Baby Boomers Stump the Housing Market

Less than ten years ago, the housing market was rising high. This is known now as the "housing bubble," and in the midst of the frenzy, many homebuyers 55+ were purchasing houses with price tags of 250,000 plus with straight cash. The prices were high but times were heady, and the older generations were buying sprawling luxury homes in the balmy climes nearly as fast as builders could throw them up.

Fast-forward to today, and times have changed. With the economic downturn and the future looking a little more uncertain than it did previously, the needs of the Baby Boomers when it comes to property are leaving many contractors scratching their heads.

Most people in the 55+ demographic now are shying away from the mansions overlooking the Everglades. Many Baby Boomers are even unsure of when they'll be able to retire or where, given the crash of 2008. Some are looking to downsize, others are looking to move out to the country, and yet others are turning their gaze toward a more urban existence after so many years in the suburbs.

What is on the rise are high-density-urban units - given the expenses of keeping an automobile around, lots of people are looking for live-work-play areas where people can get around either by walking or public transportation. This is quite a turnaround from the sprawling mansions of the housing bubble years, but changing wants are reflecting today's economic realities and how they're affecting the lives and lifestyles of seniors.

Interestingly enough, certain communities that were originally built for seniors instead attracted members of the Generation Y market, or those buyers who are around the age of 30. This has led to a shock to the housing market insofar as marketing is concerned: many contractors are trying to figure out the perfect alchemy of attracting both younger and older buyers and are finding it a difficult task to undertake.

However, the market is still in flux, and many contractors are taking time to carefully study the market before making definite moves in any direction insofar as building senior housing - and housing for all generations - is concerned.

Where To Find Real Estate Listings in Portland Oregon

Finding real estate listings in Portland Oregon is a relatively simple process. It is estimated that over 70% of prospective homeowners use the internet to search available listings in their area of interest. Gone are the days when the way to search for a house was to drive around your neighborhood of interest, look for a 'for sale' sign, jot down the number on the sign, and find time to call later on to get more information about the property.

Gone are the days when your options were limited to having to search newspapers, real estate magazines and brochures to find potential properties of interest. Nowadays, chances are if you are searching for real estate listings in Portland Oregon, if it's listed in the newspaper and magazines, it's listed online.

According to a study done by the National Association of Realtors the internet is increasingly becoming the first place homebuyers look to begin their search for a new home. Looking online will shorten your home search time. Research has found that when compared to traditional buyers, those who use the internet during the home buying process are more satisfied with their purchase and the overall process.

Those who use the internet to search for homes are presented with a wider variety of options. All the information you need to know about a property can be found online. This includes: pricing, square footage, number of bedrooms, number of bathrooms, floor plan type, and much more. However the best part is that most internet listings have pictures of the outside and inside of the property which helped in the selection and process of elimination.

Using the internet to search real estate listings in Portland Oregon helps tremendously in narrowing down the search to only the homes an individual or family is strongly interested in. This is very beneficial because they spend less time going back and forth in their agent's office and visiting homes that do not qualify.

The internet is convenient. Seeing the listings online are much more engaging than seeing them in a newspaper or brochure.

Below is a list of some of the top sites where you can find real estate listings in Portland Oregon.

1. realestate.oregonlive.com
2. jmaproperties.com
3. trulia.com/OR/Portland
4. realestate.yahoo.com/Oregon/Portland

Those who use the internet to search for their potential homes are found to be overall more knowledgeable about the home buying process.

So whether you are searching for a residential or commercial property, using the internet to find all the available real estate listings in Portland Oregon is sure to help you immensely in your search.

Using A Website To Help Sell Your Condominium

The tremendous rise of online commerce over the past decade has seen the fees charged by service providers such as travel agents and insurance agents fall dramatically as they try to compete with their internet-based counterparts. Real estate agents have still been able to charge relatively high fees in comparison.

Now though, they are under attack from various sources, including For Sale By Owner (FSBO) websites which advertise properties for sale on behalf of the owners in a particular area. People looking to move to an area now have a choice of traditional real estate agent sites to search, plus any local FSBO sites.

Whatever type of property you are looking to sell, there are several choices. Many people now feel comfortable with the idea of selling their home through FSBO websites as an alternative to traditional real estate agents.

