Real Estate Broker NEW

CBS News | Be Your Own Real Estate Broker | May 21, 2004 22:03:39 CBSNews.com The Web Home | U.S. | World | Politics | SciTech | Health | Entertainment | Business | Opinion | NEW --Strange News | Sports | Public Eye | Interactives | FREE CBS News Video The Early Show | CBS Evening News | 48 Hours | 60 Minutes The Saturday Early Show -- | CBS Sunday Morning | Face The Nation | Up To The Minute | Build Your Own Newscast Main Page Living HealthWatch Leisure Series The Saturday Early Show Chef On A Shoestring Second Cup Caf Ask Mike Up Next Program Facts Bios Contact Info Inside Scoop Contributors Bios Special Report Money Matters Early Show financial adviser Ray Martin offers tips to keep your financial house in order. Interactive U.S. Markets History of trading and definitions of key terms RELATED STORIES & LINKS Let The House Hunting Begin Tips For Those Diving Into The Real Estate Market This Spring Taking A Home Equity Loan? Be Careful What You Use The Money For Home Mortgage Rates Up A Bit Both 30 and 15-Year Rates Up, Ending A Three Week Stretch Of Drops Inflation Isn't A Problem Consumer Prices Dip 0.2 Percent In November, After Flat October Be Your Own Real Estate Broker NEW YORK, May 22, 2004 (CBS) The housing market is hot. In fact, homes are in such high demand that many sellers are wondering if they even need to hire a real estate agent to broker the deal. Financial adviser Ray Martin gave some tips on The Saturday Early Show for owners who want to sell a home themselves. Home values are up, mortgage rates are low and properties in hot markets are selling in days. The only fly in the ointment for many sellers is the traditional six percent commission paid to real estate brokers who make the deal. As home values continue to skyrocket, the broker commission skyrockets as well. Meanwhile, it seems as though these brokers are doing nothing more than watching the home sell and then collecting a large commission. The thought of having to pay brokers $10,000 or more to sell a home that fetches a buyer in less than week is causing many sellers to stop and think: "Do I really need to spend that money?" FSBO (For Sale By Owner) can be a good option for some people, Martin says. If your home is in a hot location, at a price that is affordable to many potential buyers, and similar homes are in short supply, this can be a good strategy. But, Martins says, FSBO is not for everyone. The following are three potential pitfalls of being your own broker: Setting A Price: The housing market is constantly changing and you really need to have a good feel for the market in order to set a reasonable price. You don't want to lose money by naming a price that's too low, but your don't want to frighten buyers away by over-charging. Getting the Word Out: Putting a "For Sale" sign in your yard is probably not going to sell your house. Most buyers don't have time to cruise around neighborhoods, searching for signs. When you list your home with a broker, they place your information in the area's MLS (Multiple Listing Service). This alerts all real estate agents in the area that your home is for sale -- making it easy for them to pinpoint potential buyers and bring them by for a visit. You can't do this alone. Becoming Emotionally Involved: Selling a home is the second-most emotional transaction you'll ever make, Martin says, second only to buying a home. Mixing emotion and business is not a good thing. If a buyer comes through the door and immediately points out your home's flaws instead of the beautifully restored floors or lovingly painted walls, it's going to hurt. You may be tempted to turn down this buyer's offer, even if it's fair. This is where a realtor can help. It's not a home to them, it's a business deal -- one they want to close quickly and collect on. Despite these pitfalls, Martin says he is not trying to steer everyone away from selling their homes themselves. He says you need to be aware of the pitfalls and if you think you can tackle them, give it a try -- particularly if you're in a hot market. You can try FSBO for a set amount of time, and if you're not successful, you can turn to a broker. If nothing else, use the knowledge that you could be your own broker to negotiate a commission with your broker. That storied six percent is a result of tradition, not law; nowhere does it say that you have to pay brokers six percent. There are conflicting numbers on how many homeowners are selling their homes themselves. About 14 percent of sellers went solo in 2003, according to the National Association of Realtors. The Boston Globe newspaper reviewed sales in its area and found that closer to 25 percent of sales were FSBO. There's no question that there are a lot of services targeted to sellers looking to go FSBO. If you are looking for an alternative to a traditional real estate agent, here are some popular options: Flat Fee Brokers: There seem to be two major players here -- Help-U-Sell and Assist-2-Sell . Both companies are franchises that connect you with local licensed real estate agents. You show your home yourself, and these agents perform all other duties of a traditional broker. The best part, Martin says, is that you pay them one flat fee that varies based on home's value and location. If you pay them a little more, the realtors from these companies will show your house too. An example: a Help-U-Sell customer in Chicago was selling his home for $345,000. The six percent commission would have totaled $21,000. Instead, he paid Help-U-Sell $4,950 to sell his home. If the agent lists your home on the MLS, and another broker brings you a buyer, you will have to pay that broker their two or three percent commission. FSBO Marketing: Other companies such as FSBO.com and ForSaleByOwner.com offer you a variety of marketing options at different price points. You can choose to have your home listed on the companies' Web sites. You can pay more and have yard signs and color brochures designed for your home. Pay even more and have a virtual tour included in your home's listing. Each company is different and offers different packages. Martin says the ultimate packages, which costs $500 or more, allow you to list your home on the MLS -- the same place real estate agents list houses. Again, there's a catch here: if a buyer is brought to your home by an agent who saw the listing on MLS, you do have to pay that broker's two or three percent commission. Negotiated Broker Commission: Again, Martin says you don't have to pay a six percent commission. So don't! In fact, commissions now average a bit over five percent, according to a survey by Real Trends publishers. If your home is on the expensive side and in a hot market, have a serious conversation with your potential broker. Remind him or her that if you list with them, they will get paid. But if you strike out on your own, they get nothing. Isn't one or two percent better than nothing? MMIV, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. 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Home Equity Fraud How

