Ron's Blog Conroe/Woodlands/Lake Conroe

Beautiful waterfront townhome rental available for immediate occupancy. (3/2.5/2) Open floorplan is perfect for lake front living!! Boatslip included with rental. This townhome is in an exclusive gated well maintained small complex. The setting is beautiful and serene. Screened in porch and the second floor screened balcony allow you to enjoy a beautiful waterfront panorama. Owner will add boatlift upon lease signing! Call today for a showing!! www.har.com MLS#84059546

Here are some facts, predictions and bits of information I have stumbled across the past couple of days while catching up on my reading. You may or may not find them interesting but you just might be surprised.

The National Association of Realtors (NAR) predicts existing home sales of 5.02 million in 2008, 5.32 million in 2009 and 6.2 million in 2010. (Optimism, I love it! All I want is 53 of those closings next year.)

Texas is one of the major states still posting home price increases. (Does buy low and sell high ring a bell?)

U.S. foreclosures are up 27% YTD in 2008 while Texas is down 18% YTD 2008.  (Our foreclosure boom is over if it ever got here.)

NAR predicts 30-year fixed rate mortgages to average 6.2% in the fourth quarter of 2008, rise to 6.5% during the second half of 2009 and average 6.7% in 2010. (Get those credit scores up and buy now.)

Zillow.com accuracy statement indicates that its' median error for Galveston County was 20.9%! That's huge and over $40,000 on a $200,000 home. (Would you use a surgeon whose error rate was that high?)

Texas properties posted for foreclosure in the first half of 2008 were down 17.7% from the same period in 2007. (Please stop asking me to find that foreclosure you can get for half of list price and sell within 30 days for triple what you paid for it.)

Prime and subprime ARM mortgages represent about 20% of all mortgages but 60% of all foreclosures. (Knowing our government they probably commissioned a $10,000,000 study to figure this out.)

The average homeowner can save $180 per year with a programmable thermostat. (Another item for the honey-do list.)

In CNBC's rankings of states' economies Texas came in first. (And Texas Tech will be first in next weeks coaches poll.)

I am off to the races!! That's right BMX racing at Armadillo Downs in Conroe. The BEST BMX racing around. This is where I recent olympian Kyle raced. I will pass along a race report tomorrow. My grandson is racing!! Best wishes to all the racers! Hey they even have an over age 50 group. I think I'll pass. Come on out and enjoy the racing!

The new interest rates for loans through the Texas Veterans Land Board for housing and home improvement loans this week are as follows:

6.12% Base Rate applies to all loans with a term greater than 15 years.

• Available Discounts to Base Rate*
  Discount for loans with a term of 15 years or less: None quoted
  Qualified Veterans with Disabilities Program Discount: -.25%
  Qualified Service Era Discount (Restricted Pool): - None quoted this week

Land program rates are: 7.25% 

I don't know why the other two discounts rates were not quoted this week. Please email me if you have any questions and please call me so that I may help you look for a home. Have a great day. View the Texas Veterans Land Board website and some other informational websites by clicking the links below. Thanks and have a great day!

Ron

Texas Veterans website

Lake Conroe Real Estate

Credit Repair

Program Specifics

It is Texas tax free weekend and all of the families are out shopping. I was talking with another agent in the office today and she had stopped by one of our area malls to browse before coming into the office. She said it was packed. (She then started talking about shoes and I left the conversation at that point.) That answered the question as to why the phones weren’t ringing in the office. Tax free weekend equates to low home sales weekend.

But anyway that reminded me that school would be starting pretty soon. I know I use the a school district websites fairly often. I look at the calendars and of course the school menu is the most important webpage on the school district websites. When my grandson spends the night with me once a week we ritually check the school menu to see what is being served the next day. If it isn’t something palatable to him Grandpa is making the good old brown bag lunch. All too often we have forgotten to check the menu when he first gets to my house. When we do forget this early check and don’t check it until 8 in the evening I often run to the frig hoping that I have the correct food for a 10 year old boy’s lunch. Several nights I have considered sending him to school the next day with beer and peanuts or a frozen tv dinner before deciding that the more prudent thing to do was make the late night store run to buy healthy lunch food. JUST kidding about the beer and peanuts!!!! Anyway I thought it would be a good idea to furnish you with the various school district websites that surround the Lake Conroe real estate market. So here are some helpful websites for those of you with kids that attend Conroe ISD.

Where do I go to school?

School menus

Calendars

School closings

Weather

Hurricanes

HAVE A GREAT SCHOOL YEAR!!!!!!!!

I finally got the June sales numbers. I know it's August and they are a little late. I apologize but it really wasn't my fault. HAR.COM was having some problems with the recent Tempo upgrades. As usual no software change is a good thing when it is initially made. I hope I get used to the new Tempo.

