{"id":3965,"date":"2009-11-10T16:39:22","date_gmt":"2009-11-10T21:39:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bhgrealestateblog.com\/?p=3965"},"modified":"2024-12-30T14:43:54","modified_gmt":"2024-12-30T19:43:54","slug":"spring-comes-early","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bhgrecareer.com\/bebetterblog\/spring-comes-early\/","title":{"rendered":"Spring Comes Early!"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"text-align: justify\">According to the 2010 Farmers\u2019 Almanac, this coming winter \u201ca large area of numbingly cold temperatures will predominate.\u201d\u00a0 However, I suspect the warming effects of the extension of the Homebuyers Tax Credit will make for a very \u201chot\u201d winter in real estate.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify\">You don\u2019t need an almanac to know that traditionally, the months of December, January, and February have been slow or \u201ccold\u201d for buyers, sellers, and Realtors.\u00a0 But this year we have the perfect opportunity to heat up those months with the twin warm fronts of a credit of up to $8,000 to qualifying first-time buyers, and a new credit of up to $6,500 for families that have lived in their homes for at least five years and wish to \u201cstep up\u201d to a new home.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify\">Homes must be purchased or under contract by April 30, 2010 which is great news!<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify\">This deadline creates a sense of urgency that normally doesn\u2019t exist this time of the year.\u00a0 So, the key is how do we make the most of this and get 2010 off to a fantastic start?<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify\">One of the advantages of traveling and working with Realtors across the country is the ability to learn, first hand, how many markets can differ yet operate within similar environments.\u00a0 Gleaned from my travels are some ideas that I have employed myself or have learned from others:<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify\"><strong>1)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Make future tax credit dollars work for your buyers today.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify\">Many states offer a \u2018first time buyer bond program\u2019.\u00a0 Some of those states allow qualifying borrowers to leverage their future tax credit with what the mortgage industry typically calls a \u2018soft second\u2019 mortgage.\u00a0 This \u2018soft second\u2019 can be used towards their down payment (please see your states first time buyer programs websites for their specific rules and eligibility guidelines) and help your buyers\/borrowers make use out of their tax credits now versus waiting until 2011 when they file their 2010 taxes.\u00a0 This \u2018soft second\u2019 has to be paid back within a specific period of time after they file their taxes, so please check with your preferred lender for additional details.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify\"><strong>2)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Home buyer Seminars targeting both \u2018first time buyers\u2019 <\/strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline\"><strong>and<\/strong><\/span><strong> \u2018move-up buyers\u2019.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify\">A proven marketing technique (if done well) is home buyer seminars.\u00a0 Modify these seminars to include \u2018move-up buyers\u2019.\u00a0 The new tax credit extension is also an expansion to include those folks who have owned and resided in a home for at least five consecutive years of the eight years prior to the purchase date.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify\">Many of these folks commonly think that they cannot move since their home may be worth less than what it was.\u00a0 Short sales notwithstanding, the fabulous home affordability index (mortgage rates as compared to home prices) positively impacts many families.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify\">Consider the buyer who bought a $300,000 home but wanted that $400,000 home on the other side of town.\u00a0 Well if their market is off 15%, although their home has lost $45,000 in value, the home they wanted to buy costs $60,000 less.\u00a0 With mortgage rates probably lower than what they secured a few years ago, that new home is a great deal!<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify\"><strong>3)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Merchandise the tax credit to the fullest extent.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify\">Help your sellers get the attention they deserve by using sign riders and\/or lawn signs that remind everyone about the tax credit extension and expansion.\u00a0 Use your social media outlets to educate friends, family and followers.\u00a0 Remind folks that this time of the year is a great time to buy.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify\"><strong>4)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Use the new BH&amp;G Real Estate iphone application called \u2018<a href=\"http:\/\/www.bhgrealestate.com\/iphone\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Home Selection Assistant<\/a>\u2019.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify\">Although a bit self serving, I can honestly say that the new Home Selection Assistant is one of the best buyer tools on the market today.\u00a0 Designed by an experienced marketing team dedicated to the consumer experience, the BH&amp;G Real Estate Home Selection Assistant allows your buyers to take photos, organize information, rank amenities, learn about the neighborhood, and compare features of different properties \u2013 all in real time.\u00a0 Beyond cool, this new tool is effective and practical\u2026\u2026.and will help you grow your buyer business.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify\">What ideas do you have to ensure spring comes early this year?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>According to the 2010 Farmers\u2019 Almanac, this coming winter \u201ca large area of numbingly cold temperatures will predominate.\u201d\u00a0 However, I suspect the warming effects of the extension of the Homebuyers Tax Credit will make for a very \u201chot\u201d winter in real estate. You don\u2019t need an almanac to know that traditionally, the months of December, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":181,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[1351,5591,6511,8041,10111,12111,14001,14301,14871,17241,18591,19041,19561,21741,27381,27631,27761,30501,31751,33981,35611,38661,38811,40731,42301,46891],"class_list":["post-3965","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-brokerage-operations","tag-agents","tag-broers","tag-buyers","tag-classes","tag-credit","tag-down-payments","tag-extension","tag-farmers-almanac","tag-first-time-home-buyer-tax-credit","tag-government","tag-home-affordability-index","tag-home-selection-assistant","tag-homes","tag-iphone","tag-mobile-phone-apps","tag-mortgage","tag-mortgage-rates","tag-organization","tag-photos","tag-real-estate","tag-realtors","tag-sellers","tag-seminars","tag-spring","tag-tax-credit","tag-winter"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Spring Comes Early! - Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate Be Better Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/bhgrecareer.com\/bebetterblog\/spring-comes-early\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Spring Comes Early! - Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate Be Better Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"According to the 2010 Farmers\u2019 Almanac, this coming winter \u201ca large area of numbingly cold temperatures will predominate.\u201d\u00a0 However, I suspect the warming effects of the extension of the Homebuyers Tax Credit will make for a very \u201chot\u201d winter in real estate. 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