The Dot Com Miner

Monthly Archive

November 2008

November 30, 2008

Changes afoot in the broader real estate market

Filed under: Uncategorized — @ 6:04 am

It’s finally happening. The recent repeated warnings of economists and industry watchers predicted the housing boom of the 2000s is winding down. The recent news is full of reports about slowing existing home sales, rising inventories, longer selling cycles and lower asking prices.

So if the housing market finally appears to be cooling down, commercial real estate investors should take notice. Here’s why: There’s a strong connection between the residential boom and the health of the four key commercial sectors retail, multifamily, office and industrial. Soaring home prices and low interest rates have enabled millions of homeowners to take out home equity loans and cash-out refinancing and the resulting wealth effect has percolated through the economy.

The big beneficiary was retail real estate, where owners of malls and shopping centers have seen valuations skyrocket, along with retail receipts. The boom also has helped drive growth in industrial construction, particularly on the West Coast, to handle incoming Chinese goods. It has also bolstered office occupancies in hot residential markets as the mortgage business expanded. Finally, the housing boom has whipsawed multifamily properties, first crushing occupancy rates as renters became owners and more recently boosting occupancy rates as the condo craze cull units from the rental inventory.

Changes are afoot. Existing home sales plummeted 2.7% last month more than double the 1.1% that analysts predicted in September and 2.87 million unsold homes are now on the market (which represents the largest unsold inventory since 1986, reports the National Association of Realtors). Even David Lereah, the chief economist at the National Association of Realtors (NAR), stated recently that the housing sector “has passed its peak.”

With home-equity cash running dry, homeowners will reign in retail spending next year.

This could materially impact retail REITs, particularly those with large holdings in pricey markets such as Southern California and the Northeastern cities. According to PricewaterhouseCoopers’ most recent Emerging Trends In Real Estate 2006 report, the only factor that will keep consumer spending afloat are wage increases. However, energy costs and rising mortgage rates could zip pocketbooks. Retail has all the risk.

After retail, multifamily is the most directly affected sector in the housing slowdown. And, in this case, the news could be good. With apartments dropping out of the rental pool and more renters priced out of the purchase market, national apartment vacancies dropped from 6.4% to 5.8% between midyear and the end of September, the largest quarterly drop that Manhattan-based Reis Inc. has measured since it began tracking the apartment market in 1999.

There is one caveat, however: Overhanging the rental market is a potential glut of condos. If converters fail to sell recently converted condominium units and throw them back into the rental market, occupancy rates could fall again.

A housing slowdown could also ripple through pockets of the office market, especially those where residential mortgage firms have aggressively staffed up in recent years. No market exemplifies this trend better than Orange County, Calif., where heated demand to buy homes and refinance existing loans has fueled a leasing binge on behalf of these firms.

This won’t help, either. Roughly 37% of all recent homebuyers in Orange County are using interest-only mortgages (requiring the first few years of the mortgage to be just interest payments). Orange County is the third most expensive housing market in the country after Los Angeles and San Diego, so it’s obvious why so many new owners are resorting to creative financing methods.

Much like the office market, the industrial market is also exposed to ripple effects from a housing slowdown. The difference here is that any negative effects will be delayed for several months because the industrial market tends to move at a much slower pace than its peers. To Bob Bach, national director of research at Grubb & Ellis, the industrial market is possibly the least exposed property class for one simple reason imports.

Of course, the biggest threat to commercial real estate would be a national recession, sparked by a slowdown in retail sales (consumer spending now accounts for roughly 72% of GDP). The gloom scenario is a downward spiral. Consumer spending falters because the cash-out boom ends and the situation is made worse by rising fuel prices and higher interest rates on all consumer debt. That triggers falling profits, layoffs, deeper cutbacks in consumer spending…

That suggests parallels to the dot.com bust an economic watershed that the real estate industry misjudged.

On the other hand, the housing market is not the same as the equities marketfor all the paper gains and stories of speculation, residential housing is illiquid and most homeowners are invested in keeping a roof over their heads. Indeed, the other news has been a surging stock market, strong durable goods orders and a rebound in consumer confidence. Stay tuned for the next NAR home sales report.

Good luck to you,

The Fox Realtor is experienced in commercial real estate in Minnesota. Working with developers, investors, and institutions to realize their investment objectives using real estate. He can be contacted at mo@foxreg.com, and more information is available at www.foxreg.com.

