Gas Prices Around the World

Interesting to see the wide range of Gasoline Prices around the World: 
Chicago: $4.44
Venezuela: $0.10  (yes 10 cents)
Saudi Arabia: $0.45
South Caroline: $3.19
NYC: $3.79
Los Angeles: $3.99
San Francisco: $4.06
Hawaii:  $4.36
China: $4.74
Canada: $4.76
Kuwait: $0.81
Egypt: $1.14
Iran: $2.15
Pakistan: $3.98
India: $5.00
Luxemborg: 6.81
United Kingdom: $8.06
Norway: 9.63
Turkey: $9.89

Here is the article: http://editorial.autos.msn.com/gas-prices-around-the-world-2?icid=autos_4402

Happy Red, White & Blue Thoughts

“A man travels the world over in search of what he
needs and returns home to find it.”
- George Augustus Moore

I don’t know about you, but we are quite sure that we  have the best
job in the world! It’s not an easy job by any means. It takes
dedication, creativity, resourcefulness and a good sense of
humor to do what we do each and every day. But when you
take a step back, you realize that there are not many people
who can say it is their job to help make dreams come true!
So, as we drive through our neighborhood this weekend or
head off to the home of a family member or friend, we will be sure to
pay special attention to the smells from the BBQ grills and the
sound of laughter from children running through a sprinkler
or playing baseball in the street. Listen to neighbors chatting,
dogs barking, lawn mowers humming and marching bands
leading the parade and then we'll take a moment to smile and feel proud
knowing that we have helped a countless number of people
find the place they call HOME!

Wishing each of you a very Happy Red, White and Blue
holiday weekend!

 

Jim & Cathy Higgins

Q & A about Home Inspections

Question: My wife and I are planning on purchasing a home.  We were told a seller has to fill out a property disclosure form on the home. My friend told us that he received a property disclosure statement saying that the roof was new, the A/C was five years old and the furnace was a year old. He was in the home three months and he had to have an HVAC company in to check out a problem with the furnace. They checked the serial number and found out the unit is over 12 years old which puts it near the end of its predictable life.

The disclosure clearly stated that the furnace was only one-year old.  What can I do to protect ourselves from this same potential problem?

Answer:  You should never rely on a seller disclosure.  Why? The most-honest seller on the planet may not have sufficient information or understanding to complete such a form. For instance, if a form asks "does the roof leak" it may be that to the owner the roof does not leak because he has no information to the contrary. Of course, it may also be true that the owner has never been in the attic. The owner in this situation can honestly answer "no" because to him that's the way it is.

Or “does the furnace work properly”? The owner says yes because he doesn’t hear any strange noises and the home heats up well. But What if there is a crack in the heat exchanger? The owner may not know about the crack, but can honestly state that the furnace does what it is supposed to do….heat the home.

As a buyer, you want information about the condition of the property and the only way to get that information on a reliable basis is to have a professional home inspection. When you make an offer to purchase property be sure that it's "subject to" a home inspection which is "satisfactory" to you.

Q.    Are there any positives in this current real estate buyer’s market?

1. There sure are! Think about the whole picture. It always makes good sense to trade up in a buyer’s market. When prices are lower, it’s a one-time shot to get your hands on a bigger chunk of equity. For example, if you sell a $200,000 home at a reduced price of $184,000, you’ve in effect lost $16,000. But, if you immediately turn around & buy a $300,000 home in a different area you will probably come out ahead!  Remember, prices are down in many markets, and interest rates are at historical lows.                                                                       For example: Your Realtor recommends you lower your asking price $5,000 to greatly increase your chance of a sale.  You disagree because you are waiting for a market price increase. So you wait.
Here’s what could very well happen…. The economy is improving; this tends to lead to higher mortgage interest rates.                                                                                                               Say your dream home would require a $200,000 loan, with a current 3.75% interest rate for 30 years. Over the life of the loan you would pay $123,312 in interest.                                        What happens if you delay lowering the sale price and your home takes longer to sell and in the meantime, interest rates rise to 5% ?  You would then pay $186,512 in interest for the life of the loan. That’s an extra $63,200 in interest, which is the difference between a 3.75% & 5%  interest rate over 30 years.

                        Now maybe that $5,000 price reduction doesn’t sound so bad after all!

Good News on Homeownership!

It seems that Americans are continuing to dream of homeownership, at least according to JPMorgan Chase’s recent survey.

A total of 87% of those surveyed said owning a home is something they dream about.
"Owning a home is at the heart of most Americans' dreams," said Kevin Watters, CEO of mortgage banking at JPMorgan Chase. "And people are saving as much as possible to achieve homeownership."

Of those surveyed, 66% believe housing is a good financial investment and 75% see it as a crucial part of raising a family.
"Owning a home will not only give my husband and me pride and roots, but it will also bring pride in my children and respect from my friends and family," said one respondent.

Compared to six months ago, nearly two times as many potential first-time homebuyers are optimistic about being able to put money down on a home over the next six months.

Question & an Answer

Q. My Home is not selling with my current Realtor. You have sold several homes in my area.       Any recommendations?

A. Statistics show that in most current Markets, only the top 8% of the homes are selling, based on Condition, Updating & Price. So the question is, What do I need to do to get my home in the top 8% ?
First off, Since over 90% of the buyers search for their home on the Internet, you must have a powerful home web page that makes your home stand out amongst your competition. Here is an example of a powerful home web page that we use: Click the Norton safe home link:
http://www.coldwellbankeronline.com/ID/2879379

Once you are confident that your home is being marketed to the locations where there are the most prospective buyers, you need to focus on the Top 8% factors.

Condition: Have you kept up with your Home's maintenance? Does it look worn? Need of repair?
Updating: Has your home been updated, remodeled? Does it have the Wow factor?
If you've answered no, or not really to any of these 2 questions, then you have 3 options:
Bring your home up to top condition. (Sorry, but you shouldn't have waited until now)
Update your Home.... new kitchen & baths, etc.
If you do not want to do these factors, then you need to be realistic about your Home price and Lower it!
Unless your home is significantly lower than the competition, whose home is updated and in top condition, it is NOT in the top 8% and it will not sell. You would have to make it well worth the while of a prospective buyer to buy your home over one they can get with the Wow factor!
We see this all the time. If this were a sellers market, then probably the top 50% of the Homes would be selling. But, this is not a sellers market. It is a buyers market.

Remember, when selling, you are in a Price war & a Beauty Contest!
We would be happy to walk through your home and give our opinion on what you need to do to sell your Home and get it into that important top 8%.

Real Estate Q & A

Question: We signed a contract to sell our home contingent on the buyer getting a loan approved and closing by a given date. The buyer did not get the loan and the deal was off.  We started showing the house again but have now found out that the buyers got financing through a different bank and they can close by original deadline. Are we still obligated to close or can we change the contract to better represent our position?

Answer: Whoa. Go back to the part about the "deal was off." Did the buyers agree the transaction was finished? Did they get their deposit back? Or did they simply find a financial bump in the road?   Their offer was fair and acceptable -- otherwise you would not have had a contract. The offer from the   buyers may be the best you'll ever get. Instead of seeking advantage from their difficulty, congratulate them for trying to meet the terms of the agreement and enjoy your check at closing.