Don’t Lose Your Home. Home Equity Fraud Home Equity Fraud Consumers Union West Coast Regional Office Don’t Lose Your Home. Home Equity Fraud How To Protect Yourself From Home Equity Lending Fraud DO Get free pre-loan counseling before you sign on the dotted line. Shop around for the best home equity loan for your financial situation. Read every word on any loan document before you sign. Avoid loans with one large "balloon payment" at the end. Protect your friends and neighbors by reporting home equity fraud immediately. DON’T Don’t fall for a loan from a door-to-door salesman or home improvement contractor who comes to your home. Don’t decide whether you can afford a loan by the monthly payments alone. Don’t sign anything that has blank spaces. Don’t take out a loan on your property for anyone else unless you can afford to lose that money forever. What Is Home Equity Fraud? Sometimes, taking out a loan against your home’s equity can be a good idea. Home equity borrowing should not be a problem as long as the loan is a fair one and you have the ability to repay the loan. Home equity lending fraud is different: Lenders seek you out and trick you into taking out a loan against your home which you cannot afford to repay. Most times, these loans have very high interest rates and steep fees. When you fall behind on your payments, the lender can take your home and all your equity through a legal process called foreclosure. The lender then owns your home. Once the damage is done, it is very hard to undo. Most people never get their homes back again. Why Should I Care? Nationally, home repair and home equity fraud have stripped the value from the homes of an estimated 100,000 people in 29 states. In the entire country, the San Francisco Bay Area is one of the areas hardest hit by home equity fraud. Real people, many of them senior citizens, have lost ownership of their homes and all their equity, with no hope of ever getting any of it back. Anyone with equity in a home is a potential target. You could be next. Your home equity is just like money. Protect it! If you are a homeowner or know someone who is, you should learn about home equity lending fraud. Knowing what to look for and how to protect yourself can keep you or a loved one from losing a home. Here’s How To Protect Yourself From The Most Common Types Of Home Equity Fraud: Don’t take out a loan from an uninvited door-to-door contractor who appears at your home. Instead: Many local government agencies have special programs to make it easy to repair housing. See if you qualify for one of these programs available in your area. See the Home Improvement Resource List, a separate Consumers Union publication. Find your own contractor; don’t wait for one to come to you. Shop for your own financing. You’ll probably get a better deal. Steer clear of door-to-door salespersons who want to fix your home after a disaster such as an earthquake or flood. Instead: Call the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) at 1(800)462-9029 for information about repairing and financing repairs to your home after a disaster. If you are in foreclosure because you couldn’t pay your mortgage, someone you never heard of will offer you a new loan. Watch out. Instead: Think about selling your home and keeping your equity rather than taking out another loan. See a credit counselor to talk about all of your alternatives. Don’t put your other debts "on the house" through a bill consolidation plan. When you consolidate credit card debt or your car loan, for example, into a home equity loan, you put your home on the line for that debt. Once you put that debt "on your house," you can lose your home if you don’t make those payments. Instead: Talk to a credit counselor. You can get help to work with your creditors to make payments more manageable, possibly without putting debt "on your house." Look Out For These Danger Signs "No Credit? No Job? No Problem!" "Don’t worry, you have plenty of equity in your home to qualify for a loan." Walk away from anyone who says any of these things to you. You may be dealing with someone who will treat you unfairly. They don’t care if you can pay the loan. They know they can legally take your house through foreclosure if you don’t pay. In their eyes, the one thing that "qualifies" you for a loan is your inability to pay it. Before you borrow against your home, ask yourself these two questions: Can I afford this loan? Just because a lender says you "qualify" doesn’t mean you are getting an affordable or fair loan. If you cannot afford the loan, you will lose your home. What will I do if I lose my home? Most people have nowhere to go after they lose their homes. Remember that it is easier to learn how to protect your home now than it is to pick up the pieces after it’s gone. Take advantage of free, local loan counseling. See the Resources section at the end of this pamphlet. Don’t Let Anyone Steal Your Home! Here’s How: DO Get the "big picture" on a loan. Look at more than the monthly payments. Make sure that a loan’s interest rate and fees are competitive and