November 28, 2008

Mobile Home Equity Loans

Filed under: Uncategorized — @ 3:24 am

Mobile homes built on fixed foundations are appreciating properties - their values appreciate with the passage of time. Hence, after a few years of timely mortgage payments, the value of the mobile home will be much higher than what it was bought for. This difference is called mobile home equity. Equity on a mobile home is equal to the numerical difference between the appraisal value of the home and the value of the mortgage.

Equity is built up over a period of time, and it is the possession of the owner of the mobile home. Since equity is a financial asset, it can be used as collateral to take a further loan. Such loans are called mobile home equity loans. Mobile home equity loans could be up to 85% to 100% of the value of the built-up equity on the home, depending on the credit score of the borrower and policies of the lender.

The process of taking a mobile home equity loan is much simpler than taking a normal loan. This is because the mobile home itself will be kept as collateral, or to be more specific, the equity on the home will be the collateral. The lenders would first get the property appraised through their appraisal officer or any other licensed professional. Then the value of the mortgage taken earlier is verified, and the difference is calculated to provide the equity. Mobile home equity loans carry lower rates of interest and can be spread over longer periods than ordinary loans.

A mobile home equity loan can be described as a mortgage upon a mortgage. Equity loans become very useful if a person wishes to start a small business enterprise after buying a home. Usually the lenders would not ask any questions about the purpose of the equity loan - it can be used for anything from renovating the home to going on a cruise. Having said that, it is essential to remember that a home equity loan does increase the indebtedness of the person, and it is best to avoid them. No lender would provide a second equity loan, no matter how much equity is built up.

Mobile Home Loans provides detailed information on Mobile Home Loans, Bad Credit Mobile Home Loans, Mobile Home Equity Loans, Mobile Home Refinancing Loans and more. Mobile Home Loans is affiliated with RV Loan Calculator.

November 27, 2008

Mortgage Loans: 40 Year Mortgage Basics

Filed under: Uncategorized — @ 6:43 pm

If you are shopping for a mortgage and need the lowest possible monthly payment, a 40 year mortgage could be the answer. A 40 year mortgage is a new mortgage offering designed to provide borrowers with lower repayment options; here is what you need to know before signing up for a 40 year mortgage deal.

A 40 year mortgage offers a lower monthly payment because the loan principle is repaid over a longer period of time. You can expect monthly payments to be as much as ten percent lower with a 40 year term. If you are concerned about rising interest rates these savings could offset mortgage rate increases. The problem with a 40 year term is that you will pay much more in finances charges over the additional ten years.

You may have the option of making interest only or optional payments for part of the loan term. Interest only payments will give you an even lower payment until the lender adds the mortgage principle back into the loan. You should consider the risks involved with making interest only or option payments as these loan options can result in negative amortization. If you find yourself in a situation with negative amortization you will end up owing the bank more at the end of the month than you did at the beginning of the month.

To learn more about your mortgage options and how to avoid common mortgage mistakes, register for a free mortgage guidebook using the links below.

To get your free mortgage guidebook visit RefiAdvisor.com using the link below.

Louie Latour specializes in showing homeowners how to avoid common mortgage mistakes and predatory lenders. For a free copy of “Mortgage Refinancing: What You Need to Know,” which teaches strategies to find the best mortgage and save thousands of dollars in the process, visit Refiadvisor.com.

Claim your free guidebook today at: http://www.refiadvisor.com

Baltimore Mortgage Refinance

Louie Latour - EzineArticles Expert Author

Gambling Saloon Games of Chance: Games of Chance

Assuming you haven’t caught on to gaming establishment wagering, do read on —

starluck casino bonus

The most common definition of a betting establishment is a structure that organizes betting. Guests will game handling the coin operated machines or trying out different games of chance. Betting saloon games more often than not include well calculated likelihoods informing them which ensure the gambling establishment secures its lead versus the gaming devotees. Numerous betting room games can instigate you to get far too infatuated quickly. Let’s look at the standard slotmachine, a cash operated machine with three, sometimes more cogs that spin when a handle on its side is pushed. This gadget generally renders in correlation to a row of glyphs discernible on the screen of the machine. Regrettably, gaming room pastimes put forward a misconception of power, thus tricking the gambling enthusiast — the victim is bestowed with choice, but in reality these will never nix the patron’s long term negative odds. That is due to the gaming hall never repaying the full amount as hoped for. This technique is notoriously noticeable in famous casino games such as seven-card stud, craps, roulette or blackjack.

