There ain’t no future in the past.

The fact that fewer homes are being bought in this lagging economy has as much to do with a lack of consumer confidence as anything else. We in America are postponing our home-buying decisions because 1) we can’t afford it (or think we can’t); or 2) we worry about the uncertainty of our job situations. The impact of these factors has created a slow-down in housing starts and home sales in general. But back to my point; home buying has much more to do with need that it does market place. For those Americans with a need to make a home buying decision, this terrible economy has actually created a better opportunity to move forward than we’ve seen in nearly 40 years. Interest rates being at near all time lows notwithstanding, buyer’s are in the best position to negotiate a “steal of a deal” than most have seen, or may ever see, in our lifetimes. Real Estate Agents have to compete like never before and the smart ones are reducing commissions or giving a portion back at closing as enticement to choose them over others. It’s that; or go hungry.

If you think education is expensive, try ignorance.

Speaking in terms of Texas, where I conduct my business, buyers who become educated about the actual cost of acquiring a move-up (or down) home are finding unbelievable concessions on the part of sellers and Real Estate sales people. Why? Well let’s just say, the days of fat-cat profits of 6% commissions on a home sale is, at least for now, a thing of the past. 6% on a $200,000 sale is 12 thousand dollars! If the agent works only the “selling side” of the transaction, it’s still $6000 of pure profit. How many of us can pay a few hundred dollars a year, and take a few on-line courses to be licensed to earn that kind of cash for showing a few homes and writing a fill-in-the-blanks contract? The answer is: any of us without a rap-sheet. Agents including me, used to love taking a few years of a home’s equity value and whistle our way to the bank with a big pay-off after closing. Not anymore.

In a negotiation, the dumbest question you don’t ask, is the one you don’t ask.

The game has changed. I just closed a transaction where the buyer got 75% of my commission. My take was the remaining 25% or about 2900 bucks; and I was happy to get it. How did my buyer use his $8800 portion? He paid his closing cost with it, and he was delighted. And I was delighted too because he will tell every friend and co-worker he knows, that there are real deals to be had and hopefully include my name in the conversation. But that’s not the whole story. The seller, faced with a “buyers market “gave my buyer another $25,000 in concessions on the sales price of the home. Am I happy that the seller gave up so much equity to sell his home? No, not really. Am I delighted that I could participate in a buy-sell transaction that met the needs of both, and allowed me to make a reasonable income? You bet. And I’ll do it again. I hope soon.

Blessed are the flexible, for they shall not be bent out of shape.

The moral to the story is this: the economy has created hardship for most of us. But as every savvy business person knows; out of adversity comes opportunity. And opportunity abounds for those who are in a position to capitalize. That’s not wrong; that my friend, is capitalism.

Number one, they are interested in making profitable investments. Number two, they realize that some people need to sell without delay, stress or the added costs of going through an agent.

Perhaps you have a house that is not in the best condition. You could spend months and thousands of dollars trying to get it ready to go on the open market. Most individuals are not willing to buy property that is in need of a little TLC. Many agents will refuse to list or show a house that is not in perfect condition.

Your investment of time and money could pay off, profitably. But, if you need to spend more than 25% of the property’s reasonable value, then you may as well save the time and money.

Some companies promise to buy houses in any condition for up to 75% of the realistic market value. You can get a quote or additional information online. With just a few mouse clicks, you could put the cash in your pocket and forget about the hassles.

Perhaps you are facing foreclosure or repossession. People do not want to buy houses that are about to be foreclosed on. They are afraid of the consequences.

Perhaps you are facing foreclosure or repossession and you have nowhere else to live. You may have gotten behind on your monthly payments. You might be in the position to pay rent now, but you have no way to catch up on what you owe.

There are companies willing to buy property that is facing foreclosure. They process the paperwork quickly, so that you face no legal ramifications.

There are companies willing to buy houses and then rent them back to the current owner, in order to help the owners with cash flow problems that still need someplace to live. This option is often ideal for an older person that needs the cash, but has no desire to move.

