Well if you would have came to me about 2 years ago with that question. I would not have hesitated to tell you sue lets find you the house you want and get a offer written. We would have sat down at the office and followed a buyer process that delt with various steps toward home ownership.

After a initial consultation and a few questions on what you were looking for. We would then search the MLS and look around the city for properties that would fit your preferences. Maybe lining up anywhere from 20 to 30 house and then narrowing them down to about 10 and then actually looking at about 5 of them.

After picking what you want we would write a offer on the property and begin to negotiate on price with the listing agent to reach a meeting f the minds to close the deal.
Not even a thought about financing in this scenario. Just going right along with the confidence that that we can get financing because then it would not have been a problem. Credit score at 580 no problem. Debt to income ration marginal,  no problem, low income not quite enough to make the mortgage payment , no problem, no down payment and just enough for closing cost, no problem. Then a person could have all those particulars or a few of them and get down payment assistance and contribution form the seller and get 100% financing and get a loan.

That type of lending is what caused the damage to the housing market. Years of sub-prime lending caught up with us all. Went to the well a fe to many times and now the water has run dry. The cupboard is bare and the funds are locked up tight as a drum.
So you want to buy a house? Can you buy a house? Sure you can. You can still become a home owner and still get down payment assistance and also 100% financing. However you now must be fully qualified and meet the requirements for the risk of lending. Now you have to be and show that you are sound financially. You have to be able to show you have what it takes to be a home owner. You have to show you have paid your bills on time the majority of the time for a period of years. In other words you must have a middle score of 620 or better. You have to show you know how to manage your money. You have to have a debt to income ratio that allows plenty of income to comfortably pay your mortgage. You have to show that you have the ability to save money by having money in the bank even after you have put up the money for a down payment, anywhere from 6% to 20% of the sales price of the property. Those fly by night days of lending are orve and done. Yep you can buy a home but now you must show you got what it takes. Actually the landscape has gone back to the way things used to be. Now the traditional way of purchasing a home having a long term job, paying your bills on time, saving money toward a down payment, then finding a home to purchase.

It was a nice idea trying to make it possible for everyone to have a home. But the result ended in disaster and damaged the market. Not everyone is supposed to have a home because to many people cannot manage their finances as they should. Too many live above their means. This is a drawback of living in a material world. Wanting more than what you can afford.
As a Real Estate Professional I have not given up on the market. If you cross my path and ask for help in buying a home be ready. My first question is what is your middle score? Then how much do you have on have in cash for a down payment closing cost and pre- paids. Then how long have you been on your job and what is your gross income. If you can't answer with good answers well..... it's a no go. I will however help you prepare to purchase if you have the discipline to get it done. Home buying is no picnic anymore.

Well.... I have done it again with one of my web site domains. Reaching #1 page ranking in Google. I did it before with my other domains years ago. It was a webmaster information page. I dropped that domain years ago when I got deface hacked and everything imaginable. Plus I revamped when I got into Real Estate with a concentration of internet marketing with relevance toward Real Estate. When I set up www.jprealestate.info my first real estate domain it shot to the top and had a PR of 2! Sometimes I wonder if PR really matters in regards to Rank in the SERP's. With my excitement I posted it in this blog and also the link. Not sure what happened.. maybe the Google gods got miffed. The site got sandboxed and dropped from the page. For a time I was competing with my local Real Estate web sites with that domain. Getting plenty of web traffic. No convertible leads but at list plenty of lookers.

I was at a loss why it got sand boxed and dropped from the indexing. So I just kept moving setting up my other domains. Knowing that back linking and cross linking them would help because of relevance and content. Next came.. www.compareyourproperty.com www.jamependleton.info and www.mobilealabamarealestate.net The recruiting website took off immediate and got indexed in a matter of days. The recruiting website... my name sake got indexed just as quickly.. the search website got index due to it being a multi page nuke site. mobilealabamarealestate was dropped for a time do to expense constraints but is now back with new mambo layout and functionality.

As I was checking for indexing on all my sites and key word relevance with searches I typed in Compare Your Property. A 3 word search is significant and very hard to rank with. Even more so with a two or one word search. To my surprise my sit popped up #1 out of 13 million pages! How long will it last? I don't have a clue. I am treading lightly this time with no posted links in the blog post back to Google. Only links of the current domains so the Robots will pick them up in this post. I have also made sure I have extensive cross linking between all of the domains. As of now all my domains are indexed and even www.jprealestate.com is listed in the elusive DMOZ Directory.

