Discussions about the current options available to Real Estate consumers that want to find, buy, and/or sell real estate. Plus opinions from the author and readers regarding the Real Estate Industry.
The building sector not the transportation sector is responsible for the largest consumption of fossil fuels and natural resources in the world today. According to this independent survey.
U.S. CO2 Emissions by Sector Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration statistics
Architecture2030.org explains that combining the annual energy required to operate residential, commercial, and industrial buildings along with the embodied energy of industry-produced building materials like carpet, tile, glass, and concrete exposes buildings as the largest energy consuming and greenhouse gas emitting sector. (Seems to makes sense when you combine such a large list of energy needs.)
U.S. Energy Consumption by Sector Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration statistics
After looking at this study - Is there a need for massive change in the way architects design buildings? The building community (according to this calculation) is responsible for almost half of all U.S. greenhouse gas emissions annually. Globally the percentage is even greater.
Ahh home sweet home, my vacation in FL was excellent. Im slowing getting into the day to day. I viewed an awesome post I wanted to share check it out.
The idea here is that "you have to press play on the following videos (in vertical order) so that they all stream to you at the same time. You may need to adjust the volume on each respective network, though. Press play on the top (YouTube) video, then immediately press play on the second (Google Video), and then press play on the third (Revver). Bam, bam, bam - and you should see ‘em playing back simultaneously."
Hello everyone, Im on vacation this week. I'll be bringing my laptop as a carry-on, in case I see or hear something interesting. Blogging is not so much work to me - so - most likely I'll sneak a few posts to my Blog. But, it's going to have to be when Im not snorkeling, hangin at the beach, or making a trip to the Buffet, Or checking out Miami's - South Beach - nite life. Also I'll be taking some time to browse properties and learn more about the South Beach neighborhoods.
What is the best way to protect yourself from fishy real estate deals.
How do you know that you're not being taken advantage of when you get involved with a real estate transaction? The best answer might be to maintain a "buyer beware" mentality. Ask all the questions you can think of, read all the small print, check references. Also you could call your state attorney general's office if something seems too good to be true, or doesn't feel right.
The good news is that the IRS is taking real estate fraud crimes seriously. The IRS started 309 fraud cases against individuals so far this year in 2006. Real estate fraud continues to grow and with the increase of home values the sleezbag scams will most likely not go away. There's an old saying that proclaims - "To find the problem find the money." Well it applies with real estate, especially when dealing with loans. In an attempt to vent some clean air into the rotten tank of real estate scams - I've listed a few below:
Equity Stripping: A lender convinces you to take out a home equity loan that you can't really afford by padding your income on the application to help get it approved.
Hidden Loan Terms/Balloon Payments: To avoid having your home foreclosed after falling behind on the payments, a new lender helps you refinance by offering lower monthly payments. But read carefully.
Loan Flipping You feel you could use some extra money, so a lender convinces you to refinance. A few months later, he offers you more cash by repeating the procedure. But with each loan, you incur more charges in points and fees. You'll have a pile of cash, but the pile of debt is much larger and must be paid back with interest.
Home Improvement Loans A contractor offers to arrange a loan through which you can pay for a remodeling or a major repair. After he begins the work, you're asked to sign a bunch of papers--he'll threaten to walk off the in the middle of the job if you don't.
Credit Insurance Packing At a loan closing, the lender "packs on" credit insurance you didn't ask for at additional cost to you. Often, the lender casually tells you the insurance is a "standard" part of the loan.
Mortgage Servicing Abuses You receive letters from a lender shortly after taking out a mortgage explaining that your monthly payments will be higher than previously discussed due to escrow payments for taxes and insurance.
Signing Over Your Deed A distressed homeowner having trouble keeping up with the mortgage is pursued by another lender, who tells him it's necessary to deed the house over to him in exchange for new financing. Often, the money never comes.
Forged Deeds Undeveloped land is prime fodder for a forged deed: A scammer takes over a piece of land illegitimately, then flips it before he has to repay the loan.
