President Obama's Handwritten Tribute to the Gettysburg Address | The White House
President Obama's Handwritten Tribute to the Gettysburg Address | The White House
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More singles, especially women, choose to live alone | The Tennessean | tennessean.com
Full article in the Tennessean newspaper. More singles, especially women, choose to live alone | The Tennessean | tennessean.com : 'via Blog this' Property for sale in East Tennessee - www.MicheleBryan.com Free foreclosure list available here.
Economy Watch - Fed struggles to spur slowest recovery in memory
This article was published this morning on MSN "They’ve tried dumping $2 trillion in cash into the financial system, slashed overnight interest rates to zero and made an unprecedented promise to keep rates low for at least another two years. But as Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke and his central bank colleagues meet this week to ponder their next move, they’re still struggling to quicken the pace of the slowest economic recovery in generations." READ THE FULL ARTICLE BY CLICKING THE LINK BELOW: Economy Watch - Fed struggles to spur slowest recovery in memory : 'via Blog this' www.MicheleBryan.com
White neighborhoods better maintained than black
Foreclosed homes in predominantly white neighborhoods tend to be better maintained than foreclosed homes in black and Latino neighborhoods, which were more likely to be found in disrepair and appear abandoned, finds a new study by the National Fair Housing Alliance. The advocacy group inspected 1,000 foreclosed homes in nine major cities for the study. The advocacy group inspected the homes based on an assigned criteria rating, which included inspecting homes for damaged windows, graffiti, peeling paint, missing shutters or gutters, overgrown weeds, and other factors. For example, agency inspectors found that foreclosed homes in minority neighborhoods were 82 percent more likely to have broken or boarded-up windows than homes in predominantly white neighborhoods. "The proper maintenance and marketing of [foreclosed] properties is a key factor in the sale of homes to families rather than to investors," Shanna Smith, NFHA President and CEO, said on a recent confere...
Realtors group admits sales figures were bogus - CBS News
Realtors group admits sales figures were bogus - CBS News : 'via Blog this'
Housing Shortage Looms
A few were braced for a market correction lasting this long. The latest Standard and Poor’s Case-Shiller index shows that prices have hit a new market low, values declining back to levels not seen since 2002 nationally and in some regions, prices are back to levels not seen since the 1990’s. And just like the stock market, when prices decline to a level which represents value, it is indicative that it is indeed the time to buy before home prices begin to creep upward . And in the East Tennessee market, we believe that to be the case. Naturally we can only guestimate the exact bottom of this market but for a long term purchase, the real estate buyer who pulls the trigger and makes that purchase now is going to be happy they capitalized on the downturn and took advantage of solid values in the marketplace. Enters the upturn. Within the next decade, 16 million new housing units will be needed to meet population growth and shifting demands, according t...
New home sales tumble to record low
Spring Housing Guide 2011 New home sales tumble to record low By Les Christie, staff writer CNN Money.com March 23, 2011: 12:50 PM ET NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- New home sales fell 16.9% in February, to the lowest level since the government began keeping records in 1963, as the reeling housing market failed to generate any momentum. Sales fell to an annual rate of 250,000 from the revised 301,000 in January, according to the Census Bureau's monthly report released Wednesday. The rate was down a whopping 28% from the 347,000 of February 2010. 64Email Print "We've been running at a very low level," said John Canally, an economist with LPL Financial, a Boston-based financial adviser. The release followed Monday's downbeat report on existing home sales, which fell 9.6% month-over-month. "New home sales are even more crucial to the nation's economy," said Canally "It's the new home sales that actually drive economic activity and contr...
Follow up to previous Foreclosure post
*The following is an article previously included in the National Association of Realtors online newsletter and is not to be interpreted as being my own statements or thoughts but rather a re-print of previously printed material from another source. In September and October 2010, several lenders suspended foreclosures in two dozen states due to questions about whether foreclosures were being processed consistent with applicable state law requirements. Concerns are being raised by state and federal elected officials, as well as consumer and fair housing groups, about the validity of ownership of mortgages that have been securitized and resold. At the center of the controversy is Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems (MERS). This firm is responsible for electronically tracking the transfer of assignment of mortgages. Class-action suits are being brought against MERS alleging that the use of the system circumvents state laws. On October 1, 2010, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac released ...
"Oooops!" The banks screwed up yet again!
Shortly after my last posting asking the question, "What is wrong with people?" the news broke about the halting of foreclosure evictions. This coming one week after a condo I had listed supposedly sold at courthouse auction on the foreclosure block. All I can say is "IMAGINE THAT!" As a real estate professional myself I have gone round and round with several lenders in trying to get them to work with their/my clients and avoid foreclosure at all costs. This is a very tiring process and will stretch the nerves to new lengths - Redundant requests for the same documentation over and over - Talking to different representatives each time you have to call - Answering the same questions repeatedly - Explaining the situation until you mutter it in your sleep at night! CRAZY!!!!! When dealing with foreclosures and short sales alike it has been a never ending game of who's on first and who's on second. I knew this was coming but didn't t...
Cell Phone service providers under the microscope by the FCC
Disconnect one of your cell service phone lines and just see what happens! Bang! You get a nice whapping early termination fee charged on your next bill! Most, I have found, are charging $175.00 PER LINE. If anyone knows of a different price, I'd like to know. The FCC has now jumped on the bandwagon and decided to investigate Verizon, AT&T, Sprint, and Google, (I guess this may get me kicked off thier search engine) because of complaints from customers that have been assessed with this ridiculous fee. Since I am in real estate here in the East Tennessee mountains it is a must that I have a cell phone. All those qualified buyers out there have to be able to contact me when they want to buy property in Sevierville, Pigeon Forge, Gatlinburg, or Kodak where Bass Pro built their latest store. I have tried other carriers and thus far, Verizon has beat out the competition as far as signal strength. In the Great Smoky Mountains of East Tennessee cover...
New IRS tax credit forms and instructions
http://www.michelebryan.com/ IR-2010-6, Jan. 15, 2010 WASHINGTON — The Internal Revenue Service today released the new form that eligible homebuyers need to claim the first-time homebuyer credit this tax season and announced processing of those tax returns will begin in mid-February. The IRS also announced new documentation requirements to deter fraud related to the first-time homebuyer credit. The new form and instructions follow major changes in November to the homebuyer credit by the Worker, Homeownership, and Business Assistance Act of 2009. The new law extended the credit to a broader range of home purchasers and added new documentation requirements to deter fraud and ensure taxpayers properly claim the credit. With the release of Form 5405 , First-Time Homebuyer Credit and Repayment of the Credit, and the related instructions , eligible homebuyers can now start to file their 2009 tax returns. Taxpayers claiming the homebuyer credit must file a paper tax return beca...