2012 Krantz Team Wrap Up!

Jeff & Melissa Krantz: 2012 has been a busy and rewarding year for our family. With the three children, Kassy-21, Jacob 12 and in 7th grade and Zachary-9 in 4th grade- there is never a dull moment in our house. This summer was filled with great times spending time on our boat with friends and family and also we had a huge event- Kassy got married! In June Kassy married her high school sweetheart, Tyler Butterfield. So, a beautiful outdoor wedding in Peoria, IL with immediate family and then a casual reception at the Lake in July. Let’s just say after writing the checks for these events- we were motivated all year long to help as many buyers and sellers that we could.

The boys have been busy with sports: football, golf and wrestling and now Zach is in Cub scouts. Many days have been spent fishing off the dock and Jeff taking the boys hunting for deer, turkey and ducks with our new black lab, Sophie.

The two of us have been busy as well with work and have had the opportunity to take a few business trips with RE/MAX to Las Vegas and also to Washington, DC. We also managed to take the kids out to Arizona over Spring Break to visit family.

Overall, life is good, our health is good and we enjoy spending time with our friends and family and three dogs, (yes it’s three and now two frogs and a lizard) at the Krantz home!

Thank you again for all your support through the years- we very much appreciate it!

Jeff & Melissa

Sam Rhoades: Hard to believe another year has come and almost gone.  For the first time since 2007, Sellers are gaining ground with Buyers in the negotiating process.

I work mainly with Sellers as a listing agent for the Krantz Team.  Five times this year a home sold more than we thought the property would bring when we did our market analysis.  This is a very nice development.  The Krantz Team had more listings sell than any other Team or Agent at the lake for 2012. 

As we look to 2013, I expect continued improvement in the market place.  I think Sellers have been through the worst that the market has to offer.  Rising prices may come into focus within the next 2 to 3 years.

Gary Zeiger: I love to get away in the winter.  I have been on several beach vacations, Mexico, Punta Cana, Jamaica.  My daughter Kourtney (23) has graduated from SIUE, then landed a job right away.  She works for Cassidy-Turley a real estate accounting firm from St. Louis.  She will be getting married to Daniel Meier in May 2013.  They have moved to College Station, Texas.  He recently graduated as a mining engineer from Rolla, MO.

She will be able to work her regular job from home, and he will be working as an engineer at a mine, in Texas.  My son Matthew (21), is stationed at Holloman AFB, in New Mexico.  This is his first base to be stationed at.  He plans to make a career in the Air Force.

Jill Krantz: Another year has come and gone.  2012 was a busy year for both my husband, Matt, and I.  Real Estate activity and sales continued to pick up, as well as custom homes for Matt’s company.  We were also blessed in June with wonderful, long awaited news……. we are expecting our first baby in March 2013!!  So, like all new moms, I am anxiously working on the nursery and getting everything ready for our new addition.   We are looking forward to our new journey!!!      

I hope your holiday season is filled with family, friends and happiness!  It is my hope that 2013 will be a prosperous and wonderful year for both you and your family!

Marc Hammack:  My wife and I made the decision to become full time Lake residents in April of 2001 after years of vacationing and enjoying the lake. I count it as one of the best decisions we have made! This past year we have continued to enjoy boating, coving out with friends and hitting the waterfront restaurants.  Gerry has enjoyed her retirement from the real estate business, almost as much as I have enjoyed working with her past clients. The lake life is definitely for us!

Susan Ebling: 2012 went by quick at the Ebling house! Alex is turning 5 on December 19 and will be attending kindergarten next year.  We spent the summer perfecting her swimming, water-skiing, and bike riding skills, and we have spent the fall learning how to read, write, spell, and conquer addition and problem-solving. Alex is hoping for snow this winter so she can put her new snow pants and sled to use, but I’d prefer to have another non-winter like last year! We wish everyone a happy, healthy 2013.

Terri Neill: 2012 has been a  good year. I saw my  daughter and son-in-law buy their first home. My husband and I spent a few more afternoons together on his Harley than last year and I finally started work on professional certifications that I’ve planned all year.  And, there are more good things to come.  My wishes to all for a happy and bountiful 2013!