fair. Shop around with different lenders to compare. Hang-up on unsolicited telephone callers. Toss-out mailers you receive from companies offering to arrange a home loan for you. Steer clear of high-pressure sales tactics, such as claims that an offer is good only for a limited time. Seek help from a trusted family member or friend who understands financial matters and can help you get free loan counseling. Avoid loans that are set up as "interest only, non-amortizing or partially amortizing loans." With this type of loan, you still owe the money you borrowed after you make all the payments. You must make one large, final payment, known as a balloon payment. If you can’t make this payment, you may lose your home through foreclosure. You should avoid these loans at all cost. Beware of lenders or contractors who try to trick you into signing away your home. Make sure that a "Contract for Home Improvement Services" is only that. Don’t give your house away by signing a "Deed of Trust" or a "Quitclaim Deed." Think twice about taking out a loan against your home to give money to anyone,even a friend or family member. Consider such a request only if you can afford lose that money forever. Otherwise, you may lose your house if the other person doesn’t repay you in time. Act fast if you were pressured into signing for a loan you didn’t really want or cannot afford. Federal law gives you three days to get out of a loan contract whenever your home is used as security for a home equity loan. You may cancel the loan for any reason, but only if you do it in writing within 3 days. This is known as the right of rescission. Contact an attorney immediately if you have any questions about whether your lender violated the law. DON’T Don’t sign anything related to a home loan without first obtaining independent, free advice from a nonprofit counseling agency. Check the Resources list below. Don’t take the first loan offer that lands in your lap. Shop around! Some lenders charge more than others do. Don’t trust door-to-door loan sellers. If you really need or want a home loan, you should make the first contact and carefully investigate all the possibilities before considering a loan. Don’t take out a loan that is made solely on the value of your home, not on your ability to repay it. Your home equity alone does not give you the income you need to make the monthly payments. Don’t borrow more money than you need. The bigger the loan, the more stake your lender will have in your home equity. Don’t sign a form with incorrect information about yourself on it. Don’t sign anything to do with your home that contains blank spaces. Once your signature is on a form, anyone can fill in those blank spaces with obligations that may be very different than the ones you have agreed to. Don’t sign any forms written in a language you do not understand. You may be signing away your home without even realizing it! It’s okay to say "I don’t understand and I will not sign this." Remember: if the offer is good today, it should be good tomorrow If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Resources Before you take out a home equity loan, get pre-loan counseling for free: San Francisco Bar Association of San Francisco Equity Fraud Hotline and lawyer referral (415) 782-8903 Consumer Credit Counseling Service (415) 788-0288 or (800) 777-7526 Consumer Action (415) 777-9635 Alameda County ECHO Housing (510) 271-7931 Contra Costa County ECHO Housing (925) 679-8023 San Mateo County Consumer Credit Counseling Service (800) 200-6444 Legal Aid Society of San Mateo (650) 377-0158 East Palo Alto Law Collective (650) 853-1600 Santa Clara County Consumer Credit Counseling Service (800) 969-7526 If you feel you are the victim of home equity lending fraud, call one of the local agencies above. Then call the National Fraud Information Center. File a written complaint against the lender with the appropriate local law enforcement and state regulatory agencies. National Fraud Information Center (800) 876-7060 Fraud reports from consumers are sent within minutes to the appropriate law enforcement agency. Law Enforcement: San Francisco Office of the District Attorney: (415) 553-1814 Alameda County Office of the District Attorney: (510) 569-9281 Contra Costa County Office of the District Attorney: (925) 646-4500 San Mateo County Office of the District Attorney: (650) 363-4677 Santa Clara County Office of the District Attorney, Real Estate Fraud Division (408) 792-2880 State Regulatory Agencies: Call each agency to see if the lender you are complaining about is licensed by that agency. Sometimes lenders are licensed by both agencies. California Department of Real Estate 185 Berry Street, Room 3400 San Francisco, CA 94107 (415) 904-5925 California Department of Corporations 3700 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 600 Los Angeles, CA 90010 (800) 347-6995 (toll free) [ Health ] [ Finance ] [ Food ] [ Product ] [ Other ] [ About CU ] [ News ] [ Tips ] [ Home ] Please contact us at: http://www.consunion.org/contact.htm All information ©1998 Consumers Union

