November 17, 2009

HURRY the $8000 First Time Buyer Tax Credit Has a Time Limit!!

Most people who are in the market to purchase a home have heard of the incredible $8000 Tax Credit the government is offering to first time buyers, but the changes that have occurred lately present some new stipulations.

Rather than interpret this and risk getting the facts wrong I have decided to paste this information from The I.R.S. website.

IF you are thinking about buying DON”T WAIT or you might miss out!

“The following details apply to the homebuyer tax credit expansion:

Who is Eligible

-First-time homebuyers, who are defined by the law as buyers who have not owned a principal residence during the three-year period prior to the purchase, may be eligible for up to an $8,000 tax credit.

-Existing homeowners who have been residing in their principal residence for five consecutive years out of the last eight and are purchasing a home to be their principal residence (“repeat buyer”), may be eligible for up to a $6,500 tax credit.

-All U.S. citizens who file taxes are eligible to participate in the program.

Income Limits

Homebuyers who file as single or head-of-household taxpayers can claim the full credit ($8,000 for first-time buyers and $6,500 for repeat buyers) if their modified adjusted gross income (MAGI) is less than $125,000.

-For married couples filing a joint return, the combined income limit is $225,000.

-Single or head-of-household taxpayers who earn between $125,000 and $145,000, and married couples who earn between $225,000 and $245,000 are eligible to receive a partial credit.

-The credit is not available for single taxpayers whose MAGI is greater than $145,000 and married couples with a MAGI that exceeds $245,000.

Effective Dates

-The eligibility period for the tax credit is for homes purchased after Nov. 6, 2009, and before May 1, 2010. However, home purchases subject to a binding sales contract signed by April 30, 2010, will qualify for the tax credit provided closing occurs prior to July 1, 2010.

Types of Homes that Qualify

-All homes with a purchase price of less than $800,000 qualify, including newly-constructed or resale, and single-family detached, townhomes or condominiums, provided that the home will be used as their principal residence. Vacation home and rental property purchases do NOT qualify.

Tax Credit is Refundable

-A refundable credit means that if the amount of income taxes you owe is less than the credit amount you qualify for, the government will send you a check for the difference.

-For example:

-A first-time buyer who qualifies for the full $8,000 credit who owes $5,000 in federal income taxes would pay nothing to the IRS and receive a $3,000 payment from the government. If you are due to receive a $1,000 refund, you would receive $9,000 ($1,000 plus the $8,000 first-time homebuyer tax credit).

-A repeat buyer who owes $5,000 would pay nothing to the IRS and receive $1,500 back from the government. If you are due to get a $1,000 refund, you would get $7,500 ($1,000 plus the $6,500 repeat buyer tax credit).

-All qualified homebuyers can take the tax credit on their 2009 or 2010 income tax return.

Payback Provisions

The tax credit is a true credit. It does not have to be repaid unless the home owner sells or stops using the home as their principal residence within three years after the purchase. “

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October 7, 2009

New Braunfels in the Fall

The leaves may not all turn brown and orange, the temperature might still be 99 degrees some days, and you might find most people wearing flip flops; but it is officially Fall in New Braunfels, Texas. If you are fairly new to New Braunfels you might find yourself wondering what are the best ways to enjoy this fall-ish weather. New Braunfels thrives in the Fall season.

The New Braunfels Calendar of Events on the Chamber of Commerce website is absolutely full of great ways to enjoy our little community. Some of the most notable are: The 5th Annual Fall Wine Stroll which will take place Thursday Oct. 8th in downtown New Braunfels. Old Gruene Market days will be on the 17th and 18th of Oct. and the 21st of Nov. in Gruene. Guy Forsyth, Reverend Horton Heat, Tanya Tucker, and Robert Earl Keen will all be playing at Gruenehall this Fall.