Kristi Crouch: This is my first year with RE/MAX Lake of the Ozarks and Krantz & Associates.  I feel so fortunate to be a part of this fantastically successful group of professionals.   I am spending tons of time learning all about all of the new technology in real estate.  Let me assure you that much of it is simply mind blowing!  I am looking forward to a wonderful 2013.  Happy Holidays!

Amanda Wood:  I received an important addition to my household this year with a brown, long haired dachshund, appropriately named “Rudy” the rescue dog, by his former foster parents. If you visited Indian Pointe Cove this past summer you may have seen the “sea-dog” manning the bow of an orange kayak. He is truly enjoying the Lake life! Earlier in the year, I enjoyed playing tourist in Seattle, WA, and also paid Eureka Springs, AR a couple of visits. I was easily reminded that there is nowhere quite like home at the beautiful Lake of the Ozarks. 2012 was a wonderful year, and I am looking forward to all that 2013 brings as well! 

Carrie Case: 2012 has been the most trying, yet exciting year for my family!  My husband and I opened our own business in the old firehouse on Bittersweet Rd., Horseshoe Bend Brewing Co.  This is an interest we have had for years, which turned into a hobby, and then with a few years planning, became our reality!

Our daughter just turned 3 years old in November. We had some struggles getting her into this world, including her being several weeks premature.  Therefore, we were thrilled to be the Ambassador Family for the March of Dimes Signature Chef event.  What an honor this was to share our story! 

 

New Marketing Innovations for Buyers

Krantz & Associates has implemented a new marketing strategy in conjunction with The Real Estate Book.  Each of our listings will be assigned a text code, which will allow the potential buyer to get instant information about the property from their smart phone.  Text codes will be printed in the real estate publication alongside the property and we are also attaching a rider to our real estate signs where allowed.  We are able to contact the potential buyer and have already received over 80 text leads with this new feature since January!

 

Federal Plan to Make Short Sales Shorter

For home sellers, buyers and real estate brokers hoping for breakthroughs on simplifying short-sale transaction and timelines, this may not be the proverbial silver bullet, but it’s definitely positive news: The agency that controls Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac has a serious effort under way to remove or minimize some of the major hurdles and to put those changes in the field as soon as this fall.

Officials at the Federal Housing Finance Agency — the folks who now make the rules governing millions of mortgage transactions at both companies — told me last week that they are actively seeking input from lenders, servicers, Realtors, investors and housing counselors about how to speed up short sales on loans connected with Fannie and Freddie.

National Association of Realtors officials, who have already met with the agency’s special short-sale task force, confirm that the effort is for real and promise potentially significant reforms. FHFA officials say their deadline to wrap up their review of short-sale obstacles is June 30, and they plan to announce detailed improvements to the process no later than Sept. 30.

Given the sheer size of the companies’ portfolios — plus the estimated 1.7 million additional loans expected on the foreclosure conveyor belt at Fannie and Freddie in the coming several years — any substantive improvements could have wide-ranging benefits for everybody involved.

What’s the agency looking at?

High on the list:

1. Second liens. Banks that hold second mortgages and equity credit lines on underwater houses often drag out the short-sale process by refusing to recognize hard economic realities: The collateral that once secured their loan no longer exists.

They stand to be zeroed out in the event of either a foreclosure or short sale, and they will have to report that loss to auditors, investors and regulators. As a result, they dither and delay deals by demanding too much for their consent to sale terms, or they simply hold out until buyers give up and the transaction collapses.

FHFA officials leading the short-sale reform effort believe that Fannie and Freddie have sufficient pressure points on banks that they can bring to bear — mainly related to servicing rules and penalties — but they decline to discuss what they might entail. For their part, servicing experts in the private sector say better standardized rules between the two companies on second liens in short sales, plus fixed ceilings on what banks can expect out of transactions in advance, could reduce much of the current friction.

Travis Hamel Olsen, chief operating officer of Loan Resolution Corp., a Scottsdale, Ariz.-based firm that assists major lenders in troubled mortgage workouts, says FHFA should enforce a non-negotiable 10 percent ceiling on what second lien holders can obtain from short sales.

That is higher than the 6 percent or $6,000 ceiling allowable under the federal government’s HAFA (Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternatives) ceiling, but attractive enough to bring most major banks who deal with Fannie and Freddie to the table faster.

