There is currently a rare combination of historically low interest rates and a solid outlook for the US economy which  in the short term means that prospective homebuyers have a significantly better opportunity to own the home of their dreams.

This is what the experts are saying:

On Low Interest Rates – David Seiders, Chief Economist for the National Association of Home Builders, expects interest rates on 30-year mortgages to average about 6.5 percent for the near term. Seiders points out that long-term interest rates have been “performing beautifully” since mid-year.*

Home Sales are at a Slower,  but Steady Pace - Seiders also points out that new home sales are “right in line with where we were in 2003, which was a record year for housing,” and that with energy costs retreating and the national economy moving ahead, it’s “…a very good time to buy a home.”*

Fundamentals Forecast a Stable Market – Jim Glassman, Managing Director for JPMorgan Chase, says that the current housing market “could bottom out faster than you see in the numbers.” A robust global economy, moderating energy prices and low interest rates are among the “safety nets” for housing during the adjustment period, he said.*

In short, now is a great time to buy! If you’re considering buying a home, I look forward to helping you meet your real estate needs. Please recommend me to anyone you know who may be looking to buy or sell a home.

Further Information

• Refinance mortgage loans at low interest rates | Christian Finance, Success, Earn Money, Insurance, Save Money, Debt Help
• Veterans Receive Low-Interest Rate Mortgage Loans to Acheive Their Dreams of Owning a Home | Homespace.com
• Home Buying Experts Support New Legislation to Remove Home Buyer Tax Credit Marriage Penalty | RealEstateRama
• It’s Time to Make a Move! Only 42 Day’s Left to Take Advantage of the Home Buyer Tax Credit! « Prudential Towne Realty's Blog
• Home Buying | Come2OK.com
• Prices will fall as the supply of housing soars above demand | first tuesday journal online
• Mortgage Lender Atlanta » Is It Better To Lock In At A Low Rate Now Or Wait For Prices To Decrease?
• How Stable Is The Homebuilding Market? – Investopedia « HutchBSR Racing News
• Among the borrowers, leaving only the good and bad

Coffee  filters …. Who knew!

And you can buy 1,000 at the Dollar Tree for almost nothing even the large ones.

1. Cover bowls or dishes when cooking in the  microwave. Coffee filters make excellent covers.

2. Clean windows, mirrors, and chrome…  Coffee filters are lint-free so they’ll leave windows sparkling.

3.  Protect China by separating your good dishes with a coffee filter between each dish.

4.  Filter broken cork from wine.  If you break the cork when opening a wine  bottle, filter the wine through a coffee filter.

5.  Protect a cast-iron skillet.  Place a coffee filter in the  skillet to absorb moisture and prevent rust.

6.  Apply shoe polish.  Ball up a lint-free coffee filter.

7.  Recycle frying oil.  After frying, strain oil through a sieve  lined with a coffee filter.

8.  Weigh chopped foods.  Place chopped ingredients in a coffee filter on a  kitchen scale.

9.  Hold tacos.  Coffee filters make convenient wrappers for messy foods.

10.  Stop the soil from leaking out of a plant pot.  Line a plant  pot with a coffee filter to prevent the soil from going through  the drainage holes.

11.  Prevent a Popsicle from dripping.  Poke one or two holes as  needed in a coffee filter.

12.  Do you think we used expensive strips to wax eyebrows?  Use  strips of coffee filters..

13.  Put a few in a plate and put your fried bacon, French fries, chicken  fingers, etc on them.  It soaks out all the grease.

14.  Keep in the bathroom.  They make great “razor nick  fixers.”

15.   As a sewing backing.  Use a filter as an easy-to-tear backing for embroidering or appliqueing soft fabrics.

16.  Put baking soda into a coffee filter and insert into shoes or a closet to absorb or prevent odors.

17.  Use them to strain soup stock and to tie fresh herbs in to put in soups and stews.

18.  Use a coffee filter to prevent spilling when you add fluids to your car.

19.  Use them as a spoon rest while cooking and clean up small counter spills.

20.  Can use to hold dry ingredients when baking or when cutting a piece of fruit or veggies..  Saves on having extra bowls to wash.

