Real Estate Heidelberger Houses Appartments and more

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You can trace this word back to early England royalty where the term referred to a home that was kept “in town” when the primary home was in the country. Today, in the United States, it is a single-family home with at least two floors. The house shares a wall with another townhouse. Although they are like a duplex, there is one difference. Townhouses are owned by an individual and duplexes are not. You can find townhomes for sale in areas where property prices are high and land is in short supply. Many times people will look at both condominiums and townhomes for sale because they think they are the same. There is a difference though. Yes, some townhouses are sold under the listing condominium but the difference is the form of ownership. If you purchase a condominium or a townhouse that is listed as a condominium, you will just own the inside of the building. You may own the property outside as well if you purchase it as a townhouse. It depends on the rules of the homeowner’s association.

Advantages

• Living in a townhouse you are flanked on either side with other homes can give you lower heating bill since only two of the townhouse have outdoor exposure directly

• If it is part of a homeowners association you have little responsibility in regards to maintaining the outside, which can mean less maintenance costs

• Townhomes for sale are less expensive to buy than a freestanding house, which is good when money is tight.

• Being two floors there is less noise below or above and more privacy

Disadvantages

• They are lower in value and if you sell your townhouse there is less profit to be made.

• If you have to sell your townhouse in a depressed market you could lose money

• You may be disturbed by your neighbor noise

• Have little space to garden and a small backyard

• You have less say about what the exterior appearance of your townhouse

• Because there are two sides, three if you live at the end of the row can have windows so there is less light in your townhouse.

• In certain real estate markets, buying townhomes for sale can be financially risky

• There may be homeowner association fees you have to pay, and they can be high

If there seems to be more disadvantages than advantages to buying townhomes for sale there are many people who enjoy living in a townhouse and will put up with the disadvantages. They like the close proximity of their neighbors. They are glad they do not have to be responsible for the upkeep of the exterior property, even if they have to pay homeowner association fees.

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Source by Lora Davis

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The title to this article is a pretty bold statement, but if you’ll allow me a couple of minutes of your time today, I’ll show you how you can take advantage of a brand-new Real Estate niche that most Agents don’t know about. It’s not that they aren’t aware of it; it’s just that they haven’t put two & two together.

This new source of Real Estate Leads could mean another 100 – 600 new, very motivated (Seller) Leads that are desperate for your professional help. And that’s only for a market of 100,000 homes. You’re market could have even more.

Why hasn’t this opportunity been available before?

Well, before now all the pieces were not readily available. Today, the technology is in place, the turnkey business-in-a-box-training-systems are available, and the market for this business is very ripe & growing.

Foreclosures will be the next big thing in Real Estate Leads

We are often asked by our Coaches Corner{tm} Newsletter Subscribers (350,000+): “What’s the next big thing going to be for Real Estate Agents?”

Well, if you asked me that question specific to Real Estate Lead Generation, I’d have to say Foreclosures & PreForeclosures are going to be the next big thing for New Real Estate Lead Generation.

You’ve probably already heard that Real Estate Foreclosures, as of April 2007 U.S. Foreclosure Market Report (published by RealtyTrac® – the #1 online authority for Foreclosure data), are up by 62% nationwide from April 2006. Some states are up by as much as 3,325% (New Hampshire).

Real Estate Foreclosures Rates continue to grow

Recently USA Today printed an article about the fact that 75% of the new home mortgages in California are No-Doc-Loans (some industry experts call them liar-loans). These No-Doc-Loans allow the homeowner to use stated income and often allow them to borrow more money at higher debt-to-income ratios than they could traditionally. The no-doc loans have become very prevalent in the last couple of years and are now widely used nationwide.

In my opinion, the majority of these liar-loans are Real Estate Foreclosures in embryo. It’s likely just a matter of time before the homeowners get into trouble and fall into Foreclosure.

Over a Million Real Estate Foreclosures Each Year

According to RealtyTrac®, with whom we’ve established an exclusive partnership, the number of Foreclosures will likely exceed 1.2 million this year if we continue at this pace. To read the complete May 15th, 2007 press release for RealtyTrac®’s U.S. Foreclosure Market Report click here.

What this means for the average Real Estate Agent in a market with 100,000 households is that about 127 new properties will enter some state of Foreclosure per month. Some of the not-so-average counties will see 431 new foreclosures per month for those same 100,000 households. So, that means that there will be 14 new Real Estate Foreclosure Listings per day per 100,000 households.

