Theresa Bastian Realtor in Tacoma and Pierce County, WA

I was reading the fine print in the tax buyer credit (I know, I lead a glamorous life...) and I was pleasantly surprised to learn the folllowing:

If a first time homebuyer buys a home between January 1, 2009 and June 30, 2009 they can use your 2008 tax return to qualify and get the $7,500 in their pocket with their 2008 refund.

The down payment on a $215,000 home under FHA is $7,525 so while they do have to spend that money up front, they can retrieve it almost immediately once they file your 2008 taxes.

There are some AMAZING homes for under $200,000 in Pierce and Thurston counties right now and interest rates are at historic lows. If you or someone you know is thinking about buying their first home, give me a call; I would love to assist them in deciding if now is the right time for them and guiding them through the process.

I was asked to write an article for the Chamber of Commerce in relation to my participation in the Creative Cities Leadership Program with Dr. Richard Florida, author of The Creative Class and other works.

If you haven't heard the term Creative Class, check out this website for a quick summary: www.creativeclass.com.

Basically, the creative class is comprised of knowledge workers, innovators, and thinkers who are not tied to any one location by the traditional constraints of employer location...they are highly mobile and selective as to where they live.

I am considering the following topics:

A. How has the foreclosure crisis impacted young urban professionals and their communities?

B. Reasons that young professionals purchase investment properties.

C. Whether this group of people is becoming less likely to own their own homes.

Pleae share your feedback and thoughts,

Theresa

Last week one of my listings was foreclosed on before I could sell it. I had been steadily dropping the price and marketing it appropriately, but the sad fact was that this Spanaway split level that needed repair work just wasn't desirable at any price the bank would consider. It went to the county auction with an opening bid of $121,000 and nobody purchased it there either. I'm not sure if it makes me shallow to feel better about that; at least it wasn't something I did wrong as a listing/marketing agent. will keep an eye on the property and see what happens. I predict that after $15K of updates and repairs, the bank will probably sell it for right around $150,000. I wish I could have moved the home as-is for the sellers, but there is a lot of inventory in certain price ranges and areas of Pierce County, and those old standbys, price and condition still trump all.

An article from Bloomberg News crossed my desk this week - apparently Realogy, the parent company of such venerable real estate franchise as Century 21 and Coldwell Banker, is under fire from some of its investors over a debt swap proposal. The investor described Realogy as "Deeply Insolvent" in a court filings.

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What a contrast to this letter the leadership of my company recently shared with all of us:

In this time of banks and real estate companies failing, consolidating or taking on billions of dollars in debt, I thought it a good time to share the state of Keller Williams Realty with you.

• Our company has not one dollar of financing debt and we remain strongly, soundly profitable.
• We are growing, opening 25 offices in the last twelve months
• Our model of sharing profits, which provides incentive for associates to work together for success, has allowed us to give back more than $32 million in profits to our sales associates over the last year!
• KW Cares, our non-profit reaches out to help KW associates and their immediate families when faced with hardships due to emergencies, has awarded over 200 grants to KW associates totaling over $1,000,000 to date in 2008.
• We are investing in education, the foundation of success in any market, by writing powerful new skill building courses, releasing our new book, SHIFT: How Top Agents Tackle Tough Times, and launching a new on-line training site, KW Connect (click on Guest Pass)
• We are investing in research to arm our associates with high-level knowledge. An example of this is Gary Keller's recent donation of five million dollars to Baylor University to create the Keller Center for Residential Research, which has just released the second edition of the Keller Center Research Report.
• We have recently launched a Luxury Homes Division, Commercial Division and a new Keller Williams Realty website.

Despite the market, Keller Williams Realty is experiencing the unprecedented payoff economic discipline and investment in people delivers.

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What are the dangers to real estate professionals if our brokerages are not fiscally stable?

• Losing commission in escrow if company files bankruptcy
• Long-term impact of not staying current with professional growth and development
• Negative mind-set pervades the office
• Leaders making decisions based out of financial fear rather than what it right
• Bad image for our own client bases

What else is there to consider in this? Have any of you been considering this topic? I would love to hear your thoughts...

OK,

So I have a confession to make...I am a closet reality show watcher. Not ALL the time, but it is a true guilty pleasure. So...I am watching the season premiere of Desperate Housewives on Bravo tonight and I was surprised that it contained a whole section about the Realtor housewife working short sales. They even filmed her doing a client consult...at a 2.3 million home. Still, no matter the price range or the location, I would have to agree with the desperate housewife Realtor that short sales ARE sad...but better than foreclosure. It is my goal to assist families in avoiding foreclosure. Who do YOU know that may be overwhelmed with their housing commitment right now? Please encourage them to get in touch with me for a confidential consultation about their options. Only 1 out of every 7 people that goes into foreclosure receives ANY professional advice first. Now THAT'S what I call Desperate!

Theresa Bastian, Certified Distressed Property Expert

Keller Williams Tacoma 253-376-4717