Dasmarka Real Estate

Happy New Year.

Are you still working on your New Year resolutions? How about your business plan? Most driven and success-minded individuals have a tendency to focus on what they haven't achieved yet. They are always moving on to the next goal or challenge without stopping, however briefly, to acknowledge the victory or success of the moment. Sound familiar? Here is a thought suggested by Real Estate Coach, Jan O'Brien.

As you fine tune your goals and business plan for a successful 2009, take some time to look back on 2008 with a focus on the positives. Take a few minutes to review and celebrate every single win you experienced last year. Grab your journal or some paper and use these prompts to get you started. Just write it all down - stream of consciousness - no matter how seemingly insignificant. Just write it down.

• List all your accomplishments, wins, victories, successes in the past year.
• List all moment of joy and gratitude.
• What did you do last year that you were really proud of?
• What do other people in your life have to say about what you did, accomplished, and contributed?
• What did you do last year that moved you toward your goals?
• What lessons did you gain from any setbacks, challenges or obstacles?
• How are you going to integrate any learning into your future goals in the coming year?
  

See what you come up with. Once you start writing, you'll be surprised at how much you really have to celebrate!
Here is to a healthy and prosperous 2009. May every success be yours, this year and always.
All the best,
Denise

Denise Eider
Ticor Title Company
Account Manager
206-375-3228

List of open houses this Sunday in Renton WA. The weekend of 01/11/2009.
Click here.
If you want or need any more info on them please give me a call.
Lonnie Snyder
REALTOR®
Keller Williams Realty Southeast Sound
Phone: 206-406-2710
E-Mail : snyder@kw.com
Website: http://www.callsnyder.com/
Blogsite: http://renton-real-estate.blogspot.com/
Lonnie Snyder is a full time real estate agent and REALTOR® with Keller Williams Realty specializing in Residential Real Estate for buyers and sellers in Washington’s Kent, Renton, Newcastle and South Bellevue.

Another feature of the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008 offers qualified first-time buyers a tax credit of up to $7,500 (or up to $3,750 for married filing separately) if they purchase a principal residence on or after April 9, 2008 but before July 1, 2009. (The purchase date is the day of closing or settlement.)The credit -- which is more like an interest-free loan -- must be repaid to the government over a 15-year period in equal installments, or repaid in full when the home is sold or ceases to be used as a principal residence and there is enough gain from the sale to repay the credit. If there is no gain, however, the remainder is forgiven. The first payment is due two years after the credit is claimed.The amount of the credit is limited to 10% of the purchase price of the home, but no more than $7,500 or $3,750, depending on filing status. Those who qualify can claim the credit on their federal income-tax return.Qualified first-time buyers cannot have owned a principal residence during the three years prior to the home purchase. For married taxpayers, the rule applies to both spouses — if either has owned a principal home within the prior three-year period, neither spouse can claim the credit. However, the new law does not disqualify those who have owned a vacation home or rental property within the three-year period. Also, in a divorce, although recapture is not triggered immediately, the spouse who gets the home becomes liable for paying back the credit eventually upon sale.The full credit is available to married joint-filers with Modified Adjusted Gross Income (MAGI) up to $150,000, and to single filers with MAGI up to $75,000. The credit is phased out for buyers with MAGIs above those levels and is totally unavailable for MAGIs at or above $170,000 (joint filers) or $95,000 (single filers).Contact your tax professional to learn more about the fine points of qualifying for and taking advantage of this limited-time opportunity.