Straw Buyers This scam involves a home owner who sells his property to an accomplice. The seller forges appraisal documents to help inflate the value of the house he is selling to the fake buyer. The bank lends money to the fake buyer, then he disappears--and gets a cut of the profits from the seller.
Lease Options Landlords lure wannabe homeowners by signing them up to rent a home with an option to buy.
Also check out CNNMoney.com - they list some of the most common and destructive swindles to watch for when looking at home repair.
Sybil Pryor thought she was getting a deal. Early last year, a contractor showed up at the 77-year-old's Oakland, Calif. home and offered to install a new roof and new siding. The cost? Not to worry, he told her. All Pryor had to do was sign a few papers. Big mistake. The documents turned out to be for a home-equity loan, one that authorized a bank to pay out the proceeds of the loan -- more than $90,000 -- directly to the contractor... "It's awful, but I probably see 20 of these cases every year," says William Denny, the deputy district attorney on Pryor's case.
The Craigslist website defines itself as "a community-moderated commons run by and for its users, who self-publish and manage their own ads and use a flagging system to police the site." Which led to the "Fair" Housing Lawsuit against Craigslist by the CLCCRUL, a non-profit that works to stop discriminatory housing practices - to be dismissed on the grounds that internet sites can not legally be held liable for content posted by users. Unlike, a newspaper that is defined as a publisher and held responsible for such morally wrong and evil content.
The Fair Housing Act makes it illegal "to make, print, or publish ... any notice or statement with respect to the sale or rental of a dwelling that indicates any preference, limitation or discrimination based on race, color, religion, national origin, sex, disability or family status." The summary of the lawsuit from the Craigslist Website can be read below:
A group of lawyers is suing craigslist over a handful of allegedly discriminatory housing ads posted by our users, ignoring the fact that craigslist is not a publisher, but rather a community-moderated commons run by and for its users, who self-publish and manage their own ads and use a flagging system to police the site. These lawyers demand that we impose ill-conceived, mistake-prone, and potentially illegal controls on the craigslist community, which if adopted would actually reduce fair housing opportunity, while eroding important free speech and privacy rights. In reality, the craigslist community already excels at ensuring equal opportunity housing, and continues to improve in this regard, earning praise from fair housing groups. This lawsuit will likely be dismissed as groundless, but more importantly the craigslist community will be recognized for its exemplary record in promoting fair housing for all, while fully respecting each person's constitutional right to free speech and free association.
If you suspect a housing discrimination contact HUD or just call 1-800-669-9777.
If Craigslist isn't responsible for removing the posting - someone needs to be. The flagging system at Craigslist explains: If a post receives enough negative flags it will automatically be removed. Well, what constitutes "enough"? The Craigslist community is working to help solve the problem inside the flag forum, check it out~!
The Aspen, Colorado 56,000 sq ft home retreat of Prince Bandar bin Sultan, from Saudi Arabia is set on 95 acres of land, with two ponds, horse stables and thousands of aspen and evergreen trees. It's close to the slopes, and has 15 bedrooms, 27 bathrooms, a dining room that seats 24 and an indoor swimming pool. It is priced at $135 million. So why is it so expensive? The house doesn't look all that spectacular. The True Gotham Blog quotes The Rocky Mountain News, with the house value being assessed at $55,953,500. So why is the former ambassador from Saudi Arabia to the US saying - Show Me The Money? It might be that Aspen is one of the top holiday destinations. Opportunities to secure that much land in a desired location are few and far between. Its always about location, location, location.
Speaking of Show Me The Money did anyone catch William Shatner and the Million-Dollar Dancers tryin to bring sexy back. I think the Women's Rights Movement just fell back 50 years.
A correct answer, combined with choosing a dancer holding big money, can catapult the player's winning into the millions. But a wrong answer, and the wrong dancer, can wipe out winnings in an instant.
The Answers and Dancers Show.
