American Dream 2007: Keep Those Real Estate Properties Financed!

If you had enough money to pay off your mortgage right now, would you?

Many people would. In fact the American Dream is to own a home - and to own it outright, with no mortgage. Imagine owning your home without having to send a cheque to the bank every month, the feeling one will enjoy when - after thirty long years - the moment finally comes to make one last payment so that the house is paid off, at last. Being so fortunate must evoke a sense of security, gratification and well-being that anyone only can dream of.

But if in fact the American Dream is so wonderful, how come thousand of financially successful people - folks who have more than enough money to pay off their mortgages right now - refuse to do so? Why is it that a small group of Americans and Canadians, who are invariably among the wealthiest five percent of the population, insist on carrying on a mortgage even if they can afford to wipe it out entirely today? Because they are aware of the biggest untold secret of homeownership: a mortgage is primarily a loan against the borrower's income, not primarily against the value of the house. It this was not the case, then naturally anyone with a $30,000 annual income would qualify to purchase a multi-million dollar mansion.

All of which, then, makes the whole difference in the world when it comes to a process known in Economics as the accumulation of wealth. Prosperity in any society and at any given time is the epitome of financial stability, reliability, and security. Specifically in Capitalism, additional capital value (commonly referred to as ‘surplus value') is what drives the accumulation of wealth. Although capital accumulation does not necessarily require production, ultimately the basis for it is value-adding production which makes net additions to the stock of wealth. Capital can accumulate by shifting the ownership of assets from one place to another, but ultimately the total stock of assets must increase. Other things being equal, if surplus value fails to grow sufficiently, the level of debt will increase, ultimately causing a breakdown of the wealth accumulation process.

This is exactly the reason why saving money has never made anyone rich. For some obscure logic people generally tend to equate the concept of saving money with that of making money, yet the two are not synonymous. As people want to save money in interest payments, they will go the extra length to pay off their mortgages. With that issue out of the way after a considerable number of years, they then start focusing on saving for retirement and do their best to save regularly. As a result, they fail to accumulate wealth and cannot figure out why.

The issue is relatively simple, though not necessarily transparent. By prioritizing mortgage repayments, they fail to consider the role that mortgages play in their wealth building process. The battle to reduce interest expenses is won, but the wealth accumulation war is lost. The reason is that every dollar they have returned to the bank is a dollar they have not invested.

The Benefits of Getting a Professional Home Inspection

What is a professional home inspection?

Professional home inspections are becoming an important factor for everyone seeking or planing to buy or sell a home. A home may look to be in very good condition but if we go through the things that can’t be seen with the eye we may find issues that need to be addressed. The need of a professional home inspection is increasing day by day because of increasing litigation due to unknown or undisclosed defects.

A normal individual is not supposed to be the expert of all these technical details. This leads to the need a professional home inspector who inspects the home. A typical home inspection will take several hours to complete. If testing is being done for things such as mold, radon, etc it could take several days to get these results back from the lab.

There are many advantages or benefits to hiring a professional home inspector, some of these benefits are:

Benefits for the buyers

1) With a professional home inspection a buyer can calculate the most realistic price of the property he is going to buy. However, in most cases, the inspection is done after negotiating the price. The home inspection results can be used in negotiating repairs or if the repairs are extensive a buyer may want to back out of the transaction if the contract allows it. The buyers can compare the features and drawbacks with the similar properties available in the same condition.

2) Ridding the buyer from the stress of legal or documentary formalities as the inspector will provide a written report.

3) A Buyer can better guess the possible lifetime of the structure; this will enable him in planning the prospective use of this structure.

4) A buyer can better understand the impact of any unknown natural disaster on the home structure.

5) This could also save hundreds of dollars by making the buyer aware of repairs needed at the surface, fitting, flooring or roof of the structure as well as electrical and plumbing.

6) It satisfies a buyer by familiarizing them with all the maintenance and repair details, well in advance.

Why Do You Need Help Buying Or Selling Your Home In The New Market

Since the latter part of 2005, it seems like Real Estate signs are popping up in yards like weeds. As of July 31, 2006 there were 15,743 listings on the market for Pinellas County (9,549 Single Family Homes and 6,194 Condos). With this many homes on the market, it begs the question – Why Do You Need Help Buying Or Selling Your Home In The New Market?

As anyone who has been in the market for a home recently knows, there are A LOT of homes to choose from. If a buyer is not specific with their criteria the number of possibilities can be overwhelming. By sitting down with an agent, the homebuyer can discover what is truly important to them and only look at homes that meet their exact requirements, including location, price or features.

Once a property has been selected, the buyer’s agent can also help negotiate the best possible price for that home and also make sure that the buyers financing needs are all met. Most agents have a good working relationship with a lender who can facilitate a smooth financial transaction for the buyer. In addition, more buyers are able to take advantage of seller assisted closing costs and other creative financing options which their agent will help them to negotiate during the offer.

Having an agent on their side in this market is also vital for home sellers. With all of the local competition it is not enough to just put a house in the MLS system and hope it sells. Agents are now utilizing every avenue available to market their listings including direct mail, the internet, homes magazines and on-site events like Broker’s Open Houses and Public Open Houses. Additional ideas like increasing the buyer’s agent commission, offering bonuses and assisting with buyer’s closing costs are also methods that can generate buyer interest.

