Think it's expensive to live in your neighborhood? Think again. According to Globalpropertyguide.com, Monte Carlo is the world's most expensive housing market, with an average price of $4,420 per square foot. Moscow ($1,937 per square foot) and London ($1,928) rank second and third.

Before deciding which house to buy, think about your lifestyle, your current and anticipated housing needs, and your budget. It’s a good idea to create a prioritized list of features you want in your next home – you'll soon discover finding the right house involves striking a balance between your "must-haves" and your "nice-to-haves." To start, consider your lifestyle. If you love to cook, you'll want a well-equipped kitchen. If you're into gardening, you'll want a yard. If you're planning your office at home, you may want a room for a separate library or work space. If you have several cars, you may require a larger garage. Use this list as your search guide. Next, think about what you might need in the future. As you consider your housing needs, it's important to consider how long you may live in your home. If you're newly married, you might not be concerned with a school district right now, but you could be in a few years. If you have aging parents, you may want to look at homes that offer living arrangements for them as well as you. It’s important to think about your new home’s location just as carefully as you do about a house’s features. Location is a huge part of any move. In addition to considering the distance to work, you need to evaluate the availability of shopping, police and fire protection, medical facilities, school and day-care, traffic and parking, trash and garbage collection, even recreational facilities. Perhaps the most important decision is deciding on the type of home you want. Do you want a condominium or a co-op? A town house or a detached single-family home? Do you want brick, stone, stucco, wood, vinyl siding, or something else? Do you prefer a new home or an older one? Through all of this, make sure to talk to your real estate professional about where you want to live. While more buyers now use the Internet to gain access to listings, or available properties for sale, it is still a good idea to use an agent. The agent brings value to the entire process: he or she is available to analyze data, answer questions, share their professional expertise, and handle all the paperwork and legwork that is involved in the real estate transaction. CENTURY 21 professionals have the expertise to help their clients narrow down their choices by sharing market trends and local information.

Over the holidays I was visiting my parents and my Mom & Dad asked me a couple of questions regarding their Will.  One of the questions I had to ask them was "How did you take title to their home".  Well neither of them knew.  I told them that most married couples took title by 'joint tenency'.  After describing to them what that meant they were unsure that this ought to be the way they wanted it to be.  So here is an article that might help you determine what is best for you.  http://www.homepages.com/article.aspx?ArticleID=3a04ab3a-0b7f-4c2c-a3a7-bfcf4f7a469a

I hope this helps!

Randy

...What’s It All About?

Currently Congress is setting up hearings on what went wrong and why these types of risky loans have become such a dangerous stimulant to the homeownership ranks.

Subprime loans have gone from five percent of all mortgage lending a decade ago to about twenty percent of all mortgage lending today.

The reasons for this collapse seem evident. Many shady lenders promoted homeownership with low-level teaser rates to snag in borderline applicants.

Many troubled mortgages feature adjustable interest rates like the ones we get from Credit Card companies. These mortgages start artificially low and increase upwards after a soon to expire period. Many borrowers are asked, or required, to make little if any down payment. With the booming housing market over the last few years rates were steady and appreciation was soaring. Borrowers made their payments and lenders were happy to relax the normal protective standards.

Today’s Environment

But today’s subprime borrowers are facing higher interest rates at the same time as a cooling housing market puts downward pressure on the value of their equity. Many are finding themselves unable to make the payments.

Lender Standards Tightening

All homeowners involved in the finance market will face more scrutiny. Even if you have near perfect credit, your documentation(income etc) will be looked at more cautiously as even Congress is trying to prevent trouble in other aspects of the industry.

If you are in the market for a refinance because your current mortgage will adjust to a higher interest rate or because you'd like to borrow extra cash against your built-up equity, you can expect lenders to be more demanding about your credit, your ability to document your income and the appraised value of your home. Many lenders will be less likely to approve mortgages if the monthly payments consume more than 28 percent of the  borrowers monthly gross income. Also, combined with payments on other loans, these payments should not make up 36 percent or more of income.

If You Are Expecting Trouble

If you are falling behind on payments or expect outside events to impact your ability in the near future, reach out for help now. Many lenders will be willing to work with you to help avoid foreclosures. Generally no one makes out on foreclosures but the person who gets a great deal after the house is lost. The key is to get the process moving before you fall behind on payments. Some lenders will OK interest-rate reductions without requiring the homeowner to refinance.

Many families that had to take on Subprime financing probably would not have become owners if not for the growth in less than perfect lending and aggressive lenders. From here on, look for Congress to create new pressure on lenders to only lend to those who can repay.  Many reports are now surfacing about predatory lending where lenders make the loans knowing full well that timely repayment is a near impossibility.