21.  Use them to wrap Christmas ornaments for storage.

22.  Use them to remove fingernail polish when out of cotton balls.

23.  Use them to sprout seeds.  Simply dampen the coffee filter, place seeds inside, fold it and place it into a plastic baggie until they sprout.

24. Use coffee filters as blotting paper for pressed flowers.  Place the flowers between two coffee filters and put the coffee filters in  phone book..

25.  Use as a disposable “snack bowl” for popcorn, chips, etc.

Further Information

• Darwin Tanzman » Wagner Stylized Logo Cast Iron Skillet Set 7 8 192024
• How to Season, Clean and Care for a Cast Iron Pan | Bay Area Bites
• Lodge Logic 12-Inch Pre-Seasoned Skillet | Furniture Know
• Enameled Cast Iron 6 Quart Dutch Oven Cooking Home Food « runninguphill
• Sesame and Herb Chicken Fingers « Diabetes Treatment and Guide of Diabetes
• Digits La Chicken with Pomme Puree « Austin Food Journal
• Make Gluten-free Breading for Chicken Fingers!
• Kosher Nexus » NORMAN’S DOES PESACH (ISRAEL)
• Pecan Chicken Fingers with Cranberry-Orange Sauce « PEAs and Cues
• Chicken Fingers and Fries « homecookedem's Blog
• Hamilton Beach 80674 Water Filter Replacement Pods and Handle | Best Coffee Maker
• Sometimes, when we make coffee, the water gets clogged in the filter and it doesn’t drain into the pot. Why? | The Coffee Cup
• Coffee : What You Can Do To Lessen Its Impact On The Environment | Link UP! Networks
• How do you use an old aluminum coffee maker? : Percolator Coffee Makers
• How many pots of coffee you get from 1 pound of coffee to get? | Money News
• How To Choose Coffee Makers | Coffee Pods
• Science Filter Question? | The Coffee Cup
• Coffee Filters « Mama Rucci
• Everybody Can Garden With Containers
• Getting Started With your Bonsai Hobby | Bonsai Pictures

I am pleased to announce that when you choose to list your house with me, I have an entire franchise dedicated to assisting me in getting my listings sold, for the most money, in the shortest amount of time. Thanks to my association with  ERA, you know your listing has maximum exposure to those who are ready to buy a home now.

There are some huge Internet sites which feature real estate for sale. Two of the most visited are Realtor.com and ERA.com. My listings are posted on both those sites. But in addition to those sites, ERA has contracted with other heavy hitters in the real estate market.

As ERA states: One of the key obligations for ERA Marketing is to ensure your listings are viewed by as many consumers as possible. To that end, we have created an aggressive online listing distribution strategy to secure the most visible, effective and appropriate distribution channels. As a result, we now have multiple marketing agreements in place with leading Internet destinations such as Google, Trulia, Zillow, and Yahoo!.

Your listings may appear on the following Web sites based on your property qualifications pertaining to its features:

Openhouse.com
OpenHouse.com is a Realogy-owned consumer Web site that features open house listings hosted by its affiliated brand networks. The easy-to-use site allows home buyers to see dates and time schedules for open houses in their area; view pictures and detailed information about homes; print a route planner with complete maps and directions; request more information or schedule a private showing; and sign up for e-mail alerts about future open house events. Open houses will also automatically appear on Oodle, Trulia, Zillow, and Homefinder.com.

Trulia
Trulia, Inc. (www.trulia.com), a residential real estate search engine, has revolutionized online home search by offering a rich, intuitive user experience that points consumers directly to listings on agent and broker Web sites. By partnering with the real estate industry, Trulia helps consumers find information on homes for sale using custom search criteria such as price and number of bedrooms to neighborhoods and market trends.

