real estate

You’ve Been Pre-Approved — Now Get RE-Approved

December 19, 2007

Even if you’ve been recently pre-qualified (or pre-approved) for a mortgage, it may be prudent to get “re-approved”. The mortgage industry is changing quickly; being prepared beats the alternative. Recently, mortgage lenders have made adjustments in what they will lend, and to whom.  This shrinks the pool of eligible mortgage borrowers. Some of these guideline […]

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What Does It Mean To “Escrow” Taxes And Insurance?

December 5, 2007

As a homeowner, your financial obligations extend beyond your monthly mortgage payment.  Periodically, you are also required to pay real estate taxes and homeowner’s insurance premiums. Each month, you pay your mortgage payment to a company called a “mortgage servicer” (because they “service” your mortgage each month). In addition to the risk of not getting […]

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Why New Home Sales Data Doesn’t Tell Us Much About The Real Estate Market

December 4, 2007

October’s New Homes Sales report showed a modest month-over-month improvement from September. Before we interpret that to mean that the housing market is rebounding, though, let’s consider the fallibility of the New Home Sales report. On the Census Bureau’s Web site, there is a disclaimer about the validity of the data.  Paraphrased, it reads: A […]

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Buyers, You Will Pay More For A Home Than The Agreed-Upon Purchase Price

November 29, 2007

In real estate, the true cost of buying a home is always higher than the home’s purchase price itself. This is because of service charges from governments, lenders, and title/escrow companies. Because there is no such thing as “typical” closing costs because each home purchase is different, home buyers should remember that the actual cost […]

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The Week In Review (November 26, 2007) : What To Watch For

November 26, 2007

In a holiday-shortened trading week, mortgage rates finished the week slightly improved. But, because many traders had left early for Thanksgiving, matching buyers and sellers at any given price proved to be an exercise.  Mortgage rates bounced wildly as a result. Between now and the New Year, expect the same volatility.  Fewer market players means […]

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It Ain’t Easy Being Green–or is it??

November 7, 2007

No, I am not talking about the song by Kermit the Frog, I am talking about a recent insert in the Wall St. Journal entitled “Handicapping the Environmental Gold Rush” spoke about the benefits of investing in Green Real Estate. According to McGraw-Hill Constructions “2006 Green Building SmartMarket Report,” Green buildings generate 3.5% higher occupancy rates, […]

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Monthly Reiteration: Real Estate Is Not A National News Story

October 25, 2007

The Wall Street Journal used a lot of ink this morning on September’s Existing Home Sales data, including the chart below.  It’s frightening to the lay person who may not know how to interpret data like this. Remember: real estate is local. Yes, on a national level the number of homes for sale in increasing […]

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Appraisals are as much art as science

October 24, 2007

The number of home valuation Web sites continues to grow. A simple Google search for “How much is my home worth?” shows 119,000 results and seems to get larger month-over-month. For home sellers, these programs can give a false sense of security (or insecurity!) about at what price a home should be listed for sale. Computer […]

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How Mortgage Calculators Can Be Misleading

October 16, 2007

Mortgage calculators are ubiquitous on real estate-related Web sites but that doesn’t mean that they’re helpful. See, Internet-based mortgage calculators take three figures into consideration when determining “how much home can you afford”. Income Debt Downpayment/Equity Next, the calculator figures in your downpayment, multiplies your income by a factor of .38 and spits out an […]

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What Happens On The National Real Estate Scene Doesn’t Matter To You

September 26, 2007

The National Association of Realtors® released its monthly Existing Home Sales report for August 2006 and, as usual, you should be ignoring it. The report discusses real estate on a national level and we all know that real estate is a local phenomenon. It’s not that the report isn’t helpful — it is.  The Existing […]

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What’s The Existing Home Sales Report Got To Do With You? Nothing.

August 28, 2007

When the National Association of Realtors® releases its monthly Existing Home Sales report, people tend to watch every word, fact and figure in the statement in hopes of decoding the real estate market. It’s all wasted energy. It’s impossible to use the NAR report in everyday living because the NAR report is a national story.  […]

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Why The Mortgage “Crisis” Is Not A “Crisis” For Everyone

August 17, 2007

Another day, another batch of Gloom-and-Doom stories in the news.  Remember to keep a level head — the media’s job, in part, is to sell newspapers and capture eyeballs.  Using the word “crisis” repeatedly is one way to meet that goal. A few facts to keep it all in perspective: There are still BILLIONS of […]

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A Few Good Reasons To Ignore Your Mortgage Prepayment Penalty

August 15, 2007

Industry trade magazine Inside B&C Lending pegs the 2006 dollar volume of new sub-prime loans at $640 billion.  According to the Real Estate Charts chart above, 78% of those dollars were in 2-year adjustable loans. A loan of this variety is often called a 2/28 (“two twenty-eight”). A 2/28 originated in 2006 will reach its […]

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A Web Site Made Just For Your Street

August 9, 2007

“If only I knew what my street was like before I bought the house!” Ignore the statewide statistics, forget the city figures.  Phooey to the neighborhood.  Reinforcing the notion that all real estate is local, meet Street Advisor, the definitive guide to America’s many streets. Unfortunately, there just hasn’t been enough helpful information catalogued just […]

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Pros and Cons of Checkbook Control for Self Directed IRA’s

July 30, 2007

One of the things that I do in my business is help people buy real estate inside their IRA’s and 401(k)’s. There is an article on Producers web by Tom Anderson the President of Pensco Trust–one of the nation’s most trusted Self Directed IRA and 401(k) custodians. This article deals with a hot topic in […]

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Why You Should Approach Tomorrow’s Existing Home Sales Headlines With Some Skepticism

July 25, 2007

June’s Existing Home Sales reported weaker than expected and dropped from prior levels, according to the National Association of REALTORS. Because our country (A) loves to discuss real estate, and (B) loves statistical headlines, expect tomorrow’s newspapers to emblazon one (or both) of these data points on the front page: Home sales are down 3.8% from […]

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Why Square Footage Is A Matter Of Debate, or The Difference Between Guidance and Law

June 15, 2007

Square footage of a home is a matter of debate — a homeowner measures it one way, a real estate agent another way, and an appraiser a third way. The local tax assessor has his own method, too. So, who is right? Until 2003, they all were!  That’s when the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® Appraisal […]

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All Real Estate Is Local, Or Why National News Programs Are Misleading

June 7, 2007

This is just a quick reminder to ignore national news stories about real estate.  It may sound like strange advice, but real estate is a highly local phenomenon. The “national scene” is comprised of data from: 50 states, with More than 30,000 incorporated cities, and with An innumerable number of neighborhoods It also combines data […]

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Builders May Be Figuring Out The Market Faster Than Home Sellers

April 25, 2007

According to all of the headlines, existing home sales are down across the country.  Way down.  Check out this sampling: Sales of Existing Homes Plunge Steeply (NY Times) Existing Home Sales Plunge In March (Houston Chronicle) Existing Home Sales Plunge, Biggest Retreat In 18 Years (Salt Lake Tribune) However, it’s important to keep these statistics […]

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Do Your Own Research And Your Appraisal Process Can Be Worry-Free

April 24, 2007

The appraisal of a home can be a bit frightening.  After buyer and seller have agreed on a price and signed a contract, a mortgage lender will send an independent professional to verify that the price is “reasonable” and fair. The appraisal process begins with a licensed appraiser making a thorough inspection of the home, […]

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