Loan Fraud
Each year uninformed homebuyers, usually first time purchasers or seniors fall victim to predatory lending known as loan fraud. True, there are many lenders, appraisers, brokers and other real estate professional that legit ably want to assist you in obtaining a nice comfortable home with a great loan but always remember that trite phrase buyer beware. Buying or refinancing a home is one of the most important financial decisions that we make, it is vital to learn as much as we can about the home loan process. That is why I decided to list the most important steps you can take so you won’t become the next victim of loan fraud. Step one is to Beware of false appraisals. You should have a good idea of what houses appraise for. Step two is to take your time and shop around. Competition is great for consumers. If you don’t appreciate one lender’s offer, there is always another one waiting. Step three is be certain that the costs and loan terms at closing are what you originally agreed to. Step four is do not be talked into lying about lie about your income, expenses, or cash available for downpayments in order to get a loan. Step five is get several quotes from multiple brokers or lenders so you know you’re being charged a fair interest rate based on your credit history, not your race or national origin. Step six is watch out for higher-risk loans such as balloon loans, interest only payments, and steep pre-payment penalties. Step seven is be careful about disclosing things like your need of cash due to medical, unemployment or debt problems. You are very vulnerable in these cases. Step eight is do not sign a sales contract or loan documents that are blank or that contain information which is not true. Step nine is don’t strip your home’s equity by refinancing again and again when there is no benefit to you. The Final step is do not let anyone convince you to borrow more money than you know you can afford to repay. If you get behind on your payments, you risk losing your house and all of the money you put into your property. <A HREF="http://www.cerebrine.com">Loan Fraud Home</a>
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Shipping Container Houses:
Shipping Container Homes: The Economical Choice Shipping container homes make sense from so many standpoints. Most importantly, it’s a cost-saving solution. A container home in St. Paul, Minnesota at 1800 sq. ft. cost $133 per sq. ft. to build. A container home in Redondo Beach, California cost $180 per sq. ft. to build. A cost of $150 per sq. ft. for a container home is not uncommon. These prices are for homes that have many custom design features at tract home prices. One of the first shipping container homes in America was a house built in a blighted North Charleston, SC neighborhood in 2004 with the help of North Charleston and U.S. Housing and Urban Development funds. This project was seen as a prototype for renovating poorer neighborhoods. If container homes can be an economical way of building in the U.S., think of the potential for shipping container homes in developing countries. The non-profit, Global Peace Containers, is building schools and other structures out of shipping containers in Jamaica. The organization’s mission is: “1. To provide the organization and process to respond properly to situations where there are clearly established needs for low-cost, emergency, transitional or permanent housing and community buildings. 2. To instruct and empower the people to undertake the conversion of international shipping containers to meet those needs, and in so doing, develop their own capacities to help themselves in times of emergency and improve their economic condition.” (See GlobalPeaceContainers at Firmitas.org.) Global Peace Containers finds that these buildings can be put up in a matter of days with unskilled and semi-skilled labor, using equipment readily available in developing countries, and with recycled materials such as used shipping containers and scrap sheet metal. In Jamaica, like other developing countries, a building as large as a school made of containers costs around $12,000. Several architects have developed easily transportable emergency housing out of shipping containers. These temporary shipping container homes can be deployed quickly and in large numbers to house refugees and victims of natural disasters. See the information at Firmitas.org about FutureShack. Whether the rationale for building an economical home is to provide temporary housing to refugees and the homeless, to build affordable housing for people who could not otherwise afford a home, allow a homeowner to upgrade to designer quality at tract home costs, or to help middle class homeowners afford a home in an expensive area shipping container homes are an economical answer.Mike Sanders has written for Shipping-Container-Housing.com since 2004.
