What is HAFA! FORECLOSURE isn't the only option!

Texas

Message from Gov. Perry, Lt Gov. Dehurst, Speaker Craddick

Perry, Dewhurst and Craddick: Texas has economic edge 04:30 PM CST on Tuesday, December 16, 2008
Over the past several weeks, the news has been dominated by the worldwide financial crisis and the federal government's response, best described as wildly throwing borrowed money at problems, piling debt on top of debt.
In the midst of this turmoil stands Texas, a state with a remarkably durable economy that has led the nation in exports for six years, is home to more Fortune 500 companies than any other and created half the new jobs in the U.S. over a recent 12-month period.
Inquiring minds that want to know how we got here need look no further than the team approach we have taken to creating a fertile climate for economic development in Texas. When contemplating where to locate a company (and the jobs and investment that go with it), business owners are increasingly drawn to our state's low taxes, sensible regulatory climate and a legal system that protects them from frivolous lawsuits.
Imagine the financial situation our country would be in had the federal government applied the same principles that have made Texas the envy of the nation. America's current circumstances are not unlike those Texas faced in
2003 when we had to solve a $10 billion deficit. Rather than raise taxes or ask for a handout, we balanced the state budget the same way any family or business must: by bringing spending in line with income. Our common-sense solution was certainly unpopular in some quarters, but our willingness to choose the tougher course of action has clearly paid dividends with respect to our state's economic strength.
The unique spirit of teamwork among our three offices has extended through the years into other successful efforts, including overhauling our state's workers' compensation system, implementing innovative job creation vehicles like the Texas Enterprise Fund and investing in research and innovation through the Texas Emerging Technology Fund. In the months to come, we are committed to exploring the full range of options for funding our state's growing infrastructure needs. As teammates, we're not averse to butting heads, but we do so from a place of honest respect in the interest of improving the state we love so much.
The upcoming legislative session provides another opportunity to build on the foundations we established in past years and continue improving the quality of life in Texas. Surely, we face many challenges along the way, including unnecessary meddling by the federal government and costly mandates imposed by Congress. Our plan is to keep working together.
In the upcoming legislative session, we will remain focused on keeping the wheels of the Texas economy turning and Texans working. That includes greater efforts to ensure more deserving young people can afford college and that their education prepares them for an increasingly high-tech workplace.
We must also explore ways to further streamline our regulatory environment so we don't kill off companies already weakened by these tough times.
Our state's future economic viability also depends on our ability to provide Texas families, businesses, churches and schools the energy they need. We will strengthen our state's position as an energy leader with an all-of-the-above approach including nuclear, fossil fuels, wind, solar and more. These deliberate steps, shaped by careful planning, spirited debate and a shared passion for our state, will keep Texas moving forward.
We firmly believe our state's number one resource is Texans. Our job is to provide them an environment that encourages their success then get out of their way so they can do what Texans do best: work hard, take risks and create jobs. As leaders, but more importantly as Texans, we remain united in our efforts to maintain our economic edge and enhance the future prosperity of our great state.
Texas Gov. Rick Perry, Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst and Speaker of the House Tom Craddick co-authored this commentary.

Builders a good source for great deals

Housing price changes

Percentage change in home prices in June 2008 compared to year earlier in each market.
Atlanta -8.1%
Boston -5.2%
Charlotte -1.0%
Chicago -9.5%
Cleveland -7.3%
Dallas -3.2%
Denver -4.7%
Detroit -16.3%
Las Vegas -28.6%
Los Angeles -25.3%
Miami -28.3%
Minneapolis -13.9%
New York -7.3%
Phoenix -27.9%
Portland -5.8%
San Diego -24.2%
San Francisco -23.7%
Seattle -7.1%
Tampa -20.1%
Washington -15.7%
20-city composite -15.9%
SOURCE: Standard & Poor's and Fiserv

Dallas housing, while slumping slightly, is still one of the strongest housing markets in the country. For more information about your home either call me or sign up for my market snapshot service.

Market Snapshot-what's your home worth?

Foreclosures

Of the 45 million mortgages in the United States....
- .99% of them are in a foreclosure status
- 6.35% of them are in default (at least 30+ days late)
- 6.7 million distressted properties (owners are in default or foreclosure)

Of those that are in danger of foreclosure, only 2 of 8 will seek assistance from a Realtor.

