I wanted to reach out to everyone today to give you a brief update of what's going on in the real estate market...

Some of you may be wondering why you continue to see the same listings showing up on your online search. Well, in September of 2008 the government imposed a "30 Day Moratorium". In simpler terms it means all banks were instructed to go back to current homeowners and see if they could work something out to keep people their homes. This was a great idea however, they were given 30 days to complete the assignment. As you can imagine 30 days is not enough time to call everyone in one city, let alone an entire country. As a result, many extensions were given between now and September 2008.

After months of effort Freddie Mac & Fannie Mae quietly lifted the moratorium on April 2nd, 2009. We are not going to see the listing appear overnight, but please know they are coming. Though our team doesn't expect you to find your dream home online please start checking your search a more frequently. In the coming weeks, new listings will slowing trickle into the market and then there should be plenty of homes for everyone in all price ranges.

What should you do in the meantime?

1. Start getting approved for a home loan.

Why?

First and foremost of importance you want to make sure your FICO Score is a 620 and also make sure everything that is on your credit report is in deed yours.

You also want to make sure you know how much home you can afford. There is nothing worse than finding your dream home and finding out it doesn't work for your budget or maybe worse yet you're looking at one dollar amount and not find anything at all when you could have afforded a little more. In either case make sure you know what your housing budget is so you can still afford a pizza once in awhile, so to speak.

We also have a check list of items you'll need to get approved for a loan (let us know if you need a list)

Please note I know some of you are all cash and that's great just make sure you have a copy of your bank statement handy when get together

If you're already pre-approved that's great too, but make sure you go back to your lender and update your file and get a current pre-approval letter so you're ready to go. And if you'd like to shop your loan to make sure you're getting the best deal let us know and our team will help you with that as well.

2. Keep checking your online home searching tool. If your not getting it please let us know so we can reset your search.

Things we will need to know

How many Bedrooms you have to have... example if you only need two you will get two or more bedrooms within your search

How many Bathrooms you have to have

Your Maximum price range that was set by you and your lender... In this case you will get everything up to that dollar amount

Cities you'd consider living in

Anything else that is important to you about your home...

By the way you can always adjust your online search as well, but one thing to note when adjusting your search don't check the boxes with garages as this feature doesn't seem to work correctly with the MLS.

3. Ask questions

We are here to help guide you in your journey into home ownership and we do not take it lightly so don't be shy... If you have questions please let know... We want you to feel comfortable with the entire process.

As a matter of fact the #1 Question every buyer has is... How much do you charge? The answer is ZERO. All Buyer Real Estate Services are FREE

We also have references so don't be shy to ask for them either! So don't wait call now 714-720-2555