Mary Anne Simmons voted to RisMedia Top 5

A wonderful and experienced broker in Lexington, Ky as well as 5 other states, Mary Anne Simmons, whom we partner and work with as part of our Team has been voted by RisMedia, to their prestigous Top 5 in Real Estate.

Norwalk, CT- Reaching the pinnacle of her profession nationally, MaryAnne Simmons, of Premier Real Estate & Home Services, was accepted as a Member of the Top 5 in Real Estate Network®, the most prestigious of all industry achievements. 

More than just a sales-driven recognition, the Top 5 in Real Estate Network® meets a need that heretofore has never been addressed – helping consumers identify the most professional real estate agents in North America.  To qualify, each member must first meet a stringent set of criteria, based upon performance, as well as educational and professional skills and service to the consumer.  

Members of the Network are carefully selected and managed by RISMedia, which has provided the real estate industry with objective, unbiased news for nearly 30 years. As a Member of the Top 5 Network, Simmons is among the first real estate agents to be accepted into this elite organization.  

Allan Dalton, the President of RISMedia’s Top 5 Network congratulated Simmons for earning this top status within the industry. “MaryAnne has reached the very highest level of North America’s residential real estate industry. Not only are her professional accomplishments extraordinary, she has long been a true champion for home buyers and sellers in her area.  It is a pleasure to welcome MaryAnne into this elite group of industry leaders.”   

According to John Featherston, Chairman of RISMedia, the significance of Top 5 in Real Estate is that consumers deserve full transparency regarding all matters related to the real estate transaction, which often begins with the need to select a highly competent, experienced and results-oriented real estate professional. Top 5 in Real Estate has been established to both empower consumers with leading real estate content through Top 5 members, as well as to ensure that consumers are made fully aware that there is a material difference between average and exceptional real estate professionals.

MaryAnne Simmons, a 26-year real estate professional, is a licensed broker in six states (KY, FL, SC, NC, TN, AL) presently, and is the owner/broker/president of Premier Real Estate & Home Services. Simmons is a Guild Member of The Luxury Home Marketing Institute, a Resort Second Home Property Specialist (RSPS), a Certified International Property Specialist (CIPS), a Certified Residential Specialist (CRS), an Accredited Buyers Representative (ABR), a Certified Home Marketing Specialist (CHMS), and a Consumer-Certified Real Estate Consultant (C-CREC). What sets her company apart is the Home Services Division of her brokerage which includes:  a staging/merchandising division with 3 sets of furniture (Premier Designing Details), a Concierge Service (www.Maximize), a Commercial/Investment Division with a Broker/CPA as a part of her Team, an International Sales and Marketing Division, a Second Home Division (she is a member of 52 MLS services throughout many states), an Auction Division, a New Construction/Development Division, a Property Management & Rental Division (with local rentals and vacation rentals), as well as the Residential and Luxury Residential Divisions.  What’s more, she also has her own seller videos/tours/stories website and a website translated into 13 languages with properties for sale in six states as well as Paris, France’s MLS listings for sale. For more information, call 859-296-4663 or visit www.maryannesimmons.com.
yourmoments.com

For more information on RISMedia’s Top 5 in Real Estate Network®, please visit www.top5inrealestate.com or contact Member Services at 203-853-2167 ext. 139. 

RISMedia’s Top 5 in Real Estate Network^® is a membership network of leading real estate professionals providing leading real estate information to consumers. To qualify for membership in the Top 5 in Real Estate Network, agents must meet specific criteria in five key categories: experience; results; education; information technology; and commitment to community. RISMedia, the leader in real estate information systems, has been providing the industry with news, trends and business development strategies for nearly 30 years through its flagship publication, Real Estate magazine, its leading website, RISMedia.com, and its renowned networking and educational events.

More Positive Press for the $8000 Stimulus Package!

What could you do with an extra $8000?  If you’ve never bought before or have had no home ownership interest in the previous three years, you could make an easy $8000 if you buy before December 1st, 2009.  This article below from the Chicago Tribune talks about the decision to buy now, while loans are cheap and the government is giving you a great rebate.

Call or email us today to see if now is a great time for you to get into the Real Estate market, while there is great inventory with low prices, and low rates!  kjpremier@atproperties.com.

