lynnfairfield

31804 117th Street – RANDALL_WI_53181

Lynn Fairfield — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 22:42:33 +0000

Great home just over the border across from the Wilmot Ski Resort

31804 117th Street – RANDALL_WI_53181.

Housing Affordability: Price to Income

Lynn Fairfield — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 15:03:53 +0000

Housing Affordability: Price to Income.

House Prices: Where They Will Be in the Spring

Lynn Fairfield — Tue, 18 Oct 2011 21:24:09 +0000

House Prices: Where They Will Be in the Spring.

Our Halloween ‘how’ guide

Lynn Fairfield — Fri, 14 Oct 2011 14:43:36 +0000

Our Halloween ‘how’ guide.

Short Sales: A Dignified Solution for Many Families

Lynn Fairfield — Thu, 01 Sep 2011 20:22:09 +0000

Occasionally, Steve Harney, our founder and lead content creator, asks us permission to share his personal feelings on a current real estate issue. Today, is one of those times. The KCM Crew I am truly excited that the banks

via Short Sales: A Dignified Solution for Many Families.

What If You Could Buy Shoes…?

Lynn Fairfield — Thu, 11 Aug 2011 14:00:59 +0000

What if there was a shoe store that had:

An unparalleled selection of shoes of every size, color, and price range
The shoes were discounted 30% or more
You had a credit card that would finance the shoes for 30 years at 4.5%

How many shoes would you buy? My bet is there would be a line around the block. Well, today, real estate is like that shoe store (incredible selection, terrific bargains and excellent financing terms). But there’s more….

Shoes go in and out of style. Homeownership is still the American Dream.
Shoes are worth less once you wear them. Homes will appreciate in value over time.
Shoes get disposed of. Homes are lasting.

And while many can recount memories created in certain shoes, everyone can remember their first home, their first family gathering, the countless holidays shared. There is also the ability to decorate to your tastes, the stability (and lower crime rate) in homeownership neighborhoods and the higher level of education achieved by kids who grow up there.

If you’d stand in line to buy shoes, what’s stopping you from exploring a home? Despite some media perceptions, there is mortgage money available with reasonable down payment requirements at extremely low rates…talk to a loan officer. There are some great deals out there with short sales, foreclosures and regular transactions also!

Happy Shopping!

source: KCM Blog_Steve Harney 8.11.11

Dairy Queen Miracle Treat Day

Lynn Fairfield — Mon, 08 Aug 2011 21:44:26 +0000

Dairy Queen Miracle Treat Day. August 11th

Join REMAX in the Race For the Cure

Lynn Fairfield — Mon, 08 Aug 2011 20:32:25 +0000

Click to Join REMAX

in the Susan G Komen Race for the Cure

The Cost of Waiting for Prices to Fall

Lynn Fairfield — Fri, 11 Feb 2011 18:46:41 +0000

The Cost of Waiting for Prices to Fall

source: by The KCM Crew on February 11, 2011 · Many purchasers have been sitting on the sidelines waiting for home prices to hit bottom. They want to guarantee that they are purchasing at the best possible price. Like them, we also believe that prices still have some room to fall in most markets. However, we disagree that waiting is a good financial decision. The buyer should not be concerned about housing prices. They should be concerned about cost.

The cost of a house is made up of the price AND THE INTEREST RATE they will be paying. Two different pieces of news released yesterday highlight this point.

PRICES

The National Association of Realtors (NAR) released their 4^th quarter housing research report. In the release, they reported that home sales rose 15.4% in the 4th quarter over the 3rd quarter. They also showed that prices remained stable during the year:

The national median existing single-family price was $170,600 in the fourth quarter, up 0.2 percent from $170,300 in the fourth quarter of 2009.

A buyer who delayed a purchase might find solace in the fact that prices have not increased. However, the other news released yesterday paints a different picture.

INTEREST RATES

The Primary Mortgage Market Survey was released by Freddie Mac which showed that the 30 year fixed rate mortgage was at 5.05%. Frank Nothaft, vice president and chief economist of Freddie Mac said:

“Long-term bond yields jumped on positive economic data reports, which placed upward pressure on mortgage rates this week…As a result, interest rates on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage rose to the highest level since the last week in April 2010.”

So prices have remained stable but interest rates have risen dramatically in the last 90 days. What does that mean to a buyer looking to purchase a home this year?

The price is the same. It just costs more.

Let’s show you what the news means:

By sitting on the sidelines for the last 90 days a purchaser lost:

$89.44 a month
$1,073.28 a year
$32,198.40 over the thirty year life of the mortgage

If you buy a $340,000 home, double all these numbers.

Bottom Line

Even if prices fall another 10% this year, the cost of a home will increase if interest rates go up more than 1%. Buyers should not worry where prices are going. They should be concerned where costs will be later in the year.

Attention All KCM Subcribers:

Pages depicting the above information along with an additional 20+ pages for your Buyers’ Conversational Manual are in KCM’s February Edition available now. If you haven’t already done so, download the pages for your Listing Conversation Manual available in the January Edition.

Not yet a subscriber? Click here.

This is a Job for Superman Not Clark Kent

Lynn Fairfield — Tue, 01 Feb 2011 17:47:40 +0000

Great article about the Value of a Good Realestate Agent!

This Is a Job for Superman, Not Clark Kent

by The KCM Crew on February 1, 2011 · 2 comments

in For Buyers,For Sellers

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We found this past weekend’s New York Times article, You Don’t Have To Pay It, very interesting reading. It was a piece on whether it makes sense to pay a 6% commission to your real estate agent in today’s market. In the article, there are sellers, buyers and even agents debating what is the right number that should be charged to assist a consumer in completing a real estate transaction. We would like to add our two cents to the debate.

Forget what the actual amount of the commission is. The bigger question is whether you should pay a ‘full fee’ when hiring a real estate expert to guide you through the complexities of today’s rapidly changing housing environment.

If a full fee was the rule in 2006 when completing a deal was so much simpler, why would you now consider cutting the fee of your agent in today’s tumultuous market? You are depending on this person to help you reach your goals in a sale or purchase. In 2006, buyers were willing to pay almost anything to a seller just to get into a home. Banking entities seemed to be willing to mortgage any property for any buyer. The process was rather simple.

Today, a person looking to buy or sell should be willing to pay a full fee for two reasons:

You need an expert guide if you are traveling a dangerous path

The field of real estate is loaded with land mines. You need a true expert to guide you through the dangerous pitfalls that currently exist. Finding a buyer willing to pay fair market value for your home at a time that there are mass inventories of foreclosures and short sales will take a true real estate professional. Finding reasonable financing can also be tricky in today’s lending environment.

Experts in any profession, do not discount their fees; especially when the job is becoming much more difficult.

You need a skilled negotiator

In today’s market, hiring a talented negotiator could save you thousands, perhaps tens of thousands of dollars. Each step of the way – from the original offer, to the possible re-negotiation of that off after a home inspection, to the possible cancellation of the deal based on a troubled appraisal – you need someone who can keep the deal together until it closes.

When an agent is negotiating their commission with you, they are negotiating their own salary. The salary that keeps a roof over their family’s head. A salary that puts food on their family’s table. If they are quick to take less when negotiating for themselves and their families, what makes you think they will not act the same way when negotiating for you and your family? If they were Clark Kent when negotiating with you, they will not turn into Superman when negotiating with the buyer or seller in your deal.

Bottom Line

We believe that famous sayings become famous because they are true. You get what you pay for. Just like a good accountant or a good attorney, a good agent will save you money…not cost you money.

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