Green building is one of the buzzwords in the construction industry today. With the rising costs of fuel and gas prices, and the incredible advances made in building materials derived from renewable materials, green building is not only an environmental initiative, but a smart economic move as well. In fact, as early as 2003, the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) has required that all new federal buildings under its authority be constructed using green building practices.
Green building means a lot of things: building with materials that incorporate sustainable resources or utilize recycled materials, low energy consumption, minimal site disturbance, water conservation, solar orientation, water and energy efficiency, and healthful indoor-air quality.
Although green building practices tend to increase up-front construction costs, they often provide long-term benefits that may offset these increases. In fact, energy efficiency improvements can provide approximately 30 percent less energy than standard homes and can save homeowners approximately $200 to $400 per year.
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You see a lot of articles and books about how to make money “real estate flipping.” Perhaps you’re heard radio or television news reports about the illegalities of flipping real estate. Maybe you’ve seen the late-night infomercials promising you easy overnight fortunes.
What’s the truth about making money flipping real estate?
First, real estate flipping isn’t illegal. Because some dishonest real estate investors conspired with deceitful mortgage brokers and property appraisers, their stories made “good news” for newscasters who love to grab attention with “Investors Scam Banks and Bilk Buyers out of Millions!” sound bites. True, some investors defraud mortgage lenders and/or desperate home buyers. Cheating investors hyped up property values, helped home buyers tell untruths on mortgage applications, and conned banks and buyers.
On the other hand, ethical real estate investors make a lot of money real estate flipping. There are many ways to make money flipping real estate:
1. You can help home sellers in foreclosure save their credit by arranging a sale of the property and never even take title. In other words, buy the property and double-escrow the property to a home buyer who wants to live in the home.
2. Find a seller under stress with a bargain property, secure a sales contract, and sell your contract for roughly $500 to $5,000 to a seasoned real estate investor without financing or taking title.
Mortgage Rate News
Interest rates have continued to drop since mid October with the average 30-yr fixed rate mortgage recently dancing just around 6%.
Analysis
It’s a mixed bag. There’s no way around the negative impact that flat home prices, cutbacks in new homes construction and ever-decreasing consumer spending continue to have on the overall economy. Manufacturers have experienced increases in overseas orders, but this is largely due to the weakened value of the dollar.
There are some positive indicators though.
Service companies that comprise the majority of U.S. jobs continue to report growth. Treasury notes have fallen and the S&P’s rising stock index signals optimism about interest rates holding when the Fed convenes next week.
But any pick-up in growth that was seen in the third quarter can be seen screeching to a halt under the weight of troubled financial markets, the downturn in construction, the increasing cost of fuel and food and declining home values.
Predictions
There is a high probability that Fed will cut the Federal Funds Rate when it convenes on the 11th.
San Francisco ranks fifth in the nation as a location for real estate development and investment, according to a national study released Thursday in San Francisco.
The City lost out to top-rated New York City, which was deemed the most desirable metropolitan area to invest in development and real estate in the nation, according to the 2008 Emerging Trends study, an annual survey of real estate industry professionals put out by PricewaterhouseCoopers and the nonprofit Urban Land Institute. Seattle was the only West Coast city to rank higher than San Francisco on the annual list.
Factors in San Francisco’s attractiveness to developers include its access to airports and ports, its emphasis on transit oriented development and its status as a “24-hour, global-pathway city,” experts said at the Emerging Trends in Real Estate Conference on Thursday.
“San Francisco is a multifaceted city with many diverse attractions,” said PricewaterhouseCoopers, Jonathan Miller, keynote speaker at the conference, hosted by the Hotel Nikko. “It’s still the dominant 24-hour city of the West Coast, and it attracts a global market that few cities in America can attain.”
Read more here…
Source: Examiner.com
Home sellers were in the driver’s seat with real estate agents courting them - often at bargain commission rates. But now that the bubble has burst, the tables have turned.
In 1991, the average commission rate was 6.1 percent, according Steve Murray, of Real Trends, which tracks the brokerage industry. The rate inched down to 5.4 percent by 2001 and by the end of 2005, it stood at 5.02 percent.
Industry insiders expected further declines with the competition of discount and Web-based brokerages. In early 2006, the chairman of Re/Max, Dave Linder, told Real Trends that he expected a drop into the 4 percent range within five years.
But when home sellers found themselves with houses sitting on the market, they became increasingly amenable to paying higher commissions. Real Trends reports the average commission reversed its course and climbed to 5.18 percent in 2006, and it looks like it’s going to end 2007 with another rise.
“The thing that changed,” said Murray,” is that the market flipped. There was a flood of listings on the market and suddenly they weren’t as valuable. Agents were saying, ‘I’m not going to drop my commission rate as readily.”
Learn more: money.cnn.com
Real Estate Tips
Some handy advice for those buying property.
With the main traditional buying season approaching, here are some tips for those of you on the house hunting trail.
- Don’t be put off by bad weather. It’s a good time to check the potential property for leaks and poor drainage.
- Visit the area to check out the proximity of schools, nightlife, transport, shopping centres, etc. These can have an effect on your lifestyle, both now and in the future (ie.children).
- Contact local agents to research recent sale values in the area.
- Always obtain building and pest reports on any property in which you are seriously interested.
- Before you buy, get in touch with your potential neighbours, to ascertain suitability and see if there are underlying disputes or problems.
How about a closure with no papers included? Yes, I mean those bulky papers that you normally bring when closing a deal.
Sounds nice, eh?
Well, Arizona realtors are on it. They’ve sign up with SureClose, an online transaction management website that provides hassle-free real estate closures. Since it’ll eliminate manual filing of files, the website features total archiving of the buyer and seller’s transaction history. Although a fee of $129 is required before you could sign up as a member, the hassle-free features of the website will get your money’s worth. SureClose plans to integrate all Arizona realtors (around 54,000) by 2008.
Photo taken from http://www.webtvwire.com
Real estate is a legal term (in some jurisdictions, notably in the USA) that encompasses land along with anything permanently affixed to the land, such as buildings, specifically property that is stationary, or fixed in location. Real estate is often considered synonymous with real property (also sometimes called realty), in contrast with personal property (also sometimes called chattel or personalty). However, in some situations the term “real estate” refers to the land and fixtures together, as distinguished from “real property,” referring to ownership rights of the land itself.
The terms real estate and real property are used primarily in common law, while civil law jurisdictions refer instead to immovable property.
A shopping centre on a Worcestershire estate is set to benefit from a multi-million pound revamp.
Council leaders said Church Hill in Redditch needed the new shops and other services to help prevent anti-social behaviour there.
The area, which has 10,000 residents, was chosen above three others in the town to have the revamp.
The plans will include having a high street on both sides of the street to encourage more businesses to the area.
New car parks will also be built.
Source: news.bbc.co.uk
Manhattan is Manhattan. It is an upscale town in New York and home to the hundreds of thousands of wealthy Yankees.
No wonder the cost of living in the said state is increasing by the minute. Even condominiums and co-ops’ prices are continuously sky-rocketing with a recorded increase of about 6.4% in 12 months, around $799,000 - $850,000, close to a million that might get you a little house (and an additional barn too if you wish!) if you settle for a much lower-cost state such as Arkansas. Based on the pattern, prices of condos and co-ops are expected to rise even more until the end of the fourth quarter.
Photo taken from http://www.poster.net