Archive for the 'Commercial real estate' Category
Planning an Appeal
February 15th, 2009 categories: Commercial real estate, Investment Property, Land & Rural, Market Trends
BRYAN, TX -- So your property value drops in a shrinking economy. What can [caption id="attachment_1987" align="alignright" width="150" caption="Property Tax Assessment"]
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you do? Make sure that your tax value is decreasing, as well. Brazos County mails out estimates for the year 2009 in June. That's four months away, you exclaim. Yes, plenty of time to investigate your property's current market value and to prepare your tax appeal, I say.
Your case for a request to lower the property's value is not simply based on your feelings about higher taxes. You've heard Benjamin Franklin say it - in this world nothing is certain but death and taxes. So don't be shocked to find yourself in a recession and asked to pay (more...)
| Discussion: 2 Comments »
Postive Spin
January 5th, 2009 categories: Buying Real Estate, Commercial real estate, Foreclosures, Investment Property, Land & Rural, Market Trends, Real Estate News, Selling Real Estate
BRYAN, TX -- Gosh, ever since the election, the media seem happier about the war on terror in Iraq, the outlook of our economy, and spending of consumers. Is it all based on the results of the election? Or is it a figment of our imagination? See how saavy you are on the economy in our neck of the woods, based on an article from Texas Realtor Magazine, October 2008: 1. What percentage of all Texas homes are financed by subprime loans? a. 1% b. 8% c. 17% d. 33% 2. True or False? Average interest rates for a 30-year fixed mortgage are about what they were 5 years ago. 3. T or F? In 2007, homes priced $500k+ represented a higher percentage of the total homes sold in Texas than any previous year. 4. Of 44 Texas markets, how many had lower median sales prices from January-June 2008 compared to the same period in 2007? a. none b. 11 c. 22 d. 33 5. How many Texas markets had more home sales in June 2008 than June 2007? a. 22 b. 9 c. 3 d. none 6. In CNBC's 2008 ranking of state economies, Texas came| Discussion: Your Comments Please »
Credit Crunch? Media Feeding Frenzy
September 30th, 2008 categories: Buying Real Estate, Commercial real estate, Investment Property, Land & Rural, Market Trends, Real Estate News, Selling Real Estate
BRYAN, TX -- You and I know the media are out to make a buck. And most people know that a majority of the news is presented in a cunning way to grab your attention to increase media viewership to sell more ads to make a buck. What viewers may not know is that the recent hype on the alphabet soup mortgage companies (WaMu, AIG, FNM, FRM, ...) is just that - hype. Sensationalism to get you excited to grab your attention to increase media viewership to sell more ads to make a buck. It's like the Dallas Cowboys training camp... (more...)| Discussion: 1 Comment »
Armed Forces members given needed breaks with the New Housing Bill
August 12th, 2008 categories: Buying Real Estate, Commercial real estate, Real Estate News
While on www.Bankrate.com, I read an interesting article to share. Service members returning from active duty abroad will be given breaks. Some protections apply to service members whose military obligations affect their ability to repay debts, primarily Reservists and members of the National Guard who are called to active duty. They have to leave their jobs and, in many cases, take pay cuts.
For those service members, there is protection having to do with foreclosures and interest rates. If a service member had a mortgage before entering active duty, a lender can't start foreclosure proceedings until nine months after the service member returns from active duty. Formerly , the protection period was 90 days.
Also, when someone with a mortgage is called up to active duty, the interest rates on previously existing debt are capped at 6 percent. That 6 percent cap extends until one year after the service member returns from active duty.
Thanks to Graham Stiles at www.GrahamStiles.com for sharing this article.
| Discussion: Your Comments Please »
Glass Half Full or Glass Half Empty?
July 1st, 2008 categories: Commercial real estate
The Eagle ran a great article Thursday about the general health of the Bryan & College Station commercial real estate...
http://www.theeagle.com/local/Office-space-in-B-CS---The-phones-are-still-ringing- Post your reactions to these statements. I'll start: For years I've thought the Bryan and College Station real estate market was (more...)| Discussion: Your Comments Please »
