It’s a jungle out there. You knew that already, of course. But there seems to be something about our troubled economic times that’s bringing out the schemers, the scammers and the less-than-straightforward, many of whom have zeroed in on housing.

With the word “foreclosure” on so many lips, it’s probably not surprising that con artists have found ways to prey on others’ misery by promising to “fix” loans that have gone bad. But renters need to tread carefully these days, too, according to consumer advocates and law-enforcement representatives. Read the rest of this entry »

by John Adams
from the Atlanta Journal-Constitution HomeFinder
In the world of home lending, there’s almost nothing quite so important as your credit score. Your three digit score, as much as any other part of your application, determines whether or not you will be allowed to borrow the money you need to buy your house. And if that score is below average, you can expect to pay a higher rate, if you are approved at all.
Last week we talked about the 5 elements that are considered in your credit score. As a refresher, they are: payment record, length of credit history, credit utilization, recent credit requests, and keeping a healthy mix of credit types. Here are some of the most common questions about credit scoring:
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The housing market is slowly stabilizing, and you’ve decided to list your home. But what, if any, improvements should you tackle before selling? Should you just leave it all to the new homeowner?

There are two ways to look at pre-sale home improvements. You can either improve the curb appeal or the home’s outward appearance with quick and often low-cost improvements, or you can make some higher-dollar changes with the goal of adding value to the home and increasing your asking price. The reality is that all houses benefit from a little “spiffing up” before being shown to buyers, and smart home sellers will take the time and effort to do so.
View your home with a critical eye

Great curb appeal with immaculate landscaping, fresh paint, tidy closets and cabinets, spotless windows and a clutter-free feeling are essential to make a home really stand out. Impressing potential buyers is often a one-shot deal, so take the time to make some minor improvements that can lead to a faster sale and a higher offer.

Assume the role of a home buyer. Give your home a critical look for dirt, flaws and cramped spaces. Then imagine the work ahead of you if you were to make this your new home. Think of your house as a commodity to be sold for top dollar, and you’ll soon be eager to make needed improvements. Read the rest of this entry »

While both the media and stock investors believe that housing has bottomed, they are unaware of the massive supply of homes that are already in the foreclosure process that will certainly drive home prices down even further when they are sold. We have been projecting a “W”-shaped recovery for some time, and we are becoming even more convinced that we are right. The shape of the second leg down is almost completely dependent on the level of government intervention that will take place.

For a number of reasons, banks have not been aggressively taking title to homes and selling them, which has resulted in very few distressed sales in comparison to the actual level of distress in the market. This delay in bank-owned home (REO) sales, along with historically low mortgage rates and an $8,000 tax credit, has helped to stabilize the housing market — temporarily. Read the rest of this entry »

Baby Boomers still have the money to buy retirement homes. As long as your market is a market where Baby Boomers come to retire you will still be able to run your entire business with baby boomer clients. So don’t start getting all flustered if you just don’t know how you are going to communicate with Gen Y clients.

Here is a social networking video that is well worth the watch- “The Social Media Revelution”. For all of you in urban markets, west coast markets and trend setter markets pay attention to these Gen Y stats. Read the rest of this entry »