Patti Lawton 's Blog

Energy Star Guidelines

Patti Lawton (Welcome Home Realty, Inc.) — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 09:20:10 -0800

New and Improved Engergy Star guidelines, the 3rd generation, are coming soon to raise the bar to stay relevant. If your'e an NAR Green Designee go to www.greenresourcecountil.org to view yestersday's informative webinar. Additional information can be found at www.energystar.gov under For Residential Professionals. As they said, "it's our tax money-steal at will" Use the information there to help promote Green Building and Green Renovation

Go Green Expo

Patti Lawton (Welcome Home Realty, Inc.) — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 14:37:06 -0700

Midcoast Maine November Events

Patti Lawton (Welcome Home Realty, Inc.) — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 15:13:26 -0700

Brunswick - Farmer's Market - Runs every Tuesday and Friday through November 27^th on the Downtown Green from 8:00 am to 2:00 pm

Brunswick - Arts Downtown & All Around runs from December 4^th - December 6^th. Arts Downtown & All Around ushers in the holiday season with a 3 day showcase of regional artists that includes fifty open studios, gallery exhibits, and group shows in Bath, Brunswick, Bowdoinham and surrounding towns as well as a dozen performances including dance and theater. More than 100 artists participate in the 12th annual Arts Downtown & All Around, which is sponsored by Five Rivers Arts Alliance. http://www.fiveriversartsalliance.org

Bath - Early Bird Sale - the early shopper will get the savings on Saturday November 7^th from 6 to 9AM in Downtown Bath. Details vary per store.

Bath - Ring in the Season at the United Church of Christ on Congress Ave on November 21^st at 7:30PM. Enjoy Holiday music with organist Ray Cornils, harpist Jara Goodrich, the Parish Bellringers and the Maine Chamber Ensemble. www.oratoriochorale.org

Bath - Children's Tree Lighting, Jingle Bell Walk and Visit with Santa at the Library Park Gazebo on Washington Street from 3-5PM on November 28^th. Children are encouraged to bring handmade ornaments to hang on the tree. After a short ceremony, walk with Santa to City Hall for a visit, photos, caroling and refreshments.

Bath - Gingerbread Social on November 28^th from 12:00 to 4:00 at the Cosmopolitan Club, 894 Washington Street. Come for homemade Gingerbread and hot chocolate. $4 per person plus a food donation. Canned goods and other donations will also be accepted to benefit the Bath Food Pantry.

Tax Credit Extension/Expansion

Patti Lawton (Welcome Home Realty, Inc.) — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 12:44:04 -0700

Fellow REALTORS:

NAR's Federal Political Coordinators are in Washington DC right now urging Congress to act now on the tax credit. If you haven't yet sent a letter to your Representatives and Senators, please go to the REALTOR® Action Center now and answer the call. We are so close - please keep pushing!

http://takeaction.realtoractioncenter.com/campaign/hbtc?qp_source=dotorg&LID=RONav0019

GPS tips

Patti Lawton (Welcome Home Realty, Inc.) — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 12:44:47 -0700

I read this a few weeks ago and as a new GPS user (and yes, I still have my maps in the car) I tried it out last weekend when showing homes a bit out of my comfort area. SO glad I did as I looked like I knew each and every back road like the back of my hand.

When traveling to multiple locations program in all possible destinations prior to leaving. It's so much easier than trying to add in while traveling, or between locations. If traveling out of your area and bringing your GPS with you, program in airport, hotel, restaurants etc.

Any other tips for a newbie?

Time is running out......

Patti Lawton (Welcome Home Realty, Inc.) — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 10:20:21 -0700

Created by OnePlusYou

So you want to save the commission?

Patti Lawton (Welcome Home Realty, Inc.) — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 14:51:11 -0700

Via Dr. Chantal Saucier (Keller Williams Realty Acadiana):

One comment we often hear as real estate professionals is "I'm selling my home myself to save the commission." That is fine so long as you don't think that your potential buyers don't know that.

