An SPA or “Sale and Purchasing Agreement” is a contract that is widely found in businesses but real estate deals use this document as a legal contract before the deal is made.  This will ensure the buyer to make a purchase and seller to sell its services or product.  Because it can be use when buying a house, here are some tips when using this agreement.

* The agreement should have the names of both the buyer and seller.  The agreement should also outline all the agreed terms and condition in purchasing the property with its address as well as other relevant details.
* The agreement should also include financial details.  The sum of the money that you’re going to pay for the property should be broken down in detail.
* The terms and condition should also be listed down on the agreement to avoid any misunderstandings or misleading facts.
* Make sure of what you’re paying in the agreement.  If nothing is listed down, the seller can just push all the other fees like processing fee and legal fee to you.

First-Time homebuyers have little idea on how to shop for the right mortgage.  Choosing a mortgage is a methodical, step-by-step process that requires careful planning, and involves a lot of time, effort, attention and details.  Here are some guidelines for first time homebuyers when shopping for a mortgage.

* Check your credit report and make sure you have a good credit history so you are prepared to explain creditors about your credit ratings.
* Shop around for a mortgage from a variety of sources like mortgage brokers, mortgage lenders, banks, credit unions, local and state mortgage programs, community service, housing agency mortgages and mortgage assistance programs.
* Obtain all loan cost information and check the cost of points, broker fees, origination fees, underwriting fees, administrative costs, mortgage insurance yield spread premiums, commissions, escrow, closing costs and every cost associated with your mortgage.  This will help you make the comparison with other mortgages.
* Keep the cost in check by understanding every fee you don’t understand.
* Check loan terms for a variety of loans.  Know the down payment and term of the loan.
* Be aggressive when negotiating.  Don’t be afraid to ask questions, ask the lender to waive or reduce one of the fees or to agree to a lower rate or fewer points.  And also make sure the lender or broker isn’t just lowering one fee to raise another or lowering the rate to raise points.
* Consider a lock-in from the lender or broker.  The lock-in should include the rate you and the lender have agreed upon, the period the lock-in lasts, number of points to be paid and a lock on as many other costs and terms as possible.
* Get a written loan commitment to guarantee the terms and costs you’ve locked.

Scott Baio recently listed his Encino, CA house with an asking price of $2,895,000.  According to property records, Scott Baio bought the house in 1994 with an asking price of $1,385,000.  The house measures 4,403 square foot situated at the tail end of a gated driveway and sits on just over an acre and includes 4 bedrooms and 4.5 bathrooms.

The interior has hardwood floors, turquoise and swimming pool blue walls in the living and dining rooms with white leather sofas and white leather dining room chairs.  The family room has leopard print carpeting and Z Gallerie brown micro-suede sectional sofa.  The kitchen has white glossy cabinetry, gray-speckled granite countertops and stainless steel appliances.

The back of the house opens to the backyard through floor to ceiling sliding glass doors.  The grounds have a couple of terraces near the house, expensive lawns, planted gardens, elevated swimming pool, built-in barbecue center, tennis court, koi fish pond and a gazebo with a projector and flat-screen TV.

Lawsuits against landlords or tenants are common and whether you are a tenant or a landlord, you should be prepared for these lawsuits.  Here are a few things you need to know about landlord tenant lawsuits to keep you protected.

* Tenant safety-as a landlord, you need to make sure that everything in your rental property is safe for the tenants before they move in.  Appliances should always be inspected to make sure they are in good condition; the locks should be change from previous tenants.  As a tenant, you should inform the landlord of any problems within your unit from the moment you move in up to the time you move out.
* Disclosure upfront before move in-as a landlord, inform the tenant of all kinds of upgrades that will be made and the areas that they need to keep an eye on so the tenants can inform you when something goes wrong.  The tenant should be honest and upfront on their application or the landlord can make a background check on the tenants during their application.
* Discrimination law-as a landlord, you cannot base your decisions on who are going to rent your property based on race, religion, marital status, sexual orientation, culture or any other categories.

