REAL ESTATE NEWS FEB 2000

Your REALTOR:
Bonnie Fagoh
February 2000
Buyin' or Sellin'....Call Bonnie Helen! (Fagoh)(813) 390-7606
Copyright © 2000 Realty TimesAll Rights Reserved.
Protect Your Interests When Buying a Home E ven though real estate has changed substantially in recent years with the use of new technologies, the fact remains that buying a home still requires a series of traditional protections and defenses. Why? Because buying a home is inherently complex and professional assistance is both appropriate and reasonable. In practical terms, this means that if you're a buyer there are steps you should take to protect your interests. As a place to start, here are several basic issues to consider: Get a home inspection. We had been making great progress on this issue until HUD stepped in last year and told consumers that FHA appraisers would be
Mortgage RatesNational averages as of January 31, 2000:
30 yr. fixed: 8.07%15 yr. fixed: 7.67%1 yr. adj: 6.59%
Get today's rates
required to provide a "new three-page form describing the physical condition of a home in unprecedented detail." The result of HUD's action has been steep price increases for FHA appraisals
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Wondering What Your Home Is Worth?Let me show you.
Taking The Stress OutOf Packing L et's face it, there is no "moving fairy." No matter how long you procrastinate, no twinkling spirit is going to show up, wave a magic wand and instantly transport all your household goods from your current home to your new one. If you're going to move, you have to pack. With that in mind, here are six tips to help you get through this chore with a minimum of aggravation: 1. Start early. Packing always takes longer than you expected. The sooner you start, the more momentum you'll generate and the more likely you'll be able to finish on time, maybe even with a few spare moments to say good-bye to your neighbors. Another advantage of starting early is that you'll have more time to round up other people's reusable moving boxes. If you have a large home, keep yourself and your helpers on track by making a packing schedule that shows a start date and a deadline for packing each room. 2. Ask your mover for advice. Moving companies naturally have a lot of experience with packing. Ask your representative for how-to-pack tip sheets, moving timelines, information about the latest packing materials, the availablilty of odd-size boxes and so on. 3. Clear out the clutter. There's no sense packing items you should give away or will probably throw out after you
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Put A REALTOR® On YourNew Home Team W hat do you want in a new home? To build a home to suit? Move into a model? Whether you build or move into a "spec" home, you want the process to be as quick and easy as possible, and that is why hiring a Realtor will help you work with builders. Many markets are brimming with new homes, but there's just one catch. If your area is a hot relocation destination, then you'll find fewer homes for sale than usual. You'll also be competing with multiple buyers for the homes that are available. In many new home communities, builder homes are often sold before the foundation is laid. Lots are snapped up quickly for model homes and build-to-suit homes. When you drive around to look at new home communities, you may be surprised to learn that the new home you just left to "think about" may have a contract on it before you can even turn the car around. How can you gain an advantage in such a fast-paced market? An expert Realtor who is a new home specialist or relocation specialist can make the difference. Realtors who specialize in new homes, either as relocation specialists or new home specialists, make it a point to know their communities and its builders inside out. They know which builders have the best reputations, the most inventory, and what the pricing and amenities usually are. Many Realtors work closely with the builder's on-site representatives who share information such as which homes are under contract,
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The Trouble With Mortgage Calculators Years ago, people used charts and simple multiplication to calculate the time value of money. Then, Hewlett-Packard introduced its ubiquitous hand-held financial calculators, and those "time value of $1" charts faded from memory. The latest incarnation is the Web-based mortgage calculator, provided online by real estate brokerages and agents, lenders and mortgage brokers and such companies as Bankrate Monitor and Nolo Press, among others. Calculators pose intriguing questions: How much can you afford to borrow to buy a home? How much will your monthly mortgage payment be? Should you refinance your mortgage? And so on. Do mortgage calculators work? Yes and no. Calculators plug user-entered data into complex equations that would be daunting for the average not-mathematically-inclined person to solve by hand. However, the results lack real-world reliability and can vary from one calculator to the next. Some calculators are so suspect, in fact, that they're accompanied by small-print disclaimers warning consumers not to rely on the results. If you want to use online mortgage calculators, keep these caveats in mind:
CONTINUED >>>Local Market Conditions
Daily News and Advice -->Read about the events shaping the Real Estate market today, find current interest rates, or browse the extensive library of advice and how-to articles written by some of the top experts in Real Estate. Updated each weekday.
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Bonnie Fagoh E-mail: bonniefagoh@century21beggins.comWeb: WWW.TAMPACOASTALHOMES.COM 813-390-7606
Century 21 Beggins Enterprises813-390-76066542 U. S. Hwy. 41 N.Apollo Beach, FL 33572
Equal Housing Opportunity


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