Nondelinquent Borrowers Soon to Be Eligible for Short Sales

Daily Real Estate News | Wednesday, October 24, 2012

Mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have issued new rules, which will take effect Nov. 1, that will allow short sales for underwater borrowers who have never missed a mortgage payment. Previously, Fannie and Freddie allowed only home owners who had missed payments to qualify for a short sale.

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On Parade

by Celia Hayes

Click Photos to Enlarge

The son of our neighbor whom my daughter encouraged to enlist in the military graduated last Friday from basic training. And because my daughter is close to Sylvester's family, we both went down to Lackland for the graduation parade. There is certainly a great deal more pomp and circumstance laid on for these things now. When I finished basic, early in the spring of 1977, they did nothing much more than hand us our orders and travel vouchers, and tell us to pack our duffle bags and clear out of the training squadron dorm ... which we were quite happy to do, let me tell you. I've never since been able to endure the sight of concrete block walls and industrial linoleum with out the miserable

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Road Trip: Fredericksburg by Bulverde, Sisterdale and Luckenbach

by Celia Hayes

Some time ago, my daughter and I discovered the back road route from our North-East San Antonio home, to Boerne; basically, going up 281 to Route 46 and then west to Boerne. This last weekend, we went a step farther, by going north up Bulverde Road and bypassing the horrendous 1604-281 nexus entirely. Really, as they get closer and closer to completing the interchange, traffic just gets worse and worse. And once we got to Boerne, we decided to take Ranch Road 1376, or the Sisterdale Road north to the Pedernales Valley – this turned out to be a fantastic way to get to Fredericksburg; scenic, little traffic and just about as rapidly as by the highway ... except for

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Winterizing Our San Antonio Backyard Garden

For all your San Antonio Real Estate needs, contact Team Randy Watson of Mission Realty at 210-319-4960

by Celia Hayes

So, now that it is cooling off a bit, and maybe the seasonal trees are about to start thinking about the possibility of perhaps changing color sometime soon, it's time to sort out the garden for winter. A few of the hanging tomato plants still had a few slowly-ripening tomatoes on them, but the rest were pretty well done for the year. So this last week before the rain kicked in, we pulled them up, and tossed them into the mulch pile, and moved the hanging frame around to hang facing the kitchen window. Oddly enough, the eggplant, okra and various Bell and jalapeno pepper plands are

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Guten Tag, Y’All - This is Texas!

by Celia Hayes

When I first came to Texas, at the express request of the US Air Force some (mumble) seventeen (mumble) years ago I thought I knew all there was to know about the place: the Alamo of course, and the Riverwalk, too. I knew that Houston had a Grand Opera, that Lubbock was a flat as a pancake griddle with some Monopoly houses set on it, I had read Edna Ferber's Giant, and I knew about cattle drives and the King Ranch, and that Texas was called the buckle of the Bible Belt ... I knew pretty much what any well-read traveler could pick up through the medium of pop culture and the base library.

What I did not know, until well after I got here and began to look around – was how very much more there was.

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Boerne – Ye Kendall Inn

Call Mission Realty for Boerne Homes for Sale

by Celia Hayes

So, we were off to Boerne again last Friday, rejoicing in the rain that had fallen the night before – this time so that I could do a talk on the Civil War in the Hill Country for a local chapter of the Daughters of Union Veterans of the Civil War. Quite a few of the members are transplanted Texans, courtesy of military service – so the series of events in the years 1860-65 in the Hill Country were new to them and interesting.

To me, the nice part of the meeting was that it took place at Ye Kendall Inn, in the modern-but-decorated-to- look-old Halle – the conference center, which is just one of the ramble of buildings – many of them historic and fascinating

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Woof Wednesdays at the Animal Defense League

by Celia Hayes

... At the Animal Defense League; every Wednesday until the end of this month, the adoption fees for dogs over the age of puppy are reduced ... which is a very generous concession indeed, considering that the dogs available have been spayed or neutered, chipped, and up to date on things like rabies vaccinations and heartworm medication. We are not in any particular need of another dog at present, as the pair that we have are completely satisfactory, fairly young and in good health. But if we were looking for another dog, and the fates that dictate these matters didn't present us with a suitable candidate straight off the streets of our own San Antonio neighborhood (as was the story with

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Lost Dog

by Celia Hayes

Over the years that we have lived in our San Antonio home, we've lost track of the number of all the lost dogs we have found and managed to either returned to their owners, or found them new owners. Almost always it's been a case of 'return to owner', and in one instance we kept the dog. My mother thinks we must display some kind of invisible sign which sends lost dogs scampering in our direction. She might be right about that. In any case, upon being met with a stray dog, we have worked out the most efficient series of steps for reuniting them with their person.

If the dog has a tag on the collar with a current address and telephone number of the owner – that will be about 90% of the situation sorted out right there.

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 Big Time Texas Hunts

by Texas Parks and Wildlife

The hunting season is almost here and there’s a way hunters can win the chance of a lifetime all while helping wildlife conservation and public hunting programs. Texas Parks and Wildlife has the story of one lucky winner from San Antonio.

Big Time Texas Hunts offers seven premium hunt packages on some of the finest private ranches and prime wildlife management areas in the state.

All proceeds from Big Time Texas Hunts go to support wildlife conservation, habitat management, and hunting on both public and private lands. If you win, you will enjoy a once-in-a-lifetime hunt. If your name is not drawn, you'll still know that your support helps the important work of wildlife conservation in Texas.

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Use Self Storage To Help Clean Your Garage

by Randy Watson
Outdoor sports such as softball, baseball, football, golf and Frisbee are activities I enjoy when it is nice enough to get outside. Much of this summer was far too hot to be outside playing with the kids or having people over and thus the golf clubs and softball gear didn't get much action. Usually there is extra space in the house to keep all of my gear but with another baby and larger home office, the sports equipment is losing ground quickly. Most of it is beginning to pile up in the garage which is forcing the cars into the driveway. Now that the weather is starting to cool off, it's time to start golfing and dusting off the softball bats. What are options for cleaning out the garage with

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