Sunday, November 23, 2008

The Junior League of Wilmington's 12th Annual Holiday Market

Today is the final day to shop The Junior League of Wilmington's 12th Annual Holiday Market...a shopping extravaganza at the Schwartz Center at CFCC in downtown Wilmington, NC. This is our largest funraising event of the year! I hope to see you this afternoon.

"The Junior League of Wilmington creates positive change in the lives of children and families through the identification of individual and organizational needs, implementation of community programs, distribution of funds raised, and utilization of trained volunteers."

The Junior League of Wilmington (JLW), member of the Association of Junior Leagues's International was formed in 1952. Currently, there are nearly 500 members in the Wilmington Chapter. JLW members give over 10,000 hours of volunteer work to the community annually and continue to impact the lives of children and families each and every day.

Saturday, November 22, 2008

There is money available.

I had two very long conversations with potential real estate buyers this week and the major topics of concern for them both was that "there are no mortgages out there, it is too hard to get a home loan, and I dont have 20% cash to put down." I continue to hear this from many folks in the industry and in the general public.

The truth is that there IS money available and you CAN get financing on a home right now. Some of the awesome loan programs available for real estate buyers in the Wilmington, NC area are:

100% USDA loans
100% VA loans
97% FHA loans
95% Conventional loans
80% Jumbo ARMS

Take the availablity of the programs above and pair that with the fact that interest rates are still at all time record lows, there is a $7500 tax credit for first time home buyers, down payments can be gifted, seller paid closing costs are okay, and even 10 day closings are available!

NOW is the time to buy real estate in Southeastern North Carolina. These types of programs wont be available forever so position yourself to sease an opportunity to create financial wealth and independence today!



"Don't be too timid and squeamish about your actions. All life is an experiment. The more experiments you make the better." -Ralph Waldo Emerson

Thursday, November 20, 2008

To buy or not to buy

You make money in real estate by doing the opposite of what everyone else is doing. In 2005 what was everyone doing? They were buying. Who made money? The sellers. NOW, what is everyone doing? Selling. So what should we be doing? Buying.

You can’t make money by following the heard. If you are going along with everyone else you are missing the opportunities right in front of you. The ones that sold and got out of the market when it was strong made money. Those that waited and waited for just a little more or just a little longer for prices to go up missed out on the peak selling time and ended up with their homes sitting on the market and taking longer to sell and ultimately selling for less money.

No one rings the bell at the bottom of the real estate market. At the first signs of improvement great opportunities become less and less available. Don’t let your opportunity slip way from you.

In the Wilmington, NC area the listing inventory of new homes coming on the market each month is decreasing from where it was. This is a sign of a shifting market. The less homes that are available means less for buyer to choose from and ultimately less opportunity.

If you keep waiting and waiting because of “fear” you will end up standing at the back of the line wishing you were a seller, not a buyer. Why not buy now and be ahead of the crowd?