Las Vegas Real Estate

VEGAS.com: Real Estate HOME HOTELS AIR-HOTEL SHOWS My Account | Customer Support Gambling Tours Dining Golf Weddings Spas Attractions Nightlife Vegas Guide More Book your room today! Check In Date: Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 2005 2006 Nights: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Rooms: 1 2 3 4 5+ Room 1 Adults Children 1 2 3 4 0 1 2 3 Room 2 1 2 3 4 0 1 2 3 Room 3 1 2 3 4 0 1 2 3 Room 4 1 2 3 4 0 1 2 3 Specify ages of children Room 1 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 Room 2 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 Room 3 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 Room 4 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 Reserve Online or Call 1-800-851-1703 Click here for Group Bookings We have great air-hotel package deals from cities across the country. Just click below to get started. Reserve Online or Call 1-800-430-9859 Buy your show tickets today! Search by entertainer or your travel dates. Entertainer: Start Date: End Date: If you are looking for a particular show, click here . Reserve Online or Call 1-866-807-4697 Book your tour today! Choose a tour location below and click check rates below. Grand Canyon Hoover Dam VEGAS Strip Lake Mead Red Rock Valley Of Fire Mount Charleston Colorado River Other Reserve Online or Call 1-800-430-9859 Inside Real Estate: - Vegas Real Estate - Featured Condominiums - Featured Agents - Featured Builders - Featured Communities - Resale Homes - Vegas Rentals - Mortgage Lenders - Search Listings You Also Might Be Interested In... - Weddings - Dining - Spas - Shows - Transportation For your Vegas Vacation: - Book a Room - Book an Air/Hotel Package - Buy a Show Ticket - Book a Tour - Buy a Nightclub Ticket - Buy a Tee Time Real Estate VEGAS.com guards your privacy and security. We're certified by Verisign . Advertise | Employment | Privacy and cookies policy | About VEGAS.com | Site map All contents © 1998 - 2005

Buy Home

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Real Estate Prices

Hawaii Real Estate Central - Honolulu Board of REALTORS Third Quarter 2005 Median Sales Prices by Area Island of Oahu, State of Hawaii, USA T he Median Prices shown in the chart below are the prices paid for existing residential properties reported sold through our Multiple Listing Service (MLS) system during the stated time period. The columns labeled Change indicate the direction of price change from the prior time period (NC is no change). (Click HERE for the most recent ANNUAL prices.) GEOGRAPHIC AREA SINGLE FAMILY HOMES Change CONDOMINIUMS Change Entire Island $ 615,000 $ 280,000 Metro Oahu (Town) $ 730,000 $ 270,000 Diamond Head $ 930,000 $ 500,000 Hawaii Kai $ 925,000 $ 543,500 Kailua $ 862,000 $ 395,000 Kaneohe $ 690,000 $ 350,000 North Shore $ 880,000 $ 466,500 Central Oahu $ 565,000 $ 280,000 Leeward Coast $ 354,600 $ 160,000 Ewa Plain $ 512,000 $ 270,100 Makakilo $ 587,000 $ 285,000 Waipahu $ 549,500 $ 279,000 Pearl City $ 565,000 $ 242,500 Median Sales Price means the midpoint of sales prices, where half of the sales were at prices above the given amount and half were below. Click OAHU MAP to view the geographical references used above. Honolulu Board of REALTORS 1136 12th Avenue, Suite 200 Honolulu, Hawaii 96816 USA Phone: 808-732-3000 Fax: 808-732-8732 Email: hbradmin@hicentral.com 1995-2005 Honolulu Board of REALTORS. All rights reserved. Information herein deemed reliable but not guaranteed.