Tuesday, December 21, 2010

Mortgage Interest Deduction in Jeopardy

The Washington bureaucrats are discussing the elimination of the mortgage interest deduction. Of course, the NAR is strictly opposed to this. The interest deduction has been around for some 80 years. We believe the elimination of this deduction would hamper the economic recovery. It would affect the mind sets of buyers. Buyers are already reluctant. Let's not add to their wariness.

Tuesday, November 23, 2010

16.86% return on investment!

I have a fabulous investment opportunity. There are 9 duplexes and 1 4-plex for sale at 1.29 million. If an investor wanted to split 'em up and buy 1/2 of them, the owner says that is OK. There are even 1 or 2 duplexes he would sell separately. You have choices.



The return on investment as reported in the subject line is 16.86%. The cap rate is 7.58%. The cash on cash is 10.66%. The numbers tell it all! If you want, ask your CPA to check out the numbers.



The location is Hickory Lane, Holts Summit, MO 65043.

Monday, November 15, 2010

Have a short sale? How soon can you buy again?

  • Foreclosure Alternative: The Short Sale

    A short sale is far from hassle-free, but it’s a better alternative than foreclosure. And now you’ve got a little help from your friends in D.C. Here are the facts about short sales and how to get started. Read

Visit houselogic.com for more articles like this.

Copyright 2010 NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®

Monday, October 25, 2010

Yes on Amendment 3

Just one more weekend before we vote YES on Amendment 3. A YES vote will prevent any government entity attaching another tax on transfers of title on real property. The property doesn't even have to sell to incur a transfer tax. The transfer tax could include an owner transferring his title to an LLC or transferring title at death or transferring title to a beneficiary deed, etc. Remember to vote November 2nd. It is imperative to stop another tax.

Wednesday, October 13, 2010

Realtor Property Resource

Realtor Property Resource was introduced to our Jefferson City Area Board of Realtors general membership meeting Tuesday. It's pretty exciting stuff. One website will have all the information we can use. Sometime in November next year our Board should have access to it. Currently Kansas City is using it.

The Realtor Property Resource website will have information on schools, home owner associations, taxes, prior sales information, a Realtor Value Model, flood maps, plat maps, neighborhood info of building permits, economic factors, quality of life details...etc.

Our presentor said Realtors in California are currently using it. Can't wait til we have it.

Tuesday, October 12, 2010

Mentor Program

Today was a day of celebration for me. I got to see and hug my very first student I ever mentored in high school, Jenae Campbell. Both of us got to talk about the mentoring program to our Jefferson City Area Board of Realtors General Meeting. It is called REACT. The program consists of a Realtor volunteering to mentor a high school student. The mentor meets with the student 30 minutes or more each week on a one on one basis in the high school. It is the mentors job to ask questions, listen, and encourage. The purpose is to keep the student in school and see them graduate.

I met Jenae in January 2003. In 2004 Jenae graduated and is now working as a case worker in Springfield, MO. Her goal is to become certified as a case worker and then go on to become a child psychologist. I'm just poppin' my buttons. I am so proud of her.

I encourage you to make a difference. Jenae certainly is and so is the mentoring program.

Monday, October 4, 2010

Bar Code for Houses

We are in the process of bar coding our listings. Soon a prospect can stop at all our listings, scan the sign, and get the scoop. Pretty exciting! Buyers now have the choice of picking up a flyer in the brochure box and/or scanning the sign. Oh, I wonder what's next!

Saturday, October 2, 2010

Transfer Tax Amendment

The wording for the Constitutional Amendment No. 3 is "Shall the Missouri Constitution be amended to prevent the state, counties, and other political subdivisions from imposing any new tax, including a sales tax, on the sale or transfer of homes or any other real estate."

VOTE Yes to prevent additional taxes!

Does anyone want a yard sign advertising/promoting the constituional amendment? Let me know and I will make arrangments for you to have one.

Sunday, September 26, 2010

School Mentoring Program

I have been asked to present the REACT program details at our next Jefferson City Area Board of Realtors meeting. Interestingly, I hadn't really thought about why I volunteer as a mentor to high school students. I just do it. But now I know!

I want to make a difference in this world. Even if it is a teeny tiny difference for the better! Upon graduation, my first student (mentee) made a diorama for me. It was a starfish with a popular short story enclosed, The Starfish Story by Loren Eiseley. I will paraphrase, if you do not remember it. A person was walking on the beach throwing starfish into the water. When another individual came upon him, he asked, "Why are you doing that when there are so many starfish washed up on shore?" His reply, as he bent down to throw another starfish into the ocean, "It made a difference for that one."

You remember someone in high school who made a difference for you. Now you can be that someone!

