expert real estate tips: Buyer's Market Can Overwhlem, Here's 8 Steps For Buying A Great House In This Market - 10/06/10 11:55 AM
Shopping for a home these days is overwhelming. There are simply too many homes from which to choose.
You make an appointment with your agent, and there are 10 to 12 homes to see, plus another 50 possibilities – and that’s after you’ve already spent hours shopping around online to get a sense of what’s available in your neighborhood of choice, and at what price point.
There’s so much housing stock available (nearly a year’s worth across the county at the current rate of sales), that you could spend months seeing and thinking about available homes for sale.
But that isn’t … (0 comments)
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expert real estate tips: Adding Name To Deed? Follow Condo Association Rules - 09/09/10 12:27 PM
Clearing up a falsehood about adding a name to a deed:
Q: I bought a condo in Chicago. I want to put a family member on the deed. I was told that Illinois law does not allow me to put a family member on the title to the condo unless the person is also on the loan. Is this true?
A: No. You can add anybody you like to the title to your property subject to a couple of rules that generally apply everywhere. If you own a condominium, your condominium association may have rules that prohibit you from adding a … (0 comments)
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expert real estate tips: How Do You Find A Good Builder For A New Construction Home? - 08/24/10 03:45 PM
Q: We had signed a contract with a national builder about three years ago but it fell through. Now we are in the market again and want a builder to build us a specific new home in this subdivision we like.
We’re worrying that the builder’s contract is one-sided. It requires us to use arbitration, which our side would probably never win on most discrepancies.
Most builders will not accept suggested changes. What would you do? How do we know if we can trust our builder?
A: When it comes to real estate, trust is kind of a loaded word. I … (1 comments)
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expert real estate tips: Buy, Close, Move In! My latest book - 04/16/10 03:35 PM
It's finally here! My twelfth book, Buy, Close, Move In! is on the shelves and I am so excited!
The rules have changed, but your dreams haven't.
You can still buy the home you want. Sure, it's harder than ever to find a great deal or get the best loan, but you can do it. All it takes is a little expert advice from Ilyce.
Buy, Close, Move In! cuts through the confusing red tape to provide the essential inside information you need to make the best decisions, and answers commonly asked questions about every step of the process, including:
… (2 comments)
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expert real estate tips: What Are Your Favorite Money Sites? Help Me Out - 04/07/10 08:01 PM
Think Glink is working on a new project, can't disclose too much yet, but how would you like a site with expert-generated content on topics like insurance, taxes, financial planning, credit, real estate and money?
But Active Rain already exists right?
Part of the reason AR is so successful is that it provides a place for experts to share advice, but we can't be alone in the internet universe can we?
This is where my Active Rain friends come in, we are looking for other communities and sites that talk about those topics the same way Active Rain talks about real … (17 comments)
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expert real estate tips: What Are Your Favorite Money Sites? Help Me Out - 04/06/10 03:06 PM
Think Glink is working on a new project, can't disclose too much yet, but how would you like a site with expert-generated content on topics like insurance, taxes, financial planning, credit, real estate and money?
But Active Rain already exists right?
Part of the reason AR is so successful is that it provides a place for experts to share advice, but we can't be alone in the internet universe can we?
This is where my Active Rain friends come in, we are looking for other communities and sites that talk about those topics the same way Active Rain talks about real … (0 comments)
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expert real estate tips: Top Three Real Estate Investing Mistakes - 04/02/10 04:07 PM
Everyone makes mistakes, but if you want to be a successful and profitable, these are three real estate investing mistakes you can avoid making. Get ahead in the game and avoid these top real estate investing mistakes.
But real estate investing isn’t a “get rich quick” scheme. In fact, the same mistakes investors make when investing in stocks and bonds apply to real estate investors.
