily baths (I don’t even do that every day!), lots of attention, love, and interaction. However, this is my first time at a babies’ home since completing my masters in education and becoming a mother. So it is much more obvious to me now when I see the developmental delays and lack of attachment these kids get to any one adult. 70 children under 2 years old is quite overwhelming!

As I was playing with a chubby little 14 month old on Monday, the head of the children’s home tells me this child was found strapped underneath a bed and arrived to them at 2 pounds. I would never have guessed it! God is faithful, and I am thankful that He is rescuing His children through faithful followers here in Uganda.

I have always felt that children with special needs in the developing world are some of the most neglected. Sometimes this is on purpose, but many times it is a simple lack of education and resources. I spent time with Moses who was abandoned at the hospital when he was 3 years old with untreated hydrocephalous (a commonly untreated problem in developing countries where water fills the brain. Children’s heads become huge. In the US, it is treated right away and easily fixed). He was brought to the home by the hospital and is full of personality. He is 5 and still isn’t walking YET, but LOVED playing on my iphone and easily completed the preschool apps I had downloaded for Amelie. However, here, he is still in the “babies” home (2 years and under) with no school or regular therapy. Another 5 year old with cerebral palsy also lives at the babies’ home. Her smile is like no other I have seen! There are so many more stories than that but little time to tell them now. And it would take about 30 minutes to download photos, so that will all have to wait until next week!

Joe has been building lots of cribs. I joked that he is living out his man dream while I have been living my normal life multiplied by 70! Lots of changing diapers, feeding, and playing! We have had some intense and amazing conversations with various people and have gotten to spend time with our friends who have lived here for 4 years. They are doing an amazing job training Ugandans in entrepreneurship skills. We will visit more with them tomorrow.

So much more to share! One room has about 4 premature babies (one found in a toilet, another in corn field). So thankful they are getting care! We are madly missing our children but so thankful to God for breathing new perspective in our hearts as parents.

3 year old carpet art!

Art is gone!

As our 3 year old approaches 4, nap times are being replaced by “rest times” which has lead to interesting imaginative play time in her room. It has also lead to exploring with crayons- on walls, stuffed animals, and the carpet. She even dressed up a crayon like a princess the other day. I always take the crayons away and, inevitably, a few weeks later, return them in hopes for no disasters. For the most part, it has worked. But we recently hired a chem dry carpet cleaning company to clean up past messes.

We have always used and recommended steam cleaning companies when listing an Austin home for sale. But often steam cleaning means days off the carpet which is an impossibility with kids. Chem-drying, a carpet cleaning alternative, uses carbonation to extract the dirt and grime and doesn’t use as much steam so the carpet dries much faster. Even if you aren’t selling your home any time soon, cleaning your carpets is an affordable way to maintain your home and help it to feel new!

At the end of the day, the artwork is off the carpet and the upholstery! And really, that is all we wanted! If you are listing your Austin home for sale this spring, read more of our tips about how to prepare your Austin home for sale. Give Austin Chem-Dry a call for a free estimate. We found them to be efficient and affordable.

This doesn’t have much to do with buying and selling homes, but we thought this was the easiest way to keep you up to date on our comings and goings!

I picked up a new Ugandan friend last week to take her to an apartment complex where refugees from many war torn countries have recently resettled in Austin. She speaks swahili and so could translate and share with the other swahili speaking Africans.

On the way there, I ask “How many children do you have?”

“I have 3 children. I adopted one of the children after my sister died of HIV. In Uganda, when parents die, it is expected the siblings will adopt the kids left behind.”

“Really?” I say. “We are praying about adoption right now.”

“Wow, won’t you think about adopting one of my nieces? Their dad died of HIV and their mother is now sick with HIV as well. When she dies, I don’t know how I will be able to take care of all of these children. You could go visit and meet them when you go to Uganda.” This was definitely an interesting start to our conversation!

We arrived at the complex and she immediately greeted the Burundi women and some newly arrived refugees from the Congo. I soon met a smiling Iraqi woman who has been in Austin for only 2 weeks. She worked  for the US army and they are now assisting her, her husband, and 2 children to resettle in the US.

“I have seen crazy things that no one should see,” she said.  “I have been bombed 4 times. My son was targeted by the militia on the way to school and was in the hospital for 2 weeks. No one knows where we are now. We couldn’t tell anybody because then they would know that I have been working for the US and my family would be threatened. This is the first time for me to feel safe in years. To walk the streets without wondering if I will die. Maybe I could help tutor the kids here at the apartments. I have a physics degree.” I ask, “Where are you interviewing for a job this week?” “Sewing clothes for a hotel,” she replies.

