A new website offers you a chance to rate your current neighborhood or a neighborhood that you’re considering for its car dependence.  WalkScore.com allows you to score an address for its walk-ability. Just enter the address and press enter and WalkScore.com will score the address for walk-ability and convenience to businesses, schools, libraries, restaurants, etc..

Check out an address at http://www.walkscore.com

Charles Kraus, Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage

ck@mris.com;

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Seller Controls and Agent Provides Oversight

1. Price
2. Condition/Staging
3. Accessibilty
4. Extras
5. Seller Financing

Market Controls and Agent Interprets

1. Location
2. Housing Market Conditions
3. Mortgage Market

Agent Controls

1. Marketing 

Seems like everytime I go out to show a buyer client property, we're are looking at a lot of short sale and REO inventory among the properties we see. Condition is often factor in the short sale and REO properties and most buyers, especially first time home buyers, don't want or can't afford to tackle a lot of repairs and fix-ups.

Occasionally you'll find a property where the seller has lots of equity. This could be for a variety of reasons, like length of ownership, amount of down payment when they bought or just good financial management. When you are fortunate enough to find one of these properties, it can be a great buy because the seller has the wherewithal to make the price competitive. If the condition is great and if the balance of the buyers needs like location and lifestyle needs, etc. are met, you may have found a pearl.

These opportunities are out there and whereas they may not be abundant, your buyer client will be very happy that you have been diligent when you find a great property. If you have been looking for a while and haven't identified the right property yet, keep an eye on properties you've already seen. Often those sellers will reduce their price over time and sometimes more than once.

One thing is for sure, every day brings changes to the marketplace and as Realtors we will rise to the challenge, delivering the best professional service possible to our clients and customers that we can.

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A very good friend of mine recently sent me a post from his blog were he commented on the rise of support for the idea of 100 year mortgages. On face value it seems a little preposterous, however it does offer the option of allowing people to refinance and stay in homes on which the may be facing foreclosure at much lower payments and at the same time offer a transparent way to expand home ownership. The article my friend sites says that while opponents decry the lack of equity building in such an arrangement, is it any worse than consigning people to rent where they have no chance of equity at all? At least if they had ownership even with a 100 year mortgage, they may have the chance for equity if the market improves in time as it has historically in the past. Perhaps it is an idea whose time has come.

The recent legislation that Congress sent to the President, which he signed eliminates a program that many first time buyers have relied on and will miss once it is phased out on October 1st, 2008. Many banks are already pulling back from these seller funded down payment assistance programs in advance of the October 1st, 2008 date.

Ameridream, The Genesis Program and Nehemiah among the seller funded down payment assistance programs will fade into the sunset and be replaced by a federal tax credit that appears as if it will fall short of the job these programs acheived. There is a grass roots effort to fight off the demise of these programs.

Here's a reprint from a Nehemiah Email announcing the grass roots effort to save the program.

If you feel as I do that this is an important program to help buyers acheive home ownership, please take the time to get involved and voice your support!

Nehemiah Corporation of America announced the launch of www.DPAGroundSwell.org, a web-based community established to mobilize the growing industry opposition to the October 1 ban on seller-funded downpayment assistance (SF-DPA).  The ban on these programs was written into law by President Bush when he signed H.R. 3221 Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008 on July 30, 2008. 

The site will bring together families and individual homeowners as well as industry groups and local members of the real estate market including brokers, bankers, lenders, homebuilders and others to provide a central information and communication hub to fight the ban.

 Importantly, the site enables visitors to directly contact local representatives and offer support for a bill introduced by Representatives Maxine Waters, Gary Miller, Al Green and Christopher Shays on July 31, 2008, that would reinstate SF-DPA.  If passed and signed into law, the FHA Seller-Financed Downpayment Reform and Risk-Based Pricing Authorization Act of 2008 (H.R. 6694) will allow downpayment assistance to continue indefinitely.

Elizabeth,

You seen to make the real estate industry's point in your recent article, "All's Well in the State of Denial",  http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/12/15/AR2007121500025.html?nav=rss_realestate  that the media is using the current housing market problems to make news and sell advertising. Seems we're both in the sales industry. While it may not be a good time to buy a home if one is only going to live in it for 2 or 3 years, it is a good time to buy if you're looking to buy for the long-term.

The hot market of 2003 - 2005 had buyers clambering to purchase property during the hot market at prices and terms advantageous totally in favor of the seller. Buyers need to ask themselves if it is better to buy in that sort of market or in the current market, where sellers will be willing to capitulate to the buyer's demands for price and terms advantageous to the buyer.

The U.S. Census Bureau reported that U.S. population passed 300 million in 2006. At the same time they predicted that U.S. population would double to 600 million by 2043. Simply supply and demand dictates that real estate will rise in value over the long term. So, yes it may not be a great time to buy a home if one is looking to purchase for the short term, but it is if one is buying for the long term.

Finally, one needs to understand that it is the Realtor community's duty to protect the interests of property owners and that includes trying to keep a positive attitude. We all understand why crying "wolf" gets attention, but that is not something that the Realtor community sees as being responsible behavior. We try to analyze the market from the statistics. No one has the crystal ball that will accurately predict the future, otherwise we'd all have ample shares of Microsoft and Google. So, if you think the Realtor community is Pollyanna, that's okay. I see this as a glass half full / glass half empty scenario and the Realtor Community's glass is half full.

That's my opinion.

Regards,

Charles Kraus, GRI

Associate Broker

RE/MAX Experts

Financial news in the last few days have revealed that conforming mortgage interest rates are near a 2 year low. Add to that the fact that according to a report from the National Association of Realtors inventory levels of unsold homes are at their highest in 22 years; a 5.1% drop in the national median sales price; buyers have the opportunity to buy a home at lower prices and with lower payments because of the combined conditions. Even real estate mogul Donald Trump has said that the next six months is a great time to buy real estate.

Conforming mortgage loans have limits of $417,000. Non-conforming Jumbo loans which are over $417,000, have been affected by the sub-prime mortgage problems, but there have been more attractive jumbo loan products coming onto the market in recent days. The venerable FHA mortgage loan has seen many enhancements and improvements and is a good choice for many home buyers. Congress is currently working on more positive changes to the FHA Mortgage program and hopefully will agree on finalization of those changes soon. The primarily change for which to watch will be an increase in the FHA loan limit.

Some states (NV, MI, CA, MA, RI, AZ, FL) will face a more difficult turnaround due to the number of sub-prime loans and high foreclosure rates. Joint Federal goverment and Bank intervention seems unlikely to help more than a small percentage (if it happens at all) of homeowners facing foreclosure. That's a real shame because lack of government oversight, Bank and Wall Street greed are the direct cause of the plight of folks saddled with mortgages that were made available to them which now have them staring down the barrel of foreclosure.

Thoughts on investing in real estate when buying a prinicipal residence

Many people are expressing an interest in waiting for the market to finish bottoming. Well, I'm not sure that anyone has that crystal ball, but one thing you can be sure of and that is that things will go back up in time. Someone once said "Buy low and sell high". Now is the time to buy!

FYI -

2006 - US Census announces that US population reaches 300,000,000.

2006 - US Census announces that US Population estimated to reach 600,000,000 by 2043.

Quote: "Buy land. They ain't making any more of the stuff." Will Rogers

Quote: "Well, real estate is always good as far as I'm concerned. Donald Trump - On investing.