Stud poker is undeniably an immensely popular casino pastime. The gambling aficionados, holding covered cards, bet in a central pot which is finally granted to the last gamester owning the leading set of cards. (And yes, the bluffing hand may win too…) Quite like Texas hold’em, blackjack is likewise a very fashionable casino pastime. A good part of its approval is grounded in its particular mix of luck and know-how and choice making, as well as a praxis identified as card counting. It is a pretty complex technique by which gamers can dramatically turn the arm of chance of the game to their benefit both by wagering & systematic decisions in accordance with the hands dealt. Craps is a well-known casino game where punters bet money on the throw of two dice. Gamesters can wager on the score of 1 cycle, or on a succession of cycles of two dice. Dissimilar to blackjack, there can’t be a realistic bona fide winning strategy people can cash in on to boost the odds. Roulette is another immensely popular gambling pastime; here a croupier rotates a roulette wheel that has a set of thirty-seven (classical roulette) or, alternatively thirtyeight (American or Vegas roulette) independently numbered cells in which a tossed ball must settle, determining the winner Then, if our gamester has placed a chip on a number which wins, in other words she’s indeed lucky, the bounty is going to be thirty five to 1, the original bet is rebated. So in totality the original stake is increased by 36.

You should always be very cautious nonetheless for these gaming room pastimes are pretty habituating. A lot of lives have regrettably been damaged as a result of inordinate gambling and even though it arguably may be enjoyable, do please attempt to restrain yourself.

Giramondo B&B in Pisa

Filed under: Regional Portal, Travel Resources — @ 10:23 am

Giramondo B&B is a bed and breakfast in Pisa, located in Via Lavagna 22

Refined and comfortable apartment situated on the first level of an ancient palace , in the centre of The City, 100 meters away from the central station of train and bus, connected directly to the airport through urban bus.

For our guests we offer : 4 spacious and bright rooms (quadruple room – a triple room – a double room – a single room – a double room with bathroom exclusive ), furnished carefully.
Each room is equipped of tv color, air conditioning, linen, heating.

Adjacent to the hall for breakfast there is a beautiful terrace and garden where in the spring and in the summer, our guests can have relax, read, taking the sun, listening music and have breakfast.

SURROUNDING – TRANSPORTATION :
near to the central station of train (150 metres walking)
near to the central station of bus (150 metres, walking)
near to the area of shops, restaurants, etc…
near to the historical and artistical area
connected directly through by urban bus to the airport and hospital.

In the price of the room is included always the breakfast, the daily cleaning of the room, and change of the linen.
Each room is equipped of TV color, air conditioning, linen, eating.
Hall for breakfast.
Edited furniture.
Adjacent to the Hall, there is a terrace with garden where to have the Breakfast.

Planning a trip to Italy? The top 3 destinations in Italy are Rome, Venice and Florence, but you can also consider other destinations in Italy: check our page for Hotel Deals in Italy and check wikitravel to get more information about your destination in Italy.

November 26, 2008

Discover about the tremendous world of lingerie.

Filed under: Shopping Management — @ 1:17 pm

www.becheeky.com got underway in 2005 it was established by 2 partners. They noticed a gap in the online lingerie market and started the BeCheeky site with the idea that it would be aimed particularly around helping out men obtain lingerie for their partners. Clients undergo comfortable acquiring from the BeCheeky website this is due to the fact the employees give such incredible special attention & because of this it provides customers the idea that they are shopping with a cool boutique with a marvellous personal shopper there to help with your every step.

The site was such a success with ladies lingerie that the employees introduced men?s underwear to the BeCheeky website as well. The website is celebrated for its range of stylish lingerie sets, bras, knickers, boyshorts, corsets, basques, bikinis & swimsuits. What makes them special is that there is constantly something for all tastes. Each item that is bought is without any acceptation posted to you in a superb silk bag filled full as well as with confetti for that extra exceptionally special touch. BeCheeky are also famous for their marvellous unique offers which commonly happen on a day to day basis.

The BeCheeky site itself is always outstandingly painless to navigate all over with bits of obvious to follow commands to make your choice and payment transaction as easy and as simple as probable. Once you have chosen your boy boxers it is time to come to a decision as to what delivery you would like to select. There are a couple of various options to choose from, despite this, all arrival methods are praised for their quick send off the BeCheeky site sends out deliveries to the United Kingdom Europe & the rest of the world. The customers offer three forms of mailing dispatching, standard which will be posted to you within 3 days days, the next working day and then lastly worldwide which by and large takes between 2-3 days days from order date. There is a small charge for deliveries ?2.30 for standard and ?5.95 for next working day delivery. Find affordable, gorgeous and stylish embroidered open thongs, rio bikins and beautiful g-strings from Lola Luna.

