Todays question comes out of Voices,  it incorporates the question: "Is a condo  a townhouse " as well as a couple of other similar questions regarding condominiums and condo ownership.   First thing is that a condominium (often refered to as a condo) is a type of ownership, a towhouse is the style of condominium it is. Condominum should be considered a way of life. In a condominium you are buying an individual unit and the land is owned in common with the other unit owners. in most condominiums exterior maintenance is completed for you such as lawn care, snow removal and some have amenities like a pool, clubhouse or tennis courts.Styles of condominiumsThere are several style of condominiums that are called different names in different parts of the country. I will go over the common ter... 07/26/2010

One of the most common calls i get is when the seller tells me "I owe more than my house is worth, what choice do i have other than to let the bank foreclose on me."First thing is do not give up. If you owe more than your house is worth, if you are behind in your payments or not, there is help for you. I am sure you have heard the term although most people do not know what a 'Short Sale" is or how it works,What is a short sale?Simply put a short sale is where the bank reduces what you owe to allow you to sell your house. A shiort sale can save your credit and will allow you to recover financially must faster than letting your house be foreclosed on face the much worse credit rating of a foreclsoure.The process of a short sale goes as well as the person you have handling it is experience... 07/25/2010

A common question is : What happens if the a date on my purchase and sales agreement has passed? Should i not worry about it?The purchase and sales agreement outlines the duties of the buyer and the seller, it contains, price, terms and dates. No part of the contract should be taken for granted or ignored.Home inspection Contingincy:In most purchase agreements the home insoection contingincy states the buyer shall have __ days to conduct and report any unsatisfactory results to the seller, If this date passes, the buyer than loses the ability to back out or ask the seller to make repoairs on anything found.Mortgage Committment Contingincy:Basically a contingincy to obtain a mortgage protects the buyer, if as a buyer you do not get a loan committment, you need to let them know by this da... 07/24/2010

A common question by buyers is "Do they need their own attorney when purchasing a property."If you are getting a mortgage.Most buyers do not need to hire an attorney when cloing on their purchase. If you are getting a mortgage, the mortgage company or bank will hire a title company, closing compnay or real estate attorney to conduct the closing for you. You do not need to hire an additional lawyer as the closing company or attorney, although hired by the bank, paid by you through your closing costs is looking out for your interests as well as the banks in making sure you get 100% ownership and a deed free and clear of any liens. They will conduct the title search to make sure there are no liens and to pay off the sellers mortgage at closing while making sure the releases are recorded re... 07/24/2010

assess at 80% of market value while some may use 110% value. Your best bet to find out the value of your home in todays market is a to conduct an appraisal or broker price opinion now, to get todays value. most brokers will complete this at no cost, while there would be a cost to hire a professional value. If you need a roundabout number there are various online sources that can estimate the value in your area.In conclusion:In conclusion assessed value does not equal market value. If you feel your home is assessed too high, you can file an abatement with your local town or city to attempt to get it lowered which would lower your property taxes. Make sure you follow the directions and time constraints placed by your town or city to avoid having your abatement form denied.PLEASE FEEL FREE... 07/24/2010

What is the best phone America?People with have their favorites and their loyalties however i am looking for the best phone, noe after being able to test several phones, those phones with the best features are not nbecessarily the best phone to use as a phone. Too big, too small, what is one to do???Now i really want an I-phone, but ATT with thier hogging up the I-phone deal does not have great coverage around here, so i have to sacrafice getting an I Phone until they open up to other carriers.I tried the Palm Pre which was an excellent phone, being able to have more than 1 window open was incredible, the 1 feature that smoked the Blackberry. I loved the features, the TV, the radio built in but oh yeah... the phone.. it was too small, and too smooth, it kept flying out of my hand. So i ... 07/22/2010

After a long and drawn out day, a client just sent this me this i wanted to share, hopfully you can get a chuckle... This woman applying for a job in a Florida Lemon Grove seemed too quailified for the job. The foreman frowned and said "i have to ask you this, have you had any expereince in picking lemons?" She replied "As a matter of fact, i have! i have been divorced 3 times, owned 2 Chryslers, i voted for Obama and now i drive a Toyota." 07/22/2010