Google Base
Google Base offers content providers such as ERA Real Estate the ability to provide property-specific attributes therefore increasing the chance that an ERA® listing will appear in the results of relevant queries. Based on the relevance match, a listing may also appear in search results on Google, Froogle and Google Maps.

RealEstateJournal.com
RealEstateJournal.com is a site that draws more than 3.5 million visitors per year, and is geared towards buyers who are looking for luxury homes, vacation properties, retirement and second homes, land and rentals.

LuxuryRealEstate.com
The award-winning website www.LuxuryRealEstate.com currently provides access to over 50,000 for-sale properties, multi-million dollar homes and luxury homes from around the world.

Zillow
Zillow.com is an online real estate community where homeowners, buyers, sellers, and real estate agents and professionals find and share vital information about homes, for free. Launched in early 2006 with Zestimate values and data on millions of U.S. homes, Zillow has since opened the site to community input, data and dialogue, including Home Q&A.

Frontdoor.com
The advantage FrontDoor offers over other real estate listing services is the demonstrated leadership and expertise of HGTV – seen in more than 95 million U.S. households and the No. 1 online resource for home and garden content – combined with a rich, video- and image-centric experience.

ERADistinctiveProperties
ERA brokers realize that in real estate there are properties that possess such distinction in their respective communities and that they deserve a program that offers the experience, technology and global scope that truly highlights their stature. The ERA® International Collection is such a program. With a superior level of attention and performance, the ERA® International Collection employs a sophisticated range of marketing strategies and techniques that transcend the borders that generally restrict most real estate companies.

Resort.ERA.com
Resort.ERA.com is the ERA Resort Properties International Web site. From this site, you can link to a database of properties categorized by state or you can search available properties by selecting from a wide range of criteria such as waterfront locations, ski, resorts and golf club communities.

TXT ERA
TXT ERA capitalizes on text messaging by delivering valuable property information directly to a prospect’s cell phone via text message. Consumers simply send a text message to TXT ERA (898372) with the express listing number they see on the yard sign, and in an instant they will receive a return text message with the basic property information.

ERA.com Mobile
This wireless software enhancement allows ERA® real estate professionals, as well as their customers, complete access to ERA.com home listings from wireless tools, including cell phones and personal digital assistants (PDAs).

Espanol.ERA.com
Espanol.ERA.com is the Spanish-language sister-site to ERA.com. This site provides in Spanish all of the elements available on ERA.com including property information, office and sales associate profile pages, search and resource tools and more.

Yahoo! Real Estate
Yahoo! Inc. (Yahoo!) is a global Internet brand. To its global users, it provides owned and operated online properties and services. Yahoo! Inc. has become the world’s largest global online network of integrated services with more than 500 million users worldwide.

AOL Real Estate
AOL Real Estate offers a comprehensive collection of home and apartment listings, real estate information, tools and real estate advice for buyers, sellers, renters, investors, people planning on buying a vacation home or even current homeowners.

Homes.com
As one of the nation’s top online destinations for real estate listings, Homes.com contains nearly one-million homes for sale. You can also search homes.com for new home construction, foreclosures, and homes for rent.

HomeFinder.com
HomeFinder.com provides local, comprehensive property listings and rich content to home buyers and sellers nationwide, while delivering a suite of advertising solutions that offer choice and results that enable real estate professionals to grow their business.

Cyberhomes
Cyberhomes™ valuations give you access to most of the same information that real estate professionals use to evaluate homes.

Oodle
Oodle is the fastest growing classifieds service. Pulling together and organizing millions of listings from all over the Web, Oodle is one of the best ways to buy and sell through online classifieds.

©2010 ERA Franchise Systems LLC. A Realogy Company. All Rights Reserved. ERA Franchise Systems LLC supports the principles of the Fair Housing Act and the Equal Opportunity Act. Each Office is Independently Owned and Operated. ERA, the ERA logo, and ERA Select Services are registered service marks licensed to ERA Franchise Systems LLC.

