Tuesday, March 23, 2010

Health Care Reform Realtor Survey by the National Association of Realtors

The National Association of Realtors (NAR) Health Insurance Coverage Survey

A randomly selected group of REALTORS® from across the country was given an opportunity to respond to a brief survey about health insurance coverage. Results of the survey are summarized below.

Download a copy (PDF: 98K)

Views About the Health Care System
  • Approximately half (51%) of REALTORS® responding to the survey believe that the current health care system is not meeting their needs or the needs of their family.
  • More than 8 in 10 REALTORS® (82%) believe that the health care system is not meeting the needs of most Americans.
  • 91% of REALTORS® believe that the U.S. health care systems should be reformed.
Insurance Cost and Coverage
  • One in four REALTORS® reported that they had no health insurance coverage.
  • Among REALTORS® with insurance coverage, 43% purchased an individual market private plan while 27% were covered under a spouse’s or partner’s insurance plan.
  • Among REALTORS® without coverage, 73% reported premium cost as the reason for the lack of coverage; only 15% cited a pre–existing condition as the reason for the costly premium.
  • 4% of REALTORS® report being denied Insurance coverage due to pre–existing conditions.
  • 63% of REALTORS® with coverage paid the entire premium with an additional 28% sharing the cost of the premium with an employer or other coverage source.
  • Coverage most often included hospitalization (96%) and major medical (96%) followed by prescription drug coverage (81%).
  • 66% of REALTORS® reported that the firm with which they were affiliated did not offer any type of health insurance coverage.
About the Survery
A 30 question survey was randomly sent to a selected sample of 42,309 REALTORS®. A total of 5,131 responses were received resulting in a response rate of 12.1%. The typical respondent was 51 years old, female (62%) and worked full–time (87%). Nearly two–thirds (63%) were sales agents. Half were affiliated with a firm that had one office.

Monday, March 15, 2010

Foreclosures Rates Leveling Off - Home Sales Nationwide

Foreclosure Rates are leveling off. According to RealtyTrac the foreclosure rate with in January had fallen 10%, with the banks repossessing nearly 79,000 homes. And they fell another 2% in February.

It is too early to tell if this trend will continue, but it is looking optimistic. There are factors to consider in these numbers, like the bad weather effecting court closings or special programs just delaying the process.

Foreclosed homes take a big tole on neighborhoods and the surrounding homes. When these home sell at a great discount, it drops the property value of other homes within miles.

States with the largest foreclosure rates are Nevada, Arizona, Florida, California and Michigan. Followed by Utah, Idaho, Illinois, Georgia and Maryland.

The metro area with the highest foreclosure rate in February was Las Vegas. along with Modesto, Riverside, San Bernadina, Ontario and Stockton ares in California.

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Wednesday, March 10, 2010

Sell FSBI instead of FSBO - For Sale by Owner - Flat Fee MLS listing - Discount Real Estate

 Selling your home FSBO - for sale by owner - can save the seller a lot of money.  But you also want to sell your home FSBI - for sale by internet.  Most buyers are home shopping on the internet whether they are working with a Realtor or shopping for their new home on their own.

Instead of FSBO, try FSBI: "For Sale by Internet."
  • A FSBI house is one that is actively marketed on the internet
  • It has its own website, with great photographs and descriptions
  • It is optimized for Google and other search engines
  • It will get search engine traffic in the form of people looking to buy a house in the very community where you live.
Flat Fee MLS listing satisfy both the FSBO and the FSBI.  You can avoid paying a commission if there is no other Realtor involved and the MLS is one of the best ways to market your home.

The St. Louis MLS, Maris, syndicates your home to Realtor.com as well as 35 other real estate websites including Yahoo, Trulia, HomeFinder and Zillow.

Every home submitted to the MLS automatically is syndicated no matter which Real Estate Company you use.

Lauralei Properties, llc will list your home on the MLS, Realtor.com and all the other sites pictured for $195 - and you can still sell FSBO and FSBI!

Check out the Lauralei Properties, llc website here....... lauralei.net

Tuesday, March 09, 2010

Join thousands of REALTORS® around the nation and hold an open house on the weekend of April 10 and 11, 2010.

Encourage your buyers to visit and your sellers to participate. As an added touch you can identify the open house with REALTOR® balloons.

How is this weekend different than any other weekend in April? This is an incredible opportunity for consumers to shop for a new home while:

  • Affordability is good
  • Mortgage interest rates are low (but expected to rise)
  • Good supply of homes on the market
  • The Expanded First-time Homebuyer’s Federal Tax Credit is still available. The contract has to be in place by April 30, 2010.  

Eventually, home prices and interest rates will climb, inventory will become scarce and the tax credit will be gone.

 
NAR(national association of Realtors) will be helping with this event by:
  • Running a blurb in the April issue of REALTOR® Magazine
  • Developing a national press release which they will send out April 9
  • Promoting via their Facebook, Twitter, etc. accounts

Missouri helps homeowners buy homes with "HOPE" program

The Missouri Housing Development Commission (MHDC) at the end of 2009 rolled out an innovative program to help Missouri families buy a house.


Program Details
MHDC is allocating $15 million towards the HOPE program. Qualified Missouri families that purchase a home in 2010 are eligible for a HOPE incentive equaling the amount of the 2009 real estate tax bill associated with the property they purchased, up to a maximum of $1,250. 

Additionally, homebuyers who are approved for the real estate property tax HOPE incentive may also be eligible to receive an additional amount if they bought a qualified, newly-constructed, energy-efficient home or bought an existing home and remodeled or purchased items such as Energy Star® appliances to make the home more energy efficient. The maximum combined total of the HOPE property tax incentive and the HOPE energy-efficiency incentive is $1,750.

This can be met by doing some remodeling or even purchasing an Energy Star® appliance.  The MHDC website has complete information on the program and can be reached at
http://www.mhdc.com/homes/HOPE/index.htm

Friday, March 05, 2010

Making Home Affordable Program - Obama - HARP plan - refinance St. Louis

The Making Home Affordable Program is part of the Obama Administration's broad, comprehensive strategy to get the economy and the housing market back on track.

The Making Home Affordable Program offers strong options for homeowners:
(1) refinancing mortgage loans through the Home Affordable Refinance Program,
 (2) modifying first and second mortgage loans through the Home Affordable Modification Program and the Second Lien Modification Program and
(3) offering other alternatives to foreclosure through the Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternatives Program.

The objective of a refinance under HARP is to provide creditworthy homeowners who have shown a commitment to paying their mortgage the opportunity to get into a new mortgage with better terms. Homeowners whose mortgage interest rates are much higher than the current market rate should see an immediate reduction in their payments.

To apply for a modification under HAMP, you must:

  • Be the owner-occupant of a one- to four-unit home.
  • Have an unpaid principal balance that is equal to or less than:
    • 1 Unit: $729,750
    • 2 Units: $934,200
    • 3 Units: $1,129,250
    • 4 Units: $1,403,400
  • Have a first lien mortgage that was originated on or before January 1, 2009.
  • Have a monthly mortgage payment (including taxes, insurance, and home owners association dues) greater than 31% of your monthly gross (pre-tax) income.
  • Have a mortgage payment that is not affordable due to a financial hardship that can be documented.


The program expires on June 10, 2010.

Go here for more info