Latest News : Katie is now a licensed broker in the State of Colorado as well! Shoot 4 The Moon Properties, Inc. has expanded it's real estate services to support Colorado homes and properties. Feel free to for additional information.
What's (Zone E12)?It's an area that the MLS made up to give things boundaries and lines. If I can find a virtual MLS Zone map, I'll post it on the blog or link to it. E12 is a section of the East Side of Madison though.
The reason for this Market Snapshot is I was doing some Market data research for someone thinking of selling and I thought "Why let this info go to waste? I have it. I might as well publish it."
The person I'm doing the research for, of course will be getting some additional info in their email inbox specific to their property.
The pendings tell us that there is good activity taking place in this area.
The third quarter is not finished so it's hard to say how it will compare. The first quarter was a disaster.
Days On Market seem to be coming down and this is also in line with the Pendings that are taking place in Graph #1.
Sale price is fairly consistent.
I would say that if you own property in the Madison East Side, especially in Zone E12 it is a good time to sell as long as your property is listed under $215,000.
Want to live near San Francisco? These are the kinds of housing half a mil+ would buy:
From (more great examples in there)
BUY NOW OMGOMGOMGOMG!!!!111112!!@$#234adsfasdfkc vnjbm 4x6
My house, if transplanted there, would probably cost a million bucks.
The REALTOR Association of Greater Miami and the Beaches (RAMB) has chosen as RAMB's exclusive provider of online real estate property video services. This exclusive relationship includes special pricing on property video production services to RAMB members, online real estate video infrastructure extended to RAMB's official website () for videos of properties for sale or rent by RAMB members, and discounted pricing on real estate video training opportunities for members of RAMB. A formal press release will follow.
Residential and commercial property videos produced for or uploaded by RAMB members will not only be available on the RAMB website and Vidlisting.com family of language specific websites but will also be distributed across a number of highly trafficked, well known real estate portals. This distribution is part of several pre-negotiated agreements by vidlisting.com with popular real estate sites in the United States, Spain, United Kingdom, and other places where interest in U.S. real estate investment is high and currencies remain strong. Using the vidlisting.com infrastructure, RAMB members can have thier property videos instantly distributed to these portals worldwide without any further action or uploading required. RAMB members will also be able to place their videos on their own website or RAMB provided blog.
This RAMB-Vidlisting.com agreement is ideal given Miami's international culture and desirability as an international investment destination. Vidlisting.com offers a full range of real estate video packages and all packages include professional narration in English, Spanish, and Portuguese. Vidlisting's exclusive online video infrastructure allows video that is larger (640 pixels wide), starts immediately, and has no pauses or buffering while playing in almost all cases. The vidlisting.com family of video sites are on track to have over 90,000 real estate videos watched this month alone.
Vidlisting.com already has a video team operating in South Florida and I will be traveling there next week. Our intent is to have a local office established in the Miami area in the near future. In the interim, if you are interested in finding out more about the new agreement or have questions/comments, please contact me directly at .
A special thanks to the RAMB leadership (especially Teresa and Deborah) for having the vision to move forward with a new technology offering to their members.
With the variety of choices available to home buyers and the hope that anxious home sellers will give them a break, some first-time home buyers may be tempted to take on a home purchase as a "do-it-yourself" project.Before jumping into the real estate market, consumers should consider that they are about to make what is not only the biggest financial investment of their lives but also an emotional investment. Home buying, especially for the novice buyer, involves complex decision-making that will have long-term consequences for their entire household.
First-time buyers can benefit from taking a home-buying class offered by a local real estate office, nonprofit association or government agency.
Most home buyers begin by educating themselves about their local real estate market and the home-buying process by searching the Internet.
According to the National Association of Realtors' (NAR) 2006 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers, nearly three-fourths of home buyers found the Internet to be a very useful tool while searching for a home. About 85 percent of buyers also opted to work with a real estate agent during the process.
As mortgage guidelines loosened between 2002 and 2006, homeowners often used their home equity to retire credit card and other consumer debt. They did this by increasing the size of the mortgage and taking "cash out" from their home.
As you'd expect, this type of mortgage transaction is called a "cash out" refinance.
Well, now that mortgage guidelines are tightening, it's growing more difficult for a homeowner to engage in this type of home loan.
