Larry and Peggy Pitts

Let's all act on the "call to action" by NAR. The tax credit for first time home buyers has been the best program to get home sales moving again. We all know that home sales lead us into the down turn and it can lead us out. The tax credit has gotten good qualified buyers into the market. When we get the first time home buyers buying lower priced homes, that frees those sellers up to buy higher priced homes. It also allows people who are in need to be able to sell their home rather and just let it go into foreclosure.

This is the time to act. Extend the tax credit now.

Wow, I have picked up three first time home buyers in the past three days. Got all to a mortgage company and all can buy. This is what I have been expecting for sometime and have not seen much of. There have been some first time home buyers out but you would expect them to be lined up like they have for the "cash for clunkers" program. It maybe because the clock is ticking and time is getting short. So many buyers think they can go buy a house in a weekend like they do for a car. That just won't happen often. This is truly the time to buy but there is a process between getting a loan approved, then the home search, then the negociation, and then the process after the contract. These buyers need to be out TODAY looking or they may run out of time.

Don"t let $8000 slip thru your hands. Contact a Realtor TODAY!

Job 1 is to inform your sellers what they need to do to get their homes ready to sell.

I don't understand how anyone can expect to sell their homes without getting it ready to show. Many homes we show are dirty, in need of repair, or just cluttered. How can anyone expect a buyer to get excited about buying a home that has dirty dishes in the sink, last night dishes still on the table, dirty clothes all over the floor, windows so dirty you can't see out of them, obvious problems that need to be repaired, even just so closed up that when you walk in that it looks like a tomb. Realtors are not doing anyone service by allowing their sellers to put a home on the market for sale and not inform them they have to do things to help get it ready to sell.

If someone was going to put their car up for sale the first thing the do is take it to the detail shop and get it shinning like new. Why do they think they don't have to do this to their home. It takes a good Realtor to have enought gumption to be honest to the seller. What are they afraid of, that they will not list with them because your honest about what it take to get a home ready to show, That is a listing you don't need in the first place.

The government came up with this program to stop foreclosures and allow people to stay in their homes. The problem is getting the mortgage companies to do the loans. They actually get paid to do the loans and they lose money to foreclosure. So why have only 2100 loans been modifies and 1.5 million homes have gone into foreclosure since the program began.

I have no idea. I know a number of people who are trying to get their loans modified. All they get is that the bank has been swamped with request and they will get to them when they can. In the mean time the home goes into foreclosure. This just seems crazy. People just need a break and everyone will come out ahead. Why can't the banks "hire" enough people to process the request. The get paid to do it so why not.

I have heard no good reasons why this is not working. If you know tell me.

I talk to a number of sellers who's listing has expired. It is amazing how many are listed by "part time Realtors" . Most sellers assume they are talking to full time Realtors when someone comes to list their property. Many maybe friends or relatives. Some could be neighbors or just someone who came by. You can usually tell quickly who really takes this profession seriously or someone who is trying to supplement their income.

Usually you can tell because the only thing they do to market the home is put a sign out front and list it in the MLS. Even the information in the MLS is schetchy. Usually very incomplete and if there are any pictures at all they are very poorly taken. The sellers say most of the time they never hear from their agents and even when the listing expires the agent didn't even call to re-list.

This market usually weeds out the "part timers" and the Realtors who take this business seriously. This market requires extensive marketing efforts. Realtors have to have a plan of action, know what works and what doesn't, and expend the money to expose the homes to the most potential buys possible.

Now is really the time the sellers really need to make sure to get a real "PRO" when deciding on who is best to market their homes. It can really be costly in both time and money for sellers if they think any Realtor will be fine. First and foremost they need to make sure if the Realtor don't sell homes they don't eat. That is a big motivator to get the home sold.