Real Estate Data

Seattle architect Tom Kundig out with second book of houses

Elijah Appleroth — Mon, 14 May 2012 12:46:30 +0000

Seattle architect Tom Kundig designs striking contemporary homes, 17 of which are featured in a recently released photo book.

Tom Kundig: Houses 2 follows up on his first collection, released in 2006.

Tom Kundig’s houses help complacent bodies reimagine themselves in a natural plenitude, Daniel Friedman, dean of the College of Built Environments at the University of Washington, writes in an essay in the book. In the lives they touch, they circulate like gift property, transmitting vitality, reviving the soul, serving an upward force.

Publisher Princeton Architectural Press added: Whether carving a house out of rock or engineering a gizmo that opens a ceiling to the sky, Kundig is compelled to craft a dialog between people, nature, and architecture. F

Compare refinance offers before you choose a new loan

Zachary Gilroy — Fri, 11 May 2012 13:09:35 +0000

If you are a good credit risk, always pay your mortgage on time and have a steady income, you may have received a refinance offer from your mortgage lender. Before you agree to the offer, though, you should consider your refinancing goals and options.

Lenders, like any other business owners, like to hold onto their good customers. One way to make sure they don’t lose borrowers who consistently make their mortgage payments on time to another lender is to proactively offer to refinance their mortgage to a lower rate. W

Thing Ahead of the Customer

Hugo McCaffrey — Thu, 10 May 2012 13:53:48 +0000

Believe it or not, customers know when they are being sold to. Surprise. That is a shock to many different people or maybe its not. It blows the minds of many that think that managers really do not realize that the people that call them know that they are being sold to. If the managers are not thinking that way, then they might be missing more than just that. Property managers should always have the thought process that they have to win the customer away from whomever the customer called before them. That has to be the objective.

When managers are thinking ahead of the customers they are putting their selves in a good place.

Short Sales Don’t Have to Be Scary

Hugo McCaffrey — Tue, 08 May 2012 10:14:21 +0000

When purchasing a property that is a Short Sale there are some steps in the process that a buyer should be aware of prior to starting the purchase process. The most important thing to know is, “What is a Short Sale?” In simple terms, a short sale is a real estate transaction where the property is being sold for less than what is owed on the property via mortgage. Generally the sale is subject to the approval of the mortgage holder (the seller’s lender). This third party approval is necessary because the seller is attempting to sell the property for less than what the seller owe’s on the property. And this se

Best Mortgage Rates in Two Weeks Present Opportunity

Zachary Gilroy — Sun, 15 Apr 2012 05:46:41 +0000

After holding steady yesterday, Mortgages Rates moved slightly lower today, hitting their best levels since March 13th. Lender offerings have been sporadic over that time, so not all lenders are back in that territory yet. Best execution is still at 4.0% for 30yr Fixed Conventional Loans, and the improvement is seen in the form of slightly lower closing costs. The buydowns to 3.875% are still too big for it to make sense on a broad enough scale to consider a shift in Best-Execution, but it should be noted that some lenders would be able to structure scenarios lower than 4.0%.

We spoke briefly yesterday on the notion of “efficient combinations” of interest rates and closing costs:

” ‘What is the “most efficient combination’ of closing costs and payment? Ulti

38% of Sales in King County Were Purchased With Cash in 2011

Hugo McCaffrey — Fri, 13 Apr 2012 19:47:55 +0000

With a sudden spike this year of reports from our agents in the field that they were coming up against multiple offer situations in which buyers were making all-cash offers, I was curious to know what percentage of homes sold in King County recently were bought with all-cash.

Since any job worth doing is worth over-doing, I decided to pull all financing types for sale in King County dating all the way back to 2000 and visualize it in my fancy new copy of Tableau (an awesome company based right here in Fremont, by the way). The result is the following interactive chart.

