Top Tips for Home Buyers and Sellers During the Holidays in 2006

Searching for or selling a home in November or December can be stressful in addition to the built-in holiday frenzy. Simple tips for buyers and sellers can minimize stress and possibly facilitate a sale.

Sellers.

-Consider potential buyers spiritual backgrounds in your market before decorating for a holiday.

-Less is more when decorating a home for the holidays while you are trying to sell. Streamline the amount of holiday specific decorations you display.

-Large over-size Christmas trees and other holiday decorations consume space that might make rooms or landscapes appear smaller.

-Install and remove exterior holiday decorations 2 weeks before and after holiday.

-Turn off lighted holiday decorations before showings, buyers should focus on your home and not your decorations.

-If you are having out-of-town house guests, ask your real estate agent to postpone showings until after your guests depart.

-Display summer photos of home and gardens to inform buyers of the features of the home in other seasons.

-Before showings remove snow, ice and leaves from walkways and driveways. Don't overlook outside entrances to basements, garages, and porches. Pet dropping are a turn-off to buyers.

Buyers.

-You can find motivated sellers at year-end, but don't think they'll give away their home. Do your homework before drafting a real estate contract. Look only at sold comparable's from the last six months.

-Don't be afraid to ask for concessions from sellers. Popular give-backs from sellers to buyers are: property and transfer tax rebates, closing cost credits and paying mortgage points.

-When performing a home inspection in wintry weather, it's easy to forgo adequate roof and air-conditioning condenser reviews. If you can't see or operate a structural or mechanical system, ask for an extension until the weather improves.

-Patience rules at the holidays. Everyone is busy, and if it takes an extra day to view a property, it's not uncommon.

The Boom: Real Estate and Lending

The current worldwide boom in residential real estate prices is "the biggest bubble in history," according to a disturbing new report in the Economist magazine. In spite of the scams, rising prices and other factors visiting the market, there is so much demand running through every individual and business requirement, especially in the United States. It’s never a dormant market globally.

Lending and home purchase…

US real estate market which is one of the largest and the most happening has experienced one of the largest increases in home prices over the past year, with the average cost of a home rising by 12.5 percent. Surprisingly, the trend seems to be the same across several other countries of the world. Other countries have showed gains even higher than the US in the last year, with prices rising by 23.6 percent in South Africa, 19 percent in Hong Kong and over 15 percent in Spain and France.

It’s believed that the global housing market is undergoing correction and no economic recession is anticipated.

Why this global rise?

Mainly because the other forms of investments are turning out to be riskier. Experts say that the trend is expected to continue not in one but in many countries. Whether you are a businessman or an individual with anything else as your profession, there is at some point when you reach out to real estate requirements in the form of land, apartments, residence, villa, commercial place, etc. Owning space in prime localities is a higher investment al together.

Not to say the least, small size companies in the real estate and lending businesses are making hay when the sun shines. Their credibility is questionable and of late the mushrooming of such companies has begun to take shape in the form of regional services that go serving the customized needs of individuals. But what’s their background? And how reliable are they?

Global news on lending, mortgage and real estate

One of the affluent media giants, The Wall Street Journal reports that investors and other mortgage buyers are starting to battle with lenders over taking back loans that borrowers are unable to repay or that contain underwriting errors. This is a reminder to beef up their underwriting criteria.

Another globally relable news source The New York Times reports that mortgage fraud climbed to $1 billion last year from $429 million in 2004, with experts attributing to lenders’ dependence on brokers and appraisers push deals through. The lending industry is being scrutinized for not undertaking more due diligence, considering that it uses numerous means to identify fraudulent loans.

The Velocity of Money; Turbo Charging your Dollars

Turbochargers have revolutionized aviation and auto racing forever; enhancing performance and speed in a way that traditional methods of engine modification had not previously allowed. In finance, greater dollar-for-dollar performance can be achieved by taking advantage of a powerful concept known as the “Velocity of Money,” where each investment dollar is placed in multiple locations at once in order to keep money moving in a personal economy.

“You could think of our velocity of money approach as a method that is similar to putting a turbo charger in your car. When applied to any investment you do, it allows the individual to act as his or her own economy. Once money stops moving in the world, the economy gets into trouble, and so will the individual’s own economy. Ultimately, the key to applying the velocity of money is to understand how the individual can place their investment dollars through something and not simply to something,” explains Bill Lyons, President & CEO of LEI Financial.

Turbochargers with engine applications are used to improve upon the efficiency of an engine by offering a considerable increase in power. Put simply, the turbo fills with air and builds pressure and is released into the motor in a gust. Put in perspective, when velocitizing money, you can witness your finances gaining “pressure” and then being released into your own personal economy with greater gains. By turbo charging your money, you can make the most out of your dollars by generating wealth in a variety of different venues. This all relies on the basis that if velocity is high, then a somewhat small amount of money can fund a large amount of purchases. By placing your investment dollars in multiple areas at one time you are keeping your economy moving and generating a constant flow of funds, just as a turbocharger keeps a vehicle moving at a faster speed than its competitors.

