Selling Home & Garden
Home Buying / Selling, Home Buying Basics - TopPicks You are here: About > Home & Garden > Home Buying / 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 Home Buying Basics TopPicks Index Top 7 Ways to Buy a Home with Good Resale Potential Most of us won't live in the same house for the rest of our lives, so it makes sense to at least try to buy a home with good resale potential. Here's some advice to help you do just that. Top 6 "Home" Movies Hearth and home are focul points for many great movies. They're a delight to watch any time of year, but the holiday season is a wonderful time to fill a bowl of buttered popcorn, light the fire, and relax in front of the television with family and friends. I hope you enjoy these films as much as we do. Top 5 Books About Home Mortgages Which type of mortgage is the best home mortgage for your needs? All the information you need to compare mortgages and find a home loan that's right for you. Top 4 Home Buying Books All home buyers should become educated about the home buying process before they begin to search for a house. The perfect deal is elusive, but learning the tips and techniques of a successful transaction from those who have been there, done that, may help you find it. Important disclaimer information about this About site. Advertisement 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 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 Headlines Getting Ready to Sell Your House Guests and lots of activities make it difficult to show... Before You Buy Gas Logs Gas logs are growing in popularity every year, so manufacturers... Pros and Cons of Becoming a Real Estate Agent You've decided you want to become a real estate agent,... Step-by-Step Directions Help You Measure Square Footage Each year, home owners discover that their new home's square...
Investment Property Mortgages Reach
Freddie Mac: Investment Property Mortgages Search In order to browse this site effectively, please enable Javascript in your browser. Investment Property Mortgages Reach Your Investment-Oriented Borrowers and Reap the Rewards of Cross-Selling Additional Services Want to expand your investment property mortgage business? As part of our Single-Family Seller/Servicer Guide (Guide), you can extend more options to your investment-oriented borrowers by originating 1- to 4-unit investment property mortgages and selling them to Freddie Mac. Originating mortgages for investment borrowers allows you to tap an abundant market and boost your business with cross-sell opportunities for your other financial products. Freddie Mac offers loan options for investment property mortgage originations. You can originate these mortgages as fixed-rate mortgages, Treasury-indexed ARMs, and others. Our flexible execution options include Cash and Guarantor. Use Loan Prospector ® to quickly and easily approve your investment property borrowers. Freddie Mac will purchase investment property mortgages for borrowers who own up to 10 financed properties, however, those who own more than one financed property will need to meet additional requirements. Executions Gold Cash® Guarantor MultiLender Swap Key Advantages 1- to 4-unit investment properties LTV/TLTV/HTLTV ratios per Guide Section 23.4 Purchase, no cash-out and cash-out refinances Additional eligibility requirements apply for borrowers who own more than one investment property Eligible for Cash and Guarantor executions Eligible Mortgages If the subject property is the borrower's only financed investment property: 15-, 20- and 30-year fixed-rate mortgages 5- and 7-year balloon/reset mortgages All ARMs A-minus mortgages If the borrower owns more than one financed investment property: 15-, 20- and 30-year fixed-rate mortgages 7/1 or 10/1 Treasury-indexed Hybrid ARM only The following mortgages are not eligible for delivery as investment property mortgages Mortgages with temporary subsidy buydowns Streamlined Purchase for Homeowners mortgages Alt 97® mortgages Freddie Mac 100 mortgages Affordable Merit Rate® mortgages Streamlined Refinance mortgages Affordable Gold® mortgages Seller-Owned Modified Mortgages A-minus mortgages, when the borrower owns more than one financed investment property Eligibility Requirements LTV/TLTV/HTLTV ratios per Guide Section 23.4. If the LTV ratio is greater than 75 percent, the mortgage must be an Accept or A-minus mortgage or, if manually underwritten, must have a minimum Indicator Score of 720. For More Information Contact your Freddie Mac Account Manager Call (800) FREDDIE Refer to Section 22.22.1 of your Single-Family Seller/Servicer Guide For further details about this product, print out an Investment Property Mortgages fact sheet [ PDF 191K ] © 2005 Freddie Mac Doing Business With Freddie Mac Single-Family Multifamily Debt Securities Mortgage Securities Vendors and Suppliers About Freddie Mac About Us Public Policy News and Information Investor Relations Careers Buying and Owning a Home Preparing for Homeownership All About Mortgages Purchasing a Home Owning and Keeping a Home Calculators and Tools Properties for Sale
