Real Estate Information

There are several individuals who still manage to survive in financial crisis. Since inflation has been volatile in these days, a lot of people are struggling to fulfill all their financial obligations. Those individuals who will greatly be affected by the global economic crisis are the ones who belong to class B and C.

And if you happen to be a homeowner who has been seriously in danger due to failure of paying monthly amortization, then you will definitely welcome foreclosure to happen into your life.

In these days, homeowners have discovered a lot of means on how to fight back the possibility of foreclosure. A good example of these is choosing to invest in short sale properties. However, the very common drawback in this option is a number of them simply do not close. Most of the time, this occurs due to the rejection of offers done by the lenders. There are so many opportunities that have been left in the air due to such rejections. For you to understand what are the reasons behind this awful cases, take a look at some of these scenarios.

Generally, banks have certain requirements that you need to comply with before you enter into a short sale application. You have to compile the needed papers and present to them in an orderly manner. In case you failed to complete the list of requirements, expect that the processing of your application will be delayed or even ignored. Hence, it is best to obtain a list of requirements ahead of time. You can also consult your real estate broker about this matter. In this way, there will be no room for possibility of rejection.

Aside from that, you also need to do your part as the applicant. Once you have successfully passed all the needed papers, you have to follow up them about your application. You can not expect that you are the only one who wishes to own a house, there heaps of applications piled up in the bank. It pays if you are diligent enough to call somebody from the bank and ask the status of your papers.

Agreeing to your offer is just like welcoming the loss. But lenders can only confirm up to this extent of loss and nothing worse than that. Involving third parties can even sound worst. You can consider if it is around 90-95 percent of the BPO. If your selling price fails to meet the bearable loss, there is a tendency that short sale might end up getting rejection. And you can not close a deal without such approval.

It is a given fact that short sale applications really take almost forever before they are approved. There are so many documentations to be done and have series of steps before the final approval is granted. If you have plans in entering in this type of transaction, it is imperative that you need to update your buyers every now and then. You have to meet with their expectations. Otherwise, they will drop the idea of getting in to it. The absence of buyers will prevent from closing a short sale deal. Thus, learn to value every client that approaches you and guarantee them that they are not wasting their time dealing with you.

There are definitely quite a number of houses for sale in the market today. Although this may be good for the buyers (as they have wide choices of property), it may be bad for the seller. This means competition. And if there is too much competition in the market, considering the market status is slow, selling homes may take quite some time. Do you know how this could impact home values? Well, this could be bad. If homes takes a long time before it could be sold, home value could drop. If this happens, sellers would have to be forced to reduce home prices.

But is it really necessary to reduce home prices when homes are not selling? Well, some real estate agents may advise you to do this. However, there are several other factors that a seller should look into before reducing prices.

What to do before reducing your price? As a seller, you do not want to make a hasty decision. Your goal is to get as much as you can from your investment.

To start, you have to check your price. It is probably overstated. Some people (although not all), who have no professional guidance have a tendency to do this. Well, if you have been selling your homes on your own, try asking for a comparative market analysis. This is your objective way of pricing your homes that buyers could hardly contend. Reducing your price to the average asking price of your comparable will not result to any losses. This is because this is the actual market value of your homes that supposedly makes it sell.

If it is not selling still, then do not reduce home price right away. The next step is to analyze your homes.
Does it look like a property that a buyer would be enticed to buy? If your home is just fair looking, you might want to do something to make it lovelier. The answer to this is to stage your homes. According to staging professionals and various agents, home staging is an effective tool in selling homes. Even in a tough market like now, staging cuts selling time short. Therefore, this should be one of your steps to make before reducing home prices.

However, if everything was done accordingly, there is still one more thing to do. Instead of reducing the price, why not do something about the house to make it worth its price. To start off, repair your homes or you can try to give it new features. Try putting new appliances or make the house look brand new. These activities can raise home values and makes it worth the price you set.

There are other ways to sell a home before resorting to price reduction. In a market like this, every seller needs the right strategy. But if worse comes to worst, your homes still will not sell; reduce your price by all means. However, do not make abrupt reductions. Lessen price in increments. You can still play the prices and the offers, to make the property worth buying for.

