Why you need the help of a real estate broker?

Taking the help of a real estate broker is a wise decision while selling or buying a home. If you want to sell your home you need to list your home under a real estate listing agent and also have to hire a real estate broker who will help you showing your home to the buyers. If you want to buy a home then also you have to hire a broker in order to get the list of the properties according to your requirement.

Real estate broker is a well known word in the present real estate market. Without a broker you can’t get the best option if you are buying or selling a home. A broker generally helps a seller to get potential buyers for his home according to the terms and conditions of the seller. Some times, he also represents the terms and conditions on behalf of a buyer in selecting a home. In this transaction, the only profit of a broker is he gets a commission of five percent to seven percent of the final selling price.

The most important thing is that before hiring a broker, you have to know details about the broker. A certified real estate broker has to complete a course on real estate law and he must be license holder to act a broker.

Some important services provided by a real estate broker is document preparation, guidance and consultation, property appraisal, property listing and advertising, handling sale negotiation and drafting closing records.

A real estate broker is just like intermediaries between sellers and buyers. If you are in search of the real estate brokers to buy or sell your house, you can get detailed information from any recognized organizations like National Association of Real Estate Brokers (NAREB)

Real Estate & Tele Marketing

Telephone marketing or Tele Marketing is a very common and easy way of marketing a product know a days. Every day new and cost effective method of marketing is being invented and implemented. When it comes real estate it is actually a tried and true staple of marketing. But the "good old days" are gone. Learn the DNC (Do-Not-Call) Registry Rules and abide by them, or you may pay dearly.

DNC Procedures and Training should be developed and enforced properly.

This is becoming a need of the time to now about the various laws coming and being enforced know a day for marketing a product especially the DND rules i.e. the Do Not Disturb. It is therefore very much necessary that broker should get proper training on this and get a proper understanding of this and training the agents accordingly. It's highly likely that the government will hold brokers responsible for the telephone marketing practices of their agents. Develop a Policy Manual with clear guidelines and training, or at least an orientation that makes the rules clear to your agents. Record their attendance with a signature of understanding.

Relying on the Safe Harbor Provisions can be dangerous.

The procedures and training are specifically mentioned in the Safe Harbor Provisions of the DNC act. However, recent enforcement actions have shown that the government is very strictly interpreting what is allowed to be an "inadvertent error".

The only safe approach is to have a strict policy, train your agents on it, and enforce it.

How to stop foreclosure and save home

Foreclosure should be a last resort in the way of save your self out of this recession period. Home foreclosure is one of the common hits in the recent period of financial recession. This situation basically arises when a borrower misses too many mortgage loan installments. Once he receives a warning notice to foreclose his house means the process has already started. Foreclosure is a legal process where the property will be sold and the money collected from the sale process will be used to meet the outstanding debt. This is actually done after all options are failed.

In a legal manner, a borrower must approach the lender stating his financial condition and he has to be honest enough that the lender can consider his request. This could be the one of the ways to protect the home from the foreclosure. Considering all the factors relating to foreclosure, the lender has to take certain decisions because the foreclosure normally has a complex process to deal and takes certain more time. It is a deal of more expensive with time is the crucial factor. One of the important things from the borrower point of view is, his credit will go down if he forecloses his property. It effects on borrower credit rating for more than seven years.

So considering all the above factors, if a borrower is good honest person and submits himself/herself to the lender with actual financial position, the lender may help the borrower in saving your house.

Investing in foreclosure properties

If you talk about investment, one of the best investments is investing in foreclosure real estate. As per the current market it's the best time to make small investment by purchasing foreclosure home for personal purpose as well as business purpose. One can purchase now to resell later for a good return.



Many upscale properties are going into foreclosure in this difficult economy, proving the notion that you can get a home only in crime-drives areas false. Beach side home and posh areas homes and now included in foreclosure.

Another point is that not all foreclosure properties are previously owned. Many foreclosure homes are new. Usually such home appears in national list. Many mid-scale and upscale homes are left for purchase. This is due to slow economy. Builders stop payment of construction loan without finding buyers for their homes which results this homes going into foreclosure.

It's time to buy a home for those you are willing to purchase a home for residential purpose and as well for those who want to invest in real estate, for rental and resale purpose.

What is Mortgage Loan Insurance?

You may have heard about paying mortgage insurance when one buys a new home or property. Yes, it's required to get mortgage loan insurance when you purchase a property or home and if you pay less than 20% as your down payment. You may be asked to get your mortgage insured even you pay more than 20% down payment. It's up to the lender and other risk factors that a lender may consider while financing your mortgage.


Why you need mortgage loan insurance?

Its the mortgage lender who ask you to get your mortgage insured as it protect them, in case a borrower cannot pay their mortgage, for some reason.

Is it mandatory to obtain mortgage loan insurance?

No, you may get some mortgage lender who finances your mortgage without getting a mortgage loan insurance. But in such cases the interest rates offered are too high and also there are other administration charges included.

Here is a chart showing the calculation of mortgage loan insurance premium:


I'll show an example for mortgage loan calculation to help you understand.

-> Price of the home (a) : $ 2, 00,000
-> Your 5% down payment (b) : $ 10,000
-> Rest down payment (a)-(b) = (c) : $ 1, 90,000
-> Insurance premium {2.75% of (c)} = (d) : $ 5,225
-> Total amount financed by lender (c) + (d): $ 1, 95,225

The lender who is financing your mortgage will include the mortgage loan insurance premium amount in your total mortgage amount and that you have to repay as per the mortgage loan terms.

