Filed Under: Uncategorized by: Adam Ciboch

The FHA: Protecting Buyers and Renters from Housing Discrimination Since 1968

Imagine you have your sights on purchasing or renting property. Everything might seem perfect, until the subject of your child comes up. Maybe it’s the seller’s or landlord’s discovery that your unmarried partner lives with you and you plan to move in together. Other factors such as ethnicity, disability or religion can be just as easily substituted. In any event, not based on financial considerations, your offer to purchase or rent is subsequently denied.

That’s where the federal Fair Housing Act, also known as the FHA, comes in. In the United States, federal fair housing laws date back to the 1960s. This makes sense, as that was a time of great civil rights achievements, including those surrounding the desegregation of all-white and all-black neighborhoods.

The Fair Housing Act was written into law in 1968. Its main purpose was to protect those seeking to purchase or to rent a property from discrimination on a seller’s or landlord’s part. The Act’s goal was primarily to create a housing market where the only factor that could restrict a buyer or renter from obtaining the dwelling place of their choice was financial resources, as opposed to their personal background.

When the Fair Housing Act was originally created, it prohibited housing discrimination based on race, color, religion and national origin. Six years later in 1974, sex also became a protected class. In 1988, disability and familial status, relating to the existence of children in a household, were also added. Many states’ fair housing laws mirror the federal Fair Housing Act exactly. Others, like California’s, are even more inclusive, naming sexual orientation as a protected class, as well.

If you believe you have experienced housing discrimination, a complaint needs to be filed with the Housing and Urban Development office (HUD). These complaints are investigated by the Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity (FHEO). If FHEO determines there is reasonable cause for the complaint, it will schedule a hearing before a HUD administrative law judge who will ultimately decide the case in question.

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Filed Under: Uncategorized by: Adam Ciboch

3 Ways to Make Your Home More Marketable, the Feng Shui Way

In China, feng shui’s method of redistributing energy, or chi, throughout a home has been used to promote physical and emotional well-being for hundreds of years. Rearranging common household effects is an easy way to redistribute energy. Many home sellers are currently researching other ways to help them sell their home as a result of the recent downturn in sales of real estate. Is feng shui one of those ways that can aid in the sale of your house? What follows are three cost-effective ways to give yourself an advantage in a down real estate market.

First and foremost, a seller should focus on encouraging buyers to enter the home. Very crucial is the first impression your home makes, and the front of your home is the first thing most potential buyers will see. Trim foliage an acceptable length, and paint a fresh coat onto anything that could be considered discolored siding in order to brighten things up. In order to attract positive attention, the front door can be painted a contrasting color compared to the rest of your house, and the purchase of a new welcome mat can also liven up your outdoor space.

Engaging the buyer’s senses emotions in a positive way is the next step. Even the Smallest of rooms can be made to look larger by ensuring the space is bright and open. Homes feel comfortable but fresh when welcoming smells like cinnamon and pine are used. Consider purchasing a small fountain to reap the benefits, since buyers are put on ease while viewing a home by listening to the relaxing sound of water.

Getting rid of the excess is the final step to making your home more marketable the feng shui way. Packing and moving out creates clutter, so as a home seller, you likely know how stressful and disordered that excess can make a room feel. Logically-speaking, wouldn’t that make a buyer feel quite the same? Storage where you can move over-sized furniture and personal effects such as framed pictures should be considered Your home will sell more quickly the easier it is for buyers to see themselves living there themselves. A home’s energy is highest, as well, when there are less cumbersome household items for it to get caught behind.

Voil. It is undeniable that the real estate market today is difficult, but ensuring your house sells shouldn’t have to be. These three simple staging tips will quickly give your home a fresher, more marketable look, whether or not you believe in the centuries-old Chinese tradition of feng shui. In addition, there’s no need to worry about overextending yourself financially or in terms of your own staging ability, because these tips cost very little and allow even the most staging-challenged among us to take full advantage of them. A note of warning, though: You might even find yourself wanting to delay putting your home on the market after seeing it in its newly uncluttered and wonderful-smelling state!

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Filed Under: Uncategorized by: Adam Ciboch

How Seat Covers Can Be a Lifesaver For Your Vehicle

One of a car owner’s biggest concerns is how to keep their car looking great after they purchase it and start driving it around. There are certainly a lot of hazards associated with driving and parking your car outside.That people focus almost exclusively on maintaining their car’s exterior is a logical assumption then. You need to look at this issue from another side though.

Ensuring the interior of your car remains clean is just as important, even though the interior of your car may not get you as many admiring looks as the exterior. On a daily basis, you as the car owner will be the one seeing the interior. There’s a lot that could go wrong, in terms of keeping your car’s interior clean, if you commute to work like most people do.

Morning commuters who drink beverages like coffee will especially not want to test the odds that they’ll never accidentally spill something onto one of their car seats, for example. The odds are probably not high that you’ll avoid doing this, especially when you have someplace to be quickly. And if you ever have to make a quick pit stop at a fast food drive-thru, the backseat’s the most likely place the bag will end up when you’re in a rush. Paper bags are no match for grease. You don’t have to be a genius to know where that grease will ultimately end up.

Car seat covers are consequently a good way to combat such problems. Made of a variety of different fabrics and able to withstand a lot of wear and tear, they might be just the thing to ensure your actual seat covers remain unblemished. This is important for resale purposes in the future, since it’s a lot easier simply to strip off a dirty seat cover than to have your car reupholstered. If you’ve got eclectic tastes as well, seat covers are definitely for you. You can get them with polka dots or even zebra stripes. It’s all up to you.

