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HomeRun Homes is a centralized marketplace which helps people Find or Sell a Rent to Own Home, both Nationwide and Globally to the thriving Rent to Own Market. http://www.lease2buy.com
Showing posts with label home. Show all posts
Showing posts with label home. Show all posts

September 28, 2012

You're OK, We're OK, They're Locked Up !

Hi Folks,
   I hope all is well.

   Not many companies have the audacity to say this publicly, however, if you cannot be honest when speaking to the good people who visit your website and blog, to which you've dedicated over a decade working on and enjoying...well, then is it all really worth it? With all of that babble out of the way, we had some malware hit our site last weekend. Immediately, I know this question would be on the minds of at least 99% of you: We had no compromise of personal data. This was not a breach, but more of a nuisance than anything else.

   I'm not one for acting like a parrot, but let me repeat that line above: We did not experience any compromise of personal data. This was not a breach, but more of a nuisance than anything else.

   This particular type of malware was a low-level one, which would redirect you to advertising for things that could be considered moderately vulgar, and if you've experienced any weird pages ("Redirects") via our site last weekend, I personally apologize, however, we have not received any reports (yet, we prefer to err on the side of caution!).

   Thankfully, the good folks at Hostway, the company that hosts our web server/web site (they are referred to as a "hosting company"), maintain our website on a PCI/Secure server, and they snapped into action to help us rid the pesky code that caused the issue. Kudos to the whole team at Hostway!

   Now, some of you who feel infuriated by those that make such malicious attempts on websites, such as the ones perpetrated against Apple and GoDaddy just recently, will take solace in the following updates I will now provide you with, so keep reading!

   We have been in business for 10 years, and we have an extensive reach into many emerging markets that are ripe for the "Rent to Own Home" model to stoke their Housing Markets and Economies. One such market region is Eastern Europe/Ukraine/Russia. With some well-cultivated local contacts, and along with the U.S. Consulate Offices in 2 different countries (and yes, a few Federal Agents in the family doesn't hurt, either!), we have been able to locate the source of this intrusion via traffic/timing pinpoint, and have apprehended the group of snot-nosed teenagers (18-20 year olds) who did this. If I had time, I would fly there for their trial, and spit in their faces! However, I believe in our system of justice, and we model ourselves on not being barbaric and crude as many others tend to be.

   The sad thing here is that with the amount of work they put into their devious art, and with their intelligence, they could have collectively worked with us to advance their Economies, and make even more money. Well, I certainly hope they will enjoy their jail cell, which I have been made aware of the physical locations they are being held. I did a quick Google search on these places, and I think they'll be paying quite well for their sins. To this, I smile, and I say, "May all of those out to disrupt our economy enjoy the comforts of a rotten filthy jail cell". Hey fellas, here's a tip for your stay behind bars: Don't drop the soap !!

   We bring you truth, whether it's admitting a bump in the road, or showing you how powerful our site is in helping you Buy a Rent to Own Home or Sell a Rent to Own Home.


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Have a Great Week, and Happy Rent-to-Owning !
Regards,
Rob Eisenstein
Rent to Own Homes and Real Estate Blog for HomeRun Homes: http://blogging.lease2buy.com
HomeRun Homes Websites: http://www.lease2buy.com and http://www.homerunhomes.com


TAGS: #malware #redirect #blog #website #renttoown #home #hosting #webserver #website #housingmarket #Europe #Ukraine #Russia

January 19, 2011

What Can Go Wrong During a Real Estate Deal?

Hi Folks,

   Glad to be back with you, and I hope you're week has been smooth sailing so far !

   Now, to take a look at some things that can go wrong and dampen your spirits, today we are looking at the wide spectrum of things that can go wrong during a Real Estate Sale. For the purpose of this story, I broke this down into 3 categories: Interpersonal Issues, Foreclosure-Related Issues, and all Other Issues that do not fall into the other two categories.

   Human beings tend to fudge things up on their own without much help. "The worst problem I ever encountered in a real estate deal arose from the Sellers trying to be nice people and letting the Buyer stay in the house the weekend before the closing", says Michael D. Caccavo, an attorney in Vermont. As Caccavo explains, " The Buyers got in, found a lot of problems that they hadn't noticed during inspection, and most of all claimed the plumbing, which was mostly galvanized pipe, needed to be replaced with copper. They raised the issues over the weekend, and continued pressing for concessions during the closing, including several long conversations with the realtor who was away on vacation. The closing took 4 hours instead of 1 and the realtor caved and gave back a lot of commission to the buyer just to make the deal happen". Learning a hard lesson, he says, "Never again will I allow a client to let the buyer stay in the property before closing".

