Dilbert says…..
Well, actually it is not Dilbert but his creator Scott Adams. Check out his blog article about the economy. I think he has as much to say about it as anyone!!
The best news I see in this is the news about California’s real estate market suddenly stabilizing and they are getting multiple offers for the houses they have. My sellers will be thrilled because the pattern has always been that it happens first on the coasts and moves inland. Hopefully we will see it hit here very soon.
Thanks for Listening,
Jerry W. Robertson
Go Rudy!!!!
Just a little fun if you are up for it. Rudy Vaughn is one of the worship leaders at 12Stone Church and he is a gifted and talented singer and performer. There is a contest at HardRock Cafe and Rudy is a finalist for the Atlanta area.
If you have a few minutes and would like to hear and see some great music just click on the banner and check it out. Vote for Rudy and let’s see if we can help him win!!
Thanks for Listening,
Jerry W. Robertson
26 May 2009 – Technology Update
I have a few tips today for you. Two of them will help you find a great deal and the last ones will save you money on printing, paper and ink. I hope you all had a great weekend and are getting ready for summer vacations and just enjoying the kids home from school.
CraigsList Reader Powerful Desktop Application: You can have the power to search all of craigs list postings. Nationwide craigslist search tool allows you to search multiple sites and monitor new classified posts via email alerts. You can also limit your searches to titles or postings that have an image. Powerful desktop search engine software for bargain hunters. Go to www.MotionT.com and check out the tools they offer. BTW, the Craigslist Reader is FREE. I am using it to find a car for us to use for a while. It really works and I recommend it to you.
Last Minute Auction is a great site to use to find a bargin on eBay. This is from their website. lastminute-auction.com was born of a pretty simple idea. We had always used eBay and knew that there were some great bargains on the site … if only we could find them. There are a thousand ways to define ‘bargain’, but the one we decided upon was Under a Dollar, Under an Hour. We started searching for these typs of auctions, selfishly intending to use the results ourselves. However, when we realized there were constantly thousands of auctions that met our ‘bargain’ criteria, we thought we should probably make our lists available to the world. Our moms always told us that we should do something to help mankind before we die. Although this was probably not what they had in mind, we think it counts.
Printing Is Not Free: You have to use lots of ink and paper. And ink, especially, is not cheap. Luckily, you can use your printer and cut costs.
GreenPrint: This program will help you print only what you want. Sometimes you only need a few pages of a document or site. Why print the whole thing? Highlight unwanted pages and remove them. GreenPrint will calculate how many pages and dollars you’ve saved. http://www.printgreener.com/productworld.html
Smart Web Printing: Printing off the Web can waste a lot of paper. You end up printing navigation, pictures and ads. With this program, you can select a specific part of the page. You can even make selections from several sites. And then you can print them on a single piece of paper. http://h71036.www7.hp.com/hho/cache/482779-0-0-225-121.html?jumpid=ex_r602_go/smartwebprinting1/central Free
Ecofont: The font you use for writing documents also matters. Different fonts use different amounts of space and ink. Ecofont claims to use 20-percent less ink than similar fonts. Letters are full of holes http://www.ecofont.eu/splash_en_pro.html Free
Foreclosures are good!!!
Hang on!! I don’t mean that it is good for people to lose their home. I don’t mean that at all. When someone loses their home it is a tragedy. Whatever the reason that someone loses their home it is a bad thing for them but humans are resilient and hopefully we learn from the bad as well as the good experiences in life. Actually, I have learned much more from the bad things in my life and I suspect you have too. Those that have lost their homes due to bad decisions will hopefully make better decisions in the future. Not all lost homes are due to bad decisions. Sometimes it is a big life change event like loss of a job or a divorce. You can’t always predict that sort of thing and certainly we need to pray for folks in those situations. Stay with me though cause we are getting to the reason foreclosures are good.
They are great deals for buyers!! Investors, first time buyers and seasoned buyers looking for a deal. It also brings housing costs down even for great homes. Move in ready homes are at one of the best ‘affordability index’ values that we have had in over 20 years. As buyers realize the value that is available in this market they will get out there in force and buy. I am seeing an increase in showings for the price range below $200K which is traditionally the upper end of the first time home buyers for this market.
I also have seen some incredible deals forming up on bulk buying of foreclosures. I know of one investment team that is looking at purchasing 10 Fannie Mae homes for $100,000. That is $10,000 per house. This is best done by a seasoned investor with cash because you don’t get to pick out or even see the houses before you buy them but for $10,000 you get a house that should price out at least $40,000 each.