FHA Mortgage Loans

FHA mortgage loans are alternatives to conventional financing for your home purchase. The FHA (Federal Housing Administration) helps to make low cost home loans available to thousands of new and current homeowners each year. FHA mortgage loans require minimal down payments and the interest rate is typically slightly lower than prevailing conventional rates.

The FHA currently insures more than 800,000 mortgage loans. This agency has helped originate more than 33 million since it was created in 1934 as part of the New Deal. The FHA does not fund the mortgage loans itself. It does insure the lender that it will not incur any loss if the borrower defaults. In this way, lenders are encouraged to make loans to low and middle income borrowers to whom they would not otherwise extend credit.

Buyers of single family homes can put as little as 3% down when obtaining an FHA mortgage loan. Good credit history is not necessary, although is definitely a "+." Income to loan payment, and to total monthly payment, ratio requirements are slightly less stringent than for conventional mortgage loans. The FHA sometimes will also help finance the closing costs. Ask your lender about this. Requirements for this kind of assistance vary widely from locale to locale.

This sounds pretty good, doesn't it? Well, "not so fast..." The FHA requires extensive property inspections that cost the seller lots of time and money. Largely because of this, most sellers will not accept an offer if the buyer intends to obtain FHA-insured financing. The acronym "FHA" unfortunately has acquired bad connotations for many real estate professionals and their clients.

Also, the FHA severely limits how much the lender can charge in fees. The bank cannot lose money because of the FHA insurance. However, it cannot profit as much as when it commits its money to other mortgage loans. Lenders have to be FHA-approved in order to make FHA mortgage loans. Few lenders choose to become FHA-approved.

Legal information available to RE execs on NY State Bar Association Web site - Technology - real estate executives

Real estate executives can now access valuable legal information and resources, including legal referral services and educational brochures, from the New York State Bar Association's recently redesigned Web site (http:www.nysba.org).

"Access to information is key in navigating our legal system," said Lorraine Power Tharp, president of the New York State Bar Association and a partner-in the Albany law firm, Whiteman Osterman & Hanna. "Our new site is a go-to source for comprehensive information about New York State law, legal services and procedures. We hope it will be a valuable tool for those seeking legal assistance, as well as for the attorneys who provide it."

Among the resources the site provides for the general public are:

* A lawyer referral and information service designed to help individuals find an attorney or other legal resources, including legal organizations and pro bono lawyers. For added convenience the information is organized by county.

Don't Bet on California Real Estate

After hearing the news, and seeing the trends, it’s obvious that the California Real Estate market is in a slight ‘recession,’ and some people have already started to see the equity of their homes decline. Real Estate does tend to go in cycles, up for a number of years, than down. Sure, the record low interest rates a few years ago helped climb the price of homes, but now it’s that time where prices are waning and investors are looking for something more lucrative.

It was only time before the market cooled off. Many economists were surprised that housing took so long to cool off, as a matter of fact. A million dollar home in California costs about $200,000 in states such as Tennessee. It’s a huge misconception that the ‘heartland’ of the country has nothing fun to do. Tennessee is home to many relaxing and fun activities. There are many Golf Course gated communities, such as Grand Valley Lakes located right near and on Deer Creek Golf Course. Besides for that, many rivers and lakes flow all over states like Tennessee and Texas.

Texas’ beautiful large size and resources make it extremely profitable and fun. Developing communities surrounds Rivers and lakes, such as Lake Livingston. You can find a very low priced piece of land in such an area, build up a house, and either sell it for huge profits or even decide to live and/or retire there!

As you can see, the California real estate market is extremely vulnerable. However, this means that more investors will seek out other real estate investments, and developing communities is an excellent way to both help the country grow and make a generous profit.

Cooling Market - Marketing is Key

The much anticipated slow down in the Real Estate Market has finally arrived. It has been a talking point of significance over the past 18 months as house prices has risen to a point of exasperation. Hillsborough County's housing market is now in a stage of uncertainty however it may not be as distressing as anticipated.

The problem with the market right now lies with 2 main factors, overpricing and inventory volume. As you drive around your neighborhood the number of For Sale signs in peoples yards are astounding. Everybody who did not delve into the market over the past 3 years seems to now be trying to squeeze every last dollar out of it. The worrying factor is that all overpriced. Uninformed sellers seem to be pegging their homes prices to sales during the past year. This is a huge mistake and is having a serious affect on today’s market. In fact inventory has quadrupled, there are more choices out there for buyers, and gone are the days when listing your home with a broker and getting multiple offers within hours or days. We probably won't see a market like that again for several years.

However it’s not all doom and gloom for those who have the house on the market today. Realtors today must tailor there marketing ideas to educated potential clients of the importance of marketing there home. Whether it be by creating a website or advertising in a magazine there are a number of creative ways realtors can highlight there listings. Exposure is of the utmost importance and the key element to help drive traffic to your listing. People want choices; and interactive marketing can help potential buyers compare the choices available to them. Putting a sign in your front yard is no longer the only selling tool that is needed. So the next time you speak with a realtor who guarantees to sell your home, ask them this key question. How are you going to sell my home? For more information on how marketing a home will lead to a quicker sales and more interested potentail buyers check out.