There are some good indicators that say the market is right for lots of people right now, for example:

Interest rates are still very low your grandpa’s interest rates were higher!

Sellers are very motivated to sell, making deals they wouldn’t have a year ago.

There are foreclosures out there for the right buyers, and more coming from the banksl

Although lenders are scrutinizing buyers qualifications hard now, it’s not impossible to get a loan, and one doesn’t know until they try, can’t hurt?

It’s a GREAT time to buy UP. If you need more space or a better ‘hood, you can very easily sell low, but also buy low’ you will net a bigger savings than ever. Example: imagine you sell your current home for 180k (though you felt it was worth 225k) That ‘loss’ to you is 20%, and hard to stomach, sure. But you sell because you spotted the dream house, and although it sold for 450k three years ago, you are able to get it now for 20% less.360k! That’s a 90k reduction over prices in ’06. So although you sold yours for 45k less, you bought your new home for 90k less.

1st time homebuyers (definition: a person who hasn’t owned a home in the past 3 years): In certain income brackets, you may qualify for down payment assistance…and this can be huge, even up to 20% of the home’s purchase price.  Call one of the lenders on my links page for details.

We are dealing with a lot of inventory-clearing in the tremendous numbers of short sales and foreclosures glutting our market. It’s working: we are down almost 4000 listings since this time last year. There are more foreclosures on the way because the economy is making it very tough for homeowners to make their payments, AND because the banks are not even close to handling the overload.

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The time to buy is when the blood is running in the streets….even if it’s your own blood!
When nobody else is buying, that’s when to buy.
As soon as the masses jump in, the window of opportunity is over.
You don’t know you’ve hit bottom til the prices and competition start going up.

Wow.

Does popular wisdom on real estate markets scare you? Whether you listen to Warren Buffett, CNN, Suzie Orman, the NYT, or just your mother… there’s a lot of fear right now, and a lot of incredible opportunity too.

There’s no magic required to being a landlord. You simply find a good property in a great location, crunch the numbers, take a look at a few leases and addenda I can share with you, and do it! I happen to have listed a couple of properties that are IDEAL for you to live in one side, and then rent the others. That’s the kind of income property that really makes sense…something so nice that you’d like to live there yourself, at least for a while. Take a look at my listings.

Call me to discuss whether this is something that you can do. It’s okay to just look!

“Have we hit bottom yet?” I think I get asked this question thirty times a week. If you’re asking, then the answer is probably NO, not yet. But, that said…blink and you’ll miss it! It’s not a complicated idea, but the bottoms will be localized, just as all real estate is local. Tucson’s University areas, historic districts, Downtown… these were the least decimated and will be the first to recover, in my opinion. Out by the casino… not so good.

What if you buy something wonderful, priced very reasonably, even a screaming deal….and then prices drop a smidgeon more? Well, if you’ve taken a loan on the property, and buy now, you probably are getting the advantage of unheard of lows in interest rates.

Personally, I would rather spend a smidge more on a property at 4.5% than get another ten thousand off, but pay an interest ate of 6%. Here’s the math: I buy a property for $185,000and qualify for an FHA loan with 3.5% down payment, for 30 years.

At 4.5% , my loan works out to a payment for principal& interest of $904. If I’d waited, and interest rates had edged upquite a bitto 6.5% interest, that same loan payment would be $1128.And that $224 difference each month is $2,688 a year, ($26,880 more over 10 years! and $80,000 if I keep the loan for the full 30 years!) So keep an eye on rates. And don’t forego buying with an incredible rate and low pricing while you wait for the elusive “bottom.”

Experts say there are several signs of the BOTTOM. Here are a few to think about:

• inventory starts to reduce
• sales volume picks up
• you hear friends, colleagues, neighbors, people at a party….starting to talk about their buys
• prices finally seem to stabilize a bit
• it’s easier to get financing

Don’t wait too long. If you are interested in buying a home or investment property, call me and I promise you, we’ll talk honestly. I would love your business, and I am going to guide you with the same wisdom and advice I’d use for my own purchases. I promise.