   Vickie Smith of Ark Essentials Publishing says that she had a bad experience she bought a home and then the previous owner took over a month to vacate, and she says that during that time, "we were paying the mortgage and he lived there rent free. After two months he picked up his Bully Barn. We should've had some stipulation that he paid $x per day until he totally vacated!". Adam Kruse, a Broker with The Hermann London Group, says that he had someone who had to postpone their divorce at the last minute so the sale of their home could go through before the foreclosure happened, and he says that, "it was a really touchy deal, and we actually ended up closing it."

   Jennifer De Vivo, a Realtor with the De Vivo Team at Charles Rutenburg Realty, provides some things that can and will go wrong sometimes with Foreclosure-Related deals. As De Vivo, says, "Foreclosures cause people to do funny things that can ruin months of work in an instant". De Vivo describes one of the worst stories she has come across: "Once a week out before closing a vandal busted the garage door open. At first it was a dent, but then they came back and practically destroyed it leaving it hanging horizontally. The worst of it was that when I called the listing agent (I represented the buyer), they did absolutely nothing. I took matters into my own hands and pasted no trespassing signs in bright orange throughout the home exterior. My husband and partner went with one of our helpful investor clients and righted the garage door. My buyers were troopers through it all and still bought the home which was in foreclosure and the absentee owner was oversees.

   De Vivo also describes another incident: "We had another incident where we represented a buyer in a short sale situation. We closed on a home on a Friday, and over the weekend the original owner came in and stole the entire kitchen and bathroom vanities, even the toilets! Luckily my partner called the title company on Monday morning minutes before the title had been filed and was able to cancel the deal and get our clients' money back. Whew!"

   As a Real Estate Investor, Jeff Swaney has come across additional issues during Real Estate deals.

   Swaney says that Appraisal problems, which he calls, "the most rare issue from the past" is becoming more common now. He describes this as follows: "The lender orders an appraisal and then rejects their own ordered appraisal due to their underwriter initiated computer based desk top review (also called an Auto Valuation Model, or AVM). The problem for the buyer is that most standard purchase and sale agreements have an appraisal contingency, but NOT a lender initiated AVM value contingency. This means that a buyer would be contractually required to buy the home even if the lender cuts the value and the loan amount. The reason is that the actual appraisal was OK, but the lender did not like it. If the buyer has this situation occur, they must close and pay the difference in loan amounts out of pocket, or they will lose their earnest money. Buyers need to be aware of this possibility and have their agents draft a lender induced valuation reduction contingency in their contract, or they face significant exposure.

   Liens that are filed, but not yet recorded at the local courthouse, is another major issue Swaney has seen. he says that, "There is typically a gap period between the time a lien is filed and when it shows up in courthouse records. Most closing agents will require a seller to sign a gap provision that affirms the seller is not aware of any liens that have not been paid off against the house. The buyer's title insurance policy should discuss this as well. I have been to closings where prior liens were not caught and the title becomes "clouded" causing a delay or cancelling of the transaction.

   Finally, Swaney points to issues with Home Owners Association (HOA) liens, and says that, "For most foreclosures, junior liens are wiped out after the foreclosure auction or lawsuit. The only normal exceptions are property taxes and state and federal tax liens. HOA's get around this provision by simply reassessing the past due liens against the next homeowner. Beware of this because the second most powerful group to fight is the local HOA! You could find yourself as a seller stuck with paying an old (prior owners lien) off if you sell a property purchased at the local foreclosure auction. This can cause transactions to fail as the seller is not willing to pay the past bill and wants to fight the HOA. Good luck doing that. The HOA's know that it will cost you more to fight the bill than just pay it!"

   Real Estate Deals are tough! That's why it is a field that requires determination, guts, and meticulous attention to details...and sometimes a little bit of luck. Any comments? Suggestions?

Have a Great Week, and Happy Rent-to-Owning !
Regards,
Rob Eisenstein
HomeRun Homes Blog http://blogging.lease2buy.com
HomeRun Homes Website http://www.lease2buy.com

TAGS: #realestate #foreclosure #realtor #realestateinvesting

January 12, 2011

Taking the Plunge - 3 Tips on Buying Your Rental Property

Hi Folks,

   Happy mid-week to everyone, and we ask that you arrive safely to wherever your destination is, should you need to commute in the Northeast today.

