Ralph Gorgoglione

Here are some common mistakes to avoid as a home buyer. The more volatile the market, the more you need to be attentive to these:

1. Making a low-ball offer early on in the listing - don't do it. If the property is overpriced, let the seller have enough time to realize it before you present a lowball offer.

2. Not seriously reviewing comps before making an offer - don't make the mistake of offering what YOU think the property is worth, because what YOU think is irrelevant to what the MARKET thinks.

3. Not knowing what it's really going to take to get an accepted offer in the current market - don't use strategies that you learned or read about from a year ago. KNOW YOUR CURRENT MARKET and know what the competition/pool of buyers is like right now.

4. Bombarding your agent with blanket offers all over the place - don't do it. Don't burn your agent out and/or give them the impression that you're a frivelous buyer by making low-ball or unrealtistic offers all over the place. If you do so, you're agent will not be able to have laser focus and the sharpness necessary to do what it takes to get you into a home.

5. Being discourteous before or during a showing - don't treat the sellers home or schedule like it's disposable trash that you can take or leave. THIS IS STILL SOMEONE'S HOME AND YOU NEED TO RESPECT THAT. Regardless of what condition it is in, it is still someone else's home and NOT yours yet!! Be courteous with your showing requests, and be courteous once you are in their home. Ask if it's necessary to take your shoes off, don't make ANY negative comments about the home until AFTER you leave the house and are a safe speaking distance from the house. Play the reverse role: how would you feel if someone stepped foot into your home and was rude and careless?

6. Being discourteous to the listing agent - same as #5 above. Don't make any negative comments while the listing agent is around, and be courteous to them or their schedule. YOU NEVER KNOW IF THE NEXT LISTING YOU ARE INTERESTED IN WILL BE WITH THE SAME AGENT!!!

7. Writing a sloppy offer - don't do it. Any good listing agent will probably shy away from an offer that looks like something the cat dragged in, because it's probably reflective of the type of escrow you'll be putting them through. Make sure you have your current pre-approval, proof of funds, copy of deposit check (although that seems to be going away), FICO scores along with the COMPLETE offer (meaning all the right forms, depending on the type of property - i.e. short sale addendum, etc.). If you feel it's too tedious to keep doing this over and over, then that's probably a sign that you're going around town blitzing offers all over the place. BE SELECTIVE ABOUT WHICH PROPERTIES YOU WRITE ON.

8. Writing an offer with the appearance of "rape and pilfrage" - do not write offers asking for tons of personal property as personal property is not part of real property, it is entirely seperate. Appliances, mirrors, rugs, etc. - THEIR NOT YOURS, NEVER HAVE BEEN AND NEVER WILL BE. At best, be willing to negotiate a fair price for personal items if you feel the need to do so. Try to do it outside of escrow if possible.

Overall, be respectful of the entire process so that negative energy doesn't end up following you into your home once you're in. Be respectful of all the professionals that have to spend time working with you - your agent, teh listing agent, the seller, the escrow officer, the appraiser, your loan officer, the inspector - ALL OF THEM.

You want to be able to feel good about your purchase, good about the process, and feel like you've made a fair deal.

Take a look at FHA 5/1 ARM rates below, as those rates are at 3.75% for all loans up to $729,750-this is amazing!

This can be a very attractive alternative for FHA buyers.

Conventional Loans:

30 Year Fixed Conforming---$417,000 and Below: 5.0% with 1 Point

30 Year Fixed High Balance Conforming---$417,001 to $729,750: 5.25% with 1 Point

30 Year Fixed Jumbo---$729,751 to $1,000,000: 5.625% with 1 Point

5/1 ARM Jumbo---5.0% with 1 Point-amazing for Jumbo product

FHA Loans:

FHA 30 Year Fixed---$417,000 and Below: 5.125% with 1 Point

FHA 5/1 ARM---$417,000 and Below: 3.75% with 1 Point

FHA 30 Year Fixed High Balance---$417,001 to $729,750: 5.25% with 1 Point

FHA 5/1 ARM High Balance---$417,001 to $729,750: 3.75% with 1 Point

It looks as though the first time buyers tax credit is being extended through April, 2010!

The senate voted today and agreed to extend the tax credit AND offer a reduced credit to some repeat buyers.

The House of Representatives is expected to follow suit.

This should keep the overall net benefits, as well as the still low mortgage interest rates, as great incentives for buyers.

I realize that this is a stock message sent to those that have emailed the President, but nonetheless I thought it was cool to get an email back from the President!! I remember sending emails to our last President and never got anything back.

It was in response to my email urging him to continue his work towards health care reform.

Check it out:

Dear Friend:

Thank you for sharing your thoughts with me. I have heard from countless Americans struggling to afford health insurance and health professionals striving to provide care. I appreciate your perspective.

There is broad consensus among the American people on the need for affordable, high-quality health care. The rising cost of health care is the most pressing financial challenge for families and for our Nation, and controlling this cost is essential to bringing down the Federal deficits we inherited. We must also end unfair insurance practices that leave millions of Americans without coverage, deny them access to coverage, and expose them to extraordinary burdens. And we should ensure that small businesses have access to affordable, high-quality health plans for their employees so that we can make our economy - and our small businesses - more competitive. Now is the time to move forward, and I am working to get health insurance reform done this year.

Since I took office, we have done more to improve health care than we have in the previous decade. In February, I signed H.R. 2 to provide coverage for millions of children through the Children's Health Insurance Program, and I signed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to make key investments in computerized medical records and preventive services.

Still, more must be done to lower costs, expand coverage, and improve the quality of health care. Health insurance reform must provide more security and stability to those who have health insurance; make sure those who do not have insurance can find affordable options; and lower the cost of health care for our families, our businesses, and our government. Reform will benefit seniors by protecting and strengthening Medicare, closing the "donut-hole" gap in coverage for prescription drugs, and providing free preventive care. To help fulfill the debt we owe to our service men and women, I am committed to ensuring that we provide the highest-quality health care possible to America's veterans. My 2010 budget requests the largest single-year increase in funding for the Department of Veterans Affairs in three decades and significantly expands health care coverage to an additional 500,000 veterans by 2013.

Ultimately, there are tough choices to be made, and I am working to bring employers and workers, health care providers and patients together to create a system that delivers high-quality health care and puts the Nation on a sustainable, long-term fiscal path. To learn more about my Health Insurance Reform Plan or to share a personal story, please join me online at: www.HealthReform.gov. For further information on health care and assistance that may be available to you, you may call 1-800- FED-INFO or visit: www.USA.gov.

I share the sense of urgency that millions of Americans have voiced. I watched as my ailing mother struggled with stacks of insurance forms in the last moments of her life. This is not who we are as a Nation; together, we will fix it.

Sincerely,

Barack Obama

Good News!

I am hearing that FHA Spot Approvals for condos will continue until December 7, 2009 instead of the discontinuance date of November 1st.

I suspect FHA is attempting to develop their procedures for actual FHA approvals for condos. That means that case numbers have to be ordered before December 7th.

Basically, an appraisal has to be ordered in order to obtain a case number.

We'll see what develops...........