Deborah Fisher

Whether you are a first-time homebuyer, or a seasoned "pro" at buying and trading up to that next dream home, with all of the new governmental regulations and requirements placed on mortgage lenders, every home shopper will benefit by knowing not only how much of a mortgage the lender can provide them, but as a buyer you'll benefit by having an inside track to ironing out the maze of required paperwork before you find that dream home. To do otherwise greatly increases the chances of someone else STEALING YOUR DREAM HOME right out from underneath you!

While it may still be a "Buyer's Market" in many areas, as a buyer, don't let a "buyer's market" fool you into thinking that YOU are in total control and have all the time in the world to make a decision and wrap things up. More and more, as I review listing information provided in the Multiple Listing Service, the Go-To catalog of the majority of homes on the market, I am reading the "fine print" . . . ALL OFFERS MUST BE SUBMITTED WITH LETTER FROM LENDER.

Whether you are buying a foreclosure, a short-sale, or a "traditional good, old fashioned owner wants to sell" property, more and more sellers are reluctant to take their home off the market unless they know PRIOR to accepting the offer that the buyer is able to complete the purchase. Put yourself in ANY seller's shoes . . . I'm certain that if you had something of value to sell, say a boat or a car, you'd want to accept the offer from the buyer that you know will MOST LIKELY be able to produce the cash to complete the purchase.

As a buyer, you'll likely find that when purchasing a foreclosure or short sale, unless you have that letter from your lender saying they are willing to lend you $x your "offer" won't even be considered. In fact, it's likely that your offer will not even be looked at!

So, if you are looking for your dream home, be smart and get a jump on your competition: take the time to get discuss your mortgage options, get PRE-QUALIFIED, and start assembling the lender's required paperwork to get you APPROVED prior to starting your new home search. To do otherwise means that your dream home stands an excellent chance of being stolen right out from beneath you.

Wishing you success in finding your dream home,

Deborah.

I read a featured blog post from Mesa, Arizona Real Estate Broker, Teri Ellis this morning regarding another agent's request for her to list and market a home that sounded as though the other agent and the sellers were involved in a "buy and bail" plan. For those of you unfamiliar with the term "Buy and Bail", this is the practice of homeowners purchasing a "new" home at today's prices with the intention of giving their current home back to the bank after they take title to the "new" home. This exit strategy is being used today when homeowners:

• Have a monthly payment that they are no longer able to afford - often due to escalating interest rates, job loss, financial hardships, etcetera.
• Are unable to sell the property because the property's current fair market value will not satisfy the mortgage debt and closing costs associated with a transfer of ownership
• Are overwhelmed at the prospect of paying thousands upon thousands of dollars off on a mortgage that greatly exceeds the value of the property - especially when the homes around them are going into foreclosure and being sold as short sales by the very same lenders to new buyers who will enjoy a similar home at better terms and conditions than they themselves are struggling to handle.

I understand Teri's unwillingness to assist another agent and his seller turned buyer's home on the market knowing that some sort of fraud was about to be perpetrated. I admire Teri's ethics and her professional and personal standards and I entirely support her decision not to participate in this agent and seller/buyer's plan.

However, not that I condone the Buy and Bail practice, I also understand a seller's willingness to do a buy and bail in order to keep a roof over their head when they are at the end of their rope.

I have knowledge of young first-time homeowners who purchased a small condo in a new community almost five years ago. That small condo was all they could afford and although it was slightly on the fringe of town they were excited that it was in a gated community, brand new and ready for immediate occupancy. Today, that condo is worth $200,000 LESS than their purchase price and falling monthly. They have acted in good faith, been fiscally responsible, and have reduced their original mortgage debt by $40,000 over the past five years. Unfortunately, the mortgage offered them was a five-year ARM that is coming due and as result have contacted the mortgage company about converting the loan to a fixed rate mortgage. The mortgage company will not convert their mortgage to a fixed rate and they have been told that the company is not writing new mortgages in that market. Upon contacting other lenders, the couple is unable to obtain financing for the property because of today's reduced value. To refinance elsewhere, they will be roughly $160,000 SHORT plus closing costs.