   You know, if you're renting a property, and the homeowner gave you an option to buy the property...well, how do you know when you are truly ready to buy the home? That is the question we are addressing today, along with 3 tips to help you along.

   "As a tenant with an option to own there are some fundamental principles you should consider before buying a property.", says Brian Rademacher of Re/Max Advantage Plus. First, make sure the property, "is a good fit for your lifestyle and family. Do you ultimately envision this property as your home?"

   Secondly, says Rademacher, "contact a real estate professional to review the option to purchase contract and perform a current market analysis. With declining real estate values in many markets the purchase price on the option contract may be higher then the current market value of the property.", and he suggests that if this is the case, that you should, "show the owner the current market analysis and discuss lowering the purchase price to meet the current market value.

   As a final tip, Rademacher suggests that you, "talk to a mortgage professional to determine if you are qualified to obtain a loan to purchase the property. Find out what your mortgage payment would be and if your mortgage commitment would fit into your monthly budget." As Greg Cook, a Mortgage Professional, says, "Owning a home costs more than renting. Most of the time an "all-in" mortgage payment (including taxes and insurance) will be more than the rent they might currently be paying. But that's only part of it. The tenant is now responsible for maintenance, repairs and all those other little expenses that come with homeownership." Cook also recommends to any tenant looking to , "make that jump" to find out from a, "first time home buyer specialist how much the mortgage payment would be on the home they are buying, add an additional $100-$200 each month and then take that difference between rent and homeownership expenses and put it in savings."

   "Having seen several option agreements over the years, ask yourself a 2 pronged question", says Thomas Redmond of Redmond Realty. "1st, What is important about staying in this property and the community at this time and 2nd, Are the terms in my option agreement favorable or extremely favorable when considering my local market as well as my ability to purchase elsewhere during the option period." Redmond says that if the answer is, "yes I want to stay here for a couple of years or longer but your option favors to the landlord, who likely prepared the option agreement, then renegotiate or let option expire."

   "As long as renting is not substantially cheaper than owning it would be worthwhile to become the owner and start reaping the tax benefits and building equity.", says Lenny Layland, Broker/Owner of Investorlando Realty. Layland says that the owner, "should be doing everything possible to help this happen (assuming they want the tenant to exercise the option). Credit counseling support, paying closing costs and rent credits are possible ways."

   In summary, Rademacher says that it's a good time to buy, "if the property is a good fit for your lifestyle, has a sound option to purchase contract, is priced at current market value, and meets your budget and mortgage qualifications." By analyzing these 3 items, Cook says that, "Not only will they now have an idea of what sacrifices or lifestyle changes will need to be made but they will have built up their savings which, from a lender perspective, is only a good thing.

   Redmond makes a very positive statement, in saying that you need to, "Remember you bring a lot to this transaction so do not discount your position with tenant mentality.  You can take charge help the seller to help you for the best possible outcome."

   We hope these tips have been helpful. Do you have anything to add to this list?

Have a Great Week, and Happy Rent-to-Owning !
Regards,
Rob Eisenstein
HomeRun Homes Blog http://blogging.lease2buy.com
HomeRun Homes Website http://www.lease2buy.com

Tags: #optiontobuy #mortgage #rental

December 15, 2010

Crazy Hazy Appraisal Madness

Hi Folks,
   Hope your week is coming along great, so far.

   Well, considering the fact that we put a man on the moon and that we have found cures to a vast amount of the illnesses that have plagued mankind, you would think we would have this appraisal thing licked by now, right? Well, not exactly !

   To bolster this argument, this morning, I read a story on Yahoo Finance about a couple that were looking to purchase a specific home, and who shelled out $1600 for 7 appraisals, each of which was different than the other...and some of them by substantial amounts. Ultimately, due to this fiasco, the couple wound up renting the home that they actually wanted to purchase, but could not due to the scattered and lower appraisal(s).

   Since a majority of the trades on the stock exchange are done via computer, isn't there a way to have a universally-accepted appraisal program that spits out a figure? Perhaps there can be 3 programs (as with credit scores/FICO), with a Low, Middle, and a High. In that case, lenders can choose to accept the middle price, an average, or some other computation. I realize that my Appraiser friends are turning bright red with anger, but it should be a system that is created, organized, and computed by Appraisers, and they would still need to go on-site to verify all features of the property.

