Real Estate: September 2008

Tuesday, September 2, 2008

Austin Real Estate Areas : Allandale Neighborhood

Allandale is the name of a lovely neighborhood in central Austin, although the area was originally considered to be northwest Austin, before Austin's expansion into a large metropolitan area. Allandale recently celebrated its 35th anniversary as an active central Austin community, and the Allandale Neighborhood Association has been a presence in the neighborhood since 1973. Currently, Allandale is home to over 21,000 residents, and two of the boundaries of the neighborhood are the MoPac Expressway and Burnet Road, which form the western and eastern perimeters, respectively.

Typical residences in Allandale are three to four bedroom single family homes, most within the $250,000 to $300,000 price range, although more and less expensive housing can be found too. The students in Allendale attend Austin Independent School District schools, and there is an elementary school named Gullet Elementary, as well as a middle school named Lamar and a high school named McAllen High School. Allandale has the 28th largest neighborhood association in Austin, and there is an activity center named the Northwest Recreation Center which is ideal for indoor as well as outdoor sporting activities. The Allandale Neighborhood’s other borders are generally considered to be Anderson Lane and Hancock Drive, as well as Shoal Creek, and the neighborhood is chock full of restaurants, shopping, and various types of dwellings.

The roots of the Allandale neighborhood go back to the 1930s, and at that time, it was considered to be a suburb outside of Austin proper. George Davis was the original owner of most of the land in the neighborhood, and he obtained the land from the President of the Republic of Texas in 1841. A grant of over 3,100 acres was given to him in exchange for his service in the battle of San Jacinto, and some of his descendants still live in the neighborhood today. The Davis family also has a family cemetery on Vine Street to this day.

Housing is slightly more expensive in the neighborhood than in some areas of Austin, and the vintage homes from the 1940s and 1950s frequently boast mature landscaping with large yards, a perfect setting for families with children. There are fixer-uppers to be found in the neighborhood too, along with apartments and duplexes, among other choices. Since Shoal Creek, with its numerous parks and hike and bike trails, runs along the Allandale neighborhood, there is plenty to do from a standpoint of recreation as well.

Some of the eateries in the Allandale area include Phil's Icehouse, Ginny’s Little Longhorn Saloon, and Amy's Ice Cream, all local hotspots, as well as many popular family restaurants, including the Hang Town Grill, and the Frisco, which occupied the same location on Burnet for years until it recently closed. A popular park in the neighborhood is named Beverly Sheffield Park, and the park is adjacent to Shoal Creek, and has a beautiful duck pond as well as an Olympic sized swimming pool. The park also includes picnic sites, barbecue pits, ball fields, tennis courts, and a fishing pier, and is a home away from home for the children of the area.

Escapeso helps buyers and investors looking for Austin real estate. Their website provides a map based search of the Austin MLS and updated market statistics on their Austin real estate blog.

Mortgage Rates Fall Again

For the second week in a row mortgage rates have fallen. For those that don't read my updates regularly I wanted to give a short background on what rates have been doing. From the end of April to the beginning of June 30 year mortgage rates hovered around 6 percent. Then during the month of June 30 year mortgage interest rates rose peaking out at 6.45 at the end of June. But since then rates have fallen through the month of July ot 6.26. So we are not down to 6 but rates have come down quite a bit from their recent high. Its also interesting rates have fallen although the FED has cut the Fed Funds rate or the discount rate since April 30th. Below are mortage interest rates for the major mortgage products for the last 5 weeks.

July 17,2008 30-yr 6.26 15-yr 5.78 5-yr ARM 5.80 1-yr ARM 5.10

July 10,2008 30-yr 6.37 15-yr 5.91 5-yr ARM 5.82 1-yr ARM 5.17

July 3,2008 30-yr 6.35 15-yr 5.92 5-yr ARM 5.78 1-yr ARM 5.17

June 26,2008 30-yr 6.45 15-yr 6.04 5-yr ARM 5.99 1-yr ARM 5.27

June 19,2008 30-yr 6.42 15-yr 6.02 5-yr ARM 5.89 1-yr ARM 5.19

Mortgage rates are nice to look at but what do these mortgage rates flucatuations mean for a mortgage. Using our free mortgage calculator we can run the numbers and see how these mortgage rate changes would affect the mortgage on a 200k loan.

