Photo from apartment therapy.

Just 10 years ago, the absence of mail on Saturdays from the U.S. Postal Service could have caused great hardship on real estate transactions.  We had to mail earnest money checks long distance and other documentation.  Sometimes even closings that occurred were done by mail - received, signed, and mailed back on the same day.  Delays could have potentially caused a transaction to fall through completely.

Today the USPS is considering eliminating Saturday mail delivery.

Last year the agency handled 177 billion items, down from 213 billion in 2006 — and there is little likelihood of an increase in the future. The Postal Service has previously proposed eliminating delivery six days a week, but got a cold reception in Congress.

While I think there could be repercussions on individuals (e.g., no delivery person to check on an elderly person), the fall out on real estate could be minimal.  Most states allow communication to be done by fax, email, overnight delivery - and all allow “in person” delivery.

In my own real estate world, it would just mean that people relocating from out-of-area would be delayed a day or two from getting the information packages I send.  I suppose email will be a good option for them, as well.

Photo by Quigley Brown. Go visit at Flickr for some amazingly beautiful photography.

I’m all about saving money wherever I can these days… it’s so scarce that I’d rather use my coins toward making my house payment than replacing everyday items when they could last longer.  That’s why I love this post about stretching the life of common household items.  My favorite tip,

If your sponge starts to look gross, simply wet it and put it in the microwave for one-two minutes to sterilize it and give it a new life. Once it has reached its end in your kitchen, make this sponge your new bathroom cleaning sponge to stretch its life even further.

At my house, I use every last drop of toothpaste I can.  My husband - and this is weird to me - doesn’t use toothpaste at all.  Instead, he brushes his teeth with his mouthwash thereby eliminating toothpaste completely.  I turn off power strips at night (every penny counts), use leftovers for soup (or dog food) (I know, dogs shouldn’t eat human food but I still give them some), and don’t return my red box movies the day they’re due unless I’m out already.  Why spend that money on gas when it only costs a dollar to keep one more night.

What money saving tips do you have?

Photo by Horia Varlan via flickr creative commons.

Oh Miami I feel your pain.  Your real estate values already plummeted almost 50 percent (47.7) over the past three years.  With new predictions out, your houses are expected to drop another 29.2 percent by this September for a total loss of value at 64 percent.  This is according to Moody’s Economy.com and reported by CNN Money.com.

Side note here … when I add 47.7 percent with 29.2 percent, my numbers come out to 76.9 percent.  As a result I’m hoping the projections don’t add up either.  Nationwide, the numbers aren’t much better,

The average home price in the United States will fall by about 6% by September 2011, according to a joint report between Fiserv and Moody’s Economy.com. And that’s after plunging more than 27% in the past three years.

Meanwhile, Miami.  I went in search of homes available in Miami and found one, two, three, fifty … all in what I would describe as terribly expensive.  Homes that cost $500,000 AFTER the market dropped?  $1.3 million?  $10.2 million?  How big was that bubble where real estate is near beautiful ocean, sand and sun?

I dug more and found listings for foreclosed condos in Miami.  The highest priced one is $2.795 million.  The least expensive is $309,900 (with taxes coming in at a jaw dropping $6,879 per year).  I did find a two bedroom, one bath single family resident in the sunny city for $319,000.

Holy cow, Miami! How do people afford to live there with these prices and those taxes? Before I completely gave up finding something affordable in this dynamic city, I went to one more source - Trulia.  At last I found homes that were nice and didn’t cost a fortune.  My favorite?

This $229,000, four bedroom, two bath, 1965 square foot home with the beautiful screened in back porch.

Now we’re talking!  If you want more information about it, contact Keyes Real Estate Company or click here.

Photo from this listing.

When someone “FORKS” over some cash for the house occupied by Edward Cullen and his Twilight family, they won’t have to pay as much as the original asking price.  According to CNN Money, the house - located in Vancouver, British Columbia - was originally listed for $3.3 million.  As a reflection of the housing market adjustment, the price just dropped to $2,998,000.

The home features over 5,000 square feet, five bedrooms, two full baths and two half baths.  You might find some pretty big trees surrounding it - trees that are easy to climb if you’re a vampire!

To see more photos, visit the listing agent’s site here.

I’ve been terribly worried about one of my friends who just received notice of foreclosure.  What has troubled me is where does someone go after foreclosure?  Forced loss of a house has a terrible impact on your credit score and with most landlords now requiring a credit check, how can you find a place to rent?

Key is to find a landlord that only has one or two rental properties rather than a giant apartment complex.  The local paper, craigslist, and family or friends are the best options for where to search.  In addition, you can offer to put down a higher deposit  or prepay several months rent.  If this isn’t an option, find a rental BEFORE the foreclosure hits your credit score.

The challenge is if you’re being foreclosed upon, your credit score likely already has some negative hits from missed mortgage payments.  If you keep paying your other bills, however, it could be viewed positively by a landlord - especially if your mortgage payment was double (or much higher at least) than what the rent payment would be.

Don’t give up hope. It may take a few years, but things will look better.

I like the door handle the best.  Have a great WARM SUNNY weekend!

While I want to feel sorry for Cleveland because they were just named the #1 Most Miserable City in the U.S., I can’t.  Why so miserable?  According to MSNBC,

Cleveland secured the position thanks to its high unemployment, high taxes, lousy weather, corruption by public officials and crummy sports teams (Cavaliers of the NBA excepted).

But when you think of Cleveland, there is a LOT of good also.

* The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
* Popular character from Family Guy who now has his own show
* A president whose last name is the same as the city’s but whose first name is a Muppet

I remember I spent a week in Cleveland one day… only kidding.  In all seriousness, one of my happiest memories of Cleveland was when I attended a conference and a delegation from Hawaii was also in attendance.  I’ll never forget the look of joy on their faces when these Pacific islanders had their first snowball fight.  It was magical!

So Cleveland, chin up!  I still love you!

Photo by Yvonne in Willowick Ohio via Flickr Creative Commons.

Technorati Tags: Cleveland, Cleveland Ohio

Although this has nothing to do with real estate or houses - except we’re all tired of shoveling driveways and sidewalks thanks to Old Man Winter digging in permanently - it was too precious to pass up sharing.

Thanks to Newscoma for sharing.