Phone: 760-500-6060

Email: Diane@KleinTeamRealty.com ]]> http://kleinteamrealty.com/index.php/2009/04/diane-klein/feed/ http://kleinteamrealty.com/index.php/2009/04/paul-klein/ http://kleinteamrealty.com/index.php/2009/04/paul-klein/#comments Mon, 13 Apr 2009 21:30:56 +0000 Response Targeted Marketing http://d1435989.u165.hitbyabus.biz/?p=308 Licensed Assistant

Phone: 760-473-4741

Email: Paul@KleinTeamRealty.com

The Pending Home Sales Index, a forward-looking indicator based on contracts signed in February, rose 2.1 percent to 82.1 from a reading of 80.4 in January, but is 1.4 percent below February 2008 when it was 83.3.

Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, said the market is continuing to underperform. “Pending home sales have a way to go for there to be a meaningful increase, but recent increases in shopping activity are hopeful indicators that we’ll see additional sales gains,” he said. “More buyers are getting into the market to take advantage of stimulus incentives and much improved housing affordability conditions, but it will take a few months before we could see this turn up in measurable sales contract activity.”

Also in February, NAR’s Housing Affordability Index rose to a new high.

The PHSI in the Northeast rose 10.6 percent to 63.9 in February but is 11.2 percent below a year ago. In the Midwest the index jumped 14.5 percent to 83.1 and is 3.4 percent higher than February 2008. The index in the South rose 4.4 percent to 85.8 in February but is 0.1 percent below a year ago. In the West the index fell 13.5 percent to 89.6 and is 1.7 percent below February 2008.

NAR President Charles McMillan, a broker with Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage in Dallas-Fort Worth, said home buyers are in an excellent position. “The drop in mortgage interest rates and home prices mean the buying power of a typical family has never been better,” he said. “If you have a good job and long-term plans, it’s unlikely that you’ll find a much better time to buy a home. This is especially true for first-time buyers who can qualify for an $8,000 tax credit this year, have a great selection of homes to choose from, and are in a favorable negotiating position.”

NAR’s Housing Affordability Index rose 0.9 percentage points to a record high of 173.5 in February from an upwardly revised index of 172.6 in January, and is 36.3 percentage points higher than a year ago. The HAI, a broad measure of housing affordability using consistent values and assumptions over time, shows that the relationship between home prices, mortgage interest rates and family income is the most favorable since tracking began in 1970.

A median-income family, earning $59,700, could afford a home costing $285,600 in February with a 20 percent downpayment, assuming 25 percent of gross income is devoted to mortgage principal and interest. Affordability conditions for first-time buyers with the same income and small downpayments are roughly 80 percent of that amount. The affordable price is considerably higher the median existing single-family home price in February, which was only $164,600.

“Obviously, potential home buyers need to be managing their existing debt effectively,” McMillan said. “A Realtor® can counsel you on what you may be able to afford given your personal financial situation. In some cases, buyers who want to build their future through homeownership may need to start reducing their debt and improving their credit score before entering the housing market.”

Last year at this time, the typical family could afford a home costing $265,600, which is $20,000 less than the current affordable price. “Homes in many areas are now selling for less than replacement construction costs – clearly this is an abnormal situation which will change once inventory is drawn down and supply and demand come closer into balance,” McMillan said.

Yun said he expects housing inventories to rise through early summer from a normal seasonal pattern of more sellers appearing in the spring. “But with the positive housing stimulus incentives now in place, we expect home sales to gain momentum in the second half of the year with first-time buyers absorbing a lot of the excess inventory,” he said. “Under these conditions, we should see price stabilization in most markets by the end of the year.”

Source: http://nationalrealtynews.com/content/templates/standard.aspx?articleid=1878&zoneid=2

Our third real estate purchase was the most successful one leaving us with a pleasant feeling about the real estate market. Our appreciation for your services is great.

We would like to THANK YOU for:

• being ready to work for us 24 hours, 7 days per week
• working for our own interest
• your valuable communication skills
• being honest
• your perseverance in completing all stages of the transaction
• excellent coordination
• your professional real estate services
• a positive experience

We are very happy to have the opportunity to know you and to work with you.

Thank you again!

Sincerely,

Dalia & Florin Bouros

People say the best days to own a boat are the day you buy the boat and the day you sell it. That’s not true when it comes to home ownership, unless, maybe, you live on a boat. The best days in home ownership are when you buy a home and all the way through until the day you decide to sell.

Lots of home owners cry when they sell. Before the ink is dry on the listing agreement, eyes often swell with tears, and we’re not talking about the listing agent. That’s because sellers have developed relationships with their homes. Homes hold treasured memories. It’s common for sellers to be very emotional about their home. Some are overcome by seller’s remorse. However, some sellers weep for a different reason. They sob because they can’t sell their home.

Home is Priced Too High

• By far, the worst home selling mistake a seller can make is hanging the wrong price tag on a home. If the home is priced too high, buyers won’t look at it. If it’s priced too low, sellers worry that they’ll give away profits.
• Pricing a home to sell is an art. Part of the market value is based on comparable sales, but other factors to consider include market movement, demand, the home’s location and its condition.
• If the home is overpriced, buyers might submit lowball offers, which tend to result in an immediate offer rejection. These extremely low offers tend to infuriate and insult sellers.
• Some agents deliberately overstate the value of a home and push a seller to sign an overpriced listing. There are many reasons why agents do this, but the bottom line is sellers lose a competitive edge when later reducing the price. The bottom line is sellers who “test the market” get stung.