First and foremost, if you are trying to sell your home, do not try to sell the home on your own. If you are doing a For Sale By Owner (FSOB), it is probably because you are trying to save yourself the commission you would pay a real estate agent for selling your house. What is most curious about this situation is that most of these people would agree to some payment if someone brings them a buyer. Many real estate agents will approach someone doing an FSOB and ask if they need a bit of help selling the property.

It is a smart call by the real estate agent because the agent will receive a commission from the buyer and now some sort of commission from the seller. There is an additional problem that the seller is not looking at, which is that the buyer will think that the owner will be willing to come down from the asking price because there is no commission being paid. Well, if you are selling your home this way, you have actually paid part of the commission to the person that is working for the buyer and then you paid the other part in having to come down from your asking price. A real estate sale is an agreement between A, the seller and B, the buyer. If you are the one trying to save money, you cannot do it by paying the buyer's realtor and then paying the buyer to boot!

Another thing you should avoid is pulling a realtor's name out of a hat, so to speak. Real estate is a big industry, and it is not relatively difficult to enter the industry. The difficult part is staying in the industry. If you have a buddy who just got a real estate license to have some extra income, then your buddy is not the person to choose when trying to sell your house. You are going to spend thousands of dollars on an agent, so your best bet is to choose the real estate agent and broker who can best help you sell your house at the best price possible. You want people with experience, people who are dedicated to the industry and will really work to sell your house, not your buddy who wants to try selling properties in his spare time.

If you decide to hire the best agent available, do listen to what your agent has to say. Your agent is going to make money by selling your house. If you took the time to select a reputable agent with plenty of experience, then it stands to reason that you should listen to what your agent has to say. The real estate company is probably going to tell you that you need to clean the bathrooms, get the house brightly lit, keep your pets away from the front door, eliminate cigarette and other unpleasant odors and do not hang around for the showing.

You are going to pay your real estate agent quite a bit of money so that you can maximize the sale of your house. It will make no sense to invest all that money and time and then not listen to what the person who is trying to help you is telling you. Ignoring your real estate agent is one of the best ways not to sell your house and it is something that you should definitely not do if you are trying to sell it.

Many amateur property developers are unsure how much they should pay for property or land which they want to develop to make a profit. Many also do not realise that there is a reasonably simple formula for calculating the value of a property that requires developing.

The starting point to finding the value which should be paid for a piece of property or land is to find the value of the completed project, to be able to do this you need to have a clear idea of how you are going to develop the said property or land, you should in any case have a clear idea of what you intend to do before you begin on such a project.

The best method of finding the developed value of the property or land is to find similar properties to the planned development which are currently for sale or which have recently been sold. If you look at properties which are already on the market remember that in these difficult economic times people are unlikely to pay the full asking price for a property and are more likely to make an offer below the asking price. It is probably much better to look at property which has recently sold. In the UK you may get price data for properties sold from a number of free websites or you can pay for it from Land Registry.

It may be that there are no exactly similar properties in the vicinity to your planned purchase and in this case you have to find something that is similar in some ways and make price adjustments according to the differences, if there's an extra bedroom you add on a few thousand to the value and so on. Alternatively if you can find similar properties in the next town over you can use the price of these as a base price and adjust according to the price differences of the two areas.

This may all sound quite complicated and a simple way to judge the developed value is to talk to a number of Estate Agents who will be happy to advise you as they will all be interested in selling the finished development for you.

Once you have calculated the value of the finished development you are ready to start producing your residual valuation, it is called a residual valuation because you start with the final figure which you will receive and you deduct all of your cost from that final figure including an amount for your developers profit and what remains is what you can bid for the property or land.

Once your planned development is valued, you then take that figure and deduct the building and development costs from it, you will need to ask a builder or an architect to establish the building costs for this part. Once you know the building costs and have deducted them from your initial figure you next need to calculate the amount of interest you will have to pay on the money used to pay for the building costs, now realise here that although you may not need to borrow any money, to calculate the value you should pay properly you need to account for interest on the money spent during the development period because even if you don't pay it to a bank or loan company you do actually forsake interest you could have earned on your own money whilst it is invested. To ignore this would give an incorrect valuation.

