Showing posts with label looking for a home. Show all posts
Showing posts with label looking for a home. Show all posts
Friday, March 30, 2012
Monday, February 27, 2012
10 Ways to Add Value To Your Home
Click the link below to access real estate radio and find out the 10 ways to Add Value To Your Home
Radio
Radio
Tuesday, February 21, 2012
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
Thursday, December 2, 2010
Wednesday, November 24, 2010
Friday, November 19, 2010
Thursday, November 11, 2010
Monday, January 25, 2010
Saturday, September 26, 2009
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
Monday, August 10, 2009
Thursday, May 7, 2009
Friday, February 13, 2009
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
S&P: Dallas-area home prices down 3.3%
S&P: Dallas-area home prices down 3.3%
11:57 AM CST on Tuesday, January 27, 2009
By STEVE BROWN / The Dallas Morning News
stevebrown@dallasnews.com
Dallas home prices dipped by more than 3 percent in the latest gauge of nationwide home values.
But Dallas' decline in November from a year earlier was the lowest of any U.S. market in the closely-watched Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller Home Price Index.
Nationwide home prices dropped by a record 18.2 percent in the monthly report while Dallas prices fell by only 3.3 percent, according to the report released early Tuesday.
“The freefall in residential real estate continued through November 2008,” S&P's David M. Blitzer said in the report.
It was the 28th consecutive month of nationwide price declines.
In the Dallas area, prices peaked in June 2007. Since then, they've declined by about 6 percent.
Phoenix, with a decline of 32.9 percent, and Las Vegas, down 31.6 percent, had the biggest annual declines in the just-released Case-Shiller report.
The survey tracks the prices of typical single-family homes located in each metropolitan area. The index survey does not include condominiums and townhouses. It only covers pre-owned properties – no new construction.
The Case-Shiller researchers compare sales of specific single-family homes over time.
The November Dallas price decline was in line with other recent studies which show that overall home prices in North Texas have fallen only slightly in the last year.
Along with Dallas, the lowest U.S. home price declines were reported in Denver (-4.3 percent) and Charlotte (-5.3 percent).
S&P/CASE-SHILLER HOME PRICE INDEX
Metropolitan area November 1-year change
Atlanta -11.2%
Boston -7.4%
Charlotte -5.3%
Chicago -12.5%
Cleveland -5.2%
Dallas -3.3%
Denver -4.3%
Detroit -20.7%
Las Vegas -31.6%
Los Angeles -26.9%
Miami -28.7%
Minneapolis -16.3%
New York -8.6%
Phoenix -32.9%
Portland -11.5%
San Diego -25.8%
San Francisco -30.8%
Seattle -11.2%
Tampa -20.9%
Washington -19.4%
Composite-20 city -18.2%
11:57 AM CST on Tuesday, January 27, 2009
By STEVE BROWN / The Dallas Morning News
stevebrown@dallasnews.com
Dallas home prices dipped by more than 3 percent in the latest gauge of nationwide home values.
But Dallas' decline in November from a year earlier was the lowest of any U.S. market in the closely-watched Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller Home Price Index.
Nationwide home prices dropped by a record 18.2 percent in the monthly report while Dallas prices fell by only 3.3 percent, according to the report released early Tuesday.
“The freefall in residential real estate continued through November 2008,” S&P's David M. Blitzer said in the report.
It was the 28th consecutive month of nationwide price declines.
In the Dallas area, prices peaked in June 2007. Since then, they've declined by about 6 percent.
Phoenix, with a decline of 32.9 percent, and Las Vegas, down 31.6 percent, had the biggest annual declines in the just-released Case-Shiller report.
The survey tracks the prices of typical single-family homes located in each metropolitan area. The index survey does not include condominiums and townhouses. It only covers pre-owned properties – no new construction.
The Case-Shiller researchers compare sales of specific single-family homes over time.
The November Dallas price decline was in line with other recent studies which show that overall home prices in North Texas have fallen only slightly in the last year.
Along with Dallas, the lowest U.S. home price declines were reported in Denver (-4.3 percent) and Charlotte (-5.3 percent).
S&P/CASE-SHILLER HOME PRICE INDEX
Metropolitan area November 1-year change
Atlanta -11.2%
Boston -7.4%
Charlotte -5.3%
Chicago -12.5%
Cleveland -5.2%
Dallas -3.3%
Denver -4.3%
Detroit -20.7%
Las Vegas -31.6%
Los Angeles -26.9%
Miami -28.7%
Minneapolis -16.3%
New York -8.6%
Phoenix -32.9%
Portland -11.5%
San Diego -25.8%
San Francisco -30.8%
Seattle -11.2%
Tampa -20.9%
Washington -19.4%
Composite-20 city -18.2%
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
I'll take my commission in Parrot
In real estate, you get to experience some crazy events.
A couple of years ago, I was selling a house for a client. He was right at the break even on an offer that we recieved. He evidentally didn't realize that he had another expense that he wasn't factoring in (not associated with the RE transaction).
Long story short, he was $3000 short to be able to close on the sale of his house. I agreed to front him the $3000 so he could make closing happen from the sale side. He was so thankful and promised to pay me back as soon as he got his first two paychecks.
The seller owned a parrot and was so thankful that I helped him get his house sold that he gave my kids the parrot. He didn't really want the parrot as he was moving into a smaller apartment and didn't have room for him.
Needless to say, the seller never paid me back and I think he gave us that Parrot just because he can be so annoying. The client was a good guy and I would do it again for him to help him get his home sold. I just don't think I would take the Parrot again.