Monday, September 13, 2010

Transfer Tax Amendment

Thank you to everyone involved in the success of placing the Transfer Tax Amendment on the Missouri ballot this November. The verbiage, however, is confusing on the ballot. The intent is to stop any future transfer taxes. Voting YES will prevent any future transfer taxes. So on amendment 3, remember to vote YES. Vote YES to stop future taxes. Have I repeated myself enough?

Friday, September 3, 2010

Transfer Tax Amendment

The Missouri Attorney General began to defend the Secretary of State's position on discarding valid voter names on the petition abolishing transfer taxes. When MAR sent a Call to Action to our Missouri Realtors, the Attorney General's office was immediately inundated with a 1000 emails. It was so overwhelming, the Attorney General requested a stop to the Call to Action. I extend a "good job" greeting to all who responded. Our voice is being heard!

Tuesday, August 31, 2010

Transfer Tax Amendment

Transfer tax will come to a vote in Missouri! Through the valiant efforts of our MAR committee, the courts agreed there were enough valid signatures on the petition drive to place "transfer tax" on the ballot. Voters will now have the opportunity to say YES, they never want a transfer tax levied on real estate at the time of closing. When real estate owners pay taxes every year, there is no reason for owners and buyers to be further taxed. Enough is enough.

Friday, August 20, 2010

Market Stats

The Jefferson City MO market is moving again! Checking the statistics, the busiest price range is $120,000-$140,000. So far, 110 properties in that price range have closed with a 62 "days on the market" average. The upper price ranges are selling, also. Yeah! I'll write more about that later.....

Tuesday, August 17, 2010

Builder Rebate

We have an immaculate and well-designed new home located on NewCastle in Covington Gardens, Jefferson City, MO It is listed for 168,800 with a $5,000 builder rebate. Are you interested?????

Tuesday, August 10, 2010

916 Cari Ann

I am surprised the home located at 916 Cari Ann, Jefferson City, MO 65109 is still on the market. We definitely have interest, but we have no written offers yet. If this home doesn't sell before 8/21/10, it will be open during the Primrose neighborhood open house extravaganza Saturday, 8/21st, from 1-2 p.m. By the way, the price is $219,900. It is a great buy.

Monday, July 19, 2010

Hope Program

The Missouri Housing Development Corporation (MHDC) is still offering real estate incentives. When a buyer closes on a personal residence prior to August 30th, MHDC will pay 1 yrs. real estate taxes and pay a percentage of the purchase of energy star appliances. There are some income limits. To see if you qualify, check the HOPE program on the internet.

Sunday, July 18, 2010

Show Me State Games

Every year all ages compete in the Show Me Games in Missouri. The sports events range from soccer to swimming to cycling to whatever interests you. I competed in the cycling race. Given a choice of racing 19 miles or 28 miles, I chose the 19 mile race. The course is excellent, the organizers are great, and the racers are very fine folks. The youngest racer was 15 yrs. old and the oldest was 70+ years. Some cyclists even came in from out of state to race. If you are interested, sign up next year. The games begin around mid-July.

Sunday, July 11, 2010

Shorten Length of Mortgage

I am refinancing my home loan. In the process, I have learned that be-weekly payments will shorten the term of a loan. But something even more exciting, with a 15 yr loan, paying two extra principle payments each year shortens the term to 7 yrs!

Friday, July 2, 2010

Fourth of July Celebration

It is a good time downtown this weekend. Lots of activities. Even Michael Jackson will come back and perform!

The firework display is majestic. Hope you come out and enjoy!

Friday, June 25, 2010

MHDC program

I have copied a quote from our Jefferson City MO Area Board of Realtors. Please see below.


"News You Can Use for June!
SIGNIFICANT CHANGE TO HOPE PROGRAM!
Under the Home Ownership Purchase Enhancement (HOPE) program, MHDC provides incentives up to $1,750 to encourage Missourians to purchase homes. $15 million was allocated to the program and is available on a first-come, first-served basis; there is currently more than $12 million still available for qualified homebuyers. Please note this significant change: to qualify, a homebuyer must complete the purchase of their home by August 31, 2010, and MHDC must receive the HOPE application by September 30, 2010. Homes purchased after August 31, 2010 will not be eligible for the HOPE program. Additional program information and documents are available on their website, www.mhdc.com."

Wednesday, June 23, 2010

WCR meeting

The speakers today in our meeting gave us the happenings in Jefferson City & Cole County. They spoke of Adrians Island, the new Animal Rescue facility, the unexpected high use of the Greenway & other Parks, our good streets, recycling, a new hazardous waste site, new jail, and many other things. In fact, tomorrow, Thursday, June 24th, downtown is going to be transformed into a beach. There will be sand volley ball and other attractions. This will be the last Thursday celebration for the summer. See you there.

Jefferson City is a great place to live.

