A New Born Baby Sparks a Homebuying Conversation

Photo by tsnsak on Flickr.

I was attending my good friend's new born baby's bris, and even at an occasion like that discussions about the current economy come up in conversation somehow. Don't get me wrong, I don't mind talking about what's going on in the world today and hearing other peoples perspective on it, but at that moment I was more engaged by some of the cute girls that were there and obviously the delicious food that was talking to me...it was saying "Get In My Belly". Anyways, I do remember however, a friend of mine saying to me in his thick hilarious Russian accent, "Bro, my friend just bought a house and locked into a 4.75% 15 year fixed rate mortgage and he was so happy that his monthly mortgage payments were so cheap." Reiterating what I've been blogging about recently, my little Russian friend was also saying how his friend was waiting for the right time to buy a home and when mortgage rates plunged he did not hesitate to jump on the opportunity to buy a home and how he thought it was such a great investment. The reality is, that housing affordability is at an all-time high and mortgage rates are still extremely low; therefore if you are looking at this as a long term investment there is no reason you should wait to purchase a home. These are just some words of comfort for anyone who is on the fence about buying a home.


Source: National Association of Realtors, via Haver

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Reduce Uncertainty by Controling Your Emotions

Photo by Alex MacLean

SO here we go again...I've touched on this in the past, but this time I'm going to dedicate an entire post to talk about how fear and uncertainty are big components in deterring consumers to making a sound home buying decision, and by overcoming those uncertainties, consumers have the control to put the economy on the fast track to recovery. Lately, homebuyer's emotions have been just as volatile as the market and their lack of control over those emotions have paralyzed them in making a decisive home buying decision. The great thing about this problem; sounds like an oxymoron but go with it, is that this is something the consumer has complete control over if they are willing to take a step back and look at the big picture. Nobody said it's easy to step into this current market, especially if you were a consumer that lost a good part of your wealth and your gut is telling you to retrench, but there are developers out there offering programs to create more security for homebuyer's so they can make a less worrisome decision. For example, Job loss is one of the major concerns for consumers and a program offered by The Estates at Opal Ridge on Staten Island called "Security in Uncertain Times", protects your home by paying your mortgage in the incidence you lose your job. This article from the Economist is what inspired me to write this post. Olivier Blanchard has some great insight on this topic and provides a very interesting perspective.

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Please Call and Preserve the $15,000 Tax Credit!

Photo by pogonophobia on Flickr.

I thought we were home free and clear when the Senate announced an amendment to the stimulus package for a $15,000 homebuyer tax credit last week. I just received news that there is a possibility that the credit could be scaled back before the Senate casts its final vote on Tuesday. It's extremely important we don't let this happen, so I am asking everyone to please take a second out of their day to call the number below and and tell them to preserve the entire $15,000 credit . With everyone's support we can make the $15,000 tax credit a reality! It's imperative you call before Tuesday!

PLEASE FOLLOW THE INSTRUCTIONS BELOW

* Beginning the morning of Monday, February 9, please call your Senators at 1-866-924-NAHB (6242)and tell them to preserve the entire $15,000 credit in the Senate version of the economic stimulus bill.

After listening to a brief message about the tax credit, you will be asked to enter your zip code so that you can be connected to your House and Senate legislators. The tax credit message should only go to your Senators. So, after the prompt, please press "2" to skip your Representative and be connected to your first Senator. After you speak to your first Senator, simply stay on the line to automatically be connected to your second Senator.

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$15,000 Tax Credit Beefs Up the Big Obama Bail Out Even More

Photo by Breslow on Flickr.

Breaking news has made the media and it's my duty to share it with you....the Senate voted to include a $15,000 homebuyer tax credit to the stimulus package a.k.a. the big Obama bailout. This is a huge step up from the original $7,500 tax credit because it is available to all homebuyers and it does not need to be repaid back. I'm a guy of faith and if history repeats itself, I'm confident we will see a recovery sooner rather than later. In the mid 1970's we faced a similar housing crises and the tax credit passed by congress then resulted in stabilized home values, decreased housing inventories and a recovered market. A mixture of history and faith goes a long way!

Read the full release from Isakson's office here [US News & World Report]
Analysis by the National Association of Home Builders [CNBC.com]

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Just Like Homebuyers, Skateboarders Find Opportunities in Forclosed Homes

Photo from Skate and Annoy

Not only are buyers looking for good deals benefiting from foreclosures, but so are skateboarders. In California foreclosed homes with large in ground pools have become skate park heaven for skateboarders from all over the world. What I thought was especially interesting when reading the NY Times article was that some skaters use realty tracking sites like realquest.com and realtor.com to find foreclosed houses with pools. Apparently real estate sites can benefit the suburban youth as well.

Staten Island has a similar suburban landscape and foreclosures are high, but as I mentioned in yesterday's post, foreclosures have declined in Q4 of 2008, making Staten Island a bright star on the map, highlighting the benefits of buying a home here....Sorry SI skaters, but I guess you’ll have to travel west if you want to wreak havoc and set up shop for your skating pleasure. But the real moral is that if skaters can use the internet to find foreclosures to skate in, it can’t be that hard for savvy homebuyers to do the same!

Skaters Jump In as Foreclosures Drain the Pool [NY Times]


Photo by Jim Wilson/The New York Times

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