Surviving Subprime Loans

At first subprime loans seemed like a fantastic concept. These loans allowed people who would not have been able to purchase a house become home owners. The problem though is that financially, many of these Americans could not and cannot afford the costs associated with home ownership and are now finding themselves in a major mortgage crisis. As today's economy is showing, rates are increasing, property values are decreasing, margins are shrinking, and regulatory pressures are mounting. An escalating foreclosure rate is evidence of the severity of the problem.

Tom Chambers has written an article on steps people can take in order to survive life with their subprime loan.

Why Condo Fees can be a Good Thing

Last week I was approached by a fellow who felt he had no choice but to sell his house. He bought his three bedroom bungalow about three years ago. The problem was that he didn't budget correctly. After buying his house he didn't think that he would have to make any more payments. Thus it was a HUGE shock for him when he discovered that he needed to replace his roof. He told me that he can't afford to fix it and thus is forced to sell his house. I recommended that he move into a condo. I think anyone who isn't good at bud getting should live in a condo. It forces you to budget through their condo fees. I thought I would write a quick article explaining why condo fees can be a good thing. Enjoy!

Maine Real Estate License.... Going, going, gone

I have to apologize for not having posted in a while. I have been busy working on a new education project that we will be launching soon. I am sure it will help a lot of people. Can't wait to launch.

Anyhow I digress....

I looked into how to get a real estate license in Maine. First of all I was surprised to see that they reciprocate with pretty much every state. If you are licensed in another state you just have to take the Maine state law portion of the exam. Then you can begin selling real estate in the beautiful state of Maine.

I have never actually been to Maine but think i will try to go in the Summer. Sounds very pleasant. Eat some lobster and take a walk on the beach. not so bad :).

For Those Who Wish to Get thier Real Estate License In Louisiana

I have never sold a house in Louisiana. I was there for a real estate convention about 6 months ago. I really enjoyed it. Nice people. I thought it would be interesting to see what the requirements were for getting a license in Louisiana. Follow the link to see.

The High Standards Realtors in the Great White North Must Face

After a conversation with my nephew this weekend I thought it would be interesting to look into how someone from Vancouver qualifies to be licensed as a realtor. I was really shocked to see the standards they have set. I have never seen so much work just to get a sales person license. Not sure if all of this is necessary but my hat is tipped to anyone who passes.

My Good Old Kentucky Home - Now How About a Kentucky Real Estate License

I love old songs that my grandfather used to sing to me. You know the type like "old Suzanna" and "B-I-N-G-O". I used to love visiting my grandparents at thier house in Franklin, Kentucy. It has always felt like home. Grandma and mom would cook pies (the best in the world) and my brother and I would go fishing with Grandad. I really miss them. I was showing my kids pics of me with what would now be my kid's great grandparents. I started to pine for those times in Kentucky. So first thing I thought I would do when I got to the office we to look at getting my real estate license for Kentucky. I know that sometimes you can never go "home" but I can still do the homework :).

Just Pass Your Real Estate License Exam? Real Estate Bubble... BOO!

I am sorry. I didn't mean to scare any new real estate license examinees. I have been thinking a lot about the potential for a "real estate bubble" to pop and ruin the party we have enjoyed as realtors over the past years. I constantly hear about this bubble. Paints the image of the .com bubble popping. I think the fundamentals are a bit more sound when someone buys a house compared to the frivolous ways the early Internet compaies did business but I do recognize that many of my clients have, in my opinion, spent more than they are capable of paying. Over financed themselves. I am not sure how some have kept living under a roof for as long as they have.

I figured that it would be interesting to share some Real Estate Bubble blogs. While I like to keep a positive attitude when it comes to the real estate market, I find it important to look to both sides of the fence.

Obviously Southern California has a dynamic real estate market. I have helped many students obtain thier real estate licenses in So. Cal. The Southern California Real Estate Bubble Crash blog. I like this blog cause it is constantly posting new info. Pretty interesting stuff going deep into the economics and sociology of Southern California.

