Contrary to popular belief and media reports, the sky is NOT falling and mortgages are still obtainable! Real Estate is still selling!
Prices have definitely adjusted from the 'boom' of the past several years, but isn't that what we all wanted to happen? Did we expect prices to continue to rise out of control? Weren't we waiting for that proverbial 'bubble' to burst? The media has created a doomsday scenario, but it is soooooo not the reality. Yes, there are foreclosures and short sales - but wouldn't YOU like to take advantage of below market pricing? It's a great time to buy! Become a land baron - buy some rental properties!! All those foreclosed upon people are going to have to live somewhere, right?
We now find ourselves in a "normal" market - inventory for buyers to choose from, incentives from sellers, negotiations actually taking place... aaaaaahhh, just like the old days. No longer do we see multiple offers on properties within hours after being listed. As Martha Stewart would say - It's A Good Thing.
Interest rates are STILL AT HISTORICALLY LOW LEVELS! Also good to know, is that government insured loans, such as FHA and VA programs, are wonderful and totally available! VA just removed their loan cap of $417,000, so larger or higher end homes are available to our vets (God Bless America!).
There are also terrific first-time homebuyer programs available which provide down payment assistance and closing costs! And by the way, a first-time buyer is someone who has been renting for the last 3 years, even if they owned a property before that. As an example, I have a property listed in the San Fernando Valley - a spacious townhome in a nice area - which is listed at $365,000. View Slide Show With an FHA loan (for which this property is approved), FICO scores are NOT evaluated to qualify for a loan and only a 3% down payment is needed ($10,950). Should the buyer qualifiy, there are 2 different buyer programs that we could overlap, which would give the buyer $18,450 to apply toward the down payment plus closing costs! It can't get much better than this!
Please take the time to talk to me, your Real Estate Professional, before you decide what to do (or what not to do) regarding the most important investments of your life. And of course, if you know of anyone looking to buy or sell in this great market, please, don't keep me a secret!
Sunday, September 2, 2007
Thursday, March 1, 2007
Identity Theft
So, I understand that it's really easy for crooks to steal your credit. If one knows your name, social security number and birth date, they can go to any of the credit report websites like http://www.freecreditreport.com or http://www.creditreport.com, and for FREE, obtain all of your credit information. They then apply for new credit using your history and charge up incredible amounts.
There is a way to prevent this from happening! You can contact the three credit bureaus and request a HAWK alert (or consumer alert). This means that when a credit report is obtained, the creditor is warned to get direct consent from you at a particular phone number before issuing new credit. Great idea! However, there is no law requiring creditors to call you, so it is not failsafe. But you'd think a creditor would want to know they are not getting ripped off as well!
The credit bureaus can be contacted at:
http://www.equifax.com, 800.525.6285
http://www.experian.com, 800.397.3742
http://www.transunion.com, 800.680.7289
There is a way to prevent this from happening! You can contact the three credit bureaus and request a HAWK alert (or consumer alert). This means that when a credit report is obtained, the creditor is warned to get direct consent from you at a particular phone number before issuing new credit. Great idea! However, there is no law requiring creditors to call you, so it is not failsafe. But you'd think a creditor would want to know they are not getting ripped off as well!
The credit bureaus can be contacted at:
http://www.equifax.com, 800.525.6285
http://www.experian.com, 800.397.3742
http://www.transunion.com, 800.680.7289
Investment Strategy: Student Housing
Great article courtesy of Ed Cogan of Merrill Lynch... Student Housing as an investment! Check it out! http://mlperspectives.com/c.do?&cid=544812&oid=568401&xsl=34/newsletter.xsl
Monday, February 19, 2007
Daylight Savings Time
Interesting facts about one of the most puzzling events of modern man...(courtesy of Brian Woolley, Country Ridge Financial)...
SPRING FORWARD, FALL BACK...OR IS THAT SPRING BACK AND FALL FORWARD?
In any event, Daylight Saving Time (DST) will be springing a bit further this year. Back in 2005, Congress enacted the Energy Policy Act, which will extend DST by one month - beginning earlier in the spring and lasting later into the fall - beginning on March 11th and ending on November 4th.