   Please don't yell at me for this one...but I am a stickler for automating procedures to minimize variation and errors. What are your thoughts on this proposal?

Have a Great Day, and Happy Rent-to-Owning !
HomeRun Homes Blog http://blogging.lease2buy.com
HomeRun Homes Website http://www.lease2buy.com


Tags: #appraiser #appraisal #finance

November 17, 2010

Mixed Construction Numbers and Important News for Sellers

Hi Folks,

   Good Morning and I hope your week is going well.

   As of this morning, the October figures for New Residential Construction were released, which encompasses building permits, housing starts, and housing completions.

   To summarize, both privately-owned housing units authorized by building permits and the single-family authorizations were up from September. Privately-owned housing starts in October were down substantially (in excess of 11% !) from September, while single-family housing starts were down marginally. The last piece of data shows that privately-owned housing completions in October were below the September figures, while single-family housing completions were above the September numbers.

   Now, as the subject of this post mentioned - "Important News for Sellers":

  
We are offering 50 Free Seller Ads (2-Month Ad duration) - so you can list your home for Sale or for Rent to Own (a $9.99 value). Is there a catch? Not at all. Let's just call it some early "Holiday Spirit".

   If you are selling a home, how can you grab your free Ad? Just CLICK HERE to send us the E-mail address that you will use to create your ad. We will then send you a user name, password, and the link to log in and place your Ad, add images, etc. This is a very rare opportunity, trust me, so make sure you stake your claim today...CLICK HERE.

Have a Great Day, and Happy Rent-to-Owning !
HomeRun Homes Blog http://blogging.lease2buy.com
HomeRun Homes Website http://www.lease2buy.com/

November 1, 2010

Rent, Buy, Or Rent to Own ?

Hi Folks,

   I Hope you had a safe Halloween with a lot of treats. Please forgive me if my style of writing is a little odd today, as the sugar rush is quite fierce this year. It is the First of November, and any way that I look at it, I am now a year older!

   A few months back, we covered the topic of, "Rent vs. Buy" in a separate post, and a few weeks ago, we followed up on the topic with a post titled, "Revisiting the Rent vs. Buy Debate". Molly Line of FoxNews recently ran a story titled, "Shattered Dreams: To Rent or Buy, That is the Question", of which I thought might be of interest to you.

   In the above-mentioned article, Line asks the question, "...is it really wiser to buy during a time of economic uncertainty? Or is renting a better bargain?". She spoke with some experts who point to the fact that people who are buying now have their financial "house" in order, and it would make sense for them to buy a home. On the other side of the debate, Line points to the positive side of renting, which means, "no property taxes, no upkeep costs, no paying for a new roof or dishwasher."

   Ultimately, there is no fine line that delineates a region of the country where people are just buying or renting...there are just trends (see http://blogging.lease2buy.com/2010/10/revisiting-rent-vs-buy-debate.html). The financial condition of the prospective buyer, the prospective tenant, or the prospective tenant/buyer (in the case of Rent to Own), would seem as if it would override most factors. Do they have a lot of debt? How is their credit? Do they have a job? Do they need a job? Just some food for thought.

   Please send us your comments and suggestions, as they always prove valuable for your fellow readers here.

Have a Great Week, and Happy Rent-to-Owning !
HomeRun Homes Blog http://blogging.lease2buy.com
HomeRun Homes Website http://www.lease2buy.com

October 29, 2010

Not-So-Spooky Housing Numbers

Good Morning,
   Once again, Friday is upon us, and I'm ready to trick-or-treat...well, not me, my son (and I normally collect 10% of candy off the Gross Candy Margin - the "GCM"). Sorry, I needed to start the day with a little bit of sweet humor. OK, enough puns.

   Now, speaking of margins and indices, I just wanted to recap a few news items that were released from mid-week up to now, since we already touched on the Existing Home Sales numbers this past Monday.

   The S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Indices were released, and it showed us that home prices slowed down in August, with a drop in the growth rates in 17 of the 20 large metropolitan areas that were covered, and 10 of the 20 city composites. Interestingly enough, the FHFA Monthly House Price Index reflected price increase of 0.4 percent from July to August.

