Colleen Lang Woodward

Does that really make sense to buy when the real estate market is HIGH? When it is a sellers market as it was for so long, everyone was happy, jolly, making out like bandits on the sale of their homes to keep moving on up, but of course, paying high on the Buying side, but woohooo who cared, they made money on the sale of their home...

But let's run the numbers here...

In a Sellers Market: If you buy a $100,000, then sell for $120000: You make $20,000

So you go and roll that into your new home purchase of a $300,000: so you had that $20,000 gain-yahoo
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In a Buyer's Market: If you sell at $80,000 (you bought for $100,000 remember) which is where the market has dropped to: You lose $20,000- waaahh

You got a promotion and now make more so you can still afford to upgrade to that same $300,000 house you saw earlier, except it has also dropped in price the 20% and now you can snatch it up for $240,000! SO you end up ahead $40,000 AFTER you minus out your $20,000 loss on your house!

If you are buying at a significantly higher purchase price you would much rather buy in a Buyer's Market even when that means losing money on your house because you will make it up on the Buying end!

When the market, real estate or stock market is "HOT" and prices are shooting up because everyone wants in, the prices get pushed even higher. If you note: Warren Buffett had been sitting on a bucket of cash because he knew there were no good deals out there...But lately he has been eating up bargains because he saved his cash for when you should really buy, which is right NOW when everyone's getting out and selling for ridiculously low prices. That is how you get instant equity and gain wealth. The real estate market works off that same premise!

The wandering herd of the world follows the crowd in and out of the markets when there is buzz and then pull out at the worst time from FEAR...Stop following the crowd and see the opportunities all around.

Now is the BEST time to be buying real estate. Prices have plummeted AND interest rates are ridiculously LOW! It is a perfect storm for buying....What else is there to wait for? This is not going to last forever and if you sit, wait, out of fear to see where it goes...It will be too late.

The time is now to buy real estate in Omaha, NE. If you have questions, comments, please email, call, or ask away. I am here for you as your area professional!

www.ColleenWoodward.com

There are many sites you can go to when purchasing a home. There are two that I recommend, as a frequently asked question is, "Is this a good area?"

The problem of course is that agents cannot steer you or use their biased opinion of areas to tell you where to buy. It is against our Code of Ethics. All we can do is try to get you the information you need to make an informed decision. I recommend in particular to see the crime statistics as well as the registered sex offender list, of an area. :

You can go on to this website: http://www.spotcrime.com/ne/omaha to view where crime is most prevalent.

You can also go to this website to see a list of all registered sex offenders: http://www.nsp.state.ne.us/SOR/find.cfm

For More Information on Omaha, Elkhorn, Gretna, Bennington, Papillion, Bellevue Homes for Sale, Don't Hesitate to Call, Email, or Ask a Question:

www.ColleenWoodward.com

RE/MAX The Producers

"Selling Real Estate for the Cure & with Heart"

I have run into this issue with many sellers that want and expect the listing agent to show and sell the property, despite educating them that this is not the best way. I am currently under pressure from a seller, who wants to know before they list if I have someone in mind for the property. I have serious reservations about this because they are asking about a buyer I represent, to essentially speak on their behalf and tie myself to showing it. If I did have a buyer that may fit the profile of this property, I am not going to compromise their interests by pressuring them into a property because I lead my seller to believe that I will sell it on my own.

I have tried to explain to the seller that this is not a very high percentage of homes that the agent represents the buyer and seller...While it is legal in our state to have dual agency, it is illegal in some states and thus there is certainly that shade of gray in its ethical practice...

The big issue with this, is that she (the seller) has in her mind this other agent that just sold her brother's home without it ever being on the market, for an inflated price. Yes, this was wonderful for her brother, but I don't think it was so good for the buyer to have paid that price in this market, so the ethical ramifications of that I personally can't stomach. This agent in question has a history of "pocketing" listing so that her 'team' can have the chance to sell them...

This, in my opinion is bad for the seller because top dollar comes from opening the home to as many buyers as possible which creates the highest demand and pressure on the buyer. Cooperating with other brokers is essential to serve the seller the best, so while it serves every interest imaginable to show the property myself and sell it on my own, I would never hold the listing back from being marketed properly and to its fullest to try to sell the home as a dual agent to reap the rewards of the keeping the full commission all to myself.

