Service Members Home Ownership Tax Act of 2009

Two of the hottest topics here at My Denton County Real Estate in the past 6 months has been the discussion of the $8000 First Time Homebuyer Tax Credit and the Texas Veterans Land Board.  Now a a new bill unanimously passing the House of Representatives, and soon to be up for a vote on the Senate floor allows me to right a new post directly marrying the two together.

Bill H.R. 3590 will extend the $8,000 FTHB Tax Credit until November 30, 2010 for members of the uniformed services, the Foreign Service, and employees of the intelligence community on official extended duty. Those meeting the underlying requirements for the credit must also have been serving overseas or have spent at least 90 days deployed outside of the country during the current calendar year.

It is expected that about 350,000 military personnel and an unknown number of federal employees may be affected once this is passed into law. This is one I feel everyone can get behind — There seems to be a lot of talk from political pundits, the news media, and even a lot of REALTORS® that believe the tax credit is just “giving money away” or “creating debt for our children and grandchildren.” I am not sure any of them realize that in order for our economy to have gotten any better money needed to be moving and changing hands.

My opinion on that is — a incentive for would be homeowners is much better than more bail-out money thrown to banks and insurance companies.

This has happen during the Summer of 2009 and the tax credit is a big part of that, this is  evident when looking at the house inventory here in Denton County Texas in the first time buyers price range — it is very thin!

As I have said in previous articles, I am not in favor of an expansion of the tax credit, and only a short term extension, I believe till April or May of 2010 is adequate to solidify the industry a bit more. This is why I did not sign the generic form letter petition offered to real estate agents who are part of the National Association of REALTORS. It was asking for too much, and for too long, I think it was just going to keep the lobbyist hobnobbing petitioning the elected officials working more than it could keep me working.

I digressed — Regardless of what happens with tax credit being extended or expanded for everyone else; I am glad, and hopeful to help more Veterans take advantage of this incentive who may be returning home, or making  Texas their new home.

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I use Google Maps a lot being a real estate agent in Denton County, so I have noticed this for quite a while — Has the Google Car gotten lost trying to find Highland Village, TX?

You all know what I mean don’t you? It is the vehicle used by Google since 2007 to capture the street view images we can find by zooming all the way in on an address using Google Maps. These views are available when you see Pegman, you can then pick him up and drag him to do different locations or areas within a map. This is a great tool to get a basic lay of the land when searching for real estate, or amenities available around an area or house you may be interested buying.

But as I have said, I wonder if the car got lost when in this area of Denton County. Highland Village, Texas is a 5.4 square mile area surrounded by Lake Lewisville, the City of Lewisville, The Town of Flower Mound, and the more rural areas of Double Oak and Copper Canyon. Other than the latter the Google car has made the rounds all throughout the streets of Lewisville, and Flower Mound that I have seen.

Hey Google! You can get some great pictures of some beautiful houses in Highland Shores, and the great outdoor shopping at The Shops of Highland Village here…

There of course is much more here — the shores of Lewisville Lake, and some great NON-HOA subdivisions where the homeowners take care of their properties voluntarily. Not to mention exemplary schools, a new mixed-use area called The District that is currently under-construction, and a future light rail station that will run from the city of Denton down to Carrollton that will eventually connect to downtown Dallas.

I just find it odd that the Google car missed this community when it is literally on-top of the other cities that have been covered. There of course is a very good chance the the pictures have been taken and just not put online yet. Regardless, I just hope my yard was cut and manicured when they were, and if they have yet to be taken I guess that is even more reason to make sure it stays that way. Even if I am lucky enough to live in one of those subs that does not have a home owners association that can fine me for having blades of grass longer than 2 inches.

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While making the rounds to other real estate agents blogs, as I often do to keep up on the market in other parts of the country, I found this hilarious and sadly very true video created by Kris Berg from The San Diego Real Estate Blog. This is evidence the shows whether it be in San Diego, California or here in Denton County Texas buying a bank owned property or REO it is just as frustrating.

