Property Guide

3 Reasons to Buy a Home in 2012 – Watch-It Wednesday

Hannah Mitford — Tue, 15 May 2012 10:57:51 +0000

Dont you just love filling your brain with knowledge about the housing market?

I know I sure do, and this weeks installment of Watch-It Wednesday is sure to be the most informative three minutes of your day.

Quicken Loans Chief Economist Bob Walters sat down with our very own Jordan Fylonenko to talk about three very strong reasons to buy a home in 2012 in another episode of the critically acclaimed Markets and Musings.

Bob explained, there are some unique things happening right now that people should be aware of and take advantage of. One is mortgage interest rates are at 50-year lows. In the modern era, mortgage interest rates have never been lower than where they are right now.

They Need Your Help

Alexandra Fullerton — Mon, 14 May 2012 04:28:13 +0000

Why do you think customers say no to you as a property manager when it comes to renting a space? Do you think they are telling you no or do you think they are telling you no because you have not gave them the solution to their problem. It is not difficult to find out what the customer needs, you just have to make it not difficult for them to see the solution you are offering them. You are offering them a solution the customer just needs to see that. Can you provide that solution and show them. That is your challenge.

The customer needs your help, but they are just afraid to ask for it. They are not looking for some sales pitch. They want a realistic solution to their problem. They want someone to look them in the eye and tell them that their solution is only a step away. The customer definitely has to trust you as a manager in order to believe you will help them.

Palm Beach County short-sale firm left owners on the hook for mortgage, police say

Lucinda Tuckett — Sat, 12 May 2012 16:23:30 +0000

Guilfort Dieuvil hopscotched across Florida, and even into Georgia, picking up deeds to homes like jacks in a game that homeowners say left them the losers.

Th president of the West Palm Beach-based Nationwide Investment Firm Corp., law enforcement officials say, led a grand three-year scheme to defraud struggling homeowners by promising to pay off their mortgages in exchange for signing over their deeds.

The ruse varied by borrower, police said. Sometimes it was a pledge to buy the home and sell it back to the owner at its current value. Other homeowners say they were told a short sale would be conducted or a loan modification negotiated, but were instead evicted.

Back to basics: What is mortgage insurance and how does it work?

Hannah Mitford — Thu, 10 May 2012 01:02:13 +0000

Mortgage insurance, also known as private mortgage insurance or PMI, protects your mortgage lender in the case you default on your home loan. If you stop paying your mortgage and your lender is forced to take back the title on your property, mortgage insurance will reduce or even eliminate the risk of loss to the lender.

Mortgage insurance is paid by you, the borrower, in one of several ways, such as a monthly payment, an upfront premium or by paying a higher-than-market interest rate on the loan.

Mortgage lenders require PMI on any mortgage loan made with a down payment of less than 20 percent. If you plan to refinance and have less than 20 percent equity in your home, you will also be required to pay mortgage insurance.

Mortgage insurance and FHA loans

If your mortgage is a government-insured FHA loan, you’re also required to pay mortgage insurance. FH

Building Relationships: Understanding What Matters to Your Clients

Lucinda Tuckett — Fri, 04 May 2012 09:17:48 +0000

What matters most to clients is constantly evolving and has changed exponentially over the last several years. In order to keep up and avoid being viewed as a commodity, real estate professionals must create differentiation.

Rising above the competition requires a deep understanding of today’s consumer and an ability to satisfy their wants and needs.

In a recent study done by Smart Advantage, a marketing and consultation firm, it was found that the majority of consumers are looking for a responsive individual to work with as opposed to the safety and security they were seeking only one year ago. This means that customer service is once again at the forefront of the consumers’ minds.

To be successful, it is imperative that real estate professionals work to determine the needs of each client and meet them in a strategic, efficient and satisfying manner.

Understand Your Clients

Create a detailed list of discovery questions that are asked of each client at the beginning of the relationship. Thi

Create Social Media Magic With a Daily Strategy

Lucinda Tuckett — Sat, 14 Apr 2012 00:19:17 +0000

Spending time on social media is a must within our business. But what is the best way to get the most in return for your efforts without taking time away from other business-building activities?

On Thursday February 16^th, Better Homes and Gardens^® Real Estate was proud to be the only real estate company to host an event at Social Media Week in New York. The event, titled “From House to Home: Social Media’s Impact on Buying, Designing and Selling a Home,” included Kim-Marie Mullen, social media expert and Business Development Manager at Better Homes and Gardens^® Real Estate Rand Realty.

