January 9, 2012
As local, county and state governments face growing — and sometimes desperate — economic needs, they increasingly turn to real estate transfer taxes as a source of funding. This is a tax that may be imposed at the closing of home sales or...
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November 14, 2011
Moving to a better neighborhood can enhance your family’s health, according to the results of a study by the Department of Housing and Urban Development. The study focused primarily on high-poverty neighborhoods versus better neighborhoods.
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October 30, 2011
Our world is getting smaller all the time. Advanced communications and travel technologies have made international business transactions almost as easy as dealing within local markets.
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October 17, 2011
Today we live in a litigation-prone society. Lawsuits are especially prevalent as a result of real estate transactions. Increasingly, brokers and their sales agents are targeted in those lawsuits.
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September 30, 2011
A new wave of house flipping seems to be emerging, probably sparked by distressed home bargains and record-low mortgage rates. House flipping is the practice of buying homes or other investment properties at a low price, then quickly reselling them at a p...
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September 19, 2011
An increasingly popular option for persons seeking a home in today’s market is to rent-to-own (or lease-to-own) the property. The process basically works like this:
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September 4, 2011
The wild stock market fluctuations and all-time record low interest rates for home mortgages, particularly 15-year loans, have sparked a new wave of refinance applications.
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August 28, 2011
A recent survey revealed that a short-sale transaction of a home can be a real hassle for the homeowner, buyer and broker.
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August 21, 2011
It may soon be possible for residents of foreclosed homes to remain in their home — as tenants instead of owners.
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August 7, 2011
Reverse mortgages are strongly promoted by many companies and brokers. It’s an exceptionally profitable product for them to sell when all goes well. A reverse mortgage converts home equity into cash in several different ways, the most popular being...
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July 31, 2011
According to a recent survey, one in five (20 percent) homeowners has recently moved or would like to move because of being unhappy with the current neighborhood or community. When searching for their next home, homeowners also cited they would change the...
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July 24, 2011
House swapping as a means of achieving an affordable and particularly interesting vacation is on the rise. Instead of paying for expensive hotels or resorts, the homeowner simply swaps his house with another like-minded homeowner in the desired location f...
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July 17, 2011
Stronger home sales growth remains dampened by declining consumer confidence and economic uncertainty, according to Freddie Mac in its recently released Economic and Housing Market Outlook for June.
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July 10, 2011
Stronger home sales growth remains dampened by declining consumer confidence and economic uncertainty, according to Freddie Mac in its recently released Economic and Housing Market Outlook for June.
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July 3, 2011
Baby boomers will play a major role in the recovery of a strong home selling market and home improvement market. As baby boomers relocate or downsize in retirement, they will release a large amount of housing onto the market, it was noted in a special rep...
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June 26, 2011
RealtyTrac, an online marketplace for foreclosure properties, recently released its U.S. Foreclosure Market Report for May 2011. It shows foreclosure filings — default notices, scheduled auctions and bank repossessions — were reported on 214,9...
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June 19, 2011
Real estate in the U.S. is the top destination for foreign buyers as international purchases surged by $16 billion this year, one of the highest increases in recent years.
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June 5, 2011
People need people and a more simplified, social-centered lifestyle. That’s the key motivation for a major trend in today’s housing market. Increasing numbers of homebuyers tend to shy away from large, maintenance-heavy homes with spacious yar...
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May 15, 2011
Q: How does the downgrading of the nation’s credit rating affect real estate?
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Sales of existing and new home sales rose in March, the most recent month from which official sales data have been reported. This reflects the continuing but uneven recovery that began after sales bottomed last July, according to the National Associ...
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May 1, 2011
It is very tempting for many homeowners to simply walk away from a mortgage and its related frustrations in not being able to make the payments.
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April 17, 2011
The appeal of owning a vacation home, or purchasing a property as an investment, has remained consistently strong over the past year, according to the National Association of Realtors.
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April 10, 2011
Q: How can I tell truth from fiction about home foreclosures?
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Today’s young adults are just as motivated to own a home as their parents and grandparents before them, according to recent studies from the National Association of Realtors and National Association of Home Builders.
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April 3, 2011
High-priced homes have become strong sellers in today’s market. And many of these sales are all-cash transactions. After four years of declines, sales of million-dollar homes and condominiums rose last year in all 20 major metro areas, according to...
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