Home Loan Program DISASTER
Information on the VA Home Loan Program Information on the Home Loan Program HomeOwnership Education for First Time Buyers Am I Eligible for a VA Loan? Property Management Construction and Valuation Lenders & Servicers Contact VA Loan Guaranty Service Forms Loan Guaranty HomePage VBA HomePage VA Homepage If You Owe VA VA Monitoring Unit Loan Production Specially Adapted Housing Information on the Home Loan Program DISASTER ADVICE FOR VETERAN HOMEOWNERS Thinking of Buying, Selling or Refinancing a Home These short videos explain what you need to know as a Veteran. Pamphlets on the VA Home Loan Program On-line copies of VA Home Loan Pamphlets. HomeOwnership Education for First Time Buyers Valuable information for first time homebuyers from the Ginnie Mae HomeOwnership Center. Frequently Asked Questions Answers to questions most frequently asked about the VA Home Loan program. About the Loan Guaranty Service The VA Loan Guaranty Service is the organization within the Veterans Benefits Administration charged with the responsibility of administering the home loan program. See an independent evaluation of the Loan Guaranty program here: Final Report / Final Report Appendices Information on Specially Adapted Housing for disabled veterans Click here for information on the Special Adapted Housing program for certain seriously disabled veterans. VA Regional Loan Centers Addresses, telephone numbers & websites of our Regional Loan Centers. Contact VA Loan Guaranty Service E-mail Loan Guaranty Service VA Approved Lenders Find a VA approved lender in your home town area using our E-lenders nationwide query. Interest Rate Reduction Refinancing Loans Have interest rates fallen since you obtained your VA loan? Do you have an Adjustable Rate VA loan that you want to convert to a fixed rate loan? The IRRRL program, also called the VA streamlined refinancing program, may be for you. No appraisal or underwriting is required and a certificate of eligibility is not necessary. If You Have Trouble Making Your Payments If you have a VA loan but are having trouble making your mortgage payments, it is very important that you take steps to avoid a foreclosure. VA may be able to help. Information for Elderly Homeowners Information for Elderly Homeowners covers Reverse Mortgages, Interest Rate Reduction Refinancing Loans, and Home Equity Fraud. VA Direct Home Loans for Native American Veterans Living on Trust lands VA direct home loans are available to eligible Native American veterans who wish to purchase or construct a home on trust lands. Information on the Home Loan Program / Am I Eligible for a VA Loan? / Property Management Construction and Valuation / Lenders & Servicers / Contact VA Loan Guaranty Service / Forms Loan Guaranty HomePage / If you owe VA / Monitoring Unit / Loan Production / SAH Disclaimer / Privacy & Security Statement / Freedom of Information Act Contact the VA / VBA HomePage / VA HomePage This page has been accessed since February 16, 2003. Reviewed/Updated: September 28, 2005 (kt)
Real Estate Loans
Real Estate Center RECON Newsletter Name: E-mail: Subscribe Unsubscribe It's Free. Texas Cities... Texas Real Estate Confidence Index 4th Qtr 2005 % Chg Last Qtr .60 -0.04 Apartment Complex Sold SAN ANTONIO (mysanantonio.com) – Blue Star Apartment Management Inc. has purchased Sutter’s Mill Apartment Homes at 11955 Parliament St. from Delta Court Apartments LLC and Tabor Villa LLC of San Francisco for an undisclosed price. More RECON » Holiday Gift Speaks Homebuyer's Language COLLEGE STATION, Texas Have a friend, neighbor or relative who is in the market forbuying or selling a house this holiday season? The Real Estate Center at Texas A&M University has a unique gift idea for less than $10 a glossary of realestate terms that makes real estate transactions easier to understand. More » More News Releases » Events Calendar Season's Greetings ! The Real Estate Center will be closed from December 22, 2005 until January 2, 2006 for the holidays. Instructor Training Courses , May 18-19, College Station, Texas.The Legal Update and Ethics instructor training courses include credit for the required 3-hour Legal Update course and the required 3-hour Ethics course. In addition, each instructor training course will include a brief orientation to the teachers manuals for each course as well as a discussion of training issues.Registration will open in January 2006. More Event Information » What's New • Software Directory Updated • Austin Recovers • Fannie Mae & Freddie Mac? • Homeownership Programs • Urban Big Boxes • Is Texas Land Overpiced? • Housing Affordability Index Revised • Property Tax Court Cases • Brokerage-Related Cases • Growth of Texas Cities • Depreciable Land Improvements • Monthly Review of the Texas Economy (Oct.) • Texas Homebuyers Get More Home . . . • Video: Real Estate is an Attractive Investment • Video: Texas Foreclosure