Buy Home

Real Estate | Homes for Sale | Houses for Sale | RealEstate | REALTORs ® | Real Estate Agent State/Province: Anchorage Fairbanks Anniston-Oxford Auburn-Opelika Birmingham-Hoover Columbus Decatur Dothan Florence Gadsden Huntsville Mobile Montgomery Tuscaloosa Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers Fort Smith Hot Springs Jonesboro Little Rock-North Little Rock Memphis Pine Bluff Texarkana Flagstaff Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale Prescott Tucson Yuma Bakersfield Chico El Centro Fresno Hanford-Corcoran Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale Madera Merced Modesto Napa Oakland-Fremont-Hayward Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura Redding Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario Sacramento--Arden-Arcade--Roseville Salinas San Diego-Carlsbad-San Marcos San Francisco-San Mateo-Redwood City San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles Santa Ana-Anaheim-Irvine Santa Barbara-Santa Maria-Goleta Santa Cruz-Watsonville Santa Rosa-Petaluma Stockton Vallejo-Fairfield Visalia-Porterville Yuba City-Marysville Boulder Colorado Springs Denver-Aurora Fort Collins-Loveland Grand Junction Greeley Pueblo Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford New Haven-Milford Norwich-New London Washington-Arlington-Alexandria Dover Wilmington Cape Coral-Fort Myers Deltona-Daytona Beach-Ormond Beach Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach-Deerfield Beach Fort Walton Beach-Crestview-Destin Gainesville Jacksonville Lakeland-Winter Haven Miami-Miami Beach-Kendall Naples-Marco Island Ocala Orlando Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville Panama City-Lynn Haven Pensacola-Ferry Pass-Brent Port St. Lucie-Fort Pierce Punta Gorda Sarasota-Bradenton-Venice Tallahassee Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater Vero Beach West Palm Beach-Boca Raton-Boynton Beach Albany Athens-Clarke County Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Marietta Augusta-Richmond County Brunswick Chattanooga Columbus Dalton Gainesville Hinesville-Fort Stewart Macon Rome Savannah Valdosta Warner Robins Honolulu Ames Cedar Rapids Davenport-Moline-Rock Island Des Moines Dubuque Iowa City Omaha-Council Bluffs Sioux City Waterloo-Cedar Falls Boise City-Nampa Coeur d'Alene Idaho Falls Lewiston Logan Pocatello Bloomington-Normal Champaign-Urbana Chicago-Naperville-Joliet Danville Davenport-Moline-Rock Island Decatur Kankakee-Bradley Lake County-Kenosha County Peoria Rockford Saint Louis Springfield Anderson Bloomington Cincinnati-Middletown Columbus Elkhart-Goshen Evansville Fort Wayne Gary Indianapolis Kokomo Lafayette Louisville Michigan City-La Porte Muncie South Bend-Mishawaka Terre Haute Kansas City Lawrence Saint Joseph Topeka Wichita Bowling Green Cincinnati-Middletown Clarksville Elizabethtown Evansville Huntington-Ashland Lexington-Fayette Louisville Owensboro Alexandria Baton Rouge Houma-Bayou Cane-Thibodaux Lafayette Lake Charles Monroe New Orleans-Metairie-Kenner Shreveport-Bossier City Barnstable Town Boston-Quincy Cambridge-Newton-Framingham Essex County Pittsfield Providence-New Bedford-Fall River Springfield Worcester Baltimore-Towson Bethesda-Frederick-Gaithersburg Cumberland Hagerstown-Martinsburg Salisbury Washington-Arlington-Alexandria Wilmington Bangor Lewiston-Auburn Portland-South Portland Ann Arbor Battle Creek Bay City Detroit-Livonia-Dearborn Flint Grand Rapids-Wyoming Holland-Grand Haven Jackson Kalamazoo-Portage Lansing-East Lansing Monroe Muskegon-Norton Shores Niles-Benton Harbor Saginaw-Saginaw Township North South Bend-Mishawaka Warren-Farmington Hills-Troy Duluth Fargo Grand Forks La Crosse Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington Rochester Saint Cloud Columbia Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers Jefferson City Joplin Kansas City Saint Joseph Saint Louis Springfield Gulfport-Biloxi Hattiesburg Jackson Memphis Pascagoula Billings Great Falls Missoula Asheville Burlington Charlotte-Gastonia-Concord Durham Fayetteville Goldsboro Greensboro-High Point Greenville Hickory-Morganton-Lenoir Jacksonville Raleigh-Cary Rocky Mount Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News Wilmington Winston-Salem Bismarck Fargo Grand Forks Lincoln Omaha-Council Bluffs Sioux City Manchester-Nashua Rockingham County-Strafford County Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton Atlantic City Camden Edison New York-Wayne-White Plains Newark-Union Ocean City Trenton-Ewing Vineland-Millville-Bridgeton Wilmington Albuquerque Farmington Las Cruces Santa Fe Carson City Las Vegas-Paradise Reno-Sparks Albany-Schenectady-Troy Binghamton Buffalo-Cheektowaga-Tonawanda Elmira Glens Falls Ithaca Kingston New York-Wayne-White Plains Poughkeepsie-Newburgh-Middletown Rochester Suffolk County-Nassau County Syracuse Utica-Rome Akron Canton-Massillon Cincinnati-Middletown Cleveland-Elyria-Mentor Columbus Dayton Huntington-Ashland Lima Mansfield Parkersburg-Marietta Sandusky Springfield Toledo Weirton-Steubenville Wheeling Youngstown-Warren-Boardman Fort Smith Lawton Oklahoma City Tulsa Bend Corvallis Eugene-Springfield Medford Portland-Vancouver-Beaverton Salem Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton Altoona Erie Harrisburg-Carlisle Johnstown Lancaster Lebanon Newark-Union Philadelphia Pittsburgh Reading Scranton--Wilkes-Barre State College Williamsport York-Hanover Youngstown-Warren-Boardman Providence-New Bedford-Fall River Anderson Augusta-Richmond County Charleston-North Charleston Charlotte-Gastonia-Concord Columbia Florence Greenville Myrtle Beach-Conway-North Myrtle Beach Spartanburg Sumter Rapid City Sioux City Sioux Falls Chattanooga Clarksville Cleveland Jackson Johnson City Kingsport-Bristol Knoxville Memphis Morristown Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro Abilene Amarillo Austin-Round Rock Beaumont-Port Arthur Brownsville-Harlingen College Station-Bryan Corpus Christi Dallas-Plano-Irving El Paso Fort Worth-Arlington Houston-Baytown-Sugar Land Killeen-Temple-Fort Hood Laredo Longview Lubbock McAllen-Edinburg-Pharr Midland Odessa San Angelo San Antonio Sherman-Denison Texarkana Tyler Victoria Waco Wichita Falls Logan Ogden-Clearfield Provo-Orem Saint George Salt Lake City Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford Bristol Charlottesville Danville Harrisonburg Kingsport-Bristol Lynchburg Richmond Roanoke Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News Washington-Arlington-Alexandria Winchester Burlington-South Burlington Bellingham Bremerton-Silverdale Kennewick-Richland-Pasco Lewiston Longview-Kelso Mount Vernon-Anacortes Olympia Portland-Vancouver-Beaverton Seattle-Bellevue-Everett Spokane Tacoma Wenatchee Yakima Appleton Duluth Eau Claire Fond du Lac Green Bay Janesville La Crosse Lake County-Kenosha County Madison Milwaukee-Waukesha-West Allis Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington Oshkosh-Neenah Racine Sheboygan Wausau Charleston Cumberland Hagerstown-Martinsburg Huntington-Ashland Morgantown Parkersburg-Marietta Washington-Arlington-Alexandria Weirton-Steubenville Wheeling Winchester Casper Cheyenne Please Choose Your State Alabama, AL Alaska, AK Arizona, AZ Arkansas, AR California, CA Colorado, CO Connecticut, CT Delaware, DE District of Columbia, DC Florida, FL Georgia, GA Hawaii, HI Idaho, ID Illinois, IL Indiana, IN Iowa, IA Kansas, KS Kentucky, KY Louisiana, LA Maine, ME Maryland, MD Massachusetts, MA Michigan, MI Minnesota, MN Mississippi, MS Missouri, MO Montana, MT Nebraska, NE New Hampshire, NH New Jersey,, NJ New Mexico, NM New York, NY Nevada, NV North Carolina, NC North Dakota, ND Ohio, OH Oklahoma, OK Oregon, OR Pennsylvania, PA Rhode Island, RI South Carolina, SC South Dakota, SD Tennessee, TN Texas, TX Utah, UT Vermont, VT Virginia, VA Washington, WA West Virginia. WV Wisconsin, WI Wyoming, WY Metro Area: Home Price Check ® Find a Home Sell a Home New Home Construction Get Pre-Qualified Home Remodeling Inventing a better way to buy or sell a home RealEstate.com offers you a smarter way to buy or sell a home. We offer a complete set of tools, tips, and resources that you can use as you progress throughout your entire process -- from dreaming of owning a home to moving into a new home of your own. RealEstate.com serves as a personal guide to help you with everything you need along the way! Buying a Home | Selling a Home | Homes for Sale | Credit Report & Score | House Prices at Domania New Home Construction | Find a Mover | Find a REALTOR ® | Home Financing | Real Estate Learning Center Customer Service | Publications | For the Media | News Releases | Join Our Real Estate Network | Post Home Listings Privacy | Security | Terms of Use | Jobs | Disclosures and Licenses | Sitemap | Loans | Commercial Real Estate Houses for Sale in: Atlanta | Austin | Boston | Charlotte | Chicago | Dallas | Denver | Houston | Las Vegas | Los Angeles Miami | Minneapolis | New York | Philadelphia | Phoenix | San Antonio | San Diego | San Francisco | Seattle Washington, DC | Real Estate in More Cities LendingTree technology and processes are patented under US Patent Nos. 6,385,594 and 6,611,816. © 1998 - Real Estate.com, a service of LendingTree, LLC. All Rights Reserved.This site is directed at, and made available to, persons in the continental U.S., Alaska and Hawaii only. Conversion to LendingTree, LLC We are pledged to the letter and spirit of U.S. policy for the achievement of equal housing opportunity throughout the Nation. We encourage and support an affirmative advertising and marketing program in which there are no barriers to obtaining housing because of race, color, religion, sex, handicap, familial status, or national origin. REALTOR ® -- A registered collective membership mark that identifies a real estate professional who is a member of the National Association of REALTORS ® and subscribes to its strict Code of Ethics. Not all of the real estate professionals participating in the "Agent's Competing" program are REALTORS ® , which are members of the National Association of REALTORS ® . The Home Depot ® is not affiliated with LendingTree, LLC. The Home Depot ® is a registered trademark of Homer TLC, Inc. RealEstate.com is not sponsored by or affiliated with the parent franchisor companies of any of the participating members of its network. * Represents amount of consumer incentives and rebates (in the form of gift cards or other incentives) paid to consumers since August, 2000. ** Full Terms and Conditions Partner Sites: Citysearch | Expedia | Hotels.com | Ticketmaster.com | Hotwire.com | Entertainment.com | Match.com Home Shopping Network | ReserveAmerica | LendingTree.com | iNest | ServiceMagic | Ask Jeeves | Gift Ideas Mortgage Calculator | Refinance at GetSmart | LendingTree Mortgage | Free Online Credit Report | Home Equity Loans

Colorado Real Estate -

Durango Colorado Real Estate with Prudential Triple S Realty Prudential Triple S Realty Home Contact Us Site Map Southwest Colorado Properties Search Our Listings Search Other SW CO Properties Exclusive Developments Short-Term Rentals Long-Term Rentals HOA Documents About Our Company Why Prudential Triple S Realty? Meet our Agents Community Involvement Office Locations Careers The Prudential Brand Regional Informaton Why Southwest Colorado? Durango Cortez Resort Area Glacier Club Pagosa Springs Maps My Prudential Triple S Register / Login Favorite Properties Saved Searches Mortgage Calculators E-Newsletter Durango Colorado Real Estate - Prudential Triple S Realty Welcome to beautiful Southwest Colorado, one of the most healthy and diverse places to live and play in the Rocky Mountains. Picture 14,000-foot summits, high desert mesas and access to 2 million acres of wilderness. Cultural and educational opportunities in the area range from orchestral concerts at Fort Lewis College to sightseeing from aboard the historic Durango Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad while traveling through the beautiful Animas River Valley to exploring the world-renowned Anasazi cliff dwellings in Montezuma County. Recreational activities include world-class golf, gold-medal trout fishing, hot springs, skiing, hiking and the best mountain biking on the continent. Small town hospitality, unique galleries, fantastic dining and big-city amenities make Southwest Colorado perfect for relocation or a second home purchase. Durango's oldest, most respected and advanced real estate firm, Prudential Triple S Realty , stands ready to serve you in every aspect of real estate with the most knowledgable professionals and state-of-the-art tools on the Western Slope and the Four Corners area. Durango 700 Main Avenue Durango, CO 81301 (970) 247-3840 (800) 477-8346 Resort Area / Glacier Club 40290 Hwy. 550 North Durango, CO 81301 (970) 382-9809 (N. County) (970) 382-7800 (Glacier Club) Pagosa Springs 262 Pagosa St. Pagosa Springs, CO 81147 (970) 264-1771 Cortez 1740 E. Main St. Cortez, CO 81321 (970) 565-8988 (800) 665-0460 ©2004, An independently owned and operated member of The Prudential Real Estate Affiliates, Inc. Site Development by Electric Sage Designs, LLC.

