Author Archives: admin

Negotiate Like a Middle Easterner

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Anyone approaching or involved in a real estate transaction would be well served with good negotiation skills.

This article describes negotiating in the “Middle Eastern bazaar” and directly applies as a recommendation for Israel. This may seem to be completely irrelevant to real estate, but I think the principles presented here are rock solid in any negotiation. The article presents ten rules plus one bonus rule.

Never be the first to suggest anything to the other side. Never show any eagerness “to conclude a deal”. Let the opponent present his suggestions first.

The basic theme I read in the ten rules is that the party that wants the deal the least or has the least invested emotionally wins or gets the best deal.

And #11:

You should never agree to negotiate with more than one side. The Arabs will try to bring as many participants into the negotiating table to put you in an inferior position. Never agree to bring in even so called “friendly participants”. There is no such thing. Every participant brings with him his own agenda that could never be yours. For this reason never take part in “conferences” convened to deal with you, in which you will always be on the losing side.

For us this refers to friends, neighbors, or family members that are not directly involved in the deal. Real estate agents usually want to be able to act as the conduit or filter to the negotiations. They don’t like buyers and sellers talking with each other. The thought here is that it removes some of the emotion and personality clashes from the bargaining process.

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Easy Washing Machine Repair

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I had to repair the washing machine this week. Well, I guess I could have called the Maytag repairman, but I tackled it myself.

So, what does this have to do with real estate? This one just happened to be in my own home, but some of us have rental properties and may see a reason to tackle the problem ourselves. I know that it should probably be the responsibility of the tenants, but we may have our own reasons.

The repair turned out to be very easy once I learned the “secret code“. That was how to get the darned thing apart in the first place. This machine was a Kenmore, made by Whirlpool. The machine wouldn’t spin. See youtube for a lot of video tutorials on the subject, including.

It turned out that the lid switch had broken mounting lugs.


I sourced the replacement switch at Amazon at a significant savings over other sources.

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Nevada Notaries Charged With Fraudulent Foreclosure Documents

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Just in case you may have forgotten about the robo-signing scandal that first came to light in Florida, I thought that I might jar your memory. Florida happens to be a judicial foreclosure state while Nevada is non-judicial. In Florida’s case, the fraudulent document signers work ended up in court. But, the foreclosures in Nevada were for the most part settled at public auction on the court house steps. These never had to face a judge.

Now, it has come to light that Nevada is not immune for fraudulent signing. At least three notaries have now been charged with notarizing documents without actually witnessing the signing.

The three notaries had all worked for LPS, (Lender Processing Service) to handle paperwork for the banks. This is the same company at the center of the problem in Florida. Apparently, they had such a workload such that they could never witness every document within the time allotted.

The problems here, were addressed in AB 284. Now the foreclosing entity must certify that their documents are in order. The end result is that foreclosures will now take longer to complete the process.

Read More: http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-505245_162-57337111/3-nevada-notaries-named-in-foreclosure-fraud-case/

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Merry Christmas to All

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I wish you a very Merry Christmas.

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Mortgage Interest Rates at Record Low

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The rate on the 30-year fixed mortgage reached a new record low of 3.91 percent. This marks the third new low this year. The 15-year fixed mortgage rate, remained unchanged at a low of 3.21 percent.

The exceptionally low rates and the depressed prices have created a superb buying opportunity, but the opportunity is lost for many potential buyers because of the difficulty qualifying for new loans.

With so many homes underwater here in Reno and Sparks very few homeowners can qualify for a re-finance. Additionally, Nevada’s real unemployment further reduces the chances to re-finance.

Read more: http://www.businessweek.com/ap/financialnews/D9RPKO100.htm

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NAR says Over Counting was Minor

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The NAR ( National Association of Realtors) Has been fudging the data on the sales of esisting homes for at least the last four years. Just in case you didn’t make the connection, that’s at least since the Obama Immaculation.

The NAR is now revising their numbers downward, and by as much as 20%. Apparently the numbers didn’t match those of Corelogic. And now the NAR doesn’t want to be seen as untrustworthy, so, now they are revising their numbers downward. NAR numbers used to relied on as reliable and now they might be running scared.

The concern is that an over-count might mean that a much larger backlog of unsold homes still looms over the US economy. That could mean that another drop of as much as 20 % could loom over the US housing market.

But the NAR says they are working on a new method to re-evaluate the market.

I’m surely ready tojump in and trust them again. Aren’t you?

Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/02/22/us-usa-economy-housing-idUSTRE71L10U20110222

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Has the Housing Market Hit Bottom?

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Luxury home builder, Toll Brothers entered the Seattle market by buying CamWest development.

So what does this mean for Reno, and why should we care? Motley Fool takes this as a sign that we are now at the bottom of the market, and even though we may not increase quickly, we will probably not see significant decreases in prices in the near future. The larger operators will take this opportunity to buy smaller operators.

However, don’t take this as a sign that everything is suddenly all rosy. Prices have still fallen in the most recent months. Remember, the interest rates are at near historic lows. What would happen if the rates should suddenly climb?

Read more: http://www.dailyfinance.com/2011/11/28/one-sign-that-the-housing-market-has-hit-bottom/

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How Hard is it to get a New Mortgage Loan?

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Is it really hard to get a mortbgage loan? Some folks think so, but is it really the case? According to stan Humphsries, it”s acturally easier today than it was in 2000 or 2006.

In 2000, 54 percent of applications for conventional, owner-occupied, home purchase mortgages on one- to four-family homes resulted in mortgage originations (the balance being denied, withdrawn, or approved but not accepted by the borrower). By 2006, standards were indeed looser and 61 percent of applications for conventional mortgages resulted in originations. So what happened after the bust? Would it surprise you to learn that in 2010 63 percent of conventional mortgage applications resulted in originations? That’s right, for conventional mortgages, the conversion rate between applications and originations was actually higher last year than in either 2000 or 2006.

Now, I”m not sure that it’s easier. More loans may be approved, but from my experience the banks manage to find more hoops for a borrower to jump through, and consequently, fewer low quality borrowers actually try.

Read More: http://www.cnbc.com/id/45402953?__source=RSS*blog*&par=RSS

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Nevada Ranks # 46 in List of Best Run States

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Here’s another one of the “Best of” and “Worst of” lists that must fill journalists need for “product.” This time it is ranking the best of and the worst of the 50 states according to their arbitrary opinion.
These are the same kinds of lists that the politicians and the activist refer to when they seek to further pick the pockets of the public. Notice that they don’t include the per capita taxes the states collect.

FWIW, Nevada ranks #46 on the list:

46. Nevada
> State debt per capita: $1,690 (6th lowest)
> Pct. without health insurance: 22.6% (2nd highest)
> Pct. below poverty line: 13.0% (24th lowest)
> Unemployment: 13.4% (the highest)

Nevada has dropped five places in our rankings. This drop is due primarily to its credit downgrade this year from AA+ to AA. Surprisingly, the state has one of the lowest debts per capita in the country, at just $1,690 per person. However, it has other financial woes that make it a long-term risk. Nevada properties declined 44.5% in value between 2006 and 2010, the worst decline in the country. In October alone, one in every 180 homes was foreclosed upon, easily the worst rate in the country. The state also has the second lowest percentage of residents covered by health insurance and the highest unemployment rate in the country.

California ranks the worst, # 50, but you probably already knew that.

Read more (To save you time, Nevada is on page #6.).

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