Drew Burks
By Drew Burks
Does Facebook Privacy have you concerned?
Lately, it seems like everyone is concerned about their online privacy …
… I can’t help but ask what are you hiding?
As a real estate professional, I use social media sites to expand and grow my business first and foremost; therefore, I want my information to be found easily. In fact, I go out of my way to optimize my online presence so that more people will find it.
I was teaching a class on Facebook to REALTORS(R) last week and I actually had someone ask me if I felt it was safe to put your phone number on social media sites …
… Are you kidding me?
I was also asked several other questions like:
- What kind of information is OK to post?
- Is it OK to post my hobbies & interests?
- Should my profile picture be professional or casual?
- Is it OK to accept friend requests from other REALTORS(R)?
- Is it OK to unfriend someone or hide them from my news feed?
My advice is … Continue reading »
Nobu Hata
By Nobu Hata
With the down market and the inevitable mass exodus of “those” loan officers, you’d think we could rest easy knowing that the loan officers left would be – for lack of a better word – decent.
Holy Hannah, would we be wrong.
In the last couple weeks, I’ve had various buyers shop their loan around, including those using FHA. What I thought were set guidelines and fees isn’t what it seems. One particular buyer of mine asked for Good Faith Estimates based on the same home, price and mock closing date, from each of the loan officers he’d met with who’d pulled his credit, on my recommendation. Lo and behold, one origination fee was $1,100 more than the other. The rest of the meeting was an eye-opening study of mortgage v. mortgage.
Now, I’m not going to get into specifics of big bank versus broker, nor the merits and drawbacks of each. But what I will say is that there’s no better time to brush up on the new GFEs and fees associated with them. Fees and guidelines for all types of loan products are changing at a lightning pace, and while it’s largely up to our clients to perform their due diligence, it’s up to us to impart some insight. Continue reading »
Brooke Wolford
By Brooke Wolford
I recently read about the launch of Space X’s Falcon 9 Rocket’s launch into space. For those of you who don’t know, the rocket was privately designed to bring cargo to the International Space Station. It was also designed with the intention of one day carrying passengers into space.
Robert Bigelow of Bigelow Aerospace is considering bringing real estate to orbit. Bigelow is the man behind Budget Suites of America and has made a fortune in real estate.
His plans for inflatable six-person space stations could be ready later this decade. These small space stations would cost $395 million a year. Not to mention the possible $20 million ride per seat to get there. Sound Crazy?
Well in all actuality, it’s not. It’s inevitable that one day there could be real estate in space. Obviously the world is been fascinated with the idea and there are several companies buying into it.
Have you ever seen the advertisements for buying a deed for a parcel of land on the moon? After some research I found that 2.5 million people purchased these at $19.99. This, however, is considered a scam. You basically pay for a nice piece of paper as there is no way to validate the legality of the title. Continue reading »
Travis Broadwater
By Travis Broadwater
Even though the federal tax credits have expired, it is still wiser to buy now than rent. Our clients get a tax write off and build appreciation instead of throwing money away each month. Home prices are so affordable today it is a good time to take advantage of the buyer’s market conditions with low interest rates and an abundance of properties to select from. Buyers can find great deals on distressed short sales, foreclosure auction properties and REOs (real estate owned), including single-family homes, multi-family dwellings, townhouse, condos and commercial apartment buildings in all areas and price ranges.
If a large down payment is preventing your clients from buying, they can purchase an owner-occupied property (single-family home -4 units) with an FHA loan that only requires a minimum of a 3.5 percent down payment. However, if they are going for traditional financing or buying non-owner occupied investment property, then they will need at least a 20 percent to 30 percent down payment and good credit. If they have less than perfect credit, they may want to investigate seller financing or a rent-to-own program.
So the first decision your clients need to make is what type of property they want to buy and how they intend on using it. Intended uses include: Continue reading »
By G. M. Filisko, contributing writer, HouseLogic
In today’s economy, there’s no shortage of potential buyers, but few have emerged from the recession without a few dings on their credit. Help potential buyers boost their credit with tips from the June “Get Ready to Own” bundle now available at the REALTOR® Content Resource:
1. Know your credit score. Credit scores range from 300 to 850, and the higher, the better. They’re based on whether you’ve paid personal loans, car loans, credit cards, and other debt in full and on time in the past. Buyers will need a score of at least 620 to qualify for a home loan and 740 to get the best interest rates and terms. They’re entitled to a free copy of their credit report annually from each of the major credit-reporting bureaus, Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion. They can access all three versions of their credit report at www.annualcreditreport.com and then review them to ensure the information is accurate.
2. Correct credit report errors. If buyers find mistakes on their credit report, they can write a letter to the credit-reporting agency explaining why they believe there’s an error. They should include documents that support their case and ask that the error be corrected or removed. They can also write to the company, or debt collector, that reported the incorrect information to dispute the information and ask to be copied on any materials sent to credit-reporting agencies.
Those are just two of seven tips buyers can use to boost their credit now available at the REALTOR® Content Resource. If buyers’ credit is impeccable, share tips on steps to take before buying a home, finding the right home, determining how much mortgage you can afford, understanding real estate representation, and keeping your home purchase on track, all of which are also part of the “Get Ready to Own” bundle.
The REALTOR® Content Resource, the new tool brought to you by the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®, is an exclusive NAR member benefit that entitles you to download free homeownership content in your consumer Web site, blog, or e-newsletter. HouseLogic is the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS’® no-topic-left-uncovered consumer website geared to helping home owners make smart decisions to maintain, protect, and increase the value of their home.
Stefanie Hahn
By Stefanie Hahn
It’s summertime! Let’s grab our bathing suits, hit the pool and… oh yeah, check our Facebook privacy settings. Another update from Zuckerburg and crew has created the need to recheck what you are sharing on Facebook.
First things first …
If you are connected with more than 15 people on facebook and you haven’t created a few “Friend Lists” yet, stop and do this now. Setting up your lists is simple and…BONUS…they are easy to maintain.
Just as a refresher….
Click on Account
Click on Edit Friends
On the left menu, click on Friends
Click Create New List
Enter a name for your list (family, work, YPN)
Click on the faces of your friends to add them to the list
- You can have friends on more than one list
Click Create List
<Rinse, lather, repeat>
Now that you have your lists setup you can add a friend when you accept their friend invitation.
OK, where were we … oh yeah, privacy. Continue reading »
Jonathan Osman
By Jonathan Osman
If you ever want to start a heated discussion among agents in my area, ask them their opinion of short sales. What will pour forth is the most draw-dropping tales of sheer lunacy; always ending with “I’ll never show or sell another short sale again.”
This presents a problem for me on a number of levels. First, to my own self interests, I list and sell short sale listings. While most of the agents I have interacted have not done business with my group, they are hesitant to jump back into one of these transactions with anyone…and I totally get that. Out of the four short sale contracts written by my buyer agents on other listings, only one closed. Today in the Charlotte area, we have more than a 13 month supply of short sale listings and only a 3 month supply of REOs. That may not say much until you learn that the actual inventory numbers for the REOs are slightly higher than the short sales; the results of those bad experiences.
Beyond my own interests is the interest of a home owner facing foreclosure. Due to any number of hardships, they now face the difficult prospect of losing their home, a future deficiency judgment, and possible bankruptcy if things don’t work out this time. Along with that home owner is a neighborhood with values that drop with every foreclosure, pushing another home owner to a short sale, strategic default, or walk-away. The most profound statistic I compiled through data in our local MLS and through the state was that last year, more home owners lost their home to foreclosure in my county (the largest in North Carolina) than agents closed homes through the MLS. Continue reading »
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