http://www.pickenscountylines.com Welcome to the North Georgia Mountains! Mon, 30 Aug 2010 19:14:25 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en Do you have a ListingBook.com account? Call me and I'll set one up for you! Sometimes it’s hard for sellers to believe there are people actually buying homes. The National Association of Realtors performs a consumer survey every year. Here is some information from 2009 transactions that might help you tailor ... http://www.pickenscountylines.com/?p=77 Search Foreclosures and Short Sales at www.RonBarnesRealEstate.com   As recently as a couple of years ago, I generally would not pursue most owner finance transactions. There were two reasons. Up until that time money was obscenely available, so if the prospect couldn’t qualify for a bank loan, they should have been ... http://www.pickenscountylines.com/?p=76 View all MLS listings at www.RonBarnesRealEstate.com The late basketball coach John Wooden is attributed with the saying “Never confuse activity with accomplishment”. It is advice that can serve us all well. Simply flailing around looking busy does not in itself solve the challenges of life. With that in mind, let’s examine some ... http://www.pickenscountylines.com/?p=75 Two phrases come to mind when describing the state of the real estate market lately.   The first I attribute to Dan Forsman, President of Prudential Georgia Realty, which goes like this: “As the pieces of the pie get smaller, the table manners get worse”. I cannot recall so many people, both ... http://www.pickenscountylines.com/?p=74 Search all MLS listings at www.RonBarnesRealEstate.com  A couple of weeks ago, I made a statement reflecting analyst predictions that interest rates would reach 6% by year end. I’m not even sure the ink is dry on that one, and now interest rates are trending lower. Now before you make fun of ... http://www.pickenscountylines.com/?p=73 You can search all MLS listings at www.RonBarnesRealEstate.com   So as of last Friday, the home buyer tax credit can rest in peace. I never got the feeling that it ever really took off like we expected. I had some clients that took advantage of the $8,000 credit to provide or ... http://www.pickenscountylines.com/?p=72 Now that Washington has "fixed" health care, they are setting their sights on financial reform. What caused the current problem with the economy was not a lack of regulatory rules. It was a lack of enforcement of those rules that was promulgated by a failed policy. The FDIC simply looked ... http://www.pickenscountylines.com/?p=71 Search all the MLS listings at www.RonBarnesRealEstate.com   The Oval Office has revamped the foreclosure rules yet again. Maybe this change will work since the program has been largely a failure prior to this. Effective April 5, 2010 the following rules will apply to HAFA short sales.  http://www.pickenscountylines.com/?p=70  Effective April 5, 2010 the following rules will apply to MHA/HAFA short sales.  The Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternatives Short Sales Program (with a few new “tweaks”) Allows the borrower to receive pre-approved short sale terms from the Servicer prior to the property listing. These terms are clearly spelled out in a standard ... http://www.pickenscountylines.com/?p=69 View all the MLS listings at www.RonBarnesRealEstate.com I’ve been doing a little reading lately, and a little listening too. There is this guy named Stephan Swanepoel, who is supposed to be the Grand Pooba of real estate forecasting. Most people have never heard of him, which makes him even more mysterious. ... http://www.pickenscountylines.com/?p=68