Pete Stanley Blog

Finally HUD passes ruling to help home Sellers!

Pete and Mary Stanley (Keller Williams Realty - Team Stanley) — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 14:37:50 -0500

Wow, just when we thought that we had achieved the greatest time to buy or sell a home in years and years, there is a new program out that not only aids buyer, IT HELPS SELLERS! Let me explain how the latest ruling from HUD is helping both buyers and sellers.

On May 29^th, HUD ruled that the First Time Home Buyer credit of $8000 could be used for down payment! This not only signals the return of zero down for loans other than USDA, the ruling un-wittingly gave the home seller a greater demand for the sale of their home without large seller contributions for closing cost, as was true under the old scenario of Nehemiah loans where the seller had to contribute to a gift fund which was returned to the buyer as a gift to be under the radar of the buyer cannot borrow the down payment.

This has given people wanting to sell but, were concern about the low return from the sale due to buyer demands for seller contributions", a reason to go ahead and sell realizing they will not have to give up thousands to the buyer in the form of closing cost contributions.

I hope you did not read the headline and thing you had missed some important ruling that was issued, but when you look at all the factors, our illustrious government may have un-wittingly help the sellers, imagine that!

Pete Stanley,

Team Stanley

www.elliscountymoves.com

Is your monthly home payment complete?

Pete and Mary Stanley (Keller Williams Realty - Team Stanley) — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 03:16:14 -0500

We buy an home and we always have to do what is required. We set up an escrow account to insure that taxes and home insurance is paid every year. We do this because our lender requires it!

Lenders raquire you to do this because it protect them, right!

So who is protecting you and your family? You are, or are you?

I purchased a foreclosure in 2007 and it was sad to learn that the bank owned the home because the ladies husband had died and they did not have life insurance to protect the mortgage. So who is requiring you to protect your family in the event your not there to pay the mortgage. Believe me, the bank does not care if your surviving partner loses the home, they just want their money.

Your state requires you to have insurance on your car. Your car loan requires you to insure the car against damages, so why is there no requirement to protect your home from loss in the event of family trauma.

Oh yes, if you buy FHA or pay less than 20% down on your home, you have to insure the mortgage company with PMI or PPI insurance.

Buying life insurance for the amount of your home loan is not really something you should consider an option. You need it.

I believe this so strongly I sell very affordable life home mortgage protection insurance to those who will listen and personally, I think it should be required and placed in escrow, but I do not see that happening.

If you sell a home, the buyer will be receiving offers for insurance, and they need to follow up. I sell insuance in every state and am licensed currently in Texas and Florida, if anyone needs help, let me know, I build programs to fit the budget and offer return of premium if they do not die. How many times has your car insurance company given you your money back if you do not have a wreck. Food for thought.

Forget the $8000 tax credit, the Interest Rates are the Real Reason to buy Now.

Pete and Mary Stanley (Keller Williams Realty - Team Stanley) — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 02:38:31 -0500

Team Stanley, top Buyer Agents in Ellis County, Texas

Team Stanley Real Estate has been presenting first time home buyer seminars and presenting the benefits of the $8000 tax credit to our buyers in an effort to get them to realize that there has never been a better time to buy a home than now! While the $8000 is certainly an attractive reason to buy now, it is simply the icing on the real cake being offered now.

While the $8000 is an immediate benefit to first time home buyers, the real benefit is in the interest rate for a 30 year mortgage, and you don't have to be a first time home buyer to get this benefit. Everyone can benefit.

Do the math! This week we closed a young couple on a $150,000 home with a 4.75% interest rate, and wow, it hit me like a lead balloon. I thought my personal home had a great rate of 6.5% but then look at these numbers.

$150,000 for 30 years, at 7% = Monthly payments for Principal, and Interest = $997.95 per month

$150,000 for 30 years, at 6% = Monthly payments for Principal, and Interest = $899.33per month

$150,000 for 30 years, at 4.75% = Monthly payments for Principal, and Interest = $782.47 per month

Now that is a monthly savings of $215 and a annual savings of $2,586 and a 30 year savings of $77,572

Not to mention payments are cheaper than rent, interest is deductible and taxes are deductible.

Now go to the last step, assuming 20% tax bracket and 4.5%, that equals additional savings of $9000 per year just for interest deduction and about $2000 per year for tax deduction or a total annual savings over renting of $2200 a year and $66,000 over 30 years in tax savings with which you could be buy an annuity and have a additional $185,000 or more for retirement.

Now if your not a first time home buyer and you buy a $300,000 home, double the numbers.

Now if you got it, call or e-mail Team Stanley, lets find your home and get you started to life time savings.

Team Stanley

Pete 972-921-2047 pete@elliscountymoves.com

Mary 972-935-3991 mary@elliscountymoves.com

Travel Update, We need it.

Pete and Mary Stanley (Keller Williams Realty - Team Stanley) — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 05:15:10 -0500

OK, winter is coming to a end and this old travler is ready to get out again.

For those of you who subscribed to my blogs because of my travel pictures and comments, I apologize, but things have been busy trying to keep a business going.

