City Properties Journal

Malls collapsing cannot be a good sign and it isn’t looking good for the many distressed commercial properties that dot metro areas. It also gives clues to the overall health of the consumer’s buying will power, that seems to be on hold at the moment. These malls have been suffering well before the markets collapsed, victims of less consumer spending as people saved as much as they could when the financial market collapse became apparent. Most of these malls close due to huge debts, accumulated from previous years as their owners buffered their properties hoping the economy was going to get better, it didn’t and there was nothing else they could do more that close shop.

Financial institutions are very much cautious of the current economic conditions, though they are getting a lot of business from people who are opting to get new mortgages on new homes or refinancing their existing mortgage due to the very high default rate. A figure of around 62% is alarming indeed for it shows that people are still not getting enough cash to promptly settle their monthly payments. This can lead to another housing market crisis with more properties that could have been saved, again ending up on the chopping block, for sale or lease, hopefully fr good. The pain of people will be lasting a bit longer, a few years to be exact for recovery and full market turn around is predicted to come this 2012 (2 years or so in the future!).

Properties sell and they sell really good, especially when prices have almost been halved or a mere fraction of the first time they were listed for sale. This is a common case in today’s fragile housing market that has been utterly un-natural in terms of trending and predictions, breaking them all rendering them quite useless.
People have long been seeking better process for their homes have lost hope of getting the best deals they can whether selling or buying. It seems we’ll simply have to await the end to the unstable market conditions that have all but broken previous trending information that says it would be a short wait.

Green homes are becoming the next best thing to our ordinary homes which are slowly being replaced by new developments all over the place and in spite of the recession, people say they are willing to spend a bit more for greener products that impact the environment less. New homes are being built with the latest recycling technologies and more people are demanding nothing less in their new homes. America is now called the thrifty country but people will continue to chose better products that are green and recyclable.
Known for pioneering building technologies, the US is making these (more…)

The devastation that hurricane Katrina left behind is still being felt to this day and much of what man has built in the coastal areas of New Orleans were erased from memory by one strong storm. In fact, the hurricane was quite strong but the most damage came from the storm surge which caused levies to burst and overflowed, leaving much of the city in ruins. New technologies that have been developed to withstand such events are being showcased that have been undergoing testing and will be available to the public as soon as costs are brought down to more realistic levels. These homes are constructed on two levels (more…)

Depending on your needs, buying or renting a home each has its own set of advantages and disadvantages. Buying your own home is generally thought of to be the more advantageous choice, as you have more freedom with a home and are not subject to the pressures of paying for the rent and whatnot. Owning a house also gives off a sense of pride – which is not undeserved – as owning a home gives one a sense of accomplishment. The value of a house also usually increases over time, as long as the real estate market normalizes and you take good care of your property. Renting, on the other hand, is best for people who are not comfortable settling down somewhere – especially singles who will have to move to a bigger place when they get married and have a party. Renting also saves one of the concern regarding repairs and maintenance.

One of the major detractors of the many Green technologies that are now starting to come out, cost. With a worsening economy people are cutting back on expenses and green technology may have to wait a while. Much of the technology being new and still in their infancy, are still quite steeply priced and may wait till the economy recovers before their full impact may be felt. Small green innovations like the CFL lamps that save on electricity are already available for all and can be used to replace most lighting fixtures that still use traditional bulbs.
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This is the next big thing that the housing market is going to get into, well, after the housing market rebounds that is. The slump is still here and no end is in sight so don’t count on it in the near future. The slump doesn’t mean houses are not being sold, its just that they are not meeting industry set levels for them to matter. Green is the next catch-phrase for the industry as we try to mend our ways to less environment impacting technologies, building materials and techniques. You might be surprised to see homes built in the fashion of the early settlers, using straw and either earth or concrete. It works better than concrete and wood and lasts longer. Time would tell when the housing market rebounds and home buyers would have to keep hunkered down so they get to weather the storm, just wish most can afford new homes when the crisis ends so the dream of a green society becomes reality.

Image Source: allqualityfence.com

Put extra locks on the windows and doors of your home leading to the pool area which cannot be reached by small children. Use a removable fence inside the permanent one if you need another temporary layer of protection like for example while the children are still young. Stick an alarm to the side of the pool so you are alerted if someone is in the pool when no one is supposed to be there. Or you can also use an alarm that floats. Let a safety professional put a safety cover compliant with industry regulations and remove it completely before using the pool to prevent somebody from being trapped underneath.

Image Source:propertychoices4u.com

Selling your house is not as easy as one, two, three. Being a seller entails expenses too, that is why no one can readily answer when the question: what expenses do I need to shoulder when selling my house? is asked. A lot of factors come into play to be able to arrive at a definite figure. Here are a few costs to help you figure it out.
Before sales upgrading, maintenance and cosmetic costs. Go over all those essential things that need to be done to increase the value of your house. The price bracket of expenditures here is rather endless and it would help to ask yourself the following questions:

• Are there structural changes that must really be done? What further repairs will the home inspection uncover, and what do you and your broker think this/these will do to your asking price? The price of these sorts of small projects could be high and will take time to accomplish but it could also mean a higher sale price than what you paid for them.
• What kinds of budget priced upgrading can you do that will bring a warm glow to your potential buyer’s face? Renovating the kitchen or a bathroom could probably do that.
• What aesthetic changes can you make yourself or at a minimal expense? Some minor landscaping, planting a flower or bush in your yard could enhance your frontage or repainting a room are some of those changes you can do.

• Lastly, you could try “staging” your house. Staging is paying a professional company to set up your home( accessories, furniture, window treatments, etc.) and display it with its “best foot forward” – meaning the company will showcase your house’ best features and downplay its flaws.

However, the expense for these types of upgrading could range from a hundred dollars to thousands of dollars. Be pragmatic about what your house really needs and be sensible in your expenditures.

• Transaction Costs. What expenses will I shoulder as the seller in the course of selling my house? Before sales upgrading definitely comes from the seller’s pocket while most of these transactional costs will be deducted from the proceeds of your sale.
• Real estate fees and commissions could be anywhere between 5% – 7% of the sale price and is normally handled by then one processing the closing.There could still be other discounts in this which means lesser expenses for you. This expense is sometimes split between the buy side agent and the sell side agent, and you make out the check to the real estate brokerage company where these agents works.

There are still other costs involved when you sell your house.