Halloween Homes: Texas Chainsaw Massacre

HAPPY HALLOWEEN! This article was originally published at ZBuyer.com

October 23, 2015  |  Matt Lemmon

With the possible exception of “Night of the Living Dead,” no horror movie has had more of an influence on its genre than “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre.” Somewhat misleadingly advertised as “based on actual events,” “Chainsaw” director Tobe Hooper helped usher the road-trip-gone-wrong from the psychological-thriller age of Psycho into the slasher films still being churned out today. And one of the prime elements of the film is the house that served as the home of Leatherface and his demented, lethal family. As befits if famously shoestring budget, “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre” was filmed in rural Texas, outside of Austin (and this is before Austin was cool), rather than in southern California. It was built in 1909 in Round Rock, Texas. The setting is documented very well in a story at ScreenCrush.com which several of the film’s settings, including the graveyard and the filling station. As it turns out, the home used in the original film was separated into six pieces in 1998 and relocated to Kingsland, Texas, about 90 minutes away. It is now, of all things, a restaurant in an antiques-laden, bed-and-breakfast-heavy neighborhood. According to the story, the owners originally tried to brush over the house’s history, but now embrace it. It strikes me as funny that one of moviedom’s most evil houses currently lives, rehabilitated, mere minutes away from where my family used to vacation when I was younger. Like a criminal who found Jesus in prison, it does a good job of blending in with society, but it’s never going to shake its past. If you want to know more about the house – or its identical twin, now located in Georgetown, Texas – you check out its brief Wikipedia page. Of course, there was a remake of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2003 and a sequel to that film in 2006. The house used in those films is still intact, and also in Texas. It’s a 6,000-square-foot plantation-style house built in Austin in the 1850s and moved to Granger in the ’30s. The house sits on private property and a somewhat cranky Facebook page indicates visitors are not welcome (which is okay… we’ll stay away), but it is a stunning property and has an entry from one enterprising traveler on Roadtrippers.com.

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What Should Homebuyers Know About Those Oct. 3 Changes?

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Buying a home, closing on a home, government changes, homes for sale in Jacksonville FL, HUD, lender changes, Mortgage changes, title, TRID

WASHINGTON – Sept. 18, 2015 – The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) released new online tools for its Know Before You Owe initiative yesterday to help consumers navigate mortgage process changes that occur on Oct. 3, 2015.

The Mortgage Bankers Association issued a separate consumer-friendly set of instructions last week.

“Homebuyers will ask their Realtor about the mortgage disclosure changes – what they should expect,” says Margy Grant, Florida Realtors vice president and general counsel. “And while Realtors must understand the impact on closings – such as the dates when certain documents must be submitted to close on time and changes to some Florida Realtors forms – a mortgage is still an agreement solely between a buyer and his or her lender.”

The CFPB offers help to buyers in a number of ways, including brochures, videos and infographics. In addition to explaining the new disclosures, CFPB includes a step-by-step overview of the mortgage process, a tool to help homebuyers decide how much they can afford to spend, and samples of the new Know Before You Owe mortgage forms, the Loan Estimate and the Closing Disclosure.

“Realtors play an important role in keeping consumers educated about changes in the home buying process, and that includes rules related to the Know Before You Owe initiative,” said National Association of Realtors^® 2015 First Vice President-Elect Elizabeth Mendenhall, who joined CFPB Director Richard Cordray to announce the new tools.

“The journey to homeownership begins with Realtors, and CFPB’s new online tools are a great resource for agents to help clients shop for a mortgage and prepare for the changes coming their way,” Mendenhall said.

The Loan Estimate includes early estimated loan and closing costs so buyers can compare different lenders offers. The Closing Disclosure, which arrives within three days of closing, details the final transaction numbers. The three-day time period allows consumers to confirm that they’re getting what they expected, ask questions and negotiate any changes.

The Loan Estimate and Closing Disclosure also mirror each other, which CFPB says will help buyers compare their initial estimates to the final loan terms.

The CFPB first launched “Owning a Home” in January but recently added new tools to help consumers navigate the mortgage experience.

© 2015 Florida Realtors®

The Hanley Home Team has your covered!  We are trained and ready to navigate through the noise.  Please call us and let us be your trusted experts when you buy and sell.  Kevin and Jennifer Hanley, REALTORS, Keller Williams Realty Atlantic Partners Southside 904-422-7626 http://www.HanleyHomeTeam.com

Florida Real Estate Rebound Strongest in Nation

MCLEAN, Va. – Sept. 25, 2015 – Freddie Mac’s latest Multi-Indicator Market Index (MiMi) finds that the Florida real estate market’s rebound leads the nation. In a city-by-city comparison, Orlando leads the nation in both a month-to-month and year-to-year comparison, and only one non-Florida city makes the top five list for either timeframe.

Florida comparisons

Month-over-month, Florida’s index score rose 2.0 percent. It was followed by Colorado (+1.99%), New Jersey (+1.83%), Connecticut (+1.80%) and Nevada (+1.48%).

Year-over-year, Florida’s index grew by 14.35 percent. It was followed by Oregon (+13.45%), Nevada (12.18%), Colorado (+11.65%), and Washington (+10.18%).

Florida metro comparisons

Orlando topped all city lists from Freddie Mac. Month-to-month, Orlando improved 2.6 percent, followed by Greenville, S.C. (+2.55%), Cape Coral (+2.51%), Tampa (+2.19%) and Jacksonville (+2.12%).

Year-to-year, Orlando improved 18.27 percent, followed by Cape Coral (+17.75%), Tampa (+15.99%), Palm Bay (+14.98%) and North Port (+14.77%).

“Florida has some of the most improving housing markets in the country, largely a reflection of more borrowers becoming current on their mortgage payments as the local employment picture improves and house prices rebound,” says Freddie Mac Deputy Chief Economist Len Kiefer. “Nationally, all MiMi indicators are heading in the right direction for the second consecutive month and improving more than 6 percent from the same time last year.”

U.S. numbers

Nationally, Freddie Mac added one more name to its list of slowly stabilizing markets: Rhode Island. It also added four cities: Philadelphia and Harrisburg, Pennsylvania; Phoenix, Arizona; and Albany, New York.

The national MiMi value stands at 81, indicating a housing market that is on its outer range of stable housing activity. The number improved 0.93 percent month-to-month and 6.17 percent year-to-year. Since it’s all-time low in October 2010, the MiMi has improved 37%.

© 2015 Florida Realtors®

This is a great time to buy or sell in Jacksonville! Call us today and let’s get started. Kevin and Jennifer Hanley, REALTORS, 904-422-7626 http://www.HanleyHomeTeam.com Keller Williams Realty Atlantic Partners Southside