Real Estate anyone?

Well since my last postings many things have changed in the real estate landscape. My focus will be on those changes and how it affects real estate in Washington DC. We will have commentaries from sellers, buyers, economists, realtors, fsbos, and everything in between.

So stay tuned!

D. Romero

Thursday Links

• City backs tax sales [baltimoresun.com]
• Development in Midtown due tax break [baltimoresun.com]
• The high cost of a green dream [cnn.money.com]
• Reverse mortgages: Beware the come-ons [cnn.money.com]
• Six county high schools among the nation’s best [gazette.net]
• Income tax, real estate fee will rise [gazette.net]
• Foreclosures mean opportunity for Habitat charity [miamiherald.com]
• HUD nominee promises to work hard [examiner.com]
• Rates on 30-year mortgages dip below 6 percent [examiner.com]
• A New Lease-Purchase on Life [washingtonpost.com]
• Profiles in Tenacity: Short-Sale Buyers [washingtonpost.com]
• A New System to Prepare for the Next Crisis [washingtonpost.com]
• Houses Even Bigger, Scores Way Above Average [nytimes.com]

To buy or Not to Buy- it sometimes depends on the class.

To buy or not to buy? This question could be an affirmative yes for many prospective homeowners depending to what school district they will belong to. Recently, Newsweek published a report on the top public high schools across the United States titled "The Top of the Class", and Maryland, Virginia, and the District had 13 high schools in the top 100.

Can you guess which ones they are? Here they are:

16 H-B Woodlawn, Arlington, Va.
32 Richard Montgomery ** Rockville, Md.
48 Clarke County ** Berryville, Va.
55 Langley McLean, Va
58 George Mason ** Falls Church, Va.
59 Wootton Rockville, Md.
63 Bethesda-Chevy Chase ** Bethesda, Md.
64 Washington-Lee ** Arlington, Va.
68 Walt Whitman Bethesda, Md.
73 W. T. Woodson Fairfax, Va.
74 Yorktown Arlington, Va.
75 Walter Johnson Bethesda, Md.
76 Bell Multicultural Washington D.C.
93 Lake Braddock Burke, Va.
96 Winston Churchill Potomac, Md.
97 McLean McLean, Va.

Thursday Links

• Fed May Be Finished Cutting Rates as Inflation Risk Increases [bloomberg.com]
• GDP's 3.9% Surge May Be Tough to Match [wsj.com]
• Straw poll shows Mont. Co. Council in favor of more fees [washington.bizjournals.com]
• New zoning rules could ignite Wheaton projects [washington.bizjournals.com]
• D.C. to accept bids to redevelop NW library and school [washington.bizjournals.com]
• Fed cuts rates by another quarter point [ft.com]
• Helping frantic homeowners [baltimoresun.com]
• Making good on a bad real estate bet [cnn.money.com]
• For sale: 2 million empty homes [cnn.money.com]
• Subprime: Bankruptcy bill faces roadblocks [cnn.money.com]

CANADA TRIP

For those who have been following my blog I have not written for some time now. Partly is because I went on a trip to Montreal and have recently returned and partly because I have been working on other projects.

As many of you know the real estate market is going through a period of turmoil and uncertainty right now, but one thing is certain in every real estate market there are winners and there are losers. So where do you want to be in the winners circle or the losers circle?

Grasp the opportunities in front of you and don't let today's problems be your downfall tomorrow.

What's better: a foreclosure or a short sale?

Recently talking with a mortgage broker I was given a short but important lesson about the differences between a foreclosure and a short sale. Here are the main points:

• A foreclosure is reported on your credit report as opposed to a short sale.
• A foreclosure will prohibit you from buying again until you pay off any judgements and tax liens reported on your credit report and in a short sale you still have to pay off the tax allocation but it helps build your credit.
• A foreclosure causes a psychological stigma as opposed to a short sale.

Do you have any other differences between a foreclosure and a short sale? Let us know.

Tuesday Links

D.R. Horton's Orders Fall 39 Percent on Mortgage Woes [bloomberg.com]
Bernanke Spots Relief in Markets [wsj.com]
Bonus pay [marketwatch.com]
Using a credit counselor [marketwatch.com]
Crystal City's potential future becomes clearer [washington.bizjournals.com]
See-through condos [baltimoresun.com]
Hispanics vulnerable to predatory lending [baltimoresun.com]
Goodbye subprime, hello FHA [cnnmoney.com]
Do-It-Yourself Builders [nytimes.com]
'Tax' on Interest Deductions Gains Support [washingtonpost.com]