On top of the building costs there will be professional costs for architects and surveyors, you may allocate 12.5% of building costs for this, and then you also will want to account for interest on the professional fees paid out.

You need to allow for the costs of estate agent fees incurred when it comes time to sell the completed development and you would want to factor in a 5% contingency fund for those unexpected expenses that always crop up.

Finally you would need to deduct around 15 to 20% developers profit from the completed development value and what you are left with is what you could afford to bid for the property or land and this is the residual value.

Whilst following the example can find the value which you should pay for a development property it should be noted that in the current economic climate property values could well drop and your planned final value could be different by the time the development is complete, this is the risk of entrepreneurialism, if what easy everybody would be doing it. Good luck.

As you may be aware the fastest growing demographic in real estate sales is single women second only to married couples. Previously we asked the question, "What are Single Women looking for ..... In a Home?" Well, high on the list of 10 things most desired by single women when purchasing a home was security.

Coldwell Banker's latest consumer survey found that a home's security is a deal breaker! Sixty-four percent of women said if they found the home of their dreams but had concerns about its security, they would no longer be interested. Single women also account for a large number of condominium purchases where they find a sense of security. Builders, who have also taken notice of this growing segment, are betting on features such as gourmet kitchens, built in vacuums and security systems to attract single female buyers.

The following list should be taken into consideration when determining the security of a home.

1. Buy Homes With Attached Garages. Consider how you might feel walking in the dark toward the house if your garage were detached. Insist on an electronic garage door opener.

2. Consider Gated Communities Ask how often the gate code is changed. Most homeowner associations routinely change the codes to prevent entry by unauthorized persons. Check to make sure the gate is timed to close before a second car can enter.

3. Pay Attention to Lighting Abundant street lighting and motion-sensor lights offer more security than dimly lit areas.

4. Buy Homes With Security Systems Find out if the security system is leased or owned and how much it costs per month. Ask for an explanation about how the home is wired, and whether all the doors and windows are monitored on the system.

5. Inspect Door Locks and Door Jambs Look at the door jamb to determine if it's been cracked or repaired. Notice if the lock is new. A screen door that acts as a security door with its own locking system provides more protection.

6. Check Location of Bedrooms Second-floor bedrooms might appear safer, but the likelihood is the distance from the first floor could make them effectively soundproof, so sounds of a break-in may not travel to the second floor.

7. Consider Condos Above the Main Floor Criminals don't want to bother with climbing stairs, taking an elevator or being noticed in a building, which is why first-floor condos tend to attract more crime. Condos that face the street are often considered more secure.

8. Inspect the Windows Single-pane windows are easier to break than dual pane. If any of the exterior doors have large windows of glass, make sure the door knob is located far enough away from the window to discourage break-ins.

9. Beware of Homes on an Alley, Alleys are quiet, generally dark at night, and provide ways for criminals to approach your home - unnoticed by the neighbors.

10. Pull Neighborhood Crime Reports Most city police departments report crime statistics online.

11. Check Out the Neighboring Structures Some studies show that crime is higher in mixed-use neighborhoods than in subdivisions or communities of single family homes.

12. Buy Homes With a Fenced Back Yard A fenced yard discourages crime because it makes it harder for unauthorized persons togain access.

There are many factors to consider when determining the security of a home or neighborhood. Hopefully the above list will help guide potential homebuyers in making a safe and secure decision.

Conventional loans

The traditional method of financing a home, these are usually 15-year or 30-year fixed interest loans.

FHA and VA insured mortgages

These low-cost fixed-rate mortgages are available to certain home buyers on properties that meet stringent federal standards; however, FHA loans can sometimes be designed to include rehab costs for properties in need of repair. The seller generally pays points on FHA-insured mortgages, and always does for VA loans. VA loans require little or no down payment.

Adjustable rate mortgages

Adjustable rate mortgages offer fluctuating interest rates based on a financial index; typical indexes used include the Cost of Funds Index and the interest rate on one-year constant-maturity U.S. Treasury securities. While these mortgages usually offer a discounted rate at the start, they often can result in higher interest rates and consequent higher monthly payments, creating difficulties for some borrowers.

