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Many attorneys who limit their practice to estate planning are values-based, relationship-driven, client-centered and counseling-oriented. And the good ones are willing to work together with other professionals on your behalf. They understand that thorough estate planning involves more than just legal advice. The key is to find those attorneys who meet this description.

So where do you find these rare creatures? How do you know if you’re dealing with the right kind of attorney? The right kind of attorney will have an orientation toward relationship-building and counseling rather than mere document preparation. The first thing he or she will offer is the ability to listen carefully to not only your goals – but also your hopes, dreams, and aspirations for yourself and your loved ones. The attorney will carry on a sensitive dialogue that will enable you to make clear your wishes to maintain control over your affairs, to be cared for properly in the event of a disability and to provide meaningfully for your loved ones after you are gone.

In this world, all you need is creativity and determination. This saying is applicable indeed to Chase Nation, one of the premier agency companies in the real estate world.

So what is up with Chase Nation? Recently, Chase Nation took advantage of the internet in a whole lot manner: they joined a popular social networking site called MySpace. Yes, the ever-growing and ever-popular MySpace. MySpace claims that they have over a hundred million users and Chase Nation thought that they might as well capitalize on that user count. Chase Nation said that the reason why they signed up on MySpace was for the agent to easily hook up with users (the interested parties I guess).

Photo taken from http://chasenation.ning.com

There has been a sudden growth of online real estate websites on the internet during the past years. Since then, official websites of realty agencies serve as mini portals to house seekers who wish to do their enquiries online. However, there are certain circumstances wherein third party websites are more popular than the official ones.

This is what exactly happened in Minneapolis. The solution of the official website realtors? Simple. They plan to disseminate their listings on the different popular real estate website picks such as Zillow. Zillow allows live tracking and feeding of news information & postings to the different respective subscribers. With this, Minneapolis realtors hope to reach more buyers and in effect, boost their sales.

Photo taken from http://inventorspot.com

Indeed, insurances can be tricky. Whether they’re made to be that way, or the insurance companies love specifics, we don’t know. All we have is a copy of what they call “policies”—and sadly, we can’t do anything about it but comply.

Gerri Willis of CNN has revealed some of their boo-boos regarding premium coverage. It is true that if you want a policy that’ll cover almost all possible catastrophes, then it would be a little expensive. If you don’t want to shell out loads of money to your home insurance, then might as well find someplace else that’s far away from the “natural calamity” zone. Don’t risk it.

Photo taken from http://www.time.com

What does homeowner’s insurance cover?
Homeowner’s policies are designed to provide financial protection in the event of damage to your home, such as fire or water damage. Your policy will also protect your personal property, such as furniture that is damaged as a result of a fire, or the theft of electronic equipment. In addition you will be protected from liability as a result of homeownership, such as a visitor who slips on your icy steps and breaks an arm.

The standard homeowner’s policy covers the following:

• The physical structure of your home, permanent structures on your property, and your personal property.
• Personal liability exposures that arise from being a homeowner.
• Additional costs that you may incur as a result of a covered loss, such as a fire in your home that makes it uninhabitable.

The homeowner’s policy that you purchase determines which perils you are insured against. Most homeowner’s policies are written under the HO-3 contract form. Form numbers are standardized, so if you purchase HO-3 insurance, you’ll get the same coverage regardless of your insurance provider. The HO-3 contract form provides coverage for the following:

• Broad coverage for your dwelling. Damage to your dwelling from most causes is covered unless it is specifically excluded.
• Damage to your personal property for “named perils” only. Your personal property is covered only against the perils specified in the contract.
• Limited coverage for jewelry that is stolen. Coverage is usually $500 to $2,000, depending on your state of residence. Most policies don’t cover jewelry that is lost.

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Before you purchase a condominium policy, check with your condominium association to make sure you’re buying the insurance you need.

• Find out what parts of the interior are covered by your condo association’s insurance and what items are your responsibility. Then make sure that you have adequate insurance to cover repairing or replacing the items for which you are responsible.
• The contents of your condominium are not insured under the association’s master condominium policy. So, estimate the cost to replace your contents and buy insurance for that amount.
• Your association’s master condominium policy does not provide any liability coverage for your unit or your personal exposures. So, make sure you purchase adequate liability insurance, usually $300,000 to $500,000 or more, depending on your situation.
• If your association has insufficient funds, you may be assessed a proportionate share to pay for damage to your building and other situations. Check to see whether the condominium insurance you purchase covers these assessments. You may wish to buy Loss Assessment Coverage, which is available in amounts of $5,000, $10,000 or more.

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“The internet can work wonders”. For the women realtors in California, this is probably one of their dictums in life now that they have teamed up with Domus Consulting group and Realivenet, two companies that offer internet marketing. Their website, WCRblogs.com is synonymous to that of a real estate aggregate site, but it actually features the blogs of women realtors in California, rather than buyer and seller postings. The women who are members of the WCRblogs.net said that having their own website is actually much better since they could track down their blog hits. One of the members claimed that her blog has been on the top 10 of WCRblog.net’s list.

Photo taken from http://www.ocean.edu

As a condominium owner, one needs to insure not only their personal possessions in the condo, but also any built in units such as cabinets, fixtures, appliances and shelves. In addition to covering the personal property, a condo owner also needs liability coverage. The liability portion of the policy would cover injures or damage to people or property that the condo owner would be liable for.

Below is a checklist of the top four questions to consider when choosing a condominium insurance policy:

1. What are your ownership and insurance responsibilities in the condo association’s Master Deed (the insurance requirements the association expects from you)?

2. Does the policy you are considering include broad water damage coverage for problems such as sewer and drain back-ups?

3. Does your condo association provide comprehensive or blanket coverage to protect you against other condo owners who may not have adequate coverage?

4. Do you have expensive personal items such as jewelry or furs that you may need additional personal property coverage for?

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What risks do a lease option hold for the buyer?

Individuals who attempt to buy homes on a lease-option rarely end up buying the home. This often has to do with the reason they try to buy on a lease-option. They usually cannot qualify for a home loan and expect that they will be able to qualify after a period of time. Later, they find they still cannot qualify - whether it is because of poor credit, lack of income (documentable income), or lack of savings to have a large enough down payment.

If this happens, you lose any option money you might have paid up front or as part of your monthly payment.

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If you’re planning to buy a house in Sacramento, probably this is the best time to purchase one. Even the experts couldn’t believe the numbers that they saw in the recent RPX (Residential Property Index) table. An astounding drop of about 29.8% per square foot happened in a span of 1 month (28 days to be exact) and each square foot now costs $113.12 compared to the original $161.14. Las Vegas came in second, with 26.2% drop and followed by San Diego at 24.7%.

Only three areas had increased their land values: Charlotte with 3.6%, Milwaukee with 3.4% and New York trailing at 1.1%.

Photo taken from blogs.venturacountystar.com