in Perspective • Real Estate Confidence Drops Slightly • Family Violence Victims . . . • Numbers Pop Housing Bubble Talk • It’s Going to Cost More to Keep Cool • Consumers: "More Informal Space" • Hang on After Boarding the Homebuying Ride • Beware of ‘Gotchas’ in Home Warranties • Can’t Stand the Heat, Retire Some Place Else • Hallelujah for Hardware Heaven • Why Builders Say Your House Costs So Much • Signing Away Mineral Rights Forever • Lust for Luxury • Young Buyers Making Big Impact • Home Threats are Closer Than You Think • Lamenting Fragmenting Publications Tierra Grande is our quarterly magazine with timely research and analysis of the trends and events shaping Texas real estate today. Experts on appraisal, housing , finance, law, demography, economics, investment and other areas share insights unavailable anywhere else. Terminology associated with home buying or renting can intimidate anyone. When one party’s native languageis Spanish and the other’s is not, communication can be extra challenging.The Real Estate Center’s newly revised English-Spanish Real Estate Glossary addresses this problem by defining 700 real estateterms in English and Spanish. Now also a software program on CD. Thinking about a real estate career? Click here for a free online copy of Obtaining a Texas Real Estate License . The report includes the steps to take, types of licenses, qualifications, required educational courses, getting credit for previous class work, who offers classes, fees and much more. The Real Estate Software Directory , updated for 2005, features 977 software packages from 617 companies. Created as a resource for anyone whose business relates to real estate, the directory describes programs that design advertising, evaluate budgets, manage contacts, generate legal forms, help with loans or create web pages. More publications » Solutions Through Research News :: Publications :: Data :: Software :: Education :: Cybersites :: Site Map Mays Business School, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas
Real Estate Prices
Real estate horror stories - Dec. 2, 2002 Enter Ticker Symbol Search CNN/Money Autos Real Estate Money's Best Home Markets & Stocks News Jobs & Economy World Biz Technology Commentary Personal Finance College Credit and Debt Insurance Interest Rates Retirement Tax Center Ask the Expert Five Tips The Good Life Millionaire in the Making Money 101 Moneyville Retirement Planner Savings Calculator Asset Allocator Mutual Funds Money Magazine Video CNN TV Fortune 500 Best Employers Money 101 Portfolio Calculators Real-time Quotes Last 5 Quotes SPONSORED BY include virtual="/fn_adspaces/markets-stocks/last_five_quotes/sponsor.88x31.ad" -- CNN/Money Email newsletters RSS Mobile news Money archives Buy story reprints Find a Mortgage SPECIAL OFFER Personal Finance Your Home Real estate horror stories There's never been a national bust but keep an eye on your backyard. December 2, 2002: 11:57 AM EST By Leslie Haggin Geary, CNN/Money Staff Writer New York (CNN/Money) - During the past three years, real estate has been a shelter in the storm. Since 2001, home prices have gained about 6.3 percent annually, according to the National Association of Realtors . And in dozens of hot markets , from San Francisco to Providence, RI to Topeka, KS, homeowners have seen double-digit price increases over the past year. Next to the seeming flimsiness of stocks, real estate looks rock solid. For the past 40 years, home sales prices have outpaced inflation by one or two percentage points per year, and there has never been a national decline in real estate values. But that's just part of the picture. When you drill down to local markets, instead of steady rises, you may find vertiginous spikes followed by stomach-churching drops. What's more, when busts hit, it can take years -- maybe even a decade -- for individuals who bought at the top of the market to recoup their investment. To see how grim it can get, we looked at annual sales figures for 138 metro areas across the country during the past three decades to spot where local bubbles burst, what drove prices into the cellar and how long it took for property owners to recoup their money. Here are some of the factors that can kill a real estate boom. Population shifts It's obvious. Jobs equal workers. Without work, residents leave, and home sales dry up. Consider the case of southern California. Once home to a thriving defense industry, military cutbacks hit the region especially hard in the early 1990s. Some 1 million individuals left the area, according to Ingo Winzer, president of The Local Market Monitor , a real estate consulting firm that tracks housing prices nationwide. In Los Angeles, home prices shed 21 percent of their value between 1989 and 1996, with the typical house selling for $172,900. (The peak was $214,800 in 1989 following a five year, 77-percent jump.) An exodus can hit smaller communities, too. Syracuse, NY once boasted 250,000 residents back in the 1950s, when it was