   New Residential Sales numbers were also released, and they show a 6.6 percent increase over the revised August rate, however, substantially below September 2009 (to the tune of a 21.5 percent decrease). Comparing the August-September span for the New Residential Sales to the same period of time as the Existing Home Sales numbers from Monday (where the National Association of Realtors stated that, "Existing-home sales rose again in September, affirming that a sales recovery has begun".), things are looking up. Just don't pay attention to the last 12 months up to that period of time, since that will taint your happiness over this "housing recovery".

   Any comments? Questions? Concerns? Any specific topics you want to see covered in our Blog?

   Doing anything cool this Halloween weekend? If so, E-mail me with your exciting and scary plans for Halloween, and I'll send you a copy of "Secrets of Rent to Own". Over to you...

Have a Great Weekend, a Safe and Happy Halloween, and Happy Rent-to-Owning !

Regards,
Robert Eisenstein
HomeRun Homes
Web: http://www.lease2buy.com
Blog: http://blogging.lease2buy.com
Public Speaking Appearances: http://www.lease2buy.com/speak.php
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/homerunhomes
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/homerunhomes

October 25, 2010

A Sales Recovery Has Begun

Hi Folks,

   Hope you had a great weekend.

   So, the word on the street, per the National Association of Realtors, is that, "Existing-home sales rose again in September, affirming that a sales recovery has begun". This was in response to the release of Existing Home Sales data for the month of September, which showed another strong gain.

   Additionally, as the jump was a double-digit one, with a 10% increase, it would certainly seem that there is a housing recovery.

   Please keep in mind that there are also some other important numbers coming out this week:
      Tues 10/26 9AM - S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Indices
      Tues 10/26 10AM - FHFA Monthly House Price Index
      Weds 10/26 10AM - New Residential Sales

Please stay tuned for more (good) news !

Have a Great Week, and Happy Rent-to-Owning !

October 22, 2010

Which Style of Home is the Easiest to Sell or Flip?

Good Morning,
   A happy Friday to all of our readers - whether you are reading this on our Blog, in your E-mail, or in your RSS Feed Reader !

   Regional differences in markets and in tastes are what makes the Real Estate market so intriguing. One question we often hear is, "Which Style of Home is the Easiest to Sell or Flip?", and the answer is, "It Depends".

   Jamie Goldberg, who works with Realtors and investors on updating their listings, says that the answer will vary by region and price point. Goldberg says that in San Diego, Craftsman homes are very popular in certain neighborhoods (North Park and Hillcrest), Contemporaries sell well on the coastline and downtown, while in San Francisco and other historic areas, Victorians are hugely popular.

   Real estate investor Clint Gordon states that in South Florida, a Cape Cod would linger on the market as an oddity, and that, "There is a reason certain styles of homes are prevalent in a region and most often, they are practical, functional reasons", and that investors should stick to the prevalent style in a community.

   Indeed, this is confusing, but it does answer the question: know your market. Research the area and know which style sells. If you are a Realtor and you need to sell a style of home that Gordon called an "oddity", then spruce up the interior and make sure the MLS shows plenty of the interior.

   Any questions or comments? We would love to hear from you.

Have a Great Weekend, and Happy Rent-to-Owning !

July 21, 2010

Examining the Home Building Process, Part 1

Good Morning,


   At the request of our readers, we are beginning a 3-part series on the Home-Building process. We always receive a lot of questions about how the process actually works, and we have made contact with some solid resources to bring you some pretty good information that should be incredibly useful to you.

   David Spetrino of Plantation Building Corp (in Wilmington, North Carolina), uses a 10-step process that brings buyers from start to finish. The first step involves meeting their potential customer to identify their wants and needs (this is where you describe your custom dream home and the ideal “move in date,”). They need to know, for example, if you enjoy entertaining in your home, if this is a primary home or a vacation home, and if you would you describe your ideal home as formal, casual, or a hybrid of both styles. They will also ask you if you have any “green” requirements (environmentally-friendly)

   Next, they will discuss where the home will be located. If you have a lot ("home site") already, that's fine, and if you provide them with the address or community of choice, they will do the research regarding setbacks, zoning, architectural standards, etc. After this, they move on to the professional service agreement, estimate preparation (where they collect bids from their trade contractors and vendors), and ultimately, the construction contract (which involves the construction schedule and your financing). Spetrino makes it a point to note that, "the bank that provides the construction financing may not always be the bank that retains your long term mortgage. You have likely provided your lender with tax returns and related financials. Your bank will want us to supply them with a copy of the construction contract, set of construction drawings, specifications and the budget."