Alternatively, it is possible to create a website specifically to sell the property. When choosing this option, serious thought will need to be given to how potential buyers will find the site. The chances are they will come to it via a search engine such as Google. Think about what keywords might be entered by someone looking to buy different types of property in a particular area. Choose a domain name for the site based on these keywords, and, when writing the content for the site, make sure to include the keywords frequently. This will ensure that the property appears high on the search engine results page for those keywords. If the site fails to appear on the first page of results, it will result in attracting very few visitors.

Whichever option is chosen as the route to market, the importance of good content is paramount. The quality of the photos showing the property, inside and out, must be as good as possible. These are what create that all important first impression. Visitors to the site will simply lose interest and go elsewhere if they are not impressed by what they see.

It is possible for photographs to be enhanced digitally. This is usually carried out using specialist software such as Adobe Photoshop. Obviously, dimensions of the property cannot be altered, that would be unethical, and dishonest. However, any property looks better with a blue sky in the background, and it is not always feasible to wait for that perfect clear day to come around. With a few minor adjustments, a clear blue sky and a bright beautiful home can be on view.

One of the best investments to make for the website is a virtual tour. It is possible to do this without professional help, but that will involve buying the software used to "stitch" together the images that make up the virtual tour. They are best described as a user-controlled, 360 degree view from a fixed point (usually of a particular room). By providing a virtual tour of each room in the property, it provides the visitors to the site with an online experience of what it would be like to be in each room. This is particularly important for buyers from outside the region. On the internet, these people could be anywhere in the world, and they are able to check out the property for sale as if they were there.

The ideal scenario is to use a professional website designer. A professional will be able to advise and suggest appropriate color schemes, fonts and so on for the site. If the site looks amateur and cheap, the viewer will see the property in the same light. What is needed is a high quality, desirable site which reflects a high quality, desirable property.

Financial District Apartments are not generally the first that anyone would think of when they are looking for rental apartments in NYC. When they thi

It was easy to jump on the bandwagon two years ago and accuse the banks of being cold, cruel, callous, and indifferent to homeowners' plights. Millions of homeowners were struggling to make ends meet, to pay their mortgage, and to stay in their homes and yet millions more were facing foreclosure. The mantra during President Obama's election campaign and early months of his presidency was that banks weren't doing enough to help these struggling homeowners.

The numbers are in

Well, the news can be sometimes deceiving, but the truth is that banks have helped more homeowners stay in their homes than all of Obama's policies put together. The basic principle for banks is that it is poor business sense to continue to foreclose on one home after another after another. The bank is responsible for property taxes, repairs, upkeep, maintenance, and reselling of the home and these numbers begin to add up significantly in short order.

As a result, banks are doing more than twice the number of loan modifications than the Obama Administration's signature Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP). While this should certainly be good news for homeowners across the country, consumer advocate groups warn that the terms of the modification process may not be as good as what some homeowners have received through the HAMP program.

Looking at the fine print numbers

HAMP originated home loan modifications are generally engineered to keep monthly payments down to 31% of the homeowner's pre-tax income. Some of the bank initiated modifications may not be enough for the homeowner to be able to afford and sustain the payments throughout the term of the loan. It's important to evaluate these terms before deciding whether to pull the trigger and move forward with the modification or possibly move onto the government program, if they can even qualify.

Reducing interest and principal

Many banks were in the business to simply tack on any missed monthly payments to the end of the loan period. This helped some homeowners recover, but for the most part, all this did was delay the inevitable. After all, if the homeowner couldn't afford the monthly payment before, then odds are they weren't going to be able to afford it later on, either. The idea in a loan modification is to lower the interest and the principal so that the monthly payments are more manageable.

With the decrease in home values throughout the country during the past three years, many homeowners have found themselves upside-down in their mortgages, meaning they owed far more than the home was even worth anymore. Banks finally took notice of this and began to work with some homeowners to modify the loans.

Crediting the President

While more banks are taking the initiative in modifying loans, they also acknowledge that the President's HAMP program laid the groundwork for them to follow. Before HAMP, there was no industry standard on loan modifications and each bank was left to fend for itself in the rough waters, trying to navigate for profit while at the same time balancing the desire to keep as many homeowners in their homes.

As a result, more than 78% of the bank in-house loan modifications were found to involve adjusting interest rates or principal reductions. This information was formulate by the Hope Now foundation. Still, there are more consumer advocate groups that are calling on banks to do more and to help more homeowners.

