What is Real Estate

Writen by Mark Nash

Moving is hard work, stressful and filled with adventure. These do's and don'ts can help you position the new home adventure you or someone you know is having a positive one. It makes sense to know what's proper and what's not in your or your relatives, friends or neighbors new home and hood. Mark Nash author of 1001 Tips for Buying and Selling a Home shares some do's and don'ts on new homeowner etiquette.

Do's
-Host your own housewarming party, if your a new homeowner invite friends and family over to see the new place.

-Deliver your sets of keys to your new neighbors home that the previous homeowners gave to you.

-Introduce yourself, your partner and children to your neighbors before they seek you out. New homeowners, young and old love to be welcomed to the hood.

-Offer to introduce you new neighbors and their dog(s) to other dogs they might run into on neighborhood walks. Don't forget to warn new homeowners with pets about which dog-owners allow their dogs to go off-leash.

-Offer advice on your favorite bakery, hair stylist, babysitters and dog groomers.

-Alert them to the locations of 24-hour stores, in case your new neighbors have an emergency in the middle of the night.

-Offer to help family members who are new homeowners get unpacked or clean.

-Offer to take mountains of packing and moving boxes to the local recycling center for new homeowners.

-Offer to host an informal neighborhood get-together for your new neighbors to meet the current ones.

-Know when it's time to go home, don't wear out your welcome with the new homeowners.

-Bring your new neighbors bottles of chilled spring water on moving day and offer to catch up with them once they get settled.

-Deliver your name, address and phone number with a list of emergency numbers to your new neighbor.

-Offer to clear recently moved-in new neighbors sidewalks after a snowfall, especially if they moved from a non-snow climate.

-Suggest that packages your new neighbors are expecting can be left at your home while they are at work.

-Wave to your new neighbors if you don't have the time to talk.

-Ask your neighbors who they would recommend for repairs and remodeling projects in your new home.

-Do learn from neighbors with different cultural backgrounds.

Don't

Register for gifts if your hosting a housewarming party in your new home.

-Expect housewarming guests to bring gifts and if you do receive gifts, open after the party.

-Drop in on new homeowners, call first.

-Offer decorating advice to a new homeowner unless asked.

-Don't ask how much they paid or imply that the new homeowner over or under paid. People consider financial information private.

-Gossip about the previous homeowners, you might not know if the new owners still talk with them.

-Gossip about others in the neighborhood. Let new make their own decisions.

-Attach ribbons, signs or flags to the new homeowners property without asking permission.

-Ask your new neighbor to trim trees or hedges on your first meeting, they probably know what needs to be done, in time.

-Expect new homeowners to have free time. Moving, working and setting up a household is at the minimum a part-time endeavor.

Housewarming Gift Suggestions

For everyone.

Artist rendering of the new house.
Personalized stationary with the new homeowners address.
How-to home repair book.
Homemade baked goods.
Fresh-picked vegetables and fruit from your garden.
Blooming or foliage houseplants.
Watering can for inside plants.
Specialty Coffee and Teas.
Fun and funky kitchen towels.
Exotic spices.
Gift certificates for home improvement stores, house cleaners, dog walkers, landscapers, local restaurants, spa, window washers.
Bar Accessories, corkscrew, cocktail shaker, wine and drink coasters.
Everyday wine glasses.
Champagne to toast the new homeowners.
Picture frames.
Candles.
Bar accessories: bottle opener, corkscrew, swizzle sticks, and cocktail shakers.

For those with a yard.

Garden tools, or potted perennials from your yard.
Bird feeder or house.
American Flag.

Mark Nash's fourth real estate book, "1001 Tips for Buying and Selling a Home" (2005), and working as a real estate broker in Chicago are the foundation for his consumer-centric real estate perspective which has been featured on ABC-TV, CBS The Early Show, Bloomberg TV, CNN-TV, Chicago Sun Times & Tribune, Fidelity Investor's Weekly, Dow Jones Market Watch, MSNBC.com, The New York Times, Realty Times, Universal Press Syndicate and USA Today.

Writen by Jennifer Hershey

Anchorage, Alaska, is located in Anchorage County and lies 1434 miles northwest of Seattle, Washington. Anchorage has a population of 260,283. Its residents enjoy outdoor activities like kayaking through Prince William Sound, fly-fishing, skiing, and hiking and a relatively mild climate.

Anchorage is a historical and bustling city that serves as the transportation, banking, and business center of the state. Notable structures include historic buildings such as Anchorage's City Hall, built in 1936, as well as the 4th Avenue Theatre, an art deco style building dating from 1947 with stunning floor to ceiling bronze interior murals.

Anchorage, incorporated in 1920, is a relatively young city, and homes built in the 1950s almost enjoy historic status. Nevertheless, the city's vibrancy has earned Anchorage the reputation as the new 'in' city for travelers to Alaska as well as new residents, who come for its excellent transportation system, mild weather, and central location.