I admit I am getting the travel fever again, so I wanted to send you a picture from outside our hotel room in Mexico last summer, it kinda makes you excited to see new things again. So lets get out and travel.

I am Really Burned UP!

Pete and Mary Stanley (Keller Williams Realty - Team Stanley) — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 04:41:51 -0500

Would you reward poor performance on your team?

Why in Gods name would our Government give money to people who have proven they cannot manage it?

AiG, General Motors, Chrysler, what ever happened to Capitalism. We work hard, do our job and get rewarded.

The new way is, squander your money, poorly manage your business and get bailed out by the tax payers.

If you want the economy to grow and revive, give the money back to the tax payers who put it up in the first place, they will spend the money and businesses will grow, people will buy homes, builders will build and the rules of supply and demand will again build our Great Nation.

I is amazing to me that our President is at a world economic summit and everyone is mad at us because they are blaming the US for the world problem. They have quickly forgot that they rode the ride up by our society and economic power and now they are faced with having to do something themselves to help their own economy.

I am mad, and I think we all have a right to be.

Realtor Tom Quits the Business

Pete and Mary Stanley (Keller Williams Realty - Team Stanley) — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 14:56:48 -0600

Via Marc Rasmussen - Sarasota FL Real Estate (Michael Saunders and Company):

Here Is What Happened

Monday January 26th - 9:43 - Tom, a Realtor in Sarasota, Florida, arrives at his office and is anxious to get to work. Afterall, he hasn't sold a home in over 2 months.

Monday - 11:24 - 11:39 - Becky lives in Wisconsin and is thinking about buying a beach front condo on Siesta Key. Her family has been vacationing on Siesta Key for the last 10 years and with the depressed real estate market Becky and her husband Joe feel that this is a perfect time to buy. She finds Tom's website and gives him a call.

Tom answers Becky's call with enthusiasm. Becky tells Tom about her desire to buy a condo on Siesta Key and that she and Joe plan to be there January 30th and 31st to look at condos.

Tom, "Have you been to Sarasota before?"

Becky, "We have been vacationing on Siesta Key for the last 10 years so we know it well."

Tom, "Great. Are you looking in any other areas?"

Becky, "Nope. We only want to buy on Siesta Key."

Tom, "What kind of condo do you want to own?

Becky, "We would like a 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom, on the beach and under $700,000. We also want something in good condition because we don't want to buy a project. This will be a vacation home for us and we want to just come down and relax. Do you think we can find that Tom?"

Tom, "Sure you can. This is a great time to be a buyer. I just ran a search and there are 45 condos that match your description on Siesta Key. I will need to parse that down for you since many of them are overpriced or not in a good condition."

Tom, "Are you working with any other Realtors?"

Becky, "No. You are the only one that I have contacted."

Tom, "Great. I would be happy to help you and would appreciate it if you only work with me."

Becky is impressed with Tom's market knowledge and attentiveness so she agrees to not contact any other Realtors.

Tom, "Would it helpful for me to email you all of the properties for sale with your requirements?"

Becky, "Yes."

Tom, "Have you arranged financing yet?"

Becky, "Not yet but we are pretty comfortable that we can get financing."

Tom, "Perfect. Let me know if you need someone to work with down here in Florida. I have some good lenders."

Becky, "Ok."

Tom, "When are you looking to buy?"

Becky, "We can buy at any time."

Tom, "Is there anything else you absolutely must have in any condo?"

Becky, "I don't think so. A 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom condo on the beach, not a fixer upper and a good deal under $700,000."

Tom gets all of Becky's contact information and confirms the dates of her visit with Becky and concludes the phone call.

Tom thinks in his head - $700,000 x 3% = $21,000!

Monday - 11:45 - After hanging up with Becky, Tom searches on the Sarasota MLS for Siesta Key condos to email Becky. He spends 25 minutes going through all of the listings and narrows down the list to 31 condos. He emails Becky the list of condos.

Monday - 1:54 - 3:45 - Tom is back from lunch and starts working on finding the best Siesta Key condos for Becky. He makes calls to listing agents to ask about the condition of their listings. Becky made it clear that she didn't want to buy a project.

Tuesday January 27th - 10:15 - Tom receives an email from Becky. She reviewed all of the Siesta Key condos and made a list of her favorites. Becky asks Tom some questions about a number of properties.

Wednesday - 3:23 - 3-39 - Becky emails Tom and asks about a few properties that she has seen on his website. Tom looks them up on the Sarasota MLS and reviews the units. He has seen them months ago and doesn't think that they are a good fit for Becky. Tom is happy that Becky is doing her homework prior to her arrival. She is showing buyer signals.

Thursday - 9:23 - Tom doesn't have a very busy day so he decides to preview condos prior to Becky and Joe arriving on Friday. This way he can eliminate all of the bad ones. He makes appointments to preview 15 condos later in the day. He can't preview everything on Becky's list but at least he can remove some possibilities.

Thursday - 1:12 - 3:10 - Tom previews the 15 properties and eliminates 5 of them. Tom gets back to the office and sets up showings for Friday to show Becky and her husband 10 condos.

Friday - 10:00 - Tom meets Becky and Joe at his office. They sit down for a few minutes in the meeting room to discuss what they were going to see.