Mortgage lenders are restricting the total amount of equity that can be withdrawn from a home, usually as a percentage of the home's value.
This may be one reason why the amount of credit card debt is rapidly increasing among Americans.
Throughout May and June, for example, credit card balances increased 12% and 8% respectively even as consumer spending remained relatively flat.
Therefore, we can hypothesize that Americans -- unable to "cash out" from their homes -- are putting more money on their credit cards and slowly reaching their collective credit limits (upon which the borrowing stops).
When the borrowing stops, spending stops, too, and this has the impact of slowing down the economy.
A slower economy, of course, reduces inflationary pressures and that makes the U.S. dollar stronger to international investors. That strength, in turn, creates buying pressure on mortgage bonds which pushes mortgage rates down for everyone. Naturally, lower rates encourage more borrowing.
Yes, it's a cycle. And it's one worth watching.
Those Building a Home Advised to Hire a Realtor
Recently, a homeowner hired a member of the Denver Board of Realtors to sell his home. The Realtor put his home on the market and under the homeowner’s instructions, asked for a Dec. 10th , closing date - the date his new home was to be completed. The Realtor was not used in the purchase of their new home.
A contract was negotiated, and a Dec. 10th , closing date was agreed on by the buyers. These buyers sold their home to an out-of-town buyer who had, in turn, sold their home to another buyer (in real estate this type of transaction is called a “domino sale,” meaning one purchase is contingent on the performance of another purchase). A domino transaction was in place with all closing dates based on the Dec. 10 closing date.
Around Dec. 1st , the homeowner learned that their new home would not be completed by Dec. 10th As a result, they asked if they could delay the sale on their present residence. The buyer agreed to extend the closing if their out-of-town buyer could also extend the date. Unfortunately, the out-of-town buyer could not because the people buying their home would not agree to the extension.
The homeowner is now faced with two choices: 1. To comply with the terms of their contract that provided for a Dec. 10th , closing date, or 2. Breach the contract with their buyers by refusing to close on Dec. 10th and placing themselves in a position where they are potentially liable for damages incurred by the other buyers.
After consulting an attorney, the homeowner elected to close on the sale of their home. The homeowners then had no option but to lease storage space to house furniture and personal belongings, place their two dogs in a kennel, and rent an apartment while they waited completion of their new home.
On Dec. 18th , the builder informed the homeowner that their home was complete and invited them to “walk through” the home to verify its completion. When the homeowner “walked through” their new home, they found a number of unsatisfactory conditions in the finish of the new home, including the wrong color and grade of carpet. The homeowner told the builder that they would not close until the unsatisfactory conditions were corrected. The builder showed that his contract specifically stated that once the builder had a Certificate of Occupancy on the home, there could be no refusal to close. The builder did advise the homeowner that they could itemize the unsatisfactory conditions on a list that the builder would address after closing. Our homeowner once again consulted his attorney who advised them that they had to close.
The homeowner closed the purchase of their new home. Shortly after the closing, they discovered that the fence they had contracted to buy could not be installed because it did not meet with the covenant requirements of the homeowner association. They also discovered that he could not park their boat on the driveway because it was a violation of the covenants of the community. In addition, the list the builder allowed them to prepare was increasing in length, and the homeowner was becoming more and more disappointed and frustrated with their purchase transaction.
Use a Realtor
Many new home buyers believe if they buy directly from the builder they will save money. This generally is not the case. Most new home builders are members of the Builder Realtor Council. The BRC’s builder members agree to pay Realtors a selling commission if they are involved in the transaction on behalf of a buyer. If a Realtor is not involved in the purchase transaction, the builder retains that commission money. That money is not offered to the buyer in the form of a credit or a reduction in purchase price. Therefore, there is no financial savings for the buyer by not using a Realtor in the transaction.
More important is the fact that the buyer is negotiating with the builder without representation. In Colorado, the Colorado Real Estate Commission prepares and approves purchase contracts that are intended to protect the rights of both the buyer and seller. New home builders do not fall under the rules and regulations of the Colorado Real Estate Commission, and as a result, do not have to comply with standard regulations including the preparation and use of commission-approved forms. The builder purchase contract forms are traditionally worded to favor the builder - they are not drafted with the intent to protect the interests of the buyer.
