Thankful for the Louisville Kentucky housing market!

As we all prepare to partake in Holiday festivities, one thing we may over look in our list of items to be thankful for is the Louisville Kentucky housing market!

With all the free government money in the form of tax credits and a relatively stable housing market in Louisville added to historically low interest rates, it’s a great time to be in Real Estate in Louisville.

I am so thankful to be here and to be working with the best of the best here at Properties East.

In a recent training session I attended with Loan Consultants from around the country, I quickly realized just how fortunate we are to be here in the Bluegrass state.  A Loan Officer from the greater Detroit area shared a story of how he watched an entire block of homes be auctioned off for $20,000!  Another from Florida said that he had a client who purchased in 2005 for $260,000 only to have his home appraise 3 years later for $30,000!  When I hear these stories I can’t help but think that,  no matter how bad we feel sometimes feel like we have it when we are having issues with a loan or closings are delayed,  we are truly blessed to still be earning a living in Real Estate in today’s world.

I am looking forward to working with you all in 2010.  It’s going to be a crazy year with all of the guideline changes and the challenges in the market, but I truly feel like if we work together and build a partnership, we will all prevail!

 Amanda M White Breslin
MLO
Bank of America Home Loans
502-216-9151 Direct
1-800-675-1718 Fax
10525 Timberwood Circle
Louisville KY  40223

Cookie Social Sept 30th

Indulge your mid-afternoon sweet craving on Wednesday Sept. 30th as Commonwealth bank hosts a cookie social in the RPE kitchen featuring the award winning NAJLA’s cookies. Catch up with Amanda Breslin and David Graham of Commonwealth Bank and let them assist your clients with their lending needs. A Hometown bank with Hometown solutions!

cookie flyer

Service Across State Lines

Whether your customer lives on Wisteria Landing in Buchel or in Wisconsin, we can cater to their needs.

In May I took an application from a client of an RPE Agent who had just been transferred to Louisville from Wisconsin and was living in a hotel until he was able to sell his home in Wisconsin and move the family down here.  As if all of that weren’t stressful enough, the home he was purchasing in Kentucky was a short sale!  Because of his very hectic work and travel schedule, he and I communicated solely through email and phone.  I sent his disclosures via Fed Ex and had him scan and email all of his application information.

The tricky part was coordinating his Kentucky closing (as we all know, short sales have to close per contract-NO exception) with the closing in Wisconsin because he needed the proceeds the day of closing here for down payment.

For the sake of time, I suggested he open a checking account with CB&T and have his proceeds wired to that account rather than take the chance that his local bank in Wisconsin would put a hold on that large of a check.  We successfully set up a checking account remotely, while he was driving the moving van down I-64 and had the funds wired that same day.  When he arrived in Louisville the next morning for his closing, we had a Branch Manager greet him with a smile and a certified check for the closing. 

“Doing more is what we do best!”

Who says money doesn’t grow on trees?

It does in Kentucky; at least temporarily!  Governor Beshear made a very important announcement in late April that will help your first time home buyers make the move NOW into home ownership!

Below is the announcement that was made pertaining the temporary program through KHC.

 

Governor Beshear Announces Help for First-Time Home Buyers FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: April 22, 2009 Jay Blanton (502) 564-2611 (502) 330-2802  Jill Midkiff (502) 564-2611 (502) 330-1185 Charla Jackson Peter (502) 564-7630 ext. 454 FRANKFORT, Ky. – Gov. Steve Beshear announced Wednesday, April 22, a special initiative by Kentucky Housing Corporation (KHC) to offer up to $4,500 for down payment and closing costs for first-time home buyers who obtain a KHC home loan.  The program will begin on May 1, 2009 and continue through Nov. 30, 2009. The First Home Advantage Program provides a second mortgage with principal and interest payments deferred until July 1, 2010 for KHC-approved, first-time home buyers. “For many first-time home buyers, the biggest barrier to homeownership is the ability to pay upfront expenses, such as the down payment and closing costs,” said Gov. Beshear.  “The innovative First Home Advantage Program will not only help qualified Kentucky home buyers overcome this barrier and realize their dream of owning a home, it will hopefully reinvigorate the housing market help get our economy moving in the right direction.” The First Home Advantage Program offers a 10-year loan that defers payment with a zero percent interest rate until July 1, 2010.  After the initial deferment period, the loan will fully amortize over ten years at the rate of 6 percent.  If the borrower pays off the loan before July 1, 2010, KHC will forgive $300 of the principal balance. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, signed into law by President Barack Obama on February 17, 2009, provides first-time home buyers with an $8,000 tax credit.  After purchasing their home, home buyers have the opportunity to file for the housing tax credit provided by the stimulus on their 2009 tax returns and use the tax credit for the repayment of the First Home Advantage Program loan to take full advantage of the prepayment incentive. “We want to do everything we can to help Kentucky homeowners purchase their new homes,” said Richard L. McQuady, chief executive officer of KHC.  “The First Home Advantage Program allows home buyers to take advantage of every opportunity available to them in these difficult times.” In order for home buyers to qualify for this program, they must obtain a KHC first mortgage through a KHC-approved lender, be a first-time home buyer, meet KHC income and purchase price guidelines, and have a 620 minimum credit score. To learn more about KHC’s homeownership programs, visit their Web site www.kyhousing.org.

Top 5 Reasons

Top 5 reasons why you would want to listen to a Loan Officer blow hot air:

 

1. The breakfast is FREE

2. It’s an excuse to eat calorie ridden bagels and cream cheese

3.  What else are you going to do at 9:30 on a Tuesday morning?

4.  I can find free money for your borrowers

5.  The topics in my Q and A’s pertain to your borrowers and what is going on in today’s mortgage world

 

 

And they’re off . . .TO A GREAT START!

Since the start of our relationship with Commonwealth Bank and Trust; we have been oohhing and awing our REALTORS with fantastic rates, on time closings and superb customer service! We have been able to close loans that other banks turned down and have been able to develop programs specific to short sale and foreclosure purchases that the customers in today’s Real Estate market need.

Our Q and A sessions are getting rave reviews and Agents are providing us daily with feedback on topics they would like to discuss in up coming Q and A’s. If you haven’t been to one yet, you don’t know what you are missing!

Commonwealth recently hosted a Lunch and Learn for Agents in the Louisville area. The topics were pertinent to what Agents are facing in this market and the RPE Agents that attended all gave two thumbs up! It was such a tremendous success that Commonwealth has agreed to do have multiple lunches throughout the year. Please be on the lookout for memos and emails pertaining to the next luncheon that will be held mid June.

Remember; Great Things Are Done By a Series of Small Things Brought Together!