dothanhomesearch.com

By: Charles Woodall
Managing Broker

http://www.dothanhomesearch.com

I am pleased to welcome Steve Russell, Mortgage Banker with Primary Residential Mortgage, to Dothan Home Search as our resident mortgage expert. Steve writes on his own blog, themortgageman.wordpress.com, and we are excited to have him here sharing his mortgage market insights with home buyers and sellers in the Dothan area.

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By: Charles Woodall
Managing Broker

http://www.dothanhomesearch.com

Here’s some light reading to get your through the weekend. Read each article carefully as there will be a test on Monday.

Corp of Engineers proposed new water sharing plan for southeast - New York Times

Alabama House looks to lower speed limits across the state - Birmingham News via AL.com

The taxpayers of Alabama will have to deal with possible Birmingham bankruptcy - Mobile Press Register via AL.com

Tuscaloosa City Council moves to ban front yard parking - Tuscaloosa News

Alabama moves to fifth among auto making states - Birmingham News via AL.com

State tax on groceries going away? - Birmingham News via AL.com

Ready…Discuss.

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By: Charles Woodall
Managing Broker

http://www.dothanhomesearch.com

The Notorious ROB has an excellent post making some comparisons between lawyers and REALTORS. If you have ever had a bad experience with a real estate “professional”, take a few minutes to read his post. You may walk away with a better understanding of why there can be such a huge discrepancy when it comes to the quality of real estate agents.

One quote particularly interests me:

Neither the legal industry nor the real estate industry will change towards a regulated system of limiting the number of people who can claim to be an attorney or a realtor. There’s too much money being made by ambulance chasers on the one hand and the sleazy, know-nothing agents on the other.

But in that environment, an opportunity does exist for the elite firms to separate themselves. (emphasis mine)

I hope that no one reading this has had a bad experience with a REALTOR here at CENTURY 21 Key Realty. If you have, I would like to apologize. I would also like you to know that we strive everyday to separate ourselves from the pack. Yes, it may be a little cheesy, but we would like to be the “Gold Standard” for real estate service in the Dothan area market. That is what we shoot for. We may not always make it, but I can promise you it won’t be from lack of effort.

Regardless, please know this; We do require a higher level of education and training in our office, so anyone you talk with on The Key Team will likely have at least some more real estate know-how than the average agent around town. Every REALTOR here cares about their perception in the marketplace, and I think it shows.

I really didn’t intend for this post to be a commercial for our office. It probably comes across that way, and that is alright. I just wanted you to know that if you have a real estate need in the Dothan area, we are here to help. And I promise will be do the job to the best of our ability.

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By: Charles Woodall
Managing Broker

http://www.dothanhomesearch.com

Don’t forget our open houses this Sunday, 1-4! Fourteen homes open, and the weather should be good!

Here are a few links to get you through the weekend.

First the good

Tax Freedom Day comes early this year - Birmingham Business Journal

Alabama sets economic development record in 2007 - Birmingham Business Journal

Alabama now connected to the Appalachian Trail - Anniston Star

An interesting new tax plan proposed in legislature - Daily Dixie

Now the bad

Regions Bank to cut 1,200 jobs - Birmingham Business Journal

Alabama homeowners insurance rates jump 69% - Mobile Press Register via AL.com

Finally, the ugly

Alabama’s property tax system goes to court - Anniston Star

20 ways to determine if you are a real Alabamian - Daily Dixie (not really ugly, could just be perceived that way For professional reasons, I’m not revealing my score)

More good than bad and ugly combined. Life is good!

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By: Charles Woodall
Managing Broker

http://www.dothanhomesearch.com

Why are Alabama Property Taxes so low?

This was a question posed on Trulia Voices last week. We have also discussed the subject here.

Having some of the lowest property taxes in the country does not mean that the government won’t get in your wallet some other way. Alabama has a state income tax (5% on all income over $3,000 single/$6,000 married) and a state sales tax of 4%. Still, when comparing this tax structure with a high property tax state such as Florida, you’ll see that the tax burden on the citizens of Alabama is still one of the lowest in the country. Alabama residents on average lose 28% of their income to federal, state, and local taxes, which ranks 49th in the nation. Only Oklahoma is lower.

While property owners benefit from the low taxes, there is a downside. Property tax collections in Alabama are used primarily to fund education. A federal lawsuit has been filed on behalf of some Lawrence and Sumter County public school students challenging the state’s property tax system. The plaintiff’s contend that Alabama property tax revenues do not sufficiently fund K-12 schools and that disproportionately hurts black students. You can read the article from the Birmingham News on AL.com (hat tip to Doc’s Political Parlor).