If you had the home seller information in a timely manner and were equipped to deal with this specific type of lead, it could mean 100 – 500 brand new leads every month in a market with 100,000 households.

Most Real Estate Agents don’t know how to handle prospects in Foreclosure and usually see them as junk prospects. So, there’s very little competition for you in this niche if you become a Real Estate Foreclosure Expert.

Couple that with a very highly motivated home seller, and you have a recipe for New Lead Generation Success.

Do you know your State’s Foreclosure Rate? If it’s only the national average, you’ll have 1 Foreclosure for every 783 households like quite a bit of the country? How many households do you have in your market, and what does that equate to in Foreclosures? A whole lot no matter where you live!

The Foreclosure Rates are growing almost everywhere and there are already an enormous amount of potential leads for you where you live, so take action and equip yourself with as much information as you can on Real Estate Foreclosures. The information will help you carve out a brand new niche in Real Estate Foreclosures in your area and help you grow your Real Estate Business.

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Source by Dan Matejsek

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Finding vacant properties is often much more difficult than it would first appear to be, as said homes generally don’t have an owner who can be contacted in relationship to making a sale. This may be because the house is a new build, but in some cases the house may have ended up being abandoned for whatever reason.

However, if you are interested in buying a vacant property, there are still a number of different avenues that you can consider exploring to find them.

Ask A Real Estate Agent

Your first step should be to contact a property industry professional to get their take on the situation. Many will not maintain a full database of vacant properties in the same way that they maintain one for properties that are for sale, but they may be able to point you in the right direction in regards to who you would need to speak to in your particular state.

You may even get lucky and find an agent who specialises in this form of property sale, though those are fairly rare and will often cost a pretty penny if you want them to search for you.

Find The Owner

In some cases a vacant home will still have an owner and has simply been abandoned for one reason or another. In these cases you may find that the owner is a very active seller – if you can find them in time.

The key here is getting any new address details, if they exist. You can try speaking to neighbours or leaving a note at the house in case the owners return, but you can also check tax records to see if they filed a new address. You can even try sending a postcard to the house you are interested in, with a written message stating “Do not forward – address correction requested”, which the post office will return with new address information, if they have it.

Driving Around

Vacant houses often have a certain feel to them that people can detect when they pass by. Overgrown gardens and a slight eeriness are commonly reported and can be tell-tale signs that nobody is in the house.

As such, if you are trying to find a vacant property then it could be a good idea to simply drive around a couple of different areas every day to look for the signs that a house no longer has an owner. You can then start looking into ways to buy it.

Speak To Postal Carriers

As invasive as it might sound, there are few people who know the state of a property better than the people who deliver mail to it.

Try to arrange a conversation with the mailmen and women who deliver to a particular neighbourhood and ask them, politely, if they are aware of any properties that don’t appear to be housing anyone at the moment. If you’re lucky they may just give you the information you are looking for, allowing you to start looking into ways of acquiring it.

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Source by Bill Len

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Homeowners on the brink of losing their home to real estate foreclosures should understand the importance of home staging. Although you might have other things in mind, you will be surprised at what a bit of effort could do to improve the chances of your home getting bought before the bank forecloses.

Think Minimal

One of the most effective ways to showcase your home is to remove all clutter. Taking a minimalist approach will help prospective buyers imagine how their things will look like in your home. Also removing clutter will also make your home look bigger than it actually is. Even the external part of your home will benefit from some cleaning up. Mowing the lawn, applying a fresh coat of paint on your yard and clearing your driveway will surely attract buyers who are looking for homes or real estate foreclosures, which do not look like they need major repairs.

DIY Projects

Most homeowners would think that preparing their home so that they can attract more buyers will cost money. In reality, you will certainly need to spend some but it is up to you how you would control your spending. It would be best if you list down all the things that need repair in your home and determine which of these problems can be resolved without the need to hire a professional. Doing some of the repair work yourself will certainly save you a lot of money. Of course, you have to establish your limitations and never take on tasks which require the services of certified professionals only.

Staging is truly an art form and you need to place your shoes in the eyes of the people who are taking a risk by buying real estate foreclosures instead of existing homes or newly-built units. For this reason, you must convince them that it is a risk worth taking.