July 17th 30-yr $1232.73 15-yr $1664.03 5-yr ARM $1173.5 1-yr ARM $1085.89

June 26th 30-yr $1257.56 15-yr $1692.03 5-yr ARM $1197.81 1-yr ARM $1106.88

June 5th 30-yr $1210.69 15-yr $1650.11 5-yr ARM $1136.83 1-yr ARM $1080.98

For a 30 Year mortgage on June 5th the monthly mortgage payment would have been $1210.69. Three week later on June 26th a mortgage on the same amount would have risen 4% to $1257.56. Now another 3 weeks the mortgage payment has fallen 2% to $1232.73

The other major change occuring with mortgages is that banks are becoming more selective in giving out mortgages. We have noticed over the last month that more restrictions from lenders have been coming into play. So although mortgage rates are relatively low it has become more difficult to get a loan. Over the last few years lenders would give a loan to anyone that could walk in the door this has changed over the last year. This is why potential home buyers should start paying more attention to their credit scores. Also lenders are expecting larger downpayments. Lenders are also cracking down on investment loans. The biggest change has been that most lenders are not allowing borrowers to get more than 4 investment loans. This has essentially stopped many investors from purchasing new properties.

So what do we expect to happen in the future. The general feeling among mortgage brokers is that lenders are unlikely to return to the free wheeling style we saw in 2006. But at the same time its likely that the current extreme restrictions in lending might ease up some over the next six months.

Ki is a real estate agent in Austin. His website has current information on mortgage interest rates. Along with a free mortgage calculator and information on historical mortgage interest rates

Changing trends of property marketing & importance of online marketing

Irrespective of whether you wish to have a home for investment or residential purposes, listings of Real Estates is a primary requirement. This information can easily be found in newspapers and on the net. In fact, the latter has only assumed greater significance since the internet revolution has been made. Newspapers have turned out to be a time-consuming affair now. When it comes to newspapers, you will be required to read all the listings mentioned, shortlist the options which look good to you, jot down important points like the quotations and contact information on a piece of paper, call them up to get the details or make a call to the local broker to look into the matter after a fixing of appointment. This, of course, is a tedious job. A greater disadvantage of newspapers is that since the listings are published weekly, you may very well get to know that the deal that attracted you the most has already been finalized. So you will need to consult a local broker to know the proper status. In fact, a broker’s services can rarely be done away with since he has all the technical know-how of dealings in properties. At times of confusion, he can be your friend, philosopher and guide, and will help you get the best deal in the market.

Whereas, listing of Real Estate on the internet is a cakewalk. The websites, unlike the newspapers, are updated on a daily or alternative day’s basis, or at the most, two times a week. The new listings are immediately sent to the internet publishers which is an added advantage. So internet is invariably a better option as compared to other mediums. Internet, which is nowadays the most preferred medium for deals on Real Estates, is also preferred due to the ease and hassle-free use that it offers. An exhausted individual may find it convenient to search for a good deal by just a few clicks rather than personally having to visit various homes which you can buy. Also, online fixing of appointments is done. All the research work and various other activities can be taken care of on the internet, without having to move out from the comfort of your house.

For internet marketing, you need to have a website. Yes, there is an option to post all the details regarding a property at some of the online websites, but it is often recommended that you must have your own website for internet marketing purposes. This is mainly because people prefer buying from websites meant exclusively for that particular listing.

So it must have been clear by now that by not taking advantage of the internet for listings of Real Estates, you are foregoing a huge opportunity. So grab this opportunity now before you realize that it’s too late.

William King is the director of Dubai Property Rentals & Dubai Rents Properties , Karachi Real Estate & Property Pakistan Properties , Dubai Estate Agents & Brokers Properties and Dubai Property Developments & UAE & Dubai Real Estate Projects . He has 18 years of experience in the marketing and trading industries and has been helping retailers and startups with their product sourcing, promotion, marketing and supply chain requirements.

Tips for renting your property overseas

For most people who wish to rent property overseas, language problem is a major difficulty, followed by non-evaluation of market conditions, and no access to details of the overseas deal. So to get the property overseas, a lot of research and analysis is required before banking on one project. The services of a broker or any other agent will be very beneficial here. Even a reputed Real Estate firm will help solve all your difficulties and guide you in the selection process of the best deal available. Some helpful points:

1. If you are considering a property for letting out, select a rectangular or a square room, since other shapes make the room look much smaller. A good living room is what tenants usually look for, even if it means a marginally smaller bedroom.