Anchorage Homes

Anchorage properties pool is 94,822 residential properties including Anchorage new homes. The median age of real estate in Anchorage is 1977. The average Household size is 3.19 people. 4% are one bedroom homes, 19% are 2 bedroom homes, 46% are 3 bedroom homes, 24% are 4 bedroom homes, and 5% are 5+ bedroom homes.

Anchorage Mortgage Statistics

Homes With No Mortgage 14%
Homes With Mortgage 86%
First Mortgage Only 74%
First & Second Mortgage or HELOC 12%

Anchorage Area Real Estate Tax

Anchorage Real estate Tax: Median Real Estate Taxes (2000) were $2,523 comparing to 1999 Median Family income $ 63,682. Compare to USA median yearly Real Estate Tax $1,300 and USA median Family Income $42,000 (1999).

Anchorage School District: Children make up 29.1% of Anchorage population. Anchorage has 75,871 under 18 years old residents, or 0.58 kids per one worker, or 0.8 kids per one household.

Anchorage Real Estate & Anchorage Home Ownership

Most residents of this city have come from elsewhere in the United States. Many came to work in the oil fields. Alaskan Native peoples comprise about 8% of the population. The city also has a growing population of Asian and Hispanic residents.

There are 21809.06 or 23% one person households, 30343.04 or 32% two person households, and 17067.96 or 18% three person households in Anchorage, Alaska. Median residents age is 32.4, Senior citizens (65+) make up 14,242 or 5.5%% of Anchorage population.

There are 131,228 workers (over 16 years of age) in Anchorage. Of these, 89% drive to work. Approximately 2.02% of workers in Anchorage take public transportation. An estimated 2.66% walk to work.

Median Anchorage homeowner's housing expenses are 20.9%

Crime in Anchorage (2003), crimes per 10,000 residents per year
Violent Crimes 67
Robberies 13.06
Aggravated Assaults 43.91
Property Crimes 449.74
Burglaries 54.48
Larceny-Thefts 349.27
Motor Vehicle Thefts 45.99

Invest in Anchorage Properties

When making a decision about buying real estate in Anchorage Alaska area, you should consider following statistical data:

Near Medium City
Near Large City Seattle, Washington
Anchorage Zip Codes 99501, 99502, 99503, 99504, 99505, 99506, 99507,
99508, 99513, 99515, 99516, 99517, 99518, 99529, 99530, 99540, 99599
Anchorage Area Codes 907
White population 72.23%
African-American population 5.84
Asian 5.55%
American Indian & Alaskan
Hispanic (of any race) 5.69%
Median Family Income (1999) - $ 63,682%
Population Below Poverty Level - 7.18%

Jennifer Hershey has more than twenty years of experience in the Mortgage Industry as a loan officer. She is the owner of http://www.explainingmortgages.com/, a real estate and mortgage resource site devoted to making mortgage terms and products easy to understand.

Writen by Kendall Matthews

Forget about tree-hugging – the high cost of energy is making environmentalists out of everyone! Homebuilders and homeowners are no exception, and it's anticipated that by 2010, about ten percent of all new homes will be "green."

The biggest challenge to green building has been the misconception that it costs more to construct such a home. But if you do the math over the long run, the money saved will far outpace the money invested.

Consider that environmentally sound design actually uses less construction materials, and you can see that green buildings may indeed cost less to build than more traditional methods. Buckminster Fuller developed the idea of dome buildings decades ago, and builders are now capitalizing on the fact that a "dome home" might use only a third or even a quarter of the materials needed to construct a traditional house.

Aside from using less materials, the materials being chosen these days are also more durable than those used in the past. That translates into lower repair and replacement costs. Sounding better and better, isn't it?

Finally, environmentally and financially friendly design manifests itself outside of the home, where dry landscaping (xeriscaping) helps to conserve water. "Green" homes also save water with fixtures like low-flush toilets, low-flow showerheads, and water recycling systems built right in. It's good for you, your wallet, and your planet!

To learn How Entrepreneurs Can Use Mortgages To Fix Their Cash Flows, Take Full Advantage of the Tax Code, & Get Cash To Invest visit http://www.BeYourOwnBank.info

Understand how I help doctors, business owners, professionals, and investors MAXIMIZE THEIR WEALTH through APARTMENT INVESTING and Income Properties and KEEP IT SAFE by using mortgages and investment insurance MORE EFFECTIVELY! at http://www.KendallMatthews.com

Writen by Myron Lo

The rule of thumb for many potential Bay Area home owners is, "try not to think about it too much." When looking at the average home price in the Bay Area, $560,000, and then looking at what $560,000 affords you (a 2 bedroom home in Stockton or a studio apartment in the Mission District of San Francisco) it is best to make sure you have the down payment and can make mortgage payments, and buy. But even more importantly, don't talk about the price of buying a home, the inflated real estate market, or the size of your potential new abode with anyone outside the area—unless they live in Boston or New York City.

