Funny Dog Trick

You gotta love dogs! They are hilarious! Check this one out....too cute!

FIRST TIME HOMEBUYER TAX CREDIT - THE STIMULUS PLAN

Ok. Here's the Stimulus Homebuyers Tax Credit. This is known as the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. It features an $8,000 credit for first-time buyers who purchase a home on or after January 1, 2009 and BEFORE December 1, 2009.

Details include:

** The temporary credit is only available for home purchases made from January 1, 2009 to before December 1, 20009. (Note: December 1 -- NOT December 31). It is equal to 10 percent of the cost of the home, up to a maximum credit of $8,000. If you purchased a home for $80,000 or MORE, you would qualify for for the full $8,000 credit. However, if you purchased a home for $70,000, you would qualify for 10 percent or $7,000.

** Buyers claim their credit on their federal tax return to reduce their tax liability. If the credit is more than their tax liability that year; the buyer will get a refund check for the balance.

** Only FIRST-TIME homebuyers can take advantage of the tax credit. A "first-time homebuyer" is defined under the tax credit as an individual who has not owned a home in the last THREE years. For married joint filers, both must meet the first-time homebuyer test to take the credit on a joint return.

** Eligible properties include anything that will be used as a principal single-family residence. This includes purchases for condos and townhouses.

** There are income guidelines on the credit. Individuals with an ADJUSTED GROSS INCOME up to $75,000, or $150,000 if filing jointly, are eligble for the full tax credit. The credit is phased down for those earning more and is not available for those with an income above $95,000 or $170,000 if filing jointly.

** The new tax credit does not have to be repaid if the buyer stays in the home for at least THREE years. BUT, if the home is sold BEFORE that, the entire amount of the credit is recaptured on the sale.

** People who purchased homes under the 2008 $7,500 tax credit program will still be required to repay that credit to the government over a 15-year period.

Consult with your REALTOR or tax advisor to learn more about the tax credit and state and federal loan programs. Of course, you are always more than welcome to call or contact me. I'd be jumping for joy to help you with this. It would be my honor to help you.

I'm Baaaaccckkk!

Okay. For whatever reason I have taken a sabbatical from blogging. Sorry. Good to know...I am back. And guess what...back with a vengence! What a suprise! There's been lots going on: A stimulus package for one that I will write about tomorrow. But tonight....I want to rant. Bear with me. I just think that the so-called stimulus package should have had some money going back to the average Joe's. Like YOU. And ME. Could you have used over $18,600 in cash????? Yeah. Me too. Instead we are using part of that $18k to study the sex lives of catepillars along the boarder of U.S. and Canada.... Crud. Really. $18,600.....I could've used some of that cash.

America is good. America is strong. America is proud. It's time for the TRUTH.

It's time for us to take back the truthfullness about the real estate industry! In the last 30 days, the New York Times published the following headlines:

"Bank Closures at an All Time High in 2008" REALLY???????
In 1989 there were 1,004 bank closures.
In 2008, there were 30 bank closures
On the average there are 94 bank closures per year.

"Foreclosure Rates Show No Sign of Slowing" Baloney!
During the Great Depression Foreclosure Rates were 30% - some reports 50%
Nationally today our Foreclosure Rates are 3%
Indiana's foreclosure rate is 3.59%

"States Unemployment Funds Run Low" Ridiculous!
During the Great Depression Unemployment ran at 25%
Nationally today our unemployment is 7.5%
For all of Indiana, the unemployment rate is 8.1%; St. Joe County is 9.5%

My point ladies and gentlemen is this information is the TRUTH -- it's not hype. HYPE is happening all over the media -- and people are now REALLY believing the worst. It is NOT the worst. Keep in mind -- that BAD NEWS promotes MORE sales of newspapers (a failing medium as it is)!!

IT'S TIME TO FIGHT THE CHAOTIC junk being spewed.

Are times bad right now? Yes. Do we have a shakey market? Yes. However, it's time to start looking at our glass as 93% FULL rather than 7% empty. People SHOULD be putting down 15 - 20% as a down payment -- what's wrong with that? They SHOULD have good credit -- what's wrong with that? These have been standards and safe ones at that, in the real estate industry for years. We need to look at qualifying procedures and make sure that we are selling homes to folks that can AFFORD them.

We need to make sure that ALL buyers and sellers get this information. It's time to take back the pride that we have as Americans and the knowledge that we are all going to be okay. We need to stop the panic. If there is insanity going it it is in the pundits that look for all the bad news to make sensationalism sell their message.

America is good. America is strong. America is proud.

The national figures and the Great Depression figures came from Utah Lieutenant Governor Gary Herbert; the Indiana figures came from Governor Mitch Daniel's office, Chelsey Wininger.

2009 -- What Today's Buyers Really Want

In 2009 buyers want traditional values with modern techniques. Most buyers are technologically-saavy and expect their real estate agents to be as well. Buyers today have to hire an agent with these SKILLS.

Let's talk first about what would be included in the "traditional values." They expect their agent to KNOW THE MARKET. What's new to the market; be able to speak intelligently about various houses on the market. They expect an agent to know what is going on with interest rates, and special loan programs; and know the contracts inside-out.

The "traditional values" are almost a given. But, that being said, there are a lot of agents that don't do the basics. So choose carefully. Now, let's talk about technology necessary today.