Home Equity Line of Credit: Open End 2nd Mortgage Overview

Filed under: Uncategorized — @ 7:05 am

What is a home equity line of credit?

An equity line of credit is a popular form of revolving credit in which your home is used as collateral. In most cases, credit lines are second mortgages, but every now and then, they will be in first position on title. Equity lines of credit are considered open-end mortgages and have a variable interest rate and a draw period.

What is a draw period?

The draw period is the initial specified period which you are enabled to use the credit available on your equity line. After the draw period, the remaining balance is amortized for the repayment period.

How much can I borrow?

Your credit limit is determined by taking a percentage of your homes’ appraised value and subtracting the balances of any outstanding mortgages on the property. The maximum line of credit at this time is $500,000. If you qualify, the minimum home equity line is $20,000.

How do I use my equity line of credit?

Shortly after your loan funds, you will receive a book of checks that will allow you to start using your credit line.

What are the minimum payment terms?

The minimum payments during the draw period (ten years):
Interest only payments will be due each month for the amount that you accessed.

How often will I be billed?

You will receive a monthly billing statement for your home equity line.

Does my home equity line of credit have any tax benefits?

Always seek advice from your tax attorney or accountant to evaluate your tax benefits. However, in most cases the interest on your home equity line of credit is deductible up for home equity debt up to $100,000 or less and the total debt on your home is less than or equal to your home’s appraised value.

What is my maximum loan line amount?

Your maximum loan or line amount is determined by a number of factors. In most cases your total mortgages, including your requested loan or line amount, can add up to 80% and in many cases even 100% of your homes’ value.

What percentage of my homes’ appraised value can I borrow?

The amount that you can borrow varies based on a few factors. (credit, debt ratios, and disposable income) However, most homeowners can get a loan at least 80% of their homes’ value.
100% credit lines have become common for people with fair-good credit. While people with excellent credit can borrow up to 125%.

Sandy is a respected free-lance writer an account executive with Irwin Home Equity. You can also find more second mortgage related articles at Nationwide Second Mortgage & Equity Loans.

November 25, 2008

What the Child Trust Fund Can Do for Your Child, the Right Way to Invest the Two Hundred and Fifty Pounds

Filed under: Finance Web, Great Investments — @ 8:36 am

Are you aware of the Child Trust Fund and its benefits? a low number of parents seem to be aware of the fact that all infants are given a free £250 voucher from the State to place in a Child Trust Fund. The voucher may be invested in any one of three kinds of CTF account, Stakeholder - a shares-based account thatchanges into cash, a savings account or a shares account. It is an excellent way to prepare for the future requirements of a young person

Scottish Friendly is an accredited provider of the Child Trust Fund The State is eager for the public at large to have access to Stakeholder accounts and this is the type of account that we supply. This means that:

Investments are paid into Scottish Friendly’s Managed Growth Fund, which hopes to provide strong growth potential

It invests in part in shares to take advantage of potentially higher returns over 18 years,compared to a cash deposit account (although the value of shares can
decrease as well as go up whereas capital would be protected in a deposit account)

It comes with a low ‘Stakeholder’ funds charge of just 1.5 percent per year

When a person reaches the age of 18 the child will get a lump sum, wholly free of Capital Gains and Income Tax under prevailing legislation

It’s affordable - additional payments can be placed in the account from only £10

One of the great attractions of the Child Trust Fund is that anyone - parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles, friends - if they want can contribute to the Fund to a maximum of £1,200 per year to help boost the child’s Fund (once added, this money may not be withdrawn).

In a nutshell our Stakeholder account offers a good balance between possible high returns and a reduced level of risk. There is also the additional assurance that our account is in accordance with with the Government’s stakeholder criteria. However this does not mean that returns are guaranteed or that Stakeholder accounts are suitable for everyone. Bear in mind that the value of shares in the Managed Growth Fund (where your Child Trust Fund money is placed) can fall as well as go up and would not be guaranteed.

Only infants who were born on or after 1st September 2002 are permitted to open a Child Trust Fund. If you have older kids born before the 1st of September 2002 who are not eligible you could consider saving for them with a Child Bond - it’s a tax-free savings plan which is intended for long-term growth.

It is evident that saving for a child.your children is a sensible means of preparing for the future.

November 24, 2008

New Fixed-rate Interest-only Mortgage is Increasingly Popular

Filed under: Uncategorized — @ 5:52 pm

With rising interest rates putting the pressure on adjustable mortgages, a new type of loan product is gaining in popularity.

The fixed-rate interest-only mortgage gives the security of a fixed interest rate and the low monthly payments in the early years.