Kris really shows the comical side of a real estate transaction that many first time home buyers, and even move-up buyers trying to take advantage of great value and bargains in the market today that is saturated with short-sale and foreclosure properties. Sad thing is, stories like this, and the frustration experienced by buyers agents and buyers alike will continue for years to come unless there is some reform with how banks manage these properties. For the record, I have a short sale I have been waiting on for 5 months now, after it closes I will be sharing that story here.

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This is a question I get far too often, and I should have addressed here publicly long ago. I make no bones about it I concentrate on the buying and selling real estate in Denton County. Concentrating on Highland Village, Lewisville, Corinth, Little Elm, and all points in between within Denton County. I even work on the fringes of Grapevine and Saginaw which are in Tarrant County Texas. I believe this best allows me to provide superior service to those I represent.

But, far too often I get emails or phone calls from those who are in need of assistance with some of the loan programs, or services I discuss here. So this is an announcement saying Yes I can help you…

• Buy real estate in Collin County
• Sell your home in Plano, Texas
• Buy a property in Fort Worth, Texas
• List your home in Tarrant County
• Buy vacant land anywhere in the state of Texas
• Real Estate services all over the country

I do this by referring out your information, always with your permission, to agents I personally know or pick who are like-minded as myself, or have shown experience with the services that are in need. I have REALTORS I work closely with in Allen, TX, and McKinney, TX and South and West Ft. Worth — I have agents that are sharp and knowledgeable in San Antonio, and Austin that I refer Texas Veteran Land Board referrals to. I have referred USDA Loan Program clients to the Houston, TX area, after they could not find anyone on their own that knew anything about USDA. For relocations I network with agents all over the country including Phoenix, Silicon Valley, Atlanta, Indianapolis, and Albuquerque and if I do not know an agent in the city you need help in I can find a better agent than likely you would find by just google’ing an area.

By contacting me and allowing me to refer an agent to you I can also make a little money. I also make sure I earn this referral fee from the other agent. I don’t just hand-off the information and hope for the best and wait for a check. I will keep in touch with you and the other agent making sure they are doing what I expected, and making sure you are happy with the service you are receiving. I typically only charge these other agents 20% – 30% of the commission they are already earning, no extra charge to you. Real estate agents gladly pay this to me because by getting the referral you can become a client, more than a lead — and one they may not have gotten without networking with me.

So you see, as a buyer or seller you have nothing to lose. and if your an agent that would like to be included on my referral list contact me and let me know. As always if you or anyone you know is interested in buying or selling real estate in Flower Mound, Lantanna, or anywhere in Denton County Texas I would appreciate the opportunity meet those needs.

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I have always been an advocate for the No Registration Required mantra here at My Denton County Real Estate. It’s been obvious I encourage visitors here to search for homes at their leisure, and to have unlimited access to the information available with the MLS/IDX search much like this point of view.

But now it is time for a change. If you would like to see the new guidelines and skip all my commentary you can go here.

There has always been lot of talk and debate about real estate websites that offer this tool for searching real estate and even more lately can be seen here and over here.

Typically Registration for Access falls into one of these 4 categories:

1. The Iron Curtain – Contact Information Required for ANY property information
2. The Peep Show – Limited property information without Registration. Such as excluding addresses, or descriptions and remarks (you get to see a little but not all the goods)
3. The Strip Tease – A set number of unlimited property views before registration is required. In other words giving you a taste of how easy and fun it is searching for a new home, and then springing registration on you to continue to keep that high.
4. The Mother Teresa – Unlimited Information Provided to anyone who wants it. There to help prospective buyers and hope to work with them when they are ready to buy.

I just made up these titles to try and bring some humor to this, and are not yet copyrighted real estate terms.

My intentions have always been to present a no hassle service in hopes that the guest will appreciate my articles and my confidence that I can provide the absolute best service when purchasing or selling a properties and then allowing me to represent them. Of course this happens, but not as often as I feel it should.

I have 2 real life examples why I am making this change, all of the banter on this subject in the blogosphere is not solely the reason, but it has enticed me.