Friday - 10:08 - 1:12 - Tom shows them 10 Siesta Key condos where they find two possibilities. After the showings they are all pretty tired. Tom takes them back to the office where they agree to meet Saturday to see the rest of the condos on the list.

Saturday - 10:00 - 1:09 - Tom shows Becky and her husband 9 more Siesta Key condos. They only liked one of them. They also went back and looked at the other two possibilities from Friday. After the showings Tom dropped them off at his office. Becky and Joe were going to go back to their hotel to relax and think about it. They promise to call Tom later that day.

Saturday - 4:23 - Becky calls Tom to tell him that they are still contemplating which one to buy. Becky asks Tom if they can write an offer over the email or fax because they won't be able to do it prior to leaving. "That is not problem" says Tom.

Monday - 11:07 - Becky is back home and calls Tom to let him know that they made a decision to buy the unit in the Palm Bay Club that is listed for $649,900. She asks him to dig up some comparable sales and anymore information that he can about the property.

Monday - 11:10 - 12:09 - Tom calls the Sarasota Realtor that has the listing and asks for the sellers disclosure. He also searches the Sarasota MLS only to find one recent sale in Palm Bay Club. He has to search other nearby comparable communities to help value the property. He locates 2 other properties that are similar and that have sold within the last 3 months. He emails all of this information to Becky and Joe.

Monday - 1:15 - Becky calls Tom to review the information he sent her and ask his opinion of an offer price. They agree that $595,000 is a good starting point. They work out the terms of the offer and Becky tells Tom to type up the offer.

Tom, "Can you email me a copy of your pre-approval letter so I can submit with the offer?"

Becky, "We don't have one but I will call our banker now."

Tom, "Ok. I will type up this offer."

Monday 1:25 - 1:58 - While Tom is typing up the offer Becky calls their personal banker, Leroy. Becky explains to Leroy about their trip to Florida and desire to purchase a condo on Siesta Key. She asks him about financing the condo. After all, he works at a large national bank that originates mortgages in Florida. Leroy asks Becky numerous questions and plans to call her back after he runs her credit report.

Monday - 2:48 - 2:56 - Leroy, "Hi Becky, I ran your credit report for you and your husband and we won't able to finance that condo on Siesta Key."

Becky, "Why not?

Leroy, "Well. A few reasons. Your debt to income ratio is very high and you have some credit blemishes. Our lending guidelines have changed over the lst 12 months. I am sure you have heard in the news about how much harder it is to get a mortgage."

Becky, "I have but I didn't think it applied to me. Are you sure that you won't be able to give me a mortgage?"

Leroy, "Positive. I am sorry."

Monday - 3:15 - Becky calls Tom to let him know that her bank will not be able to give them a mortgage. Tom gives Becky two lenders that he works with regularly and tells her to call them today.

Tuesday 11:09 - Becky calls Tom to give him the bad news that neither lender would be able to lend her money to purchase the Siesta Key condo. She and Joe will just have to wait until their credit has improved, they lowered their debt and have more money saved up.

* Tom is disheartened, quits the business and gets a salaried job. *

Here Is What Should Have Happened

Monday January 26th - 11:24 - ...qualifying questions...

Tom, "Have you arranged financing yet?"

Becky, "Not yet but we are pretty comfortable that we can get financing."

Tom, "Fantastic. The lending world has been turned upside down recently so you may want to double check that you can get financing. Also, if for some reason we get into a multiple offer situation you stand a better chance of getting the property if you have financing arranged. I have had several clients find their dream home only to be disappointed when they find out that they can't get a mortgage to buy it or they lose out to a more prepared buyer. Would it be possible for you to speak to your lender and get a pre-approval letter before you arrive?"

Becky, "Sure. I will call today."

Tom, "Great. Here is the number to two lenders down here in Florida that I use regularly."

....more qualifying questions..."

Monday - 4:45 - Becky calls Tom.

Becky, "Hi Tom, I spoke with my banker and your two lenders today and it doesn't look like we will be able to buy anything. My husband bought a new Range Rover and our savings, home value and retirement account have declined recently. We don't have good enough credit and too much debt to qualify for a mortgage. I am sorry but we cancelled our trip to come down."

Tom, "I am sorry to hear that. Well, if things change in the future and you can afford to buy please contact me."

Becky, "We will. Thank you."

* Since Tom asked important qualifying questions he only wasted a few minutes so he moves on to the next client. *

Government to pay mortgage for 90 million homeowners

Pete and Mary Stanley (Keller Williams Realty - Team Stanley) — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 14:17:39 -0600

We know that they are not going to pay any ones mortgage but consider this. The amount of money in the stimulus package could payoff the mortgages for 90 million Americans. In fact don't expect to get any cash as a home owner it will be consumed by banks, who are not actually loaning money at this time, unless you pay a bunch down and have a good job.

Consider these problems.