Monday, October 6, 2008
Countrywide to modify mortgages
The New York Times
Countrywide Financial has agreed to the largest program ever to modify home loans, as part of a settlement with officials in Texas and 10 other states.
The agreement comes just days after the federal government adopted a giant financial rescue package without any relief for distressed homeowners.
To settle the suits, it will provide $8.4 billion in direct loan relief, affecting an estimated 400,000 borrowers nationwide, while waiving certain fees and setting aside additional funds to help people in foreclosure who are relocating.
"Countrywide's greed turned the American dream into a nightmare for thousands,"said California Attorney General Jerry Brown. He led the negotiations for the states with Lisa Madigan, the Illinois attorney general.
"Our goal here is to help as many people stay in their homes as possible and get some compensation for those who have already been pushed out of their homes," he said.
Details on how many homeowners in Texas would be helped were not available.
The Countrywide effort is the most comprehensive mandatory loan workout program since the mortgage crisis began last year. Congress has proposed various programs, but those measures did not make it into the final $700 billion government bailout.
Countrywide has pledged before to modify large swaths of loans. Late last year, it vowed to help about 82,000 borrowers who were facing higher payments through 2008. But the new program will be mandatory and will be monitored by state officials.
Along with the direct relief, Countrywide will waive late fees of $79 million and prepayment penalties of $56 million and suspend foreclosures on delinquent borrowers with the riskiest loans.
A foreclosure relief fund will be created with $150 million from Countrywide to help borrowers who are four months or more behind on their payments or whose homes have already been foreclosed on. The company will also provide $70 million to help troubled borrowers relocate to rental housing. In all, Countrywide is setting aside $8.7 billion to help borrowers.
A Bank of America spokesman, James E. Mahoney, said the cost of the program had been anticipated by the company in its acquisition of Countrywide.
Countrywide settled with the states without admitting any wrongdoing.
Under the terms of the settlement, Countrywide will reduce principal balances in some cases and cut interest rates in others. Rates could decline to 2.5 percent, depending upon a borrower's ability to pay, and remain at that level for five years. Then the rate will adjust to prevailing interest rates charged by Fannie Mae on its fixed-rate mortgages.
The program will focus on borrowers who were placed in the riskiest loans, including adjustable-rate mortgages whose interest rates reset significantly several years after the loans were made. Pay-option mortgages, under which a borrower must pay only a small fraction of the interest and principal, thereby allowing the loan balance to increase, are also included in the modifications.
Borrowers whose first payment was due between Jan. 1, 2004, and Dec. 31, 2007, can participate. The loan balance must be at least 75 percent of the current value of the home, and the borrower must be able to afford the adjusted monthly payments.
Other states in the settlement are Arizona, Connecticut, Florida, Iowa, Michigan, North Carolina, Ohio and Washington. It is the largest predatory lending settlement in history, far exceeding the $484 million deal struck in 2002 with the Household Finance Corp.
Countrywide Financial has agreed to the largest program ever to modify home loans, as part of a settlement with officials in Texas and 10 other states.
The agreement comes just days after the federal government adopted a giant financial rescue package without any relief for distressed homeowners.
To settle the suits, it will provide $8.4 billion in direct loan relief, affecting an estimated 400,000 borrowers nationwide, while waiving certain fees and setting aside additional funds to help people in foreclosure who are relocating.
"Countrywide's greed turned the American dream into a nightmare for thousands,"said California Attorney General Jerry Brown. He led the negotiations for the states with Lisa Madigan, the Illinois attorney general.
"Our goal here is to help as many people stay in their homes as possible and get some compensation for those who have already been pushed out of their homes," he said.
Details on how many homeowners in Texas would be helped were not available.
The Countrywide effort is the most comprehensive mandatory loan workout program since the mortgage crisis began last year. Congress has proposed various programs, but those measures did not make it into the final $700 billion government bailout.
Countrywide has pledged before to modify large swaths of loans. Late last year, it vowed to help about 82,000 borrowers who were facing higher payments through 2008. But the new program will be mandatory and will be monitored by state officials.
Along with the direct relief, Countrywide will waive late fees of $79 million and prepayment penalties of $56 million and suspend foreclosures on delinquent borrowers with the riskiest loans.
A foreclosure relief fund will be created with $150 million from Countrywide to help borrowers who are four months or more behind on their payments or whose homes have already been foreclosed on. The company will also provide $70 million to help troubled borrowers relocate to rental housing. In all, Countrywide is setting aside $8.7 billion to help borrowers.
A Bank of America spokesman, James E. Mahoney, said the cost of the program had been anticipated by the company in its acquisition of Countrywide.
Countrywide settled with the states without admitting any wrongdoing.
Under the terms of the settlement, Countrywide will reduce principal balances in some cases and cut interest rates in others. Rates could decline to 2.5 percent, depending upon a borrower's ability to pay, and remain at that level for five years. Then the rate will adjust to prevailing interest rates charged by Fannie Mae on its fixed-rate mortgages.
The program will focus on borrowers who were placed in the riskiest loans, including adjustable-rate mortgages whose interest rates reset significantly several years after the loans were made. Pay-option mortgages, under which a borrower must pay only a small fraction of the interest and principal, thereby allowing the loan balance to increase, are also included in the modifications.
Borrowers whose first payment was due between Jan. 1, 2004, and Dec. 31, 2007, can participate. The loan balance must be at least 75 percent of the current value of the home, and the borrower must be able to afford the adjusted monthly payments.
Other states in the settlement are Arizona, Connecticut, Florida, Iowa, Michigan, North Carolina, Ohio and Washington. It is the largest predatory lending settlement in history, far exceeding the $484 million deal struck in 2002 with the Household Finance Corp.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