In fact, did you know that there are only 4 kinds of buyers out there? That's right, 4. And they are either working with a Realtor or they, too, will want to save the commission. If you have a "For Sale By Owner" sign in your yard, everyone knows that you are not paying a commission to a professional.

1. First time home buyers: They are the most likely to seek the help of a professional because they do not know all the ins and outs of the home buying process. Even if they come across your home and like it, they will want their agent involved. Being open to working with a buyer's agent and paying at least some commission might help you get your home sold.

2. Relocating buyer: They, too, usually work with a real estate agent because they are not in town, yet. Again, if you are willing to pay a buyer's agent commission, you may be able to work with one of these buyers and sell your home, that is, if you are available to show it when this buyer is in town house shopping. If not, they might just buy your neighbor's house because it's listed and on a lockbox and they were actually able to view it.

3. Move up buyers: They tend to feel more confident about the process because they have been there before. However, if they choose to work on their own, they'll negotiate you down on your price to save some of the commission themselves. Since 2 out of 3 FSBO that go under contract do not close when no Realtor is involved, it might not matter if you split the would-have-been commission with this buyer. The question is: can you get them to the closing table?

4. Investors: Probably the most savvy buyer out there and you can bet that they will not pay you a commission to work the sale of your home for you. Unless you are an investor yourself and you've sold many homes in the past, this buyer knows more about the process than you do and he/she knows that they will have to do all the work. And, unless you are an awesome negotiator, you will not save money if your buyer is an investor. Not a penny.

There you have it! These are the only 4 kinds of buyers out there, no more, no less.

Here's another way to look at it: appraisers do not care about the commission. Your house is worth what it is worth, whether or not there is a commission involved. For example, if you live in a neighborhood where homes of similar age and sizes sell for 150K, then your home is worth 150K.

With a 6% listing commission, you would have to pay 9K in commission, usually split between the listing and the selling brokers (if two agents are involved). If you sell on your own, you are not going to save the full 9K. Buyers will want to split those savings with you and might only offer you 145K for your home. If this is acceptable to you, all is good, but your savings are now down to 4K. If you calculate 2 or 3 months extra on the market (and 2-3 months of extra house payments), the advertising and signs costs, and the time involved in showing your home numerous times to buyers who may or may not qualify to buy it, is it really worth the aggravation? Besides, getting an offer/contract on your home is the easy part. Do you know what to do if you ever get that far?

I know what my time is worth, do you?

Midcoast Maine Fall Events

Patti Lawton (Welcome Home Realty, Inc.) — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 10:32:17 -0700

Late September Events:

Brunswick Farmer's Market - Runs every Tuesday and Friday through November 27^th on the Downtown Green from 8:00 am to 2:00 pm

Brunswick Family Arts Festival - September 26^th throughout the day featuring music, workshops and art demonstrations for all ages on the Downtown Green and Maine Street. info@fiveriversartalliance.org

Bath Farmer's Market - Runs every Saturday through October 31^st at the Waterfront Park from 8:30 am to 12:00 pm

Bath 3^rd Friday Art walk - Runs from 5:00 pm to 8:00 pm on September 18^th with over 30 area artists being shown. info@fiveriversartalliance.org

Skilln's Greenhouse is offering a class on "Thriving Houseplants" on September 19^th at 10:00 am. Learn how to bring your treasured house plants back inside and receive a 4" potted plant. info@skillins.com

Longfellow's Greenhouse - Fall Family Festival September 26^th from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm with children's activities, bake sale and lunch. www.longfellowsgreenhouses.com

Merrymeeting Board of REALTORS Golf Tournament

Patti Lawton (Welcome Home Realty, Inc.) — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 13:56:58 -0700

The Merrymeeting Board of REALTORS is hosting it's 6th Annual Charity Golf Tournament & BBQ to support two very special and vital community organizations: Habitat for Humanity/7 Rivers Maine and Tedford Housing. Please join us on September 18th at the Bath Country Club for a day of fun while helping to raise money and awareness for these two organizations.