home equity lines of

Home Equity Lending Gaps in Texas The Texas Economy March 2003 "Texans need and deserve the right to take out home equity lines of credit.This simple change will pump $741 million back to Texas homeowners." -- Carole Keeton Strayhorn, Texas Comptroller Home Equity Lending Gaps in Texas The number of Texans with home equity loans has more than doubled since 1997 when changes in the Texas constitution made it easier for Texans to borrow against the equity they have in their homes. [1] Yet, Texans are still not taking as many home equity loans as residents in other states. In the traditional home equity lending market—the segment that involves a lump-sum payout of equity to be repaid over a set term—Texans seem to have caught up with the rest of the nation. Indeed, the estimated 6.4 percent of Texas home-owners with traditional home equity loans in 2001 is not only up considerably from 2.5 in 1997 but may well be higher than the average for the other 49 states of 5.7 percent (Figure 1). [2] This most likely reflects the fact that one portion of the home equity loan market—the home equity line of credit market—remains unavailable to Texans. An estimated $12.7 billion in higher-cost, non-tax-deductible loans that currently exist could be supplanted if home equity lines of credit were available and Texans used these financial options at the same rate as other consumers in the country. By taking advantage of a substantially untapped resource, Texas consumers could save $741 million annually using home equity lines of credit instead of other loans. These savings could be pumped into the Texas economy through lower interest rates and additional federal income tax deductions. The gains would be realized in the Texas economy if existing loans were merely paid off by homeowners through home equity lines of credit. This need not expand homeowners’ overall debt burden. Home Equity Lending in Texas For more than 160 years, access to the home equity that owners had built up in their residences was largely untapped. As a direct result of the Panic of 1837, Texas prohibited the forced sale of homesteads for all but a very limited number of reasons. When Texas became a state, these protections became part of the state constitution and effectively barred foreclosing on a person’s residence for reasons other than non-payment of taxes, the original mortgage or a home improvement loan. These same provisions also effectively barred tapping into home equity for purposes other than home improvement. But on November 4, 1997, Texas voters approved a constitutional amendment allowing more leeway in home equity lending and for reverse mortgages. [3] These loans became available to Texans in 1998, but some technical issues limited the availability of home equity loans for homesteads larger than one acre and from reverse mortgages. Subsequent amendments addressed these legal concerns. [4] Changes in the Texas Constitution expanded the conditions under which homeowners could obtain a traditional home equity loan. These closed-end loans extend for a specified length of time and generally require repayment of interest and principal in equal monthly installments. Interest rates on these loans are ordinarily fixed for the life of the loan. Growth in Home Equity Lending in Texas Since changing the Texas constitution to allow wider use of home equity loans, Texans have steadily increased their reliance on these loans. According to American Housing Survey (AHS) data on nine Texas metropolitan areas that cover 68 percent of Texas’ owner-occupied homes, only 2.5 percent of Texas homeowners had any form of home equity loan in 1997, substantially less than the 14.5 percent for all U.S. homeowners outside of Texas that same year. By 1999, the proportion of Texas homeowners with a home equity loan had risen to 4.5 percent. While this represents nearly a doubling of home equity loan usage in just two years, this was still slightly less than the estimated 5 percent rate for home equity loan usage in the nation and substantially less than the 12.9 percent estimated by the AHS that year for both home equity loans and lines of credit. By 2001, the proportion of Texas households with home equity loans had reached 6.4 percent. At this level, the usage in Texas actually exceeded the usage rate of fixed-term closed-end loans in the U.S., indicating that Texans may have reached the saturation point with traditional home equity loans. These loans typically are written for a set amount to be repaid in equal installments over a specified time, just like a traditional mortgage. Based on a survey conducted for the Comptroller of Public Accounts of home equity lenders in Texas, from 1998 to 2000, the amount of the average home equity loan was about $36,750. In 2001 and 2002, the average home equity loan jumped to more than $47,000. [5] Closing the Gap Although Texans’ reliance on home equity loans has grown substantially since the passage of the constitutional amendment, further gains may be unlikely. Other states’ average usage of 14 percent in 2001 included both traditional home equity loans and home equity lines of credit, financial instruments not now available to Texas homeowners. The possibility that the usage rate of traditional home equity loans in Texas exceeded the usage rate of similar loans in the nation probably indicates that without the home equity line of credit option, more homeowners are opting for the fixed term loans—their only other choice. During much of the 1990s, about 8 percent of U.S. homeowners had a home equity line of credit whereas about 5 percent of homeowners had a traditional loan. [6] In 2001, AHS data indicated an estimated 8.4 percent of homeowners had a home equity line of credit (HELOC) and 5.7 percent had traditional home equity loans. This newer form of home equity lending has become the preferred choice by homeowners in other states. A HELOC is a revolving account that permits borrowing from time to time, at the account