What next...? Sit back and watch the change for indexing and ranking with the hope my other domains will rank with relevant keywords in order to compete with the other top ranked web site in my area of Mobile Alabama. I know for sure top ranking means web sit traffic and web site traffic mean potential conversions for business. Which is still possible even in today's market. Plus web site can prospect for you while you do other things. I have one of the Best hosts on the internet ... Blue Host. My new Blog networks are off the chain but new and unused. BuddyPress installations located at http://jamespendleton.info/realtor_profiles/register/ and http://www.jprealestate.info/Agent_Articles/ . Any Agent or others interested in starting another blog can sign up and run a blog. I am also looking for potential admins for these systems to help them grow.

My web saga continues..... now 3 years of Real Estate Related web sites built by my own hand

 

Prices are down , funding is there, your home is out there waiting for you. Get up get out and contact a Real Estate person to guide you. The Market in Mobile Al. has never stopped! The prices are right and the sellers are ready to deal. Do it today without delay!

Who says there is a recession. At first when the market was good we are where on top of the world with sellers selling and buyers buying and mortgage people handing out loans like it was no bodies business. Then things began to slide and my phone stopped ringing. It was if everyone just disappeared. No business. We all had to find alternative means to generate income to take care of our families.

Now things are changing and are on a upswing. The power of positive thought is the key. Now I know just thinking about something won't put money in your pocket but I know for sue positive thought can play a major role in what becomes tangible. I have always been a positive person and now believe the RECESSION IS OVER! I actually began that thought a short time after it began. I refused to except my career in Real Estate was dead. I refused to except that there was no business. I weathered the storm and continued to seek new business. I am sure many gave up dropped out and fell by the way side allowing the slow done to make them think it was over.

Well it is not over and the business is there if one continues to push forward and continue to believe it can be down. Determination , persistence and continued effort to find that lead that turn into a transactions is the key. I have pressed on looking for those deals using my skills and abilities to make contacts and write contracts. Granted it is not like it was but some is better than none. I now work to build more momentum continuing to remind my self with positive reinforcement of the fact that the recession is over! Say it with me.. "the recession is over, the recession is over" ... now believe it like me! Reach out for that next lead that turns into a transaction. Now the reality of it come into being with two transactions to close this month. With more leads coming into play for the pipeline. My sponsor agent listing a selling and closing deals generating residual payouts! They also know the recession is over!

So when you here others moaning and groaning about the market and how the recession has killed their business. Don't listen to it and remind them the rescission is over! Share with them positive thoughts and have them say it with you. then each together can continue to bring back the business "On Deal at a Time"

With today's Real Estate Market being a bit flat nation wide. Sellers and potential seller are still holding out on price. Not wanting to reduce the price on their properties thinking they will get the price "they want for a home. Not realizing a home will only sell for what the market will bare. In other words a home is only going to sell for what a buyer will pay for it. Seller have in their mind what they think their house is worth. They may have done upgrade and improvements and drop invested money into the property with the expectation of making that money back when they sell. This also can end up being a bad deal for the seller because the modifications to the home or upgrade may or may not be what a potential buyer deems worthy of a particular price.

Enter the Comparable property Analysis. A way the check the potential value of a home. The comparable are done via statistical data in the surrounding area. Its best not to use to wide of range in miles around a piece of property. CMA cannot be considered information for appraisal but just a professional opinion of how much a home is worth. Most multiple Listing Services provide a wealth of information and computer generated reports. There are many pubic resources for comparing property values. However the problem is that they draw from tax table and keys that are based on assed property value. Most tax fare market values run 15 to 20% below what a property will sell for on the market. The general public is not aware of this fact. Most think that information give them an accurate assessment.

The best way to get your homes value is by using the professional opinion of a Realtor. The other way it to get an appraisal. The appraisal will cost you anywhere from $250 to $400. If you don't want to plunk down that kind of money then you are back to using a Realtor. Most will provide you a professional opinion at no coast. Or at the very least provide you enough information to help you make a decision on just how much you can get for your property. Remember it is not what you think your house is worth. But how much someone else will pay for your house after it is shown. Would you like the profession opinion of a Realtor in the City of Mobile Alabama?

Then visit www.compareyourproperty.com

 I am at your service!

 

Recently my office did a little free seminar on blogging. I was not able to attend due to scheduling issue. However seeing that I have several blogs and web sites I could not resist lending a hand off site. Knowing that blogging and running web sites can be time consuming, I did not expect much turn out. However there was one Agent in my office that did show interest after taking part in the seminar. Daisy asked me about blogging and wanted some help to get started. Well needless to say she did have a start up blog at another web site. However the first thing I did was tell her to forget about it and come on over to activerain! The best Real Estate Network on the internet.

