The $26 billion foreclosure settlement has finally been given the green light, making it possible for roughly two million of the nation’s hardest hit borrowers to see a significant reduction in their mortgage payments.
http://money.cnn.com//2012/04/09/real_estate/mortgage-settlement-faq/index.htm
The average rate on the 30-year fixed mortgage dropped near its all-time low, making home-buying and refinancing a bargain for those who can qualify.
http://money.cnn.com//2012/03/30/real_estate/FHA-loans/index.htm
We bet there are a few on this list that you haven’t thought about….ask us for referrals to any of these providers.
Flippers, the real estate investors who buy homes on the cheap and quickly resell them at a profit, got a reprieve from the Federal Housing Administration. See this link to read on:
http://money.cnn.com/2011/12/29/real_estate/FHA_flipping_waiver/index.htm
As mentioned in this link, if you stay organized and focused and keep excellent records, you can take advantage of every tax break, deduction, and credit at your disposal. Just ask me for a top-notch tax consultant if you need answers about taking advantage of these breaks.
http://www.zillow.com/blog/2012-01-19/6-tax-breaks-every-homeowner-should-know/
Read this article first if you are considering challenging your property taxes. As stated in this MarketWatch article, “The fact that the market is down doesn’t mean that every property is over-assessed and entitled to relief.”
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/5-tips-to-turn-lower-home-values-into-tax-relief-2011-10-25
Some home projects are just not worth doing on your own: Whether for time, cost or safety reasons. So take a look at the projects listed in this post and leave them to the professionals who do this ‘everyday’.
http://www.diylife.com/2011/07/29/10-home-projects-you-should-never-diy
Appraisals can seem mysterious to potential home buyers, so read this article to get a better understanding of what to expect.
http://www.fixr.com/costs/home-appraisal
Questions we often get from both buyers and sellers center around the issue of permits.
It may be an owner who is trying to sell their home and work has been completed without permits, or a potential buyer who is faced with a home they really like but it lacks some permits.
In an ideal world, all major improvements would have permits. Realistically, it will come down to a personal decision. Please let us know if we can be of help on this issue and read this article for further information.
http://realtormag.realtor.org/home-and-design/feature/article/2011/09/remodeling-don-t-forget-permit
Image via Wikipedia
This whole “Real Estate Crystal Ball” question is really getting out of hand. When you look strictly at the statistics in our beautiful and prolific Silicon Valley, we presently have 34 more single family homes for sale than this time last year. It would be important to know how many homes are under contract or pending sale- well, there is only a 2.7% difference from this same time last year. These statistics which a few years back would speak volumes of what is going on in the local market, now give mere muddy rear view mirror glimpses!
Due to the fact that these statistics are full of reluctant home sellers that are awaiting a “possible” Short Saleapproval from the lender that holds the mortgage or heaven forbid, the multiple separate lenders that hold the 1st, 2nd and possibly 3rd mortgages; they are slight indicators at best. Short Sales confuse the statistics as so many of them never actually close escrow. A large percentage end up in the lender foreclosing and a very small percentage of sellers end up achieving a “Loan Modification“, a VERY small percentage.
So how do you figure out what is REALLY going on? I know the answer is going to be way too obvious to those that understand they can’t know everything about everything- ask an active, professional, Realtor®with years of experience reading real estate markets! You would think that was a no-brainer! But time and time again, Buyers and Sellers who only purchase and/or sell a home a maximum of 3 times in their lifetimes, think they know more than reputable real estate agents and brokers.
Who else has more intimate and real time knowledge about the Real Estate market and what is presently happening than an active, professional Realtor? Where else can you take up a professional’s time, energy and pick their brain to your heart’s delight and initially not pay a dime for it? Call, email, text, tweet or face book your professional Realtor and ask them what is happening in your local market, they will be more than happy to answer! If you’d like, you can always contact us if you don’t know a Realtor you can trust- you’d be amazed how much information we can supply you with and all for the cost of a cup of coffee…. that’s what you call a pretty good deal!
