While School’s Out, Learn Lessons in Home Energy Use
July 15, 2011 by Darcy Beg · Leave a Comment
It may be summer vacation season, but that doesn’t mean you should take a break from your home energy responsibilities. In fact, getting the whole family involved in making better choices regarding energy efficiency is a great way to teach your household how to conserve resources and save money.
These tips from the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) can help your family stop wasting energy, save money and, at the same time, still stay comfortable.
- Staying Cool: Heating and cooling accounts for 60 percent of your home’s energy use. To insure that your heating and cooling methods make the grade, examine how well your home is insulated. If
Tax plans hit property investors
July 14, 2011 by Darcy Beg · Leave a Comment
Property News
Auckland great place to be a landlord: Skipper
Tax plans hit property investors
Auckland sales up 30% in June
QV June 2011 Report – the regions
Auckland leads nationwide property values higher
SFO warns property investors of inflated valuations
Landlords and tenants set to lose with capital gains
Labour has unveiled its tax plans, including a capital gains tax and they look worse for property investors than originally thought.
Labour has unveiled its tax plans, including a capital gains tax and they look worse for property investors than originally thought.
Labour leader Phil Goff announced the plans in Wellington this afternoon.
San Diego VA Loans
July 14, 2011 by Jack Collie · Leave a Comment
A VA (Veterans Administration) guaranteed home loan is the preferred loan program for active, non-active, Reserve, National Guard, and retired military of the armed forces because there is no down payment needed and no private monthly mortgage insurance required.
We will discuss what role the VA plays in a VA guaranteed mortgage, the benefits of a VA home loan, who is eligible for a VA loan, and the documentation you will need to present to your lender in order to apply.
Did you know that more than 27 million veterans and service personnel are eligible for VA financing, yet many aren’t aware it may be possible for them to buy homes again with VA financing using remaining or restored loan entitlement? <
Prices for Tampa Bay Homes Continue to Rise
July 13, 2011 by Matthew Bond · Leave a Comment
July 12 The median price of a single-family home in the Tampa Bay area has risen or remained flat every month since January, the longest stretch without a monthly decline since 2006.In those six months, the median selling price of single-family homes including conventional, foreclosure and short sales rose 18 percent from $107,500 in January to $127,000 in June in Citrus, Hernando, Hillsborough, Pasco and Pinellas counties, according to Multiple Listing Service data.
Further analysis shows the median price of just conventional home sales rose 8.5 percent $156,000 to $169,400 from May to June in the five counties, the highest price since hitting $169,900 in October.
Peter Murphy, president of Tampas Home Encounter, a full-service real estate firm, said the monthly increases are a relief for homeowners who had endured bad news for five years.
Its the first real glimmer of housing market recovery that weve seen in Tampa Bay in quite some time, he said.
Murphy, however, stopped short of calling it a full-blown recovery.
First-time buyers see no let-up in home loan drought
July 13, 2011 by Jack Collie · Leave a Comment
Mortgage approvals surged in June – but only so that the banks could meet their half-year lending targets, according to a new report by one of the country’s leading surveying firms. The underlying picture, says e.surv, is one of continuing weakness, and indeed a mortgage market growing even tougher for first-time buyers.
Based on some 21,000 residential property valuations, about 45 per cent of the total market, e.surv estimate that approvals were up 6.7 per cent between May and June, with banks anxious to meet their planned lending targets, making up for depressed activity earlier in the year.
But first-time buyers are making up a steadily shrinking proportion of total lending, as banks remain cautious about risk. T