The Hawaii Team Real Estate Blog
Integrity
The story goes like this: A friends of mine who is a mortgage lender was really upset and was having a horrible week when I called. It turns out that he got involved in a loan transaction for some questionable people (both the buyer and real estate agent). Now, what...
Mortgage Rates Reach 7-Month High
Higher interest rates put the brakes on mortgage refinancing this week, according to Freddie Mac.
Moving In To Make Ends Meet
Last week, I wrote a column about the human toll of foreclosure. Not exactly an upbeat story, but one that needed to be told. This week is a feel good story about the never say die attitude of Americans and how coming together as a family may just be the answer to...
The Human Toll of Foreclosure
We hear a lot about foreclosures these days in the news. Internet, newspaper, TV, and radio all regularly report on the rate of foreclosures, the number of foreclosures, the hardest hit areas, and how many more are yet to come. Analysts and economists have been...
Time Is Running Out For First Time Home Buyers Part Two
Last week, we stared looking at opportunities for first time home buyers with the $8,000 tax credit. We also started talking about some obstacles that are keeping people from taking advantage of the program. To find out if you qualify for the first time home buyer...
More Good News On The First Time Home Buyers Tax Credit
Shaun Donovan, secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, on Tuesday said that the Federal Housing Administration is going to permit its lenders to allow home buyers to use the $8,000 tax credit as a down payment. Previously, most buyers...
Time Is Running Out For First Time Home Buyers Part One
Ok, first time home buyers; this is a reminder that the $8,000 dollar tax credit is only good until Dec 1st, 2009. So you need to purchase a home by that time and if we do the quick math, it looks like you have about 6 months to get that done. Let’s go over...
Is The Bottom Near
The bottom of the housing decline is near, predicted analysts and home builders attending the National Association of Home Builders’ semiannual Construction Forecast Conference last week. Mark Zandi, chief economist of Moody’s Economy.com,...
It Pays To Be Flexible
The story goes like this. An agent with buyers wants to see a home on short notice. The sellers have indicated in the MLS they need a 24-hour notice for showings. But the buying agent asks the selling agent if they can see the house with only a two-hour notice. The...
Rates on Bigger Mortgages Poised to Come Down
Mortgage lenders will begin making loans between $625,500 and $729,750 in high-cost housing markets now that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have issued their underwriting standards. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have said they will begin buying loans up to the new...
Social Networking Wins Real Estate Fans
Social networking sites including Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and ActiveRain are the medium for real estate professionals get the word out. On Twitter, users create profiles and post messages as long as 140 characters that can be viewed on a PC or a mobile phone....
Trading Places
Trading homes is not a new idea, but in this economy it is becoming a more valuable option. I know a builder that had a custom home for sale last year. Some potential buyers wanted it but needed to sell their home first. The builder took a look at the buyers’...