holder’s discretion, up to a set credit limit. HELOCs also typically have more flexible repayment schedules than traditional home equity loans and have a variable interest rate. Most consumers think home equity lines of credit are more convenient than traditional home equity loans. While about 40 percent of consumers cited the tax advantages of both types of home equity credit as an important consideration, 43 percent of HELOC users cited convenience of use as an advantage, compared with only 1 percent of those using the traditional home equity loans. [7] Many of the major lenders in Texas make HELOC loans to homeowners in other states. Their experiences underscore how attractive this option is to consumers. Figure 2 presents the percentage of the amount of home equity loans and lines of credit written in Georgia, Florida and California by three major Texas lenders. [8] About 88 percent of the consumers in these states choose HELOCs compared with about 12 percent choosing traditional home equity loans. Potential Economic Impact of HELOCs in Texas One approach to examining what expanded home equity lending might mean in Texas is to estimate what consumers would save if they had access to HELOCs. Three issues are crucial when estimating this impact: what savings could be expected from lower interest costs; how much would HELOCs lower federal income tax bills; and how large total borrowing might become. Underlying this assessment is the assumption that if Texans had access to HELOCs the total home equity usage in Texas would approach the U.S. average. This implies that consumer use of both home equity lines of credit and traditional loans would reach about 14 percent, 7.6 percentage points up from the 2001 level, which was 6.4 and consisted of only traditional home equity loans. The true economic value of HELOCs to consumers lies in low interest rates and as a deduction from federal income taxes. For example, recent data from February 2003 show that the average interest rate on credit card debt is 13.8 percent, the rate for new auto loans is 5.8 percent and on home equity lines of credit, 4.4 percent. [9] This implies that on a $1,000 loan, annual credit card interest charges would be $138 whereas these charges would amount to only $44 for the home equity line of credit. On $1,000 in outstanding credit card debt, conversion of this debt to a HELOC would save $94 in interest payments annually. But even this neglects the fact that HELOC interest costs are deductible from federal income taxes, whereas credit card interest charges are not deductible. Although each individual’s exact marginal tax rate paid depends on adjusted gross income, the National Bureau of Economic Research estimates that, on average, in 1999 interest deductions reduced income taxes 24.5 cents per dollar of interest paid. [10] This implies that, on average, the $44 in HELOC interest payments would generate an estimated $10.78 in federal income tax savings so that the total consumer savings per $1,000 in credit card debt replaced by HELOC would be $104.78 annually. Savings from other loans would be less dramatic. Based on current rates, car loans would cost $58 in interest charges per $1,000 borrowed, or only $14 more than HELOC. But tacking on the deductibility of HELOC raises this savings to $24.78 annually per $1,000 borrowed. The loans likely to be displaced by HELOC would be a mixture of credit card loans and other consumer loans such as car loans. According to Federal Reserve loan data, consumer debt nationwide at the end of 2002 was divided into $738.9 billion in revolving loans, of which credit card debt is a large part, and $1,017.9 billion in non-revolving loans. [11] Assuming Texas consumers have a similar debt profile, about 42 percent of Texas consumer debt would be in revolving credit and 58 percent in non-revolving. Based on these shares, the average consumer would save an estimated $58.38 in interest and tax payments per $1,000 owed by switching from other consumer credit sources to HELOC. [12] How much Texans could save depends on the volume of consumer loans displaced. Using 2001 commercial bank data to update national figures indicates that the traditional home equity loan market in the U.S. reached $352.7 billion, up from $267 billion in 1997. Considering Texas’ share of home equity loans and the average per loan value, Texans account for an estimated 8.4 percent of the U.S. market for traditional home equity loans. Based on this percentage and assuming that Texans would use both traditional and HELOC loans at the national rate, Texas consumers would exchange $12.7 billion in existing loans for HELOC. In doing so, Texas homeowners would save $741 million in interest charges and federal income taxes annually. This would be a modest level of savings. The Federal Reserve Board estimates that households spend about 8 percent of their disposable personal income servicing the debt on revolving loans. [13] The $741 million annual savings from increased use of HELOCs would be about 1.7 percent of the annual amount Texans spend on debt service for revolving loans. [14] Home Equity Delinquencies If Texas consumers relied more on home equity lines of credit and followed national trends, loan delinquencies would likely fall. Based on American Bankers Association data (Table 1), Texas averages fewer loan delinquencies for closed-end home equity loans than consumers at the national level. Loan delinquencies did rise in Texas from 1999 to 2001, but dropped off in 2002. Table 1: Texas Home Equity Delinquency Rates Compared to All Other States Home Equity Delinquency Rates and All States First Mortgage Delinquency Rates* Closed-End** Home Equity Loans(1) Home Equity Lines of Credit(1) All States - First Mortgages(2) Texas All States All States Conventional FHA VA 2002 0.99% 1.30% 0.59% 3.06% 11.55% 7.87% 2001 1.17 1.28 0.73 2.96 10.78 7.67 2000 0.88 1.20 0.75 2.50 9.10 6.80 1999 0.77 1.26 0.62 2.60 8.60 6.80 * Delinquency Rates are based on the number