Basically, you have options, many of them. Knowing about all of your options and seriously considering them could save you time, money and the hassle of foreclosure.

Today, many financial advisors feel that renting is smarter than buying. They feel that home ownership is not the best investment, because the returns are low.

If you are looking for someone that will buy property quickly, for any reason, you can find the information that you need online. Check it out and put some cash in your pocket.

A few weeks ago I received a call from an interested buyer that wanted to view a foreclosed property that I had just listed. After meeting the buyer at the property, he started dropping some of the aforementioned phrases. The buyer went on to explain to me that he knew banks want to get rid of their inventory and he had cash and wanted to offer $25k less than the $75 asking. After spending considerable time attempting to re-educate the Buyer, I relented and wrote their $50k cash is king offer.

Within a few days of this property being listed we had multiple offers, as is the case on nearly every REO listing. The bank sent all offers back for highest and best. Most of the offers were improved, except for “Cash is king” buyer. This buyer learned the lesson, that cash may be king but only with offer amounts that have some parity. I can say from multiple experiences that Banks are not going to take a 1/3 haircut for cash.

Here are some observations that I have observed:

When you choose Scott Petersen and The Petersen Team to handle your Canton/Plymouth real estate needs, you choose a Realtors who is not just an expert, but someone who cares about you and your family. Buying or selling a home can be a very exciting and yet stressful. We will work to achieve your objectives, bringing our years of expertise and hard work. In this difficult market, we are proven producers selling in the multi-million dollar range year after year.

We are very familiar with todays market and handle Short Sales, REO, Bank Owned, and all types of real estate in Wayne County, Oakland County, Livingston County, and Washetenaw County we specialize in Canton, Plymouth, Northville, Livonia and Novi.

More often than not sellers are offended at lowball offers and do not seriously consider accepting the offer. Homeowners are usually emotionally attached to their home and are incensed when people put in an offer that is well below what is considered the true value of the home. Sometimes sellers will accept lowball offers but only if they are presented correctly. If you are going to make a lowball offer on a house, do not make these three mistakes.

Mistake 1: Asking for concessions

Everyone that sells a house wants to know exactly how much they will make off the sale. On a lowball offer, they are already making much less than they expected. If you offer is asking the seller to take an even further loss by paying for closing costs or other fees, it will be rejected. There is an adage that you should never hit a man when he is on the ground. Asking for concessions on top of a lowball offer is hitting a many when he is down.

Mistake 2: Little or no earnest money

A potential buyer of a property will submit earnest money with their offer. Earnest money shows the buyers commitment to purchase the property because, if they fail to buy, they will forfeit their earnest money. Lowball offers that have little or no earnest money attached to them show that they buyer is not willing “to put skin in the game.” Sellers will never seriously consider an offer that has little or no earnest money.

Mistake 3: Long closing period

If you are going to sell something, you can either expect to earn a quick nickel or a slow dime. You should always expect to earn more by waiting for the right offer. Lowball offers that ask for an extended period of time will be rejected outright because sellers are not interested in making a “slow nickel.” Sellers could sell it to somebody else during the extended closing period for more money so they will always pass on offers with long closing periods.

There is no crime in submitting a lowball offer on a house. If you avoid these common mistakes, you just might find a seller willing to accept your offer.

Stamp Duty Land Tax Thresholds

Duty is charged at a different rate depending on the amount of consideration paid for the property. The table below shows what rates are payable:

£0 – £125,000 0%

>£125,000 – £250,000 1%

>£250,000 – £500,000 3%

>£500,000 4%

From 06 April 2011 a new higher rate of 5% for transactions worth over £1,000,000 will be introduced.

First Time Buyer Relief

For transactions completed between 25 March 2010 and 24 March 2012 inclusive, where the purchaser is a first time buyer and the price is £250,000 or less, the purchaser will be able to claim full relief from duty. An SDLT return will still need to be filed and an “SDLT-5″ certificate obtained.

