In garden or townhouse style condominiums, a curious phenomena takes place: Certain owners feel compelled to commandeer the common area adjacent to their units. This takes on many forms. Some use it for personal plantings, sometimes even running irrigation systems through it. Some expand their patio or deck into it. Some build storage sheds in it or place hot tubs there. Some brazenly fence off “their” yard.
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HOA Commandos
McLEAN, VA — Freddie Mac (NYSE:FRE) today released the results of its Primary Mortgage Market Survey (PMMS) in which the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaged 5.94 percent with an average 0.6 point for the week ending October 9, 2008, down from last week when it averaged 6.10 percent. Last year at this time, the 30-year FRM averaged 6.40 percent.
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One Year ARM Ticks Up As All Other Rates Fall
The real estate conditions are right in California — falling prices, pent up demand, low interest rates — to bring about a perfect storm of real estate sales, creating a hot market statewide. While some prognosticators tout the woes of price drops of up to 50 percent, buyers are seeing the devaluation as a signal to get off the fence. And they are doing just that with a vengeance.
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Hot Market: California Leads the Way in Hot Markets
I recently had a listing expire after three months on the market. Nothing has sold in my client’s neighborhood for almost a year, so it wasn’t a big surprise. We gave it a shot and it didn’t work out for us. No biggie. She was prepared for the possibility and has no hard feelings toward me.
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Dear Seller: What’s Your Plan B?
If you’re looking to sell, just be ready to tackle those renovations you’ve been putting off.
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Countering Granite
John D. Rockefeller once said, “The ability to persuade people is as purchasable a commodity as sugar or coffee. And I will pay more for that ability, than for any other under the sun.” In this article you will learn about the law of reciprocity. This law positions you in the eyes of your prospects as a giver and not simply a taker. The simple fact is the more you give; the more you receive. Begin using the law of reciprocity now and see how things begin to move toward you rather than away from you. <PThe law of reciprocity states that when someone gives you something of perceived value you respond with a desire to give something back.
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Laws of Persuasion
According to the National Kitchen & Bath Association, the kitchen is the most commonly remodeled room in a home, it’s also one of the busiest.
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Creating a Safer Kitchen
If you’re a real estate investor who has ever taken a real estate loss on your tax return, there is a target on your back. For months, members on my Forum have been complaining about being selected for audit, and losing, based on the IRS’s new set of real estate professional guidelines.
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Are You a Real Estate Professional? Maybe Not, Says IRS
Yes, home prices are falling in virtually all major metropolitan areas. There’s no question about it.
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American Dream Deferred
McLEAN, VA — Freddie Mac (NYSE:FRE) today released the results of its Primary Mortgage Market Survey (PMMS) in which the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaged 6.35 percent with an average 0.6 point for the week ending July 3, 2008, down from last week when it averaged 6.45 percent. Last year at this time, the 30-year FRM averaged 6.63 percent.
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Mortgage Rate Reverse Trend and Fall Off this Week
Naples, Florida, Realtors are walking around with a little better spring in their step as both home sales and pending sales are registering their best sales in months. NaplesNews.com reports home sales for April 2008 are up 6 percent and pending sales have surged by 25 percent, according to the Naples Area Board of Realtors.
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Hot Market: Naples One Ray of Hope in Florida
McLEAN, VA — (NYSE:FRE) today released the results of its Primary Mortgage Market Survey (PMMS) in which the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaged 6.09 percent with an average 0.6 point for the week ending June 5, 2008, up very slightly from last week when it averaged 6.08 percent. Last year at this time, the 30-year FRM averaged 6.53 percent.
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Long-Term Rates Nearly Unchanged in Freddie Mac Weekly Survey
While homebuilders all over the country are searching for ways to beat the odds in a depressed housing market, one small New York builder is doing it one house at a time.
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New Homes: What’s Old is New Again
Market expert Suzie Provo says the San Francisco Bay Area market remains very strong, and prices have remained stable with homes selling usually within 14 to 30 days.
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Market Conditions: San Francisco Bay Area
“Older drivers” were common words in media reports this week and they will be until ageism is permanently removed from discussions of who may drive and who may not. This time it was the Aging Driver Mobility Forum, sponsored by the Ontario Ministry of Transportation, that refreshed ageist concerns with its call for driving restrictions on aging drivers. Other times, it has been a one-in-a-hundred accident caused by a driver described and condemned principally by chronological age.
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Take Ageism, Not Drivers, Off the Road