She is 34, has a 9 year old and 12 year old and has spent the major part of her life in fear with violence a normal reality.  We both cried and talked and exchanged phone numbers before saying goodbye.

I get back in the car with my Ugandan friend. “How was your time?” I ask. “It was very good, Jezca. The men from the Congo shared about how he watched his father get shot to death. His mother and siblings fled and he still has no idea where they are. It was a good time for people to share their stories and grieve together.”

10 minutes from our house are people with stories, with souls, with real needs. They aren’t stories from the news or the internet, but they are right here in our backyard, looking for friends and for Hope.

Being involved in people’s lives so different from our own stretches our hearts and awakens our souls. God is stirring Joe and me here in Austin and on February 25th- March 9th, we get to travel to Uganda to be stirred as well. We will be visiting our good friend who works with Watoto. Jessica will volunteer at a home for abandoned premature babies and Joe will work with youth in a carpentry school. We will also visit our friends the Micklers who empower the poor through businesses and entrepreneurship through Econation. Both sets of grandparents will be taking care of Amelie and Holden while we are away.

Before we planned this trip, Joe and I began to ask God, “Do you want us to adopt?” We believe that God has shown us that He does and ask Him for continued guidance. We are currently praying about what direction to go (local or international, baby or toddler, ect). We hope God may answer some of our questions on this trip to Uganda since we will have time and space to pray and ask and seek Him on this.

Would you please pray for us?

• that God would plan this trip to maximize His glory
• that God gives grandparents energy to be mommy and daddy to Amelie and Holden and that the kids would honor one another and their grandparents!
• Wisdom and continued confirmation in regards to adoption and God’s purposes for our lives… that we would count everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Him!
• Protection over our health and travels

Blessings!

Jessica, Joe, Amelie, and Holden Honegger

Being a good buyer’s agent is so much about listening and helping people hone in on, not just what they want in a home, but how they want to handle their finances, what sort of lifestyle they want, and what sort of community they want to become a part of. We recently helped a dear friend, architect, and client buy a home in need of some serious TLC in central Austin.

Our client is an architect and had dreamed her whole life about buying a home in Hyde Park. While we LOVE helping people find fixer uppers, our first time homebuyers sometimes have romantic visions of what remodeling a home looks like. We often need to paint a picture of eating fast food everyday, having sinus infections from incessant dust, and dealing with subcontractors who run a month behind schedule. Because this particular client is an architect, she didn’t need warning, and we proceeded to find her the perfect central Austin home (a massive fixer upper with tons of potential).

Buying a fixer upper is all about securing the right home at the right price. Investors like to say, “Make money on the buy.” Even if you plan on owning the home for 20 years, you don’t want to be stuck with a house that got such an overhaul that you price yourself out of the neighborhood. This Hyde Park home is a four bedroom, three bath house on a nice sized lot. After negotiations, we were able to secure the house for about 30% off the original asking price. Combine that with the tax credit, and our client made the perfect investment.

Besides following her on her blog (www.depewredo.com), here is what she had to say about having an Austin realtor who was also a home flipper:

“My experience with JH Residential was overwhelmingly positive. As an architect, I was happy to work with ethical and grounded professionals who were able to guide me through my first home-buying process. When I decided on a “fixer-upper”, Joe’s knowledge of single-family home construction and cost-estimating was an valuable asset to help me make the numbers work. Ultimately, it is my faith in Joe and confidence he’ll complete all and any work correctly the first time that would lead me to recommend him to potential clients.”

Looking for a good investment in Austin? Call JH Residential!

The “Before”…. Stay tuned for the after!

I didn’t know how tomatoes grew into well into my adult life. I lived deep in the mountains of Bolivia for a stint and will never forget the awe and amazement of seeds actually growing into my own food! Joe, coming from the good midwestern family that he did, ate 5 different veggies from their family garden every night! While we have attempted our own gardens almost every year, it hasn’t quite produced like we wanted. So I like to hit up farmer’s markets year round for the homegrown taste! Here are some of my favorites located in neighborhoods all over Austin.

Hope Farmer’s Market: This may be the newest to town. Sundays from 11-3 on 5th and Waller.

Boggy Creek Farm: My favorite way to start a Wednesday is with a fresh cup of coffee at Boggy Creek and my shoulder bag filled with fresh eggs and seasonal produce. The kids love to visit the chickens and see where the food is grown. Truly country in the city. Wednesday and Saturday from 9-1 in East Austin.

Austin Farmer’s Market at the Triangle: This is our spring ritual- meet friends at the triangle on Wednesday for live music, yummy samples, and fun. Grab the organic roasted chicken for dinner on your way out. And don’t forget to let your kids run around in the water area!

