Jasper, GA

I am working with a buyers agent who I know. He has a client selling a home who is on a budget. I have a home listed that would work great for this client. How do I make my home stand out?

I work with the other agent. I tell him since your buyer is over 62 and going to sell and has 100 percent equity in their home, put 50% down on mine and do a reverse mortgage. I have therefore made my self valuable and differentiated my property. As I know this agent he wil present the possibilities to this client. In this market you have to be thinking outside the box to get your listings sold.

The Helping Families Save Their Homes Act of 2009 signed into law on Wednesday, May 20^th, 2009 (Pub. L. 111-22) provides a 90-day notice requirement and additional protections for tenants in foreclosed properties.

Below you will find the major provisions outlined under Title VII, Protecting Tenants at Foreclosure Act of 2009.

- During the term of the lease, the tenant has a right to remain in the unit and cannot be evicted, except for actions that constitute good cause.

- If the lease ends in less than 90 days, the new owner may not evict the tenant without giving the tenant at a minimum 90 days notice.

- At the end of the term of the lease, the new owner may terminate the tenancy if the new owner provides a 90-day notice.

- The new owner may terminate the tenancy if the owner will occupy the unit as a primary residence, and has provided the tenant a notice to vacate at least 90 days before the effective date of such notice. This is the only exception to the rule that the tenant may not be evicted during the term of the lease.

These provisions expire on December 31, 2012.

The national foreclosure rate reported today is still high. As of this time today the markets have reacted in a negative way. So what is the problem?

The Government bail out program and loan re-modification programs have actually worked! Some of these programs were started by the last administration and modified and expanded in this one. So again the question is, what is the problem?

The problem pure and simple is the lagging indicator in a recovery called the unemployment rate. Folks who are in trouble now are folks without a job . These folks do not qualify for modification. They are victims of the economy.

The crisis we face is multi faceted. But it seems like now we are faced with more traditional problems. ( Not sub prime and exotic Wall Street created loans) While the news is not good at least we know we are slowly climbing out of the mess.

It remains a great time to buy. If you are secure in your job the times have never been better to invest in your future through home ownership.

The North Georgia Mountains usually get busy in the summer. This is when we see many of the buyers. This summer started slow but picked up some as the summer went on.

We are seeing prices in places like Big Canoe adjust downward as the sales volume starts to pick up. In other areas we are seeing a lot of first time buyers come out. The traffic of second home buyers is slow.

Land sales are really really slow as it is tough to get financing and new home starts are sluggish.

So the net for our mountain market I think is 2009 will be a year the downward home sale slide has stopped. But I think prices will not increase uniformly or across the board.

My recommendation is gated community homes are a great bargain right now. They are also great places to live. So if you are thinking about the mountains this is a good time to buy.

Our board of Realtors is very active in the community doing many things to help. In general even the community I live in is very active in the county. Today at a meeting it was announced that per capita Pickens County had more volunteers involved in the community than any other county in Georgia !

But wait, the good news does not stop there. We are actually number 3 !!!! in the country. This was great news. I am a volunteer for governance and the fire department where I live so I am doing my part.

Many of the communities here in North Georgia are made up of folks from all over the nation that have discovered the beauty of the North Georgia Mountains. They are active folks and are rolling up their sleeves to give back. As a friend of mine half joking said to me , "If I knew retirement would be this hectic I would have stayed working" He was an air traffic controller!!!

So if you are reading this post and live in Pickens county take a moment to pat yourself on the back. If you do not live here its ok. We still have some space available and I know a great Realtor to help you!. I will try to get my hands on the actual national study and post it a bit later.