Barbara Berue

There are many reasons why now is the time to purchase. Whether a first time buyer, move up buyer or an investor, you don't want to miss this opportunity!

Below are a list of reasons why not to wait:

1. Home Buyer Tax Credit- New legislation passed now allows a 10% tax credit of the purchase price to first time buyers upto $8000. Move up buyers that have owned their home for the last 5 yrs. are now entitled upto $6500! Free money...

2. Interest rates- have been at a low for months..... and what goes down must go up. Purchasing a home with lower interest rates can save you thousands of dollars in the long run and can even save you with a lower monthly payment.

3. Inventory- A "buyer's market" is when there is a large amount of homes available and not enough buyers. It goes back to supply and demand. When there is more supply then demand, it is a buyers market and when there is less "supply" and there becomes a demand for them, it causes buyers to pay more and making it a seller's market. We have seen in the local market that inventory is decreasing. Don't wait for prices to increase to purchase.

First time buyers should be jumping at this opportunity to purchase. You can't get a better time. Sellers have been negotiating and you could very well get a great first buy! Why continue paying into someone else's mortgage, giving them equity, when it could be your equity and your investment!

If you have been afraid to move up into that larger home, consider your financial situation and ask yourself if you can afford not to during this time. Many seller's have been afraid to list their home in the market we have been in, but consider that what you may lose in your selling price you may gain back (and possibly more) in the value of purchasing a larger home for less. The market will swing back, take advantage while you can.

Investors should now be growing their asset column as much as they can. Buy and hold! It's like the stock market...when stock prices are low, smart investors know that it's time to buy the good ones and hold them until their values start increasing again. Then you may consider flipping for a better profit. If you want to flip now, there are still some deals out there, but we are not looking at returns like we had 3-4 yrs ago. Make sure you know what the comparatives in the market are!

If interested in more information or have questions, please don't hesitate to contact me. I'd love to help you with all your Real Estate needs!

I recently had a buyer put an offer in on a property and we had a home inspection done. Now of course, there was a seller's disclosure given to the buyer, but....obviously not an honest one.

The inspection happened to be the day after a local rainfall. And although the seller stated there were no known water leakage issues except 10 years ago, one bedroom ceiling and another bedroom rear wall, the kitchen and powder room walls were WET. Bubbling WET.

Now there had been some old water stains on some of these locations when we first looked at the home, however the seller stated that the roof had been replaced this year.

Is the buyer supposed to believe that there was no deceit in this disclosure? How could the seller not have known about that much water coming in the home? These were my buyer's questions, of course.

I believe that if a seller is going to list a property, they should walk the property and realize what issues will need to be addressed. Maybe even have a home inspection done prior to the listing.

Do sellers or their listing agents realize that by not being honest about the obvious, they will end up with a lawsuit on their hands? This is definetely a party we don't want to be invited to!