The “Velocity of Money” is a vital facet to the finance world, as it relates to the world economy. The U.S. Federal Reserve uses this model to gauge the condition of our economy. Every bank in America employs the strategy of the “Velocity of Money” in some form or another in their everyday operations. We can see its power put to use everyday at our local banks. When a bank receives your money, they do not just let it sit there to lay idle. Instead they put it into other investments to generate additional funds using the same initial amount, never using money for only one job.

“If an individual puts one dollar in a savings account at a bank, the bank is going to put that dollar in several places in order to use that same dollar to make the bank more money. Why wouldn’t an individual desire to use that same strategy? Ultimately, the key to applying the velocity of money is to understand how the individual can place their personal investment dollars through something and not simply to something,” Lyons says.

The “Velocity of Money” approach to building wealth is a time-tested strategy that has been around for many decades. The term was originally coined by mathematical economist Irving Fisher in the 1930s and refers to the circulation of currency in a given economy. Today, the finance and mortgage coaches at LEI implement this approach into their client’s own individual economies, to generate a consistent and reliable cash flow.

Spain - Still the No.1 Place to Live

Until recently, buying that second home was practically out of reach for most people. Sure, we all dream of owning that summer house 'on the lake', but that's just a fantasy that most of us can only think about.

Yet, in europe, more and more people are looking to the sandy beaches of Spain as the new destination to buy that second home. Spain has all round great temperatures, and the quality of living is perhaps one of the best in the world.

And with prices still reasonably low, it makes it just that little bit more affordable for the rest of us. For example, a beach side apartment can cost you as little as $230, 000. Hardly breaking the bank like a Malibu condo.

Spain also has a very low cost of living with fresh fruit and vegtables a fraction of the cost you could pay elsewhere. Afterall, fish, fruit and vegtables play a major part in the diet of most southern meditereaneans. They do have a higher survival rate than the average American.

Viva Spanish Properties is my company that I run to help provide 'new lifestyle intergration' for those settling in Spain. From real estate to furniture, from schools to retirement, from employment to starting a new business - we provide the various solutions that can start your new life off to a flyer!!

You can find out more about living in Spain by visiting www.vivaspanishproperties.com where you'll learn all about living and buying property. Viva Spanish Properties has a huge search database of spanish properties.

Virtual Online Real Estate - Sell Your Home Easy!

By the time getting ready to sell a property, you ought to almost always have in mind the options of putting on sale a home privately or listing with a real state broker. Naturally, the most value effective would be to sell your home privately, but consider the large number of prospective buyers who don’t want to or don’t have the time to visit every single house. Home plans with virtual tours is the choice!

I am the first to recommend people they have to be able to sell a home privately but, since business is first and time is money, we have to explore any possible options to sale or rent our property at the best bidder.

What would happen if you make an appointment to check a private sale listing the home is not at your liking at all? You would then be face to face with the home seller. It’s annoying when they ask your opinion on the house, if you are interested….and worse…when they ask you: “when do we sign the lease?”

Oh, no! To avoid this, free virtual tour of home saves you the suffering of this. Just by searching on virtual home tours you get long and assorted listings of professional online realtors. They can give you their professional advice –no matter in which state you are located- and thanks to video podcasting you can visit all the lists of properties they have available on their sites.

You save time, money and the face-to-face negotiation we talked about. For instance if you live in Miami and you are planning to move to Las Vegas., imagine how hard would be for you to find the right place without the aid of home selling professionals and the comfortable facility of Las Vegas home virtual tours to check in detail plenty of different houses in just a couple of hours!

Why Mortgage Insurance Can Actually Save You Money

Mortgage insurance provides lenders a form of financial guarantee which protects the lender in cases in which the borrower defaults on a loan. For those looking to buy a home, agreeing to loan terms which include mortgage insurance, increases the purchasing power of the buyer a great deal. Agreeing to buy mortgage insurance allows individuals the opportunity to buy a home with a down payment of only 5%-10%, as opposed to the 20% that is often required when the lender does not have the guarantee of mortgage insurance.

Buyers typically purchase and pay for mortgage insurance in three different ways. These ways include paying in annuals, monthly premiums, or singles. We are going to take a closer look at the available mortgage insurance payment options below:

1.) Annuals: The annuals payment option allows the lender to collect the first year’s premium at closing and then all subsequent payments are made on a monthly basis.

2.) Monthly Premiums: This payment option requires the buyer to only pay for one month at closing and all remaining payments are then made on a monthly basis.

3.) Singles: The singles payment option requires the buyer to make a one-time single payment that is typically financed as part of the mortgage amount.

Mortgage insurance ensures the lender is covered in cases in which the borrower can no longer pay the loan and defaults on it. It is also a powerful bargaining tool for potential borrowers who are unable to come up with a large down payment. Offering to pay mortgage insurance can decrease the amount of ones’ down payment by 10% to 15%. But it is important to note that mortgage insurance does not have to be paid forever. After a certain period of time and when certain conditions are met, mortgage insurance is no longer required to be carried on the mortgage.