Who do you know that may be having problems paying their mortgage? My real estate team can assist with selling a home for less that what a borrower owes.

Link to area home sales for 2008

The first half of the years real estate results are in and it confirms what I have seen in the market. Sales are down. In some parts of DFW, they are down dramatically. However, a good marketing program, a house priced correctly and in good repair will help move you house quickly. This isn't a market to hold out for a high return on your equity. It is a market to just get it sold.

Click here to go to the link

Showing houses in the heat with children

The temperature is definatley starting to reach the tripple digits here in the DFW area. This can pose challenges for those that aren't used to looking at homes in the heat. I recomend looking in the mornings and lateevenings to avoid the heat stresses that accompany looking for a home.

If you have your house listed and have no electric in your home to run the a/c, you might as well mark your home as "UNSOLD". Buyers do not spend time in hot houses. No matter how great you think your home is, if it's not cool, the buyer has a perception that the house has cooling issues.

Also, if you have small children, try to find someone to watch them. When I was a kid, I would have hated being dragged around all day long looking at houses. It will help you, as a buyer, conentrate on your home search too!

Marketing plan for your home!

In this stagnant real estate market, you CAN get your home sold! What does it take? Well, price is going to be the most important aspect of getting a home sold, HOWEVER, a well crafted marketing plan is just as important.

My marketing plan examines every avenue that a buyer will find your house for sale. Yard signs, print advertising, direct mail, point of sale marketing, call capture systems, extensive online marketing are just some of the many tools that my team uses to get homes sold successfully.

Discount brokers

Online and fee-for-service brokers have become a very popular way for some individuals to list their homes. However, just know that in everything (ESPECIALLY real estate) you definatley get what you pay for.

I took a listing recently that had been listed with Buy Owner for over a year. The sellers paid over $2000 to get Buy Owner to ship them a crude sign, a dvd of how to sell your home and that's about it. After a year, and having the ugly buy owner sign fade, the sellers called me because they were at a loss for what to do. I listed their home and sold it in less than a month.

Now, it would be great if I could collect $2000 up front and then the house never sells. Is there a chance it could sell? Sure, but next time you see a buy owner sign, call the numbers and see if anyone even picks up the phone after 5 p.m. or at all on the weekends.

A professional like myself gets paid when we have done our job. That job is to market and sell your home. If you do use a discount broker, you need to be aware of how to negotiate, market your home, structure a deal that will close, hire the right title company, apraiser, surveyor, inspector and you need to know to look for in the TREC real estate contract.

Choosing the right lender

Choosing the correct lender to help you through your home purchase is as important as choosing the right real estate agent.

I just closed a deal where I represented the seller. The buyers had a lender that left $900 of closing costs "on the table". The sellers had agreed to give a certain amount back to the buyers. However, these closing costs are closely regulated and strictly spelled out in the real estate contract. The buyers lender had over a month to get his job done. They, like many lenders, left everything to the last minute.

Long story short, there was a $900 mistake that the buyers had to eat. The sellers came out with $900 more. This is just one small example of how a lenders inability to get their job done can cost a buyer.