Yet all around them, the very same lenders are negotiating short sales at today's prices and foreclosing on homes only to place them on the market as REOs (a term banks use to indicate Real Estate Owned by them) at TODAY'S REDUCED MARKET PRICE!

So you can clearly see why I understand the frustration of home sellers trying to do the right thing, yet getting absolutely no help from the banks that have received billions in government stimulus that was meant to help out people exactly like this young couple.

Where has all the money gone? A report this morning indicated that only 9% of that money has been given out to help homeowners.

Why are lenders sitting on the bailout stimulus money? The answer appears quite clear: to keep themselves afloat and make their bottom line and cash positions look great to potential investors and share holders. Oh, and those "performance" bonuses are pretty nice as well!

Americans are told their entire lifetime that home ownership is the great American dream, yet for many the dream has turned into a nightmare.

Instead of the government handing over the stimulus money to the banks, Americans would have been better served to have been offered a federal stimulus bill of their own where they could have had their home appraised at today's fair market value and the "negative value to debt" offset as a form of a one-time payment to the primary lender to stabilize both the housing market and financial lending market.

Let me take this one step further now that I am wound up:

I hope that the government will consider putting the next round of stimulus money into the hands of the people. Let all of us submit a request to some new Tsar (that will create a few more government "jobs") to pay off our credit card debt in exchange for our turning the credit card in and being shut out from acquiring new credit card debt for, say, a period of seven years. This will make us a cash society again and will in all likelihood stimulate the economy since we won't be paying interest on interest at 25% APR to banks that have already received billions of our tax dollars.

This "Cash for Credit Cards" program will act as a "stimulus" to the credit card companies to reduce their escalating monthly double-digit interest choke-holds on Americans and give credit card account holders the negotiating position of either having credit card companies provide Americans with realistic single digit interest rates or face having us cut the credit card companies off at the knees courtesy of "our" stimulus bill.

By the way, you can vote for me for Florida state senator as a write-in candidate. If elected, I will not take any prisoners nor be held hostage to a 3,000+ page health care bill that no one has read or wants. If this bill is good enough for us, then it's good enough for the Congress to join. But that's another rant.

This morning a local television station in North Florida aired a story about one of their employees having a bad experience searching for a rental property on Craig's List, the premier go-to on-line web-site that gives the term "searching the classifieds" an entirely new meaning.

Reportedly, an employee of the station was seeking a home to rent and found a home of interest on Craig's List allegedly owned by missionaries living in Africa. The property was offered at $800 month, $800 deposit and no application fee, and prospective tenants were asked to fill out an on-line rental application that asked for bank account and social security numbers.

The entire ad was a scam seeking to collect money and personal information purportedly for identity theft purposes.

The reporter suggested that potential renters using Craig's List:

• Meet the Landlord in Person
• Tour the property
• Make certain that the Landlord has a key
• Be suspicious

The story drew my attention as the one-word reference to using the professional services of a Realtor was so quick and brief that we missed hearing it until we rewound the footage using our satellite's TIVO feature so that I could properly record the story's information.

The reporter clearly offered some good advice, but in my opinion should have suggested that renters consider using a professional Realtor in their home search. Not to take away from homeowners seeking to rent their properties on their own, but we do live in a time when it is easier than ever to be outsmarted and separated from our hard earned money, and I think that the suggestion of using a Realtor was greatly underplayed.

Potential renters and buyers choosing to go it alone and not use the services of a professional Realtor should not only be cautious about giving out financial and personal details, but also cautious when giving monetary deposits.

Before handing any form of a deposit or personal information to a "landlord", verify that the "landlord" is in fact the legal property owner and that they are who they say they are. The Craig's List story is not unique. I have heard several stories of vacant homes being "leased" out by individuals with no authority to do so.