And of course the biggest event our community enjoys, Wurstfest, will begin Oct. 30th and run through Nov. 8th. There’s nothing like a “Ten Day Salute to Beer and Sausage” to celebrate Fall and our city’s rich German heritage. The festival’s primary goal is to promote local commerce through tourism. So if you are a New Braunfels resident you can rest assured that all of that delicious beer and sausage is for a great cause! It’s not just for adults either, Kinderhall and Kid’s Night Out on Nov. 2nd and Nov. 3rd give the kids their own experiences to enjoy.

Our town is truly wonderful place to live or visit. Our people are friendly, and we take pride in the place that we call home. Also, we all really know how to have a great time! So this Fall don’t stay in, don’t think you have to drive 30 minutes to enjoy yourself, just check out the New Braunfels Chamber of Commerce calendar and find out how incredible Fall in New Braunfels can be!

And if you visit and find yourself drawn to our community, you can check out my website at www.kristineshomes.com, or give me a call at 830-491-1618  and I will help find the perfect place for you to call home!

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February 26, 2009

Finding the Hottest Foreclosure Deals Before Anyone Else Does

The buzzword in the real estate market right now is foreclosure. Unfortunately many of the people who obtained their mortgage from a subprime lender are now finding themselves unable to pay their mortgages. While our market is a much stronger market than some areas of California, Nevada, and Florida, we do have our fair share of great foreclosure deals waiting to be grabbed up.

foreclosure1

But where are they are how do you find them?

Many websites will offer you foreclosure information for a fee. But you shouldn’t pay for this information, if you have a good buyer’s agent they will know all the sources to find the BEST foreclosure deals before anyone else does. Besides, if the foreclosure is a true bargain by the time it reaches these third party sites it is probably already under contract.

I am going to spill some of the secret sources to finding awesome deals before anyone else does. Here are three of the main types for foreclosure deals in Central Texas and how to find them:

1. HUD Homes-

HUD homes are homes that had mortgages insured by FHA/VA and have been foreclosed. When they are foreclosed they become a HUD home. You can find much more in-depth information here

HUD homes can be incredible bargains. These homes can be in great condition and do not always need work. To actually find HUD homes you must go to this website and search in your area. You must bid on the homes through an agent registered with HUD. In case you don’t know any, I am registered with HUD and have the experience to guide you through this process.

2. Judicial Foreclosures-

A judicial foreclosure is a foreclosure that a lender files with the county court. Notices are filed in the county 21 days prior to foreclosure. Sales occur on the first Tuesday of the month (regardless of holidays) usually on the county courthouse steps. Many agents keep current list of the foreclosures in their counties. You can also find this information at the county court.

With judicial foreclosures you need to do you homework as you buy the home as is. If there are any existing vendor’s liens or any excess liens at all you will inherit them along with the property. Also, it is important to verify that the home is insurable.

3. Short sales, Pre-Foreclosures, and Bank Owned Properties-

I have included these all together because most of these properties will be listed on the MLS and the best way to find them quickly is with the help of a buyer’s agent.

A short sale is the sale of a home where the sales price falls short of the owner’s mortgage balance. Some lenders will agree to accept the short sale proceeds and forgive the rest of the mortgage balance when the owner cannot make the mortgage payments. By accepting a short sale, the bank may be able to avoid an expensive foreclosure. The process usually takes longer than a regular sale. All offers must be reviewed by the bank prior to acceptance. This process can take anywhere from days to several months.

Pre-Foreclosures are homes that the homeowner is aware are about to be foreclosed therefore they are extremely motivated and often willing to sell for pennies on the dollar to avoid foreclosure.

Bank owned properties have already been foreclosed and are usually listed with a real estate agent. Like pre-foreclosures the contract and closing process can be much longer on these homes as the bank must review and approve of each step. Banks prefer to sell these properties as quickly as possible so they are often another great way to find a bargain.

You can do a lot of research on your own to find great foreclosure deals right here in New Braunfels, Seguin, and San Antonio areas. But to find the best deals from a partnership with a competent and motivated Buyer’s Agent who will keep you informaed on the BEST deals when they are hot.

And remember that Buyer’s Agents almost always are compensated by the seller and most of these foreclosure sources have already factored the compensation into their bottom line.

