Paul Diou--- Broker &

So, you want to buy a home- but its winter time and you live in the north east-

Great! lets get our boots, our hats and some MLS brochures!

Every day is a great day to buy or sell real estate- don't let some chilly weather, piles of snow- slick freezing rain or dark afternoons stop you from taking advantage of this wonderful market for buyers!

look at all the postives for buying right now;

• First time home buyers credit expanded into 2010!
• Home buyers credit expanded for existing home buyers!
• A wonderful buyers market in many areas
• Rebates from Maine Realty LLC = 1% of purchase price
• Motivated sellers who must sell!
• Foreclosures in the market!
• Short Sales in the market!
• Lowest prices in years!

Right now is a great time to be buying in the North East!

Live in Maine? Just call Paul at 671-6604 for more info

pd

Welcome to Maine List For Less.com!

www.mainelistforless.com

"For Sale With Owner and Maine Realty"

The way selling Real Estate should be!

Our service is simple and effective. We will list your home "For Sale With Owner and Maine Realty" for only $500!

We offer Maine Resdients a convenient and cost effective approach to take the hassle out of selling their homes.

For $500 up front we place your home on the Multiple Listing Service, we show case your home on the popular Realtor.com website with up to 25 photos! For a small $60 fee we can place a sign in your front yard letting potenial buyers know that your home is on the market, and we screen and forward all prosepective buyers directly to you! You will conduct all showings and open houses and you can negotiate your own selling price and terms. We will set up all of the legal disclosures that are required by Maine and Federal law and help with the transaction all the way to the closing. At closing $500 is paid to the listing agent- this is a great way to sell your home while getting the marketing exposure you need and saving potentially thousands of dollars in commissions. We also help you determine a cost effective (and cost savings) co-broke that you will offer other real estate agents who bring you buyers because they found your home on the MLS!

No one will ever have to sell their home alone again, now you can partner with Maine Realty to make this process easier, and save you money!

January 2009

The State of Maine allows Realtors (Agents, Brokers under an Agency) to offer Real Estate Rebates to customers and clients- The US Department of Justice promotes such rebates as they foster competion- in fact there are only a handful of states that do not allow Real Estate Rebates, and several of those states have been sued by the Us Department of Justice for limiting competiton by promoting their anti rebate laws.

see the link below for what the US DOJ has to say about Real Estate Rebates:

http://www.usdoj.gov/atr/public/real_estate/rebates.htm

I think Real Estate Rebates are an awesome tool- and I am proud that Maine Realty (Portland Maine) offers them to our customers. Our rebate program is simple, if you purchase a property through Maine Realty as your buyers agent we give you a cash rebate- payable at closing for 1% of the purchase price of the property. Maine Realty can do this because it gives such a high percentage of its commission back to its agents and brokers (typically 90% of the gross split).

Real Estate rebates allow buyers to have more money in their pocket- they are not getting a discounted service when they get a rebate - they are getting full buyer agency representaion from start to finish-

I have heard many Realtors in my area speak badly of real estate rebates, simply because they do not know anything about them- and because their agencies have a policy of not allowing rebates most likely because the rebate would cut into their bottom line.

Where I am a 90% broker at my agency, Maine Realty can offer the wonderful gift of a 1% rebate to my clients and customers and I will still net more commission than if I was working at a traditional "large big box" agency so it is a win/win for me, my clients, and my agency.

I would love to hear any comments that anyone has on these rebates- also I'd love to hear from buyers who are looking to purchase property in Maine and would like to get paid a cash rebate at closing!

Our program pays 1% of the purchase price up to 1,000,000 maximum rebate of $10,000

for more info see my website: www.sellwithpaul.com

from http://www.usdoj.gov/atr/public/real_estate/commission_table.htm

Consumers Can Save Thousands of Dollars in Commissions Consumers who live in states permitting them the option to choose innovative brokerage options, such as rebates or fee-for-service MLS-only packages, can potentially save thousands of dollars on commission payments. This table shows that consumers can save as much as $7,500 in commissions on the sale of a median-priced home. Table: Brokerage Options and Potential Savings on Home Sold for $222,273 OptionSeller's Broker CommissionBuyer's Broker CommissionTotal CommissionSaving Full-Service (5.2% commission) $5,779 $5,779 $11,558 $0 Option 1: Buyer's Broker Rebate (1%) $5,779 $3,557 $9,419 $2,222 Option 2: Fee-for-Service, MLS Only $500 $5,779 $6,336 $5,279 Options 1 and 2 Combined $500 $3,557 $4,083 $7,501

January 2009- A GREAT TIME TO BUY!

I am telling all of my investor clients that now is a great time to be buying- many think that because of the winter snow and the doom and gloom in the air that they should keep still- I am encouraging them to the opposite:

Right now presents some of the best buying opportunities in a decade in my current market. I've been promoting a real estate investors approach to buying in this market. While it is surely scary for some to think about laying down a sizable amount of money in a housing market that is being beat up on the new nightly- it truly is a great time to put your money to work for the long term.

While Maine has not seen the huge rise in foreclosures that some parts of the country has there are still a fair share of opportunities out there for short sales, and pre foreclosures that make this truly a great time to pick up a property at a great price. While you might not be able to flip the purchase in three months, you will be able to hold on to it and nurture it so that you can take a healthy return on your investment.

Cheers,

Paul.