Before buying or selling anything you should first consult with your core beliefs. For instance if you were in the need of a new car and you felt that over the long run gas prices were going to trend downward and eventually stay low than gas consumption would not be an issue in your decision making process.

If you are in your 30's or 40's considering health insurance and the plan you are reviewing does not provide for prescription drug coverage, you have to ask yourself....."Self....am I more likely or less likely to need prescription drugs in my future?"

This kind of base thinking helps you to make long term decisions.

What brings this topic up in today's blog is that I just traded e-mails with a person who lives in the Northwest, lets call him Tom. His concern is that the real estate bubble is about to burst and prices and values of properties are about to drop. Needless to say, if you've been reading this blog, we do not agree on this point.

Even though we do not agree we are both right, for the moment, based on our core beliefs.

Tom believes that the real estate run up has run its course and that the type of appreciation we have seen can not be sustained for the simple reason that if it went on who could afford a house? The price would soon out strip the general publics ability to buy. So his decision, for now is to wait. Perhaps for interest rates to come down, perhaps for inventory to go up, or maybe for home values to fall. In any case based on his core beliefs of today's market he has made a decision and is on a plan.

How often have you seen a customer buy from one agency and then a few years later, list with a different agency? I've seen it far too often! I always wonder if the agent did something wrong, or just didn't bother to turn that person into a lifetime customer.

I'll admit, real estate customers aren't known for their loyalty. In fact, if you list a house and it doesn't sell right away, they might take their listing elsewhere even if you've spent hundreds on advertising for them. But there are ways to improve your chances of keeping them. And there are ways to turn satisfied buyers and sellers into "Lifetime customers."

And remember, if your commission averages $10,000 per transaction and people move every 5 years, you stand to gain an extra $30,000 over the next 15 years. Then consider those buyers who like to do rehab. They sometimes buy more than one each year. Add in the friends and family each customer could bring you, and there's only one conclusion: Customers are worth keeping!

No matter where you live, the real estate market will either be a buyers' market or a sellers' market. It might even be slightly in between the two market conditions.

Most real estate agents consider a normal market to be one in which homes take an average of six months to sell. That means that in the MLS, there are at least six months of homes on hand to sell for the number of buyers in the market. If the number is higher than six months inventory, then the market is becoming a buyer's market. If it is less than six month inventory, then the market is swinging towards a seller's market.

Many formerly hot areas of the country are now becoming buyers' markets. In these areas, there are now too many homes on the market for the number of buyers. Homes are taking longer to sell and the prices are falling.

Some buyers believe that winter is always a buyers' market. It is true that there are fewer buyers out looking during the winter, there are usually fewer homes on the market as well. Seasonally conditions aside, a buyer's market is seen when buyers realize that their interest in a home is sought out.

When a buyer gains the control they will increase their demands o the sellers. They ask for things to be conveyed with the property, such as appliances and decor, that normally wouldn't be. They may ask for a home warranty at the seller's expense. Some demand the seller pay an increased portion of the closing costs. The contingencies can go on and on.

Not all sellers will lose out during a buyer's market. People who have owned their homes for a long time are able to sell at a profit, despite the buyer's market, due to the equity they have built up.

Sellers who must sell quickly will often take little or no profit from the sale of their homes, with a few taking a loss. These homeowners often have little or no equity built up in their homes.

One thing you can always depend on is that the market will eventually flip back to a seller's market. It is a never-ending cycle. If you find that you are a seller in a buyer's market, you could just hold on until the market turns back in your favor. But if you have equity in your home and have wisely maintained it, you may not find the buyer's market too unfavorable.

How to buy a cheap home? Well, the answer most people could come up to address that question is through buying foreclosed home from government auctions.

National and most of local governments are regularly holding or sponsoring foreclosure or auctions of repossessed homes. There are governments that offer such on a monthly basis, while others make it quarterly, semi-annually, or even yearly.

However the repossessed home is priced, the more important thing, and the significant idea you should always bear in mind is that you must always aim to buy at cheap prices.

Here are some useful and practical tips that could help you forge a cheap deal if you are aiming to cheaply buy a foreclosed home from a government auction.

