In some cases the kitchens are still on good condition. In most cases though, you can actually do away with them because they simply suck. They were awfully planned and designed – if and if they were planned at all – and they will only cost you money. But take note that they can boost your rehab home profit if done right.

Here are two ideas you can use when rehabbing or creating an outdoor kitchen. The first one is making sure water and electrical lines are working. You cannot spend too much time, effort, or money repairing pipes and electrical cords. Plumbing is expensive and electrical lines require pros because of the danger involved. If they are a mess and repairing or installing them would be too much of a burden, Fred and family would have to do with the indoor kitchen.

The other idea for rehabbing outdoor kitchens is installing a new grill. What’s the use of an outdoor kitchen without barbecue? It can do without an expensive, two-door, stainless steel fridge but never without a decent stove and a grill.

And as a final reminder (so that makes them 3 ideas! Sorry, my bad) you can use an outdoor fire pit to complement your rehab homes. Although not a replacement for a grill, it can be used as a focal point of the outdoor kitchen during summer nights.

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Such was the inspiration for this entry on cleaning mossy roofs. A home rehab, in some cases, needs a little cleaning on its crowning glory. No need to replace those shingles. But moss is definitely not a turn on and thus, you should take it away from the picture. If you’re going to use a cleaning solution, use non-toxic oxygen bleach. Mix it with water and apply it on the roof. Leave it for 15-20 minutes and grab a brush. If some of it is left, repeat the procedure.

Remember why I recommended non-toxic oxygen bleach? One is yours truly is a bit “green” and this is an environmentally safe product. It won’t harm metal gutters. After the solution flows into to the gutter and onto the lawn, you won’t be damaging the greens as well. Now that’s a friendly cleaning solution.

But in some cases though, cleaning simply won’t do. That is why you, or at least your contractor, must be capable of patching some shingles. But to avoid this hassle, simple avoid such houses unless they are a real homerun deal overall.

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According to the National Association of Realtors, sales of previously occupied homes climbed 7.6% in August from July to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.13 million units. The average sales price, on the other hand, inched up by 0.8% from a year earlier to $178,600. Despite the monthly increase, however, August remains the second-worst month for home sales in more than a decade as sales fell 19% from the same month a year ago.

Sales of residential real estate picked in spring, when the government provided tax credits of up to $8,000 to first-time home buyers. However, sales began to tank when the federal tax credit program expired in April and it has been a struggle for sellers to convince buyers to purchase residential properties since then.

Despite low home prices and the cheapest mortgage rates, buyers are still reluctant to make some purchases. According to experts, the sluggish job market and the worsening foreclosure rate are discouraging most buyers to invest in residential real estate.

“Nobody wants to see their investment go down after they buy it,” he said. “It’s as tough as I’ve ever seen it,” said Eric Matz, a Coldwell Banker real estate agent in the San Diego, California, area.

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The survey examined more than 18,000 four-bedroom, two-bathroom properties listed on its website between February and August.

According to the Coldwell Banker Home Listing Report, which covered more than 300 markets across the country, said that the average listing price in Detroit is $68,000. Based on a 4.5% interest rate on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage and a 20% down payment, the monthly payment would be $350. Meanwhile, the average price listing in Newport Beach is a stark contrast at $1.83 million. It is the setting of a number of television shows like “The O.C.”

Looking at the list, most of the expensive listings were seen in California and the Northeast. The modest prices, meanwhile, were mostly found in the Midwest.

Jim Gillespie, chief executive of Coldwell Banker, said that the results were widely expected. “People like the sun, they like the beaches, they like the mountains. (California) has been the land of opportunity,” he said, noting that the Golden State is one of the largest economies in the world.

