Home Equity

Home Equity Loans: The Three-Day Cancellation Rule -- Search: FTC Consumer Alert PDF Version Home Equity Loans: The Three-Day Cancellation Rule If you’re considering applying for a personal loan and using your home to guarantee repayment, you should know that a federal credit law gives you three days to reconsider a signed credit agreement and cancel the deal without penalty. Your "right to rescind" or "right to cancel" is guaranteed by the Truth In Lending Act. You can rescind for any reason but only if you are using your principal residence—whether it is a condominium, mobile home, or house boat—as collateral, not a vacation or second home. Under the right to rescind, you have until midnight of the third business day to cancel the credit transaction. Day one begins after all three of the following occur: you sign the credit contract; you receive a Truth in Lending disclosure form containing certain key information about the credit contract, including the annual percentage rate; finance charge; amount financed; and payment schedule; and you receive two copies of a Truth in Lending notice explaining your right to rescind. For rescission purposes, business days include Saturdays but not Sundays or legal public holidays. For example, if the events listed above take place on a Friday, you have until midnight on the next Tuesday to rescind. During this waiting period, activity related to the contract cannot take place. The creditor may not deliver the money for the loan. If you’re dealing with a home improvement loan, the contractor may not deliver any materials or start work. If you decide to rescind, you must notify the creditor in writing. You may not rescind by telephone or in a face-to-face conversation with the creditor. Your written notice must be mailed, filed for telegraphic transmission, or delivered if by other written means, before midnight of the third business day. If you cancel the contract, the security interest in your home is also cancelled, and you are not liable for any amount, including the finance charge. The creditor has 20 days to return all money or property you paid as part of the transaction and release any security interest in your home. If you received money or property from the creditor, you may retain it until the creditor shows that your home is no longer being used as collateral and returns any money you have paid. Then, you must offer to return the creditor’s money or property. If the creditor does not claim the money or property within 20 days, you may keep it. If you have a bona fide personal financial emergency—such as damage to your home from a storm or other natural disaster—the law allows you to waive your right to rescind and eliminate the three-day period. To waive your right, you must give the creditor your own written statement describing the emergency and stating that you are waiving your right to rescind. The statement must be dated and signed by you and anyone else who shares in ownership of the home. But remember: if you waive your right to rescind, you must go ahead with the transaction. The right to rescind does not apply in all situations when you are using your home for collateral. Among the exceptions are: when you apply for a loan to buy or build your principal residence; when you refinance your loan with the same creditor who holds your loan and you don’t borrow any additional funds; or when a state agency is the creditor for a loan. In these situations, you may have other cancellation rights under state or local law. The FTC works for the consumer to prevent fraudulent, deceptive and unfair business practices in the marketplace and to provide information to help consumers spot, stop, and avoid them. To file a complaint or to get free information on consumer issues , visit www.ftc.gov or call toll-free, 1-877-FTC-HELP (1-877-382-4357); TTY: 1-866-653-4261. The FTC enters Internet, telemarketing, identity theft, and other fraud-related complaints into Consumer Sentinel , a secure, online database available to hundreds of civil and criminal law enforcement agencies in the U.S. and abroad. May 1998

Investment Property With full

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Real Estate Prices

Why the world's best real estate investor is cashing out. - Oct. 24, 2005 Web CNN/Money Home News Markets Technology Commentary Personal Finance Autos Real Estate News Newsmakers SAVE | EMAIL | PRINT | SUBSCRIBE TO MONEY | The king of real estate's cashing out Tom Barrack is selling most of his U.S. portfolio. Maybe you should be nervous too. October 24, 2005: 7:56 AM EDT By Shawn Tully , Fortune Senior Writer NEW YORK (Fortune) - Tom Barrack, arguably the world's greatest real estate investor, is methodically selling off his U.S. real estate holdings as prices drive the market to nosebleed levels. He likens the current real estate market to a game of polo. "I feel totally safe playing polo on a field full of pros," says the bronzed 58-year old. "But when amateurs are all over the field, someone can get killed. They have more guts than brains. They charge after every ball and don't know when to hold back." It's the same with U.S. real estate right now. "There's too much money chasing too few good deals, with too much debt and too few brains." The amateurs are going to get trampled, he explains, taking seasoned horsemen, who should get off the turf, down with them. Says Barrack: "That's