2. Selecting the right agent or a Real Estate firm is the key here. If you consider an agent who has a lot of contacts and a great presence in the field, he will give you the best returns. You can also look out the newspapers for a list of prospective tenants. If the letting out is for holiday purposes, make sure that the agent has an attractive website to get the tourists’ attention.

3. Never underestimate the importance of interior designing. A tenant can make up his mind to opt for the property just by merely looking at what lies inside the house. In fact, a good interior design can fetch high rentals. Most promoters overlook the interior designing bit. You can very well go for a proper interior designer to give the house the look that you want, or a look that would attract people. A 3-piece suite should be selected. Besides, comfortable larger suites should also be preferred. But don’t overdo it to such an extent that it looks fake. Also, stay miles away from narrow or low-back sofas since they are pretty uncomfortable. Once this is taken care of, click great pictures for uploading on the website. This will give your property an edge over others.

4. For getting still higher rent, investment in parking space would be a very good idea, mainly in huge cities. But be cautious about this aspect as parking may not be such an attractive option as far as holiday resorts are concerned. But for long-term tenants, a parking space is always welcome as it reduces the burden of parking.

5. When buying a property overseas, make sure not to buy from a site meant exclusively for professionals owning more than 25 units. If there are many vacant units, there will be a huge increase in supply which will invariably bring down the rental that you would like to ask for. The Irish investors, who have properties held in Spain, are experiencing difficulties for such things as no company would actively participate in letting out since the owners do not reside in that country.

General factors which affect the buyers and sellers in property market

For Real Estate investment in foreign countries, Dubai is a leading preference of people. Geographically, it takes merely six hours to reach Dubai from Germany. This trip would land you on one of the most progressive land of the world. The annual economic growth of Dubai is about 6%-8% with a budget surplus of close to 50%. Besides, the newest technologies and the brilliant infrastructure, with great architecture, make Dubai a leading Real Estate investment sector. Dubai can boost to be the biggest place in the world for this respect.

• Age Like wine, which only gets better with time, properties in Dubai also appreciate with time. The demand for older properties exceeds that of the newer ones. At many places, there is potentially an excess of supply over demand, and even where such is not the case, the supply is of a nature which allows the purchasers, and also those who do so for letting out, to be in a significantly stronger position.

• Rate of interest Increase in the rates of interest has hugely affected the new buyers and those who are not yet fully into the Real Estate market, but for the experienced players in this respect, the increasing interest rates has not been of a big impact. In respect to the money that is borrowed, the higher rates of interest reduce the profit only by a small margin.

• Stock market The volatility, which is a characteristic feature of the stock market, also has a bearing on the Real Estate market. The confidence of the investor in Real Estate can be ruined due to the huge swings that the market always experiences. For those who are professionally into the Real Estate business, they may understand that in the long run, equilibrium will prevail and if they have done their bit of research before buying the property, they will not lose a huge amount due to negative stock market trends in the short run. When the stock market fell the last time, many people decided to buy properties in view of the lower prices in the short term, and this volatility is also a reason why many people prefer to keep a second house as an investment rather than a holiday home. Here, it must again be mentioned that the price is also based on how old the property is. The older it is, the better price can a seller bargain for, as the prices only get better with time.

• Confidence The decision of people to buy or sell properties is largely dependent on the investor’s confidence. A trend has emerged over time that people buy a new house before selling an older one, and this trend is here to stay. However, of late some fixed prices have emerged and this poses a threat for sellers to sell at a price they want to. This can reverse the trend mentioned above. The coming couple of months are crucial as it will bring about a clear picture as to what lies in the future.

Property Comparison - Should a property be rented or bought?

Factors to be considered:

TIME

• Renting: Renting the house should be considered if you are a frequent traveler and you are sure that you won’t stay in the house for more than a couple of years. Due to the overhead expenditures involved, buying the house for a shorter time makes a bad financial deal.

• Buying: As opposed to renting the house, buying a house is good if you wish to reside in it for the long term. In fact, if you consider a longer time, remember that property value only appreciates with time which makes it a good option. The costs that you will have to incur can easily be spread to several years which you will be spending in the house. SAVINGS

• Renting: If you don’t have enough savings accumulated through various sources, it’s better for you to opt for renting of the house.