Maybe. It depends. Chasing the short sales and foreclosures is all the rage right now, of course (summer ’08 in Tucson seems like the summer of pain for sellers). But you absolutely must use caution, research like crazy, and be smart about it! “Distressed” can mean the seller is no longer making payments, but it can also mean the property is in bad shape, and will require a ton of cash to purchase, and a ton more to whip into shape.

Are you looking to live in it? Rehab and rent it? Rehab and sell it again? These are very very different purposes, and your motivations and gameplan should be carefully considered. If you’re after a certain neighborhood, and see something so far below the comps that it is a “steal” and you have the money to get it to lovely condition, then by all means, it’s a good chance to buy into your desired neighborhood. Know that you may not be the only person who feels this way…if it’s Sam Hughes, I’ll be there bidding too!

If you’re looking to rehab and hold it, as a rental, know your rehab costs, and learn the rental market. Be conservative….can you afford to carry it through the months of work? Can you afford more downtime if it doesn’t rent right away? Is your rental expectation realistic? Tough questions, but lots of people are addicts of HGTV and never finish. Don’t let the short sale or foreclosure frenzy get you in over your head.

If you’re looking to flip, know this. Flipping is over. The buyers’ market is still going to be a buyers’ market, even if you pick up a property for what you feel is a song. You won’t be able to sell high. You’ll buy low, but sell low. My advice… flipping is the last reason one should go after a distressed property. Buy it to live in it? Yes. Buy it to use as a rental property? Maybe. Buy it to flip? Probably NOT a good idea.

According to Yahoo news, 1 million properties are in some stage of foreclosure, so there are “deals” out there. But know that the competition is stiff, you need a lot of cash (to buy, and also to do the work if it needs it), but the market is slow. You may find tht you have to weather the dead market for a year, maybe 3 years. If you’ve planned for that and can afford it, go for it. If it will strap you, then the foreclosure sale is not for you. You’ll just be in the distressed homeowners shoes in a matter of no time.

want the skinny on your ‘hood?’ www.zipskinny.com

Realty Executives Awards Ceremony 2007

• Executive Club (top 10% of Realty Executives)
• 100% Club
• Gold Circle

Go ahead….. give it a try! Can you name the oldest? Your hints are 1775, and think ofanother word for fort! Which one became home to railroad executives in the 1880′s?Hint: it’s our concentration of east-coast style Victorians!Where is our concentration of California-style bungalows?Hint: the UA caused two “suburbs” to crop up…. can you name those two? And what about my neighborhood? We are famous for housing many santitariums for tuberculosis patients… early nickname was “Lung Hill.”

Email me! sdenis1@cox.net

You’re thinking your house for sale is wonderful, and you’re wondering why it’s not selling. Here’s what buyers want, according to recent survey results from the National Assoc of Realtors:

• central A/C
• wood floors
• lots of storage & big closets
• energy efficiency

Did you know that 51% of homebuyers remodel the kitchen within a year of purchasing the home? Interesting.

So… if you’re looking at that nasty old carpet, wondering what to do…. rip it up, put down wood! And if you think everyone in Tucson should just suck it up and live with a swamp cooler —no way! Now’s the time to get good pricing on central A/C installation… summer’s over, so get an estimate done today. Get your home as close to as you can… there’s a lot out there for them to choose from!

You don’t believe that it’s a VERY good time to buy? Here’s why I think you should get started with me today: 4 reasons.

1. Sellers wouldn’t have their homes on the market right now if they didn’t need to sell, which makes everything negotiable! You must have a realtor who’s not shy about lowballing on your behalf, negotiating hard, and guiding you to the real deals!

2. There is a huge inventory right now, literally hundreds of homes in your pricerange and with your criteria. Now is the time to get shopping with a tireless realtor ready to sift through them and help you choose.

3. Prices are continuing to correct, true. But why not get out there while other buyers are sidelined and hesitant? This way you get to see the very best in your pricerange, work with me to get it now, at a price lower than the next 7 months worth of despairing price reductions. The seller will be easier to deal with on repairs now. Buyers are gold, and sellers know it.

4. The mortgage crisis may be helping you! If you have good credit and get into a loan program that won’t hurt you in the future, you are still afloat! Hundreds of would-be buyers just went under in the pool of potential buyers. I’ll help you find a local lender you can count on and learn from and trust.

Yes, it’s a VERY good time to buy!