Borrowers are able to lock the interest rate for the life of the loan. The interest-only period usually lasts for the first 10 to 15 years.

The fixed-rate interest-only is barely two years old, but now accounts for almost 8% of all new residential mortgages, says UBS AG, a financial services firm. Roughly $39 billion of these mortgages were taken out in 2005, up from $7.9 billion in 2004.

With rates climbing to their highest levels in recent years and the gap between short-term and long-term interest rates closing, the demand for fixed-rate interest-only mortgages has risen. The cost of adjustable mortgages, which are usually associated with interest-only options, have climbed faster than the rates for fixed mortgages.

U.S. Bancorp added a fixed-rate interest-only package to its lineup in September.

Most mortgage companies point to first-time homebuyers as their biggest customer for the new product.

These mortgages are not without drawbacks. Borrowers who are only making interest payments on their homes aren’t building up any equity, apart from the increase in property values. Once the interest-only period ends, the homeowners can be hit with sharply higher monthly mortgage payments.

The savings may not be as great as you would expect. Fixed-rate interest-only mortgages carry a higher interest rate than the traditional 30-year mortgage. Also, the majority of the interest is paid in the first years of the loan.

Fixed-rate interest-only mortgages are just the latest in a long line of non-traditional mortgages designed to boost affordability. Many of these mortgage products helped fuel the increase in home prices and allowed many homeowners to tap the equity in their homes. But banking regulators are weighing in on what risks these products may pose to both lenders and borrowers.

Martin Lukac - EzineArticles Expert Author

Martin Lukac, represents http://www.RateEmpire.com, a finance web-company specializing in real estate/mortgage market. We specialize in daily updates, rate predictions, mortgage rates and more. Find low home loan mortgage interest rates from hundreds of mortgage companies! Visit http://www.RateEmpire.com today!

November 23, 2008

Mortgage vs. Reverse Mortgage: How Do You Put Your Mortgage in Reverse?

Filed under: Uncategorized — @ 7:32 pm

Many people look at the process of a mortgage and wonder how exactly do you put your mortgage in reverse?

In order to understand a reverse mortgage, let’s first investigate at a normal mortgage for a first time home buyer. When you first start the mortgage process, you shop many mortgage lenders or perhaps employ the services of a mortgage broker or loan officer who review your credit and financial information. They often look at your credit history, long term and short term debt, income and expenses in order to determine how much money you can borrow, at what interest rate, and for how long. They use all this information to make sure that you are capable of paying back the money, plus interest.

Based on the terms that you and your mortgage lender or broker have agreed upon, you pay a monthly, bi-monthly, or sometimes balloon payment as the principal and interest payment become due. The mortgage broker should work with you to determine a feasible way to pay the mortgage, meaning it should not put you into financial hardship.

You pay the mortgage payments until the life of the loan is done, and you have paid all the money back that you have borrowed, as well as interest in return for borrowing the money. Every payment that you have made up to the end of the life of the loan has decreased your principal; the dollar amount borrowed, and increased your equity in the property. The equity is what the property is worth.

Over the years, it is most likely that your property has appreciated, as purchasing property is a great investment. In which case, your property that you purchased at $200,000 may be worth $300,000 now, or more.

Now this is where reverse mortgages come in. Older home owners, who usually own their property out right, or perhaps have a small amount owed to a mortgage lender, have the ability to do a reverse mortgage. Some older home owners become short on cash, as they are often retired and do not have a lot of money coming in. What a reverse mortgage does is it allows home owners to use the equity in the home as cash. The mortgage lender actually pays the home owner every month, from the equity built in the home.

The home owner no longer makes payments, but enjoys the money that his or her home has provided. As opposed to the regular mortgage in which the equity increases, a reverse mortgage actually decreases the property’s equity. The amount that can be borrowed is directly related to the homeowner’s age, value of the home, interest rate, and life span of the owner.

The money removed from the equity is usually recovered when the home is sold at the time of the owner’s death.

Getting a reverse mortgage can be a great option for older home owners so they can enjoy themselves, with out having to worry about financial hardship. It is also a great benefit of a home owner to be able to use the equity built in the house, as in the act of refinancing.

If you are an older home owner, who could use some extra money, speak with a loan officer who can assist you in making this transaction occur. A reverse mortgage may solve many financial problems, including those that may be related to health and wellness care.

John R Blakefield is a mortgage and real estate specialist. For more information, articles, news, tools and valuable resources on home mortgages or investment loans, refinancing, debt solutions, visit this site: http://www.scourtheweb.com/mortgage/

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