of Loans Past Due 30 Days or More as a Percentage of Loans Outstanding. ** "Closed End" includes home equity and second mortgages (but not home improvement). SOURCES (1)Home equity delinquency rates obtained from "Consumer Credit Delinquency Bulletin" published quarterly by American Bankers Association. (2)First mortgage delinquency rates obtained from "U.S. Census Bureau, Statistical Abstract of the United States, 2001" and Mortgage Bankers Association of America "Quarterly Delinquency Surveys." But nationwide, loan delinquencies for lines of credit are slightly more than half the rates seen for closed end home equity loans. Based on this pattern, a shift towards using home equity lines of credit from traditional home equity loans should lower overall home equity delinquency rates. Compared with first mortgages, the delinquency rates for both home equity loans and lines of credit are substantially lower. Summary The use of home equity loans in Texas has risen dramatically following constitutional changes in Texas in 1997. Use of closed-end traditional home equity loans in Texas exceeds nationwide use. The fact that home equity lines of credit are not available in Texas contributes to a higher reliance on traditional home equity loans. But the strong consumer preference expressed for HELOCs in other states and consumer preference for their ease of use may indicate that continued expansion of lower interest, tax deductible home equity financing by consumers in Texas may slow without access to these loans. If Texans were to use home equity financing only up to the national average through HELOCs, lower interest payments and lower federal taxes would save Texas consumers $741 million. Making HELOCs available to Texas consumers would require passing another constitutional amendment and legislation proposing such amendments will likely be introduced during the current legislative session. If the nature of consumer safeguards and other requirements on lending institutions in Texas making HELOC loans were significantly more restrictive than national practices, interest rates on these loans in Texas could be higher than national rates, and the economic impacts less. Data Collection While banking and finance are two of the most heavily regulated industries, this level of scrutiny does not always result in the availability of detailed information. Since 1987, banks and finance companies have reported home equity lines of credit under receivables on quarterly Call Reports and since 1991 have also separately reported their holdings of traditional closed-end home equity loans. Mutual savings banks also report these data on Federal Reserve Board Call Reports. Other segments of the financial industry report this information to varying degrees. Savings and loan associations and federal saving banks report credit line receivables on Call Reports, but they do not separate home equity loans from first mortgages. Since June 1996, finance companies have reported commercial and residential mortgages separately but do not distinguish between loans under lines of credit and traditional loans. Credit union data is available on both types of home equity debt from the Credit Union National Association. At the national level, some data track the degree to which consumers utilize the various home equity loan alternatives. Every two years the Federal Reserve Board surveys consumers’ use of credit. This data, while instructive on overall trends and the use of home equity loans and lines of credit, does not contain information about practices in particular states. Moreover, much of the state-specific data collected from financial institutions is available primarily for the location of the financial institution involved, and not where the loan was made. Where this data are available, coverage by type of financing (home equity loan versus line of credit) is limited. The Texas-specific data in this analysis is derived largely from two sources. First, the U.S. Bureau of the Census surveys about 60,000 Americans every two years about housing conditions. This survey includes questions about the usage of home equity loans, but only the most recent survey, from 2001, elicits responses on traditional home equity loans separately from home equity lines of credit. Because this survey is national, there is only partial coverage of Texas. Specifically, publicly available data from the survey identifies only responses coming from nine metropolitan areas in Texas. Although the sample does contain responses from non-metropolitan areas, these are not identified by state. The Census survey covers about 68.2 percent of the Texas population. The second source of data is internal surveys of lending activity conducted by lending institutions doing business in Texas. These institutions cover more than 10 percent of the Texas market for commercial financial institutions and financial companies. These data are used to identify the potential to expand home equity lending in Texas if lines of credit became available. Endnotes [1] In 1997 and before, availability of home equity loans in Texas was limited to home improvement loans, loans to pay outstanding taxes and loans allowing one spouse to “buy out” another in the case of divorce. Such loans were typically known as a second lien against the property. Homeowners could not secure a loan backed by the equity in their home and use the proceeds of the loan for purposes other than those specified in law. Outside of Texas, using home equity loan proceeds for whatever purpose and even the more flexible home equity line of credit (a revolving line of credit secured by home equity) have been widely available for years. [2] The tentative nature of this statement stems from what seems to be respondent confusion to the American Housing Survey (AHS). In the 2001 AHS, 14 Texas households identified themselves as having a home equity line of credit in 2001. Since these lines of credit currently cannot be offered in Texas, the most likely