Here’s the top ten most affordable cities to purchase a home, according to Coldwell Banker: Detroit, $68,007; Grayling, Mich., $84,625; Sioux City, Iowa, $85,967; Cleveland, Ohio, $87,240; Muncie, Ind., $100,314; Norfolk, Neb., $107,814; Kansas City, Mo., $112,449; Canton, Ohio, $114,325; Port Huron, Mich., $116,267; Topeka, Kan., $116,343

Here’s the top 10 most expensive cities: Newport Beach, Calif., $1.83 million; Palo Alto, Calif., $1.48 million; Rye, N.Y., $1.33 million; San Francisco, $1.33 million; La Jolla, Calif., $1.21 million; Greenwich, Conn., $1.20 million; Wellesley, Mass., $1.08 million; Pasadena, Calif., $1.04 million; Honolulu, $1.03 million; Santa Barbara, Calif., $1.02 million.

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The most important thing before you even begin this fix and flip project is to check with local authorities if you’ll need a permit to perform it. Some local councils might even require professional electricians to do the job for you. If you’re hiring a subcontractor, this should be an easy task. If you’re allowed to do it, you should be done in a few minutes as well.

For this how to flip house project, you’ll need a dimmer switch, wire connectors, and some 12/2 or 14/2 home wire. When choosing a dimmer switch, be sure to calculate the combined wattage of the light bulbs it will control. Select one that has a wattage rating that can control the total wattage of the bulbs. You’ll also need basic electrician tools like an electrical tester, a circuit tester, wire strippers/cutters, and your good ol’ screwdriver.

Now, let’s get this how to flip house project on. First thing you need to do is to turn off the general switch. Also, be sure to lock the service panel or leave a note on it indicating that someone is working on the wires. You don’t want anyone turning it on while you’re touching the wires, right?

Next, open the faceplate. Unscrew the switch from the mailbox and carefully pull it out. You need to disconnect the ground wire from the switch. You’ll also need to remove the black wires. Inspect the exposed copper ends. If they are in useable condition, keep them as is. If not, cut the damaged ends and expose new copper wire by stripping around half an inch of the black coating.

Now, proceed with this fix and flip project by connecting the wires. Using wire connectors, connect the black copper wires to the black pigtails in the dimmer switch. As for the ground wire inside the workbox, connect it with the ground pigtail in the switch. Use a wire connector for this connection as well. Then, carefully push back the wiring and the switch into the box. Secure it with screws and place the faceplate.

To complete the how to flip house project turn on the general switch on the service panel and test if the dimmer switch is working. If it is, good job! If it isn’t, turn off the service panel again and have your work checked by a professional.

Now, some final reminders when installing dimmers. One thing you should keep in mind when working with electricity is that it is deadly. That is why it is imperative that you ensure that the power line is off. If you can lock the service panel, lock it. Or tell everyone that you are working on power. Also, test the wires for additional safety. Finally, it always pays to have it done by a licensed electrician.

That is why you should strive to learn more about getting flipping property leads. Leads, as you know are the name and email address, and possibly phone number, of the people who visit your website. It basically is the “spark.” It is the start of a probable deal.

One way of getting leads online is by having a website, or at least a landing page. You know what a website is. A landing page, also known as a squeeze page, is where visitors land when they type your URL. It’s not a full blown website. Basically it is a webpage where visitors only have two choices: to leave their lead (name and email) or exit.

The purpose of the squeeze page is to basically milk the lead. When doing so, be sure to state clearly why you want their information. For instance, tell them that you buy houses and if they want to sell their property, all they need to do is to enter their name and email and you will contact them. Another technique used by those who are flipping properties is they offer something free, perhaps an eBook that has something to do with foreclosure or selling houses. If they want the eBook, they might have an issue with selling and you can take it from there.

And of, Forbes’ list of richest Americans is out. Bill Gates is No.1 again. No surprise yours truly is typing this on an MS Word.

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Data released by the Department of Treasury revealed that more than half of those who have applied to get their mortgage payments lowered have fallen out of the program. As of last month, 680,000 homeowners, or 51%, have been disqualified. The figure jumped from 48% in July.

