2012 Best places to live

You might have thought the continuing recession, with its endless stories of doom and gloom, would put the skids on dreams of living abroad. But far from it.

It seems that the deeper the credit crunch bites, more and more of us want to carve out a slice of paradise overseas. According to a recent Mintel Research report, one in three Brits is now contemplating emigration.

And for those who are considering the move, what better source of advice than those expats who are already out there? Last year, as part of our World’s Best Places To Live initiative, we invited Telegraph readers to plant pins on a virtual map of the world, recommending the top spots for Brits to settle.

Today, there are 1500 pins, covering great swathes of the globe. “We’ve had an overwhelming response from our readers,” says James Flint, editor of the Telegraph Weekly World Edition. “The map is really beginning to live up to its promise of presenting a kind of dream topology.”

Achieve your dream of living abroad. CLICK HERE

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First, make a list of obvious air leaks (drafts). The potential energy savings from reducing drafts in a home may range from 5% to 30% per year, and the home is generally much more comfortable afterward. Check for indoor air leaks, such as gaps along the baseboard or edge of the flooring and at junctures of the walls and ceiling.

Check to see if air can flow through these places:
• Electrical outlets
• Switch plates
• Window frames
• Baseboards
• Weather stripping around doors
• Fireplace dampers
• Attic hatches
• Wall- or window-mounted air conditioners.

Also look for gaps around pipes and wires, electrical outlets, foundation seals, and mail slots. Check to see if the caulking and weather stripping are applied properly, leaving no gaps or cracks, and are in good condition.

Inspect windows and doors for air leaks. See if you can rattle them, since movement means possible air leaks. If you can see daylight around a door or window frame, then the door or window leaks. You can usually seal these leaks by caulking or weather stripping them. Check the storm windows to see if they fit and are not broken. You may also wish to consider replacing your old windows and doors with newer, high-performance ones. If new factory-made doors or windows are too costly, you can install low-cost plastic sheets over the windows.

If you are having difficulty locating leaks, you may want to conduct a basic building pressurization test:
1. First, close all exterior doors, windows, and fireplace flues.
2. Turn off all combustion appliances such as gas burning furnaces and water heaters.
3. Then turn on all exhaust fans (generally located in the kitchen and bathrooms) or use a large window fan to suck the air out of the rooms.

This test increases infiltration through cracks and leaks, making them easier to detect. You can use incense sticks or your damp hand to locate these leaks. If you use incense sticks, moving air will cause the smoke to waver, and if you use your damp hand, any drafts will feel cool to your hand.

On the outside of your house, inspect all areas where two different building materials meet, including:
• All exterior corners
• Where siding and chimneys meet
• Areas where the foundation and the bottom of exterior brick or siding meet.

You should plug and caulk holes or penetrations for faucets, pipes, electric outlets, and wiring. Look for cracks and holes in the mortar, foundation, and siding, and seal them with the appropriate material. Check the exterior caulking around doors and windows, and see whether exterior storm doors and primary doors seal tightly.

When sealing any home, you must always be aware of the danger of indoor air pollution and combustion appliance “backdrafts.” Backdrafting is when the various combustion appliances and exhaust fans in the home compete for air. An exhaust fan may pull the combustion gases back into the living space. This can obviously create a very dangerous and unhealthy situation in the home.

In homes where a fuel is burned (i.e., natural gas, fuel oil, propane, or wood) for heating, be certain the appliance has an adequate air supply. Generally, one square inch of vent opening is required for each 1,000 Btu of appliance input heat. When in doubt, contact your local utility company, energy professional, or ventilation contractor.

Source: EPA

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Monaco Real Estate

Until the real estate bubble burst in 2008 there was a steep increase in real estate values in Monaco; some homes doubled in price, Mr. Koning said. The global financial crisis cut the number of transactions by more than half, and prices fell 15 to 35 percent.
Values appear to have stabilized, but homes are taking time to sell. “Business is slow at the moment,” said Julie Alejo, the owner of EIP Agency. “Potential clients are showing interest only in high- or low-end products.”