Select which type of financing you want to view on the heat map (zero down, 20%+, or all cash), then drag the “Heat Map Year” control to view a zip code heat map for any year. Zip

4 Tips For Making Your Home Appear More Spacious

Elijah Appleroth — Thu, 12 Apr 2012 17:10:07 +0000

There is nothing worse than feeling claustrophobic in your own home. Many first time property buyers can only afford a small house or apartment to start off with and so space is really precious. Here are my top 4 tips for making your home feel much more spacious.

1. Use light colours in your decorating
If you have small rooms in your home the worst thing that you can do is paint the walls a dark colour. Dark colours look heavy and tend to draw spaces inwards which means that your rooms will look even smaller!

Discover These 5 Reasons Why Superb Landscaping And Lawn Care Boosts Rental For Apartment Buildings

Elijah Appleroth — Sun, 08 Apr 2012 02:16:45 +0000

The 5 factors why great landscaping and lawn care improves rental for apartment complexes could possibly be subsumed below one particular basic human want to find shelter. This basic human will need , and ideal , is extended in most human beings, to obtaining shelter inside a comfortable place that they’ll call residence .

Wonderful civilizations are distinguished by landscaping. In Beijing the Garden of Tranquillity remains a national treasure, and excellent parks are the lungs of London, contributing to its exclusive character. There are actually countless other examples. Landscapers set out to beautify the environment , and in so doing follow a calling as high as any artist.

Lawns are indispensable within the art and craft of landscaping. They’re employed to create space which can be needed for the viewing of attributes for instance buildings, flower displays and groves. Even in modest gardens some square feet of lawn will allow for flowers to be admired. Around apartment blocks lawns not merely increase aesthetics, but additionally supply space for recreation.

When potential tenants visit an apartment complicated initially impressions are significant . They are going to frame subsequent observations and decisions . Landscaping and lawns will play very important roles in forming to begin with impressions of a spot . They are going to provide the setting against which apartments will probably be viewed. A pleasing landscape inevitably creates emotional responses which are so essential in relation to the basic decision of where to locate a spot to live .

A initial visual impression is going to be followed by other sensations related with locations . An important one , even though it might not be consciously noted, is the superior in the air that’s breathed. Vegetation exhales oxygen and inhales carbon dioxide, purifying the air continually. This really is one cause why birds and modest animals are attracted to landscaped web-sites , making them additional varied and fascinating .

It truly is so vital for the human soul to appreciate beauty. Children who develop up with beauty and space about them will be diverse individuals for the background that they’ve been blessed with. Apartment complexes with landscaping and lawn care superior locations to bring up kids and teach them to appreciate beauty, clean air and animals.

In many diverse cultures there is a notion that is referred to as a sense of spot . Some locations are declared Heritage Web-sites , along with other places have unique significance attached to them by people who are even ready to visit war in defence of them. An apartment complicated that is property to families will probably be a lot more most likely to have a sense of place about it by reason of its design and landscaping that offers it proportion, balance and beauty. Kids developing up in such complexes are going to be richer for loving the location they call household .

Lastly , the five reasons why amazing landscaping and lawn care improves rental for apartment complexes is just economic. Higher rentals will be forthcoming if tenants are complimented by finer elements of living. They will have more respect for their properties and take much better care of them. Moreover , the owners from the complexes will have extra valuable assets. Investments in landscaping will repay investors handsomely.

To get all of your questions answered about Landscaping Services Ocala, go to Landscape and Lawn Care Tips and claim your free of charge Unique Report. See extra articles at Billings Lawn and Landscape.

Come on Down to the Facility

Hugo McCaffrey — Fri, 06 Apr 2012 18:45:29 +0000

What would you do if you walked into a facility that was completely disgusting? Most people would turn around and walk back out. Other people might consider still going through with renting a storage space. Would it be different if the manager told you they had a nice and super clean facility on to find out they were lying? How would that affect your self storage experience? Would that make you not trust other things they said or did? If you say no to this question, you are definitely in the minority. Many managers ask the customer they are speaking with over the phone that they invite them to come down and see the facility. They do this for a couple of different reasons.