Whether you’re in a major metro market or a small town; regardless of which part of the country, the economy, or even the day and age you’re doing business, three core rules apply to real estate:

Real Estate Rule Number 1.

Real estate is governed by the law of supply and demand. This rule is absolute and without exception. The appreciation of a market, the expectations of Buyers and Sellers, and the velocity of market sales are all dictated by the supply of- and the demand for- real estate properties currently for sale.

As a recent example, we saw rapid appreciation and a frenzied response by buyers in the U.S. real estate market in the years 2002 through 2005. This response was caused by the fact that demand for real estate was at an all-time high while the supply was limited. This caused rapid appreciation, with home Sellers receiving multiple offers within days or even hours. At one time during that period, homes in southern California were selling, on average, at 18% above the listed price – the result of a market condition where demand outstripped supply.

Real Estate Rule Number 2.

Real estate is governed by the law of cause and effect. In other words, positive situations cause positive outcomes, and negative situations produce negative outcomes. For example, a vibrant economic growth leads to a vibrant real estate market and strong appreciation of homes, while loss of jobs and a languishing economy produce exactly the opposite effect.

As a specific example, as the post World War II, baby boom generation matured, it fueled an explosion in second home purchases so strong that more than 21% of 2004 U.S. home sales were second home purchases – most acquired by aging baby boomers. This created desire for additional housing that affected the construction of new homes and home values in second home markets nationwide.

Real Estate Rule Number 3.

History will repeat itself. In any marketplace, there are cycles. Periods of rapid real estate appreciation are followed by stagnant periods where values stabilize or even decrease. For example, in the years of 2002 – 2005, in a number of key U.S. market areas more than 40% of new home loans were being written as low money down, interest only mortgages. These limited equity position purchases were being made on the assumption – the gamble  – that the rapid appreciation cycle would continue and that housing prices would climb even higher. When the growth trend stopped, as it has many times before, home values declined, mortgage balances exceeded resale prices, and a large group of home buyers are forced to walk away from their homes as banks foreclose on a significant number of loans. This will further lower values and stagnate growth, as it has many times before.

· Rate 5.65%

· Down Payment Assistance-3.5%

· Loan types allowed: FHA, VA. RD and HUD 184

· Property eligibility—entire state of Oklahoma

· If seller pays all the closing costs, then the buyer gets in with a net cost of $0.00

· For buyers that have not owned in 3 years and do not exceed income limits

· Soft-second mortgage (0 interest) for the 3.5% assistance, prorated and completely forgive after buyer lives in house for 5 years.

Tulsa County Bond Available

· Rate 5.20%

· Down Payment Assistance-3.0%

· Loan types allowed: FHA and VA

· Property eligibility—Tulsa County

· If seller pays all the closing costs, then the buyer gets in with a net cost of 0.5% FHA

· For buyers that have not owned in 3 years and do not exceed income limits

· No repayment is ever required for Tulsa County Bond.  No second mortgage is filed.

Contact me for more details.

Call Wayne at 918-645-1470

or by email.

You must understand… Selling your house is not just a price war, it’s also a beauty contest!!

Every house will sell. It’s just a matter of when and for how much. Thinking about selling your home? Home Staging and Consulting offers home sellers with ERA John Hausam Realtors an advantage over the competition. An initial consultation, including a home worksheet (“To Do List”) which can net you thousands of dollars in return on your investment and give you a speedier sale. Sometimes a pair of fresh eyes can offer a whole new perspective to your environment. Home Staging helps you to maximize your home’s selling potential.  Most often, Home Staging will cost nothing because Sellers recover their costs from the increase in the net sale of their home. We can work with any budget, size and condition of property. Our goal at Home Staging and Consulting is SOLD! Contact me today to schedule a consultation.

It’s a proven fact, homes that receive professional attention before going on the market attract offers at a faster rate.

