Tag Archives: Real Estate
Sarah Palin Victim of Mortgage Fraud
Posted on 14. Jun, 2011 by Nora Betz.
This May, Sarah Palin invested in a company that paid $1.7 million for a 5 bedroom house in Scottsdale, Arizona. Questions were raised about the legality of the sale after a fraud examiner determined that at least two of the signatures were forged on the re-financing and foreclosure transaction papers in the years prior to Palin’s company involvement.
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Top 5 Cheapest Housing Markets in the US
Posted on 09. Jun, 2011 by Aimee Miller.
We all know that housing is cheap right now….but where is it the cheapest? Based on data from the National Association of Realtors, Yahoo Real Estate has put together a list of the 5 cities where the typical house costs less than $82K.
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Returns on Student Housing on the Rise
Posted on 08. Jun, 2011 by Nora Betz.
In the multifamily property management industry, student housing has historically not been given the same respect as other apartment communities. However, the “Animal House” image of student housing is starting to fade as college enrollments rise and property managers are raising rents.
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Census Shows Increase in Renters Nationwide
Posted on 03. Jun, 2011 by Aimee Miller.
More large cities are seeing an increase in the number of renters vs homeowners. According to a USA TODAY analysis of the latest Census data, now more than 500 large and midsize cities have seen growth in the quantity of homes that are rented vs owned.
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Evicted Woman Breaks Back into Her House
Posted on 01. Jun, 2011 by Nora Betz.
Tanya had been living in her home in Berkeley, CA for 27 years and after her house went into foreclosure, she was evicted by the Alameda County sheriff’s department. She broke back into the house and was found squatting in the home she previously owned.
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Who Doesn’t Want Residential Income Property Right Now?
Posted on 26. May, 2011 by Marc Courtenay.
Owning and managing residential income property is not for the faint of heart. Dealing personally with residents, filling vacancies, collecting the rent and maintaining the properties are the reasons many owners hire professional property managers.
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Property Manager on Trial for Carbon Monoxide Deaths
Posted on 05. May, 2011 by Nora Betz.
On Monday, the McDaniel family was found dead in their rental home in Toledo, Ohio after being poisoned by carbon monoxide fumes during the night as they ran a space heater powered by a portable generator in the kitchen.
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Working With Real Estate Investment Groups and Associations
Posted on 14. Apr, 2011 by Marc Courtenay.
A property manager’s best friend may be her own imagination and creativity. Yes, nothing floats like experience, but sometimes we have to go out of our own “comfort zones” to fish in unchartered waters. Recently I spoke to a group of real estate developers who formed a Syndicate for investors to participate in their projects.
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Will the Cost of Renting Rise in 2011?
Posted on 24. Mar, 2011 by Marc Courtenay.
Even though the Federal Reserve Board and the U.S. government keep telling us that there’s virtually “no inflation” and little if any “inflationary pressures”, most Americans know otherwise. Major financial news channels like Bloomberg and CNBC are reporting that in many regions around the nation vacancy rates are going down.
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Money Paid to Foreclosure Rescue Scam Victims
Posted on 24. Mar, 2011 by Nora Betz.
The Federal Trade Commission will be giving checks to almost 1,500 people who were taken advantage of by Bryan D’Antonio’s scam called Tax Relief ASAP. These checks total only 24% of the victims total losses and offer little relief to the people who lost their homes by foreclosure because they fell for the phony foreclosure rescue scheme.
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Will 2011 Be the End of Housing Woes?
Posted on 11. Mar, 2011 by Aimee Miller.
Since the housing bubble burst 5 years ago there have been few reasons to be optimistic both for homeowners and for potential real estate investors.
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Property Values Still Plunging, Great Opportunity for Property Managers
Posted on 02. Feb, 2011 by Marc Courtenay.
Back in November 1997 I purchased a 3 bedroom condo in Santa Barbara, California for around $265,000. Less than 6 years later I sold it for $749,000. Now I’ve learned that in many areas around the country it’s 1997 all over again.
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Huntington Beach Squatters Arrested
Posted on 28. Jan, 2011 by Nora Betz.
Two men illegally entered a 5 bedroom, 4 bathroom home that was vacant and for sale in Huntington Beach. Hoan Huu Nguyen, 37 and Jose Alfredo Olivares, 37 took down the “for sale” sign and claimed that they were renters.
