Misinformation is the greatest hindrance for both buyers and sellers of residential and commercial real estate, especially when engaging the industry for the very first time. There is so much misinformation revolving around out there that first time buyers and sellers have a difficult time navigating truth from fiction.  Here are some myths debunked by industry experts Dave Kruse and Steve Knapp of Lockardrealty.com

Myth #1: The gift of foresight

“My experience in the market and gut tell me that XYZ opportunity is the way to go,” sasy a bad realtor, frequently.  Certainly, successful residential and commercial real estate professionals do have an industry knowledge that would help them predict future market conditions. But that alone won’t get you…

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Buying and or selling real estate is one of those things that most of us will engage in at some point of time in our lives. Both the buyer and the seller are looking to maximize their value and often attempt to do this by avoiding the services of the real estate professional.  What looks like the easiest way to save a few thousand up-front sometimes turns into a sure-fire way to tens of thousands more than you expected in the long run.

Here are 5 reasons why you should utilize a real estate professional to help you buy, sell, or rent your next real estate transaction:

  1. Real Estate Professionals Know the Market

Real estate professionals are able to price the property correctly. Current industry pricing for business and home sales in specific…

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By: Brandon Turner
Source: BiggerPockets.com

In 2006, NASA admitted they had accidentally taped over the original recording of the first lunar landing.

In 1962, Decca Records had a choice to sign one of two bands. They chose Brian Poole and the Tremeloes. The band they rejected? The Beatles.

In 1788 the Austrian army accidentally attacked itself and lost 10,000 men.

Clearly, mistakes happen. The same will be true for your real estate business, though hopefully to a lesser extent than the examples mentioned above.

However, one mistake that can be deadly to your real estate business is this: choosing the wrong property.

Making the mistake of picking the wrong property is a lot like picking the wrong spouse. It can be incredibly…

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By:Courtney Crowder

Source:The Des Moines Register

Internet, Internet, on the web, which state is the American-est of them all?

Iowa, of course.

 

A new totally unscientific study by Estately declared lil' ol' us to be the most American of all the 50 states.

Iowa is "where astronauts are born, and where the actual baseball field in the movie 'Field of Dreams' is located," the Estately post read. "It produces the most bacon of any state, and Iowa corn farmers fuel our country's obesity epidemic with sweet, sweet corn syrup."

Estately rated states based on eight factors: 

  • Bald eagles per square mile
  • Olympic gold medals won per capita
  • Native astronauts per capita
  • Fast food restaurants per capita
  • Major League…

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by RealEstateRama Source: Iowa RealEstateRama  

WASHINGTON, D.C. – June 17, 2015 – (RealEstateRama) — Sale prices and number of homes sold continue their upward trend. Homes are selling faster than any point in the last 3 years according to the Iowa Association of REALTORS® (IAR).

Homes continue to sell very quickly as days on market fell to 75 days as compared to 90 days at this time last year. This is the lowest number of days on market in the last 3 years.

Sales increased 7.3 percent from a year ago. 4,134 homes were sold last month as compared to 3,853 homes that sold in May 2014. Active listings were down 3.4 percent and Pending listings were up 5.7% when compared to last May.

Listing Activity May 15

The report shows that…

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By: Kurt Jacobson
Source: Realty Biz News

Gone are the days when women used to cut out pictures from interior design magazines and filed them away for future use. Today, technology has invaded nearly every aspect of our lives, including home décor and design. So whether you are buying furniture for your living room, choosing paint colors for your dining room, or simply looking for ideas to do up your kid’s room, you can rely on technology to help you achieve the best possible results. 

Here are some of the top apps in the home decor and design space today. Don’t forget to check them out before you plan your next home renovation project!

Color Smart

Want to paint your bedroom in the colors of the painting you fell in love with, but not sure…

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By: Prajakta Dhopade
Source: MSN.com/Money

Selling a home can be difficult. Worrying if you’re accepting the right price, wondering if the market will work in your favour and hoping your home is attractive to potential buyers can be a headache. What’s one way to stand out from the crowd?  How about throwing in a free Maserati or other outrageous giveaways? That’s what a Montreal homeowner did last week. The extravagant vehicle was given away with the sale of a home in Montreal’s pony Westmount neighbourhood.

But this isn’t the first time an excessive add-on has made its appearance in a real estate transaction. Over the years there’s been some wacky extras thrown into the home buying mix. But do they actually make a difference?

Toronto broker Ryan…

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Source: Forbes.com

          By: Maggie McGrath

 

What a difference a month — and a change in weather — can make: a new report shows that after plunging 11.4% in March, new home sales rebounded in April, rising nearly 7% in the first full month of spring and jumping 26% over sales reported in April of last year.

According to a report released Tuesday morning by the U.S. Department of Commerce (and compiled using data from the Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development) sales of newly-constructed single-family homes reached an annual rate of 517,000 in April, a figure that marks a 6.8% rise over sales in March (which were revised to a seasonally-adjusted rate of 484,000 homes) and growing an impressive 26% over the…

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Source: Main Street By: Brian O'Connell

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 NEW YORK (MainStreet) — Good news on housing and the economy: Mortgage delinquencies are down.

Data from credit rating giant TransUnion shows the national mortgage delinquency rate dropped to 2.95% in the first quarter of 2015 — the first time that figure has sunk below the 3% market since the third quarter of 2007, right before the Great Recession hammered us.

It's the 13th consecutive quarterly drop in delinquency rate. Year-to-year, the delinquency rate is down nearly 18% from the first quarter of last year. It's also way down from the market high of 6.94% in 2010.

There's something to cheer about even in the much maligned subprime…

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Source: BBC.com Former Fitzgerald home in Great Neck EstatesGreat Neck provided much of the inspiration for The Great Gatsby's fictional town of West Egg

The suburban home where F Scott Fitzgerald is believed to have written The Great Gatsby has gone on sale.  The seven-bedroom house is situated in Long Island, where Fitzgerald set much of his 1925 novel.

Fitzgerald and his wife, Zelda, lived in the home - in the New York hinterlands - from 1922 until 1924.  The author is understood to have completed The Great Gatsby after moving to France, where he set his subsequent novel Tender is the Night.

A spokeswoman for the estate agency said the asking price for the Mediterranean-style home, in the village of Great Neck Estates, is in excess of $3.8m (£2.4m). She declined to identify the current…

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