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Source by Wagner Leite

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When someone is trying to find a new home, they may look up real estate listings. These listings may hold information that is crucial to picking out the right place to view. Some people will look through pages of listings and make a short list of homes there would like to view in person. Find out what makes a good listing and how to sort them out.

One of the first things that a person will look for when hunting for a home, is the location. They may type in a city and a certain area that may be important to them. If nothing really pops up, then the person could change cities or broaden their search.

Pictures of some listings are important to help lure people to it. Many people will scroll down the list of homes in the area and may stop only at the ones that are appealing. This photo is important in capturing the essence in the rest of the ad. If someone is taking a picture of their house or condo, they should pick the best picture from the outside and use that for the main cover.

On the inside of a listing, there will need to be lots of important information disclosed to the buyers. This information could include the size of a home along with measurements in each room. Number of bedrooms is important as well as the number of washrooms present on each floor. Some people will type in specific items about their needs in order to refine the search.

Main features will be highlighted in a section about the listing. This information may include some top features in the home. Things like AC, central vacuum and a fenced backyard could be ideal choices for someone who is looking. Some people want to know if the basement is finished and what aspects of the listing are new.

If there are any new features or work that has been done, a listing is the place to highlight it. New flooring, a new roof, windows and furnace could be of importance to a buyer. Someone searching through many listings and advertised homes may find that just a few have some of the things they are looking for.

Pictures taken in the rest of a home, can help to take people inside the home for a quick glance. Homeowners may snap photos of all the best qualities of any inside and outside highlighted spots. These images can help to create an image of a listing that some viewers will want to see. If there is something outside that looks special in the home, that shot could be taken and posted on a listing. A great deck, pool area, or garden could be an image used to post in a listing.

When real estate listings are used to help people find homes, they can help to narrow down a search. Buyers can use sites that help them key in on specific locations, sizes and features. Pictures and additional information can prove to be important when hunting for a new place to live.

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Source by Adriana N

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If you are looking to purchase a luxury home, you can choose from a lot of options. In this article, we are going to share with you a few tips from experts that will help you go for the best luxury home. Read on to find out more.

1. Find out about the Search Process

A lot of luxury homes are not listed in order to protect the privacy of the seller. Often, these properties can be found by talking to the personal connections of the realtor. So, what you need to do is check out several online sources as searching on big search engines is not enough.

2. Don’t make your Decision based on Photos only

If you make your buying decision based on the photos of the front of a property, you are making a mistake. It is important to note is that some homes are not photogenic and should be seen in person for a better idea of their suitability.

If you are going to buy one, you may want to find out about the vicinity of the property on Google Earth.

3. Hire a Local Expert

It is better that you work with the local real estate agent as they have a lot of information about luxury homes in your area. They can help you get an appointment to see the property of your choice.

4. Contact your Bank

Experts suggest that you contact your bank as well as they have your portfolio. Apart from this, you may want to understand the difference between the pre-qualification letter and the pre-approval letter.

5. Document Everything

These days, the high-end real estate market is going through a lot of scrutinies. Therefore, it is a must to have financial documents. So, you may not want to shelter your money as it can create difficulties for you later on.

6. Hire Reliable Advisers

Your real estate agent should not be your decision-maker. Their job is to give you useful suggestions to help you make a better decision. Therefore, you may want to make your decision and hire only a reliable advisor.

7. Consider the Title Insurance

You may want to go for title insurance as this can help you be on the safe side. Apart from this, you may want to check out the exception page of your title insurance prior to closing time.

8. Look into the Future

You may want to find out more about the properties being planned around your property. If your neighbor builds a building taller than yours, it may have an impact on your property as well. Besides, you may want to consider the timeline as well. This is important if you want to avoid construction delays.

9. Cooperatives and Condominiums

In case you are going to buy condominiums or cooperatives, make sure that you hire the services of an attorney that can help you know the financial viability of the building.

Long story short, if you are going to invest in a luxury home, we suggest that you consider the 9 tips explained in this article. This will help you make an informed decision and by the house of your dream.

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Source by Shalini M

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Baranoff Elementary School, home of the Baranoff Buffaloes, is one of the top-rated schools in the Shady Hollow Austin neighborhood. Built in 1998, this young facility has dazzled both school administrators and parents alike. “My daughter just started kindergarten this year at Baranoff,” enthuses one parent, “and she has learned so much. She’s already reading second grade level books.”