 

Stimulus plan’s $8,000 housing credit can be sweet in the right circumstances

Chicago Tribune

April 13th, 2009

Receiving $8,000 to buy a house is a tempting deal.

And Uncle Sam is willing to offer it to you, under certain conditions.

Under the economic stimulus plan that became law last week, if you are buying a home for the first time, you can get your hands on up to $8,000. In fact, if you are one of the savvy people who saw the housing bubble threat in 2005, sold your home and have been renting since then, this could be an especially sweet deal if you go bargain-hunting this year.

Under the rules for the new $8,000 tax credit, you have to buy your first home between Jan. 1 and Nov. 30, or have had no ownership interest in a home for the last three years, said James Seidel, director of federal taxes for Thomson Reuters.

This could be a way to help come up with a down payment, or to receive $8,000 to save for emergencies. Keep in mind, however, that Uncle Sam doesn’t put the money directly into your hands when you need it most—at the point when you close, or complete the legal formalities, on the purchase of your home. You must come up with your down payment, then file your tax return and seek the $8,000 as a tax credit.

As a credit, you receive money the way you would a tax refund. The good part: This is a refundable credit, which means that even if you do not owe much in taxes, the government will give you the money, Seidel said. That makes it better than a normal credit or a deduction.

There are some caveats: You would receive less than $8,000 if the house you buy costs less than $80,000, or if you owe the government taxes that weren’t taken out of your paychecks. The $8,000 is a maximum. If the house you buy costs less than $80,000, you will receive 10 percent of the price.

For people desperate for a down payment, the waiting period might not work. But for those who can turn to a relative for $8,000, the home buyer could use the cash at the closing on their new home, move into the house, apply for the credit on their 2008 tax return, obtain the money from the government and repay the relative if necessary.

The $8,000 credit that just went into effect is a much better deal than the one aimed at luring home buyers last year. In 2008, first-time home buyers could receive a $7,500 tax credit, but important strings were attached: The home buyer has to repay the sum to the government over 15 years.

In contrast, home buyers this year can receive $8,000 without any obligation to repay the money, provided they live in the home for three years.

And if people buy a home soon, they can capture the new $8,000 credit quickly, on their tax return for 2008.

Even if you filed your 2008 tax return already, a first-time buyer can still claim the credit on a home purchased early this year. Seidel suggests filing an amended return with Form 1040X. If you plan to buy a home later this year, you can request an extension of your 2008 taxes and claim the credit as you complete your tax return by Oct. 15, Seidel noted. The other option is to claim the credit on your 2009 tax return.

Despite the attractive credit, buying a home is not a simple decision.

Home prices are still dropping, and unemployment is rising, so think carefully about whether your job is secure and how you will pay for your home if you lose income.

As a rule of thumb, people should not buy homes if the monthly payments will consume more than 28 percent of their income and if they are carrying balances on their credit cards from month to month.

Before buying, run through your income and expenses to make sure a house is affordable now and will continue to be if you face a layoff. For a new homeowner, keep in mind that you must calculate mortgage payments; condo fees, if applicable; property taxes; homeowner’s insurance; utilities; and maintenance. As a rule of thumb, it’s wise to put aside $150 a month for repairs in case you must call in the plumber or face some other unbudgeted expense. Try working a budget with www.kiplinger.com/tools/budget/index .html.

To compare the cost of renting versus owning, try www.dinkytown.net/java/MortgageRentvsBuy.html.

Mortgage Rates making big News!

WASHINGTON (AP) — If you’ve got a good job, solid credit and your home’s value hasn’t fallen dramatically, you’re likely to benefit from the Federal Reserve’s extraordinary action Wednesday to help drive mortgage rates to historic lows and revive the U.S. housing market.

The Fed’s plan to buy up to $300 billion of long-term government bonds and $750 billion in additional mortgage-backed securities guaranteed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, should benefit many — but not all — borrowers.

It’s likely to produce a big drop in mortgage rates. Analysts expect rates will fall 0.25 to 0.5 percentage points as soon as Thursday.

The national average rate on 30-year, fixed mortgages was 5.15 percent on Wednesday, according to financial publisher HSH Associates, up slightly from a day earlier. Heralding a drop in mortgage rates, the yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note fell Wednesday to 2.51 percent from late Tuesday’s 3.01 percent.

“It’s going to keep rates low for a longer period of time,” said Greg McBride, senior financial analyst at Bankrate.com.