Graduated payment mortgages
Prospective home buyers have more choices than ever before for home financing. Traditional FHA and VA loans are still available, but lenders offer a wide variety of other options for first-time and returning borrowers.

These newer fixed-rate mortgage arrangements allow buyers to purchase a more expensive home than they might otherwise be able to afford, with payments increasing gradually over the life of the loan. One drawback to these loans is a side effect known as negative amortization; put simply, payments in the early stages of graduated payment loans may not cover the interest due, increasing the overall amount of debt on the home. This can result in negative equity, a major difficulty if the borrower wishes to sell the home during the first ten years of the mortgage’s life.

A variation on the graduated payment mortgage is the adjustable graduated payment plan; this works on the same principle, but the interest rate varies according to a financial index. Because payments are gradually increasing, interest rate hikes can produce unpleasant "sticker shock" for unprepared borrowers.

Balloon payment mortgages

Available as fixed-rate or adjustable-rate loans, these mortgages are short-term loans, usually lasting five to ten years. At the end of this term, borrowers are required to either pay off the entire remaining balance, or to refinance at the prevailing rates at that time. These mortgages are primarily useful for borrowers who expect the interest rate to decline within the next five years and intend to refinance when that occurs.

Assumable mortgages

By assuming an existing mortgage, sometimes with an additional up-front payment, borrowers can often obtain a lower interest rate than the prevailing market will allow. The lender must approve of the arrangement, and the borrower must be creditworthy in order to qualify. Most FHA and VA mortgages are assumable for qualified buyers.

Austin homebuyers can learn more about these mortgage options and many others from the loan experts at Capital City Funding. Conveniently located within the offices of Capital City RE/MAX, this FHA and VA approved in-house lender provides a wide range of financing options and services for home buyers. Affinity Properties, in conjunction with Capital City RE/MAX, is proud to offer these lending services to their clients; together with RE/MAX, Affinity Properties is committed to providing the highest levels of customer service and convenience to home buyers and sellers throughout the Austin area.

By: Joe Cline

Article Directory: http://www.articledashboard.com

If there’s a phase of rehabbing that you must be vary careful in, it’s during the inspection stage. This is where you check the property and ask yourself, "Will I reap profits from this house after I repair and sell it?" Some rehabbers even hire professional inspectors because they do not want to make a mistake during this stage.

In time, you will learn how to determine the profitability of a fixer upper home. You will develop this skill after a few rehabs but for beginners, here are some tips you might find useful. Remember, it wouldn’t hurt to know more when it comes to rehabbing houses. You can more information about this at RehabList.com. Just go to the Learning Center section of Rehab List and click articles. On to the tips:

Always be on the lookout for certain damages. When you buy a fixer upper, it is given that it needs repair. That’s the main reason why it’s called a fixer upper and why it is undervalued in the first place. But there are damages you must look out for as they can spoil your chances of raking home earning profits. These are called "structural repairs," or repairs that are major and very expensive.

An example of a major repair that can wash away your dreams of huge rehabbing profits is the roof. If you aren’t too good at examining a house’s crowning glory, make sure you hire a professional. Don’t be shy to ask about how old the roof has been in place. A roof normally stays okay for around 20 years, depending of course on the material used. For example, a roof made from shingles must not be patched more than thrice. If it has undergone more than three patch-overs, then be wary. You might have to replace the whole roof and that will cost you a fortune.

The soil toxicity in the surroundings of the home is another major problem. So as a precaution, get the house’s engineering report from local authorities. The report will also tell you whether the property has been contaminated by mold. Mold equals expensive treatment.

If you know what to avoid, then you must know what to look for as well. Look for fixer upper homes that need only cosmetic repairs. Rehab List defines these are minor repairs that can boost a property’s value. Landscaping the yard, applying a new coat of paint, and replacing old lighting fixtures are examples of cosmetic repairs.

Learn more about rehabbing at Rehab List. It’s also where you’ll meet veteran and seasoned rehabbers, sellers, and even money lenders. Rehab List is the meeting place of everybody involved in the real estate business.

