PropertiesMagazine.com Real Estate Blog

Thomas Morva




TREC or Texas Real Estate Commission is a government body that was created in 1949 to administer four specific laws such as real estate license act, real estate inspector act, residential service company act and Texas timeshare act.

TREC regulates activities of real estate brokers, salespeople, inspectors, residential service companies, timeshare developers and education providers for real estate and inspection courses. Main purpose of TREC is to protect legal rights of citizens of Texas and provide them with honest, trustworthy and competent real estate service. The commission reviews programs dealing with education providers for real estate and inspection courses. It tries to identify and regulate errors and drawbacks present in it.

TREC has made it mandatory for real estate brokers and salespersons to maintain specified levels of education in order to hold a valid license to work as a real estate agent. Provisions of real estate license act and rules of Texas real estate commission are binding on all real estate agents and professionals in order to provide customers with a competent and honest service. TREC also gives licenses to real estate inspectors, agents, residential service companies and real estate schools. This commission also does registration of timeshare properties.

Texas Real Estate Commission has statutory relations with three state entities namely, real estate center at Texas A&M University, Texas department of savings and mortgage lending and Texas appraiser licensing and certification board. The commission has partnership with Texas A&M University’s real estate center for conducting research along with some education projects. It also appoints two members to mortgage broker advisory committee of Department of savings and mortgage lending. Issues relating to real estate licensees and mortgage brokers are resolved by cooperating with this agency. Commission also has signed a memorandum of understanding with Texas appraiser licensing and certification board under which it provides administrative support to them, which is approved by their governing bodies.

Seth Wolf




Monument

In the northwestern portion of El Paso County, north of the Colorado Springs real estate area, lies the Town of Monument. The Monument homes Monument is part of the Tri-Lakes real estate area. The Tri-Lakes real estate area surrounds other communities including Larkspur, USAF Academy, Gleneagle, and the Black Forest. Peak View Ridge, Pine Hills, and Red Rock Ranch are just some of the areas located in Monument. This historical town has an altitude of just about 7000 feet above sea level, which is higher than the encircling areas of Colorado Springs and Denver.

The Santa Fe Trail runs through the Town of Monument. The Rock is an element of the Santa Fe Trailhead. Monument Lake is located in this real estate area backs to The Monument real estate area backs to the Pike Countrywide Forest.

Homes for sale in the Monument real estate area change in size, age, and price. Most ranchers with some 2 story homes throughout the town. Some of the homes have formal dining rooms, hardwood floors, 5 piece master bathrooms, family rooms and living rooms with fireplaces, walk-in closets, huge lots, garden areas, RV parking, and multiple decks. A couple of the older homes have been remodeled to incorporate new plumbing, new carpet, granite countertops gourmet kitchens and appliances, and vinyl windows.

Some of the homes for sale in the Monument real estate area back to play areas or to the Santa Fe Trail, or have impressive perspectives of rock formations, Pikes Peak and the USAF Academy.

The least size home for sale is 1,080 finished square feet. The least home for sale is 2 beds, 2 bathrooms, and an one automobile garage. The regular sales price in 2008 is $280,194 and is 2,374 finished square feet. The regular size home for sale is 3 beds, 2 bathrooms, and a 1 car garage. The biggest sales price is $560,000 and is 3,846 finished square feet. The biggest size home for sale is seven beds, 4 bathrooms, and a three automobile garage.

Patio Homes are for sale in the Town of Monument. The regular size condominium is 3 beds, 3 bathrooms, and a two automobile garage.

In the Monument real estate area there are townhomes for sale. The least townhome for sale is 2 baths, and a 1 car garage. The regular sales price in 2008 is $166,373 and is 1,515 finished square feet. The regular size townhome is 2 beds, 3 bathrooms, and a 1 car garage. The biggest sales price is $189,744 and is 1,867 finished square feet. The biggest size townhome is 3 beds, 4 bathrooms, and a 2 car garage.

Schools

These Lewis-Palmer District 38 schools are all located in the Town of Monument.

Neighboring Communities

The USAF Academy real estate area borders Monument to the south. It is just about a 10 minute drive, or 6 miles to the north gate of the USAF Academy. Palmer Lake has many trails and play areas to enjoy and a museum. The Woodmoor Pines Golf and Country club are located in the Woodmoor real estate area.

Commuting

The Front Range Express (FREX) bus serves the Monument Park and Ride close to the Monument exit to assist with your commuting desires. There are many houses close to the Air Force Academy in Monument. The USAF Academy is located six miles to the south of Monument. The Monument area is a solid choice for a Colorado Springs Military Relocation. Many commuters live in the Tri-Lakes real estate area.

Recreation

The Monument Square offers quality shopping. There are galleries, home decorating shops, book and specialty stores, restaurants , and professional service oriented businesses located off of Highway 105. Jackson Stream offers national chain store shopping, little retail and service oriented companies, with a variety of restaurants.

Castle Rock sits just twenty minutes north of Monument. A factory outlet shopping center with brand name stores stores is a favourite shopping place for Colorado Springs and Denver residents, as well as residents in between the 2 locations. There is even more shopping in North Colorado Springs, with Whole Foods, the Promenade Shops at Briargate and much more just 15 minutes south.

Brian


I live in Richmond, British Columbia, Canada. My family is looking for houses for rent but I can’t seem to find the section of Sutton or ReMax’s websites that have houses for rent. If it is possible to find houses for rent on major real estate companies, please tell me what to do.