Austin Farmer’s Market downtown: Saturdays 9-1

Sunset Valley Farmer’s Market: Saturdays 9-1. Perfect for the south Austin home dweller and there is so much more than just veggies for sale! It is a fun place to take the kids on a slow Saturday morning.

Manor Farmer’s Market: Just 15 minutes east of Austin and many farmers represented.

If you are toying with the idea of planting a spring garden this year, but don’t want to go at it alone,  find a community garden in your own Austin neighborhood. Or start a co-op in your backyard with neighbors- especially if you live in Lost Creek or Rollingwood where the lots lend themselves to large garden plots. If you are selling your Austin home in the Spring, a welcoming garden sends a message to buyers that you care about your home. Happy gardening!

I love so many things about Austin, but something that I have really loved seeing over the past several years is the opening of so many new and creative food venues. And they keep coming! Here are are some that have already opened or are soon to come!

24 Diner: Wow! This changed happened fast! I don’t like seeing old Austin fixtures leave (it resides where the Waterloo Icehouse on Lamar was), but I can’t help but be excited about a healthy diner experience. Farm to table in the heart of Austin.

Simply Wine and Cheese: Burnet road keeps getting better.

Antonelli’s Cheese: Hyde Park home owners have yet another food destination to boast about! Austin’s own cheese shop devoted solely to, you guessed it, cheese! This former office space will be put to much better use as a foodie hotspot right next to Dolce Vita.

Baugette e Chocolate : West Austin home owners will soon have a taste of France in their backyards. Passionate about all things French, the owners commit to,  ”provide you artisan work with european machines and Authentic french knowledge and recipes.” Will they really help me to feel like I am sitting at a cafe on the streets of Paris? I hope so!

Mr. Bone’s Barbeque: The buzz is sounding really good- a barbeque spot that also serves up seafood and locally grown sides. The central East Austin location is convenient-  I just wish it weren’t in a strip mall. But as an east Austin home owner, I am not complaining!

Visit more of our favorite Austin restaurants here.  Does your neighborhood have a new spot headed its way? Let me know, so I can spread the word to homebuyers who are still getting acquainted with their new digs! Looking to buy an Austin home? We know Austin, we know homes, and we look forward to knowing you!

Because we have spent many years remodeling and flipping homes as central Austin realtors, we often get questions this time of year from clients getting ready to sell their homes in the spring. What should they do now to prepare an outdated Austin home to sell in the Spring?  Here are some projects that each cost under $2,000 that will cause a big impact in terms of buyer appeal. And if you do it now, you will actually get to enjoy the projects!

• Are your kitchen cabinets outdated? Reconditioning the cabinets will take out the nicks and scratches that years acquire. Add new hardware (I love the Restoration Hardware Outlet for hardware), and your kitchen will feel much cleaner. Or, paint the cabinets for a whole new look.
• Open up your floorplan. This may be easier said than done or it could be really easy and you didn’t know it! If your kitchen is separate from your family room, taking out even half a wall and adding a breakfast bar or island will modernize the floor plan. I have found some amazing deals on breakfast bars on Craig’s List. Joe and I would love to look at your kitchen to see if this is a feasible option.
• You may have an 80’s bathroom and think you are stuck with a $5,000 bathroom remodel. Actually, regrouting, replacing old faucets, light fixtures, and vanities, will create the feel of a new bathroom for under $500. Add a cute shower curtain (here are some cute ones from Anthropologie), and monogram some towels. Instead of a bath rug, buy a fun rug that covers up the outdated tile from Pottery Barn Teen like this one . These are all things you can take to your new home, but will help sell your current home in the mean time!
• Replace outdated light fixtures. If your house doesn’t have any recessed lighting, consider adding it to the living area and kitchen.
• Replace brass fixtures and door knobs.
• Add an interesting backsplash if your kitchen doesn’t have one. Kitchen backsplashes are fun because it is a smaller surface area that requires less tile so you can be creative and spend less money. I LOVE Ann Sacks tile! We have plenty of samples if you would like to see them in person.

In this economy, spending money when you are unsure about the return feels risky. Contact Joe at JH Residential so that he can provide you with a market analysis on your specific area of town and let you know a wise way to update your home.

