The addition of that many new women to positions of power in real estate is sure to make its mark. It will be interesting to see how it effects the future of the industry.

• 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?

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.

Though not inexpensive, units in these ships compare in price to similar land-based properties in New York, South Florida, and the Caribbean and have the added benefit of being mobile. Two of these ships are detailed below:

Resedential Cruise Lines “Magellan” — Scheduled to set sail in 2010, this luxury liner features 210 units, including 16 penthouses. Amenities include a tennis court, a retractable marina, two putting greens, an observatory, four fine-dining restaurants, two pools, a Broadway theater, and a heliport. Owners may also purchase fractional, monthly shares in the ship’s units.

ResidenSea’s “The World” — The first residential cruise ship, completed in 2002, “The World” offers studio, one, two, and three-bedroom apartments, all with full kitchens, teak verandahs, and luxury baths. The ship’s facilities include a full European spa, an art gallery, a theater, a library, and multiple shops and restaurants.

credit: Ardyiii

To make sure that you’re not leaving tell-tale information behind, remember to do the following before you show your property to the first buyer.

• Remove all valuables. This is just common sense. It’s easy to get distracted by one person while another is ripping you off. This includes more than just money and jewelry. Remember artwork, rugs, and antiques.
• Take down those pictures. They may tell the prospective buyer more than you’d like him to know, such as that you’ve just had a new baby (and possibly are forced to sell).
• Lock up mail and important papers. Put them in your briefcase or the trunk of your car. You don’t want a buyer to see your market analysis or property inspection lying in a drawer.
• Empty the closets. Closets, too, can tell a story about you. Is one half empty, indicating a sudden divorce or separation? Is it dusty and rarely used, indicating a hard-to-rent property?

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.”

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.

• 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).

• When you’ve exhausted all other options of collecting your tenant’s back rent. This is rather obvious, but it’s much easier to collect the rent yourself than to turn the matter over to the court system.
• When your tenant is at least 60 days behind in the rent. Eviction proceedings should be a last resort. If the tenant has a prior record of on-time payments and has expressed the desire to catch up with the rent, avoid the fees and hassle of the court system.
• If your tenant has broken his lease in some way other than non-payment, such as destroying property or housing a pet or person not allowed in the lease.
• You have proof that your tenant is engaging in illegal drug or other activity. Don’t wait on this one; turning a blind eye to such activity can get your property seized in many states.

Each state’s laws differ somewhat, but eviction procedure generally involve the landlord filing a “pay or quit” order against the tenant. The tenant usually has 28 to 30 days to pay or respond to the court. At the end of that time, the landlord must return to the court and answer any response from the tenant. If the eviction motion is granted, the tenant has 3-10 days to vacate the unit. A bailiff will enforce the order, if necessary.

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)

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.

• Tulsa, Oklahoma – the highest housing growth rate in the country?16.9%
• Columbus, Ohio – one of two Ohio cities listed, Columbus offers a median housing price of $100,000 and a growth rate of 15.1%.
• Wilmington, North Carolina – accessible to the beach and NASCAR races, this Carolina town boast a housing growth rate of 12.6%.
• Hollywood, Florida – located between pricey Ft. Lauderdale and Miami, Hollywood on the east coast is enjoying a 10.4 growth in its housing market.
• Scottsdale, Arizona – a 10.4% growth rate and a sunny climate
• Brooklyn, New York – this city’s proximity to Manhattan makes it forever popular. So does its 9.3% growth rate.
• Dayton, Ohio – Sleepy Dayton is affordable (with the average house costing $83,000) and growing (with a housing growth rate of 9.3%).
• Portland, Oregon – Scenic Portland in the popular Pacific Northwest is enjoying an 8.5% housing growth rate.
• Miami, Florida – Miami is sunny year round and its vibrant lifestyle is intoxicating?so is it’s 7.7 percent housing growth rate.
• Tampa, Florida – an average housing price under $200,000 and a 7.6% growth rate.

(photo via flickr cc)