About Navajo County, AZ

Okay, so we all got excited when we read that HUD said the 2009 Tax Credit could be used for downpayment. I even posted the article on several blogs. One big OOPS!!!

According to two lenders I work with regularly it is not a reality yet and may never be. The difficulty is the logistics in implementing it. Where will the money come from is number 1. If the taxpayer doesn't have the money at the closing table, how is the lender to deal with getting it. Promisary note, short lien on the property, questions that the lenders have about how this will work.

If any of you out there have heard differently, please let me know. But so far from what I can tell while it is a good idea, no one has yet come up with a plan to implement it.

I copied and pasted this from an article I received today from Realtor Magazine. If you haven't seen it, it is wonderful news for First Time Homebuyers who are going to use an FHA Loan to purchase a home. Hope it helps us all increase our business.

Tax Credit Can Be Used for Down Payment

Shaun Donovan, secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, on Tuesday said that the Federal Housing Administration is going to permit its lenders to allow home buyers to use the $8,000 tax credit as a down payment.

Previously, most buyers wouldn't receive the funds until after they filed their tax return, and that deterred some people from using the credit. The NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® has been calling for the change.

“We all want to enable FHA consumers to access the home buyer tax credit funds when they close on their home loans so that the cash can be used as a down payment,” Donovan says. His remarks came in an address to several thousand REALTORS® gathered Tuesday morning at "The Real Estate Summit: Advancing the U.S. Economy," at the 2009 REALTORS® Midyear Legislative Meetings & Trade Expo in Washington, D.C..

He says FHA’s approved lenders will be permitted to “monetize” the tax credit through short-term bridge loans. This will allow eligible home buyers to access the funds immediately at the closing table.

Other Solutions for Today's Market

During his address at the summit, Donovan went on to say that the Obama administration plans to further stabilize the housing market. “I do think we have some early signs that the market overall is stabilizing,” Donovan says. “Since January we’ve seen both home sales moving up and down around a relatively stable number and we are seeing the first signs that the rapid decline in home prices is starting to abate.”

The morning session included a panel discussion that was moderated by CNBC’s Ron Insana. Panelists examined cutting-edge solutions necessary to promote and preserve homeownership and real estate development, stimulate the economy, and protect the nation’s taxpayers. They also shared their ideas on what the role and responsibility of the federal government is in the revitalization effort.

“Right now the Federal Reserve is the market,” said panelist Jay Brinkman, chief economist for the Mortgage Bankers Association. “What will be the effect when the Fed stops buying?” Brinkman explained that an exit strategy must be planned for the long-term; the federal government cannot continue to support the mortgage markets indefinitely.

“We are thrilled that so many high-caliber individuals were able to join us today at this important meeting to promote stability in the housing market and the U.S. economy,” said NAR President Charles McMillan. “We look forward to an ongoing dialogue and action toward this goal, during our midyear meetings this week and beyond.”

The real estate summit is part of the 2009 REALTORS® Midyear Legislative Meetings & Trade Expo. During the week ending May 16, more than 8,500 REALTORS® will attend meetings, visit lawmakers and inspire action on Capitol Hill.

Source: NAR

Good Afternoon Everyone,

My broker and I were talking about selling property today, the right way and the wrong way to do it. I think there isn't an agent out there who hasn't found themselves being chastised by a client for injecting their own opinion about a particular property. How often have you found yourself looking at a property with a buyer and feeling strongly that it isn't the property for the buyer. Have you injected your opinion of the property, questioned the price, anything that might give the client the impression that you do not like the house? I have, I think we all have, but it is a lesson to be learned that what we think does not matter! It is the buyer's thoughts that do.

I have seen this on MLS tours, the agents get caught up in looking at the seller's taste in furnishings, paint colors, carpet colors, etc., but if you ask them later about the house itself they have no idea what the floor plan is like or anything specific about the property. They just know they liked it or not and it may have had nothing to do with the property itself.

So the next time you are out with a client ask yourself am I selling property or showing property? Am I projecting my own opinion on to this buyer? Am I trying to influence this buyer to my way of thinking? If you can answer yes than it is time to take a step back and let the buyer do the talking. They may like what you don't and your job is not to change their thinking but to capitalize on their thinking when they are ready to make that offer.

Show it, don't sell it or not, because in the end the house will sell itself whether you agree with the buyer's assessment or not.

Good Afternoon Everyone,

I was thinking today about the market in our area and how it compares to others in Arizona. The simple answer is it is not the same. We have been seeing an increase in buyer traffic now that Spring has come to the mountains and the snow is mostly gone. This is a good thing because at least the sellers are feeling more encouraged.

