Moneysmartz Personal Finance Guide and Blog

Foreclosures Update

Mon, 12 May 2008 14:18:23 -0600

The recently created Moneysmartz Foreclosures page offers tips, advice, and solutions to consumers facing the nightmare of foreclosure. For links to agencies and organizations offering consumer assistance, visit the Federal Reserve Education foreclosure page, a Moneysmartz Editor Best Bet. When using Google to find foreclosure information, beware of the numerous foreclosure listing sites targeting real estate investors, as many offer little useful information for consumers facing foreclosure. If you are a real estate investor looking for local foreclosures, then try RealtyTrac, the self-proclaimed "#1 source of foreclosure listings." For ways to avoid foreclosures, look to About Home Buying, with links to how foreclosures work and ways to stop foreclosures.

Money Real Estate Survival Guide 08

Fri, 09 May 2008 08:40:03 -0600

Money Magazine's 2008 Real Estate Survival Guide offers a tale of a world turned upside down with growth predicted for Syracuse, Buffalo, and Scranton, and dire times for the darlings of real estate, including Los Angeles, Miami, Phoenix, and Las Vegas. With projected eye-popping real estate price declines, what can we do to survive and for the select few, even prosper?

The Money Magazine Real Estate Survival Guide offers facts, tips, and insight. Here's how to make the most of the guide:

Get the facts about your market including home price data for 381 markets.
Learn the new rules of real estate including how homes will be financed in the future, what to ask your next mortgage broker, and a video on real estate trends.
Try to stay positive, but if you must wallow in a little misery, take consolation in tales from the California bust.

Like the boom, bust, and boom of economic cycles, this correction will pass, leaving us with new opportunities and a greater understanding of the risks associated with real estate.

DotHomes.com

Wed, 02 Apr 2008 00:39:27 -0600

Dubbed the "Google of property" by Esquire, UK, DotHomes recently launched in the United States after success in the UK and South Africa.

According to the DotHome's website, "Consumers use DotHomes to quickly search over thousands of estate agent Websites across multiple countries, with relevant search results taking consumers to property listings on these Websites. Underlying DotHomes' search mechanism is a proprietary data-mining technology which allows for scalable and accurate indexing (aggregation) of property listings directly from estate agency Websites--with zero cost or effort for estate agents."

The benefit to you is blazing fast search results with links to the original listing, Google maps, aerials views, and video tours. The search interface is user friendly and includes tools to refine your search parameters.

If you are looking to buy or rent, a visit to DotHomes should yield fast results.

FrontDoor

Sun, 30 Mar 2008 07:58:00 -0600

Is there a refreshing spring breeze in the real estate market? While it is too early for talk of a full-blown real estate recovery, HGTV's FrontDoor offers hope for a fresh start and better future.

Launched in December last year by Scripps Networks and powered by HGTV, FrontDoor enters the crowded space of online real estate listings.

"FrontDoor closes the loop for the millions of home enthusiasts who know and trust HGTV as a valued resource, while also supporting the business strategy of strengthening our footprint in the home space online as well as on-air," says John Lansing, president of Scripps Networks. "With our family of brands, we are able to provide entertaining and easy to understand information to consumers covering the entire home-ownership lifecycle -- from search and decision-making with FrontDoor, to decoration and personalization with HGTV, maintenance and remodeling with DIY Network and HGTV Pro, then preparation to sell and start the cycle again with FrontDoor."

FrontDoor is in beta, but already has an impressive list of partners including Century 21, Coldwell Banker, ERA and Sotheby's International Realty.

FrontDoor hopes to stand out from the crowd through the experience of HGTV, a television and online leader in home and garden content.

If you are looking to buy, sell, move, or finance a home, FrontDoor provides tools, information, and more than 300 videos to enrich and improve your real estate decisions.

An inviting portal to the inevitable real estate recovery, hope springs eternal at FrontDoor.