We sat down with Kim-Marie after Social Media Week and asked her to share a few tips and tricks to managing social media as well as her favorite tools.

Creating Your Social Media Strategy Q: How do you plan posts and tweets throughout the week?

Kim-Marie: I would encourage anyone dabbling in a few different social channels (e.g. Facebook, Tw

The Best Spot in Town

Alexandra Fullerton — Fri, 13 Apr 2012 01:43:51 +0000

Dear Reader,

Right here. This is the best spot in town for swimming. Brilliant white sand. Smooth, clear turquoise water. To my left the beach makes a wide sweep to the next point. Here the sand is a rich tan, and the water rougher. Not so good for swimming but hypnotic to gaze into the shifting colors of light and dark blue. Surf breaks on the reef offshore.

Everywhere palm trees grow where nature intends. At night warm breezes rustle through the palms.

This time of year the weather is perfect. Mornings start fresh with temperatures in the mid-seventies. Perfect for long walks on the beach. In the afternoon, it warms up to the eighties. The evenings are comfortable for al fresco dining. The breezes across the peninsula keep things fresh.

Las Terrenas in the Dominican Republic’s Samana peninsula is a little piece of paradise. A perfect place for a beach home. <

17 Things To Do With Mega Millions Winnings

Hannah Mitford — Mon, 09 Apr 2012 03:31:03 +0000

The Mega Millions lottery is up to a massive $540 million (as of this writing).

You don’t need to rub your eyes or adjust your monitor – $540 million.

That is an absurd amount of money. Seriously, I would be alright with having just 1/540^th of that in my bank account.

So I got to thinkin’: What crazy things could I buy for $540 million?

Bear in mind – all of these are before taxes inevitably take half, so don’t be that guy that comments and says “Well, Eric, do you live under a rock and not realize that taxes will take a good chunk of money out, as well as the fact that you might have to split the winnings with another winner?”

This is supposed to be a satire piece. Treat it as s

Florida’s building codes rated best in hurricane protection

Lucinda Tuckett — Fri, 06 Apr 2012 19:42:35 +0000

The state got 95 points out of 100, and the institute praised its “well-developed system for regulation of all aspects of code adoption and enforcement, code enforcement training and certification, and licensing requirements for contractors and subcontractors .”

Institute President Julie Rochman presented the findings at the National Hurricane Conference on Wednesday.

In what the agency said was the first state-by-state assessment of its kind, it cited Florida’s mandatory programs for code officials’ certification, training and continuing education, as well as its required licensing of general, plumbing, mechanical, electrical and roofing contractors.

Florida’s codes underwent a major overhaul after Hurricane Andrew slammed South Florida in 1992.

Does the robo-settlement do anything to speed up short sales?

Hannah Mitford — Wed, 04 Apr 2012 04:33:26 +0000

While much of the focus on the robo-signing settlement has been on restitution and relief for foreclosure victims and underwater homeowners, part of the settlement also impacts short sales. The settlement forces mortgage servicers to meet a strict short sale timeline or face financial penalties.

The robo-settlement rules regarding short sales matches the short-sale timeline established in 2010 by the Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternatives (HAFA) program.

“The short sale rules set up by the AG settlement are not really new, they just add a layer of accountability,” says Christopher Plummer, managing director of the Wingspan Real Estate Network in Dallas. “It’

Self Storage through the Eyes of a Child

Alexandra Fullerton — Mon, 02 Apr 2012 06:04:18 +0000

Prospect Heights storage was a place I knew about a long time ago. There might be other storage places there too but I do not know. I remember it for different reasons. I was moving boxes of toys and train sets and stuffed animals. I could not leave any toys behind. They were my only friends at the time. My real friends were left behind in a snowy storm in my hometown. It snowed hard the day we left my friends and the truck and the roads were stressful for my father that day. He would get angry when he felt stress. Once we hit the open highway, he felt better. All the planning and packing and wondering and the kids mad leaving their friends and a lot of stress occurred.

