Today's Real Estate News and AdviceUpdated: July 10, 2009Investor Report: Energy Efficiency For real estate investors buying houses at discount prices, it could be a hot new trend. Instead of simply doing the usual renovations, paint jobs and landscaping to turn around properties for resale or rental, growing numbers of investors are emphasizing energy efficiency improvements to increase market values and cut marketing times. FULL STORY-> Mortgage Rates Down This Week Amid Concerns Over Labor Market Freddie Mac (NYSE:FRE) today released the results of its Primary Mortgage Market Survey® (PMMS®) in which the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM)averaged 5.20 percent with an average 0.7 point for the week ending July 9, 2009, down from last week when it averaged 5.32 percent. FULL STORY-> Internet Helps Rent Homes Forbes.com has published its report on America’s Best and Worst Cities for Families. These are metros where people have enough money for everyday living and places where families’ daily budgets take a chunk out of their incomes. FULL STORY-> Determining When Prospects Become Clients How do you determine whether a prospect should become a client? What are the criteria of becoming a client? Have you created a series of questions to help you minimize the time invested, to determine if a prospect will meet your standard? FULL STORY-> Thoughts on Social Media, Investing from Real Estate Investment Club Bloggers Peter L. Mosca shares an excerpt of an interview with several bloggers from Real Estate Investment Club.com: Scott Carson, a full time real estate investor and real estate investment coach, Halle Eavelyn, a specialist in private banking and investing for real estate, loan modifications, short sales, rehabbing homes, pre-construction real estate, and lease options; and Jack Sternberg, 30 years plus of experience and a track record of thousands of successful real estate transactions. FULL STORY-> The Loan Modification Debacle Like all loan modification attempts, it seems like the banks just don't know how to get out of their own way as honest homeowners attempt to keep their homes. FULL STORY-> Job-Loss Mortgage Insurance: Terms, Conditions, Eligibility Job-loss mortgage insurance is available from a host of sources and policies vary in coverage, cost, benefits and requirements, so you'd better shop around. Here's what you'll have to consider. FULL STORY-> Job-Loss Mortgage Insurance: Terms, Conditions, Eligibility Job-loss mortgage insurance is available from a host of sources and policies vary in coverage, cost, benefits and requirements, so you'd better shop around. Here's what you'll have to consider. FULL STORY-> Thoughts on Social Media, Investing from Real Estate Investment Club Bloggers Peter L. Mosca shares an excerpt of an interview with several bloggers from Real Estate Investment Club.com: Scott Carson, a full time real estate investor and real estate investment coach, Halle Eavelyn, a specialist in private banking and investing for real estate, loan modifications, short sales, rehabbing homes, pre-construction real estate, and lease options; and Jack Sternberg, 30 years plus of experience and a track record of thousands of successful real estate transactions. FULL STORY-> The Loan Modification Debacle Like all loan modification attempts, it seems like the banks just don't know how to get out of their own way as honest homeowners attempt to keep their homes. FULL STORY-> Jersey Builder Opens First LEED for Homes Multifamily Community in the Country The 544-unit Alexan CityView, the largest LEED for Homes multifamily community in the country, is officially open with the recent move-in of the first residents of the luxury rental community, according to Richard Murphy, managing director of Trammel Crow Residential (TCR), developer of the property. Alexan CityView, offering studio to three bedroom units, is situated on 297 acres on the Peninsula at Bayonne Harbor at 302 Constitution Avenue in Bayonne, New Jersey. FULL STORY-> Photo Op HOA Reserves A reserve study identifies a homeowner association's future repairs and replacements like a snapshot in time. Imagine that you could picture the buildings and grounds as they would be in five, ten, even thirty years. A reserve study acts just like that by estimating the useful life of the common elements and the cost to replace them in the future based on current cost adjusted by inflation. FULL STORY-> More Biz in a Tough Market – When Good Prospects Go Bad A lot of times people ask columnist Brian Hilliard what they can do to be a better salesperson and more effectively grow their business. Today he shares something each agent can do right now to have a significant impact on their business. FULL STORY-> Canada's Next Generation of Recreational Property Owners The median age of Canadians who own second homes is 50. As the baby boomers age and begin to sell their recreational properties, is the next generation of buyers ready to buy those cottages and chalets? FULL STORY-> Real Estate Outlook: Gains Versus Gloom When even the Case-Shiller index, which ranks as the gloomiest of all the measures of house price movements, starts reporting gains then you know something is stirring out there in real estate. FULL STORY-> Tenants in Foreclosed Properties Will Benefit from New Federal Law On May 20 President Obama signed into law the Helping Families Save Their Homes Act. Understandably, primary attention has been paid to the Act's provisions that are designed to help distressed homeowners avoid foreclosure. But the Act has other beneficiaries as well. One group that will receive particular assistance from this new law is those people who -- often in good faith -- are renting a property that goes into foreclosure. FULL STORY-> Market Conditions Pending home sales show a sustained uptrend, rising for four consecutive months with very favorable housing affordability and a first-time buyer tax credit boosting activity, according to the National Association of Realtors. FULL STORY-> More Real Estate News and Advice... |