http://www.myhousekey.org/ en-US http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss According to the recent MSN article "66 Cities Where Buying Makes Sense" Colorado Springs real estate is a good investment. This article covered the top 66 cities in the US that had a projected appreciation by 2012 if you purchased a low-priced home today. This article makes a point that buying a home is not a get rich scheme but a long-term investment. Based on this article, you could expect an appreciation of $1,200 - $4,482 on your Colorado Springs home, depending on the interest rate on your loan. Interestingly, four of the top 5 (and 6 of the top 10) cities where buying a home makes sense are located in Texas - with McAllen/Edinburg/Mission, Texas projecting an appreciation of up to $90,437 by 2012! On the flip side, Denver/Aurora CO made the top 34 cities where it is still better to rent with a projected LOSS of up to $11,868 by 2012. The number 1 City where you would be better off renting is San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA, with a projected net loss of up to $366,603 by 2012. Woah Posted By: Mariana Wagner - Colorado Springs Real Estate Agent - Wagner iTeam The Wagner iTeam is a power team of Keller Williams Clients Choice Realty, specializing in Colorado Springs Real Estate and Monument Real EstatePictures of Colorado Springs "It's not what's happening to you now or what has happened in your past that determines who you become. Rather, it's your decisions about what to focus on, what things mean to you, and what you're going to do about them that will determine your ultimate destiny." - Anthony Robbins http://www.myhousekey.org/colorado-springs-real-estate-is-a-good-investment The Colorado Springs real estate market is seeing soemwhat of a "shift" in how homes are selling. Some are selling faster, some slower, some for more money and some for less. One of the more popular questions that we hear nowadays is: What is the difference between a Rent to Own, Lease Option and Lease Purchase Agreements? This is a lot of confusing terminology. Here is a very simple way to explain the differences. Rent to Own: This is a loose agreement between a home owner/landlord and the tenant/buyer. Basically, the landlord agrees that a portion of the monthly payment goes toward the purchase of the property. Usually, this goes on for an indefinite amount of time and the tenant/buyer usually has no recourse to recoup any money if they (the tenant) decides not to live there long enough to pay off the house.Read more » http://www.myhousekey.org/the-difference-between-rent-to-own-lease-option-and-lease-purchase-agreements As a Colorado Springs homeowner, one of your jobs is to make sure your roof is in decent-great shape. If you are looking to SELL your home, this is vitally important, as most home buyers will request that the roof be replaced, if it is not in great shape. Here are 5 tips for maintaining the roof of your Colorado Springs home: 1. Know which type of roof you have. Most homes in Colorado Springs have an asphalt/composite shingle roof. However, you will find that some new higher-end homes and some patio homes will have tile roofs, and some homes that were built in the 1970's and 1980's may have a wood shingle roof. A wood shingle roof is not the best type of roof to have in the dry Colorado weather. Many homeowners are replacing their wood roofs with asphalt/composite shingle roofs- which hold up better, here. 2. Hail storms can damage roofs. Duh.Read more » http://www.myhousekey.org/taking-care-of-the-roof-on-your-colorado-springs-home I'm still floating mortgage rates, unless my clients are closing within 14 days. I"m cautiously floating because of the volatility in the market. Fundamentally, mortgage rates shouldn't have a whole lot more room to come down; the Fed cuts are probably coming to an end. Something much more drastic than the Fed open market activities will be needed to pull us out of the recession. Yep. I said the R word and have been since last fall. I'm not scared of the recession; I welcome it. Here's the trick for mortgage rates. The weak dollar has world investors believing that the Fed's easy money policy is inflationary UNTIL the recession hits them. Make no mistake about it, the economic slowdown is a global phenomenon. Canada and the UK are following suit by cutting rates. I think the world wide recession will lower oil prices and provide some much needed relief to the American consumer. Nothing says it like pictures. I'll show you some charts, to see how I'm thinking.Read more » http://www.myhousekey.org/mortgage-rates-report-april-14-2008 Canadian investors, seeking American mortgages, may be in for a shock when "shopping". The American mortgage banking and brokerage system is different than the Canadian banking system. In Canada, there are 5-7 major banks or lenders and a variety of mortgage brokers. Both lenders and mortgage brokers, in Canada, are heavily regulated. Loan programs, in Canada, are fewer than the loan programs offered in the States. The American mortgage industry relies heavily on the seciritization of mortgage loans. As such, there are big banks and small mortgage brokers who may very well offer identical loan programs. Should Canadian investors then deal only with large American banks? Ask Canadian investors, with properties in escrow, this past week. Two major American banks cancelled their loan programs, on April 1, 2008, for Canadian citizens buying properties in Arizona, California, Florida, and Nevada. I have fielded 5-7 calls each day, since Friday, from frustrated Canadians. Consider this question, posed by a Canadian borrower (about a Canadian mortgage): Mortgage broker or big bank, and does personality count? Do I let them compete against each other until zero hour? Hang it all and go with Broker Billy? Is there some advantage to having one's mortgage with a big bank? How important is it that I like who I'm dealing with? (If that's important, it looks to be particularly so here. Bob and Barbara irritate; Billy, I like, and he/his assistant