1. If some one is out of a job, (7.5%) of Americans right now, they are not going to finance a home for you.

2. If you don't have 3.5% down they will not finance a home for you.

3. If your overloaded with credit card debt, they are not going to loan you money.

4. If you have to many car payments they are not going to loan you money.

5. If your late past 30 days on any payments, they are not going to loan you money.

6. If your unemployed and cannot buy a home what good is a $15,000 tax credit for buying a home.

7. If your unemployed and cannot buy a home what good is a $4% loan for buying a home.

8. If your unemployed what good is a $15,000 tax credit for buying a home if your not paying taxes due to no income.

9. If your a banker living on bail out money because you managed your business poorly, they will loan you money.

10. If your a Car Company Executive living on bail out money because you managed your business poorly, they will loan you money.

11. If you want to buy a foreclosure, you will have to put up $1000 ernest money.

12. If you want to buy a foreclosure, you will have to buy it as is.

13. If you want to buy a foreclosure, you will have show proof of funds.

14. If you want to buy a foreclosure, you will have to accept is as if, even if you find black mold.

15. If you want to buy a foreclosure, you will have to close on time or pay the bank $100 a day.

16. If you want to buy a foreclosure, you will have to accept it without a sellers disclosure!

17. If you want to buy a foreclosure, you will have to wait weeks for an answer to you offer.

18. If you want to buy a foreclosure, you need to have your head examined or make a low ball offer and make it cash.

Write your Senator and tell them that jobs and income will defeat the recession, tell them to get real, put themselves in the place of some of these people and ask how they would react to a so called stimulus bill that again only helped those who have money. When a person is naked standing on the top a a mountain in foot deep snow, can they be motivated with money or a blanket to take care of immediate needs.

Dallas Cowboys show us what lack of Team Work will do to us!

Pete and Mary Stanley (Keller Williams Realty - Team Stanley) — Mon, 29 Dec 2008 23:50:11 -0600

Yes I have been a Cowboys fan for a long time and yes I still will be a fan. The Eagles showed The Dallas Coaches and Player what motivation and team work can do and the Cowboys showed what happens when a team is made up of a bunch of hot shots who think the team will die without them, and they play as individuals. Who was the team leader, as for me I did not see one. The coach just seems to sit back and say OH WELL.

I will still be a cowboys fan because the team I see out there now is not the Cowboys Team. They are a bunch of hot shot players that have individual talent but cannot act as team. The Cowboys Team is a legend built by Tom Landry and Tex Schram and the Jerry Jones approach will not build a team, it just puts together talent and no one wants to be a team.

As realtors we must cooperate and work together or we all fail. I am frustated when I see realtors that do not respect fellow realtors and treat us a second cousins. And our Mortgage Partner is as much a part of our team as each agent, so we will play together this year in our Real Estate Challenges.

Coach Landry said, "Building a plan is easy, success comes from executing the plan correctly", or something like that.

2008 was a challenging year and 2009 can also be challenging but we are making our budget plans and working on the execution plan and we are looking for the best.

Our biggest challenge has already started and that is getting loan approvals. This week we worked with 4 buyers and only one of the 4 got loan approval and we have 2 of them going to credit counseling and one just gave up and one got the contract completed. Our fear is that this is the trend we will face most of the year.

Thank you Buy Owner

Pete and Mary Stanley (Keller Williams Realty - Team Stanley) — Thu, 27 Nov 2008 00:49:17 -0600

I just want to thank Buy Owner for making my job so easy. There is a world of opportunity picking up disappointed sellers who have gone for the advertising, paid $3000 up front, and received a cheap metal sign with the phone number pasted on (washes off in first rain) and a blank contract that no one knows how to fill out, and good bye. Oh yea, its on their website, if they can get the details right and someone accidentally finds it.

I just listed another this week, thanks Buy Owner. My listing today came from a lady who had one showing in 4 months. Kinda expensive, $3000 per showing.

We take pride in complete service that has 4 web sites, virtual tours, and e-flyer to mass audiences, Realtor Open Houses and on and on, but we do charge for our service but we earn it, we do not want a free ride.

I told you so!

Pete and Mary Stanley (Keller Williams Realty - Team Stanley) — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 05:47:54 -0600

About a week or so ago, I wrote a blog about the next financial crisis is going to be credit cards. Have you seen Good Morning America this week, if you did not, it told that American Express is lowering credit limits and increasing interest rates. And, yes the credit card King, Citibank is now in trouble, so guess what, since the mortgage division has created the problem, the cc division will have to help, so here we go, increased interest rates, higher late fees, higher minimum payments, and so on.

I hate to say I told you so, but I got you to read this blog didn't I.

Rest of the story, we have only seen the tip of the ice-burg.

Pete Stanley

The Next American Financial Crisis - Credit cards

Pete and Mary Stanley (Keller Williams Realty - Team Stanley) — Sun, 16 Nov 2008 17:11:24 -0600

Ok, we should have seen it coming, now look out for the next wave, we can see it coming.

What is the next crisis? For sure the next financial crunch is Credit cards. We are faced with bad economic times and the coming holiday season. As the holidays approach we are seeing slow retail sales and people are maxed or near maxed on credit cards. Now with the holidays and people are low on cash, they will slow down buying and what they do buy will be on credit, hoping for a shift in the economy. With the slow sales of the holidays, businesses will face even harder economic times and they will cut back and again jobs will be lost and then people will not be able to pay the mortgage and credit cards. Credit card companies will hit the accounts with 1. huge late fees, 2. Lower credit limits, 3. increased interest rates, there by shooting themselves in the foot like mortgage did and defaults will be massive.