Any individual (as opposed to a company) who has never owned a property, either alone or jointly, anywhere in the world, is a first time buyer and will qualify for relief. A person who has owned a property in the name of his company would not qualify. Note that a person who buys a property in England or Wales but was previously resident in another country and owned a property there would not qualify. A person who owned a property with a spouse or partner but as part of any divorce settlement or separation agreement did not retain any interest or any of the equity would also fail to qualify.

Where two people are buying jointly and one has never owned a property but the other has, there will be no entitlement to relief for either party.

Disadvantaged Area Relief

Certain areas of the country are designated “disadvantaged areas” for the purposes of stamp duty. In these areas full relief from duty can be claimed on transactions between £125,000 – £150,000. As with any claim for relief, an SDLT return will need to be filed.

To enable you to check if an area qualifies for relief you can use the postcode search tool on the HMRC website. Just use the search box on the home page and search “stamp duty land tax”. Beware however that this tool is not definitive since areas are split by council ward rather than postcode and the postcode search may not be accurate for properties that are on the border of a disadvantaged area. If you’re not sure, call HMRC.

Transfers of Equity

Any transfer of land which results in at least one of the original owners remaining on the title following completion is known as a transfer of equity. These types of transaction do attract duty and the consideration on which it is based is the sum of any money paid to an outgoing owner or by an incoming one and the amount of liability for any mortgage that an incoming or remaining owner takes on. The two examples below illustrate this:

Example 1: Jack and Jill marry and Jack decides to add Jill to the deeds. The property is mortgaged and so Jill must become jointly liable for the debt. Not wanting to take advantage and Jack’s good nature she also decides to pay Jack for her share. The house is worth £320,000. The outstanding mortgage is for £200,000 leaving £120,000 of equity. Jill therefore pays Jack £60,000 and takes responsibility for half of the mortgage debt (£100,000). The total consideration she has paid therefore is £160,000 meaning duty of £1600 (1%) is payable. Even if she is a first time buyer she cannot claim relief because Jack is not.

Example 2: Ben and Holly own a house together but have decided to separate. They are not married. The house is worth £200,000 and the outstanding mortgage is for £150,000, for which Ben and Holly are jointly liable, leaving equity of £50,000. Ben decides to buy Holly’s share and she agrees to sell it for £25,000 provided Ben takes sole responsibility for the mortgage, which he agrees to do. Ben therefore pays Holly £25,000 and takes on here half of the mortgage debt (£75,000) making a total consideration of £100,000. Duty is therefore “payable” at 0%. This means that although the transaction is not exempt and an SDLT return has to be filed, because the consideration is less than the £125,000 threshold no tax is due.

Transactions That are Exempt From Stamp Duty

Certain transactions are exempt from the payment of stamp duty and from the requirement to lodge an SDLT return. The most common examples are transfers where the actual consideration is less than £40,000, transfers for no consideration (such as gifts), transfers of equity as a result of divorce proceedings or the dissolution of a civil partnership, whether or not a Court Order has been made and assents. An assent is a transfer by a personal representative of a deceased to proprietor to a beneficiary under a will, in order to give effect to the deceased’s wished as stated in the will and to qualify for exemption it must be completed using for AS1 or AS2.

A transfer of equity between an unmarried couple (or a couple who are not civil partners) made as a result of a separation does not qualify for exemption and nor does a transfer by a personal representative which is not an assent (i.e. a sale).

In most cases, permanent home swapping is usually done when the real estate market is very weak. At such periods, home buyers are difficult to come by while homeowners find it difficult to sell their homes. When such is the case, permanent home swap could be the best alternative. There are some tips you must consider before you engage in the practice. Read on!

Get the House Known

You need to let people who are interested in house exchange to know about your house. The best way to achieve this aim is by listing the house for a permanent swap there at various online agencies that are into home swapping business. There are so many of them online. Take time to locate those of them that are experienced in the business. A reliable house swapping agency should be able to locate the right match for your house.

