Latest Home Advice News
For the first time in three years, not one project makes a profit in the latest annual national survey of remodeling and repair project costs versus resale values. The average return on remodeling expenditures is lower than last year.
Homeowners are ready to make 2012 a banner year for remodeling and the latest cost-for-value research suggests that getting the most bang for every buck is more important than ever.
This year real estate markets across the country present a combination of unique buying opportunities that simply haven't been seen before, says Margaret Kelly CEO of RE/MAX, the leading global real estate franchisor with more than 80,000 sales associates in 80 countries.
You're about to put an offer on a home, but you're worried that prices will sink and you won't get the best deal. You're putting your home on the market and you want to get the most you can for it but you can't wait forever to sell it. You've found a great deal on a foreclosure that looks like a great investment, but how what will it be worth a year from now?
What do you do when the appraisal on the dream home you want to buy comes in below the price in the offer the buyer has accepted-even as much as 10 to 20 percent below?
Are you considering buying a short sale? More and more homes listed for sale these days are short sales and buying one can save you 20 percent or more. However, there are some major differences about short sales that you should know before you make an offer.
To help buyers who want down payment and closing cost assistance, including those who qualify for the Federal homebuyer tax credit, 19 state housing finance agencies (HFAs) offer special short-term second loans to qualified buyers. These loans are available for little or no interest and may be repaid when borrowers receive their homebuyer tax credit refund.
The extension and expansion of the homebuyers tax credit that passed Congress November 5 allows more first-time buyers to qualify and creates an entirely new credit for existing homeowners who buy a new home.
Today's mortgage market is no longer as simple or as straightforward as it was twenty years ago. Now you have a much wider choice of mortgage types, each with their advantages and disadvantages. Some will fit your financial lifestyle, others won't. Finding the mortgage that is right for you is a very important decision. Many people got themselves into serious financial trouble and lost them homes to foreclosure when they took out mortgages without understanding all the implication and obligations involved.
The following information is from the Federal Reserve.
Reverse mortgages, the kind of loans marketed by aging celebrities to seniors interested in converting the equity in their homes into cash, aren't the safe haven they are portrayed by marketers, according to a General Accounting Office report released in July.
During this time of financial crisis, an epidemic of mortgage rescue schemes is sweeping the country. They prey upon families who are facing foreclosure in exploding numbers. Fraudulent mortgage rescue scams raise false hopes and cruelly exploit people who can ill afford it.
"All real estate is local" is an industry dictum that's not only obvious, it's very true. When you hear on the news that home sales or prices are up or down, chances are that those are national reports that may have little or nothing to do with conditions where you live.
If you're like nine out of ten home buyers today, you are using the Internet to look for a home. Why not? The Internet has transformed the way people buy and sell houses. Real estate search sites make it easy for buyers to check out hundreds of properties in a matter of minutes and for sellers to reach thousands of buyers that they could never reach before