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Relief for homeowners and mortgage borrowers

The Obama's new mortgage plan is in progress and hope to be in effect soon. Six participants have signed up for President Obama's loan modification plan, which includes 3 of the nation's largest banks, reported by The Treasury Department.

1. JPMorgan Chase (JPM, Fortune 500), which will get up to $3.6 billion
2. Wells Fargo (WFC, Fortune 500), $2.9 billion
3. Citigroup (C, Fortune 500), $2 billion.
4. GMAC Mortgage, $633 million
5. Saxon Mortgage Services, $407 million
6. Select Portfolio Servicing, $376 million.

More loan servicers will join over time, said by a treasure spokesman.

The major loan servicers have already started modifying loans earlier this month under government initiative. This includes JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo. And Citigroup will start soon.

Homeowners and borrowers were desperately waiting for the program to launch since it was announced in the month of February this year. Under this modification plan, the servicers will reduce interest rates in such a way that the monthly installment should not go beyond 38% of pre-tax income of a borrower. It can be reduced to 31% by government. Loan amount can also be reduced to affordability levels by servicers. Government will share in the cost that the servicers will reduce.

"We view this modification program as yet another incremental opportunity for thousands of homeowners to preserve and maintain the dream of homeownership," Wells Fargo said in a statement.

It's great news for mortgage borrowers. It will help up to 9 millions borrowers’ to stay in their homes and own it completely. I really appreciate the plan and step taken by President Obama to help homeowners. I'm waiting for this modification plan to start in full flow.

Getting your house ready to sell- follow few tips to attract buyers

Preparing to sell your home? Know the basic tips, how you can make your home attractive and comfortable for buyers. The very first thing you need to do is disconnect emotions for your home. I know it's not easy to do, but you need to think your home as a property, real estate. Furnish your home in such a way as it's for everyone. It's anonymous. Remove all family photos and other collection that show your personality and ownership. This is because the buyer should get a view like a potential owner. They should not feel like invading your personal property.

Remove clutters from your home, especially from the kitchen. Empty the cabinet and drawers of your kitchen. You must have seen buyers usually open the cabinets and drawer and check if there is enough space. Try to have as much empty space as possible. Clutters in home gives a negative message to buyers. Get rid of junk if your drawer is full of that. Put the clothes and shoes in a box that you wear seldom. I mean to say the extra clothes and shoes that you wear rarely and can make without it some few days. Don't have too much furniture in hall or living room. Keep only those which is required for personal need. Also place the furniture in a proper manner so that it gives and illusion of space.

Do not spend money in remodeling. Rather you can pay for some repair work and improvement. Make sure everything in the house is working properly like water pressure, the hot and cold water nobs, flush, door bell, handles, switches, fan & lights...etc. Hire cleaning crew to clean your home at a regular interval. Paint the house so that it gets a new look. If your carpet appear old and worn, hire a carpet cleaner to clean it. Replace broken floor tiles, if any. Make sure the doors and windows open easily. Also check if any windowpanes is broken. If yes, then replace it.

Now check the exterior of your house. Have a look from outside, how your home is appearing to you. If it's look faded or tired, you may consider to paint it. The lawn should be well watered, freshly edged and it's free of dirty spots.

This should be enough for giving a new look to your home. If you think of a new idea or tip that can be attractive to buyers, just implement it. All we want is to get a good price for your home.

Want to invest in Real estate?....know the options

Real estate investment is getting more popular over last few year. Here you get many options to choose for making big gains. The first thing that you will require is enough money to invest in. You must be financial sound so that you can invest in different properties. The second thing to note is the location of the property you are investing in. Its better to research before purchasing a land or home. Get information on current value of the property and also the increasing value in last 2-3 years. This will help you to get an idea about profit you can make from a particular property.

In this article I'll discuss different ways of investing in real estate.

Rent a property: Here your property is rented to a tenant. You charge a monthly rent from tenant that can be more than the cost of maintaining the property. The extra money you get after deducting all other expenses related to your property is your profit. The other expenses includes, paying the mortgage, taxes and the maintainance cost. In case of mortgage, the strategy should be patience and charge a rent only to cover the expenses until the mortgage is completely paid. Once the mortgage is paid, you became owner of the property with all rights. Though it's profitable for you to rent a property, there are many responsibilities that come along with being a landlord. Your time and work is devoted in maintaining your property or investment.

Real Estate Investment Group: If you want to rent your property but don't want to take responsibilities of a landlord, real estate investment group is the best solution here. This groups buy a set of apartment blocks or condos and then sell it to the investors. One is allowed to buy multiple units, but the company or investment group collectively manages all the units- maintainance, advertising and tenant. For this service of management they take a percentage of
the monthly rent. It is advisable to research by investing in such real estate investment groups.

Real Estate Trading: Real state trader buy and hold a property to sell it later to get a high value. A property can be hold for a short period of time or can be longer. This way of making profit is also known as flipping properties and its based on buying property either at a low cost or are in a very hot market. Generally, the property is sold as it was bought. Flippers don't actually spend money on the property to improve it. Well second type of flippers are also there. They sell the property after alteration so that it can be sold at a high cost. In this case it might take some time to make improvement.

This are few examples of real estate investment. Beside these there are several types of investment in Real estate like Real Estate Investment Trust(REIT) and leverage. It's not always that you will make profit in such investments. So the best thing to do before buying any propety is to research for the cost and benefits and make careful choices.