The National Association of Realtors (NAR) based out of Chicago released a statement back in November regarding the state of existing home sales; the report confirms that existing home sales slipped slightly in August from July’s rate, however remained at a level that is 3.4 percent higher than this time a year ago. The report went on to say that sales of existing homes in August 2009 were running at 5.1 million units, compared with 4.93 million units in August 2008.

Helped by a first-time homebuyer’s tax credit, Tampa houses for sale is running ahead of this time last year, this means the inventory of existing homes on the market is 16.4 percent less than one year ago according to the NAR.  The total housing inventory fell 10.8 percent to 3.62 million at the end of August. There was currently no data available on Tampa property for sale or the property – land without houses – for sale.

The NAR reported that the Midwest saw the steepest decline in existing home sales for August 2009.  This region saw sales fall by 6.6 percent to a level of 1.14 million units from July.  The South saw existing home sales drop by 3.1 percent from the July 2009 pace although the region’s existing homes for sale are 1.6 percent higher than in August 2008.  In the West, existing home sales dropped by 2.7 percent in August 2009 to an annual rate of 1.16 million, however the pace was still 7.4 percent ahead of a year ago the same time.  And finally in the Northeast, in the August 2009 report, they saw the pace of existing home sales drop by 2.2 percent from the month before.  The annual sales of existing units in August were 910,000 which were 5.8 percent ahead of the August 2008 report.

With a high rise in unemployment rates, many people are taking the opportunity they have of not having a job to retrain themselves and refocus their careers into something that will be needed in the near future and right now that is mortgage education.  The economy is slowly making a turn around for the better and therefore the housing market will also make a comeback and mortgage loan officers will be needed to help families and individuals fill out mountains of paperwork in order to release the funds for their home mortgage loans.

Back in July of 2008, then President George Bush signed into law the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008.  This wide-ranging act addresses many concerns and topics regarding mortgage reform; however one of the major themes this act covers is called the Secure and Fair Enforcement for Mortgage Licensing Act of 2008 also known as S.A.F.E.  The safe mortgage education program establishes national minimum standards for mortgage training – both pre-licensing and continuing education.

The American Association of Residential Mortgage Regulators (AARMR) and the Conference of State Bank Supervisors (CSBS) work together to construct the new National Mortgage Licensing System so that states have one centralized location on the Internet to license their mortgage brokers and mortgage lenders.

This new system is designed to help the effectiveness and efficiency of state supervision of the US mortgage market fight mortgage fraud and predatory lending and streamline and unify state license processes for mortgage brokers and mortgage lenders. 

The Residential Mortgage Licensing System could be especially useful for companies operating in several different states because they will be able to renew all their licenses for all states in one place.  In addition, by having a national system, the regulators will be able to see if a company applying to do business in their state has complaints in other states.  If there are problems in another state that could be grounds for not licensing them in the state they applied for a license.

Helping the economy along is the $8,000 tax credit being offered through the government to first-time home buyers; however this tax credit will expire at the end of this year.

Many people have saved for years in order to have a good down payment on a house or a

A car loan modification could help families by modifying their original loan to a more manageable size so that their automobile, motorcycle, boat or RV is not repossessed by the bank or financial lending institution.

Many of the auto loan modifications work on the same principle as home loan modifications, they are designed to keep the homeowner in their home and help them avoid foreclosure.  A car loan modification is designed to help people keep their property so they can get to their jobs, school and the grocery store or anywhere they need to go.

The main reason banks and financial institutions agree to the loan modifications is because they are not in the business of selling vehicles or homes, they are in the business of making loans.  These lending facilities want people to make their monthly payments and with loan modification, they can help make sure people are capable of making the monthly payments by reducing them down to a manageable size.

No bank or financial manager likes to look out his or her window and see a row of cars, boats, motorcycles or RVs with ‘for sale’ signs on them by the bank because the banks are not in the business of selling property; they are in the business of financing property.  They do not enjoy nor want to repossess anyone’s vehicles or other modes of transportation.  This is why a loan modification service is attractive to many financial institutions; it helps both the borrower and the lender.

With the state of the economy in such disarray, more and more lending institutions are willing to negotiate loan modifications for everything from homes to boats to cars and motorcycles.  It is a good time to take advantage of loan modifications to lower monthly payments to more manageable terms.

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A short sale is a way for a homeowner to avoid foreclosure; however it does put a blemish on their credit reports which many homeowners do not realize.  Of course this mark on your credit report is less damaging than a foreclosure in many ways; however the homeowner does need the lending institution’s approval for the short sale.

