May 2008

ELLIOTT® DEBUTS NEW WEB SITE

Due to a recent focus on diversification of services and for a fresh, contemporary look, ELLIOTT® has totally redesigned its Web site. As before, the new company Web site can be viewed at www.appraisalsanywhere.com. Check us out.

“In addition to appraisals, our new ELLIOTT® Web site emphasizes other services the company performs, including evaluations, research, consultation and representation performed by our real estate professionals,” said Company President Charlie Elliott.

RISKIEST MARKETS IDENTIFIED

A study by Forbes magazine has listed the 10 riskiest markets of the 40 largest markets in the United States. The researchers involved look at the markets’ economy, foreclosure rates, housing sales and lending decisions.

In the order of greatest risk to mortgage lenders the markets listed were (1) Detroit, (20 Orlando, (3) Cleveland, (4) St. Louis, (5) Miami, (6) Las Vegas, (7) Sacramento, (8) Denver, (9) Tampa and (10) Phoenix.

HOUSING SLOWDOWN ALSO HITS EUROPE

The drop in housing prices that have occurred in parts of California, Florida and other areas of the United States are also happening in many parts of Europe. Spain and Great Britain, particularly Ireland, are seeing housing price declines in areas where these values have been rising rapidly in past decades.

In Spain, over 4 million homes have been built in the past decade. That’s more homes that have gone up in Britain, France and Germany combined during the same time frame. Lately, property values have dropped more than 15% in that country. Experts fear that a rash of foreclosures will hit this part of the world like it has the USA.

“The problems in the U.S. are being transmitted to Europe,” said Michael Ball, professor of urban and property economics at the University of Reading, a British school. “What’s happening now is a lot more grief than we expected.”

ASK MARTITIA

QUESTION:  Under what circumstances should someone comply with USPAP?

MARTITIA: It is best to comply with USPAP (Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Standards) at all times when performing real estate appraisals. One must comply with USPAP when required by law, regulation or agreement, which applies to most real estate appraisals. When someone represents himself or herself as an appraiser, following USPAP is optional, but that person has an ethical responsibility to do so.

Martitia Mortimer, Elliott’s executive vice president, answers appraisal questions on a regular basis in Elliott Appraisal News.

QUOTES

"If you pick up a starving dog and make him prosperous, he will not bite you. This is the principal difference between a dog and a man." - Mark Twain

"The man who is swimming against the stream knows the strength of it." - Woodrow Wilson

"Education is the ability to listen to anything without losing your temper or self-confidence.”
                                                                                                                               - Robert Frost

"One reason I don’t drink is that I want to know when I am having a good time." - Nancy Astor

"The more you chase money, the harder it is to catch it." - Mike Tatum

"It is wise to remember that you are one of those who can be fooled some of the time." - Laurence Peter

"Beliefs are what divide people. Doubt unites them." - Peter Ustinov

"Socialism failed because it couldn’t tell the economic truth; capitalism may fail because it couldn’t tell the ecological truth."
                                                                                                                                                                                     - Lester Brown
"Power is holding someone else’s fear in your hand and showing it to the." - Amy Tan

"The secret of eternal youth is arrested development." - Alice Roosevelt Longworth

Newsletter Editor: kevin@elliottco.com
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