• Buying: Earlier, people could buy houses on mortgage at a down payment of even less than 20%, but the mortgage companies have become very strict with these issues now. So more savings are needed for buying the house. In a way, this is beneficial to the homeowners as most of the time, due to lighter control; they assume too much risk and run into a debt trap. CASH INFLOWS AND OUTFLOWS

• Renting: If your income is unstable, you can opt for renting the house. The rent, obviously, is dependent on many factors like the locality of the property and the terms of the landlord. Also, during the term of your stay, the rent can be increased several times. A primary reason behind renting is that if the rent is less than 2/3rd of the monthly expenses, then you can use the remaining money for other investment or work purposes.

• Buying: Mortgaging ensures that you can make the payment as long as the loan continues, or opt for a loan refinance. If you opt for buying a house, you are always certain about how much money you have to pay regularly. The overhead expenditures are: mortgage payments in a month, insurance of homeowners, property tax, and various other expenses. On an average, about a third of your income will be spent on the house expenses and taxes. However, a mortgage will not be given to you if the housing expenses cover more than 40% of your income. You may quit paying the mortgage companies, but the housing overheads will always remain as long as you are the homeowner. TAXES

• Renting: In case you go for renting of a house, you have almost nil tax liability, as all that burden falls on the landlord. You can consult your tax advisor for more details on this matter.

• Buying: In case you are an owner by virtue of buying the house, you will have to pay the property tax as a tax liability. You, however, have an option to deduct the taxes from the interest paid on mortgage. Upon selling a house, a capital gain tax exclusion of $500,000 is made available to a married couple, and in case of an individual, it is $250,000.

William King is the director of Dubai Marina Property & Marina Real Estate for Sale , Karachi Real Estate & Property Pakistan Properties , Dubai Estate Agents & Brokers Properties and Dubai Property Developments & UAE & Dubai Real Estate Projects . He has 18 years of experience in the marketing and trading industries and has been helping retailers and startups with their product sourcing, promotion, marketing and supply chain requirements.

Self Storage in Halifax and how it began

Self storage first originated in the US where it now stands as a major industry, with an estimated 40,000 facilities. Self storage first appeared in the UK in the early 1980’s where it was originally based in London.

In the UK now there are well over 250 companies operating in the self storage industry. The reason that there are so many companies operating in this area is due to the fact that more people are now finding it hard to manage with the space they have and are turning to self storage as a solution to cluttered personal and business life.

Self storage can be carried out by individuals or businesses as well as students; anyone who needs to clear space for whatever reason such as moving home, renovations, office re-arranging or end of university life. It also doesn’t matter where you are in the country as self storage facilities are available all over, including Halifax.

Halifax is based in West Yorkshire and is just one example of a town in the UK where the self storage business has grown. So if you are a resident of the Halifax area and you are struggling for space why not take advantage of the self storage facilities that are on offer within the town of Halifax.

If you are a resident of Halifax and you need to store aspects such as a lawnmower, wardrobes, bikes or smaller items such as gym equipment and business documents then you can thanks to the many self storage companies that now exist to help you will all of your self storage needs in the town of Halifax. Whether your items are domestic household ones or personal possessions as well as documents you can store them all in a self storage company due to the fact that these self storage companies come with numerous different sized containers that are perfect for whatever you need them for.

All of the self storage companies that are based in Halifax are user-friendly and they can often be found along major roads which are often close to densely populated areas, such as Halifax. For businesses self storage units offer an alternative to owning or leasing expensive office space.

It has recently been estimated that the self storage industry in the UK now generates a revenue of £360 million and currently has over 230,000 customers who are using the service. The UK self storage industry started in the main urban centres and is now spreading to the countryside, again this demonstrates that no matter where you are in the UK you can take advantage of the benefits of self storage.

With self storage companies you get a lot of freedom when it comes to looking after and accessing your items whilst they are in storage. You are able to rent a lockable and secure unit of any size for a short or long period of time; basically you can rent it for as long as you need it and you can terminate the rental of it any time that you want. When you terminate your rental if you have paid for days that you haven’t used you can then get your money back for those days. You are also the only person to have access to your unit and you can come and go as many times as you need to during opening hours at no extra charge.

To find out more about self storage in the Halifax area as well as the rest of the UK get in touch with a self storage company today. Helen is the web master of Keep Safe Self Storage, who are specialists in all aspects of Halifax Self Storage.

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