Another Avenue to RE/MAX
Are you ready to get moving? Let RE/MAX move with you. Download the free
RE/MAX Mobile App on your iPhone or Android smartphone to find homes for sale –
wherever you are and wherever you want to be.
Friday, September 21, 2012
REMAX Gold’s Smart MLS Map Search Tool
So you have probably
noticed how cool our new REMAX Gold website is, right? Well. Let me point out
one of our coolest features. It’s call “Smart MLS Map Search”
Now what makes
this home search tool so cool is it allows you to input any city, street, neighborhood
or area and using Google’s GEO satellite imagery the map brings up every home
in the MLS for sale.
Now once you find the homes for sale you can use a quick
view to see the basic details, like price, beds, baths and square footage of
the home, but you can also click on the home and see a full description of the
home including school reports, demography and a “Walk Score” which shows you
everything within a 1 mile radius of the property, things like Starbucks, gas
stations, grocery stores, banks etc.
You can schedule a showing, email the
property to a friend, calculate the monthly payment and even save the search to
your profile.
All this right at your finger-tips. Why go anywhere else to find
a home. To get started using our Smart MLS Map Search, simply click on the link
below.
Interest Rates Low, Time to Buy!
We’ll
you’ve probably heard that interest rates are at historical lows. We are
talking about 30 year rates under 4%. What does this mean to you? We’ll first
of all if you are a renter and thinking about owning now is the best time to
jump in. 
Chances are the home you rent could be purchased for less than you pay
in rent. A typical 4 bedroom, 3 bath
home renting for $2,000 a and selling for $250,000 would generate a monthly
payment of around $1,500 a month. This would include Principal, Interest, Taxes
and insurance. Plus you could get upwards of $8,000 in tax credits. In today's
challenging market, being prequalified is more important than ever. We can help
you navigate the challenging waters. Take just a few minutes and complete the
information below to get started today! And we’ll connect you with one of our
local RE/MAX Agents. 
Building and Maintaining a Great Credit Profile
Applying for new credit
- Don’t apply every time you see an offer. Getting too much credit too quickly can hurt your credit profile.
- Don’t build your credit profile through trial and error. Consult an expert such as a credit coach to develop a plan based on your short- and long-term needs.
- Print clearly when applying for credit. If your application information is entered inaccurately it can create variations of reported information on your credit report.
- Consistently use your complete name without any variations. Providing complete, accurate and consistent identification on your credit applications helps set up your credit history correctly from the beginning. It also minimizes the chance that your credit file will be incomplete or mixed with another consumer's file.
Once you have credit
- Pay your bills on time. Most lenders look at the most recent information on a report. So if you've paid your accounts on time for the last two to three years, the lender may weigh that more heavily than a series of late payments from five years ago.
- Set up a budget, and follow it. This is so much easier said than done! A credit coach can help provide you guidance on creating and managing a budget based on current income and debt as well as your short- and long-term credit needs. In the age of self-help and empowerment, managing your finances should top your list. The key is not to over-extend yourself.
- Develop and follow a plan for the type of credit you have, how you use it, and the type of credit you may need in the near future.
- Review your credit report periodically throughout
each year.
- At least 60 to 90 days before making a major purchase (such as a home, car or large household goods) you should prepare by reviewing your credit profile to help ensure it is optimized.
- Continual evaluation of your credit profile is necessary to ensure you are not paying unnecessary interest expenses (i.e., you could qualify for lower rates and better terms). The average homeowners spend an estimated $300,000 in their lifetimes on unnecessary interest expenses.
- Ensure no fraudulent or erroneous activity has occurred related to credit profile. An estimated one in eleven families was a victim of identity theft last year.
Getting help
A personal credit coach can be incredibly valuable whether you understand credit or not. Having a credit coach is similar to an asset manager except it’s for your liabilities. A coach will work closely with you to explain your credit profile, provide you guidance with ways you can more effectively manage it, and can help you evaluate it on an ongoing basis. Changes continually occur for all of us. Jobs change, unforeseen expenses happen and so on. If you begin to fall behind on your payments.- Contact your lenders. Ignoring the situation will only add to your problems. Many lenders will work with you to set up a different payment schedule or interest rate. It never hurts to ask.
