More on the housing stimulus

This just in from NAR President Charles McMillan...

For nearly four months, NAR has been working to deliver to you and to our nation a comprehensive plan to stabilize the housing market.

This week, we saw countless hours of hard work pay off – in a MAJOR way – when the federal government implemented NAR's recommendations to stimulate housing with the signing of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.

This bold and unprecedented move to help housing did not happen by chance. Just a few months ago, the auto industry had Congress' ear. Yet, thanks to countless meetings, letters, phone calls, and public pressure that we – the REALTORS® of America – placed on lawmakers in Washington, D.C., housing emerged as the top priority in the new Administration and in Congress. While some of the items in the Act are controversial and are currently being debated, most of our top priorities were addressed.

Thanks to all of our hard work, America’s homebuyers and homeowners will soon have:

1. Lower interest rates for home mortgages;
2. A greater ability to get financing through FHA, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in high-cost areas;
3. A true tax credit incentive to buy a home NOW; and
4. Foreclosure mitigation and short-sale standards.


As a direct result of NAR's advocacy, we hope REALTORS® will see an increase in home sales this year. NAR also continues to make significant progress on our efforts to unclog the pipeline for foreclosures and to address administrative problems with short sales.

Such significant movement on these critical issues is rare. I personally thank and congratulate each and every member of the National Association of REALTORS® for helping to make NAR's Housing Stimulus Plan a reality.

Make no mistake -- we're just getting started. NAR will continue to push for other important laws and policies that can help you in your business. From keeping banks out of real estate to providing you with affordable health coverage, you can count on the "Voice for Real Estate" to help you gain an advantage in every kind of market.

Wondering what all this means to you? Give me a call and let's discuss!

An idea to help retailers trim expenses

So a few weeks ago I wrote about being at Lowes and noticing that about 50% of the lights were turned off. I think that's a decent idea for a few reasons - less power consumed, less heat generated, etc. And hey, it saves them money.

It seems like so many retailers are having difficult times, and some have recently gone away completely. I remember when Montgomery Wards closed...that was really my first experience with having a "big" retailer go away. It was such an odd idea it was really hard to understand how that actually happens. NOW, I am curious how some stores are still here. Like JCPenney. Really....who shops there? And..WHY? ;)

All kidding aside though, I have a great idea to help the retailers save some money. Now if they're a sinking ship this probably isn't going to save them. BUT, in the age of reducing overhead and sending jobs to those who most of us can't and don't want to try and understand, this is something that would be easy and painless.

STOP MAKING THE RECEIPTS 2 FEET LONG!

You know when you check out, and the cashier stands there for what seems like 10 seconds or more while the register is printing a novel? Then they turn and hand it to you? And you look at it and you can see that you purchased Colgate and a 3 way light bulb? Then it goes on and on and on and on?? Really...stop that. It's just stupid. "Go to this website and tell us what you think for your chance to win XYZ"... does anyone actually win anything? And does it take 9 inches of paper to say that? Doesn't it seem like a good idea to conserve paper, ink, and the resources it takes to print the novel? And then there's the whole thing about checkout efficiency. If we could trim 10 seconds off of each checkout, that would really add up over the day/week/month/etc. Walmart should really dig it - that way they could trim down to 2 checkers per store! Imagine the savings!

:)

Hey...just doin my part....

How does the economic stimulus package relate to Real Estate???

If you have been paying attention _at all_ you have heard this and that about our new administration's economic stimulus plan. On one channel you'll hear the said "positives" and on the next channel (well, maybe 10 minutes later on the same channel) you'll hear the "negatives". The package is huge - and from the stack of papers they have shown on some news reports, appears to be nearly 1000 pages (based on the size of two reams of paper). Who knows if those pages are double sided.

ANYWAY.... I've been wondering what exactly has been going on in terms of the housing industry. Although Austin is still in a great situation when compared with the rest of the country, any help we can get is appreciated. So...what's the deal? Check out this letter that I just received from Charles McMillan, the president of the National Association of REALTORS®. Remember I spent some time with this guy at the GREEN designation course last December. He has been making an effort to be sure that members of the organization hear specific, usable news directly from him. I think it's great to see some positive information, and wanted to share it with you.

How does this impact you? Give me a call and let's discuss. This is great news for buyers, sellers and investors. Will it fix everything? Probably not. Is it a fantastic start? Absolutely. Here's what Charles had to share....

Here's our take on the Stimulus Bill and Treasury announcements made this week. We look at the Stimulus package AND the Treasury's package holistically, in compliment with each other - mostly because that's how the Obama team is looking at it. Your representatives, the NAR Board of Directors, asked us in November to do 4 things (with an unspoken but clearly understood mandate to PRESERVE what we already have). Here they are: 1) get loan limits raised for high cost areas, 2) make the $7,500 tax credit NOT a loan, 3) try to find ways to push interest rates down (which are higher than they should be due to systemic risk right now) by 200 basis points, and 4) help provide solutions to the foreclosure/short sale problem.

So here's what we have achieved: 1) the loan limits will be raised to $727,000 in high cost areas, 2) the tax credit will be raised to $8,000 with NO payback [a true credit], 3) interest rates have come down 125-150 basis points, and 4) the bill has over $50 billion in it for foreclosure mitigation, with Geitners Treasury plan signaling that the second half of TARP and TALF will be used to mitigate foreclosures through a government guarantee, drive down interest rates by buying another $200-300 billion of mortgage paper from the GSES's thereby freeing them up to do the same with new mortgages, and Fannie has just agreed to lift the cap of 4 investment properties eligible for loans and raise it to 10.