Consider placing any deposits in trust with a real estate attorney of your choosing and have your attorney draw up the rental agreement. That fee for professional legal services will be well spent should problems over price, deposits, identity theft and ownership status arise at a later date.

As a long-time real estate professional, I would encourage anyone seeking a rental property to use the FREE services of a professional Realtor to find the ideal rental property. Here's why:

• It will not cost you anything to use a Realtor to locate a suitable rental home. The Landlord pays the Realtor the fee, typically one month's rent for showing the property, processing the paperwork and verifying your credit and employment history.
• Professional Realtors are held accountable to the local board of Realtors who typically have a low tolerance for misconduct, policing their own to ensure a high level of ethical standards and the reputation of the Association of Realtors.
• Realtors know their local market, have access to a vast database of properties, and can provide you with details on fair market rents for the area you are most interested in calling "home" so that you do not overpay.
• Details regarding your credit application and personal information that could be used for identity theft will be held confidential by your Realtor for your peace of mind and to help you prevent identity theft.
• Deposits held by Realtors typically fall under strict guidelines by state statutes and are monitored by the state's real estate commission. These deposits are held in trust on your behalf until the transaction in completed.
• When using a Realtor, you are not meeting strangers - individuals you have no information or background on.
• For personal safety, Realtors typically don't meet strangers at residential properties. Why should you?
• Remember that con-artists and scammers can also work as a husband/wife team and that the term "con" is short for "confidence" and the term "artist" indicates that these people have taken their "craft" and perfected it. Keep in mind that confidence artists will meet with you as many times as it takes, building trust until they get what they want.
• Realtors have access to standardized un-biased rental agreements and forms that will serve to protect YOUR interests as well as those of the landlord - agreements that clearly spell out important details such as who is responsible to maintain the property, and many more details that invariably prevent misunderstandings and problems between tenants and landlords at a later date.

I use Craig's List frequently to market and lease properties, disclosing that I am a licensed real estate broker in the state of Florida. I have also used Craig's List satisfactorily when seeking employees for both my real estate company and marketing company.

As the con-artists and scammers keep taking their craft to new heights and levels, we must all keep in mind: Consumer Beware! When buying or renting properties, for peace of mind take the high road, the safer road, and consider using the free to you services of a professional Realtor.

As I was sitting in my office a fortnight ago it came to me that for two years I have been working virtually seven days a week. When I say seven days a week I am not speaking part-time or casual drop-ins to the office but actually spending hours on end consumed with work on the behalf of my clients. I get an idea and start a project and come out of my trance when the phone rings: are you coming home tonight? I think I have the opposite of AADD.

Contemplating the meaning of life, I realized that I needed to make a few changes. On the spur of the moment I decided that I needed to move my office into my home full-time in order to better balance my life and concentrate on growing and strengthening the marketing arm of my business. I rang up a few friends and, announcing what I was doing, asked for help gathering the essentials. With the exception of desks and equipment, my office emptied out in half a day. I can't tell you what a disaster my garage looks like. There are now boxes stacked up against the walls and I know the file that I have been looking for for the past two days is in packed in one of them . . . I just keep guessing which box, rummage through it, growl in disgust when it isn't in that one and move on to the next. I've been though all of them and the file is simply not there, yet I know it is.

My timing to attempt to work from home was spot on. Family descended on me for a visit Monday and I actually had time to spend with them over the past few days that I likely would not have had if I was still focused on trekking into the office every day. Last Monday I packed everyone off for half a day so that I could get some work done. Mission accomplished: I was able to focus on work and later on spend and evening dining out with family and friends.

There are times in your life when you suddenly acquire more information and as a result create a change in attitude. This is how, in sales, a "suspect" - we suspect that they are buyers - shifts first into a prospect and then a homebuyer. We give the prospect more information and they give us some, and before you know it we are able to provide them the information they need in order to make the best buying decision. The more information you have, the better your decisions. This is why prospective homebuyers should communicate with their agent and vice versa.