The premise of the lawsuit is that property taxes, and all taxes for that matter, set up by the 1901 Alabama state constitution are racially discriminatory, and that local governments are forced to raise money for education using more regressive taxes, such as a sales tax. It certainly is an interesting argument. It is also certain that voters will not vote to change the property tax structure in Alabama. If this lawsuit is successful, change may be thrust upon us.

UPDATE - The Huntsville Times has a pretty good editorial about the lawsuit. And so does The Times Daily.

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By: Charles Woodall
Managing Broker

http://www.dothanhomesearch.com

I’m a little late with this, and voting ends tonight at midnight, so head over to VARBuzz and vote for Dothan Home Search in Zone 3!

Thanks again to all those that voted for us last week! Please head back over and vote for us again in Zone 3. Please vote as many times as you can; you just have to be on a different computer each time. So vote from home, work, Starbucks, McDonalds…anywhere you can find Internet access.

DON’T FORGET to vote before Tuesday, March 18 at 11:59 p.m. GO VOTE NOW!

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By: Charles Woodall
Managing Broker

http://www.dothanhomesearch.com

Let’s talk seriously for a minute.

You may have seen the most recent National Association of REALTORS public awareness commercials (If not, click on the video at the bottom of this post for one example). For better or worse, the NAR is looked upon by many in America as a reputable source of information on the housing market. I personally don?t think this ad warrants that trust. For my tastes, it doesn’t paint an accurate picture, and therefore doesn’t meet the standard of what should be considered reliable information.

I decided to take this commercial line-by-line and examine it for accuracy. My opinion, as stated below, is based on my knowledge of the Dothan and southeast Alabama real estate market. Your results may vary.

“When you have a family, it’s always a good time to buy”

The first one…right out of the gate…is just wrong. Blanket statements such as this usually are. If you don’t plan on owning this newly purchased home for at least four or five years, now might not be a good time to purchase. There will likely be very little, if any, equity gained over that time, so you need to strongly consider what your situation will be when you get ready to sell, before pulling the trigger.

“It’s a great move up market”

It depends. If you can sell your home and be able to stomach what you may have to settle for dollar wise, then you will have lots of options on the buying side. It may be possible to gain some equity back from your sale when you buy. Maybe. John Harper has a good post on this very scenario.

“In this market, there’s a lot of options”

True as far as choices of property. Maybe not true for choices in financing. Since inventory across the country is high, home buyers are finding lots of homes to choose from. However, mortgage lenders have tightened their grip somewhat on the money needed to buy. Still, if you have decent credit and some money to put down, financing will likely not be an issue.

“interest rates are low”

The first absolute truth so far. Mortgage rates are low, and have been for several years. They have moved up in the past couple of weeks and have been fairly volatile, with sometimes daily changes. Still, all indications are rates will remain around 6%, give or take 1/2%, over the foreseeable future. Keep an eye on the ?Mortgage Rates Watch? widget in the middle column to your right.

“It doesn’t make sense to spend the same amount of money renting when we could own it”

Jim Duncan had an interesting discussion about this last week. It seems real estate as an investment doesn’t perform much better than inflation, even over extended periods of time. I still contend that we have but two realistic choices regarding our domicile…we either rent or we buy. We get absolutely no return when we rent, so all else being equal, this one is true.

“Working with a REALTOR took all the guess work out”

Another blanket statement. Not all REALTORS are created equal. I feel I should say something similar to what you hear on those late night infomercials, you know the ones on how to lose weight or get rich in real estate. Here goes.
DISCLAIMER - These results (”Working with a REALTOR took all the guess work out”) are not typical. Your results may be significantly less spectacular.

Is that fair? I know it is accurate.

“This is the best market in years in terms of choice”

Same as the options statement above.

“Interest rates are at historic lows” and “Home choices have increased”

Already covered.

“Prices are favorable”

This commercial is aimed at buyers, so I guess this is true. I think some sellers might disagree.

“If we didn’t buy now, we would have missed the opportunity on this home”

This one could be true. Homes that are priced right, in good condition, and in desirable areas are selling. Opportunity is where you find it, and I think there are alot of places to find it right now. Even within a particular market or zip code, there are discrepancies. Which brings us to the end?

“Every market is different” and ?Call a REALTOR today?

Absolutely! Yes, this is going to sound like blatant self promotion, but a good, local real estate professional is almost always your best source for market information. A good REALTOR will give you the facts, and help you weigh your options.

While some of the statements made in the ad are half truths, consumers need to take away the feeling that they should contact a local REALTOR for advice. That was certainly NAR?s goal. They are a trade association you know.