2. Mortgage insurers. The FHFA task force expects to come up with rules that eliminate or reduce mortgage insurance companies’ current ability to prolong negotiations indefinitely over claims in short sales, and thus contribute to the breakdown of transactions.

3. Mandatory timelines. Though FHFA is nowhere close to deciding on hard and fast timelines for participants to meet in short sales involving Fannie and Freddie, they are a top priority in the current effort. Six months from start to finish “is way too long,” said one official, who declined to suggest what would be a more acceptable limit.

Legislation pending in Congress and supported by NAR (House bill H.R. 1498) would nail down one key time segment — it would require servicers to respond within 45 days to any fully executed short-sale offer.

4. Valuation issues. FHFA expects to produce better guidance on the steps servicers and other participants in short sales should follow to arrive at acceptable property valuations. That, in turn, should help limit negotiations over what lenders and buyers expect from transactions and the methodologies used to get to the final numbers.

In its recent meeting with FHFA officials, NAR pushed hard for Fannie and Freddie to tell brokers and other interested parties early in the process what minimum price they will accept in any given short sale.

5. Staffing. Though the biggest banks and servicers have muscled up their loss-modification and foreclosure alternatives staffing since the start of the mortgage bust, FHFA believes that greater responsiveness to short-sale participants — sellers, buyers, realty agents — is needed. Since both Fannie and Freddie have “servicer performance evaluation” standards, FHFA has a variety of administrative carrots and sticks available to prod lenders and servicers to push through short sales faster.

So what does this all add up to? Just another bureaucratic exercise? Or could FHFA’s new push for short-sale efficiency really mean something on the front lines? My guess is that it just might. FHFA, which is tasked to “conserve” Fannie’s and Freddie’s assets and achieve the best possible financial resolutions of their troubled loan portfolios in the taxpayers’ interest, appears to be genuinely seeking to cut timelines and red tape in short sales. They also know the hard facts: Short sales yield Fannie, Freddie and investors much more at the bottom line — they cost taxpayers a lot less on average — than foreclosures.

Is it YOUR time to buy?

New Years resolutions are in the air- if yours it to find the home of your dreams, here are a few tips to get your mind in gear.  Don’t foget you’re never alone in the home buying process!  Call our office today at 573-302-2355 to speak to one of our expert agents!

1. Don’t buy if you can’t stay put.

If you can’t commit to remaining in one place for at least a few years, then owning is probably not for you, at least not yet. With the transaction costs of buying and selling a home, you may end up losing money if you sell any sooner – even in a rising market. When prices are falling, it’s an even worse proposition.

2. Start by shoring up your credit.

Since you most likely will need to get a mortgage to buy a house, you must make sure your credit history is as clean as possible. A few months before you start house hunting, get copies of your credit report. Make sure the facts are correct, and fix any problems you discover.

3. Aim for a home you can really afford.

The rule of thumb is that you can buy housing that runs about two-and-one-half times your annual salary. But you’ll do better to use one of many calculators available online to get a better handle on how your income, debts, and expenses affect what you can afford.

4. If you can’t put down the usual 20 percent, you may still qualify for a loan.

There are a variety of public and private lenders who, if you qualify, offer low-interest mortgages that require a down payment as small as 3 percent of the purchase price.

5. Buy in a district with good schools.

In most areas, this advice applies even if you don’t have school-age children. Reason: When it comes time to sell, you’ll learn that strong school districts are a top priority for many home buyers, thus helping to boost property values.

6. Get professional help- Call Krantz & Associates!

Even though the Internet gives buyers unprecedented access to home listings, most new buyers (and many more experienced ones) are better off using a professional agent. Look for an exclusive buyer agent, if possible, who will have your interests at heart and can help you with strategies during the bidding process.

7. Choose carefully between points and rate.

When picking a mortgage, you usually have the option of paying additional points — a portion of the interest that you pay at closing — in exchange for a lower interest rate. If you stay in the house for a long time — say three to five years or more — it’s usually a better deal to take the points. The lower interest rate will save you more in the long run.

8. Before house hunting, get pre-approved.

Getting pre-approved will you save yourself the grief of looking at houses you can’t afford and put you in a better position to make a serious offer when you do find the right house. Not to be confused with pre-qualification, which is based on a cursory review of your finances, pre-approval from a lender is based on your actual income, debt and credit history.

