One word to this agent:  BRILLIANT!

Talk about a mixed economic message!  MSNBC.com has two headlines in the real estate section:

New homes sales take surprise tumble and Home prices rise for third straight month

Of course, these are NEW home sales that tumbled.  The second article says existing home sales are recovering,

September home sales figures back up the recovery. Home resales climbed more than 9 percent last month, the largest amount in more than 26 years, the National Association of Realtors said last week.

It appears that Congress is also about to extend and expand the tax credit for home buyers, according to CNN.com.

Senate sources told CNN they have tentatively agreed to extend that $8,000 credit for first-time buyers until the end of April. In addition, they are adding a $6,500 credit for some current homeowners who buy a new residence by then. To qualify, current homeowners must have lived in their primary residence for five continuous years.

I am pretty excited about extending this to current homeowners. If I didn’t have to pump about $20,000 in my own home now to get it “parade ready” and if it was worth more than I owe (!), I’d definitely consider selling to something more maintenance free.  I’m hoping this will be the boost we need to get real estate really moving again.

The craftsman is definitely my favorite favorite favorite type of home. The big front porches (though this one isn’t as big) and hidden space throughout just make my heart soar!  Here’s one in Nashville listed by Bob Parks Realty agent Bobbi Bryant for $344,900.  Yes, you can call her if you like!  (615) 459-4040.

I’m listening to Dave Ramsey right now talking about extending the tax credit for home buyers.  He is FOR extending the credit and not just to first-time buyers - to EVERYONE.  And he suggests it be increased to $10,000 rather than the $8,000 that expires at this point on November 30, 2009.

“This recession hit housing harder than it’s ever been hit. From an economic viewpoint, that’s scary because housing drives the economy,” he said (I put this in quotes, but I may have a word or two out of place… you get the gist).

So Dave Ramsey is in favor of extending the tax credit.  And according to CNN.com, it may just happen.

The proposal, by Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., and Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, D-Mont., would extend the $8,000 tax credit — which expires Nov. 30 — through March 31. Its value would drop by $2,000 for each of the subsequent three quarters of 2010.

I’m actually torn about expiring the credit.  I like that people will be spurred to buy because time is money and when they know they have only so long to make the purchase (use it or lose it), then they’ll move forward and buy.  On the other hand, having it always available would also keep the housing market moving, thereby it will help the economy in the long run through job creation.

What do you think?  Extend the first time home buyer tax credit?  Make it available to everyone?

Chinese drywall problems continue throughout the U.S. - a backlash of the building boom in the mid 2000’s.  There was so much construction that U.S. drywall manufacturers couldn’t keep up the orders AND when typical orders from Mexico and Canada dried up, the drywall was imported from China.  As it turns out, the drywall from China contains contaminants that emit a sulphuric odor and cause corrode the metal parts of homes (pipes and vents, for example).

In Florida, an insurer decided against renewing coverage for a homeowner after refusing to pay out for replacing the tainted drywall.  They have since reversed the decision, but this same process may be playing out all over the country.

Meanwhile, homeowners are being sickened by the toxins.

Odors and corrosion are clearly evident in the Massachi house.

The pungent, rotten-egg-like smell permeates the two-story home. Throughout the house, electrical outlets are open to reveal black corrosion on the copper wiring. The air conditioning unit’s air handler, inside the house, is blackened.

“This is disgusting. It’s so corroded. I can’t even believe it,” Amy Massachi said in a raspy voice. “I can’t breathe. Every morning, I wake up with sinus allergies, my voice is hoarse.

Meanwhile, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission is pressing China to pay for replacing the faulty drywall, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Many owners of homes with suspect drywall have had to move out of their properties, and four members of Congress earlier this month sent a letter to the Federal Emergency Management Agency seeking assistance for them. Ms. Tenenbaum said she was also prepared to ask Congress for mortgage relief for homeowners who have had to move out of their unsellable houses and sometimes purchase second homes.

Perhaps President Obama’s trip to China next month will help bring solutions to this problem.

Corrosion is a major problem (besides the smell) from Chinese drywall.  Photo by Treehugger.com.

Brought to our attention by Nick Gioia of the Baltimore Homes Group, this video is hilarious!

Thanks for sharing, Nick. Have a happy weekend!

Let’s take a little quiz to see if you think - when a home sells - that items should stay or go.

• Little satellite dish on top of the house?
• Big satellite dish in side yard?
• Perennial flower?
• Fireplace cover?
• Swing Set?
• Curtains?

