1. Mortgages usually peg housing costs anywhere from 28 - 30 per cent of a borrower’s gross income and a maximum of 36 per cent for existing debt payments which could be student loans, car payments and the like.
2. Mortgage terms could be 10, 15 or 30 years. Longer terms also mean lower monthly amortizations but higher interest rates. Shorter terms have bigger monthly amortizations but lower interest rates.
3. Sometimes, 30-year terms allow additional principal payments. Meaning, a 30-year loan could be reduced to 22 years by having one additional monthly amortization each year.
4. Mortgages have either fixed or variable rates. Fixed rates are advisable for buyers who plan to stay 10 years or more in their property, while variable rates are best for those who intend to stay there only within 5 years or less.
5. Home equity debts are normally tax deductible.

You want to sell your house in a jiffy? There are ways to attract those buyers to you.

• Clean the house thoroughly. Take time to tidy up nooks and crannies. Hire a helper so you won’t end up doing all the dirty work.
• Take off wallpapers so as to neutralize the house. Nothing should be seen pertaining to the former owner. In this way it will be more attractive to the market.
• Deodorize your house most especially the smell of pets. this turns away buyers.
• Keep in, natural light so as to give the impression of a bright house.
• Take extra effort to beautify your lawn. Because 80% of the time, buyers often get attracted to beautiful lawn and garden the moment they pull out of the car.
• Take time to distribute flyers wtihin the area. It can truly work to your advantage.
  Advertise in the internet. Paid advertisements are also recommended.

Without proper organization your assets could go unnoticed or become lost and loved ones may not benefit from your years of hard work.

It isn’t that real estate hasn’t experienced new business models before, or that brokers are scared, but new models are multiplying like rabbits. The amount and assortment that have emerged during the last decade have proliferated into a full four-page menu of choice, enough to mystify even the savviest of broker. And while everyone slowly absorbs the abundance of alternatives, time is not standing still and a reshape of the industry is already visible.

MLM, Annuity, Residual, Auctioneering, Flat-Fee, No Fee…there are so many interesting and exciting new models, but then there are also so many brokers clinging to the traditional model. It’s not that the existing model is all that bad, but with outdated compensation plans, weak infrastructure and unnecessary physical locations it is going to become increasingly harder to compete. Many will likely see their market share eroded over the course of the next few years with the gainers coming from both successful new models as well as traditional companies willing to adjust.

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The transactions listed below include properties sold for $250,000 or more and recorded Oct. 29-Nov. 2.

Awendaw

Theresa M. Lufkin sold Lot 8, Block C, Phase I, Dupree Creek Lane, Big Paradise Island to John S. Popelka and William H. Barnwell III for $475,000.

Bulls Bay Cottages LLC sold Unit 2, 4410 Augusta Lane, The Cottages at Bulls Bay condos to Shipp D. and Kyone S. Harris for $535,000.

Charleston

150 Bee Street LLC sold Unit 605, 150 Bee St., Bee Street Lofts to Robert E. Peyser for $518,675.

Georgia H. Meagher sold 50 Anson St. to Vincenzo Caiazzo for $995,000.

Patrick L. Pernell sold Unit E, 152 Spring St. to Layra M. and Duane H. Kirkman for $415,200.

Albert Boerman sold Unit 405, 1 King St., Fort Sumter House to William and Carole B. Babb for $750,000.

150 Bee Street LLC sold Unit 708, 150 Bee St., Bee Street Lofts to Phillip C. Rawlins for $385,600.

Franklin W. and Alexandra W. McCann sold 5 Alexander St. to Georgia H. Meagher for $1.55 million.

Robert and Matsuko Pickron sold Unit 2, 188 Queen St., North Queen Street to John K. and Mary Ellen Grosvenor for $465,000.

Source: charleston.net

Investing in the US real estate market today can be pretty risky. There’s no avoiding the thought that the market has been in a tailspin lately and, according to sources, may get worse by the end of the year. Yet, this may also be the best time to invest, as real estate values are down and you easier to buy and invest into.

Here are some basic tips in real estate investing:

Have you ever seen someone that works better when the odds are against him or when everything around him seems to be failing? A smile despite everyone around him crying and gnashing their teeth? There’s a company who have decided to see the current real estate situation as an opportunity rather than a bane. For instance, the Los Angeles real estate firm, CB Richard Ellis just closed a $2.1 billion investment fund. The money will be used to buy properties nationwide.

Through this fund, the firm will be buying both properties that are only in need of minor repairs and those that need more improvements. The latter will fund real estate development.

CB Richard Ellis Investors is an independently operated affiliate of Los Angeles-based CB Richard Ellis Group Inc., the world’s largest real estate brokerage.

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The triple threat real estate seller problems: weak market, legal pressures, and increasing competition, has pushed the agents to offer previously held information to the net for free. This is one trend that helps both the buyers and brokers. This information provides the brokers with just enough information to give buyers a one-site stop for all their real estate needs.

“It’s a natural evolution of competition and what consumers want,” said C. Robert Hale III, chief executive of the Houston Association of Realtors, which operates the area’s M.L.S. “The consumer wants to see everything.”

How will this change the current way agents and brokers sell, we’ll know in a few months.

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Listing down the real estate properties for sale can be a depressing thing to do. Especially if you’ve been seeing the same property as unsold for the last few months. The list just keeps on getting longer and longer, and you’re wondering why it’s not selling.

According to Jennifer Allan, real estate broker, author and consultant, here are tips on making sure that what you sell won’t be sitting on the list forever:

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Buying residential property means a lot of hard-earned money, and not everyone can afford it. However, there’s something called the lease option that you can look into. It’s a contract where after a specific time, the lessor can sell the property to the lessee by the end of the contract. It might be at a lesser rate than when buying the house outright from the beginning.

Here are the benefits:

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