Christopher Bonta,Realtor/ Integrity and Honesty

You see the symbol almost every time you enter a Real Estate office or you look at an ad in the paper or magazine. The symbol I am talking about is the "R" symbol which designates that the Real Estate Agency advertising or the one you just walked into is a an Agency that belongs to the NAR (National Association of Realtors). In this blog I will discuss what it means to be a Realtor.

The National Association of Realtors goes back to its founding's in 1908 and the first code of ethics which was adopted in 1913. The association has a rich history and over time has developed a comprehensive Code of Ethics for Realtors to follow as well as educational classes for them to take, in order to further their knowledge and thereby assist consumers with Real Estate transactions.

Today the association is made up of Agents from all over the country and has boards in every State as well as on the National level. This board is self regulating and it monitors its Agents who belong to it, and it makes sure that Agents and their Agencies are adhering to the State/National law as well as the Code of Ethics created back in 1913.

How does this Realtor board help you the consumer? The answer is that in order to belong to the NAR a licensee must agree to follow the code and submit themselves to board investigation if required. The fines to a Realtor and their Agency for violating any board regulations are high and can result in the Agent loosing their Realtor status and possibly loosing their license or having it suspended. Any Agent who wears the Realtor pin or displays the Realtor symbol in their office or ads is stating to you that they are adhering to higher standards of Real Estate practice, so if you are dealing with a licensee who is not a Realtor then you need to be extra cautious since they are not bound by any regulations handed down by the National Association or Realtors.

When dealing with an Agent that you are meeting for the first time, ask them if they are a Realtor, they won't mind at all. If you are interested in getting additional information regarding NAR you can visit their website at http://www.realtor.org/

Besides Posting a blog on why aren't people buying I also placed an article in my local paper talking about the same thing. Interestingly I received more e-mails regarding why people are not buying (first time buyers) and here are some of there reasons they gave:

1) I owe to much on student loans and I don't think I can afford to buy right now.

2) I'm living at home, waiting for the right time to buy.

3) I'm living at home and get along with my parents well, its expensive to rent and even more to buy something so I'm in no rush to purchase.

4) My credit is bad, since I have a lot of credit cards and have been a late paying on them.

5) I have no credit, live at home, have a good job but don't think I qualify for a mortgage.

My response to these 5 points (there were a few others but I felt these were the best) is as follows:

1) Depending on how much you owe on student loans and how much other debt you have, you still may qualify for a mortgage (not on a residential home but maybe a condo). Your income may be sufficient to get you a loan, but you need to find out whether you do or not, so speak to some mortgage people or go to your bank and sit down with a loan officer.

2) If you have been waiting to buy a property, let me tell you that now is the time to buy. It's been a great market for buyers for over a year. Interest rates are still low, sellers are motivated, prices are down, so if you are still sitting at home waiting you need to ask yourself why you are still not buying because it's not the market that's preventing you there is something else holding you back. The two most likely reasons are you are very very comfortable living at home or you are very anxious about moving out.

3) This reason answers itself, no motivation to move out and get into the real world. Whether you rent or buy its going to be expensive, if you purchase something you at least have an investment .

4) These people need to sit down with a qualified credit person and straighten out their debt/credit history. If you don't want to do that, then contact your creditors and work something out to pay them off, then cut your cards up (except for 1 and use that to start rebuilding your credit).

5) These people can possibly buy if there job is secure, they make good money and they have money to put down on a property. Talking to a mortgage officer will tell you whether you can purchase or not, in the meantime go out and get 1 or 2 cards (Sears store card/Best Buy store card etc..) and start builing some credit.

This is a question I've been asking myself for over a year. People are sitting on the fence regarding buying a property and I am confused as to why. Residential Real Estate prices have dropped since mid- 2005, and in many area's prices are at 2002 prices. I've talked with my mortgage contacts and although there have been a lot of problems with foreclosure properties and sub-prime loans, they tell me that there are a lot of good programs (like the updated FHA loans) for qualified buyers.

Today's market has a lot to offer, great prices, motiviated Sellers, foreclosure properties and good investment opportunities, so if your a Buyer out there what are you waiting for?

Lastly, if you think interest rates will stay low, my wife and I refinanced our home at 5.25% (locked the rate in back in January) and when we closed about a week ago the new rate was 6.5%.