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Technology is permeating our daily lives like nothing else, and it is but common sense to take advantage of what is available and use it for our specific purposes. When it comes to buying a new home, technology has got a wide array of offerings for those who are willing to make use of them. Here are some of the best new useful tools in this regard.

The iPhone!
Yes, the iPhone is more than just a phone. It is a gaming machine as well, among many other things. More than that, you can actually use it to get information on a house or property that you pass on your way to wherever. Say you see a sign on the lawn of a piece of property that you just have to take a look at. Of course you have some info on the sign, but that is not enough. If you have an iPhone, you do not have to wait till you get home or to the office. Just go to Zillow.com, which has released a special version for the iPhone. There you can get all the information you need on over 88 million homes! How’s that for accessibility?

Trulia
This is another web site that can prove to be very profitable for those who are looking for houses on the cheap. Trulia.com recently launched a feature allowing home buyers to filter out listings at a reduced price. You just need to know which town (or the ZIP) you want, enter it, and you’ll get countless results. It’s an easy way to narrow down your search!

These are only two of the most useful tools out there. In the next post, let’s take a look at a couple more.

Getting a mortgage used to be an easy thing; at least during the height of the real estate boom. We know that all good things must come to an end, however, and currently, getting a mortgage can be as difficult as going through the eye of a needle. For those who are looking to buy a home in these hard times, your best bet would be to get a preapproved mortgage, even if you have not decided on what to buy yet. But how do you get this? Is this even possible?

The good news is that yes, getting preapproved is quite possible despite the difficult times. Here are some tips on how to get preapproved for a mortgage.

Do it early!
If you plan on buying a house next year, shop around for mortgage lenders NOW. The chances are that you will not get a preapproved mortgage on your first try. Probably not even on your second, third, or fourth try. As such you will have enough time and you do not have to go through additional stress because of the time factor.

Get your financial records in order.
No matter how you look at it, you are going to be asked to share your financial information. Get your act together – proof of income, credit, assets, and everything else that will help you prove that you are capable of paying the mortgage.

Know this: preapproval does not obligate you to borrow from the lender.
This is the beauty of the arrangement. You can get preapproval but you can back out in case you decide not to borrow money. You are not tied down. Remember that.

They say that when it comes to real estate, location is everything. There must be a lot of truth to this maxim as most people, when buying a piece of property, always takes location as the primary consideration. Why do you think the prices skyrocket when a piece of property is situated in a “prime” location?

So what do you do if you have a piece of land or a house that is located in a not-so-ideal place? Say it is near an airfield. Or maybe the Amtrak line runs behind the house? Are properties located in these areas impossible to sell?

On the surface, you may think that. After all, people might not even take a second look once they find out that they are going to be hearing jets landing and taking off at odd hours of the day. Same thing for trains running at least twice a day.

Then again, experienced real estate agents say that it is not impossible to sell properties which have lousy locations. They say that after “location,” it is the “price” that matters most to buyers.

So, your property is not selling despite being in the listing for months? Why not try lowering the asking price to something that people cannot help but check out? Your property may not be prime land, but for the right price, there will be people who will want it. It really is a matter of adjusting. You have to face the fact that you might have to sell at a loss, but if you really want to sell, that is better than nothing, isn’t it?

One of the best times to sell your home is during spring. Everything just seems to be better in this season and even the moods of people are affected by it. Of course, you might need to get some work done as the winter might not have been exactly kind to your property. Before you sell your house this spring, follow these simple steps for better chances of making a good deal.

Wash, wash, wash!
It’s not called spring cleaning for nothing. I would suggest washing your windows and walls till they shine and sparkle. Oh, and do it both inside and outside. If you want, you can even use some furniture or glass cleaner to give things an extra sparkle. Oh, and don’t forget mirrors as well. There is nothing more attractive to a home buyer than a sparkling clean house.

Cut, trim, and then cut some more
If you have vegetation in your yard, then make sure you deal with this before showing off your property. Trim bushes that need to be trimmed. Cut down branches that block sunlight or block the view from windows. And do make sure that you rake the dead leaves away. You might like the “naturalistic” look but not everyone appreciates that!

Get hordes of yellow flowers
Studies show that yellow flowers entice people to buy more. Whether or not the data is true, it will not hurt to transplant flowers to fill your window boxes and yard. You do not even have to stick with yellow flowers only. Go out and gather all those bright flowers and see the difference they can make.

I am so far from retirement age that I do not even really want to think about it. Having so many years before I reach that age does have its advantages – I can look forward to setting aside some money to prepare for the time when I stop being part of the workforce. For those who are close to retirement age, however, things are a bit more concrete. It is time to actually choose where to retire. If you are at this point in your life, where would you want to retire? Forbes.com has a feature on the best American cities to retire in – at a budget. Sounds good to you?

Here is more information to satisfy your curiosity:

Columbus, Ohio. This river city tops Forbes’ list of cities where your nest egg goes farthest, thanks to reasonably priced housing relative to income and a 4.5% inflation rate that allows a buck to stretch a little farther than other quickly growing areas. With tens of thousands of Ohio State Buckeyes, folks will enjoy the verve and energy that comes with a bustling college town.

Texas also welcomes retirees. Dallas and Houston ranked second and fourth, respectively. A warm climate and growing economies make both of these spots great places to live up your golden years. Each city can brag about latter-year employment possibilities for the enterprising type; that’s because 20% of those 65 and over collect a weekly paycheck.

I don’t know about Columbus, Ohio but Dallas and Houston appeal to me. Too bad I am not anywhere near retirement age. For the complete list and more detailed information, visit the full slide show.