9. Do your homework before bidding.

Your opening bid should be based on the sales trend of similar homes in the neighborhood. So before making it, consider sales of similar homes in the last three months. If homes have recently sold at 5 percent less than the asking price, you should make a bid that’s about eight to 10 percent lower than what the seller is asking.  Don’t be afarid to take an agressive move in the down market, but if you’re unsure of where to start an offer don’t hesitate to call one of our experienced agents at Krantz & Associates.

10. Hire a home inspector.

Sure, your lender will require a home appraisal anyway. But that’s just the bank’s way of determining whether the house is worth the price you’ve agreed to pay. Separately, you should hire your own home inspector, preferably an engineer with experience in doing home surveys in the area where you are buying. His or her job will be to point out potential problems that could require costly repairs down the road.  If you’re struggling to find a reputable home inspector feel free to call the Krantz office for some great recommendations.

 

Winterizing Your Home

The air at the Lake of the Ozarks has turned chilly- is your home as prepared for the winter months as it should be?  Here are a few friendly reminders for winterizing your home this season!

1) Furnace Inspection

• Call an HVAC professional to inspect your furnace and clean ducts.
• Stock up on furnace filters and change them monthly.
• Consider switching out your thermostat for a programmable thermostat.
• If your home is heated by a hot-water radiator, bleed the valves by opening them slightly and when water appears, close them.
• Remove all flammable material from the area surrounding your furnace.

2) Get the Fireplace Ready

• Cap or screen the top of the chimney to keep out rodents and birds.
• If the chimney hasn’t been cleaned for a while, call a chimney sweep to remove soot and creosote.
• Buy firewood or chop wood. Store it in a dry place away from the exterior of your home.
• Inspect the fireplace damper for proper opening and closing.
• Check the mortar between bricks and tuckpoint, if necessary.

3) Check the Exterior, Doors and Windows

• Inspect exterior for crevice cracks and exposed entry points around pipes; seal them.
• Use weatherstripping around doors to prevent cold air from entering the home and caulk windows.
• Replace cracked glass in windows and, if you end up replacing the entire window, prime and paint exposed wood.
• If your home has a basement, consider protecting its window wells by covering them with plastic shields.
• Switch out summer screens with glass replacements from storage. If you have storm windows, install them.

4) Inspect Roof, Gutters & Downspouts

• If your weather temperature will fall below 32 degrees in the winter, adding extra insulation to the attic will prevent warm air from creeping to your roof and causing ice dams.
• Check flashing to ensure water cannot enter the home.
• Replace worn roof shingles or tiles.
• Clean out the gutters and use a hose to spray water down the downspouts to clear away debris.
• Consider installing leaf guards on the gutters or extensions on the downspouts to direct water away from the home.

5) Service Weather-Specific Equipment

• Drain gas from lawnmowers.
• Service or tune-up snow blowers.
• Replace worn rakes and snow shovels.
• Clean, dry and store summer gardening equipment.
• Sharpen ice choppers and buy bags of ice-melt / sand.

6) Check Foundations

• Rake away all debris and edible vegetation from the foundation.
• Seal up entry points to keep small animals from crawling under the house.
• Tuckpoint or seal foundation cracks. Mice can slip through space as thin as a dime.
• Inspect sill plates for dry rot or pest infestation.
• Secure crawlspace entrances.

7) Install Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Detectors

• Some cities require a smoke detector in every room.
• Buy extra smoke detector batteries and change them when daylight savings ends.
• Install a carbon monoxide detector near your furnace and / or water heater.
• Test smoke and carbon monoxide detectors to make sure they work.
• Buy a fire extinguisher or replace an extinguisher older than 10 years.

8) Prevent Plumbing Freezes

• Locate your water main in the event you need to shut it off in an emergency.
• Drain all garden hoses.
• Insulate exposed plumbing pipes.
• Drain air conditioner pipes and, if your AC has a water shut-off valve, turn it off.
• If you go on vacation, leave the heat on, set to at least 55 degrees.

