Are all gone! Hope you are not counting on these grants to come through for a client that may be dragging their feet or with a mortgage professional that wasn't very well versed on how to obtain these funds for them. What does this mean for the client? Waiting another few months to save for the down payments (now 3.5% down with FHA).

So I'm new, and feeling the right amount of beginner's luck and hard-work starting to payoff...

I'm wondering though where I'll continue to pull leads from 2-3 months down the road, as my friends and family can only buy so many houses. I'm asking for referrals, but I'm afraid to slow down and lose momentum. I feel that a deal or two additional a month would drastically change my business, and get my moving forward with even greater momentum.

Does anyone in the community have any feedback on experiences with buying leads? Please comment with where you get them from, how much the cost, the quality of leads, and your success rate (if known).

This was sent to me by my broker, and thought they were interesting. Take a peek! Its on our current economic situation, and whether now is a good vs. bad time to buy.

Two parts, 9 min. each. Fire up a hot pocket, kick back, and enjoy. Kind of dry, but informational none-the-less.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DIMwGgKAmEI

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=36LilXizsIY

This is simply a test-run... I've recently set up a Twitter account, plugged the username and password into ActiveRain, and am interested to see how this gets shot out there! Please feel free to comment with any tips on how I can most effectively use these two resources in cooperation with each other.

Regards,

Joe Freeman, Realtor ®

Prudential Select Properties

www.joefreemanhomes.com

cell. 636.373.3698

office. 636.720.1100

fax. 636.720.1112

e-mail. jfreeman@psphomes.com

Happy late New Year to everyone and I hope you're off to a productive, happy and healthy 09'. Here's a pic of the evening of me and my wonderful girlfriend celebrating NYE 09'.




Now onto some informational bloggage....

An interesting economic setup is occurring... it could be the year of the first-time homeowner!

For young professionals and the serial renters, a lot of opportunity has been presented recently in the form of home prices "on sale" from year's of past. I've read some articles that quote many St. Charles and St. Louis county homes are being sold at or very close to at actual original cost to the builder... meaning, that if the home burned down, it would cost more to buy the materials and labor to put it back together than what homes are selling for on the market currently.

A funny thought... it would be bad business for any industry to buy materials, manufacture a product, then add up all the costs incurred and not only miss out on charging a profit, but mark down their prices from what it cost them to make their product and sell for less!

First-time homeowners have not been stung by current real estate price declines, and are empowered with historically low interest rates (mid 5% for decent credit, with 3-20% cash down payment), motivated sellers, and the newly passed legislation granting $7,500 in tax credits for individuals that ... here's the kicker... have not owned property in the last three years. Even individuals that have purchased in the past can qualify as a "first-time homeowner" with this verbage included in the law!

-Joe F., www.joefreemanhomes.com