HotPads.com

Tue, 11 Dec 2007 16:26:08 -0600

Searching for rent vs. buy information about a local real estate market? HotPads.com combines maps, visual images, and information to give you a birds eye view of rental and buying opportunities in local markets. If you want to compare available sales and rentals by price range, then HotPads.com is worth a visit.

Housing Values in 152 Markets

Fri, 17 Nov 2006 10:23:22 -0600

With so much of our net worth tied up in real estate, it's not surprising that we are obsessed with home prices. Is your home overvalued? Fairly valued? Undervalued?

To answer these questions and learn more about the state of the housing market, the December issue of SmartMoney includes a spreadsheet of housing values in 152 markets and a review of what's happening in real estate now that the bloom is off the housing boom.

Real Estate Rules for a Down Market

Thu, 26 Oct 2006 08:47:40 -0600

Because home equity represents a significant percentage of total household net worth for most Americans, particularly the baby boomer generation that is now approaching retirement, real estate market downturns wreak havoc on our collective state of well-being.

Our current market downturn has captured the attention of a host of real estate bubble blogs and more recently cover stories from financial and general news magazines.

One of these cover stories worth a read comes from the November issue of Business 2.0, featuring real estate guidance, including where to buy, where not to buy, bubble proof markets, and new rules of real estate.

For the Rich Dad, Poor Dad crowd, the feature provides advice on buying low and renting high including a tidy formula for how to make the rent pay.

With the raft of real estate guidance, you have a fighting chance to protect your home equity or even increase your net worth with a few well-informed moves.

Baby Boomers and Real Estate

Fri, 20 Oct 2006 13:58:33 -0600

As the first of the baby boomers turn 60 and begin to seriously contemplate retirement, get ready for even more coverage about this cohort of 78 million Americans. The good news for everyone is that the information and advice should be helpful for all generations, particularly since so many pundits regularly voice concern about the sad state of retirement planning and savings in the United States.

An example of this media barrage, Newsweek's The Boomer Files, is a noteworthy boomer resource. The most recent installment focuses on real estate, with advice about where to retire, second homes, and real estate strategies such as reverse mortgages and mortgage payoffs.

This is serious stuff for boomers turning 60 and for the rest of us a glimpse into our future and opportunity to get ahead of the game.

Real Estate Bubble Blogs Revisited

Mon, 18 Sep 2006 09:50:42 -0600

Today, Bloomberg.com reported that weakness in the housing market may result in the first median price home price decline since the Great Depression. Scary stuff. However, for many real estate bubble bloggers, the Bloomberg report is old news. If you are worried about the housing market, particularly in your neighborhood, then the recently updated Moneysmartz Housing Bubble Blog category may provide the information you need. The category contains regional blogs, including Pigginton's Econo-Almanac, focusing on the Southern California real estate market and Seattle Bubble, chronicling where else, the Seattle market. Patrick.net, a Moneysmartz Pick, offers both national and regional coverage.

Real Estate Websites

Tue, 11 Apr 2006 12:22:32 -0600

If you have ever left a buffet unsatisfied, then you know the downside of quantity over quality. Sometimes more is less. In the case of Move.com, the Moneysmartz selection for Best of the Web real estate website, more is more. Move.com offers a full buffet of online real estate services, including real estate and rental listings, neighborhood and school resources, and moving tools. Move.com will officially launch later this year, combining the resources of several prominent real estate websites, including Realtor.com, Moving.com, and Homestore.com.

Real Estate Investing Blogs

Mon, 10 Apr 2006 10:51:23 -0600

Nothing can take the place of experience. In real estate investing, perhaps the best experience comes from walking away from the security of a 9 to 5 paycheck and giving it all to real estate investing. If you are looking to begin real estate investing, then you should consider spending some time with ProHabber.com, the Moneysmartz choice for Best of the Web real estate investing blog. Started by a full-time real estate investor, ProHabber.com offers guidance on every aspect of real estate investing. If you are new to the game, then be sure to read ProHabber's Investing Rules. For inspiration on getting started as a full-time real estate investor, read more about ProHabber's author, Bryan Casteel.