Average rates for 30-year-fixed-rate mortgages hit a record low of 4.96 percent in January, according to mortgage finance company FreddieMac. That was after the Fed launched its initial plan to buy $500 billion in mortgage-backed securities.

The Fed, seeking to push rates down further, is effectively planning to buy at least half of the home loans made in the U.S. this year based on last year’s total of about $1.4 trillion in mortgages. Around 70 percent of new loans in recent months have been backed by Fannie and Freddie, the mortgage finance companies seized by government regulators in September.

Fannie and Freddie own or guarantee almost 31 million mortgages worth about $5.5 trillion, more than half of all U.S home mortgages.

The Fed actions were great news for John Tuggle, a mortgage banker in Columbus, Ga., where the economy and housing market have remained relatively healthy.

His business already had been looking up this year due to a new $8,000 tax credit for first-time buyers, and the Fed’s moves amounted to icing on the cake.

“Bottom line is, those people who already are gainfully employed and can qualify for mortgage can buy more of a house,” Tuggle said. “Whenever you see rates drop, people that are on the fence thinking about buying a house, they jump in and buy.”

Still, mortgage lenders have severely restricted the availability of new loans to borrowers who don’t have 20 percent down payments and good credit, making it tough for many first-time borrowers to qualify.

“These lenders are making their credit criteria so outrageous,” said Dana Devine, a real estate agent in Apollo Beach, Fla., south of Tampa. “It’s that credit score that’s killing everybody.”

Many lenders, after laying off workers in droves, are swamped with applications for refinanced loans. With so much business, there is less pressure to compete, and lenders have not pushed rates down as far as might be expected given their extraordinarily low borrowing costs, said Guy Cecala, publisher of InsideMortgage Finance, a trade publication.

“They’re looking to boost profitability,” Cecala said. “Many of them already have all the business they can handle for the foreseeable future.”

While the Fed’s actions are likely to aid those who have saved up to make a down payment on their house, or have enough equity in their homes to refinance, they are less likely to benefit the nearly 14 million American households that owe more on their home loans than their houses are worth, or those on the verge of foreclosure.

The mortgage industry, armed with $75 billion in federal bailout money that President Barack Obama wants to use to prevent foreclosures, is receiving record-high levels of requests for help from troubled homeowners.

More than 13,500 homeowners a day have called the Homeownership Preservation Foundation’s 1-888-885-HOPE hot line since the Obama administration’s program launched earlier this month, about triple the daily level of calls received before the plan was announced.

Mortgage applications jumped 21 percent last week from a week earlier, as low interest rates fueled refinancing activity, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. About 73 percent of applications came from borrowers seeking to refinance home loans at lower rates.

Also Wednesday, Fannie Mae said the volume of mortgage loans it refinanced in February totaled $41 billion, nearly triple January’s volume.

The mortgage finance company said Wednesday it was the largest figure in almost a year as a surge of homeowners took advantage of low interest rates and higher loan limits.

The Fed’s actions mirror those being taken across the Atlantic, where the Bank of England last week began buying government bonds from financial institutions as it turned to other ways to help revive Britain’s moribund economy. The Bank of England, like the Fed, already had lowered its key interest rate to a record low of 0.5 percent.

Also, love him or hate him, Jim Cramer had some interesting stuff to say about the mortgage/real estate market this morning on the Today Show.  Regarding the cut in interest rates by the Fed, he says that this will be the “best Spring in the Last 3 years for the Real Estate Market!”  That’s what I like to hear, and by the looks of it, we’ve definitely seen some nice activity.

To get in on the activity: contact us today at kjpremier@atproperties.com.

 

Where to Buy Now

The question no longer is should I buy now or later….this is the time to buy!  The question now is, “where should I buy to maximize my investment?”  Here is a great article in Chicago Magazine that addresses this question for the Chicagoland marketplace.   http://chicagomag.com/Chicago-Magazine/October-2008/Where-to-Buy-Now/  Detailing city and suburban areas where you can find deals and fixer uppers, or break into a area where you otherwise would have been priced out of a year or 2 ago.  Check out the pluses and minuses of each suggestion!  Enjoy!

Please contact us at kjpremier@atproperties.comto further talk about and narrow down the best place for you to buy.  We can help you find “your best place “  whether your a first time home buyer, trading up, or looking for a great investment property.