Yet the market did get a lift as of last June, when a new law reduced closing costs by about 40 percent, said Émilie Mazza, a co-owner of Mazza Immobilier. In the long run, said Tim Swannie, a director of Home Hunts Luxury Property Specialists, the lack of a personal income tax in Monaco will help maintain a climate favorable to real estate. “Monaco’s tax-haven status ensures the market remains buoyant and prices stable,” he said, “so investment in Monaco real estate continues to be attractive.”

This apartment, priced at about 23,500 euros per square meter, would cost at least 60 percent more if it were in the Carré d’Or, Mr. Koning said. The apartment has been listed for three months and is priced lower than the average apartment in the Jardin Exotique, which is about 25,000 euros per square meter. “It’s an older building, which some people like due to the character, but other people don’t care for,” Mr. Koning said.

Sit in a balcony enjoying the world going by. CLICK HERE

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2011 Shocking Real Estate Deals

The U.S. housing market is still in the pits, closing another year marked by falling prices, lackluster sales volumes and a steady stream of foreclosures. For the rich and famous, though, it’s been a year of record-breaking purchases.
Forbes sorted through the biggest, splashiest home sales of the year to bring you a recap of the 15 they deemed the most outrageous.

One of the biggest purchases of the year just closed: an $88 million penthouse condo in New York City’s billionaire-coveted 15 Central Park West.  The 6,744-square-foot apartment, which hit the market in November, sold less than six weeks later to Ekaterina Rybolovleva, the 22-year old daughter of Russian billionaire Dmitriy Rybolovlev, reportedly for the full $88 million asking price.

It is the highest individual transaction in Big Apple history and the second-largest transaction in the U.S. for 2011. Jonathan Miller, chief executive of Miller Samuel, a New York City-based real estate appraisal firm, explained to my colleague Luisa Kroll recently, “This sale is an outlier. It works out to be about $13,000 per square foot, the highest on record, for anything, that has ever occurred.”

15 outrageous deals of the rich and famous. CLICK HERE

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Retire without mortgage

Admit it: Whether you’re 35 or 65, the prospect of retiring without a mortgage is an attractive one. No more monthly checks to your lender means extra money to spend on having fun once you exit the workforce. After years of punctual principal-and-interest payments, it’s the least you deserve, right?
There are several smart ways to retire without a mortgage. We’ve come up with six that fit a variety of retirement scenarios. Some approaches benefit from an early start — so if you are able, try to plan ahead. Other mortgage-free-retirement options can be put into effect even if you’re close to collecting Social Security.
Some retirees don’t mind a mortgage, be it for the tax write-off or to prevent too much money being tied up in home equity. But if your goal is the peace of mind that comes with paying off your loan before you reach retirement, check out these six ways to retire without a mortgage.

Smart strategies to take action to be mortgage free. CLICK HERE

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Mortgage rates at record breaking lows

Freddie Mac (OTC: FMCC) released on January 13th the results of its Primary Mortgage Market Survey® (PMMS®), showing mortgage rates easing to new all-time record lows for all products covered in the survey helping to keep homebuyer affordability high. The average for the 30-year fixed mortgage rate has been below 4.00 percent for six consecutive weeks.

News Facts

• 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaged 3.89 percent with an average 0.7 point for the week ending January 12, 2012, down from last week when it averaged 3.91 percent. Last year at this time, the 30-year FRM averaged 4.71 percent.

• 15-year FRM this week averaged 3.16 percent with an average 0.8 point, down from last week when it averaged 3.23 percent. A year ago at this time, the 15-year FRM averaged 4.08 percent.

• 5-year Treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) averaged 2.82 percent this week, with an average 0.7 point, down from last week when it averaged 2.86 percent. A year ago, the 5-year ARM averaged 3.72 percent.

• 1-year Treasury-indexed ARM averaged 2.76 percent this week with an average 0.6 point, down from last week when it averaged 2.80 percent. At this time last year, the 1-year ARM averaged 3.23 percent.

Buy a home and lock into a low rate now

Source: Freddie Mac

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Flip a house and make money

In an effort to continue stabilizing home values and improve conditions in communities experiencing high foreclosure activity, Acting Federal Housing Administration Commissioner Carol J. Galante today extended a temporary waiver of FHA’s anti-flipping regulations through 2012.

