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How to challenge that low appraisal - MSN Real Estate

Tampa Bay home prices predicted to rise in 2012 By Mark Puente , Times Staff Writer Home prices in four Sunshine State metro areas are predicted to improve more than most other regions in the country, according to a Clear Capital report released today.     The California-based housing valuation and analytics firm sees a 7.4 percent home price increase in Tampa Bay in 2012, which would make it sixth in the nation in terms of predicted price improvement.     Among Florida metro areas, the report predicts Orlando prices will rise 11.7 percent, followed by Miami at 8.8 percent and Jacksonville at 4.3 percent. It's no surprise that Florida markets top the list. Foreclosures and falling values decimated the state more than others when the housing market crashed.     "We led the troops into the doldrums in 2006," said Scott Samuels of Keller Williams Realty in St. Petersburg. "Now we are going to be one of the first to get out of this." Real

4 mistakes emotional home sellers make By Michael Estrin of Bankrate.com     The greatest hindrance to a home sale can be a seller who is seized by emotion. "It is very important for sellers to (keep) in mind that a real-estate transaction is most likely the single largest financial transaction they will ever undertake," says Fiona Dogan, a real-estate agent for Julia B. Fee Sotheby's International Realty in Rye, N.Y. "It should be viewed and handled primarily as a business transaction, with cold, hard decisions being made on a financial and investment basis." Home sellers who allow emotions and sentimental attachments to overtake them during the sale risk making hasty, poor decisions, Dogan says. Here are tips to help any home seller avoid making emotional mistakes that could cost money. 1. Overpricing "Overpricing often occurs because of emotional reasons," Hamersley says. "So many sellers make the mistake of thinking that their

Top 5 tips for a tiptop credit score By Leslie McFadden • Bankrate.com 1. Don't close credit card accounts to improve your credit score . You might have a good reason to shutter your account -- you don't want to pay an annual fee, you're concerned about identity fraud, or you want to reduce the temptation to overspend -- but don't do it for the sole purpose of raising your credit score. One factor in your credit score is your utilization, which is the ratio of balances owed compared to the credit limits on revolving accounts such as credit cards. Utilization is calculated for each credit card you have and across all of your cards. The lower your utilization, the better for your credit score. Closing a credit card account that has a zero balance excludes that credit limit from the overall utilization calculation, which can make your utilization increase and in turn, lower your score. For the same reason, it's also a bad idea to ask for lower c

United States Department of Agriculture   "What, loan assistance from the Department of Agriculture? Seriously??? I thought they only cared about the citrus crop and strawberries and stuff."   No, the USDA oversees and is a part of a wide range of agricultural topics including RURAL DEVELOPMENT and URBAN SPRAWL. According to the USDA, Rural Development (RD) is committed to helping improve the economy and quality of life in all of rural America by providing financial programs to support essential public facilities and services as water and sewer systems, housing, health clinics, emergency service facilities and electric and telephone service. Rural Development promotes economic development by providing loans to businesses and home owners to be, through banks and community-managed lending pools, while also assisting communities to participate in community empowerment programs. RD helps rural areas to develop and grow by offering Federal assistance that improves quali

This Spring Could Be The Best Home-Buying Season In Years If not spring 2012 it will sure be winter 2012. Homes affordability index is off the charts. Interest rates are at its lowest and are pledged by the Fed. The lion’s share of home sales typically come in the spring and early summer. April, May, June and July account for more than 40% of all housing transactions annually, in large part thanks to weather. Economists, realtors and Wall Streeters have been quick to surmise that 2012 will be the year of the market bottom, and with that prognosis circulating, it begs the question of what sellers and buyers can expect in housing as that high season nears. “The spring home buying season looks bright because of an elevated level of contract offers so far this year,” Lawrence Yun, chief economist of NAR, said in a statement earlier this week. February home sales, despite a slight dip from January to February, remain well above 2011 numbers. The Pending Home Sales Index, whi