For Sale By Owner

Real estate business is somewhat unique in the U.S. The federal governments are, as a policy, committed to provide homes for the homeless as a welfare measure. To achieve this objective they are encouraging the citizens to go in for buying of their own homes. The separate departments in government, like Housing and Urban Development (HUD) are fully engaged in this execution of the government’s policy. Financial assistance is sufficiently provided through government sponsored enterprises like Freddie Mac., Fannie Mae and similar other popular agencies, to those who wish to avail the home loans offered to them. The thrust is so visible that even persons with a bad credit record are also enjoying this facility unabated, resulting in huge deficit between their earnings and repayment of these loans on the one hand. On the other, people with good credit history also, dream about buying properties which they cannot ordinarily afford buying, with the help of these loans and loan guarantees available to them.

After-effect of economy in Real Estate market:

Funds for investment in the Real Estate markets have to come actually from financial institutions like Banks, hedge funds, surplus pension funds etc. which are recycling the deposits mobilized from the people in various forms. They are to pay interest on deposits and receive interests on their investments. Till such time this balancing act goes well, it does not affect the economy of the nation. If not, it creates a chain reaction in the economical status of the nation and reflects in the Real Estate market as well. Generally in U.S., growth in unemployment, soaring cost of living and inflation have caused a major impact on its economy, whereby in the recent years starting from 2000, this is showing a downward trend. This necessitates again the balancing act of hiking the interest rates of loans and reducing the interest rates payable on public deposits. The chain continues in the stock markets and hedge funds and so on. The immediate reaction in the Real Estate market is, the buying of properties has become sluggish, mortgage loan lending field has shrunk and the lenders are not able to raise fresh funds by re-mortgaging their mortgage deeds on hand – known as sub-prime lending. Further, foreclosing of properties for default in repayment has grown manifold in almost all States of the U.S. This has brought down the asking price by the sellers for their properties because of availability of cheap foreclosure properties in abundance. Thus the boom experienced by the sellers up to the year 2004 has dwindled to become a buyers market in Real estate today, where for every home-shopper there are 11 properties available to make his bargain.

It is predicted that this state of affairs will continue to prevail in the U.S. Real Estate market at least for the next couple of years to come.

Securing a Home loan for buying a housing property is the most common feature prevalent in any country. Home buying, for whatever purpose, whether for living by the owners themselves or for renting/leasing it out for a steady income, necessitates huge money as down payment to the seller of the property.

In the United States, arising out of the Government policy, the citizens of U.S. are encouraged to buy homes of their own, with a view to provide them with houses as a welfare measure. This way the demand and supply is balanced with a steady increase of home ownership in all the States of the U.S. Thus the real estate activity of buying and selling homes is more active in the country, compared to other developing and under-developed countries.

The Federal Governments of U.S. have separate departments by name Housing and Urban Development (HUD) for executing the policy of the Government in providing homes for the homeless. The following are the government sponsored enterprises (GSEs) engaged in the home loan lending activities in U.S.:

• Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation: Popularly known as Freddie Mac, sponsored by the United States Government, this is privately owned corporation. This is authorized to lend home loans and loan guarantees for those who wish to avail home-loans from elsewhere. Created in 1970, this is expanding the secondary market in mortgages. Buying the mortgages from the secondary market, pooling them together and selling them as mort-gage backed securities to those investors who wish to invest in real estate open market. Thus lend-able money is made available for new home buyers as a cycle of financial business. As recently as in February 2007, Freddie Mac has imposed conditions for purchase of mortgages only if the borrower qualifies for maximum rate of the loan (and not the introduction rate which is very small) to control sub-prime lending.
• Federal National Mortgage Association: Known as Fannie Mae, this works on the same lines of Freddie Mac, but has been engaged in this business for years and is stated to be ninth largest business in the world.

Both the above agencies are the main sources of home loans in the U.S. assuming a major share of the entire business. The home-buyers have additional options for obtaining loans from Banks, Co-operative Housing societies, Insurance Companies and private lending institutions. A variety of models in home loans such as 10 year terms to 30 year terms, fixed rate of interest and adjustable rate of interest systems, payment of interest only for a certain period, amortizing the balance loan after a specific period etc. are also there. With the advent of internet marketing, the hassles connected with getting a home loan are reduced to a great extent and the intended borrower can make use of the internet right from selecting the appropriate loan suitable to applying for the loan with the concerned institution and getting it sanctioned.