Average Joe Still Can't Afford a House

Article attributed to Bankrate.com

Between 2000 and mid-2007, the median home price soared 64.9% to $229,200. The median income, meantime, rose just 16.6%. For would-be buyers, the math doesn't work.
One of the worst things about today's real estate market is that there doesn't seem to be any silver lining in that big black cloud.
Normally, you'd think dramatically falling prices would make homeownership possible for more moderate-income families.
But even with homes more affordable, the median price in many markets is still out of reach for a median-income family, according to "Paycheck to Paycheck: Wages and the Cost of Housing in America," a study by the Center for Housing Policy, or CHP, in Washington, D.C.
Comparing housing costs in 210 metropolitan areas with the wages earned by workers in 60 occupations, the study found that homeownership is often unaffordable for workers in each of the five-fastest growing occupations -- registered nurses, retail salespeople, customer-service representatives, food-preparation workers and office clerks. Registered nurses, who typically have high salaries, were unable to purchase a median-priced home in 108 of the markets.
"Even with the housing downturn, the drop in prices still just isn't enough for many workers in traditional backbone occupations to afford houses," says Rebecca Cohen, a CHP research associate.
In many parts of the country, housing increases have outpaced wage growth for almost a decade. Census data released in 2006 revealed that between 2000 and 2005, the burden of housing costs grew sharply.
The Housing Affordability Index measures the cost of housing against median family income. The National Association of Realtors, or NAR, which calculates the index, considers that the typical family makes enough money to buy the typical used home, assuming a 20% down payment and a traditional 30-year mortgage.
In 2000, the NAR pegged the index at 129.2, meaning the typical family had 129% of the income necessary to pay for the typical used house. That figure dropped to 104.9 in June 2007, even though the 2000 median family income of $50,732 rose to $59,157 during the period.
That's because the median price of a home in 2000 was $139,000, but by June 2007 prices peaked at a whopping $229,200. In those seven years, the median price of homes increased 64.9%, while median incomes rose just 16.6%.

To discount or not to discount

One Realtor offers to list your house (that’s “market your house in an attempt to get it sold” in the real world) for 6% commission; the next person you interview will do it for 5%. No brainer decision, right?

Give it some careful thought.

As I explained in some excruciating detail in a former post, the listing agent collects all of the commission for both the Buyer’s and Seller’s sides of a transaction. In Albuquerque right now, you offer 3% to the Buyer’s representative or you can pretty much forget about your house ever being shown. That means the agent willing to take 5% will collect 2% for herself and give 3% away. That same agent didn’t HAVE to take 5%. In fact, she may have other listings at 5.5%, 6%, 7%, etc.

On a typical morning, after getting the kids off to school, going to the gym, showering, starting a load of laundry, taking something out to defrost for dinner, eating some bon bon’s she finds in the freezer next to the peas (ah, the leisurely life of the Realtor), she gets going on some "real" work.

Looking at her listing inventory, she (perhaps subconsciously) sees her work in this way:

House 1 (YOUR house) – 5% commission, 2% to her
House 2 – 5% commission, 2% to her
House 3 – 6% commission, 3% to her
House 4 – 6% commission, 3% to her
House 5 – 7% commission, 4% to her

As Homeowner #1, where do you think you rank in your Realtor’s list of priorities for the day?

$3000 paid for buyers closing costs by seller

This beautiful starter home is in move-in-condition. Wonderful mature landscaping , recent interior paint upgrades, large bedrooms, ceramic tile and a huge secondary living area are just some of the amenities that make this home one of the best values in the area. The seller is also willing to pay up to $3,000.00 of the buyers closing costs with a full-price offer in addition to the many amazing features that this light, bright and airy home has to offer.

For more information call:

1-800-284-0913 x 3069

A Critical Guide to Home Loans

Your Options and How They Affect Your Future

These tips are to help assist you in evaluating which mortgage is best for you. For further details on each of these guidelines, please call our hotline at

1-800-284-0913 x 5078.



1. First Things First -- Know What You Can Afford.

You can save yourself a lot of time and trouble if you take a few minutes to figure out the loan amount you can afford.


2. Avoid Unpleasant Surprises.

Once you know about any potential porblems, you can work on clearing them up before you apply.


3. Shopping for a Mortgage Lender.

Something also to remember- a mortgage broker is the legal agent of his or her client and does not work for the lending institution.


4. What a REALTOR Can Do For You.

A good real estate professional has long-standing relationships with home mortgage professionals and can point you in the right direction to answer any questions you have.


5. Which Loan Is Right For You?

With Adjustable-Rate Mortgages, ALWAYS assume the "worst case" scenario: Assume that your loan will always rise the maximum amount.

Fixed-rate mortgages make the most sense when interest rates are low and if you're planning to stay put for the next seven or more years.

Graduated-payment mortgages are more of a risk. Your early payments are so low that they don't cover the interest due, which results in negative amortization.

If you're a first-time homebuyer who plans to trade up before the loan comes due, you might ask your REALTOR about a balloon mortgage.

"The smart buyer makes sure to know exactly how much he or she can afford to borrow before beginning to look at homes."

For more information on selling or purchasing a home, feel free to call the hotline: 1-800-284-0913 x 5078