Paul Gruber's (gruber99) Blog

  At some point in your life you're likely to find yourself either buying or selling a home. When that time comes, you might want to ask yourself some questions.   Can I figure like an accountant? Can I measure like a surveyor?  Do I understand "legalese" like an attorney?  Can I spot defects lik...

Homeowners who are preparing to sell realize there's quite a bit of competition out there.  While presenting your home in model condition is one of the best ways to win the attention of potential buyers, be careful to avoid the pitfalls of improvements that may not produce the full-price offer yo...

Try not to become a man of success but a man of value.Albert Einstein If you have built castles in the air, your work need not be lost; that is where they should be. Now put foundations under them.Henry David Thoreau Inspiration and genius--one and the same.Victor Hugo To find what you seek in th...

Recently I looked at A Sampled History of The Dow Jones Industrial AverageFrom 1900 to The Present. Then I went around asking friends, coworkers and clients what they thought the DOW was at in 1990. I received various answers 8000, 6000, 7200 etc but it was fun to look at their face when I told t...

Take a look at what one of my lenders sent me:   CHFA has made some big changes to their down payment assistance program as outlined below. The changes were effective yesterday and should help a lot of home buyers. I've also attached the February Market in Review at the bottom. If you have questi...

FHA making it harder to buy a home   Why our government says they are trying to loosen up credit but then FHA goes to a FICO score driven system is beyond me? As of March 2nd most if not every lender using FHA insured loans are going to require a buyer to have at lease a 620 FICO or better. I und...

Trying to sell lender owned homes to FHA buyers can be very frustrating, time consuming and an extremely long process. Most of the REO listing in the MLS will say they accept FHA financing but when they have other offers for either Cash or Conventional terms it seem like the FHA offer gets put at...

What does the phrase "title search" mean to you?  Aside from an activity at the local library, its purpose is critical to the successful sale of a home.  A title search is performed by an attorney in order to guarantee that there are no unknown liens on or claims to a property.   Because title se...

  Okay, it's time to return to Real Estate 101.  With so much gloom and doom reported, our successful sale stories are being pushed aside by national reports of overstocked inventories and reluctant buyers.  Blaming slow sales on "the market" is just an excuse.  There is only one reason that home...