Source:   http://failblog.org/2009/10/07/house-fail/

So I wonder what the listing description would be if this was for sale?

Tom’s Monday:
7am-9am Get up and take of  dogs  and get ready for the day
9am-12:30pm Take Real Estate class to stay up to date on the latest information
drive out to Maple Falls
1:30pm-4:30pm House inspection with client
dive back to Bellingham pick up Bliss for dentist appt
5pm-6pm Dentist, visit with Dentist super cute new Great Dane puppy
6pm-6:45pm Meet with another client at mortgage office to go over financing
7pm-8:30pm “Grace in Galatia” class at http://www.logos.com/
8:30pm-9pm Dinner at Taco Lobos
9pm-11pm work on computer
11pm bed wahoooooo

Planning makes perfect: Taking advantage of favorable market conditions takes preparation

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This summer, interest rates are low, and housing prices are down. But since the credit crisis, potential homebuyers are choosing from a smaller pool of financers. And the mortgage products these lenders are still offering often come with tighter guidelines that can change at a moment’s notice….

Bellingham, Whatcom County Business | Bellingham Herald and Whatcom Business Magazine

Shared via AddThis

Posted on Friday, Jun. 26, 2009

New appraisal rules roil Whatcom County real estate market

By JOHN STARK

Closing the sale on a home is getting more expensive and time-consuming thanks to new nationwide rules that took effect May 1. Many local real estate agents, appraisers and mortgage brokers are hoping those rules can be rolled back. Tom Follis, who has been appraising Whatcom County real estate for 40 years, says he understands the reasoning behind the rules.  Read More…

From CNN MONEY

“Radical cheap: $1,000 homes

In places like Detroit and Cleveland, banks are unloading rundown homes for next to nothing. And they’re tremendous bargains, even after factoring in renovation costs. 

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — The real estate market is so awful that buyers are now scooping up homes for as little as $1,000.

There are 18 listings in Flint, Mich., for under $3,000, according to Realtor.com. There are 22 in Indianapolis, 46 in Cleveland and a whopping 709 in Detroit. All of these communities have been hit hard by foreclosures, and most of these homes are being sold by the lenders that repossessed them.. . “   

click the link below to keep reading

http://money.cnn.com/2009/01/08/real_estate/thousand_dollar_homes/

Picard watching the neighborhood, probably a good idea in some of the neighborhoods in the article I found in the New York Times below.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/18/garden/18houses.html

Although it is tough times for Real Estate there also many positives. Houses are slightly more reasonably priced offering more opportunity to the savvy investor or first time home buyer. One of the best things about being a first time home buyer is the tax credit that is being offered on homes purchased in 2009.

Some useful info can be found at the following link: www.federalhousingtaxcredit.com

quoting from this site:

“Home Buyer Tax Credit at a Glance

·   The tax credit is for first-time home buyers only.

·   The tax credit does not have to be repaid.

·   The tax credit is equal to 10 percent of the home’s purchase price up to a maximum of $8,000.

·   The credit is available for homes purchased on or after January 1, 2009 and before December 1, 2009.

·   Single taxpayers with incomes up to $75,000 and married couples with incomes up to $150,000 qualify for the full tax credit. “

If you buy a home for 250,000 you will get a nice credit. Not a bad perk just for being a first time home buyer. A couple of other things to be aware of: if you owned a home but then sold it more then 3 years ago you will qualify. If you sell the home before living in it 3 years you do have to pay the government back.

So just a couple of things to keep on keeping on for 2009!

Written by Bliss for Tom Gurney

Being a small business owner (Blue Heron Massage) and Realtor and Part time Physical Therapy Assistant, I have learned the importance of taking some time to recharge every now and then. To all you small business owners that don’t think they can take the time for a long vacation, schedule a mini vacation. It is worth it. In August I took a ferry Saturday afternoon to Orcas Island and stayed at some friends property until Sunday night. It was only two days but it was worth it and I came back inspired and refreshed.  Below are just a few of the pictures. There is nothing better then eating steak cooked on an open fire with crab just caught that day, sitting on the beach watching the sunset…

So March 19, 2008 we closed on the F st house. That means it officially was sold and keys handed over to the new owner. Tom and I learned so much that we can use for our next “investment”. We also learned a lot we can help our clients with when they want to try their hands and investments for “flipping”.

Some final pictures…