But there's more. At any given moment, the 13 Million-Dollar Dancers, as they're called on the show, may spontaneously break into any style of dance and, ABC promises, Shatner spontaneously "boogies with the beauties on stage." Source: washingtonpost.com
Business 2.0, November 2006 issue features a number of articles giving you advice on subjects such as real estate investment strategies, online home auctions, tax shelters, best places to still invest, where not to buy, and more. Here's the kicker - its Free - Its also worth the cover price if you decide to purchase the magazine.
I was looking at the Homes & Land Publication which advertises homes for sale that are represented by real estate sales professionals. On the Homes and Land cover was a excellent low altitude aerial photograph of a house for sale. I started to wonder how the picture was taken since a full-size aircraft is prohibited from low fly-overs of populated locations. I envisioned a giant ladder or a crane with a camera hooked up to it - "that would get the job done", but how affordable is the cost. Then I figured to just search the concept online and find the answer.
I found a company called Aerial Views of Virginia Inc. that produces aerial images with remote control (RC) helicopters, airplanes, and airlifts. Ariel Views of Virginia's remote piloted planes do offer cost-effective aerial photography.
This zoomed birds-eye view is perfect for real estate and can produce an excellent value-add image to marketing a house for sale.
"By nature, blitzes are risky endeavors for the defense. Since the defense is taking away coverage defenders that rush the QB, there necessarily are holes in pass coverage. The defense does not and cannot cover all offensive players... Source: Answers.com
The real estate industry's commission-based sales structure is undergoing a strong linebacker blitz from the increasing group of low-cost online business models to attract consumers. In addition, the Listing Agent (Sell-Side) landscape is even more competitive because most real estate markets are slowing. Owners are now focused on how much money they will recieve after the house is sold and the transaction closed. With a response to the sellers concerns - the playbook of sell-side discounters is continuing to grow with examples listed below:
Posting houses in the local multiple listing service for a flat-fee with exposure to Realtor.com (if the local MLS sends feed to the site) ... hmmmm
Menu of services such as negotiation of contracts, advertising help, and showings - the seller pays only for the services selected.
Yard Signs, Lockboxes and Brochure Boxes
Property Profile Webpage with several top Internet classified listings.
Offering varying levels of service for fixed fees
Still, owners who are busy and pressed for time or do not want to handle part of the work usually will go with a traditional brokerage. On the other side of the ball, owners who purchased a house at the top of the market really cant afford a 2.5 or 3 percent commision to the sell-side. The house hasn't raised enough in value to cover the expense to offer 6-5% to a Realtor to sell the house.
Cyberhomes (mildly evocative name) explains that thier valuations allow access to "most of the same information that real estate professionals use to evaluate homes." The Cyberhomes database includes more than 100 million property, ownership, sales, and mortgage records, covering more than 85% of the United States population.
Fidelity Title's move into AVM's is two fold. First it offers Realtors a tool to integrate - Cyberhome valuations - into their web sites for free. Second its a move that directly targets Title Insurance consumers (ie:Realtor clients) and is free for them to use.
INTRODUCING YOUR SPANKING BRAND NEW CUSTOMER ....
Finally, you need to market to the ultimate buyer of your product - the Consumer!
Fact: you title insurance companies have never marketed to the consumer. Period.
Fidelity's Cyberhomes might be the catalyst that moves the industry toward accepting a more detailed specialization and greater segmentation of the skills and services needed in a transaction. If that is a good thing Im not sure. However, it's obvious that the real estate consumers adoption and awareness of new technologies is driving the pace of the industry's transformation.
Openhouses.com (plural) allows homebuyers to search open house listings in over ten US real estate markets. The website needs improvement (better display of dates and times) to view the open house - but still it gives internet homebuyers the ability to narrow down their home search by beds, baths and price. Then they can map it and print a Tour Sheet of the desired open homes to view without an appointment scheduled. Openhouse(s).com is owned by Tribune Interactive who has an online presence both locally and nationally. They operate news and information sites in 25 major markets -- including 10 of the top 12.
