Gary McNinch Realtor Renton WA Real Estate

Today, about 25 of us from the Keller Williams office here in Renton came together to celebrate the First Annual Keller Williams RED Day. Standing for Renew Energize Donate it is the international day of service by the entire Keller Williams Realty Company, which has over 70,000 Realtors in the US and Canade. The Keller Williams motto of God, Family then Business was seen in the service that we completed today.

We chose to help the Steve and Karen Morris family in the Renton Highlands. Steve retired from the military and became a KW Renton agent several years. He was stricken with a MS like disease, which has caused him to have problems with his balance and lack of strength and energy. Steve was unable to continue his real estate business has been unable to work for the past couple of years. Steve and his family (4 kids) have decided to move to a different part of the state where they could be more self sufficient and the cost of housing was much lower.

The Keller Williams Renton office came together to do yard work, help pack household items and transport several loads to a mini storage plus clean and get the home prepared for sale. With over 25 of us enjoying the camaraderie of hard labor away from the office, we visited, helped out and had a great day. Of course being busy Realtors, the cell phones were ringing on and off as we worked. Business continued on, Two short sales were approved, a couple new listings went on the market, one referral from across the state was received, and several closings happened as we worked along side the Morris family in the Highlands. The best part of the day for me was to see the care that was shared with Steve. It was a nice reunion for several folks to catch up with him too.

After a contractor replaces the roof, does some minor interior repair, puts in some new carpet, we will put the home on the market, probably in a couple of weeks. And we're gonna donate the seller side of the commission to the family too.

Yes today lots of folks in our office were RED - Renewed (seeing old friends), Energized (working together), Donate (yes, time, energy, labor and love). Enjoy the photos (Steve is in the chair in front and his kids are standing around him). Steve has had help from his church ( the God part), Family (today we were in RED) and business (yep we are blessed by the give first then receive philosophy). I think is says that in the "Book" and I don't mean the MREA book or the Shift book this time. Tonight I'm tired and really happy too.

KW Cares is our charity, and quietly we donate to a lot of worthy causes. Today we showed that "KW Cares" for a wonderful Renton family. And as our humble friend Steve said, "you guys are so wonderful". Thanks to everybody who helped, lots of hands make for short work and the Renton office proved it again.

Donovan’s remarks came in an address to several thousand Realtors® gathered this morning at The Real Estate Summit: Advancing the U.S. Economy, a special daylong session at the Realtors® Midyear Legislative Meetings & Trade Expo here.

Secretary Donovan said that important changes, which the National Association of Realtors® has been calling for, will help consumers purchase a home. “We all want to enable FHA consumers to access the home buyer tax credit funds when they close on their home loans so that the cash can be used as a downpayment,” Donovan said. According to Donovan, the FHA’s approved lenders will be permitted to “monetize” the tax credit through short-term bridge loans. This will allow eligible home buyers to access the funds immediately at the closing table.

this story is long and good .... read the rest here

Call us, tweet @RentonHomeFinde email me at Gary@GaryMcNinch.com or www.RentonHomeFinder.com

I just can't say it enough, now is the time.

Pending Home Sales Rise In March -- Another Sign That Housing Is Recovering

For the second consecutive month, the number of homes under contract to sell increased -- further evidence that housing markets may have already bottomed.

As reported by NAR, the Pending Home Sales Index rose by 3-plus percent last month.

A "pending" home is one that's under contract but has yet to close. This is one reason why the Pending Home Sales Index is an imperfect statistic.

Just because a home is under contract doesn't mean it will actually sell. A lot can go wrong between the date of agreement and the date of closing. Transactions fall apart due to inspections, poor agents, financing issues and we make sure that doesn't happen to our clients. But, when the number of pending contracts rises, we can infer that buy-side demand for homes is strong.

The number of homes under contract is being influenced by a combination of historically low mortgage rates, relatively inexpensive homes, and various tax credits for certain homebuyers, such as the new tax credit for Washington State home buyers. Overall, it's spurring demand and that's part of what's captured by the Pending Home Sales Index.

So long as the demand for homes outpaces its supply, home prices are expected to rise. We are close to balanced here in the Renton housing market, with a mix of equity resales, preforeclosure homes and bank owned properties available. So pricing to sell is critical and buyers have to realize that now is a great time to buy a home. Call, email or tweet the Gary McNinch Team Renton Realtors and we will help you get the loan process going and find you a great new home.

How to fix the current economic problem...(seriously) This will work. And it's so darn simple... Dear Mr. President:

Please find below my suggestion for fixing America 's economy.

Instead of giving billions of dollars to companies that will squander the money on lavish parties and unearned bonuses, use the following plan.

You can call it the Patriotic Retirement Plan:

There are about 40 million people over 50 in the work force.

Pay them $1 million apiece severance for early retirement with the following stipulations:

1) They MUST retire. Forty million job openings - Unemployment fixed.

2) They MUST buy a new American CAR. Forty million cars ordered - Auto Industry fixed.

3) They MUST either buy a house or pay off their mortgage - Housing Crisis fixed.

It can't get any easier than that! If more money is needed, have all members of Congress and their constituents pay their taxes...

This plan is courtesy of my friend Lee Duncan from Renton. And like Lee I am over 50 so I REALLY LIKE THIS PLAN! I could retire (again) and buy a new Ford and pay off my Mortgage AND buy a new Renton house. But I would miss helping all my good clients buy and sell Renton houses.

SO, What do you think?

The Washington State Legislature passed the state budget with a provision authorizing the State Treasurer to invest $25 million in a Tax Credit Advance Loan Program. There are still details to be worked out, but the loan program would allow first-time home buyers to utilize the Federal $8,000 tax credit as down payment when closing the sale of their first home:

We are monitoring the progress of this program and will update members as soon as this program is available to WA home buyers. This was an effort spearheaded by the Seattle King County Realtors and will most likely be administered through the Washington State Housing Finance Commission. The Gary McNinch Team will be conducting First Time Home Buyer Seminars to help first time home buyers become eligible for State Bond financing. Call, email, text or twit us @RentonHomeFinde to get info.