URBALO

The comparison between Blackberry and iPhone have been popular for quite some time now, but the choosing the right phone for you might be a tough decision and especially, if it’s based on a professional use.

Before the iPhone, the Blackberry was the most popular choice among real estate agents. Sure, there was the Palm with their several models and even, the Windows Smartphones, but majority of the realtors associated the Blackberry with a business tool, a status.

The iPhone came along and with their latest 3G model, it changed the game. Realtors were and are still faced with a tough decision: buying a Blackberry due to the superior email capabilities or choose the state-of-the-art iPhone that can perform more advanced multimedia tasks.

Well, our guide will shed some light and at the end, we will give you our verdict.

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Many realtors these days are struggling with the technicalities or lack of time when submitting their real estate listings to Trulia, Zillow, Oodle, Google or Craigslist. These websites are among the most important companies when it comes to online classifieds, but it can be very frustrating and time consuming to sign up for all of them in order to submit your listings.

One of our previously articles showed you how to create a beautiful Craigslist listing, but at the time, there was no automated option that will help you submit your listing to the appropriate websites. Fortunately, the process has been simplified tremendously since then and many websites, beside Postlets, come to your rescue.

Today, we’ll focus on a fairly new company that offers free and paid flyer design services. FlyerCafe uses the same concept as Postlets, but much simplified. From the moment you sign up to the time I created and published my first listing, it took only three minutes. To make this process as smooth, fast and painless as possible, make sure you have all the information you need about your property, along with the photos.

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There is a new player in town. A company called VA Mortgage Center has recently launched an interesting program for all the Veterans and Active-Duty military. Even though that are insured by the U.S government, VA Mortgage Center is not affiliated with any government agencies.

From watching their video and doing some research on their company, it seems like their mortgage program is very solid and it seem to offer some good benefits for our former and current troops.

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It was well known that high-end kitchen and bath renovations were increasing the home’s value. But the granite countertop’s glory days might be over. During the housing boom, updating a kitchen with high end materials like cherry wood cabinets and a Viking stove was a sure bet to boost a home’s value.

The statistics show that the homeowners recovered about 80% of the cost when the house was later sold. The slowdown in the real estate market and the flood of new properties on the market, has given the buyers more options to choose from therefore all these extra upgrades don’t present much value in their eyes anymore.

A recent survey by NAR has shown that most renovations are returning less than 70% of their cost. NAR’s survey revealed that returns on investment for a wide range of high-end interior redecoration dropped in 2007. An upscale bathroom renovation cost an average of $50,590, nationally, but only added $34,588 to house value - a 68.4% return. In 2006, a high-end bath renovation returned 77.4% of its cost.

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The highly anticipated opening of the Trump Tower hotel happened yesterday. The 92story Trump International Hotel &Tower was scheduled to open it’s doors to the public last month. The media really overplayed the delay, bashing Mr. Trump and the pompous project.

I think it’s great that the man kept us guessing, whether it was due to legitimate delays or not. It’s a great marketing tool, and sure enough, the buzz created by the media, even if negative, will draw the first crowds to the new hotel. The hotel which occupies floors 1 through 27, has a restaurant called “16″ on (guess) the 16th floor. Completion of the rest of the building is scheduled for mid 2009.

So, whether you live in Chicago or not, book a room and check the extravaganza out. Who knows, maybe The Donald himself will bring you breakfast.

Today, the city’s finance committee is meeting at City Hall to hold a press conference discussing a proposed increase on the city’s real estate transfer tax. A proposed 40% increase will take effect after February 6th, if the votes are favorable. In real numbers, the transfer tax will increase from $4.50 to $10.50 per $1000. This tax is paid by the buyer at closing, even though some argue that it should be split between buyer and seller. Regardless who is paying the tax, this tax hike could not come at a worse time.

While our economy is in recession, the government has to encourage spending, especially in the real estate market to create a balance within the economy. A 25% property tax increase at the end of last year has left homeowners struggling to keep their homes within the city limits, and now we continue to penalize homeowners to save badly managed areas of our local economy.

The mayor and it’s posse want to save an ill run CTA (Chicago Transit Authority) with the increase of real estate taxes. After we can’t afford our homes anymore and we can’t afford the 10% sales tax for goods and services and the gas prices within the Chicago limits, might as well sell our car too and join the homeless in living on the CTA. Oh, but wait, fares on the CTA are going up too.

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Absolutely amazing what people can do with a computer and a little “imagination”. Reading some of my favorite blogs, I came across an interesting article on how a real estate agent in Orlando created a video full half-naked female models and posts it on Youtube with the following question: can sex sell real estate?

Here comes the twisted part, this agent is a private contractor, responsible for all of his own marketing so basically, he can advertise himself the way he wants it. Apparently, his broker found out about the video circulating on Youtube and he is asked to remove the video or simply to resign.

I will post the video, but the video is NSFW(Not Safe For Work), so please be aware of this and handle it properly.

Now, there are at least two-three separate issues here:

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I find it very interesting that the mortgage applications are up again, second consecutive week. Applications rose as interest rates continued to fall.
The average interest rate for traditional, 30-year fixed-rate mortgages fell to 5.62 percent from 5.73 percent.

The average interest rate for 15-year fixed-rate mortgages — which are typically used to refinance loans — fell to 5.07 percent from 5.21 percent.

Rates for one-year adjustable-rate mortgages fell to 5.77 percent from 6.04 percent

I just wanted to wish everyone a Happy New Year and an even better 2008. There are many topics that I will be covering for the next few weeks so stay tuned.

Like always, if you any suggestions or interesting topics, feel free to email me.

 Thank you

Finally, the Bush administration has decided to step in and try to help those that are finding themselves in a foreclosure situation. The new plan is suppose to help 1.2 million distressed homeowners.

There is a catch though: mortgage interest rates will be frozen only for ARM borrowers who are not yet in foreclosure.

Here are a few main keypoints:

1. The plan will include a five-year freeze on interest rates for borrowers current with their monthly payments, but the freeze is limited.
2. It excludes anyone more than 30 days late at the time the mortgage would be modified or anyone who has been more than 60 days late at any time within the previous 12 months.
3. It also only covers borrowers with adjustable rate mortgages (ARMs) resetting beginning in 2008 and leaves out any who are judged capable of continuing to make mortgage payments at the higher reset rates.
4. Borrowers who can’t afford the loan even at low introductory rates also will be ineligible.

The plan is very courageous but there are too many impediments to its widespread adoption by investors and servicers.

To read the full details on this, go to Money CNN