Real estate has traditionally been a good opportunity for women. More than 65 percent of real estate agents are women. The flexibility and higher than average income was a draw to career-minded mothers long before flex-time and family benefits were even considered in other industries. Yet, historically, the top management spots were held by men. All of that has changed.
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The British government unveiled a new housing strategy this week, designed to help their aging population stay in their own homes longer. UK Housing Minister, Caroline Flint said the new policies are “about giving all older people a better choice.” Highlights of the new program includes:

• Requiring new homes to meet age-friendly design guidelines, including wider doors, improved bathroom designs, and stairways wide enough to accommodate lift chairs, by 2013.
• Requiring new social housing to meet those standards by 2011.
• Suggesting developers of new housing projects follow age-friendly guidelines, including better paving and curb design, convenient public rest rooms, disabled parking bays, and good street lighting.

For existing housing, the British government proposes to:

• Adopt a national rapid repair and repair service which will enable an estimated 125,000 older citizens per year to get the repairs and modifications they need to be able to support themselves at home independently.
• Establish a dedicated National Housing Advice and Information line to provide expert advice for older citizens about home repair.
• Increase funding for disabled citizens to be able to make home modifications to accommodate them in their exisiting property.

Although these policies apply to England, similar measures are likely to make their way across the Atlantic. What do you think?

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photo via residentialcruiseline.com

Imagine spending the winter in the Caribbean, the summer in the Med, and the fall amid the fall foliage of the St. Lawrence Seaway. Residential cruise ships make all of this possible, with owning just one home. A growing concept, residential cruise ships are luxury vessels that offer buyers a floating home with all of the comforts of a five-star hotels.
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credit: ArdyiiiIn the rush to fix up your property before you put it on the market, it’s easy to overlook the fact that whatever you leave in the house can tell the prospective buyer all about you. Did you leave a pile of mail on the counter? Or even in a drawer? Though sellers don’t often expect it, it’s not snooping for a prospective buyer to open drawers, the medicine cabinet, and the closets.

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Another situation stemming from the deteriorating housing market in the once-hot housing market in South Florida is a case against a group of real estate practitioners for the three percent commission paid them on 24 condos prior to the sale. (Prior to the sale? That certainly wasn’t happening here in Ohio.)

The sales failed to close or the buyers defaulted and the condo developer is suing for the money paid to these brokers. The brokers are countersuing saying that it was the developer’s fault that the sales fell through. To make the situation even murkier, the contract with the brokers doesn’t spell out what happens to the commission if the event the sale does not materialize. In addition, many of the individual agents to whom to money was distributed, no longer work for the brokerages.

To read, the whole story, see this post by “Realty Magazine.”

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The record number of foreclosures can bring opportunities for investors, but also headaches and even danger. Stores abound regarding displaced homeowners with little to lose defacing and destroying property before they leave. I’ve read about water being left on, fixtures stripped, and even holes punched in the walls. Nothing, however, compares to the recent story about what a real estate agent found in a foreclosed Cape May, New Jersey house.

It seems the older, former property owner had a WWI artillery shell in his possession, which he left behind for the new owner. (How these shells made it to the US after the war, and why people kept them, boggles the mind, but that’s another story.) The startled agent called the Cape May bomb squad, who verified that the shell was live. The authorities transported the rusted shell to Atlantic City’s Bader Field for destruction. Eight homes were evacuated during the incident as a precaution.

If there’s a moral to this tale, it’s to approach foreclosures very cautiously. If you expect at least a few surprises, you won’t be startled by what you find.

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A short sale, in real estate, is when the mortgage lender agrees to settle a mortgage for less than is owned on the property. In today’s market of dramatically falling housing prices, a homeowner may find his house is worth less than he owes on the property. Such situations, combined with escalating adjustable mortgage payments, have made short sales much more common than ever before. Short sales are expectedly to reach record levels in 2008. Some basic facts about short sales:

• Generally, the homeowner must be in default before the lender will consider a short sale.
• Short sales differ from foreclosure in that the bank agrees to not pursue the borrower for the difference between the sale price and the amount owed on the mortgage.
• A short sale is not a credit saver. Any money a lender “writes off” will be reported as income on a 1099 form to the IRS and the write off will remain on a borrower’s credit report for at least seven years.
• Short sales are not a way for investors to buy a house under market value. For a short sale to be approved by the lender, the seller has to prove that they could not sell the house for more (using comparable house sales, time on the market, and other factors).

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Most renters think it’s easy to evict someone for non-payment; landlords know otherwise. The process takes time and money and few property owners are eager to turn someone out onto the street. Yet, if you wait too long, the judge may be less sympathetic to your cause. When is the right time to begin eviction proceedings:

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A growing and disturbing new real estate trend is homeowners simply walking away from their property and their loans. Consumers who put little or no money down, who live in an area where their house is now worth less than what they owe on it, and are facing their mortgage payments being adjusted upwards are deciding that they are better off to just leave the house with the bank. Of course, such a move remains a black mark on your credit report for up to seven years. Still to some beleaguered consumers, it’s worth it.

So prevalent is this trend that a website has cropped up, “Walk Away Today,” that guides families through the process and helps to use the stress and fear of facing foreclosure proceedings.

Are such “services” beneficial to consumers or so they prey of homeowners who are down on their luck and encourage them to make disastrous financial decisions? Personally, I would feel more kindly towards this Web site if it didn’t have a “We’ll buy your home” button on the front page.

(photo credit flickr cc)

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The pundits on the nightly news may be talking about a recession and foreclosures may be at an all-time high, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t any growth markets for real estate in the United States. “Forbes” Magazine has just released their picks for the top ten housing markets in the US. The list may surprise you.

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