Consumer real estate news featuring articles on market conditions, hot buying and selling issues and more. http://www.homes101.net/news/ en-us Homes101 Copyright © 2009 Homes101 and partners. All rights reserved. 2009-11-12T05:00:00-00:00 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Homes101RealEstateNews/~3/PS1H2wyJLiU/n4845 [Note: To follow is part 2 an excerpt of a radio show interview conducted by Peter L. Mosca, host of Income Property Investment Talk with the Cato Institute's Senior Fellow Randal O'Toole who discusses a new study that examines how restrictive government policies choked off growth, encouraged localized housing bubbles, and triggered the current financial crisis. To read part 1, please click here. To listen to the show archive or download an MP3, go to www.IncomePropertyInvestmentTalk.com/100709.] Realty Times 2009-11-12T00:00:00-05:00 http://www.homes101.net/news/n4845 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Homes101RealEstateNews/~3/1qf3jZfmbvY/n4846 The extension of the first-time home buyer tax credit will help continue to clear out inventory, but expanding the credit to include more buyers may not be as helpful in high-cost housing areas. Realty Times 2009-11-12T00:00:00-05:00 http://www.homes101.net/news/n4846 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Homes101RealEstateNews/~3/PmUHFHqCzCs/n4843 Members of the International Code Council's Residential Building Code Committee (RBCC) have made it clear that fire sprinklers are destined to become a standard feature in all new homes. The fire sprinkler requirement was added to the International Residential Code (IRC) last year, and it is scheduled to become effective January 1, 2011, in states that adopt the latest version of this code. Currently, 48 states use the IRC as a basis of regulating residential construction, although some states lag behind in adopting updates. Realty Times 2009-11-11T00:00:00-05:00 http://www.homes101.net/news/n4843 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Homes101RealEstateNews/~3/3FXSkvCm5Ro/n4844 Some states have specific legislation that requires homeowner associations to have and follow a 30 year repair and replacement plan known as a reserve study . It is the kind of plan that all HOA boards should follow even if no law exists since that s what good businesses do: plan ahead. Failure to plan for these expensive events inevitably leads to inadequate maintenance, declining property values and dreaded special assessments. Realty Times 2009-11-11T00:00:00-05:00 http://www.homes101.net/news/n4844 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Homes101RealEstateNews/~3/sWTx1DgXKdY/n4840 A record jump in pending home sales -- pointing to higher numbers of closed transactions in the next two to three months -- tops the housing economic news this week. Realty Times 2009-11-10T00:00:00-05:00 http://www.homes101.net/news/n4840 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Homes101RealEstateNews/~3/Ifq8NSU5k1g/n4841 More often than is widely acknowledged, courts come up with good and sensible rulings. When that happens, we do well to acknowledge them. In the case of Dee v. PCS Property Management, California's Second Appellate District Court of Appeal affirmed the good ruling of a trial judge. Inasmuch as the case had to do with claims regarding mold, it is of more than a little interest to a variety of parties involved with real estate. Realty Times 2009-11-10T00:00:00-05:00 http://www.homes101.net/news/n4841 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Homes101RealEstateNews/~3/2Pndb8oZ9y0/n4842 The cultivation of marijuana has reached "epidemic proportions," and poses a threat to public safety, says the commissioner of the Ontario Provincial Police, Julian Fantino. At a news conference recently, the OPP announced that in an eight-week span, it had investigated 220 grow operations, resulting in 110 charges against 56 people, and had seized and destroyed 118,443 marijuana plants. Realty Times 2009-11-10T00:00:00-05:00 http://www.homes101.net/news/n4842 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Homes101RealEstateNews/~3/7NwWz98ONdE/n4838 Congress's extension and expansion of the $8,000 tax credit through next June 30 should take the pressure off first time home buyers who've been rushing to close deals before the November 30 deadline. Realty Times 2009-11-09T00:00:00-05:00 http://www.homes101.net/news/n4838 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Homes101RealEstateNews/~3/E1LjUoiI9X0/n4839 Ah, yes. The flipping of houses. What better way can a common man build his millions? Well, not many. It really can be a quick way to create wealth as long as the flipper doesn't let the flippee house take over his life and bank account. Realty Times 2009-11-09T00:00:00-05:00 http://www.homes101.net/news/n4839 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Homes101RealEstateNews/~3/n_H9fK2KDow/n4834 It's a question that's relevant to investors in just about any once-hot market that's gone from boom to bust: Have prices finally bottomed out? Or could they be poised for still further declines? Realty Times 2009-11-06T00:00:00-05:00 http://www.homes101.net/news/n4834