The gym has been packed lately. The childcare providers told me that it will be like this for another month and then people start calling to cancel their memberships, realizing their New Year’s resolutions were a little bit ambitious. People are usually great about setting goals for their eating and exercise routines at the beginning of the year. But do they do the same for their homes? Here are some simple, unsexy things you can do this week to shape up your house in 2010:

• Make an appointment to dry clean your carpets. Dry cleaning, as opposed to steam cleaning your rugs, reduces the chance of mold growing under your carpets. It also dries in an hour; whereas, steam cleaning can stay wet for a day which is REALLY difficult with little tikes running around. We have an appointment set with Austin Chem-Dry for February. I can’t wait to show you the before and after photos.
• Clean under your fridge. A tiny toy fell under the fridge the other day and I was DISGUSTED to discover everything else that had piled under the fridge. It is near food. It should be clean!
• Replace rotted siding. This will have to be done if you plan on listing your home for sale, so might as well do it now.
• Get rid of socks that don’t have a mate. This will revolutionize your sock drawer!
• I love these erase pads for the walls! I got mine at the new central Austin Staples, but you can get them everywhere. I admit- the kids drew on the wall a few months ago and I did nothing about it until recently. These erase pads made everything look brand new! It is one of those extremely gratifying cleaning jobs!

I haven’t been the best blogger the last couple of months. I was approached by a couple of people to help them with the interior design of their homes. I look forward to sharing the photos with you! I want to share what I have been learning and doing, so I am back in the blogging saddle. Let me know of YOUR 2010 home shape up goals. I would love to help you conquer them! And of course, if you are thinking of listing your Austin home for sale in the Spring, it isn’t too early to contact JH Residential to help ready your home.

Area housing market poised for rebound, firm says

Data suggest home starts have neared bottom as tax credit attracts buyers.

By Shonda Novak

AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF

Published: 8:05 p.m. Monday, Jan. 4, 2010

A bottom is in sight for Central Texas‘ new-home market, with a slow recovery expected this year, according to Residential Strategies Inc., which tracks the housing market.

Builders started 1,389 new homes in the fourth quarter of 2009, down 7.2 percent from the same quarter of 2008, Residential Strategies reported Monday.

By comparison, in the last three months of 2008, starts were down 50 percent from the year-earlier quarter.

The emerging improvement largely stems from a homebuyer tax credit. Congress expanded and extended the credit in late 2009 until June 30 of this year, provided the home is under contract by April 30.

“We view this market performance favorably as indicating that the bottom of the market has been, or will soon be, reached,” said Tommy Tucker, Austin division manager for Residential Strategies.

For all of 2009, builders started 6,784 homes, down 24.6 percent from 2008.

The median new-home price declined to $201,481 in the fourth quarter from $206,888 in the previous quarter, reflecting sales in the lower price ranges spurred by the tax credit as well as “pricing pressure in general as builders continue to reduce their inventory,” Residential Strategies said.

The 2,099 closings were down 8.9 percent from a year earlier, after three quarters of drops greater than 30 percent.

Tucker said the tax credit “will continue to provide a spark for the home building industry through the first half of 2010 as we emerge from these recessionary times.”

Eldon Rude, local director for Metrostudy , a housing research firm, said that “the Austin new-home market will be one of the first markets across the U.S. that shows signs of recovery.”

“Our relatively stable home pricing, minimal levels of available inventory, lower volume of foreclosures and the general resilience of our economy are in sharp contrast to many areas of the country that will be much slower to see recovery in their housing markets,” Rude said Monday

POTENTIAL BORROWER CHANGES:

FHA to Raise FICO Requirements, Reduce Seller Concessions, Increase Premiums and Downpayment

by Jann Swanson

 The Federal Housing Administration (FHA) is not, as some have claimed “the next subprime,” according to remarks prepared for presentation to congress this morning by Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan.

Secretary Donovan told members of the House Committee on Financial Services that FHA, in spite of actuarial reports that its secondary reserve level has fallen below the required two percent to 0.53 percent of its total insurance-in-force, is capable of withstanding the current economic downturn.  The actuary concluded Donovan said that FHA’s reserves will remain positive “under all but highly severe economic scenarios.”

He said that HUD had learned from recent history, “that the market is fragile, and we have to plan for the unexpected.  That uncertainty is complicated by an organization we inherited that, to be honest, was simply not properly managing or monitoring its risk.  Credit and risk controls were antiquated.  Enforcement was weak.  And our personnel resources and IT systems were inadequate.

“Little of this may have been obvious when FHA’s market share was 3 percent as recently as 2006.  But when our mortgage markets collapsed last fall, and homebuyers increasingly turned to the FHA for help, the potential consequences of these lapses in risk management became very clear.”

His department, he said, is in the process of drafting new policies to address the quality of FHA’s current portfolio, improve the performance of future loans, and restore the capital reserve above its mandated levels. 

