7 Killer Ways to Get Rid of Weeds
Posted by:
Carmen Morrow, NC Broker/Realtor®
The Real Estate Link of the Carolinas
Toll free: 1-800-684-0885
5 Foreclosure Myths of 2012
Beginning in 2007, foreclosures rocked the real estate world. Like an out-of-control freight train, they began decimating the market, peaking in 2009. Myths and rumors began propagating like mushrooms as consumers struggled to understand the new reality. Although many misconceptions have come and gone, we still encounter five myths on a regular basis…
Joke of the Month:
WHO IS YOUR ROLE MODEL COMPANY?
1) Pick your favorite number between 1-9
2) Multiply by 3
3) Add 3, then multiply again by 3
4) You’ll get a 2 or 3 digit number ..
5) Add the digits together
Now, using that number, see who your ROLE MODEL is from the list below:
1. Microsoft
2. Starbucks
3. Chrysler
4. Johnson & Johnson
5. WalMart
6. Boeing
7. Walt Disney
8. Tyson Foods
9. The Real Estate Link
10. ReMax
5 Buyer-Beware Real Estate Scenarios
1. Buying in a “caveat emptor” state. In most states, homes that are sold “as is” are implied to have an “as-disclosed” contractual condition, which just means that the seller is not responsible to do any repairs, but is responsible for telling the buyers of any problems with the property that the seller is aware of (or should be aware of).
But in some states, sellers have no disclosure requirements in as-is transactions. The state Supreme Court of Alabama recently held that a seller who was completely aware that the property flooded severely on an annual basis had no obligation to inform the buyer of this fact because the sale was on an as-is basis.
Check with your agent and read your contract and disclosure forms very carefully to determine whether your state is one of the very few jurisdictions that formally impose caveat emptor terms in as-is real estate sales.
North Carolina is still considered to be a “caveat emptor” state, although this principle has been eroded by both court decisions and consumer protection laws. Sellers are always liable in NC for fraudulent misrepresentations. It is always up to the buyer to seek out qualified professionals to assist in the examination, investigation and research of the property in question.
2. Buying a brand-new home. Homes that are newly constructed simply don’t have the history of problems, repairs, upgrades and issues that resale homes have, so many states exempt new-home builders from at least some portion of the disclosure requirements that they impose on sellers of resale properties.
3. Buying an REO. Foreclosed homes that are being resold by the former owner’s mortgage lender are often exempt — technically or logistically — from at least some of the ordinary seller disclosure requirements.
In many cases, they are legally exempted on the basis of being a corporate seller; in others, they may provide the actual form disclosures required with an annotation across the front of the form to the effect that the bank never lived in the property and so has no way to know any information about its history.
4. Buying from a trust or estate of a deceased homeowner. Many trusts and estates are in a similar factual position to an REO-owning bank in that the legal entity itself or its administrator has no way to know the detailed history of a property the way a seller who’d lived in it personally does.
So some states exempt trusts and estates where the former homeowner has passed away from even bothering with an effort to fill out the detailed disclosure forms that a resident seller would have to complete.
5. Buying from the government. Though some states do give land away, the federal government does not (not to individual people, anyway) — it sells it only, and always at fair market value, often by auction.
Whether you’re buying a property from the county government, which repossessed it due to delinquent property taxes, or a lighthouse from the federal government, chances are good that if you’re buying a property from a government agency, you will not be entitled to the same level of disclosures that you would from an individual home seller.
In no way should these disclosure exemptions turn buyers entirely off these sorts of transactions. In fact, the same circumstances that exempt the sellers from making the full spectrum of detailed disclosures in these situations often pose the potential to manifest into a fabulous deal for the property.
In some ways, these scenarios do buyers the favor of encouraging them to avoid the potentially treacherous prospect of relying on a seller’s disclosure.
In these cases, buyers are more likely to go above and beyond in terms of getting property inspections and repair estimates and doing their own investigations of the property, asking around the neighborhood to gather any anecdotal information, searching the property address online, and going down to the city and county records houses to make sure they understand all the permits and citations that have been issued to the address over time.
Basically, it’s about doing all the things “regular” homebuyers should do but commonly don’t when they receive a hefty set of seller disclosures.
http://lowes.inman.com/newsletter/2012/04/04/news/183957
Posted By:
Carmen Morrow, NC Broker/Realtor®
The Real Estate Link of the Carolinas
1-800-684-0885
Another perspective on gas prices vs. oil reserves…
“As gas prices reach record highs across many parts of the country, Americans have been blaming oil companies. But as much as they are disliked, the oil and gas industry is also an indispensable part of many states and an asset to their local economies. 24/7 Wall St. has identified the 10 states with the most oil reserves, or the estimated amount of oil in the state, and examined the effects that the industry has on their economies.
The oil and gas industry also can have an outsized impact on employment in some states. On a national level, only 4.6% of all jobs are attributable to the operations of the oil and gas industry, directly or indirectly. In many states, the industry’s impact on employment is significantly higher. In five states, all of which are included on this list, the industry supports more than 10% of all jobs.
While it is not necessarily the cause, the states with the most oil reserves generally have particularly strong economies. Six of the 10 states with the most reserves have among the lowest unemployment rates in the country; seven had the smallest increases in the unemployment rate from 2004 to 2010; and eight of the states had the largest increases in median household income from 2005 to 2010.” (per Wall Street)
The 10 states are, from the least oil reserves to the most: Montana, Louisiana, Utah, Wyoming, Oklahoma, New Mexico, North Dakota, California, Alaska and Texas.
Read more: The Most Oil-Rich States – 24/7 Wall St. http://247wallst.com/2012/04/03/ten-most-oil-rich-states/#ixzz1rZjMVB3c
Fact or Fiction?
Test your real estate knowledge with these 5 Rules of Thumb:
http://www.trulia.com/blog/taranelson/2012/03/5_real_estate_rules_of_thumb_fact_or_fiction?ecampaign=cnews201203D&eurl=www.trulia.com%2Fblog%2Ftaranelson%2F2012%2F03%2F5_real_estate_rules_of_thumb_fact_or_fiction
Which “TV Series home” was your favorite? Click on “comment” and tell us.
The Addams Fam. Ponderosa/Bonanza Gilligan’s Island Bob Newhart
Should you want to buy or build one of your favorite homes here in the Charlotte, NC area, give us a call 1-800-684-0885!
The Real Estate LINK of the Carolinas
3 Gas Savings Tips You Should Try…
With a gallon of gas now costing more than a gallon of milk in most parts of the country, everybody’s looking for ways to get more miles to the gallon and keep more money in their wallets. Of course we’ve all heard the list of these gas-saving tips that can really help cut your fuel expenses: drive less by consolidating trips whenever possible; keep your car tuned up and your tires properly inflated; slow down and avoid sudden startsand stops.
Those things are the “biggies” when it comes to cutting down on fuel costs, but here are three little gas-savings tricks you may not have heard before:
http://blog.aarp.org/2012/03/19/3-gas-savings-tips-you-should-try/
