http://www.bobsproperties.com A Real Estate Blog Fri, 19 Mar 2010 13:25:10 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en When you interview Realtors for the house selling job, you want someone who will be concerned about and will take care of your interests. You want someone who demonstrates ready knowledge of homes in the area available for sale. This ready knowledge demonstrates they have actually previewed other homes and ... http://www.bobsproperties.com/2010/03/19/choosing-a-good-realtor/ U.S. policy toward natural catastrophe risk is largely reactive and a comprehensive, forward-looking national natural disaster policy is needed, the National Association of Realtors® said in testimony to two House panels today. Charles McMillan, immediate past president of NAR, told Congress that it must improve affordability of property insurance for natural ... http://www.bobsproperties.com/2010/03/17/nar-calls-for-affordable-comprehensive-proactive-disaster-insurance-policy/ The National Association of Realtors® urged Congress and the administration to move cautiously before making changes to the Federal Housing Administration program that has served the needs of millions of American families for more than 75 years without needing a federal appropriation. FHA remains financially strong because it has taken steps ... http://www.bobsproperties.com/2010/03/15/nar-urges-congress-administration-to-approach-changing-fha-slowly/ What is staging, anyway? Staging is the process of enhancing the impression a prospective buyer has about your home. Staging is all about removing things from your home that make it look smaller, drab or dated. It differs from decorating because decorating involves bringing things into the home to enhance ... http://www.bobsproperties.com/2010/03/12/home-staging-basics/ Pending home sales are down and additional declines are expected from abnormal weather conditions, according to the National Association of Realtors®. The Pending Home Sales Index, a forward-looking indicator based on contracts signed in January, fell 7.6 percent to 90.4 from an upwardly revised 97.8 in December, but remains 12.3 percent ... http://www.bobsproperties.com/2010/03/10/pending-home-sales-down-severe-weather-impacting-market/ Mortgage rates are tied to the price of MBS (Mortgage Backed Securities) and like other fixed income vehicles similar to U.S. treasuries, the higher the demand and price, the lower the corresponding rate or yield will be. Therein lies the issue to consider. Throughout 2009, the Federal Reserve was the ... http://www.bobsproperties.com/2010/03/08/which-way-are-the-interest-rates-going/ One of the most important things to do before putting your home on the market is to take care of the "easy" things. Make a list of things that need to be repaired, leaky faucets, chipped paint and loose hinges, and fix those items. Considering tackling a remodel before selling? ... http://www.bobsproperties.com/2010/03/05/getting-a-house-ready-to-sell/ There seems to be a long held American belief currently under attack. For over two hundred years, homeownership in this country was a desire of almost every American family.  Recently however, more and more people have been pontificating on the fact that owning your own home should never have been ... http://www.bobsproperties.com/2010/03/03/home-ownership-still-the-best-investment/