9) Prepare Landscaping & Outdoor Surfaces

• Trim trees if branches hang too close to the house or electrical wires.
• Ask a gardener when your trees should be pruned to prevent winter injury.
• Plant spring flower bulbs and lift bulbs that cannot winter over such as dahlias in areas where the ground freezes.
• Seal driveways, brick patios and wood decks.
• Don’t automatically remove dead vegetation from gardens as some provide attractive scenery in an otherwise dreary, snow-drenched yard.
• Move sensitive potted plants indoors or to a sheltered area.

10) Prepare an Emergency Kit

• Buy indoor candles and matches / lighter for use during a power shortage.
• Find the phone numbers for your utility companies and tape them near your phone or inside the phone book.
• Buy a battery back-up to protect your computer and sensitive electronic equipment.
• Store extra bottled water and non-perishable food supplies (including pet food, if you have a pet), blankets and a first-aid kit in a dry and easy-to-access location.
• Prepare an evacuation plan in the event of an emergency.

Client Testimonials- Unbelievable Work Ethic!

“Susan and her team were unbelievable and went beyond the call of duty.  Everything was done very timely and with good follow-up”.

-D. Quante

Susan Ebling

Realtor®, ABR, GRI

Susan is native to Lake of the Ozarks and has been serving the public all of her life, starting at her family owned and operated restaurant and bar, The Topsider.  Susan earned a BS in Education at SMSU, but decided to pursue a Real Estate career in 2000.  She has earned numerous awards, including the Realtors Honor Society and has been nominated for Realtor of the Year 4 times.  She resides in Osage Beach and has a 3 year old daughter, Alexandra.  If you are looking for someone who has seen all the changes the lake has undergone since the time of a 2 lane Hwy 54, then contact Susan!

Top 10 Tips for Selling Your Home During the Holidays

The holiday season from November through January is often considered the worst time to put a home on the market. While the thought of selling your home during the winter months may dampen your holiday spirit, the season does have its advantages: holiday buyers tend to be more serious, and competition is less fierce with fewer homes being actively marketed. First, decide if you really need to sell, really. Once you’ve committed to the challenge, don your gay apparel and follow these tips from FrontDoor.

1. Deck the halls, but don’t go overboard. Homes often look their best during the holidays, but sellers should be careful not to overdo it on the decor. Adornments that are too large or too many can crowd your home and distract buyers. Also, avoid offending buyers by opting for general fall and winter decorations rather than items with religious themes.
2. Hire a reliable Krantz & Associates real estate agent.   That means someone who will work hard for you and won’t disappear during Thanksgiving, Christmas or New Year’s.  This will ease your stress and give you more time to enjoy the season.
3. Seek out motivated buyers. Anyone house hunting during the holidays must have a good reason for doing so. Work with your agent to target buyers on a deadline, including people relocating for jobs in your area, investors on tax deadlines, college students and staff, and military personnel, if you live near a military base.
4. Price it to sell. No matter what time of year, a home that’s priced low for the market will make buyers feel merry. Rather than gradually making small price reductions, many real estate agents advise sellers to slash their prices before putting a home on the market.
5. Make curb appeal a top priority. When autumn rolls around and the trees start to lose their leaves, maintaining the exterior of your home becomes even more important. Bare trees equal a more exposed home, so touch up the paint, clean the gutters and spruce up the yard. Keep buyers’ safety in mind as well by making sure stairs and walkways are free of snow, ice and leaves.
6. Take top-notch real estate photos. When the weather outside is frightful, homebuyers are likely to start their house hunt from the comfort of their homes by browsing listings on the Internet. Make a good first impression by offering lots of flattering, high-quality photos of your home. If possible, have a summer or spring photo of your home available so buyers can see how it looks year-round.
7. Create a video tour for the Web. You’ll get less foot traffic during the holidays, thanks to inclement weather and vacation plans. But shooting a video tour and posting it on the Web may attract house hunters who don’t have time to physically see your home or would rather not drive in a snowstorm.
8. Give house hunters a place to escape from the cold. Make your home feel cozy and inviting during showings by cranking up the heat, playing soft classical music and offering homemade holiday treats. When you encourage buyers to spend more time in your home, you also give them more time to admire its best features.
9. Offer holiday cheer in the form of financing. Bah, humbug! Lenders are scrooges these days, but if you’ve got the means, then why not offer a home loan to a serious buyer? You could get a good rate of return on your money.
10. Relax — the new year is just around the corner. The holidays are stressful enough, with gifts to buy, dinners to prepare and relatives to entertain. Take a moment to remind yourself that if you don’t sell now, there’s always next year, which luckily is only a few days away.