Don't make these mistakes:
1. Buying real estate on impulse.
Whether you’re buying stock, or a foreclosed townhouse to rent out, impulse buying is a bad idea. You need to know what you’re buying, and what … (6 comments)
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expert real estate tips: Social Media Marketing For Home Builders and Real Estate Agents - 03/11/10 12:01 PM
Carol Flammer has a new book out called Social Media For Home Builders. Social networking is an important skill for home builders and other real estate professionals. More and more real estate brokers are using social networking and social media to find clients and close purchases and sales. You can learn an effective social networking strategy with her real estate advice. According to the latest research, more than 90 percent of all buyers start their search for a home online. About the same percentage of homeowners looking to refinance their mortgages do the same.
The Internet has proven itself to be … (0 comments)
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expert real estate tips: How To Invest Your Money In 2010 (New Event!) - 02/02/10 01:20 PM
I don’t know any serious investor who hasn’t, at one time or another, questioned whether he or she could time the stock market.
Everyone panics. The trick is you have to see through the fear factor and allow your investment strategy to work for you.
Don’t have an investment strategy? Well, don’t let your fears govern your investing philosophy. Learn how to navigate today’s choppy investment waters and be a smarter, less fearful investor.
There are enough stock market “pros” out there, hawking newsletters and advice. While the better ones claim that no one can “time” the market, the timing … (0 comments)
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expert real estate tips: It's My 1.5 Year Anniversary on AR, Time for Some Shameless Self Promotion! - 01/29/10 03:32 PM
New ThinkGlink Ebooks About Investing in Real Estate Are Now Available We created five new ebooks that together provide you with more than 100 pages of important, money-saving information about investing successful in real estate. here are the five topics:
1031 Tax-Deferred Exchanges. Everything you need to know about 1031 Exchanges (also known as Starker Trusts) and how to use them to defer capital gains and recapture taxes.
LLCs, Corporations, And Other Ways Of Holding Title To Real Estate. The time to start thinking about you're going to hold title is BEFORE you buy an investment property. This ebook walks you … (2 comments)
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expert real estate tips: Relieve Stress And Organize Your Life By Organizing Your Closet - 01/18/10 04:32 PM
A cluttered, messy closet in which you can't find anything can stress out anyone.
Relieve stress and organize your life by organizing your closet.
Go through your closet and decide whether to Recycle, Donate or Re-Gift every item. Use storage boxes and containers to control your closet, and label everything in your closet so you know exactly where to find things.
Organizing your closet is a huge step toward organizing your life. Check out this quick video from Expert Real Estate Tips and find the motivation to clearning out your closet and clearing your head.
… (4 comments)
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expert real estate tips: How Long Should You Keep Tax Records? - 12/23/09 12:58 PM
How long are you required to keep your tax records? The IRS only requires you to hold onto your tax records for seven years. But a lender might want more. Find out what they are looking for, or consider working with another lender.
Even the IRS doesn't require you to keep your tax returns more than 7 years - except if they suspect you of fraud. That's a long way to go back in time and I'm not sure I understand why a lender would want to see write-offs that are that old. (If any lenders reading this column have … (1 comments)
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expert real estate tips: Does Death Of Spouse Affect Your Mortgage? - 12/14/09 08:17 PM
How does the death of your spouse affect your mortgage?
When your spouse dies, if you are also listed on the mortgage, you are still the borrower and continue to own the home. Your spouse's death should not affect your mortgage if you are listed as a borrower or held title jointly.
If you want to change the mortgage to be in your name only, you can refinance your mortgage. In the case of the death of your spouse, as long as you continue to make the mortgage payments, your mortgage should not be affected.
When your spouse dies … (8 comments)
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expert real estate tips: What Kind Of Landscaping Will Add Value To Your Home? - 11/10/09 03:03 PM
Studies have shown that adding rich landscaping to your property can add value to your home. It doesn't mean you have to spend a lot - you just have to spend wisely. If you should find your dream home, you might want to consider investing in a pool and landscape to go along with it.
We recently had the opportunity to shoot two new pool videos showcasing dream pools designed and built by Rosebrook Custom Inground Pools. Take a look at the videos and let us know what you think.