- Pay your bills when they're due. If you have an overdue bill, unpaid debt, tax lien or judgment, pay it off. You may find it easier to pay one affordable consolidation loan rather than several separate accounts. Your credit coach can help identify what options may be available to you.
- Stop using credit, if possible, until your finances are under control. Consider going to cash purchases only based on your budget. This will STOP the financial bleeding while you pull your credit management plan back into place.
- Look to professionals like the ApprovalGUARD Service. Your credit coach is experienced in explaining your credit and indentifying ways to optimize and manage debt.
- AVOID credit repair agencies. "If it’s too good to be true then it often is!" Most credit repair agencies typically charge you high prices to artificially "fix" your credit. This unfortunately often amounts to "band aid" work that manipulates loopholes in the system and often results in the credit issue returning to your credit report within months after it was supposedly fixed. If you have inaccurate information on your report, your ApprovalGUARD credit coach can help you identify it and specifically provide you with the proper methods for getting it addressed.
It’s important to note that The Credit Repair
Organization Act is a federal law that prohibits credit repair clinics from
taking a consumer's money until they have fully completed the services they
promised. It also requires such firms to provide consumers with a written
contract stating all the services to be provided and the terms and conditions of
payment. Consumers also have three days to withdraw from the
contract.
The ApprovalGUARD Service - Is the first and only service of its kind. Each ApprovalGUARD customer is assigned a personal credit coach to help them understand, evaluate and optimize their credit and debt profiles. The ApprovalGUARD Service additionally provides each Full Service customer with credit reports, credit scores, continual informative credit tips and education, and tools to more effectively manage and analyze their credit and debt profiles. Go to www.ApprovalGUARD.com and use the promotion code: REMAX1 for your free 30 day, no obligation trial.
The ApprovalGUARD Service - Is the first and only service of its kind. Each ApprovalGUARD customer is assigned a personal credit coach to help them understand, evaluate and optimize their credit and debt profiles. The ApprovalGUARD Service additionally provides each Full Service customer with credit reports, credit scores, continual informative credit tips and education, and tools to more effectively manage and analyze their credit and debt profiles. Go to www.ApprovalGUARD.com and use the promotion code: REMAX1 for your free 30 day, no obligation trial.
© 2009 ApprovalGUARD Service
See Original Story here
Thursday, July 12, 2012
Pending Home Sales Up in May, Continue Pattern of Strong Annual Gains
WASHINGTON
(June 27, 2012) – Pending home sales bounced back in May, matching the
highest level in the past two years, and are well above year-ago levels,
according to the National Association of Realtors®. Both monthly and annual gains were seen in every region.
The Pending Home Sales Index,* a forward-looking indicator based on contract signings, rose 5.9 percent to 101.1 in May from 95.5 in April and is 13.3 percent above May 2011 when it was 89.2. The data reflect contracts but not closings.
The index also reached 101.1 in March, which is the highest level since April 2010 when buyers were rushing to beat the deadline for the home buyer tax credit.
Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, said longer term comparisons are more relevant. “The housing market is clearly superior this year compared with the past four years. The latest increase in home contract signings marks 13 consecutive months of year-over-year gains,” he said. “Actual closings for existing-home sales have been notably higher since the beginning of the year and we’re on track to see a 9 to 10 percent improvement in total sales for 2012.”
The national median existing-home price is expected to rise 3.0 percent this year and another 5.7 percent in 2013.
The PHSI in the Northeast increased 4.8 percent to 82.9 in May and is 19.8 percent above May 2011. In the Midwest the index rose 6.3 percent to 98.9 in May and is 22.1 percent higher than a year ago. Pending home sales in the South increased 1.1 percent to an index of 106.9 in May and are 11.9 percent above May 2011. In the West the index jumped 14.5 percent in May to 108.7 and is 4.8 percent stronger than a year ago.
Low inventory could hold back some contract activity. “If credit conditions returned to normal and if we had more inventory, especially in the lower price ranges, more people would become successful buyers. In an environment of historically favorable housing affordability conditions, it’s frustrating to see some consumers thwarted in the process,” Yun said.
Low inventory results partly from underwater homeowners who are unwilling to list their homes, which would require a lengthy short sale process, or additional cash to complete the transaction. NAR estimates 85 percent of homeowners have positive equity, with 15 percent in an underwater situation.
