Charlie Ragonesi 706- 579-1098

The pendulum is swinging wildly in our market. We as Realtors and Mortgage folks are constant having to adjust to a barrage of new Government regulations and guide lines. The fact of the matter is it was the fault of those were were supposed to regulate that were snoozing at the wheel that caused this problem. Now they have had a pot of caffeinated coffee and are hyper.

One of the victims of this hyper activity is the Stated income Loan. This loan has lovingly been referred to by some as the "liars" loan. But here are the facts. NOBODY that got a W-2 should have been allowed to do a stated income loan.The stated income loan was meant for folks with good credit scores, a history of paying on time, who were in business for themselves. Many of these folks today are finding it hard to re-mortgage and keep up with their payments even though they want to.

I am the first to say that the greed cancer needs to be removed. But right now Congress is doing it with a meat ax and not a scapel. I hope the folks at NAR are working over time to assist our representatives in understanding that abuse in loans is not the same as a bad product. The stated income loan is just one casualty of the meat ax approach to the housing mess.

Georgia Lake levels are up. But that is not the end of the good news. It appears that Lake Lanier, the largest lake East of the Mississippi will maintain higher lake levels in the future. We at all Mountain Realty have a great 3 bedroom 2 bathroom Home on the lake. It is in a cove and has a dock. It comes with a pontoon boat. Asking price is 349,900. Why so low. previous years have seen low lake levels and have depressed this market. You now have an opportunity to own on this great lake and have a clean and updated home. Contact us for more information

The lease purchase has become something we are dealing with more and more. Causes for this are numerous. But in many cases a buyer has come out of a short sale, or even a foreclosure, and needs some time to build back up their credit score. They find a home they want, like , and can afford so they offer a lease purchase contract.

The seller on the other hand may be in a sluggish market. The seller may have taken a move to preserve a job that they may not be able to get where they are. They now have a house payment, and a rent payment in a new location. So a lease purchase can eliminate a cash flow issue and now becomes an option the seller might not have normally considered.

A Realtor is just as valuable in this type of transaction for a number of reasons. But I am going to list a really common mistake both people acting in good faith can make.

Seller Jones has entered into a lease purchase agreement with Buyer Smith. Buyer Smith has come to know and trsut Seller Jones during the face to face negotiation as neither has an agent. Buyer Smith agrees to give Seller Jones a $5,000 deposit on the house as down payment and leases for 15 months. Everything is fine and Buyer Smith loves the house. Seller Jones has the $5,000 in his bank ready to go. Buyer Smith is going to use an FHA option as 100 percent financing options are not available in his area and he is not a veteran. The house price agreed on is 250,000. Buyer Smith needs $8750, 3.5 % plus closing costs. He goes to Seller Jones for the 5k.

Here is where the problems start. FHA considers that 5k a gift and since Jones and Smith are not related will not allow it. Further more doing conventional doesn't work either as the same problem about a 5K gift arises. Now Jones can either come down on the price, for FHA. or use the 5 k in closing costs only in a conventional setting. Either way both acted in good faith and Smith is stuck.He does not have enough cash to close and the deal falls through.

Is there a correct way to do this? Yes. The money needs to be in an Escrow account clearly earmarked for down payment. If Smith or Jones had used a Realtor this problem would have been avoided and the deal would have gone through.

This is just one example of why even with Lease Purchases you should use a Realtor

OK so let me pose the question. Can you be for fiscal responsibility AND for extension of the real estate tax credit ? Here is the debate. Many are looking at Government spending and saying, "wow we are out of control." If you buy that argument or are even concerned then how can you be for an extension of the tax credit?

Yes I know ther tax credit has helped. We have benefited from it here. But in almost every program somebody benefits. When a program is cut somebody loses. So are you saying, "cut , but not in my back yard?"

I pose this question because sometimes we are so quick to raise our voices against government spending EXCEPT when it effects us. So now that I have posed the question I think I should get off the fence and give my opinion.

I think we should adopt the Senator from Georgia, Johnny Isaksons plan. He calls for 15,000 home buying credit for a primary residence. No other strings. This is a plan, with a reduced number, he was part of during the S&L problem a while back and it worked. I think Congress should say it will sunset after one year period. As painful as it may be we need a control on spending. Even if that spending some times works for us.