These pools (which are high-end) feature custom-design amenities, including Italian … (0 comments)
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expert real estate tips: Home Improvement On A Budget? Start With A Closet Organizer - 08/21/09 10:37 AM
Budget home improvements can certainly help in this real estate market, particularly when you're busting at the seems and need more storage space. Why not consider a closet organizer? If you are planning to sell, a well organized home will look better and sell faster. A small home improvement can go a long way for you. Installing a closet organizing system also one of the few do-it-yourself projects that can easily end up looking professionally installed - while you save as much as 80 percent off the cost of having a professional closet company install a closet for you. So the … (3 comments)
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expert real estate tips: Drowning In Debt - 25 Million Will Be Underwater With Their Mortgages By 2011 - 08/12/09 02:25 PM
The clock is ticking. Homeowners are drowning. And the water is only getting deeper.
That’s the vision of Deutsche Bank, which this week released a disturbing study that predicts 48 percent of all homeowners with mortgages will be underwater by 2011 - that means, their homes will be worth less than their mortgage balance.
Home equity? It could be decades before some of these homeowners see even a penny of home equity.
In “Drowning in Debt - A Look at ‘Underwater’ Homeowners”, Deutsche Bank researchers Karen Weaver and Ying Shen concluded that in at the end of the Q12009, “14 … (2 comments)
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expert real estate tips: Don’t Take $8,000 First Time Home Buyer Tax Credit If You’re Not Eligible Or Jail Time Awaits - 07/29/09 11:04 AM
It had to happen: With $8,000 in free cash available to first-time home buyers (and those who haven’t owned a home in the past three years), somebody had to take advantage of the situation. The Internal Revenue Service announced this morning its first successful prosecution related to fraud involving the first-time homebuyer credit and warned taxpayers to beware of this type of scheme.
According to the IRS statement, last Thursday, a Jacksonville, Fla.-tax preparer, James Otto Price III, pled guilty to falsely claiming the first-time homebuyer credit on a client’s federal tax return. Price faces the possibility of up to three … (7 comments)
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expert real estate tips: My One Year Anniversary on Active Rain: Lessons I’ve Learned - 07/28/09 10:34 AM
It is officially my one year anniversary on Active Rain. It’s been a great relationship and I am sure it will keep going strong. Active Rain really is a great site for real estate professionals and consumers to come together and exchange advice and stories.
I’ve had a great time here and have learned a lot. Starting out I didn’t know what points were or how you got them, how to post to groups, how to join groups even, but now I have over 100,000 points and am an active member of several groups here on Active Rain.
That’s been … (9 comments)
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expert real estate tips: Do You Know the Latest Mortgage Fraud Scams? Protect Yourself! - 07/21/09 10:00 AM
In its 2008 survey of morgage fraud, the FBI concluded there is a strong correlation bewteen mortgage fraud and distressed real estate markets. Indeed, some of the states with the highest levels of mortgage fraud also had the highest levels of foreclosures. But new mortgage fraud scams emerged in 2008 that tested the abilities of the FBI to contain them. Here is a look at the newest mortgage fraud scams. Here is a look at the newest mortgage fraud scams, from the FBI's latest report:
Emerging Mortgage Fraud Scams Industry experts concur that there is a strong correlation between increased fraud … (5 comments)
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expert real estate tips: Jon and Kate (Plus 8) Can’t Sell Their Home Either - 06/10/09 02:17 PM
When agents market a house for sale, they use every marketing means at their disposal. A little old-fashioned publicity never hurts: If the listing agent can get the home featured in the local newspaper, or in a nationally-syndicated column, it should help the home sell faster.
But if Jon & Kate (plus 8 really cute kids) are having trouble selling their own house, where does that leave you?
If you follow Federal Reserve Chairmen as if they were rock stars, you may not have heard about Jon and Kate Gosselin, who along with their 8 children are the stars of a popular reality television … (2 comments)
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