Bryan and Neilla Vargem

We were reading on line (July 2nd) that the Fed's dropped the mortgage rate to 5.32%. Wow that should move some buyers off the fence. Now all we need is the REO's to get assigned to areas and we will all be moving. In our area its hard right now to get an offer in with all the competition.

If anyone has heard different about the rate drop please let us know

Bryan & Neilla Vargem

OK, so we have our resume dialed in and are reviewing the list to submit. We want to take this time to say THANK YOU ACTIVE RAIN ASSOCIATES. We have had some great advice and help sent our way, of course we did have the nay Sayers(but that's OK they need something to complain about lol). We will report next week on where we are at in this journey. We are very honest and open people so we will report on our progress just as it is good or bad but always positive

Hope everyone has a great 4th of July

Bryan & Neilla

My wife and I work both commercial and residential real estate. My wife's primary focus is residential and mine is commercial. We just wanted to put that out there so there is no confusion. Please let us know what we can do for you , We Are Here To Help

Bryan & Neilla

We have made the move and are starting to contact asset managers and banks about listing their REO's. This is a new adventure for us and anyone with any advice is welcomed. We are still in the infant stages of this, but hope to report weekly on our progress. Our searches on the net have been hit and miss, mostly its ad's to join their site (for a fee) and they will show you how to get REO listings. The best luck so far we have had is this community of Real Estate Professionals here on Active Rain that has helped the most. Thanks to all who post and help fellow up and coming agents succeed at this.

Talk to you soon and Happy Monday to all

Bryan & Neilla Vargem

thevargems@comcast.net

Even as California lawmakers slash services and lay off workers to help close the state's $21 billion budget deficit, there is one area where they want to increase funding: a home-buyer tax-credit program meant to help revive the local real-estate market.

California lawmakers introduced two bills to boost the cap for the tax-credit program by at least $200 million and to extend the length of the program by at least a year. One of the bills has been marked urgent by its sponsor, and a vote is expected in late July.

If passed, the bills would expand the state's home-buyer tax-credit program, which was designed to help clear out newly built homes and to spark new construction. Under the program, which was approved in February as part of the state budget, home buyers who purchase a new, previously unoccupied home can get a credit valued at up to $10,000 per buyer. The program was originally capped at $100 million and was set to run until March 2010.

But the pool of money for the program is being quickly depleted. The state has received about 9,800 applications requesting $94.7 million of the program's $100 million. Last week, California's Franchise Tax Board, which processes the credit applications, said it would cut short the program as soon as it received 12,000 applications.

"We didn't realize how successful [the tax credit program] would be," said state Sen. Bob Dutton, a Republican who sponsored one of the bills. Mr. Dutton added that he is confident the legislation will become law.

As the nation's largest housing market, California is being closely watched as a gauge for the nation's economic climate. Prices soared during the real-estate boom, but the collapse of housing prices has slammed homeowners and scared away many prospective buyers. The rapid response from home buyers in applying for the tax credit could serve as a instructive measure for other states to follow.

The tax-credit program appears to have had little immediate impact on new-home sales. Sales of new homes in California declined in units and average prices in March and April from a year earlier, according to Hanley Wood LLC, a market research firm in Washington.

In March, 2,781 new homes in the state were sold at a median price of $347,900, compared with 4,224 new homes for a median $406,000 a year earlier. In April, 2,717 new homes sold for a median price of $345,990, compared with 3,642 units sold for a median $395,205 a year earlier.

Still, Robert Kleinhenz, deputy chief economist for the California Association of Realtors, said the tax-credit program has helped draw first-time home buyers into the market. By the end of the year, the percentage of first-time home buyers is expected to reach about 45% of the total number of buyers, up from 36% last year and 26% in 2004, he said Some home buyers have been able to couple California's tax credit with an $8,000 federal tax credit also available to first-time buyers, he said.

The state's budget woes may deter some state lawmakers from approving the added funding. California Assemblyman Ira Ruskin, a Democrat, said he disagrees with parts of the bill and voted against an earlier version. He said the tax credit doesn't address the glut of foreclosures in California since the program is aimed just at new homes. In addition, "we have to be very careful what we do with general-fund money" given the state's budget deficit, he said.

Tim Coyle, chief lobbyist with the California Building Industry Association, said some state lawmakers he has spoken with are wary of approving the new funding. Mr. Coyle said he has met with the state's Republican and Democratic leadership and pressed them to extend the tax credit to at least through March 2010. He has also met with about 15 legislators in their home districts to try to persuade them to vote in favor of the bills.