Infotube.net: Homes for Sale - For Sale By Owner (FSBO) - Real Estate Listings

Although the logic escapes me, many Realtors do not provide sales prices, when advertising homes for sale.    They operate on the old, tired business practice of printing teaser ad’s or brochures, that force customers to call or email a sales person.  This annoying ”game” is a disservice to buyer and seller, alike.  But, many agent’s still hide basic property information, attempting to latch onto an unwitting customer they can flip into some type of sale.

The new Google Base website for home listings circumvents this questionable and irritating practice, by revealing the hidden sales prices for listed homes. 

Tip for Buyers:  If you are house hunting and resent the phone tag game, go to Google Base to find the hidden asking prices.  Refuse to track down any sales agent to get basic information.  Unfortunately, for the innocent home seller, I always eliminate properties from my candidate list, when I discover the listing agent is a game player.  I simply move on to the next listing that is represented by someone who values my time and intellegence.  Life is too short to put up with a listing agent who plays hide and seek with the home seller’s information.

Tip for Sellers:  If your home is listed with an agent, have them acknowlege in writing, that they will provide easy access to all information about your home, including the price.  Make sure they use an InfoTube or InfoBox to ensure that home information is readily available to drive by traffic.  Seller’s, you don’t profit from missed buyer inquiries, nor do you benefit from an agent flipping potential buyers to other listings. A good agent will give your home as much exposure, to as many people as possible. And, they will utilize all means, low and high tech, to provide instant information when the customer wants it…even while they are sitting in front of your home.

Thank you for visiting InfoTube.net.  Please let us know if we can assist you in the sale of your home or help you with an MLS listing.

Directors for the National Association Realtors (N.A.R.) formally agree on a real estate stimulus proposal.

The proposal calls on congress to use a portion of the $700 billion dollar bailout package to provide a temporary $7,500 first-time home buyer tax credit that does not have to be repaid.  In addition, they advised that the fed, should temporarily buy-down mortgage rates to 4.5 percent or less.

NAR, CEO Dale Stinton, said the  proposal would cost an estimated $100 billion per year and recommended that the temporary relief  remain in place for two years.

Stinton said NAR arrived at the 4.5 percent or lower interest-rate buy-down level as “a result of some surveys and focus groups and talking to some brokers around the country,” and the research indicates that a buying down  interest rates to 3 percent to 4.5 percent would get the market rolling again. 

“We think in a couple years things will come back to where they should be,” Stinton said.  “It’s a small price to pay, in my opinion, to stop the hemorrhaging,” he said, as much longer real estate slump could prove far more costly.  ”We have to find a bottom to this market, from the real estate point of view and from an economic point of view,” he said.

Realogy Corp., which owns Century 21, Coldwell Banker, ERA and other household franchise names, recommended the idea of government financed interest rate buy downs in October, saying the buy downs would unleash consumer demand for housing.  

Buy downs are not a new idea for increasing buyer activity.   Buy downs have been used successfully for years as an incentive.   To buy down a rate, sellers pay lenders extra points up front to obtain a reduced interest rate for a buyer, often for the first two or three years of a loan.

The NAR plan also stressed that the federal government should permanently increase in FHA, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac loan limits to $729,750 in high-cost areas. Effect January 1, 2009, the limits are scheduled to roll back to $625,000.

The proposal from the NAR is on target in terms of what is needed to get things moving on Main Street.  And hopefully, when Congress is back in session, they will seriously heed the advise of the real estate community before more damage is done to homeowners.

Thank you for checking in with InfoTube.net.

The new, US economy brings with it, a whole new set of rules for investing in real estate.   In the past, real estate has been a tried and proven method for quickly building wealth, but the current rules for successful investing have changed.

Making money in real estate is still a possibility, but investor’s must pay very close attention to the changes that this ecomonic cycle brings.  Today’s investors need to reexamine their criteria for buying, selling or holding property.  They also need a lot of patience and flexibility, along with complete and detailed research, before they jump in and take advantage of some of the best bargains seen in years.

NEW RULES FOR INVESTING IN TODAY’S REAL ESTATE MARKET

NEW RULE #1:  LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION.   For the baby boom generation, the suburbs were “the” location for profit and life style.  Fuel was cheap, commutes were short and the ‘burbs’ offered the big house, with picket fenced yards and the image of the Leave It to Beaver lifestyle.   Not so much, today.  Today, it is the urban scene that is making a comeback.   While homes in downtown area’s are generally more expensive on a price per square foot basis, buyer’s today are willing to pay a bit more money for less square footage.   Urban center living eliminates long commutes, urban sprawl, expensive fuel bills and provides nearby ammenities without the need to drive.

NEW RULE #2:  STAY PUT AND DO NOT REMODEL WHEN THE MARKET IS SLOW.   In the past, many homeowners gained equity by renovating their old home while the market was slow.   The improvements added value to their real estate, while they waited for more favorable market conditions.  In the 2008 housing market, any major renovations should be analyzed purely from a return on investment perspective.   According to Remodeling Magazine, which just published its Cost vs Value Report, homeowners should be warned that they will not recover as much of their costs for remodeling as they did in the past.   The best investment today’s homeowner can make in terms of renovating fall in the category of paint, landscape and green, energy saving features. 

NEW RULE #3:  Technology and Networking are the Key to Locating Great Properties.   Home listings, valuations and other crucial information for real estate investment used to be available only through a real estate agent.  Now, the genie is out of the bottle and the best sources for real estate information can be accessed with nothing more than the click of a mouse.   More technology has also made it possible for home seller’s to list their property on the powerful, national MLS, without listing with a agent.  Companies like Why 6 Percent.com, and its national network of broker’s, list property for seller’s, investors and builders who want the exposure the MLS provides, but do not want to pay 6 percent of their sales price for the priviledge.   Technology has changed the way buyer’s and seller’s connect, and the way that property is advertised.   Smart investor’s should take advantage of this new alternative, as it offer’s accuracy, speed and control unmatched by the traditional route of buying and selling through agent’s only.

New Rule #4:  BIGGER IS NOT ALWAYS BETTER.  In the past, agent’s and home builder’s advised buyer’s to purchase as large of a home as they could possibly afford.  As a result, home size in the 1970’s averaged about 1700 square feet, with 3.1 people in the average family.  In 2004, the average size of a home was around 2400 square feet with only 2.6 occupants on average.   Today’s lending and energy crisis has changed our thinking and bigger is not necessarily the best investment.  Buyer’s are looking for a home that meets their needs without paying for space they don’t need.   Today’s investor needs to adapt their thinking and focus on useable living space, energy saving ammenities, security and conveniences instead of targeting the over blown McMansion.  Another demographic also backs up the theory that smaller may be better.  For the next two decades, retiring baby boomers will be scaling out of their McMansions, now that their families have left the nest.  The boomer’s will favor smaller homes with more ammenities, located in convenient neighborhoods that are clean and safe.

New Rule #5:  FLIPPING IS OUT. BUY AND HOLD IS IN.   Today’s falling prices and the huge inventory of unsold property means that potential bargains are plentiful.  Smart Investor’s will take advantage of the current market and lock themselves into a good deal now, and hold the property until stability returns.  Prospective investors should be warned that the crash we are experiencing will not turn around anytime soon.  Prices will continue to fall, though not as dramatically as we have seen in the recent past.  As prices firm and inventory is sold, the patient investor will see gains, but they should plan on waiting five years to ring the register.

Thank you for visiting InfoTube.net.  If you have any questions or investment stories to share, click the comment link below.  All postings are anonymous.