41 Arrests in Alleged Major Mortgage Fraud Scam in S Florida. See full report.
http://ping.fm/eeep5
Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Florida Realty | Dressed to Kill...Licensed to Sell (Your Home)
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Interior Paint - Colors That Sell
Here are a few suggestions of paint colors that enhance the visual appeal of home interiors. In addition to the items covered in my previous post, Sellers can enhance the attractiveness of a home by using soft warm colors to gently guide the eyes and direct a buyer's perception around the home.
There are also a few colors you need to be very careful with. Blues, pinks, yellows, grays and blacks tend to overpower the subconscious, and actually become the focal point of a room or a home. It is safer to stay away from them.
S Florida Foreclosure Rescue Scams Under Siege
S Florida Foreclosure Rescue Firms Nailed http://ping.fm/IuFi1
Sunday, July 26, 2009
Staging a High-End Home for Sale Requires a Different Kind of Makeover
Hyper-Staging"- Out of the Box Strategy for Selling Luxury Properties
http://www.miamiherald.com/living/top-stories/story/1155681.हटमल
http://www.miamiherald.com/living/top-stories/story/1155681.हटमल
Friday, July 24, 2009
FoxBusiness on Three Months of Existing Home Sales Growth
Realtor Kelly DeGroot delivers a comprehensive account of the market's recent surge in sales activity. Neil Cavuto probes for national trends, but DeGroot reminds him of the localized nature of the industry. She also touches on the current appraisal-related challenges facing buyers and sellers, and how contracts are falling through due to undervalued appraisals. This is one of the few reports I have seen where this issue is addressed.
http://www.foxbusiness.com/search-results/m/25440050/home-sales-hat-trick.htm
http://www.foxbusiness.com/search-results/m/25440050/home-sales-hat-trick.htm
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
New Bill Could Extend $8000 Tax Credit To All Home Buyers
New Bill Could Extend $8000 Tax Credit To All Home Buyers
The Bill makes the following changes to the current law:
1. Extends the deadline from Dec. 1,'09 to Jan. 1, '10
2. Eliminates the income restriction to qualify for the credit
3. Opens up qualification to ALL BUYERS, not just First Time Buyers.
Shared via AddThis
The Bill makes the following changes to the current law:
1. Extends the deadline from Dec. 1,'09 to Jan. 1, '10
2. Eliminates the income restriction to qualify for the credit
3. Opens up qualification to ALL BUYERS, not just First Time Buyers.
Shared via AddThis
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
What Buyers Are Looking For
In most cases by the time a Buyer walks into your home for the first time, he/she/they have already narrowed down their preferences in terms of price range, location, number of bedrooms/bathrooms, and major features (pool, garage, etc.).
By the time a Buyer decides he/she/they would like to see your home in person, they have satisfied at least 78% of the buying criteria.
If they have searched through the internet and found quality descriptions and photos of your home, the percentage of predetermined satisfaction goes up to 90%.
Monday, July 20, 2009
Home Energy Efficiency On The Cheap
Did you know that in a typical South Florida residence, cooling, lighting, refrigeration and water heating account for 77% of electricity consumption?
Recently public awareness has been raised to unprecedented levels with respect to energy efficiency and all things green. When it comes to the home, we are bombarded by information from a variety of sources regarding such things as wind energy and solar energy generating technologies. Despite the availability of tax credits, rebates from utility companies, private financing and other private sector incentives, the potential cost of such improvements is a daunting challenge to many homeowners. As a result, many are discouraged from taking the matter beyond interesting cocktail chit chat.
While solar and wind energy are becoming more and more accessible in terms of cost and availability, properly sealing your home is still the most cost-effective method to reduce your energy costs, saving homeowners as much as 30-40% off their electrical utility bills.
Most people aren't aware that air leakage amounts to 30-40% of a home's heating and cooling bills. Stopping air leakage is important not only for energy savings, but also for protecting your home from the damaging effects of moisture. Air, leaking into walls from the interior of the home, carries humidity with it. This moisture hits a cold surface and condenses, causing the insulation and surrounding wood to get wet. Eventually, the air leakage can lead to mold growth and wood rot.
It is a common misconception that the majority of a home's air leakage comes through windows and doors, but in actuality, only 10-15% of air leakage is through windows and doors. That is why window replacement is seldom a cost-effective means to save energy. There are lots of ways to greatly improve the efficiency of windows without replacing them.
Most people think that tightening up the home means caulking around the outside of the home. This prevents rainwater from getting into your walls and that's important, but does very little to stop air from leaking into your home.
