Search Results for economics tag:searchlightcrusade.net,2024:/mt//feed/economics 2024-05-03T00:36:47Z Movable Type 4.21-en 112 1 112 What Do You Mean Back To Basics? tag:www.searchlightcrusade.net,2009://3.4837 2023-11-13T15:00:00Z 2023-11-13T14:18:25Z Dan Melson http://www.searchlightcrusade.net/ For a period of several months when the market started imploding, I got mass messages from basically every lender I do business with, saying it's time to "get back to basics". My favorite A paper lender became the last to... Where Would I Invest A Million Dollars? tag:www.searchlightcrusade.net,2009://3.4786 2022-09-12T14:00:00Z 2022-09-12T14:33:03Z Dan Melson http://www.searchlightcrusade.net/ Somebody asked me that. Well, I'd want to set some aside for liquidity and reserves, in case something happened where I needed money now. invest those funds in a diversified mutual fund and money market portfolio. Once that's done, I'd... Economics of Housing in High Density Areas tag:www.searchlightcrusade.net,2009://3.4738 2022-03-28T14:00:00Z 2022-03-28T15:06:13Z Dan Melson http://www.searchlightcrusade.net/ Here are the facts of the situation, whether you're talking about San Diego or Manhattan, the Bay Area, Los Angeles, or any of the other densely packed, high cost areas where all the employment and career opportunities are. Fact 1:... When You Should Not Buy Real Estate tag:www.searchlightcrusade.net,2007://3.3573 2022-03-21T14:00:00Z 2022-03-21T16:01:13Z Dan Melson http://www.searchlightcrusade.net/ Okay, I did an article called Why Renting Really Is For Suckers (And What To Do About It). Fairness demands that I do a companion article on situations where buying is not a good idea. There actually are some. First... Wanting a More Expensive Property Than You Can Really Afford tag:www.searchlightcrusade.net,2009://3.4732 2022-02-21T15:00:00Z 2022-02-21T17:10:27Z Dan Melson http://www.searchlightcrusade.net/ This is one of the biggest issues with my local real estate market. Because the San Diego market has very high demand and limited supply of property, prices are high. A reasonable two bedroom condo runs around $200,000. A 1200... The Tradeoff between Rate and Cost in Real Estate Loans tag:gockel.hmdnsgroup.com,2007:/~searchli//3.2886 2021-09-14T14:00:00Z 2021-09-14T12:33:04Z Dan Melson http://www.searchlightcrusade.net/ The question every good loan officer hates is "What is your lowest rate?", usually the first thing in a phone conversation. People think that this sort of rate shopping is going to help them. The fact is that it almost... What Are The Note And Trust Deed? tag:www.searchlightcrusade.net,2010://3.5009 2021-09-09T14:00:00Z 2021-09-09T14:51:15Z Dan Melson http://www.searchlightcrusade.net/ It's very simple really, and this is something I have never covered in the perhaps mistaken belief that it was too simple and everybody knew this. The Note is the loan contract that sets the terms of the loan, repayment,... Loan Fall-Out And The Effects Upon Consumers tag:www.searchlightcrusade.net,2010://3.5006 2021-09-01T14:00:00Z 2021-09-01T15:10:03Z Dan Melson http://www.searchlightcrusade.net/ This is going to be a long article and somewhat technical in places, but it needs to be covered and it's important to everyone who is thinking about getting a real estate loan. "Fall-Out" is very simple: The number... Special Restricted Loan Programs Means Potential For Special Problems tag:www.searchlightcrusade.net,2009://3.4594 2021-08-20T14:00:00Z 2021-08-20T12:07:44Z Dan Melson http://www.searchlightcrusade.net/ An e-mail I got from a single mother I spent two months working with before she found a special low income program for a property she wouldn't have been able to afford through me. The first paragraph is her addition... Confusing Past Performance and the Present Situation with Future Planning tag:www.searchlightcrusade.net,2010://3.5000 2021-08-11T14:00:00Z 2021-08-11T10:40:14Z Dan Melson http://www.searchlightcrusade.net/ The most common mistake in real estate (and every other aspect of financial planning, for that matter) is to assume the situation now is going to continue indefinitely. In the