Equity

Equity is the value of your home minus what you owe on your mortgage. For example, If Joe's home is worth $200,000 and Joe still owes $170,000, then Joe's Equity is $30,000.

All homeowners in Atlanta Georgia and surrounding counties should be aware of the Rule of 50/20. For most mortgages, after making payments for 15 years on a 30 Year mortgage you will have only paid off around 20% of your principle. In other words, after paying for 50% of the term of your 30 Year mortgage, you will have only paid off 20% of what you owe on your home. That's the Rule of 50/20.

In the early years your mortgage payments are front-loaded with HUGE interest payments. Only a small amount each month goes towards your principle. Therefore it takes a long time to build decent Equity in your home.

Most homeowners in the Greater Atlanta Georgia Metro Area only stay in a home for around 7 years, that's very little time to build Equity.

Remember, agent/broker commissions come out of your Equity. Using the above example, if Joe's Equity is $30,000 and he pays 7% commissions ($14,000) to an agent/broker, Joe will lose close to 50% of his Equity just to have someone sell his house for him.

If Joe sold his home on http://www.fsboatl.com he saves this expense and protects his Equity.

For the latest updates visit: www.fsboatl.com

No Commissions - Just Results ?

More than 40 states signed onto a proposed $25-billion deal with major mortgage servicers over faulty foreclosure practices. New York, Nevada and Delaware joined California in holding out for better terms.

More than 40 states signed onto a proposed $25-billion settlement with major mortgage servicers over faulty foreclosure procedures, but California, New York and other key states were still not among them.

California has until Monday to share in a multi-state deal with banks to obtain mortgage relief and reforms. Atty. Gen. Kamala Harris, who walked away from talks last year, says the door remains open.

With a Monday deadline at hand, California officials have resumed direct talks with the Obama administration about joining a multibillion-dollar, multi-state mortgage settlement with the nation's largest banks, a source said Sunday.

The talk show host pays $12 million for the 4,088-square-foot house with four bedrooms and four bathrooms. The ocean-view home sits on 1.26 bluff-top acres with beach access.

In one of the more talked-about transactions in town, actors Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie have sold their Malibu beach house to daytime host and comedian Ellen De Generes for $12 million.

The four-bedroom, five-bathroom house built in 1920 for industrialist James Wigmore lists for $2,875,000.

A decorative cast stone entrance opens to this restored Spanish Colonial Revival-style house in Pasadena's South Orange Grove area. Built in 1920 for industrialist James Wigmore, the house retains such original details as coffered wood ceilings and arched doorways.

They don't believe they can sell their property for what it's worth, so they're spending money on making their homes more comfortable.

Do you fit any of these descriptions?

A biennial research report by the National Assn. of Realtors indicates that a handful of real estate agents and brokers and their clients either don't know the law or don't care to follow it.

When it comes to lawsuits, real estate agents and brokers tangle mostly among themselves.

The president aims to help about 3.5 million people with good credit who are unable to refinance at historically low rates because their homes are worth less than their mortgages.

 

The White House hopes to help millions of homeowners lower their monthly mortgage bill with a $5 billion to $10 billion plan to set up a streamlined refinancing program for people who are current on their payments.

The Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller index of 20 large U.S. cities fell 1.3% in November from October as foreclosures continue to drag down the housing market.

Three straight months of home-price declines in the biggest U.S. cities showed that foreclosures remain a significant drag on a housing market that is entering its fifth year of deterioration.

L.A. Clipper Chris Paul may be quick down the court, but he moves pretty fast when it comes to buying multimillion-dollar real estate too.