Entries Tagged 'Real Estate' ↓

After being in freefall for several years, there are signs that the housing market may have finally reached a point where prices will be flat for some time to come. The recently released Standard & Poor’s/Case-Shiller Home Price index showed that while housing prices continued to decline nationally in the fourth quarter of last year, the declines may be soon coming to an end.

The widely respected Case-Shiller index reported a price fall of 2.5% in Q4 2009, as compared with the same period for 2008. Moreover, prices fell only 1.1% from the third to the fourth quarters last year. While still a decline, the number was a marked improvement from previous quarters. The Case-Shiller index tracks housing prices in 20 cities and nine census divisions across the United States.
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A new study soon to be released by the National Resources Defense Council has found that homeowners with long commute times tend to default on their mortgages at a higher rate than those who work closer to home. The draft report studied 40,000 mortgages in Chicago, Jacksonville, Fl, and San Francisco.

The research looked at homeowner’s income and expenses, their credit record, as well as the loan-to-value ratio of the mortgage. Using a complex formula, the NRDC study found that mortgage foreclosures increased with the number of cars owned by a household. In others words, the neighborhood where more households owned cars were also the same locations that had the highest default rates.

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If you have ever asked yourself the question, “Why is my bank requiring me to purchase home insurance?” then you are not alone. This question is a common question that is asked by many first time homeowners.

The reason that banks and mortgage lenders will require all homeowners to purchase homeowners insurance before they disburse the funds for the home loan is that the bank wants to make sure that their loan collateral (your house) is protected.

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Unfortunately, the struggling economy tends to bring out the worst in people and that applies to thefts at open houses. While not a new phenomenon, thefts at open houses are becoming more and more common these days.

Be sure to lock up all of your jewelry and other valuables before the open house. Also, make sure your realtor is actually present throughout the entire open house. Nowadays many realtors are bouncing around between multiple open houses and even a few minutes away from your home could be disastrous. Even better ask your realtor to have a team on hand during your open house – one real estate agent for an entire house, particularly a bigger one, is often not enough.

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In previous posts we have discussed whether you need earthquake insurance or flood insurance. Today we talk about the final items in our troika of natural disasters: hurricanes.

The main damage from hurricanes is caused by high winds which can pry roofs off and create structural damage to homes. In the past, homeowner’s insurance usually covered wind damage. However, with the high cost of recent hurricanes in Louisiana and Florida, many insurers have started to drop this coverage.

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