Gone are the good old days of buying a home for X amount of dollars and seeing it appreciate 100% plus over the course of say 20 years. Worse yet the average take home wage is only $25k. People are working harder and longer for a lot less. Gone are the days of job security and tidy pension plans. The days when dad went to work and mom stayed home. Those days are long gone.

The cost of living has skyrocketed in comparison to 20 years ago. Don’t even bother dreaming about buying a house like your Daddy did. My dad bought his house for 65k and today it’s worth 1/2 million. Jebus, don’t we all wish.

I for one really wonder what some of these people do for a living that are buying these average homes. If that is the average price and the above is the average wage, how long is the average mortgage? Better yet, what is the average mortgage payment.

I really sometimes wonder if they will ever pay them off, let alone make the payments and the upkeep.
Therefore I have concluded that housing can be one of the greatest expenses in life. But it is also one of the things we do have some control over.

I know, some folks may think that living in a small prairie town, or some old lumber town is not trendy, but then being broke all the time isn’t really trendy either.Some of these places can offer you the world. A place to start your own business, with low taxes and low overhead, makes it that much easier to get things off the ground and up and running. And with technology today the sky is the limit. So if your viewing the listings here, want a change in life, ask yourself, “What could I do to make $25k a year?” Do a little research. Check out what some of these places have to offer. Talk to the town council. Just get out there. You just never know what you might find.

For anyone who is really interested in the buying and selling of these homes there is some great material to be had right here.
One can make an exceptional living in the business of buying, fixing, and reselling these homes. If you are looking at a different pace of life, here is and opportunity not be dismissed.

In the recent years, I have been hearing the term “commercial Christmas” more than ever. I suppose that the way people do things during this holiday has really evolved over time. Is there anything you can do about it? Maybe so. Then again, do you really want to?

In any case, you are sure to find “Christmas specials” anywhere you look and the real estate industry is not exempt from that. I recently read a write up on a very special Christmas deal in downtown LA:

You know how it is. You want to get that certain someone a special holiday gift, but you would prefer to find it on sale at a big markdown – something like, say, 40% off.

You interested? In case you have a spare $899,000 to spend, this might actually be a very good buy. Property this size in downtown LA – you are sure to get your money’s worth back in a few years! Now who said Christmas isn’t a commercialized holiday? It was not me!

The elections are over – the longest campaign run in history. We have been on the edge of our seats for so long and now we have the ending. But it really is not an ending, is it? It is more like a beginning. What does the president-elect have in store for the country? We all know that he is facing a lot of issues and has a lot of fixing to do. What concerns us, in terms of this blog, is his stand on real estate. The government has a lot to do with this sector and it really is in need of serious fixing.

The Realty Times has this feature:

What’s an Obama administration, plus heavy new Democratic majorities in the House and Senate, going to mean for housing and real estate?

You can count on several major Obama priorities:

Number one: Large-scale, systematic mortgage relief for home owners behind on their loans.

That package could include a freeze on all foreclosures by lenders for 90 days or more; mandates for banks and loan servicers to modify the terms of mortgages to prevent foreclosures; plus new powers for bankruptcy court judges to require lenders to reduce loan balances owed or cut interest rates.

You can count on quick passage of long-stalled Democratic bills on predatory lending, appraisal reform, plus a major effort to consolidate and strengthen the powers of financial regulatory agencies to oversee the mortgage and banking industries.

This looks like good news to me but then again, this is not the official statement – there is none as of yet. There seems to be hope in the horizon – which is exactly what Obama’s campaign was all about.

So we had a short discussion on what home buyers should do. But what if you are a home seller, what should you do? Here are some specific tips for you.

Tip #1: If at all possible, wait.
If selling your home is not imperative at this point, then wait. The markets are very much troubled, we cannot overlook that fact. If you know that the market is particularly unstable in your area, you should really hold off on selling your property.

Tip #2: Rent it out instead.
Following tip #1, while waiting for the markets to become better – and trust me, they will sooner or later – why don’t you rent out your house instead? Of course, this is only possible if you live in another location and you do not need the house to live in.

Tip #3: Spruce up your home.
We all know how a little retouching can up the value of your home. While waiting for your house to sell, you should do this and increase its value. We have had a lot of articles on redoing your house. Take a look at them to get some ideas.

Tip #4: Get the price right.
I understand that you would want to get the most money out of the sale of your house – any home seller has the same goal. But you must bear in mind that money is tight at the moment. If you price your house too high, you might be missing out on a good sale.

Hard times are upon most of us yet we cannot deny the fact that there are still people who are in the market for a house. There are still those who are selling and buying real estate. If you are looking for a house to buy, here are some great tips which can help you make the most out of the current situation.

Gather as much down payment as you can BUT do not sacrifice your emergency fund.
The more money that you have for down payment for a new house, the better your chances of getting a good financing deal. This is hard enough during normal times and during these times of economic turmoil, it could even be harder. As such, you should not, at all costs, touch that emergency fund of yours.

Make sure that you pre-qualify before anything else.
This tip involves as much common sense as the first one. You have to know how much you can afford in total for a house. The same thing applies for the down payment. By pre-qualifying, you can find out the figures. Knowing exactly how much you can spend will make your home buying endeavors more decisive.

Get a rate lock.
It is easier said than done because the markets are fluctuating so much at the moment. But still, you have to lock in a rate at some point, otherwise, you might end up losing good rates. Look for options that will allow you to get a float down, that is you can negotiate your rate in case there is a considerable drop.