why I'm getting out." Investors take heed. Barrack may be an amateur at polo, but when it comes to judging markets, he's the ultimate pro. Arguably the best real estate investor on the planet, he runs a $25 billion portfolio of trophy assets, from the Raffles hotel chain in Asia to the Aga Khan's former resort in Sardinia to Resorts International, the largest private gaming company in the U.S. Barrack's Colony Capital, one of the largest private equity firms devoted solely to real estate, has racked up returns of 21 percent annually since 1990, handing investors, chiefly pension funds and college endowments, 17 percent after all fees. Barrack bought the Fukuoka Dome, Japan's Yankee Stadium, in part because he calculated that the titanium in the retractable roof was worth as much as the purchase price. His strategy is to buy classy but neglected properties anywhere in the world where prices are low. Then, he'll pour in capital to fix them up, and resell in them in five years of so with their pedigrees fully restored. Says his friend Donald Trump: "Tom has an amazing vision of the future, an ability to see what's going to happen that no one else can match." Right now, Barrack's view of the U.S. market couldn't be clearer: It's a great time to sell, and a terrible time to buy. In fact, he sees signs of the tech bubble mentality in real estate. Too much capital is chasing real estate, he explains, with hedge funds, private equity groups, and rich investors all bidding on the same properties. "They've driven prices to the point where the yields on high-quality properties are like the returns on bonds, around 5 percent or 6 percent," says Barrack. "That's too low." And he sees the bubble deflating soon. Barrack thinks the catalyst will be a trend few others are talking about, a steep rise in the price of building materials and labor. "Construction costs have spiked 20 percent in the past nine months," he says. The reasons: Shortages of labor and materials like lumber because of the building boom, and increases in the price of oil, needed to produce everything from plastic piping to insulation to shingles. The slump will show up first in speculative hot spots like Miami and Las Vegas, he says, where condo developers are preselling their projects for what looks like big profits. When they actually build the units over the next year or two, he predicts, they will end up spending more then the units are now selling for. At that point, says Barrack, the developers will try to raise prices. "But most of these buyers are speculators," he says. "They will either sue the developers to get the original price or take their deposits back and walk away." The developers will then put the units back on the market, and the glut of vacant condos will drive prices down. "It's the busted deals caused by construction costs that will cause the turn in the market," he says. So Barrack is buying just one type of property in the U.S.: Casinos. And in contrast to most gaming titans, he's doing it on the cheap. Extraordinary homes, on the cheap ... click here Colony paid just $280 million for the 3000 room Las Vegas Hilton in 2003, one-tenth of what Steve Wynn paid to build his new casino, which has roughly the same number of rooms. The reason Barrack likes casinos is that he's licensed to operate casinos in all the major markets, while most other private equity firms and other financial players don't have licenses. Hence, they're locked out of the market, and can't bid against Barrack. For Barrack, casinos are a safe, exclusive preserve, far from the frenzied melee that's makes every other part of U.S. real estate such a dangerous place to play. For now, Barrack is getting off the field. But when the din subsides, and the amateurs depart, look for Barrack to ride back in, mallet cocked, ready to play again. ---------------------- To read the full-length article from Fortune, click here . The Hot List Most profitable renovations How risky is your 401(k)? Big new tax credits for hybrid cars More Newsmakers Google, Oprah looking hot in '06 Ex-Enron exec pleads guilty NYC transit deal gets OK contact us | magazine customer service | site map | glossary | RSS | press room OTHER NEWS: CNN | SI | Fortune | Business2.0 = Money subscribers = Premium content -- * - Time reflects local markets trading time. † - Intraday data is at least 15-minutes delayed. Disclaimer © 2005 Cable News Network LP, LLLP. 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Selling Home

Smartmoney.com: Real Estate: Sell Your Home — Fast Thursday December 29, 2005 3:32 PM ET U.S. Markets close in: :28 Search (choose an option below) Quote Charting Earnings Ratings Competition Financials Profile Key Statistics Insiders Site Search News (Enter Symbol) advanced search SmartMoney Select My Portfolio Tools Maps Stocks Advanced Trading Funds ETFs Personal Finance Autos Career Journal College Planning Debt Management Health Care Insurance Life LTC Insurance Real Estate Retirement Tax Guide Economy & Bonds Small Business SmartMoney TV SmartMoney Magazine SmartMoney University Business Travel Technology SmartMoney Mobile Holiday Survival Guide Select Homepage Stock Screener Market Map 1000 Fund Screener Stock Compare Fund Map 1000 Fund Compare XStream Quotes More... Portfolio Tracker Watchlist Calendar Intraday Alerts News Alerts Sector Tracker ETF Center Map of the Market XStream Quotes Stock Screener Stock Compare Price Check Calculator More... 