December 2008

Tax Information For New Homeowners

As a new property owner, you are required to pay property taxes on this real estate. It is taxed each year by a variety of jurisdictions including the county, city and school district. If you purchased your home in 2008, you may need to notify the taxing authority of the change in ownership although this usually happens through the closing process. You may also apply for a number of different exemptions that protect property rights and may lower the taxable value of the property. You may receive offers in the mail or email to have a third party take care of the application process. Save your money! You can download the forms from the appraisal district website and file it yourself for free!

Read the entire article with appraisal district contact information for the greater Dallas area here.

Source: Republic Title

French Lick Resort

Gina and I were out visiting family in Indiana over the holidays and stayed at the French Lick Resort located about 70 miles west of Louisville in the Hoosier National Forest. The large circular dome roof was called the "Eighth Wonder of the World" and was the largest of its kind until the Houston Astrodome was built. Walking into the lobby of this hotel will take your breath away! The grounds include three golf courses (including a Donald Ross championship course built in 1917 and a Peter Dye course which will open in early 2009), casino, fine dining, stables, a six-lane bowling alley, spa, and much more.

Many thanks to Jean Stafford and her staff for their hospitality during our stay. We will be back!

Source: Gina and Tom Branch

Mark Oristano Photography

It's not every day that you find a true artist when you're looking for a service provider. Gina and I had worked with Mark Oristano Photography for our professional photos in the past and we were highly impressed with his work.

Earlier this year, Mark began shooting "vintage" photographs using lighting techniques and equipment from the 1930's.  We scheduled a time for a shoot and arrived at his studio in uptown Dallas. Kari Englebrecht did a great job on our hair and makeup! While Mark will retouch photos, he believes in capturing the best possible photo rather than trying to make an average photo look good. Be prepared to spend a few hours at the studio as Mark will not stop until he has the perfect photograph.

If you decide to schedule a shoot with Mark, give us a call as we have a limited number of gift cards for reduced pricing available.

Source: Tom and Gina Branch

Market Activity in Dallas Suburbs Rapidly Climbing

Website traffic reports from REALTOR.com show a 300-plus percent increase between November 16, 2008 and December 14, 2008. Hits on our company listings bottomed out at about 1200 per week in mid-November. Those same listings are getting almost 3800 hits per week for the week ending December 7th and December 14th.

Click here for the graph.

Source: Tom Branch

FHA Down Payment Requirement Change

As part of an overhaul to the FHA Mortgage Program the required downpayment will go from 2.25% to 3.5% on January 1, 2009. Sellers are still permitted to provide financing concessions up to 6% of the sales price for FHA mortgages. Amounts exceeding 6 percent must be subtracted from the sales price.

Author: Tom Branch

Pending Home Sales Holding in Stable Range

Pending home sales eased against a deteriorating economic backdrop but remain in a stable range, according to the latest survey. The Pending Home Sales Index slipped 0.7 percent to 88.9 from an upwardly revised reading of 89.5 in September, and is 1.0 percent below October 2007 when it was 89.8. Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, said a review of the past year is instructive. "Despite the turmoil in the economy, the overall level of pending home sales has been remarkably stable over the past year, holding in a generally narrow range," he said. "We did see a spike in August when mortgage conditions temporarily improved, which underscores two things - there is a pent-up demand, and access to safe, affordable mortgages will bring more buyers into the market."

Read the Entire Release

Source: National Association of REALTORs(R)

Option Fees - Ask George and Chuck

Our offer for a house was accepted, so we submitted the option fee and paid $1,200 for various inspections. At the closing, the seller declared bankruptcy and refused to sign. We know we can't recoup the money paid for inspections, but the seller cashed our check for the option fee a week after the closing. Is this legal?

Ask George and Chuck

Source: Texas Association of REALTORs(R)

The Only Thing We Have to Fear is Wind Itself!

Texans have come to understand that hurricanes are an inevitable hazard of life along the Texas coast. The high-cost but low-frequency nature of hurricanes makes it easy to ignore the perils of building along the coast. What seems an easy solution to the problem of insurance rates along the coast remains a free lunch only as long as no hurricanes strike.

The Texas Windstorm Insurance Association was originally envisioned as an insurer of last resort. TWIA provides wind and hail damage when insurance companies exclude it from homeowners and other property policies sold to coastal residents. However, since insurance companies have been walking away from what they see as a potential powder keg, this has left the state to become the de facto provider along the coast...

The only thing we have to fear is wind itself!

Source: Gabriel Lopez, Texas Association of REALTORs(R)

It May Be Time to Think About Buying a House

Ben Garvin for The New York Times

Five or 10 years from now, when the financial crisis has ended and housing prices are up smartly once more, we will look in the rearview mirror and realize that we missed a golden age for first-time home buyers.

Then, everyone who sat on their down payment savings accounts for a few years too long will kick themselves for not taking advantage of what may turn out to be the buying opportunity of a lifetime for those who can qualify for a mortgage.

Unfortunately, we do not know when this golden age will begin, because we will be able to identify a bottom to the housing market only with the benefit of hindsight. But as it does with the stock market, the moment will probably arrive when everyone is feeling the most pessimistic...

Read the entire article in the New York Times here.

Source: Ron Lieber, The New York Times

Financial Industry Pushes for Lower Mortgage Rates

WASHINGTON ? Financial industry lobbyists are urging the Treasury Department to take steps to lower mortgage rates and help stabilize the battered U.S. housing market.

Under one proposal, Treasury would seek to lower the rate on a 30-year mortgage to 4.5 percent by purchasing mortgage-backed securities from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, Scott Talbott, chief lobbyist at the Financial Services Roundtable, said Wednesday.

If enacted, such a plan would be an unprecedented opportunity for anyone with good credit and a solid income who could qualify for a mortgage at the lowest rates on records dating to the early 1960s, said Keith Gumbinger, senior vice president at financial publisher HSH Associates...

Financial Industry Pushes for Lower Mortgage Rates

Source: AP via The Dallas Morning News