It's clear that the housing industry is struggling severely and foreclosures continue to mount every month. With the Federal government in serious debt trouble, it will be incumbent upon the banks to step up and make the sacrifice, not only for themselves, but also for the homeowners, and the housing industry as a whole.

Financial District Apartments - What Is It Like to Live in Financial District, Manhattan?

Financial District Apartments are not generally the first that anyone would think of when they are looking for rental apartments in NYC. When they think of this area they don't really think of a neighbourly, cozy, nice area. They would generally associate it with stock brokers and Wall Street and a busy area where people go to work and only stop for lunch. However, Financial District is much more than just a place for business. There are quite a lot of people that do live in this area and it is increasingly becoming a residential area. The Financial District is below the Chambers Street in south Manhattan and is surrounded by water on all the sides.

Living Options Available

Financial District apartments are available in several different choices. Although most buildings are commercial in nature, there are several new residential highrises that are available today. The rent is a little expensive but there are several benefits since the buildings are new rather than the crummy buildings in other areas in Manhattan. A studio in one of the newer luxury buildings in the Financial District can cost close to $1900 each month. The multiple bedroom properties tend to be a little cheaper than the other parts of Manhattan. If you are looking for the cheapest possible options, then some of the smaller places located east of Broadway are worth considering. Although the area is quite safe, it does get very quiet after the office hours.

Would You Fit in?

Financial District Apartments are mostly considered by people in their 20s and their 30s with regular 9 to 5 jobs. However, there is a huge student population in the area because of the NYU dorm that is located on the Water Street. There are several tourists in the area as well that generally come to visit the 9-11 monument, Wall Street and South Street Seabord. One of the biggest advantages of living here is that the transportation facilities available are quite good. The nightlife is not really exciting since almost everything shuts down at night. However, there are a few bars that can be found east Broadway and some diners. The Fulton Street offers shopping opportunities for cheaper products and many sidewalk vendors. There is an indoor mall at South Street Seaport too and many quality retailers like Hermes and Tiffany's.

Although the Financial District is not really a happening place and doesn't have a great nightlife, it can be good option for those who are working in the same area and are looking for a quiet, peaceful place to live. Financial District Apartments are also newer and offer most luxuries.

Different Types Of Corporate Housing

There comes a time in the life of many businesses where they need to house employees for a short period of time. They may need housing that is furnished to specific specifications. They may just need a general place for employees to stay while on a job. Whatever the cause, the answer to this dilemma is corporate housing.

When a company needs to find a place for an employee to stay, they may not always be able to give a lot of notice. They may need something that is available immediately, or they may be able to wait for a small period of time. Depending on their situation there are different types of accommodations that will be available.

For some companies the answer to this problem is renting a hotel room for a brief period of time. Others may decide to rent a room in a type of residence inn to give the employee more of the comforts of home. These residence inns usually have fully furnished kitchens. A full kitchen also gives the employee a chance to cook for themselves, cutting a food expense budget. This can give the employee more of a sense of home as well as being convenient to the company. This type of room usually includes some type of housekeeping service.

While this option may be available immediately, they may also be one of the most expensive options. Before choosing this as an option a company should investigate the quality of the lodging as well as discussing long-term pricing with the management. The hotel management may be willing to give a better rate someone who is willing to commit to a longer stay.

Another option for corporate housing is to rent an apartment. Most apartment managers will be willing to discuss a short term rental. They will also usually be willing to help a company furnish the apartment as needed.

This may mean additional beds or different types of furniture including desks. They will also usually be willing to make sure the rental is furnished with all kitchen utensils and linens that may be necessary. In addition to furnishings many management companies will also be willing to provide housekeeping services for an additional fee.

The apartment rental option may be best if the company is housing more than one person and wants them to share a unit. The employees will also have access to any of the apartment complex amenities which may include a pool or exercise facility. This type of housing may offer more space than a hotel room, and can be more comfortable.

If a company is not sure about their lodging needs the best thing to do would be to research the various available options. Both a corporate housing specialist and the Internet may be good resources for more information. It is important that the company understand its needs before undertaking any research. This can help make the process easier and more productive. Once the company understands their needs it is very easy to find the accommodation that is best for each company.