[schema type="organization" orgtype="LocalBusiness" url="http://4salebydonna.com" name="Real Estate Agent Donna Baker" description="Real Estate Agent showing homes for sale and available real estate in Monrovia, Pasadena, Arcadia the San Gabriel Valley in Southern California." city="Monrovia" state="Ca" postalcode="91016" email="donna@4salebydonna.com " phone="(626) 408-7766 "]

I know what a “shovel” looks like.

March 6, 2009

In the Fall of 1970 I got my first real job. My friend told me that a new department store was opening in my hometown. WT Grant Department Stores was opening store #1247 in Ridgecrest, California and they were hiring “everyone”. I quickly proved that to be true, as they hired this inexperienced High School Senior (notice how I capitalized that to give it some status, I think it worked on my job application at the time, too).

In any case I applied at 3 pm and was working by 5 pm. I was placed in the Home and Garden section of the store and while I felt a little lost and there were a lot of things I did not know, I tried to focus on what I did know. I was in a whole new world but at least I knew what a shovel looked like.

I think, in some ways, that is how a lot of us feel about the real estate and mortgage industry today. In many ways it is a whole new world. Some things look familiar but other things have been “moved to a different department” or are no longer offered for sale. To keep things in perspective (not always an easy task) I am trying to focus on what I do know. I know what an excited first time homebuyer looks like. I know what a concerned homeowner seeking solutions looks like. In finding those solutions, I know what a “shovel” looks like.

With that in mind, over the next several weeks, we are going to focus on some of the things we do know in the mortgage industry. In particular some of the facts coming out of the new economic stimulus package signed into law last month.

Shovel #1: There is up to an $8000 Tax Credit for First Time Home Buyers if a home is purchased before December 1st of this year. One of the unique features of this credit is that a buyer may have the option to apply this credit to either their 2008 or their 2009 tax return. According to the IRS “…this special feature can put money in their pockets right now rather than waiting another year to claim the tax credit.”

Shovel #2: More details of two new home loan refinancing programs were announced by the Obama administration this week. While all the details have not made it to the consumer yet, we do know this. The first program is designed to help homeowners who are current on their payments but cannot refinance because they do not have enough (or any) equity. The second is designed to help those homeowners behind on their mortgages. There are limits and guidelines to both programs, and not everyone will qualify. Some of the details of the programs are not in place yet but we will focus on how this will work over the next few weeks as the facts of these programs become reality.

I hope this news has been useful to you. If you would like to discuss these facts or any other mortgage or credit matter, just give me a call. In the mean time I look forward to speaking with you again next week.

All the Best!
Floyd
BWA Mortgage