I took her to my main web site and got her over via the referral link know that it would mean a few points. I have been quite busy and not active so why not! Those few point put me over the 8000 range for just the referral. Daisy is not set up as a member and on her way to using the site. I figure she will have a lot more fun and learn alot more about blogging. Not to mention the huge potential of networking with activerain! So lets all welcome Daisy to activerain with some comments and tips and information. Share your experiences here and more !!

 

This is her activerain web site http://activerain.com/exitwithdaisy

 

 

The Market is alive and well in the Atlanta Georgia area. This Luxury home is for sale. 2916 Dunhill Trail WOODSTOCK, GA 30189 4 Bed, 4.5 Bath | MLS ID #3808613 $419,900 Why do I have a home in Atlanta and I am in Mobile? It belong to a relocation I am working with in mobile. The home is on the market in Atlanta. Visit the web page 2916_Dunhill_Trail_WOODSTOCK_GA_30189 and bring your buyer. Contact the agent that has this listing. He is waiting to here from you.

Yes its true to say they are desperate to kick start the economy. With the 700 billion dollar bail out passed and in the works. Now the Fed Chairman kicking around with Bush  and wanting to see another stimulus package of hand out checks to citizens. The talk of buying up Corporate paper to loosen up and release the credit market for Banks.

All this seems to be going for naught right now. Tweaking here and there trying to see what will work. With the only positive effect being the slow down in the economy having a positive effect for the consumer in the lowering of the price of oil that has cascaded down to lowering of gas prices at the pump. Lower gas prices will in no means boost the sluggish economy. With retailers gearing up early for the holiday season with lower prices and sales trying to make sure the holiday season is profitable. Knowing full well its make or break for them during this time of year.

Another stimulus package is not a bad idea from my point of view. What the heck I will take another check from Ol' Uncle Sam. However the last stimulus package had little if no effect on the economy with most citizens taking that money and putting it away or paying off some debt. Not really putting it back into the system with purchase of consumer goods as expected.

My confidence is secure in the ability of the economy and the Country to bounce back. I see it as the natural order of things. We are simply reaching the bottom of natural swings of up and down. Good times and bad times... a natural boom and bust.This country has seen many swing over its life time over the centuries. As time goes by and things improve we will be talking about the days when things were slow. You just can't have it good all the time. There must be swing of up and down.

The Real Estate market Nationally has almost reached its bottom. Probably another year of slide downward in prices as sellers realize they will have to bit the bullet and lower prices in order to move their properties. With pockets around the country still doing well with property values still in appreciation mode. I live and work in one of those pockets here in Mobile. Property values have dropped to some degree. However not as much as the national average. As soon as the credit markets are free the sale of property will resume in earnest. With home buyer having the luxury of being able to pick and choose bargains not seen in years past.

With the country being entrenched in a economic down turn. Volatile stock market and credit bound up. The Real Estate market in Mobile has held its own. Granted there was a bit of a slow down in the market but it was not impacted like the rest of the country. The city of Mobile has plenty of amenities with new industry moving in and innovative leadership that has forward thinking vision of placing Mobile in the position to be a world class city.

Planning controlled growth and expansion with deliberate control on how a what the city and surrounding areas in the County will progress. This steady growth in the Real Estate market in the area is visible with property values holding steady a bit lower but still up. You can buy much more house for your money in the City of Mobile than anywhere else in the country. Instead of being 2 or 3 hours from the beach you are only 10 to 30 minutes from Dauphin Island. 10 to 15 minutes from the many multi cultural activities that take place in the city year round. 10 to 20 minutes from a Cruise Ship that has a permanent home docked right downtown.

New housing starts have remained steady with new construction leading the way. Custom builders and track builders the like have not been swayed by the down turn in the national market and remain confident in selling inventory. Proving buyer incentives to prospective home buyers. The upcoming Parade of homes is a prime example of the confidence in the Mobile housing market. The expectation of job growth is high and the high expectation of new business start ups that are spin offs of new industry.

Things are good down here on the Gulf Coast with the Coty of Mobile leading the way as the National market recovers from the recent down turn. I expect the see overall sales pick up quickly within the next 2 years as the economy recovers from the credit crunch and downturn of the Stock markets. If you are thinking about living on the beautiful Gulf Coast, Mobile Alabama is a best kept secret.