The TILA-RESPA rule goes into effect October 3 of this year. What transactions does it apply to? It applies to almost every closed-end consumer credit transaction secured by real property. Check out what the CFPB had to say below:

In an industry that is constantly modifying it is important to partner with those who stay abreast of the changes. Title agencies that are in the Florida Agency Network (FAN) have been a part of the conversation and are ready to lead the industry through these changes. To find out more about partnering with an agency in the network contact: Max@FLagency.net

 Curious about compliance with the TILA-RESPA rule?

Check out the CFPB's site.

We read an interesting article from NPR recently about one of the famous "Painted Ladies" selling at an astonishing 900K less than the asking price. They're iconic of not only the city, but of the environment that we all feel San Fransisco has. There's curb appeal built in—they're the houses from Full House for goodness sake!

"Painted Ladies" by King of Hearts - Own work. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons.

But in reading the article, we suddenly got another picture: that of any homeowner living in homes that are iconic enough to be recognized nationwide—dealing with the tourism and the hassles that come with a home that's also an attraction. Some people like the attention but even celebrities don't like the papparazi and other privacy invaders. Imagine buying one of these gorgeous homes and having pictures taken of you when you're unsuspecting! That's enough to turn off most homebuyers—and seemingly enough, it affected the sale of the Painted Lady in San Fransisco.

The Curb Appeal of San Fransisco

But, does this translate over to a home that's not famous? Probably not. If the home's not an icon of your neighborhood or city, then as much curb appeal as you can muster is usually a good thing. Let's use the Painted Ladies of San Fransisco as an example of what curb appeal is. Overly famous or not, they are very pretty homes.

Firstly, the home is painted well. The name "Painted Lady" itself comes from the paint job, three colors used to bring out the architectural nuances of the home and to make the home stand out and have character. Curb appeal is all about the visuals and the Painted Ladies definitely have the visual elements going on for it.

There's no yard to speak of at these homes, either, but the front of them are kept well and offer simplicity as their main attraction. Simple stoops, well-groomed trees, a clean exterior. Simplicity is the key here. Nothing is overwrought, but it's all well thought out.

That's key: every homeowner wants a nice looking home, but most of us work and complex looks or elaborate landscapes to keep up might not be to our taste. A simple cleaning and a new coat of paint every so often? Most can manage. Keep your homes simple.

Finally, the homes are generally accessible. They're by a park on a main street. The location is very good. They're right off the 101 and I-80 in San Fran, meaning that to get anywhere, it's a simple commute. The university is just down the street. Between location and looks, the houses (if they weren't famous) would net almost any asking price the owner wanted. (After all, while this Painted Lady sold for far below asking price, the owner still got $3.1 million for it. That's nothing to sneeze at!)

Should You Worry About Too Much Curb Appeal?

The simple answer: no. Too much curb appeal generally isn't possible. Keep up on the modern trends of exterior design, keep the place clean, well painted, and if you can, play up the conveniences of living there. That will help your home sell.

It'll also help if you don't let a show film at your home. That'll keep the papparazi down. Otherwise, make your house look as good as you know that it is!

Great news for Florida’s housing market: listings, median prices, and speed of sale are all on the rise according to data from Florida Realtors.

The median prices are something to behold. According to the report from Florida Realtors, median prices for townhome, condo, and single-family homes all rose year-over-year—“for the 27^th month in a row.” That’s simply astonishing and great news for anyone still concerned that we’re not in some form of recovery.

Additionally, the data notes a reduction in distressed sales and a corresponding interest by families looking to sell their home traditionally. Thanks to that reduction, the report notes that there is a 11.6 percent increase year-over-year in single-family home listings and a 4.2 percent increase in townhouse/condo listings. Supply and price are both going up—which is a good thing for anyone in the real estate industry and for the housing market in general.

However, it should be noted that while this is good news for our year-over-year gains in the housing market, we are still below the national median in sales price (our $165,000 versus the national $188,900). That’s not terrible, but it does show that the value hasn’t quite caught up—but with a 27 month streak of showing improvement, we’re catching up quite nicely. 

Florida Realtors states that, despite these other issues, sales are down for both single-family and townhouses/condos. Dr. John Tuccillo also notes that this is an image of a re-emerging normal market, noting that the weaker sales results in single-family homes and townhouses/condos are “solely the result of plummeting short sales,” meaning that more people are selling their homes for their value and helping stabilize the market.

And good for them, and for you. It’s nice to see us in recovery, gaining value in our real estate, and seeing some normalcy in what’s been a more chaotic world.

Thanks to DSNews and Florida Realtors for the info.