And there it is a new crisis!

Advise to all the people, pay your mortgage and taxes first, then auto loans, keep your house and cars, and remember, credit cards can destroy your credit rating, but those are un-secured loans, they can harass you but they cannot take your home and car. They will threaten but reality is, they can do little other than that. Then with enough of that, they to will be expecting a bail out at our expense.

Pray for our country, things will get better but it will take some time and pain.

Pete Stanley

Latest travel and Relaxation!

Pete and Mary Stanley (Keller Williams Realty - Team Stanley) — Sun, 16 Nov 2008 16:58:55 -0600

Well, I told eveyone we were going back to Hawaii our 7th trip, and we just got back a week ago. Incredible trip, one week on the big island. We were really impressed with that island, it has so much variety to offer. Desert, Valcano, Rain Forrest, great beaches, black sand beaches, cattle ranches, wow it has it all. Fellow active rain community, get away and relax, the business will get better, enjoy the break and relax.

Now, see how relaxing it can be!

Next trip for Relaxation

Pete and Mary Stanley (Keller Williams Realty - Team Stanley) — Sun, 26 Oct 2008 22:03:10 -0500

As I blogged earlier talking about our travels and how travel and relaxation is good for the soul, and our next trip is back to Hawaii. Yep, to the Big Island for a week. We are leaving Friday and returning in a week, so when we get back I will tell you all about the trip. My 7th vacation to Hawaii, our favorite vacation spot. Think of us enjoying this scene.

Picture taken near Hana LI, north shore of Kuai.

Will send ne pictrues on return from this trip.

After Debate Idea

Pete and Mary Stanley (Keller Williams Realty - Team Stanley) — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 01:31:25 -0500

I just finished watching the 3rd and last scheduled debate for this election, and I will not get into the politics of my planned vote but I thought, "Why don't the look closer at Joe the Plumber, Pete the Realtor, Sue the Hairdresser, Bob the Mechanic, and Exon Mobil and address how to fix the problems of real people, not "95% of taxpayer XYZ.

Housing seems to be at the base of all this mess, so why not help all homeowners, not just those that bought over there heads and are being foreclosed, help everyone, I am suffering from those who over bought and created this crisis, so help me, not them.

Here goes! In Ellis County Texas the taxes on a $250,000 home is about $6000 per year, $500 per month. Why not take the money they are giving to those who made the problem, give it to local government with the stipulation they must lower the Real Estate taxes on all homeowners, then every one is helped and the $500 per month could be lowered to $250 a month, that could be applied to credit card debts to avoid 28% interest and the "walla" the economy is back on track!

OK, it sounds simple but I am sure its not that simple, but am I the only one tired of the same old ideas, lower income taxes, raise taxes, spend more, spend less, give tax credit, take away tax credit, it all makes me tired.

Pete

Travel - A great stress release

Pete and Mary Stanley (Keller Williams Realty - Team Stanley) — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 05:10:06 -0500

Mary and I love to travel. I am going to do a blog about our trips and how calming it can be.

Recent trips

July 6 was my birthday and when Mary ask me what I wanted for my birthday, I said " I want to get in the car and drive until I get to some cool mountains, check in a hotel and spend a long weekend doing nothing but looking at Gods great country."

Yep, we got in the car on July 3rd, drove from Dallas to Tucumcarri, New Mexico, got a nice room in a Holiday Inn Express. Got up late, had a good breakfast at Denny's, and drove on to Eagles Nest New Mexico. We arrived about noon, and as we drove thru town, we noticed everyone was lined up along the street. I told Mary we were either in a parade or one is about to happen. (July 4th of course). We found a local restaurant, parked out back in the only available spot next to the trash container, and carried our lawn chairs up to the street. You got it, we saw the neatest parade, complete with antlers on the handle bars of motor bikes to fire truck throwing out candy.

We went to get something to eat and all the restaurants were closed, in honor of the "Fire Department annual barbecue. So if we wanted to eat we went to the community center and had barbecue with the fire department. Well, it was great and fun to sit and visit with the locals.

After lunch we drove on up to Angel Fire and got a room at a resort on the side of the mountain, summer rates at a ski resort. Nice place.

That night we drove back to Eagles Nest to see the fireworks displey out over the lake. Got home late and crashed for the night.

At 6:00 AM we got up, went to see the Hot Air Balloon launch, up close and even visited with the people participating. It was beautiful, about 15 Hot Air Balloons rising together.

Then breakfast at a packed local resturant we found on a back street. Great food.

After that it got better, we went to a festival of arts and crafts up by the ski lift at our hotel, then drove to Black Lake, just to see what it was. On the way back we saw what looked like a old lean too, or a semi log cabin with a sign that said Winery. Well being wine lovers we went in to take look. Wow, we found the local joint where everyone hangs out and listens to live music and sips some wine. What fun, I had several request for songs, "Proud Mary", "Bobby McGee" and others and they played and sang everyone on for me. What fun!

