Alan In Austin: September 2009

Protect your clients and yourself. Don't be afraid of short sales but do be prepared.

1. Qualify the sellers financial status. Not every home in jeopardy of foreclosure is a candidate for a short sale. In order to qualify the seller for a short sale you need to gather information about their financial condition:

-request copies of the sellers most recent loan payment coupons and statements

-Gather information on all debt obligations the seller faces.

-Contrast the sellers debt obligations with their real assets, for example if the seller has ownership of other real property, a high wage, sell-able assets the bank may be unwilling to grant a short sale until those assets are liquidated.

This information will help protect you from lender fraud.

2. Gather a property profile from a title company prior to getting the listing.

-I was doing some research on a property recently the clients wanted to list. Once I had the property profile, I realized that the owner of record was different. In addition a mobile home now resided on the property but it did not show up in the records. Needless to say a great deal of work is ahead of the current owners.

3. Refer your clients to proper legal counsel. Financial distress can snowball quickly and overwhelm your client. They need to fully understand their rights and obligations. They need clear understanding on what the benefits of short sale would be over a foreclosure. Whither or not they act on the referral you will have written proof that you made the referral.

Thin you might be a candidate for a short sale? Email me at roundrockhomes@gmail.com

Have you been thinking about putting your home on the market?

There may be no better time than right now. The market has really been moving this year with the 8000 dollar tax credit to first time home buyers. The movement has caused a kind of domino effect.

First time home buyers start the effect by buying what they can afford, then the sellers who now have cash look to the market for their new home and often will upgrade and buy at the next level. We could see a very busy October and November as home buyers rush to get in on the tax break before it expires end of November.

If you have been kicking around the idea of putting your home on the market email me for a FREE market evaluation: roundrockhomes@gmail.com

Most of you have more than one blog. The post below is from www.alanmaz.blogspot.com I use this blog for our Bible Study and as an outlet for deep thinking. You are welcome to check it out and comment if you like.

HE KNOWS ME... One of the biggest steps in my young christian life was moving from God loves the world and others to a understanding that God loves me personally and knows me. It was always easier to see how God could love someone else. At times I did not even love myself, so how could an awesome Holy, Powerful God love me. Besides isn't he busy with a vast universe. I am only a spec in that universe, surely He would not even miss me if I were gone.

How wrong I was! God did know me and He had singled me out as uniquely important as He has with us all.

"You have searched me and you know me. You know when I sit down and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar. You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways, before a word is on my tongue you know it completely, O Lord. Psalm 139:1-4

As I opened to God in my daily life, He revealed how much he loved me and how well he knew me. I am not just another number to God. There is a beautiful passage in Isaiah 49:16 that reads

"See I have engraved you in the palm of my hands"

That passage looked forward to the cross where Jesus' hands were permanently engraved with nails as he was put on a cross. That scar bears my name so to speak. It was for me that he went to the cross. I am engraved in the palms of his hands. Knowing this changes the way we live. It is to higher purpose than survival we are called. We have been created and uniquely designed by God to fulfill His purpose upon the earth. In even the smallest ways of our daily lives we impact the present and prepare the future.

This recent article from Forbes shows Texas business friendly climate is getting attention.

The Lone Star State ranked 8th on this year's list, up from 9th in 2008.

The magazine ranks all 50 states based on costs, labor supply, regulatory environment, current economic climate, growth prospects and quality of life.

Business costs, which include labor, energy and taxes are weighted the most heavily.

Texas ranks No. 1 in the land for overall economic climate and third for growth potential. But the state ranked fairly low (39th) for quality of life and was 29th when it comes to cost of doing business.

Virginia garnered the top spot for the best business climate in the country for the fourth straight year. Virginia is the only state ranked in the top 20 in each of the six categories, and its $325 billion economy is expected to be the 10th largest in the U.S. in 2009.

Rhode Island ranked last on the list with the worst regulatory environment and high costs of business.

Click here for more on the list.

