They “Duped” em. Down Payment Assistant Programs feeling slighted

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I came across this video on a Loundon County Real Estate agents site.  I told you before about the Nehemiah and AmeriDream.   It has been in front of Congress for sometime now on the HR 6694 - FHA Seller-Financed Downpayment Reform and Risk-Based Pricing Authorization Act of 2008. The DAP will go away if this program passes.  You can contact your congress reps by going through AmeriDreams new website called SupportHomeOwnership.org.  This is one program that does not cost taxpayers any money.  This is funded completely through the agreement of the buyers and sellers.

Thanks Heather for the Vid.

Have a great day.

August 21, 2008 · Filed Under Buyer, Frederick MD Real Estate, seller, video

2 Comments 

REALTORS and Social Networking - It’s about Making Connections

People often ask why do you blog? That’s just like opening yourself up for sabotage and all the negative comments and blah blah blah.  Yep, you are absolutely right.  It opens me up to the public.  It’s not my little black and white head in a newspaper that says I am the number one real estate agent/top producer/multi-million dollar agent.  You can either like or leave it.  That is exactly how I have been conducting business lately.  This is my little portal to the outside world that is looking to relocate or buy and sell real estate in my part of the world, Frederick, MD.  (A lot of keywords in that sentence)  Since this blog is just me writing about local events and real estate information, it opens the reader up to whether I am an idiot or not…(don’t answer that one, the jury is still out.)  But you get the idea.  This website is just me.

I have a had a few readers actually use me to buy and sell a house or two.  I am ever grateful for meeting these fine folks.  You see what happens when some one reads what you write and read what other say about you, (refer to the top) they either like it or leave it. It takes the awkwardness out of meeting your REALTOR® for the first time only to find out that he or she is an idiot.  There’s no guess work here.  I like to have fun and people that find me here, know that.  They also find out that I might know a thing or two about real estate (maybe something about the local area too.)

Here is what Jeanne had to say about me in the Washington Post article over the weekend.

“I’d been told to never pick a Realtor out of a hat, but I feel like Bob was recommended to us out of the comments on the Internet,” she said. “I just remember reading Bob and going ‘Oh, yeah. He’s the one.’ ” Washington Post Real Estate Section

Jeanne found me here well over a year ago and we have been in contact ever since.  It has been easy to stay in contact with her and her family because we have similar personalities.  I have been fortunate to see her family grow and have been to her children s birthday parties.  This type of relationship has also been built with others.

Not only has the social networking helped clients find me, but has also built great relationships across the U.S. in the real estate industry or the RE.net.  The small core group of real estate agents across the United States have been networking for years building businesses and friendships along the way.  We help each other with websites, marketing ideas and new business ventures.  Within this network we are able to share real estate referrals that we know when we hand off a client to someone across the US, that they are in good hands.  They are not blindly passed on to some stranger that has access to the MLS.

The Washington Post article about “Making Connections“ has also listed a few professionals that I have come to know over the years.  This would not have been possible without networking.  It started with Active Rain, a Jonathan Washburn creation, a couple years back.

I just love the quote for obvious reasons -

“In this type of environment the cream rises to the top,” ~Jonathan Washburn, Active Rain

I think I was member number 25,000 or something.   The Active Rain real estate network is now almost 105,000 professionals in the Real Estate industry.  This network taught me how to put all of this into perspective.  Jeff Turner, MFIC of Real Estate Shows,  is the master of pulling this social networking thing together and he has taught me almost everything I needed to know.  All of this technology is about YEO - You Engaging Others.  No matter what technology you use, it’s about you getting in front of others…making face to face connections. (edit) How can I forget Teresa Boardman, I mirrored this site after her very popular Real Estate site about St. Paul.  She is all that and a bag of chips…she’ll even tell you herself.

In the article, I was mentioned in the company of Frank Llosa and Danilo Bogdanovic.  Both I have had the honor of meeting in person this past year.  Frank has a very unique way a finding he’s clients and is truly a genius.  There is no doubt, he will make you think.   Danilo knows Loudon County VA inside and out.  He truly displays his expertise of the area through his blog.

Thank you to the clients that were interviewed for this article.  The checks in the mail.

Have a great day!

August 18, 2008 · Filed Under Frederick MD Real Estate

2 Comments 

Friday Foto is for fond memories

This picture of the Sunset in Virginia Beach makes me smile

A week back from vacation and still catching up on a few things.  I didn’t get as busy with work over vacation as I had hoped for… You see when you go on vacation, business tends to pick up for some reason, like Murphy’s Law. Not that many complain about that in this market.

But after I returned somewhat disappointed that things weren’t poppin’, I had a reality check.  I sat back and took a look at the big picture.  Vacations are great and they really are a necessary part of life.  You need to take a break from the daily grind and recharge your batteries.   You don’t want to burn out.  It truly helps you perform your best.

My son got his driver’s permit this week.   Yep, he turned 16. I soon realized that this is one of the last vacations with my “kids”  Two to three years from now they will be doing whatever, college hopefully.  But they will be ready to start their own lives and go their own way.  That’s a big step.  Sure we’ll have vacations as they get older but it won’t be the same.  The childhood is gone and adulthood is around the corner.  Then, I had a friend, Bill Lublin, who lost his lovely young wife while I was on vacation.  I am very sorry for his loss. I can’t imagine the pain that he and his family are going through. I am sure the healing will take some time.  They were everywhere together.

That made me reflect even more on the time I spend with the family.  You’ll never know when you will have your last moments together.  Even, when we are in different rooms doing our own thing we are still together and we always make a point to sit down and eat dinner together. Yeah, it’s the little things that mean the most sometimes, but what we take for granted the most.  Cherish them.

Admiring the sunset - together

It’s your time…make the most of it with the ones you love.

Have a great weekend.

August 15, 2008 · Filed Under Frederick MD Real Estate

2 Comments 

Monday Market Update

Ah, the end of summer is very near. Vacations are done and kids are getting ready to head back to school.  Surprisingly, I am still seeing some showing activity out there.  Showings are still happening on well priced, well staged homes.  Buyers are still looking for a bargain.  Foreclosures are still occurring.  The government is trying to fix everything with tax credits and lending guidelines.

It still comes down to one thing, responsible buying.  (see foreclosures for inspiration)  If a lender has to jump through hoops to get your loan through…then you might want to reconsider and look to purchase something less expensive.  It is afterall your future.  Your dream home might not be your first home, but in due time you will get it…build up to it.

I am encouraged to see that the total number of homes on the market have decreased over last year (2310 LY vs 2178 TY.)  The supply still exceeds demand…basic economics.  Until one of two things happen, either we need more buyers or less houses on the market.   Reality of things, we won’t have a boom of buyers with the current economic situation any time soon.  The number of homes will still be high until we get past the financial problems that are impacting the number of foreclosed homes.  Sellers really need to ask themself; “Is this the right time for me to sell? Can I stay in this house a little longer?”  If you might be able to answer yes to either…why sell now.  The market is not in your favor right now.   Check back in 6-18 months.

This chart represents the number of homes on the market by varying status or types.  The encouraging number is that the number of under contract homes are flat to increasing over last year and the number of new homes entering the market have been slowly declining.

I really think things are looking up…let’s keep it going in that direction.  If you need to find out what you can afford to buy, I work with reliable lenders that are waiting for a call from you.  If you need to sell and would like to see what the market could do for you and your the sell of you home, call me.

Have a great day.

August 11, 2008 · Filed Under Frederick MD Real Estate

2 Comments 

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