As we continue to use up the inventory that we have, the market will continiue to get better. New housing starts are still down but that is good so we don’t keep adding new inventory. It will correct itself as we ‘burn off’ the excess. The big billboard shows about 80,000 listings on the market and that is down over 20% from a year ago so it is getting better.
If you are thinking about buying please call me. This is the time and I can find you a great deal if you are ready. 3.5% down, some closing costs and a verifiable income will get you into a home if you have reasonable credit. Loans are available if you prove you can handle the responsibility and have a way to pay it back. Can we ask more than that??
Thanks for listening,
Jerry W. Robertson
Just to be clear… an $8000 tax credit is a good idea!!
I got to thinking. I want to make sure you know that I think the $8000 tax credit for first time home buyers is not really a bad idea. I think that the Federal government borrowing the money to give to new home buyers is a bad idea but if it puts some money back into the hands of a tax payer then I think it is a great idea.
One way to help our housing market is to give a tax credit to ANYONE that buys a house. New, re-sale, foreclosure. It does not matter what type of house they buy as long as it will be their primary residence for a while. That will do more to correct this problem than almost anything else the Feds can do.
If they really want to help then they ought to check out the Fair Tax too. That will bring lots of businesses home and knock out the unemployment problem too and if you have not really done the research to know why that is true the you need to check out www.FairTax.org and learn more.
Have a great Memorial Day weekend and please take some time to pray for our soldiers that are protecting us at home and abroad. They are the heros we need to say THANK YOU!! to.
Thanks for listening,
Jerry W. Robertson
100% Financing
This is not going to be popular with my peers and likely with a whole lot of other people. 100% financing on a home is a bad idea. The Secretary of HUD, Shaun Donovan told builders and Realtors last week that the Feds were going to allow the $8000 tax credit to be used for a down payment on FHA loans but that has been reversed by the IRS (who is in charge, really??) but this time I agree with the IRS on the use of those funds. Read the story here if you like. The money was going to be ‘loaned’ to the buyer to be paid back once the tax credit was received. Bad Idea!!
My thoughts are that we set ourselves up for trouble if home ownership is as easy as renting. It is not supposed to be for lots of reasons. First thing I think we have to address is the qualification for getting a home loan. If you can prove income and the ability to pay back the loan it helps a lot. You also have to show responsibility that you WILL pay back the loan when you have the money to do so. That is partially measured by your credit score. The other part of the credit score is showing how much debt you carry compared to your income and if there is sufficent left over to pay your other bills. Presuming you pass those tests, you now qualify for a home loan. If we had made these tests effective for the last few years the current situation would look a lot different than it does.
Next, you have to get a down payment together. The usual way to get a down payment is to save it. An FHA loan requires 3.5% down and the buyer has closing costs to pay too. That adds up to about an additional 3% of the purchase price. The median sales price in Georgia is $209,000 and the closing costs and down payment add up to $13,585. That’s a lot of money. In that price range it is not unusual for the seller to pay some of the closing costs so that covers part of it. Even if the seller pays all the closing costs then we are looking to save $7315 to buy the house. That will require the buyer to spend less than they make and save for it. It might mean they have to buy and drive a used car instead of a new one. They might have to do without cable tv or a cell phone in order to save the money. Maybe Starbucks will suffer a bit while they save the required amount.
But there is more. Owning a home makes you responsible for upkeep and maintenance of the property if you want to preserve or improve the value as much as possible. That takes work and money. Not everyone is cut out for all this. We call people who aren’t cut out for it ‘Tenants’ or at least we should.
I am going to stop cause I am starting to sound like my dad. First time home buyers are where we have to start if we are going to get out of this mess anytime soon. Depleting the current inventory will take a while as we pour more foreclosures into this market. New construction is down and that is a good thing for now while we use up the existing inventory. It is getting better but if we are not careful we are just going to get in trouble again way too soon.
It took time to get here and it will take time to get out. There are great deals out there and some people who are ready for it will profit greatly for their effort. If you are a first time buyer looking to win then save your money, buy what you can afford and save the tax credit when you get it. Hopefully you won’t need it but if you do it will be there.
Thanks for listening,
Jerry W. Robertson
Left and Right is wrong – It's Up and Down!!
We all talk about our political system as being Left and Right but I heard a great explanation the other day that clears up that misconception. Why do you feel like there was almost no difference between Obama and McCain? I struggled with voting for either of them. They both seem to be taking us to the same place (Federal Control of everything) and that all of our ‘problems’ will only be solved by government.