The next day we drove the "loop" from Angel Fire, up to Taos, Red River and back, taking in the canyon on the way and enjoying along the way, returning to Angel Fire that evening. Great trip and great scenery.

The next day we decided to extend our trip one more day and checked out of the Hotel, drove down to Santa Fe, checked in at the Hampton Inn, and went shopping at the square, coming back in time to have a nice dinner at Olive Garden.

We drove back the next day, arriving home tired, but relaxed and realizing we had just had a great trip that was spur of the moment and enjoying this great country of ours.

Next Trip

We are going to Hawaii next, one of our favorite places, and I will write more about that trip while there on when I get back, if anyone is interested.

Fall is almost here, get out, drive the back roads of America and enjoy the fresh air and beauty and freedom we have here in the Good Old USA.

God Bless

Pete and Mary

Bright Side of Market Fall

Pete and Mary Stanley (Keller Williams Realty - Team Stanley) — Sat, 11 Oct 2008 22:04:50 -0500

With the stock market free fall last week I got a call from a New York investor who was interested in a 3.75 million property we have on gulf coast and is advertised on loop net. This investor point blank said "Our investment group has money to invest and hold and we are looking for alternatives to the Market." I think we can expect more of that. Go list some land this week!

OK, so we lost money also, but we do not have time to sit and cry, we have work to do. Get on the phone, call all your investors and tell then that the best place to put money now is in a sure thing, Real Estate. This is a great time to buy, buy, buy and hold and you all know that the market will come back but we know Real Estate will come back also.

There is only so much land and it will always have value and as for those foreclosures, the inventory is so high it is hurting owner re-sales, so go out get your investors to buy up some of those foreclosures, get them off the market, it looks to us like the Gov. is taking steps to slow the rate of new foreclosures, so look at what a great opportunity we have to move that dwindling inventory.

As for Team Stanley, we are expecting and praying for a great year. Leave it in God hands and watch it go. My Mom always said, "sometimes God has to put you flat on your back to get you to look up".

Today is a new day, get up drink a raw egg, then go out and realize nothing worse can happen to you that day.

Pete and Mary, the positive Team

www .elliscountymoves.com

Selling homes in this market

Pete and Mary Stanley (Keller Williams Realty - Team Stanley) — Sat, 11 Oct 2008 21:38:30 -0500

What this agent has experienced is happening to all Realtors. It happened to us and frankly I was very hurt, but had to move on. We had a home on the market for 6 months worked to get attention to it, spent money on open house, did visual tours, put it on our web site, and we had 3 offers and two contracts. One offer never got negotiated, two offers were negotiated and accepted then they both fell out due to the inspection. We worked with the seller to get all the repairs done so it would not fall out again due to inspection and as a reward they dropped our listing, listed it with someone else and got a contract in one week. Sooooo. Don't feel like the lone ranger, it is happening to all of us. Read Gary Keller's new book "shift" and you can get some more insight.

Pete Stanley

Team Stanley

Via John Foster:

"We understand the listing price is a little high for the market but we just want to give it a try and see what happens." That is what I heard a year ago as I listed a home. In meeting with the Seller I recommended a listing price lower than they felt there home was worth. Their home was a little nicer than the others in the subdivision and if it does not sale "we are fine" is what I was told almost every month. A year later I am taking my sign out of the yard thinking about what could have been done to sale this home in the past year. Currently there are 33 homes for sale in the subdivision, 5 have sold in 9+ months. Each month I would say price is key and we are not comparing to other homes they are seeing from a value perspective. Today I received a call from the agent that will be listing their home and he said they are coming down about $100K to get their home sold. I feel like I did the heavy lifting.

How do you handle friends when you hear the comments above? I am firm but not overbearing when discussing price - any suggestions would be appreciated.

700 Billion Bail out, We may have to but they do not deserve it.

Pete and Mary Stanley (Keller Williams Realty - Team Stanley) — Sat, 27 Sep 2008 22:42:41 -0500

As a Realtor, I remember when this stated to get out of hand. Banks actually enjoyed the foreclosure market because it allowed them to set up a profit center for marketing foreclosures.

What they did was put the foreclosure on the market at a price they would clear extra money. Forget the bargains, they did a BPO and an appraisal, estimated the repairs, did some minor cosmetic stuff, sold it as is and put it on the market at a price to generate a profit. So $190,000 was owed on the house so they priced it at $235,000 in competition with the owner sellers, then they offered bonus to sell quickly and when a offer came they were acceptable to lower price as is, knowing the cost of repairs they were avoiding.

Then poor management practices caused them to delay getting closure for the money because they would take from 3 weeks to 3 months to make a decision. Time was not money to the bankers. We did one short sale that took 3 months to get a decision on our offer, and we did one sale that took 2 weeks to get the deed transferred from Ginnie Mae, after it had been on the market for months. The funding was delayed so long the buyer had to rent a hotel waiting to get moved in.

Keep in mind that in Texas this forclosure by law had to be sold on the courthouse steps and the lender set the starting bid at what he owed and 99% of the time the lender bought it back on the steps when the book could have been closed and they could have had the money owed them, but greed caused them to buy it back, wanting to make extra money.

