Deborah Lewis, Broker ~ Proudly affiliates with:

Save $$$$ on Buying or Selling

What is this program about?

Homes for Heroes is a national program dedicated to providing real rebates and discounts to public workforce heroes when they buy or sell a home.

Who Qualifies as a hero?

That depends on what you do for the community. This programs rewards the public workforce that serves our community. Tis is not a government program with limitations. This is the private sector giving back. You can buy or sell any home in any area of our country.

Firefighters, Teachers, Military, Peace Officers/Law Enforcement & First Responder Healthcare Providers

How much will I actually save and what does it cost me?

Savings will depend on the sales price. As an example, a $300,000. House would receive over $2,000 in credits and discounts from all the vendors involved. This service is FREE. There is no cost to you and no hidden fees. All cost are covered by the local participating vendors.

Spread the word, tell a friend and “Pay it Forward“ Service Deserves Its Rewards

Truckee Realty Broker ~ Deborah Lewis

For more information call 866-240-4242

Click on the link to download flier or view HomesForHeroes.com.

On Veterans Day- we salute many folks that have served our country.  But Deborah Lewis at Truckee Realty Brokers wants to celebrate local heroes all the time!

She is proud to announce her affiliation with the Homes for Heroes® program.  It’s an opportunity to say… Thanks! to all hometown  heroes that serve our community- not just veterans of the military but firefighters, paramedics, police officers, teachers and more!

Contact Deborah at Truckee Realty Brokers to see how Homes for Heroes can offer heroes considerable savings when buying or selling a home. The Homes for Heroes program is a partnership of real estate professionals with the sole purpose of offering savings to our heroes.

Contact Deborah today at 530- 205-7702  ~ say “twice”

or Email: Deborah@truckeerealtybroker.com.

Extraordinary development opportunity in Southern Utah!

Click on the image below for an enlarged version of the flyer.

Nationwide
Nationwide, great selection, discounted prices, and low interest rates are attracting buyers in large numbers. The problem is on the supply-side. There is a tremendous backlog of distressed properties that will take years to be absorbed by buyers. April marked the first time in 8 months that average home prices increased in our country’s 20 largest metro areas. Average home prices have lost over 32% of their value since their peak in June/July of 2006, bringing values back to 2003 levels.

Truckee & Lake Tahoe
The National Real Estate Market is a combination of thousands of local markets. Here is what is happening in our local area:
In the Lake Tahoe and Truckee areas the statistics for the first half of 2011 are mixed. Inventory levels have gone up a bit with 988 active single family homes listed in our MLS. The number of sales increased by 6% to 396 home sales in 2011 year to date. The average and median home sale price declined by 14% and  9% to $554,573 and $430,000 respectively. Total sales volume dropped by 8% to $219,611,029. On a positive note, 122 single family homes are currently in escrow which is a great way to start the 3rd quarter!

This graph shows how real estate numbers in 2011 compare with real estate numbers from last year. The real estate numbers below represent single family home sales in Truckee (including Donner Lake, Glenshire, Lahontan, Martis Camp, Old Greenwood, Gray’s Crossing, Sierra Meadows, and Prosser) and Tahoe Donner for the 2nd quarter 2011 (April 1-June 30).

Truckee Real Estate Update 2nd Quarter 2011

This graph represents sold single family homes in the 2nd quarter of 2011 broken down by each neighborhood. The information was taken from the Tahoe Sierra Multiple Listing Service.

Truckee Lake Tahoe Real Estate - Sold Homes 2nd Quarter 2011

9 Staging Tips to Sell Your Home Quickly

Surveys show that staging pays off and often helps to sell a home fast. But your clients don’t have to spend thousands to make a big impact. Put the home center stage with these thrifty tips from Lowe’s:

1. First Impressions Count. Roll out the red carpet for potential home buyers by sprucing up your entryways, especially the one on a lockbox. Welcome mats, planters filled with seasonal flowers, and clutter-free foyers and hallways set the stage.

2. Sell the Space, Not Your Stuff. Remember that the goal of a successful showing is to make a prospect feel at home – like it’s theirs, not yours. Put away your extensive personal collections. Less is more: open up your space so prospects can actually see what they’re buying.

3. Paint and Elbow Grease Work Wonders. Fresh paint and a thorough cleaning will give you the greatest “bang for your buck.”
Remember that neutral walls are your best bet when staging a home for sale.

4. Go with the Flow. Arrange furniture for easy traffic flow. Consider placing a major piece of furniture at an angle, such as a couch or desk. Angles add interest and can create a more open feel.

5. See the Light. Move lamps to dark corners and arrange window treatments so that natural light floods your rooms. Brighter is better, and your rooms will look larger.

6. Go Green. Live plants can add decorative flair, without spending a bundle. Plants and cut flowers have a way of warming up a room.

