Calling All Buyers! Final Days to enter contract for federal tax credits

Calling All Buyers! Final Days to Enter Contract for Federal Tax Credits..

This is the final week for home buyers to enter a binding contract to take advantage of the federal tax credits for certain home buyers.  I think most everyone has waited to the last minute. Eligible purchasers must enter contract by April 30 and close escrow before July 1 to claim the tax credits on their federal tax returns.  I have been working around the clock to help buyer's secure properties and enter contracts by Friday. A one-year extension may be available for members of the military and other federal employees who served on official duty outside the U.S. for at least 90 days from January 1, 2009 to April 30, 2010. 
 

First-time buyers may be eligible for up to $8,000, while existing homeowners may be eligible for a tax credit of up to $6,500.  Neither credit requires repayment if buyers live in the residence for three or more years.

For more information on home buyer tax credit providing incentives for buyers.

Laura Coffey, ABR, QSC, CDPE

For all your Real Estate needs please visit www.Laura4Homes.com

For a FREE personal custom web-site with all the current listings in your area please click
Santa Clarita Homes for Sale 

To answer questions or concerns regarding your personal options to avoid foreclosure please visit www.SCVDistressedPropertyHelp.com

 

 

 

Life After The Tax Credit

There aren't many people in the US right now that aren't wondering what the real estate market is going to look like after the tax credit.  Buyers are wondering if they'll extend it yet again, but from what I understand it's highly unlikely.  Realtors are wondering if the spike in activity we just witnessed represents their "nut" for the year, and well I have some opinions of my own. 

As we close in on the deadline we are seeing the last minute flurry of buyers that decided that $8000.00 was enough of an incentive to pull the trigger on a home.  Realtors and buyers alike are hustling to get those contracts agreed upon and ratified in time for the April 30 deadline.  Unlike the last credit, there will be two months to get from ratification of the contract to settlement.  This should take a tremendous amount of strain off of settlement companies and mortgage lenders, but that is yet to be seen.  This flurry of action will most likely show unrealistic 2nd quarter numbers in almost all markets.  So is the world going to end on June 30th when the clock strikes midnight and the tax credit is nothing more than a piece of history (unless of course you're getting a credit)?

Nope, it sure isn't.  My belief is that we will return to normalcy.  You see the government intervention in the real estate market will finally be over.  Economies eventually self correct.  We've placed a band aid here and some gause there, and stiched this, and stapled that, but at the end of the day the wound is going to heal itself with time.  As of the end of March the government pulled out of mortgage backed securities putting private investors back in control of interest rates.  A few days from now we will be past the tax credit deadline restoring a "normal" market.  It will operate on it's own without outside influence from the government. 

Consumers have realized that prices aren't at the same levels as they were in 2005.  They've swallowed that lump that formed in their throat when the Realtor showed up at their house with a less than dazzling sale price.  It has been generally accepted that these are the levels than many markets across the country were meant to maintain.  That ridiculous spike in prices was nothing more than a lapse in judgment by some greedy individuals.  The inflated prices will be reached again at some point, but for now, they are what they are. 

Will the market be simple for the second half of the year, probably not, but the more realistic consumers get the more overall success we will have.  I firmly believe that the "normal" market will be fine once we overcome the large numbers of buyers that left the market earlier than they otherwise would have (first time buyers).  We've purged the market in waves putting many more buyers into the market in lumps instead of distributed over time.  Eventually we'll get back to an equal distribution. 

I look forward, like everyone else, to adapting to a real estate market without so many incentives, where the buyer wants to buy, the seller wants to sell, and the Realtor wants to bring it all together. 

__________________________________________________________________________

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If you have built castles in the air, your work need not be lost; that is where they should be.
Now put foundations under them.
Henry David Thoreau

David E. Monsour, Realtor

Prudential Bob - Yost Sites Homesale, Gettysburg, PA 17325

717-319-3408

David.Monsour@gmail.com

ActiveRain Proxy Error What's Your Secret?

It must be some kind of conspiratorial plot to drive me mad.

I can tell. It's coming. I watch the spinning icon on my browser and fire up three or four other websites just to be sure it isn't my connection and then...

wait for it...

wait...

Proxy Error

The proxy server received an invalid response from an upstream server.
The proxy server could not handle the request GET /action/agents_secure/my_home.

Reason: Error reading from remote server

 

---

Apache/2.2.3 (Red Hat) mod_ssl/2.2.3 OpenSSL/0.9.8e-fips-rhel5 Server at activerain.com Port 80

AAAACKKKKKKK!

Oh, come on! I was just trying to log in! Just how does the ActiveRain Apache server know when I'm in a hurry and decide to lay an ambush for me?