The agency is looking at several measures to improve the quality of its portfolio going forward.  It plans to reduce the maximum permissible seller concession from 6 percent to 3 percent because the current level exposes the FHA to excessive risk by creating incentives to inflate appraised values.  The change, he said, will bring FHA into line with industry norms and even further reductions may be considered.

The minimum borrower FICO score will be raised although the final number has not yet been determined.  The agency is studying whether new FICO minimums should be accompanied by changes in other underwriting criteria for lower down payment loans.

The up-front cash that a borrower will be required to bring to the table for an FHA-backed loan will also be increased to make sure that borrowers have “skin in the game.”  The exact way this will be accomplished is still under study.

These proposed changes, Donovan said, only require administrative decisions on the part of HUD, however, Congress will be asked to pass legislation to increase premiums.  The current up-front premium of 1.75 percent is below the statutory cap of 3 percent but the annual premium is at the maximum.  Raising premiums, he said, is the most effective means of raising capital for the reserve fund with the least impact per borrower.
 
Donovan said that more than 71 percent of the future losses the FHA is anticipating will come from loans already on its books, so, as MortgageNewsDaily reported on Monday, the agency is taking steps to enforce lender accountability.  Donovan said that, in addition to holding lenders responsible for their origination quality and compliance and increasing reviews of that compliance, lenders will be required to indemnify the FHA for losses resulting from their failures to meet FHA requirements and will be sanctioned nationally for any improper activities rather than through the FHA’s current policy of sanctioning individual branches.

The secretary reported that the anticipated changes are merely the latest in a series of improvements FHA has made to shore up its lending activities. 

·                         In 2008, Congress put an end to the practices that led to the most troubled loans in FHA’s portfolio - so-called “Seller-Financed Downpayment Assistance” loans. Without these loans, Donovan said, the actuary reported that secondary reserves would have remained above the two percent threshold. “This year, we’ve taken several additional steps. We’ve steeply increased enforcement efforts, having suspended seven lenders, including Taylor, Bean and Whitaker and withdrawn FHA-approval for 270 others, including Lend America just this week.”

·                         Credit and risk controls have been tightened. Requirements for the Streamlined Refinance program have been toughened with several improvements to the appraisal process and proposing a rule to increase net worth requirements for all FHA lenders. The latter has just entered the notice and comment period.

·                         The agency has hired a permanent Chief Risk Officer to provide a comprehensive and thorough risk assessment and ensure that the assumptions going into the agency’s modeling reflect the most current economic conditions.

·                         FHA is working to increase staffing and technical capacity and upgrade our technology systems and delivered FHA’s first comprehensive technology transformation plan to Congress in September.

The Secretary detailed the active role that FHA is taking in the current housing market, insuring almost 30 percent of purchases and 20 percent of refinances in the housing market, and financing the majority of minority home purchases.  But, he said, “as important as the FHA is at this moment, I want to emphasize that the elevated role it is playing is temporary - a bridge to economic recovery helping to ensure that mortgage finance remains available until private capital returns.”

POTENTIAL LENDER CHANGES:

 Proposed Changes to Mini Eagle and Full Eagle Lender Approvals

by Tad Hensley

Over the weekend, I received a copy of the proposed HUD changes that will impact correspondent “mini eagles” and mortgagee “full eagles”. 

According to the letter, the changes are aligned with provisions contained in the National Housing Act, as amended by the FHA Modernization Act of 2008.  The letter, date November 30, 2009, provides a comment period of 30 days rather than the normal 60 days.  They’ve put this on fast tract so it can be implemented by the first of the year. 

Two changes jump out at me:increase in net worth requirements from $250,000 to $2,500,000 over a 3 year period. As the letter stated the increase in net worth requirement is to “Strengthening the Capacity of FHA-Approved Mortgagees”.  Existing mortgagees will have time to meet a $1M net worth within a year of enactment, moving to the $2.5 within the 3 year period. 

1. FHA will no longer approve or oversee loan correspondents (mortgage brokers) that originate FHA loans.  The approval and oversight will fall on the mortgagee that sponsors them.  There are certain requirements that mortgagees must adhere to when approving correspondents, but it appears the sponsoring mortgagee will require a process to approve and monitor them.  Another change is correspondents will not have FHA numbers; only the sponsoring mortgagee will have an FHA number.  Therefore, all loan originations will be tracked by the mortgagee’s FHA number. 

2. The other change is the increase in net worth requirements from $250,000 to $2,500,000 over a 3 year period. As the letter stated the increase in net worth requirement is to “Strengthening the Capacity of FHA-Approved Mortgagees”.  Existing mortgagees will have time to meet a $1M net worth within a year of enactment, moving to the $2.5 within the 3 year period.