It’s Time to Buy That House

U.S. house prices have plunged by nearly a third since 2006, and homeownership rates are falling at the fastest pace since the Great Depression.

The good news? Two key measures now suggest it’s an excellent time to buy a house, either to live in for the long term or for investment income (but not for a quick flip). First, the nation’s ratio of house prices to yearly rents is nearly restored to its prebubble average. Second, when mortgage rates are taken into consideration, houses are the most affordable they have been in decades.

Two of the silliest mantras during the real-estate bubble were that a house is the best investment you will ever make and that a renter “throws money down the drain.” Whether buying is a better deal than renting isn’t a stagnant fact but a changing condition that depends on the relationship between prices and rents, the cost of financing and other factors.

But the math is turning in buyers’ favor. Stock-oriented folks can think of a house’s price/rent ratio as akin to a stock’s price/earnings ratio, in that it compares the cost of an asset with the money the asset is capable of generating. For investors, a lower ratio suggests more income for the price. For prospective homeowners, a lower ratio makes owning more attractive than renting, all else equal.

Nationwide, the ratio of home prices to yearly rents is 11.3, down from 18.5 at the peak of the bubble, according to Moody’s Analytics. The average from 1989 to 2003 was about 10, so valuations aren’t quite back to normal.

But for most home buyers, mortgage rates are a key determinant of their total costs. Rates are so low now that houses in many markets look like bargains, even if price/rent ratios aren’t hitting new lows. The 30-year mortgage rate rose to 4.12% this week from a record low of 3.94% last week, Freddie Mac said Thursday. (The rates assume 0.8% in prepaid interest, or “points.”) The latest rate is still less than half the average since 1971.

As a result, house payments are more affordable than they have been in decades. The National Association of Realtors Housing Affordability Index hit 183.7 in August, near its record high in data going back to 1970. The index’s historic average is roughly 120. A reading of 100 would mean that a median-income family with a 20% down payment can afford a mortgage on a median-price home. So today’s buyers can afford handsome houses—but prudent ones might opt for moderate houses with skimpy payments.

For example, the median home in the greater Phoenix market, including houses, condos and co-ops, costs $121,700, according to Zillow.com. With a 20% down payment and a 4.12% mortgage rate, a buyer’s monthly payment would be about $470. Rent for a comparable house would be more than $1,100 a month, according to data provided by Zillow.com.

Of course, all of this assumes mortgages are available—no given now that lending standards have tightened. But long-term data on down payments and credit scores suggest conditions are more normal than many buyers think, according to Stan Humphries, chief economist at Zillow. “If you have good credit, a job and a down payment, you can get a mortgage,” Mr. Humphries says. “There’s more paperwork and scrutiny than five years ago, but things are pretty much like they were in the ’80s and ’90s.”

Not all housing markets are bargains. Mr. Humphries says Zillow has developed a new price/rent ratio that uses estimates for each individual property rather than city medians, to better reflect the choices facing typical buyers. A fresh look at the numbers suggests Detroit and Miami are plenty cheap for buyers, with price/rent ratios of 5.6 and 7.7, respectively. New York and San Francisco are more expensive, with ratios of 17.6 and 17.2, respectively. The median ratio for 169 markets is 10.7.

For investors seeking income, one back-of-the-envelope way of seeing how these numbers stack up against yields for other assets is to divide 1 by the price/rent ratio, resulting in a rent “yield.” The median market’s rent yield is 9.3% and Detroit’s is 17.9%.

Investors would then subtract for taxes, insurance, upkeep and other expenses—costs that vary widely. But suppose total costs were 4% of the purchase price. That would still leave a 5.3% rent yield in the typical market. With the 10-year Treasury yield at 2.2% and the Standard & Poor’s 500-stock index carrying a dividend yield of 2.1%, rents for residential housing in many markets look attractive.

A few caveats are in order. First, not all transactions are average ones. Even in low-priced markets, buyers should shop carefully. Second, prices could fall further. Celia Chen, a senior director at Moody’s Analytics, expects prices to drop 3% before bottoming early next year and rising slowly thereafter. “If the economy slips back into recession, however, we could easily see a 10% drop,” Ms. Chen says.