Register with a House Swapping Agency

It’s always easier to engage in a permanent house exchange venture when you register with a good house swapping agency. Once you become a member of such a portal online, you’ll have various chances of listing your house for people to look at it. You’ll also have the freedom to browse several houses that have been listed for permanent house swap purposes. In most cases, registration in such agencies is free.

Visit the House in person

Don’t just be satisfied with the picture of the house you want for permanent swapping. You need to visit the house in person. The other party also needs to visit yours. As you go along, make sure you go with a reliable real estate agent that can properly advice you on the condition of the house in question.

Hire a Lawyer

Never make the mistake of engaging in permanent house swapping without involving a lawyer. Oftentimes, issues about the deal may land you in court in future. Hence, it’s very necessary to involve a good lawyer who will take time to go through the contracts and all the paper work before you sign your signature. Every other legal backing you need will also be provided by the lawyer.

Take Precautions

You need to take proper precautions when you want to engage in permanent home swap. Take time to engage professional inspectors to check the house for you. Do the costing well and find out whether the house matches yours. Make sure you come to terms with your partner before you go ahead to do the swapping.

Finally, be very wise as you engage in permanent home swapping. You may lose a lot when you take the wrong steps.

Conveyancing is the process of verifying the transfer or various kinds of property like homes, land, buildings, and even services like electricity, sewage systems and so on. Too often, because of the lack of awareness, people have been cheated of hundreds of thousands of pounds, by cons. There are many rules to this. You must be absolutely sure, before buying property that the person selling you the property is the certified owner of that property. Also, he should have the legal rights to sell it. In additions to this, you must also make sure that the property you are buying is transferrable – that is, it is not being held by some company or the law itself due to some payment which the owner owes. It must be free from mortgages, and problems of various kinds.

Conveyancing solicitors help you determine all these things. There are several firms, which provide you excellent services in this aspect. They know the law well and thus will be able to draw up information on the seller, as well as the property in question so that you will be able to decide whether buying it is wise. With these expert services, you can free yourself of all kinds of hassles, and ensure that your home is legally yours and belongs to you in whole. They will also ensure that the various utilities of the house are completely and legally yours, and will not have to be shared with anyone else.

While hiring a conveyancing solicitor, you must ask for the conveyancing quote. Sometimes, in a marketing attempt, firms may quote some very low prices in their ads. But they present you with a bill for conveyancing fees, which has various hidden costs, thus making your life miserable. You must also ensure that the solicitors you hire are genuine, ethical and licensed. Hiring unlicensed solicitors, even if they charge you throw away prices is a very bad idea. They may advice you to buy a property that is actually full of legal issues. This will get you and your family into a lot of problems that you don’t really need.

You can make a lot of mistakes. This may concern finding the right lender or choosing the right mortgage term. This may also be about looking for the right neighborhood. There are also those who fail to check the house. Below are some of the common mistakes people make when purchasing a house.

Choosing the wrong lender:

The number of lender in the market can be overwhelming. Although this is the case, a lot of homebuyers still fail to find the right lender. Many think that all lenders are the same. Thus, they pick the first lender that they come across with.

Although lenders are similar, they are not the same. The rate they offer is not the same. Their terms are also different. If you compare their Good Faith Estimates (GFE), you will learn that their fees and charges are also different. This is why you have to take your time when looking for the right lender. Look for banks or firms with good reputation. If you want to work with a smaller firm, make sure that you make the necessary research. After you have listed the potential lenders, compare their services, mortgage rates and GFEs.

Choosing the wrong neighborhood:

Many fail to consider the neighborhood when looking for a house. This is a big mistake because location is a very important aspect of purchasing a property. There are several things you have to consider when picking a neighborhood. In addition to a safe environment, you should also consider its accessibility. How far is it from your work? Are there good schools nearby, how about hospitals and shopping centers?

You should also be concerned about the HOA rules. Do you agree with them? Can you live by them? Different communities have different rules. Some rules may be acceptable for others but nor for you. This is why it is important that you are aware of the HOA regulations before your decide to purchase a house there.

