For younger buyers and the Baby Boomers, “Thinking green has alot of steam.” Boomers either invented or popularized tree hugging, Earth Day, back to the land, etc. The 20 somethings have really picked up on these concepts and interpreted them to this whole renewed “Green” movement which substainable design is an intergral part. Sustainable design is going mainstream, becoming available at mass-market retailers like Target, Ikea and Crate & Barrel.The shift to green is “not green for green’s sake,” says Crate & Barrel company spokesperson Vicki Lang. “We are responding to consumer interest, and it’s the right thing to do.”
One problem the industry faces is the lack of standards defining what’s green and what isn’t. To help clarify green guidelines, Target is creating what it calls a “cross-functional team” to evaluate sustainable products and procedures.
Small designers who originated the movement are skeptical that major retailers can truly offer products that are sustainable at such low price points. What these retailers are offering “appears to be 90 percent marketing and 10 percent a real exploration of concrete advances in materials and production techniques,” says Jesse Johnson, CEO of Q Collection, whose all-green line includes a $7,000 bookcase.
Source: BusinessWeek Online, Ernest Beck (11/06/2007)
Posted on November 8th, 2007 by Brent DeRobertis
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If you are a buyer putting less than 20% down, most lenders require you to purchase mortgage insurance. This used to be less desireable than taking out a second loan to get to the 20% because the insurance premium wasn’t deductible while the interest on the second loan was. Now that the insurance is deductible for 2007 and looking to be renewed for future years, the bottom line monthly payment difference is negligible. There are numerous other advantages that the insurance directly and indirectly provides. Contact your insurance professional for specifics or me for a summary.
Posted on October 17th, 2007 by Brent DeRobertis
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According to responses to surveys, 87% of the final decision on which home to buy are made by women. All most men are looking for is to have their own space somewhere in the home. Ironically, in only 35% of the cases do they decorate it themselves. If men had their way they would choose to decorate thusly:
Personal memorabilia (including college memories)
- Sports/Golf
- Vintage items (cars, tools, photos)
- Animal or nature motif.
No wonder Mom is the decorator. Happy Father’s Day, you big lug!
Posted on June 15th, 2007 by Brent DeRobertis
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First time buyers, especially those with little saved but steady incomes, should be aware of this legislation and contact your elected officials if you are in favor of the bill. I put the link here as the article is a little lenghty for a post. http://www.realtor.org/RMODaily.nsf/pages/News2007050401?OpenDocument
Posted on May 4th, 2007 by Brent DeRobertis
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We all like to go on line to get information. When we go to different on-line financial calculators for rates or quotes we realize they are only guestimates and only as accurate as the parameters that define the calculations. They simply analyze the data that they have been programmed to include and crank out a number from the mathmatical formulas set up. No tweaking, no what ifs, no special circumstances, and only as relevant as the day the model was set up. This is especially the case with home valuation calculators. Every home is unique. If location, style and price are the three determining factors for home buyers, how can a mathematical equation determine the appeal of such factors as view, floorplan, landscaping, proximity to powerlines, gaudy wallpaper, cleanliness, etc., without visual inspections. Most valuation systems rely only on sold price. They don’t even factor in net price (selling price minus seller contributions such as closing costs, free trips, big screen tv’s, extra realtor bonuses ) which is not available from the public records. Trust an experienced Realtor or Real Estate Appraiser to get you the true market value of the house you are planning to buy or sell.
Posted on April 26th, 2007 by Brent DeRobertis
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More Homebuyers Turn to Parents for Help
With many first-time and even move-up buyers strapped for down-payment cash, an increasing number of parents are helping their grown children buy a home — and taking an equity share in return.
Typically, parents put in cash to help the buyers amass a down payment of at least 20 percent. That allows buyers to qualify for a conventional 30-year fixed-rate mortgage. The equity sharers get back their initial stake plus 10 percent to 50 percent of the profits.
Generally, a written contract spells out that the home owners are responsible for mortgage payments and get the tax deduction that comes with it. The contract also specifies who pays the property taxes — often that’s a 50-50 split. In some cases, the parent’s name is on the loan. In others, it isn’t.