A seller contacted me last night to ask why their house was not listed on Craiglist? It got me thinking of the great debate if Craigslist is still the great hope for selling properties it used to be.To me Craiglslist is another place i could place ads to get exposure for my listings. However recently it has become more of a nightmare for me than a benefit.See i got another call on Monday from another one of my sellers, he wanted to know why i was advertising his house as a rental, i told him i wasn't. he said someone was at his door ready to move in. I told hom to ask where this tenant saw the ad, he responded craiglist and it was only for rent for $800 for a 2000 plus sq ft home. (what a deal - it should be double). Well i knew right away, my listing was duplicated into a rental by a s... 07/22/2010

Are open houses worth the agents time and will they bring about a buyer?I am often asked if holding an open house at a listing will help bring about a quicker sale or mor epotential buyers.The answer is not so black and white, It really depends on what type of home and in what type of area you are in. For new construction, open houses are a must. For existing homes in not in an area that attracts a large drive by audience, open houses are just not worth the time and effort. More open house snow than ever are ending up with little or no visitors.Does the open house benefit the agent more than the seller then?Open houses can benefit the agents by getting potential leads for that agent more than seeing buyer walking in to buy that house. In this market where the banks are not giving out mo... 07/22/2010

Today's question of the day is: Will the bank re-negotiate if i find anything wrong during the home inspection?The first thing to note is all banks sell their properties "as is". Some banks will not let the purchase contract be contingent upon a home inspection. Others may allow it but will stamp the contract, home inspection for buyers use only and cross out the "contingincy" part.What most banks have in common is, they will not renegotiate after accepting a contract. Most banks and their listing agents will tell you this up front, however it is a question you should ask straight up. When the banks may say yesThe banks that will look at a renegotiation, will only do so on issues that you could not see with you naked eye. When looking at a foreclosure, anything you could see with your n... 07/22/2010

Unfortanately there are always people looking to seperate you from your money, now they are upping the ante by praying on those behind in their mortgages.The basic scam...The most common scam is offering home owners the promise that they can save their home from foreclosure. They provide multiple forms and ask for an upfront fee. In reality there is nothing they will do except take your money.New scams to look out for...The scammers now of blatantly upped the scam by having the home owners fill out paperwork to transfer the deed into their name with promises of leasing it back to them with the option to re-purchase in the future. They are also adding a the option of applyinh for a new loan at a cost to repurchase the home at an incredible or even no interest loan.In reality the home own... 07/21/2010

Todays question is how and why banks would want to hide the fact that a property is bank owned and why they would want to do so?Some lenders are adding wording in their listing contracts with agents that the listing agent can not use the words bank owned, reo or foreclosure or any similar terms. Why would they want to do this?The banks believe that using bank owned in the marketing, automatically puts the house at a disadvantage over non reo homes, and it is destined to sell for less.How will they bring up the value of reo properties?They are spending the extra money and time to bring the listings up to par with non reo properties. They want their properties to be at their best condition. They are completing repairs that most banks overlook. They are replacing furnaces, hot water heater... 07/20/2010

Todays most popular question is 'What is the 90 day flipping rule and how does it apply to my purchase?"Last year FHA imposed a 90 day waiting period from the time a property is sold until a new buyer can than apply for a fha mortgage. Various banks instituted their own versions of the FHA policy for non FHA loans while some take it case by case and do not seem to have this rule. The rule is most affecting investors who purchase a house, fix it up and put it back on the market when finished. Some may do little work while some investors may rebuild the entire home.How it is affecting buyersIt is affecting buyers when they put in an offer on a home, neither they or their agent knows or realizes the house was bought within the last 90 days, and after applying for a fha mortgage, the loan o... 07/19/2010

