How to Sell Your Home in 5 Days

 

How to sell your home fast using real estate auctions; This CNN report describes how to sell your home fast with the 5 Day Sale Method.

 

(The video runs 2:58)

 

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Interest Rate Cut: Bad for the Economy?

 

The Fed just "keeps on cutting".  The most recent three-quarters of a point cut was welcomed (for a day anyway) on Wall-Street, but is the cure (the Fed is looking for) worse than the disease?

 

We personally believe these continued interest rates cuts are going to be bad for us all long term.  We'd love to hear what you think.

 

Crude oil prices rose sharply.  So did gold prices.  Interest rates rose for the 10-year treasury note, a key benchmark for home mortgages.

 

Those divergent market reactions underscored the tough task that confronts the Federal Reserve. The Fed has slashed interest rates to invigorate a struggling economy and ward off a recession.  But the Fed's action to chop rates also raised the specter of inflation.

 

We believe the Fed is almost in a no-win situation.  What do you think?  Leave us your comment about this by clicking on the "comment" link below.  Your privacy is protected.  We NEVER publish anyone's email address when they leave a comment.  Go ahead… sound off and tell us what you think.

 

 

 

People to Know in the Real Estate Transaction

 

When you're thinking about buying a house… there are a lot of people you need to get to know who will assist you along the way. 

 

This video clip will give you a quick summary of some of the people you'll get to know when buying a home. (runs 4:22)

 

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Housing: The Next Shoe to Drop

 

The credit crunch has finally hit the traditional mortgage market.

 

Investors are now shunning mortgage-backed securities issued by government sponsored enterprises Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which have been critical in keeping the real estate market from completely falling apart.

 

For those who can still get a loan, the tremors in the mortgage-backed securities market has made loans more expensive for borrowers. As the prices of mortgage-backed securities have fallen, their yields have risen, leading to higher mortgage rates.

 

Rising defaults and delinquencies effectively shut down the subprime and jumbo mortgage markets last summer, but borrowers with good credit could still get conventional loans that met the agencies' criteria. That's because investors continued to buy securities - backed by Fannie and Freddie.

 

Federal regulators said recently they would allow mortgage finance giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to reduce the capital they are required to keep on hand, a move that could pump $200 billion into mortgage markets.

 

The rule change was announced by the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight, (OFHEO), a normally low-profile agency which sets rules for the two government sponsored companies that between them hold or guarantee nearly $5 trillion in mortgages.

 

Both firms have been working in recent years to clean up accounting problems. During that process, the agency has been requiring them to keep 30% extra capital in reserve. The rule change allows them to reduce that excess capital to only 20%.

 

Experts said they don't think traditional mortgages will disappear. But if they are harder to get, it will take longer for the housing market to recover as a glut of unsold houses could lead to even more declines in real estate values.

 

 

 

Playing the Housing Slump

 

Financial lore says you should buy when there's blood in the street — which suggests real estate is a bargain, because there's blood all over the neighborhood right now.

 

Time to invest?  Now could spell opportunity for this year's buyers.  But what if you already own a home — and have no desire to become a landlord?  Here are three ways to play today's battered housing market.

 

Trading up.

If you're wanting a larger home or a house in a better neighborhood, this could be your chance to trade up and save big.

 

To be sure, when you go to sell your current home, you will likely get a modest price. Since 2006's second quarter, real estate has fallen 10.2%, as measured by the S&P/Case-Shiller U.S. National Home Price Index.  But your new, grander house will also be relatively inexpensive, so you're effectively cranking up your real-estate exposure when the market is well below its peak.

 

Your new home will probably mean not only a bigger mortgage, but also higher ongoing costs, including homeowner's insurance, property taxes and maintenance expenses.  These ongoing costs will offset a large chunk of any future home-price appreciation.

 

In other words, trading up to a larger home or a better neighborhood is really about wanting to consume more real estate.  Still, like any thrifty shopper, you want to buy when there's a sale — and that is what today's market offers.

 

As long as it doesn't cut into your ability to accumulate capital for retirement, this is probably a pretty good time to upgrade.

 

Doubling down.

Instead of trading up, you might be eyeing a vacation home. If you don't plan to rent the place out, the same logic applies: Once you subtract the annual costs from the price appreciation, you likely won't make very much money — which means the property won't be much of an investment.

 

On the other hand, maybe you're two or three years from retirement and are toying with buying a second home that could become your sole residence once you quit the work force. Does it make sense to purchase now, given the decline in home prices?

 

Buying today is no doubt appealing, because it'll give you a chance to vacation in your future home. But whether it turns out to be a wise financial move depends on what happens to property prices — and that's tough to predict.

 

The bottom line: If you think you'll get a lot of use from a second home, go ahead and buy.  But if you view the purchase as a bet on rising home prices, the best advice might be to hold off for now.

 

Helping hand.

While buying more real estate for your own use probably won't be a great investment, you could help your adult children make good money — by transforming them from renters to homeowners.

 

To that end, you might give your kids an advance on their eventual inheritance, so they have enough money to make a down payment.  Yes, that means they will start to incur the housing costs mentioned above, including property taxes and maintenance expenses.  But your children will also replace their monthly rent check with a monthly mortgage check, and that will allow them to start building home equity.