Real Estate, Mortgage and Investor Marketing tips and tricks

regarding about the US housing market questions?

I’m desperate – I’m doing a project as to whether a foreign real estate company should enter the US housing market…

So I need to know, especially from US residents, what is the housing market conditions like now in US? What is the demand and supply like in the housing market?

I also need to know what are the legislations in allowing a foreign real estate company setting up. Is there any sort of ranking website that actually directly tells you who is the hottest real estate company in US?

Thanks
Erm…this is a report. It’s not like the company will actually go into US. I’m just exploring whether they should and why should they enter or not enter the US housing market.

Why isn’t my house selling?

In early July, I listed my home with a FSBO (For Sale By Owner) service. That service provided us with professional photos, a comparative market analysis as well marketing in their monthly magazine and through their website. For an additional fee, my property was also placed on MLS (the site real estate agents use).

I realize times are tough, but I for the life of me can not understand why my property hasn’t sold.

When potential buyers come with real estate agents, I offer the buyers agent the standard commission they would receive if an agent were handling my property, I’m just trying to save on listing agent fees.

Other units in my complex have sold in less time than mine (even identical units in terms of floorplan), and none of them had any of the updates (flooring, etc) that my unit does. My unit is a 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom top floor condominium in a lowrise complex in a good area of my city.

I follow all the suggestions of the FBSO service, I advertise my property on kijiji/craigslist, I am super accommodating to everyone who requests a showing, I always make sure my house is spotless when showings occur and I always stand back and only speak when spoken to while people view my house.

Multiple times I have had people come look, either with or without an agent, and comment on how nice and clean my property is. In fact, on a couple of occasions, people have straight up told me they will be coming back for a second viewing. However, several months later I’ve not had an offer nor even a second viewing of my property.

I want to move, I despise condo living and regret ever purchasing it but my house will not sell. I’m wondering if real estate agents are over exaggerating flaws in my property to their clients because they feel a sense of disdain towards for sale by owner properties? Additionally, what else can I do to help my property sell? (I do not want to hire a real estate agent).

One other note: My property is listed within the range +/- 5000 of all the other units in my complex that sold before mine that have identical or very similar floor plans

There are no liens or holds against my property and I make sure I am well informed about all questions related to my home and I am 100% honest and fully disclose all request information.
I live in Canada, so foreclosures are not anywhere near as common as in the US. I also had my property appraised by a professional and listed it accordingly. Since then, I have dropped the price once already (about a 6k drop) and currently, my unit is the least expensive of all units for sale in the complex, while being the most updated (most have the original 12 year old carpet/cabinets etc)

Salary raise?

I’m a production graphic designer for a small design firm in Phoenix, AZ. The firm does print design work for Luxury Real Estate and Hospitality internationally. One of the major accounts is The Ameya Preserve in Montana. I assist the creative director and senior designers that design high end printed marketing pieces. Our clients advertise to the extremely wealthy. I keep the branding consistent from piece to piece, make mock ups, prep pieces for print, create website architectures, create site maps from extensive CAD files, redesign floor plans for print, etc. I do a lot and I am extremely busy every day. I do everything but concepting. I am up for a raise, how much should I ask for? I make 33,000 annually now with full benefits.

what should i look for in a college with majoring in business?

im will go to UNT fall 2010 and im majoring in business computer information system. Ofcourse other universities offer business majors but what should a GOOOD college require for business majors? like if they are a good school to go to?

this is on unt website:
UNT’s College of Business is one of the 20 largest business colleges in the nation and is accredited by AACSB International —The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (777 South Harbour Island Blvd., Suite 750, Tampa, Fla. 33602, telephone 813-769-6500). This accreditation means the college has passed strict academic standards for excellence in education.

The college offers 30 degree programs for its 5,800 undergraduate and graduate students in the departments of:

* accounting
* finance, insurance, real estate and law
* information technology and decision sciences
* management
* marketing and logistics

IS BEING accredited by AACSB International all i should look for?

how to create marketing classifieds websites like 99acres.com, indiaproperty.com?

i am interested in creating real estate portals like 99acres,.com, indiaproperty.com, magicbricks.com.
what would the type of work force like web site designers needed ?totally what would be office setup?
what would be the cost in setting up a website like that.how can i market the website which i created.

Are there any real estate agents out there?

People think that being a real estate agent is easy. I realize that agents must go through some formal education and obtain a license, etc. They also must have strong sales/marketing skills. Not very many people have that. I have been interested in Real Estate for a while..but I know the economy is bad right now. I just wanted to ask real estate agents a few questions about their field. Please be honest…you are anon on the internet..:-)

1) What was your highest salary and what is your salary like now?
2) What state (and/or city) do you mainly conduct business in?
3) Do you like that state/city or would you rather be in a different one?
4) On a scale of 1-10, how much do you enjoy your job?
5) What are the top 3 best things about being in real estate?
6) What is the most challenging thing to deal with in your field?

I just pass my Real Estate (agent) license exam. What is the best way to proceed now?

I just pass my Real Estate (agent) exam and one of the trainer is offering a personal training and he wants $1295…that’s if it’s paid in full up front..
otherwise it’s $2695.00 paid in payments. first he offered to give me a total of $1500.00….$400.00 start and then $1100 dollars taken out of the first two closed deals ($550.00 ea).

Does that sound fair?

Here is what I’ll get including the training:

Business Cards
Signage/Name Riders (for listings)
Agent Website (forever..which he says if i would to get it myself it will cost $$ too!
Training
Coaching
Mentorship
Contact Relationship Management System (CRM) 3 mths
Marketing Help (case by case)
60 years of Real Estate/Management/Training Experience
Much more….

I asked if there’s any hidden fees he says the only fees they will charge will be $75 for loan & $150 admin insurance when i close a deal.

I’m not sure if I should do it. Is there any other way without paying any money or or less money

Are real estate agents worthwhile?

I’m concerned that if I get a real estate agent to sell my house, he or she might just list it and put a sign up, then sit back and wait for buyers. Meanwhile, if I didn’t list it with a real estate agent, I could do a lot more to sell it myself. I could advertise it in a lot of different places, and give a discount equal to the agent’s fee. I could keep finding more and more places to advertise it. Etc. But if it’s listed with an agent, I’m stuck with that agent. The agent might even turn out to be an obstacle. Some agents get tired of prospects who ask too many questions, etc. For example, I was recently communicating with a Century 21 agent about a house I might be interested in buying. But that agent got tired of my questions, and reached a point where she was no longer willing to even try to find out the answers. The question that seemed to be the last straw was how they determined the asking price. She said they used a CMA and it was also appraised a few years ago. So I asked if I could see a copy of the appraisal. That seemed to make her angry or something, and from then on she seemed to be no longer interested in communicating with me, and I never did see the appraisal.

If I get an agent to sell my house, I would want one who has almost infinite patience to answer buyers’ questions, no matter how silly or tedious the questions may seem. But how could I find out, other than testing each agent the way I tested that Century 21 agent? And what if all of them flunk the test? By then I might have been able to sell it myself already.

Assuming I do sell it myself, where are the best places to advertise? I’m selling it at a bargain price because of how bad the market is now. Maybe I should advertise it somewhere a lot of bargain hunters look?

2 real estate agents- one experienced but busy, one not either- Which one to choose?

I have two real estate agents I am considering using.

One is experienced, very successful, and highly recommended- possibly one of the best ones in my area based on what I’ve heard. Because of this, he has about 20 homes on the market, all but one of them priced above mine- a number of them in the multi-millions, while I’m looking more like $140k. I just worry he won’t try hard to sell mine (small commissions), and that he has a pretty full plate.

The other agent is younger, has only been doing it for about a year. He has 0 homes he’s selling right now, but he helped a friend of mine fine a house and my friend was very pleased with how hard he worked to find the perfect home. he is clearly not as experienced, but seems like he will really devote all his time to making our home sell.

They are both part of the same real estate agency.

What do you think?

How to handle foreclosure counter offer- Real estate agents please help!?

My husband and I put an offer on a foreclosure for 151,00 3% concessions. The asking price was 162,500. The bank countered back at the same price and 2,000 in concessions. We countered back at 156,600 3% concessions. The bank countered again with the same offer as before. Where do we go from here? The home has only been on the market for a couple weeks and has had no other offers. We realize the bank is playing games and wants to hold out for another offer and then have a bidding war. Do we wait for a couple days to counter? Do we offer our highest and best? Any real estate agents that have an expertise in this area please help!!

The Solution to the Economic Crisis? What do you all think?