Originally the bill was written to extend Daylight Saving by two months, but some very verbal opponents fought the change. Farmers say that DST has a negative impact on their livestock in general - as it is tough for them to adapt to the time change, and they therefore produce less milk, eggs, etc. Because DST is not followed uniformly around the world, airlines claim that it might mean many missed international flight connections. Additionally, TV and Cable stations argued that they will lose viewers and advertising revenue, simply due to less time spent in front of the television because of more time spent outdoors in daylight. So a compromise of one additional month of DST was reached - and Congress did retain the right to revert back to the old dates if the change proves to be widely unpopular, or if the energy savings aren't significant.
Why the change?
After making the adjustment to getting up an hour early, Americans overwhelmingly like Daylight Saving Time. There is simply more sunlight in the evenings to enjoy the outdoors and get things done. Additionally, there may be emotional benefits, as we typically feel better with more daylight. Plus, increased hours of daylight saves energy on a national scale. Less electricity is needed, as fewer lights are turned on as early in the evening...and with energy costs so high, even a small amount of savings is very welcome.
And brighter is safer - studies have shown that the DST shift reduces traffic accidents. An increase in accidents in the dark mornings is more than offset by the evening decrease in accidents, due to the increased visibility gained with more sunlight. Halloween will be much safer too - child pedestrian deaths are four times higher on Halloween than any other night of the year. Now, young trick-or-treaters are able to spend an extra hour out getting treats in the light. Candy manufacturers are happy too, as they've lobbied for years to have DST extended through Halloween.
A study by the US Law Enforcement Admin also determined that crime is consistently lower during DST, with violent crimes down as much as 10 - 13%. For many crimes, like mugging, darkness is a factor - so more light in the evening hours reduces these types of crimes.
And throughout its long history, Daylight Saving Time has had a remarkable and sometimes unexpected impact.
A man was actually able to avoid the draft for the Vietnam War using a Daylight Saving Time loophole. When he was born, it was just after midnight, DST. When he was drafted, he successfully argued that in his home state of Delaware, standard time - not DST - was the official time for recording births. So he was technically born on the previous date - which had a much higher draft lottery number - and he was able to avoid being drafted.
In September 1999, the West Bank was on Daylight Saving Time, while Israel had switched back to standard time. A group of West Bank terrorists prepared some timed bombs - but misunderstood the time change - and the bombs exploded early, killing the terrorists themselves, rather than the intended victims - two busloads of innocent citizens.
In the 1950's and 60's, each state and locality was permitted to choose start and end DST dates as they desired. During 1965, Minneapolis and St Paul - which are considered one metropolitan area - didn't agree on start dates, and for a period of time, these Twin Cities had a one hour time change between them. And on one Ohio to Virginia bus route, passengers technically had to change their watches seven times in 35 miles!
To keep to their published timetables, Amtrak trains cannot leave a station before the scheduled time. So when the clocks "fall back" in the fall, all trains that are running on time actually stop at 2:00am - the official time of DST change - and wait one hour before resuming their routes. In the spring, the routes instantaneously become one hour behind schedule, but they just keep going and do their best to make up the time.
So Daylight Saving Time sure can have some unexpected impact - and we'll all have to be ready early this year.
In particular, be sure to double-check all of your electronic devices and confirm that the time is correct. Although you may be accustomed to your computer and digital clock in your car automatically updating, the recent change of dates for daylight saving time may require that these devices be manually changed, as they now may not be ready to update to the correct time on the correct date!
SPRING FORWARD, FALL BACK...OR IS THAT SPRING BACK AND FALL FORWARD?
In any event, Daylight Saving Time (DST) will be springing a bit further this year. Back in 2005, Congress enacted the Energy Policy Act, which will extend DST by one month - beginning earlier in the spring and lasting later into the fall - beginning on March 11th and ending on November 4th.