“This extension is intended to accelerate the resale of foreclosed properties in neighborhoods struggling to overcome the possible effects of abandonment and blight,” said Galante.  “FHA remains a critical source of mortgage financing and stability and we must make every effort to promote recovery in every responsible way we can.”

With certain exceptions, FHA rules prohibit insuring a mortgage on a home owned by the seller for less than 90 days.  In 2010, however, FHA temporarily waived this regulation through January 31, 2011, and later extended that waiver through the remainder of 2011.  The new extension will permit buyers to continue to use FHA-insured financing to purchase HUD-owned properties, bank-owned properties, or properties resold through private sales. It will allow homes to resell as quickly as possible, helping to stabilize real estate prices and to revitalize neighborhoods and communities.

The extension announced today is effective through December 31, 2012, unless otherwise extended or withdrawn by FHA.  All other terms of the existing Waiver will remain the same.  The Waiver contains strict conditions and guidelines to prevent the predatory practice of property flipping, in which properties are quickly resold at inflated prices to unsuspecting borrowers.  The Waiver continues to be limited to sales meeting the following conditions:
•All transactions must be arms-length, with no identity of interest between the buyer and seller or other parties participating in the sales transaction;
•In cases in which the sales price of the property is 20 percent or more above the seller’s acquisition cost, the Waiver will apply only if the lender meets specific conditions, and documents the justification for the increase in value; and
•The Waiver is limited to forward mortgages, and does not apply to the Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM) for purchase program.

Since the original waiver went into effect on February 1, 2010, FHA has insured nearly 42,000 mortgages worth more than $7 billion on properties resold within 90 days of acquisition.

FHA research finds that in today’s market, acquiring, rehabilitating and reselling these properties to prospective homeowners often takes less than 90 days.  Prohibiting the use of FHA mortgage insurance for a subsequent resale within 90 days of acquisition adversely impacts the willingness of sellers to allow contracts from potential FHA buyers because they must consider holding costs and the risk of vandalism associated with allowing a property to sit vacant over a 90-day period of time.

Can you quickly make money? Read 2012 FHA flipping a home rules.

SOURCE: FHA

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2012 Real Estate Trend

It seems that the real estate market is turning around. The number of housing markets showing measurable improvement nearly doubled in January with the addition of 40 new metros to the National Association of Home Builders/First American Improving Markets Index (IMI), released January 9, 2012. The IMI now boasts 76 improving markets, up from 41 in December, with 31 states and the District of Columbia represented by at least one entry.

The index identifies metropolitan areas that have shown improvement from their respective troughs in housing permits, employment and house prices for at least six consecutive months. New entrants to the list in January include the following (listed alphabetically by state):

Florence, AL
Tuscaloosa, AL
Fayetteville, AR
Denver, CO
Greeley, CO
Bridgeport, CT
New Haven, CT
Cape Coral, FL
Jacksonville, FL
Punta Gorda, FL
Honolulu, HI
Ames, IA
Des Moines, IA
Dubuque, IA
Elkhart, IN
Indianapolis, IN
Lafayette, IN
Lake Charles, LA
Worcester, MA
Grand Rapids, MI
Lansing, MI
Monroe, MI
Minneapolis, MN
Columbia, MO
Joplin, MO
Fargo, ND
Manchester, NH
Cincinnati, OH
Oklahoma City, OK
Tulsa, OK
Corvallis, OR
Erie, PA
Philadelphia, PA
Chattanooga, TN
Clarksville, TN
Nashville, TN
College Station, TX
Dallas, TX
Victoria, TX
Madison, WI

“The fact that the list of improving housing markets nearly doubled this month shows that a significant, positive trend is developing, and is even more relevant when you consider the expanding geographic distribution of the list – which now includes 31 states and the District of Columbia,” noted NAHB Chairman Bob Nielsen, a home builder from Reno, Nev. “This trend could be even stronger if not for the numerous impediments that continue to slow a housing and economic recovery, including overly restrictive lending policies and the growing inventory of distressed properties in certain markets.”

“While relatively small metropolitan areas continue to dominate the list of improving housing markets, it’s important to note that several major metros in diverse parts of the country have now joined the field as well – including such metros as Dallas, Denver, Honolulu, Indianapolis, Nashville and Philadelphia,” added NAHB Chief Economist David Crowe. “This is an encouraging sign that gradually strengthening economic conditions are starting to take hold across a broader swath of America.”

