Highlights:
- Mortgage rates down from 6.5% last year at this time to 5.25%
- Affordability index down to 16%
- Homes sales up a whopping 17% from last month
- Home prices up another 3.6%
- Buyer mortgage tips on making the most of this Buyers market
This month in Real Estate – August 2009 Comments Off
This Month In Real Estate – July 2009 Comments Off
- Median Home price rose 3.8% in April and May
- This is the largest monthly increase in over a year
- Number of homes sold also rose 2.4%
- Tips on getting the most money for your house from HGTV personality Kendra Todd
Thank you! Comments Off
For the last 5 weeks I have been knee deep in an intense training course for real estate called “BOLD – Business Objective: Life by Design”. It is a training course developed by Keller Williams to take agents to a whole new level – and BOY does it ever. If you are a real estate agent anywhere in this country, find out when the next course will be and sign up quickly. It is worth way more than you pay for it. I know the next one in the South East PA area is in September.
What has it done for my business? First, I had a lull in my business in May and June and my mindset was bad. I was not real energized to do my business. After just 3 weeks of the training my mindset had been rocketed to new levels and I had 2 pendings and another 5 or so clients I was working with and a lot more potential business than I could have ever thought possible. So here is a quick “Thank you” video.
This is my first time posting a video of myself, so be nice. You can expect to see more of it moving forward.
National Debt Road Trip Comments Off
No matter what your politically leanings or affiliations are, we all need to hold our government, at every level, accountable. It is important to remember that they work for us. I post this video because it clearly illustrates how rapidly we are increasing our debt. As a real estate professional, debt is something I am involved in everyday, but I know that irresponsible debt is not a good thing. Meaning, debt that one cannot possibly pay back or that brings them to a breaking point. This video clearly illustrates how extreme our government is treating debt.
I totally understand that to some degree the government “needs” to spend money right now to help soften the blow the state of the economy is having. But there does come a point that debt becomes irresponsible and even immoral. I think this video can put what is happening in a different perspective, and help all of us decide for ourselves how we feel about the national debt.
Smart Home Buyers Get Qualified Comments Off
Another fantastic Home Buyers video from David Bach. Only thing I don’t fully agree with is his Debt-to-income ratio’s. His advice is a bit on the conservative side. I would say that it could be a bit more than what he recommends, but it depends on each persons situation. Enjoy
Would you like $8000 back on your taxes this year? Comments Off
We’ve been hearing a lot of questions about the new tax credit. Who qualifies? How does it work? How long will it last? In this special edition video, we’re taking an in-depth look at the $8,000 tax credit for first time home buyers.
According to the new legislation, a first time home buyer is defined as someone who has not owned a principle residence in the past three years. Those three years are counted up to the date you take possession of the house you buy in 2009. This means that even if you’ve owned a home in the past, you can still take advantage of the tax credit as long as you haven’t purchased a primary residence since 2006.The same goes for married tax payers – they must both be first time home buyers. For non-married joint buyers, only one of them needs to be a first time home buyer, or someone who hasn’t owned a primary residence in the past three years.Qualifying homes include:
- New homes
- Homes that are being re-sold
- Condos
- Townhomes
The main restriction is that the credit is only for those who buy a home as their primary residence. So investors looking to buy a rental property would not qualify for the credit. However owning a vacation home or a rental property already does not neccessarily disqualify you from taking advantage of the credit (as long as you haven’t owned a primary residence in the past three years).A Look at the NumbersThe tax credit is equal to 10% of the purchase price of the home, up to $8,000. The amount of the credit you can qualify for is related to how much money you earn. Here’s how the credit is scaled:
- Single home buyers earning 95K or less qualify. If you make 75K or less, you qualify for 100% of the $8000. If you make halfway, 85K, you qualify for 50% or $4000. The credit phases out gradually between 75K and 95K of income. For example, if you make halfway between the income limits, 85K, you qualify for up to half of the credit.
- The same rate applies for married couples and joint buyers whose incomes limits are doubled to $150,000 to $170,000. Married couples or joint buyers whose incomes are less would receive the full $8000 credit. At an income level of $160,000, halfway between 150 and 170, the buyers would receive half the credit – or $4,000. And the credit phases out altogether at $170,000.
