Most buyers in today's market are concerned about getting a good deal. This really is no different than most markets, but there seems to be a special emphasis placed on the "deal" now.

So, here are the steps to making sure that you get the best deal possible:

1. Negotiate the best mortgage terms possible.
2. Make sure that you understand what you and your partner are looking for in a home.
3. Rate the homes that you see so there is no confusion about homes that should stay on the short list or not be considered any longer.
4. When you narrow in on a home, talk to the neighbors to get the real scoop about the house and the neighborhood. Questions should range from security to schools to why the sellers are moving to has there ever been anything wrong with the home. I like to talk to 3 neighbors.
5. Inspect the home with your eye for obvious issues: basement leaking, crawl space issues, leaks on the inside, erosion of soil, driveway issues etc...
6. If the seller is providing a seller's disclosure, calculate the age of the depreciable items that represent a value in the home's price. Roof, heating and air units, hot water heater, appliances, etc...
7. Look at the comparables in the neighborhood but don't compare the surface facts. Study the expired listings, pending sale listings and sold listings and also look at the tax records for square footage.
8. Don't compare foreclosures to this property if it is a resale. Many foreclosures have repairs that need to be made to the property that will not be included in your findings.
9. Visit the school system whether or not you have a child or your child will be attending the school. Buying in a bad school district is a fatal flaw for resale in the future. You can research school scores online as well.
10. Investigate any land that surrounds the home that is vacant with the county to know for sure what the zoning is and who owns the property.
11. Make a clean offer to the seller that does not include closing costs and personal items. After you work on the price, you can add additional items to the price by raising the price. The seller will not mind because the net to him will remain the same.

 Of course an experienced agent can really help you with this process. We have a ton of tools that we provide our buyers to help them with the details of this and of course we walk you through every step.

The bottom line is that the best deal does not mean just the price, it also means what is the best deal for you personally.

Good luck and happy house hunting.

I need a contract negotiator for my listings full time.  This is an office job for someone who wants a lot of experience quickly. 

Basically, this is an awesome job and I need help now!

Contact me soon if you know someone or you want the job.

The home buyer credit that buyers need to be aware of today is a home buyer tax credit of the greatest proportions in U.S. history and the home buyer credit isn't just coming from the United States Federal government. It is additionally coming from many states in the U.S. For instance, Georgia now has an $1,800 credit for home buyers. Although this credit is known, as a first time home buyer credit, the restriction of first time is a little loose as well because first time simply means that you have not owned a home in the last three years. However, in both of these plans, buyers must act quickly and close by November 30, 2009.

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, which is $8,000 combined with the Georgia $1,800 home buyer credit is now combined easily with Duffy Realty's home buyer credit, which is another credit up to 1.5% of the sales price.

Here is a quick run-down of the homebuyer credit for each of these plans:

U.S. Home Buyer Credit

• The homebuyer credit is for first-time homebuyers only. For the tax credit program, the IRS defines a first-time homebuyer as someone who has not owned a principal residence during the three-year period prior to the purchase.
• The tax credit does not have to be repaid.
• The tax credit is equal to 10 percent of the home's purchase price up to a maximum of $8,000.
• The credit is available for homes purchased on or after January 1, 2009 and before December 1, 2009.
• Single taxpayers with incomes up to $75,000 and married couples with incomes up to $150,000 qualify for the full tax credit.

Georgia Home Buyer Credit -NEEDS TO HAVE BULLETS!

• All purchasers of an eligible single family residence in Georgia that file a Georgia income tax return can claim the credit. You do not have to be a first time homebuyer.
  The tax credit is limited to the purchase of one single family residence including condos. However, the residence must have been: occupied at the time of sale, or previously occupied residences, if such residences:
  - Were for sale prior to the effective date (5/11/09) and were still for sale after the effective date;
  * Owner-occupied residences with respect to which the owner's acquisition debt is in default on or before March 1, 2009; and
  * Residences with respect to which a foreclosure event has taken place and which are owned by the mortgagor or the mortgagor's agent.
  Buyers must close between June 1, 2009 and November 30, 2009.
  The tax credit will be for 1.2% of the purchase price, with a maximum credit of $1,800 (whichever is less). Homes purchased for $150,000 or more will receive a maximum of $1,800.

