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first time buyers: First Time Buyers need CMA and PITI calculations ---and good photos for a good first impression - 06/14/09 05:38 AM
Before my young first time buyers and I look at properties we do as much research as we can online. But all the research still doesn't adequately prepare them for what to expect once we see properties up close.
A picture doesn't tell the whole story
We saw one property that sort of looked nice in the pictures, but looked so much better when we got there. It had panoramic views of the hills, the bay, and from a distance, San Francisco and the Bay Bridge. This is where a visual tour, or a better selection of pictures could have turned what initially looked … (24 comments)
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first time buyers: First Time Buyers and Distressed Home Sellers -- info you can use - 06/09/09 06:09 PM
Part of my outreach and Client Appreciation Program (CAP) per Working by Referral (Brian Buffini) to clients and associates is to send them an Item of Value.
This time, I digressed from the original and proposed letter, and created one that I felt was pertinent today. Here's what I am getting ready to mail. The difference is that on Active Rain, I am providing links.
CAP Item of Value
This real estate market continues to surprise us: rates are very low, and home prices are finally near "the bottom." The opportunities are still very much right there. And conditions are evolving. There … (2 comments)
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first time buyers: California's Mortgage Protection Program: a cushion for fence-sitting home buyers - 04/04/09 01:56 PM
On April 2, 2009, via the new wires, the California Association of Realtors announced the Mortgage Protection Program "developed to help ease the anxiety of consumers who are concerned about potential job loss."
I had to read and re-read this. According to this announcement:
Provisions:
Through the Housing Affordability Fund Mortgage Protection Program, first-time home buyers who lose their jobs due to layoffs may be eligible to receive up to $1,500 per month, for six months, to help make their mortgage payments.
A qualified co-buyer also can participate in the program, and receive a monthly benefit of $750 per month … (2 comments)
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first time buyers: The buyers are coming! The buyers are coming! - 02/21/09 09:20 PM
To say it's exhilarating is an understatement.
The local news confirms it....although the median prices are lower than they were a year ago, the number of sales increased.
Buyers who were apprehensive months ago, seem to be buoyed by the good news that list prices are lower, the interest rates are still low, there are quite a few properties to choose from, there's room for negotiation, and there are more incentives (tax credits) available for home buyers.
And according to DQNews reports:
California January 2009 Sales Report
An estimated 29,458 new and resale houses and condos were sold in California … (17 comments)
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first time buyers: Freezing rain didn't stop me and my buyers from looking at properties today - 12/21/08 09:43 PM
We were cold, wet and freezing. But today, I had two sets of clients to whom I was going to show several properties. So as long as they're williing to go out, I'm willing to take them.
RAIN, FREEZING RAIN. The rain was relentless. Every time I got out of the car, located the lockbox (which for some reason always seems to be in nearly inaccessible places) took off my gloves to enable me to use the lockbox keys, it was like dipping my hands in a vat of ice water.
Entering vacant properties with no heat provided temporary respite.
MOTHER HELPING DAUGHTER The … (20 comments)
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first time buyers: In escrow three times, backed out three times... - 09/18/08 03:05 AM
My clients who are sisters, are buying their first home together. They're both young, in their twenties. Because of their family background where both parents believed in owning real estate, they have an innate desire to own their own home. They are preapproved, have saved up for their downpayment, and are eager and serious buyers.
I've never seen buyers who exercise as much due diligence as they do in their selection of property, and then in their buyer investigation.
Property 1 was an REO. It was a house with extensive remodeling projects in process, but not completed. We competed against another buyer, … (7 comments)
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first time buyers: First Time Buyers: Here's a perspective --- the history of interest rates since 1973 - 08/04/08 02:33 AM
Working with first time buyers today, as we must already know, is very different from what it was like just 2-3 years ago.
Yesterday, they were afraid they'll lose out by not buying a house --- any house at any rate.
Today, they're afraid they may over pay for a house if the market continues to slide, or the interest rates are too high.
For those who are concerned that the interest rates are "too high" I like to share with them this history of the 30-year mortgage. Perhaps some of us still remember when they were 18%. People literally camped overnight … (0 comments)
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Pacita Dimacali - ePRO, SRES, CDPE, MBA Alain Pinel in Alameda County CA
Oakland,
CA
More about me…
Alain Pinel
Address: 6211 La Salle Ave, Oakland, CA, 94611
Cell Phone: (510) 205-2992
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