Maggie Valley Property

Whether you’re buying or selling a home, home inspections are a key part of closing any deal. The inspection serves as a top-to-bottom overview of the home – from structure to plumbing and electrical – to ensure safety and peace of mind for new homeowners.

Many older Americans don’t understand the complexities of reverse mortgages, and their lack of understanding could put them at risk of losing their home, according to a report by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. A reverse mortgage is a type of home loan that allows older homeowners to access the equity they have built up in their homes and defer repayment of the loan until they pass away or sell the property. The loans require no monthly mortgage payments, but borrowers are still responsible for paying property taxes and homeowners insurance. But according to the report, nearly 10 percent of reverse mortgage borrows are in default of the loan because they failed to pay taxes and insurance on their home.

As housing prices start to rise in many markets across the country, the prospect of a market rebound has prompted many Americans to think big – perhaps a little too big, according to results from a recent Trulia survey. Six out of 10 Americans believe home prices in their local market will rise in the next year, and 58 percent believe home prices will return to their previous high sometime in the next 10 years.

Consumers aren’t the only ones actively participating in social media. An increasing number of U.S. companies are also working to exploit its potential benefits, according to research by Belgian firm InSites Consulting. Four out of five U.S. companies have a presence on Facebook, nearly half (48 percent) have a LinkedIn page, 45 percent have a Twitter account and 31 percent use YouTube.

Homeowners who fall behind on their mortgage payments are more likely to seek help from loved ones than from mortgage relief agencies, according to a recent study by Money Management International.

Second-Home Market Snapshot

Sales of vacation homes and investment properties fell in 2010, although their share of overall housing sales remained the same, according to NAR. Vacation-home sales slipped 1.8 percent from 553,000 in 2009 to 543,000 in 2010, and they accounted for 10 percent of all transactions. The median sale price of a vacation home was $150,000 in 2010, down 11.2 percent from $169,000 the previous year.

SUBURBAN POVERTY

America’s suburbs – once considered a symbol of stable and prosperous living for the middle class – are becoming increasingly poor, according to the Brookings Institutions’ analysis of U.S. Census data.

Park News - (7/9/12) The first phase of attractions at Ghost Town in the Sky has reopened at last. The three new zip-lines built near the park’s entrance are now open, as well as the old chair lift to the top of the mountain is running once again. Once at the top, guests can take a bus tour ride through the western town sets under renovation atop the mountain, but the rides and cowboy fights and more on top of the mountain that the park was known for wont be ready to reopen until next year.

Optimism Remains

Homeowners are aware that home sales and prices have fallen in recent years, and they aren’t expecting a rebound anytime soon, according to a recent Pew Research survey.

MONEY TALKS

Working through financial jargon with a mortgage lender can be confusing, but you can make the process easier if you clarify queries up front. Real Estate ABC and About.com offer a few tips for talking to your lender and finding what home loan best fits your needs.

U.S. Lures Foreign Property Investors

U.S. residential property sales by foreign buyers totaled $82 billion for the year ending March 2011, up $66 billion a year ago, according to the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® 2011 Profile of International Home Buying Activity. The $16 billion increase is one of the largest in recent years.

The economic recession has put a dent in the market for do-it-yourself home improvement projects, which declined 21 percent from 2005 to 2010, according to consumer research firm Mintel.

Fixed-rate mortgage loans accounted for more than 95 percent of all refinance loans in the third quarter of 2011, according to a report by Freddie Mac. Nearly two-thirds of refinancing borrowers who had a hybrid ARM (63 percent) chose a fixed-rate loan during the third quarter, while the remaining 37 percent refinanced into a similar product.

How important is housing to American votes? For nearly seven in 10 Americans, political candidates’ positions on housing will be an important consideration in the 2012 presidential and congressional elections, according to a national survey released by real estate listings site Move, Inc. The housing issue will be particularly important for 70.7 percent of Millennials (those born between approximately 1980 and 1999), who represent the next generation of homebuyers. This key demographic is likely to have a significant impact on election results in 2012, as it did in 2008.

More than four out of five (82 percent) independent landlords say they would rent to someone who lost a home to foreclosure, assuming the applicant had a history of good credit, according to a survey by the National Association of Independent Landlords (NAIL). Despite their financial problems, applicants who have lost a home to foreclosure can prove to be good risks, mainly because they once owned a home, the survey finds.

U.S. homes were expected to loss more than $1.7 trillion in value in 2011, 63 percent more that the $1 trillion lost in 2010, according to home listing and valuation service Zillow. Since the market peaked in June 2006, U.S. homes have lost $9 trillion. Most of the value lost in 2011 occurred during the second half of the year. From January to June, home values lost $680 billion, but Zillow estimates that home value losses may have topped $1 trillion from July to December.

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Housing is more affordable for some ethnic groups than for others, according to the latest NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Opportunity Index, which for the first time analyzed differences in income and housing affordability across five racial groups.

CREDIT CARDS vs Mortgages

More consumers are choosing to pay off their credit card balances while defaulting on their mortgages, according to a TransUnion study.

A primary mission of the National Park Service is to preserve native plants and animals on lands it manages. In cases where native species have been eliminated from park lands, the Park Service may choose to reintroduce them. Successful wildlife reintroductions in Great Smoky Mountain National Park have included river otter, Peregrine Falcon, and three species of small fish.

U.S. Population Grows

According to the 2010 Census released by the U.S. Census Bureau, the U.S. population was more than 308 million as of April 1, 2010, up 9.7 percent from the 2000 resident population of 281 million.