I saw this article (below) first in the Chicago Tribune and then in Realty Times. If you saw it, it is correct on all points, except one.

The new wireless product we are releasing is not just for agents! Any consumer will be able to use their cell phone to get real estate information.

So as you read the article, just remember: YOU....will be able to access Smarter Agent from YOUR cell phone.

You don't have to be a Realtor to use the Smarter Agent "wireless GPS search". You just have to be a client of Smarter Agent.

Article:

Not For Sale? Not A Problem
by Lew Sichelman


Consider this scenario: You're driving around with your real estate agent looking at houses when all of a sudden you happen upon a place that looks absolutely perfect. There's only one problem: It's not for sale.

Not to worry, says your agent, who barks the address into his cell phone. Within seconds, he gets back a list of houses exactly like the one that has you all a twitter. Better yet, these places are on the market. So off you go to pursue your dream.

Sound like something out of the Jetsons? Or perhaps Star Trek?

It's not. The nation's first "wireless location-aware network" is up and running right now under the name "Smarter Agent." And its creators, brothers Brad and Eric Blumberg, believe it will revolutionize the house-hunting business.

"Our technology will have as great an effect on the real estate industry over the next three years as the Internet has had during the previous three years," says Blumberg. "The future of wireless communications is not just in downloading information. It's about giving users information that's relevant to where they are right now."

Using GPS technology, Smarter Agent allows an agent to stand outside a house and receive information about the property and its surroundings, as well as any property in the vicinity. The system fetches actual multiple-listing service data such as the asking price, a description of the property and size of the lot. Better yet, Smarter Agent can be accessed through a cell phone or hand-held PDA, even a car's on-board GPS system. And no typing is required -- the system automatically recognizes your position via satellite and returns relevant data.

In effect, the system places a digital sign in front of every property in the United States. So even if you don't know where you are, Smarter Agent does. It shows your location on a map, locates homes in the immediate area which match your search criteria and tells you how to get there.

"Our system is highly intuitive," says Eric Blumberg. "What once seemed like science fiction is now possible."

According to brother Brad, Smarter Agent is a licensed broker in all the places where the system is currently being rolled out: Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, Virginia and Maryland.

And because the recently FCC-mandated e911 rules require that all new cell phones have location detection in them, a host of new Star Trek-like location-aware services will hit the market in the next 12-18 months, he says. "We have the patents on the location-aware real estate side of things."

GPS-based searches are part of the rapidly expanding location-based services market, which is predicted to become a $10-$20 billion business over the next few years.

I read an excellent article in Realty Times, by columnist Broderick Perkins. His point is at different times in your life, a particular mortgage product may be best for you.

Here are a few excerpts from that article that are appropriate whether you are a first time buyer in New Jersey, an empty nester couple looking to sell the large family home on the Main Line and move into Center City, or the 2nd home buyer looking at the Jersey Shore.

First-Time Buyers
Young first time buyers might consider "two-step" or hybrid mortgage. There are initially cheaper and may be easier to qualify for due to the lower monthly payment compared to the 30 year fixed. Although beware, if interest rates are higher after the lock in period, you better hope you are making more money or your monthly payments will rise!

As Perkins notes: "....adjustable-rate mortgages (ARMs) come with mortgage rates that are effectively fixed for the first step of three, five, seven or ten years and then become 1-year ARMs with rates that adjust each year for the term of the loan. Hybrid ARMs are a good fit because statistics reveal first-timers typically move after five-to-seven years when growing incomes permit the move and growing families dictate the need for a larger home."

Move-Up Buyers
Perkins notes in this category, "Some move-up buyers who know they will move-up again, likewise should consider hybrid loans for the same reasons they work for first-timers. In the current low interest rate market, however, move-up buyers may do well to opt for a plain vanilla, conventional or jumbo 30-year fixed-rate mortgage with 20 percent down."

"In terms of long-term financing, look for loans with at least 20 percent down to avoid private mortgage insurance. A plain 30-year mortgage with the right to prepay in whole or in part at any time and without penalty can be especially attractive because if incomes rise, you can increase your monthly payments to shorten the loan term or reduce interest costs," said a noted expert Mr. Miller quoted by Perkins.

Empty-Nesters
Perkins poses the question: Moving down to a smaller home often raises the question, "Do your really need a mortgage?"