I just don?t think the end justifies the means.

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By: Charles Woodall
Managing Broker

http://www.dothanhomesearch.com

One of the things that impresses me the most about the animal called the RE.net is its willingness to help those in need. What is the RE.net you ask? I guess it is best defined as the people around the web that blog about what is going on in real estate in the trenches and on all levels, from local to nationwide.

You will notice a [help] banner just to your right whereby you can donate to the victims of this week’s devastating tornadoes. While our area of Alabama was unaffected, we are proud to help any way that we can. All donations go directly to the American Red Cross.

Thanks to the folks at AgentGenius and to Jay Thompson for putting this together.

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By: Charles Woodall
Managing Broker

http://www.dothanhomesearch.com

Of course this is the time when we talk about things we want to accomplish as we move forward into a new year. Making resolutions is a tradition, and far be it from me to break from tradition.

For our local Dothan area readers, here are three resolutions that all of the REALTORS at CENTURY 21 Key Realty will be making for the new year. For those real estate agents reading, this may be more of a speech from a soap box than a simple list of things you should do. Take it how you will.

1. Put the client before the commission. Every time. Without exception. Every action we take, every phone call made, every email sent, everything. We need to ask ourselves; does this serve the best interest of my client? What more can be said on this one?

2. Tell the truth. Don’t sugar coat it because you don’t want to lose the listing. Don’t bend it because your tired of showing houses to this buyer. The truth is many sellers shouldn?t to be in the market right now, and that ALL buyers need to be pre-approved BEFORE you start showing property. It is also true that right now IS a great time to buy a home, if you are looking for a primary residence where you will live for a few years. There are too many real estate agents out there that don’t tell the whole story because they are afraid of how it will effect their potential for business. They tell the seller or buyer what they think they want to hear even though it is not in the best interest of the client to do so (see #1 above).

Here are two that I like.

From Sandi Bauman

?I feel they (clients) deserve to understand the full scope of the situation. I of course respect my clients opinion, and ultimately their course of action, even if the client makes decisions contrary to what I am suggesting. My only concern is that they are properly informed prior to doing so.”

From Terry McDonald

?Their goals become my goals. Often, to reach those goals, I need to speak the truth to my buyers or sellers. Sometimes this is easy, other times, less so. Occasionally the truth is unpalatable, or worse. While difficult, my fiduciary relationship to my client requires it.?

In my opinion, this is what every real estate professional should strive for.

3. Figure out which type of real estate blogger you are going to be. (stepping onto soap box) How do you measure success in your blogging efforts? Is it traffic to your site and search engine ranking, or is it visitors converted to clients? No, the two aren?t mutually exclusive. We can achieve both. But when you sit down to write a post, if your main focus is optimizing your words for search engines, then I think you are missing the real point of this thing we call blogging.

From Jonathan Dalton

??that?s really the key the success in this thing we call real estate blogging - providing quality information while being real enough to engage someone you may never meet face to face.?

If you are a real estate blogger reading this post, I highly recommend Jonathan?s entire post. He and other real estate bloggers that have seen success from their blogging efforts (the turning visitors to clients kind), don?t use their blog as an extension of their other advertising, or their static website. It is something different; something unique; something your readers can?t get by looking at a real estate magazine or a newcomers package from the local Chamber of Commerce.

You won’t find Teresa Boardman, Jim Duncan, or Maureen Francis trying to use a keyword in every other sentence, or worrying about creating inbound links to their respective blogs. They carry on conversations with their readers, and in the process have had great search engine results and lead generation. These are the bloggers I want to emulate in 2008, and you should too. (off soap box)

What’s your resolution for 2008? Let me hear something besides losing weight, getting more exercise, or quitting a vice or two!

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By: Charles Woodall
Managing Broker

http://www.dothanhomesearch.com

Sometimes a simple “Thank you” just doesn’t seem like enough. There are so many people that are important to me, as well as our company, CENTURY 21 Key Realty.

Who I am thankful for

• My wife and children and my entire extended family. There is not enough space on the Internet for me to tell you how thankful I am for my family
• My God, my church, and my pastors
• The soldiers, both past and present, who have fought to protect our rights, and their families who have sacrificied to support them.
• The customers and clients of CENTURY 21 Key Realty and myself
• The real estate professionals that have chosen to associate their license with CENTURY 21 Key Realty. These are the folks that make home buying and home selling in Dothan happen everyday.

Stefan over at RealBlogging has a great list reasons we have to be thankful. Take two minutes to read it and be thankful.

Everyone at Dothanhomesearch.com wishes you and your family a happy and healthy Thanksgiving!

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