Property Investing 101

September 14, 2009
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Many people become investors because they have seen a property that they feel may be a good investment, rather than deciding to become an investor then finding the property.  The main issues with this method is that, firstly, it does not allow you to become educated about how to invest, secondly, you are not carrying out effective research about the area or the property and, thirdly, you may not have taken some very important steps before becoming a property investor.

‘Financial housekeeping’ is an essential step all investors must take before leaping into the scrimmage. While you might think that your…

Ben Stiller’s $12.5M Compound in the Outpost Estates, LA On the Market

September 13, 2009
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Yesterday Stiller officially listed his long-time, three-property compound on Castilian Drive in Outpost Estates. For a very fat price of $12,500,000, actor Ben Stiller and his wife have placed their compound in the Outpost Estates area of Los Angeles’ Hollywood Hills.

According to the listing information, the estate’s countenance includes lush landscaping and grounds that rival the Beverly Hills Hotel, two separate homes: one authentic Spanish-style that was meticulously restored and a stunning Mediterranean redefined with a contemporary point of view, a one-bedroom guest house, a pool, an outdoor dining/living area and a beautiful grassy yard. So that accounts to a…

Mark Rufalo’s Hollywood Hills’ Three-Bedroom House Listed For $1.685M

September 13, 2009
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The offer still may fall through, although most of the time, offers don’t especially for this 2,957-square-foot house. Mark Ruffalo has acknowledged the offer to sell his three-bedroom house in Los Angeles’ Hollywood Hills, which has been on the market for $1,685,000 since Wednesday.

Built in 1933, his East Coast traditional-style house features French doors throughout, two or three baths, two wood-burning fireplaces, central air-conditioning system, a sun room, a separate breakfast room, a living room with an exposed-beam ceiling, and a kitchen with granite counters, a Sub-Zero refrigerator, and Viking appliances.

Featured in the now-defunct Domino magazine in January 2009, they…

On Market this Week: Madoff’s Long Island Beach House

September 5, 2009
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Bernard Madoff’s four-bedroom, 3,014-square-foot beach house on Long Island, seized by the US Marshals service as part of an ongoing effort to pay back burned investors, will be situated on the market this week.

Aside from the four-bedroom feature, the house also includes three baths. The second-floor entrance leads to a small master bedroom with a private terrace. A staircase descends to a living room with vaulted ceilings, exposed beams and a stone fireplace. Appearing to date to the 1980’s, this abode also shows up a tired set of leather couches, kitchen appliances and bathroom fixtures.

The outside of this Long Island…

The Role of Credit Bureaus in Real Estate

September 3, 2009
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If the internet is the big box of information, real estate is the big box of money.  Everyone earns—well, expect for the buyer who pays and makes loans.  But buyers aside, there’s the lender who earn through interests, real estate agents who earn from commission, home inspectors who earn from home inspection of course! –and many others, such as a credit bureau.  Credit bureaus are not very popular a topic in real estate, but they do play a significant (and high-earning) role.

A credit bureau is also called a credit-reporting agency. A credit bureau is in the business of gathering, maintaining…

Buy a Home with as Low as 5% Down Payment

September 3, 2009
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If you want to buy a home with the most benefits possible, you should go to Canada.  But if not, you can look around in your own country and state for programs offered by the government to make home buying easier and more affordable for you.

For instance, in Canada (yet again), home buyers can purchase their home with as little as 5% down.  Before, only first time home buyers were qualified to receive the discount, but now everyone—first time buyers and repeat buyers—can take advantage of this provided that they meet the criteria of the program.

All mortgages that are above…

Home Buyers in Canada Get Cash Back at Closing

September 2, 2009
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Good news for home buyers in Canada! Now you have something to look forward to while you are paying for your mortgage.  You can receive as much as 7% of the mortgage amount paid to you at closing.  For instance, if you’ve been paying for a $200,000 mortgage, you’ll get paid $14,000.  There’s a lot you can do or buy with that amount, such as spending it for closing costs, appliances and/or furniture, reduction of other debt, or making a prepayment on your mortgage following your closing.

Although this program has been originally designed for first-time home buyers, now it is…

The Advantages of Locking a Loan

August 31, 2009
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Once you’ve made a mortgage loan, the next wise thing to do is to lock it.  But of course, you may want to wait a while ‘til the interest rate goes a bit lower, but the important thing is that you lock it.

In doing this, you should expect that there will be times that you’ll feel lucky (when the interest rate go up) and there will be moments of sadness when the interest rate goes below the rate you have locked your loan in.  But in the end, locking your loan will still be advantageous for you because you will…

Why Inspect the Attic before Buying a Home

August 28, 2009
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Horror flicks usually have creepy scenes in the attic.  And why not, the attic is a pretty dark, cold and gloomy place which usually serves as a storage room.  Ghosts must be enjoying their stay there.  If we can remember it right, Casper and his family lived in the attic.  Good thing he was a “friendly ghost” though.  But right now, we’re urging you to inspect the attic of your prospective home not for the presence of supernatural creatures, but for defects that might need repairing before you finally purchase the house.  A deteriorating attic can be just as scary…

Singer Lisa Loeb Purchases a Cape Cod-Style House in Los Angeles’ Valley Village Area for $1.125M

August 28, 2009
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It seems that Lisa Loeb does not mind having her fans flock around her new home as news came in about where her new house is located.  It’s in Valley Village, an area in the San Fernando Valley, north of Studio City, west and south of North Hollywood, and east of Sherman Oaks.

For $1,125,000, singer Lisa Loeb has purchased a four-bedroom, custom-built, Cape Cod-style house in Los Angeles’ Valley Village area.

The house measures 3,229-square-foot and is a sure addition to our list of celebrity big time listings.  Records say that the deal closed in June and then Loeb transferred the…