Here is today’s list of top real estate posts of the day.
1) Who is moving up? – You can make a strong argument for how effective the first-time home buyers tax credit has been in helping the housing economy rebound, but the move-up credit has not had nearly the same impact.
2) Why the Rush for Investors to Buy Land? Genius or Madness? – Some investors are buying up land in Arizona and Nevada, is this a wise move, or foolish. I have seen the land prices here in Arizona, they are so inexpensive right now I think this move is very wise. Eventually this market is going to turn around. Somewhere like Arizona will still be a desirable place to move to and they will need to start building somewhere.
3) The seller didn’t submit my offer to the bank on a short sale… – One of my favorite subjects or should I say one of my pet-peeves when it comes to short sales. Who owns the house. It is not the bank, they are not a party to the contract.
4) Selling raw land? Not so fast, says NAR. – Wait isn’t that what we do? We sell land which may or may not have an improvement on it.
5) Jumbo Loans: A General Guide – Jumbo loans, yes they are still out there. They are just a little harder to qualify for.
6) The Importance of A Final Walk Through When You Are Buying – Final walkthrough is everything! Buyers there is no need to take the risk and agents there is to much of a liability.
7) Fannie Mae Seeks Another Bail-Out – A little piece of advice for Fannie, if you sped up your approval of short sales at a reasonable price you could liquidate some of those bad loans quicker which you could then turn around and reinvest into good assets quicker. Just a thought.
8) Have You Seen Your House Listing Lately? – Ok Matt is going to far now, he actually wants agents to put in time and effort to make the seller’s house look good to the public? But honestly… if you are a seller why would you accept this?
9) Focusing on the Median Price Can Be Misleading – Good argument that had not thought about.
10) Mortgage Pricing Gets Unpredictable. It’s Time To Lock Your Mortgage Rate – It is not often you hear someone like Dan Green come right out and say lock now, so listen up.
1) A pulse, a passing grade and a business card: raising the bar on real estate agent qualifications – What will the brokerage of the future look like? Will more formal education be required, will more real estate class hours be required? It is hard to imagine this will be the model for a business where the agent needs to pay the brokerage every month to be associated with it.
2) IRS Clarifies What’s Needed to Claim Tax Credit – If you are applying for the tax credit do you now what you need to submit to get the credit?
3) Bank of America forecloses on house that couple had paid cash for – I have a question for Bank of America. Why does it seem that almost every time there is a nightmare story about a bank having to do with a botched foreclosure and/or short sale the bank involved tends to be BoA? This is at least the third one of these I have read about, good to see the owners fighting back.
4) Breakout Session Highlight: Short Sale Offers and Contracts That Win – Part of a session from the Keller Williams Family Reunion #KWFR. We often read about how to deal with short sales, but how about dealing with buyers who may be interested in a short sale?
5) The Offer: There’s More to It Than Price – What if your offer on a house was the highest and was not accepted? It happens. There is a lot more than the offer price to determine the best offer.
6) $8,000 (or $6,500) Home Buyer Tax Credit – Lobbyists on the move for ANOTHER extension – I did at least a couple videos last fall before the tax credit was extended saying “don’t do it.” But they did. Now they are talking about doing it again and don’t be surprised if they do extend it one more time, after all, it is an election year.
7) Missing the Forest for the Trees: the RPR License – Rob Hahn takes a close look at the RPR license. You have to give RPR credit, they are making the process completely open and transparent.
8) Why is My Insurance Premium Different from My Neighbors? – A look at some of the factors that can effect your homeowners insurance premium.
9) Mortgage Rates Change Faster Than Freddie Mac Can Report It – We have covered it dozens of times, why you cannot shop for mortgage rates online.
10) Ohio Man Sends Bank a Message Via a Bulldozed Home – You have probably seen the video by now, but just in case you have not… That is going to be an expensive mistake.