What many homeowners do not realize when they enter into a short sale is that it will take many months for approval of the short sale by their lending institution.  Sometimes a homeowner will go through several contracts on their home before their bank or mortgage company accepts a contact for short sale.  Banks are not required to accept any offer of payment lower than what the property is worth.

A Tampa short sales company suggests that buyers who are interested in homes being offered for short sale should investigate the financial situation of the seller. By making sure the homeowner and their real estate agent has spoken to the lending institution, a home buyer will be able to protect themselves and know the bank or financial institution is aware of the homeowner’s intention of selling the property as a short sale – less than what they owe the bank.

Many banks and mortgage institutions are not set up to accept less than what a property is worth; however, President Obama recently announced several incentives to encourage short sales which would help lessen the foreclosure crisis under the new Foreclosure Alternative Program. This program will give borrowers, who qualify, up to $1,500 to help with their relocation expenses in addition to almost $1,000 to junior lien holders to release their liens on the property. These incentives are meant to help stimulate the housing economy with new borrowers.

Some people realize that South Tampa apartment have people who are going to always want to live in an apartment and then there are families who choose apartment life as a temporary situation until they can afford their own home.  The government is helping many first-time homebuyers with an $8,000 tax credit as an incentive to go out and purchase a new home.  This has also been an incentive for people to switch careers to become a real-estate agent.  Many people feel that the current housing slump is a transitory thing and it will pass when the economy starts bouncing back.

Many people believe the long term outlook for Tampa houses for sale is a good one and with the governmental incentive, the short-term outlook for the housing industry is also looking a little brighter.

Many universities and colleges that offer real estate and financial mortgage brokerage degrees place a heavy emphasis on the financial and mortgage brokerage end of the degree because students want to understand the role real estate has played in the recent recession.  Many degree programs cover five core real estate courses: real estate principles; real estate law; real estate property evaluation; mortgage financing and real estate investing.  And with more and more students interested in going green for the environment and concerned about global warming, a demand for LEED and energy star-certified real estate agents are becoming very popular.

Building green adds to the final cost of a home by approximately $5,000-$10,000 which represents a couple percent on the total price of the house.  It takes a lot of hard work to meet the guidelines for a certified green built house.  Some of these guidelines include a third-party inspection, not once but twice during the construction process; a blower door test for air infiltration, a leak test of the duct work and an Energy Star rating which are standard set by the federal government for energy efficiency.  The builder has to guarantee that all their subcontractors follow these specific guidelines, adhesive use must be low VOC; other materials must be green and so on.

In Grand Hampton Florida, new homebuilders who are green certified will have recycling dumpsters in the front yards of their construction projects in addition to the trees being marked off so they are not damaged during the construction process.

The National Association of Home Builders regulates the certification based on the Model Green House Building Guidelines.  This document is hundreds of pages long.  Each homebuilder has to document what they do along with take photographs throughout the construction process.  A homebuilder must keep making sure they are meeting all the requirements and standards or their new home will not be certified green.

Each individual state has their own additional green requirements and every green homebuilder must provide an owner’s manual which includes detailed information on maintenance for the home and recycling tips for the new homeowner.  Many of these owner’s manuals are placed in a large three-ring binder and are also hundreds of pages long.

Many of the industry leaders in the homebuilders market are the ones who are going green because of all the extra effort required which often costs a homebuilder extra time and money.

According to David Hsieh Jacksonville rentals are using a virtual tour, which is the latest technology in website design for real estate and rental properties, to entice new customers by showing them exactly what they will be receiving in the way of their rental property.  Through the use of the latest technology, a virtual tour, a potential renter can see every angle of each of the rooms before they sign the rental agreement.

Virtual tour technology is basically a movie of the inside of Lynn Haven homes for rent and the other properties available to rent for either a vacation or a new home in the Lynn Haven or Panama City communities.

David Hsieh Jacksonville, FL thinks having a virtual tour will help bring in more targeted customers – customers that are looking for rental properties in the Lynn Haven and Panama City communities – to the website. 

By using the virtual tour technology, more people will be able to experience what it is like to actually be in one of the Lynn Haven homes for rent before they decide to sign a rental agreement.  Virtual tour technology gives the entire picture, where a picture only shows a small percent of what’s there.  Your customers will appreciate the virtual tour technology because it allows them to see where they will be staying for their vacation or living near the Gulf of Mexico where there are plenty of outdoor activities year-round.