To no one’s surprise, the Texas Education Agency also has glowing things to report – the 2008-2009 “school report card” for Baranoff includes Gold Performance Acknowledgment commendations for student performance in reading, writing, mathematics and science. TAKS scores were also impressive, with 97% of Baranoff students passing in math and writing, and 98% passing in reading/ELA. The school enjoys a student-to-full-time-teacher ratio of nearly 17 students-per-teacher, which almost certainly has had some bearing on the school’s success. Baranoff Elementary also benefits from close partnerships with local industry leaders like 3M and AMD, as well as a Peer Assistance League partnership with Bowie High School.

However, academics isn’t the totality of a Shady Hollow school experience. “Helping others and our sense of community is a strong value here at Baranoff,” says PTA president Theresa Keannini. To that end, Baranoff students gathered 425 coats in the 2009 Coats for Kids drive, and have raised money for sister school Blazier Elementary’s library.

The school is named for Dr. Timy Baranoff. Dr. Baranoff has been teaching in the Austin area since 1963. Her service to the education of children in central Texas has been recognized with the Sallie Beth Moore Award, the L.D. Haskew Award, and the Outstanding Elementary Teachers of America Award, among others. She remains involved as the president of the Austin Retired Teachers Association. “Timy is a very child-focused individual,” says Debra Sansom, Baranoff Elementary’s Principal. “Her entire life has been dedicated to young people and their education.”

Just like its founder, Baranoff Elementary isn’t ready to rest on its laurels. Among its continuing initiatives to improve its services to Shady Hollow, the school has recently completed an eight-classroom addition, and is working to implement hands-on science education at all grade levels and to expand extended-day activities such as choir and volleyball. It seems only fitting, considering the poem Dr. Baranoff wrote to share her feelings when she heard she was being honored by having a school named after her:

I sat still for a moment and thought what that meant

To receive such an honor was indeed a special event

It was amazing, incredible, my heart gave a leap,

I couldn’t breathe for a moment, then I thought,

‘there’d be promises to keep’…

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Source by Philip Myers

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If you live in a suburban neighborhood, you’re familiar with those little paper door hangers that get left on your front doorknob about a special at Pizza Hut or a deal on windows from a window manufacturer. You need to be like Pizza Hut! Well, not exactly but you do need “Realtor Door Hangers”.

They can be annoying (at least they are to me unless it’s pizza) but it’s a numbers game like every other marketing weapon. A certain number of people will need/want that particular service and they’ll respond to the ad/door hanger.

The best thing about “Realtor Door Hangers” is that you can target the neighborhood you want. If you specialize in “Glendale“, for example, and you specify that on your marketing piece (Realtor Door Hanger), you’ll be targeting your audience as much as you possibly can. Marketing is all about getting a targeted list of prospects and you can do that with door hangers. It makes even more sense as a Realtor or agent because you specialize in a certain geographic area, of course.

By the way, you might be terrified to walk up to someone’s house and put a “Realtor Door Hanger” on the knob. It’s ok. An alternative is to hire your teenager or a college kid to do it for you. Pay them per hanger and save yourself the agony. Or you could offer them a referral fee for any deal you close as a result of the door hangers they hand out. That’ll really kick them in the pants to put those puppies on every doorknob they can find. Plus, it’ll force you to track your marketing, which is a necessity.

Of course, the upside to doing it yourself is that you’ll get to know the neighborhood better and you’ll probably strike up some conversations with folks who either come to the door or are outside. It’s all about building relationships and this is a great way to do it.

One word of caution though: be discriminating about which neighborhoods you hang these “Realtor Door Hangers” in. If the area is not so good, skip it. It’s not worth getting shot or mugged.

Plus, if you’re trying to get listings, you want homes that’ll potentially sell quickly; not the crack house that people won’t walk by. Stick with the nice, suburban areas where your safety isn’t in danger. That way I won’t have to worry about you.

So the first thing you need is an attention grabbing “Realtor Door Hanger”, of course. Check out DoorHangers.com for the most inexpensive and professional looking options. Put some color into it and make it pop and make sure you brush up on your copywriting skills; you’ll need some killer sales copy to pull a high response rate.

Once you have your door hanger printed and in-hand, it’s easy. Just walk around your selected neighborhoods and hang them up. Simple. Again, it’s all a numbers game. The more you hang up, the more traffic you’ll send to your website or phone.

