I have been playing the real estate game with coach Patty       . This game consists of a daily phone call and and tasks to complete every day. I have only been in the game for 2 days out of the 30.

I HAVE LEARNED A BUNCH IN JUST 2 DAYS!!

The importance of scheduling .. Something I stick at..

And yesterday the 80/ 20 rule... Do you know about this rule. Well i had a light bulb moment when I heard this.. It is simply that you need to spend 80% of the time finding and doing business and 20 % on administrative tasks!!

Anyone agreee with this? How do you compare to this 80/ 20 rule?? Just want hear how you orginize your day and if it works for you.

I just finished looking into a new company that has moved to the Hanover pa area.

They shall remain nameless. I never want to slam someone trying to make a living.

They are a credit repair company that took out a good size ad in our local paper.

The ad was nicely presented and informative.  promises to pay the consumer $10,000 if they fail!!

Also the company boosts they are former credit bureau executives.. how can you go wrong.

I had to look into this. Many of my buyers that have some bumps on there credit may want to take this route.

I went to the web site and looked around. Everything sounded good and  no bull it was all on the up and up.

The client had to be responsible for keeping in touch and doing some leg work .

This company will do a lot more then send letters and dispute , they seem to know the ins and out of the credit industry!! I was impressed.

The down fall They charge up front $795.00. Ouch!

I was really thinking hey maybe I can work together with this company and help some of my clients ...

You know always thinking about how to get to a sale..  And a renter to a home owner.

The question is.. Would you as a buyer want to pay $795.00??? That just seems over the top. Or maybe I am out of touch.

Or would you just work on it on your own?? It will time , energy, and patience.. But it will not cost you $795.00... Just some blood,sweat and tears!!!

I have sold homes in and around Hanover School District for years now.

NEVER>>> have I seen the prices I am seeing now.

I just did a quick search of detaches single family homes in the Hanover pa school district.

There are 35 singles family homes priced below $199.900..

Most are in quite neighborhoods.  Some are in town.

All have yards and there own privacy.

There are ranchers, colonials,  an English tutor, cape cods, and farm typr homes.

However my point is just in one smal school district i have found 35 homes that  list from $70,000 to $199.900 !!!

This is big news as we all know you could barly buy a town house for this....

Pay no mind to the media . Look and Buy .. NOW IS THE TIME !!!!

As always I am here to help you with your real Estate needs .sharris@aqre.com

www.buyandsellwithsharon.com

I was just wondering about all the signs that seem to be everywhere you look ... They are the ones that say we will buy your house for cash.. Or they can sell it in 7 days or less.. Or behind in payments.

Anyhow you know the ones.

I just spent some time filling out a form on one of though sites.. I wanted to see what they would offer me for my house. Would this be a fair price? Or would it be like some low ball offer? 

Stay tuned I will let you know what comes of this.. Someone is going to call me within 48 hours.

I plugged in my address and type of home. A 3 bedroom ranch with finished basement.. 2.5 detached garage, pool, and many upgrades.

The form started out nice enough with asking this general info. then moved on to the hard questions.. Mortgage info such as amount owed on the property and monthly payment. Taxes, homeowner fees, and insurance. OK they would in interested in knowing this.

Then moved onto the killer questions .. How much do I think the homes is worth, am I behind in payments, Do I owe back taxes. OK I answers these...

Now comes the really crazy questions..

* would I accept less for the house if they bought it ? If so what amount?

* If I am behind in payments would I consider renting the house back from them?

* What repairs need done? Are you willing to pay a contractor to fix ?

* Is your house listed with a Realtor? If so when does it expire?

* If you are owed equity after the sale can will you accept monthly payments?

* If you want you can sign over the power of attorney to us and we can make your payments for you?

HOW IS THIS REALLY HELPING THE AVERAGE PERSON BEHIND IN THERE PAYMENTS?

OK stay tuned I will let you know what the offer on my home is and how it measures up to a cma done by me....

I was just viewing Susan Neal's blog here on  Active Rain and on the side bar was this fun little web site...

The site is howmanyofme.com.  I had some fun plugging in my name as well as names of my family members.

I found out that there are 2,195 people named Sharon Harris in the United States Pretty cool. Explains why I have a hard time using sharris as a user name!!!

The name Sharon is the 55 th most popular female name in The United States...  798,050 people with the name!!

99.9 of the people with this name are female... Wonder where that lone male named Sharon  is?

There are 840,857 Harris's  in the United States.... Wow.

This has nothing to do with Real estate. But it does not always have to be does it?

Take a quick look at the site.. Just for fun. There are  links there as well if you wish to add to your home page or face book account.

Plus a big Thank You to Susan Neal for the site!!! Way to go Susan of Fair oaks CA. Century  21 Noel David Reality..

I seem to have been bomb bartered with clients seeking out Rent To Own property avalible in the area.

I am willing to help these clients with there endeavor of course. However more then once I have found that the rent to Own property can be a very expensive move. WHY?

1. There is usially a high deposit to put down on the Property ..... $ Anywhere from 2,000 to 5,000. Up to 10% of asking price.

2. There are the owners that wan you to pay the taxes on the property...

3. You will need to carry  insurance that will cover the loss of the home and your belongings.

4. rent is paid to owner monthly with only a portion being held as credit towards purchase.