1. Inspect the home very carefully. Check all the minor and negligible details. Sometimes, you could be surprised at how some homes are overvalued when in fact, the damages and defects can practically scrap or significantly mark down the tag price.

2. Bring an expert when looking or inspecting a foreclosed home during government auctions. Sometimes, you have to recognize other people's profession and expertise during times when they are needed. Buying homes is an activity expert home buyers and valuators can easily get across at. Take the sidelines, for a while.

3. Bid, but start at a low bid. Since the auction is just like a contest, where you would aim to compete with other bidders for a home, make sure you do not over price the foreclosed home. Otherwise, back out, and let other 'willing' people have it if they are willing to pay the premium price.

Have you ever tried buying investments in Las Vegas on your own and ended up with a bad investment that drained you financially? Making investments is supposed to give you income and not drain you financially, so it is never a good practice to make investments without consulting a good investment consultant. This especially includes those that involve a large amount of money. You may not have thought about it before, but you could easily make the wrong investments when you don’t take every precaution. It could cost you a lot and even drain you financially. So make sure that before you do make any investments, you get all of the information you need, including the expert opinion of an investment consultant.

There are many advantages in getting an investment consultant, especially if you can afford a top-rated investment consultant. What are the advantages of getting top-rated consultants? First, an investment consultant is very knowledgeable on certain investments that you may want to engage in. With their specialized knowledge in certain fields, they can give you sound advices that could help you make the right investment. Secondly, a good investment consultant can help you plan out your investment schedules. If you have a large amount of money that you want to invest, the consult can help you plan out your investment in such a way that you could reduce the investment risk. Third, with the help of an investment consultant, you can find the best investment opportunities in Las Vegas. Investment consultants can guide you and help you earn profits from your investments, which is the best reason to ensure you get one before investing.

Money can be easily found, and then lost, in Las Vegas. The place is not called the ‘gambling capital’ of the United States for nothing, so you should be very careful with your money when investing in Las Vegas. Setting up investments in Las Vegas is not like gambling, where you rely on chance to win. In fact, professional gamblers don’t rely on luck to win, so you should never rely on luck. This is especially true if you are investing into stocks and bonds in Las Vegas.

When investing in stocks and bonds in Las Vegas, always remember that you would be better off with an agent or a broker. There are many things that you should watch for when making investments in stocks and bonds. You should never make the mistake of thinking that investing in stocks and bonds is just as easy as going to a restaurant and buying your favorite food. Buying stocks and bonds requires specialized knowledge, which a broker or an agent could very well provide to you. For instance, high yielding stocks and bonds entail the highest risk. If you were not aware that high yielding bonds and stocks involve great risk, you would probably go for them and put most if not all of your money into them. Consequently, if the investment failed, you would end up losing most of your hard earned money. On the other hand, a good broker or agent knows the odds. So he or she would probably advise you to only put money that you can afford to lose, into high yielding stocks and bonds that involve great risk. Having an agent or broker to assist you will prevent you from losing large amounts on your investments.

You want to buy a home. Or you have one and wish to profitably derive some immediate cash from it for emergency needs. Either ways, you should opt for a home mortgage online right away. The feeling of freedom that comes with having one’s own space is incomparable. Whether it is living, working or entertaining, your home represents your aspirations. Somehow, you have been postponing the decision for many reasons. Insufficient earnings, other debts, lack of advice or plain laziness could have stopped you.

With home mortgage online, finding the right financial support for your home buying decision is just a click away. There are several factors that should be considered before closing the mortgage agreement. Determine the budget range in which you would shop for a home. This in turn depends on your present and future earnings potential discounted for living expenses, debt repayments and other outgoings.

Most mortgage lenders would give a preapproval based on your score in their credit appraisal. This gives you credibility when you negotiate with sellers or their agents. Home mortgage online is an easy and transparent process. The mortgage lenders provide quotes on their websites or through directory sites. This makes comparison between competitive quotes faster and easier.

Lenders offering home mortgage online provide a wide array of products like simple mortgage, interest only, fixed rate, adjustable rate or bad credit consolidation.

