On Wednesday night, October 14th, we gathered at the Wannamoisett Country Club in Rumford, RI for the Northern RI Board Installation dinner. This was a particularly important and proud event for me as [...]

I'm excited to say that we have entered a film into the 2009 REALTOR Party Video Contest! The contest was created to raise awareness in hopes to expand and extend the $8,000 First Time Home Buyer Tax Credit. The contest is being held on YouTube and ends October 16th. The winning video will be featured at NAR's Annual meeting this November in [...]

Sustainable Development & Restoration Business Conference This week I spoke with Rob Bailey, founder of The SourceNewport conference being held this year in Newport, Rhode Island October 21-23, 2009. This Summit brings together financial resources for historic real estate investment and projects, success stories of new businesses in [...]

I've done several articles before on what to look for in a Realtor. The concentration was mostly on the agent, but everyone should also look at what the office behind that agent and the state association offers to buyers and sellers of real estate. Not all real estate companies are alike, and without getting deeply into the inner workings of [...]

HUD issued Mortgagee Letter 2009-19 with important changes to the guidelines for Condo financing. The guidelines were originally scheduled to take effect on October 1st, but are now scheduled to take effect November 2nd. One of the major changes has to do with the Approved Condo list. Currently, FHA has a list of Approved Condos. If a [...]

HUD issued Mortgagee Letter 2009-19 with important changes to the guidelines for Condo financing. The guidelines were originally scheduled to take effect on October 1^st, but are now scheduled to take effect November 2^nd. One of the major changes has to do with the Approved Condo list; Currently, FHA has a list of Approved Condo's, if a [...]

For the last several decades, there has been a constant flow of people, who upon reaching retirement age, have packed the belongings, called the Realtor, and headed to better locations. Ah, but little did they know that good old Providence is considered a prime spot for retirees. Paging through [...]

The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBAA) reported last week the average interest rate on new 30-year fixed-rate loans nationwide was 4.97%, nearing the lowest level in decades. And on Thursday, Freddie Mac reported that the average fixed rate on a 15-year home loan had dropped to 4.46%, the lowest level on record. Not surprisingly, loan [...]

Like all sectors of the economy, real estate has its cycles. Since 2006, the trend of the cycle was downward. Purchasers of real estate always like to get the best deal and, in a market like this, want to buy at the low point. The question is "Have we reached the bottom?" There are several groups that follow the market, and the [...]

The Mortgage Bankers Assn. (MBAA) reported last week the average interest rate on new 30-year fixed-rate loans nationwide was 4.97%, nearing the lowest level in decades. And on Thursday, Freddie Mac reported that the average fixed rate on a 15-year home loan had dropped to 4.46%, the lowest level on record. Not surprisingly, loan [...]