Archive for July, 2008

On July 26 the Senate passed the housing bill aimed at reviving the nation’s housing market.  President Bush is expected to sign it soon. The two primary objectives of the bill are to ensure the smooth functioning of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and to assist homeowners at risk of foreclosure. Here is a simple breakdown of the elements of the bill that will impact most folks who are not facing foreclosure:

The Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and FHA conforming loan limit will be permanently increased to 115% of the median area home price from $417,000. More details will be available in the coming days as to how they will define the median area home price, but the Washington DC metro area will see a limit higher than $417,000.  You may recall this was temporarily raised in the stimulus package earlier this year.

A first-time homebuyer tax credit of $7,500 for anyone closing between April 9, 2008 and July 1, 2009 goes into effect. A first-time homebuyer is defined as anyone who has not owned a home in the past three years. The credit is reduced gradually for single filers with an adjusted gross income over $75,000 and joint filers with adjusted gross income over $150,000. The refund is actually an interest-free loan that must be paid back over 15 years in equal installments.  Logistics of this have yet to be worked out.

For 2008, the bill provides an additional $500 single filer deduction for folks who do not itemize their taxes, $1,000 for joint filers.

How much will this really help the housing market?  That remains to be seen.  The permanent increase in the conforming loan limit is the most useful for our market in the long run.

Do you think this bill will improve the housing market?  Post a comment for us to read…

As a teenager my Dad and I would visit elderly patients at nursing homes around Des Moines, Iowa most Sundays. The visits were usually under an hour and we would simply spend some time with people in need. Some of the patients had supportive families; some hadn’t received visitors for months. Some suffered from disease, others were only very old. Some people were sharp, but their body had failed years ago. And others seemed as if they were far away, in another land, deeply dreaming of days past.

I came to appreciate my father’s sense of service to the community at an early age and I wish I devoted more time to it today.

Perhaps it was because of my history of making a difference in the lives of others, I was moved a few months ago when Channing, the Director of the Washington AIDS Partnership, presented to us. “Us” in this case was The Capital Tennis Association of which we’re a sponsor. Each year, the Association holds a tennis tournament in the fall and the proceeds are directed to a charitable organization. http://capclassic.org/Home_Page.html for more information.

Channing brought with him half a dozen young people who had just participated in the year long Americorps DC program. The program placed people in 12 agencies in the DC Metro area for a year of service to those agencies. Many of the receiving agencies are organizations you have heard of. For a list visit http://washingtonaidspartnership.org/Network_placements.asp

It was a moving presentation and it quickly became clear that the year had changed these individual’s lives and they had impacted many others in a positive way.

The Capital Tennis Association decided to select Washington AIDS Partnership’s Americorps Program as the recipient of the charitable funds for 2008. See http://washingtonaidspartnership.org/Americorps.htm for more details.

This year the Association has committed to raising more then $20,000 to give to Washington AIDS Partnership, and I’m proud to announce that Brandon Green & Associates, in partnership with David Kanstoroom of North American Title and Rob Riggins of Washington Home Mortgage is giving $10,000 to support the event.

I challenge the entire BGA family to raise $5000. Please, if you can make a donation contact me and I’ll fill you in on the details. I’ll post an update blog later as to our progress thus far.

At Brandon Green & Associates, we have sold over 40 homes already this year. I saw an article in The Wall Street Journal and I thought it reflects well what we are advising our clients to do to be successful.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB121553612650836199.html?mod=todays_us_nonsub_journalreports

So far this year, we have not had any expired listings and our average Days on Market are lower than the average in the area. Why? Because we give our clients the right advice and we know our local market.

I believe the most important factor when selling in this market is to hire the right agent, not just your friend or the agent next door. You want the agent that is going to work hard for you. I also believe presentation of your property, staging, and of course pricing, are key points to selling your home.

The bad news for seller is that if you bought your house in 2004, 2005, 2006 and 2007 it is likely that your house is worth only a little bit more or just under what you bought it for. It is not easy for us to tell our clients the bad news, but we need to give them the facts if they decide to sell. We have no control over the market but we do on how to market and to sell.

If you decide to sell, you need to be very realistic about the market and forget how much your house was worth in 2005.  These days are over.  The good news is that if you follow our guidance, you will be able to sell your home at a price that is right.

If you have any friends that are struggling to sell their home, please send them our way. We are experts in selling houses that haven’t sold. We work hard!

Make sure to interview me if you are not a US citizen. You need good advice since there are huge differences between a US citizen a non US citizen when buying and selling. I am a Certified International Specialist Certified and have had extensive training to support foreign and domestic needs.