This credit represent a significant amount of money. One of the biggest points of difference for the new credit from the one congress passed in July of 2008, is that the new credit does not have to be paid back.it’s refundable, which means that if you’ve paid all your taxes as you go with an automatic payroll deduction, you would receive an $8,000 check from the IRS.If you’re committed to buying a house in 2009 and want to use the $8000 tax credit for a downpayment, consult with your certified public accountant.In SummaryQualifying home buyers will need to make their home purchase between January 1, 2009 and December 1, 2009. And the home has to remain their principal residence for the following three years. The new tax credit coupled with historically low mortgage rates and rising affordability, offers buyers a great opportunity if they act fast.If you’re interested in learning more about the new tax credit or about homes in your area, speak with a local real estate agent soon.
Downingtown High School Band Marches in Indianapolis 500 parade Comments Off
I recently found out that the Downingtown High School Marching band played and marched in the Memorial Day parade for the Indianapolis 500. What a priviledge!
The 2009 IPL 500 Festival Parade was on May 23. The Parade is a 52-year tradition that attracts more than 300,000 spectators to the two-mile route. During this celebration spectators will have the chance to catch a glimpse of the 33 starting drivers of the 2009 Indianapolis 500®, nationally-known celebrities including Grand Marshal Dick Vitale, more than 80 specialty units, spectacular floats, marching bands and entertainment groups, giant inflatable balloons and costumed characters.
When I attended Downingtown High School, I was very involved in music and arts. I sang in many of the choirs, was involved in the orchestra in elementary school and even participated in the musicals Oklahoma and West Side Story. I remember getting to perform in a sorts of places with the Downingtown choir and what a memorable experience. Plus it taught me how to work hard and what that brings.
So, congrats to the Downingtown High School marching band! I hope you enjoyed it!
what IS twitter? Comments Off
One of the current fads getting a lot of news these days is Twitter. I recently went to a small real estate conference that had more than a few sessions on social networking and specifically twitter. It gave me a ton of info. If you don’t know anything about Twitter and would like to, below is a short video that explains it all. In addition, you can look me up and “follow me” on twitter if you would like, just go to http://www.twitter.com/chris_lagarde and follow me there.
The part I find fascinating is that you can actually look up people that are geographically near by you and find people in your area that have similar interests. It’s like one big public instant message. So if I want to find people in the 19335 downingtown area that like playing music or have some other specific interest, I can do searchs for those keywords. Or, by using a site like http://chirpcity.com you can do a search for specific cities like Downingtown or 19335 and view tweets by those who are geographically in Downingtown or those who are “tweeting” about dowingtown.
Have fun!
Keller Williams Red Day 2009 in Chester County Comments Off
What is Keller Williams RED Day?
RED (Renew, Energize and Donate) Day is a new Keller Williams Realty service initiative dedicated to improving our local communities. This day has been dedicated in honor of our Vice Chairman, Mo Anderson, because of her constant commitment to the culture of Keller Williams. All Keller Williams Realty associates in the US and Canada were asked to donate their time on May 14, 2009 to renewing and energizing aspects of their local communities.
The vision for this day is that all Keller Williams associates will actively engage in a coordinated effort to improve their local community. Activities may include rehabbing a house, cleaning up a local trail, providing food for the homeless, or any other service related activity needed in your community. This was one of the single biggest events ever undertaken in the real estate industry, and could possibly inspire others in the real estate industry to start their own community service project.
Here in the Chester County area, numerous projects were undertaken. From the Keller Williams Exton office, which covers the Downingtown, Coatesville, West Chester, Phoenixville areas, to name a few, we focused on 4 projects.
One group of about 12 went to work with the ministry called “Good Works” in Coatesville. Good Works is a Christian nonprofit organization which exists to improve the living conditions for low-income families in Chester County, PA. There we helped one of the Coatesville Arson Victims help repair their homes. Another group went to help the Brandywine YMCA help get a camp ready for low income, inner city children, while another went to a nursing home to spend time with those who do not get many visitors.
Here is a quick slideshow of photos from the day.