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The Market Now ForexTV Futures Life Stages CEO Interview Sturm Screen Mossberg Report Subscribe Give a gift Customer Service Media Kit Editorial Calendar Custom Publishing Investing 101 Taking Action Strategic Investing Quizzes More... Please enable javascript to properly view the menu. Site Map DJIA 10789.06 -7.20 Nasdaq 2219.66 -9.28 S&P 500 1255.08 -3.09 Rus 2000 679.31 -0.77 10 Yr Bd 4.36 -0.01 DJTA 4248.75 24.82 Wil 5000 12585.54 -25.30 S&P 400 743.20 -0.93 Nas 100 1655.52 -11.58 Sign up now for FREE SmartMoney.com Newsletters Enter your email address below Personal Finance : Real Estate : Selling : Sell Your Home — Fast Real Estate Sell Your Home — Fast By Stacey L. Bradford Click here for more stories by Stacey L. Bradford . In This Section A Seller's Checklist Choosing a Broker Wisely Selling Without a Broker Taxes When You Sell Your Home More... Related Content Ask SmartMoney Who Gets the Home? To Rent or to Buy? Advertisement 4.25% APY with hsbcdirect.com Online Savings. Earn 8X the national savings average and make money into big money. No minimums. No monthly fees. Member FDIC. Email This Story Print This Story Save This Story Send Us Your Comments Add this column to your News Alerts (New!) IF YOU'RE LOOKING TO sell your home in a matter of days rather than months, you might want to take some tips from 32-year-old Mona Ross Berman. To get her Washington, D.C., townhouse ready for sale in early 2004, the interior designer went through every room, sweating the details. She rearranged furniture, added sophisticated coffee-table books and strategically placed vases and throw pillows to create a cozy environment. She then organized every closet to showcase her ample storage space. Finally, she removed all personal items, including her wedding photos, so potential buyers wouldn't associate the house with someone else. "I think that if you can get a home to show well, it can get you [better results] than it really should," Berman says. Her strategy worked. Within four days of placing her property on the market, she had five offers in hand. Long gone are the days when you can simply throw some cookie dough into the oven and get an offer for your house. Thanks to the Internet, home buyers are more sophisticated and demanding than ever before. At a bare minimum, would-be sellers need to dispose of clutter and make any necessary repairs. But to really make a property stand out from the crowd and sell quickly, sellers might need to do the following. 1. Hire an Interior Designer A well-decorated home will sell faster and for more money than one that looks frumpy. That's why more and more sellers are hiring interior designers to do everything from rearrange furniture and paint walls a neutral color to rent artwork. This service, known as "staging," can cost anywhere from a few hundred dollars for a small job to several thousand dollars for high-end properties, says Patricia Dugan, a realtor with The Corcoran Group. Experts across the country agree that the investment is worthwhile for most properties. According to 2002 data from Coldwell Banker, staged homes in the San Francisco Bay area spent just 25.3 days on the market and sold at the asking price, while "non-staged" homes languished on the market for 48.2 days and sold for 2% below the asking price. This information is based on more than 3,000 homes sold between Jan. 1, 2002 and Oct. 31, 2002. 2. Hire an Organizer A lovely décor will get you only so far. To really get the buyers chomping at the bit, you need to highlight your home's storage space as well. That means everything should be clean and organized — closets, bathroom vanities, the garage and basement. It might sound trivial, but your home's sale really could rest on whether your linen closets can comfortably store your towels. If you identify more with Oscar Madison of "The Odd Couple" than with Felix Ungar, it might make sense to hire a professional organizer for $75 to $100 an hour. This is especially helpful for those who've lived in their homes for many years and don't know how to dig themselves out of the mess. Some organizers will even help run a yard sale that could end up paying for their services. If you're not sure how to find this type of service, ask your realtor. Most have a list of pros at their fingertips. 3. Hire a Photographer Up to 74% of home buyers start their search online, according to the National Association of Realtors. Indeed, the Web has become such an important marketing tool that all the realtors we spoke with encourage their clients to hire a professional photographer, which can cost as little as $100, for their online snapshots. Think of it this way: If someone doesn't like how your home looks on the Web, he or she won't bother to make an appointment to see the property in person. Is that a risk you're willing to take? While putting photographs online isn't exactly new, there are some emerging trends. Six years ago it was OK to have one outside shot of the house, says Tara Rogers, director of marketing for Real Living, a Columbus, Ohio-based real-estate firm. Now, some potential buyers want to see up to a 10-picture slideshow detailing multiple rooms before they commit to a walk-through, she says. Dare to post small, grainy pictures, and risk little foot traffic in your home. 4. Try Marketing Gimmicks Despite impressive national home-sale figures, some local markets are starting to soften. For example, homes in the western suburbs of Boston are starting to languish on the market for up to 90 days after previously selling in just 15 to 30, says Nelson Zide, co-owner of ERA Key Realty Services, a Framingham, Mass.