investment: Holy Crap... It's Almost November... FTHBTC... Extended? - 10/28/09 07:12 PM
Do you know what those initials (FTHBTC) stand for?
First Time Home Buyer Tax Credit...
If you aren't already familiar with it, it might be gone before you get a chance to get more familiar... It is currently slated to expire at the end of November. And the clock is ticking.
… (4 comments)
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investment: Water, Water, Everywhere... Trashing the House... - 09/17/09 08:40 PM
Water is essential for life. Without it, everything dies. But... sometimes it can be a pain in the butt... like when it is in the wrong place in the house... or outside of the house...
I have a buyer that is under contract on a beautiful home... or more accurately, a … (6 comments)
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investment: Repair or Retreat Bond... Which one is better? - 09/14/09 08:43 PM
I'm not a "Bug Guy" and I don't play one on TV. But, as a real estate agent, I get asked about bugs a lot. More specifically, I get asked about termites... ok, actually about termite damage and termite bonds.
We joke (ok, actually the Bug Guys joke) that here in … (3 comments)
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investment: Over-Updated, Under-Updated... - 09/05/09 10:55 PM
I visited a home recently that had an interesting mix of over and under updated features.
Overall, the home was quite beautiful. The finishes were well done and attractive. Honestly, it showed better than the photos... and that is a good thing, the photos weren't bad.
The yard was amazing. The … (4 comments)
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investment: Mold, not just for bread and cheese anymore… - 09/04/09 02:27 PM
Image via Wikipedia
Ok, mold has NEVER just been for bread and cheese. and while it can be useful stuff… when it is penicillin… the rest of the time, it is NOT something we want in our bodies.
So, Mold and Real Estate?
I’m seeing it more and more. Actually, … (4 comments)
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investment: Deals in Bankrupt Subdivisions? - 09/03/09 11:49 AM
I recently took some buyers out looking at houses in an area with a lot of bankrupt subdivisions. The houses were, in many cases, quite attractive and priced very competitively.
But there are a lot of considerations that buyers need to weigh before buying a home in a subdivision where the … (9 comments)
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investment: An Ovation for Novation - 07/31/09 10:16 PM
After you find the house, you have to find a way to pay for the house. Sure, there are a few people that just write a check, but most of us find ourselves calling a mortgage broker or banker.
When people ask me who they think I should call, I have … (6 comments)
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investment: The Story of a House... - 07/30/09 11:05 PM
Earlier today I read a blog my Anne Rains about a house she took a buyer to see... it was a mess. It had smells. It had clutter. They left.
It reminded me of a house.
I was six. And it was a cool house... in that 70s sort of way. … (6 comments)
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investment: REEP and Cap & Trade - 07/05/09 09:46 PM
Changes might be coming... and they aren't good.
Buried in the 1500 page bill is a very long section on the Retrofit for Energy and Environmental Performance program, REEP for short.
It calls for varied provisions such as "Green Guidelines" for new and existing homes, Federal Code Inspectors for those provisions, … (6 comments)
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investment: Can a home be overpriced at $29,000? - 06/07/09 10:04 PM
I wandered out to look at some investment properties this afternoon… One of the properties was priced at $29,000… in a neighborhood of $100,000+ homes. In fact, this very home had sold for over $110,000 in the last couple of years.
Could it be overpriced at $29,000?
Yep.
The funny thing … (3 comments)
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investment: Chrysler's Biggest Challenge... - 05/11/09 04:52 PM
Here is the way things are scheduled to go down...
The UAW would own 55% of Chrysler
Fiat would own 35%
The US government and secured creditors would split the remaining 10%
Honestly, I don't like any of it... but the one that is the Fiat stake. At least they would … (12 comments)
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investment: Looking for a real estate deal? - 05/06/09 09:21 PM
Of course you are... everyone is. Maybe not everyone, but there are a lot of people that are looking for good deals in real estate in Gwinnett County, GA, during a buyer's market... which is basically what we are in right now.
While looking for something semi-related, I ran across some … (5 comments)
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investment: Talk about a deal... - 04/29/09 10:11 PM
While running a quick search for a friend, I ran across a few interesting listings...
There are a few deals out there that stop me in my tracks for a minute. Some catch my attention because they are priced well below the competition... and they don't need more work that the … (3 comments)
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investment: How well are my predictions doing? - 04/17/09 11:02 AM
While wandering through some old posts I ran across one of my prediction posts.
Lane's Top Ten Underdogs for 2009
It was interesting to look over. And I thought it might be fun to take a look at how I am doing on it so far...
10. GM still needs a … (5 comments)
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investment: A (very) Quick Rundown of Some Current Buyer Programs - 04/07/09 09:41 PM
Just in the last few days I have highlighted a couple of Buyer Programs that are currently available. I have also hit a couple of others in the last few weeks... there are a lot of programs out there to spur buyer attention!
photo credit: pfala
If you are a buyer, … (2 comments)
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investment: Do you have a Dream? Georgia has a Dream... for Buyers! - 04/07/09 10:17 AM
Image via Wikipedia
Have you heard of the Georgia Department of Community Affairs Georgia Dream NSP Purchase Plan?
In effect it can provide $14,000 to qualified buyers of qualified properties that can be used as down payment or for re-hab of the purchased property. And, if the buyer is a … (0 comments)
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investment: HUD American Dream $100 Down Program - 04/02/09 11:13 AM
Seriously! I actually was going to write about this yesterday, but didn't want to release something this important on April Fool's Day... Because this is NO JOKE.
HUD has a $100 Down Payment Program that is available on specific homes and through specific lenders. I have one of those lenders programmed … (4 comments)
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investment: Can I get a sub 4% loan, too? - 03/17/09 11:52 PM
A small bank in Washington state is hoping that they have the answer to bail-out some of their clients... clients that are builders and owe them millions of dollars.
They are offering loans as low as 3.875% for buyers with excellent credit and 20% to put down (3.973% APR). Basically, they … (7 comments)
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investment: Sometimes I am just wrong... - 03/14/09 10:41 PM
Fast forward to the last line of this post and you will see me swallow my foot...
Leading indicators v. Trailing indicators
I didn't think Atlanta values would drop more than a couple of points... if that. Well... 20% later, and there is no way for me to spin it otherwise... … (5 comments)
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investment: Gwinnett Market Report for March is out... on LilburnDwellings - 03/14/09 10:35 PM
The March Market Report, looking at preliminary numbers for February, and solid numbers for January is now out on LilburnDwellings.com.
If nothing else, I have to say that we live in a dynamic market. But, we really need to see what March through May holds. We probably won't have a good … (0 comments)
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