This licensed Interior Designer will:

1. Evaluate the property objectively inside and out to provide the homeowner with a check list of suggestions to give the best first impression and maximum appeal of the property to attract buyers. This is an in Home Consultation outlining positive areas and areas of concern.
2. Work with the homeowner to enhance features and offer solutions for the problem areas.
3. Provide a “Checklist” of what to do before a Showing or Open House.
4. Offer professional Interior Design Services and Home Staging.

Call Wayne at 918-645-1470

or by email.

1. Close on your home purchase between November 7, 2009 and April 30, 2010, or have a binding, written contract by April 30, 2010 and close by July 1, 2010.
2.  Decide whether to:
* apply the credit to your 2009 tax return, filed on or before April 15, 2010;
*  file an amended 2009 return; or,
* apply the credit on your 2010 return, filed on or before April 15, 2011.
3. Attach the documentation of purchase to your return.

The Documentation of Purchase

Home buyers must attach a copy of the closing statement (specifically called the HUD-1 or settlement form) to the IRS Form 5405 as the evidence that the home purchase was completed and that is was within the dates specified. In some cases, a HUD-1 form may not have been used (sometimes with new construction). In those situations you should attach a copy of the certificate of occupancy in lieu of the HUD-1.

If you can not find your copy of the HUD-1 from the documents you received on the day of closing, contact your Realtor® for help.

When to Apply the Credit

Buyers purchasing homes on or before December 31, 2009 may claim the credit on their 2009 tax returns.

Buyers purchasing in 2010 will have the option to:

*  Claim the credit on their 2009 return, even if the purchase is completed after December 31, 2009;
*  File an amended return for 2009 if their purchase is completed after April 15, 2010; or,
*  Claim the credit on their 2010 tax returns.

Applying the Home Buyer Tax Credit to Your 2009 Return

To claim the credit as part of your 2009 return, you will need:  The standard Form 1040 and Form 5405 for the home buyer tax credit.

1. First begin Form 1040.

2. Be sure to take note of your adjusted gross income from the Form 1040, which you will then enter on lines 37 of the Form 5405. (Form 5405 actually requires you to note your modified adjusted gross income, but that affects few people, so most will just use their adjusted gross income.)

3. When you come to Line 69 of the Form 1040 you’ll be asked to enter your tax credit amount. To do that, you’ll need to first complete Form 5405.

4. Once you complete Form 5405, enter the amount on Line 69, then complete your return.

5. Attach Form 5405 with the HUD-1 to your return (Form 1040).

Determining Your First-Time Home Buyer Credit Amount:  Form 5405

This form (IRS Form 5405) has just six lines and takes only a minute to complete.

1. On the first line enter either $8,000 or 10 percent of the home purchase price, whichever is smaller.

Since the national median home price is around $175,200 (March 2009), in most cases the $8,000 will be the smaller of the two. In order for 10 percent of the home price to be smaller, the home purchase price would have to be $79,999 or less.

2. On the second line enter your adjusted gross income.

You will find your gross adjusted income on Form 1040. (The tax credit form actually requires you to note your modified adjusted gross income, but that affects few people, so most will just use their adjusted gross income.)

3. If your adjusted gross income is more than $75,000 (individual) or your income is more than $150,000 (joint)  you’ll have to complete some additional calculations to determine the credit amount for which you qualify.

Everyone else will simply enter the tax credit amount on Line 6.

Collecting Your Refund

Any refund for which you qualify will be sent to you.

We’re always looking for ways to e-mail large files without getting cut off by cranky e-mail providers. Those files may be pictures, videos or audio messages. Once upon a time, my friend Marc and I would make micro cassettes and mail our messages instead of writing letters. This could be a great alternative to plain email. People could actually hear the excitement, or sadness, in your voice rather than mis-reading words online.

As I’m sure you have discovered, e-mail folks set a limit on the size of files we can send – and when we exceed that limit they get nasty and bounce those great photos we tried to send to Grandpa.

