Monthly Archives: December 2013

Winterize your pipes and sprinklers

Apparently, only the top 2-3 inches of ground in Georgia ever freeze, so most plumbing below that level are pretty safe from freezing. However, those faucets, valves (back flow prevention), and pipes exposed to the freezing weather are subject to … Continue reading

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In-house lenders at Builders/Real Estate Brokerages

Update 1-27-2015: For Loan Originators: How To Compete Against A Builder’s Lender In accordance with the 2010 Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection (Dodd-Frank) Act, the CFPB has recently ruled that builders and real estate brokers must also comply with … Continue reading

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Senator Tom Coburn’s 2013 Wastebook

Will you be asking your US Representative or US Senators for their suport in eliminating any of these expenditures? Ton Coburn’s 2013 Government Wasteful Spending revealed. Tom Coburn’s 2013 Wastebook here. Here are just the first 10 wasteful spending projects: … Continue reading

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California Lead Based Paint Clean-up Fund

Update 1-27-2015: EPA settles with Student Works Painting, Inc., for failure to comply with lead-based paint regulations at a home in Boise, ID A California Judge order three paint manufacturers (Sherwin-Williams, NL Industries, and ConAgra Grocery Products) to to share … Continue reading

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Conventional mortgages to cost more in 2014

For those borrowers using conventional mortgages who don’t have at least 20% down payment “and” at least a 760 FICO credit score, they will be expected to pay a minimum of 2% of the loan amount in fees. In some … Continue reading

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Water heaters and expansion tanks – planned obsolescence?

About 3 years ago, I had my water heater replaced (after the first tank was 15 years old and the second one lasted about 7 years) and had a new water pressure expansion tank installed. Last month I wandered past … Continue reading

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What’s in store for real estate in 2014?

My college professors used to say “It all depends”… 2-3-2014: National Association of Realtors reported about 60% of annual home sales occur during the Feb-June spring selling season…National Association of Home Builders estimated nearly 600,000 new homes will be sold … Continue reading

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Are tenants liable for HOA fees?

WARNING – BE SURE TO READ ALL LEASE TERMS & ask for set of HOA CCRs to review before signing a lease in a restricted covenant subdivision/complex. The answer to the question is: That all depends on the lease, the … Continue reading

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HomePath (Fannie Mae) v. HomeSteps (Freddie Mac)

Besides HomePath being Fannie Mae related and HomeSteps being Freddie Mac related – what are the other subtle differences? First, their similarities are that both offer financing terms, conditions, and features to the home buyer (not refinancing for a home … Continue reading

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Mortgage Ombudsman or Arbitrator

The article below from The Mortgage Professor sparked an interesting proposition and perhaps the CFPB (Consumer Financial Protection Bureau) should take note and furnish some assistance in the area of misbehavior from mortgage lenders. When there are cases where you … Continue reading

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