Kernersville Real Estate WorkHorse Blog

Call for Real Estate Cyber Tuesday

Bonner Thomason CRS, ABR, GRI, e-Pro (Keller Williams Realty) — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 10:30:10 -0600

I would like to make a push for a Cyber Tuesday Real Estate push. As Black Friday and cyber Tuesday set in with consumers there may be a realization of what is important. Having their home valves appreciated or be able to get into that dream home that has been out there for many people may be boiling to the top. It takes years to plan and save for a house correctly. The days of quick into a home or back in a home months after a bankruptcy are gone. Often the dream is closer than people think with small life changes.

www.BonnerTCR.com

Bonner Thomason

NC cell use law goes into effect December

Bonner Thomason CRS, ABR, GRI, e-Pro (Keller Williams Realty) — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 10:04:03 -0600

The use of cell phones in automobiles ban goes into effect December 1 in North Carolina. Texting and emails are out. As Realtors, this is probably good. Often there seems to an urgency of answering correspondencein real time. When we reflect is it worth getting in a wreck, injuring our selves or now getting a ticket ( along with increased insurance). I will be dusting off my blue-tooth for use. A rule of thumb I like to use is when I get a text, email or call is, I will ask myself is this one worth pulling over in a parking lot. Rarely do I pull over. So remember priorities and why this law has been put into effect.

www.BonnerTCR.com

Bonner Thomason

The Weak dollar and the US housing Market

Bonner Thomason CRS, ABR, GRI, e-Pro (Keller Williams Realty) — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 09:10:04 -0600

Having interest rates low is a plus. The ability and/or willingness of banks to lend is the negative. The weak dollar has created an environment for investors ( of the bond market) to look elsewhere. By creating the huge amount of paper dollars and the disparity of the population of those that have savings and those that have debt there is a gridlock. Inflation is the key factor that has everyone scared. Those struggling can hardly afford commodities and increased prices would only lengthen the recovery. Business hesitate on hiring when customers are only ordering when they themselves get orders. Jobs and the security of these jobs will be the key to economic growth. America will turn to the things that made itself great in manufacturing, agriculture and technology. With so much potential, a weak dollar is a good thing if only for a wake up call.

www.BonnerTCR.com

Bonner Thomason

Keeping IDX information current

Bonner Thomason CRS, ABR, GRI, e-Pro (Keller Williams Realty) — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 07:45:17 -0600

Keep IDX information current will be a chalenge going forward. With the matrix of feeds and downloads there seems to be a weekly call that has a customer asking about a property that is no longer active. As an industry there hopefully will be a calming of the numbers of feeds and a criteria for the way it is updated. Many sites are multi tasking and have little or no experience with the local market. There seems to be a need for a balance of sharing information and sharing the correct information.

Bonner Thomason

Will the Fed run out of money or just print more

Bonner Thomason CRS, ABR, GRI, e-Pro (Keller Williams Realty) — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 14:54:03 -0600

Will the Federal resrve run out of money to buy to buy mortgages or just print more paper. This at least is keeping the industry up that was the the breaking point for the economy domino that is on us. These mortgage yield something for the Fed. especially when they are distributing " " printing money to industries that have major flaws in staying afloat. Are they to big to fell or is there greed involve and to much lobbying. At some point the Fed will slow down and the institutions will see the benefit of the secondary mortgage bond market,especially with the loan criteria beung more sound.

Bonner

Bonner Thomason

Kernersville Real Estate

Bonner Thomason CRS, ABR, GRI, e-Pro (Keller Williams Realty) — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 12:50:34 -0600

Kernersville Real is probably like it is in a lot of places in America. There is limited new construction with few or none new subdivisions being started. Many projects that are in the works are on hold. Kernersville has had it share of REO properties. Not the house after house the is seen in some places. Kernersville real estate values have seem to hold at par or slightly below.

Kernersville is in the middle of North Carolina a few hours to both the beach and mountains. Businesses and industry is treading water. There seems to be a lot of activey and the area will do well as there is alot of diversity of economics. The real estate statistics of Kernersville have little luster as I pulled them and show an increase in pending real estate contract.Most likely due to the tax credit that was end in November.

Learn more about Kernersville at www.RealEstateWorkHorse.com

Bonner Thomason

2010 Calender mail out

Bonner Thomason CRS, ABR, GRI, e-Pro (Keller Williams Realty) — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 10:47:33 -0600

Today my 2010 refrigerator calenders arrived. For the next two weeks I expect my office to be a mess.Happens every year. This is multi tasking at its best. Update data base. Create new marketing ideas. Add to business plan. Do the personal touches.