Surprisingly, most buyers who attempt to save money by negotiating directly with the builder without the expertise and guidance of a Realtor also choose not to retain an attorney to review the builder purchase contract. Usually, the attorney and the Realtor are contacted after problems are discovered - often when it is too late to eliminate the problem. This “after-the-fact” approach can be very costly to the buyer.
Understanding that there is no financial savings to negotiate with the builder without a Realtor, it is important to know that Realtors are familiar with new home construction and are accustomed to working with builders and their purchase contracts. Realtors can recommend the inclusion of language in builder purchase contracts that protect the buyer. For example, most Realtors recommend to buyers that they retain the services of an expert (i.e., architect, building inspector, engineer) and have them visit the property while it is under construction and following the completion of construction to insure that any problems are addressed properly. The Realtor will often recommend the inclusion of language that provides for these inspections as well as “walk through” of the property as a contingency to closing.
Realtors can also address other concerns that protect the buyer’s interest (i.e., receipt, review and approval of title work and homeowner association bylaws and covenants) so that the buyer can terminate the builder purchase contract in the event conditions in any of the documents do not meet with their approval.
Realtors may also be able to negotiate upgrades at no additional costs, closing extensions without penalty, recommendations of experts, other improvements (i.e., landscaping, security systems, sprinkler systems), radon mitigation before and following the purchase of the property, and address a number of other significant issues that directly impact the buyer’s purchase and eventual resale of the property.
Realtor - Not a synonym for real estate agent
A quick reminder that a person who is a real estate agent is not necessarily a Realtor. A Realtor is a real estate agent who is a member of the National Association of Realtors and who subscribes to NAR’s strict Code of Ethics. This, code provides guidelines and rules for Realtors to practice real estate in an ethical manner, ensuring the safety of both the seller and buyer. Being a Realtor is voluntary, but those who choose to belong demonstrate an unwavering desire to provide the best services for their clients. Only real estate agents who are members of NAR can use the term “Realtor.”
Building a new home is a major event. Undertaking this event without the benefit of the representation and expertise of a Realtor is not a wise decision. Realtors can minimize the problems involved and can provide peace of mind for the new home buyer - making the new home building process a more pleasant experience.
The Denver Board of Realtors is one of more than 1,800 local boards and associations of Realtors nationwide that comprise the National Association of Realtors. As the nation’s largest professional association, NAR represents nearly 750,000 members involved in all aspects of the real estate industry.
James Cosco, of Cosco Mortgage Corp., dropped off some rate sheets effective August 22.
1 yr: 5.6%
2 yr: 5.65%
3 yr: 5.7%
4 yr: 5.95%
5 yr: 5.79%
7 yr: 6.05%
10 yr: 6.15%
If you'd like some help with a mortgage, please contact James at 604-291-1011. He's a very capable lender.
Overall I think its fair to say money is still cheap. Will rates go up? Market volatility mitigates against that, I think, and besides, credit tightening has always been disagreeable medicine. I find it amusing that BoC rate hikes look like they're going to play out exactly as many of us imagined - tough talk about inflation, but rates aren't going to go up (I think Fish called the BoC "all bluster" at one point). I also find the increased use of the phrase "inflation has been tamed" funny, too. I suspect, on a serious note, that inflation is preferrable to recession.
You just received notice that one of your loans will be serviced by a new company - the third in 2 years. Many of you know how aggravating it can be dealing with loan servicing companies, particularly when the newest servicer has incorrect records.
Your rights are governed by a federal law known as "the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act" (RESPA). If you have questions or problems with the servicing of your loan, the servicer is required to respond to you. Write to your servicer and call it a "qualified written request under Section 6 of RESPA." It should be a separate letter and not mailed with your payment. The mortgage servicer must respond to you within 60 business days of receipt.
Your loan servicer is required to notify you in writing at least 15 days before the servicing of your loan is transferred to a new servicer. During the 60-day period beginning on the effective date of the transfer, the payment may not be treated as late if you mistakenly send it to the old mortgage servicer instead of the new one.
RESPA does not require or prevent a lender from maintaining an escrow account for the payment of taxes and insurance. However, if a lender does escrow for taxes and insurance, RESPA limits the amount that can be escrowed. It also requires that you are provided with an annual detailed disclosure about amounts paid on your behalf.
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