There is no one that wants the housing market to recover more than I do. Over 50% of my investment portfolio is comprised of real estate. My job is to teach real estate professionals what is happening in the market and why it is happening. It would be a lot more fun if I could […]
See you Tuesday!! .
BREAKING NEWS: Done!! President signed bill!
June 30th is a good time to take a pause an assessment of where we are…call it a reflection: The Tax Credit is gone. Although we are likely to see an extension of the closing portion of the credit, there looks to be no new beneficiaries of this program. Years from now, we will look […]
We have been addressing some of the more questionable reasons people give for not buying a house each Wednesday. Two weeks ago, we covered Dumb Reason #1: Real Estate is no longer a good investment. Last week, we covered Dumb Reason #2: Renters are happier than homeowners. We will cover the third reason today: Dumb Reason […]
HELP! If you are reading this blog, you know the KCM Crew works hard every day to deliver to you a quality post that you can share with your consumers. They are up for the Inman News 2010 Innovator Award. Please honor their hard work by taking the time to vote. click on the Inman News link […]
There is a growing trend in this country of people walking away from their mortgage obligations. The definition of a ‘walk away’ borrower is one who has the financial means to continue to make their mortgage payment but decides not to. This situation is also called strategic default. The incidence of people taking this path […]
UPDATES! Friday 7/2 12PM: Done! The president has signed the bill. Wednesday 6/30 10:30PM: Tax Credit Deadline Extension and Flood Insurance Extension passed by Senate. Headed to the President!!! (Isn’t in main stream media yet but we got it from a VERY reliable source). Wednesday 6/30 1:30PM: The Associated Press is reporting that politics may […]
Times are changing and so should your strategy. You can no longer do business the old fashioned way. If you are part of the KCM community, you have already received our free strategy guide, the KCM Quick Report, in your inbox this weekend. Read, enjoy and implement. If you have not yet joined our community, […]
May Shows a Continued Strong Pace for Existing Home Sales – National Association of Realtors (NAR) June Existing Home Sales Report headline Is May’s Home Sales Decline an Alarming Signal of What’s to Come? – headline of an article in Housing Wire Both of the above headlines appeared this past Wednesday. They seem to be […]
Catchy headline, yes? But I have been reflecting lately on how we can improve the “client experience”, and I was reminded of something I heard mortgage icon Greg Frost say way back in 1994. From a stage in Palm Desert, California, Greg proclaimed that “Communication is the lubrication of a well-oiled transaction.” I, like the […]
We will be addressing some of the more questionable reasons people give for not buying a house each Wednesday for five weeks. Last week, we covered Dumb Reason #1: Real Estate is no longer a good investment. We will cover the second reason today: Dumb Reason #2: Renters are happier than homeowners. I sort of […]
Are you thinking of selling your home? Are you dreading having to deal with strangers walking through the house? Are you concerned about getting the paperwork correct? Hiring a professional real estate agent can take away most of the challenges of selling. A great agent is always worth more than the commission they charge just […]
The government has tried many stimulus programs to re-energize housing. They attempted to kick-start demand by offering the First Time Home Buyers Tax Credit and they did have some success originally. They extended the program and added a provision for move-up buyers also. Even the government admits that the extension may not have increased demand […]
My father was the greatest man I ever met. He passed away almost 20 years ago and I still miss him – EVERY DAY. The most amazing thing about my dad is I am still discovering how much of an impact he has had on my life. After one of my speeches this week, a […]
We have been honored as a finalist in the blog category of the 2010 Inman News Innovator Awards. Each year, Inman News announces the launch of the Innovator Awards process with a call for nominations several months prior to the Real Estate Connect conference. An Inman News review team considers the nominations and selects a […]
For decades lenders have been shouting to the rooftops that buyers should “Pre-Qualify BEFORE You Buy!” Admittedly, we were trying to get access to prospects as early as we could to, hopefully, bond with them and eliminate our competition. Today though, a Pre-Approval has become the cornerstone of most real estate transactions. You see, by […]
The number of people ‘walking away’ from their mortgage obligations has reached epidemic proportions in this country. Strategic defaults account for 31% of all mortgage defaults. Walking away from an underwater house may seem like the easiest way out of the financial burden created by your monthly mortgage payment. And it looked as though there […]
It is so easy to kick someone who is down. It doesn’t take much effort and there is little fear of retaliation. Many people are jumping on the band wagon riding against homeownership in this country. People are pontificating on every aspect. Whether it is pricing or the more intrinsic values of owning a home […]
How will home prices be impacted? The tax credit and most other government programs aimed at stimulating the housing industry have expired. Real estate is now on its own two feet and stepping into the second half of 2010. It appears that demand has fallen off a bit since the expiration of the tax credit […]
What will housing demand look like for the rest of 2010? It has been an interesting six weeks since the last of the government programs for buyers, the Home Buyer Tax Credit, has expired. Demand has slowed down but has not come to the screeching halt some had expected. The million dollar question is ‘What […]
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Here we are six weeks after the expiration of the Homebuyer Tax Credit. Armageddon did not take place. Homes are still selling. Certain price points are actually selling quite well. The question remains what will happen to the overall housing market as we proceed through the year. There is still much uncertainty as to what […]
As the Tax Credit Expiration Date comes barreling towards us, we in the mortgage business are facing some challenges we haven’t seen since December 1986 (when the tax law changes that were becoming effective in January 1987 required an flood of closings onto the docket). Today, I want you to understand the challenges and provide […]
Chip Wagner is an appraiser with over 20 years experience. Below is a comment he made to Monday’s post. We thought so highly of his response that we received his permission to post it directly on the blog. – The KCM Crew There are many challenges facing the real estate industry today, and one of the […]