With the Real Estate WorkHorse logo It opens up the the opportunity to be top of mind. Each year I use a different picture for the calenders ( because of the feedback I get from SOI).

This year symbolizes the new beginng in the economy and industry. Take a look and give me your feed back.

www.RealEstateWorkHorse.com

Bonner Thomason

FHA Approved Condos

Bonner Thomason CRS, ABR, GRI, e-Pro (Keller Williams Realty) — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 09:21:01 -0600

FHA approved condo seem to be the source of business for over the last couple of months. One has got me stump. Through tracking down the approved list, the complex had seven condo ID's. With the legal description the building was on the list. Now I hear through Sidus that the may not be on the approved list. Has any one ever seen anything like this before.

It seems that Fannie has become so overwelmed that they cannot keep up.

www.BonnerTCR.com

Bonner Thomason

119 Banks - Will we keep counting

Bonner Thomason CRS, ABR, GRI, e-Pro (Keller Williams Realty) — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 08:47:22 -0600

I happened to catch a snippet of the news yesterday and saw that the 119th bank had failed this year. (This may be old news). There are probably some of these that needed to go under as the greed and lack of conservative practices seemed to in the mix this century.

It came to mind, what ever happened to forbearance. That is to to relaxes to percent of reserves that is required. With home equity slipping, there is only a loss when the property is sold or foreclosed on. America is still a great nation with hard working mortgage paying people. The suggestion is not to an accross the board lowering of the reserve requirement, but to put a sense of common sense in the formula. Banks are lending very little now. They stand to make huge profits over time. It seems they want mercy for them and justices for their clients. Stay tune for a slow recovrey.

www.BonnerTCR.com

Bonner Thomason

New Listingbook feature coming

Bonner Thomason CRS, ABR, GRI, e-Pro (Keller Williams Realty) — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 09:22:59 -0600

I have been using www.ListingBook.com for a number of years. It began in the Triad area of North Carolina and is now going national with a few MLS systems. This has been a wonderful tool in that it allows the interaction with customers and clients that is needed in today's business and budget constraints. It does not replace the human touch and has a welcome addition to the human touch. By allowing a streamline approach to the home search, the website gives enough information for buyers (and sellers) to make informed choices in which homes to view.

There is new feature coming that will allow a seller to have both an info account for their home on the market and to search for the next home they are going to purchase- GREAT NEWS

Please let me know how you like the site or if you don't have it in your MLS.

http:www.BonnerTCR.com

Bonner Thomason

The Tell of Two Appraisals

Bonner Thomason CRS, ABR, GRI, e-Pro (Keller Williams Realty) — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 08:10:39 -0600

The tell of two appraisals came to mind with a closing that had a appraisal come in low. In being able get information from another (recently closed sale in the same neighborhood). the comparables were given different adjustments. One for the good (+) and one for the bad (-). They were new and the builder was finishing the project in the first quarter of '09.

Comparing this to the book "The Tell of Two Cities" I begin wonder about the analogies. Are we in the midst of sweeping changes that will have unintended consequences. History often does not completely repeat itself, but most certainly rhymes.

Share your appraisal story and how this fits into the Analogy of this classic.

www.BonnerTCR.com

Bonner Thomason

Website plan - Call for help

Bonner Thomason CRS, ABR, GRI, e-Pro (Keller Williams Realty) — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 10:34:35 -0500

Generating website leads has always been a mainstay of the www.RealEstateWorkHorse.com busines. I currently have four websites. Two of which are with homes dot com and have decided to reduce it to one.

The question I need help with is the both Real Estate Workhorse

and www.BonnerTCR.com (the original site that gets the most visit) are indexed. The REWH name is more descriptive. My concern is that by changing the redirect to the orginal site will sandbox ( or blacklist) because of the unknown rules by spiders.

What do you Think????

Bonner Thomason

Rush to the Buyers Credit Deadline

Bonner Thomason CRS, ABR, GRI, e-Pro (Keller Williams Realty) — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 10:05:31 -0500

The Buyers Credit Deadline is approaching as trick or treat draws near. Escrow or contract times generally are around 30 days for homes and with the moving target of loans plenty of lead time is needed.

