As part of our relationship with Tanner Contractors, the 518LIST Team from Keller Williams Realty Capital District and Steve Field from Metrocities Mortgage will be hosting a table at the Great NorthEast HomeShow this weekend, Fri Sat and Sun, the 6th, 7th and 8th.

Hundreds of local companies will be exhibiting their products and services in the Times Union Center and Empire State Plaza. Where else can you get home improvement ideas, attend free seminars, comparison shop and most importantly talk to the experts? You can’t find this much information any place else! See you at the Great Northeast Home Show!

Tickets
Tickets are sold in three locations during the show: Empire State Plaza concourse, Times Union Center box office lobby and in the Times Union Center upstairs box office. Each tickets is a two part ticket which allows you entrance into both buildings. Tickets are $8 each. Children 14 and under are free when accompanied by a paid adult. Each paid admission ticket is entered to win one of the many door prizes. Hold onto your stub and check at the show office to see if you have won.

I encourage any of you in the area to attend. It’s the best tradeshow of it’s kind for homeowners in the Northeast and is extraordinarily well attended both by the public and vendors every year.

Call me at 518-724-5823 if you have any questions.

CLICK HERE FOR DIRECTION AND MORE INFO

By Junior Hitlall – Benchmark Home Equities

Should you talk to a mortgage professional before house hunting?

Absolutely! Even if you haven’t so much as picked out houses to visit yet, it’s important to see your mortgage professional first. Why? What can we do for you if you haven’t negotiated a price, and don’t know how much you want to borrow?

When we pre-qualify you, we help you determine how much of a monthly mortgage payment you can afford, and how much we can loan you. We do this by considering your income and debts, your employment and residence situations, your available funds for down payment and required reserves, and some other things. It’s short and to the point, and we keep the paperwork to a minimum!

Once you qualify, we give you what’s called a Pre-Qualification Letter (your real estate agent might call it a “pre-qual”), which says that we are working with you to find the best loan to meet your needs and that we’re confident you’ll qualify for a loan for a certain amount.

When you find a house that catches your eye, and you decide to make an offer, being pre-qualified for a mortgage will do a couple of things. First, it lets you know how much you can offer. Your real estate agent will help you decide on an appropriate offer, but being pre-qualified gives you the confidence to know you can follow through.

More importantly, to a home seller, your being pre-qualified is like you walked into their house with a suitcase full of cash to make the deal! They won’t have to wonder if they’re wasting their time because you’ll never qualify for a mortgage to finance the amount you’re offering for the home. You have the clout of a buyer ready to make the deal right now!

You can always use the calculators available on our site to get an idea of how much mortgage you can afford — but it’s important to meet with us. For one thing, you’ll need a Pre-Qualification Letter! For another thing, we may be able to find a different mortgage program that fits your needs better.

By Larry McGann – Sprire Home Inspections, NY

http://www.spireinspections.com

What is a home inspection?

A home inspection is a visual inspection of the componets of a home from the roof to the foundation.

What does it include?

The structural inspection takes in the roof material, the siding, doors windows, the drainage around the home, the interior condition, plumbing, electrical heating/cooling system, the attic and insulation, the basement and the type and condition of the foundation. The Standards of Practice from National Associations websites can offer full details.

Why do I need one?

A home inspection is usually ordered when a purchase contract is written on a home for sale. A home is our biggest investment other than our children. It is wise to have a trained licensed home inspector help identify potentially costly repairs that may be needed.

If you are planning to sell your home, a home inspection can give you the opportunity to make repairs that will put the house in better selling condition.

How much will it generally cost?

Cost varies from inspector to inspector as well as house to house. As well as from region to region.

Why can’t I do it myself?

You can do it yourself if you feel confident that you will be able to identify the issues a house may have. He or she knows how the home’s systems and components are intended to function together, as well as why they fail.

Can a house “fail” an inspection?

In my opinion a house neither passes of fails a home inspection. It is an educational process of the condition of the home. What a buyer does with the information given them on an inspection report is when the terms pass or fail seems to come out.

Does that mean I can’t buy it if there are any problems revealed?

No, a home that has problems can still be purchased, but the buyer/seller are aware of additional expenses that maybe necessary.