“Low inventory can be cured by increasing new home construction,” Yun said. He projects housing starts to rise by 26 percent this year and another 50 percent in 2013.
“If housing starts do not rise in a meaningful way over the next two years due to the difficulty in getting construction loans, and barring an unexpected shift in the economy, the steady shedding of inventory could lead to shortages where home prices could get bid up close to 10 percent in 2013,” Yun said.
The National Association of Realtors®, “The Voice for Real Estate,” is America’s largest trade association, representing 1 million members involved in all aspects of the residential and commercial real estate industries.
The index is based on a large national sample, typically representing about 20 percent of transactions for existing-home sales. In developing the model for the index, it was demonstrated that the level of monthly sales-contract activity parallels the level of closed existing-home sales in the following two months.
An index of 100 is equal to the average level of contract activity during 2001, which was the first year to be examined as well as the first of five consecutive record years for existing-home sales; it coincides with a level that is historically healthy.
NOTE: Existing-home sales for June will be reported July 19 and the next Pending Home Sales Index will be on July 26; release times are 10:00 a.m. EDT.
Information about NAR is available at www.realtor.org. News releases are posted in the website’s “News and Commentary” tab. Statistical data in this release, as well as other tables and surveys, are posted in the “Research and Statistics” tab of www.realtor.org.
Return to RE/MAX Gold Website
The Pending Home Sales Index,* a forward-looking indicator based on contract signings, rose 5.9 percent to 101.1 in May from 95.5 in April and is 13.3 percent above May 2011 when it was 89.2. The data reflect contracts but not closings.
The index also reached 101.1 in March, which is the highest level since April 2010 when buyers were rushing to beat the deadline for the home buyer tax credit.
Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, said longer term comparisons are more relevant. “The housing market is clearly superior this year compared with the past four years. The latest increase in home contract signings marks 13 consecutive months of year-over-year gains,” he said. “Actual closings for existing-home sales have been notably higher since the beginning of the year and we’re on track to see a 9 to 10 percent improvement in total sales for 2012.”
The national median existing-home price is expected to rise 3.0 percent this year and another 5.7 percent in 2013.
The PHSI in the Northeast increased 4.8 percent to 82.9 in May and is 19.8 percent above May 2011. In the Midwest the index rose 6.3 percent to 98.9 in May and is 22.1 percent higher than a year ago. Pending home sales in the South increased 1.1 percent to an index of 106.9 in May and are 11.9 percent above May 2011. In the West the index jumped 14.5 percent in May to 108.7 and is 4.8 percent stronger than a year ago.
Low inventory could hold back some contract activity. “If credit conditions returned to normal and if we had more inventory, especially in the lower price ranges, more people would become successful buyers. In an environment of historically favorable housing affordability conditions, it’s frustrating to see some consumers thwarted in the process,” Yun said.
Low inventory results partly from underwater homeowners who are unwilling to list their homes, which would require a lengthy short sale process, or additional cash to complete the transaction. NAR estimates 85 percent of homeowners have positive equity, with 15 percent in an underwater situation.
“Low inventory can be cured by increasing new home construction,” Yun said. He projects housing starts to rise by 26 percent this year and another 50 percent in 2013.
“If housing starts do not rise in a meaningful way over the next two years due to the difficulty in getting construction loans, and barring an unexpected shift in the economy, the steady shedding of inventory could lead to shortages where home prices could get bid up close to 10 percent in 2013,” Yun said.
The National Association of Realtors®, “The Voice for Real Estate,” is America’s largest trade association, representing 1 million members involved in all aspects of the residential and commercial real estate industries.
# # #
*The Pending Home Sales Index is a leading indicator for the housing
sector, based on pending sales of existing homes. A sale is listed as
pending when the contract has been signed but the transaction has not
closed, though the sale usually is finalized within one or two months of
signing.The index is based on a large national sample, typically representing about 20 percent of transactions for existing-home sales. In developing the model for the index, it was demonstrated that the level of monthly sales-contract activity parallels the level of closed existing-home sales in the following two months.
An index of 100 is equal to the average level of contract activity during 2001, which was the first year to be examined as well as the first of five consecutive record years for existing-home sales; it coincides with a level that is historically healthy.