Manchester New Hampshire Real Estate Market Report 2nd quarter 2010 Single Family Homes In the 2nd quarter of 2010 there were 200 homes that closed in Manchester New Hampshire. This is an increase of 15 homes, as there were 185 homes that closed in the 2nd quarter of 2009. The median list price for the homes that closed in Manchester for the 2nd quarter of 2010 was $199,900. The median list price for the homes that closed in Manchester for the 2nd quarter of 2009 was $199,900. The median sale price for the homes that closed in Manchester for the 2nd quarter of 2010 was $198,200. The median sale price for the homes that closed in Manchester for the 2nd quarter of 2009 was $190,000. The median market time for the homes that closed in Manchester in the 2nd quarter of 2010 was 70 days. The ... 07/19/2010

Manchester New Hampshire Real Estate Market Report 2nd quarter 2010 Condominiums and Townhomes In the 2nd quarter of 2010 there were 78 condominiums and townhomes that closed in Manchester New Hampshire. This is an increase of 10 condos, as there were 68 condos that closed in the 2nd quarter of 2009. The median list price for the condominiums and townhomes that closed in Manchester for the 2nd quarter of 2010 was $140,950. The median list price for the condominiums and townhomes that closed in Manchester for the 2nd quarter of 2009 was $140,450. The median sale price for the condominiums and townhomes that closed in Manchester for the 2nd quarter of 2010 was $139,000. The median sale price for the condominiums and townhomes that closed in Manchester for the 2nd quarter of 2009 was $140,... 07/19/2010

Today's question of the day is: IS IT BETTER TO HAVE A BUNCH OF AGENTS ASSISTING ME TO FIND A HOUSE OR JUST 1 AGENT?This question is actually very common, you can have a bunch of agents all using part of their time, effort and resources looking for houses for you with all of them knowing deep down you may buy through someone else resulting in them not giving it their all. Or you can get 100% of an one agents time, resources and knowledge assisting you with every aspect of buying a home. In most cases you can hire a buyer agent at no cost to you, the buyer agent gets paid their commission from an amount listed in MLS by the listing agent and gets paid at closing. They can assist you in getting prequailified for a loan, they can provide listing sheets on potential homes, show you the home... 07/18/2010

HOW TO MAKE THE BEST OFFER ON A PROPERTY AND GET IT ACCEPTEDThe first rule of thumb is you should never make an offer based on it's listing price. You do not know if that asking price is listed at current market value, if it is priced way above or already priced below todays market value.Before you make any offer on a property, you need to assess what its value is in todays market. Any good buyer broker can assist you with pulling comparable listings and solds in the area of the property you want to purchase.If you want to buy on your own, a little reserach can really pay off. You can reserach the tax card and well as a copy of the deed through online resources or at the city hall. Most people do not know, but you can hire a buyer broker at no cost to you. They get paid their commission... 07/18/2010

For the 4th consecutive month New hampshire's unemployment falls, this time dropping 1/2 percent to 5.9% in June as reported by the Economic and Labor Market information Bureau reported this week. The job gains have lead to state newspapers reports that the state's economic recovery is on solid ground here in New Hampshire.Another reason why new Hampshire is a great place to live and work.Updated July 15, 2010blog written by;Scott GodzykGodzyk Realty GroupManchester NH 07/15/2010

As the Union Leader reported plans for the 2010 WCCC are well under way, On October 3, 2010  an expected 30,000 people will descend on Vetran's park in downtown Manchester for this 3 day event.  Another reason that makes Manchester a great place to live. For more information on attending or becoming a vendor check out www.yourmanchesternh.com/chili  07/15/2010

I cant tell you what they did with it, but i can tell you all those billions didnt get used to train their customer service reps....  check out this recent email.... A lady died this past January, and Citibank billed her for February and March for their annual service charges on her credit card, and added late fees and interest on the monthly charge. The balance had been $0.00 when she died, but now somewhere around $60.00. A family member placed a call to C***bank.    Here is the exchange : Family Member:   'I am calling to tell you she died back in January.' C***bank:  'The account was never closed and the late fees and charges still apply.'  Family Member: 'Maybe, you should turn it over to collections.' C***bank: 'Since it is two months past due, it already has been'  Family Member:... 07/15/2010