   During this process, the General Contractor comes into play, and there are some pointers provided by Arlene Battishill, a licensed general contractor in Los Angeles. Battishill notes that any proposed home site must be zoned for residential use, and you will need an accurate legal description of the parcel, soil testing, and a structural engineer’s review of the architectural plans to determine if any special reinforcement will be required. Once a licensed general contractor (“GC”) is hired, cost estimates can be made, and once acceptable, the architect or general contractor will submit the architectural plans to the local government building department for evaluation. Once all changes are made and the building permit fees are paid, construction can begin.

   From this point on, Spetrino's company works out the full details, and then begins construction. They provide, "regular updates, photos, and twice monthly, a ‘cost report’ that tracks budget and schedule." Over the course of construction, sometimes changes need to be done, and these requests go into a written format, officially known as the ‘change order.’ Once the "Big Day" arrives, a thorough "inspection and orientation of your new home" is completed. After one month, they schedule a follow up walk through to make sure that you are completely happy, and they also schedule a one year walk through.

   Battishill notes some of the costs of the process, for example, purchasing the land, the fees paid to all of the required consultants, fees to the local government and then the cost of construction. She notes that financing should be obtained well in advance of construction, and to assume that you will need 25-50% more money than the budget calls for to ensure successful completion, as cost tends to overrun in the construction of new homes.

   Please join us on Friday for part two in this series, where we have some additional pointers and points of view from a Property Manager and an Interior Designer.

   Have a Great Day, and Happy Rent-to-Owning !

July 2, 2010

5 Tips for Selling a For Sale By Owner (FSBO)


Hi Everyone,

Today, I'd like to discuss 5 very important tips for anyone trying to sell their home on their own. This type of arrangement is often referred to as For Sale By Owner, or FSBO.

Tip #1: PRICING: In order to determine a fair selling price for your home, you need to investigate home prices in your area. You'll want to review not only the prices that homes are listed for, but what they have sold for as well. Your best resource for this information will be your local newspapers. You can even take a trip down to your local government office to check out more details from the mortgages that have been obtained by new homeowners in your area and saved ("recorded"). These documents are public domain, and it takes a little time to get the gist and flow of how to do this research, however, there are usually plenty of clerks available to take your questions. Some other ideas: talk with real estate agents in your area, and check around for appraisers in your own network of family and friends. If you can connect with an appraiser, you can ask them for a general rule of thumb for pricing on your home, and perhaps they can make a few suggestions to increase the value. Finally, you can always shell out a few hundred bucks for an actual appraisal of your home, but most often that will not be required.

TIP #2: LEGALITY: Whenever you are talking about the sale of a big ticket item such as your home, it is always good advice to retain an attorney and/or consult with your local Title Company. To check if your state is a Title State or not, please refer to this handy resource: http://title.grabois.com/

TIP #3: MORTGAGE: I am a firm believer in lining up all of your "ducks" in advance. Before you get to the physical process, you'll want to consult with some mortgage brokers and banks to educate yourself on the financing side of selling your home. This goes both ways, in that, if you make a good contact with one of these individuals or institutions, you can always refer a potential buyer to them, since they would already be familiar with your situation from your previous discussions with them.

TIP #4: ADVERTISING: This is where you want to do your homework on creating your Ad. Check on the Web and in your local papers to see the most common Ad format. Once you have done your research, create an electronic copy of your Ad, perhaps in Microsoft Word. In addition, you will want to have high-quality images of your home, for the interior and the exterior. For the exterior photos, make sure you get a sunny day when you take the photos. Why? Would you be more excited about a photo of a potentially new home when the photo is framed by a grey, cloudy, and rainy day vs a bright, sunny day with blue skies? It's all psychological.

TIP #5: MARKETING: It's time to plaster your Ad everywhere - starting with the Internet. There are a lot of free sites - but with free sites sometimes comes the "time-wasters". The old adage, "You get what you pay for" certainly applies. In addition, there are forums, discussion boards, and many other places that will allow you to announce your home, of course, once you have passed the proper permission steps unique to each of those specific sites. Should you decide to also accept Rent to Own as an option to purchase your home, you can always place your "Home Available" Ad on our website, as a For Sale By Owner (FSBO), as well as a Rent to Own (Click Here to Sell Your Home).