Ever feel this way?

I can't believe I have earned 500,000 Points on Active Rain.

I would like to thank all my associates, blog subscribers and all those who commented on my posts for helping me reach the 500,000 point milestone.

When I started on Active Rain , I did not expect to reach 100,000 points and here I am three years later with 500,000 points.

I enjoy writing about my community and sharing information about Real Estate with others. The main reason I blog is for Google ranking so customers will find me , and  for networking with agents for referrals,

I love to read posts by other members for the wealth of information I can get by reading. I have learned about technolgy , internet marketing and photography here on Active Rain. This is the best online university that anyone involved with Real Estate can join.

If a new member were to ask me what they should do on AR

Here are some tips.:

Write posts about your community and market reports.

Promote your listings but do not just write about listings. Your posts should be about real estate topics. Tips for sellers and buyers etc.

Comment on posts by others. Do not limit it 10 comments.

If someone comments on your post, try to reciprocate.

Thank you Active Rain.

 

Gita Bantwal is a Realtor with ReMax Centre Realtors in Bucks County, a Northern suburb of Philadelphia. You can view 1000s of listings on her web site www.GitaBantwal.com

She can be reached at 215-343-8200x124 or direct 215-275-8491 or via email gita01@aol.com

 

Portraits for a business card.

Is it important to have your photo on business card? If you are in a real estate - YES. You are the the face of your own company and you want people to remember and recognize you. Your business portrait is going to be on many web sites, flyers, magazine ads and your business card. It is very important to look your best. You should invest in some good photo here. Put your best suit on, best face and find a great photographer who will spend two hours in Photoshop making you look gorgeous. You know - a good painter is the one who makes a model look amazing? The same goes with photography.

I have been working on this business card last week and I think it would be nice to share it with you.

If you live in WA state, give me a call and I can take your photo and create a new business card for you.

   From those three different portraits, light wise and business card thinking - the last photo is the best. So, after cutting agent Mark out of the background - and creating design - we've got this:

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Acquiring new business by being proactive

When builders build subdivisions, they often use the same thing in all the homes, mainly because they get a volume discount for buying so much.

As a home inspector with past experience in various other aspects of real estate, I know that. When I'm at a home inspection and find certain things that I know have been recalled or have various problems associated with them, I can often acquire new business by being proactive in telling the neighbors about the recall or problem.

I'll often do this if the problem concerns something that could be a significant fire or safety hazard, or has a recall or class action lawsuit associated with it.

After the inspection, I'll create a mailing list of all the addresses in the subdivision and send out a simple postcard. Recently, I did this when I found polybutylene water supply pipes in the attic:

Notice that I didn't try to sell anything. I only wanted to be helpful, but it's this kind of help that can generate a tremendous amount of business, either by home owners wanting me to come out and check their attic, or them calling me for a home inspection when they go to buy or sell.

If you know something specific about a neighborhood that typically is a problem, try being proactive in contacting the home owners to demonstrate your knowledge and helpfulness. It just might turn into significant business for you.

Acquiring new business by being proactive

☺☻☻☺

Post a picture of your cat right here.

♫♫♪♫♫

Twenty most recent posts

1. Guilty as charged!
2. Ever wonder how home inspectors set their prices?
3. Gather information from all your reports to make the best decision
4. Wanna child or a home? Sorry, you need a license first.
5. Are you too tired for sex?
6. Is this a ménage à trois?
7. It pays to know the neighborhood
8. If your child is missing, look under the house!
9. They do things a little differently south of the border
10. Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery
11. I saw it! I saw it! Did you?
12. We have alpine meadows in San Diego!
13. Realtors, practice your craft!
14. The Border Patrol didn't like my pictures.... :(
15. What if your mouth was shaped like a shoe?
16. Obelisk: San Diego's bookstore for the GLBTQ community and friends
17. Head to Souplantation for the best buffet!
18. Valley Farm Market: Open 9 to 9 daily with farmers' market prices
19. It's okay to get dirty at Weidners Gardens in Encinitas
20. Catch a quick meal at Sixth Avenue Bistro in downtown San Diego

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How to become a business magnet by giving to others

I was just reading a great post by Russel Ray, discussing something he does that benefits whole neighborhoods, and ultimately I'm sure, brings him business from those appreciative neighbors. This is a great practice, no matter what business you're in. 

Giving something to someone with no strings attached is refreshing and much appreciated.  One of my favorite marketing books is "Endless Referrals" by Bob Burg.  He teaches that you will get business from people you meet by offering to help them in some way without asking for or expecting them to give you business. 