It is obvious we are going into a double dip recession and things could get REALLY bad in this country and the world. We need to fix this broken system before it is too late and our American Dream becomes the American Nightmare. Here are my ideas…
1) Get rid of the Federal Reserve System, or make it subject to the Government.
2) Repeal the 16th Amendment and get rid of income tax
3) Establish a fair and progressive Sales Tax (FairTax Act)
4) Disband the Department of Education, States and Local Governments should have 100% power over their schools.
5) Change how our school system works. Attach the tax dollars to the students, not the schools and remove zoning laws. Let students pick a school of their choice. That way the schools have to COMPETE for students, while the students from lower income families still get a state funded education.
6) Get out of NAFTA
7) Term Limits on all Federal Congressional Offices. Serving is an honor, not a full time career. Pass a Federal Law that requires the country to balance the budget and begin paying off our debt down to reasonable levels.
9) Enforce Immigration Laws, change the 14th Amendment (Sorry the oringinal purpose for that Amendment was to make sure slaves became citizens after the civil war, not so an illegal can have an anchor baby here and abuse our system)
10) finally TRUST BUST ALL THOSE CORPORATIONS. We need to get rid of this system of Corporatism, this isnt capitalism anymore. Every state should have it’s own small private statewide corporations (nothing bigger than that… no nation-wide corporations. They start getting way too powerful… research how the government anti trusted Stand Oil, that is what I mean.) all competing with each other over employees, consumers and resources. I believe in a FREE MARKET… and this is not a free market. Main Street is a free market, Wall Street is a market where the rich rules the middle and lower classes by issuing them debt and sucking their wealth dry.

The American Dream was working a full time fufilling job, owning your own home (no mortgage), having a car, having the security of a stable society, having pride in who you were and your country, and having family and friends who felt the same way…

The American Nightmare is defaulting on your car and home, losing your spouse to financial disputes and stress, losing your children to a failing culture and education system, and losing your job to a recession created by special interest, big government, and wall street.

Loan Officer In Need Of Help?

Good Morning!
My Name is Ryan and I am a Mortgage Loan Officer and I need your help! I’m looking for advice from seasoned LOs on where,how and the best ways to market and expand my pipeline! I am always looking for new ideas. Feel free to e-mail me at anytime as well

Thank You,

Ryan.Pridgeon@mefc.com

Opinions on what to do with money, please:).?

We will be selling our commercial building AND business. The buyer is getting financing for the building so we will get that money in one big chunk, but will make payments over 9 months to pay for the business. My husband and I are undecided what to do with our living situation; what’s your opinion?

We are Dave Ramsey fans and strive to, above all, be debt free. After paying off debts, we will have $70k from the sale of the building to put towards our house mortgage (currently around $135k and it appraises at $145k). No argument about that. We can’t agree on where to put the $55k from the sale of the business.

He wants to put that towards the current house as well. I want to use it as a down payment towards another home (from $90-110k) and rent out both parts of the current home (refinanced at 15yr mortgage). This would be enough rent to pay for both home mortgages. We currently rent out our basement and live in the top half of the home (we’ve been doing this for 6 years). It is 850sqft with 2 bedrooms. We have two boys that share a room and various large and small animals. AND, we have another baby due in 6 months. We are out of room! Even if we didn’t have a renter and spread into the basement, I wouldn’t feel comfortable separating myself from the kids. To get to the basement, you literally walk out the door to an (enclosed) outdoor stairwell and then into the door of the basement. It’s like a completely different structure that happens to be underneath. I don’t need a bigger/nicer home, just one that has a different layout (like a ranch). My husband acknowledges we’re out of room, but is zeroed in on paying off the house and says we need to rough it with 3 kids in one tiny room. He can’t, however, give me a timeline for how long we’ll be living like this. He, by the way, has nothing to do with the house. He doesn’t do ANY of the care taking of the kids or home and has no idea the stress this cramped home gives me.

I know my husband just wants the peace of not having a mortgage. I know that’s a good thing. My plan, though, is to continue to rent out the home until the market gets better and then sell this current home (within 5 years?) leaving us 100% mortgage free, and maybe we’ll have enough to get a car younger than 15 years old! Unless, of course, we’re able to pay off the mortgage with my husband’s next business adventure then we’ll keep it as an income property.

If you were in our shoes, what option would you be leaning towards? Thanks for taking the time to read!

How did the economy turn out so bad?

How did it become so bad?

I know this is an in-depth question, so I’ll break it into several parts:

1. I need an explanation of the mortgage crisis, I think I have some idea of what had happened, banks packaged bad mortgages with good ones and sold them as bonds, went to Lehman brothers to broker them and Lehman Brothers went to AIG for insurance. When these bonds failed, AIG didn’t have the money to pay up. Is this idea correct in some way or no? Can someone please expand on how this would effect the economy? Thanks

2. I heard something about the economy growing too fast in the Clinton or earlier Bush years and then it popped? Not really sure of this idea.

3. Why bailout the companies? Why not leave them to the free market and let them take care of themselves, or fail?

Thanks.

What do you think of this statement on Bush’s ‘all market power to the Fed’ plan for the economy?

“Mr. Chairman, I have never been opposed to regulation, although my idea of regulation differs from that of many people in Washington. The free market and its forces of supply and demand are the most effective regulator of the private sector, and have never been known to fail absent government intervention. But piling more public sector regulation on the private sector will have a detrimental effect on the health of our financial system and sow the seeds for the next financial meltdown.

What we in Washington should be discussing is increased regulation and scrutiny of public sector regulatory and oversight agencies such as the Federal Reserve Board, the SEC, and others. The Federal Reserve’s actions got us into at least one depression in the last century, and have led to continued cyclical difficulties, including the current economic slowdown.

Back in the 1970s, government-caused inflation reached levels high enough that the Nixon administration decided to implement wage and price controls. Placing blame on greedy speculators, unscrupulous mortgage originators, or panicky investors, is a common reaction on the part of government.

The solution called for, despite the numerous documented failures of government regulation, is always more regulation, more government involvement in and control over the economy, and less free enterprise. Never is the blame placed squarely where it belongs, which is on the shoulders of legislators and regulators whose actions distort the market, prohibiting legitimate market activities and encouraging the development of labyrinthine and opaque financial schemes.

The latest regulatory plan from the Treasury Department, with the potential to turn the Federal Reserve into a super-regulator overseeing state-chartered banks and bank holding companies, and acting as a guarantor of market stability, is another in a long line of half-baked government responses to financial difficulty. Recession after recession has not impressed upon government leaders the reality that the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy activities are what lead to market instability.

The business cycle, contrary to what Secretary Paulson and others seem to believe, is not endemic to the free market. It is always and everywhere the result of monetary inflation and subsequent malinvestment, which when it is discovered must of necessity be liquidated in order for a true recovery to occur. Delaying the liquidation will only prolong the crisis and ensure that the next crisis will be more severe.

Every government intervention will result in a distortion of the market and a subsequent shock somewhere down the line in the future. It is about time that we recognize the failure of government intervention, get our hands out of the private sector, and for once allow the market to function.
–Ron Paul, Before the Joint Economic Committee, April 2, 2008: Hearing on “The Economic Outlook”

If you were a home buyer, how would this statement make you feel or react? What would you do? See details…?

Let’s pretend you are in the market to buy a 500K home and have been working with a Realtor. After all, why wouldn’t you work with a Realtor? They are free for buyers, the seller pays the commission. You drive by a home that just went on the market. It has a sign in the yard with a website address. You get excited and run home to look at the website. You like the home and want to see it. You read the following statement on the website: Buyers are welcome to bring their realtors to represent them and I will cheerfully pay their outrageous commission. But do understand that this will impact the bottom line sales price on the home. Once you bring your realtor, commission must be paid. The fee will be about 3%, which is approximately $15,000. Unless you have a signed contract with your realtor, you may view the home without him. Should you decide to buy, you can have a real estate attorney represent you for about $500-$1000, which I will also cheerfully pay. Please choose carefully.
So, as a buyer, would you be happy that this seller has stated the obvious? Or would you feel offended that they suggested that the commission will be rolled into the sales price?

Would you get an attorney or bring your realtor?
Darin asks: “Why is he trying to get you to choose how you want to buy this property?”

What do you mean by this? Can you please explain?

I would assume that IF the seller is trying to “make” the buyer choose HOW that buyer wants to buy, it would be to bring that buyer one step closer to a sale.

How can you deduce “trying to cheat” from stating facts and offering choices?

What it should I change my last name to?