"Crunch the numbers to see if you are better off getting a mortgage or going free and clear. Ironically, empty nesters are often in their highest earning years and this may be your last chance to use the mortgage interest and property tax deductions to shelter your income," says San Francisco broker Ray Brown, who also co-authored Mortgages for Dummies,
If you do need a mortgage, says Brown, a mortgage with a shorter term, say 15 years, is a good choice. Along with the lower rates you have the option of making larger payments or paying the mortgage off early. On the other hand, the liberal capital gains tax law that allows couples to take tax-free profits of up to $500,000 on the sale of a home, could infuse you with enough cash to free you from the need for a mortgage-based tax shelter."

As reported by Thomas Fogarty in USA TODAY, mortgage interest rates hit a six-month low this week, reacting to low inflation and recent news of scant December job growth.

You see, rates are low because there is not a lot of demand from businesses to compete with the mortgage market for money. Plus in election seasons government keeps the cost of money as low as they can to stimulate the economy. You can bet when the economy picks up, rates will rise.

This week the 30-year mortgage interest rate averaged 5.66%, down from 5.87% last week. The interest rate for a 15-year home loan averaged 4.97%, down from 5.17% last week. Rates were last this low during the week ended July 11.

As Foggery states. "In the short term, the drop in what were already viewed as borrower-friendly rates will further fuel a housing market that is coming off a record-setting 2003. But industry economists in a conference call this week agreed that rates seem poised for a moderate rise of a percentage point or so during 2004, which could take the edge off the current housing market.

David Lereah of the National Association of Realtors said he expects 2004 to be the second-best year on record. Sales of existing homes should be 5.8 million this year, down from the 6.1 million record set in 2003. In the latter part of the 1990's 4-5 million resale homes sold was more the norm. His forecast presumes a modest rise in mortgage rates. But if rates spike, he said, home sales could dive. Lereah says he worries most about the potential effect of rising deficits in the federal budget and in foreign trade. The twin deficits could stoke inflation, and force interest rates higher than expected, he said.

Want to check rates from respected mortgage sources. Call us at Smarter Agent and we will make a recommendation or two. Or fill out the Get a Mortgage form on our site. After you make your search selections and hit "GO", you will see the Get a Mortgage Link in the toolbar . Fill it out and we will contact you.

Diane Fiske, a Philadelphia-based architecture writer, wrote a great piece in ARCHITECTURE WEEK in November 2001 about Wildwood and the Doo-Wop effort that could save the town.

Over 2 years later, in 2004, Wildwood real estate is hot.

Indeed, thousands of clients use www.smarteragent.com to find and buy real estate in what was once a town on the ropes.

Here are excerpts from Diane’s piece that give insight in how what's old and funky, if there is enough of it, can be preserved and become the core of revitalization and economic development.

EXCERPT:

“The blue-collar summer resort of Wildwood reached its pinnacle of popularity when Cadillacs had fins and television was novel.”

Steven Izenour, a principal architect with Venturi Scott Brown & Associates, “called the 1950s and 60s architecture "Doo-Wop" after the a cappella singing style of the period, and he led efforts in its study and preservation.”

In the article, an architect, Mr. Stokes, explained to Diane: "The most important part of the Doo-Wop style is the signage — neon signs in lollipop colors. The motels pick up the colors of the signs, and it is these signs and colors that make the buildings different."

Stokes adds: "The style shows a period in our history when there was a lot of interest in the space age so motels were given names like 'Satellite' and 'Astronaut.' Many people had recently acquired automobiles and they to wanted to be able to see their cars from their motel rooms. The 'motor hotel' was a new concept at the time; you could drive to the door of your room."

“Wildwood's Doo-Wop style should be preserved," says Stokes, "because it is unique and has not changed since the 50s and 60s. The resort suffered a decline in the 1980s and became 'tacky' or 'unreal' to some because of the heavy use of plastic for everything from furniture to palm trees."

In "Learning from Wildwood" Izenour advised planners and architects to "look at the area and evaluate the taste and needs of the people who use it and not to indulge in further homogenization of the culture with the architects' or design professionals' own aesthetic values."

Diane ended with noting, “The revival of Wildwood is being taken seriously. When the Starlux motel was dedicated last spring, former New Jersey Governor Christie Whitman, who is now U.S. Secretary of the Environment, came to the ceremony and "planted" a plastic palm tree.

A robust Wildwood helps all the adjacent towns such as North Wildwood and Wildwood Crest. Check it all out at www.wildwoodhomesandrealestate.com!