“With everything that has happened to you, you can either feel sorry for yourself or treat what has happened as a gift. Everything is either an opportunity to grow or an obstacle to keep you from growing. You get to choose.” Wayne Dyer
There was a recent segment on the Today Show highlighting a new book titled “How to Make a Fortune” by Ron Insana. I believe the video of this segment might be helpful for you in your marketing. To see what I mean, take a quick peak below. Note the video takes a few seconds to
If you watched the entire video, you probably heard Ron Insana say now is the absolute best time to buy a home. His comments were for both buyers looking to buy their primary residences and investors looking to buy foreclosures.
This is absolutely a fantastic time to buy your principal residence or investment property. You will never again see the combination of tax credits and low interest rates. What will you be saying to yourself when this opportunity is gone? And it will be gone, I assure you!!
I want to remind you the tax credit expires in April. If you have a house to sell, your tax credit would be $6,500 when you buy your new home. Contact me now so we can put your house on the market for other buyers wanting to take advantage of the tax credit. The tax credit for those who haven’t owned a home in the last three years is $8,000. Are you going to take advantage of this free money?
Attention: For Sale By Owners!
Why People Are Afraid To Buy From You!
Many homeowners believe that to maximize their home sale they should sell it themselves. At first glance, they feel selling a home is simple and, after all, why should they pay a broker’s fee for something they could do themselves? In fact, close to 25% of ail the homes sold last year were indeed sold for sale by owner (FSBO).
However, close to half of the FSBO’s said they would hire a professional next time they sold. Thirty percent said they were unhappy with the results they achieved by choosing FSBO. Why?
Many FSBO’s told us the time, paperwork and everyday responsibilities involved were not worth the amount of money they saved in commissions. For others, the financial savings were even more disappointing. By the time they figured the amount of fees paid
to outside consultants, inspectors, appraisers, title lawyers, escrow and loan officers, marketing, advertising … they would have been better off to have paid the broker’s fee which would have included many of these charges up front.
Selling a home requires an intimate understanding of the real estate market. If the property is priced too high, it will sit and develop a reputation for being a problem property. If the property is priced too low, you will cost yourself serious money. Some FSBO’s discovered that the lost money as a result of poor decisions outweighed the
commission.
Before you decide to sell FSBO, consider these questions and weigh the answers of assuming the responsibility versus employing a professional. A little time spent investigating up front will pay off tenfold in the end.
Questions To Consider:
Do I have the time, energy, know how, and ability to devote a full forced effort to sell my home?
One of the keys to selling your home efficiently and profitably is complete accessibility.
Many homes have sat on the market much longer than necessary because the owner was unwilling or unavailable to show the property. Realize that a certain amount of hours each day is necessary to sell your home.
Am I prepared to deal with an onslaught of buyers who perceive FSBO’s as targets for low balling?
One of the challenges of selling a home is screening unqualified prospects and dealing with lowballers. It often goes unnoticed … how much time, effort, and expertise it requires to spot these people quickly. Settling for a lowball bid is usually worse than paying broker commissions.
Am I offering financing options to the buyer? Am I prepared to answer questions about financing?
One of the keys to selling, whether it’s a home, a car… anything, is to have all the necessary information the prospective buyer needs and to offer them options. Think about the last time you purchased something of value, did you make a decision before you had all your ducks in a row? By offering financing options you give the home buyer
the ability to work on their terms and open up the possibilities of selling your home quicker and more profitably. A professional real estate agent will have a complete team, from lenders to title reps for you to utilize … they’ll be at your disposal.
Do I fully understand the legal ramifications and necessary steps required in selling a home?
Many home sales have been lost due to incomplete paperwork, lack of inspections or not meeting your states disclosure laws. Are you completely informed of all the steps necessary to sell real estate? If not, a professional would be a wise choice.
Do I have the capability of handling the legal contracts, agreements and any disputes with buyers before or after the offer is presented?
Ask yourself if you are well versed in legalese and if you are prepared to handle disputes with buyers. To avoid any disputes it is wise to put all negotiations and agreements in writing. Many home sales have been lost due to misinterpretation of what was negotiated.
Have I contracted the necessary professionals … title, inspectors (i.e. home, emp, pest), attorneys?
Are you familiar with top inspectors and title companies? Do not randomly select inspectors, attorneys, and title reps. Like any profession there are inadequate individuals who will slow, delay, and possibly even cost you the transaction. If these questions raise some concerns you may want to speak with a professional.
(I don’t know where this originated, but I could not help myself in sharing it.)
The ability to make and understand puns is considered to be the highest level of language development. Here are the 10 first place winners in the International Pun Contest:
1. A vulture boards an airplane, carrying two dead raccoons. The stewardess looks at him and says, “I’m sorry, sir, only one carrion allowed per passenger.”
