Posts Tagged ‘the american dream’

Mortgage that Matters: BELIEVE

By Rick Soukoulis | March 25th, 2010 0 Comments

If there’s one thing I’ve seen over and over again, it’s the cycle where housing soars, corrects, and then soars again.

At its low periods, like today, many, many people think real estate values will never come back.  And certainly they’ll never go up again like they did in the past.

I don’t know about other parts of the country, but this is California – where the American Dream thrives.  I am eternally optimistic about California housing values, and most optimistic about values in the Bay Area.

So, I’ve collected some quotes from the past where people say real estate is dead.  Reading them might allay some peoples’ concerns and put things into perspective.  Enjoy:

  1. “The prices of houses seem to have reached a plateau, and there is reasonable expectancy that prices will decline.”  (Time, Dec. 1, 1947)
  2. “Houses cost too much for the mass market.  Today’s average price is around $8,000—out of reach for two-thirds of all buyers.” (Science Digest, April, 1948)
  3. “If you bought your house since the War…you have made your deal at the top of the market… The days when you couldn’t lose on a home purchase are no longer with us.”  (House Beautiful, Nov.  2, 1948)
  4. “The goal of owning a home seems to be getting beyond the reach of more and more Americans.  The typical new house today costs $28,000.”  (Business Week, Sept. 4, 1969)
  5. “Be suspicious of the ‘common wisdom’ that tells you to ‘Buy now…because continuing inflation will force home prices and rents higher and higher.’”  (NEA Journal, Dec. 1970)
  6. “The median price of a home today is approaching $50,000….Housing experts predict that in the future price rises won’t be that great.”  (Nations Business, June, 1977)
  7. “The era of easy profits in real estate may be drawing to a close.”  (Money, Jan. 1981)
  8. “In California… for example, it is not unusual to find families of average means buying $100,000 houses…. I’m confident prices have passed their peak.”  (John Wesley English, The Coming Real Estate Crash, 1980)
  9. “The golden-age of risk-free run-ups in home prices is gone.”  (Money, March 1985)
  10. “If you’re looking to buy, be careful.  Rising home values are not a sure thing anymore.”  (Miami Herald, Oct. 25, 1985)
  11. “Most economists agree… [a home] will become little more than a roof and a tax deduction, certainly not the lucrative investment it was through much of the 1980s.”  (Money, 1986)
  12. “We’re starting to go back to the time when you bought a home not for its potential money-making abilities, but rather as a nesting spot.”  (Los Angeles Times, Jan. 31, 1993)
  13. “A home is where the bad investment is.”  (San Francisco Examiner, November 17, 1996)

Things look grim right now, but go back and look at the dates on all these quotes?  Anyone who followed the advice of these people would have missed out on one of the great real estate booms of all time.

What if you paid attention to the advice in quote #7?  You’d have missed out on all that growth in the 1980’s.

What about quote #12? If you followed that advice, you’d have missed out on all the great years up until last year.

I could go on and on.  If you’re a patient person, it’s been almost impossible not to get rich on California housing.

It happened before and it will happen again.

Don’t bet against California housing.

In the long run, it’s always been a great investment.

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Intero Insider: Bringing the American Dream Home With 203k Loans

By Gino Blefari | December 16th, 2009 0 Comments

The American Dream. Own a home. Provide for your family. Be part of a community. These are things that each of us want. For many, however, achieving that dream has become harder over the past couple of years.

There are lots of homes for sale. There are lots of homes that are priced incredibly well. More and more of these homes, however, are in desperate need of repair and renovation. Whether the result of age and general neglect, or whether the homes have been gutted by previous owners, the result is the same: the cost of renovations almost immediately puts the reasonably-priced home suddenly out of reach.

But there is a solution: the FHA 203k mortgage loan.

The 203k mortgage offers all of the great benefits of FHA financing, but also covers the costs of renovation. Imagine! The possibilities have tremendous implications for homeowners and their sense of pride, not to mention the benefits to our nation’s economy.

Intero is committed to helping rebuild The American Dream. Intero is committed to rebuilding communities. We’re committed to helping create jobs. We’re committed to YOU.

The financial crisis with which our country is dealing has left many homes distressed. These homes often stand empty, causing neighborhoods and communities to degenerate. The 203k mortgage loan gives homebuyers the opportunity to buy these homes and take advantages of their remarkably low prices, and then pour into them the TLC that they so desperately need. Through this program, they’ll infuse new life into these neighborhoods. They’ll stimulate the economy. And they’ll achieve pride in ownership.

With RE-buildUSA, a program designed to raise consumer awareness and help Americans enjoy the benefits of this incredible opportunity and Lowe’s home improvement centers, we will be able to educate consumers about possibilities that are out there.

Each of our real estate professionals is going through training to become certified 203k mortgage specialists. We will be the experts. As is our goal in everything, we will be mounting the charge head-on to help RE-build our nation’s economy, one homeowner at a time.

The American Dream. It’s out there. With Intero & the 203k mortgage loan, you can achieve it.

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The Intero Insider: A Home Is Still The Greatest Investment You’ll Ever Make

By Gino Blefari | October 7th, 2009 0 Comments

For as long as most of us can remember, buying and owning a home has been the hallmark of The American Dream. For some time, though, a significant part of that dream has been the ability to bank on a big return on investment, on the ability to “cash in” on the appreciation in your home’s value if and when push came to shove.

It would seem, however, that the time for reevaluation in priorities might be upon us. It might be time to stop looking at a home purchase not so much as vehicle for quick financial gain, but as an investment in the happiness and security of you and your family. It’s time to start, once again, thinking of it as your home.

For the past decade or so, it’s been the pattern of many Americans to buy a home, wait for its value to increase and, about 7 years later, move onward and upward, or simply to cash in on the equity that one’s home had amassed. While home sales have recovered somewhat from their low points last year, prices are down significantly (in California, for example, the median home price for a single family home is down 16.9% from this time last year), and may take a some time to return to the levels that we saw in the early part of the 2000s.

Your home will still increase in value, most assuredly, but this increase will happen at a far more gradual pace than it has in recent years. Given this reality, making sure that you buy a home in which you will be happy and comfortable is more important than ever.

Remember, unless you are an investor, it’s likely you’ll live in the home for at least ten years. As such, you’ll want to ensure that it’s one to which you’ll be happy coming home. One in which you’ll be comfortable. One in which you’ll want to raise your family. Perhaps the most valuable things aren’t the square footage and lavishness of a house, but the things that speak to our core values. Providing stability. A greater sense of self-esteem. Pride of ownership. These things are the cornerstones of our very society, and the ones to which we should consider returning.

Talk to your Intero agent. Talk to your financial advisor. Talk to them about making the greatest investment you’ll ever make: an investment in your health, security and overall happiness.

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