Who do you know that needs some help!!??
Hey everyone,
I see this stuff everyday and it is bugging me. I want to let you know what I see going on.
The 24 hour news shows tells us about the “Sub Prime” mortgage crisis. TV talking heads say we have not hit bottom yet in the real estate market. Today’s Gwinnett Daily Post says foreclosures are at an all time high. Mortgage lender radio commercials border on sensationalism. If you believe all you hear you might think we are all going down. Take heart!! I am here to tell you that it simply is not true.
The truth is that this is the 3rd best year in real estate in the last 50 years. 50 years. Since we started tracking numbers this is the 3rd best. Yes, there are areas that have been affected by this slump in the market and those places are mostly the ones that had the huge run up in prices the last few years. Florida and California are good examples of that. Florida has had some other things affect them like hurricanes that boosted the costs of taxes and insurance so they are feeling the pain in that way too. Lots of folks have put their homes on the market and that has given buyers greater choice and slowed down the market while they look. It has also affected appreciation in some areas. I am happy to say that our market has still seen an appreciation rate average over 4% for this year. Not bad considering we have almost 3 times the homes on the market over 2 years ago.
I have heard a phrase that I like about the mortgage industry and that is Lender Purification. Have there been problems? Yes, there have but I want you to know it is the part of the market that catered to those that could not afford or maybe should not have bought the house that they did. It also affects those that used their equity in their homes in ways that were perhaps less than wise. The companies that specialized in that type of loan have gotten a wake up call or perhaps have disappeared altogether. That’s purification. It’s painful but in the long run it is a great thing.
Those types of loans are sometimes referred to as Sub Prime. The problem with those loans is that they are higher risk and therefore higher cost to the consumer. Sometimes to get folks into the loan they had a ‘teaser’ rate that started out low and is now jumping up dramatically. I have heard from folks they are seeing a jump from 4% to numbers like 18%. Not a pretty picture and those people are faced with losing their homes because they can’t afford them now. With tighter standards on getting a new loan they are now unable to refinance like they were told they could. That’s what’s going on with the increase in foreclosure rates.
The problem with all of this is that some innocent people are getting hurt.
I don’t want to ramble on but I did want to see if you have family, friends or neighbors that are having a hard time and are looking for some help. I have helped several people that are in this situation and I wanted to offer my experience and some of my time. I will do my best to answer their questions. I may not have a solution personally as not everyone needs to sell a house to get out of trouble but I have other folks that I refer on a regular basis that could be of help. I have financial counselors, lenders and other resources that I trust and could be just what they need.
Call me if you know someone that I can help get through a rough time. My business is about people and caring for them when they need help.
PS. I also work with people that AREN’T in trouble so if you know someone who needs to buy or sell a home call me about them too. This is a good time to be a buyer and sellers need professional help to get the most money for their property. My number is 678-343-6879 if I can help. Call me.
It’s a Good Life!!!
Thanks,
Jerry Robertson
Keller Williams Realty
Atlanta Partners
4878 Manhattan Dr
Buford, GA 30518
678-343-6879