Utilizing the services of a Real Estate professional gives you the competitive edge in foreclosure deals that you need to grab them up before anyone else!

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December 20, 2008

New Braunfels Market Snapshot September 15th- December 15th

Here are the sales in New Bruanfels from Sept. 15th- December 15th. As usual I kept these results limited to 3 br. 2 bath homes on under 1 acre in New Braunfels.

Top subdivisions:

1. Oak Run- 9 sales

2. Tie between Oakwood Estates and Dove Crossing- 7 sales

3. Quail Valley- 6 sales

Honorable mention:

Castle Ridge, Mission Forest, Mission Hills Ranch, all had 4 sales each.


Statistics:

(111 listings)
Low High Average Median Total

List Price $104,900 $430,000 $205,436 $184,000 $22,803,366

Selling Price $103,500 $407,000 $196,679 $176,388 $21,831,350

List/Sold(%) 0.72% 125.98% 96.02% 97.24% –

Price/SqFt ($) $0.70 $169.03 $95.32 $93.04 –

Days on Market 25 709 145 103 –

Stay tuned in January when I will feature a Market Review for 2008 including Real Estate statistics for New Braunfels and Seguin! If you are considering investing in Central Texas you won’t want to miss this!

To search the entire Central Texas MLS check out my web site and be sure to check out my featured listings for great homes in Quail Valley, Havenwood, Seguin, Boerne, and more.

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November 13, 2008

Are you hiring your listing agent to MARKET your home or to SELL your home?

Well that’s a very confusing title. Because I’m sure you’d like them to do both.

There’s the ultimate result of selling your home, which means your agent’s marketing efforts and negotiating skills that have resulted in the sale of your home but then there’s the other connotation which is what we call in real estate terms the procuring cause. The real estate meaning of the term procuring cause is “the real estate agent or broker who, by their actions in producing a buyer, brought about the sale of a property.”

The one who procures the sale is the one who has brought the home to the buyer’s attention in direct relationship with that buyer, and/or has shown and then made an offer on the home. For this reason the Buyer’s Agent is identified on the contract as the Selling Agent. Of course sales would rarely happen without the marketing of a listing agent.

I know a Realtor who tells her clients upon first meeting them, “You are not hiring me to SELL your home, you are hiring me to MARKET your home.” I think this is a very important distinction to make as I have heard many frustrated sellers say “He has never even showed our home- not once!”

While the agent you hire should make every effort to show your home (i.e. open houses, responding to any direct contact by a potential buyer with availability and willingness to show), they will 7 out of 10 times not be the Procuring Cause in SELLING your home.

The reason for this is supply and demand. In past times there were a few Realtors who seemed to know everyone in the community, and they had a large database of buyers to personally market the home to. Today there are hundreds of agents in most areas with varying skill levels and buyers are getting harder to come by. This combined with the advent of the MLS and Internet has buyers often seeking out properties themselves and then choosing a Buyer’s Agent they would like to have representing them.

Maybe your agent will happen to be working with a buyer at the right time that happens to love your home. It does happen, but not usually. If their phone is not ringing or their inbox isn’t filling with emails , chances are they will not be showing your home. Each Realtor is only working with so many buyers at a given time, which is the reason for marketing the home on the MLS.

So is your Realtor doing his job if they are not personally showing your property? To answer that you really have to look at their marketing plan and their two main targets should be Buyers and Other Realtors.

But equally important is pricing. For example, a few years ago I had an overpriced listing that I got tons of buyer calls on (due to marketing) but when they heard the price I could not even get them in the door! Of course when the listing did not sell the seller pointed out that I had never shown the home but it was not for lack of initial buyer interest!

The combination of good marketing, competitive pricing, and a well-staged home is what will make the phone ring and help your agent increase their chances of being the one who “sells” your home. But no agent has some mystical power to make a sale that happen. It all comes down to casting as wide a net as possible and most likely it will end up being another agent who brings in the fish.