Just remember that with seat covers already installed, any messes you make the next time you stop out for fast food on the go shouldn’t be a problem at all. If you have a busy lifestyle, seat covers should be just the right amount of coverage to keep your car’s interior protected.

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Filed Under: Uncategorized by: Adam Ciboch

How an ALTA Insurance Policy Can Benefit You as a Homeowner

Lender’s policies, also known as loan policies, can only be obtained by home mortgage lenders. The mortgage loan tends to be assigned first before them. In the even the loan is actually sold, the policy will benefit the loan purchaser. Secondary markets that are often made up of large amounts of purchasers are aided in the sale of home mortgages by loan policies. Fannie Mae and the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation are just some of these purchasers, as well as private institutions.

The most universal of forms used in the United States come from the American Land Title Association, known by its shorter acronym, ALTA. These forms have been modified by some states for a myriad of different reasons, including making them compliant with the needs of their state residents and specific state laws.

Lenders can be assured of certain levels of protective coverage by means of procuring an ALTA insurance policy. One example of what this can include is when the title to the property for which they originally created the mortgage has a problem. When the title has not been listed in the mortgage home borrower, ALTA’s insurance policy may also be able to help. Other problems include title defects, liens or other encumbrances. Another problem could be an unmarketable title. The title becomes unmarketable, for example, when multiple people claim to have a title on the property.

In addition, another thing ALTA insurance policies protect against is when there happens to be no right of access to the land. It also protects lenders when the lien created by the mortgage is either invalid or unenforceable. The mortgage might also be subject to mechanic’s liens under particular circumstances. ALTA insurance policies protect lenders from losses that might result from any of these situations. As with ALTA forms found in every state, the ALTA insurance policy additionally is created to cover any costs associated with defending insured matters that are under attack in court.

ALTA policies are subject to certain conditions and exclusions, just like all insurance policies. Mortgage lenders can protect themselves before lending to a homeowner by means of an ALTA policy. Through no fault of their own during a real estate transaction, there are any number of things that could subject a lender to loss. These matters are covered by ALTA.

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Filed Under: Uncategorized by: Adam Ciboch

Hiring a Listing Agent to Help with the Sale of Your Home

There are several key members to any good real estate team. You often need an assessor, an attorney and sometimes even someone to stage and photograph your home. For a homeowner who’s considering selling their house, however, the listing agent is the most essential player.

In terms of residential real estate, the listing agent represents the homeowner. In some instances, a listing agent can also represent a home buyer as a dual agent. Most traditionally, though, it is the listing agent’s job to market the homeowner’s home. This is done by adding the property to the multiple listing service, also known more colloquially as MLS. The listing agent also represents the homeowner by presenting offers to them and essentially overseeing the entire real estate transaction from the first offer to the home’s closing date.

There are important differences to be noted between a listing agent and a buyer’s agent, though. Responsibility for locating properties for a buyer to visit and consider during the purchasing process is assigned to a buyer’s agent. The buyer is this type of agent’s sole responsibility. The buyer also pays the buyer’s agent for the services rendered.

A listing agent, on the other hand, is paid by the seller. This usually occurs after the sale of the home, since the listing agent will take a percentage of the money the seller receives after its sale. The actual percentage amount varies from state to state, averaging out around 3.5% of the total purchase price of the home. This amount is agreed upon by the seller and the listing agent in a contract. The contract is set for a specified time period. If the listing agent fails to find a buyer during that period and the seller opts not to renew the contract, the listing agent is owed no commission percentage.

If you’re trying to sell your home and need some help with the ropes of the real estate market, a listing agent is thus a good option to go with. A listing agent’s primary responsibilities and duties are geared toward the home seller and obtaining the best opportunities to get a home sold quickly for the money it is worth, even though they can sometimes represent both buyers and sellers.

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Filed Under: Uncategorized by: Adam Ciboch

How to Fight a Property Tax Assessment, if it’s Even Worth it in the First Place

The market is not strong in this day and age. Homes are still losing their value quite rapidly, despite there being hope that in the near future market rates will increase with a strong economy. There is a silver lining, despite it being an unfortunate situation in the first place. You might have less property taxes to pay out each year if your property assessment is lowered due to a drop in home values.

What if you think your home has been assessed too high even still? Is fighting your property assessment even worth the trouble? It very well might be.

First, it is useful to understand how home values are assessed. Two of the most popular ways are with comparables and replacement or rebuilding value. Also known as “comps,” comparables are simply other homes in your neighborhood or the surrounding area that are similar to your home and have recently been sold. By noting how much each of these homes sold for, assessors are able to value your home accordingly. Replacement or rebuilding value is more like how a bank appraises your home based on how much they think the cost would be to replace it.

Your first step if you believe your home was assessed at too high a value is to gather information o build yourself a strong case for a lower property assessment. You’re part of the way there already after you meet with an assessor to let him or her know you believe your property was valued too high. Filing an appeal is what you should do next. A time limit for filing an appeal should be noted, because most locations have something akin to this. The time period varies, with 60 days being the average, so don’t miss out on your opportunity by not checking what the actual time limit is in your location. The process of the appeal requires you to meet in front of an appeal board and present for eight to ten minutes. Pictures and floor plans of comparables, as well as any other evidence you found to support your case should be brought to the appeal.

Doing your research and filing an appeal is the most direct and uncomplicated way to fight your property assessment, despite there being other options. Dress and act professionally, as well as lay out the facts that support your side clearly and concisely during your presentation. If you’ve done your homework, you have a good shot. It’s definitely worth your time and effort in that case to fight your assessment and consequently reduce your annual property taxes.

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