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More Financing Options Available For Buyers 2008-01-09 05:48:20 A recent Toronto Star article talks about the different financing options now available to home buyers. The article discusses: - You can now pay off your mortgage over 30 to 40 years, instead of up to 25 years as before. - You can now get a conventional mortgage by putting down 20 per cent of the purchase price. - You can now qualify for a low-down-payment mortgage if you’re self-employed or work on commissions. - You can now qualify for a mortgage if your total debt load is more than 40 per cent. - You can now put down only 3 per cent of the purchase price. Here is a link to the article written by Ellen Roseman: 40-year mortgages have arrived www.bytheowner.com ...

Your Annual Real Estate Horoscope for 2008 2008-01-09 03:56:36 Stars Predict Your Real Estate Future The year of 2008 holds many surprises. Are the stars aligned in your favor? Is the time right for home buying or home selling? Check out your personal horoscope to determine if you are headed into foreclosure or about to make the real estate deal of a lifetime. Your cosmic […] ...

4 Smart Strategies For Purchasing Your Next Home 2008-01-09 03:46:43 If you’ve decided it’s time to move up to a bigger home, a better home or a home in a more coveted area, your next challenge will be getting there financially. It’s likely you’ll need more cash, a larger income and, perhaps, better credit than you had when you purchased your current home. Putting all […] ...

Did You Know Your Paycheck Gets Bigger When You Buy a House? 2008-01-09 03:39:26 Amazing, but true. Buying a home adds to your “take home” income  - possibly by several hundred dollars or more  -  simply by increasing the number of federal income tax withholding allowances on Form W-4. Here’s how it works. New home buyers generally find that their pre-purchase withholding rate will result in overpayment of taxes, if […] ...

How to Deal With a Low Appraisal 2008-01-09 03:34:20 Solutions for Low Appraisals Don’t panic if the appraisal comes in low. It’s tough to remain calm when it appears the pending sale will fall apart, but both parties have options: Buyer can make up the difference in cash. The lender cares about the appraisal only to the extent it affects the loan-to-value ratio. A low appraisal […] ...

Toronto home prices rise 9% in 2007 2008-01-09 03:13:51 Toronto real estate prices rose 9% last year, continuing a decade-long rise amid fresh concerns the market might cool in 2008. “I think we had a phenomenal year and it will be difficult to duplicate,” said Jane Renwick, executive vice-president of Urbanation, which issues a quarterly research report on Toronto’s condo market. The average sale price of a Toronto home was $376,236 in 2007, the Toronto Real Estate Board announced yesterday. That’s 9% higher than the 2006 average of $351,941. It continues an upward trend that began in 1997, when the average GTA home sold for $211,307. The number of sales set records throughout 2007, and the market grew hotter after the city adopted a new real estate transfer tax, which takes effect on February, 1. That tax, as well as signs of economic slowdown in the U.S. that could influence the Canadian economy, may have an effect on Toronto house prices. “It’s difficult to say what will happen, what we can expect in ...

If you want to avoid foreclosure, open the letters. 2008-01-09 03:01:09 I found an interesting article on inman today: How to prevent foreclosure Don’t delay in contacting your lender “I received a call to my radio show just before the end of the year from a woman who had just received a letter from the bank that it was starting foreclosure proceedings. Let’s just say that it wasn’t the year-end […] ...

San Francisco Real Estate Fast Facts: Condo Sales November 2007 vs. November 2006 2008-01-08 16:02:54 It seems like people LOVE data - so I’m going to give you more of it.  Here’s a quick update from the SFAR.  Updates are provided weekly and each week is a different sector of the market (ie. Condos, Single Family Homes, 2-4 unit dwellings, etc.). Check back next week for more statistics.. Fast Facts Condominiums District 1 November 2006 November 2007 Number of Sales 12 15 Median Selling Price 734,500 995,000 Average DOM 60 39 District 2 November 2006 November 2007 Number of Sales 2 4 Median Selling Price 880,000 681,250 Average DOM 27 32 District 3 November 2006 November 2007 Number of Sales 3 2 Median Selling Price 504,500 542,250 Average DOM 69 57 District 4 November 2006 November 2007 Number of Sales 8 4 Median Selling Price 516,000 560,000 Average DOM 50 40 District 5 November 2006 November 2007 Num ...

All Hail The King 2008-01-07 23:14:36 RisMedia notes How Graceland Celebrates the King’s Birthday. Become a member of Elvis Candlelight and promote a greater understanding of Spirit through the example and spiritual seeking of Elvis Presley during his life time, and his continuing presence in the world. There are many ETA’s (Elvis Tribute Artists) but few PTA’s in the U.S. Marlow/Priscilla at the Elvis Invitationals Other agents and real estate folks love Elvis too…. Elvis Real Estate Elvis Birthday Events at Graceland Elvis Vogrin, Re-Max Agent Boston real estate agent, Elvis Doda Elvis Turkovich, Aspen Realty Elvis Chin, Singapore Real Estate Zillow loves Elvis ...

