Let’s imagine a nice little community of 400 homes. It’s a perfectly average American community, and it could be anywhere: in town, in the ‘burbs, in the countryside. Thanks to the often-cited statistic that 68% of Americans own their homes, we can deduce that perhaps as many as 32% are rental homes, or 128. However, [...]

You have probably heard that current inventory of homes available is at a high level, and prices have dropped.  That being the case, some savvy property hunters are out there looking for great deals.  Even though the extraordinary percentage of foreclosures and short sales poses special challenges for prospective buyers, some things don’t change.  One [...]

It turns out I am not the only person who is taking a hard look at the various fees that mortgage companies are trying to squeeze out of people. “Slowly but surely, a handful of public-minded bankruptcy court judges are drawing back the curtain on the mortgage servicing business, exposing, among other questionable practices, the [...]

Vegas is a lot more than glitz and “sin.” People do more than drink and gamble and go to shows where people are half-naked  Real families live here, real kids are raised here, and they don’t mind having your kids as company! If you are at a loss for what your kids would do in [...]

Maybe you saw today’s news that pending home sales are at an all-time low… well, a low since the National Association of Realtors started compiling those figures in 2001. It’s down 1.9% from last month and 21.4% since last year! Of course, not all regions had the same performance. To listen to the market gurus [...]

Let’s start off with Mortgage Concepts Every Buyer Should Know. This important little article is must-read stuff for those trying to become first-time homeowners. Maybe you knew that once you have a mortgage with a bank, the bank can sell that mortgage? Fannie Mae is a company (and former government subsidiary, it’s complicated) that buys [...]

As a real estate professional, I just don’t understand why some people hate apartments. Frankly, any argument you can make against apartment life can just as easily be leveled at condominium life. Complaints about “noisy neighbors on the other side of the wall” and “lousy parking” come to mind. Furthermore,  the management team of a [...]