Colleges and universities are building age-restricted communities, either by themselves or partnering with big developers, near campus. Alumni buy in, and then only have to travel a couple of miles to the stadium every Saturday in autumn to cheer on the Groaning Gorillas of Ivy as they take on the Anxious Cheetahs of Hi-Nella A&M, and then walk over to the Chew ‘N’ Choke, Ivy’s traditional off-campus watering hole, to celebrate.

Be smart, but don’t be afraid to take a risk because the returns can be high. On-campus housing, as you can see from my own examples, is usually old and not in very good shape, since you are dealing with children. Like the rabbit-keeper of my year as a dorm proctor, the money that his parents paid meant he had carte blanche to do what he wanted. (more…)

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Many resorts offers a deal where the management company owns many of the units (which will always be occupied first) with the remainder sold to the general public. Is there an agent who specializes in this type of property?

A condo hotel (or “condotel”) is a vacation community built by a developer or resort company. The developer owns some units and sells others to individuals. Both the developer’s condos and the individually owned ones are rented out through a rental program, and a management company maintains the properties. (In exchange, owners pay dues, a portion of rental revenue, or both.) The condo hotel gives investors the chance to own property and have access to an on-site property manager. (more…)

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Extended warranties, purchased to cover consumer goods (including electronics, appliances and other devices used in the home or elsewhere) after the manufacturer’s warranty expires, covers most or all of the cost to repair or replace an item for up to some set term, usually two to five years.

Although generally against extended warranties, Consumer Reports says a possible exception includes microdisplay rear-projection, flat-panel, and LCD models televisions. Preliminary Consumer Report findings show a fairly high rate of repair in the first year for microdisplay rear-projection TVs. LCD and flat-panel TVs revealed no spike in repairs the first year, but the magazine says it’s too early to tell what will happen in later years. A PC World survey also reported that among the 37 percent who did not purchase warranties, only 23 percent of them said they wished they had a warranty when their product failed after the manufacturer’s warranty expired. (more…)

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Many involved in the mortgage industry are expecting the Federal Reserve to stop raising interest rates this year. If that happens, real estate agents say it would be good news for the real estate market. Mortgage rates would remain historically inexpensive and people will continue buying homes.

When the Fed started raising interest rates June 2004, the rates charged on 30-year mortgages increased only slightly. While the Fed funds rate went up from 1 percent to 4.5 percent, the interest rate on 30-year mortgages hovered in the 5.5 percent to 6.35 percent range. The reason for the difference, experts say, is that banks don’t control mortgage rates any more. Ever since the recession of the early 1990s, banks have sold off most of their mortgage loans to major secondary mortgage lenders — Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae. (more…)

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To finance a major renovation, the Karandikars — she is a full-time real estate agent, and he is a high school math teacher and also an agent, part time — got a $450,000 construction loan from First Horizon, a home loan lender, which also took over the couple’s existing mortgage. When the house is done, the total loan will be $1.2 million. Interest on the final loan, to be closed when the house is finished, will be “a half point or a point over the going rate at the time,” said Mr. Karandikar, who estimates monthly loan payments of $6,650.

A dream for many Americans, or a sudden challenge for those who found themselves in the path of a hurricane last year, building a house is expensive. Most people have to borrow, but even if they are flush — millionaires, or couples who have sold a house and want to reinvest — they may still want to avail themselves of a construction loan. It’s an effective way to enlist the financial expertise of a banker. “You could hire your own inspector, escrow agent or real estate attorney who might help with disbursement of funds,” Greg McBride, a senior financial analyst at Bankrate.com, which tracks banking data, said. But, he said, “the whole process of building a house is not a battle you want to do on your own.” (more…)

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For most of us buying a home is a major decision and is the largest financial transaction we have in our lifetime. Therefore, it is easy to see why some potential buyers have a hard time pulling the trigger. Some questions they may be asking themselves include; can I afford this, what if I lose my job and can’t make the payments, and do I want this responsibility?

Homeowners have some advantages when it comes to capacity to make payments. Landlords want to evict and get a new renter; lenders do not want to foreclose unless they have no other alternative. Lenders are more apt to work with a borrower who is having temporary financial problems because the foreclosure process is expensive and generally end up with some dollar amount being exposed to loss. Most lenders will not even start the foreclosure process until you are 60 to 90 days delinquent in your payments. (more…)

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People sometimes lose their homes through foreclosure or possession. Some pursue the quick buck is through the foreclosure sales. There are several other ways homeowners or investors can lose property. Discussed in this article are at least six ways a homeowner can lose their property to the auction block.

While there may appear to be a lot of foreclosures out there, the Mortgage Bankers Association reports that less than 1 percent of mortgages in 2005 went into foreclosure (down 12 basis points from the year before.) However, the number of mortgagees in default rose the last reporting quarter to 4.70 percent.The increase comes as no surprise to the group’s chief economist, Doug Duncan. “We have been expecting an up-tick in delinquencies due to a number of factors: the seasoning of the loan portfolio, the increased shares of the portfolio that are ARMs and subprime mortgages, as well as the elevated level of energy prices and rising interest rates,” he said on the group’s website. (more…)

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For one group, these paper riches are just that. If you’re retired with no plans to downsize and no desire to add loan payments to your budget, how can you benefit from your real estate wealth? Enter the reverse mortgage — a loan that lets homeowners age 62 and older take money out of their home and never have to move out or worry about paying it back. Think of a reverse mortgage as the mirror image of a traditional mortgage. When you borrow to buy a house, your monthly payments whittle away at your debt and build up your equity over time. (more…)

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The NASCAR Hall of Fame deal rounded the last lap Tuesday night. In an 8-1 vote, Mecklenburg commissioners agreed to raise the county’s hotel tax by 2 percentage points, from 6 to 8 percent. The money to be raised by the increase was a financial cornerstone of Charlotte’s bid to host the motorsports shrine. Commissioners held a public hearing on the increase, the public’s only chance to weigh in since the deal was announced.

Mohammed Jenatian, president of the Greater Charlotte Hospitality and Tourism Alliance, said the tourism industry was involved in the decision to increase the tax, and believes the project is worth it. “I know what NASCAR has done for our industry,” he said. “I know what NASCAR has done for our region.” (more…)

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After a few years of real estate boom, which spread dramatically higher prices to many (though not all) parts of the U.S., the market has recently seemed to change course. On Thursday, the U.S. Census Bureau reported that housing starts were down 7.9 percent from January to February and had declined 4.8 percent from February 2005, indicating less demand for new construction.

A truly dramatic plunge in the real estate market could be precipitated by a crisis, whether economic, natural or, as in the case of war, man-made, that lasted. “It’s the long-term impact stuff we have to worry about,” says Delores Conway, director of the Casden Real Estate Economics Forecast at the University of Southern California Lusk Center for Real Estate. An earthquake may be devastating, but if it only lasts a day the market can recover. A prolonged economic crisis can have a far more profound effect. (more…)

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