Here is today’s list of top real estate posts of the day.
1) How Loan-Level Pricing Adjustments Keep You From Getting The Lowest Advertised Mortgage Rates – Why am I not getting that rate I saw quoted? Here is why, same reason you may not get the quote for car insurance you saw on TV.
2) FHA 90 Day Flip Rule: Flip Flop – Just because the FHA waived their 90-day flip rule for a year does not mean all lenders will abide by it or have the same rules.
3) Agent Designations Explained – Let me help you with this, designations are a way for the NAR and their affiliates and partners to make money off agents each year. Yes agents after completing the class need to pay each year to use the designation. Kind of like if you went to ASU, got your diploma and then ASU said you need to pay us $500 each year or you cannot say you graduated here. That about sums it up. Not what this article says, but now you know.
4) Targeting Your Online Home Search – Matt does a great job here of giving advice to online home shoppers on how to narrow down your search and find the right one for you.
5) Reading up on real estate – Theresa makes a great point, most of us read up when we go to have our first kid, why not when we buy a house?
6) Top 10 Worst Places to buy real estate in the US – First I have to say I COMPLETELY disagree with this list. I may be wrong, but I would be willing to bet a lot of money that Phoenix is not dropping another 18% this year. But it is worth looking at.
7) I Leased a Property and It Is Being Sold as a Short Sale or Foreclosed…What should I do? – This is something anyone who is leasing in states like Florida, Nevada, Arizona or California needs to be concerned with. another great resource is Lemon Landlord
8) House Call: To Buy or Not to Buy – Good question, how fast would you rush out to buy a new car if the dealer said 4% off? That is what the $8,000 tax credit represents to a $200k house.
9) It’s Important to Know All Things Real Estate if That’s What You Sell! – Back in college I sold cars, it was constantly drilled into my head know your product! This post makes a great point about the same in real estate
10) The Shadow Inventory Debate – What fascinates me about the shadow inventory debate is no one knows for sure, If they did there wouldn’t be 30 different opinions on it. There is more mystery of shadow inventory than there is of the Big Bang Theory.
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.