So there you have it. Once you start receiving offers that are in your price range, this is where your attorney, title company, and ultimately, your mortgage broker, will come into play.

Have a great 4th of July Holiday, and Happy Rent-to-Owning !!

June 4, 2010

Mortgage Horror Story...

Hi Everyone,

Friday is upon us, and it's another sizzling one, depending on where you are geographically!

Today, I'd like to share a mortgage horror story with you. When I purchased an investment home with some partners a couple of years back, we were assured an interest rate on an interest-only/balloon mortgage. However, once we got to the closing table, the rate showed up in the documents as higher by 1/4 point. Needless to say, we were all quite furious, and the fact that the mortgage broker was not at the closing didn't help the situation(he was on vacation), so we called him on his mobile phone to voice our disapproval over this rate discrepancy. There was quite an exchange of words, however, it was kept on a professional level and just short of using expletives.

Ultimately, it was a mistake on his part, and he made good on the difference with a check to us for the difference calculated out over an agreed upon period of the loan. In order to avoid delaying the closing to have new papers drawn up, we moved forward, and accepted the above-mentioned check from his closing associate to cover a majority of our "losses". The moral of the story: Make sure everything is in writing, whether it be an E-mail from the mortgage company, or physical documents, you just cannot argue with hard copy. In this case, we had done previous closings with this broker, so we know it was an error and not malicious. Either way, "in writing" is the key. May this little story and this tip save you tons of aggravation !

Economic News related to the Real Estate Housing market is quiet next week, but as we all know, any and all economic news that is released will affect the housing market directly or indirectly. Always keep your eyes and ears open!

We have additional items/upgrades and more new features rolling out next week, so be sure to check in on Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and any other days in between for breaking news and updates. What would even be easier for you? You can subscribe to this Blog feed or you can subscribe for Blog updates via E-mail. These options are both located on top of the column on the right-hand side of this page where it says, "Subscribe To Posts" and "Subscribe by E-mail". Also remember to check out our Podcasts for Free Download in our ITunes Store at http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?id=373351426


We hope you stay cool, and have a great weekend!
Happy Rent-to-Owning !

May 31, 2010

Tips for Saving Money On Your Electric Bill...

Hi Everyone,

We just wanted to wish everyone a happy and peaceful Memorial Day. We hope that you are spending some quality time relaxing and enjoying your day. It is certainly a hot one here in New York, and the Air Conditioners are running at full blast. This leads me to a tip that we wanted to share with you that might save you a few dollar per month.

Basically, rates are constantly on the increase from the electric company, and they give you every reason under the sun (no pun intended) for these increases. However, there are two options that you can look into that might save you some money, so let's address them both here:

Your first option would be to call your electric company/utility (on Long Island, ours is LIPA), and ask them what it would cost per month to be put on a "budget billing plan". What they will do is to calculate an average monthly payment, and with your permission, will change you to that fixed monthly payment. The benefits of this are immediately obvious if you take this plan when the summer begins. The reasoning is that if, for example, you spend $300 per month during the summer (air conditioner, pool filter, etc), and you pay $100 per month during the winter, your summer payments will drop dramatically. The drawback is that when the winter comes, your payments will be slightly higher (there are less months of running the Air Conditioner vs. not running it). Also, it makes it easier for your own personal budgeting, in that you know what the payments will be each month, and there will be no "surprises". We have been doing this, and when the 12-month billing cycle was over, we were actually faced with a surplus, which was credited back to us. That is actually a great surprise!

Your second option, which you can do concurrently with the first option, is to speak with your neighbors and get a sense of what they are paying. If you see a large disparity between what they are paying for a similar type of home and similar type of appliances (important!) and what you are paying, contact the electric company and request an audit. They will do some back-end review, and will probably send someone out to your home to review your infrastructure, as well as send you a link to their website to run a manual energy audit.

These are all good ideas for you to look into and we hope that they save you some money.

Do you have any other tips that we did not touch on here? We would love to hear. Please send us your comments to this post.

We will be posting more this week, as there are a lot of very exciting things going on here that will have a significant impact on your search for a Rent to Own Home, or to help you Rent to Own your home.

Have a Great Holiday and Happy Rent-to-Owning !

May 21, 2010

Confusing Housing Market, Residential Sales, Prices, Mobile Devices...