stock market, people chase last year's returns. They "wait for... Considering Condos, Townhomes, and PUDs tag:www.searchlightcrusade.net,2009://3.4569 2021-08-10T14:00:00Z 2021-08-10T10:33:30Z Dan Melson http://www.searchlightcrusade.net/ The vast majority of the population out there wants single family detached housing. The virtues and benefits of the single family residence have been extolled ad nauseum, and the drawbacks of the alternatives are the stuff of urban legend. Unfortunately,... Why The Higher Rate Loan Is Often Better tag:www.searchlightcrusade.net,2009://3.4540 2021-07-28T14:00:00Z 2021-07-28T17:23:37Z Dan Melson http://www.searchlightcrusade.net/ The short answer is "Because it costs less". It costs more money to get a lower rate - simple fact. It takes time to recover the extra money you spend to get a lower rate via that lowered cost of... The Economics of Housing Development tag:gockel.hmdnsgroup.com,2007:/~searchli//3.2817 2021-07-11T14:00:00Z 2021-07-11T12:30:17Z Dan Melson http://www.searchlightcrusade.net/ The genesis of this article is Something's Gotta Give, a report (.pdf format) from the Center For Housing Policy. Furthermore, there is an article in the Washington Times from UPI that connects the dots on the tactical level. The... What Type of Real Estate Listing Agent to Choose tag:gockel.hmdnsgroup.com,2007:/~searchli//3.2794 2021-06-25T14:00:00Z 2021-06-25T12:09:11Z Dan Melson http://www.searchlightcrusade.net/ On a regular basis, I see advertisements for real estate offices that say "discount broker - full service". This is nonsense. Actually, it is a calculated lie. A discount broker has consciously chosen a business model whose economics do not... Find An Agent With Enough Time To Devote To Selling YOUR Property tag:www.searchlightcrusade.net,2010://3.4984 2021-06-17T14:00:00Z 2021-06-17T15:10:19Z Dan Melson http://www.searchlightcrusade.net/ Not very long ago, the purchase market in many areas of San Diego went through a phase that could only be described as "piranha feeding frenzy". This sort of market reinforces several pieces of advice I have given here.... Gravity Is Not a Major Determinant Of Housing Prices tag:www.searchlightcrusade.net,2008://3.4442 2021-05-31T14:00:00Z 2021-05-31T13:26:59Z Dan Melson http://www.searchlightcrusade.net/ A while ago now, I saw a rather clever video someone did called, "That Last Dip's a Doozy!" Someone took housing prices 1890 to present and graphed them to a roller coaster ride. Just before the end, he turned the... With The Tightening of Loan Standards, Will You Qualify For The Loan To Buy Real Estate? tag:www.searchlightcrusade.net,2010://3.4967 2021-04-25T14:00:00Z 2021-04-25T13:00:51Z Dan Melson http://www.searchlightcrusade.net/ With a lot of people running around like Chicken Little screaming about the sky falling, a lot of folks who would like to buy property due to the much-lowered prices are wondering if there is any way they can... APR vs APY: What The Difference Between Note Rate and APR Tells You tag:www.searchlightcrusade.net,2010://3.4961 2021-04-11T14:00:00Z 2021-04-11T14:54:12Z Dan Melson http://www.searchlightcrusade.net/ I have in the past told people to ignore APR. APR should not be used to compare between loans. Not only is it a one dimensional number used to measure what is fundamentally a two-dimensional trade-off between rate and... Keeping Pre-payment Penalties Legal tag:gockel.hmdnsgroup.com,2007:/~searchli//3.2714 2021-04-06T14:00:00Z 2021-04-06T10:46:32Z Dan Melson http://www.searchlightcrusade.net/ I got a search for "which states allow prepayment penalties". I'm not aware of any that don't. If you are, I'd like to know. Any such states should immediately be renamed "Denial". I really hate prepayment penalties, for a large... Rent to Own and Lease With Option to Buy tag:www.searchlightcrusade.net,2010://3.4947 2021-03-02T15:00:00Z 2021-03-02T16:02:06Z Dan Melson http://www.searchlightcrusade.net/ This has always been a portion of the market, but right now, more and more people are emphasizing it, or at least the ones who are able. Actual Rent to Own is rare these days, a sign that the...