Our priorities are simple, they’re yours.

We welcome Kim Vogel to the Beth Franklin Real Estate Team.  Kim is a Buyer Specialist who will provide the highest level of service when you are ready to buy your first home, move up to your dream home, or downsize to a retirement home.

I thought this was interesting.

I have a listing coming up in Gregory Heights, a “starter home” community in Raytown.  So far this year, there have been only 12 sales compared to 19 in 2008, 29 in 2007, and 31 in 2006. Prices are off 27%.  The “average” sales price is down from $78,958 to $57,565.  Unfortunately, there are a lot of foreclosures in the neighborhood and there is competition from lots of houses for sale in the same general price range across the city.

It is challenging, but NOT IMPOSSIBLE.  There were 12 homes, so far, that had that magic combination of condition and price and were SOLD.

What an opportunity for a buyer or an investor now!

There are less than 100 days left for people to buy their first house and qualify for the income tax credit.  That’s up to $8000 CASH MONEY. If you haven’t owned a house in the last 3 years, you qualify as a first timer.  You must close on your purchase no later than November 30, 2009.

There are many financing options available, but you need to get started today.  The closer it gets to Novenber, the longer it may take to process your loan.

There are soooo many homes on the market, and prices are lower, and interest rates are lower.  Please don’t miss this opportunity.

I am spending a lot of time learning about Facebook, Linked In, and Twitter, the most popular of the new social media.  It is fun and interesting and a little crazy. 

You can find me on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/Franklin.Beth  I’ll be your friend.

Or, you can follow me on Twitter.  FranklinBeth.

On LinkedIn, look for my e-mail address:  BethFranklin@kw.com

As crazy as it sounds, this may be a great time to get in the real estate market as a sales professional.  How can that be when the market has so many foreclosures and distressed properties and distressed sellers?

There are lots of agents who worked in real estate when it was easy and they are now ready to move on to something else.  Real estate was fun when prices just went up and up and up.  You could list a property and it would sell quickly no matter what the condition.  Today, real estate is work.  We’ve got to actually work on our pricing skills and our client-relation skills.

The real estate is also very rewarding, emotionally and financially. Home sellers NEED us now.  They will listen to us now.  Buyers are overwhelmed with information and need our help in interpreting what’s important.  There is no field that will allow you to make as much money as you can in real estate, but you have to know HOW to do it.

Keller Williams has the tools and the systems to make a real estate career rewarding and fun.  Our mission statement is:  to make lives worth living, businesses worth owning, and careers worth having.

We are always looking for ambitious people who are motivated to build a real estate business or to work on a team.  Call or e-mail me for more information.

It seems that a new real estate marketing site comes on line every day.

Not counting the real estate company sites, there is Trulia.com, kijiji.com, hotpads.com, Zillow.com and the general online media sites like Yahoo.com and AOL.com that feature real estate listings online.   I use ALL of these sites and about any other one we come across.  But, remember, the farther away the information gets from me, the higher the chance that it may become obsolete and/or inaccurate.

 THE #1 REAL ESTATE SITE IN THE WORLD IS REALTOR.COM  Most of the houses for sale are automatically uploaded to Realtor.com directly from the local multiple listing service.  For most listings, that’s as far as it goes.  Because I have a special enhanced account with Realtor.com, my listings online can feature up to 25 pictures, videos and visual tours, attention-getting headlines and scrolling text.  My listings really stand out in the crowd.

 Today, almost 90% of buyers start looking online.  A strong on-line presence is vital.  Realtor.com can make the difference!

Over the past year I have seen a big difference in how cooperative a mortgage company can be in modifying the terms of a mortgage or accepting a short sale as a way to help people avoid foreclosure.  They’ve realized it helps them, too!  We still have to jump through some hoops and it’s still quite time consuming, but it is well worth the effort.  Contact me if I can be of assistance.

It IS STILL POSSIBLE to find a low-interest loan with little or NO down payment and NO closing costs.  The NACA program is designed for low-to-moderate income borrowers.  Contact me for more information about how this unique program can help you take advantage of the best buyers’ market ever!

As an added service for my clients, or their friends & family, we will shoot a “virtual tour” of your house so that you can document your belongings in the event of an insurance claim.  Your personal tour will be saved to a CD that you can store with your other important documents (and hope you’ll never need it!).  We will include garages, basements, storage buildings, etc., too.  If you think that would be helpful to you, please contact me for an appointment.  NO CHARGE.

I have a limited supply of beautiful 2009 wall calendars available.  Each month features a photograph of a fabulous house.  Dream a little!  If you would like a calendar, please send me your name and home address.  I’ll send it right out.

 Happy new year!