My name right now is Rameh. Pronounced Rah-Me. (not that hard, work with me) And my original last name was Khazen. (Ka-Zen) But my mother remarried and changed my last name to Dickens. I wasn’t close to my stepfather although, weve since became friends (same with my birthfather). My mother wont speak to me if I change my name back to Khazen even though its what Im most comfortable with. And, I just don’t like the way Dickens sounds. Its always been alien to me. So, since I am in real estate and your name is your brand, and before I invest 6,000 in a website and even more in marketing… I have decided to change my name. What should I change my last name too? I need something that will sound good and market well. Any suggestions are appreciated and there is no wrong answer.

Are there any popular alternatives to Yahoo Answers?

Please allow me to explain the rationale for my question.

I’ve noticed Yahoo Answers has become more cumbersome and is restricting freedom of speech and opinion. Like many popular websites, Yahoo Answers was started in a libertarian style free for all format which has slowly constricted into reporting violations and removal of content which, for whatever reason, offends certain people.

In my case the offense was posting a question which equated Realtors with Cheerleaders. This is because, in my opinion Realtors are nothing more than Cheerleaders. Not to mention sales without substance. This is my personal opinion. And no doubt this question will be reported by yet another statist Realtor who is offended I expressed an opinion in the context of a question.

As a matter of fact, there is a conspiracy of Realtors. Realtors patrol the internet removing, reporting, shilling and providing false answers to any statement or opinion contrary to the goals and propaganda of the Real Estate profession. Using Realtors fees, the NAR pays people to do this as part of their agenda and sales propaganda campaign.

I’ve had several questions removed which were simply describing personal experiences with Realtors, and pointing out factuality’s in both Real Estate and the Realtor profession.

This is the third time an answer has been flagged by a Realtor and removed. Does anyone know of a website that is what Yahoo answers was before the reporting and opinion policing started? Perhaps there is room for a new Q&A website in the market. It’s a fact people like websites (i.e. Craigslist) with a libertarian format free of opinion flagging and censorship police.

Thank you.
Thank you for your links. However to clarify I’m requesting something completely open and free which is free of censorship and opinion policing. With the exception of spam, of course. Does anyone know of a Q & A website like this? Kind of like Craigslist when it first started (before all the lawsuits etc). Thanks.

SEO question?

I own 1482 real estate websites and I have researched SEO, is the following information a complete list of what I need to have done to my websites to be ranked high within most SE’s?

- Alt tags on images – make dynamic on all websites
- Dynamic page content on all landing pages/websites
- Include description of landing pages within the Titles
- Ezine marketing with links back to website
- Press release with links back to websites
- Links back to websites from quality sites
- HTML Banner inserted on all non home pages – appears only if they do not enter from a home page/landing page
- Site map on all websites
- dymanic geographic map of the US with links to all sites

My dad wants me to invest his 3-6 thousand $ in stock trading?

YEa,, he doesnt like the idea that im palying video games and on facebook all day after college and gym .
lOL

Im kind excited … I was thinking o dont have necesarelly to do stock trading

maybe selling stuff on ebay??? or creating an website??

or even start with stock marketing.. but im a nobbie when it comes to all of this.
how should i start/??? should i buy some investing books to read? or any ideas plizz reply ty

or can i somehow open a smal small businness?? idk .
or real estate any help will be considered ty

flipping a house before closing on purchase?

Suppose you sign a contract with a seller to purchase a house. With that contract in hand, you start marketing the property (place ads, conduct open house, send emails, etc). You then find a buyer, and do a double closing.

While this is a typical transaction made by hundreds of real estate investors every day, some people argue that you can’t market a house that you don’t yet own, because you would be acting as a real estate agent and you need a license for that.

Does the fact that you have a valid contract allow you to market a property for sale without breaking real estate agency laws?

Is it in bad taste to advertise this way?

I recently started up my own business where I sketch residential homes. I have attracted a couple real estate agents using craigslist (they want to use the sketch as a settlement gift for their clients). But, I want more agents !! Craigslist only gets me so far, so I’ve been emailing agents that live in my state directly with all my information, website, samples, contact info etc… (i’ve found their info online) . This is the only way I feel I can directly market to them. Is this bad? I’m not sure how else to let them know about my service.
** I try to keep the email as personal as I can.. using their first name, not just “to whom it may concern”.. etc…

** I like the open house idea!

What would be a good price to offer on this house?

It’s listing price is $139,900.00 it has been on the market for 3 years. I emailed the real estate agent today to ask for more information on it and she replied back with, “Would like to set up a time to see it? The owners have moved out of state and they are very anxious te sell”
So to me the fact that they are “very anxious” and that its been on the market for 3 years makes me think they will deff. lower the price, but what should my first offer be?

Does my agent need to get commission on the house I am having built?

I have been in the market for a house for quite some time. I signed a contract with a real estate agent about 2 months ago. However, I have not found any houses for sale that suit our needs, and after a lot of research and for many different reasons, my boyfriend and I have decided to build.

My problem is… does the agent that we have a contract with have to get commission on the house we are having built? I might add that he has not done a thing for us so far. He only showed us two houses, and complained when we did not like them. I have done a lot of searching online on my own. The agent emails me a list of properties daily. (All he had to do for this is put in our search criteria, and the website does this automatically, so he really spent about 1 minute doing this.) We do not want to live in certain towns, and have told him multiple times, but more than 50% of the houses his site sends us are in these towns!! We also told him we wanted to raise our purchase price, but he has not changed that either.

Help! Do we need to pay him even though he really has not done a thing for us? We live in Upstate NY if this helps.
The contract with the realtor is very vague. It was prepared by his wife using a website. He also never gave us a signed copy, with all the dates in it! We have no idea when the contract exprires.
Also, no where in the contract does it say that we can “fire” him.

Do emails count as 30 day notices for eviction?

My husband and I and our 5 children (and one born a month later) moved into our house August ’10 We told the owner we would purchase the home in 6 months to a year while we cleaned up our credit and prepared to get a mortgage. We signed a regular 6 month lease with a 6 month extension that was to automatically renew unless terminated by either party. In January the owner told us circumstances had changed, because the bank he had a gotten a loan modification with found out he was not the one living in the house, and have revoked his loan, stating he has to either pay the 20,000 back payments or put the house up for sale. We agreed to this as we all knew the market was hard and the likelihood of a sale in the near future was pretty dim, allowing us the time we still needed to get a mortgage. In order to prevent foreclosure we said the bank representatives could come and examine the house, and the real estate agents could show the house. Of course the owner is in a hurry to get things moving, understandably, but we told him it could take up to a year. The real estate agent had come into the home for an examination of her own, 6 weeks after the bank had come. The bank said the home was in good shape and thought they would have no problems selling the house. The agent went to the home owner and told him that the house should be condemned, torn down it was worthless and CPS should be called on me. He went crazy thinking what in the world did we do to the house?? I told him she was lying he was more than welcome to come and see, she was mad at me because she asked me if I could clean up my house and I told her I had 6 kids had only moved in 6 months prior and was still unpacking, (and now packing) I was doing the best I could. A family of 8 has alot of stuff. So there is alot of clutter, I have boxes and tupperware containers everywhere. Now they are against the walls so people can move in the house, there aren’t holes in the walls or floors, nothing at all to make what she said even remotely reasonable. Nor what she told the owner (I am in the process of filing an official complaint with her company). Those things aside, the owner decided that if we cant buy right this moment he wanted us out and he would relinquish the house to the bank. His prerogative, but we have a lease, and he has to go to court to get possession of the house. He sent an email stating that he guesses we have to go to a month to month lease. That is what he said no Straight answer, no straight terms, just that. My lawyer’s assistant says he doesn’t think that counts. Doesn’t THINK?? This guy supposedly went to law school, either it does or it doesn’t…needless to say we are in search of a new lawyer, with NO time to spare, as the owner now says we have to leave by April 30, as he is having a construction crew come and take down the back porch, pool, and entire playroom(a 2 car garage he transformed without permits) While we are still here, so really I’d like to know, can he do that if we are still living in the house?? and Do these emails count since they are not very clear. Or even if they were clear could they count? To clarify, Email is the ONLY way we communicate, he doesn’t call, he doesn’t come by the house, only through email since we signed the lease in July.

calculating ratio analysis?