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September 15, 2008

New Braunfels Real Estate Market Snapshot August 15-September 15th

Here are the most recent home sales for August 15th-Spetember 15th.  This search was limited to homes with at least 3 bedrooms, 2 baths in the city of New Braunfels under one acre.

Top Subdivisions:

1. Dove Crossing- 4 Sales

2. Oak Run- 3 Sales

3. 3 Way tie..Gruene Crossing, Stonegate, and Quail Valley- 2 sales each

Statistics
(40 listings)
Low High Average Median Total
List Price $130,000 $454,500 $211,235 $182,400 $8,449,407
Selling Price $124,500 $420,000 $201,617 $176,250 $8,064,677
List/Sold(%) 76.10% 102.30% 96.43% 97.08% –
Price/SqFt ($) $50.00 $193.56 $93.25 $90.00 –
Days on Market 28 330 102 83.5 –

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September 3, 2008

Coming to New Braunfels…Sustainable Living, New Urbanism..huh?

There’s something new on the horizon for New Braunfels.  Drive down Walnut from 1-35 and a little bit after you pass the train tracks look to your right, you will see the sign for a fascinating and unique development called Town Creek. The development will be a mixed environment of single family residential, town homes, retail, restaurants, recreation, offices, night life, and more.  Town Creek will become a part of downtown New Braunfels to “incorporate daily needs within an easily walkable radius.”  The development is based on the principals of Sustainability, New Urbanism, and Placemaking.

According to Wikipedia a Sustainable Development is “a pattern of resource use that aims to meet human needs while preserving the environment so that these needs can be met not only in the present, but in the indefinite future.”  Wikipedia references the Brundtland Commission who coined what has become the most often-quoted definition of sustainable development as a development that “meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.”

Wikipedia explains New Urbanism as “an American urban design movement that arose in the early 1980s. Its goal is to reform many aspects of real estate development and urban planning, from urban retrofits to suburban infill. New urbanist neighborhoods are designed to contain a diverse range of housing and jobs, and to be walkable”.

Placemaking (again from Wikipedia) “is a term that began to be used in the 1970s by architects and planners to describe the process of creating squares, plazas, parks, streets and waterfronts that will attract people because they are pleasurable or interesting. Landscape often plays an important role in the design process.”

Rather than try to interpret the vision for Town Creek for you and risk getting the details lost in translation you can click on this link and learn all about their vision on your own.

It makes sense that walkable environments would tend to increase an area’s sense of community.  A sense of community has often been proven to be an essential ingredient to an individual’s degree of happiness.

Small is the New Big, by Seth Godin is written from the perspective of marketing,  Seth writes about how companies that are small today tend to grow at a greater rate and make more money than big companies.  As a Realtor, I can clearly see this trend emerging on the housing fronts.  Clients are looking to downsize, to sell the Hummer and buy a Prius.  People have began to rethink that 5500 square foot home on five acres and consider the neighborhoods located closer to town with smaller, more energy efficient homes.

If you are looking for a great place for your investment dollars in New Braunfels, or just a cool place to live you will want to check out the Town Creek Website where you will find lots of information about Town Creek as well as the contact information for the developers of Town Creek.  I am so excited about this development that really is about more than making money, its about adding value to our community as well as our lives.

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August 28, 2008

New Braunfels Children’s Museum

A few days ago someone sent me this article about the New Braunfels Childrens’ Musuem:


McKenna Children’s Museum Launches New Music Offerings
Two New Opportunities For Kids to Sing, Play and Perform

The McKenna Children’s Museum has teamed with noted local music educator and choral instructor Heather Klossner to create two innovative opportunities for New Braunfels’ children to sing, play and enjoy music – The Children’s Chorus of McKenna and McKenna Musicians.

The Children’s Chorus of McKenna is open to 4th-6th grade children who are interested in singing, want to improve their abilities under experienced training and would like the chance to perform in public. The group will perform at several community events and will hold a holiday concert in December. Members will be chosen by audition and will require regular rehearsals.

McKenna Musicians is aimed at various age groups. These informal classes include an introductory class for children ages 1-4, a second class for Grades K-2 and a section for Grades 3-6. Those two classes will include singing, creative movement and the chance for students to use a variety of musical instruments.