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Technorati Profile

Our foreclosure database is really cool, but check this out.
I’ve been hard at work with Steve Field from Metrocities mortgage to come up with something even cooler and we’ve done it.

What would you say to public access to any MLS in the country?
Access the same data that agents and brokers use for actively listed properties no matter what state you are in.
How’s that for something new!

Check out AnyStateHomeSearch.com and let me know what you think.

PS: Just to be clear, you can still search for foreclosures in any state by typing a zipcode into the box in the header of this blog, or by picking a state from the dropdown box above, but if you’re looking for active MLS listed property, check out the anystatehomesearch site as well.

My buddy in Texas Robert Russell has this to say noting that NY is set to experience some pretty heavy job loss…

NEW YORK – Only five metropolitan areas in the U.S. will escape job losses this year, according to a forecast released Saturday by the U.S. Conference of Mayors.

New York is expected to take the biggest hit as thousands of jobs are lost on Wall Street. Big financial firms are slashing workers as they cope with bad debt. Other companies have gone under, like Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc., which filed for bankruptcy in September.

The New York area is expected to lose 181,000 jobs in 2009, the report said. Consulting company IHS Global Insight produced the report for the group.

The Los Angeles area is expected to see 164,000 lost jobs, in part because of the huge drop in home prices that has punctured the California economy.

After New York and Los Angeles, the Miami area is expected to see the greatest loss, with a decline of 85,000 jobs. Chicago and the surrounding area are next, with losses projected at 80,000.

For myself and my team at Keller Williams, we are expecting our best year ever.
Keller Williams Capital District is the fastest growing brokerage in the area, and our numbers are MASSIVE even in this economy. The Capital Region is blessed with a real estate market that does not experience the wild ups and downs that you might see elsewhere in the country.
There is mortgage money to be had at fantastic rates and prices are pretty stable even with a little correction.
I say it’s going to be a great year!

Matt

Mortgage Rates Are at an All Time Low And Yes ! Banks are Still lending Money

By: Kevin Mullaney – Loan Officer – Aamtrust Mortgage, Burnt Hills NY

If you watch the news you are well aware of the financial difficulties that are facing this great nation. Many homeowners are facing foreclosure and some are having difficulty making their payments. Due to recent job cuts and layoffs this news is even more daunting. These times are very difficult for those of us in the real estate business and taxpayer alike. However, banks are still lending money on home purchases and refinances. And the greater majority of homeowners are paying their mortgages, selling their homes and refinancing.

The sub-prime mortgage crisis has deeply affected us all, either directly or indirectly. Nationwide banks have changed their underwriting guidelines to insulate themselves from risky-borrowers. The pendulum has swung and the market has shifted toward tighter regulations and guidelines. The good news is if you have good credit, steady income and you have saved some money for a down payment, you can qualify for a mortgage. Further buyers are in a unique position to purchase a home at a great price and get a very low interest rate.

The days of sub-prime loans are behind us and now lenders have created stricter regulations and the entire mortgage business has evolved accordingly. Since July, 1st of 2008 anyone who originates a loan for a broker must be authorized by the New York State Banking Department, this includes various back round checks performed by the F.B.I. and New York State Police. This type of regulation is needed in a profession that is so prone to fraud.

A mortgage broker’s role is to arrange a loan for their client but also advise them of the ramifications of doing so. If a client comes into our office here at Aamtrust mortgage and we feel they should continue to rent, we are bound by our duty to advise them to do so.

Since sub-prime loans are no longer available, buyers are opting for FHA loans. Again these newer guidelines are there to better protect borrowers and ensure they are truly credit worthy. For the real estate professional and potential home buyer, a close relationship with a mortgage broker is essential in this more difficult lending climate. It will save you a lot of time and take the guess work out of what you or your clients qualify for. Not to mention the potential pitfalls that may arise in the home buying process.

In conclusion, mortgage rates and housing prices are low and banks are still lending money. For those of us in the capital district home values are still holding strong. We are all looking forward to the Nano-Tech facility that is currently in development.

If you are a home buyer or seller remember that real estate is a local economy.

About Aamtrust Mortgage: We are a full service brokerage.

Convenional, FHA and VA loans. In house attorney, title and processing.

Make your next closing as stress free as possible. 518-256-7205