If you've been priced out of the housing market, now is the time to consider buying a foreclosed property. But don't wait; the best-value foreclosed homes--what we call "real estate owned" (REO)--are selling as soon as they come on the market.
Although buyers can also find bargain prices on pre-foreclosure sales or homes sold at foreclosure auctions, most buyers find it easier and less risky to purchase REOs from the lending institutions and government authorities that repossess these homes. (Note: REOs also can refer to properties purchased by corporations from their transferring employees. This article focuses on REOs resulting from foreclosure proceedings.)
Finding a high-value property and negotiating a low-cost contract are the keys to success in the months ahead. Here is the critical information REO buyers need to know:
Why Buy An REO?
REO homes are most attractive to buyers looking for bargains. They know lenders and government organizations don't really want to own homes and would rather move their "non-performing assets" off the books as quickly as possible.
Still, being responsible to stockholders or taxpayers means institutional owners will try to recover as much of their investment in a foreclosed home as possible. Negotiating is key to getting a true bargain price on an REO!
REO foreclosures offer some distinct advantages to buyers:
+ Opportunity for professional inspection. Being able to thoroughly inspect an REO can help ensure against unexpected problems and expensive repairs. Inspections are often not an option at earlier stages of foreclosure, especially at auction, when properties are frequently sold "as is."
+ Easier financing. The lender or government agency may offer an attractive financing package, perhaps including a lower interest rate or smaller down payment requirement than might be available on the open market. Chances are also better that outside lenders will consider financing an REO, since their appraisers get a chance to look at these properties. REO buyers can also negotiate for a financing contingency in their contract with the seller.
+ No eviction problems. By the time institutional owners put their properties on the market as REOs, former owners or tenants typically have already moved out. Again, this may not be the case with pre-foreclosure and auction sales.
+ Better condition. Homes in default and sold at auction may not be in great shape, either due to neglect by their cash-strapped former owners or damage caused by disgruntled residents or vandals. Lenders and government organizations selling REOs, however, sometimes make repairs, returning properties to livable condition--or discount the prices to sell more quickly.
+ Listings with brokers. Most REOs are listed for sale with a real estate broker/REALTOR® who is bound by law and ethics to represent the property truthfully. (In some states, however, lenders are exempt from some disclosure rules.)
Call On Me -- Your Neighborhood Expert
Remember: All real estate is local. That's why it's more important than ever in 2009 to work with a top-notch local real estate professional--after all, you're not buying a home across the country, you're buying a foreclosed property right here.I can help! As experienced neighborhood specialists, I make it my business to represent buyers of foreclosed properties. Contact me to learn how I do it. There's no cost for this information--and absolutely no obligation to you!
Lonnie Snyder
REALTOR®
Keller Williams Realty Southeast Sound
Phone: 206-406-2710
E-Mail : snyder@kw.com
Website: http://www.callsnyder.com/
Blogsite: http://renton-real-estate.blogspot.com/
Lonnie Snyder is a full time real estate agent and REALTOR® with Keller Williams Realty specializing in Residential Real Estate for buyers and sellers in Washington’s Kent, Renton, Newcastle and South Bellevue.

The term "foreclosure" can be confusing; it really refers to a three-stage process:

1. Pre-foreclosure--initial stage when homeowner misses payments (becoming "delinquent"), then defaults on mortgage, and lender begins foreclosure proceedings with "notice of default."
2. Auction (also "trustee's sale" or "step sale")--the stage at which the property is put up for auction by lender; proceeds repay lender (and homeowner, if any money is left over).
3. Post-foreclosure-- when properties that didn't sell at auction are repossessed, becoming REO "real estate owned" by a lender or government agency such as the Federal Housing Authority (FHA) or Veterans Affairs (VA).

Lonnie Snyder

REALTOR®

Keller Williams Realty Southeast Sound

Phone: 206-406-2710

E-Mail : snyder@kw.com

Website: http://www.callsnyder.com/

Blogsite: http://renton-real-estate.blogspot.com/

Lonnie Snyder is a full time real estate agent and REALTOR® with Keller Williams Realty specializing in Residential Real Estate for buyers and sellers in Washington’s Kent, Renton, Newcastle and South Bellevue.

Thought for today.
Gratitude: The Key to Greater Health and Happiness.
A popular French proverb reminds us that gratitude is the heart's memory. When we genuinely appreciate the many blessings and gifts in our lives, the feeling resonates in our hearts as joy. Age-old spiritual wisdom has taught that a grateful heart is key to happiness and health. Several studies have shown that people who adopt an attitude of gratitude-that is, they regularly appreciate the good things in life-are happier and more resilient. In one study, people who counted their blessings weekly for ten weeks noticed that they had fewer physical complaints, spent more time exercising and experienced improved quality of sleep.
These studies reinforce the benefit of shifting our focus to the good and positive things in life. Gratitude is a choice to focus on the good instead of the negative in our lives. It is also a choice to be present in the here and now, instead of in the past or future. When we are truly grateful, we are satisfied with where we are in the present moment. Unfortunately, in a high-pressure, results-driven society that tells us we should want it all and want more, being satisfied is often mistakenly perceived as settling for less. But we can have goals and look forward to a future of bigger and better things while savoring and celebrating the blessings of today.
Life is a wonderful gift: family and friends, lessons and challenges, the wonder of the extraordinary and the familiarity of the everyday, the abundance and convenience of food we enjoy, our health, homes, jobs and businesses, the light of the sun, the magnificence of nature. There is already so much for us to be thankful for.
Here are few ways to build your gratitude practice:. Say a prayer of thanks each morning. Keep a gratitude journal. Light a candle. Reflect on three good things that happened at the end of each day. Send a thank you note
Denise Eider
Account Manager
206-375-3228
www.myticor.com