Randy Charlton's Real Estate Blog by The Randy Charlton Group - Keller Williams Realty

The Loan Process

The Randy Charlton Group - Keller Williams Realty — Sat, 12 Jul 2008 16:15:00 GMT

Step 1: Application

Your loan process should go smoothly if you complete your loan application properly and provide all necessary documentation to your loan consultant at the time of application.

Step 2: Ordering Documentation

Your loan consultant will order the necessary documentation for the loan. Any verifications will be requested, and the credit report and appraisal will be ordered. You will also receive a preliminary Good Faith Estimate of your costs and details of your loan.

Step 3: Awaiting Documentation

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Capital Gains Taxes

The Randy Charlton Group - Keller Williams Realty — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 10:17:00 GMT

The information below is meant as a guide only. Always check with your local tax specialist for current laws and guidelines.

Almost everything you own and use for personal purposes, pleasure or investment is a capital asset. Your main ..(read more)

Home Buyer's Property Tax Guide

The Randy Charlton Group - Keller Williams Realty — Tue, 27 May 2008 21:50:00 GMT

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Advantages To Home Ownership

The Randy Charlton Group - Keller Williams Realty — Thu, 15 May 2008 10:50:00 GMT

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15 Home Listing Tips

The Randy Charlton Group - Keller Williams Realty — Tue, 13 May 2008 19:13:00 GMT

1. Pricing Your Home Right
Your agent can research comparable sales in your area and advise you of the appropriate price range for your property.

2. Be Flexible on Financing Terms
Have your agent explain what financing options are available. Flexibility on financing terms may secure a better selling price.

3. Time It Right
Ask a real estate professional to determine whether the market cycle is poised to net you the most money.

4. Make Your Property Accessible to Buyers
Lock boxes are a great way to make your home most accessible to agents for showing. Appointment-only showings are the most restrictive. If your lifestyle is not compatible with frequent showings, your agent will help you determine a solution to suit your needs. Remember, the easier a home is to show, the better the odds are of getting the deal you want. (read more)

Buying Foreclosures REO's

The Randy Charlton Group - Keller Williams Realty — Mon, 05 May 2008 14:39:00 GMT

Buying Foreclosure REOs

One of the very best ways to get a good deal in real estate is to concentrate on buying foreclosure REOs.

Forget about chasing down short sales and dealing with lenders who don't want to deal. Instead, I suggest going straight to the source, which is often the very same lenders who refused to deal but now must. These are lenders who have taken back a home in foreclosure.

Regardless of government-sponsored voluntary bail-out programs designed to help home owners in foreclosure -- the programs which are rightfully called "too little, too late and too voluntary" by The New York Times -- foreclosures will continue to rise throughout 2008. This means more banks will end up owning properties, which is bad news for ..(read more)

HUD Increases FHA Loan Limits!

The Randy Charlton Group - Keller Williams Realty — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 12:25:00 GMT

The US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) recently announced an increase in FHA loan limits, which were mandated by the Economic Stimulus Act. The new limits are based on median home prices throughout the United States.

These new changes create a lot of opportunity for home owners and home buyers, and promotes access to lower cost loans. To find out what the limit is in your county, visit http://www.fhaoutreach.com/.

House OKs Lift on Fannie, Freddie Loan Limits

The Randy Charlton Group - Keller Williams Realty — Fri, 25 Jan 2008 12:45:00 GMT

Below is an article recently posted online addressing the purposed increase in current conforming loan amounts. If successfully passed, this measure along with the recent reduction in interest rates, will be exactly what is needed to stimulate the real estate activity in our area.

If you ever have any questions, please feel free in giving me a call at 909.938.9568.

- Randy

Daily Real Estate News | January 25, 2008

House OKs Lift on Fannie, Freddie Loan Limits

The economic stimulus package hammered out between the White House and Congress on Thursday lifts the size of home loans that may be ..(read more)

One Of My Favorite Quotes!

The Randy Charlton Group - Keller Williams Realty — Fri, 11 Jan 2008 11:34:00 GMT

Wanted to share with you one of my all time favorite quotes.