are top-notch at quickly giving good answers to questions.) What sort of "what else is involved vis-a-vis your brand of mortgage" questions should I be asking? Personality, I'll admit, is important for investors dealing with a "foreign" mortgage originator. The reason is that the American mortgage market is in turmoil. Loan programs change constantly. An American mortgage broker, experienced at financing "foreign nationals", offers a much better alternative than relying on an American bank. American banks are extremely risk-averse today. The banks tend to honor commitments made to American mortgage brokers because of the repeat business we give them. American mortgage brokers deal with hundreds of lenders and can be nimble if one bank decides to break its loan commitments to Canadian investors. Rate is important, no doubt. Selecting the proper loan program is equally as important. While Canadian mortgage money is offered at the 5-5.5% range, it typically has a five-year term attached to it. Thirty year fixed rate options, at 7.0% (7.3% apr) are available for Canadian investors. Reputation is of paramount importance. Your American REALTOR can direct you to a knowledgeable mortgage broker. That mortgage broker should be able to give you names and telephone numbers of happy customers, from foreign countries, whom she financed. Ask me for references should you need an American mortgage. Canadian investors, who need American financing, can apply online, call me at 858-777-9751, or e-mail me. My contact information and resume is here. http://www.myhousekey.org/how-canadians-shop-for-american-mortgages Mortgage rates should decline, in the near term. I'm changing my recommendation from lock all loans to float all mortgage applications, if the loan is closing more than 14 days out. That means that if you're scheduled to close on your mortgage, before April 15, 2008, you should lock your mortgage rate. Fed Chairman Bernanke spoke to Congress this morning. I'm one of those weird people that actually watch the Fed Chairman's testimony. I look for a twitch, a nervous tic, or a tenuous posture, in addition to the text of his testimony. I'm as screwed up as the bond traders on Wall Street. That was my world; I can't change who I am now. Well, Bernanke thinks a "contraction" is underway. In Southern California, we call that a recession but we're awfully dramatic in Southern California. Anyway, recessions contractions lead to lower mortgage rates. Want to see how effective my lock/float recommendations are? It looks like I'm always a tad early: Let's see: 1- I came into the new year, floating rates. 2- On January 8, I advised to lock. I was early, you could have improved your rate by an eighth.3- I floated on January 17- bonds improved a full point, then dropped a half a point4- Pulled the trigger to lock, on January 24- bonds deteriorated- rates went up. 5- Stayed locked (but pointed out the ten-year ARM value) throughout February6- Went to float, on March 6- bonds improved 3 points, and mortgage rates fell .5%, during that time7- Have had all loans locked, since March 21- I'm not bragging, I'm doing my job. The value of a mortgage planner, who watches the CORRECT influencing factors, can save you an eight to a quarter point, on the rate of your mortgage. This means that my advice can save you THOUSANDS of dollars, over the life of the loan. If you're watching the "points", a stronger bond market can save you a lot of money, on closing costs. Clients who made an application, on March 8, received a 2% rebate, from the lender, because of my prowess, by waiting until March 21 to lock. Even worse, those loan applicants that didn't engage me, in February, may have paid as much as 2% MORE, in closing costs, than my clients. Advice and execution is the value of a skilled mortgage planner. Ask originators to prove the value of their fee before you hire them. I'll gladly do just that. http://www.myhousekey.org/mortgage-rates-report-april-2-2008 Canadian investors have been flocking to the California coastline and Arizona desert to buy prime American real estate at a bargain. The strong Canadian dollar, while inopportune for Canadian manufacturing firms, is giving Canadian investors built in downside protection when they buy American real estate. I explain that here: In January of 2007, a Canadian investor, buying a $300,000 (US) property in Long Beach, CA, , would have to pay $352,600 (Canadian). That was based on an exchange rate of $1.17553 Canadian to $1.00000 (US). Today, the exchange rate has dropped to $.98188 Canadian for one US dollar. That means that the same property in Long Beach, would costs $294,300. The vacuum, however, lies in the mortgage financing for Canadian investors. Mortgage companies require as much as 35% down payment for Canadian citizens buying a vacation home in America. In some areas (California, Arizona, Nevada, and Florida), that financing is about to be suspended. The leading bank suspended its loan programs, for Canadian investors, in those four states, as of April 1, 2008. Canadian investors are also learning that all American mortgage brokers are not created equal. Rates for foreign nationals (which is what the American banks call Canadian citizens) are traditionally 1% higher than American residents receive. That means that today, the mortgage rate for Canadians is between 7-7.5%; quotes from mortgage brokers, promising materially lower rates, generally don't pan out. The result? Frustrated Canadian investors are left at the altar like the husband in "The Runaway Bride". The American mortgage crisis is causing banks and lenders to scrutinize every single loan application with a watchful eye; Canadian investors are losing out. We advise foreign nationals to find an American mortgage broker, with a proven track record, rather than to jump at the "lowest" rate quote. Brian Brady finances investors from all over the globe. References here. Loan applications, for foreign investors, can be made online. http://www.myhousekey.org/canadians-finding-american-mortgage-money-is-scare-and-getting-scarcer