Returns: Real Estate vs. Stocks, Bonds and Mutual Funds.

• a.) Stocks: Only 40% of stocks pay a dividend and in the 10 years starting in 2000 the stocks in the S&P 500 paid an average dividend of 1.82%. During that same time, those same stocks have seen a 30% decrease in equity.
• b.) Bonds: During the 10 year period starting in 2000 bonds have yielded an average of 4.46% according to figures released by the Federal Reserve. Bonds returns are fixed by the interest rate and do not appreciate in value and can fail.
• c.) Mutual Funds: Often under perform the general market, does not pay dividends and you hand control of your money over to someone else.
• d.) Real Estate: In the 10 year span beginning, in 2000, real estate has increased in equity by 30.14%. This does not include appreciation in value, cash flow or the tax advantages that come with investing in real estate. Investment property allows you to be in control of your own money as opposed to the other investment vehicles.

Tax Benefits: What other investment allows you to make money, and the IRS allows you to keep more of it due to generous tax deductions ? Some of those expenses are advertising, depreciation, maintenance, insurance, interest, losses and repairs. Another top real estate investment vehicle is the 1031 exchange which allows you to avoid capital gains tax through the exchange of like-kind properties. To complete a 1031 exchange, a qualified intermediary will need to be used but, it is well worth the effort.
Leverage: With what other investment will a lender allow you to put 20% down and use the investment to secure the balance of the loan? Do you think that your lender would lend you money to buy $100,000 worth of Apple stock if you put $20,000 down? The great advantage of investing in real estate is that it allows you to build equity in a property, sell it and then use the equity and leverage to buy a larger cash flow property. A continuation of this process is what allows you to build wealth.

With the interest rates at an all time low and some nice properties on the market, the time to invest in real estate has never been better. Using a conservative analysis to calculate cash flow and not basing your decision on an increase in equity will improve your chances of being successful in the real estate investment market. For more information or help in finding a property call David Whitener at 979-587-9979.

David Whitener, REALTOR® – I never forget you have a choice

Property Tax Assessment

you do? Make sure that your tax value is decreasing, as well. Brazos County mails out estimates for the year 2009 in June. That’s four months away, you exclaim. Yes, plenty of time to investigate your property’s current market value and to prepare your tax appeal, I say.

Your case for a request to lower the property’s value is not simply based on your feelings about higher taxes. You’ve heard Benjamin Franklin say it – in this world nothing is certain but death and taxes. So don’t be shocked to find yourself in a recession and asked to pay higher property taxes this year.

There are several options when appealing your tax value. One is to hire representation. You could pay a licensed property tax consultant to analyze the tax records, perform an appraisal of your property, and represent you before the county appraisal district review board.

Another option is for you to do the research yourself and represent yourself at the hearing. As a property owner, you will still need an appraisal from an expert to enter evidence in your hearing. Kelly Seaton with Verdad Valuation Services
can provide you with that appraisal.

You may view your county tax information at the appraisal district, 1673 Briarcrest Drive. Request to see your complete record. Note the comparable properties on the record card. See why the tax district thinks your property is worth more.

When you file for your appeal, pay attention to the deadlines and remember to show up for your hearing! Take all of your documentation from the appraisal and your notes. You may want to practice your testimony ahead of the scheduled hearing. The burden of proof is on the property owner – you have to give facts as to why your property is not worth the assessed amount. Facts, not feelings.

If at any point in the process you have questions call your REALTOR for advice and information. Hopefully a bit of research and persistence will decrease your property tax value and possibly your monthly mortgage.

Kind regards,

Cindy Seaton, REALTOR

P.S. Some lenders may only credit your tax escrow for future increases(reserves the bank holds to pay your annual tax bill) and keep your monthly payments the same. Reserve the celebration until you know all the deets from your mortgage company.

1. What percentage of all Texas homes are financed by subprime loans?

a. 1% b. 8% c. 17% d. 33%

2. True or False? Average interest rates for a 30-year fixed mortgage are about what they were 5 years ago.

3. T or F? In 2007, homes priced $500k+ represented a higher percentage of the total homes sold in Texas than any previous year.

4. Of 44 Texas markets, how many had lower median sales prices from January-June 2008 compared to the same period in 2007?

a. none b. 11 c. 22 d. 33

5. How many Texas markets had more home sales in June 2008 than June 2007?

a. 22 b. 9 c. 3 d. none

6. In CNBC’s 2008 ranking of state economies, Texas came in:

a. 1st b. 5th c. 9th d. last

7. T or F? The statewide average sales price in June 2008 was lower than in June 2007 and June 2006.

8. Home many Texas properties had a foreclosure filing in July 2008?

a. 1 in every 252 properties b. 1 in 388 c. 1 in 519 d. 1 in 891

How’d you score?