Originally the bill was written to extend Daylight Saving by two months, but some very verbal opponents fought the change. Farmers say that DST has a negative impact on their livestock in general - as it is tough for them to adapt to the time change, and they therefore produce less milk, eggs, etc. Because DST is not followed uniformly around the world, airlines claim that it might mean many missed international flight connections. Additionally, TV and Cable stations argued that they will lose viewers and advertising revenue, simply due to less time spent in front of the television because of more time spent outdoors in daylight. So a compromise of one additional month of DST was reached - and Congress did retain the right to revert back to the old dates if the change proves to be widely unpopular, or if the energy savings aren't significant.
Why the change?
After making the adjustment to getting up an hour early, Americans overwhelmingly like Daylight Saving Time. There is simply more sunlight in the evenings to enjoy the outdoors and get things done. Additionally, there may be emotional benefits, as we typically feel better with more daylight. Plus, increased hours of daylight saves energy on a national scale. Less electricity is needed, as fewer lights are turned on as early in the evening...and with energy costs so high, even a small amount of savings is very welcome.
And brighter is safer - studies have shown that the DST shift reduces traffic accidents. An increase in accidents in the dark mornings is more than offset by the evening decrease in accidents, due to the increased visibility gained with more sunlight. Halloween will be much safer too - child pedestrian deaths are four times higher on Halloween than any other night of the year. Now, young trick-or-treaters are able to spend an extra hour out getting treats in the light. Candy manufacturers are happy too, as they've lobbied for years to have DST extended through Halloween.
A study by the US Law Enforcement Admin also determined that crime is consistently lower during DST, with violent crimes down as much as 10 - 13%. For many crimes, like mugging, darkness is a factor - so more light in the evening hours reduces these types of crimes.
And throughout its long history, Daylight Saving Time has had a remarkable and sometimes unexpected impact.
A man was actually able to avoid the draft for the Vietnam War using a Daylight Saving Time loophole. When he was born, it was just after midnight, DST. When he was drafted, he successfully argued that in his home state of Delaware, standard time - not DST - was the official time for recording births. So he was technically born on the previous date - which had a much higher draft lottery number - and he was able to avoid being drafted.
In September 1999, the West Bank was on Daylight Saving Time, while Israel had switched back to standard time. A group of West Bank terrorists prepared some timed bombs - but misunderstood the time change - and the bombs exploded early, killing the terrorists themselves, rather than the intended victims - two busloads of innocent citizens.
In the 1950's and 60's, each state and locality was permitted to choose start and end DST dates as they desired. During 1965, Minneapolis and St Paul - which are considered one metropolitan area - didn't agree on start dates, and for a period of time, these Twin Cities had a one hour time change between them. And on one Ohio to Virginia bus route, passengers technically had to change their watches seven times in 35 miles!
To keep to their published timetables, Amtrak trains cannot leave a station before the scheduled time. So when the clocks "fall back" in the fall, all trains that are running on time actually stop at 2:00am - the official time of DST change - and wait one hour before resuming their routes. In the spring, the routes instantaneously become one hour behind schedule, but they just keep going and do their best to make up the time.
So Daylight Saving Time sure can have some unexpected impact - and we'll all have to be ready early this year.
In particular, be sure to double-check all of your electronic devices and confirm that the time is correct. Although you may be accustomed to your computer and digital clock in your car automatically updating, the recent change of dates for daylight saving time may require that these devices be manually changed, as they now may not be ready to update to the correct time on the correct date!
Thursday, February 8, 2007
I'm So Excited!
Welcome one and all to my blog, Relative Real Estate. I invite everyone to review articles, opinions and anything else posted, and to respond if you so desire. Any topic is game -- because remember, everything is Relative!
You can always visit my website AgentCherylC.net to search for properties and find general Real Estate information. You may find the article on Discount Brokers quite interesting! There are also many community links that you may find helpful.
Enjoy the blog -- I look forward to your participation!
You can always visit my website AgentCherylC.net to search for properties and find general Real Estate information. You may find the article on Discount Brokers quite interesting! There are also many community links that you may find helpful.
Enjoy the blog -- I look forward to your participation!
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