Plan that summer vacation without breaking the bank with these travel tips that will help you stay on budget and have a great time. Research. Compare hotel and flight prices, call and ask about any unlisted discounts. Also check nearby airports. Sometimes an extra hour of drive time can save you hundreds in air travel fees. Be flexible. The most expensive days to fly are Mondays and Fridays. Plan your...
Moms are the greatest. Although many moms are working today, they are still run the roost at home and have the best advise when it comes to home ownership. In honor of Mothers Day, Century 21 Hometown Realty celebrates the wisdom of mothers. Here is advice that we were able to locate from Moms. How much can you afford? Lenders like PrimeLending, our mortgage partner play a significant role in...
We've all heard that many things in life are not fair. But the process of qualifying for a mortgage shouldn't be one of them. That doesn't mean you necessarily get the loan you apply for. It does mean that you have the right to be judged on your financial stability and credit history rather than on biases. Two federal laws, theEqual Credit Opportunity Act and the Fair Housing Act, prohibit...
Americans’ Expectations Align to Encourage Home Buying More consumers may be looking to purchase homes with a shift in several key housing market indicators, according to Fannie Mae’s March 2012 consumer attitudinal National Housing Survey. More Americans now expect both home rental and home purchase prices to increase over the next year. Nearly half of consumers expect higher rental prices, the highest number recorded since monthly tracking began in...
When a tree is planted between property lines, disputes may arise, and an otherwise neighborly relationship may be strained. Or perhaps a tree fell, and now no one knows who should cover the cost. From dangerous tree removal to the just plain annoying tree debris landing in the yard, there are ways to work out tree problems and maintain good neighborly relations. Most shared tree problems fall into three...
From Housing Wire By Jon Prior • April 18, 2012 • 12:34pm Seven bills reforming some foreclosure rules passed committees in the California state legislature this week. The bills were introduced in February. One set of bills extends protections to tenants, giving them 90 days before eviction after the foreclosure sale of the property. Another increases penalties to banks that fail to maintain blighted homes. Servicers would be required to provide documentation...
Bakersfield’s real estate bust was certainly one of the worst in the country, and because of that, many homeowners have faced real challenges when evaluating the mortgage on their home. To a lesser extent, there was also plenty of pain felt by homeowners along the Central Coast too. Underwater homeowners wistfully listen to radio ads boasting refinances with ‘record low interest rates’, knowing that taking advantage of those rates in...
Here is another great sign of economic stability and home ownership stability in San Luis Obispo County. According to CoreLogic, The Foreclosure 12 - Month Percentage shows the percentage change in home foreclosures in San Luis Obispo County. CoreLogic records this data from banks and public record sources. Century 21 Hometown Realty has been working with consumers on short sales...
Here in California, buying a home or other property is a factor of loan affordability. Today, we see a lot of "cash buyers" in the market - but that simply means that they have already arranged financing. In this borrowing home ownership economy, the interest rates play a very significant role in the value of homes. The national economic recovery in America has reached every part of the economy except...
When selling a home in an unfavorable market, it can be hard to face some facts. Most likely, your home will not command the price you want. It might be hard to cut your losses and move on. And you may find you have more emotional ties to selling your home than logical ones. Such feelings are not a surprise, says retirement expert Jan Cullinane, author of “The New Retirement:...