My next blog comes from the East Coast. It is the Northern new Jersey Real Estate Bubble blog. If there is ever going to be a real estate "correction" then it would have to happen on a national level. This is why I like to follow these pages from multiple states. If I look into how the real estate markets in New Jersey and New York and compare them to the West Coast I can come up with my own conclusion which way the market is going.

Continuing with this theory of taking samples from multiple markets I next like to read the Seattle Bubble blog. It has an interesting topic in that they have open threads that people can post thier own info. I thought it would be filled with spam but it is pretty informative.

There are plenty of fear mongering blogs pushing the idea of a bubble popping on a national level. The Housing Bubble blog is very imformative. It has lots of info and is constantly updated. Just be careful not to visit housebubble.com. It looks like spam. There are so many splogs out there. I read about that word in a wired magazine. Spam blogs. Argh. What an awful thought. I hope that just moves on and stops.

Now anyone who is looking at these blog sites and thinking wow... i dont' think i want to become a realtor should stop and instead think "How can I become a realtor" instead. The market is still strong. Having a real estate license is never a bad professional choice. No matter what the condition of the industry, there is still always someone needing a realtor.

Kansas Reciprocates Real Estate Licenses with 43 States!!! WOW

Today I was shocked to find out that the Kansas Real Estate Commission offers real estate license reciprocation with 43 states. That sure is a lot. If any out of state realtor is interested in obtaining a second real estate license then Kansas is the state. Learn about all of the requirements for the Kansas salesperson and brokers real estate license and opportunities for studying for the real estate license exam.

Interesting Blogs I Read Today

Today I played around with Google Blog Search. It was a great way to look up blogs covering specific topics. For obvious reasons in my career I used the search term "real estate license". I was happy to see an article that I had just written about Iowa Real Estate License Requirements came up first. I am surprised how fast google works these days. I don't ever remember seeing something I wrote be indexed that quickly. Nice work Google.

After re-reading my article I looked at the blog entries below. There was one covering how a realtor stole 3 million dollars and somehow still got to keep her real estate license. I shake my head but would also love to know how she did it :) Think she was one of the big boobed pretty girls? JOKE!!!!

Next I read an interesting article by Todd Tarson giving some tips on how to interview a realtor. Long article but interesting read. Alway nice to help the public choose a qualified real estate agent. I am sure any of the real estate licensees from my real estate school or those who used my real estate study guide would score well when interviewed :).

I love the name of the publisher of the blog entry directly below mine. Michael Jordan's Mistress. If I was a lady I am pretty sure I could give up the day to day grind of being a real estate school teacher in order to hang with #23. Anyhow I think her name is more thought out than this blog entry.

I was intrigued by this title, Density and Too Many Realtors. Blog site that claims to track the Charlottesville and Central Virginia Real Estate Market. Article was pretty low in explaining anything to do with real estate salesperson / realtors or their density.

Under this was another gold coin... a netscape story covering one of my old articles title Real estate License Exam Strategies. I wrote that well back in mid December. I enjoyed writing that. I think a real estate class student should have some clear strategies on how to approach a real estate exam. Any student can do well if they follow those tips.

I looked forward to reading the following blog which covered a field of real estate I never really got into. It gave tips on how to sell convenience stores. I clicked on the link only to discover that it was kind of a spam site so instead I looked up how to sell a convenience stores. I didn't get as much info as I would have liked because I had to get back to work.

I am sure I will use the Google Blog search more often. You should give it a shot too.

Do you want to Get your Iowa Real Estate License?

Iowa have always been a strong real estate market. There are great country houses and large cities to please pretty much anyone who wishes to live in such a beatuful state. If you are interested in writing the real estate exam and obtaining your salesperson real estate license or brokers real estate license this link has the information for you. Lists the many states that reciprocate with the state of Iowa as well.