Real Estate Information

Reprinted due to signifigance for homeowner safety.

WARNING: 2010 Census Cautions from the Better Business Bureau

Be Cautious About Giving Info to Census Workers

by Susan Johnson

- August 3, 2009

With the U.S. Census process beginning, the Better Business Bureau (BBB) advises people to be cooperative, but cautious, so as not to become a victim of fraud or identity theft. The first phase of the 2010 U.S. Census is under way as workers have begun verifying the addresses of households across the country. Eventually, more than 140,000 U.S. Census workers will count every person in the United States and will gather information about every person living at each address including name, age, gender, race, and other relevant data.

The big question is - how do you tell the difference between a U.S. Census worker and a con artist? BBB offers the following advice:

**=2 0If a U.S. Census worker knocks on your door, they will have a badge, a handheld device, a Census Bureau canvas bag, and a confidentiality notice. Ask to see their identification and their badge before answering their questions  However, you should never invite anyone you don’t know into your home.
** Census workers are currently only knocking on doors to verify address information.  Do not give your Social Security number, credit card or banking information to anyone, even if they claim they need it for the U.S. Census.

While the Census Bureau might ask for basic financial information, such as a salary range, the Census Bureau will not ask for Social Security, bank account, or credit card numbers nor will employees solicit donations.

Eventually, Census workers may contact you by telephone, mail, or in person at home. However, the Census Bureau will not contact you by Email, so be on the lookout for Email scams impersonating the Census.

Never click on a link or open any attachments in an Email that are supposedly from the U.S. Census Bureau.

For more advice on avoiding identity theft and fraud, visit www.bbb.org .

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AB140 going into effect Oct 1^st 2009.  This is a MUST read. One of the key changes to existing law is that prospective tenants MUST be notified if the property they are considering renting is in ANY stage of foreclosure.

As a Nevada Real Estate Agent, you can sign up for FREE to check your properties for foreclosure related documents at www.rentalforeclosure.com/propertymanager . 

“AB140 represents landmark changes in the area of foreclosure and tenants rights. REALTORS, particularly those who hold a property management permit, should be familiar with the provisions of the new law.

The bill amends NRS 118A to require a landlord to disclose, in writing, to a prospective tenant if the property is subject to foreclosure proceedings. A willful violation is a deceptive trade practice punishable by a civil fine of $5,000 and/or criminal sanctions for a misdemeanor (first offense), gross misdemeanor ( second offense) or felony ( third offense) pursuant to NRS 598.0999.  

Very few real estate agents have really mastered their social skills.  Not the face to face kind.  It's social media. This montn REALTOR magazine published a multipage guide to getting started and ramping up social media skills and integrating them into a practioner's business.  Twiiter, facebook, and linkedin are all the places for agents to be and build their business according to this read.  Dowload this report here and get in the game or hone your existing skills. While you are here...

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Not really but ask those trying to find jobs this summer.  Nevada's unemployment moved up again to 13.2% from 12.5% last month and 7% last year.  Consrtruction and hotel industries are being hardest hit.

Las Vegas unemployment hit 13.4% last month up from 13.1% last month.  This is up from 7% for the same month in 2008.

See pages from the official report from the state of Nevada here.

How long before the deflating job market impacts the real estate market and retards the present surge in sales?  What do you think?

 From Janice Colaluca

Equity Title of Nevada

Effective October 1, 2009, the State of Nevada has enacted a "Good Funds" law.

The law states that for escrow to close the buyer's closing funds must clear the bank.

The buyer brings in a cashier's check for down payment and closing costs.   The check must be deposited with the title/escrow company's bank prior to record/close.

If this cashier's check is drawn from a local bank, this clearance can take up to two business days and therefore could delay closing and recording. If the buyer brings in an out-of-state cashier's check, the title/escrow company could have to wait up to 10 business days to verify the check has cleared.

Talk to your favorite escrow officer for more information on how their company plans to addressing this new law.