In addition, we preserved what we have - which some tend to forget is always on the table when these negotiations start up again - mortgage interest deductability, real estate tax deductability, and the $250,000/$500,000 cap gains exclusion (an overall package worth more than $100 billion and for some a very attractive funding source for their pet projects).

We did make a run at the $15,000 credit -- and we would have loved to have gotten that or the Homebuilders $22,000 credit idea as well as their 5 year loss carryback deal, but they were considered too rich for this program. What it did do though is totally take the debate off of whether a tax credit should be reinstated at all (it expired last year) and whether it was a true credit or a repayable loan, and kept the conversation on how much it should be. It also kept the debate off of 'what we are willing to give up to get a $15,000 tax credit' and kept the debate again, on how much it should be. It's pretty hard to complain when they give you what you ask for and you lose something you never had.

While we study the Treasury specifics on their major role in providing the rest of the housing solution -- there is much more to come and we are working diligently with the Administration to help 'unclog the pipeline' and get capital flowing into housing again.

Good times at a great new Austin eatery

My friend Deb and I ventured to a new Austin eatery today - Cuatro's. One day last week I happened to see a news story on this new place - and thought it would be fun to check it out.

We started with a basket of fried dills - very tasty and a great way to start out.

Deb had tuna tacos - they were beautiful! When I think back to the news report it seems like this is actually one of the specialties. I had the boca beef tacos - very tasty as well. And when we saw that they have sweet potato fries - we just couldn't resist.

The coolness of today wasn't 100% about the food. Since Deb and I both grew up in little ol Boone, Iowa....it would just be wrong if I didn't tell you that we enjoyed this fantastic lunch on the outdoor patio....it was a beautiful day today, 75 degrees, sunny, nice breeze.... you just can't beat that....especially in FEBRUARY!

So...everything was great - reasonable prices, good service, fantastic food and great company ( if you want a very fun, enjoyable midwesterner to dine with, give either of us a call and we'll be happy for you to take us there!)

The next time you're thinking about heading someplace new, check out Cuatros on 24th and San Gabriel. You'll be glad you did!

Spring is in the air....

...and it led to something fun to share with all of you.

For several years I've thought it would be fun to send out wildflower seed packets in the spring....reminding y'all that spring is right around the corner, my practice is "still blooming", and that I sincerely thank you for your business and referrals.

All kinds of companies try and sell marketing "stuff" to REALTORS®, including these seed packets. You might even know someone who sends these out each year. You can have special pictures printed on them, have special messages, etc. But that is part of the problem for me....ANYONE can do that. By now you know that if ANYONE can do it, I probably don't want to. Our Real Estate family is growing because we do the things that everyone else either can't or won't.

So as much as I thought this idea was fun...there was just something missing...the personal part of it. I thought perhaps making these seed packets myself would be something a little more personal....so I went to google and ebay to see what it would take to put together little seed packets with a personal touch....special little envelopes, Texas Wildflower Mix, and maybe a special stamp to put on the envelopes so that you all know that these are something unique.

It was then that I ran across the best seed packets EVER. As I was looking for bulk wildflower seeds, I found an auction for seed packets put together by a seven year old little girl in South Carolina named Katie. Her mom sells seeds on ebay too. So Katie wants to have her own farm when she grows up, and she realizes she has to save money to make that dream come true. What better way to start saving money than to sell seeds on Ebay like her mom does!

Now I can't even start to explain how cool this is. Katie has a dream, and she's willing to use her resources to help make her dream come true. Katie's mom, Ashley, is doing one of the best things she can do....helping Katie understand that all of her dreams can come true if she works hard and uses her resources to work toward those dreams. So Ashley put this ad on ebay, explained the circumstances, and here we are. I contacted Ashley to see if Katie was up for a bulk order - and they were both thrilled.

So watch your mailboxes.....in the next few weeks you'll get a packet of wildflower seeds. Not just any packet of wildflower seeds...but a packet personally put together for you by a little girl in South Carolina saving money so she can buy her very own farm. Ashley says Katie is working diligently on the packets as I write this blog.

Want to contribute to Katie's efforts? Find Ashley's auctions here and look for the items that say they're Katie's seeds.

A cool green resource

My friend Lynn is the queen of green. She's always been the first person I know to make changes that are positive for our environment....recycling, using green cleaning products, etc.

Today she sent a link to this cool website called Green Cupboards. Good stuff...check it out!

Thanks, Lynn!

Keeping in touch

We're going into uncharted territory here. For years ALL of my client communication has been printed...newsletters, postcards, etc. I really think it's the only way to send you valuable information, and you know that if I'm willing to spend the money to print it and stamp it, then it must be worth opening.

Today I'm adding an electronic version of my newsletter. It will be posted here each month and shared to my facebook page so you view it wherever you are, and forward it very easily to your friends and family members. Remember - only the people you LIKE!

Check out the first electronic edition and let me know what you think.

By the way, who is the next person YOU know, that could benefit from my help as they look to buy or sell Real Estate in the Austin area? Put us in touch with one another!