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Vital Information For
First-Time Buyers
The first-time homebuyer Federal tax credit for $8000, record-low interest rates, and nationwide median home prices dropping to the lowest point in five years, makes this an enticing time to consider buying a home. By the way, that tax incentive isn't truly just for first-time buyers -- it's defined as those not having owned a home in the last three years. Research and knowing your options are critical. Check with your tax accountant for more details. It’s increasingly likely that Congress will extend and expand the popular home buyer tax credit, which will expire at the end of this month.
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According to an article in August in the Raleigh News & Observer, 10.8 percent of buyers are motivated to buy due to Federal and state tax incentives. So far only 1.14 million buyers have filed
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Relieving the Stress of Packing
Packing can be stressful time for every member of the family. To ensure that your move goes as smoothly as possible, try the following tips!
Pack a "Red Box"
Since one in five American families moves every year, that means 22 million families may be searching for their TV remote controls!
One of the pitfalls of packing for a move is you can't always anticipate what you'll need when you arrive at your new home, and movers typically list only the obvious such as dishes, glasses, bedding, etc. The miscellaneous items you need in the first few hours invariably wind up on the bottom of a random box.
To start, you may want to create your own "red box" as some moving companies ("Removers") do in Great Britain. This is the last box loaded and the first one off the truck. The one universal item in the red box is the tea kettle (perhaps this would be the coffee maker in the U.S.). This is also the place
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Making Your Home Age Appropriate Creates Appeal
All of us have something in common with our homes. Sure, style, design, and location are at the top of the list, but how about age? As we age, buyers, especially the baby boomer generation, are looking to transform their homes into a place that they can stay in for as long as possible or they're hoping to find one that's already equipped for them to age-in-place.
So how old your home and you are, are reason to give some thought to if your home needs age-appropriate adaptation in order for you to be most comfortable. And, in doing so, you may actually make your home more valuable to a wider audience of buyers, should you ever sell it.
According to the National Homebuilders Association, making a home suitable for the golden years is economicaly sound. The baby boomer generation (77 million people) makes up 28 percent of the U.S. population. Assisted living for this generation can cost more than $60-thousand per year, not counting moving expenses.
That's pretty pricey. So, if you've taken some steps to make your home an age-in-place sanctuary, then make sure you highlight those renovations if you ever
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The Banking Industry GOT US AGAIN!
For years, the National Association of Realtors has been fighting the banking industries constant attempts to allow banks into the real estate business. After witnessing the banking industries entry into the securities markets several years ago, we are more convinced than ever, banks in real estate is a direct conflict of interest and can only result in less competition and more risk for the consumer. Read on…
When banks were allowed into the securities market, for the first time, they were able to sell their customers stocks, bonds, and other investment vehicles. Experts had warned that banks in the securities business was a recipe for disaster and a direct “conflict of interest”. I had no personal experience and really didn’t realize the impact until I started LifeStyle Realty of SW FL Inc., my own company in 2000. Shortly after that, my bank approached me with several recommendations for IRA’s, 401K’s, etc. At that time, one investment they were especially fond of was so horribly complicated, even after several meetings I still didn’t understand it at all. I like to think of myself as somewhat bright but I just couldn’t grasp the concept, it was just so diluted.
But because it was my bank, my trusted advisor, I took their advice. That investment has done nothing but consistently lose money since inception. Recently another investment professional (not bank related) reviewed it and said it’s actually an annuity, only re-packaged so you don’t recognize it as an annuity. Not only that, I’m locked in for several more years, so I can’t even stop the bleeding. And I’ve learned, it’s the “highest commission” investment vehicle out there. So the bank won, while I, the customer, lost. This isn’t the only investment I’ve ever made which I would classify as “bad”, but this is without question the WORST of them all. This is particularly broiling, as it was my bank, one of my most trusted associations. They keep my money! Didn’t they have my best interest at heart? NOT!
Now banks want to sell real estate too? Why not? Look what a great job they did in the mortgage business? They are not without blame in this market fiasco we find ourselves in. Realtors have been aggressively lobbying to keep this from happening and actually made some progress last year, defeated their last political efforts through the political process and for a short time were breathing a sigh of relief. Surely we could curb any future push now, especially with the blood, still wet on their hands from knowingly allowing people who shouldn’t, commit to things they really couldn’t.
During the banking “frenzy”, people who had modest incomes, no investment experience, no “nest egg” to fall back on and with no money down, were suddenly turned “investors” and given 100%, sometimes 100%+ loans. If you could fog a mirror, you could get a loan? Up until then, buyers had to put at least 10-20% down in order to buy a home. Banks allowed unqualified consumers to purchase real estate on a staggering, monumental scale, many who defaulted before they ever made their first payment. When those loans began to default in record numbers and many banks became insolvent, where did they go for help? To us, the government, “we the people” for bail out money, which they received. Now they have the money AND they are probably in control of more real estate than any other entity.
Tonight it finally dawns on me, as I find myself searching bank websites, looking for foreclosures for the few buyers I have. Like a blow to the brain, IT HITS ME!
THEY’RE HERE!
THEY’RE ALREADY IN ..
THEY JUST CAME IN THE BACK DOOR!