1. b

2. True. The average rate for a 30 year fixed mortgage was 6.34% on 08-08-2003, and 6.52% on 08-08-08

3. True

4. b

5. c Lubbock and Texarkana had 1% higher home sales; Victoria was up 13%

6. a. Texas was also ranked first in business climate.

7. False. The average 2008 price was $2,300 higher than June 2007 and $9,000 higher than June 2006.

8. d. Texas was ranked 22nd. Nevada had the highest rate at 1 in 106.

So the next time you hear urban legends about the state of our economy, provide them with the facts! It is our responsibility to convey truth to our friends and clients.

Happy New Year!

Cindy Seaton, REALTOR

It’s like the Dallas Cowboys training camp…

Runningback Marion Barber works hard makes lots of money but there’s no story. Not a peep about him. But if Tony Romo sneezes or Jessica Simpson coughs, BAM there’s your media frenzy. To coin a phrase used by Emmitt Smith about monkeys in the media.

So the hype about the next Great Depression (it’s all caused by Dubya Bush remember – catch me on another day to get me worked up about that unintelligent urban myth) from yesterday is gone today. The hype to make you oogle on Google is just that – to make you stop and stare. The media wants to get you excited to grab your attention to increase media viewership to sell more ads to make a buck. Make cents? Ha, ha.

Don’t be snookered into believing that the media are the authority on mortgage lending. They are the authority on how to grab our attention to increase…blah, blah. TALK WITH YOUR LOCAL LENDER. Don’t speak to someone who doesn’t have an office near you. The “lending crisis” is because big-wigs far away want to control business in your backyard. And they don’t even know what your backyard looks like, sells for, or smells like.

Don’t get worked up on a comment from a part-time reporter from Good Morning America. TALK WITH YOUR LOCAL REALTOR. The “foreclosure crisis” is because big-wigs far away gave money to people who weren’t capable of making a monthly payment. The large lenders gave unqualified consumers too much credit. Literally. Mortgage factories over-extended themselves in risk by giving credit, otherwise known as trust, to already debt-laden consumers. Doesn’t sound like good business practice to me…

If you make a mess in your office, you would have to clean it up. Your cute dog poops in your neighbors yard, who should clean it up? It’s your responsibility. Be accountable for your actions. Where in society did our ethics change to make the government responsible for cleaning up messes. Hurricane Ike? “Federal government come save me.” Billion dollar lending mistake? “Federal government come save me.” Every time we ask the government to step in we abdicate another constitutional right (ok, ok there’s another story for another day).

So who should clean up our credit crunch? Well the Fannie Mae leaders saw the handwriting on the wall back in April. Franklin Raines retired as CEO and Timothy Howard resigned as CFO in May 2008. Retired with their pretty pension plan and retirement package. Freddie Mac CEO Richard Syron pocketed nearly $19.8 million in compensation last year. And the replacement David Moffett will receive only – ONLY – $1.4M in salary and perks this year. AIG is doing it right, a bit too late. CEO Martin Sullivan was replaced in July by Robert Willumstad. Last week AIG decided to sell off assets to repay an emergency loan from the federal government.

Let me ask the question again…who should clean up our credit crunch? You are actually paying for the clean up. Your hard-earned tax dollars are being reallocated from great programs and infrastructure to cover the as… Uhm , mistakes of Franklin, Timothy, Richard, Martin, and scores of other “leaders” – read THEIVES – who have taken us for a ride.

So there, now you know how I feel, tell us your thoughts on how to fix our financial conundrum. For my opinion on home sales, let’s meet at Starback’s some afternoon

Cindy Seaton, REALTOR

For those service members, there is protection having to do with foreclosures and interest rates. If a service member had a mortgage before entering active duty, a lender can’t start foreclosure proceedings until nine months after the service member returns from active duty. Formerly , the protection period was 90 days.

Also, when someone with a mortgage is called up to active duty, the interest rates on previously existing debt are capped at 6 percent. That 6 percent cap extends until one year after the service member returns from active duty.

Thanks to Graham Stiles at www.GrahamStiles.com for sharing this article.

http://www.theeagle.com/local/Office-space-in-B-CS—The-phones-are-still-ringing-

Post your reactions to these statements. I’ll start:

For years I’ve thought the Bryan and College Station real estate market was over-saturated on all levels – 20+ residential subdivision development, continuous new office and retail space, and innumerable new apartments. Drive down Texas Avenue in Bryan or down Hwy 6 in College Station, and we still have many vacancies.

The real art in real estate marketing for our area will be to renovate and refurbish these large properties, divide them into smaller spaces, provide the laboratory requirements new tenants need, and sign those leases! I think we have a great inventory…it just needs to be converted for these future biomedical customers.

Cindy Seaton, REALTOR

for Century 21, Beal