NOTE: Existing-home sales for June will be reported July 19 and the next Pending Home Sales Index will be on July 26; release times are 10:00 a.m. EDT.
Information about NAR is available at www.realtor.org. News releases are posted in the website’s “News and Commentary” tab. Statistical data in this release, as well as other tables and surveys, are posted in the “Research and Statistics” tab of www.realtor.org.
Return to RE/MAX Gold Website
10 Things NOT To Do When Your Home Is For Sale And You're Going On Vacation!
10 Things NOT To Do When Your Home Is For Sale And You're Going On Vacation!
You're home is on the market, ready for sale. Spiffed up and ready for the sellers at all times. Unfortunately our market isn't the world's fastest, so putting a sign in the yard and launching a full marketing blitz didn't sell it by Day 3. You're coming up on your family's annual vacation and you're not postponing until after the sale. We don't blame you, everyone needs some R&R time and we don't know if the buyer will show up tomorrow or next month, so go, have fun, relax.
But DON'T:
1) Say "No showings until we return". Like we said, your buyer might be showing up tomorrow, and if they can't get in they'll buy another home. And who knows how long until Right Buyer #2 may appear.
2) Drop off the grid. Don't go to the Himalayas or somewhere that Kinko's or equivalent doesn't exist. We need to be able to reach you if we get an offer. We don't expect you to answer your phone at all times, but don't go somewhere that your cell phone is in constant "Searching for Service" mode.
3) Set your thermostat to the extremes. Yes, you might save a little money, but you don't want buyers to be uncomfortable when looking at your home.
4) Forget to get your mail held while you're gone. And if you still get the newspaper, either stop delivery or ask a neighbor to collect for you.
5) Order anything from Amazon or the like to be delivered while you're gone unless you've made arrangements with the neighbors. Packages setting on the front steps for days are a signal you're not home.
6) Post about it on Facebook, or Tweet, or Blog, or LinkedIn or ANYTHING that announces to the world that you're going to be gone. Bad guys have access to social media too.
7) Forget that your flowers need watered and your lawn mowed. Hire someone if you need to, but don't let the hard work you've done on curb appeal go downhill while you've got your toes in the sand and a Corona on the table next to the chair.
8) Forget to tell your agent you're leaving town!! We'll probably need to alter the showing instructions so you don't have to approve the showings while you're gone.
9) Forget to take out ALL the trash before you leave. Get the kitchen, the bathrooms, ALL of them. You do not want the first impression of the buyers to be "EWWWWW" because you forgot about the leftover salmon you tossed before leaving. That also means take care of the dirty dishes and dirty laundry before you go. AND don't forget kitty's super atomic deposits in the litter box and Rover's landmines in the back yard.
10) Forget to ask a friend to check the locks after showings. Hate to say this, but sometimes agents aren't as careful as they should be about making sure a home is secure before they leave. Going by and checking post showing is something we've regularly done for clients out of town. Wish it wasn't necessary, but it's good to be cautious.
We could add some more to this list, but you get the drift. Be careful, be available, and leave your home ready for the buyers to fall in love with it!
If you have other questions regarding real estate, please don't hesitate to ask us!
Serving Warren County's residential real estate needs,
Liz and Bill aka BLiz
The Liz Spear Team
Elizabeth & William Spear
RE/MAX Elite: Ask for us by name if you visit the office!
Two locations: Lebanon & Mason, OH
Liz direct: 513-265-3004
Bill direct: 513-520-5305 Fax: 866-302-8418
MailTo: Liz@LizSpear.com Our Website: Warren County Ohio Homes
Return to RE/MAX Gold Website
Elizabeth & William Spear
RE/MAX Elite: Ask for us by name if you visit the office!
Two locations: Lebanon & Mason, OH
Liz direct: 513-265-3004
Bill direct: 513-520-5305 Fax: 866-302-8418
MailTo: Liz@LizSpear.com Our Website: Warren County Ohio Homes
Return to RE/MAX Gold Website
RE/MAX CEO Margaret Kelly on Bloomberg TV
Our own RE/MAX CEO Margaret Kelly is
calling for a slow and steady recovery' This according to her recent appearance
on Bloomberg TV. Now you can check out the
entire clip of Margaret Kelly talking about new home sales and other promising
signs in the housing market on Bloomberg TV by simply clicking here
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