1. On two separate occasions in the past month or so I have had “Prospects” visit the site, voluntarily register, and disclose they are working with another agent, and provide that Realtors names. This really doesn’t bother me as much as when one of those “prospects” emailed me some lending questions. Of course I welcome all question anytime, from anyone — actually the past 2 weeks I have been receiving a lot of phone calls and emails from new homeowners who have FTHB Tax Credit questions, not represented by me obviously, because my clients knew before they bought. Anyway, I then asked them why they were using my site to search for a home, and asking me lending questions if they already had an agent and did not intend to use me when purchasing. She replied with…

Our agent told us to use your site because her MLS search tool was not as good as yours

I was dumbfounded, I appreciate being recognized but good grief. I had never even heard of their agent. You see with my MLS package every page view over 10,000 I have to pay additionally by page, so it would be nice that I actually bring some money in for what I have going out. So I then asked why aren’t you asking your agent your lending questions? Her reply…

Well…we don’t feel she is as up on the FHA mortgage we are getting as you.

Again – Great to be recognized — also nice to get paid.

So, just to reiterate, their agent does not spend the money to provide a upgraded MLS search wizard for her clients nor do they have the confidence in their real estate agent to negotiate a successful deal using FHA financing while rolling in closing cost. I mean don’t get me wrong, I answered all the questions and remained very cordial, as I said this happen all the time. My issue is I believe it is very rude and tactless for a agent to take advantage of knowing I did not require contact information, and had the professionalism not try to snipe her client. (Make her my client)

2. This one has always happened, happens to everyone, and I am sure I have even been on the beneficiary side before, although not by failing to ask the question “Are you currently working with a REALTOR?” Visitors search for properties, take down the address, do a drive-by on the house, and then call the name and number on the sign. Totally forgetting that my service and efforts are what directed them to the house. Then that listing agent — if they are one that answers their phone — are able to meet with – form a face to face relationship, or even over the phone and in essence got a client that I sent them. I realize this is part of the business, but to try to avoid this happening more than it should I can take the measures of getting that appointment to show the homes in which they are interested.

Almost 1 year ago, I wrote here when I upgraded the MLS/IDX Search and said…

If I require a visitor to my site to give me a phone number or email address, just to find my site useful, am I really trusting in myself to believe my site important? I have had a successful career so far with my logic, so I am not prepared to change that just yet.

All I can really say is the business has changed, the buyers have changed, and I believe I have had too many missed opportunities by being so laid back. So I must change with it or else Nice Guys Finish Last. I still believe this site is important, it accounts for 90% of my business. I also know the visitors here who I have turned into clients by helping them buy or sell a house feel the same way. I could have simply just made the change and not even made light of this, but it’s just not the way I am wired. It goes without saying I can switch back to a No Registration Required site at anytime, but I suspect that will not be necessary. I have not reached this decision easily, and it has taken me way too long to even write this post to where I feel good about publishing it. I just hope it is understood and appreciated of the level of service, and the value I can bring to a real estate transaction.

Unless you are a fellow Realtor, You most likely have arrived at My Denton County Real Estate because you were searching for information on a search engine and this site ranked high with pertinent information that you were looking for, or you have been advised or referred to visit from someone you know. With that in mind, please take the time to provide me a way to follow-up with you when using this site to search for homes for sale.

Benefits and Policy

By Registering with your Name, Phone Number and email address you will be able to:

• See addresses of the properties that come up on your search
• Additional remarks or extended descriptions made by the listing agent
• All Available pictures
• Search Saver which enables you to save and manage your searches and receive email notifications whenever new listings match.
• Save Favorites allows you to Save and Manage listings to your Favorites folder. Add properties to your Favorites wherever you see the Favorites folder icon. At anytime email your Favorites to your agent, a co-buyer or a friend.

I will then follow-up with you and make sure you are finding the properties you wanted to find, and see if I can assist in anyway, and hopefully set up an appointment to view properties.

I will still maintain my no pressure approach, users of the search will still not be added to newsletters, email campaigns, or persistant phone calls. So if this sounds good to you, jump in and search for some real estate, or if you prefer you can just fill out this form and I will set the search up for you and have properties sent directly to your email.

It is also worth mentioning with the MLS Search Tool I have here you can:

• Search by MLS Number
• Search by Address
• Search by Subdivision
• Search by County
• Search by School district
• Search by Map with a Area

So if you decide to go elsewhere, you may not find all those same options.

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