First Time Home Buyer Tax Credit Ending Soon

Patti Lawton (Welcome Home Realty, Inc.) — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 10:24:24 -0700

Via Jared Pomranky ~ Detroit Foreclosures (Urban Detroit Wholesalers):

The article Behind FHA Strains, a Push to Lift Housing from the Wall Street Journal was first brought to my attention by The MAD Investor in this blog post.

Currently the deadline for a buyer to qualify for the first time home buyer credit (maximum of $8,000) is November 30th. This means that closing has to occur before December 1st with the title dated before that date. Anything later and the buyer is out of luck. There has been a lot of speculation that the first time home buyer program would be extended but this WSJ article brings to light quite a few things that tell us otherwise.

The issue comes not with the first time home buyer program but with FHA backed mortgages. The FHA guarantees loans with as little as 3.5% down and with falling prices in many areas, that leads to them insuring properties that are upside down on the mortgage. With FHA loans in default at a record 7.5%, that leaves the FHA with prospect of dwindling reserves and an increased liability for the future. The FHA has a government mandated minimum reserve and if it doesn’t have that reserve, drastic measures could be taken.

Officials worry that the resulting losses will help push the FHA’s reserves below the level required by Congress. The value of those reserves will be revealed in the agency’s annual review due Sept. 30. If they have fallen below the minimum, that could prompt a new round of questions about the role government should play in stabilizing the housing market.

With the prospects of the FHA falling below their minimum reserve amount and mounting pressure from lawmakers to not only have the FHA meet that reserve but decrease spending, it looks like the first time home buyer credit is an easy target for the chopping block. It’s the easiest and most likely as law makers will just have to do nothing with it (i.e. it would have to come up for a new vote to get extended).

What I think about the first time home buyer credit
Overall I feel that the government should not be giving money to people for specialized programs and that less government spending is better. At first this is how I felt with the first time home buyer program but a recent conversation has me thinking the tax payer isn’t getting such a bad deal with this program compared to the millions of other tax payer dollars that are spent each day.

The first time home buyer credit equals more house sales. Increased house sales means more jobs for local regions but that isn’t enough to make it worth while. Increased house sales in an area like Detroit means that there are more foreclosures that are going from vacant non-performing assets to fixed up, lived in houses with people that are paying property taxes and everything else that a person pays for owning a house. There are many dollars that are invested in local regions and governments with this program.

What this means to you is that you have a limited time to let your buyers take advantage of this tax credit. Whether you want to invest in a house and resell it our invest in our program. Our First Time Home Buyer Program helps the buyer utilize the tax credit to use as a down payment by reducing their principal owed. What this means is that you get more money up front on the program. It’s an excellent program to use in Detroit or anywhere in Michigan without the tax credit but it’s a no-brainer with it. Contact us for more information on it so we can get everything closed by November 30th!

Successfully Yours,
Jared Pomranky

Detroit real estate Free Report on Detroit foreclosure investing "how to" Detroit Real Estate market

Home Buyer Workshop

Patti Lawton (Welcome Home Realty, Inc.) — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 12:38:36 -0700

Please join me tonight, Wednesday, September 9th from 5:00PM to 7:00 PM at Welcome Home Realty located at 55 Harpswell Road, Brunswick

Midcoast Maine residents can attend our free Home Buyers workshop & learn how to reach the goal of Homeownership while avoiding the mistakes often made by first-time homebuyers.

Our workshop will offer information that homebuyers, first-time or repeat buyers must know to find the right home at the right price. Topics include affording a home, strategies for finding the right home, what to look for when you are house-hunting, qualifying for financing,negotiating an offer, what to expect at closing and more.

Workshop attendees will also learn about working with a real estate professional who specializes in buyer representation.

No RSVP required........I look forward to seeing you