explanation for this is that these respondents misunderstood the “line of credit” option in the survey as describing the “draw down” feature of a home improvement loan during construction when, in fact, these instances were almost certainly traditional “closed end” loans. Placing these responses in that category indicates that 6.4 percent of the homeowners in the survey in Texas had a closed-end home equity loan as compared to only 5.7 percent in states outside of Texas. [3] House Joint Resolution 31 (HJR 31) passed by the 1997 Legislature that, upon passage, became effective January 1, 1998. [4] On November 2, 1999, Texas voters approved constitutional amendments proposed by the 1999 Legislature to address these problems, Senate Joint Resolutions 12 and 22 (SJR 12 and 22). [5] Data submitted by lenders in early 2003. For number and amount of loans in Texas, the survey included five large Texas lenders. [6] Glenn B. Canner, Thomas A. Durkin and Charles A. Luckett, “Recent Developments in Home Equity Lending,” Federal Reserve Bulletin, April 1998, p. 243. [7] Canner, Durkin and Luckett, pp. 241- 251. [8] From data submitted by lenders. Together these three lenders serve more than 10 percent of the commercial banking market in Texas. [9] These rates and those of HELOCs are from http://www.bankrate.com/ on February 18, 2003. The credit card rate is for a standard card (not gold or platinum) at a fixed annual rate. The auto loan figure refers to a 48-month loan for a new car. The HELOC rate is for a $10,000 or minimum amount. [10] http://www.nber.org/~taxsim/mrates/mrates2.html , February 20, 2003. [11] Federal Reserve Board Statistical Release, G.19, Consumer Credit, February 7, 2003. http://www.federalreserve.gov/releases/g19/current/ . [12] This is a fairly conservative assessment on two points. First it assumes that consumers would replace current borrowing in proportion to the amount borrowed of each type without consideration of the interest rates charged for each type of borrowing. A more rational approach would be to replace all of the most costly borrowing first. Secondly, new car financing rates are among the lowest cost loans available and this probably underestimates the interest costs of non-revolving loans. [13] http://www.federalreserve.gov/releases/housedebt/default.htm , February 19,2003. [14] Disposable personal income in Texas is estimated to be $535.2 billion in 2001. Carole Keeton Strayhorn Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts Window on State Government Contact Us Privacy and Security Policy

Selling Home & Garden

10 Steps to Take Before You Sell Your House - Home Selling  You are here: About > Home & Garden > Home Buying / Selling > How To Sell a House > 10 Steps to Take Before You Sell Your House - Home Selling Home & Garden Home Buying / Selling Essentials 10 Things Home Buyers Shouldn't Do Best Tips for First Time Home Buyers "Must-Do" Tasks Before You Sell How to Buy a Home, Step by Step For Sale by Owner Advice Articles & Resources How To Buy a Home How To Sell a House Celebrity & Historic Credit Reports & Scores Design & Remodel Home Maintenance Inspections & Appraisals Investing & Foreclosures Modular & Manufactured Mold, Radon, Lead, etc. Mortgage Advice Moving & Relocation Real Estate Careers Real Estate For Sale Vacation Homes Buyer's Guide Before You Buy Top Picks Home Buying Books Foreclosure Books Mortgage Books Product Reviews Forums Help FREE Newsletter Sign Up Now for the Home Buying / Selling newsletter! See Online Courses   Search Home Buying / Selling Stay up to date! Email to a friend Print this page More Home Selling Articles Understanding Material Facts and Property Disclosures Get Ready for Your Home Inspection Should You Buy a Home Warranty? More Home Selling Resources How to Read the HUD-1 Settlement Statement Getting the House Ready to Sell How To Measure Your Square Footage Recent Discussions Excellent credit, no savings- help!! Buying an out of state home ? Re-financing... Related Blogs Mortgage Fraud Blog The Real Estate Blog The Money Pit Most Popular Modular and Manufactured Homes Finding Your Best Place to ... Home Buying Don'ts First Time Home Buyer Tips Before You Sell Your Home What's Hot Coping with Unethical People How To Buy Land Real Estate Appraisal Before You Buy a Log Home Package Home Buying / Selling - GuideReviews Related Topics Home Repair Architecture Credit / Debt Management Housekeeping Landscaping 10 Important Steps to Take Before You Sell Your House From Janet Wickell , Your Guide to Home Buying / Selling . FREE Newsletter. Sign Up Now! Essential Home Selling Preparations The home selling process differs from state to state, but there are some important steps that most home sellers should take before listing a house with an agent or selling it for sale by owner. Every bit of prep work you do helps you get the most return from your investment. 1. Get Pre-Approved for a Home Loan I've known sellers who signed a contract to sell their house before they knew if they were qualified to buy another. Either their financial circumstances had changed since their last purchase, and they could no longer qualify for a loan, or they weren't able to sell at a price that allowed them to buy the type of replacement house they wanted. They ended up renting or buying something that was far from ideal. Before you decide to sell the house, get pre-approved by a lender you trust and research the housing market in the area where you wish to live so that you have a good idea how much it will take to buy a replacement. Start looking for two types of real estate: houses that seem to match the one you'd like to buy and houses that are similar to your current home. How do the two categories compare in price? Can you handle the difference if you're planning a step up? Mortgage Helpers: Are You Pre-Approved for a Mortgage? And to compare for-sale homes to your own, learn how to Measure Residential Square Footage . 