Blog Assignment #3

TOPIC #1:    Overview of a real estate appraiser

http://bls.gov/ooh/Business-and-Financial/Appraisers-and-assessors-of-real-estate.htm

In this first website, it really clairifed the in’s and out’s of being an appraiser. I saw that most appraisers need an associate degree. As well, in 2010 the average pay was $48,500. After reading this, and based on worldly standards of pay, I have decided I do not want to become an appraiser because I think there is much more out there that fits my talents and skills.

http://amc.hubpages.com/hub/Top-10-Appraisal-Management-Companies

This website here offers a look at the top 10 Appraisal Management Companies (AMC’s) based off of automated/streamlined system effectiveness, available information and experience, and website usability. This was a fun website to read because it offered a lot of insight on how appraisal companies are successful and what people look for in a company. Not knowing anything about the topic, this website offered great advice when I need to choose an AMC.

 

TOPIC #2:    Overview of a real estate appraisal

http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-an-appraisal.htm

I enjoyed reading this website a lot. It cleared up the definition of an appraisal for me. ( Maybe I should have read it before the test :)) But in all seriousness, it did really help. Not only did it define appraisal, it showed what kind of areas an appraisal can occur.

http://www.twincitiesrealestateblog.com/2008/declining-market-appraisals/

This was a blog that I found on declining market appraisals. I’m not sure if this is what I was supposed to find, but it was interesting. It talked about Fannie Mae and the new rules they have which will further decline the appraisal market. After the article, it is evident that the industry of appraisal’s is decreasing.

 

TOPIC #3:     Overview of Real Estate Finance

http://www.crye-leike.com/careers/careertypes.php

Out of all the sites I have read so far, this is by far the most beneficial. It decrives numerous real estate finance jobs and what they actually do. After reading all of them, the one that sounded the most interesting to me was the Real Estate Property Counseling. I love helping people make right choices, so this one was fun to read about.

http://investing.businessweek.com/research/sectorandindustry/industries/industrydetail.asp?code=4040

This website is the stock price for the real estate industry. Here I looked at a bunch of different companies and compared them to each other. It was fun while educating at the same time. After looking at a bunch of different things, it was clear that over the past 3 months, the market has been relatively up.

 

TOPIC #4:     Real Estate Financing

http://www.fha.com/fha_article.cfm?id=68

This article talked about FHA loans and property taxes. It described in detail what your property tax liability is and whether or not new homes have a higher property tax. These two things were beneficial for the future when I start looking at buying a house of my own. It was beneficial pondering whether or not buying an old house was worth the investments. I never thought about thinking about repair costs and update costs and whether or not those would factor into my decision.

http://www.articlesbase.com/real-estate-articles/where-to-find-sources-of-startup-capital-for-your-real-state-investment-833043.html

This article posted a lot of places where an individual, such as myself, could find financing for real estate. The big thing I learned from this article is that you just need to be ceative when thinking about different sources for capital. They can be from far and few between (or whatever that saying is). But in reality, even though banks and savings accounts are the most convienent, don’t limit yourself to just those. Use your brain and creativity!!

Blog Assignment #2

Topic 1: The Importance of Real Estate

Articles:

1. http://useconomy.about.com/od/grossdomesticproduct/f/Real_estate_faq.htm
2. http://activerain.com/blogsview/818897/how-important-is-real-estate-to-our-economy-

I believe that real estate in a huge and integral part of our economy. As stated in the first article, commercial real estate opens up a lot of jobs and provides a source of revenue and therefore benefitting our economy. But at the same time, the decrease in real estate construction is a big part of the unemployment rate. So that being said, real estate plays a big role in the ups and downs in our economy.

The second article is saying that real estate is the third most important private industry in Texas. And I would completely agree with that.

Stats: 

“Every $1 million dollars of revenue in the Texas real estate industry generates just over half a million dollars of revenue in other parts of the state’s economy.”

“Every $1 million dolllars of revenue in the Texas real estate industry generates 11.16 jobs.”

Real estate offers jobs, whether it be with commercial real estate, or construction. It creates jobs, which effects the economy.

Topic 2: Property Rights and Legal Descriptions

Articles:

1. http://www.investopedia.com/terms/p/property_rights.asp#axzz26gGTFzVK
2. http://iweb.tntech.edu/kwiant/Content%20material/Ch_2/Ch_2_Outline_v7f.htm

Definition of ‘Property Rights’

Laws created by governments in regards to how individuals can control, benefit from and transfer property. Economic theory contends that government enforcement of strong property rights is a determinant regarding the level of economic success seen in the area. Individuals will create new forms of property to generate wealth, only when they are assured that their rights to their property will protect them against unjust and/or unlawful actions by other parties.

As with anything in this world, there is a reason it is there. Property rights, I believe, are a good thing for individuals. They give us guidelines on ho we can control and use our property. They also protect us from unlawful and unjust actions by others. Overall they are beneficial to us.

Legal Descriptions

–          Each parcel of real estate must have a unique legal description.  There are three commonly used methods for specifying the precise legal description of land:

o       Metes and Bounds

o       Rectangular Survey

o       Recorded Plats

As well, as discussed in class, we have townships which consist of 36 sections. All of these terms are used to describe the land and how large it is.

Topic 3: Private Restrictions on Ownership

Articles:

1. http://legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/Private+Land-Use+Restrictions
2. http://www.econlib.org/library/Enc/PropertyRights.html

Private Restrictions:

• Easements
• Liens
• Covenants
• Etc..

Private restrictions on ownership are there and created by the land owners and can either have positive or negative effects. Basically, what I have concluded, is that private restrictions are there in order to make sure the people on the land don’t abuse their rights. It forces them to abide by the laws of the land owners and what they want from their tenants. Other than that, honestly, I don’t know a whole lot on the topic.

Topic 4: Public Restrictions on Ownership

Articles:

1. http://www.thefreemanonline.org/features/the-economics-of-property-rights/
2. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3xKRqHcc9Q0 (video)

What I have learned about public restrictions on ownership is that the government has control over property. As you can see in the video I linked, the government can take away your property to give to private developers in something called ’eminent domain’. The government has the ability to do this, but the landowner can sue for just compensation if he/she feels land value has decreased due to a government action. I believe that the government should have the ability to do this, if and only if, they feel like the land is going to produce economic benefit to the community.  These restrictions also include: taxation, police power and escheat. These public restrictions are definitely controversial, but I believe that in the end, our government is doing it right.

About me

My name is Jimmy Elliott and I am a senior accounting major from Katy, TX. But more importantly, I am the loudest and proudest member of the fightin’ Texas Aggie class of 2013 (A-Whoop!)

The most important thing about me is that I am a follower of Jesus Christ. My walk with the Lord is the most important thing in my life. As well, I love my family and friends. I would do anything for them. 

Here at school I like to hang out with my friends, play intramural sports, and just relax. I am in Brotherhood of Christian Aggies (BCA) and last year served as our social chair. So basically I got to plan all the date parties and have a bunch of fun.

This summer I worked at Pine Cove Christian Camps in Tyler, TX. “Pine Cove exists to be used by God to transform the lives of people for His purposes and His glory!” And that is exactly why I worked there. I wanted to be a part of sharing the Good News and be a part of something bigger than myself.

And last, but not least, I love to play golf. I have been playing competitive golf since I was 6 years old. I played left handed from 6-10, then at 10 years old I switched to right handed. But I still putt left handed. Golf was an integral part of my life growing up and I will use the things I learned in golf for the rest of my life.

 

Well that’s it for now. I hope you enjoyed getting to know me and see a few pictures about my life. Stay tuned for some real estate information!