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.

RPE Welcomes Debbie Rood!

Debbie Rood has been in real estate since 2005.  She used to be affiliated with Semonin Realtors.  Debbie has two children: Josh, 28 and Jordan, 25.  She is very excited about joining RE/MAX Properties East and the national recognition is one of the biggest factors that made her decide to make the move!  Welcome Debbie!

Guess Who’s Getting Married!?!

 

It’s official. Karen Helm and Bobby Fuchs have announced they are getting married on July 25, 2009. They’ve made plans for a destination wedding in Sanibel Island and Karen’s granddaughters will have the honor of being her bridesmaids. Bobby’s 89 year old father and his son will also be in attendance along with the rest of Karen’s extended family.

 So do you believe in fate, destiny, and serendipity? Karen is now a firm believer…In July 05’ Karen decided to attend a RE/MAX outing at the Louisville Bat’s baseball game. After the game Don Rupert invited several of the agents to Browning’s for dinner and drinks. Karen convinced longtime friend Linda Hill to join in for some late night food and fun. She just wasn’t ready to go home that night…

 When Karen walked into the restaurant and began to survey the room, who would be in plain sight but Bobby Fuchs (her friend from high school). What are the odds you might ask??? Karen decided to walk over and reacquaint herself with Bobby and eventually they handed each other their business cards. Karen felt that someday they would reconnect but she made Bobby do all the work.…Over the next couple of months Bobby kept looking at that business card until finally he made his move and picked up the phone and called her for a date. They’ve been together ever since and we call that a Home Run!

 So the moral of the story is, ALWAYS attend RE/MAX Properties East events because you never know who you’ll run into at an event. RPE chose the date, Don Rupert chose the restaurant and Bobby just happened to be there at the exact time that Karen walked through the door…Now… what do you think? Fate, destiny, serendipity? Whatever you want to call it you can’t deny that there was something very special going on that particular evening.

Click to Call and VoicePad – Connecting you with potential clients

We will be covering more on both of these technologies on Thursday. Both can make you money!

Have you ever heard of click to call? It is a technology that allows people who are browsing the web to connect instantly to you via your cell phone. This helps potential clients connect to you in your most effective medium (phone) during their most critical time (while they are on the site looking at homes). 

VoicePad continues to be a strong technology that we use to connect with folks who are out, driving around and looking at homes.

We will be covering the latest ways to use these tools to make you Money!

Thursday at 10am and 2pm.

I look forward to seeing you there!

Eric

Welcome Ed Williamson (& Team)!

Ed Williamson is originally from Louisville but lived in Los Angeles for 13 years and worked for Universal Studios and IMAX Corporation as a lighting tech/engineer for film and television.  He even had a small role in the first Austin Powers movie!  He got his real estate license in California in 1995, then moved back to Louisville in 2005 and got his KY real estate license. He affiliated with Semonin Realtors where he was a Top Producer and #1 at Office Level.   He received his Broker’s license in 2007, and also has an auctioneer license.  Since moving back to Louisville, Ed has been involved with many GLAR committees.  He has been married to his wife, Lorie, for almost 11 years and has 3 young daughters: Elise, Sierra, and Loren.  When asked about his hobbies Ed said he doesn’t get much free time outside of real estate, Barbie dolls, and diapers!  He’s glad to be here among the “heavy hitters” and “mega agents”.  Welcome!

2009 RPE Photo from Office Meeting

Welcome Cathy Francow!

Cathy Francow has been married to her husband, David, for 22 years and they have three children: Joshua, 17; Lindsay, 15; and Rebecca, 12.  She used to be affiliated with Semonin Realtors and then learned about the RE/MAX concept and decided to make the move.  She loves reading, listening to music, and hanging out with friends. We’re glad she’s here!

Scripts and Charts for VoicePad

Ever want a SUPER EASY way to explain ALL of the benefits of Voice Pad to a seller and make it irresistable? How about to a buyer that you want to sign up on 425-6100 so that noone bugs them and they can search for a home in peace?

I have been working on developing some really neat scripts and charts for VoicePad after Harrell showed me what several other brokers are doing and it is bringing them success. 

He also brought home some great techniques for selling the true value of VoicePad from the VoicePad Users Meeting he attended.

We will be covering all of this on Thursday at 10 am and 2 pm. Please plan to be there if at all possible. The scripts will be posted on the worksite and the charts will be there for you to print and include in your listing presentations as well.

Looking forward to seeing you there!

Eric

Nancy’s Tips

We have several new agents that have come on board recently and so it’s always a good idea to send out reminders to all our agents of ways we may be able to serve you. So here’s a couple of tips.

1) You can receive your General and Agent Bills either via print and placed in your mailbox or emailed directly to you. Just send me an email and I can change your profile.

2) The Tax Man always seems to find us so if you would like to have money set aside for your taxes we can help you do so. Once you complete the application with Greg Hang of Touchstone you can then just fill out the blue sheet when you turn in your closing. We can deduct either a dollar amount or a percentage of your commission. It’s just that easy!

3) If you would like to contribute to the Children’s Miracle Network out of each closing we can set you up. It’s typically a $25 donation and a great closing gift to your clients. A letter will be sent to your client stating you have made a donation in their honor.

Contact Nancy Schafer at X 124 if you would like to take advantage of any of the suggestions.

OK!!! I messed up…Sort of!!!

 

Last week, Derby week, I was in meetings with VoicePad users from around the country. They were broker/owners from a variety of large successful companies, not just RE/MAX.

As you know, we were the first in the country to have this new version and I have always been high on VoicePad. I was smart enough to be first in getting it for the agents of our office and explain how powerful it was…but, I goofed by not giving you the follow up with creative ideas and ways to utilize it to get extra listings, extra buyers and consequently more closings. Having always believed and preached “The difference between the ordinary and the extra-ordinary is that little extra” I have become a hypocrit!

For the most part these companies and their agents have come to focus their whole office around the VoicePad technology. The year’s RE/MAX International Owner of the Year even stated several times his office would not have survived the last 6 months without the sales resulting from VoicePad. In our defense, most of these companies didn’t have near the powerhouse of other technologies we have at RPE, as a result of Eric, and putting major focus on VoicePad was a no-brainer. Others in the group said since having the power of this new tool their agents had never lost to another agent when competing for a listing – 100% success!

These owners shared a multitude of powerful ideas and uses of the VoicePad system and I was so excited, yet depressed for not having thought of them, that I came back to the office rather than go to Churchill Downs with the group! We discussed these ideas with the staff and with Eric when he returned from out of town and will be sharing these with you soon. It is strongly suggested you go to Eric’s technology session when he covers these new ideas. In the meantime, we are creating some graphs, Powerpoint presentations and other tools to wow your buyers, sellers and more importantly, your prospective buyers and sellers.

The length of this article prevents me from passing on everything, but I will give you one important idea: When responding to a VoicePad call, your primary goal should be to get them to register with the system. You will be providing them with extra value and an extra level of service when they may be expecting a hard sell on the property itself. Registering people on VoicePad should also be a primary goal when holding open houses. Think how much time it will save them when driving by a listed home. They will be glad they found you and your chances of gaining them as a buyer, or even a seller are increased. Win/Win!

 

Dedicated to your success,

Harrell

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