Interesting! Hey guys, this is not to be taken lightly. This idea saved several homes and ranches in the very recent flooding due to the rise in the Mississippi River. Many residents of the delta region built their own levees to try to keep the water from inundating their houses. To keep your house dry, you’ve got to build your earthen barrier the right way. So we asked experts, including the levee masters at the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, how to build a levee if you know the water’s on its way. Read more: Build a Homemade Levee – How to Prepare Your Home for a Flood – Popular Mechanics. It’s hurricane season again, nothing is too far-fetch. To keep your house dry when your area floods, you must build your earthen barrier the right way.We asked experts, including the levee masters at the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, how to build a levee if you know the water’s on its way.

HUDNo.11-126.  Program is Designed to Help Homeowners at Risk of Foreclosure. Congress provided $1 billion dollars to HUD, as part of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, to implement EHLP. The program will assist homeowners who have experienced a reduction in income and are at risk of foreclosure due to involuntary unemployment, underemployment, due to economic conditions or a medical condition. Under EHLP program guidelines eligible homeowners can qualify for an interest free loan which pays a portion of their monthly mortgage for up to two years, or up to $50,000, whichever comes first.

Today the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and NeighborWorks® America announced that the deadline for the Emergency Homeowners’ Loan Program has been extended to Wednesday, July 27, 2011, in order to give homeowners at risk of foreclosure in the participating 27 states and Puerto Rico more time to apply for the program. The Emergency Homeowners’ Loan Program (EHLP) will assist homeowners who have experienced a reduction in income and are at risk of foreclosure due to involuntary unemployment or underemployment, due to economic conditions or a medical condition. Eligible homeowners can qualify for an interest free loan, which pays a portion of their monthly mortgage for up to two years, or up to $50,000, whichever comes first.

Homeowners are encouraged to visit http://www.FindEHLP.org to find contact information for participating agencies, the Pre-Applicant Screening Worksheet and more information on the EHLP assistance and its eligibility requirements. Homeowners may also call the toll free hotline — 855-FIND-EHLP (346-3345) – for this information as well.

Marketing a rental property present special challenges. Owners will probably want to offer the house for sale while tenants are still living there so that the property continues to bring in income. Many real estate agents prefer the property empty. Tenant-occupied homes are often the most difficult to sell since the tenants may not share the same pride of ownership. They may not be eager for the property to sell, and as a result, the house is not shown to its best advantage.

When you put a tenant-occupied house on the market, it is important that you enlist the tenants in the effort to get your house sold. Talk to the tenants first to see if they have a desire and ability to buy the house. If they are not interested in buying, work out with them the ground rules for access to the house. In most cases, the new owners will want the tenants to move, and it will be important to work out alternate living arrangements with them. In each situation, work hard to create a spirit of cooperation with the tenants.
Reprinted with permission from my colleague, Lacy Baaheth <lacybaaheth@BestImageAgent.com>. When looking for a property in the Baton Rouge, LA area look her up.

You can buy a home at a significant discount at a foreclosure auction, but you’ll face a host of challenges. Don’t get burned; be solutions-ready. If you want to get a good deal at a foreclosure auction, know what you’re buying and how you’ll be expected to pay for it. Start by understanding the foreclosure auction rules for your area. State and local governments set their own rules for the bidding process, amount of deposit, or whether the homeowner can get their property back after the sale. DON’T DO THIS ALONE. Learn about the process in your area by talking  a REALTOR®.