We all go through tough times in life, but it's the people who can pick themselves up and dust themselves off that seem to find success. Now when I say success I do not mean just financial ... I mean career success, relationalship success, athletic success and so on.

So when you come up against obsticles in life, please remember the below quote.

"I've missed more than 9,000 shots in my career. I've lost more than 300 games. 26 times I've been trusted to take the game-winning shot and missed. I've failed over and over in my life ... and that is why I succeed."(read more)

How To Prevent Foreclosure

The Randy Charlton Group - Keller Williams Realty — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 08:57:00 GMT

I've been receiving a lot of home owner questions lately regarding foreclosures and short sales.

Recently I came across a great article on Inman News that addresses some key points when it comes to potentially avoiding foreclosure on your property. The bottomline is be proactive. I hope you find this article useful. It also contains some great links.

- Randy

Wednesday, January 09, 2008

By Ilyce R. Glink
Inman News

I received a call to my radio show just before the end of the year from a woman who had just received a letter ..(read more)

North Ontario On The Rise

The Randy Charlton Group - Keller Williams Realty — Wed, 02 Jan 2008 11:46:00 GMT

Below is a great article featured on DailyBulletin.com concerning the new developments in the area. I do not know about you, but I'm excited about the sports arena. No more fighting traffic to see sporting and entertainment events.

- Randy

11,000-seat arena envisioned as regional destination takes shape in Ontario

By Andrea Bennett, Staff Writer

Article Created: 01/01/2008 09:32:47 PM PST

ONTARIO - With snow-glazed peaks to its north and the 10 Freeway to its south, Ontario's Citizens Business Bank Arena is expected to be a major destination point for the region when it is completed in the fall.

Just north of the 11,000-seat arena is ..(read more)

Existing-Home Sales to Trend Up in 2008

The Randy Charlton Group - Keller Williams Realty — Tue, 01 Jan 2008 19:49:00 GMT

Below is a portion of a recent posting on the National Association of Realtors website. According to the NAR, homes sales for 2008 will increase slightly as the mortgage crunch slows.

WASHINGTON, December 10, 2007 - Existing-home sales are projected to trend up in 2008, with pending home sales showing a slight near-term rise, according to the latest forecast by the National Association of Realtors®. However, a recovery for new-home sales is unlikely before 2009.
Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, said the worst part of the credit crunch has already worked its way through the data. “The unusual mortgage disruptions that peaked in August were clearly seen in lower home sales that were finalized in September and October, so the market was underperforming,” he said. ..(read more)

FHA Financing Is Back!

The Randy Charlton Group - Keller Williams Realty — Tue, 01 Jan 2008 19:19:00 GMT

FHA financing has been re-vamped to be more transaction-friendly

While FHA-insured mortgages have been in existence for over 60 years, they have been revised to be more flexible to today's transactions. No longer will you see the dreaded "VC Sheet" which required automatic repairs of the property being financed.

Here are some of the primary characteristics of an FHA mortgage:

No income limits

No prepayment penalties
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Support Our Troops

The Randy Charlton Group - Keller Williams Realty — Tue, 01 Jan 2008 17:41:00 GMT

If you go to this web site, sponsored by Xerox, LetsSayThanks.com, you can pick out a thank you card and Xerox will print it and it will be sent to a soldier that is currently serving in Iraq. You can't pick out who gets it, but it will go to some member of the armed services.

How AMAZING it would be if we could get everyone we know to send one!!!

This is a great site. Please send a card. It is FREE and ..(read more)

Be Careful Who You Give Your Phone Number To!

The Randy Charlton Group - Keller Williams Realty — Tue, 16 Oct 2007 12:03:00 GMT

Google has implemented a new feature which enables you to type a telephone number into the search bar and hit enter and you will be given the person's name and address. If you then hit Map Quest, you will get a map to the person's house.

Everyone should be aware of this! It's a nationwide reverse telephone book. If a child gives out his/her phone number, someone can now look it up to find out where he/she lives. The safety issues are obvious, and alarming. You can have your phone number removed or blocked. I tried my number and it came up along with the Map Quest and directions straight to our house. In order to test whether your phone number is mapped. Go to: www.google.com.
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