"Low" and "High" are the two words you hear most when talking about real estate prices in the San Francisco Bay Area. Low inventory and low interest rates are driving up home prices, asking prices are high, and bids are even higher. 11,068 new and existing homes were sold in 2004. Prices are rapidly increasing and will soon surpass the drastic prices and sales the area saw in the late 1990's dotcom boom. Even after the dotcom bust of 2000-2001 when everything in the area seemed to be deflating, home prices continued to rise and it hasn't stopped. In addition, in most Bay Area counties, a half million dollar home usually needs some work. It is rare to find a home for $500,000 or under that is ready to move into or livable. With high home prices only getting higher, and low inventory the investments you make in your home, whether with upgrades or more drastic remodeling projects, will only help the resale value.

Often Bay Area residents living in San Francisco and Silicon Valley turn to the East Bay for more affordable home options. However, prices are rapidly increasing in Contra Costa and Alameda counties too. Alameda County's median home price rose 20.3 percent from March of 2004 to March of 2005, and now homes are selling for an average of $527,000. According to the East Bay Business Times: "The only Bay Area county with a median home price of under half a million dollars in March was Solano, at $409,000, up 25.1 percent in a year's time. Despite record median prices, indicators of market distress are still largely absent, according to DataQuick. Foreclosure rates are low, down payment sizes are stable and there have been no significant shifts in market mix, the company says."

Home prices in the Bay Area are high, and thinking about them can get you low, but when you look at the natural beauty of the area, the proximity to the ocean, the mountains, wine country, and numerous cultural outlets it seems are fair price to pay. The Bay Area is one of the fastest growing communities in the country, and has relatively low crime rates, respectable schools, and location, location, location; you can understand the booming real estate market. With home prices in the Bay Area getting higher and higher and the inventory getting smaller and smaller, buying a home in the Bay Area is proving a solid investment regardless of cost.

To read about Bay Area real estate profiles for over 100 cities, visit http://www.bayarearealestateadvisor.com

Whether you already live in the San Francisco Bay Area and are simply looking to relocate, or you're new to town, moving from another city or state all together, Bay Area Real Estate Advisor can help you find and compare real estate in every community from San Francisco to Oakland to San Jose. Search Bay Area real estate by MLS listings, find a real estate agent, track mortgage rates, and determine the value of Bay Area homes right here.

Writen by Ken Gronski

A new trend to consider for investors thinking about their retirement funds involves the same idea that many people are utilizing for today's wealth-building mechanisms; real estate.

Most banks and brokerage companies limit your choices for retirement investment to certificates of deposit, stocks, mutual funds, annuities, and similar financial instruments. But Section 408 of the Internal Revenue Code permits individuals to purchase land and other real estate with funds held in many common forms of IRAs, including a traditional IRA, a Roth IRA, and a Simplified Employee Pension plan, or SEP-IRA.

While some restrictions apply to properties and their uses, a person who intends to utilize the property primarily as an investment tool for retirement can derive the benefits of appreciative land values to enhance their nest eggs. Also, the ability to locate and lock into a property that one may decide to build a retirement home on may be just what some investors are looking for with their individual plan.

"This form of investment tool may be intriguing for some," said Ken Gronski, Recreational Land Specialist for Wisconsin Waterfront Properties. "A person may be considering a waterfront land purchase now but will not build until retirement. Laws maintain that the individual can take the land out of the plan as a disbursement after age 59 ½ just as if you were to begin drawing money out of a traditional plan."

There are restrictions of qualifying property types and their uses; the best way for someone interested in exploring the feasibility of this investment option is to talk with a qualified retirement fund planner as well as a real estate professional. As some investors today stay away from the stock market for their ongoing ventures, they can also consider the same options that provide a more stable growth in their individual retirement plans as well.

"A plan of this nature could allow someone in the right situation to find an alternative financing option with definite tax advantages to locating the land for their retirement home," Gronski added. "The lake property you envision now may not be as readily available at the time you are ending your working career, but if you find it now at today's prices and allow it to grow in value tucked safely in your plan it will be there when you are ready to retire."

For additional information on properties and potential retirement options with real estate, contact Ken Gronski or visit www.wiswaters.com

About Wisconsin Waterfront Properties: Ken Gronski of Wisconsin Waterfront Properties is a Recreational Land Specialist for Wisconsin Lakes Realty, Inc. Wisconsin Waterfront Properties specializes in guaranteed build-able recreational land and acreage throughout Wisconsin and Michigan's Upper Peninsula.

Contact:

Ken Gronski, Recreational Land Specialist Wisconsin Waterfront Properties 715-421-9133 http://www.wiswaters.com