If you have a home and would like to move up and buy a new one, the
trade program might be right for you. If you decide to do the trade
program, you won’t get stuck owning two homes for an indefinite
period of time. Most trade programs pay a percentage of the appraisal
price. Over the years this has been a better way to approach building
a new home. The cases I have seen where sellers don’t have a back up
plan, and try to do the whole thing themselves, end up regretting
diving in without really looking at the overall picture closely. There
are many factors to consider when deciding if the trade program is
right for you. Call me today if this sounds like an option for you.

Curb appeal- First impressions are the key when a buyer pulls into the drive.  With a quick assessment, they will evaluate quicky if the home looks solid.

Super Location- People today are looking for long term value in a home,  so location is very important in the eyes of the buyer.

Layout- Must have a good floor plan, fresh and clean, uncluttered, orginized, neat, updated.

Price – It takes years of experience to know what a home is worth, especially in a volatile market where  prices are all over the place. There is a certain amount of research that goes into putting a price on a home,  as well as the ability to look ahead and determine the direction of the market, and how this will effect selling the home once you begin the process. 

Following these guildlines will help you get your home Sold Faster,  with Less Hassel,  and for Top Dollar.

Feel free to ask me any questions you may have in the comment section below.

As I said last month, sales in March and April were spectacular!

Many of the contracts written in those months closed in May. Closed volume in May was at its highest level since June of 2007 and was $10 million higher than any month in over two years.

All those closings also reduced our month’s supply of inventory to just over 6 months supply. That means our inventory of homes is at its lowest level in almost 4 years.

All of that is great news, but real estate results and conditions should not be measured based only on one or two month’s activity. A longer period of time gives us a more accurate picture. Pended transactions declined significantly in May, partially as a result of the expiration of the tax credit.

 Closings will still be healthy in June, just not at May levels. The key question now is where do we go from here? Although we will not see results like March and April anytime soon, there are several reasons, according to The Kiplinger Letter, to believe that housing sales are on a steady but slow increase. First home prices are very affordable.

It now takes about 18% of the typical household income to meet principal and interest payments on a single family home which compares favorably with the long term average of 26%. Second, consumer confidence is improving which is critical to expensive, long term commitments, like home purchases.

 As I said a couple of months ago, three quarters of Americans believe now is a good time to buy. Third, there is a consensus that credit conditions will ease and that mortgage interest rates will remain at their very low level for several more months.

We won’t, and we shouldn’t, go back to the freewheeling days of 2007 but a slight loosening of credit can be helpful without creating unreasonable risks.

The best tip I can give you about shopping for homes is to start at http://www.carsonlowry.com We just enhanced and enlarged the size of pictures on all listings and are in the process of making several other improvements which we will roll out later this year.

Something I came across this morning what do you think?

Oil Volcano Pressure Too Strong for Containment

“It has been estimated by experts that the pressure which blows oil
into the Gulf waters is estimated to be between 20,000 and 70,000 PSI
(pounds per square inch). Impossible to control.

The estimated super high pressure release of oil from under the
earth’s crust is between 80,000 to 100,000 barrels per day.

The flow of oil and toxic gases is bringing up with it… rocks and
sand which causes the flow to create a sandblasting effect on the
remaining well head device currently somewhat restricting the flow, as
well as the drilled hole itself.

As the well head becomes worn it enlarges the passageway allowing an
ever-increasing flow. Even if some device could be placed onto the
existing wellhead, it would not be able to shut off the flow, because
what remains of the existing wellhead would not be able to contain the
pressure.

The well head piping was originally about 2 inches thick. It is now
likely to be less than 1 inch thick, and thinning by each passing
moment. The oil has now reached the Gulf Stream and is entering the
Oceanic current which is at least four times stronger than the current
in the Gulf, which will carry it throughout the world within 18 months.

The oil along with the gases, including benzene and many other toxins,
is depleting the oxygen in the water. This is killing sea life in the
ocean. Along with the oil along the shores, there will be many dead
fish, etc. that will have to be gathered and disposed of.

At some point the drilled hole in the earth will enlarge itself
beneath the wellhead to weaken the area the wellhead rests upon. The
intense pressure will then push the wellhead off the hole allowing a
direct unrestricted flow of oil, etc.

The hole will continue to increase in size allowing more and more oil
to rise into the Gulf. After several billion barrels of oil have been
released, the pressure within the massive cavity five miles beneath
the ocean floor will begin to normalize.

This will allow the water, under the intense pressure at 1 mile deep,
to be forced into the hole and the cavity where the oil was. The
temperature at that depth is near 400 degrees, possibly more.

The water will be vaporized and turned into steam, creating an
enormous amount of force, lifting the Gulf floor. It is difficult to
know how much water will go down to the core and therefore, its not
possible to fully calculate the rise of the floor.

The tsunami wave this will create will be anywhere from 20 to 80 feet
high, possibly more. Then the floor will fall into the now vacant
chamber. This is how nature will seal the hole.

Depending on the height of the tsunami, the ocean debris, oil, and
existing structures that will be washed away on shore and inland, will
leave the area from 50 to 200 miles inland devoid of life. Even if the
debris is cleaned up, the contaminants that will be in the ground and
water supply will prohibit re-population of these areas for an unknown
number of years.

Take a U. S. map, lay it flat and measure inland just the minimum 50
miles of total destruction all around the Gulf of Mexico. Should what
the scientists who are trying to warn everyone about be even close to
being true… much of the property in Florida could be completely
destroyed, including massive loss of life.”

Yikes.