For homes in Kernersville NC there are 441 Active Listings with 113 Pending. There have been 43 closed homes in the past 30 days. This shows an increase in home contacts for this area and a larger than normal ratio of active to pending homes.

As crunch time draws near for buyers of homes there is a sense of conservatism brought on by fears of lay offs inflation and media scares. The response is a generic one of everyone needs a place to live and the discipline of fiscal responsibility is always good to practice.

Kernersville remains a great place to live, work and own homes.

Visit Kernersville NC for additional information at www.RealEstateWorkHorse.com or www.BonnerTCR.com

Bonner Thomason

Re-examine Cap rates on investment property

Bonner Thomason CRS, ABR, GRI, e-Pro (Keller Williams Realty) — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 08:24:41 -0500

Re-examine Cap rates on investment properties. The rules may not have change however they have become tighter. In today's environment more of a down payment is often ask. This will effect the cap rate as there is less leverage. Appreciation should only be used as "gravy" and not a given. The clean and paint philosophy can still work with the right property. Deferred maintenance should not be deferred.

With return on investment in Treasury'sand CD being very low, there would seem to add to the attractiveness of Real Estate as a safe haven. The uncertainty is hurting consumer confidence. There seems to be a infinity of crystal balls of where the Market (economy) will be and side liners waiting to get in. I do beleive that there is a more realistic approach to what a true cap rate is for Real Estate. My point being that a few years ago 6 percent return on investment seemed dismal. How does it sound to you now.

Would like to hear your thought.

WWW.RealEstateWorkHorse.com

Bonner Thomason

Kernersville Real Estate is Showing Improvement

Bonner Thomason CRS, ABR, GRI, e-Pro (Keller Williams Realty) — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 08:11:54 -0500

Kernersville Real Estate is Showing Improvement. In the past 30 days there have been only 28 closed residential Real Estate transactions in the Kernersville zip code. There is only one. There are currently 78 pending/pending AB showing on our MLS. Still showing oversupply, Kernersville Real Estate has 440 active listings for residential Real Estate. The bright spot is that the number of pending have increased. Closed real estate is the key to making the home market stabilize. Some pending transactions numbers tend not to move to the closed side for various reasons. Kernersville residential real estate building permits are still down. This is helping in reducing the supply and therefore shorting the invetory supply time. Kernersville remains a wonderful place to live, work and/or retire. These are Triad MLS numbers and do not include sales and contract outside the MLS.

www.RealEstateWorkHorse.com

Bonner Thomason

Kernersville Single Family Homes and Real Estate

Bonner Thomason CRS, ABR, GRI, e-Pro (Keller Williams Realty) — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 08:04:56 -0600

Kernersville single family homes and real estate is in a strong buyers market. As of February 23 there are 366 homes on active status with 58 on pending status. The past showed closed transaction at 17 single family homes. This is the largest percent of active to closed and pending I have seen since I have been in the real estate business. The real estate marketing of homes is dynamic there are many factors as well as motivations that go into what drives homes on the market. Also there is the price to market that would exclude homes that will if the real estate is not priced where it will appraise. Many of the homes that are over price will fall off the market as they will not sell. There are too many that are priced and in good repair that buyers have to choose from. Real estate shoppers in todays environment have instant information on what is out there and the information assoiciated with the real estate market.

www.RealEstateWorkHorse.com

www.BonnerTCR.com

Bonner Thomason

New Active Rain facelift

Bonner Thomason CRS, ABR, GRI, e-Pro (Keller Williams Realty) — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 13:16:10 -0600

The new active rain face lift is different. This is another great thing that keeps bloggers on the edge. There have been a few feature that aren't working. The user friendly things seem to be more of a user familar. I blogging and it creates a forum for learning. The quicker one becomes used to new features or procedures the longer they can be used. Learning is not always in a straight line.

Bonner

Bonner Thomason

Horse Site

Bonner Thomason CRS, ABR, GRI, e-Pro (Keller Williams Realty) — Thu, 01 Jan 2009 08:57:14 -0600

I was just going over the facebbook site and found a site called EquestrianLife.com. This seems to be a great idea for horse people and is well thought out. Looking for active rain user that have used the site and how they like it. I often wonder if I am behind the herd as it were with the " lastest and greatest. Has this site been around for a while or is it relatively new. Any info on the ins and outs of what it is used for would help.

www.RealEstateWorkHorse.com

Bonner Thomason

Kernersville Annual Customer Movie for Real Estate Clients

Bonner Thomason CRS, ABR, GRI, e-Pro (Keller Williams Realty) — Sun, 28 Dec 2008 11:39:49 -0600

