By to | April 05, 2012 at 12:39 PM EDT | No Comments
Remember bathrooms and kitchens add the most value, every other room is basically an open box i.e. bedrooms, living and dining rooms. Also keep in mind, your taste of value may not be the same to prospective buyers.
Underimprovement: improvements to a property result in overall added value
Overimproved: owner improves a house beyond their anticipated added value
Black Enterprise 'In today’s shaky housing market, homeowners are becoming more circumspect, weighing the pros and cons of how the renovations they make will affect the bottom line, specifically if they’re trying to sell.'
By to | April 05, 2012 at 12:01 PM EDT | No Comments
Although I always try to never have any regrets in life, I find myself saying more and more "To Be 25 again."
Get into real estate even earlier, listen to my parents more, and a few things more...
But now I see Oprah Winfrey did it best when she simply hugged herself and wrote a letter to her younger Oprah.
Oprah Magazine "Even then you understood that success was a process and that moving with the flow of life and not against it would be your greatest achievement." Oprah Read more
By to | April 05, 2012 at 11:03 AM EDT | No Comments
Not to sound like a pessimist, but the reality is there are a few more foreclosure waves yet to come. 1st the Subprime loan; but you also have those who were given two mortgages with the second being a balloon payment and the advise to go with this loan now and refinance to get out in a few years... but Years later the property values decreased lower than their original loans and the ARM loans increased to a point that caused them to miss payments and ruin credit for a new loan's eligibility. What Now? Their Balloon Payments are now due...and here comes a new default.
Balloon Payment: total principal balance becomes owed at once. i.e $70,000.00 all due NOW at once
MSNBC via Reuters "We are right back where we were two years ago. I would put money on 2012 being a bigger year for foreclosures than 2010," said Mark Seifert, executive director of Empowering & Strengthening Ohio's People (ESOP), a counseling group with 10 offices in Ohio. READ MORE
By to | April 05, 2012 at 11:02 AM EDT | No Comments
Not to sound like a pessimist, but the reality is there are a few more foreclosure waves yet to come. 1st the Subprime loan; but you also have those who were given two mortgages with the second being a balloon payment and the advise to go with this loan now and refinance to get out in a few years... but Years later the property values decreased lower than their original loans and the ARM loans increased to a point that caused them to miss payments and ruin credit for a new loan's eligibility. What Now? Their Balloon Payments are now due...and here comes a new default.
Balloon Payment: total principal balance becomes owed at once. i.e $70,000.00 all due NOW at once
MSNBC via Reuters "We are right back where we were two years ago. I would put money on 2012 being a bigger year for foreclosures than 2010," said Mark Seifert, executive director of Empowering & Strengthening Ohio's People (ESOP), a counseling group with 10 offices in Ohio. READ MORE
By to | April 05, 2012 at 10:37 AM EDT | No Comments
Since there are Many Types of Unemployed.......
1. Unemployed Looking for work
2. Part-Timers looking for full time jobs
3. The discouraged and no longer motivated unemployed who has stopped looking.
4. Furthering their education unemployed, to get a better job
5. Retired unemployed, many who wish they could work and earn wages a little longer
*If #1 is the only means of the government actually keeping record of the unemployment rate, Isn't it much higher?
MSNBC 'The sharp drop in the employment rate also comes as many would-be job seekers have given up looking for work, which tends to lower the total percentage of those who are officially defined as unemployed. Thelabor participation rate been fallen steadily since the recession began in 2007 and has continued to fall since the economy began recovering in 2009.
Some of those who have given up are older workers who have been forced to retire earlier than they’d like. The biggest drop, though, has come from younger workers who have gone back to school, moved back home or cashed in their savings to travel the world before settling into a life of mortgage payments and retirement planning' . READ MORE
By to | February 03, 2012 at 04:51 PM EST | No Comments
As my theory states, once the housing market is fixed or people regain their confidence that it will, spending and then jobs will increase.
New York Times 'The United States economy gained momentum in January, as employers added 243,000 jobs, the second straight month of better-than-expected gains. And in a separate measure, the unemployment ratefell to8.3percent, giving a cause for optimism as the economy shapes up as the central issue in the presidential election.'
By to | January 26, 2012 at 03:15 PM EST | No Comments
“In 2008, the house of cards collapsed. Mortgages were sold to people who couldn’t afford or understand them. Banks made huge bets and bonuses with other people’s money. It was a crisis that cost us more than eight million jobs and plunged our economy and the world into a crisis from which we are still fighting to recover.” President Barack Obama
By to | January 22, 2012 at 01:47 PM EST | No Comments
While Morgan Stanley's CEO James Gorman is granted a $10.5 Million bonus; about 10.5 million people are crying to wall street to help modify and make their home loans affordable. Many believe they are getting paid for doing their job poorly, but how do we know they weren't doing their jobs just as planned. Remember bonuses are usually given as a reward.
Reutgers via Huffington Post Overall, Morgan Stanley paid out $16.4 billion worth of compensation and benefits in 2011, which translated into $264,996 per employee. The figures were higher than the previous year because of severance costs from recent layoffs, higher pay for financial advisers and an unusually large amount of deferred compensation from previous years that came due in 2011...READ MORE
By to | January 19, 2012 at 02:16 PM EST | No Comments
So you purchased you home with no money down. You were told you would get seller's financing. Your loan was for 100+ financing. The appraiser found comparable homes sales and value.
Huffington Post 'Having one mortgage is hard enough amid a historic housing slump, but Americans with two mortgages have it even harder.' READ MORE
By to | January 19, 2012 at 02:11 PM EST | No Comments
When Your Housing Is Not Secure, All Other Spending Is Placed On An Immediate
'Ten Signs The Double-Dip Recession Has Begun...#10 HOUSING... Housing is considered by many economists to be the single largest drag on the American economy, and the housing market has gotten much worse in the last two months....Whether for good or ill, the American home was the primary source for money used for retirements, college educations, and the purchases of many expensive items such as cars...Their ability to consume was severely damaged, further harming GDP.' READ MORE
By to | January 19, 2012 at 01:57 PM EST | No Comments
You think your home needs a new roof, the boiler is out...and no money to repair them because it already has its place in mortgage company's bank account. Well you are not the only one.
TMZ 'Rihanna claims she got screwed -- because "the actual value of the property at the time of purchase, taking into consideration the extensive construction defects ... was millions of dollars less" than the price she paid for it.' REAL MORE
By to | January 19, 2012 at 01:20 PM EST | No Comments
You find yourself in financial trouble with your mortgage payments so you call your bank and ask for assistance. You do everything they tell you to do
answer their call
open their mail
sign this paper
submit these documents
meet with a specialist....
BUT nothing is good enough for them!
In Flex We Trust 'When James became ill, the couple encountered financial difficulties because of high medical bills. The couple asked Bank of America to modify the loan. The bank told the couple they would have to first officially default on their $1,400-a-month payment.' READ MORE
By to | January 19, 2012 at 10:09 AM EST | No Comments
Many homeowners are feeling hopeless, not just for the state of their housing situations but also they lives.
New York Times'Millions of Americans are locked into mortgages they can’t afford. If we can’t help them stay in their homes, the least we can do is help them stay alive. ' READ MORE