What Would You Do With $10 Million? 2008-01-07 19:05:07 Pay Green Bay Packer Brett Favre’s salary for the year “? what I wouldn’t give to get him on the Seattle Seahawks’ payroll for Saturday’s showdown. Take a spin in the General Lee “? admit it, you’ve practiced the smooth, window-entry move like Bo and Luke Duke. Spend a night (and a half) together with the Rolling Stones “? maybe Mick will tell you just how he gets into those tight pants. At Redfin, we decided the money was better spent on more important things. Actually, more than 1,000 more important things such as weddings, renovations, larger homes and new furniture for our customers. By the end of 2007, we refunded more than $10 million in commissions to home buyers nationwide. Since the launch of the home-buying service in February 2006, we have helped more than 1,000 people buy a home, with an average refund of $10,106. Since September 2006, we also worked with nearly 300 home sellers saving them more than $3 million in commissio ...

Toronto Real Estate Board reports: 2008-01-07 10:55:58 Condo sales bring 2007 to a strong finish! Brisk condo sales in December brought the 2007 Greater Toronto Area resale housing market to a strong finish, Toronto Real Estate Board President Maureen O’Neill announced today. “Typically condominium apartment transactions comprise just over 20 per cent of total sales but in December they accounted for more than a quarter of resale activity,”� said Ms. O’Neill. “Condos are often more affordable than other housing options and they show particularly well in winter.”� Increasing by 12 per cent over the previous year to a total of 93,193 sales, 2007 was the best year ever for GTA resale housing activity and December’s 4,646 sales came within two per cent of the best performance for the month, set in 2001. The average price in December was $394,931, which resulted in an annual increase of seven per cent from the previous year. The most active areas in December were in the City of Toronto. Riverdale (E0 ...

Two 43215 Projects Moving Along 2008-01-07 10:36:13 The excitement continues to build for two new urban projects here in the 43215, both coming along at different stages. The downtown development anchored at Gay & Fourth streets, known as Neighborhood Launch, recently added a 3-D interior tour to their website. Just click on ‘Walking Tour’ and select ‘Interior Tour’ in the pop-up window to see a graphic rendering of one of their 3-story townhomes. Contact me for additional floor plans and complete pricing. They’ve also offered some great rates for reserving by the end of the month (under 5% for a 30-year fixed rate loan!) and their model will be done this month. In the Short North, demolition is complete and promotional materials are up for the Ibiza on High development located at the corner of Hubbard and High streets. The multi-use project promises modern, green-living at affordable prices with a location and views of downtown Columbus that can’t be beat. The website looks to still be und ...

Monday’s Blame Game: The S&L Crisis. 2008-01-07 04:32:06 Everyone seems to be wagging their fingers right now at the banks for not learning the lessons of the S&L crisis in the 1980’s.  Oh, Contraire.  As the Becker-Posner blog points out,  the banks DID learn lessons from the S+L crisis.  A grossly abbreviated summary:  thrifts and S&L’s made spectacularly bad loans, betting big on one asset class.  When the asset class (largely land and partly junk bonds) didn’t pan out, S&L’s started to die.  They were hyperleveraged, which should be legal.  What is incorrect is the explicit and implicit guarantees that the federal government makes to the millionaires that make big and unsustainable bets. Without batting an eye, the government stood up to cover the bets that they made.  What’s more, without batting an eye, we subsidized incompetence, fraud, malfeasance, corruption, stupidity, greed, and idiotic regulation.  Regulation caused the S+L crisis: rememb ... Amp

Mortgage Interest Rates and Our Conundrum 2008-01-06 18:36:15 I don’t talk too much about specific mortgage rates on here because quoting general rates doesn’t do you a whole lot of good.  You being a homeowner with an unique situation and financing need.  I’d rather you do what you’ve been doing; picking up the phone and talking to me (or shooting me an email).  But, I had to share this interest rate that came across my desk the other day because it highlights some of the many problems with the current market conundrum we’re in. A Smoking Interest Rate To fully disclose this rate is on a rate and term refinance transaction on a 3-year fixed adjustable rate mortgage under $417,000 for a single family residence home that is occupied by the borrower where the loan to value of the property is under 80%.  To qualify you would need to be able to fully document your income and have a credit score above 640.  There could be changes to the rate based on a variety of factors. With that said, Countrywide’s base rate ...

Toronto Condo Critique 2008-01-06 10:11:37 Bellair Gardens makes the best of its site. Sitting at 18 Valley Woods Rd., overlooking the Don Valley Parkway, this 11-storey complex stands out above its neighbours, not so much for its height but for the quality of its architecture. Rather than the usual precast concrete, this one’s all glass. And instead of the typical rectangular grid, it’s all curves. Occupying a sloping site, the building has been set on a poured concrete base that grows deeper as it nears the valley to the west. This means the façade south to Brookbanks Drive is less than exciting, but who will notice? Perhaps the best view of Bellair Gardens is from the DVP, which it engages dramatically. If an urban highway is your idea of a view, this place could be ideal. If it isn’t, stay away. For commuters, however, it makes a nice change from the anonymous slabs that make one long to leave the city far behind. The image of Bellair Gardens, if not the reality, is of a building that makes the best of a ...