The Home is in Bad Condition

• Getting your house ready for market goes beyond making the beds and washing dirty dishes. Although I’ve seen plenty of homes with toys scattered throughout and dishes piled in the sink; buyers can’t get out of those homes fast enough. There are at least 10 essential steps to take to preparing the home for sale.
• Some homes need updating and quick fixes. Doing repairs before resale can boost chances of quickly selling. If items are broken or buyers see deferred maintenance, they wonder what else is wrong. It’s more expensive, actually, not to fix the house.
• Dressing your home for showings is called staging a home. Think of the process like arranging flowers in an attractive vase. If you or your agent lack the vision or ability to stage, consider hiring a professional home stager.

Home is Marketed Wrong

• Whenever I see a badly shot photograph in MLS, and perhaps it’s the only photo, I want to shake the agent and scream, “What are you thinking?” But agents and sellers make plenty of marketing mistakes.
• The battle cry of frustrated sellers is: “Why isn’t my home selling?” These are likely sellers who are not employing marketing strategies designed to expose a home to the largest pool of buyers. Here are 10 good marketing tips that take the guesswork out of selling your home.
• Once a buyer has entered a home, the marketing continues. To increase the chances that a buyer will entertain an offer, here are 10 home showing tips.

Seller Hired an Inexperienced Agent

• You can hire a good listing agent or a mediocre agent. They all cost about the same. Here are 10 reasons to hire an agent.
• If you want full-service, then hire a full service agent. If you are fairly confident your home will sell without a full-service agent, then talk to a discount broker. Learn the difference between REALTORs® and real estate agents.
• Carefully read the listing agreement to make sure the agent who brings a buyer is fairly compensated because one surefire way to make sure an agent won’t show your home is to offer a silly commission percentage.

Source: http://homebuying.about.com/od/sellingahouse/qt/0507SellMistake.htm

Over the 3000 miles from her town to ours, she got us in touch with an excellent loan officer: Bill Thurn with Mortgage Network in San Diego. He had us pre-approved in a very short time, while we were still in Florida, and even before the home we were selling closed escrow. This pre-approval put us in a very good position as a desirable buyer in the rather hot California market. She established our realtor/client relationship and stayed with us as we wrapped up loose ends and finally made the move.

While we were still embroiled in Florida homeselling and endless packing, she sent us information and photos of homes in our price range, via email. This was refreshing! In this way, she kept us looking at our goals, and she became more and more familiar with what sort of properties we were interested in. This helped us focus better, so that by the time we arrived in California, we pretty much knew what we wanted to look at.

Throughout the entire transaction, Diane was extremely attentive to our interests. Buying a home is very complicated these days and Diane anticipated possible problems and handled them before they became problems. She used her communication skills to expedite things that needed to be coordinated with the many others who become involved with an escrow (title & escrow officers, inspectors, other REALTOR®s, etc.). Because of the homework that she did, we found a gorgeous home in a very short time. This home is more than we expected to have, for our price range, and in a wonderful neighborhood!

While we were falling in love with the house, she looked it over with a real attention to detail and took notes, while helped with later things.

As the escrow progressed, she took care of all the details. I never worried or felt I had to follow up or ‘make sure’ that she did something. She always did exactly what she said she would do, and in a very timely manner!

She did an amazing amount of coordination so that the escrow actually closed EARLIER than anticipated (and it was a short escrow to start with). We were able to move before Thanksgiving and enjoy the holidays in the New Home.

It is so wonderful to have someone like Diane, who we can trust with keeping up with all the complexity of a real estate transaction! She is organized and enthusiastic about her work and genuinely excited for her clients happiness with their new home! This made is FUN. What came across to us from her is that she REALLY CARES.

I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend Diane to anyone for their real estate needs.

Sincerely,

Karen & Jerry Howard, Fallbrook, CA

Congratulations on closing the Howard transaction. My goal is to provide the type of service that makes the closing process a pleasant experience for buyers and sellers. I want to thank you for your role in helping to achieve that goal.

It is gratifying to assist in the closing of a successful sale. I want to compliment you on your professional service. Your client made a wise choice when choosing to be their agent. When the opportunity arises, I will be sure to refer clients to you.

We tend to forget the pleasant, uneventful closings. However, this closing deserves to be remembered as a positive experience. I enjoyed being a member of your team and look forward to working with you again.

Thank you again for the opportunity to be a part of this transaction. Please keep me in mind when your clients need mortgage assistance.

Sincerely,

Bill Thurn
Mortgage Network

Thanks for your working for me. I’m always relaxed when you’re out there ’cause you give the best service!

If only you could know the thanks that fill each thought of you, the generous things you do, you’d know you’re treasured more than words can say. Thanks so much for everything!

For all your help and support, we appreciate all you do.

Thank you again,
Manuel, Dianna and Anamarina Hernandez