The break-through achieved in the Real Estate business via Internet marketing has made things easier for those who are jumping the band wagon of this business, either as a home-buyer or an investor.  Multiple Listing Services, where one can find out the property of their choice by going through the website are doing great service in this regard.  North Carolina MLS Listings have much to offer for those who are in need of single family home, multiple family residential buildings, town homes and condominiums.  The details are classified and compiled, city-wise, location-wise, neighborhood-wise and price wise for the searcher to find easily.  Just by going through the details, getting the assistance of a proper agent and applying for online mortgage loans offered with a number of types, the home-shopper or the businessman can accomplish their specific objective.  Location is the first and foremost requisite for real estate business, because only where the demand is there for housing properties and the supply is coming up steadily, this business can thrive continuously.  North Carolina meets this basic requirement amply well as can be seen below:  

North Carolina is a State of the sea-shore, lying through the south-eastern region in the U.S. and therefore its climate is moderated by the Atlantic Ocean in the sea-belt. The flow of people desirous of living on the sea-shore for this exotic climate, is steady and offers vast scope for residential properties being sought after continuously. As regards the Appalachian Mountains and Piedmont Mountains, these parts have all the ingredients of mountainous climates, offering a lot of scope for resorts in the hill stations with their chilly climates.  In summer humid continental climate will be there in these mountains, best for trekking, hiking and such other tourist activities. 

In the recent years North Carolina is experiencing urbanization by the people leaving their agricultural and farm house backgrounds to the metropolitan areas of Raleigh, the State’s capital, Charlotte – the largest metropolitan of the State and the next big metropolitan city of Cary.  Even though smaller towns, big in numbers once, are still there, the exodus to metro cities is very spectacular. Thus the potential for real estate business in providing homes for meeting this growing need is considerable. With a population of 8 million people, majority being African Americans, this State has the 10^th largest population figures of the U.S. nation whereby there is assured scope for enlarged business. 

By virtue of large agricultural lands being available, there is noteworthy contribution to the economy of the State by agricultural products, manufacturing agro-related and heavy engineering products, textile mills from cotton

Florida, nicknamed as the Sunshine State of the U.S.A. has a very vast potential for real estate business, with its pivotal location, continuous demand for housing properties by flock of population, both migrated and living and the abundant supply of listings under various heads of properties, particularly foreclosure properties. Real estate investment is fundamentally buying properties at the low rates possible and selling them on a premium. Towards this objective timing are the essence and the real estate businessmen cannot aspire for more of a perfect timing than now.

This peninsular State of Florida, abutted by the Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic Ocean is ranking 4^th in population figures of the U.S. but comparatively less dense per square mile. The total area of land in the State is very large and merits 22^nd rank. The capital of the State is Tallahassee; largest city is Jacksonville and the largest metropolitan area is Miami, containing the most beautiful beach in the entire world.

Largely the State has a sub-tropical climate, but for the tropical climate prevailing in southern part of Florida. This climate is very conducive for living and people prefer such warm weather places for peaceful living, augmenting the plus factor for real estate business activities to flourish in meeting the ongoing demand. Another important factor is 38 out of the total 67 counties of Florida fall in the Metropolitan Statistical areas, where the urban population is in need of sophisticated housing facilities – again to the favor of Florida real estate business.

The economy of Florida State is the fastest growing one in the country and the per capita personal income is high in ranking 26^th of the nation. No personal income tax is levied in Florida State. Tourism contributes major share of the economy arising out of the 60 million tourists flowing into the State annually, which has the longest and beautiful beaches in the world, amusement parks like the Walt Disney’s and other National Parks scattered over the State. Another contributory factor to the economy is agriculture products, most notably citrus fruits and oranges, about 74% of the national total production. This affluence in economy is one more vital attraction for Florida Real Estate business.

For realty business purposes Florida has a notable point in that documentary stamps are required for mortgages and deed transfer transactions.

The following Real estate statistics of Florida State will be very useful:

Nos. Average Price

Secondary homes listed in MLS = 370,310 $265,000

Brand new housing properties = 10,733 $294,990

Classified real estate advertised = 290,887 $299,900

Foreclosed homes = 57,851 $166,000

The above latest figures are an indication of the potentialities existing in Florida Real Estate for any buyer or investor.