So why is it so hard for the seller to understand that having the selling agent bring the buyer is not all its cracked up to be? Her brother got lucky! The statistics just aren't in her favor to expect that and I will never bring myself to promise that I could do that the way this other agent leads her to believe. Pocketing listings is not a good thing, so why do so many sellers want us to bring the buyer ourselves? We are bringing the buyer by advertising and marketing to their agent. It's really all the better to have each party have their own representation for the fairest, cleanest, most ethical transaction.

I got this in my inbox today from the wonderful Dave Liniger urging everyone to take a stand and help our economy recover by appealing to your local congressmen and senators, so please if you have a free moment, support the stimulus packages that is being formed to help out the housing sector. Clearly this is where the problem began and the first place it needs to recover to ripple through.

"

Urgent Message from Dave Liniger

If you have been watching the news this week, you may have noticed that the debate in Washington has finally turned toward real stimulus for the housing industry. As a result, I believe that we could be on the brink of a substantial turn around in the real estate market. Now, it's critical that we all join together and deliver a powerful message to our legislators that we support this stimulus.

Last night, the Lieberman/Isakson Amendment was included in the senate version of the Economic Stimulus Bill by a unanimous voice vote. This amendment would provide a Tax Credit to all home buyers at the rate of 10% of the sales price up to a limit of $15,000. The credit would be available for a one year period to all purchasers of primary residences.

Today, the senate expects to debate Amendment 353, a proposal by Senator John Ensign (R-NV) that would provide 30 year fixed financing at a rate of about 4%, for anyone purchasing a primary residence.

If these two provisions survive in the final passage of a stimulus bill they could have a tremendous impact on our industry. If they are coupled together with provisions to ease the flow of credit and reduce foreclosures, we could see an immediate and dramatic turn-around in real estate.

I feel that these provisions represent real economic stimulus. They will put money in the hands of millions of homeowners, increase sales, stabilize home values and add more revenues to local communities in the form of property taxes.

I urge each of you to contact your senators and representatives to let them know that you believe these provisions are essential components of any stimulus bill. You can go to the official Senate and House web sites to locate the email and phone number of your legislators.

This may be one of the most critical moments for the real estate industry in our time. Please pass this information on to anyone you might do business with. The outcome of this legislation will have a lasting impact on us all. I appreciate your assistance on this urgent matter.

Thank you.

Copyright 2009
RE/MAX International, Inc.
5075 S. Syracuse Street | Denver, Colorado 80237"

I got this in my inbox today from the wonderful Dave Liniger urging everyone to take a stand and help our economy recover by appealing to your local congressmen and senators, so please if you have a free moment, support the stimulus packages that is being formed to help out the housing sector. Clearly this is where the problem began and the first place it needs to recover to ripple through.

"

Urgent Message from Dave Liniger

If you have been watching the news this week, you may have noticed that the debate in Washington has finally turned toward real stimulus for the housing industry. As a result, I believe that we could be on the brink of a substantial turn around in the real estate market. Now, it's critical that we all join together and deliver a powerful message to our legislators that we support this stimulus.

Last night, the Lieberman/Isakson Amendment was included in the senate version of the Economic Stimulus Bill by a unanimous voice vote. This amendment would provide a Tax Credit to all home buyers at the rate of 10% of the sales price up to a limit of $15,000. The credit would be available for a one year period to all purchasers of primary residences.

Today, the senate expects to debate Amendment 353, a proposal by Senator John Ensign (R-NV) that would provide 30 year fixed financing at a rate of about 4%, for anyone purchasing a primary residence.

If these two provisions survive in the final passage of a stimulus bill they could have a tremendous impact on our industry. If they are coupled together with provisions to ease the flow of credit and reduce foreclosures, we could see an immediate and dramatic turn-around in real estate.

I feel that these provisions represent real economic stimulus. They will put money in the hands of millions of homeowners, increase sales, stabilize home values and add more revenues to local communities in the form of property taxes.

I urge each of you to contact your senators and representatives to let them know that you believe these provisions are essential components of any stimulus bill. You can go to the official Senate and House web sites to locate the email and phone number of your legislators.

This may be one of the most critical moments for the real estate industry in our time. Please pass this information on to anyone you might do business with. The outcome of this legislation will have a lasting impact on us all. I appreciate your assistance on this urgent matter.

Thank you.

Copyright 2009
RE/MAX International, Inc.
5075 S. Syracuse Street | Denver, Colorado 80237"