2. Two fish swim into a concrete wall. One turns to the other and says, “Dam!”
3. Two Eskimos sitting in a kayak were chilly, so they lit a fire in the craft. Unsurprisingly it sank, proving once again that you can’t have your kayak and heat it too.
4. Two hydrogen atoms meet. One says, “I’ve lost my electron.” The other says, “Are you sure?” The first replies “Yes, I’m positive.”
5. Did you hear about the Buddhist who refused Novocain during a root canal? His goal: transcend dental medication.
6. A group of chess enthusiasts checked into a hotel and were standing in the lobby discussing their recent tournament victories. After about an hour, the manager came out of the office and asked them to disperse. “But why?”, they asked, as they moved off. “Because,” he said, “I can’t stand chess-nuts boasting in an open foyer.”
7. A woman has twins and gives them up for adoption. One of them goes to a family in Egypt and is named “Ahmal.” The other goes to a family in Spain ; they name him “Juan.” Years later, Juan sends a picture of himself to his birth mother. Upon receiving the picture, she tells her husband that she wishes she also had a picture of Ahmal. Her husband responds, “They’re twins! If you’ve seen Juan, you’ve seen Ahmal.”
8. A group of friars were behind on their belfry payments, so they opened up a small florist shop to raise funds. Since everyone liked to buy flowers from the men of God, a rival florist across town thought the competition was unfair. He asked the good fathers to close down, but they would not. He went back and begged the friars to close. They ignored him. So, the rival florist hired Hugh MacTaggart, the roughest and most vicious thug in town to “persuade” them to close. Hugh beat up the friars and trashed their store, saying he’d be back if they didn’t close up shop. Terrified, they did so, thereby proving that only Hugh can prevent florist friars.
9. Mahatma Gandhi, as you know, walked barefoot most of the time, which produced an impressive set of calluses on his feet. He also ate very little, which made him rather frail and, with his odd diet, he suffered from bad breath. This made him (Oh, man, this is so bad, it’s good)….a super calloused fragile mystic hexed by halitosis.
10. And finally, there was the person who sent ten different puns to friends, with the hope that at least one of the puns would make them laugh. No pun in ten did.
The following are some recommended trees for planting in the Tulsa area. When it comes time to plant or re-plant trees it is always a good idea to consider neighborhood “friendly” trees. Given the size of most city lots this should be a continuing concern. The following trees all have their individual, special qualities and are height and canopy friendly for use in the city.
FOR THE FRONT YARD
Bald Cypress
40′ – 50′
Native tree. Tolerant of most soils, somewhat drought tolerant, tough tree. Bronze color in the fall.
Bradford Pear
30′ – 50′
Soil tolerant, drought resistant. Minimal pruning required. Autumn color is red.
Chinese Pistachio
25′ – 40′
Soil tolerant, drought resistant, pest and disease resistant. Deep rooted, minimal pruning, Tough, durable tree. Bright orange in the fall.
Besides the tax credit, interest rates are truly incredibly low, close to 5%.
With this combination of incentives, a lot of people who currently own a house could sell it and buy something bigger and have a lower house payment for a newer, larger home. This should be something to really consider if there is a move planned anytime in the near future.
I am sure you can think of someone who is ready to take advantage of this. Please have them call me. I really do appreciate your referrals.
Talk to me as your trusted real estate consultant. Let’s find a house for you! Contact me.
The National Association of Home Builders has an excellent web site with questions and answers about the tax credit. If you are ready to talk with a builder, contact me first so you will have competent representation in your transaction.
I believe if you will ask any home inspector, they will tell you to never have wood in contact with the ground, it attracts termites and wood rot. Yet almost every time you see a privacy fence, it is installed with wood posts placed in a hole in the ground.
The wooden post is the weak point in your privacy fence. The main problem is that wood rots when it is in contact with the ground. In my opinion, that is one very weak link in fence building. I have thought for a long time there should be a way to stop using wooden posts when installing a privacy fence.
Well, I may have found the answer. I found a product designed to connect wood fence rails to round metal posts.
These fasteners are sized to fit the standard 1-1/2 or 2 inch diameter pipe posts like those used in chain link fences. The fasteners are secured to the posts with a bolt or a set-screw and then they are fastened to the fence rail with 1/4 X 1-1/2 inch wood screws.
The product is the Simpson Strong-Tie Pipe Grip. If you are building, or re-building, a privacy fence, I think this would be a great product to consider in extending the life of your new investment.
It’s only a matter of time. If you talk or text on your cell phone while driving, you are going to have a traffic accident.
Why am I so sure about it? Have you ever driven near someone else who is on a cell phone while driving? It is usually pretty obvious they are distracted. They usually drive more slowly than the other traffic. They usually don’t notice when the light has turned green, or worse, that it has turned yellow or red. When I am the one on the phone, that distracted driver is me!