Hi Everyone,

We have all made it through another exciting week, with traffic to our website up another 10% from last week, and Ad-responses have been gaining further momentum. This is great news for anyone who has an Ad on our website.

Well, if you've kept an eye on the news this week, you know that there have been several mixed signals from the market and the housing sector. We have heard that mortgage delinquencies were still happening at a rapid clip through the end of March, loan demands/requests from people looking to buy homes are at a 13-Year Low, and for the people who did seek Obama's Loan Modification HAMP program, an astonishing amount of them had their trial mortgages canceled...yes, you heard me right...canceled. True, there is a lot of uncertainty now, due to the expiration of the homebuyer tax credit (which expired on 4/30). This past week, an article on CNN was aptly named, "Housing market diagnosis: Bipolar".

OK, so doom and gloom. Is there a bright side? Of course there is. There are still options for homeowners who cannot find a loan the conventional way. The possibility always exists for you to negotiate a Rent to Own with a homeowner. Ask them. Inform them of how it works, and get your attorneys involved. Homeowners, please take note as well. If you're trying to sell your home, you might be going through potential buyers faster than a termite goes through wood. One after the other drops off since they cannot get a bank loan. Be creative and look into Rent to Own.

A few changes to the site this week, outside of what we mentioned earlier in the week. We have spruced up our "Top Spot" Featured Ad pages with some images of what an actual Top Spot promoted Ad will look like.

You can check out the page for upgrading a "Home Wanted" Ad here: http://www.lease2buy.com/top_homeswanted.php

You can check out the page for upgrading a "Home Available" Ad here: https://www.lease2buy.com/top_homesavailable.php

A look ahead to the economic news for next week shows us some very important numbers coming out: Existing-Home Sales. S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Indices, FHFA Quarterly House Price Index, and New Residential Sales. These numbers should set the tone for the summer months, and they are worth watching.

Looking ahead for our website, we will be working on "mobile-enabling" our site for the most popular mobile devices now, like the IPhone, Android, etc, and we'll keep you posted on how this is going. We have seen a significant increase in traffic to our site from Mobile Devices, and we want to capitalize on every potential buyer and seller...any one of them can be "the one" who can Rent to Own your home !!


We value your feedback; Please tell us what creative options you have been considering to buy or sell a home? Let us know



Have a Great Weekend, and Happy Rent-to-Owning !

April 14, 2010

FHA, Rent to Own, Foreclosure...

Good Day Everyone,

Just wanted to say how amazed we are at all of the Scams taking place to beat people out of the $8,000 Tax Credit. We have seen and heard a lot of horror stories, so please, no matter how desperate you are to buy or sell, please be diligent in researching who you do business with.

Just a side note that we have launched a joint venture that offers help to people in foreclosure or who have gone through it, and cannot find a new home. It's a really bad position to be in, and there are way too many people there right now. They know that they have to stop foreclosure, but they also know that they need a new place. We felt that our Rent to Own website was not reaching more of these people in dire need, so we joint ventured to create www.StopForeclosureRenttoOwn.com (which is still being neatened up, appearance-wise), and have launched the site this week.

This is a two-fold benefit: It will help these people who are in trouble, and it will help you by bringing more traffic to your Ads.

Have a Great Day, and Happy Rent-to-Owning !

April 8, 2010

Details on the FHA Tax Credit for Home Buyers

Hi All,
There has been a lot of buzz about the FHA Tax Credit Program, and for those who are not too aware of it, we wanted to list a few key points of this excellent program here:

1. Up to an $8,000 Tax Credit is available for First-time home buyers (For a newly built home or a resold home). This is confined to sales occurring on or after January 1, 2009 and on or before April 30, 2010.
2. Up to an $6,500 Tax Credit is available for "move-up" (repeat home buyers or existing home owners), who purchase a Principal Residence (Not an investment property - but an Owner-Occupied Principal Property) between November 6, 2009 and on or before April 30, 2010.

This is a very basic breakdown, but there are certain specific income limits, so be sure to check the FHA Site (http://federalhousingtaxcredit.com).

As a side note, we have been busy working on our next venture, which will be announced soon, which will extend a hand to homeowners in trouble.
Further, we have been further updating our Twitter, Facebook, and MySpace Pages and adding numerous followers and friends...which means more traffic to your Ads !

Have a Great Week, and Happy "Rent to Owning" !!