a thriving industrial city. No longer. Many of those jobs are gone and Syracuse lost a full 10 percent of those inhabitants from 1990 to 2000, when its population dropped to 147,000 residents. Home prices, not surprisingly, fell too. Half of all property owners in the county who sold homes in 1997, for example, sold at a loss. Vacant buildings were not uncommon. (At one point, there were more than 1,000 empty dwellings.) Local recessions Ask housing experts about local busts and one of the first places they'll mention is Houston, TX. When the oil market was kicked in the teeth back in the mid-1980s, home prices in this city tumbled fast. In just three years, from 1985 to 1988, the typical home price dropped by 21 percent -- or from $78,600 to $61,800. Related Stories • Did you pay too much for your house? • Real estate or stocks? • Milking the bubble • Rev up your resale value "Prices fell so much that people owed more on than their mortgages than their homes were worth," said David Weil, an economics professor at Brown University. " They'd drive to the bank and drop off their keys to their homes and just leave." Houston isn't the only city where home prices have fallen when the local economy languishes badly. Take the stock market crash of 1987, which hit New York City's financial industry hard. Prices peaked at $183,000 in 1988, and anyone who bought then had to wait until after 1997 to get to even money. Another victim? Hartford, CT. From 1984 to 1988, the typical home price soared 92 percent to $167,600 from $87,400. Then the insurance industry started laying off or moving out. Hartford's population growth slowed to zero. And home prices starting falling. In fact it wasn't until last year that someone who bought at the 1988 price would have made their money back. Fast run-ups in housing values Are markets that have soared quickly especially prone to a bust? That's a question no doubt troubling many homeowners. But the answer isn't simple. Certainly, there have been plenty of hot markets that suddenly turned sour. Consider Honolulu, Hawaii, for example. Back in 1995, the average tab for a house in this community hit a record $360,000 -- a whopping 122 percent increase from the decade before. Then suddenly, prices began to drop. By 1999, a $360,000 island retreat was being unloaded for $290,000, a 19 percent discount, according to NAR. Prices started to finally rise in 2000, but anyone who bought at the island's real estate peak didn't recoup their money until this year. Hawaii's housing woes were tipped off by several factors, not the least of which was the decline in the Japanese economy, which squelched real-estate investment in Hawaii. Honolulu was also in trouble in part because few fundamentals, other than investment dollars -- were pushing the market. In fact, during the boom years, the island's population was climbing at a 1 percent rate, too low to justify the massive run-up in housing values. Bottom line: it's important to look at what drives housing spikes before you assume there will be a catastrophe, said Winzer. Rising interest rates "People tell you that housing never goes down, but that's just not true -- you try to sell a house when interest rates have gone up," said Stephen Cauley, associate director of the Ziman Center for Real Estate, Anderson School at UCLA . To illustrate his point, Cauley points to the early 1980's, when double-digit interest rates were being used to fight inflation. That made the cost of borrowing money for a home almost prohibitively expensive. "It was horrendous for the housing market," said Cauley. "There were no transactions." By 1982, the number of existing home sales had slid to 1.92 million, the lowest number on record, according to NAR. Many markets -- notably Detroit, Providence, Chicago and Philadelphia -- saw home prices stay flat or fall between 1979 and 1982. These days, of course, high interest rates seem a distant threat, though they are beginning to creep up. Current mortgage rates are hovering just above 6 percent for a fixed, 30-year loan. But even if rates go up a full percentage point, rates are still low, said Cauley. How will all this play out? If history is any guide, there won't be one big pop, the kind that usually come with stock-market crashes. But that doesn't make it any less painful. --* Disclaimer Selling? Buying? Click to compare top local real estate agents More on YOUR HOME • Your Home: Bracing for higher rates • Refinancing demand lags again • A rose is (not) a rose TODAY'S TOP STORIES • Most overvalued housing markets • Risks to the economy in 2006 • Which was the worst ad of all in 2005? CNN Money contact us | subscribe to Money magazine advertising -- | site map | glossary | RSS | press room OTHER NEWS: CNN | SI | Fortune | Business 2.0 | Time © 2005 Cable News Network LP, LLLP. A Time Warner Company ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Terms under which this service is provided to you. privacy policy Reprints of site stories are available.