There is an innovative option of deriving equity from your home. This means you could use your home as a collateral to create a mortgage. The funds received could meet an immediate requirement. Home mortgage online offer this scheme as well as bad credit mortgage loans to help erase painful memories of poor credit performance.

Many mortgage lenders have personalized advice available online. You submit details about your requirements and you would get the best advice for your unique needs. Wells Fargo, Quicken loans, eloan and Greenwood Capital are some of the well known mortgage lenders who offer home mortgage online.

According to the National Association of Realtors, home prices will probably fall temporarily as the housing market corrects itself.

Prices are expected to bounce higher in a few months "as the market works through a build in housing inventory," said David Lereah, chief economist for the NAR.

Median home prices are expected to increase 2.8% this year, with 2007 seeing an increase of 2.2%. Median new home prices are expect to rise only 0.2% in 2006, but are said to increase by 2.4% in 2007.

After inflation adjustments, the realtors project that median home prices will be lower at the end of 2007 than they are now.

Existing home prices have been rising at an average of 9.6% a year for the past four years, ahead of the inflation rate. New home prices were up 13.3% in 2004 and 9% in 2005.

"This year sales are slowing, home are plentiful and sellers are negotiating," Lereah explained. "Under these conditions, we'll probably see prices dip temporarily below year-ago levels as the market works through a build up in housing inventory."

The real estate group is forecasting existing home sales to fall 7.6% in 2006 and an additional 1.7% in 2007. New home sales are predicted to fall 16.1% in 2006 and 7.1% in 2007. Housing starts are expected to be down by 9.6% this year.

At some point we've all played the “wouldn't it be nice to live there” game, where we press our noses up to the estate agents window like hungry children eyeing up the cakes in a bakery, wishing we could afford the homes that are way too expensive for us. We all have aspirations far beyond our wallets from time to time, but more and more first time buyers are finding that they simply cannot afford to buy anywhere as property prices in the UK have rocketed to such levels that the first step onto the ladder has begun to look more like an impossible leap.

Now a new breed of buyer has begun to emerge, or maybe I should say ‘evolve’, because that’s what happens when nature finds a way around a problem, who have decided to tackle the issue of affordability head on, they are the co-buyers. If you’ve not been near your TV, radio or favorite newspaper recently you’d be excused for not having heard of this home buying movement. Put simply, co-buying is where two or more people buy a property together to join funds, divide of all the costs, and afford to buy years sooner than they could have done alone. Nothing new there, as friends and family have been doing that for an age now, what is new is the rise in the popularity of searching for your ideal mortgage mate on the internet.

Richard Cohn, Founding Director of Shared Spaces Limited, introduced us to the concept of co-buying with www.sharedspaces.co.uk, launched in December 2005. He explains, “I flat shared for years before buying, and made some great friends along the way, and it was during this time that I came to the conclusion that was to lead to the creation of SharedSpaces. If you can flat-share with complete strangers with great success, why can’t people take it to the next level and buy together?”

Of course there is more to it than just that because buying is a far bigger financial commitment than renting, but Cohn suggests that with the correct legal framework (a document called a ‘Deed of Trust’ that costs only a few hundred pounds from any solicitor that protects your legal rights and provides a roadmap for the relationship), mortgage payment protection insurance (to protect you and your co-owners from hardship should you loose your jobs or are unable to work due to illness), and time (as much time as you need to get to know your potential co-buyer well enough to call them a friend or a business partner in the process), there is no reason why you cannot have a successful co-buying experience.

Your success in the mortgage industry is dependent on you becoming an expert. A mortgage marketing plan built around a niche helps you become one.

For instance, if you were remodeling a kitchen with top of the line appliances, would you go to a high end appliance store or a discount department store?

The department store will offer you all kinds of appliances, as well as tools, clothes, etc. while the high end appliance store is an expert at their products. The high end store has a reputation with being cutting edge and finding the best available appliances. And that reputation is well deserved.

With a reputation for excellence, these high end stores don’t have to spend time cold calling for clients. Instead, new prospects seek them out to do business with them. These businesses have successfully found their niche and they are reaping the profit of being positioned as experts.

It’s not difficult to become an expert. It’s possible that you are already on your way. You become an expert when you combine repetition with disciplined research, self-study, continuing education, and practical experience.