Monday, June 21, 2010

Multiple Offers

Who says the market is bad? Over the weekend, my buyer made an offer on a property. Concurrently another buyer made an offer on the same property. One had to lose and one had to win. Fortunately my buyer won. The subject property had been on the market approximately 30 days. We looked at it when it was brand new on the market. Then we looked at others and nothing else compared for the price. It was immaculately cared for, had beautiful updates, and had a manicured yard. It was a great value. Obviously, another buyer felt the same way.

Thursday, June 17, 2010

Home Buyer Tax Credit

Got word that the U.S. Senate passed a bill extending the closing date deadline for the home buyer tax credit from 6/30/10 to 9/30/10. This applies to already pending residential property closings that were under contract prior to 5/1/10. Next the bill goes to the House for deliberation and a vote. Keep tuned for further developments.

Monday, June 14, 2010

Open House

This Saturday we are having a very nice home open on 1565 Skyview, Holts Summit, MO 65043. It is a very nicely maintained 1 1/2 story home on a landscaped yard with private back yard. In fact, there is access to a fishing lake behind the land. Come on out and bring your fishing pole! The time is 11-12 p.m., Saturday, June 19th.

Tuesday, June 8, 2010

Rural Development loan

Central Bank in Jefferson City, MO said they can make Rural Development Loans now in anticipation of the money being appropriated. From what I understand, the money should be available in October.

Friday, June 4, 2010

Profit from Investments

I just finished GRI 412 today in Sunrise Beach MO. Tom Lundstedt presented an excellent program "Profit from Investment Property". Some of the highlights I gleaned from this class: before buying any investment property fill in a pre printed form called "Investment Property Worksheet" (it is a step by step process of determining your return on investment), secondly always get a Schedule E from the investment owner, thirdly compare the return of investment among several properties before buying, and fourthly bifurcate your depreciation.

Bifurcation is very interesting. It is a separation of depreciable items. For example, there are 3 depreciable items to consider: land improvements, personal property, and the building. Land, of course, is not depreciable. So during bifurcation start with the total cost of the investment, subtract the value of the personal property and the land improvements. This leaves the land with the building. If you want, you can use the Assessor's ratio of land and building value. Subtract the land value from the building. With all components separated, then calculate the depreciation for each component. The building depreciates at different rates depending on whether it is a residential or non residental investment, the personal property depreciates at another rate, and the land improvements depreciate at even another rate.

We also talked about capital gain tax rates. If you ever sell a fully depreciated investment, watch out. You will feel like you got hit by a 200 ton train. To avoid capital gain tax, use the Section 1031 (Starker) tax free exchange.



Something else for current investment property owners to consider is their current rate of return on equity? Is it still as strong as it was originally?



I could go on and on. If you ever get the chance, I recommend attending Mr. Lundstedt's class.

Wednesday, June 2, 2010

Interest Rates

Inconceivable, the 15 yr interest rates today were 4.25% and the 30 yr. rates were 4.875%. What a time to buy! Currently there is an oversupply of homes for sale and the owners of those properties are competitively priced.

Monday, May 31, 2010

Interest Rates-Tax Credit for Military Personnel

Interest rates are very attractive. The 30 yr. loan is approximately 4.875% The 15 yr. loan is approximately 4.375 It is a great time to buy a house.

In fact, I was reading about the tax credit still being available for those military personnel who were stationed overseas from 1/1/09-4/30/10. The tax credit extends 1 yr. for them.

Do you know anyone who can take advantage of that?

Friday, May 28, 2010

Tour of Missouri

The Governor of our beautiful state canceled our international bicycle race, The Tour of Missouri. From what I understand, his decision made the New York Times and USA today. I wonder, did he understand the nation was watching this? Did he understand the magnitude of this event????

He has spent the money on other things. Will this bring in substantial revenue? Please show me so I can understand. My next gubernatorial vote depends on it.

Tuesday, May 25, 2010

Pricing

Interestingly enough, I had two separate individuals call me yesterday and today asking why their properties are not being shown. Each individual is listed with other Realtors. The first seller has been on the market for over 2 years! The second seller has been listed for 3 months. I told each one the same thing. They need to call their Realtors and drop the price. What I told them is "The best strategy for obtaining the most money is to price the property a tad more than those recently sold, that are comparable, and a bit less than those actively on the market that are similiar. Then they create the illusion they are priced below market. Consequently they have more interest, activity, and enthusiasm. Then they stand a much better chance of receiving a full price offer or one that is somewhat close to full price."

I hope each home owner has contacted their respective agents and lowered the price. The market speaks loud and clear!

Monday, May 24, 2010

New Listings

Today is a great day. We listed two properties. One is something people always ask for. It is a very private small home with 2-4 acres and detached garage. Farms surround it. The asking price is $105,000. Won't last!