The difficulty is that most every buyer has the perception that if a home is on the market the seller must be in trouble or they will be willing to take a hugh price reduction to sell their property. The fact is that our Real Estate market is not the same as it is in the larger metro areas. Many of our listings are second homes and most of our sellers are not in a pressure crunch to sell. There are a few REO properties and Short Sales in this market but they are more the exception than the rule. They are certainly not as prevelent as they are in the larger metro areas.

We have always had the idealistic buyers in the summer months here. Those that have in their mind's eye the perfect little cabin in the woods on an acre with a creek running through it. But that isn't so much the issue this year. This year it is the idea that they can buy that little cabin in the woods for little of nothing. Yes our prices have come down, but not to the extent they have in other areas. You still are not going to find that little cabin in the woods for less than 100K and you aren't going to buy that acre to build on for nothing. The hard cold facts are that they aren't making any more land up here and those cabins in the woods are pretty rare finds to begin with. When you do find them they are still going to be more expensive than you would think.

I don't want to discourage people from coming to the mountain Home Shopping. There are some good values out there, the best buys we have seen in many years. However, if a buyer has the ideas that they are going to come here and low ball the heck out of a property and buy it, they are in for an awakening. The sellers are willing to "make a deal". But they aren't going to sell their properties for less than they are worth just to sell them. Our sellers know what their properties are worth in today's market and for the most part are not willing to take a significantly reduced offer. They just aren't in such a big hurry to sell that they will take any offer just to sell. After all, it is Spring. The cool summer months are ahead and if the property doesn't sell for a while, they can enjoy those cool temps just as easily as a new buyer can. So keep that in mind when you are looking, perhaps that seller just isn't all that motivated right now. They may want to sell for the right price, but they aren't going to sell for a significantly reduced one if they don't have to. And most don't have to!

So, if you are a buyer looking for property in the White Mountains just be prepared that our sellers are not in the same pressure crunch you are seeing in your "home" areas. Our market is different, it always has been and it always will be. You need to be prepared to pay a fair price to enjoy the comforts of the mountain air in summer time and to listen to the wind blow through those tall pine trees. We paid the price to live here and you as a buyer will probably have to too.

Have a wonderful weekend.

Today's post is dedicated to the Buyers or Potential Buyers who are in the marketplace today. Looking for property and making an offer on property is an exciting thing. The process to get from the day you make the offer to the day the sale closes is not so much fun. There are a lot of obligations to be met by both the Buyer and the Seller and there are bound to be bumps in the road that will have to be overcome during the buying process.

As a potential buyer you must put yourself in the sellers shoes for just a few minutes and realize that the seller wants to sell his/her home just as much or more than you want to buy it. But He/She may already be taking a hit on their value because of the massive inventory of homes out there. Sellers may WANT to sell. They may even NEED to sell. But they many not HAVE to sell, and here is where we are running in to difficulty in the market today.

There is a prevailing attitude that the seller will be so grateful for an offer that they will do just about anything from taking a low ball offer to completing massive amounts of repairs and upgrades to the home just to satisfy a buyer. The fact is that while that seller may be willing to assist in helping you buy the home in the form of contributions to closing costs or taking a lower offer than they would have liked, they will not, or may not be able to, meet all of your demands or expectations during the course of the transaction. They will go as far as they can to help you but at some point they are going to say NO MORE. Take it or leave it.

Okay, that sounds easy, you just leave it right? Sure you can do that if you feel you have good cause, but keep in mind that you are going to be left with expenses relating to the purchase that will have to be met. You may already be out of pocket the cost to do a couple of Inspections, maybe an appraisal too. In most markets those things alone could add up to $1000 or more. If you are a buyer in Arizona, those costs are buyer obligations according to the terms of the contract and you are going to have to pay those costs whether you buy that property or not. The seller may be out out a couple of weeks of time on the active marketplace, you as the buyer are going to be out hard cash if you walk away from the sale.

The point is that despite what you may hear on the news or in the various forms of media, it may be a Buyer's Market in that there are a lot of properties to choose from. That does not mean that a seller is going to be willing to give away the farm to you just to sell a property. If you go in with the attitude that it is all or nothing, the later is probably what you are going to have, nothing. And it could prove costly as well. You need to go in to the sale with the idea that the seller will meet you 1/2 the way at least, if you are very lucky they might meet you 3/4 of the way, but if you get carried away with your demands on that seller or your demands are unreasonable, there is going to be a point where the seller simply says "NO".

So find what you want, make a fair offer for the property, be prepared that you may get what you need to meet health and safety concerns and what your lender may require, but that seller is not going to build you a new house or fix every little thing that needs doing, just to sell it. Keep the excitement alive in that you are getting a property you want, at a price you can afford, and know that there will be things left undone when you move in. That is okay, part of owning a home is taking care of it and there will always be something else that comes up after you get there. Nothing is perfect and no home is without flaws. In the end, you will have a place to call your own, for your and your family to enjoy, and it will be "Your Home".