Lori Blank

31

Oct

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Consumer Tips

12 Trick-Or-Treating Safety Tips

Gone are the days where parents sit at home while their costumed children run around the neighborhood alone. These days, most small children are walked door to door by family. While there is relatively little mischief they can get into under their parents' watchful gaze, below are even more trick-or-treating safety tips for an untroubled, fun and haunted evening. Light Them Up – Put reflective tape on your children's costumes and bags, so drivers can identify them easily. It's dark out there! Plan A Route – Hit up familiar homes and don't get too far from your house in case…

30

Oct

By Lori Blank

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Home Buyer Tips

Beware Of Zombie Titles

With the economic downturn, anyone dealing in real estate quickly became familiar with previously little-known terms such as foreclosure and short sale. Now that the housing market is picking back up and people are moving on, a new term is coming to light — zombie titles. The Zombie Title This is when a home has been vacated because the owners defaulted on their loan and their bank started the foreclosure process. However, for some reason or another the bank never completed the foreclosure and sold the home. So, when the city starts fining someone for the overgrown grass and dilapidated…

29

Oct

By Lori Blank

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Housing Analysis

What You Should Know About Pending Home Sales This Month

Pending home sales fell in September by -5.60 percent, and were 1.20 percent lower year-over-year. This is the first time in more than two years that pending home sales have fallen below year-earlier readings. September's reading was below August's reading of -1.60 percent. The National Association of REALTORS®, which released the report, expects lower home sales for the fourth quarter of 2013 and flat sales into 2014. NAR provided good news in its forecast of 10 percent growth in existing home sales in 2013 as compared to 2012. A spike in mortgage rates in August coupled with rapidly rising home…

28

Oct

By Lori Blank

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Housing Analysis

What’s Ahead For Mortgage Rates This Week – October 28, 2013

Federal government agencies issued reports that were delayed by the government shutdown; and Freddie Mac reported that average mortgage rates fell for all types of loans it reports. The National Association of REALTORS issued its Existing Home Sales report on Monday. While 5.30 million home sales were expected an annual basis, September's reading fell short at 5.29 million sales. August's reading was adjusted from an original reading of 5.48 million, which equaled July's reading. Higher mortgage rates and home prices were cited as contributing to the slip in September's sales. The Bureau of Labor Statistics issued the Nonfarm Payrolls report…

25

Oct

By Lori Blank

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Around The Home

3 Easy Tips To Protect Your Deck This Winter

Barbecue season is all but over, and you won't be spending as much time out on the deck. Don't let it get you down, though. Spring will be here before you know it. There are a lot of things that can wear down and damage your deck, so protect your deck and make sure it stays in tip top shape over the winter. Cover The Furniture You want your deck to look as good in the spring as it does now. The first step is to cover all the furniture (don't forget the grill!). Cover everything with commercial furniture covers…

24

Oct

By Lori Blank

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Home Seller Tips

Your Home List Price, Should You Lower It?

Are you trying to sell your home and finding that it is not selling very well? This might be due to a number of reasons that you can't control, such as its location or the fact that the home layout is somewhat unusual. If you are struggling to sell your home, there is one factor that you can alter that might change things – the price. Many homeowners are reluctant to lower the price of their home, because it feels somewhat like a defeat. However, while you want to make as much money from your house sale as possible –…

23

Oct

By Lori Blank

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Around The Home

How To Manage Those Fallen Leaves

The kids are back in school, the weather is getting cooler and your yard is covered in a layer of fallen leaves. Yep, it's that time of the year again, but don't think of fall leaves as a chore. They can be a useful resource for fertilizing your lawn or even decorating your home for autumn. Finish The Raking It's tempting to just let the leaves lie in the yard. It's good fertilizer anyway, right? Wrong. You should rake everything up as soon as the trees begin to look bare, or else risk the blanket of leaves smothering your lawn…

22

Oct

By Lori Blank

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Housing Analysis

The Government Shutdown And Its Effect On Existing Home Sales

Existing home sales for September fell by 1.90 percent from August's revised reading of 5.39 million sales to 5.29 million sales. Economists had expected 5.30 million sales for September, so a slow-down in existing home sales had been anticipated. The National Association of REALTORS cited higher home prices and mortgage rates as factors contributing to fewer sales of previously owned homes. Home Prices Easily Outpaced Income Growth According to Lawrence Yun, NAR's chief economist, home prices "easily outpaced income growth." Consequently, affordability has fallen to a five-year low. Mr. Yun also indicated that a government shutdown was expected to affect home sales…

21

Oct

By Lori Blank

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Housing Analysis

What’s Ahead For Mortgage Rates This Week – October 21, 2013

Many of the economic and housing reports typically scheduled were delayed by the federal government shutdown. The National Association of Homebuilders Wells Fargo Housing Market Index for October was released Wednesday with a reading of 55, lower than the projected 58 and previous month's revised reading of 57. The original reading for September was 58, which was the highest measure of builder confidence since 2005. NAHB cited concerns over mortgage rates and the federal government shutdown and its consequences as reasons for homebuilder confidence slipping. While the NAHB HMI reading was lower than last month, it remains in positive territory…

18

Oct

By Lori Blank

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Around The Home

Tips On Protecting Your Home From Sneaky Pests

As the temperatures start to drop, we spend less time outdoors and more time inside where it's warm. Unfortunately fall pests have the same idea. This is the season when rodents and cockroaches seek shelter from the cold. They can carry diseases like salmonella and Hantavirus as well as cause damage to your wiring; so make sure you take precautions to keep the pests away from your home. Seal Up Your House Pests have an incredible ability to sneak into your home through the tiniest of holes. A mouse can squeeze through even a dime-sized hole. Double check the screens…