By: Clifford Mc Fayden @ Franklin Reos

Article Directory: http://www.articledashboard.com

The US housing market consists of the construction, sale and resale of residential properties all across the country. In the second quarter of this year, reports have shown that there has been a decline in home building as well as the sale and resale because of the collapse in the subprime lending industry last year which was one of the factors that contributed to the current financial crisis.

This means that a lot of people have to foreclose their homes if they can’t pay the monthly payments. Those who have not yet lost their homes are trying to find a way to keep theirs. Those who are well off have to think twice before considering buying a home so they don’t fall in the same situation as others are also experiencing.

Companies involved in the building industry have had to dismiss some workers rather than keeping them on the payroll because they are just wasting money keeping them around when there is no work to be done.

But it is not as bad as you think. There are advantages when there is a turn down in home building. The price of materials and cost of labor are much cheaper so you can do a lot with your hard earned money. Since builders need projects to survive, you will be able to find one very easily and also get a good price.

When you hire a developer, you should know that your home will be built at a slower pace. This is not to stiff more money from you but to make sure that it is done right. Surely, you don’t want to stay in your new residence and experience some problems less than 6 months after moving in right?

One way to make sure it is done just the way you want it is that the developer of your choice will be able to hire only the best to work on your home.

The only catch to build your dream home is that you must have money stored somewhere since you will have a hard time borrowing this money right now from the bank.

If you don’t have that much cash on hand to build a house, another option will be to buy one because there are a lot of foreclosed homes right now and building societies would rather sell it than just keep it with them.

Just how bad is the decline in home building? A report released by the US Commerce Department reveals that in August, there was 6.2% decline so that existing homes could be sold. This is their way to restore stability between supply and demand but it is going to take more than that to change the current situation.

Some stronger solution is needed and perhaps the $700 billion bailout plan could be the answer. Will it work? Only time will tell but a lot of people hope that it does so the economy will be in good shape and we can see a building boom in the foreseeable future.

So what should we do until that happens? Pray and just hope for the best. If things work out like what most analysts predict, we will see a recovery by the 2nd half of 2009 which means there will be no longer a deterioration in home building.

By: Article Wizard

Article Directory: http://www.articledashboard.com

If you are renting, and aren't sure you can afford the monthly mortgage payments to buy a home in this area, then I suggest that you use the RENT vs. BUY HOME CALCULATOR.  This is a free online calculator offered by Prudential.

With the RENT vs. BUY HOME CALCULATOR, you simply enter your current monthly rent payment and the location you want to search. You'll see a list of all the properties in that area that fit within your monthly budget.  You may be able to own a home for about the same amount you now spend on rent.

To use the calculator now, just CLICK HERE.  To use the calculator at any other time, just come back to this blog page, or go to the Buyers link near the top of our Home Page.  Then click on Suggested Reading, and scroll down to RENT vs. BUY HOME CALCULATOR.

Good luck, and please let me know if this was helpful to you.

We have added that as a link on our website.  To use it, just click on the blue link above, or at any time, go to the BUYERS page on our website, and click on SUGGESTED READING.  Then scroll down to RENT vs. BUY HOME CALCULATOR.  .

Joe: team ulster, a Prudential Nutshell Realty, is proud to present the Ulster County Real Estate Podcast.

Can you believe these mortgage rates? Welcome to the January edition of our podcast. From Wall Street to Main Street, loan mortgage rates have created some great opportunities in our local market. Stay tuned as we discuss recent market trends and strategies for getting the best loan possible. It's all coming up next.

We're here today with team ulster from Prudential Nutshell Realty. What's happening right now in the Ulster County real estate market?

laurel sweeney: Hi, Joe. Well, I beg to give you some information about our local real estate market. I've been taking a close look at the statistics and have some really interesting information for both buyers and sellers. The average selling price for a home in Ulster County in 2007 was $302,000. In 2008, the average selling price is $290,000. In 2007, we sold 1,387 homes and in 2008, 1,038 homes. The above represents a decrease in the number of homes sold in the past 12 months at 25%. The decrease, as an average in meeting sell prices, were only 4% and 5%, respectively, in a year where the Standard & Poor index lost 38%.