2. Check Your Mortgage Payoff Call your lender to check the payoff for your current home mortgage. You'll need the figure to complete Step 6. 3. Determine How Much Your House Is Worth Determine your home's fair market value. Real estate agents will usually help you determine value as a courtesy, but you might take it a step further and order an appraisal . 4. Estimate Your Costs to Sell Real estate commission if you use an agency to sell. Advertising costs, signs, other fees if you plan to sell by owner. Attorney, closing agent and other professional fees. Excise tax for the sale. Prorated costs for your share of annual expenses, such as property taxes, home owner association fees, and fuel tank rentals. Any other fees typically paid by the seller in your area (surveys, inspections, etc.). Real estate agents deal with transactions every day and can give you a very close estimate of seller closing costs. 5. Estimate Costs to Buy a New Home Calculate moving expenses, loan costs, downpayment, home inspections, title work and title policy, paying for a new hazard insurance policy--all expenses related to buying a home. Your lender should give you a disclosure of estimated costs when you apply for loan pre-approval. 6. Calculate Your Estimated Proceeds Deduct your mortgage payoff from your home's fair market value. Deduct your costs to sell from the remainder to get an estimate of the proceeds you will be paid at closing. Will your closing proceeds cover your costs to buy a new home? If not, do you have cash or other funding to make up the difference? 7. Make Necessary Repairs Make all needed repairs unless you want the house to be regarded as a fixer-upper. I'm not referring to cosmetic updates--just items in need of repair. Anything that's obviously broken gives potential buyers a reason to offer you a lower price, especially if it's one of several repair hot spots that worry buyers the most. 8. Get the House Ready to Show Most houses need at least a little spiffing up before they are shown to potential buyers. Great curb appeal , fresh paint indoors (and sometimes out), organized closets and cabinets, sparkling clean windows and appliances and a clutter-free look are essential if you want the house to appeal to buyers. Be sure to avoid the things buyers hate most about houses. 9. Get Psyched Up to Let People In If you're listing with a real estate agent, she'll ask you to leave when the house is shown. Why? Because lurking sellers make buyers nervous--they don't feel comfortable inspecting the house when they feel they are intruding in your personal space. Unless there's a valid reason for it, don't ask your agent to be present for all showings, because that requirement can be the kiss of death for showing activity. Other agents want privacy with their buyers and they don't usually have time to work around your agent's schedule. Make the house accessible. That means it should always be ready to show. Many agents won't bother showing a house that takes 24 hours to get into. Important disclaimer information about this About site.        Topic Index | Email to a Friend Our Story | Be a Guide | Advertising Info | Work at About | Site Map | Icons | Help User Agreement | Ethics Policy | Patent Info. | Privacy Policy | Kids' Privacy Policy ©2005 About, Inc., A part of the New York Times Company . All rights reserved. Around About Oprah's Life Vacation Ideas Shop Safely Online VIDEO: Craft Rooms VIDEO: Christmas Traditions What's Hot Coping with Unethical People How To Buy Land Real Estate Appraisal Before You Buy a Log Home Package Home Buying / Selling - GuideReviews

Rental Property

Apartments.com - Free Nationwide Apartment Search with the Most Visual Rental Listings Online. 2005 People's Voice Webby Award Search millions of apartments, condos and houses for rent. Corporate, senior, and student housing, too! Map City / Zip Name Web # Corporate Housing More Listings from more sources... so you can find a better place and a great deal! Newspaper Listings Hidden gems found only in your local paper and here! Private Landlords One of a kind spaces in your favorite neighborhood. Managed Communities Professionally managed and move in ready. Short on time? Get new apartment listings emailed to you . Have a Vacancy? Reach thousands of renters! Enter Zip: Renew/Edit your existing listing Get Help with Your Move Free Credit Reports | Find a Roommate | Moving Quotes | Auto Insurance Quotes | More Services Support Hurricane Katrina relief efforts. Search Rentals by Top Cities - Albuquerque apartments - Allentown apartments - Atlanta apartments - Austin apartments - Baltimore apartments - Birmingham apartments - Boston apartments - Charleston apartments - Charlotte apartments - Chattanooga apartments - Chicago apartments - Cincinnati apartments - Cleveland apartments - Columbus apartments - Dallas apartments - Dayton apartments - Denver apartments - Detroit apartments - Durham apartments - Ft Lauderdale apartments - Fresno apartments - Greensboro apartments - Hampton Roads apartments - Hartford apartments - Honolulu apartments - Houston apartments - Indianapolis apartments - Jacksonville apartments - Kansas City apartments - Knoxville apartments - Las Vegas apartments - Little Rock apartments - Los Angeles apartments - Louisville apartments - Madison apartments - Manhattan apartments - Memphis apartments - Miami apartments - Minneapolis apartments - Nashville apartments - New Orleans apartments - New York apartments - Norfolk apartments - Oklahoma City apartments - Omaha apartments - Orlando apartments - Philadelphia apartments - Phoenix apartments - Pittsburgh apartments - Portland apartments - Reno apartments - Richmond apartments - Rochester apartments - Sacramento apartments - Salt Lake City apartments - San Antonio apartments - San Diego apartments - San Francisco apartments - San Jose apartments - Seattle apartments - St Louis apartments - St Paul apartments - Tampa apartments - Tucson apartments - Tulsa apartments - Washington DC apartments - Wilmington apartments Click Here! ');}//--