Refinancing pace slows

Zachary Gilroy — Thu, 05 Apr 2012 21:49:29 +0000

The rush to refinance seems to have abated for the moment. The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) reports that applications for a home refinance dropped for the sixth consecutive week during the week ending March 23, 2012.

The MBA’s Refinance Index declined by 4.6 percent compared to the previous week, falling to the lowest level since December. The Refinance Index is 24.2 percent lower than the peak of refinancing applications so far this year.

Mortgage rates and refinancing

The extended stretch of low mortgage rates, with 30-year fixed-rate home loans hovering near four percent, has allowed those homeowners with good credit and sufficient home equity to refinance in recent months. T

Consider Bo Kauffmann your local referral resource

Elijah Appleroth — Thu, 29 Mar 2012 17:55:50 +0000

After reading this, be sure to check out Winnipeg Home Finder

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Hard to believe, but Ive been in Real Estate for over 7 year now. In that time, I have met many competent people (and some not-so-much), in all types of services and professions. Just like Cops know the best donut shops, so its fairly common knowledge that buyers of homes and condos quite often ask their REALTOR® for suggestions as to whom they should use to handle their mortgage, or handle the legal matters of the sale or purchase. And so it should be no surprise that I have some great contacts in the mortgage industry, lawyers and home insurance brokers. But my connections go well beyond those. Do you need a referral for:

A have a contact as the best Moving and Storage Company in Winnipeg, which will serve not only your local move, but can handle national and international transfers as well

My home renovator can handle kitchen and bath renos, as well as whole home additions, and even build the entire home for you

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Most Popular Homes of the Week

Hugo McCaffrey — Thu, 29 Mar 2012 07:48:35 +0000

It went on hiatus last week, but it’s back! Welcome to Most Popular Homes of the Week! Take a look at which homes made the list this week. What do you think makes them so appealing?

Connecticut

280 Rowayton Avenue, Norwalk

Listed By: Douglas & Warren Team

Massachusetts

46 Captain Davis Lane, Falmouth

Listed By: Carol Burgess

Rhode Island

8 Oakwood Terrace, Newport

Listed By: Barbara O’Reilly

New York

70 Cowdin Lane, Chappaqua

Listed By: Bonnie Golub

Desert Sun president to change plea in housing fraud case

Zachary Gilroy — Tue, 27 Mar 2012 18:56:44 +0000

Tyler Fitzsimons, the man at the center of one of the biggest financial frauds to emerge in Oregon during the great housing boom, has opted to change his plea to guilty in the ongoing criminal case. Fitzsimons was CEO and co-founder of Desert Sun Development, a high-flying commercial and residential developer based in Redmond. The company crashed to earth in 2008 amidst allegations it had defrauded a number of banks and its own employees. Court records filed last week indicate that Fitzsimons will appear in U.S. District Court in Eugene on Feb. 7 to change his plea. He had originally pleaded not guilty to multiple counts of bank fraud, conspiracy to commit bank fraud, money laundering and wire fraud. F Read more…

Smart steps to sell your home after taking out a reverse mortgage

admin — Fri, 23 Mar 2012 08:16:33 +0000

Through a reverse mortgage, a senior homeowner can pay bills or even make home renovations. This is a loan that is taken out against the equity of your home and is available to borrowers who have crossed 62 years of age. Unlike the traditional home mortgage loans, when you take out a reverse mortgage, the lender pays the borrower a fixed amount every month until the entire loan amount is paid off. Now if you’re considering selling off your home after you took out a reverse mortgage, you have to follow certain steps. Here are some of them.

Estimate how much money you owe: The first step would be to assess how much you owe on the mortgage. A

Property price pressure is clearly evident in Auckland and Christchurch

Hugo McCaffrey — Wed, 21 Mar 2012 14:49:13 +0000

The media has certainly been alert to discussions around the possibility of a housing boom starting to emerge – even seeing the Prime Minister weigh into the debate on TVNZ’s breakfast show yesterday.

Certainly the property market has come alive in the past 6 months with a significant increase in sales with some localised price increases, most significantly in Auckland and Christchurch. In