If you really want to increase the success of your door hangers, go back and hang them up once a month or so. Statistically, it takes a consumer 7 times before they become familiar with your brand. Repetition is the key.

Even if your marketing piece stinks, if you get it in front of the consumer enough times, you’ll see results. It’s worth the time and effort to continue hanging these door hangers up month after month, or whatever timeframe you choose. You’ll reap the rewards in the long run, trust me.

One final thought, don’t go flimsy and cheap with these door hangers. Don’t print off some black and white copies from your computer and cut holes in them to hang over the door knob. What are people going to think about you and your brand? Is that portraying the image you want to convey? Of course not. So spend a couple bucks and get them done right.

Have them professionally printed and make them reflect the image you want to convey about your brand. Don’t skimp on this. It’s very important.

But of course, you don’t want to break the bank either. There are a few solid, low-cost door hanger designers and printers out there. Take a look around and get started!

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Source by Josh F. Sanders

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There seems to be a new marketing craze that has recently been used by many real estate agents. In an attempt to sell your home, many agents are asking homeowners to slash their asking price in the hope of starting a bidding war!

In theory when you are trying to sell your home, you need as many potential buyers viewing your property as you can get. If you are simply pricing your property at the standard market price, you may struggle to get any interested parties! However, if you start off low, you may get several buyers interested in purchasing your home.

I came across an example of this recently. A homeowner priced his property at $200,000, although his agent told him the market value was at least 15% more. Within a month, this guy had 22 viewings with 9 offers and 4 of those were above his asking price.

Ok, this may be an exceptional circumstance and things can go wrong. However, unless you have a line of people beating down your door, you will have to do something if you’re ever going to sell your home!

I would suggest that if your home has been on the market for a while you should – remove your listing, wait a few weeks and then list your property again at the new price. People are often suspicious when they see a property has been listed for a long time.

Although you have to be extremely brave to under price yourself in order to sell your home, it seems this new practice has plenty of admirers and even more success!

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Source by Sam Renstaff

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When selling your home, it is extremely important to show your home at its potential. Here are a few simple things you can do to increase the attractiveness of your home to potential buyers while still keeping within a budget. Some of these items are do-it yourself projects and some require the help of a professional. Either way these changes will help you get top dollar for your home and also have a great return on investment.

In cost ascending order, here is what you can do to better present your home:

1) De-clutter, De-clutter, De-clutter – This is probably the most cost effective improvement you can choose to do. When it comes to showing your home, less is more. Remove religious items, family photos, gadgets and knickknacks. Keep in mind, you want the buyer to remember the home and not your collection of seashells.

2) Clean – I know you are busy, but grab the glass cleaner and the vacuum and get rid of those dust mites and smudgy windows.

3) Upgrade hardware – Are those handles on your kitchen and bathroom cabinet doors still from the 70’s? Changing the hardware is a simple and cost effective way to give a new, modern look to an old cupboard door.

4) Upgrade light fixtures- Along the same lines as #3, change old, outdated light fixtures and electrical cover plates. These are cheap to replace yet make a huge difference in the appearance of a room. Don’t forget to make sure to replace burnt out light bulbs as well.

5) Paint – Freshen up the interior of your home with a new coat of paint. Use a neutral colour to make the space appear larger than it is and also to allow the buyer to envision their own furniture in the space. Neutral colours are the best way to go as it allows the buyer to remember the space and not the bright orange wall colour you chose in the 80’s.

6) Upgrade flooring – I know the old shag rug in the living room is a classic, but a potential buyer probably won’t agree. If it’s in your budget, replace it with simple, neutral broadloom or hardwood floors. If hardwood is way out of your budget, opt for laminate.

7) Kitchen Upgrades – We all know women make the final decision when buying a home. We also know that one of the first rooms a woman looks at is the kitchen. If it’s not in your budget to re-model the kitchen then consider replacing those old appliances with stainless steel. Stainless steel appliances are sleek and will give your home that modern touch.

8) Curb Appeal – OK, so the interior of the home is looking spiffy, we can’t forget about the exterior – after all the front yard is the first thing the buyer sees when they pull up to the home. Make a good impression and make the home more inviting. Grab that lawn mower and hedge trimmer and add a few flowers. In today’s market climate it is more important than ever to make your home more attractive to potential buyers. After all, you only get one chance at a first impression so why not make it a good one!

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Source by Joy Paterson