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Housing Crisis is an Ongoing Regional Opportunity
Posted on 14. Dec, 2010 by Marc Courtenay.
The facts and statistics speak for themselves. The number of people losing their homes is soaring. Lenders seized more U.S. homes this summer than in any three-month stretch since the housing market began to bust in 2006. But many of the foreclosures have been challenged in court.
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Experts Believe Housing Recovery Still Years Away
Posted on 13. Dec, 2010 by Aimee Miller.
Industry experts are predicting that the housing market will stay depressed until 2014. Increasing mortgage rates, high number of foreclosures and so many available but distressed properties are the primary contributors to our difficult current state of affairs.
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Five Easy Ways to Give Your Rentals More Curb Appeal
Posted on 09. Nov, 2010 by Marc Courtenay.
If your rental properties make a great first impression then potential residents will want to see what’s on the inside. This article will focus on rental properties with five units or less, and is especially applicable for rental houses.
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NAR Predicting Home Prices Will Stay Flat In 2011
Posted on 09. Nov, 2010 by Aimee Miller.
On Friday November 5th, 2010 the National Association of Realtors (NAR) shared their 2011 housing predictions and forecast at the New Orleans Annual Convention. NAR is forecasting that across the US home values will increase by a very small percentage in 2011 – just 0.7%.
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6 Million Sq Ft Property Management Take Over
Posted on 19. Oct, 2010 by Nora Betz.
Unico Properties of Seattle, WA will now manage the real estate previously held by ScanlanKemperBard. SKB is known as one of the largest real estate investment companies in Portland, OR and contacted Unico several months ago to look into its “operational efficiency” said John Lamb, the CFO and senior VP of Property Management at Unico.
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Buy Low, Rent High! Landlords Doing Well In College Towns
Posted on 04. Oct, 2010 by Aimee Miller.
The recession has been hard on the majority of the real-estate industry, all except for college town landlords. During the economic crisis more people have been going back to school in the aftermath of job losses – this has led to an increased demand for student housing.
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Commercial Property Owners Default on Loans
Posted on 30. Sep, 2010 by Nora Betz.
Is it okay to walk away from a mortgage when the property value plummets? Corporate executives are making the tough decision. We saw this happen in the residential real estate market when property managers who were home owners were forced to hand over their assets when they got behind on their bank loans.
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The Future of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac Will Impact the Rental Housing Market
Posted on 21. Sep, 2010 by Marc Courtenay.
Let’s face it, there would be no market for housing today without the federal government. Over the past 24 months, Washington has taken extraordinary steps to keep home loans available and affordable. That caused a tentative housing recovery last year. Home sales perked up after their four-year decline.
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Meet Fannie & Freddie – Your Reluctant Realtors
Posted on 21. Sep, 2010 by Aimee Miller.
Only 2 years after Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were taken over by the federal government, they are quickly becoming two of the country’s top home sellers – a challenging place to be in today’s tough housing market.
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NAA Survey: 6 Best States for Renters
Posted on 13. Sep, 2010 by Aimee Miller.
In a 2010 survey, the National Apartment Association found that 76% of consumers think that renting a home is better than owning one. The main reason (cited by 64%) is that they don’t have to be responsible for expensive repairs.
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Sky Scraper To Rival Empire State Building
Posted on 02. Sep, 2010 by Nora Betz.
This Wednesday, the City Council approves the construction project to build a tower 1,200 feet high in New York City. With the support of Mayor Michael Bloomberg, development company Vornado Realty Trust is moving forward with the plans to construct a high-rise building at 15 Penn Plaza.
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Technology Trends: What Residents Want (eBook)
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Always Get It In Writing And In The Lease
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Avoiding Craigslist Scams
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How To Cultivate New Clients In “The Garden Of Property Management”
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NARPM Florida State Chapter Property Manager Conference 2012
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Marc Courtenay: Thanks for your comment. Please consider sharing t...
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Ryan @ Green Bay Commercial Real Estate: At least in our market (Green Bay) it seems to be ...
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Tammy Davis: Great Advice!...
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Sandy: I have strong doubts that this was a professional ...