Estimated defined benefit income @ retirement?
estimated defined benifit income @ retirement?
Estimated interest & dividend income?
Cash flow from real estate @ retirement?
total guaranteed annual income?
Shortfall Retire Inc. = Desired – Guaranteed?
Ilifetime earnings (SS benefits)?
Total assets?
Net worth (total assets – total debt)?
Home’s market value?
Home Mortgages?
Home’s equity (market value – mortgages)?
net-worth – home equity?
Total Federal & State income taxes paid last year?
Credit card interest paid?
Annual disability income coverage?
Life insurance death benefit: Him?
Life insurance death benefit: Her?
Ratio Analysis Worksheets
Information Needed
Total Guaranteed Annual Income
Your Name:
Dollar Amounts
Amount saved last 12 mo. (see Savings Stmt.)
Real Income (from Real Income statement)
Life time earnings (SS benefits statement)
Total debt (includes all mortgages)

data is below:

Jack is a 43-year old corporate employee who earned $80,000 last year. His W-2 form shows that he paid $7,000 in Federal taxes, $2,500 in State taxes, and $1,160 in Medicare taxes. His W-2 form also shows that he made contributions to an employer sponsored retirement account in the amount of $12,000.

Jill is a 41-year old self-employed psychologist who earned $73,000 last year. During last year she incurred the following business expenses: $3,000 for advertising, $7,000 for the rent of her office, $5,000 for utilities, and $2,000 for travel expenses. In addition, she used one of her vehicles for business only and during the past year she drove the vehicle for 9,000 miles.

Jack and Jill have 3 children: an 18 year old son, a 10 year old daughter, and another 5 year old son. Last year they paid $7,000 in child care expenses for their 5 year old son and $10,000 in college tuition for their 18 year old son.

Jack and Jill own a house that has a market value of $650,000 for which they took a $400,000, 30-year mortgage at 6% interest. They have 25 years left on their mortgage. Last year they paid $5,250 in property taxes. They also own a duplex that has a market value of $450,000 for which they took a $350,000 30-year mortgage at 5.5%. They have 28 years left on their duplex mortgage. They have rented out the duplex and last year they earned $26,000 in rental income. During the past year they incurred the following expenses for their rental property: $300 for advertising, $750 for insurance, $5,000 for repairs, $4,500 for property taxes, and $6,000 for utilities. They also incurred a major expense when they had to replace the roof of their rental property, an expenditure that cost them $10,000.

In addition, last year Jack and Jill sold some stocks for which they earned a capital gain of $5,000. Their current portfolio includes 100 shares in each of the following stocks: IBM, Apple, and Ford. The couple’s liquid assets consist of $20,000 currently held in money market

Have you heard about Joe the Republican’s day?

What do you think? Is this an average day in the Life of Joe Republican?

Joe gets up at 6 am and fills his coffeepot with water to prepare his morning coffee. The water is clean and good because some tree-hugging liberal fought for minimum water-quality standards. With his first swallow of water, he takes his daily medication. His medications are safe to take because some stupid commie liberal fought to ensure their safety and that they work as advertised.

All but $10 of his medications are paid for by his employer’s medical plan because some liberal union workers fought their employers for paid medical insurance – now Joe gets it too.

He prepares his morning breakfast, bacon and eggs. Joe’s bacon is safe to eat because some girly-man liberal fought for laws to regulate the meat packing industry.

In the morning shower, Joe reaches for his shampoo. His bottle is properly labeled with each ingredient and its amount in the total contents because some crybaby liberal fought for his right to know what he was putting on his body and how much it contained.

Joe dresses, walks outside and takes a deep breath. The air he breathes is clean because some environmentalist wacko liberal fought for the laws to stop industries from polluting our air.

He walks on the government-provided sidewalk to subway station for his government-subsidized ride to work. It saves him considerable money in parking and transportation fees because some fancy-pants liberal fought for affordable public transportation, which gives everyone the opportunity to be a contributor.

Joe begins his work day. He has a good job with excellent pay, medical benefits, retirement, paid holidays and vacation because some lazy liberal union members fought and died for these working standards. Joe’s employer pays these standards because Joe’s employer doesn’t want his employees to call the union.

If Joe is hurt on the job or becomes unemployed, he’ll get a worker compensation or unemploy ment check because some stupid liberal didn’t think he should lose his home because of his temporary misfortune.

It is noontime and Joe needs to make a bank deposit so he can pay some bills. Joe’s deposit is federally insured by the FSLIC because some godless liberal wanted to protect Joe’s money from unscrupulous bankers who ruined the banking system before the Great Depression.

Joe has to pay his Fannie Mae-underwritten mortgage and his below-market federal student loan because some elitist liberal decided that Joe and the government would be better off if he was educated and earned more money over his lifetime. Joe also forgets that his in addition to his federally subsidized student loans, he attended a state funded university.

Joe is home from work. He plans to visit his father this evening at his farm home in the country. He gets in his car for the drive. His car is among the safest in the world because some America-hating liberal fought for car safety st andards to go along with the tax-payer funded roads.

He arrives at his boyhood home. His was the third generation to live in the house financed by Farmers’ Home Administration because bankers didn’t want to make rural loans.

The house didn’t have electricity until some big-government liberal stuck his nose where it didn’t belong and demanded rural electrification.

He is happy to see his father, who is now retired. His father lives on Social Security and a union pension because some wine-drinking, cheese-eating liberal made sure he could take care of himself so Joe wouldn’t have to.

Joe gets back in his car for the ride home, and turns on a radio talk show. The radio host keeps saying that liberals are bad and conservatives are good. He doesn’t mention that the beloved Republicans have fought against every protection and benefit Joe enjoys throughout his day. Joe agrees: We don’t need those big-government liberals ruining our lives! After all, I’m a self -made man who believes everyone should take care of themselves, just like I have.

Have you heard of Joe the Republican?

A DAY IN THE LIFE OF JOE REPUBLICAN

Joe gets up at 6 a.m. and fills his coffeepot with water to prepare his morning coffee. The water is clean and good because some tree-hugging liberal fought for minimum water-quality standards. With his first swallow of water, he takes his daily medication. His medications are safe to take because some stupid commie liberal fought to ensure their safety and that they work as advertised.

All but $10 of his medications are paid for by his employer’s medical plan because some liberal union workers fought their employers for paid medical insurance – now Joe gets it too.

He prepares his morning breakfast, bacon and eggs. Joe’s bacon is safe to eat because some girly-man liberal fought for laws to regulate the meat packing industry.

In the morning shower, Joe reaches for his shampoo. His bottle is properly labeled with each ingredient and its amount in the total contents because some crybaby liberal fought for his right to know what he was putting on his body and how much it contained.

Joe dresses, walks outside and takes a deep breath. The air he breathes is clean because some environmentalist wacko liberal fought for the laws to stop industries from polluting our air.

He walks on the government-provided sidewalk to subway station for his government-subsidized ride to work. It saves him considerable money in parking and transportation fees because some fancy-pants liberal fought for affordable public transportation, which gives everyone the opportunity to be a contributor.

Joe begins his work day. He has a good job with excellent pay, medical benefits, retirement, paid holidays and vacation because some lazy liberal union members fought and died for these working standards. Joe’s employer pays these standards because Joe’s employer doesn’t want his employees to call the union.

If Joe is hurt on the job or becomes unemployed, he’ll get a worker compensation or unemployment check because some stupid liberal didn’t think he should lose his home because of his temporary misfortune.

It is noontime and Joe needs to make a bank deposit so he can pay some bills. Joe’s deposit is federally insured by the FSLIC because some godless liberal wanted to protect Joe’s money from unscrupulous bankers who ruined the banking system before the Great Depression.

Joe has to pay his Fannie Mae-underwritten mortgage and his below-market federal student loan because some elitist liberal decided that Joe and the government would be better off if he was educated and earned more money over his lifetime. Joe also forgets that his in addition to his federally subsidized student loans, he attended a state funded university.

Joe is home from work. He plans to visit his father this evening at his farm home in the country. He gets in his car for the drive. His car is among the safest in the world because some America-hating liberal fought for car safety standards to go along with the tax-payer funded roads.

He arrives at his boyhood home. His was the third generation to live in the house financed by Farmers’ Home Administration because bankers didn’t want to make rural loans.

The house didn’t have electricity until some big-government liberal stuck his nose where it didn’t belong and demanded rural electrification.

He is happy to see his father, who is now retired. His father lives on Social Security and a union pension because some wine-drinking, cheese-eating liberal made sure he could take care of himself so Joe wouldn’t have to.

Joe gets back in his car for the ride home, and turns on a radio talk show. The radio host keeps saying that liberals are bad and conservatives are good. He doesn’t mention that the beloved Republicans have fought against every protection and benefit Joe enjoys throughout his day. Joe agrees: “We don’t need those big-government liberals ruining our lives! After all, I’m a self-made man who believes everyone should take care of themselves, just like I have.”