Based on this new law, you may want to consider coaching your buyers, especially those from out-of-state, to avoid the use of cashier's checks and to wire their closing funds to escrow.

If you have any questions please don't hesitate to contact me.

Almost 4000 condos/townhomes/detached homes closed last month in the immediate Las Vegas area market.  By what means did these buyers use to buy?  Look here:

(total may not equal 100 due to rounding)

These numbers stand consistent from the previous months. What may change in the coming months are new guidelines from Fannie and now PAS indicating a commitment to selling to owner occupants.  Time will tell.  What say you?

Here is the state of the condo market as of 8/31/2009.

>>The Average SOLD price of a condo is increasing – more than 13% in the last 4 months.  It bottomed in May.

>>810 Condos sold last month with 75% of those sale being CASH.  When looking at the stats for condo sales under $75K, 87% of them are CASH.

>>All condos listed are selling at 103.9% of list price if sold in the first 30 days.  When looking at condos below $75K only, they are selling at 106% of their list price. 

Here are my takeaways.  Cash is nothing special as 9 in 10 buyers under 75K are using the same.  List or lower offers will NEVER WIN unless the property has been on the market for more than 30 days.  These numbers are for all areas – desirable and less than.  Desirable areas will require more aggressive bidding prices than the average. The past 4 months have produced 2 of the 4 highest number of recorded sales in Las Vegas history.  Have you missed the bottom?

Do you know the difference between ‘believe’ and ‘faith’? This week Cappuccino story will show you the difference.

THIS IS FAITH

There was a tightrope walker, who was so good that he could walk between two twenty stories building on a tight rope with a balancing pole. Thousands of people would watch him perform his breathtaking feat. After he walked across the building he would have his assistant sit on his shoulder and he would proceed to walk across the building. Everybody were amazed and gave him a thunderous applause. He asked them whether they believed that he could do it again. The crowd said, “Yes, we believe that you can!” After a while he asked the crowd again, “Now, who wants to volunteer to get on my shoulder?” With that the crowd became silent.

SUCCESS PRINCIPLES

There is a difference between Believe and Faith. We can believe what we see. In the above story, the crowd believed in the tightrope walker because they saw him perform the feat. But when he asked them “Who wants to get on my shoulder?” everyone was silent. You see, the crowd had Belief but they did not have Faith. This story clearly illustrates the difference between belief and having faith.

cool stories - visit http://www.capcess.com/

Does Nevada stand to realize a windfall of stimulus funds for green energy projects?  Solar-300 plus days of sunshine. Wind-many mountain ranges creating chutes of wind prone areas. Geothermal-Northern Nevada is ripe with this energy opportunity.  And to make this all easy to move from Nevada to other parts of the West, Nevada is the center of the western power grid.  Check this perspective out;

http://tinyurl.com/n4s6p5

THE SHOE SALESMAN

There was a successful company that manufactured and sold shoes. One day the management had a meeting to consider opening their market in Africa. They sent one of their top salesman to Africa to make a study of the market potential there. Upon arriving in Africa he noticed that most of the Africans were bare-footed. He faxed home the message, “ Bad news, nobody wears shoes here!” And he followed up with the report that there is no market for shoes in Africa. The management considered it wise to have a second opinion, and decided to send another salesman to Africa to assess the market there. Upon arrival in Africa, the second salesman was so excited that he quickly faxed a message back, “Good news, nobody wears shoes here!”  He hurried home and reported to the management, “Gentlemen, we are going to be “rich”, there is a big market in Africa , and what we need to do is to educate them on the benefits and importance of wearing shoes.”

SUCCESS PRINCIPLES

Life is how we perceive of it. There is a positive side and a negative side to everything and every circumstances. You can either look at a cup as “half full” or “half empty”. You can look at the hole of the doughnut or the doughnut itself. The choice is yours and yours alone. But remember that the choices you make will determine your success or failure.