Real Estate, Updates, News & Tips - George Zoumot - iPro Real Estate

Wildfires May Make Insurance Harder to Get in California

Wildfires are blazing throughout the state of California, with more than 10,000 people under mandatory evacuation as their homes remain under threat.But as firefighters work on the containment of at least 11 wildfires that continue to burn throughout the state, the California Department of Insurance is already warning homeowners about the insurance headaches they will likely face, even for those whose homes weren’t affected in the latest fire

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Are Homeowners Overextended With Kids’ College Costs?

The wave of foreclosures during the Great Recession was blamed on rising unemployment and subprime loans. But a new research study by Jacob W. Faber and Peter M. Rich suggests the foreclosure fallout may have been from something more: Homeowners who overextended themselves financially by paying for their children’s college education.“Our findings uncover a previously overlooked dimension of the foreclosure crisis, and highlight mortgage ins

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5 Most Affordable Places for Outdoor Enthusiasts

How can you spot a town that is an outdoor haven? “If you see a lot of rugged vehicles with bike racks and hauling kayaks, that’s a telltale sign at the ground level that you’re in one of these places,” Chris Chesak, a travel consultant based in Cincinnati, told realtor.com®. “In an outdoors city, [residents will] meet up for a hike. The primary focus isn’t sitting around—it’s being outside.”Realtor.com®’s research team scou

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Erosion, Sea Levels Threaten Viability of Waterfront Homes

Rising sea levels may be prompting affluent home buyers to rethink purchasing waterfront vacation properties along the country's coasts. Cities and homeowners in wealthy oceanside enclaves on the eastern and western seaboards are fighting to keep erosion and high tides from damaging homes, The Washington Post reports.“I plan to stay and fight as long as I can,” homeowner Justine Kenney told the Post about trying to save her 1940s home in

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Median Age of Maturing U.S. Housing Stock is 37

The median age of owner-occupied homes in the U.S. is 37, indicating that more properties may become pricier to maintain as they grow older and vulnerable to disrepair, according to the 2016 American Community Survey.But builders view the aging housing stock as an opportunity. Rising home prices may prompt more households to spend more on home improvement, the National Association of Home Builders notes on its Eye on Housing blog. Further, “thi

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Latin America Agrees to Standardize Ethics Rules

The National Association of REALTORS® is helping to foster ethical practices on a global scale, signing an accord last week with a coalition of Central and South American nations to reaffirm a commitment to the Code of Ethics in the region.The move came during the III Latin American Real Estate Congress, a meeting of the Confederación Inmobiliaria Latinoamericana (CILA) and the Costa Rica Chamber of Real Estate Brokers, in San Jose, Costa Rica,

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1 in 4 Homes are ‘Equity Rich.’ How Does Your State Fare?

One in four properties nationwide are “equity rich," according to a new report released by real estate data firm ATTOM Data Solutions. To be considered as such, homeowners with financing must currently hold a mortgage that is 50 percent or less of the property’s estimated market value. As home prices keep setting records, the number of homeowners with equity in their homes is growing. More than 13.6 million properties were considered “equi

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5M Renters Have Fallen Prey to Online Scams

More than 43 percent of renters say they’ve found online rental listings that seemed fraudulent, and more than 5 million say they’ve actually been scammed—sometimes to the tune of thousands of dollars—according to a new report released by rental website ApartmentList.com.Renters may be less diligent in researching apartments when feeling the urgency to move, says Igor Popov, chief economist at Apartment List. “There are lots of cases wh

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The U.S. Should Have 2.4M More Households Than It Does

The trend of slow-to-launch millennials staying at home with mom and dad has led to about 2.4 million fewer households forming, according to a National Association of Home Builders analysis. The rise in housing costs and personal debt are the chief factors keeping millennials at home, economists say.The number of young adults who are living with their parents or other relatives has increased from 15.3 percent in 2000 to 26.3 percent in 2016, acc

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REALTORS: Secrets to building powerful, referral-generating relationships

Tom Ferry’s tips to show you care – and create raving fans! Technology makes our lives easier, no doubt.But are we ignoring the personal connections that are so critical to our long-term success?In an age of buying online leads, communicating with clients through texts or occasionally commenting on a past client’s Facebook post to keep in touch, we’re in danger of losing the real, emotional connections so vital to building and maintaining

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