Housing Assistance Act Will Impact Many Investor Capital Gain Calculations It has been said that the only time Americans are safe is when Congress is not in session. A possible corollary of this maxim might be that any time a widely-supported bi-partisan bill is hailed as a "rescue”, someone is liable to get hurt. Certainly, if your situation is dealt with in the portion of the bill titled Revenue, you'd better watch out. FULL STORY->
Concrete Curb Appeal One of the hottest trends right now in curb appeal is the creation of distinctive driveways. Options for driveways used to be pretty simple, asphalt or concrete. But these days the possibilities for concrete are practically limitless, allowing you to take your carport from blasé to beautiful. FULL STORY->
Interior Designers Add Quality to Build Value Interior designers are not just into "pretty" -- they're trained to see the flaws and value potential in a property and to translate their clients' needs and wants into the best solution within a budget and time frame. PJ Wade shares some design tips and insights. FULL STORY->
Condo Trends: Nationally, Prices Hold 1Q Despite Housing Downturn The first quarter national report is finally out (in September) for existing condominium and cooperative sales from the National Association of Realtors and it seems condos have actually been quite resilient in an era of dropping prices and failing inventories. The NAR reports stable prices overall across the U.S., dropping an average of only 2.8 percent for the first quarter 2008, compared to the same time a year ago. FULL STORY->
Condo Trends: Nationally, Prices Hold 1Q Despite Housing Downturn The first quarter national report is finally out (in September) for existing condominium and cooperative sales from the National Association of Realtors and it seems condos have actually been quite resilient in an era of dropping prices and failing inventories. The NAR reports stable prices overall across the U.S., dropping an average of only 2.8 percent for the first quarter 2008, compared to the same time a year ago. FULL STORY->
Long-Term Mortgage Rates Barely Move this Week Freddie Mac today released the results of its Primary Mortgage Market Survey (PMMS) in which the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaged 6.10 percent with an average 0.6 point for the week ending October 2, 2008, up from last week when it averaged 6.09 percent. Last year at this time, the 30-year FRM averaged 6.37 percent. FULL STORY->
Acquiring Knowledge about Your Marketplace Think of your marketplace as your playing field, not unlike an athlete views a football field, basketball court, or hockey rink. The better you know every inch of that playing field, the more you can exploit it to your advantage. FULL STORY->
Affordability Options For First-Time Buyers First-time home buyers who want affordable homes may want to take a hard look at fixer-uppers, smaller homes and cheaper commutes to work to save on the costs of buying and owning a home. FULL STORY->
Legal Error by Arbitrator is Not Subject to Review Like many contracts, the standard California real estate purchase agreement, produced by the California Association of Realtors® (CAR), contains an arbitration clause. If initialed by both buyer and seller -- it is completely voluntary -- the parties agree that any irresolvable dispute between them will be settled by arbitration rather than in the courts. FULL STORY->
