1106018 Class: Residential Status: Active TIPS FOR SAVING MONEY AT THE PUMP
Faye Dubois of Carolina First Bank sent me this interesting article she received from someone in CA, on how to save some money at the pump:
"I don't know what you guys are paying for gasoline.... but here in California we are paying up to $3.75 to $4.10 per gallon. My line of work is in petroleum for about 31 years now, so here are some tricks to get more of your money's worth for every gallon:
Here at the Kinder Morgan Pipeline where I work in San Jose, CA we deliver about 4 million gallons in a 24-hour period thru the pipeline.. One day is diesel the next day is jet fuel, and gasoline, regular and premium grades. We have 34-storage tanks here with a ...
1100231 Class: Residential Status: Active 1030554 Class: Residential Status: Active 1105881 Class: Residential Status: Active 1105167 Class: Residential Status: Active 1105859 Class: Residential Status: Active 1105837 Class: Residential Status: Active Why Pay Private Mortgage Insurance (PMI)?
Reese Ward from Benchmark Home Loans, one of the mortgage providers we work with sent me this article which I thought was interesting to share:
"Private Mortgage Insurance (PMI) is required by most lenders when a borrower puts less than 20% down on a purchase loan. Paid for by the borrower, PMI not only protects the lender from foreclosure, it also enables many buyers to qualify for loans and purchase real estate when they couldn't have otherwise. On January 1st, 2007, legislation went into effect making PMI tax deductible for new borrowers whose personal adjusted gross income is $100,000 or less. This has created additional opportunities for ma...
At our Keller Williams annual convention I had the pleasure of attending a panel on Short Sales that included Edward Goldfarb, a KW colleague in Florida who is a short sale expert. He shared with us a white paper on the absurd current situation regarding short sales, including these 13 absurdities:
JoAnn Terrell from Bank of America sent us this information today, which we thought was interesting to share with everyone, especially with our friends the appraisers:
New Subject Property Photo Requirements - On the all interior inspection assignments, including FHA and Conventional, the appraiser must include, at a minimum, the following photographs:
Belle Hall Plantation, is one of the most popular and sought after planned subdivisions in Mount Pleasant, SC. The combination of a wide range of price points (from entry-level housing in the mid $200Ks to multimillion dollar custom homes), great community amenities, convenient location close to shopping and I-526 and great schools make Belle Hall a very desirable location.
Home sales in 2010 were strong, with 54 properties exchanging hands (same number as in 2009!).
The lowest price was $226,000 and the highest price was $765,000. Average price per square foot was $164, down from $174 in 2009.
For more information about Belle Hall Plantation go to...
If you have the cash and plan to buy a home, there are different issues to consider to determine your best strategy.
First, you may consider peace of mind. Does having no debt make you sleep like a baby?
Next, consider financial effectiveness, tax and retirement planning. If you pay cash for a home and in the future need to refinance with cash out to use some of the equity, the interest you pay on the mortgage will NOT be tax deductible.
The tax code says that deductible mortgage interest must be from either:
RealtyTrack, a service that tracks foreclosures in the U.S. reported that lenders foreclosed on 1 million properties in 2010, a record number since it started tracking foreclosure activity in 2005.
That's a huge number! It means that banks are now proud owners of 1 million homes which will come back on the market this year. In Charleston and Mt Pleasant, we are already experiencing an increase in the number of lender-owned (REOs) that are being listed. There are currently more than 400 homes listed as REOs, and this number is probably much higher, as some REO agents do not label their listings correctly.
These properties will be aggressively priced, since banks will want to offload the...
Our market was generally healthier in 2010 than in 2009. Here are some facts for the Charleston MLS area that were recently published by the Charleston-Trident Association of Realtors:
No. of Closed Transactions: 8,649 (Up 5.2% from 2009)
Median Sales Price: $188,979 (Up 3.0% from 2009)
Average Sales Price: $266,106 (Up 4.7% from 2009)
Days On Market Until Sale: 107 (Down 4.8% from 2009)
Percent Achieved (Sales Price/Original List Price): 90.6% (Up 1/9% from 2009)
Months of Supply at Year-End: 10.9 (Down 18....
WELLS FARGO RELAXES CREDIT SCORE REQUIREMENTS
Wells Fargo announced last week that they will consider issuing mortgage loans to buyers with lower credit scores.
FHA loans are usually requiring a 620 middle score and will lend up to 96.5% (3.5% downpayment) Conventional loans usually require a minimum 10% downpayment.
As of last week, Wells Fargo was the only lender to have relaxed their requirements to:
This will allow some buyers that may have had some problem with their credit but are still "good risk" to borrow money for a home purchase. These loans will be manually underwritten, s...
"With certain exceptions, FHA regulations prohibit insuring a mortgage on a home owned by the seller for less than 90 days. Early last year, FHA temporarily waived this regulation through January 31, 2011. FHA this week posted a notice extending this waiver through the remainder of 2011. This action will permit buyers to continue to use FHA-insured financing to purchase HUD-owned properties, bank-owned properties, or properties resold throughprivate sales. It will allow homes to resell as quickly as possible,Why would we say such thing? After all, aren’t all Realtors supposed to list whatever they can, whenever they can?
You see, we believe that transactions must be Win-Win for all the parties involved. If we list your home and are not able to sell it, you will still have your home to sell, we all wasted a few months, our relationship with you suffers, and our reputation as professional, effective agents may take a hit. This is a lousy long-term business strategy!
Professional, effective and efficient Realtors must be very careful about which homes they choose to carry in their inventory. After all, their objective should be to SELL ...
Bank of America announced it is launching a new loan program for medical professionals
The Doctor Loan from Bank of America is for licensed, practicing physicians or residents, dentists or other eligible medical professionals. It features a range of fixed and adjustable rate loans and offers significant advantages including:
Bank of America joins SunTrust in targeting this segment (see below).
The Doctor Loan Program is a residential mortgage loan developed specifically for Licensed Residents/Interns/Fellows and Licensed doctor...
Woo hoo, I love getting testimonials like this one!
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" To Whom It May Concern:
About a year ago, I faced a personal hardship and a dilemma of what to do with my condo, since I could no longer afford it. Given my financial situation at the time, I thought I only had two options: Sell it or let it go to foreclosure. I was not aware of any other options for someone in my situation.
At that time, I contacted Alan Donald to get his advice. He explained very thoroughly all the additional options available to me, including the pros and cons of each scenario. This information was very useful to allow me to reach a final decision. After evalu...
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The data relating to real estate for sale on this web site comes in part from the Broker ReciprocitySM Program of the Charleston Trident Multiple Listing Service. Real estate listings held by brokerage firms other than Keller Williams Chas. Mt Pleasant are marked with the Broker ReciprocitySM logo or ...
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