| In this issue: |
• Invest in Your Kitchen
• Learning Your Credit
• US Environmental Study
• Become a BBB Agent
• Buyer Workshop
|
| Interest Rate Watch |
Selected Rates as of
August 4, 2005:
• 30 yr fixed: 5.82%
• 15 yr. fixed: 5.38%
• 1 yr. adj: 4.47%
| |
 |
| Free Buyer Workshop! |
|
Every Thursday
Get a guided tour through the real estate buying process, learn about new and historic neighborhoods in Jacksonville, Daytona, and other Floriday cities, plus have financing questions answered by industry professionals.
Call:
904-358-3955 for Jacksonville information
877-693-4068 for
Daytona information
or use the links below: |
Register via e-mail
Learn more | |
| About the Weekly: |
The Real Estate Weekly is a free weekly bulletin published to keep clients and associates informed of happenings in the real estate market. If you would like to unsubscribe from the Weekly, please use the button at the bottom of the page.
The R.E.W. is published by:
Bo Bridgeport Brokers, Inc.
Located at:
1654 N Pearl Street
Jacksonville, FL 32206
Phone: 904.358.3955
and
127 Arlington Way
Ormond Beach, FL 32176
Phone: 877.693.4068 |
|
 |
|
|
|
|
| » The Best Place To Spend Money Is The Kitchen |
A sentiment on the wall of a friend's kitchen sums up the importance of this part of the house to the typical consumer:
"No matter where I serve my guests, it seems they like my kitchen best."
Whether you are building or remodeling, it seems there is no better place to spend money than on the kitchen.
Some call it the "Grand Central Station of family life." The kitchen has come a long way from the days when our grandmothers isolated themselves there for hours preparing meals from scratch, but consumers continue to demand improvement in efficiency and style.
Instead of isolation, cooks want to be placed in the middle of family activities so they can keep tabs on what everyone is doing. Kitchens these days are almost always open to the family room and often have wide views of the outside. They also are getting larger, because cooking has become a social activity, with more than one preparation area and more than one kitchen.
People who do a lot of entertaining want a kitchen with large open areas that allow guests enough room to mingle. Kitchens must also have style and architectural interest -- high ceilings and decorative beams and moldings. The ceilings accommodate large, unusual windows and taller, more ornate cabinetry.
If you already live in a house and want a larger kitchen, one option is to turn a living room into a formal dining room and incorporate the space from the old dining room into the kitchen.
Read the rest of this article HERE.
|
|
|
» Learning How Your Credit Scores |
|
Credit scores still just don't quite add up for many consumers and that could mean they won't make the grade when it comes to getting their mortgage application approved at the best rate -- or at all.
In 2003, credit scores were a mystery to nearly 70 percent of those in households with incomes under $35,000, according to the Consumer Federation of America's "Credit Scoring Report".
Most, approximately 65 percent of consumers still didn't fully understand credit scores in 2004, when San Francisco-based Providian Bank joined the federation to produce "Most Consumers Don't Understand Their Credit Scores".
And now in 2005, many consumers have yet to grasp, when it comes to landing a mortgage, and a host of other financial services, you are what you score.
In just one example of how clueless consumers are about credit scores, the vast majority of them remain unaware that the higher the credit score, the lower the mortgage rate, according to a GMAC Mortgage national telephone survey of 1,057 households this year between May 13 and May 16.
GMAC Mortgage and other lenders want you to get it, especially if you have a high score, so they can write you a loan and make money. You want to know your credit score because it will save you money.
That's key in a hot housing market where a lower rate can make the difference between being able to afford monthly mortgage payments -- or not -- and landing a loan. If your score is low and you know it, you can improve it (over time) and land a loan you might not otherwise receive.
Read the rest of this article HERE.
|
|
| |
|
» Study Indicates Improved National Living Environment |
|
The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has recently issued a report about our National environment. For the most part, the news is positive.
The United States has been evaluating environmental health risks for several decades. Until now, the news has generally been discouraging, showing that we have been, and are still, exposed to various harmful chemicals, everything from cadmium to pyrethroids.
The CDC has just completed a very large study evaluating the effects of environmental chemicals on humans. Its the third such study that they have performed and the results are encouraging, specifically in terms of tobacco smoke and lead.
We are making progress in our overall environmental living conditions. smoking exposure is coming down. Lead exposure is down, and so is mercury.
In the United States children are being exposed to far less cigarette smoke than in years past. Presumably, laws that require retailers to check the ages of persons who by cigarettes, and the anti-smoking campaigns have been working.
Added to these efforts are our legislative and cultural changes. In many places, smokers have been made to feel like second-class citizens and sometimes even criminals. While I'm not convinced that this rings right and, people are nevertheless able to smoke in less places. And overall this is reducing the amount of second hand smoke our youth take in on a daily basis.
There is also good news on the lead front. Young children are generally exposed to less lead now than before. This is evidenced by the reduction in percentage lead found in their bodies during studies.
Lead exposure can cause severe neurological problems in young children that can have lifelong effects. Prevalence of leadless gasoline and paints claim partial responsibility in reduced cases.
There have also been laws designed to abate residential lead problems all over the US. Several decades of implementing these laws appear to have yielded a beneficial result.
While these results give much reason for applaud, the report isn't all sweet.
Read the rest of this article HERE. | |
|
|
|
Want a Career in Real Estate? Then WE want YOU!
Bo Bridgeport Brokers is looking for motivated, ambitious people to join our growing team. Join our team and receive comprehensive training from successful agents while working in a positive workplace. Becoming a real estate professional is easier than you think!
Click Here for more information or call 904-358-3955. | | |