Kernersville Annual Customer Movie is here again this year. Each year our office reserves the Kernersville movie theater for past real estate clients to enjoy a movie. Food cans are collected and donated to a local food bank. This is a way to show appreciation to clients and customers for their real estate business. The movie night is always a big sucess in terms of lots of smiles and returning to the community from real estate. Kernersville has a giving and caring spirit that makes it a wonderful place to live. The effort needed for this event is not overwhelming in comparision. The biggest chalenge comes from the actually movie selection that is availible in Kernersville. We hope to see you next year at our Kernersville real estate movie event.

www.RealEstateWorkHorse.com

Bonner Thomason

Happy Holidays for Real Estate

Bonner Thomason CRS, ABR, GRI, e-Pro (Keller Williams Realty) — Mon, 22 Dec 2008 10:19:50 -0600

Happy Holidays for Real Estate ! As 2008 comes to a close there becomes a bright future for real estate. The bottom of the cycle seems to be here. Real estate always goes in cycles and the current challenge is an opportunity for learning. Much of the leverage that create the bubble has gone away and we are back to the basics of Real Estate fundamentals. Kernersville real estate and prices in the market have remained on the plateau to the extent that that well kept, staged and price home will sell. The absorption rate seems to be askew as not all homes are equal.

Be happy that you survived 2008 ! And visit www.RealEstateWorkHorse.com

Bonner Thomason

KISS

Bonner Thomason CRS, ABR, GRI, e-Pro (Keller Williams Realty) — Sat, 02 Aug 2008 12:47:33 -0500

KISS standing for Keep It Simple Stupid. This something that it always comes back to. No matter how much technology comes out the real estate business always comes back to the simple art of personal contact. Even when we leverage with teams the personal contact is the most important part. Always respond back to calls or emails. This will gain more business as it the biggest complaint from clients that there is a lapse in communication.

www.RealEstateWorkHorse.com

Bonner Thomason

Tax Free weekend

Bonner Thomason CRS, ABR, GRI, e-Pro (Keller Williams Realty) — Fri, 01 Aug 2008 16:45:19 -0500

Tax free weekend in North Carolina. This has become an annual event in North Carolina where certain Items are tax free that relate to school. It has met good feed back and allows for savings. The number of people in stores increases and there does not seem to crowds that keep people away. By allowing the tax free weekend there is a much needed break for parent who are saddle with the added expense of raising children. Just another reason to say "I like calling North Carolina Home"

www.RealEstateWorkHorse.com

Bonner Thomason

Wikis in Real estate

Bonner Thomason CRS, ABR, GRI, e-Pro (Keller Williams Realty) — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 11:27:33 -0500

As Realtors are becoming virtual wikis will become easier to implement. As technology improves there is a better acceptance of this type of instrument. Youtube has a great video of the basic concept and I thought I would share it. I have been trying to go to this for sellers,buyer and contract. Creating scanned pdf documents and the availability of them to every one involved. Has any one used this type of thing within the real estate business?

The link below is worth watching.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-dnL00TdmLY

www.RealEstateWorkHorse.com

Bonner Thomason

DPAs -The talk of the day

Bonner Thomason CRS, ABR, GRI, e-Pro (Keller Williams Realty) — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 09:19:10 -0500

Down Payment Assistant seems to be the talk of the day. I have had several emails this morning for taking action and writing to legislatures. I have used the program on several transactions and have felt they work well. The buyer has to to be FHA qualified. The conservative approach of buyers having considerable reserves is very sound. Having these programs in place has given an outlet for this type of transaction. My thought is that by having this, therewould be no excuse for a shady transaction of kick backs and allow for credible buyers and sellers to get together.

www.RealEstateWorkHorse.com

Bonner Thomason

Website Poll - help??

Bonner Thomason CRS, ABR, GRI, e-Pro (Keller Williams Realty) — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 14:29:32 -0500

I am considering consolidating or merging my two websites. Please comment or vote on the most effective (and helpful) . Both are place fairly well in the search criteria for Kernersville searches on Google. The older www.BonnerTCR.com does fairly well and the newer www.RealEstateWorkHorse.com has done fair. as with my customer service I like to better than just fair. Both have call to action. has become a toss up as to which is best.

Any response would be great, Even keep old or keep new.

Bonner Thomason