Moving and Kids: A Sensitive Mix by Jim Woodard on Creators.com

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Moving and Kids: A Sensitive Mix

This is the time of year when many families are moving with children into a new home. The plan is to complete the move before the start of another school year. Whether it's moving to a different home around the block or relocating to a new city, families face additional challenges when moving with children.

A recent survey found that 69 percent of families have moved to a new home at least once during their children's lifetime, and 18 percent of families have moved three or more times, it was revealed by a survey conducted by Rent.com.

The survey also showed that 54 percent of parents worry about their children's apprehensions surrounding the move. Additional concerns include timing (31 percent), moving-day logistics (27 percent) and motivation (22 percent).

More than half of American children (54 percent) worry most about making new friends at school or in their neighborhood. About 18 percent wonder if they'll truly feel at home in the new place, and 14 percent feel anxious about getting acclimated to the new neighborhood.

When choosing a new family home, 61 percent of parents cited a safe neighborhood as being the most important factor. A quarter of parents (24 percent) believe that a living space large enough for the entire family to live in comfortably is equally important.

One third of children (34 percent) want their own bedrooms, 27 percent wish for a neighborhood with other kids about their own age and 25 percent particularly want a big backyard.

Q: What's being done about the Wall Street Resale Fees plan?

A: Opposition to a scheme to generate long-term revenue from home sales is heating up. Housing advocates and major organizations are joining together to fight the move.

The new group, named the Coalition to Stop Wall Street Home Resale Fees, has asked U.S. Secretary of the Treasury Timothy Geithner to ban the financial scheme, according to a report by the National Association of Realtors.

Wall Street Home Resale Fees are a controversial new financial scheme that has already been restricted in 17 states, with Illinois Gov.

Pat Quinn being the most recent to sign such legislation.

Here's what it's all about: Some real estate participants in the plan, in consultation with Wall Street advisers, are attempting to add language to home purchase contracts that requires a percentage of the final sales price of a home to be paid to private third parties every time the property is sold, typically for 99 years.

These participants would then attempt to sell the right to collect the fees on Wall Street — lining their pockets while stealing equity from homeowners.

The Coalition to Stop Wall Street Home Resale Fees brings together a wide array of real estate organizations, including NAR.

Q: Where are mortgage interest rates today?

A: At this writing, mortgage rates dropped for the sixth consecutive week, according to a report from Freddie Mac. It reports that the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaged 4.54 percent with an average 0.7 point, down from the previous week when it averaged 4.56 percent. Last year at this time, the 30-year FRM averaged 5.25 percent.

The 15-year FRM averages a record low of 4.00 percent with an average 0.7 point, down from the previous week when it averaged 4.03 percent. A year ago at this time, the 15-year FRM averaged 4.69 percent

Q: With such low rates, are mortgage applications up?

A: Mortgage applications are slowly increasing in numbers, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. The Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, increased 1.3 percent during the last week in July from one week earlier. On an unadjusted basis, the index increased 1.4 percent compared with the previous week.

The Refinance Index increased 1.3 percent from the previous week. The seasonally adjusted Purchase Index increased 1.5 percent from one week earlier. This third straight weekly increase in the Purchase Index was driven by government-purchased applications, which increased 3.4 percent, while conventional purchase applications were essentially flat.

To find out more about Jim Woodard and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.