The numbers are not pretty. That is a not pretty fish! I have placed the numbers I consider bad in RED. There are unfortunately a large number of them. But when I look at them I remember what a mortgage banker I respect told me. She told me that the subprime market was a little in excess of 20% in our area. Guess what? We are not down 20%, we are close, but we are not down the full 20%. So I think what we have to do is get our courage back,  our credit scores up and go shop for a new home. Here are the numbers. Drop me an email and let me know what you think please. I also put a real estate joke at the end. I figured your might need some humor after looking at the numbers.

There is no longer a need for the neutron bomb. We already have something that destroys people and leaves buildings intact. It's called a mortgage.

It is that time of the year again. School starts in twelve days and that also means it is time to sign-up for fall sports. I highly recommend the Conroe Family YMCA Fall Youth Sprots Program for all kids ages 3 - 15. This fall the Y is offering tackle football, soccer and volleyball. Almost all of the games are played at the Conroe Family YMCA. You will find information on each of the sports below.

Soccer: Ages 3 - 15 boys and girls. Registration is going on now and ends Sept. 13th. Practice starts the week of Sept. 22nd and the first game will probably be played on October 4th. Most games are played on Saturday. Players must have shinpads and cleats are recommended. The season is eight games.

Football: Ages 6 - 12 boys and girls. Registration is going on now and ends on Aug. 30th. Practice starts the week of Sept. 8th, scrimmages Sept. 20th and the first game will be played on Sept. 27th. The season ends on Dec. 6th. There is 10 games in the season. Participants are required to have helmet, shoulder pads, pants and pant pads and cleats. Limited equipment rental is available from the Y starting Aug. 30th.

Volleyball: Ages 8 - 15 boys and girls. Registration is going on now and ends on Sept. 13th. Practice starts the week of Sept. 22nd and the first game will probably be played on October 4th. Most games are played on Saturday. The season is 8 games.

AGES: Ages for all sports are as of 9/1/2008!!!

COACHES: The YMCA can always use coaches. I'm 58 years old and have coached three sports for three years. I know some of you younger ladies and gentlemen can help out. PLEASE!! The kids are GREAT!! And it is good exercise also.

For information on costs please call the YMCA at 936-441-9622. The Y is located just off South Loop 336 West (by the blinking yellow light) at 10245 Owen Drive, Conroe, TX. 77304.

The CONROE Family YMCA is a GREAT place for your kids to play fall aports!!!

And now for the advertisement: Please remember to contact me for all of your real estate needs!

I have been asked by several people who have read some of my credit restoration blogs to provide some additional resources. This particular blog will take care of those requests.

Below you will find three links. The first link is to our short seven minute video on credit repair. The second link connects to our full thirty-three minute association benefits video. We offer over 20 benefits. The final link is to our association's website. Please take some time to review these links. I know you will find them of interest to you and your many credit challenged customers. I can help you the realtor sell more homes by assisting your clients in improving their credit. I have also permenantly placed the links mentioned above on my blogpage.

Please take a few minutes to review the information. I believe you will find it to be of interest. What can you do then? Please email me or have your client do so. I can assist anyone in the US with our very short registration process.

Thanks and have a great day!

Ron

Credit Restoration 7 minute video

Full Membership  Benefits 33 minute video

Our Website

I was just reading a bulletin from Freddie Mac dated July 8, 2008 that described their new fee structure as it concerns conventional loans. This does not affect FHA/VA and certain other type special loans. For those of you who don’t know who Freddie Mac or Fannie Mae is they are the entities that buy a whole lot of mortgages on the secondary market.  What Freddie says goes. I think most loan officers will agree with that statement. In fact Fannie said today they are going along with the fee increases. Anyway these fees are based on a matrix that involves both loan-to-value and CREDIT SCORES. When the original buyers (that’s you) credit score is lower and the down payment is lower the fees go up. In some cases they go way up. In addition there is a sort of punishment factor as I will call it built in to the matrix. This punishment factor will increase fees for those who put down just 20% and avoid mortgage insurance.  You may save on your mortgage insurance but because of what happened in the past there is this punishment factor and your fees will increase until your down payment hits about 30%.

Is this still a good time to buy a home? Yes it is. It is a great time to do just that. Can you still get a loan with credit scores less than 660? Yes you can. Can you get a loan with a credit score of 620? Probably. But I ask you…what will the cost be versus improving your credit for as little as $995 and receiving a whole lot of other benefits besides credit improvement. If you have any question please shoot me an email or comment. I will direct you to some good resources on credit improvement. And remember please consult with a licensed and informed mortgage officer for a full appraisal of your situation.

 Freddie Mac Guidelines