If you are looking to relocate your business or start a new business in a more friendly environment email me at: roundrockhomes@gmail.com

 I have always been a big fan of Charlie Chaplin. I collect his memorabilia and have most of his films on video in my collection. A few years ago I read his autobiography and greatly enjoyed it. Charlie was a great comedian but he was also a fierce business man.

At the age of 8 he was without a father, his brother was off to war and his mother was committed to an institution. He lived on the streets until he eventually landed a role in a vaudeville traveling show. His life was very hard and he learned to appreciate the small graces of life.

Years later after Charlie found great success he did not forget those hard years. Chaplins movies would often make him a million dollars. Just think about that in light of the fact that you could go see his movie for just one nickle. He did not allow the fame or money to make him greedy or unappreciative.

He tells the story of how some actor friends tried to get him to join them in the stock market where they were making tons of money. They wanted him to take the little he had in the bank and millions he had in his mattress and put it into stocks. Their final plea came one day before the great stock market crash that led to the Great Depression. He refused and the rest is history.

As we look at the difficult times we are in right now, it is important for us to focus on the little graces of life. We do have so much to be thankfurl. Chaplin is inspirational in that he looked for the opportunity in the times in which he lived. He used his gifts to bring joy to a hurting world.

roundrockhomes@gmail.com

A Big win for UT tonight against Texas Tech.

In the end, the No. 2 Longhorns' 34-24 victory over Tech didn't erase the heartbreak of missing out on a chance to win last year's national championship. But it had to feel good to get this game in the win column. Tech fought hard and moved almost at will on offense but in the end the Longhorns made the plays on defense to shut down Tech.

Better yet Texas discovered a running game thanks to Tre Newton. He may be a goldmine as the season wears on. GREAT GAME TEXAS!! 

There is a great article linked below on msn real estate that shows you can afford a home now.

http://realestate.msn.com/article.aspx?cp-documentid=21364704&GT1=35000

Here is the first paragraph:

Believe it or not, you can get into a $150,000 starter home with less than $2,500 in savings. You'll need to leverage the new $8,000 federal tax incentive and have at least average credit, but your monthly payment would work out to about $1,000 a month including taxes and insurance.

Austin/Round Rock is one of 25 cities listed where you can find a great home for 150000 or under. If you want to take a closer look email me at: roundrockhomes@gmail.com

You can have a home with a great backyard in an awesome community. Let me show you how.

Upcoming Releases

 

Jollenbach
Directed by Dana Glover, this thriller is about the disappearance of a couple in the Jollenbach House.

ExTerminators
Heather Graham and Jennifer Coolidge depict women who meet at an anger-management session and the friendship that ensues.

The 2 Bobs
Tim McCanlies wrote and directed this comedy about two friends (both named Bob) who drop out of school and begin their own company.

The Tree of Life
Brad Pitt and Sean Penn are among the cast of characters in the 1950s story about three brothers.

Temple Grandin
Claire Danes plays Temple Grandin, a renowned scientist who struggles with autism.

Whip It
Drew Barrymore's directing debut tells the story of the Lone Star Roller Derby and the girls who run it.

Band Slam
Starring Vanessa Hudgens and Lisa Kudrow, this movie about a high school outcast's bond with a popular girl over their shared love of music results in them assembling a rock group that looks to win their school's upcoming battle of the bands competition.

Fireflies in the Garden
A drama/semi-autobiographical story about a family torn apart by an unexpected tragedy, starring Julia Roberts, Carrie-Anne Moss, Ryan Reynolds, Willem Dafoe and Emily Watson. Written and directed by Dennis Lee.

The Sno Cone Stand, Inc.
A comedy, starring Morgan Fairchild and Tony Sirico, about three 20-something stockbroker trainees who hate their jobs and their self-absorbed boss and will try just about anything, including selling sno cones, "to climb their way down the corporate ladder."

  

see austin real estate:

alan Kirkpatrick, Realtor roundrockhomes@gmail.com

Below are a few pictures that need captions. What do you think the captions should be. If you were using these pictures to headline a major newspaper what would you say.  They were fun to take but after we looked at them we thought it would be funny to try this little exercise.

Have fun!