Liberals,what do you think of this story?

A Day in the Life of Joe Republican

Joe gets up at 6 a.m. and fills his coffeepot with water to prepare his morning coffee. The water is clean and good because a liberal fought for minimum water-quality standards. With his first swallow of coffee, he takes his daily medication. His medications are safe to take because a liberal fought to insure their safety and that they work as advertised.

All but $10 of his medications are paid for by his employer’s medical plan because liberal union workers fought their employers for paid medical insurance – now Joe gets it too. He prepares his morning breakfast, bacon and eggs. Joe’s bacon is safe to eat because a liberal fought for laws to regulate the meat packing industry.

In the morning shower, Joe reaches for his shampoo. His bottle is properly labeled with each ingredient and its amount in the total contents because a liberal fought for his right to know what he was putting on his body and how much it contained. Joe dresses, walks outside and takes a deep breath. The air he breathes is clean because a liberal fought for laws to stop industries from polluting our air. He walks to the subway station for his government-subsidized ride to work. It saves him considerable money in parking and transportation fees because a liberal fought for affordable public transportation, which gives everyone the opportunity to be a contributor.

Joe begins his work day. He has a good job with excellent pay, medical benefits, retirement, paid holidays and vacation because liberal union members fought and died for these working standards. Joe’s employer pays these standards because Joe’s employer doesn’t want his employees to call the union. If Joe is hurt on the job or becomes unemployed, he’ll get a worker compensation or unemployment check because a liberal didn’t think he should lose his home because of his temporary misfortune. Its noontime and Joe needs to make a bank deposit so he can pay some bills. Joe’s deposit is federally insured by the FSLIC because a liberal wanted to protect Joe’s money from unscrupulous bankers who ruined the banking system before the Great Depression.

Joe has to pay his Fannie Mae-underwritten mortgage and his below-market federal student loan because a liberal decided that Joe and the government would be better off if he was educated and earned more money over his lifetime. Joe is home from work. He plans to visit his father this evening at his farm home in the country. He gets in his car for the drive. His car is among the safest in the world because a liberal fought for car safety standards. He arrives at his boyhood home. His was the third generation to live in the house financed by Farmers’ Home Administration because bankers didn’t want to make rural loans. The house didn’t have electricity until some big-government liberal stuck his nose where it didn’t belong and demanded rural electrification.

He is happy to see his father, who is now retired. His father lives on Social Security and a union pension because a liberal made sure he could take care of himself so Joe wouldn’t have to. Joe gets back in his car for the ride home, and turns on a radio talk show. The radio host keeps saying that liberals are bad and conservatives are good. He doesn’t mention that the beloved Republicans have fought against every protection and benefit Joe enjoys throughout his day. Joe agrees: “We don’t need those big-government liberals ruining our lives! After all, I’m a self-made man who believes everyone should take care of themselves, just like I have.

Have you heard about Joe the Republican’s day?

What do you think? Is this an average day in the Life of Joe Republican?

Joe gets up at 6 am and fills his coffeepot with water to prepare his morning coffee. The water is clean and good because some tree-hugging liberal fought for minimum water-quality standards. With his first swallow of water, he takes his daily medication. His medications are safe to take because some stupid commie liberal fought to ensure their safety and that they work as advertised.

All but $10 of his medications are paid for by his employer’s medical plan because some liberal union workers fought their employers for paid medical insurance – now Joe gets it too.

He prepares his morning breakfast, bacon and eggs. Joe’s bacon is safe to eat because some girly-man liberal fought for laws to regulate the meat packing industry.

In the morning shower, Joe reaches for his shampoo. His bottle is properly labeled with each ingredient and its amount in the total contents because some crybaby liberal fought for his right to know what he was putting on his body and how much it contained.

Joe dresses, walks outside and takes a deep breath. The air he breathes is clean because some environmentalist wacko liberal fought for the laws to stop industries from polluting our air.

He walks on the government-provided sidewalk to subway station for his government-subsidized ride to work. It saves him considerable money in parking and transportation fees because some fancy-pants liberal fought for affordable public transportation, which gives everyone the opportunity to be a contributor.

Joe begins his work day. He has a good job with excellent pay, medical benefits, retirement, paid holidays and vacation because some lazy liberal union members fought and died for these working standards. Joe’s employer pays these standards because Joe’s employer doesn’t want his employees to call the union.

If Joe is hurt on the job or becomes unemployed, he’ll get a worker compensation or unemploy ment check because some stupid liberal didn’t think he should lose his home because of his temporary misfortune.

It is noontime and Joe needs to make a bank deposit so he can pay some bills. Joe’s deposit is federally insured by the FSLIC because some godless liberal wanted to protect Joe’s money from unscrupulous bankers who ruined the banking system before the Great Depression.

Joe has to pay his Fannie Mae-underwritten mortgage and his below-market federal student loan because some elitist liberal decided that Joe and the government would be better off if he was educated and earned more money over his lifetime. Joe also forgets that his in addition to his federally subsidized student loans, he attended a state funded university.

Joe is home from work. He plans to visit his father this evening at his farm home in the country. He gets in his car for the drive. His car is among the safest in the world because some America-hating liberal fought for car safety st andards to go along with the tax-payer funded roads.

He arrives at his boyhood home. His was the third generation to live in the house financed by Farmers’ Home Administration because bankers didn’t want to make rural loans.

The house didn’t have electricity until some big-government liberal stuck his nose where it didn’t belong and demanded rural electrification.

He is happy to see his father, who is now retired. His father lives on Social Security and a union pension because some wine-drinking, cheese-eating liberal made sure he could take care of himself so Joe wouldn’t have to.

Joe gets back in his car for the ride home, and turns on a radio talk show. The radio host keeps saying that liberals are bad and conservatives are good. He doesn’t mention that the beloved Republicans have fought against every protection and benefit Joe enjoys throughout his day. Joe agrees: “We don’t need those big-government liberals ruining our lives! After all, I’m a self -made man who believes everyone should take care of themselves, just like I have”.

Should I pay off this debt or invest in the market?

I have my several months salary saved up and now I have options with what to do with my money. I’m 25 years old and I am contributing to my 401K at the max level. My fiancee and I both have stable jobs and I earn about 40k a year. I plan on getting married next year and she owns a home. We plan on staying in that home for at least 2 more years (maybe more with the market the way it is). It’s a fixed rate mortgage. I have various debt sources that I can have most if not all paid off by December of 2009:
Private student loans
1. $3500 at 5.75% on a 25 year term
2. $4500 at the same rate and term
3. $6600 at 6.6% at the same term
…all are variable rates
4. I also have a government student loan at 2.8 %, 30 year with about $14,000 left
5. I also have a car loan for $9500 at 6.49%

Should I work on paying down this debt, all of it or just certain pieces? Or should I just invest in the market knowing full well that the market probably hasn’t bottomed out yet, that’s what I estimate.

I am inclined to pay off source 1-3, then 5, then 4. Can anyway with more expertise than me tell me a better idea or just a different idea?

Is filing Chapter 7 bankruptcy a good idea for me? How long does it take to get back on track after I do?

I am considering filing chapter 7 bankruptcy. I have 3 major credit cards, all of which have been charged off and added up have a balance of roughly 20k with interest and attorney fees. I also have some other random bills which have gone to collection: cell phone, utility bills, medical bills, etc, that add up to about 3k. I also owe about 10k in back taxes to the IRS, which I’m not sure if this could be included in the bankruptcy? I have made some mistakes in the past, living beyond my means and am much more educated and mature now and would like to get my life and credit built back up.

1. Is bankruptcy a good idea for me?
2. Can taxes be included in a bankruptcy?
3. How long does it take to get my credit built up to say a 650-700 credit score after a BK and are banks willing to give you a loan if they see you have a bankruptcy, even if your credit score is good now?

I worked for a mortgage company in 2003 and we would give someone a loan the next day after a BK discharge. I know things have changed but any insight in today’s credit market and how a BK is viewed by creditors in 2009 would be very helpful. Thanks

Housing market crash = people renting. Should I consider renting out my house instead of selling? How to?

So the housing market’s pretty much crashed, and that means those forced to leave their homes will likely be looking for rentals.

I need to move 550 miles away. I’ve kept it well cared for, and even remodeled the majority of the house over the past 3 years. I think I owe about the same that I’d sell my house for, so I’m really not going to get anything from selling it. It’s a good house in a good neighborhood, and in a good location. It has some of the lowest utility costs in the state also. I also have some relatives in the immediate area who would likely help me out. I also have lawn care service among other things.