When you establish a position within a particular niche, you become a source of information, for clients and real estate agents.

Realtors want to work with someone reliable; someone that understands all the potential problems that can arise in a loan application process. Agents want to work with someone that can save them time and money.

You'll find home selling tips for houses, town homes, villas, and condominiums, scams to keep away from, how to opt a seller's real estate agent, what to set in your contract, real estate agent tricks to watch out for, and negotiating tips for dealing with tough buyers. We'll also assess such as Home Gain which help you locate a real estate agent in your area based on the marketing package that they put forward to sell your house.

Great Expectations

Many sellers have unrealistic expectations for their property value, particularly on condominiums and townhouses. These types of property at least here in Florida do not seize their value very well, and very few of them only appreciate. Often the builders of new condos and townhouses charge buyers too much money and when the buyer resells years later, they are stunned to observe how much value their unit lost. They will have a rigid time selling their condo, especially if the maintenance fees are high.

So how do you price your home?

There are three tools to use, a property appraiser, a listing real estate agent, and a record of recent home selling prices in your neighborhood. If you chose your listing agent shrewdly and they have knowledge in your neighborhood, they can steer you to a ball park selling price, then the appraiser will fine tune that number, and you can utilize a list of current selling prices as a sanity check.

Pretty it up before you list it!

Before you turn your home over to the listing agent, make sure it’s in its best form. First impressions count and the first thing buyers see are your front lawn and garden. Make sure your lawn and trees are fertilized about 2 weeks before you list the house. Also make certain that the lawn is in good shape, and has a perfect edge along the perimeter, make sure the garden looks nice, with no weeds, and repair any cosmetic damage to the house that can be seen from the outside. Replace your AC filter and any other filters that might be checked during the inspection process. Remove any excess rugs and furniture to make the rooms look bigger.

How To Interview And Hire A Real Estate Agent:

You want much more from them than just listing your house on MLS and waiting for results, you want a full scale media blitz. By using popular home buying sites like Home Gain, you are pitting local real estate agents against one another to compete for your business. The agent with the best marketing plan wins. Since agents know that there are other agents competing for your business, you'll get some aggressive marketing plans presented to you. Make sure your house is advertised with color photos wherever possible, and make sure it's outlined in your Real Estate Agent's marketing contract that there will be color photos. Buyers love open houses and half the fight in selling your house is just getting buyers to come look at it.

Stay away from long term contracts!

Do not sign long term exclusive agent contracts. Any decent agent should have your house sold in 90 days in a good market. In fact if they really are as good as the picture they painted for you, they should have your house sold in no time. Only with a 90 day listing period, you put the pressure on your Real Estate Agent to do some work and sell your house.

A loan officer marketing to generate loans doesn’t need to be difficult. Sometimes it’s simply knowing where and how to start. Your best starting point is to create expectations. Loan officer marketing that focuses on building expectations captures easy opportunities and makes your job easier.

For example, remember the experiments of Pavlov and his dog? Pavlov trained his dogs to receive a treat each time a bell was rung. Eventually he removed the reward and simply rang the bell. The dog responded by salivating every time the bell was rung, expecting a treat.

Pavlov created an expectation for the reward and his dog quickly learned the drill. We aren’t all that different from the dogs. People frequently have a perception about an experience, and our perception creates an expectation about our experiences.

Let’s say you’ve read a newspaper rave review about a restaurant. When you walk into the lobby of the restaurant you are impressed by the elegance and luxury, you’re sure you’ll get a great meal. Because you’ve built your expectations to believe that you’ll get a great meal, the food and service is remarkable.

There are many examples of how our expectations shape our perceptions, but it’s more important to consider how you can use perceptions of service to your benefit. Keep reading to learn how you can you shape expectations about your business.

Improve Your Materials

Take a look at your marketing materials. Do they give the impression or create an expectation of a trusted and highly skilled loan officer? Is there anything about the materials that make you look smart, competent, and experienced?

Your materials create the first impression with your prospects. They establish the expectation for your service. Do you need to improve your materials?

