Help for Vets Buying First Home

The Pentagon Federal Credit Union is providing financial assistance up to $5,000 to Veterans or active duty military members to buy their first home.

For more info: http://www.pentagonfoundation.org/site/PageServer?pagename=dream_index

Cheapest Home Listing in Galt

This is a fantastic deal at $49,900 for a home with lots of potential. With some work this fixer would make a great first-time buyer home or investor rental. For more information: http://www.postlets.com/res/4996750

Nearly New El Dorado Hills Home for $433K

Welcome to Blackstone, a master-planned community with a clubhouse, 3 pools and workout room. Enjoy a 2 years new home without the wait of building a new one. This $30K upgraded and well cared for home features a great room concept. Upgrades include granite counters, cherry wood cabinets, stainless steel appliances, distressed maple wide plank wood floors downstairs, berber carpets upstairs, tile in all bathrooms, solar electricity (bills average $45/month), & downstairs bedroom and full bath.

For more information: http://www.postlets.com/res/4408022

Too Late for the Tax Credit, Now Try a Short Sale

This 3 bed/2 bath, 1404 square foot home is located in a private court in the established Laguna Springs neighborhood. Large eat-in kitchen and spacious living/formal dining room combination. Bright master bathroom with sky light. Backyard has a wood deck, mature landscaping and plenty of shade. Home is close to schools, greenbelt, parks and shopping.

More info:
http://www.postlets.com/res/3791251

Just in time for the Federal & CA Tax Credits

This well maintained halfplex home in East Roseville is tucked away among single family homes. Home features a great room concept, master bedroom w/ sitting area & enclosed outdoor patio, & private back yard surrounded by mature trees. Includes a brand new heat pump & A/C unit worth $10K. Also features the following newer items: roof & covered rain gutters, linoleum in kitchen & bathroom, dishwasher, faucets, interior paint, & sprinkler system.

See link for additional information:
http://www.postlets.com/res/3723046

New Homes are Flying Off the Shelf

Yesterday I went new home shopping with clients. The atmosphere at the new homes has changed 100% since this time last year. A year ago, agents in the offices were just happy to see a human. Now, thanks to the new home buyer credit of $10K and the potential $8K for first time buyers, all standing inventory in Elk Grove is sold and the agents are getting their high self-esteem attitudes back -- good for them, it's about time.

Some new home builder prices are still ridiculously high and they shall remain unnamed; however, many others are offering incredible deals with prices competitive to resale homes in the same neighborhood -- mainly foreclosed homes of those who bought in 2005 when lots were first sold.

Shoppers interested in the new home tax credit better hurry. It's expected to run out by mid-July. Nearly 75% of the money allocated for the credit has already been applied for in just 13 weeks of it being available. However, with very little standing inventory left and it taking approximately 5-6 months to build a home, buyers may have already missed the boat on the $10K tax credit.

Take a Picture, Sell a Home

With the invention of the Internet, the process of buying a home went from the hands of the Realtor to the hands of the consumer. According the the National Association of Realtors, nearly 80% of homebuyers start their home search on the Internet. The Internet search is where pictures of a home for sale are so important. It's the photos -- and good photos -- that gets a potential buyer in your home.

When I'm researching homes for a buyer, if I come across a listing without pictures or just a single photo of the front of the home, I typically bypass that home for others with multiple pictures that give me a good sense of what that home has to offer. However, sometimes a home's photos do not do the home justice, and sometimes the opposite also occurs.

In our multiple listing service here in Sacramento, we are allowed to post 12 photos of a home. We always post 12 photos. Posting any less than 12 photos is not giving a Seller the full potential of marketing their home to other Realtors as well as the consumer.

So, if we list your home, get ready for your house to say "cheese" and pose for our camera!

For info on taking good property photos visit, http://realestate.msn.com/Selling/Article_wsj.aspx?cp-documentid=5414351

The Excitement of That First Home

I love first-time home buyers. Yes, there is a lot of hand holding, but there is so much satisfaction in my job as a Realtor to help a client buy their first home. It is exciting and scary all at the same time.

I'm currently negotiating a home for a twenty-something newlywed couple who are first-time buyers. They are very stressed out, but also so excited. They were like two kids in a candy store when they realized they had found their first home. They were visualizing where their dining table and computer would go, checking the different angles on the TV while sitting on the couch, and playing with the stereo for its surround sound loudness. And I was getting excited right there with them. You can't help but smile.

I can remember so vividly -- even though it was 8 years ago -- when I bought my first home. The worry over the mortgage payment, the sleepless nights, the nausea, the stress, while at the same time being so excited about finally getting to own a home. To be able to paint walls, put up curtains, plant a garden . . . all without asking a landlord's permission. I'm in my third home now and it's still a thrill, but nothing matches that first home experience.