5/29/2009
PENNIES FOR YOUR HOUSING THOUGHTS
She shook the jar, “shing shing shooka shooka shing shing,” as she ran around
the living room. This six year old took youthful energy to a new level. As she ran shaking the noisy jar full of pennies her
mother looked pensive and ready to bite her nails but it was not because of her daughter’s explosion of energy. Her
father was looking impatient and annoyed. His gaze went from his daughter to a brochure he was holding and back to his realtor.
His realtor read his look and called the girl back over. “That’s enough shaking Julia. Thank you. You’re
doing a terrific job! Want to help with the last step?” He asked with enthusiasm. Placing the jar on the table and unscrewing
the lid she reached in. Both her parents were intently watching her. Julia held up a penny victoriously. “Is that the
one?” He asked. “No,” she said and put it on the table. “Keep trying,” He said, she drew out
12 more pennies and placed them on the table. Then she heard her older sister calling her from the back yard. “I can’t
find it,” she said looking at her mom. “Go ahead and play with your sister,” said her mom.
“Your daughter just demonstrated
my point nicely,” said the realtor. “The penny that your daughter marked represents the next home owner in this
area who is going to loose their house to foreclosure. Currently, the ratio is about 1 in 100 houses per year and that’s
in these difficult times. In normal times the ratio is much lower. The important point is that the other 99 pennies or homeowners
will build tremendous equity in their homes in the next 5 - 10 years. Can you afford to stay out to the jar?”
They stood in a 4 bedroom house at the
end of a cul-de-sac that was alive with the happy noises of children playing. It was a typical day in Foothill Ranch. The
family had come out looking for real estate deals with their realtor because kids need a stable place to grow up and roots
in a community are important for families.
Don’t give up on the American dream.
Get Foothill Ranch and Irvine California real estate info at http://www.fredcurrie.com/index.html
KEEP THE AMERICAN DREAM ALIVE
Don’t give up on the dream that
you can own a home and build wealth in the future. Make the dream your reality like so many before you who got over their
fears and bought homes. What an amazing American story: all over the country people have bought homes and watched their homes
become their biggest asset in their twilight years. Sure there were bumps along the way. The housing market is never a straight
line up, but in the long term homeowners all over America are retiring wealthy. Don’t give up on the dream.
5/25/2009
FREE FORECLOSURE PROPERTY ALERTS
Today all of my clients want to know about foreclosures whether
they are buying or selling real estate. A great tool I offer my clients is an email alert website connected directly to the
MLS. The website automatically notifies you when a new foreclosure hits the market that fits your search criteria. So, if
you are looking for houses in Foothill Ranch with 4 bedrooms in the $450,000 - $550,000 price range, you will be notified
immediately. This is essential because the good listings are selling quickly and often if they are a good deal there will
be multiple offers. This search tool will help you get to the front of the line. You can request your own search by clicking
this link and filling out the form.
Free Foreclosure Search Alerts
5/21/09
WHY BUY REAL ESTATE NOW?
In Foothill Ranch prices have come down to 2003 levels. It is at the point
where you can buy a home for about the same cost as renting. If, you are planning to stay in the area for awhile, it makes
sense to buy now because in the long term you will save money compared to renting. The risk of waiting to buy is prices could
go back up and interest rates could go up. We are seeing increased sales volume and falling inventory numbers. On the other
hand buyers are risking that prices will fall more because there has been a foreclosure moratorium that has slowed the pace
of foreclosures, but that is expired in CA now. So far in 2009 Foothill Ranch the sales have been about 50% foreclosure or
short sale. So, seller's with a short term view might want to sell now in case prices drop further. Buyer's should
be looking now and buying with a long term view. The biggest problem I have finding buyers property now is that if the location
and the condition are good it sells quickly and the remaining inventory is undesirable.
