Uncover best investments with the right data

NEW YORK – May 20, 2011 – Supplying key housing data based on ZIP code – instead of an entire geographic area – can give investor clients greater insight into short-term and long-term appreciation potential of a property and help them make more informed decisions, experts say.

Here are three key pieces of data that real estate professionals can provide to help uncover homes with the greatest probability for appreciation:

▪ Home valuations: Home valuations by ZIP code compared with the foreclosure inventory for that same ZIP code can offer insight into the health of the area’s housing market.

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Read more

http://www.floridarealtors.org/NewsAndEvents/article.cfm?p=2&id=260192

Mortgage forms to get more consumer-friendly

WASHINGTON – May 23, 2011 – Borrowers may soon have an easier time sorting out all of those key details and expenses associated with their mortgage as well as more easily compare loan terms when trying to shop around for a mortgage that works best for them.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau recently unveiled its “Know Before You Owe” project and is seeking public feedback on two “consumer-friendly” prototype mortgage disclosure forms that will replace the current required disclosure forms by July 2012.

The prototype forms itemize key costs associated with the mortgage, including total closing costs, monthly payments and projected monthly payments for future years. The forms also provide more details about the mortgage’s terms than the current form does.


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My View?  THey need to speed up the process.  Banks need to make a decision and stick to it.  WHen Selling or Lending.


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Read more at

http://www.floridarealtors.org/NewsAndEvents/article.cfm?p=2&id=260284

Census: Housing top reason to relocate

WASHINGTON – May 23, 2011 – Among those who moved between 2009 and 2010, more than four out of 10 (16.4 million or 43.7 percent) did so for housing-related reasons, such as the desire to live in a new or better home or apartment, according to data from the U.S. Census Bureau’s “Geographical Mobility: 2010.”

Among other reasons for moving, people cited family concerns (30.3 percent), such as a change in marital status, employment needs (16.4 percent) and other factors (9.5 percent).

In 2010, 37.5 million people 1 year and older changed residences in the U.S. within the past year. At 12.5 percent in 2010, the mover rate was not statistically different from 2009.

“Mover rates differ by characteristics, such as age, race, Hispanic origin, marital status, income or even whether the housing unit is owned or rented,” said David Ihrke, survey statistician in the Census Bureau’s Social, Economic and Housing Statistics Division. “Tracking mobility allows us to examine shifts in demographic trends in the population for the nation, regions and metro areas as a whole.”

In 2010, 69.3 percent of all movers stayed within the same county, 16.7 percent moved to a different county in the same state, 11.5 percent moved to a different state, and 2.5 percent moved from abroad to the U.S.

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Read More at
http://www.floridarealtors.org/NewsAndEvents/article.cfm?p=1&id=260288

Top 10 real estate web sites

CHICAGO – April 21, 2011 – Which real estate web sites are fielding the most traffic on the web? Experian Hitwise recently released data showing which real estate sites get the biggest market share in visitors.

Here are the top 10 most visited real estate web sites for March 2011:

1. Realtor.com
2. Yahoo! Real Estate
3. Zillow.com
4. Trulia.com
5. Rent.com
6. Homes.com
7. MSN Real Estate
8. AOL Real Estate
9. ZipRealty  
10. Apartment Guide

Source: “Top 10 Real Estate Web Sites for March 2011,” Marketing Charts (April 20, 2011)

© Copyright 2011 INFORMATION, INC. Bethesda, MD (301) 215-4688
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Some web sites I, Andy Carson, uses:

MrDowntownOrlando.com  (Real Estate News)
Postlets.com  (Marketing/Selling Property)
AndyCarsonLaughs.com (Search MLS)

Google.com  (Your County) Property Appraiser --- Its public records
OCPAFL.org  (Orange County)
Rentometer.com  (Check Rents in an area)

City-Data.com
Zillow.com
HUD.gov

CFRI.net  (Central Florida Realty Investors) One of the best Investor Associations of ALL TIME!
VA.gov
occompt.com Orange County Comptroller

ocpafl.org  Orange County Property Appraisers Florida
buildinggreen.com
sunbiz.org

myfloridalicense.com  DBPR Department of Business & Professional Regulations
donotcall.gov  Do Not Call   Good luck.  Not friendly to businesses.  AND we can only search limitedly
entrustfl.com    IRAs  Individual Retirement Accounts  Lets you control your retirement.  You can lend YOUR money to people like me to buy Real Estate and charge interest.  So you can charge me 6% or more which is more than you can get with a savings account.
hud.gov


Others

Facebook.com    Mine is facebook.com/AndyCarsonLaughs

Freddie Mac rolls out summer promotion

MCLEAN, Va. – May 18, 2011 – HomeSteps, the real estate sales unit of Freddie Mac, launched a nationwide sales promotion for its inventory of foreclosed homes.

The HomeSteps Summer Sales Promotion offers up to 3.5 percent for the buyer’s closing costs and a $1,200 selling agent bonus for initial offers received May 16 – July 31, 2011, and escrows that are closed on or before Sept. 30, 2011. This offer is valid only on HomeSteps homes sold to owner-occupant buyers.

A two-year Home Protect limited home warranty that covers electrical, plumbing, air conditioning, heating and other major systems and appliances is offered on some eligible HomeSteps homes. Home Protect also provides discounts of up to 30 percent on the purchase of appliances, though terms, conditions and limitations apply and not all homes or borrowers will qualify.

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Home warrenties can be a big selling tools for buyer.  If they buyer gets a home warranty from one seller and the other house they are looking at does not have one.   A home warranty Brings a peace of mind to the buyer and they are more likely to buy. 

I know of some good Home Warranty companies.  Feel Free to contact me!

Read more and find out what site has more information.

http://www.floridarealtors.org/NewsAndEvents/article.cfm?p=2&id=260070

Scott signs property insurance re-write

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – May 18, 2011 – A sweeping measure aimed at reducing costs to property insurers and liability for taxpayers was signed into law Tuesday by Gov. Rick Scott, who said it was a significant first step in restoring the private insurance market in Florida.

Equally important, Scott said the measure (SB 408) will help lower the number of Florida coastal residents now insured by the state-backed Citizens Property Insurance Corp., the state’s largest property insurer with 1.3 million policies, by making it easier for private companies to compete.

“We’ve got to recruit other companies, other insurance companies,” Scott said Tuesday in an interview with the News Service. “We’ve got to make sure Citizens goes back to being the insurance company of last resort.”

Among its changes, the bill allows insurance companies to charge more for policies that pay replacement costs upfront while offering discounts to policyholders who opt to get reimbursed for lost items as they are replaced.

A major provision places more restrictions on sinkhole coverage. The law makes it easier for insurers to challenge claims and shortens to two years the window in which policyholders can file claims.


Much more at

http://www.floridarealtors.org/NewsAndEvents/article.cfm?p=1&id=260074

Mortgage debt falls at record clip in U. S.

WASHGINGTON – May 16, 2011 – Americans are reducing mortgage payments at a record clip, directing cash that once went for debt into consumer spending and savings.
Low interest rates, defaults and refinancings have shaved more than $100 billion off the nation’s annual mortgage bill, an amount comparable to all unemployment benefits for one year or this year’s Social Security payroll tax cut.

“This is a form of economic stimulus that goes to Main Street rather than Wall Street,” says Nicholas Carroll, a journalist on consumer finance and author of Walk Away From Debt for a Better Future. When freed from a mortgage payment, people’s first purchases tend to be necessities, such as socks and underwear, he says.

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Read all about it at

http://www.floridarealtors.org/NewsAndEvents/article.cfm?p=5&id=259972