Miss The Federal Housing Tax Credit? Here Is Your Chance!
Many people missed the federal housing tax credit that ended a few months ago at the end of April this year. I personally met a good amount of potential buyers that were interested in purchasing a home and according to them they were motivated by the possibility of receiving the federal housing tax credit. It seems that now that the tax credit is no longer being offered many of those people are no longer interesting in purchasing home or at least would like to wait a little bit longer. Why I ask?
During the time that the tax credit was offered, Jan 1st 2009 to may 1st 2010 the interest rates did fluctuate. From my research I found the interest rates were at a high of about 5.75% and a low of about 4.75%. During this period I’m not sure how many of the people who purchased homes were waiting for the rates to go down or if they were mainly focused on closing before the tax credit deadline, My guess is the latter. Read more
It’s not what they offer, it’s what you walk away with that counts!
When it comes to buying or selling a property, the conventional wisdom is that it’s all about the offer price and that certainly is a big part of the picture. However, a seller really needs to think about what they will walk away with, or rather, what they will NET; after all selling expenses are paid out. As a seller you have to make decisions that in the long run may end up costing you money. Read more
Fannie Mae Short Sale Webinar
Do you know what a short sale is?
Doing a routine search for properties today I came across a very good 20 minute video on what is a short sales put on by Fannie Mae. We have been working with short sales for over a year and have had the explanations given and have had the explanation received many many times already but this is short and good. The slides are good and to the point the Audio is clear and crisp it is short enough for clients to get through without losing focus.
As a client I would believe this more than an agent i just met because we all recognize the name Fannie Mae and with all the government oversight they are receiving they have to watch their P’s and Q’s. Read more
Negotiation Skills – The Most Important Reason to Hire a Professional Realtor
Today has been a nerve wracking day. I have a home listed here in Brisbane that has been on the market for a couple of months. During that time, there have been 2 people who have consistently expressed serious interest. Earlier this week, one of them finally stepped up to the plate and brought us an offer. We went back and forth with counter offers and then yesterday, when my Sellers were all set to sign the most recent counter, the phone rang. Of course, it was the agent for the other interested party! He finally had his ducks in a row and was ready to bring an offer. Would we wait until today at noon before accepting the other offer? Alrighty, then. After conferring with my clients and weighing our options, we decided to wait.
It is now almost 4:30 and, needless to say, the noon deadline has long since passed. I know that the agent met with his client at 1:00 p.m., but I still don’t have an offer in hand and his calls are going straight to voice mail. Aaaaaaah! Read more
Is it a good time to Move Up?
Everyone’s question these days seems to be “Is now the right time to buy”? I have come up with a chart that helps you make the decision if now is the right time to buy!
Current Home New Home
|
Sell |
Spread (What it would cost you to move) |
Buy |
|
$100K |
$100K |
$200K |
|
(Value appreciates 10%) $110K |
$110K |
$220K |
|
(Value depreciates 10%) $ 90K |
$ 90K |
$180K |
The above chart is an example of a “move-up” buyer determining whether it is a good time to purchase an upgrade property.
Now ask yourself this question… “When does it make more sense to move up- when prices have gone up less or when they’ve gone down more?”
If you have answered when prices go down, you are the lucky winner!!!! You profit the most when the spread is less. So whether you are discouraged that you don’t have enough equity or down payment in order to move, ask yourself this question….
“If you don’t feel you can move up comfortably now, how will you be able to do so when prices go up further?”
***One last thing to ponder… When interest rates go from 6% to 7.5% the prices of homes would have to go down 14.7% in order to keep the same monthly payment.
What is TDS?
“What is TDS?” my client asked. It is a 3 page Transfer Disclosure Statement which the seller is required by law to fill out. The main purpose is for the sellers to disclose to the buyers anything they know about the condition of the house. 
Read more
Knock Knock is anyone Home? (I hope not)
Should a Seller be present when a Buyer is previewing their home? As an experienced Buyer’s and Seller’s agent, I understand both sides. I believe it is in the best interest of both the Buyer and Seller for the Seller not to be present at a showing (unless in some understandable circumstances) I like to use the simple analogy of when one goes to the store to buy a pair of pants. We look around for what we like, we see if we could afford it, and then we try it on (the most important part, if it doesn’t fit, we don’t want it). Now when shopping for a house the part where we try it on is when we are previewing the home (the most important part) When Buyer’s are Read more
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