Tightening up an existing home begins on the inside. The greatest areas of air leakage in a home are around the top of the foundation and around penetrations into the attic. You can seal the top of the foundation (rim joist) with caulk or expanding foam. To seal the penetrations into the attic, the easiest way is to push back the insulation, and seal the holes around wiring and plumbing stacks and caulk along to tops of interior walls. To seal the inside of the house, use a clear caulk around the window frames where the trim meets the wall and all cracks in the window that aren't operable. Add weather-stripping to the windows if necessary. Install foam gaskets on outlets and switches on exterior walls. Seal around all ceiling fixtures, heat registers, medicine cabinets, bath tubs, kitchen cabinets, drain and water pipes where they enter the wall in kitchen and bath and any other interior wall penetrations. There are many things you can do to reduce air leakage in your home. However, keep in mind that a professional with the proper training and equipment is best suited to pinpoint air leakage and to identify and deal with combustion safety problems.
In a nutshell, you don't have to go out and spend thousands of dollars to save a significant amount of money every month on your electric bill. By taking some some simple and inexpensive measures to prevent cool air from escaping and warm air from getting into your home, you can save money and create a more comfortable home environment for you and your loved ones.
Recently public awareness has been raised to unprecedented levels with respect to energy efficiency and all things green. When it comes to the home, we are bombarded by information from a variety of sources regarding such things as wind energy and solar energy generating technologies. Despite the availability of tax credits, rebates from utility companies, private financing and other private sector incentives, the potential cost of such improvements is a daunting challenge to many homeowners. As a result, many are discouraged from taking the matter beyond interesting cocktail chit chat.
While solar and wind energy are becoming more and more accessible in terms of cost and availability, properly sealing your home is still the most cost-effective method to reduce your energy costs, saving homeowners as much as 30-40% off their electrical utility bills.
Most people aren't aware that air leakage amounts to 30-40% of a home's heating and cooling bills. Stopping air leakage is important not only for energy savings, but also for protecting your home from the damaging effects of moisture. Air, leaking into walls from the interior of the home, carries humidity with it. This moisture hits a cold surface and condenses, causing the insulation and surrounding wood to get wet. Eventually, the air leakage can lead to mold growth and wood rot.
It is a common misconception that the majority of a home's air leakage comes through windows and doors, but in actuality, only 10-15% of air leakage is through windows and doors. That is why window replacement is seldom a cost-effective means to save energy. There are lots of ways to greatly improve the efficiency of windows without replacing them.
Most people think that tightening up the home means caulking around the outside of the home. This prevents rainwater from getting into your walls and that's important, but does very little to stop air from leaking into your home.
Tightening up an existing home begins on the inside. The greatest areas of air leakage in a home are around the top of the foundation and around penetrations into the attic. You can seal the top of the foundation (rim joist) with caulk or expanding foam. To seal the penetrations into the attic, the easiest way is to push back the insulation, and seal the holes around wiring and plumbing stacks and caulk along to tops of interior walls. To seal the inside of the house, use a clear caulk around the window frames where the trim meets the wall and all cracks in the window that aren't operable. Add weather-stripping to the windows if necessary. Install foam gaskets on outlets and switches on exterior walls. Seal around all ceiling fixtures, heat registers, medicine cabinets, bath tubs, kitchen cabinets, drain and water pipes where they enter the wall in kitchen and bath and any other interior wall penetrations. There are many things you can do to reduce air leakage in your home. However, keep in mind that a professional with the proper training and equipment is best suited to pinpoint air leakage and to identify and deal with combustion safety problems.
In a nutshell, you don't have to go out and spend thousands of dollars to save a significant amount of money every month on your electric bill. By taking some some simple and inexpensive measures to prevent cool air from escaping and warm air from getting into your home, you can save money and create a more comfortable home environment for you and your loved ones.
Sunday, July 19, 2009
In Real Estate, The Media Is A Lagging Indicator
As the saying goes,"If you get a great stock tip from the newspaper, TV, or radio, it's already too late." In financial matters, journalism is an outlet for historians. In fact, reporters can be regarded as the accountants of recent events when it comes to the markets. They give us an account of what has already taken place. Stocks, bonds, commodities and all other investment vehicles are far too dynamic for their fluctuations to be captured in real time by the press.
The same rule can be applied to real estate. While real estate is a slower moving commodity than other financial vehicles, the media is only able to report and interpret data findings that have been reported in months prior, and is therefore a historical reference source. This is not purely their fault; it takes time to compile, extrapolate and record real estate performance. By virtue of this time lapse, however, the media is simply ill equipped to accurately report what is going on at the moment in a specific market.
Moreover, the media tends to report real estate activity in very broad terms, providing national, regional, or state statistics with respect to growth, contraction, or new developments. Real estate is a localized industry and varies greatly from community to community. Just take a short drive through your own area, and in a brief period of time, you will see a variety of homes in varying price ranges with different landscapes, school districts, demographics, business communities, etc. Therefore, any attempt to capture developments or forecast trends on a broader scale by reporting national, regional or state based findings fails to give an accurate account of the market condition of a specific location or community. People live, work and play in specific communities, not in general geographical designations. As a result, the media is not only a lagging indicator, but many times misses the mark completely when it comes to providing useful information to guide their readers on the decision whether to buy or sell their homes or relocate to another community (market).
