Ron Wickes

The United States of America has, for a long time, been known as the land of opportunity. Our country has, since its' founding, provided opportunity for both immigrants and citizens alike. Yet without faith opportunity in most cases goes unfulfilled. Without faith opportunity goes wasted. Without opportunity and faith the dream dies. Withour faith fear wins. That I believe is one of the problems facing home buyers in today's market. The opportunity is there but the faith is not. Fear has replaced faith.

Home prices today are at lows we will probably never see again in our lifetime. The $8,000 first time home buyer's tax credit is there and may not be renewed. Yes the economy is not what it should be. Yes a little economic doubt still remains. And yes sometimes cautiousness is a plus. However faith and opportunity are bigger pluses.

I talk with potential buyers everyday and the most frequent thing I hear as to why they aren't buying now is "fear". Fear of losing their job, fear about what catastrophe will strike next. I almost never hear about opportunity or faith. Why is that?

Have we become the land of fear rather than the land of opportunity? Have we already accepted defeat rather than chancing the dream? Have we lost our faith in our own abilities? Have we lost our faith in our future?

Many of you maybe thinking that it is easy for me to sit here and preach and say do as I say and not as I do. Well I will tell you what. I seized the opportunity today. I took a leap of faith when everyone and I mean everyone says I am nuts to do this thing. That what I am doing will not payoff the way I hope it will. However I am going to seize the opportunity, take the chance and keep the faith. Is it easy? Heck no. I'm thinking right now "what have I done?". However, I will not let fear rule. I will keep the faith. I will believe that this is the land of opportunity. I will take the risk. I will take the chance no matter the outcome. I will never regret. I will succeed with what others say is impossible.

If you are a potential home buyer or seller why not do the same thing. Keep the faith and shed the fear. Remember this is the land of opportunity in all things.

We all love living around Lake Conroe. We love playing on the lake. We love playing in the lake. We all love living around the lake. However not even our love for the lake and all of the good things it entails can prevent a real estate price decrease. Yes even the homes prices around the lake we love have succumb to the decline in the real estate market. Both the average price and the median price for MLS area 39 around Lake Conroe have taken a big hit in 2009.

How much are prices down? They are down in excess of 7% in 2009 versus 2008. 7% seems like a big number to me. In terms of dollars that 7% represents over $18,000 in the average price of a home and over $14,000 in the median price. Those are pretty big numbers. Those are numbers that we cannot ignore both as agents and as sellers. Those are big numbers that as buyers and buyers agents that we cannot ignore either.

When you combine this price decrease with the $8,000 first time home buyers tax credit you have significant opportunity. This is opportunity that should not be lost. It is opportunity that may not appear for many years to come.

There is even opportunity for sellers in these numbers. As a seller you may have to take a little less for your current home than you hoped however you will also pay less for the new home you buy. Remember for every action there is an opposite and equal reaction.

The numbers shown below tell the whole story. The numbers shown are for January through July for 2007, 2008 and 2009. Yes most of the numbers are not good. However, when I look at all of the numbers available to me and graph and analyze them I do see hope. I firmly believe that the bottom in our real estate market has been hit. I see upticks in several areas around our beloved lake and in our county. That is good news.

So for those of you who have been waiting for the bottom of the market to buy, sorry but I believe you have missed it. I believe we are on the way up. I believe now is the time to buy and sell. I believe our greatest opportunity is NOW!

If you have any questions please drop me an email. If you want to buy or sell some real estate please give me a call.

Thanks and have a great day.

Ron

Fannie Mae, which as most of you know operates in the secondary mortgage market, apparently has recently instituted some new guidelines concerning disputed items on a person's credit report. Fannie Mae will no longer issue a preapproval for mortgage applications when the applicant's credit report shows a disputed item. In order to receive a preapproval the credit report must be free of any disputed items plus meet all of the other normal Fannie Mae criteria. The disputed items must be removed from dispute or totally removed before Fannie Mae will even consider the application for preapproval. It is not known if this new guideline will affect Freddie Mac preapprovals or is just a temporary guideline on the part of Fannie Mac. This is a major detriment to an already beleaguered mortgage market.

If you are in the market for a new home please make sure that there are no items on your credit report that are under dispute. Also please remember to NEVER dispute an item on your credit report via the internet. When you dispute an item on-line under the law you relinquish some very basic credit rights.

Please remember that today your credit report has an impact on almost an unbelievable part of your life. Review it often. Also please remember that the credit score numbers the credit bureaus show you are not the same ones a mortgage banker or auto dealer sees. They can all be different.

If you have any questions please send me an email.

Thanks and have a great day.

Ron

Please don't forget that Saturday, 8/29 from 9:00 until noon the Conroe Family YMCA will be offering free SCUBA diving introductions. This marks the start of the official Conroe Family YMCA SCUBA program. This is your chance to try something you not normally do.

The first Open Water Diver Certification class starts on Septmber 4th.

Come by the Y Saturday and try it!! You just might like it!!

Have a great day!!

Ron

On Saturday, August 29th from 9:00AM until 12:00PM the Conroe Family YMCA will be offering a free Introduction to SCUBA diving. All you need to bring is your swimsuit and a towel. Go to the YMCA swimming pool anytime during those three hours and you will receive a safety and equipment briefing. After the briefing an experienced SCUBA instructor from WW Diving in Humble will help you to experience the thrill of SCUBA diving. Ages 12 and up only please.

The first Open Water SCUBA Certification class to be offered by the Conroe Family YMCA will start on Friday, September 4th. Please email me for more information on this exciting new program being offered by your local YMCA.

Dive safe and dive often!!

Ron