Home Buying and Home Selling Tips

Obama Plans Assistance for Rentals, Mortgage Refinancing

varac — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 04:05:41 +0000

President Barack Obama announced a package of proposals to jolt the housing market, his latest effort to reignite the economy after four years of foreclosures and falling home prices.

“This housing crisis struck right at the heart of what it means to be middle class in America: our homes,” Obama said in the text of remarks he’s delivering in the Washington suburb of Falls Church, Virginia. “We need to do everything in our power to repair the damage and make responsible families whole.”

Full story is available on Bloomberg

How President Obama Can Fix the Housing Crisis

varac — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 04:04:33 +0000

Banks are holding a jillion houses in their inventories, results of abandonment and foreclosure. These buildings are deteriorating and cost the banks money, in security, taxes, and depreciation. Worse, these houses represent an oversupply which, when they are finally put out for sale, will depress housing prices even further. This will then depress the prices of inhabited houses and precipitate even more strategic defaults. Municipalities already face a declining tax basis on the inhabited ones. Property taxes are declining, with no floor in sight.

Full story is available on The Washington Times

Will Obama’s housing plan work?

varac — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 04:02:04 +0000

As part of a strategy to improve the U.S. housing market, President Obama announced Wednesday a pilot program that would allow investors to buy in bulk large numbers of foreclosed properties currently owned by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

The renewed focus on strengthening the housing market is critical if the overall economy is going to improve. Despite some positive signs at the end of 2011, the U.S. housing market continues to be a drag on the nation’s overall economic recovery.

Full story is available on The Washington Post

What to consider when buying a new home

varac — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 04:00:46 +0000

The flip side of the depressed state of the housing market is that new buyers or those upgrading may find great bargains.

Given that buying a home is one of the largest financial decision most families will make in their lifetime, it is important that you give plenty of thought before making a change.

Full story is available on kare11.com

Interest Rates At All Time Lows And Home Prices At Ten Year Lows – Why Are Home Sales The Worst Ever?

varac — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 03:58:09 +0000

In Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke’s world, all he had to do was lower interest rates enough and housing prices would magically re-inflate. Wrong! Mortgage rates are at all time lows, home prices are at 2002 levels and owning a home is just as cheap as renting, yet the housing market remains mired in a depression. The folks at the Federal Reserve who created the housing bubble with super low rates and easy “no questions asked” mortgages are helpless to put Humpty Dumpty back together again.

Sales of new homes should be booming based on low home prices and ultra low interest rates – instead new home sales in 2011 were at the lowest levels on record.

Full story is available on Problem Bank List

Neighbors decide to swap houses

varac — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 03:55:01 +0000

At first, it was just something they joked about.

Danbury residents Tosha and Michael Gordon needed a bigger house to raise their family, while neighbor Rachel Williams — who lived across the street — was looking to downsize. Williams’ realtor suggested the neighbors trade homes.

Full story is available on ctpost.com

4 tax breaks for homeowners

varac — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 03:53:58 +0000

There are two things you can count on when you become a homeowner: You get more tax breaks, and your taxes get more complicated. Whether you’ve purchased a single-family home, townhouse or condominium, tax breaks are available to you.

It’s time to get familiar with Form 1040 and Schedule A, because that’s where you will have to provide all the details about your new tax-deductible expenses.

Full story is available on MSN Money

Give your home a boost with paint

varac — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 03:52:42 +0000

Looking for a simple way to update your home? You may want to think about paint.

Consumer group Angie’s List offers these tips:

Popular colors: Earth tones tend to be popular choices for both interior and exterior of the home. However, the exterior tends to be the easiest part to choose a color for because there is less space to cover and fewer outside factors to consider. For the interior, shades of red tend to be the color that homeowners get tired of the most. If you’re weary about red but really want to incorporate it into your home, try a smaller dose of it. Using red for an accent wall or trim instead of as a base color is a more subtle move.

Full story is available on kjrh.com

Facebook ripple effect projected on Silicon Valley homes

varac — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 03:51:35 +0000

How Facebook Facebook Latest from The Business Journals San Francisco’s hottest ‘hood? Try TriSoMaWant Facebook shares? You may already own someFamily of Facebook founder, other execs to do well in IPO Follow this company ’s blockbuster IPO will impact Silicon Valley’s housing market is something Realtors, potential home buyers and sellers alike have been paying attention to for months.

This week, I talked to a few Realtors in the area and heard some interesting things about what this mega IPO could mean for folks looking to buy or sell a home. To sum it up, they predict: higher prices, multiple offers, unsolicited offers and crazy demand in already tight markets. Oh, and potential East Bay migration.

Full story is available on bizjournals.com

Foreclosed Homes Get a Second Chance

varac — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 03:46:53 +0000

Foreclosed homes are getting a new lease on life. Wells Fargo company is donating several abandoned homes to non profit organizations in Tulsa. Channel 8′s Kim Jackson explains.

Many of the homes have been boarded up, but now they are the keys to someone’s freedom.

Fitting Back In is a place where ex-offenders come–to learn things like anger management–and how to fit back in.

Full story is available on ktul.com