Monday, March 23, 2009

DC Bond Program

The DC Bond Program interest rate will be revised to 5.60% and 2 points!This is good news for purchasers who are looking to get their first place!The DC Housing Finance Agency is offering special programs to help make home ownership more affordable through a DC Bond Program.This special program is available to home buyers interested in purchasing in Washington, DC. Funds will be given on a first come, first-served basis so act quickly to see if you qualify.These programs offer below-market interest rateson a 30-year fixed rate loan to qualified candidates.Additional assistance programs may apply dependingon your qualifications.Find out more by calling Jordan Milne today.As a participating lender, he can help you determine if you qualify. After all, we’ve been making homeownership a reality for more than 110 years. An opportunity for homeownership you can’t afford to miss…

Thursday, March 19, 2009

First Time Homebuyer News

Capitalizing On the New Housing Stimulus
“Whether it is the best of times or the worst of times, it is only time we have.”
---- Art Buchwald

You had to love Art. He had some great quotes. And this one really puts things into perspective, especially for those of us in real estate.

Yes, I’ll grant you that you can look at our economy and the real estate market and proclaim it the worst of times. Totally your prerogative. But please, don’t call me. I avoid those who whine and complain and see the worst in everything.

The fact is – no matter what you think of today’s market -- it is just as Art said, the only time we have. And as a real estate coach and consultant, my job is to help agents and brokers see how to make the most of the time they have whether it’s a buyer’s market, a seller’s market or an alien’s market. (I don’t care what kind of market it is; you can still make a living if you adopt the right attitude.)

Now a couple of big events have happened in the past month that are going to cause consumers to look to real estate professionals for answers and help. Namely the Homeowner Stability Initiative and the $8,000 tax deduction for home buyers.

The stability initiative is President Obama’s $75 billion, three-part plan that will give low-cost refinancing for about five million Americans, provide financial incentives to lenders and create a new insurance program to promote more mortgage modifications.

And the tax deduction, now signed into law, lets first-time buyers claim a credit worth $8,000, or 10 percent of the home’s value, whichever is less - on their 2008 or 2009 taxes. A big plus is the credit is refundable, meaning tax filers see a refund of the full $8,000 even if their total tax bill - the amount of withholding they paid during the year plus anything extra they had to pony up when they filed their returns - was less than that amount.

So how do you capitalize on the Homeowner Stability Initiative? Let me share a sentence I tell all my clients: Your whole life changes the day you make a commitment.

You capitalize on this or any other time by making a commitment to being the best agent or broker you can be. Right now. Today. In other words, become the expert and market yourself as that expert.

This is a time when consumers desperately need answers, guidance and counsel. So my advice is to develop summaries of these events and how they can help consumers, and then put them on your website, your advertising, your letters – everywhere you can.

Doing this positions you as the pro in the field. And create a question and answer document – get the word out about what this all means for the consumer. Maybe even do a short seminar at your local library.

Bob Corcoran is a nationally recognized speaker and author who is founder and president of Corcoran Consulting Inc. (CorcoranCoaching.com, 800-957-8353), an international consulting and coaching company that specializes in performance coaching and the implementation of sound business systems into the residential or commercial broker or agent’s existing practice.