The Children’s Chorus and McKenna Musicians are intended to complement music programs offered in schools and to provide opportunities for children to gain a greater appreciation for the arts and to explore their own musical interests.

“It’s part of our commitment to give teachers and students additional outlets for learning creative expression and critical thinking,” said Alice Jewell, Director of the McKenna Foundation. “Teaching an enjoyment for the arts isn’t only vital for our children, it’s important for the whole community.”

Longtime music teacher and local resident Heather Klossner will lead both programs. Heather has spent 23 years in public education, teaching classroom and choral music in the central Texas area. She holds Bachelor and Master of Music degrees and has studied at Texas Lutheran, Texas State, Southern Methodist and George Mason universities. She is a past Teacher of the Year in the New Braunfels ISD and founded the NBISD Honor Choir. She currently teaches music for the Schertz-Cibolo-Universal City ISD.

Auditions for the Children’s Chorus will take place September 2-4 from 4:30 to 6:30 pm at the McKenna Events Center. Those interested will be asked to perform a short audition of “America the Beautiful.” The Chorus will rehearse on Mondays from 4:30-6:00 pm beginning September 8, also at the McKenna Events Center. There will be a fee of $75 per semester for Children’s Museum Members. The fee for non-members is $100.

McKenna Musicians will meet every Saturday from September 13 through December 27. Ages 1-4 will meet from 10:00-10:50 am; Grades K-2 from 11:00-11:50 am and Grades 3-6 will meet from noon-12:50 pm. There will be a fee of $75 for members of the Children’s Museum and $100 for non-members.

More information can be found at www.nbchildren.org or by calling (830) 606-9523. Sign-up can be done at the front desk of the Children’s Museum, located at 801 San Antonio in New Braunfels.

About the McKenna Children’s Museum
Located at 801 West San Antonio Street in beautiful, historic downtown New Braunfels, the McKenna Children’s Museum features more than 18,000 square feet of premiere exhibit area where families can share meaningful learning experiences. The Museum provides the perfect backdrop for families to explore Hill Country themes that enable children to discover not only the world beyond their horizons, but also the one in their own backyard.  Hands-on exhibits and family-friendly programs reflect the most current knowledge of children’s developmental needs – physical, cognitive, social, and emotional. The open floor plan offers easy access and visibility into a dozen surrounding galleries and program rooms.  General admission from Labor Day to Memorial Day is $5.50 for everyone over the age of 12 months.  Annual family memberships begin at $125.

I have been wanting to post about this awesome place for a little while now.  My kids love this place, the play area designs are brilliant.  There are lots of hand’s on activities like grocery shopping, working on the Zeitung Herald paper or at McKenna hospital, and painting the old VW bug parked outside.. Its just fun fun fun and will definitely captivate your imagination right along with your child’s.  If you want to see what’s inside check out these pictures of my girls at the Museum:

McKenna Hospital
McKenna Hospital
The Herald-Zietung
The Herald-Zietung
Emma analyzing some organisms
Emma analyzing some organisms

Emma to the rescue!
Emma to the rescue!
Esmee kayaking through the museum
Esmee kayaking through the museum
Buying all the essentials
Buying all the essentials

Esmee on a camel
Esmee on a camel
The super big giraffe
The super big giraffe
The Bug
The Bug

Photogenic fish
Photogenic fish

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August 20, 2008

My Little Girls at the Wedding

A few weekends ago I had the honor of my 4 year old daughter Emma being one of the flower girls in my cousin Jenna’s wedding. Originally our 6 year old Esmee was asked to do it with her but she was a flower girl in my sister’s wedding and decided that it wasn’t for her. Instead, Esmee helped her Daddy with the digital slide show.

As you know weddings can be a long and drawn out process but Emma was a champ! She was cooperative and obedient. She smiled for every picture right on cue. At one point when she first started walking down the isle she turned and started to run toward me but we managed to get her back on track!