“The substantial gain in the number of improving housing markets in January shows that more consumers are looking favorably at a home purchase in light of today’s historically low interest rates and attractive prices, particularly in areas where job growth has picked up,” added Kurt Pfotenhauer, vice chairman of First American Title Insurance Company.

The IMI is designed to track housing markets throughout the country that are showing signs of improving economic health. The index measures three sets of independent monthly data to get a mark on the top improving Metropolitan Statistical Areas. The three indicators that are analyzed are employment growth from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, house price appreciation from Freddie Mac, and single-family housing permit growth from the U.S. Census Bureau. NAHB uses the latest available data from these sources to generate a list of improving markets. A metropolitan area must see improvement in all three areas for at least six months following their respective troughs before being included on the improving markets list.

Only five metropolitan areas dropped from the NAHB/First American Improving Markets Index in January. These included Anchorage, Alaska; Fort Wayne, Ind.; Canton, Ohio; Scranton, Pa.; and Charleston, W. Va.

Is your city in the list? CLICK HERE

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Landlord Insurance

With the growing rise in tenant demand, now seems to be the perfect time to buy a second property and become a landlord, if you can secure the mortgage. With the competition for rental accommodation you can get a nice return on your rental yield, easily covering the mortgage and bringing in some extra income.

However, becoming a landlord does not come without any risks and there are many things that can go wrong and end up costing you more than you bargained for, making landlord insurance essential.

Damage

No matter how thorough you are with reference checks you may still come across tenants who abuse your property and leave it in a poor condition. Obviously you should take a deposit from your tenants to cover the cost of damage caused, but if it is extensive the deposit may not cover it all and so landlord insurance is ideal for covering the extra cost.

Rent

Another potential risk is tenants deferring on paying the rent, leaving you out of pocket and costing you money. Again you can prepare well for this with tenant checks and even a rent guarantor from the tenants, but there are still no 100% guarantees that you will always receive the rent. Again, insurance can cover you against rent loss and make sure you are not short of pocket in the event the tenants don’t pay.

Maintenance

You may also find that over the course of time appliances wear out, furniture becomes used and even the walls need a lick of new paint. All of this can cost money, but a comprehensive insurance policy should cover major appliances, such as the boiler and washing machine, meaning less cost for you if they need repairing.

With the current state of the property and renting markets, there is a lot of money to be made in renting property but it is crucial to cover your assets with landlord insurance and make sure you don’t end up losing money.

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Property Management Company - New Clients

Property management company, Rampart Properties, an Associa company, is pleased to announce the addition of three new communities to its St. Petersburg client portfolio.

Rampart will now provide full management services, including financial, property management, communications, record-keeping and administrative management services to Hotel Detroit Condominium Association, The Preserve Community Association and Bayou Grande Townhome Community Association.

“We are excited to begin our new partnership with these three unique associations,” said Kelly Moran, Rampart Properties’ President and CEO. “The communities were impressed with our superior services and natural resources, and we look forward to serving them for years to come.”

Hotel Detroit Condominium Association, Inc. is a 29-unit mixed use condominium community located in the historic Detroit Hotel in downtown St. Petersburg. Twenty-four units are condominiums and five units are for commercial use. Rampart’s Vicci Frederick is the Director of Management Services assigned to this community.

The Preserve Community Association, Inc. features 257 single-family homes located in Manatee County. Rampart’s Dorian Danys is the Senior Management Director assigned to this community.

Bayou Grande Townhome Community Association, Inc. is a community of 39 townhomes located in Seminole. Rampart’s Janet Hollingshead is the Director of Management Services assigned to this community.

Property management company, Rampart Properties, Inc. was formed in 1975 to provide professional community association management and consulting services to the Tampa Bay area. Rampart provides quality and innovation in community management to many local communities including condominium associations, homeowner associations, cooperatives and developers.

Building successful communities for more than 30 years, Associa is the nation’s largest community association management firm and serves its clients with local knowledge, national resources and comprehensive expertise. Based in Dallas, Associa and its 8,000 employees operate more than 100 branch offices in the United States, Canada and Mexico.

SOURCE: Associa, January 04, 2012

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