It is also important that you check the possible neighbors you will. Even if you have the most beautiful home in the neighborhood, it would not be a great home if you were next to the worst neighbors. To prevent this, get to know the people there first before you decide to live there.

Failing to check the house:

Many forego inspection because of the low prices. However, this is a crucial step in home purchase. If you have the property inspected, you will be able to check if you can transfer to the property after the closing. This will also give you the chance to negotiate the value further. Moreover, you can include your conditions in the purchase contract.

You should not miss the final walkthrough as well. This is you final chance of checking the property to make sure that it is in the condition that you agreed to. You can also verify if all the conditions in the purchase contract were implemented.

If a clerk says that a MOC or NOI cannot be recorded and it is properly notarized, he or she is practicing law without a license and the issue should be taken to a supervisor immediately. If the issue is not resolved, then go to the attorney that represents the county. Because of practicing law without a license and county revenues being squeezed in many states, most recording officers will record documents that may not even have notary endorsements or documents that the clerks know are not properly drafted.

In practicality, bringing a notary with an investor to have the seller’s signature notarized can be challenging or impossible at times. The major difference of the MOC and the NOI is that clearly the seller has agreed to the transaction and the MOC they are signing. This adds credibility to the claim of the investor-buyer that he has an equitable interest in the property and entitled to close with his purchase and sale agreement at the specified closing date.

If an investor wanted to get a MOC recorded to strengthen his equitable ownership position, instead of a NOI, he could do so by having the seller sign a MOC without the requirement for a notary endorsement. Next, the investor would attach the MOC as a exhibit to an NOI, have his signature notarized and then record the NOI into the public record.

In summary, these MOCs and NOIs are sometimes essential documents for an investor to protect his claims and rights in real estate transactions. Their use is inexpensive relative to the protection they yield an investor from remorseful sellers and unscrupulous investors who simply want to take over their deals and leave them out in the cold. Always have an attorney review any documents you use before you try using them on your own.

Monolithic domes are made with concrete supported by steel bars inside. Once the steel bars are in place, airfoam is applied so the cement can be poured. Once dry, the foam is removed to be used again. The Monolithic dome home is then strong, fire resistant, and ready to face the worst elements nature brings.

Another type of dome structure is the tent-like geodesic dome. This housing option is best for emergencies because of their quick construction and relatively low cost. For about $350, the housing triangles create a self-bracing framework that gives structural strength and use only a little bit of construction materials.

In California, dome-shaped homes are growing in popularity. Kits are available for homeowners to build their own house, but there are also construction experts available to do the build for people less construction inclined or who have little time of their own to complete one.

The geometric homes offer wood interiors and are energy efficient. Through a radiant floor, water is circulated under the home through PEX tubing, with an “instant on” boiler that can be switched on and off manually.

There are several geodesic dome houses now available for sale in California with prices dependent upon location. In Oakhurst, a 1400 square foot dome shaped piece of real estate is now available for just $150,000. The open floor plan includes a bedroom, bathroom, loft, a small office, and a front and back deck. It has all of the conveniences of a standard house, but operates on a septic system and uses a wood stove for heat.

A magnificent dome house in the lush woods of Taylorsville, California is currently offered for just under $600,000. One of the nicest qualities of this home is the 360 degree views of the trees and surrounding mountains. The location – like the home – is stunning.

Finally a captivating dome home is for sale in San Francisco for just over $1 million. That the home is 20 years old and in perfect shape is a testament to the longevity of these structures. The house has three bedrooms, two bathrooms, a soaring cathedral ceiling in the living room, and a wonderful wine storage room in the basement.

The costs of building a new dome are minimal compared to a lot of construction options. Kits may be purchased for between $9,000 to $28,000. If you hire a company to put it together for you, expect the price to double. Still, the cost is very reasonable considering most new construction homes across the country are priced from $70,000 up (depending on location).

This type of investment – whether you live in California or elsewhere – is a great deal.