They’ve managed to grab a huge percentage of the real estate market by making bad loans, taking them back either by short sale or foreclosure process, getting “bail out” money from “we the people” to make up the difference and now, they’re selling them all BACK to us. WHAT A COUNTRY! Not only that, instead of being an independent real estate company now, evidently, I’m working for them.
One would think banks might try to add extra staff, work nights and weekends (like the rest of us) to move this process along more quickly, bringing recovery back to our area. Instead, they work 8-5, Monday – Friday. When a buyer offers to purchase a foreclosed property, even a cash buyer, it can take the bank 60-90 days to respond. Many buyers get frustrated and walk away. One step the bank is required to do before accepting an offer is to order a Brokers Price Opinion (BPO). In this changing market, BPO’s are only good for about 30 days. Lately we’ve seen banks countering perfectly good offers (those at exactly the price per sq. ft. of other comparable properties sold in the last 30 days) with a higher price.
What are they thinking? They’re not. They’re basing their counter offer on an analysis which is now too old to use. No agent worth their keep, would allow their buyer to knowingly pay more than a property is worth, especially in this market. So again we lose an opportunity to get another home off the market, another family relocated and one more step toward recovery. So just who is benefiting from the banks procedures? I think, no one!
As a 22 year Real Estate veteran, whose livelihood depends on my ability to help people find homes, condo’s, commercial and income producing properties, I should be searching for homes in the MLS, our national database of all listings where other Realtors, who are bound by our Code of Ethics and the fiduciary relationships we have with our clients, share listings and agree in writing to co-broke and split the commission if we put a deal together. But instead, I now must visit each banks website individually to determine if there is anything viable for my clients.
Sadly, the most ethical and honest mortgage broker I’ve ever known has given up and gotten out of the business. Her advice when the market starting caving in was so simple, “make the lender have the same fiduciary relationship with the borrower that a real estate agent has with a buyer or a seller”. In case you don’t know, when a Realtor represents a client, as their Realtor, they must put their client’s interest ABOVE ALL OTHERS and that includes the agent! Wikipedia defines it several ways but this is my favorite:
A fiduciary cannot have a conflict of interest. It has been said that fiduciaries must conduct themselves "at a level higher than that trodden by the crowd"[2] and that "[t]he distinguishing or overriding duty of a fiduciary is the obligation of undivided loyalty."[3]
It’s such a simple concept but one the lawmakers can’t seem to grasp!! And that is probably the biggest difference between purchasing your home through a Real Estate agent or purchasing through a bank. I certainly didn’t get “fiduciary” at my bank and I would challenge you to examine yours. It makes you wonder how different our economy might be had the lenders been required to have that fiduciary duty?
First my annuity, now my job, what’s next? Will I be on the bank’s site shopping for groceries, medicine, health care, fuel, cars, maybe even hair color? But, don’t worry, the bank’s will take care of us. I’m sure they’ll be very forthright, telling you how their foreclosed homes generally don’t have electricity, meaning no air conditioning, which in Florida is a perfect recipe for mold if the humidity is not controlled. I’m sure they’ll mention radon gas, sinkholes, title issues, closing costs, oh and certainly, last but not least, the very latest,”Chinese Drywall”, which will make your family sick, blacken your mirrors, take the finish off your plumbing fixtures and corrode your pipes. Yikes! I just feel certain the bank will encourage you to have a battery of inspections to make sure the repairs don’t surpass the purchase price.
The banks argument is with so much info online, consumers don’t need the “middle man aka Realtor” anymore to provide the information and facilitate the process. If you can afford “on the job training” and don’t mind “training” on your own home, with a lot of research you may be able to negotiate the transaction and the pitfalls successfully; but in this market and with the number of pitfalls increasing everyday, who couldn’t benefit from the experience of someone who has closed hundreds, sometimes thousands of transactions. And although we all know the internet does “have all the answers”, finding them can be a challenging and time consuming process, even for skilled professionals. Locating sources for legitimate, accurate information is not as easy as it looks, not to mention ever changing!
We’re going to be very lucky if “mold’ and “blight” don’t turn out to be our next big problems, possibly competing with hurricanes, healthcare, taxes, insurance and yes now the banks. Their practices may have been legal, but ethical, I think not! If in fact, the general public really doesn’t need realtors anymore, I suppose I’ll find another profession, though I’m not likely to find one for which I have such passion. But if that’s the case, who is going to be looking after you when you buy your next home? Your friendly banker?
Hire a starving Realtor and help us get and keep the banks out of Real Estate!
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Is Your Home Wired Properly?
We all know that as things age, they often need replacing but sometimes homeowners neglect to take care of their home's electrical wiring and that can set them up for potential danger. Electrical consumption since the middle of the last century has increased in most homes on average about 400 percent.
If you're tripping your main safety circuit box that could be a sign that you're overloading the electrical outlets and an indication that an electrical contractor should examine your wiring. Oftentimes, homes are renovated several times without any electrical wiring updated. Yet, this is a part of the house that can cause huge problems if it isn't kept up-to-date.
Daily News and Advice
Read about the events shaping the Real Estate market today, find current interest rates, or browse the extensive library of advice and how-to articles written by some of the top experts in Real Estate. Updated each weekday.
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