Moving is stressful. Even for a little kid like me at the time. I did not want to leave my friends. I snuck away in the middle of the night. We packed all night and I remember looking at the clock often. Is it really four in the morning? We have got to get this refrigerator on the truck somehow. The entire family must push it up the ramp in the snow, onto the truck. We have got to close the truck door and latch it in. I hope we can pull it up when we get to the Prospect Heights storage place. That would be embarrassing if we can not. Nothing will fall out or move in the truck though. There is no room to do that. Every box is stuck so tightly, what can possibly move? We packed everything in so tight a bug would not fit. We were proud of ourselves and very tired.

We rested a bit that morning and took off in the wind and the snow. We would land in Prospect Heights storage place days later, tired, stressed, dirty, and wanting just to eat and rest. It is time though to unpack the truck now. That would take almost all day again even though it is always faster unpacking than packing. The door did open and nothing fell out. That all was a long time ago. My father and I bonded in the truck that two or three days. We talked and listened to music and talk radio through very lousy speakers. We even listened to rock and roll and discussed why the Doors were so good or Led Zeppelin. I do not think we ever talked about anything that long again. Prospect Heights storage brought two men together without even knowing it. I pushed, pulled, dragged, and lifted everything from the truck in that storage parking lot a long time ago. My Dad was proud of my effort and what the heck, who would not want to move to New York as a kid? New York had everything. I could not wait once I was here. Everything was behind me. A brand new life was about to happen and I felt ready. If I could empty a whole truck into a space where again, it all fit to the gills, I could flourish in New York.

Obtaining an FHA Streamline Refinance Is Now Easier

Hannah Mitford — Sat, 31 Mar 2012 13:52:02 +0000

There is no doubt that one of FHAs most attractive benefits is the FHA Streamline Refinance. These were designed by FHA to be easy, fast and without any tedious underwriting that would threaten or delay the mortgage from closing. Unfortunately, in recent times, this was not the case and many borrowers were not able to obtain the FHA streamline refinance. Unfortunately, many lenders did not want to offer them. FHA has finally done something about this and has made obtaining an FHA streamline refinance easier.

FHA has a public Neighborhood Watch Early Warning System that shows the loan performance information for lenders and appraisers. This information is displayed by loan types and geographic area using the FHA single family loan information.

The Transformative Power of Ethics in Business

Lucinda Tuckett — Fri, 30 Mar 2012 20:46:44 +0000

A commitment to ethics in business has a transformative power that can not only help define your company’s culture, but also set the tone as to how your business will operate and prosper.

Values and ethics go hand-in-hand in business. In order to thrive, every organization must clearly delineate its code of ethics and core values.

We built the Better Homes and Gardens® Real Estate brand around key values that define our beliefs and act as guiding principles that steer us toward success: Passion, Authenticity, Innovation, Growth and Excellence.

Our Core Values – P.A.I.G.E

Realogy Corporation, the parent company of Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate, was recently named among the 2012 World’s Most Ethical Companies. We are p

How to Prepare Your Home for Showings

Alexandra Fullerton — Thu, 29 Mar 2012 19:50:17 +0000

Here are some tips I came across to make your home more appealing to potential buyers, and encourage them to choose your home. I thought it was information worth sharing.

Always be ready to show your home. The majority of showings are by appointment only, however there are also many last-minute requests from buyers. If you are a seller with a 24-hour notice to show stipulation, you could be cutting yourself off from a lot of buyers.
Be welcoming, but dont be there. Buyers dont want to feel like intruders; you want them to imagine owning your home. Dont make them take off their shoes unless they choose to remove them. It is always best if you can leave the house because most people feel uncomfortable about opening closets or cabinet if you are there while theyre looking.

Post exclusive: ARE TITLE FEES FAIR? Florida costs highest in the Southeast

Lucinda Tuckett — Wed, 21 Mar 2012 07:35:31 +0000

The title insurance business is making a lot of money for folks like William P. Foley II, the highest-paid Fortune 500 executive in Florida in 2010. Total compensation: more than $27 million from companies including the nation’s largest title insurer.

But it’s a rotten deal for ordinary Floridians buying or refinancing a home, consumer advocates say.

“The buyer is sitting there getting shot like fish in a barrel,” said Robert Hunter, director of insurance for the Consumer Federation of America. “It’s a very antiquated system but hard to dislodge because you have so many rich people getting a lot of money out of it.”

Buyers in Florida pay more than $700 million a year for title insurance premiums, with about 12 cents of every dollar going for insured losses in the first nine months of 2011, an analysis by The Palm Beach Post shows.