There are two important elements in your materials: brevity and image. Your window of opportunity is narrow. For instance, a loan officer marketing to Realtors only has an agent’s attention for a brief amount of time. This isn’t a good time to expound on your services. It’s a “just the facts” moment. Images can sometimes covey powerful emotions. Consider using pictures to communicate part of your message.

A Website Shapes Expectations

Your website may be your most powerful loan officer marketing tool. Your prospects will often first look at your website to see if you look like a competent professional.

How to calculate cost basis can be a confusing concept to those who contemplate selling their real estate. Along with fair market value and holding period, cost basis represents one the three key components in identifying the amount of potential tax that may be due on the sale of the property.

Unfortunately, how to calculate cost basis is not a common concept ingrained in us through our normal day-to-day educational experience. However, it very quickly becomes very real as we explore various real estate exit and transition strategies.

A good place to start in developing an understanding how to calculate cost basis is by defining capital gain. What are capital gains and how do they apply to real estate? In simplest terms, a capital gain is the appreciation between the original cost and current sale price. The federal government and most state governments tax this "gain" if the asset is sold.

The sales proceeds less any associated selling costs represent the "value" of the property being sold. It does not matter if the property is encumbered by debt or not in this calculation. And, it does not matter if all proceeds are received at the time of sale or not. The net result is still the value of the property at the time of sale - the top number in our simple mathematical equation to determine the amount of "gain" in the property.

In contrast, cost basis is the bottom number that is subtracted from value to give us the answer to our gain question. Simply stated, cost basis is the original cost of the property, plus any improvements made by the owner. Improvements can be items such as:

Are you unsure of what type of real estate agent to use when you are selling your home and/or buying a new home? Understanding the function of a real estate agent and what their relationship to you as a seller or buyer is tremendously important. For a first time home buyer or seller you should be aware of some facts, and clear out the cobwebs of confusion on the responsibilities and duties of a real estate agent.

Real estate agents, depending on the state in which you live, may only be allowed to act only as a seller’s or buyer’s agent. In many instances however a real estate agent may take on a dual role of representing both the seller and buyer. This type of agent is known as a dual agent. In other words they have a duty to sell the home for the best possible price for the seller, and at the same time are committed to get the best asking price for a buyer. This can be a somewhat upsetting for many people, but the best defense is being in the know about the legal and moral responsibilities associated with a real estate agent’s dual agency representation, and how you can feel positive about working with them.

In most states real estate agents are legally required to state which party they are working for. Most of the time real estate agents work for the individuals that are selling a home. Make sure to ask, if you are unclear so to alleviate any nervousness on your part. Always presume that any real estate agent is working for a firm that represents both a seller and a buyer, and if you are a buyer, make sure to keep to yourself any information that may affect any deals that are offered for your purchase of a house. Buyer’s agents have a loyalty only to the buyer. This is established by a signing of a contractual agreement between both the agent and the buyer. The buyer should be aware that agents are held to a legal and moral obligation to not reveal any personal facts not only to the home seller, but to the real estate agent. Material disclosure is allowable though about the property, such as any known pest infestations, or problems with the structure itself. A dual agency for a real estate agent is usually understood for them if they represent a buyer; make sure to check into the real estate agent’s status for your own serenity. Nonetheless, contract protection is afforded for anyone that is interested in purchasing a property through an agent that represents a seller’s interest by signing a contract to represent both.

If you are selling your home and you will be searching to buy a home in the same area you need to expect a reasonable amount of service from the real estate agent that represents you. The agent’s goal should be to fully represent your best interests. Your agent needs to clearly inform you if they will require you to sign an exclusive contract. This legally binding contract will require you to work with that agent only. You should always search around for an agent that will allow you to have other realtors working on your behalf to locate a new home for you. All agents should work diligently to help you sell your home by providing comparisons studies of the properties in your area, to handle any inspections or appraisals, and to work with your mortgage lender and in the loan application process. He or she should be more than willing to consider and respect your wishes when scheduling an open house for either other agents or for the general public. Agents should always be courteous about appointment times to meet with you, and should always leave a cell phone in case of unexpected issues surrounding the sale of your home. Your buyer’s agent should clearly explain all aspects of the contract to you. Issues such as contract compensation and their exact fees for selling your home, along with other important details such as how long you must list your home with them should be covered in a written contract. Never take their word for it. Get everything in writing. Be careful, verbal contracts, maybe legally binding.