This week I'll be down in Orlando speaking at the 2009 Southeast Builders Conference (SEBC). On Thursday, July 30th I'll be speaking in the "Meet the Experts" forum at 1:30 PM on Alternative Marketing Strategies. At 4 PM I'll be speaking on Overhauling Your Marketing Program. I'm really looking forward to being able to chat with other professionals in the construction and development industries about the important role marketing plays in determining their success or lack thereof. Best of all, I look forward to helping builders, developers and their support staff improve their efforts by sharing with them ideas and insights about residential marketing when done well.

When you have a passion for something, others catch inspiration by your attitude. Attitude determines your altitude and there is no doubt that attitudes are contagious. Ever start out the day out in a great mood and cross paths with someone who is a foul one? I've learned to NOT let the attitudes of others influence mine and yet it can still sometimes take a conscious effort on my part! If you believe you're going to have a stinkin' day . . . you most likely will. As Napolean Hill said . . . "As a Man Thinkith . . ." When you believe in something and have that attitude of belief, you are so convincing that you convince others.

Immediately after the SEBC, I'll be heading out to a thousand or so miles away to another state to work with builders and developers who desperately need affordable, sensible marketing. I'll be five whole states closer to the state I love: Arizona. I'll be challenged by some new situations as well as a change in latitude, yet I'm looking forward to learning their markets and approaching their residential homebuilding and development situations with a new set of eyes and fresh, new ideas.

A change in latitude will refresh me, my ideas and my energy, and I am confident that I will do the same for them. Sometimes you have to change your latitude in order to increase your altitude!

For several years I have been encouraging those I work with not continue to operate the same as last year, or even last week! Every day there is some new reason why people won't buy, won't sell, or won't make a move. Life is not static! Failing to change and adapt to current situations will only set ourselves up for failure.

Mazda used to have a great slogan that they no longer use. I think that many of us need to make that infamous Mazda slogan our slogan: Enjoy the Ride.

Up to $23,000 Waiting for First-Time Home Buyers

But Buyers Must Act Fast!

Many first-time homebuyers are unaware that in addition to the $8,000 Federal tax credit Duval County, Florida

(Jacksonville, Florida) is offering first-time homebuyers up to $15,000 (fifteen thousand dollars) as a “forgivable” down payment assistance program to encourage and help first-time buyers obtain their first home.

Designed to provide assistance to eligible individuals and families who are interested in purchasing their first home but lack funds for down payment and closing costs, the program, Head Start to Home Ownership, (H2H) is a partnership with the Housing and Neighborhoods Department, the Housing Services Division, and select approved lenders.

The down payment and closing cost assistance is a “forgivable” fifteen-year second mortgage. Provided by

the City of Jacksonville, should homebuyers reside as owner/occupants in the property fifteen years the second mortgage will go away and be “forgiven”.

To be eligible for the H2H program, prospective buyers must have a minimum of $500 as a down payment, attend a homeownership training class, and meet the minimum income requirements but not exceed the maximum income requirements. For example, a family of three must make at least $29,300 but not more than $46,900. A lower income may be allowed if one of the approved lenders can approve you based on your income and debt.

In addition to the H2H program, the Federal Government in offering a first-time homebuyer tax credit of up to $8,000 on the purchase of a home. Buyers should note that the current deadline to close on that first home is December 1^st, 2009.

For more information on the H2H Head Start to Home Ownership, please contact me at 904-545-5204 or drop by our offices at 8862 La Terrazza Place, located at the corner of Baymeadows Road and Waterfront Terrace in the San Jose area of Jacksonville, Florida. We are working with an experienced banker/lender on the H2H program who is well-versed in the H2H process and will assist us in navigating through the H2H application.

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