BuySide Realty

Fri, 07 Apr 2006 00:00:01 -0600

Internet savvy homebuyers know the pain of finding a home without the assistance of an agent, and then forking over a hefty commission. The Walk-Through reported the launch of BuySide Realty, a service designed to put a large chunk of the buy side agent commission in your pocket. BuySide recently launched with licensed agents in 27 states. Is this the beginning of the end for brick and mortar agents? Probably not says Joe Fox, a BuySide co-chief executive, but expect more competitors to enter the market and more opportunities for saving money when purchasing your next home.

Google Real Estate

Thu, 06 Apr 2006 13:01:51 -0600

Shimon Sandler recently reported the launch of a beta real estate product by Google. Like most Google products, the interface is intuitive. To test, go to Google; enter "real estate" (and presumably other related key words) in the search box. You should then see a "refine your search" box like the one below. Choose location and listing type, then click search housing. The result should be a map with listings.

Google Real Estate Search Results for Los Angeles

Real Estate Blogs

Thu, 06 Apr 2006 00:00:01 -0600

Moneysmartz recently completed a survey of real estate blogs, finding a variety of useful general-interest real estate blogs. The Moneysmartz real estate blog category includes blogs about real estate trends, economics, news, opinion, and urban living. This category is also a catchall for blogs not fitting into categories such as real estate investing, real estate bubble, and regional real estate. From this list, Moneysmartz identified a select few must adds to your feed readers and bookmarks.

The Walk-Through - The New York Times real estate blog.

Calculated Risk - By a senior executive, retired from a public company, with a background in investing, finance and economics.

Matrix - Items of interest or relevance in the real estate economy.

The Real Estate Blog - Real estate happenings, prices, trends, and notes of interest.

Real Estate Blogs

Tue, 04 Apr 2006 09:48:45 -0600

The Moneysmartz real estate blog category includes blogs about real estate trends, economics, news, opinion, and urban living. This category is also a catchall for blogs not fitting into categories such as real estate investing, real estate bubble, and regional real estate. The Moneysmartz real estate blog category is most helpful if you are looking for real estate news and trends or a diverse perspective on the real estate industry. Because blogs in this category are generally more eclectic, be prepared to dig deeper to find posts of relevance to your concerns.

Calculated Risk - By a senior executive, retired from a public company, with a background in investing, finance and economics.

grow-a-brain - The original real estate blog.

Hot Property - The real story on real estate from Business Week Online.

Housing.com - Housing news, analysis, and opinion.

housingfinance - Deals, subsidies, gossip, taxes, and sneaky fine print in the world of rental real estate, from the editors and writers of Apartment Finance Today and Affordable Housing Finance magazines.

Inman News - Real estate news and advice for buyers, sellers and investors.

Matrix - Items of interest or relevance in the real estate economy.

Counter Intelligence: The Real Estate Cafe Weblog - The Real Estate Cafe weblog is a consumer advocate's guide to saving money and recreating the residential estate industry online.

Real Estate Directory - Real Estate Directory of Realtor websites and blogs.

The Foreclosure Report - Real Estate foreclosure news and information.

The Real Estate Blog - Real estate happenings, prices, trends, and notes of interest.

The Real Estate Bloggers - Real estate news and information.

The Walk-Through - New York Times Real Estate Blog - New York Times real estate blog.

Triple Mint - Online review dedicated to new urban residential development, design, and living.

Urban Trekker Blog - Tracking urban living and real estate trends in the nation and Washington, DC.

Vacation Home Insider - Savvy news about second homes, vacation homes, fractionals and resorts from a professional reporter.

Zillow Blog - Blog of online real estate service Zillow.com.