-based real-estate brokerage. Zide recently started implementing marketing gimmicks to increase the number of potential buyers to walk through his clients' homes. "I haven't done this in 12 or 13 years," he says. What strategies does he use? Rather than slash the asking price, he might encourage condo owners, for example, to pay the maintenance fees for a full year, or ask home owners to provide buyers with a cash rebate that's marketed as a decorating allowance. Nine times out of 10, such gimmicks cost less than it would to drop the asking price enough to attract a buyer with a smaller budget, says Zide. It's just one more way to get a potential buyer excited about your home. 5. Hold Open Houses The benefits of an open house are debatable. Industry experts agree that they tend to benefit realtors more than home owners. (After all, it's a great way for realtors to get new clients.) But that doesn't mean that they can't work. The key is to hold them at various times of the day and week so that folks with busy schedules can squeeze in a viewing. Real Living's Rogers says her company's agents make sure to schedule open houses on Saturdays, as well as in the evenings so people can stop by after work. Another technique more people are implementing is to hold open houses at the time of day when their house shows the best. If you have a beautiful garden, show it off during the morning before the flowers start to wilt. If you have a stunning view of the sunset, make sure people get to see the late-afternoon light. In other words, if there's one thing that you love most about your home, be sure to share it with potential buyers. For more on selling your home, read our recent article . 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home mortgage loans, including

FRB: Understanding the Home Mortgage Process Where to Shop and What to Look For Skip to content The Mortgage Application Process Understanding Your Rights to Fair Lending Directory of Federal Agencies Mortgage home Once you have found the home of your choice, you may think that your shopping days are over. Actually, only the first phase has been completed. Next comes finding a mortgage and payment terms that fit your budget. Where you shop and what you look for are important. You might start by looking for a mortgage at the bank where you have your checking or savings account. But don’t limit yourself. A wide variety of institutions make home mortgage loans, including savings and loan associations, commercial banks, mutual savings banks, and mortgage companies. The mortgages these institutions offer will have varying features. One way to find the creditor with the most attractively priced loan is to look in your local newspaper; check to see if it publishes a shoppers guide to mortgage credit. These shoppers guides are available in many localities and can be used to identify the lenders with low rates. But, basically, the way to find the loan with the most attractive terms is to shop around. You should have in mind some of the things to look for in a mortgage loan. For example, what types of loans are available from a given institution? Does the lender make privately or federally insured or guaranteed loans? Some lenders offer mortgage loans backed by a federal agency such as the Federal Housing Administration (FHA loans) or the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA loans). Loans that are not government-insured are called conventional mortgages. Insured mortgages may be more attractive than conventional mortgages in some ways--such as lower down payment requirements. But they may be more restrictive in other ways; for example, they may be available only for certain kinds of homes, or for properties whose value is below a specified price. Other factors important to your mortgage decision are the length of the loan and the down payment required by the lender. The longer the term and the larger the down payment, the smaller your monthly payments will be. The interest rate is important too, and in some cases the amount of the down-payment will influence the interest rate that you pay (the larger the down payment, the lower the interest rate). In addition, mortgage loans may have interest rates that will stay fixed for the life of the loan (fixed-rate mortgages), that may change (adjustable-rate mortgages, or ARMs), or that represent a combination of fixed and variable rates (convertible mortgages). The initial rate of an ARM is generally lower than the rate available on a fixed-rate mortgage; but remember, the rate may change during the lifetime of the loan. Don’t hesitate to ask the lender how one loan differs from another, how the different features of the loan will affect the mortgage, or whether your chances to qualify would improve if you made a higher down payment. When you're shopping around, you will find that some home mortgage lenders have special programs to assist veterans and low-income or first-time homebuyers. Ask the lender if such programs are available. Home | Brochures Accessibility To comment on this site, please fill out our feedback form. Last update: June 21, 2001