Emma being silly before the wedding
Emma being silly before the wedding
Esmee and Jeff working the "technology" department
Esmee and Jeff working the “technology” department
Emma running back to me during the wedding
Emma running back to me during the wedding

Emma with the bride and other flower girl
Emma with the bride and other flower girl

I was so proud my little Emma and Esmee and all the hard work she they did to help make Jenna’s day extra special!

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August 1, 2008

5 Clever Tricks for Choosing the Right Real Estate Agent

One thing you will notice as you are looking for property in Central Texas is the plethora of agents available to work with! If there’s anything I’ve learned about agents by working with them for several years its, Real Estate Agents are individuals- sounds like a basic truth but many people think the company an agent is with is the most important factor. While the company the agent represethere can have an impact on their performance, we are all Independent Contractors and highly varied in our skill levels, work ethic, and marketing savvy. When you are agent-hunting here are some of the varieties you might come across:

Agents who work full-time/agents who work part-time, agents who in 3 piece suits /agents who wear sweats everyday, agents who drive a Lexus/agents who drive a “mule”, agents who are web savvy/ agents who don’t even email, agents who spend more time skiing or fishing or drinking than working/ agents who work too much, agents with twenty years experience/ agents with 20 minutes experience, aggressive agents/ lazy agents, agents who are skilled negotiators/ agents who are pushovers, agents who are honest/ and yes even agents who are dishonest

While the clothing an agent wears of how they chose to spend their personal time probably does not factor too heavily into you decision it can be difficult to choose an agent with little more to work with than a picture and a name.

I decided to compile a list of 5 Clever tricks for choosing the right real estate agent, as an agent this is exactly what I’d do in a new area . Hope this is helpful to you!

1. Google them- for most of you this is a given, when choosing to work with someone especially in a public position like Real Estate it makes sense to look them up on Google. You should find several real estate related references regarding that agent. Just be careful not to associate everything you see with your agent. For example I googled myself, My name is Kristine L. McFadden and if you Google me one thing you will find is a report of a custody hearing in another county for a Kristine L. McFadden, I do have kids but since I am still married to their father he hasn’t had to take me to court yet! Furthermore I have read accounts of rival agents (not anywhere near our area) intentionally blasting another agent online with bad press. So again, you’ll want to check your sources of information that you find about an agent- especially if its negative! Googling an agent can help you find lots of references to current and past listings as well as snippets on things they have been a part of.

2. When you Google them you should quickly find their website. A couple of years ago haveing a Real Estate website was a bit rare, kind of the exception tot he rule. Now seasoned agents as well as newbys all have websites. Having a website has become a basic epxectation, if the agent has not embraced this rudimentary tool for marketing properties you need to move on.

3. Here’s a little secret, you can look up the status of your Realtor’s license, the amount of Real Estate education they have, where their Broker is located, and get an idea of how long they’ve been in Real Estate at http://www.trec.state.tx.us/. Believe it or not but some Realtors are operating with expired or inactive licenses. This is not very common and is also illegal but its a good idea to utitlze this resource to learn more about an agent.

4. Give them a call. Recently a Realtor told me upset she was when a potential client called her and immediately informed her that they were “interviewing agents and wanted someone aggressive” and this was a buyer! I guess she expected this behavior from Sellers but not from buyers who sometimes end up working with their agent by default. As agents we should be ready for a challenge, we should expect it. Any agent who is threatened by the idea of competition lacks the aggressiveness it takes to help you accomplish your real estate goals in today’s market. Furthermore, a quick phone all can help you determine whether the agent is easy to talk to and easy to get in touch with.

5. When you find an agent, stick with them! Nothing is more dishearteneing to an agent than beginging a relationship with a client and becoming motivated by their priorities only to find a few weeks later that they have moved on to working with a different agent. 99% of agents would rather work with a loyal client buying a $100,000.00 home than an agent hopper buying a $500,000.00 home. And there’s a secret here too, if an agent knows your are loyal to him he will work harder and more passionately to find the property that you want as well as negotiate more pro actively on your behalf.

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