The house is a 3 bedroom, 2 full bath, 1500 square foot home w/garage, pool, hot tub, heat pump + furnace, fridge/dish/mic/wash/dry/ etc. all stay, and entire home has been updated in past 5 years.

Because of these facts, I was thinking it may be a better option to rent it out than sell it. Is this a good idea? Is there anything I should seriously consider? If I chose to rent it out, where do I get information as to how to do it?

please assume in answering me you share my opinion that it’s only going to get worse through 2009,10, and 11 as the Alt-As and option arms burn, and may continue to decline until ’14 as credit card and auto loans struggle as a direct impact of the 07-’10 mortgage issues as this is an opinion I’m pretty sold on.
In regards to the respondant who stated:
“Don’t ask opinons only of those who agree with you. Listen to all points of view. How will you ever get different insights on a situation if you depend on “yes-men?”" – I agree with you, however, I did not want this to be a debate whether or not the housing market is going to drop further over the next 5 years (I posted about that earlier, and you can respond to it in the “finance” question). Instead I wanted to ask and get help understanding the Rent vs. sell discussion, and that is why I stated what I did- Otherwise I agree with your comment.

Thank you everyone for your responses- and if anyone else has anything else to add, I’d love to hear it!

Thank you!

I sold my share in a house to my brother. At the time of the sale 42000 was owed. Its in a living trust.?

This may seem complicated but I have sold my share of a house to my brother for 5000 dollars. This property is in a living trust. On the day that I sold my share 42000 was owed on it. The executor wants to pay off the mortgage using funds available. Since I no longer have an interest in this property I feel that my money from the living trust should not go to pay the 42000 owed. It should come out of the other heirs monies that now have interest in the house. I have a contract dated August,3, 2009 from my sale. Now the executor on novenber 25, 2009 want to use part of my money 9000 to pay part of the share of the house. I sold my share of the house for 5000. If I have to pay 9000 in to pay the mortgage off isn’t this unfair. I had know idea at the time I sold my share that I would be losing a great deal of my inheritance by selling at 5000. Is there a legal remedy in this case. Let it be known that the house is on the market for 149000. Can I recoup any of the 9000 that I am forced to pay. Even though I lost ownership in property on August 3. Can I get money after the sale of this house, the extra money that I am forced to pay into it.

Where do I invest the money for my 401K?

I am 51, I have 345K in my 401K. Too late after the market dropped, I took it and moved it to the ‘safe’ stable value. Now, months after the market has gone back up, I’m sitting down to figure out where to put the money and I really have no idea. JP Morgan says 68% should be in stocks, I don’t even know which ones stocks are. Here are my choices:  
JPMorgan Stable Value
  PTTRXPIMCO Total Return-Inst
  ACITXAmerican Century Inflation-Adjusted Bond-Inv
  RLBFXAmerican Funds Balanced-R5
  DODGXDodge & Cox Stock
  FCNTXFidelity Contrafund
   Barclays Global Inv S&P 500 Equity Index-Q
  RMCVXRiverSource Mid Cap Value-R4
  RPMGXT Rowe Price Mid Cap Growth
  NBGIXNeuberger Berman Genesis-Inst
  TASVXTarget Small Cap Value Portfolio
  JDSCXJPMorgan Dynamic Small Cap Growth-Select
  RERFXAmerican Funds EuroPacific Growth-R5
  STLAXBarclays Global Inv LifePath Retirement-I
  STLBXBarclays Global Inv LifePath: 2010-I
  STLCXBarclays Global Inv LifePath: 2020-I
  STLDXBarclays Global Inv LifePath: 2030-I
  STLEXBarclays Global Inv LifePath: 2040-I
What the heck should I do? Risk info? Well, I was laid off in Mar 2009, owe 300K on a 1mil home, have 2 kids aged 8 and 10 (one special needs) and an adoring wife. Needs are simple, just pay the mortgage and afford insurance and groceries. I would like the 401K to grow, I don’t want much risk, and the safe stable growth is too slow.

I need a rough estimate of what my home might be worth or a website that I can input my info & get an estimate?

I live in Knoxville, TN zip code 37918 in a nice suburban part of town that is pretty popular and wanted with homebuyers. I bought the house from the bank as it was a foreclosure so I bought it under its value so I’m not sure what it is worth. I am planning on selling it soon (I will get a formal apprasial in the near future) because when I bought it, I bought it so I could grow into it (for when I get married and have kids) and not have to upgrade in the future, but the longer I live here, the more I realize that it is WAY too big for me and too much for me to care for. I’m planning on selling it, purchasing a small plot of land, and putting a double wide manufactured home on it (on a side note, someone tried to convince me to do this 2 years ago because I refused to because I thought that they were trashy and I would look trashy for getting one because I had a stigma attached to them but when I went to go look at them the other day I was AMAZED and fell in love with a model that I have my heart set on). I am trying to figure out what my house is worth now before getting the whole process started because I know how much the home I want is going to be, and I want to know how much I have left to purchase land and I’m also wanting to pay my grandparents back the money I borrowed from them to buy my current home. I want to make a downpayment on the land and the home to hold it before putting my house on the market, and I don’t want a formal appraisal done until right before putting it on the market. I am not looking for anything concrete or perfect, just a round about estimate so I can know what price range I am shopping for. So here are the details of my current home:

- Bought the home in foreclosure from the bank for $101,900
- Roughly 1,800 square ft
- 4 bedrooms, 2 and a half baths (when I bought the home, it was listed as 3 bedrooms, but I am not sure why. From what I understand in real estate terms, a room is considered a bedroomn if it has a door, window, and closet; the 4th bedroom that the listing didn’t consider a bedroom has all these things. Granted, the closet is very small, but it does have one, and I use it as a bedroom. Any info of why it may not be considered a bedroom would be appreciated, because I plan on listing it as 4 bedrooms)
- 2 car garage (tight fit, but it will fit 2 cars)
- Upstairs has 2 full baths, 3 bedrooms, living room, dining room, and kitchen
- Fully finished basement (apartment like area) that has a half bath, 1 bedroom, and extra living/family room, that is attached to the garage (door connects) with a large closet/storage area attached to the bathroom
- All appliances included: built in stove/range/oven and microwave, refridgerator, washer/dryer
- Gas fireplace in upstairs living room
- Bay windows in living room
- Covered front porch and uncovered back deck (both newly painted/stained)
- Large lot size, decent front yard, large fenced in back yard
- Planning on recarpeting entire house before putting on the market
- Attached bathroom and large walk in closet to master bedroom
- Subdivision lot in upper middle class neighborhood (houses on the market in this neighborhood usually go VERY quickly; for example my house was on the market for TWO DAYS when we made an offer and there were five others trying to offer on it. I have never seen a house in my neighborhood on the market more than a month)
- Home in very good condition, some minor repairs needed but I will be making all those before putting on the market (planning on having the realtor that sold me the house come and make suggestions on everything I need to do before selling it so it will be in the best shape possible to bring the most for the house)
- The realtor told me at the time I bought the home that once it was fixed up it would be worth roughly $160,000 (I don’t entirely trust that; of course she would want me to think I was getting an amazing deal because she wanted to sell the house)
- The research I have done shows that based on the county tax records appraisal value for the other houses in my subdivision range from $120,000 to $200,000 (I am not sure why there is such a large gap in value because all the houses in my subdivision are very similar and most have identical floorplans; there are probably only 3-5 different floorplans for all the houses in the subdivision and all the lot sizes are same. Also, I am assuming that the tax appraisal records are a low estimate as people usually want a lower appraisal for taxes so they have to pay lower taxes)
- House is not in the Knoxville city limits, and is in Knox county. This means that the property taxes only have to be paid to the county and there are no city taxes which makes the property taxes significantly lower
- Central heat and air, gas heat, city water and sewer (no well water or septic). Energy efficient. Even with the large home, utilities usually only about $150 a month for everything in all sea
Things I forgot to add:

- Street the house is on (don’t know if it helps, but I know where the house is matters almost as much as the build of the house itself) is Twin Brooks Blvd. I won’t be adding the street number because I don’t want you showing up at my house no offense
- If you don’t know, a website where I can input this info and get a FREE, INSTANT estimate that I don’t have to talk to anyone would be just as helpful
- Please no snide comments about anything. I know I won’t get anything within probably $5,000 of the actual worth, I just want an estimate. No need for rudeness.
- Please feel free to ask me for any additional info that I may have not added because I didn’t know it mattered to the worth of the house.