The mortgage relief program, which was launched in February 2009, was geared towards helping 4 million homeowners lower their mortgage payments and avoid foreclosure. However, of the 1.3 million people who have enrolled, only about 449,000 borrowers or 34% have received permanent loan modifications and are making their payments on time.

With the series of problems encountered by the mortgage relief program, many homeowners believe that it would be better to walk away from their mortgage than to wait for the government to help them. Critics, on the other hand, said the Obama administration should have just let distressed homeowners lose their properties.

Despite the criticisms, however, government officials vowed to continue efforts to help alleviate the country’s worsening problem with foreclosures. “We’re certainly not going to stop fighting to turn things around,” said Raphael Bostic, an assistant secretary at the Department of Housing and Urban Development.

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Iowa Assistant Attorney General Patrick Madigan said that the move might be a huge issue across the country, not only in the affected states. “If servicers are submitting court documents that aren’t true or that have not been verified, that is of great concern,” said Madigan, who heads a national foreclosure prevention group.

Ally Financial, formerly GMAC Mortgage, is reviewing the cases for a “potential issue.” It did not elaborate on the matter but representatives of disgruntled home buyers claim that it’s because of cases filed against the former financing arm of General Motors.

Lawyers said Ally employed one man to sign all the documents it uses to get eviction permits from courts. The employee, 41-year-old Jeffrey Stephan, testified that he was the head of document execution unit of Ally. Based on the number of documents he approved and supposedly reviewed on an eight-hour workday, Stephan signs one document per 1.5 minutes. Thomas Cox, an attorney in Maine, said that obviously that time is not enough to review the documents. “A ridiculous amount of time for something so critically important,” he said.

Meanwhile, Florida lawyer Christopher Immel, who deposed Stephan in a case, said the employee was probably under the impression that “it was okay to do this.” “GMAC has a business model to do this, and Stephan was just one small part of it,” he said.

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According to the U.S. Department of Commerce, groundbreakings for new homes expanded by 10.5% in August to an annual rate of 598,000 units. The figure surpassed market expectations as analysts earlier predicted an increase of just a 550,000-unit pace.

Industry experts attributed the surge to a growth in activity in the multifamily sector. Official data showed that construction starts of multifamily homes jumped by almost 30% to an annual rate of 160,000 units last month. Single-family starts, on the other hand, climbed 4.3% to 438,000 units during the same period. The figure is reportedly the highest since June this year.

Meanwhile, new building permits for future home construction increased by 1.8% to a 569,000-unit rate, surpassing earlier predictions by 9,000 units. Like in the case of housing starts, the growth in the number of new building permits was bolstered by a 9.8% increase in the multifamily sector. Permits for single-family homes, however, declined for the fifth-straight month.

Despite the latest development, certain experts believe that it would take quite some time before the housing market fully recovers. “It is reasonable to believe that the post-tax credit plunge in housing activity, both sales and construction, is over, but we do not expect to see a strong recovery any time soon,” said Ian Shepherdson, chief economist of the New York-based High Frequency Economics.

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“While there is still much work to be done, FHA is on a predicted path that will put the agency in a stronger position for the future,” FHA Commissioner David Stevens said.

He made the remarks in a prepared statement he is set to deliver before House of Representatives Financial Services Committee today. The remarks were posted in the FHA website. He also noted that compared to loans made in previous years, the mortgages FHA insured in last year and this year are “much stronger.”

According to an actuarial study released late last year, FHA’s capital reserves stood at only 0.53% of the value of the mortgages it guarantees. It is required by law to have coffers of at least 2% of the mortgage loans it ensures.

As a measure to raise its capital reserves, it was authorized by Congress to triple the annual fees it imposes on borrowers. It can now raise the rate up to a 1.5% over the duration of the loan. Previously, the cap was set at 0.55%. Stevens’ testimony before the House committee today comes a month before the staggered increases on the annual rate are started.

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