Now they have stashed the huge salaries they were getting while this was going on and they want to retire to the Condo they bought in Grand Cayman, or the island they bought with that huge 2 million per year salary the received to practice poor management. As for me, I say let them give back all that money they got paid, sell the million dollar homes they live in, then we can talk about what to do.

I am losing money on the stock market also, so I guess we have to do somthing but let them pay first.

Those banks had 15 levels of management, that is why decision were so hard, now they all get off the hook free, I say, let them pay. If my business fails due the the Real Estate market they helped create, will they bail me out, I don't think so.

Solving the ?Crisis?

Pete and Mary Stanley (Keller Williams Realty - Team Stanley) — Sat, 27 Sep 2008 21:24:36 -0500

Well if you look at the bright side. What is the government getting for the 700 Billion. I think they are getting 700 billion in loans that are actually securing real property (assets) and they have value. Rough guess, this represents about 3 million, 500 thousand homes at $200,000. Now if all these were sold when the market for homes gets better, (and it will sooner or later), and all these homes are sold at $250,000 each, that makes a nice profit of 125 billion. So if I had 700 Billion sitting around and I could get all those assets, I think I would jump on the deal. That would be about 18% profit and if it turned in 2 years it would beat the stock market profits by a good margin.

OK, lets get real, BUT, why not see how many of those assets private investors would be willing take over before we buy the whole farm.

Just little old me thinking but if I had a million right now, I would be shopping for foreclosures to buy at bargain rates.

What am I missing here, it seems any thing else would be negative thinking and I am a positive kind of guy.

Pete Stanley

www.elliscountymoves.com

Out Sourcing Services to Foriegn Countries

Pete and Mary Stanley (Keller Williams Realty - Team Stanley) — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 01:55:35 -0500

I do not know about you but I am sick and tired of calling the service department of the phone company or other companies and getting on the line with some one in India that barely can speak English and in fact they speak our language so poorly with an accent that I have to have them repeat themselves several times to get help.

"Hewlo, had can I hep yo." Yo have problema wiht yo DSL lane. I can hep yo. log on and tale may wha yo say. It want log on, ya, that is a problema.

Die I hep yo, please answar ya or no.

So Sorry, Wha can I doe?

Ya, I doe spake engish!

You get the idea. Companies and public service companies, are the worst at forming out the service department to some company in India, Pakistan, Malaysia or so on and they really are more concern about saving money than they are about customer service.

Forgive me but I am just not ready to have some sleepy kid in India answer the phone for my clients to schedule a showing for my listing. Using Centralized Showing Service is difficult enough and they do a pretty good job as far as I am concern.

Does anyone else have this kind of problem?

Pete Stanley

Team Stanley

www.elliscountymoves.com

Technology

Pete and Mary Stanley (Keller Williams Realty - Team Stanley) — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 22:44:27 -0500

Realtors need technology to excel in this market.

1. A blackberry or Treo is a must to use out in the field, Phone, e-mail, text messages, MLS access, pictures, lock box opening, you need it to function.

2. Lap top, take it to your listings, show the client your website, show your client all the active listings in the area, do your listing agreement right there using zip forms on-line, and many other ideas.

3. Take your lap top when showing, when your client ask, "that one across the street looks nice" you can pull it up on your laptop and show them the details and explain that you did not schedule it because it is over the limit of price directions they gave you.

4. Zip Forms on line, there is a ton of time saving features, use it and learn all the features, like importing information from the MLS into the offer your writing.

5. Top Producer or similar programs, if you cannot send 250 personalized e-mails in one minute or less your missing out on some tools you need.

6. You can name 10 more I am sure.

Why am I telling you all this? If your my competitors, ignore me on this. Just kidding, have a great day, competition makes us all better.

Pete Stanely

www.elliscountymoves.com

Why use a Realtor?

Pete and Mary Stanley (Keller Williams Realty - Team Stanley) — Sun, 31 Aug 2008 08:56:12 -0500

Many times we see people trying to sell their home "By Owner" and the truth is 80% of them will eventually hire a professional Realtor!

Why do you need a Realtor?

1. They know all the rules and regulations involved an can guide you through the process. If you think you want to do it your self, ask yourself some questions?

a. How do I know the value of my home is correct?

b. What are the laws governing, disclosures, discrimination, and truth in lending, contract writing, tile policy?

c. How do people find my home, since 87% of home shoppers start on the inter-net, will my home get noticed. Will a sign in the yard and a ad in the paper achieve my goals?

d. If I find a buyer, what next?

e. How am I protected if the buyer I think I have, suddenly changes their mind?

f. How much are my closing cost?

g. Will the HOA transfer have a fee and who pays that. How does that work?

i. What about security, must I always be there when it is shows?

j. I work and how can I be home when some one wants to see my house? How can I schedule showings?

k. Is the buyer qualified or is he just looking?

l. Should I have a lock on the door and allow people in by giving the combo to them?

m. What about my valuables, could the buyer be scoping me out for a robbery?