I posted an article about Openhouse("- the s").com a while back and raised attention to its resources. Below is the list of Openhouses.com listing resources. They, unlike openhouse.com, do not only show homebuyers open houses from preferred brokerages - also take note that the site includes FSBO open houses. When the Sell-Side buys an advertisement to market the open house in the below mentioned newspapers it (not sure if there is an additional fee) is listed online at openhouses.com
Buyer's remorse is an emotional condition whereby a person feels regret after the purchase of an item. In the context of Real Estate there are a many possible scenarios that bring on buyer's remorse: such as - continuing to look at homes after you buy, no guidance after the transaction, or talking to others about the new house - etc... On the flip side of this is Seller's Remorse. Some scenarios that bring on sellers remorse are that the sellers start thinking about all the wonderful memories enjoyed in their home or how they think they will never be able to find another residence as nice.
If your a home seller avoid Seller's Remorse and ask yourself why do you want to sell your house. If the answer is a new job, divorce, financial problems, pending foreclosure, or moving closer to family then you should be safe from the issue of sellers remorse. However, if you answer that your curious what you can get for the house, need to sell for fast money, or your tired of the responsibilities of home ownership then make sure you want to sell before you list the house for sale.
Home Seller Beware: of the "we're not moving" possible legal consequences or penalty's of your breach of the buyers purchase agreement.
In a nutshell, if the buyer really wants the home, the buyer can bring a "specific performance lawsuit" to force the seller to complete the sale on the terms agreed in the signed sales contract.
To make matters worse for the seller, a savvy buyer's lawyer will usually record a "lis pendens" against the title to prevent the seller from selling to another buyer or even refinancing the property.
The legal reason is every property is unique, so monetary damages are not an adequate remedy for the buyer if the seller breaches the sales contract.
For more details about the results of breach of contract by either the home seller or buyer, it's best to consult a real estate professional.
Yakko, Wakko And Dot from Animaniacs Sing About The World. Steven Spielberg (<--- check out his house) created this always funny cartoon for children to watch in the early 90's on the WB.
Attention real estate investors and.or property managers check out a new online tool to stream-line your properties workflow and management tasks in your portfolio. Property Center is offering a Free 30-day trial" of its property management web application. Property Center was designed by landlords for landlords and their employees. It allows its users to keep track an unlimited number of leases with lease history. Also, legal forms specific to your state - such as rental applications, tenant inspection/acceptance forms, rental agreements - can be set-up to automatically populate the required information.
>To learn more about Property Center's application take a tour of the applications features.
Update: Also check out http://www.iiproperty.com/ an incredibly easy to use service for people who self-manage their properties.
A recent real estate article from Inman News correspondent Jessica Swesey announces that REBNY "...has begun developing a Web portal that will incorporate its members' property listings and make the portal available to the general public for free in early 2007." After reading - the Inman article - I started to remember my article posted last week about MLS's ending the listing feeds to Realtor.com. Im wondering if New York City's largest real estate trade association is positioning itself to also pull its feed to realtor.com - at the end of their contract. The Real Estate Board of New York's web portal idea is very close to a "me-to" strategic move - just - take a look at REIL's web portal that went live and is free to the public.
At REIL's web portal real estate consumers can conduct a free search of non-proprietary listing data, can request open house information, and can also access directories for agents or offices.
Viewing the video to explore the building and its grounds was almost like being there. The Half Life user behind this video is known as Kasperg and tried to make his work as true as possible. He is an architecture student and built the Fallingwater map based on floorplans, layouts and available interior and exterior photos of the grounds.. Considering the detail this is an excellent piece of work. The performance quality of the video is slow, so dont expect to see this at high speeds... Awesome~!
A real estate consumer advocate who follows the industry. This blog provides insight to the online real estate consumer looking for education about the market and services they require when going into a transaction.
