Jeffrey Tung's Real Estate Blog

With all the talk about more foreclosures and short sales coming in record numbers, you might have thought about buying a home instead of renting. There are a few things to consider when you do make the purchase. Although home ownership offers a lot of benefits, (i.e. tax shelter, appreciation, etc.), it may not be a good time for you now.  

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With today’s economic conditions, some people find it hard to save or even pay their bills. There are ways to cope with our lack of funds. If you really think about how much you spend everyday and for what, you might be surprised that you can cut down on your spending and save for another rainy day. 

You may also think about where your money is being kept. Are you receiving a fair return on your investment? If you’re saving money with bank CD’s or other bank related products, you maybe cheating yourself from getting the most return for your hard earned money.  There are other investments out there that can provide you with higher returns.

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Are you planning to repair the fixer upper you just bought? Have you had that overwhelming feeling when you shop for kitchen cabinets, refrigerator, tile, etc.? Well, there are a lot of things to consider. You can spend more money then what you can get in return.

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Are you planning to move? If so, be prepared for another stressful event in your life. There are a number of things to consider in preparing for the big move. Things like, are you planning to move yourself or have a professional company move you? How much will it cost? Are the dates confirmed? It’s a lot of work and planning but once you completed your move, you’ll be happy that you did.

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Spring is almost over but cleaning is a chore that seems to never end. It is even more important if you’re planning to sell your home in time for the summer selling season. There are a few things that you can do to help make your home more attractive.

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President Obama has announced that he has a program design to help homeowners that have been unemployed and other struggling borrowers. This is a program that can help stabilize home prices. The White House is also considering a program that would suspend mortgage payments for a unemployed homeowners for 3 months and give them 3 opportunities to extend the payment difference for up to 1 year.

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In efforts to help everybody who needs help, HUD has updated their list of counselors.  This will help you find answers to help you with your financial problems.  This is a free service and should be your step in trying to get help from your government.

If you need guidance or more information about your options, HUD may have answers for your situation.

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Here’s a fresh idea to help the less fortunate people living on the streets.  There’s a non profit organization, Home Free, which has an initiative to eradicate homelessness in urban areas by providing free wireless internet, social networking and resource allotment. Their goal is to provide a resource for the homeless which will allow them to get off the streets.

Our government is trying to assist more homeowners that are facing foreclosure with senate bill S1731 . The bill’s intent is to force the lenders to do a loan modification analysis on loans that are in trouble or going to be in trouble, to see if it is possible to lower their payments. By keeping people in their homes and not going into foreclosure, property values should not decline and will help hold the prices up for the area. If more foreclosures hit the market place, it would drag all of the other homes for sale in the area down.