In the realty business, exchange of information is the key factor for the transactions to be carried out in buying and selling activities of real or personal properties. Towards this objective, the internet marketing has made rapid developments in the recent past and this has gone a long way in avoiding the hassles connected with the seeking and delivering of property-related information. Yet another milestone achieved by the realty agents of U.S.A. is the formation of Multiple Listing Services, enumerating the vast details of the properties available for sale in the entire nation in one place. Local MLS are contributing towards this and Illinois Multiple Listing Services are one among them, where the searcher can easily navigate through the site to locate the ideally suited property in no time.

Taking a decision to embark on real estate activity of buying a property for any purpose, calls for collection of the data pertaining to the place or location in which the intended property is situated. On that count, one should be conversant with the specific details of Illinois State before hand.

Illinois is the 21^st State of the U.S. and has a special distinction of the most populous in the Midwest and fifth most populous State of the nation. Another special is it has a very large cosmopolitan population giving the realty business a need for very wide choices to be offered. Illinois occupies 25^th rank in total area of land and 11^th rank in density of population, arising out of immigration from other parts of Europe and migration from inside the country. State Capital is Springfield and the largest metropolitan city is Chicago. Geographically major portion of Illinois is on interior plain lands. Because of its large size, Illinois State experiences a very wide variation in climate according to the region, from humid continental climate to humid subtropical climate.

The State’s economy ranks 5^th in the entire nation by virtue of its industries related to – agro products (second rank in the entire nation in corn production), electricity production, nuclear power, wind-power; coal, petroleum and bio-fuels. For transportation facilities, due to its central location Illinois holds a pivotal position in infrastructure for rail, road and truck transportation in the country.

The important feature about Illinois is, only local property tax is levied on real estate properties and no state or federal tax is applicable.

As listed in the Illinois Multiple Listing Services, the latest figures of various types of properties available for sale are: 124,050 Nos. at an average price of $299,900. Brand new constructed homes = 1,612 at an average price of $269,900. Foreclosure properties = 29,959 Nos. priced at an average of $149,000. The average percentage of 15 or 30 years mortgage loan interest is 6.48%.

Multiple Listing Services of realty business are an easy way of searching for the particular property by the buyer in the internet marketing.  All the available properties are listed at one place, classified category wise – townhouses, single family homes, multi-family residences, condominiums, loft apartments for residential as well as commercial purposes – in MLS.  This website is the landmark development, because the buyer can select his dreamed property from the very wide choices offered in price, location, accommodation as well as other priorities. Alabama Multiple Listing Services website thus contains all the relevant information in relation to the properties available for sale in the state of Alabama. 

In this regard, it would be a good thing to bear in mind the appropriate statistics pertaining to the State of Alabama for making a wise decision in property purchase in the state, as given below: 

• Alabama is situated in the southern region of U.S.A., surrounded on the four sides by Tennessee, Georgia, Gulf of Mexico/Florida and Mississippi.
• Generally three fifths of the total land area is on plains and the remaining is mountainous.
• Total area ranks 30^th in U.S. but gets the second rank by its inland waterways. Totally 67 counties are there.
• With population of 4.5 million, Alabama ranks 23^rd in this section and Americans outnumber the English and Irish people by more than double.
• Montgomery is the capital of Alabama State and Birmingham is the largest city and the largest metropolitan area.
• Overall the climatic conditions of Alabama can be described as temperate – with the southern parts being warmer and the northern mountainous parts comparatively cooler.  Hot summers and mild winters are generally experienced. For agriculture, Alabama gets copious rains throughout the year and a lengthy growing season of all the states.
• Economically Alabama enjoys the fastest growth.  In automobile production, it now ranks second only behind Detroit, but is expected to surpass it in 2009 by leaps and bounds.  Heavy industries of steel and steel products as also aerospace have attracted major investment. On agricultural produces Alabama plays an important role in the U.S. economy.  Cotton production ranks 8^th to 10^th and this state is also known as The Cotton State.
• Alabama is one of the few budget-surplus states of the U.S., for the current year the surplus being $1.2 billion
• With major international airports, inland water ports and interstate highways, Alabama is enjoying well-connected transportation facilities.

With the above information, the real estate statistics described below will also be helpful in embarking into Alabama Multiple Listing Services: 

There are 25,561 homes for sale as listed by Alabama Multiple Listing Services to select from and the average price is $184,900. New homes ready for sale are only negligible 10 nos.  Foreclosure properties are 2,569 available at an average price of $67,500 (the cheapest figures in all states).