There are no income limits applicable to this credit.

Duffy Realty Home Buyer Credit

• Applies to all homes purchased by Duffy Realty clients.
• There is no timeframe in which a buyer must close.
• Buyers earn up to 1.5% of the purchase price based on the amount of time buyers spend looking at houses.
• Credit is paid at closing by reducing closing costs or a check will be written to buyer 5 days after closing.

All of these plans have paid buyers millions of dollars in incentives. Don't miss this opportunity because you did know or understand this process. If the government and Duffy Realty want to give you an incentive to purchase, why wouldn't you do it?

Here are a few of the reasons to buy a home before the homebuyer credits expire.

1. Interest rates are at an all-time low.
2. House prices are suppressed.
3. You receive huge homebuyer credits that can equal a large portion of your purchase price.
4. Home ownership brings more pride to an individual than any other purchase.
5. You will build stable roots for yourself and your family.

If you have more specific questions, we strongly encourage you to consult a qualified tax advisor or legal professional about your unique situation.

I recently has a client do a video testimonial for my by email - cool concept. 

And, he noticed that I have worked hard to make my process work to sell homes and lessen the client confusion that many clients feel. 

http://tinyurl.com/Duffy-Testimonial

Take a look and see what you think.

My family and I are going to Cancun next Tuesday.  I would like to hook up with a referral company that I can advertise on my website.  And, I would like to use the trip as a buisness write off.  We will for sure be having our annual meeting for my S-Corp there.

Any ideas on how I can hook up with a referral company in Mexico?

And now this has me thinking, since they are in Mexico (another country) I should be able to receive a referral fee outside of the brokerage rules in the U.S.?

This really does not apply to me because I am the broker anyway, but I am just thinking today.

I have been holding city wide open houses for my listings since January of this year.  My sellers hold the houses open, willingly, and I think that the energy creates some hope for them. 

I run ads on the radio and advertise on the web for these open houses. 

Of course I have to teach my sellers what to do, what to say etc... but I think that they greatly appreciate that something is happening. 

The buyers too seem to map out the listings that they want to see and they report that they like the no pressure of being able to look and educate themselves for when they are ready to buy - which I hope is soon!

I have been doing some writing lately and I can not figure this one question out. 

What do buyers want in the early stages of looking for homes?

Most of the buyers that call my office certainly don't want us pushing them to use us.  They seem aloof as if they really didn't want to speak to anyone and most of them say "Not yet."

So what do you think that we can do to snag these buyers quicker and with more ease?

In today's economy (whatever that means?) a new restaurant has opened in my area.  We only have 7 restaurants and it would be great if this one was good.  It is an Italian restaurant and on the menu it talks about Stadium food?

Today we went to eat lunch.  The spaghetti sauce was bland and had no texture.  The waitress asked how the meal was and I was honest and told her it sucked. 

The owner came over and I told him about the sauce - which I would think is going to be used in every dish and he told me that his head chef on Saturday mornings did not know how to make the sauce good and that he slacks on putting in the fresh tomatoes and spices.

If this is the case, why exactly does he work there?

So much conflict, deaths and freaked out people out there that I just had to look at the moon to see if it is full today? 

It seems strange out there like some people are in a fog while others are just freaked out.  I want this "phase" to pass and let's hurry up and get back to personal growth, personal responsiblity and just plain making progress.

So many of my agents and friends are losing parents, out of the blue and all at once.  So many people are scared about going backwards in their finances and others are just plain malicious. 

Where are we headed?

I was at my kid's swim meet today.  What I learned is that my kids are really good at some strokes but suck at others.  Unfortunately, when they swim in the relay and they do a stroke that they are not good at, they bring their whole team down. 

Is this typical of the agent who can't do all of the transaction A to Z?

It is imperative that an agent be able to do all strokes.