And property “flipping” can be dangerous even when prices are rising. That is because, absent a real-estate boom, house price gains simply aren’t that exciting. Research by Yale economist Robert Shiller suggests houses more or less track the rate of inflation over long time periods.

Houses aren’t the magic wealth creators they were made out to be during the bubble. But when prices are low, loans are cheap and plump investment yields are scarce, buyers should jump.

Article by Jack Hough, a columnist at SmartMoney.com

Senator Blunt Files Two Amendments to Protect Private Landowners’ Rights at Lake of the Ozarks

WASHINGTON D.C. – U.S. Senator Roy Blunt (Mo.) filed two amendments to the Energy and Water appropriations bill today that will help protect current and future landowners’ rights from federal regulators’ infringement. According to recent reports, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) may remove a number of properties located on the Lake of the Ozarks in Missouri that are owned by private citizens. In order to help protect current landowners, Blunt’s first amendment would direct Ameren to redraw the current boundaries at the Lake of the Ozarks to reflect the 662-foot contour, as necessitated by the changing waters levels over the past 80 years. This amendment would limit FERC’s ability to issue an order to remove structures in the project boundary until Ameren submits the revised project boundary. It would also limit FERC’s ability to reject applications as long as power generation is preserved. U.S. Senator Claire McCaskill (Mo.) is cosponsoring this amendment.

“This situation is ridiculous, and the people who call the Lake their home deserve a solution now – not next year,” said Blunt. “That’s why this amendment would help protect current landowners from having their homes removed, and ensure that Ameren takes the proper steps to protect privately-held land from government infringement.”

In an effort to also protect future landowners nationwide, Blunt’s second amendment would modify the Federal Power Act by changing the definition of what can be considered a “project purpose.” Blunt’s amendment would change current law to ensure that FERC includes the consideration of “private landownership and private land use” within the project boundaries. Currently, FERC recognizes public recreational use of land, but not private ownership. U.S. Senators Jim Inhofe (Okla.) and Claire McCaskill (Mo.) are cosponsoring this amendment.

“It’s outlandish that FERC places more value on protecting public recreation use of land over private ownership,” said Blunt. “My amendment would ensure that private landowners are protected now and moving forward.”

FERC Sets the Record Straight

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) today provided certainty for citizens at Lake of the Ozarks in Missouri by setting the record straight that FERC has not required shoreline homes and structures with valid deeds, permits and easements to be removed. The Lake of the Ozarks reservoir is part of the Osage Hydroelectric Project, licensed to Ameren UE.

“I am confident that today’s decision will bring clarity to residents along the shoreline of the Lake of the Ozarks,” FERC Chairman Jon Wellinghoff said. “I expect Ameren to move quickly to comply with the Commission order. This will resolve all outstanding issues associated with its shoreline management plan and bring this matter to a swift and satisfactory resolution.”

FERC’s prior order on this case, issued July 26, 2011, was misinterpreted to mean that the Commission would order all privately owned structures built within the boundaries of the Osage project to be removed. Ameren is responsible for managing the shoreline, which includes ensuring that structures within the project boundary around the Lake of the Ozarks are built with the proper authorizations.

Today’s order states:

• Whatever property rights that owners have in lands within the boundaries of the Osage Project, whether conferred by deed, lease, easement or other conveyance, have not been and will not be altered by FERC’s actions today. Nothing in this order affects any previously issued valid permit authorizing a non-project use of project lands or waters.
• For structures without valid deeds, permits or easements, Ameren must determine whether they interfere with the Osage project. If they do, Ameren must take some action, such as redrawing the boundaries of the project, so those structures no longer are sitting on project lands. This would put them outside of the project boundaries and therefore outside of FERC jurisdiction.
• If any structure does interfere with the operation of the Osage project, Ameren and the structure owner must find a solution that satisfies both sides. Ameren itself has stated that after the project boundary is revised, it expects the majority of structures will no longer be considered nonconforming.

FERC established these requirements in the context of directing Ameren to change its shoreline management plan for the Osage project. Ameren must file with the Commission its plan to modify the project boundary by June 1, 2012.