A study recently conducted by the University of Utah discovered that if you talk while driving, you have the same reaction times and actions of a drunk driver! It doesn’t even matter if it is your hand-held phone or your hands-free mobile phone!
What are the reasons we can’t stay off the phone? If you really think about it, is that phone call really worth a traffic accident? We all think it is, until the accident has happened. Then we say, “I wasn’t paying attention! (To ourselves, of course, we wouldn’t want to admit fault, would we?)
So what is the alternative. You really can avoid this distraction. You have voicemail with the phone, just take advantage of it. If you really have to make or take the call, just pull into a parking lot or to the side of the road.
The result: When we practice the art of safe driving and the courtesy of cell phone etiquette, we just might avoid that accident that is going to ruin our day, or worse.
The new tax credit extends the First-Time Home Buyer Tax Credit of up to $8,000.
The new tax credit expands the credit to those who currently own a home. The grant is up to $6,500.
Both of these credits are for those purchasing a new or existing home between November 7, 2009 and April 30, 2010.
Who Qualifies for the Extended Credit?
First-time home buyers (those who have never purchased a home or who have not owned their principal residence in the last 3 years) who purchase homes between November 7, 2009 and April 30, 2010.
Current home owners purchasing a home between November 7, 2009 and April 30, 2010, who have used the home being sold or vacated as a principal residence for five consecutive years within the last eight.
If you have been waiting to sell, this is a great time to take advantage of an additional $6,500 incentive!!
What Type of Properties Are Eligible?
The Extended Home Buyer Tax Credit may be applied to primary residences, including: single-family homes, condos, townhomes, and co-ops.
How is a Buyer’s Credit Amount Determined?
Each individual home buyer’s tax credit is determined by two factors:
The price of the home.
The buyer’s income.
Price
Under the Extended Home Buyer Tax Credit, the credit is for an amount up to 10% of the purchase price of the house so it can only be awarded on homes purchased for $800,000 or less.
Buyer Income Under the Extended Home Buyer Tax Credit, which went into effect on November 7, 2009, single buyers with incomes up to $125,000 and married couples with incomes up to $225,000—may receive the maximum tax credit.
Can the Buyer Still Qualify If The Closing Is After April 30, 2010?
Under the Extended Home Buyer Tax Credit, as long as a written, binding contract is in effect on, or before, April 30, 2010, the purchaser will have until July 1, 2010 to close.
Will the Tax Credit Need to Be Repaid?
No. The buyer does not need to repay this tax credit, if the home is occupied by the buyer for three years or more after purchase. However, if the property is sold during this three-year period, the full amount credit will be recouped on the sale.
If you have specific questions or need additional information, please contact a tax professional or the Internal Revenue Service at 800-829-1040.
Are you listening to the national news or are you aware that the real estate market in Tulsa is just fine… thank you very much.
Too many consumers listen to the gloom and doom of the foreclosures taking place in California and Florida, Arizona and New Mexico.
Well Tulsa, the real news on real estate is that each area is going to have its own economy and real estate is part of that economy. Have you heard the National news that Tulsa is one of the most affordable cities? That should tell you that Tulsa’s real estate market is very healthy.
The adage of location, location, location applies to more than the street address. Location also applies to real estate in general. The local market, where you want to live, is very important and the Tulsa market is one where you should be able to invest with confidence.
The new tax credit expands the credit to those who currently own a home. The grant is up to $6,500 for those purchasing a new or existing home between November 7, 2009 and April 30, 2010.
How do Home Sellers Qualify?
Current home owners qualify for the tax credit if they are purchasing a home between November 7, 2009 and April 30, 2010, and have used the home being sold or vacated as a principal residence for five consecutive years within the last eight.
If you have been waiting to sell, this is a great time to take advantage of an additional $6,500 incentive!!
The Extended Home Buyer Tax Credit may be applied to primary residences, including: single-family homes, condos, townhomes, and co-ops.
Each individual home buyer’s tax credit is determined by two factors:
The price of the home.
The buyer’s income.
Price
Under the Extended Home Buyer Tax Credit, the credit is for an amount up to 10% of the purchase price of the house so it can only be awarded on homes purchased for $800,000 or less.
Buyer’s Income Under the Extended Home Buyer Tax Credit, which went into effect on November 7, 2009, single buyers with incomes up to $125,000 and married couples with incomes up to $225,000—may receive the maximum tax credit.
Under the Extended Home Buyer Tax Credit, as long as a written, binding contract is in effect on, or before, April 30, 2010, the purchaser will have until July 1, 2010 to close.
This tax credit will not need to be repaid if the home is occupied by the buyer for three years or more after purchase. However, if the property is sold during this three-year period, the full amount credit will be recouped on the sale.
If you have specific questions or need additional information, please contact a tax professional or the Internal Revenue Service at 800-829-1040.
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