Every single year, the moving industry charges into action (usually during the summer months) as millions of people move from one place to another.

There are always war stories shared by those that have lived through a move, usually detailing experiences that could have been avoided.

Here we investigate the process of actually performing the move, and doing it safely and successfully. Afterall, so many take real care in the financial aspects of buying or selling a home. Why then, is there so much less concern with moving your home from one place to another? Aren't the things inside your home as important as the home itself?

Step 1: Take inventory of the items in your home!

Very often, there is little to no time to actually determine what items are really worth taking to the new home. Therefore, the typical approach is to PACK EVERYTHING! This is a safety mechanism that can add serious dollars to your cost of moving. To move those items you no longer want or need may require a larger vehicle, or more moving supplies.

Some items you may offer to the buyer to help increase the sale price. Other items you may be able to sell on eBay or at a garage sale. Did you ever consider that the money made from a garage sale could actually pay for your move?

Step 2: Organize and Pack your valuables wisely!

The most organized person I have ever met was my sister, who sorted all items into boxes by room, even if it was the attic or garage for storage. She had separated everything based on which room they were going into, not where they came from, packed them into boxes and used marker to write the contents and designated room.

Step 3: Buy the right moving supplies!

The one thing everyone needs, but no one wants to buy are moving boxes, moving supplies and packing materials. Consider how much your valuables are worth, and then consider whether or not it is worth spending some money to ensure that your valuables are kept safe during the move. Whether you have your big buddy helping you or a professional moving company, you are still much safer if your valuables are packed securely. DON'T use your friend's recycled boxes as they may no longer be sturdy.

You can find moving boxes, moving supplies and packing materials you need online at wholesalers like www.promovingboxes.com. Sites like these are all over and offer fast free shipping. Imagine, that old bike or furniture set you sold on eBay may even pay for your order!

Step 4: Hire a Moving Company!

Bluto the large may be a close personal friend, but very often should not be relied on to supplant a professional moving company. For one thing, favors are always repaid with other favors, which involve some manner of costs. Also, either your stuff, or worse your friends could get hurt in the process. Professional movers are insured, and so are your valuables. If a mover drops grandma's china set that was given to you as an heirloom, you may remember it forever, but you'll probably never see that person again. Your friend may not be so lucky. They could wind up with a permanent black mark when all they were trying to do was help you out.

Step 5: Take time Off before and after!

Don't leave a deadline of a weekend to move your home. It is never long enough. True, that most people take vacation to simply go on vacation. But here, you have 1 opportunity to get it all right! From start to finish, you have the opportunity to do everything right! Ever hear of someone who wanted to paint their new home first but couldn't because they had to get their stuff out of the moving truck?

Leave yourself plenty of time to perform all of the steps in your move. You will feel much better for it in the end. Those who take off often find that they have accomplished so much more. Either by organizing their new home, or cleaning their things as they unpack them. Most importantly though, those who take off can take time to enjoy their new home, and begin to plan for their future there.

Have you decided to save some money on movers and move your furniture yourself. If so you have taken on quite a job. Moving can be difficult and tiring but this article will give you some tips to help make your move go smoothly.

First off you need to make sure that you reserve a moving truck well before your move. Rental companies can and do sell out of truck rentals. Order your truck at least 3 weeks in advance. Longer if your move is at the end of the month when most trucks are rented. If you want to save some hassle you can rent one during the middle of the week. They are easier to get during the week and the rental store will not be as busy so you will get in and out faster.

Next be sure to pack a few days before the actual move. There is nothing worse than having to pack the day of the move or the night before it. Moving will go much easier if all you have to do is load on the day of the move. Be sure to mark the boxes accurately so that they get put into the right room. Pack a separate box of things that you will need immediately like a change of clothes and toiletries.

Lastly when you load the truck fill up the granny's attic (if so equipped) with boxes first. Then load the heavier items towards the front of the truck. If possible load the items that you will want immediately last.