Benjamin DeBell




“Whether you want to sell a property, buy real estate, get a home loan, invest in real estate, or rent, you will need a contract. In fact, in real estate nothing is actually accomplished until a contract is signed. You may have agreed to rent a home at a specific price or you may have agreed to buy a property on certain terms, but those verbal agreements mean very little without a signed contract. In fact, a good rule of thumb in real estate is nothing is certain until it is in writing.

Most real estate contracts contain a legal description of the property in question and the street address. Most contain information about the selling price and any mortgage contingency. This means that most real estate contracts are subject to the seller obtaining a mortgage and contain the specifics amount, rate and terms of the loan. Most contracts state that the loan application must be made within a specific number of days.

Most contracts also state how much money is being handed over for a deposit and who will hold it. In most cases, the contracts will state the details of the closing, what is and is not included in the sale of the property, any warranties that are included with the property, when the buyers will take possession of the house, how long sellers have to respond to the offer, and provisions about disputes. Generally, contracts will also specify whose insurance covers the property until the closing dates and will outline any disclosures about the property.

Most real estate contracts have certain contingency provisions. For example, most will state that a home inspection is to be done within a specific number of days. Many contracts will state that septic tanks and wells must be tested and pass. Many contracts also state that termite and pest inspection must be carried out and specify who will pay for any pest damage. It is important to pay attention to any such contingencies in a real estate contract since they can make or break a contract. These clauses protect both the buyer and the seller from disputes.”

Rhiannon Williamson




After the technology bubble burst back in 2000 the stock markets suffered a bleak period of decline and investors chose to place their focus on bricks and mortar rather than falling share prices and they began investing heavily into real estate.

As a result the second home and the buy-to-let real estate markets in many countries around the world such as in the UK, US and Australia boomed. However, as the real estate affordability gap continues to widen in these nations and fewer first time buyers can even get onto the first rung of the real estate ladder, property price increases have begun to cool off and the ability to generate impressive rental yields and strong capital appreciation has slowed right down for at least the short term.

At the same time the stock markets around the world remain volatile and so now many more investors are looking overseas for alternatives to cooling domestic housing markets and bumpy rides on the stock market. Many are finding that there’s an abundance of real estate opportunity in emerging countries around the world which has created a strong demand for real estate finance overseas.

For those considering joining the jet-to-let real estate investment set here are the three main options available when it comes to raising real estate finance, loans or mortgages to buy property abroad.

1) In many of the nations that were the first to boom the property markets are now stagnant and because lenders have fewer customers to provide finance for they are actively targeting those who have yet to upsize, release equity or take out a second mortgage and offering them increasingly favourable terms, conditions and interest rates.

For anyone thinking about buying real estate overseas in a country where they believe it will be difficult for them to secure local finance or where interest rates are unattractive, the option may exist for them to re-mortgage their existing property or take out a loan secured against the equity in their primary residence.

The negative side of this option to raise real estate finance to buy overseas property is that the purchaser’s primary residence will be the security against the loan and naturally this introduces an element of risk.

2) The second option available to buyers looking for real estate finance overseas is getting a mortgage locally in the country in which they want to buy. Some countries such as Spain, Germany and France for example offer attractive interest rates and payment schedules to buyers from other European nations and many countries offer mortgages to international purchasers who can provide a decent sized deposit.

Anyone thinking about buying abroad would do well to also research which banks and lending institutions exist in that country, whether they are allowed to lend to foreign buyers and if so, are the criteria for getting a loan and the terms and conditions of the loan favourable?

3) The final option available to the majority of real estate investors looking to finance the purchase of a property abroad is an international mortgage provided by an international lender who usually has experience in the country from which the borrower heralds and also in the country in which they wish to invest which can make the whole finance process so much simpler…but the downside is that arranging such mortgages can be far more expensive than the first two options available to those contemplating their real estate finance options.

The availability or applicability of any type of mortgage or finance raising scheme discussed in this article is something that needs to be determined on an individual basis therefore this article does not constitute advice. Anyone hoping to raise finance to purchase real estate overseas should seek expert financial advice.

Narendra Kumar Singh




Financial experts and real estate unanimously agree on the fact that Quebec (Canada) is one of the sought-after destinations for real estate investment. Canadian real estate is vast and competitively priced and fetches high appreciation rates that makes it even more lucrative to the investors.

The legal system of Canada is hassle free as compared to most countries of the world. This also contributes to the to the growing popularity of Quebec. After conducting comparative studies, experts find Canadian properties much affordable than US, UK or France.

Another factor that favors Quebec property market is the reinforcement of the Canadian economy. This has led many people from across the world to migrate to Canada. This has shot the demand of properties in Canada. Property dealer experts predict that the increasing demand of property rates would eventually boost the value of property in Quebec. Non-resident Canadians can also invest in Quebec real estate properties without any hassle.

The factors that an investor should keep in mind before investing in Canadian real estate are:

1. Opt for a destination where the average income is always accelerating. This would mean property rates would also follow the same pattern.

2. Invest in a property if its surrounding areas are experiencing a strong growth in their property rates. Although at a slower pace, your prospect property would eventually fetch you high returns.

3. Update your statistics by reading the latest data that is available. Subscribe to local newspapers or visit the town’s or provincial website to get a clear picture of the current state of the property market of that area.

gc_lee2004


I am just starting to invest in real estate foreclosures in Maryland and I need some hard money investors to put up some cash. Does anyone know how I can find investors.