It could be by introducing them to someone who could become a client of theirs, or sharing a cutting with a neighbor who has admired your flowers, or doing something like Russel does in alerting people of potential problems n their homes.  The key is your mindset.  You need to be doing it genuinely for the benefit of the other person and not as some kind of trick to get business.  And when you do, it is like you become a magnet for business. 

Let's face it - people like to do business with people they like and trust.  You are more trustworthy when you are offering something to others with no strings attached than when you are merely soliciting their business.  This does not mean that you can't promote yourself, but the first time you meet someone, at a Chamber of Commerce meeting, for example, ask him about his business and ask how you could help him. 

If he is a swimming pool contractor and someone else you met is thinking about putting in a pool, introduce the two of them, tell the potential customer what you just learned about the contractor, and watch that contractor swell with pride because you were actually listening to him and remembered what he said. 

Get his business card and when you get back to your office, send him a handwritten note saying you enjoyed meeting him and hope that you can bring him some business.  When he needs your product or service, he will remember you and you will get the call.

************

 

Full time real estate services in Fair Oaks CA, with friendly professionalism, 20+ years experience.

I work hard to give my buyer or seller a low-stress transaction.
"Happy clients make me happy."

For all your real estate needs or questions, call me at
(916) 705-8951 or visit my website at www.SusanNealFineProperties.com.

Wordless Wednesday - Blue Angels Pic

I snapped this picture at Fleet Week in San Francisco last year.  It was sooooo windy!

Sooo...  they only did this flyby.  Great picture!

 

Makes me think of the Van Halen Song "dreams"

Do you have any Blue angels pictures to post?  Gotta love it!

Chris Alston

CEO- Team Leader

Keller Williams Realty, Cupertino

20230 Stevens Creek Blvd, Suite E

Cupertino, CA 95014

408-850-6955

408-850-6956 fax

calston@kw.com

www.kw.com

 

Find me on:

      

 

Driving traffic to your site

What are great ways to generate

quality traffic to your site to generate more business?

 

Although advertising can be expensive, it's how you generate traffic you need to promote your business. Business cards, newsletters and other print media are good because it promotes your business by providing information to your customers letting them know you are in business. This form of marketing is considered old fashioned by today's standards but very essential to your growth. Your presentation should be professional in appearance.

Google and Yahoo marketing are also good ways to generate virtually instant traffic to your website. Using these search engines by providing keywords and adword search drives specific users to you because they are in essence looking for you. You may want to limit your target to words and phrased specific to what ever it is you are offering in order to get the most efficient use of your money and create better quality impressions on these search engines. There are of course, other alternatives, considering your budget.

Social Networking sites such as Twitter, Myspace, Facebook or Youtube can be great ways to build a network with like minded people you may or may not already know . You not only want to bring traffic to your site, you want to bring the right kind of traffic. This form of advertising is very general and will reach a wide range of people you may not think will need your product or service. This is called attraction marketing. The use of attraction marketing on social networking sites is a efficient yet there is no real target to your audience.

Blogs, chatting or instant messenger are also great because it's inexpensive and provides a quick way to let your customer know what you have. You should offer information they they can use. This method can sometimes be very time consuming and you will have to constantly update your sites to provide updated information. Providing good information is the best way to build trust with your customers. 

If you are not marketing your business you are not in business.

 

Redbud Marketing - Driving Traffic

Create Your OpenZine

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Connie Lou Barnett | Real Living/Home Realty | 270-929-0369 4009 Chapel Lane, Owensboro, KY 3BR/2BA Single Family House offered at $136,900 Year Built 1971 Sq Footage 1,674 Bedrooms 3 Bathrooms 2 full, 0 partial Floors Unspecified Parking Unspecified Lot Size Unspecified HOA/Maint $0 per month DESCRIPTION Nice 3 bedroom home with two full baths located in Town & Country. Home has new carpet. Kitchen with appliances. Two bedrooms with hardwood floors. Split bedroom concept. Greatroom with fireplace and dining area. Front porch and screened back porch with brick patio. It’s easy to see. Make that call today. Call Connie Lou Barnett 684-6221 or 270-929-0369. see additional photos below PROPERTY FEATURES - Central A/C - Central heat - Fireplace - Hardwood floor - Dishwasher - Refrigerator - Stove/Oven - Laundry area - garage ADDITIONAL PHOTOS Photo 1 Great Room Kitchen Master Bedroom Screened Porch Back View Contact info: Connie Lou Barnett Real Living/Home Realty 270-929-0369 For sale by agent/broker Equal Opportunity Housing Posted: Apr 12, 2010, 12:18pm PDT