Larry and Peggy Pitts

Here we sit with great properties for sale and no one even comes to see them. We market the listings everywhere. We leave no stone unturned to find the buyers and no buyers to find. When you hear that 92% of the mortgages are being paid on time, 94% of people still have jobs, and the banks say they are still making home loans, then why are we not selling 90% as many homes as we did 2 years ago. The numbers just don't match up. We don't have buyers looking. When we do find someone looking they just can't make a decision. And when they do decide on a home there is only a 50-50 chance they close. What is it going to take to get things turned around. The Stimulas package had in it a $15,000 tax credit for anyone buying a home this year. Now that would have changed thing around. But no lets not "spend" too much. Let's just give $8000 for first time home buyers only. Better than a poke in the eye but it could have been so much better. Buyers are not going to get off the sidelines until they think things will get better. Then when things do get better and the buyers come out we will hear "should have bought before". Just can't win.

Have you been listening to all our congressmen talking about this stimulus package. It is amazing how congress seems to love to spend money until this package comes along. No matter which party you are for it just seems that there is a lot of talk and very little action. It just seems to me that the GOP have become the party of NO. What ever is proposed it is NO. Then the Dems seem to be the party of "it's time to get thru everything that we have not been able to for the last 8 years" weather it is a stimulus or not. Then you have a President who is trying to get a long with everyone and seems no one is listening. Then it all comes down to the public who is getting the short end of the stick. It is time to put both houses of congress and the president into a room with no windows and all locked doors. Then tell them they can't go to the bathroom or have anything to eat until they get this worked out. I bet we would have something real quick.

In the past 30 days I have had two closings fall through because the banks decided not to make loans that they had already approved. I have been informed that most mortgage companies are doing a pre-closing audit on all of their files before closing. It seems that FHA will audit all files and if they find anything in error on the file they will finethe loan company $11,000 per error. This has made all the mortgage companies very skittish about making any loans. They are doing a pre-closing audit and if they find any errors they are just not making the loans. Not correcting the error just not making the loan. It really seems all these mortgage companies are looking for excuses not to make a loan. How are we going to move the over load of housing inventory if buyers cannot get loans. I have been told by several loan originators that if it wasn't for re-finance loans they would not be originating any loans. Wake up people! We are not going to get this economy going again if we cannot sell houses.

How many times have you made "New Year's Resolutions" knowing full well you don't intend to keep them. You want to, but you also know that if you really wanted to acheive these things you would have already done so. What makes Jan 1st such an important date that you will change your life this year. It is the same thing in real estate. What in the world makes you think you will "make more money", "get more listings", or even "get orginazed" just because this is a new year. What we should be saying is "What happened last year that you didn't like". If you do the samething this year you will get the same result. If it was so bad last year then maybe you will make the necessary change to insure it won't happen again this year. I have alway found that if something is so bad it is easier to make sure not to do that again than to wish for something to change just because. As an example if I hit my thumb with a hammer it is real easy for me to decide I won't do that again. So if you for example had the utilities in your home were turned off because you failed to do something that caused one of you closings to be delayed or canceled. It will be real easy for you to "get organized" it insure that you don't let that happen again. Let's all elimiate the bad things from our life this year.

It is the week of Christmas and all thru the Real Estate office not a Realtor was stiring not even the broker. You would think they have made all the money they need or they think that Santa will deliver all those contract to those in need. It is amazing to me how we believe that no one will buy during the holidays. That is fine with me. Having one of the best month this year and I am certain it is because I'm here and no one else is. People moving in from Chgo. They need to buy before they go back home to pack. One couple has heard of the tax refund money they can get if they close before end of the year. Another has saved and saved and now they think this maybe the best time in years to buy. It is all ok with me because it is like opening presents on Christmas morning. A new gift almost everyday when all others are at home snug in their beds saying "I'll wait until next year to work, after all no one buys during the holidays"

Thanks to you all and you all have a good night.