This great place lets you upload files as large as 2 gigabytes — and there is no need to register or sign up. You simply upload your file and your link is instantly ready to email to your friends and colleagues. You can upload as many files as you want. Your files remain accessible for as long as they are being used and can be downloaded an unlimited number of times.

Great service and it’s on the house! Just click on the link in the first paragraph.

House Hunting Guide

Helping You Find Your Home

These are the things I will do for you:

1.    I will supply you with your own copy of the Home Finder Manual

2.    I will help you search out the very best mortgage and interest rate available

3.    I will search the Tulsa Area Multiple Listing Service for all homes listed by all real estate companies in your price range, that match your requirements

4.    I will inform you by e-mail about all the brand new listings as soon as they come on the market.

5.    I will highlight any new listings that offer exceptional value, ie. price, location etc.

6.    I will arrange private viewings for any and all homes you want to see inside

7.    I will never make you feel pressured or obligated to buy a particular home… you will tell me when we find the right one

Helping You Buy Your Home

1.    I will analyze the price of the home

2.    I will provide you with a comparative market analysis (what other similar homes are selling for)

3.    I will help you determine if the asking price is reasonable

4.    I will help you select a starting or offering price to give you the best negotiating position and strategy

5.    I will prepare an offer with your terms, special requests and possession date

6.    I will present the offer and work with you in the negotiations to purchase

7.    I will advise you on appliances and other extras to  include

8.    I will, at your request, end negotiations if you feel we are not being dealt with honestly and fairly

9.    If we successfully negotiate a price and terms that are acceptable to you, I will help you arrange a professional home inspection and complete any financing details

10.    I will, prepare and finalize all paperwork for closing

11.    I will, supply you with legal and insurance information

12.    I will, follow-up to make sure everything goes smoothly

Home Buyer – House Hunting Guide

1.    Internet – Public MLS Site, Realtor.com, Trulia, Zillow.  If you see homes in these sources that interest you, email the MLS #’s to me and I will email the MLS information back to you.

2.    Newspaper Ads or Real Estate Magazines: If you see homes in these sources that interest you, call me with the details and I will get the address and M.L.S. information for you.

3.    For Sale Signs: If you see for sale signs by any company on homes that interest you, write down all the information, ie. street address, company name, agent name and phone number, call me and I will get the price and MLS. information for you.

4.    Open Houses: When you visit a home held open by another Realtor or builder, state that you are working with me. If the home interests you, call me immediately.

5.    For Sale By Owners: Feel free to call them or I will call on your behalf. Today, many For Sale By Owners are open to co-operating with Buyers Agents.

6.    Do Your Homework: Study the lists and listings I send you. Drive by and check out the neighborhoods. If you want to see inside any of the homes, call me and I will make arrangements for us to view the inside.

7.    Information and Questions: If you need specific information not contained on the MLS. listing, call me and I will speak to the listing agent on your behalf.

Wayne Barnes
ERA John Hausam, Realtors

Contact me now.

Call Wayne at 918-645-1470

or by email.

How should anyone get a realistic evaluation of a home?  What better way then to search for very similar homes in the same general location that have already been sold?

One of the ways a prospective seller acquires an estimate of the value of his home is to call, write, email and/or visit the web site of a recommended real estate broker.  The broker will use the information that you provide him or her to create an expert and professional competitive market analysis that will give you a very good idea of what your home is worth to a prospective buyer in the present time frame and physical area.

Most other real estate professionals will need a few days before they can complete the competitive market analysis.  I can usually get it ready for you and call you with the results in the same day!  Getting this information is very important to you; therefore it is also very important to me. The “Golden Rule” has always worked well for me. It won’t fail us now.

All of my calls and emails are handled when I am not actively in the presence of a client.  This means that I feel it is rude to take my attention away from a client to answer a phone call.  If we are to work together in the future I promise to give you the same respect.  This is also the Golden Rule.

I am sincerely at your service,

Call Wayne at 918-645-1470

or by email.