Thanks!
Well Miss Know-It-All perhaps if you had read what I stated (which is a lot, but if you are going to take the time to comment, I think you can take the time to read) then you would know I DIDN’T want a manufactured home when I bought my home, I wanted to go with something that would be better in the long run, and I ended up with a big hassle and a big load of things I don’t need. Let’s see: I am a 22 year old single woman with no children, I have a 2 story, 4 bedroom, 3 bath home that requires work and a whole lot of cleaning that I don’t have time or desire to deal with. I spent a lot of money getting and maintaining this house that again I don’t need. I use 2 rooms: my bedroom and the kitchen. Heck, I don’t even use the living room and I am barely home! So, which makes more sense? Keeping this HUGE place that is like a ghost town that I don’t have time to upkeep, or downgrading to a manufactured home with a smaller space that is what I need, selling this place that is completel

Inherited money, wants to invest, but dont know how?

I inherited some money from my grandparents and its quite a lot, so i was thinking of stock market. Im not in any rush, and for now i dont want to think of real estate, how can i learn how to invest in stock market?

any good books for dummies like me?

any good website?

any advice?

thanks!

I’m 18 &have about 7k that I invest in something that I want to get over 10%, what should I invest in?

4options I know I can do… and is easy

CD at about 4-5%

Money Market 4-5%

Savings- not a investment

Bonds(bank)- no not enough return

Tax Liens Certificates- I am looking into trying this but first I have to research it and study it more.

Real estate- don’t have the assets and money to rent a house out.

Stocks- Not enough info and dont know anybody to make educated decision

Real Estate Investment Trusts- maybe, got to look into that better

what should I invest in?

if you know some good info of how you buy tax Lien Certificates and you have a real good website to see the one’s in any area or just have a few good tips for me that would be great.

thankyou

Why is the world in a financial crisis?

I got economics at my uni. And the instructor asked us why is the world in a financial crisis. Nobody could give a correct answer. So I was looking in the internet but I don’t understand all these politics. I don’t even know what a stock exchange market is. Why are some exchange markets closed? Why are banks getting bankrupt. Who started this? Who or what is Hypo Real Estate? Is there any website where I can find chart analysis explained very easy?

I am German. So English is not my first language and I am having big trouble to figure out what the issue is.

Please anyone.

Is a REO listed for $2500 only $2500? Or does it cost more?

There are quite a few REO or Real Estate Owned homes in my area that are listed on Yahoo Real Estate and a foreclosure website for $2500 or less. Does this mean that if I pay $2500 I have purchased the home for just the $2500? Or does it mean that I am taking over someone else’s loan? There are other homes that are listed for close to market value. When I checked on Zillow.com, I noticed that houses in that area have sold for $2500.

I am so confused. If the houses cost only $2500, then I am interested in purchasing one.

What Should I do with the $1 million from my parent’s life insurance?

I’m turning 18 shortly, and i would have access to my parent’s life insurance and their money, house and everything.

I don’t know what to do with it, how do i make more money from their money?

There’s about a million from life insurance, and the interest which has gathered over the years from the life insurance is over $300,000.

From the property which is currently being rented out, there’s about $350 a week (after it being taxed) being transfered into a secure bank account. There’s about $70,000 from that over the years, not including the interest.

The money my parents had in the bank was approx $70,000. It’s around the $90,000 mark now.

When i turn 18 on April 7th, I would have in excess of $1,460,000

I honestly don’t know what to do with it. I talked with a finanical advisor, but they gave me really bad information and told me not to invest because of the poor market and everything. But he did tell me to get assets for the future.

I want to give something back for my aunty and uncle who cared for me for about 4 years so i’m guessing I should pay off the rest of their mortgage which is about $130,000, and buy them a new car.

Should I sell of my parent’s property? It would be worth close to half a million according to the real estate agent. But really i’m not sure what to do.

I think I should keep onto the property as it is an asset and maybe buy some more real estate or something.

I know this is a pretty ‘pitched up’ question to ask on the internet, but i would appreciate all the help i can get.

Thanks.

What should I do with a million dollars?

I’m turning 18 shortly, and i would have access to my parent’s life insurance and their money, house and everything.

I don’t know what to do with it, how do i make more money from their money?

There’s about a million from life insurance, and the interest which has gathered over the years from the life insurance is over $300,000.

From the property which is currently being rented out, there’s about $350 a week (after it being taxed) being transfered into a secure bank account. There’s about $70,000 from that over the years, not including the interest.

The money my parents had in the bank was approx $70,000. It’s around the $90,000 mark now.

When i turn 18 on April 7th, I would have in excess of $1,460,000

I honestly don’t know what to do with it. I talked with a finanical advisor, but they gave me really bad information and told me not to invest because of the poor market and everything. But he did tell me to get assets for the future.

I want to give something back for my aunty and uncle who cared for me for about 4 years so i’m guessing I should pay off the rest of their mortgage which is about $130,000, and buy them a new car.

Should I sell of my parent’s property? I can never go back and live there – It would be worth close to half a million according to the real estate agent. But really i’m not sure what to do.

I think I should keep onto the property as it is an asset and maybe buy some more real estate or something.

I know this is a pretty ‘pitched up’ question to ask on the internet, but i would appreciate all the help i can get.

Thanks.

Is my home overpriced?

My house has been on the market for 10 days, including 1 open house for the public. My agent has not received any calls for appts during this time. Am I too assume that the house is overpriced? She told me that she thought she would’ve had some calls by now and that she’s doing everything she can,
(she has my listing on realtor.com along with her agencies site.) She also said that Sept is a slow month for real estate. Will you please tell me if agents market homes in other ways other than relying on the internet. I am ready to dump this agent as we have already have a contract on another home. She is already hinting at cutting the price. She sent me some comps for my home and all the homes have sold for 5-20K more than our listing price, except for one which is about 5 miles away and not in a residential neighborhood. Please advise, I am feeling quite anxious.
Thanks in advance for your feedback!

What kind of violation is this.?

Hi I have a simple but little tricky question.
I believe there are three ways to purchase a house.
1.Pay cash – If you are a millionaire..
2.Hire Mortgage Broker – They will contact with Wholesale Lender
3.Contact with Bank directly – Bank has it’s own Loan Officer.
*If someone doesn’t tell the difference between mortgage broker and loan officer, go to yahoo and search “mortgage broker vs. loan officer” .
Here is my story.
Year 2004 I met Mr.Kim who was a mortgage broker.He always tell others that if someone wants to buy a house, they have to hire a mortgage broker to process their loan(He was acting that option #3 does not exist. That way he could get more jobs to sell.). *Someone might say “Why did you trust the mortgage broker? You are stupid…” You will be surprised to know how so many people have no knowledge about these whatsoever.
Anyway I trusted him and year 2005 I purchased my first house.
I filled out loan application and prepared all the documents which was prepared by Mr.Kim. The loan was approved: both first and second lender was major Banks. Exactly 2months later, I received a check book by XX (also major bank) bank. I asked my mortgage broker about this and he said that this was a home equity line of credit by XX bank (3rd mortgage): it was issued based on the current value of my property (there’s no loan application and no appraisal report..ect.) and my excellent credit. I had no doubt about this at that time (because it was issued from a major bank) and I used the money for home improvement. My mortgage broker, Kim was sentenced for financial fraud for other cases(currently he is in federal prison)
In the mean time, my mortgage payment was increased dramatically because it was a MTA program which I had no idea what that was at that time… My monthly payment doubled after 2 years and I had reached a point where I could not make all three mortgage payment including the 3rd mortgage. As the real estate market crashed, the value of my house dropped greatly and I could no longer able to make payment. I knew something was not right. I heard about Mortgage Audit from internet one day and decided to do that. I requested all the documents (including original loan applications..) from the all three lenders.
I was surprised to see that there were loan officer’s name which I had no idea because I had never met any loan officers. Not only that but also the information on the loan application had wrong information which was prepared by mortgage broker?? or the loan officer??
Since the lender was not a whole sale lender, I had learned that the loan officer from the lender must meet with the borrower directly(Patriot Act?).
What do you think about this whole loan process? I want to know how big crime it is when the loan officer never contacted the borrower and accept all the documents from the mortgage broker and approve the loan despite of all the wrong information on the loan documents??
* Some of you might say, “You signed the documents at the settlement and it is your responsibility”
However both the mortgage broker and the title agent are currently imprisoned. During the settlement, it is almost impossible to review every single document and sign them. I had to trust whatever I sign because it was conducted by title lawyer. Who would not trust “LAWYER” ?? DO YOU THINK LENDER GAVE US A MONEY BECAUSE THEY ARE CHARITY WORKERS?

