As foreclosure rates sky-rocket, the victims oftentimes lost in the shuffle are renters of foreclosed properties who get the boot after their home is foreclosed upon. Standard practice is to send an eviction letter via certified mail to the tenant giving them 30 days to evict the property once t
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03/12/2009
The Obama Administration announced its Making Home Affordable plan last week which it hopes will help keep people in their homes, and sustain property values by reducing foreclosures. The plan has three initiatives -- the refinance initiative, loan modification initiative and low mortgage rate i
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03/09/2009
If you know me, then you know how much I LOVE AUSTIN. The people, live music, nightlife and sporting events are great, but since having my son, Ethan, a year ago, I've had to expand my social life to family-friendly events too. A few weekends ago, Stephen (my husband), Ethan and I planned our "A
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03/02/2009
The $787 Billion stimulus plan called the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (HR 1) conquered headlines last week when it was signed into law on Tuesday, February 17th. Portions of the bill of particular interest to the real estate community are: The $8,000 First-time Homebuyer Tax Credit an
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02/23/2009
USDA's Rural Housing Service was another recipient of stimulus funds last week through HR 1. This comes as a surprise -- a representative from my local Rural Development (or RD) office said last week they were not anticipating a new appropriation of funds from Congress until March. USDA direct
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02/23/2009
On February 16th President Obama went to Phoenix, one of the hardest hit foreclosure areas, to unveil his The Homeowner Affordability and Stability Plan which he believes will bring stability to the housing market. The plan's full details will not be available until March 4th, but here's a previ
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02/23/2009
Update: Please see highlighted sections for further clarifcation regarding the $8,000 tax credit. I'll be making updates as more interpretation of the bill emerges. Signed, Sealed, Delivered I'm Yours....is not just Stevie Wonder's 1970 Motown classic, but our $787 Billion (yes, with a B) stimul
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02/21/2009
Last Thursday Austin, Texas joined 185 other cities around the world to host our very own Twestival! It was at Ace's Lounge on 6th Street and gave local Austin tweeters, tweeple (or whatever you can people who "tweet") an opportunity to bridge the gap to meet each other in person, and make new f
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02/16/2009
The stimulus bill took over headlines last week as the Senate and Housed fleshed out their versions into one cohesive bill. Here's a wrap-up of news that affected the housing market, and what to expect this week. Mortgage Rates Last week was another volatile week for mortgage rates. They improve
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02/16/2009
Fair Isaac Corporation, the maker of the popular FICO scoring system has changed-up its recipe of how it calculates consumers' credit scores with its new FICO 2008 model. This new scoring model which was originally scheduled to release in 2008 (hence the name) began implementation last week. Thi
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02/10/2009