7. Don’t Forget the Outdoors. If you have a porch, deck or patio, clean the furniture and replace worn cushions. Give your deck a fresh finish with a new stain and seal.

8. Make the Kitchen Sparkle. Declutter the countertops by removing toasters, food processors, and other non-decorative items. If you have a breakfast table or counter, put out a couple of table settings complete with place mats, napkins, and dinnerware.

9. Warm Up an Empty Home. If your home is vacant, consider renting furniture for key rooms, but don’t go overboard. Ask your real estate professional or stager for advice, based on your home’s unique features and selling points.

There are going to be some tough headlines written about the housing market over the next several months. They may create apprehension and in some cases outright fear. The good news is these headlines will not reflect what is actually taking place in real estate. Some in the industry say we should just ignore this media blitz of problematic stories. That would be similar to trying to ignore a growling creature lurking in the shadows in the corner of the room. Instead, we want to shine a bright light into that corner to honestly evaluate how dangerous the creature actually is.

PROBABLE HEADLINE: Sales Plummeting. Housing Market Crashing

THE FACTS: The National Association of Realtors’ Pending Sales Report is a leading indicator for the housing sector, based on pending sales of existing homes. A sale is listed as pending when the contract has been signed but the transaction has not closed.

The pending sales reports covering September, October and November will be UGLY. The reason is that the houses going into contract in those months this year will be compared to the same months last year. In 2009, sales were skyrocketing as we headed toward the original termination of the Homebuyers’ Tax Credit on November 30. It will appear as though this year’s sales fell off a cliff in comparison. The headlines will be brutal.

Actually, the tax credit just pulled sales forward. Last fall and winter, pending sales dropped dramatically after November 30. Over the next six months, approximately the same number of homes will go into contract as did last year during this period. They will just be spread more evenly over the six months.

The National Association of Realtors’ Existing Home Sales Report is based on home closings. The extended tax credit expired on April 30 this year. Like last year, the tax credit pulled demand forward, this time from the summer months. That left a vacuum of homes going into contract during this past summer. That vacuum will create a lack of closed sales throughout the next few months.

Actual sales will be approximately the same as last year. However, because the tax credit moved sales into different time periods, both the pending sales reports and the existing sales reports will appear very weak over the next few months.

The Bottom Line

The headlines will be reporting ‘doom & gloom’. In reality, the market will be no worse than last year. There will be no reason to fear the creature in the corner. It will be a figment of a misinformed media’s imagination.

Step 1. MEDIAN PRICE: C.A.R.’s housing affordability index is based on the median price of existing single-family homes sold from C.A.R.’s monthly existing home sales survey. Starting in 1987, this survey is based on reports of closed escrow sales from 80 Boards or more of REALTORS® and multiple listing services around the state. Prior to 1987, the survey was based on reports from 45 Boards. A FIRST-TIME BUYER is assumed to purchase a home at a price equal to 85 percent of the prevailing median price for existing homes.

Step 2. DOWNPAYMENT: A FIRST-TIME BUYER is assumed to make a 10 percent downpayment. Therefore, the loan amount needed to purchase a home would be 90 percent of the median home sales price.

Step 3. INTEREST RATE: A FIRST-TIME BUYER is assumed to finance the home purchase with an adjustable rate mortgage (ARM). This is represented by the effective composite ARM for previously occupied homes, which is reported monthly by the Federal Housing Finance Board.

Step 4.The monthly payment for PRINCIPAL, INTEREST, TAXES AND INSURANCE (PITI) is computed as the sum of three parts:

-Monthly mortgage payment, based on the terms of the mortgage in Steps 2 & 3.
-Monthly PROPERTY TAXES are assumed to be 1 percentof the median home sales price divided by 12.
-Monthly INSURANCE PAYMENTS on the house are assumed to be 0.38 percent of the median home sales price divided by 12.

The results of these three calculations are added together to findthe PITI or total monthly payment for a household that buys the median priced home.

Step 5. It is then assumed that the monthly PITI can be no more than 40 percent of a household’s income. Thus, the monthly housing payment is divided by .4 to come up with the MINIMUM INCOME NEEDED TO QUALIFY FOR A LOAN on the median-priced home.

Step 6. Starting in 1988, data for the distribution of households by various income ranges was obtained from Claritas. INCOME DISTRIBUTION figures were developed based on the projected percent change in the annual median household income. Prior to 1988, household income utilized in the housing affordability index was based on projections by C.A.R. using the 1980 census data as a base.

Step 7. The minimum income amount calculated in Step 5 is multiplied by 12 to determine the minimum annual income needed to qualify. This amount is compared to the income distribution of households. The percent of the households with incomes greater than or equal to the minimum income becomes the HOUSING AFFORDABILITY INDEX FOR FIRST-TIME BUYERS (HAI-FTB).

NOTE: The quarterly HAI-FTB for a given geographic area in a particular quarter is based upon the quarterly median price for that area as well as the quarterly income distribution for that area.