Question about legal loan process.?

Hi I have a simple but little tricky question.
I believe there are three ways to purchase a house.
1.Pay cash – If you are a millionaire..
2.Hire Mortgage Broker – They will contact with Wholesale Lender
3.Contact with Bank directly – Bank has it’s own Loan Officer.
*If someone doesn’t tell the difference between mortgage broker and loan officer, go to yahoo and search “mortgage broker vs. loan officer” .
Here is my story.
Year 2004 I met Mr.Kim who was a mortgage broker.He always tell others that if someone wants to buy a house, they have to hire a mortgage broker to process their loan(He was acting that option #3 does not exist. That way he could get more jobs to sell.). *Someone might say “Why did you trust the mortgage broker? You are stupid…” You will be surprised to know how so many people have no knowledge about these whatsoever.
Anyway I trusted him and year 2005 I purchased my first house.
I filled out loan application and prepared all the documents which was prepared by Mr.Kim. The loan was approved: both first and second lender was major Banks. Exactly 2months later, I received a check book by XX (also major bank) bank. I asked my mortgage broker about this and he said that this was a home equity line of credit by XX bank (3rd mortgage): it was issued based on the current value of my property (there’s no loan application and no appraisal report..ect.) and my excellent credit. I had no doubt about this at that time (because it was issued from a major bank) and I used the money for home improvement. My mortgage broker, Kim was sentenced for financial fraud for other cases(currently he is in federal prison)
In the mean time, my mortgage payment was increased dramatically because it was a MTA program which I had no idea what that was at that time… My monthly payment doubled after 2 years and I had reached a point where I could not make all three mortgage payment including the 3rd mortgage. As the real estate market crashed, the value of my house dropped greatly and I could no longer able to make payment. I knew something was not right. I heard about Mortgage Audit from internet one day and decided to do that. I requested all the documents (including original loan applications..) from the all three lenders.
I was surprised to see that there were loan officer’s name which I had no idea because I had never met any loan officers. Not only that but also the information on the loan application had wrong information which was prepared by mortgage broker?? or the loan officer??
Since the lender was not a whole sale lender, I had learned that the loan officer from the lender must meet with the borrower directly(Patriot Act?).
What do you think about this whole loan process? I want to know how big crime it is when the loan officer never contacted the borrower and accept all the documents from the mortgage broker and approve the loan despite of all the wrong information on the loan documents??
* Some of you might say, “You signed the documents at the settlement and it is your responsibility”
However both the mortgage broker and the title agent are currently imprisoned. During the settlement, it is almost impossible to review every single document and sign them. I had to trust whatever I sign because it was conducted by title lawyer. Who would not trust “LAWYER” ?? DO YOU THINK LENDER GAVE US A MONEY BECAUSE THEY ARE CHARITY WORKERS?

I don`t get it, what are we doing wrong?

Hello everyone.

We put our house on the market 6 months ago. We have had one viewing in that time. In the last 6 months we have reduced the price three times, and it still did not get any interest or viewings.

We are in a rural area (County Down, Northern Ireland). If I go to our estate agents website for our area four houses have sold recently, one for 147k, another for 155k, one for 129k and another for 144k.

Ours is up at 115k, and it is the same specs as the four that have sold, ie, 3 bed, 2 bath detached houses.

Ours is so much cheaper than the four that sold and we are not getting any interest at all and I dont get it.

When our house first went up for sale we put it up for 129k, then reduced to 120k and now reduced once again three weeks ago to 115k.

If we call the estate agent for advice he just tells us to reduce the price further, we do not mind doing that, but the thing is the other houses sold for asking price without any reductions, then you get us reducing it three times for nothing it seems.

The absolute lowest we could go price wise would be 110k, so we only have 5k left to reduce now, as we still owe on the mortgage and the selling fees etc.

The house is on rightmove etc, is well advertised, I am starting to think there is something wrong with our house, but cannot see what might be putting people off viewing it. I would understand if people were viewing it and we were getting feedback, but we have nothing to go on. I have even placed adverts on websites such as gumtree saying we are more than willing to take offers, still nothing.

Is there anything else we can do? Renting it out is not an option..
oops sorry I didnt know I wasnt on the UK site, sorry I thought as I was signing in from here that it would just put me in the right section, I appologise..

Timeline for Moving House?

Hi everyone.
I’m a first time buyer,I’ve found the house I like,I’m going to view it today.If all goes well I’m meeting the mortgage bloke tomorrow to confirm everything and then going to put an offer in.I’ve got no chain behind me and there’s no forward chain on the house we’re looking at.Can anyone give some insight into how quickly the process can be from the ‘offer accepted’ to the ‘keys are in my hand and the house is mine’ stage?It’s not advertised as a ‘quick sale’ but it’s been on the market a few months now with no previous offers.
Any help would be gratefully received.
Thanks.
xxx

Simultaneous transaction! Know how to do it?

I recently got involved with a team of investors who are making big bucks with short sales here in California. this is what they are doing:

They find a seller who is no longer able to afford their mortgage and is usually in default and no longer wants their property because it is upside down. Then somehow they make themself a principle on the title.They advertise the property for lets say $300,000. meanwhile they are negotiating a short sale with the lender for $250,000. (which is already about 65-75% under value)Once the short sale is approved for 250K they square the loan away for 300K with the buyer and escrow cuts them their check for 50k or so minus costs, the seller does not lose their home to foreclosure, the buyer gets a home under market value and everybody seems happy. It sounds illegal but Ive be assured as long as all parties are aware and all the paper work is signed it’s legal. Does anybody know about this??
Thanks for the answer smartie. But in case you didn’t know the bank will never approve a short sale if someone is going to profit other than themself. And if you are giving the seller money to do a short sale your an idiot.

Where to adverise my services in Real Estate and Mortgage?

Want to advertise and marketing my services as a Realtor and a Mortgage Broker in Florida. Anyone knows what is the best way and for free? I just started in the business.

Thank you

calculating ratio analysis?

Estimated defined benefit income @ retirement?
estimated defined benifit income @ retirement?
Estimated interest & dividend income?
Cash flow from real estate @ retirement?
total guaranteed annual income?
Shortfall Retire Inc. = Desired – Guaranteed?
Ilifetime earnings (SS benefits)?
Total assets?
Net worth (total assets – total debt)?
Home’s market value?
Home Mortgages?
Home’s equity (market value – mortgages)?
net-worth – home equity?
Total Federal & State income taxes paid last year?
Credit card interest paid?
Annual disability income coverage?
Life insurance death benefit: Him?
Life insurance death benefit: Her?
Ratio Analysis Worksheets
Information Needed
Total Guaranteed Annual Income
Your Name:
Dollar Amounts
Amount saved last 12 mo. (see Savings Stmt.)
Real Income (from Real Income statement)
Life time earnings (SS benefits statement)
Total debt (includes all mortgages)

data is below:

Jack is a 43-year old corporate employee who earned $80,000 last year. His W-2 form shows that he paid $7,000 in Federal taxes, $2,500 in State taxes, and $1,160 in Medicare taxes. His W-2 form also shows that he made contributions to an employer sponsored retirement account in the amount of $12,000.

Jill is a 41-year old self-employed psychologist who earned $73,000 last year. During last year she incurred the following business expenses: $3,000 for advertising, $7,000 for the rent of her office, $5,000 for utilities, and $2,000 for travel expenses. In addition, she used one of her vehicles for business only and during the past year she drove the vehicle for 9,000 miles.

Jack and Jill have 3 children: an 18 year old son, a 10 year old daughter, and another 5 year old son. Last year they paid $7,000 in child care expenses for their 5 year old son and $10,000 in college tuition for their 18 year old son.

Jack and Jill own a house that has a market value of $650,000 for which they took a $400,000, 30-year mortgage at 6% interest. They have 25 years left on their mortgage. Last year they paid $5,250 in property taxes. They also own a duplex that has a market value of $450,000 for which they took a $350,000 30-year mortgage at 5.5%. They have 28 years left on their duplex mortgage. They have rented out the duplex and last year they earned $26,000 in rental income. During the past year they incurred the following expenses for their rental property: $300 for advertising, $750 for insurance, $5,000 for repairs, $4,500 for property taxes, and $6,000 for utilities. They also incurred a major expense when they had to replace the roof of their rental property, an expenditure that cost them $10,000.

In addition, last year Jack and Jill sold some stocks for which they earned a capital gain of $5,000. Their current portfolio includes 100 shares in each of the following stocks: IBM, Apple, and Ford. The couple’s liquid assets consist of $20,000 currently held in money market