5. You MUST pay rent on time every month. Failure to do will cause a loss of your rent credit being lost for that month..Pay late more then once and it adds up. Lets say you pay $2,000 a month for rent and $500.00 is put towards purchase. Pay late 3 times you are out $1,500.00!!!!

6. you need to be able to obtain a mortgage within a time frame... 3 years is normal. Now that is only 36 rent payments....

7. You are 9 times out of ten going to be respocable for repairs.. This can add up quickly.

8. You lock into a agreement now.. What happens if the housing market continues to decline? Will you have agreed to paying too much?

9. Are you prepared to get your credit in order and will you have the funds to do so?

10. What if you hate this home and or the neighborhood after all? You walk away and you lose the deposit and all the rent money saved for purchase. The owner gets to keep this not you...

What i am getting at here be sure before you take this route. Maybe you will be better off just renting a less expensive  property and saving money yourself in an interest bearing account. Now this does take determination but you can do it!

Keep working on any credit bumps you may have.

As a Realtor i just want to keep your best interest at heart. It can be expensive to RENT TO OWN.

If you have a good cash flow and you feel that this is for you.. So be it

However if you are feeling the pinch and the numbers seem to make you feel queasy .. Maybe you should wait?

If ever you have any questions I am here for you. No pressure just answers.

My e mail is open to you...sharris@aqre.com

I receives an e mail from Julie Sugar. In  an e mail it stated that she had a buyer/ seller lead for me here in Hanover PA. She was a Realtor in California and could not help them.

Of course I e mailed back and said of course i could help. But then in hindsight thought how did she find me? I bet it was Active rain although she did not say so it had to be.

I went to my home page and did a search for Mrs Sugar....WHAT A SURPRISE!!!! Mrs Sugar has been very busy. Seems She and others from her company Epage homes have been scamming Rainers  for some time now.

Thank You Rainers who wrote on this topic before me. you saved me time and money .

If you receives an e mail stating that Julie Sugar or anyone from  Epage Homes just hit the delete button as fast as you can. They are selling old leads and leads that are otherwise useless.

Do a search . read the comments ...Be smart!~!~  Run Fast

  Julie Sugar

Sales manager

Woodland hills, CA 91364

818 444 7311 ext 4001

julie_1@xmr3.com

Save yourself a lot of worry and wheel spinning. Just take some time to figure out just how much you Can afford to spend on a home.

Here are just a few basics one can do while sitting at the kitchen table...

As a rule of thumb a lender will want to see your mortgage payment to equal no more then 29% of your u GROSS income. This this money you make before anything is deducted from the check.

Then you need to consider the currant loan interest rate.. In today market about 6 to 6-5 % is a good figure to work with.

Of course the lower the interest the more home you can afford.

OK lets say you make 60,000 gross pay a year. you take $60,000 x 29%  is..174000

Now divide this by 12 months..1,450 now lets say if you add on interest 6% that comes to $ 87.00.

This means to me you should try to find a home that Will run you about 1,000 to 1,100 a month. this way your pmi..( private mortgage insurance) and your interest and taxes will all fit into the 29% of your pay.

I know this is a lot to grasp. But get out the calculator and pay around with the figures.

It pays to be smart and know the odds before taking on a mortgage.....

OK you have the sign in the yard and your house is officially for sale.

Here are some quick tips to keep things tidy while FOR SALE!!

kitchen..

Keep clutter to a very small amount... Clear counter tops .. tough I know but when you cook a meal take the time to put away what you have used.  Put dishes into dishwasher. Air freshers are nice.

Keep Windex handy..Spritz the fronts of appliances once a day to keep everything looking shiny.

A swifter sweeper or broom to go over floor every other day to gather those pesty crumbs.

Keep the  front of the frige clear of personail photos and magnets and school reports ..Tuck this in a drawer or just pack for the trip to your new home.

BATHROOM...

keep some daily shower cleaner on hand and just perk up that shower after the last shower of the day. Ikeep mine right in the shower So it is handy.

Windex should be on hand under the counter to shine up the faucets and vanity.

Fresh towels and or hang the used ones neatly.

Empty the waste basket or tuck away..buyers do not want to see it.

invest in a toilet cleaning kit. You know one that you can dispose of the part you clean with.

BEDROOMS..

Make the bed.

Put dirty clothes into a hamper . Open curtains Let the sun in.

Tidy the closet.. And keep it tidy. Buyers love to look in closets!!

Keep on of those swifter dusters some where to keep dust at bay .

LIVING AREA..

Free of clutter

tidy up..Daily..

Again the swiffer duster.

pay attention to smudge marks on Glass front doors.

FAMILY ROOM..

SAME AS ABOVE but adding keep kids games and toys organized helps.

laundry area..

This room is tough but when you do a load ..Put it away.

keep trash cans empty.

Put away the ironing board.

Windex the washer and dryer..

This room should  shine and says clean.

 Every day spend 10 to 15 minutes picking up .

Put away the things you find avoid piles!

Windex and dust over what needs it quickly . No not a cleaning just enough to make everything look free of dust and smudges.

Out side..

Fall is upon us..leaves are dropping fast. Keep them at bay.

Use a leaf blower to keep them away from the main entrance!

Sweep porches.

Hang a nice wreath.

keep the yard and gardens to the best of your ability.

It only takes a few minutes a day to keep on top of things. buyers are picky. It only takes them 30 seconds to decide if they want to look around your home or pass it by. Believe me the house will sell and you can move on and once again enjoy your dust and dirt!! And Yes those piles!!