All of the above items can GO with the seller rather than remain with the buyer. Of course it’s not really black or white.  There are some gray areas which allow them to remain behind.

• Little satellite dish on top of the house?  Remains if it is CLAMPED on rather than screwed in.
• Big satellite dish in side yard?  If the dish itself slides in the tube holding it in place, then the tube which is concreted in remains, but the dish can go.
• Perennial flower?  Okay, these should always stay.  But annual flowers can GO with the seller.
• Fireplace cover?  If the cover is just inserted and remains in place because of spring, it can go with the seller.  If it it screwed and/or bolted in, then it needs to stay with the home.
• Swing Set?  Again it depends on how it was installed.  If the legs are cemented in, the swing set stays. If they are just sitting on top of dirt, then it can go with the seller.
• Curtains?  We are beginning to see some variance in these rules.  Usually curtains could go, but the hardware had to stay in place.  Now we’re seeing state contracts that specify that curtains remain.  If you want to take the curtains with you, be very detailed in the purchase and sales agreement.

To know what should stay and what can go, it depends on whether an item is considered REAL property (or belonging to the real estate) or PERSONAL property.  I’ve told buyers and sellers that if you turn a house upside down and shake, whatever sticks should remain and what would fall away can go.  Still not a bad rule of thumb…

$57 million?  For an apartment. File that under “Some people have more money than sense.”

Photo from Reuters.

I am of two opinions when it comes to extending the first-time homebuyer tax credit.

ONE. I think this round should end on November 30th as scheduled.  Designed to encourage people - with good credit, good income - to go ahead and buy, we have seen a jump in these last two months of buyers getting on board before the program pulls anchor.  If you extend it now, the “time is of the essence” push will expire and sales will slow.  Go ahead and allow this last month and a half of sales to occur.

TWO. If the Feds do decide on another home buyer tax credit, give it a couple of months.  Wait until April or May and then give it to ALL home buyers.  I don’t think it has to be increased to $15,000 as it’s now being proposed by the bankers and realtors associations … $8,000 will be just fine if it’s open to everyone.

This article highlights Washington Post Columnist Martha White’s objections to an extension,

White goes on to say, “The credit also artificially inflates the value of eligible homes sold by up to $8,000, leaving the buyer with a debt that’s greater than the value of the property.” Hmmm… sounds like a familiar scenario that didn’t end well the last time it played out.

I can’t see where that comes from, to be honest, especially since we’ve seen home values nose-dive in the last two years.  Really?  It inflates the value of eligible homes?  It must not be in my part of the country this is happening in.  We *are* seeing debt greater than the value of the home, but that was from out-of-control sales two to six years ago… not from a home buyer tax credit.  What am I missing here?

I read with great interest a post by Chicago Realtor Dean Moss at Active Rain about dealing with disrespectful clients.  He tells about how real estate agents - like others who make a living through commission sales - sometimes get little respect from the public. Yet it might just be our own fault,

True professionals, in any field, in any business, have to develop a tough outer skin in order to survive.  But often times, does their evolving cynicism actually perpetuate those negative notions among clients or prospective clients?

I was laughing when one of my colleagues found an old business card of mine that I left behind when I showed one of his listings.  He commented that I look very different now and I joked that my photo was taken before my bitter, jaded outlook developed.  I really *was* joking, but I have been the victim of ruthless clients and the very real feeling of distrust can linger - on both the side of the Realtor and the client.

I worked with one couple several years ago and we looked at perhaps at two dozen houses in a two week period.  The one they initially loved - that I found for them - came back on the market and I contacted them immediately.  I was literally out-of-state and cut my mini-vacation early to rush back to write the contract.  When I arrived … crickets.  My buyers had disappeared.  No phone calls returned, no emails.  A week later I got a message that the boss’s wife’s sister was an agent and he felt obligated to use her.   Boy was I angry at the buyer AND at the agent who they ended up using because they should have asked, “Are you working with another Realtor?”

With that and several other similar experiences, have I become a bitter, cynical, jaded agent?  Sometimes I suppose I am, yet we DO have the privilege of working with some people who make it all worth it. That first time buyer who cries from joy at closing, the seller who sends thank you flowers, the young couple whose happiness is contagious when they find that perfect house…

Our profession as a whole is often criticized by naysayers, however if there wasn’t a real need for representation in a complicated real estate transaction, then we wouldn’t be here.  And I’m pretty glad to be here, through thick and thin.