Economist Andrew Caplin of New York University and a number of other experts are designing standardized shared-equity mortgages that would allow outside investors to buy a piece of the equity gain. Caplin estimates that about 25 percent of first-time homebuyers could find such arrangements attractive. One thing is certain: Investors in it for the money will extract stiffer terms than mom or dad.
Source: Business Week, Christopher Farrell (04/23/07)
Posted on April 20th, 2007 by Brent DeRobertis
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No matter which side of the transaction you are on, seller or buyer, here are some charts tracking Northern Virginia trends in seller subsidies. Subsidies are amounts that a seller credits to the buyer for such items as closing cost help, lease buyout help, or funds to cover repairs. This has been compiled at George Mason University from statistics from MRIS.
For the full article and analysis with charts,go to this link on the NVAR website. http://www.nvar.com/newsdetail.lasso?articleno=nvarn100813. Even if you don’t feel like digesting a whole article, the 3 charts really tell the story.
Posted on April 20th, 2007 by Brent DeRobertis
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The following article has just a few tips on working with builders. There are many more. See your Realtor for a consultation.
New Rules for Buying a Home Before It’s Built
As the housing market has cooled, the developer’s mindset has changed. Rather than construct new developments quickly and wait for the buyers to flood in, more developers are relying on preconstruction sales to determine whether or not to break ground.
Here’s some advice for any buyer contemplating a preconstruction purchase:
- Negotiate an exit strategy in your sales contract, especially as lead times for construction grow longer in some markets. For example, state that if the builder doesn’t break ground by a certain day, you can get out of the contract.
- If you’re deposit money is going to sit there for an extended period, as the developer to pay interest.
- Get in writing what changes that can be made to the project once the sales contract is signed. Finishes and appliances might not be set in stone at the time you sign the deal.
- Try to find out the current state of the local market and gauge whether the developer is offering incentives to lure new buyers – which, though attractive to buyers in the short term, can put a downward pressure on prices.
Posted on April 10th, 2007 by Brent DeRobertis
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Are you saving 10% of your gross income? That is a good figure to shoot for. How much you invest or keep it liquid is between you and your financial advisor. The following article about second mortgage default is related to buyers’ increasingly using 100% financing needing the second mortgage to secure their down payment, many times with a high interest rate.
Second Mortgages Spell Trouble for Borrowers
Having a second mortgage puts home owners at a greater risk of foreclosure, but that doesn’t stop banks from giving them to borrowers.
A 2006 study by Standard & Poor’s, which analyzed 640,000 mortgages with second liens, found that these borrowers are 43 percent more likely to go into default than those who have similar loans but no second mortgage.
With this in mind, Business Week magazine recently asked First American LoanPerformance, mortgage data and risk firm, to analyze a sampling of loans banks had granted in the fourth quarter of last year.
LoanPerformance found that within months of getting an original mortgage, more than 50,000 of 169,000 borrowers had applied for more money or tapped a home equity line of credit, pushing their loan-to-value ratio to 95 percent or greater.
Big financial institutions are in the dark about borrowers who have come back to them for another loan, says Max Doubek, director of analytics at First American, because home equity lines of credit and first mortgages are often granted by separate departments that don’t communicate with each other. “They might as well be different companies.â€
Source: Business Week, Mara Der Hovanesian (04/02/2007)
Posted on April 9th, 2007 by Brent DeRobertis
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Consumers’ demand for convenience has been the greatest force shaping the appliance industry, says Kurt-Ludwig Gutberlet, CEO of BSH Bosch, the German appliance manufacturer.
People don’t want to clean, Gutherlet says, so products like ceramic cooktops are increasingly popular, and he predicts induction cooking where heat is generated in the pan not in the stove will be the next big things.
“You have a cooktop that you can put your hand on after two or three minutes. It’s very convenient for cleaning,†he says.
Another trend is consumer willingness to pay for energy efficiency. “Just look at the front-loading [washing machine]. It’s amazing. Nobody thought this very traditional top-loader market would switch so fast.â€
Source: The Charlotte Observer, Nichole Monroe Bell (03/27/2007)
Posted on March 29th, 2007 by Brent DeRobertis
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