Lamps and bulbs require electricity that is derived from dirty sources such as coal.  Here are new and innovative lighting options that can help transform your home’s lighting landscape.

* LED EcoBulb- LEDs are energy efficient and provides a good quality of light.  This new light fixture by Seokjae Rhee based in South Korea can be modified on the fly to provide light exactly where you want it.  The bulb has 6 distinct sections to it and by using a remote; you can change the brightness and direction of the lights.
* Liquileds- Taiwan-based liquileds has taken the step of encasing the lights in liquid-filled incandescent-shaped bulbs to make it more efficient.  This bulb is guaranteed to last for more than 30,000 hours and consumes only 2.3 watts of electricity.  They are also dimmable and they could replace 15 and 20-watt incandescent bulbs.  They also come in two shapes, two color temperatures and a variety of standard screw bases.
* Tubular skylights-this are like regular skylights and you can install this on your roof to bathe your rooms with natural sunlight.
* Bic Biro Chandelier- this Spanish-designed chandelier is constructed of clear polystyrene barrels of 347 recycled Bic pens and uses 347 paper clips.
* Day Night Lamp-this lamps are designed by two architects from Belgrade, Serbia.  This lamp doesn’t need a cord to tether it to the grid so you can put it anywhere.  It also has built-in photovoltaic cells and an on-board battery to store the energy until evening comes.

Buying a newly-remodeled home has a lot of benefits.  If you want to purchase a remodeled home, here are some things you need to know and look at before making the purchase.

* A good remodeled home includes timeless color choices in the kitchen and bath and often include a gourmet cook’s kitchen with pleasing colors, granite countertops and stainless steel appliances.
* Remodels and repairs can cause a lot of dust and dirt in your house.  Your first few months in your new home could be spent coordinating contractors and vacuuming drywall dust. Buying a remodeled house will help you avoid these problems.
* A remodeled home is freshly painted in coordinated color so you don’t need to get a cleaning sponge that cannot remove a 6-inch scrape in the drywall.
* Your carpets will not smell like ashtray.  If the previous homeowner smoked, the smoke residue can stain with a yellow tinge and aggravate allergies in nonsmokers.  A remodeled home offers new carpets that are free from nasty odors.
* Buying a remodeled home is maintained and monitored and has a fresh flooring that are usually expensive if you do your own remodeling.

Late Night Show Host Conan O’Brien listed his duplex penthouse in The Majestic building in Manhattan for $29.5 million last week.  Conan purchased the first portion of his penthouse, the 17th-floor units (#17B and #17C), for an undisclosed price.  Then in early 2007, the host purchased the penthouse unit 18C above his 17th-floor unit for around $10 million by using a variation of his name (”C. Christopher O’Brien”).

The 17th and 18th floor penthouse which is the Art Deco-style building at 115 Central Park West is listed through the Born Harris Stevens’ private directory and using a power agent John Burger.  The Penthouse features seven bedrooms, eight bathrooms, three terraces, two libraries and park views.

Conan also owns a six-bedroom mansion on Tigertail Road in Los Angeles’ Brentwood area that he purchased in 2008 for $10,750,000.

Kourtney Kardashian listed her house in Calabasas, California with an asking price of $795,000.  The celebutante will take a loss with the house because she purchased the property in 2006 with an asking price of $829,000.  Miss Kardashian and her partner Scott Disick are moving to a larger house to accommodate their family after the birth of their son Mason on December 14 last year.

According to property records, the house was built in 1987 and measures 2,245 square feet.  The house sits in a gated Creekside community in Calabasas and has three bathrooms, three bedrooms (the third bedroom is currently being used as a built-in study with lighted cabinets), hardwood floors, granite countertops, stainless steal appliances, custom window treatments, a refrigerated wine closet, a marble bath, fireplace, skylights, vaulted ceilings, two-car attached garage with built-in storage and a private yard with a covered patio, a fountain and lush landscaping.

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