The second property is a lovely 1+ story home at 1565 Sky View with 1 acre of privacy in the back. Lots of amenities: Family room, rec room, office, breakfast room, formal dining room, work room, storage room, 2 car attached garage. Every bit worth $189,900. Oh, by the way, that's the asking price, too!

Saturday, May 22, 2010

Escheat

I learned a great deal from my past client. She called in asking for $950.00 in her escrow account. This was from a closing 6 years ago. I checked my records and found no escrow account nor did I find any evidence of one being established on her behalf. The buyers' loan came through the MHDC grant program. The HUD statement showed the seller giving her $1500 for closing costs. But still no separate escrow account for a new deck and roof ventilation system showed on the HUD. I have no way of knowing what happened. I have asked MHDC if there was a limit on how many dollars the seller could grant the buyer. Am waiting for an answer.

In the meantime, I talked with a title officer and she mentioned a rule about unclaimed property. Delving deeper I found escheat. For those of us living in the State of Missouri, this rule may be helpful. Escheat, according to Wikipedia, states "In some jurisdictions, escheat can also occur when an entity (such as a bank) holds money or property (such as an account in that bank) and the property goes unclaimed. In many jurisdictions, if the owner cannot be located, such property can be revocably escheated to the government.

In business, it is the process of turning over unclaimed or abandoned payroll checks, or stocks and shares whose owners cannot be traced, to a state authority (in the United States). Every company is required to file unclaimed property reports with state annually and to make a good-faith effort to find the owners of their dormant accounts. The escheating criteria are driven by individual state regulations."

Missouri gives an entity 5 years to turn over unclaimed property to the Secretary of State. Then the records are purged.

In my particular case, if the escrow account had been established, the unclaimed property would have been returned to the owner, in this case the seller, after 5 yrs. I should say if the owner could be found the funds would have been returned.


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Thursday, May 20, 2010

Open House

Remember to come to our open house at 2319 Knight Valley this Saturday from 11 a.m.- 12 p.m. It's a nice home with a little different floor plan. When you come into the garage with groceries, it is very handy to carry the groceries into the kitchen. Very convenient. The owners have replaced carpeting; have aggressively cleaned, have a new roof, new siding, etc. There is even a hot tub room on the back overlooking a very private back yard. Behind the back yard is a golf course. What a great place to live!

Tour of Missouri update

I am soooo.....excited. Lance Armstrong is coming to Missouri. With Lance here, the Tour of Missouri revenue doubles! I hope the Governor will give our Tour a favorable vote.

Monday, May 17, 2010

Yellow Rose Luncheon

The Zonta Club of Jefferson City is sponsoring the Women of Achievement Yellow Rose Luncheon, Women's Expo & Scholarship Program tomorrow. Every year it is a magnificient event. For your information, Zonta is a worldwide service organization of executives in business working together to advance the status of women. Zonta means "honest & trustworthy".

Open House

We are having an open house at 2319 Knight Valley Saturday between 11 a.m.-12 p.m. It is a brand new listing at $120,000. Great quiet street, lots of trees, open kitchen with a hearth room. Priced below appraisal! Hope to see you there.

Sunday, May 16, 2010

Tour of Missouri

The State of Missouri and the Tour of Missouri had the rapt attention of the world when we had the major cycling event for 3 consecutive years. The Tour was on a par with international races like the Tour de France. Missouri had the priviledge of having the elite of the elite race between Kansas City and St. Louis. The good news is that the State Legislature approved supporting the race a 4th year. Now we have run into a stumbling block; the Governor has dismissed that request.

There were so many benefits to having the race in Missouri. The obvious was economical - studies proved there was a great return on the State's investment. The second benefit was increased interest in cycling for health and wellness. With the increased interest, the public bought bicycles. People exercised and had fun while exercising. Families got together, and went out and rode their bikes. A third benefit is that visitors became aware of what a beautiful state we have. Perhaps they would like to return for a vacation. Finally, a youngster here could realize that he, too, can become an outstanding athlete. The world class athletes riding in the Tour of Missouri are very approachable.

The Governor and the Division of Tourism want to put the money into marketing for other programs like, ummmmm, what? Anybody? They have been doing this for umteen years; can anyone think of a program? The state of Missouri can continue promoting whatever they have been promoting or we can have something special like the Tour of Missouri. My choice is the Tour. Let's make our choice known to the Governor.

Saturday, May 15, 2010

Second post!

Thanks to Steve for hooking this up for me.

Jefferson City MO real estate

We have a brand new listing located at 2319 Knight Valley for $120,000. It is so new it's not on MLS or the internet yet. I will hold it open Saturday, May 22nd, from 11-12 p.m. Come out and see me and the house.