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Alysha Munoz

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A Trilling Day in History

01-21-09
Alysha Munoz

I just want to take a moment and comment at how elated I was on this Historic Day. We in America have now shown the world that we are growing in our ideas about society and what it takes to be a leader. We are no longer afraid. We have now elected our first African American President! And whether or not we voted for him does not make a difference today. It was a momentous day no matter what political party we lean towards.

After watching Obama come in - I saw on another channel - a celebration in Midland, TX of Bush arriving there. One leaves the presidency in Washington and another takes over. Bush left the festivities at the White House, chocked up when saying goodbye to the troops, took his last flight over the crowds and was greeted by a huge crowd in Midland.

President and Michelle Obama danced the night away in huge ballrooms where people lifted hundreds of cameras over their heads. They glanced in each other's eyes, smiled and whispered secrets to each other. Even Kid Rock was there to give the news his comments, "God, Family, Country".

Today everything had a story book ending.

But tomorrow they both start new lives. And my prayers are with them both.

God Bless America.

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This IS the Time To Buy Real Estate!

01-17-09
Alysha Munoz

This is a FANTASTIC Time to purchase real estate. Every day I see so many great deals. The money is still very cheap and the home prices have dropped drastically! The truth is that we currently have a great "Buyer's Market" - BUT only for those with great credit, a fair amount of money for a down payment, and documentation to show their employment and income for at least 2 straight years.

We have almost no 100% financing now. We also no longer have the famous, "Stated Income" loans. So we are back to the basics that have been around for years. This is really a much better place for us to be. It is much safer and - much more friendly!

For those of us working in the real estate business, whether in sales, loans, Title, Escrow, etc., we all saw quite an escalation of dishonesty in our field - and felt powerless to stop it. I suppose that this is what happens when there is a little money to be made. It is funny but some people are suddenly not happy making just their FAIR share - and so they begin devising ways to make even more. I see this like a person at a banquet who can't quit eating a wonderful dish. They get "out of control"! GREED *** GREED *** GREED! It is a funny thing. People who indulge and are then caught always seem to say something like, "Oh I knew I shouldn't have done it", or "Yeah I was wrong". But they didn't stop! Isn't it funny how money runs many people by causing them to make such foolish mistakes. It is interesting to see how money runs so much of the world! And now look what it has all done to our country and the world! I was surprised to find that other countries had real estate booms and now slumps as well!

So now we have a Buyer's Market with very little (if any at all) appreciation on our investments. Well, Real Estate is a fluctuating market - but it is rather predictable. It is said to always move in years of 10 - and from what I have seen looking back - this pretty much holds true. Some may say that we had a 12 year uphill run this time, but that may only mean that we will now have the same to balance out the market - time will tell. I don't care what anyone claims - NO ONE is a fortune teller any more than to observe this same cycle and then successfully "tweaking" it a bit. People keep buying and selling real estate in ANY market - but adding higher gas prices, a rising unemployment, an election year and the such to the pot - leads to much less discretionary spending and this does enter into the picture.

So as the market is settling down right now and balancing for those incredibly high home prices we all just need to sit it out for awhile in terms of appreciation. However, if you are looking for future investments and have all the criteria with which to qualify -this is the time that many true investors begin to buy and build up their home reserves to add to their net worth. This is the time to find those deals and hold until the market once again begins its uphill climb. Many investors are choosing to rent out their investments at this time. With so many people loosing their homes - they are going to need to rent somewhere.

For the First Time Home Buyer - the time could not be better. There are SO MANY Foreclosures and R.E.O.s on the market that you really can find a great deal. The money at 4.25 - 4.75% is actually VERY cheap. You must remember that most people who have owned homes for any length of time bought them with an average interest rate of 10%. To us today that sounds VERY high! But for a First Time Home Buyer who qualifies - the government has some really great options to help you out. In addition to this, many cities also have special packages.

The drawback of purchasing Foreclosures and R.E.O.s is that many times they have things that will need some work or fixing. Of course - you are already paying less for the property though!

This is really an exciting time for an investor!

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