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New real estate online marketing platform revolutionizes internet property search
There’s no question that real estate marketing has definitely shifted ground. In years past, the primary choice for selling property was overwhelmingly traditional advertising. Online advertising, however, has supplanted the printed media in a big way. It’s estimated that at least four out of five of those searching property listings are now beginning their search on the internet. As a matter of fact, it’s projected that three billion dollars will be spent on online real estate marketing by the year 2010. At the same time, it’s also essential to differentiate yourself in this incredibly competitive market and industry. The financial turmoil, facing us today has created many challenges— and those marketing property of any kind must find new, cost-efficient ways that deliver recognizable results to successfully market real estate With all that in mind, Locally Located.com has created an entirely new online business model for posting any type of real estate listing — at a price anyone could live with free. Locally Located.com’s revolutionary new online marketing platform applies the popular online Pay-Per-Click (PPC) business model to selling real estate. That means anyone is welcome to post real estate listings at no cost — the advertiser only gets charged when a potential online buyer clicks on their listing to open it and examine it in detail. The end result? The advertiser only has to pay for serious customers interested in looking over a specific property listing. And that’s well worth the minor PPC fees to those who want to most effectively use their marketing dollars. The ground-breaking PPC marketing concept was introduced in 1998 and was mostly utilized by businesses looking to gain the maximum amount of customers in the most cost effective way —while obtaining the greatest possible ROI (Return On Investment). With Locally Located.com’s innovative new use of PPC, real estate advertisers can finally take part in the most popular online selling practice in existence today — which is expected to gross over 3.7 billion dollars in revenue by the end of 2009. Just like most PPC advertising systems, Locally Located.com gives the advertiser complete control over the number of clicks they want to pay for, the length of time they want the listing posted for, and the budget they want to spend. All of these parameters, of course, can be adjusted as need be, after the listing is posted. Advertisers will also be able to control how often they would like to receive account updates, which will allow the user to thoroughly test their marketing efforts. Unlike most traditional PPC systems, however, Locally Located.com does NOT force the real estate advertiser to bid against other advertisers worldwide for the best placements. The playing field is level — and the PPC charge is equal for everyone, not driven up by big business wanting to squeeze the most money out of the small advertiser. Another overwhelming advantage to LocallyLocated.com is that the site will post any type of real estate listing — making it a hub or “one-stop shop” for any potential property prospects, and anyone seeking information on a specific geographic area of interest to them . LocallyLocated.com is also committed to being more than a traditional real estate search site. To attract a steady stream of traffic consisting of potential property buyers, the site will be filled with enhanced targeted real estate content — including news article’s, blogs and forums. This content will utilize the latest Search Engine Optimization (SEO) techniques, ensuring the site high search engine result rankings, which will bring about exposure to the greatest amount of online users interested in real estate and all the supplemental information they would need to make an informed decision . Local Search will also be an important and integral part of Locally Located.com. Local search is now a close second to email as the most utilized function of the internet. By enabling specific geographic guidelines, Locally Located.com will be able to further target buyers on the lookout for property in specific areas with the assistance of satellite and map views, and many more free tools to assist its users in making the most informed decisions. Local Searches are growing three times as fast as other kinds of online searches, as more and more people use the internet instead of print and other traditional media to find and research information on nearby neighborhoods. Obviously, this category includes real estate — a category that Locally Located.com is strategically positioned to heavily influence with its innovative new approach to real estate marketing. Internet marketing has come of age — and Locally Located.com is determined to bring online real estate advertising up to speed in the most cutting-edge and cost-effective way possible. For our residential Real Estate agent advertisers, we go the extra mile. When you list a residence with Locally Located.com we will in turn list the home on many of the nations largest Real Estate search engines, giving your property unparalleled exposure and the attention it deserves. Instead of just listing your home you are now utilizing a professional, and testable, marketing vehicle for the most minimal cost possible.<a href="http://www.locallylocated.com/">Locally Located.com</a> is determined to bring online real estate advertising up to speed in the most cutting-edge and cost-effective way possible. For more information, please visit the website online at <a href="http://www.locallylocated.com/">www.locallylocated.com</a>.<br />
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