2. There as so many questions that you need to ask, I cannot even list them all, after all, as a professional Realtor we had to attend 120 hours or more of classes and get 30-60 hours a year to keep our license, we have to be finger printed, and submit to back ground checks, and continue education with legal updates every year and legal ethics every year.

3. If you do not let Team Stanley guide you through all the snake pits and loop holes of selling your home, or buying a home, please, get a professional Realtor to represent you, Remember its not how much a Realtor Cost, its how much of your money you keep that is important!

As we say about life, its not what you take with you when you leave, its all about what you leave behind that matters.

Team Stanley

Pete Stanley

Buyers have no loyalty, Volume Builders have few ethics!

Pete and Mary Stanley (Keller Williams Realty - Team Stanley) — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 07:38:11 -0500

I am sure you have had the buyer like my recent buyer.

I spent 3 months hauling this buyer from home to home searching for the perfect home. As usual they see new homes and ask about them.

So you do the right thing, take then to the Builders model home, REGISTER THE BUYER WITH THE BUILDER, then they look at the new ones, like one and decide to wait and discuss it.

While the buyer is not with you, they go back to the builder on their own. The builder gladly explains that they could have saved $10,000 if they had came with out a Realtor. And the builders agent explains that the registration expires in 30 days, so just wait let it expire then come back.

Meanwhile the buyer drags you to 10 more homes, acts interested and then 30 days later you call the buyer and ask if they want to look at a home that just came on the market and the buyer tells you, oh, well we bought a home from XYZ builders. You ask about the details and they explain that the Builders Rep gave them a great deal because they did not have a Realtor. You explain, yes you do, I registered you with that builder and they explain that the registration expired so they saved money!

Well, this makes you upset so you go see the builder's rep. And of course you find out that the fine print on the registration expires in 30 day, and there is no protection for the Realtor unless the Realtor re-registers the client every 30 days. When I got upset and told the builder's rep we would never show their home again, she said "Oh Well', end of discussion.

Realtors, just remember your buyer has no loyalty when it comes to money. This disgust me, but it is one of those things in life we have to live with, let them answer to God later, its not our problem. Realtors, I advise you, to your face, builders may say it makes no differnce but bottom line, it does because money is involved. I told this buyer, good luck, God is my provider, not you!

Walmart Real Estate, what next

Pete and Mary Stanley (Keller Williams Realty - Team Stanley) — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 23:41:09 -0500

Ok, I guess it was a natural for Wal Mart, more money, more money, more money, They have already gone a long way to eliminate the local grocery, the local pharmacy, the local eye glass office, and they have a photo studio, branch bank, why not real estate?

I can see a little slotted in open store front near the check out counter, complete with flyer's, brochures, and computer terminals hooked up to the MLS system, just sit down and search.

When you see what you want to look at, just tell Joe Blow here and he will be glad to take you out for a look!

Oh by the way, if you want us to, we will put your house in the MLS for $100, just bring in digital pictures and fill out this simple input form and your on the way.

Showings? oh you will have to do that, if they want to see your house they will call you,

Signs? no problem we will sell you one of these disposable plastic models, if it sells just throw it in the recycle bin, its made of re-cycled Wal Mart plastic bags.

Security? yes we will sell you this combo lock for $25,

Pre-qualified buyer? sure just have them step over to the branch bank and apply,

Contract? for $25 we sell you this blank contract, if you get an offer just fill this out, but be very careful there are a lot of things in there that can cause you to lose money or get sued!

What to do with it? oh, just take it to the Wal Mart Title Company and they will take care it from there, for a state regulated fee of course.

Seller disclosure? yea its required, sure, we have copies for $5.00, just fill it out and keep copies available at your house, it will cost $50 extra to put it on the MLS with the pictures.

Copies, yes we do that for 25 cents per page,

Photos, yes we have a photographer who will come out and do 10 picutes of the house for $50

Virtural tour, sure the same photographer will do that for you for $150, but you will need to pay the clerk over there to put it in the MLS for you, that is $50 extra.

Web site? Sure just go to WalMart.com it has everything!

Can other agents sell your home? sure if you let them to but they will expect to get paid, of course.

Personally as for Team Stanley, we provide full service at a reasonable cost, we are not worried, competition is good, it causes us to get better at what we do!

Team Stanley

Waxahachie, Texas

www.elliscountymoves.com

Beat them or Join Them

Pete and Mary Stanley (Keller Williams Realty - Team Stanley) — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 10:06:51 -0500

I do not want to offend any one, but with the economy like it is we are looking for ways to maintain our business level, and every day I see a new discount brokerages arriving on the scene and when I go to list, the first question I get is "how much is your fee and will you give a discount", I am struggling with the issue of discounting fees. We have always had pride in the fact that we are full service Realtors and provide complete service, even beyond expectations at times so our expenses are high.

Every day we encounter listings that have been put in the mls system for $500 or so and no service is given and then some realtors just list and wait for people like us with a great website to sell it. So the question is, "is this the trend and will we all have to get in the discount mode some day, or will there always be a place for us full service people or will we disappear like the full service gas station and travel agents?"

I would like to hear comments from other Realtors, of all types.

Thanks

Pete Stanley of Team Stanley