"Technology" wise -- today's real estate agent HAS to have these abilities: Emails with numerous photos and full information about listings. Agents need to carry a Blackberry or a Treo Smart Phone. They need to be able to pull up listings while they are out in the field showing houses. They need to be able to text message and send photos. A tech-saavy agent should be able to do a slide show on their smart phone of the houses and be able to email them to the client. A tech-saavy agent has to have their own websites that keeps FRESH information on a near daily basis. The listings need to show the correct information with price adjustments, incentives etc. A buyer should be able to pull up current mortgage infomation along with payment information.

A good agent today has to have a good GPS system so that they can find the homes without wasting the buyers time. I have heard agents say "Oh, I KNOW all the subdivisions and streets." Really? I can tell you --- there has been so much new construction over the years there's no way anyone can know it all. I just think that as busy as people are today, do you really want to spend half your time trying to find the right house?

Today's top tech-saavy agent HAS to be able to RESPOND almost immediately to buyer's inquiries. One would think that a "24-hour" turn-around response might be acceptable. It is not. Today's agent should respond within an hour or up to about 4 hours. Tops. The response time is one of the most important areas of this top tech-saavy agent.

So my point -- choose wisely. Contact me via email at Sandi@SandiCather.com Follow me on Twitter: Twitter.com/SandiCather Join my LinkedIn Connection @ LinkedIn.com/SandiCather

2007 versus 2008 Sales in Michiana MLS

The numbers are in. The entire MLS (multiple listing service) for St. Joseph County. Yep, the market was down in 2008. But 20% is a lot different than what the media plays to. 20% is NOT 80% or 100% down....and I think that folks here in the Michiana area may believe the market is or was much worse than it is.

So what does that mean? If you are a buyer, it could mean that there is more inventory to be able to choose from. Not shown in this graph,but you need to know that the interest rates are phenomenal right now.

If you are a seller, it means that your house HAS to be in tip-top condition. That means staged, well-priced, and marketed throughout the internet by your agent. It is a different market than it was in 2005.

One thing that I would caution sellers about: the MLS numbers show that the "average sales price" is down by 6%. However, that is down 6% from the last price decrease. So, if you are looking to possibly LIST your home . . . you must make sure that your Realtor understands the importance of trustworthy pricing. You need to ask the question "What was this property originally listed at; and How many price reductions did they go through before they got a sale?"

Don't get overwhelmed. Now is the time to make a move. Now is the time to call Sandi Cather. Get a trustworthy, honorable, Realtor who has been exhuberantly selling homes for 23 years now.

Honor. Trust. Choose well.

I have always felt that being honorable is important not only in business, but in all of life; in everything you do. Working with a person who values honor is someone you can trust. But once in a while you come across someone who is dishonorable and it kicks you in the gut. Usually as a surprise. I know it's happened to me before and each time I feel like I blink and blink again in quiet shock.

When choosing a real estate agent, choose one you feel that you can trust. That when she says something, she does it. And sticks to it. I still think that a handshake is someone's word. And that word should be able to be honored.

There are many wonderful real estate agents in the industry and perhaps you are lucky enough to be a client of such a Realtor. If you are, stay with that person to service your real estate needs. But if you are looking for an honorable, trustworthy Realtor to work with, I hope you'll call me. These are traits that I value, my friends. Call me. Let's see if we can work together in a honorable, trustworthy partnership.

Happy New Year!

While many will be happy that 2008 is over . . . I felt like it was a really good year. I'm looking forward to 2009. I hope that 2009 is a fantasamagoric year for you. Happy New Year!

These next couple of weeks. . .

These next couple of weeks just relax. Enjoy your family. But if you are even THINKING of selling your home, call me now. Here's why: Most sellers that are just thinking about selling their homes think that they will "wait until spring." Most people that aren't involved in real estate, think "Spring" is what -- March, April, or even May, right? But here's the reality of the situation -- "Spring" or the Spring Market can happen by the third week of January. I'll be watching the sales stats like a crazy woman to help ME understand when the Spring Market is ready to start. If we have a blizzard -- and I mean an ALL-OUT BLIZZARD -- it will delay the spring market. The weather is very dependent upon when our Spring Market starts. But....I DO know 100% -- that if we would WAIT until March, April, or May -- we will have blown PAST the spring market. Then, you lose: the interest rates creep back up; the inventory and competetion increases and the days on the market might linger.

The interest rates will be good during the REAL spring market. The houses will be quietly selling during the real spring market. But -- it might still be cold and snowy out. So -- I guess what I'm saying -- is let ME watch the Spring Market for YOU. Let me monitor the numbers of sales; what's going on with interest rates. But be ready to go. Get prepared: paint those walls, get the carpets cleaned, box up all of the unused "stuff" throughout your house, garage and basement. Start cleaning. Start packing. And call Sandi.

Numbers of Sales thru November

This IS a strange year for real estate. But if you are looking to BUY or SELL a house -- don't despair! TRULY! In our multiple listing service the statistics are as follows: Yes, we are down 21% in the number of units sold. In other words, in the number of homes. BUT -- and herewith lies the most important figure for you to keep in mind -- there have been over 3,203 homes that have sold and closed from January through the end of November this year. Over 3,000 homes! C'mon! Really! This is NOT the end of the world. Chicken Little -- the sky hasn't fallen. The average sales price is down by 5% -- but I do know that people have had to price their homes quite a bit lower than we did last year. But still -- the point to this is to let you know -- that there ARE homes selling out there. And closing. Call me for more conversation regarding this.....with interest rates going down, and the inventory up.....it's a great time to buy! Call me! Let's talk.