These statistics should also be compared to the National Association of Realtors. Which shows a national median home price decrease of 21.7% from July '06 to November '08. Here in Ulster County, homes, actually, had a net increase during the same time period. The relatively stable market for homes in Ulster County is in no small part due to our connection with New York City. It's also our strong commitment here to reasonable development and subdivision of land. We've not had an over abundance of new construction over the last 10 years as compared to many other areas of the country, which are now suffering.

It's now a great time to be a home buyer with the greatest selection in a decade. A wide variety of inventory from which to choose. We also have the lowest number of foreclosed homes in all of New York State. Of course, mortgage money is available at near record low interest rates. The Federal government is also offering a first time homebuyer tax credit of $7,500 for home purchased before July 1st. In addition, we've got motivated sellers ready and needing to move. Most importantly, this is the opportunity of a lifetime to accumulate wealth through home ownership.

Joe: OK, thanks. For a national perspective today, we're also joined by Terry Murphy, real estate author and columnist from US Learning in Memphis, Tennessee. Terry, share with us what you're seeing nationally.

Terry Murphy: Joe, for many of us, 2008 was a difficult year. It presented a number of challenges for the economy. But fortunately, there are already things and positive action in 2009 and this really bodes well for our local real estate market as we ring in the New Year.

Now, for instance, a Federal Reserves decision to lower interest rates has made things, considerably, easier for homebuyers and homeowners who need to refinance. This would, significantly, impact housing sales, home valuations, and the nation's overall economy. As a result, mortgage rates, which have averaged about 6.3 in the third quarter of last year, had, recently fallen into the 4% range in some parts of the country and this is the lowest rate in nearly 50 years. This will bring buyers back to the market.

Now, this is, perhaps, the best buyer's market in modern history with higher inventories, slower window activity, and low, low interest rates. Wow! There are a lot of factors that play here. The key to all of these, Joe, is that buyers must be credit worthy. Credit regulations have shifted, and our definition of credit worthiness has changed as well. Buyers should do everything they can to maintain and guard their credit rating and take advantage of today's opportunities.

Joe: Thanks, Terry. These changes in credit will have an impact on everyday buying and selling. Laurel, how do you advice your clients?

Laurel: Joe, it is becoming increasingly important for our buyers to maintain good credit when applying for a mortgage. The higher your credit score, the lower your interest rate. We have a number of reliable mortgage planners to call on who help us find the best loan for our clients. Then, it's a matter of the buyer doing their part.

Joe: What can a buyer do to make sure they're qualified for the best rate?

Laurel: My first suggestion would be to review your credit report for accuracy. The three main credit reporting agencies - Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion - will provide a free report each year just for the asking. It's a great program and here's a tip when ordering your reports. Instead of ordering all three reports at once, consider staggering your request throughout the year. Which will allow you to check your reports more frequently. Any mistakes on your report should be corrected immediately.

Second, make sure you pay your bills on time. This is huge. Up to 35% of our credit score is based on our payment history. Even if you've had a rough spot in the past, you can still bring up a low score by simply paying your bills each month.

Joe: What else can people do?

Laurel: Buyers should do their best to manage their existing credit accounts and reduce their debts. It's great if you can pay off your outstanding accounts, but it's not critical. Banks just want to see people manage their accounts responsibly.

Terry: You know, Joe, that's a great point. Having a few open accounts will not hurt you as long as you're not abusing them. On the other hand, Joe, closing down accounts may look bad if done right before applying for your loan.

Laurel: That's right. We should also note that mortgage companies are looking for ways to help. There are great programs out there, even if you have less than perfect credit. Perspective buyers owe it to themselves to contact us for more details. We're more than happy to help.

Joe: Great. We'll share your contact information next. Thanks so much for helping us with today's program.

Laurel: You're welcome, Joe. We'll talk next month.

Joe: For more information on our program or for information on the Ulster County real estate market, contact team ulster from Prudential Nutshell Realty. You can reach them at 845-687-2200. You can also find Team Ulster online at www.UlsterCountyHouse.com. Until next time, thank you for listening to the Ulster County Real Estate Podcast.