Check out the video below. If you just want to hear the explanation part start about 3 minutes into it. It is only about a 3 minute explanation.
Whether you agree with Glenn Beck or not is not the issue. This is simply the best explanation I have ever heard about how our government is being run today in regard to the control they have and want over the people they govern. I seem to remember that it is supposed to be “a government of the people, by the people and for the people”. WE ARE THE PEOPLE!!! We still have control and it is called VOTING!!!
I think we are going to see some radical changes at the next election if we don’t forget all that we are learning. We can resolve this dilemma one of two ways. Either we vote in a third party to represent the voice of the ‘other’ people that are not being represented today OR we exercise our ability to limit the terms of the existing representatives. We can vote them out and keep the new ones accountable by voting them out when they no longer represent our wishes. That was done in 1994 when we hoped that the Republican party would do what we wanted. They didn’t and they lost control again. I don’t think either of them are going to ‘represent’ us. They are there for themselves, not the people.
There are only 537 people that are trying to control all of us. 1 President, 1 Vice President, 100 Senators and 435 Congressmen is all there are and they serve at the pleasure of the people. We control whether they go back or not.
Does anyone have a comment they want to make?? If you do then please make it. I would love to start a dialog here for all to see and consider.
Thanks for listening,
Jerry W. Robertson
Gwinnett County Property Tax – it's going up!!
Is there any doubt that taxes are going to go up?? I don’t think so. This article from the Gwinnett Daily Post tells us how and why. It claims it is not the decline in property tax assessments but rather to cover the cost of increased police coverage for the whole county.
I never assume I am being told the truth by our political parties but instead try my best to find out what is happening and as I learn more I will write about it here. One quote in the article says ”We are undergoing a natural and unavoidable transition from high growth to maturity, and that change holds implications both for services we provide and the way we pay for them,” County Administrator Jock Connell said. “I should add that the current economic situation compounds our challenges but it is not a primary cause.”
It would be in all our interests to get involved, attend some meetings and listen carefully to what we are told. I tend to start from the premise that government is wasting resources due to lack of accountability and it is up to us to hold them accountable for how they spend the money we give them.
Keep listening and let me know what you hear.
It’s a Good Life!!
Jerry W. Robertson
Timing is everything
Timing is really important!! Tell a joke with out good timing and it falls flat. NASCAR requires good timing too. I learned about timing in the form of a chain today.
The timing chain on my Chryster Sebring Conv jumped off and now I am the proud owner of a pile of junk. It has a 2.7l V6 and I could use a new engine if you happen to know where I could find one. I am checking around and would be interested in a used engine if you know someone with a wrecked car or access to a junk yard.
Email me if you can help.
Thanks for listening,
Jerry W. Robertson
18 May 2009 Technology Update
Here are a few new technology updates and websites I thought you might find helpful. Check them out and let me know what you think.
Keep Track Of How Far You Run Or Walk: Check out Gmaps Pedometer. It is simpler and less cumbersome than a physical pedometer. Gmaps Pedometer is a Google map. You can zoom in to your area. Then, click Start Recording. Double-click the map to highlight your path. Gmaps Pedometer will calculate the distance you ran or walked! Save the route, or print a map for posterity. You can even export your route in GPX format. This lets you share it with GPS software installed on your computer.
http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/
The Internet Makes Comparison Shopping Easy: You can check an item’s price on numerous sites in a matter of minutes. To make online shopping even easier, try Price!pinx. All you need do is install a bookmark in your browser. Then, when you’re on a site’s product page, highlight the price. Next, click the Price!pinx bookmark. Price!pinx does all the work for you. You’ll receive a notification if the price drops! Price!pinx can also help you with low-price guarantees. It’s great for cash-strapped families! http://www.pricepinx.com
Free Stuff For Birthdays: You wouldn’t believe what companies will give you on your birthday. All you need do is click on the Adults or Kids button. Then, select your state. Narrow down offers by selecting a business category like restaurant or entertainment.You’ll see a list of birthday offers. There are also details on how to redeem a particular offer. They make growing older easier! http://www.freebirthdaytreats.com/
Enjoy and call me if you need help with anything real estate. I have some great new listings at www.CurrentListings.RealtyCaffeine.com if you know anyone thinking of buying right now.
It’s a Good Life,
Jerry W. Robertson
678-231-1578 Cell
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