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No Vacation For You, Mr./Ms. REALTOR®

I've been reading quite a few posts on Active Rain about members planning to go away for vacation during this slow time only to discover that their phone begins to ring off the hook.

ATTN: ACTIVE RAIN MEMBERS -- DO NOT TAKE A VACATION!

It is raining money -- for both you and buyers! It's raining money -- for you and your clients!

You see, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are doing away with down payment assistance. There are a lot of buyers who were sitting on the sidelines wondering when to jump into the market. Many are seeing that time as NOW!

You should be spending every extra minute marketing to these potential buyers. Flyers, letters to editors, Active Rain posts, seminars, visiting churches or doing anything else you can to get the word out.

Now is your opportunity to turn a lackluster year into a phenomenal year -- you probably will not have such an amazing opportunity again in 2008. Make the most of it!

Congress is taking a huge step by eliminating down payment assistance and now is your chance to do something huge for buyers and your business!

You have a small window to help as many people as possible. You have the rest of your life to take a vacation.

From now until the end of September, you have a THE PERFECT REASON to encourage people to jump into the real estate game.

DO NOT let this opportunity pass you by!

Buyers who are not aware that down payment assistance is going away -- but learn from you and buy a home through you -- may very likely become clients for life. Even if they decide not to buy now, they may remember you as the agent who tried to help them! If they do buy, they will appreciate the money you were able to sit in their laps. Money that will no longer be available in less than six weeks.

'Knowledgable' is a trait many look for in their REALTOR® and you will surely show how knowledable you actually are by informing prospects of the looming deadline.

If you make the most of it, you will have more money to take an even better vacation later this fall!

Turn what will be a bad situation (elimination of down payment assistance) into a win/win situation right now by helping those who need it!

Posted by Jesse Barron, REALTOR® - Real Estate Made Easy™ in Anne Arundel County, MD on 08/21/2008 11:16 PM

Comments (7)

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7 Comments on No Vacation For You, Mr./Ms. REALTOR®

AUG

2008

Jesse - Your timing is impeccable. I am about to leave town for the first time in almost a year to visit our in-laws in Houston. When I return, however, I am working on some serious agent training and recruiting.

Keep up the enthusiasm. It's contagious.

Jason: Thank you! You can use your time in Houston to think about the game plan! In the mean time, enjoy your trip!

Trunda: I am a realist and view current market conditions as not the most favorable. However, I have seen first hand how many people downpayment assistance has helped and I think that if a buyer needs the assistance, then now is the time to jump in and buy. The clock is ticking. Otherwise, they may find themselves spending years trying to save up enough on their own -- and even if prices continue to decline, they may be back up again by the time they save enough.

You are so right the past three days have been a whirlwind for us. Keep it coming!

Patty & Scott: Off the top of my head, I know that I have at least 6 listings under contract and a few more in the works. Things are moving along so quickly that I do not even know the exact number. Yes, I could look it up, but I am trying to wind down for the evening and would start working again if I did. Most of the ones now under contract sat and sat for months with no real interest. By the end of next month, over half of my current active listings should be sold. Also off the top of my head, I believe all but one or two are FHA. This is the only time this year I have had so many pending contracts at once.