Happy New Year! And 09' is the year of the first-time homeowner...

Happy late New Year to everyone and I hope you're off to a productive, happy and healthy 09'. Here's a pic of the evening of me and my wonderful girlfriend celebrating NYE 09'.




Now onto some informational bloggage....

An interesting economic setup is occurring... it could be the year of the first-time homeowner!

 For young professionals and the serial renters, a lot of opportunity has been presented recently in the form of home prices "on sale" from year's of past. I've read some articles that quote many St. Charles and St. Louis county homes are being sold at or very close to at actual original cost to the builder... meaning, that if the home burned down, it would cost more to buy the materials and labor to put it back together than what homes are selling for on the market currently.

A funny thought... it would be bad business for any industry to buy materials, manufacture a product, then add up all the costs incurred and not only miss out on charging a profit, but mark down their prices from what it cost them to make their product and sell for less!

First-time homeowners have not been stung by current real estate price declines, and are empowered with historically low interest rates (mid 5% for decent credit, with 3-20% cash down payment), motivated sellers, and the newly passed legislation granting $7,500 in tax credits for individuals that ... here's the kicker... have not owned property in the last three years. Even individuals that have purchased in the past can qualify as a "first-time homeowner" with this verbage included in the law!

-Joe F., www.joefreemanhomes.com