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Keep your eye on the right ball...

What are the risks of Waiting to Buy Your First Time Home or Move up Home?...Excess home inventories are expected to level and begin shrinking as New Construction has contracted dramatically. Home prices are stabilizing. The risk in waiting to see if home prices go down any further can dramatically be offset if at the same time Mortgage Rates increase. Say you are considering a purchase of a $150,000 home. A 1% increase in Mortgage Rates from say 6% to 7% will cause your monthly mortgage payment to increase by $100 a month or $1,200 a year which is $36,000 more in payments over the life of the 30 year mortgage. Also, consider the larger price break Move Up buyers get when they reap the benefits of a larger dollar discount on the more expensive home they buy than the lower priced home they intend to sell. Speak to a professional to get all the details for yourself.

Local Real Estate is weathering the crisis remarkably well...

Home prices locally did not rocket up like the southeast coast or the west coast. Rather, the Midwest typically shows remarkable stability in good times and not so good. You are getting this newsletter because you have been a strong supporter of both Real Estate and the process of building my successful Real Estate practice. I could use your help! If you know someone who is considering Buying or Selling, please call me or send me an email with the details. In these delicate times it is critical they get the finest of care and direction. Your efforts are greatly appreciated. Even though the market has been strained, folks are still marrying, children are being born, job transfers happen, immigration continues, retirements and downsizing is inevitable, divorces and deaths are unavoidable. The fundamentals of Real Estate remain. Again, I thank you for your referral, they will be handled with the utmost care.

Local Real Estate. Crashing or Window of Opportunity?...

This 25 minute presentation captures a 44 year macro look at where to get your accurate Real Estate advice, how Real Estate has performed through historical crisis, historical impact of Mortgage Rates, What drives Real Estate prices and Tips on what to do NOW in our local market place. Call me to get access to this presentation that is lighting up the local Real Estate marketplace
View a few segments of the presentation on YouTube...

More great news for first time Home Buyers!!

Interest rates are great, real estate is selling at a discount …. which all adds up to a great time to buy a home!! And for first time homebuyers; the news just keeps getting better and better thanks to MHDC.

The Missouri Housing Development Commission (MHDC) releases money to first time homebuyers throughout the year and in the past this money has been non-taxable. But,in their most recent bond-issue, the monies they provide to first time homebuyers are taxable!

At first thought, most people would think this is a bad thing; as the borrower has to pay taxes on the 3% down payment money they receive, but until July 1, 2009 this is actually a great thing.

Because this down payment money is considered taxable; the borrower will now also qualify for the $7,500 Housing Tax Credit provided by the Federal Government.

So for example; let’s assume we have a first time homebuyer who qualifies for the MHDC down payment assistance program and they purchase a $150,000 house prior to July 1, 2009.

MHDC would provide them with 3% or $4,500 towards their down payment, which until the end of this year is all you need for a down payment on an FHA loan. Then when our borrower does their taxes; they will receive an additional $7,500 from the federal government.

There are many rules associated with MHDC and the Housing Tax Credit and in addition it is not free money, but it is a great opportunity for those first time homebuyers.

Please contact me for more information on these wonderful opportunities!!

30 Year Fixed 5.75% with 0 points
MHDC (CAL) FHA 30 Year Fixed 7.15 with 0 points
FHA 30 Year Fixed 5.5% with 0 points