Also, there is a social dimension to real estate that distinguishes it from all other commodities. Homes and businesses are not pieces of paper that can be traded without having a profound effect on the quality of of our lives. Besides the financial considerations, real estate is where we live and play, work and rest, raise our families, make friends, worship and shape our own lives and the lives of those whom we love. We belong to communities, and those around us affect who we are. Where we live directly affects us as individuals, and the media can not even begin to grasp the nuances and particulars that this entails.
Enter the professional Realtor. As a Realtor, I am the first to admit that every local market is different. No self-respecting real estate professional can claim to be an expert in every market. We specialize in communities, and our business is about people. The only way to develop expertise in a given community is to be a part of it. In addition to having an extensive awareness of the recent sales activity, homes currently available, mortgage interest rates and other hard analytical data (all critical to the decision making process), a dedicated professional in our field must also tap into the social makeup of a community by understanding the wants and needs of the client and what the community has to offer in order to fulfill them.
Miami is known the world over. From the famous beaches and electric nightlife of South Beach to the lush backdrop and bohemian eclecticism of Coconut Grove, no other city in America offers the excitement and cultural diversity of our great city. Miami is now home to the third largest skyline in the US (behind New York and Chicago-and frankly, we have better weather). Whether you are looking for a stately Coral Gables Old Spanish residence, a majestic Pinecrest estate, a home on the water to fulfill your need for tropical breezes, or a waterfront condo to get away on South Beach, Miami offers something for everyone.
Don't be misled by media reports of gloom and doom (according to the NAR, Miami sales of single family homes surged 72% higher in May 2009 over the same month last year, and condo sales rose 51%-I guess not everyone is reading the papers!). If your thing is tracking economic activity at the macro level, the media is a great source. If, however, you're looking to buy or sell real estate in Miami. ask a Realtor.
The same rule can be applied to real estate. While real estate is a slower moving commodity than other financial vehicles, the media is only able to report and interpret data findings that have been reported in months prior, and is therefore a historical reference source. This is not purely their fault; it takes time to compile, extrapolate and record real estate performance. By virtue of this time lapse, however, the media is simply ill equipped to accurately report what is going on at the moment in a specific market.
Moreover, the media tends to report real estate activity in very broad terms, providing national, regional, or state statistics with respect to growth, contraction, or new developments. Real estate is a localized industry and varies greatly from community to community. Just take a short drive through your own area, and in a brief period of time, you will see a variety of homes in varying price ranges with different landscapes, school districts, demographics, business communities, etc. Therefore, any attempt to capture developments or forecast trends on a broader scale by reporting national, regional or state based findings fails to give an accurate account of the market condition of a specific location or community. People live, work and play in specific communities, not in general geographical designations. As a result, the media is not only a lagging indicator, but many times misses the mark completely when it comes to providing useful information to guide their readers on the decision whether to buy or sell their homes or relocate to another community (market).
Also, there is a social dimension to real estate that distinguishes it from all other commodities. Homes and businesses are not pieces of paper that can be traded without having a profound effect on the quality of of our lives. Besides the financial considerations, real estate is where we live and play, work and rest, raise our families, make friends, worship and shape our own lives and the lives of those whom we love. We belong to communities, and those around us affect who we are. Where we live directly affects us as individuals, and the media can not even begin to grasp the nuances and particulars that this entails.
Enter the professional Realtor. As a Realtor, I am the first to admit that every local market is different. No self-respecting real estate professional can claim to be an expert in every market. We specialize in communities, and our business is about people. The only way to develop expertise in a given community is to be a part of it. In addition to having an extensive awareness of the recent sales activity, homes currently available, mortgage interest rates and other hard analytical data (all critical to the decision making process), a dedicated professional in our field must also tap into the social makeup of a community by understanding the wants and needs of the client and what the community has to offer in order to fulfill them.
Miami is known the world over. From the famous beaches and electric nightlife of South Beach to the lush backdrop and bohemian eclecticism of Coconut Grove, no other city in America offers the excitement and cultural diversity of our great city. Miami is now home to the third largest skyline in the US (behind New York and Chicago-and frankly, we have better weather). Whether you are looking for a stately Coral Gables Old Spanish residence, a majestic Pinecrest estate, a home on the water to fulfill your need for tropical breezes, or a waterfront condo to get away on South Beach, Miami offers something for everyone.
Don't be misled by media reports of gloom and doom (according to the NAR, Miami sales of single family homes surged 72% higher in May 2009 over the same month last year, and condo sales rose 51%-I guess not everyone is reading the papers!). If your thing is tracking economic activity at the macro level, the media is a great source. If, however, you're looking to buy or sell real estate in Miami. ask a Realtor.
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