Lake Oconee and Lake Sinclair Real Estate

RE/MAX is the United State's No. 1 real estate franchise - and the nation's No. 44 franchise overall - according to Entrepreneur magazine's 30th Annual Franchise 500 survey.

The survey appears on the magazine's Web site and in its January 2009 issue.
Subway bested McDonald's to capture the top position overall. Behind No. 2 McDonald's came Liberty Tax Service at No. 3.

Among real estate franchises, RE/MAX ranks No. 1 for the ninth time in the past nine years. The closest competitor - Keller Williams -came in at a distant No. 71.

RE/MAX ranks No. 10 overall in the Low-Cost Franchises category. It finished No. 1 last year.

Additionally, RE/MAX tops all real estate competitors at No. 38 on the Global Franchises list.

RE/MAX has a long, successful history in the survey. It ranked No. 10 overall a year ago, No. 11 in 2007, No. 8 in 2006, and No. 10 in 2005.

All companies in the rankings are judged by the same criteria, the most important being financial strength and stability, size and growth rate. Also considered: number of years in business, length of time franchising, start-up costs, litigation, percentage of terminations and financing options.
The factors are plugged into a Franchise 500 formula, with each eligible company receiving a cumulative score.

Copyright 2008 RE/MAX International Inc. 12/30/08

The Federal Reserve begins a two- day meeting today where it is expected to cut it's key interest rate, perhaps to an all-time low.

The Fed will likely announce Tuesday that it is cutting its key rate in half to just 0.50 percent. However, a few economists predict the Fed will go even further and cut the rate to one-quarter of a percentage point. If that happens, it will be the lowest rate on record going back to 1954, when records tracking the monthly rates were first kept.

However deeply the Fed decides to cut rates, the prime rate for many consumer and small-business loans would drop by a corresponding amount. The prime lending rate, currently at 4 percent, is used to determine rates on home equity loans, certain credit cards, and certain consumer loans, the Associated Press reports.

"It is not so much going to give the economy a big push forward. It's more a case of trying to help the economy from being pushed further backward by all these negative events," said Stuart Hoffman, chief economist at PNC Financial Services Group.

Source: The Associated Press (12/14/12008)

At their recent meeting in Orlando, Florida, directors of the National Association of Realtors gave formal approval to NAR's Housing Stimulus Plan. The plan, to be submitted to Congress in its lame-duck session, is designed to end the free-fall of values in the housing market. It aims to do this by providing sufficient incentives to get potential buyers "off the fence." The plan has four points.
(1) Make the current $7,500 first-time homebuyer tax credit available to all homebuyers and eliminate its repayment provisions.

(2) Make the 2008 FHA, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac loan limits permanent. Currently, those limits have been raised to $729,750, but those are due to be reduced to $625,000 in 2009.

(3) Use funds from the $700 billion rescue plan to institute a temporary (probably two-year) federal mortgage interest buy-down program to lower rates to 4.5% or lower for a 30-year fixed rate mortgage. This would apply to homebuyers purchasing new or existing homes up to $1 million in price.

(4) Permanently ban banks from engaging in real estate brokerage and management.
The support for this plan did not come without some controversy and the offering of alternative programs. Most of this centered around the third point, the interest rate buy-down proposal. There were those who urged that the target rate be more like 3% rather than the "4.5% or lower". It was argued that this lower number reflected what would actually be needed to stimulate buyer activity in a meaningful way. Moreover, it was pointed out that it would be easier to start with a lower number and compromise upward, if necessary.

Others argued that a government-backed interest rate buy-down program should extend to all residential mortgage borrowing (e.g. refinances) and not just be applicable to purchase mortgage originations. Advocates of this point argued that, although the proposed NAR plan would certainly stimulate home buying, it did nothing to help those who were currently having serious difficulty making their present mortgage payments. They felt that any stimulus program also needed to help prevent foreclosures.

As proposed, NAR estimates that the stimulus plan would cost approximately $100 billion per year, "a small price to pay" said Dale Stinton, CEO of the organization, "to stop the hemorrhaging." However, if the interest buy-down provision were extended to refinancing existing troubled mortgages, that cost could reach numbers in the trillions of dollars.

Charles McMillan, newly inducted 2009 President of NAR, has already met with senior U.S. Treasury officials to discuss the four-point plan. According to an NAR news release, the plan was received positively. However, Treasury representatives said "their authority under the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act (EESA) to use rescue funds for that type of market intervention is unclear."

The news release went on, "To move its proposal forward, NAR committed itself to communicating the value of the buydown to members of Congress and asking lawmakers to clarify through legislation or other appropriate means. Treasury's authority for the intervention on interest rates."

The effort has already begun. On November 13, NAR issued a "call to action" to its million-plus members asking them to contact their federal representatives in support of the plan. By now, thousands have responded.

NAR members who are unclear about how to contact their legislators and/or what to say to them should contact their local association of Realtors for assistance. Non-Realtor citizens should weigh in on this as well. The depressed housing market is a central element of our current financial debacle. Things aren't going to be fixed until the housing market stabilizes. NAR's four-point program gives some promise of accomplishing that.

Copyright 2008 Realty Times. All rights reserved. 12/4/08Used by permission.

Daily Real Estate News December 2008

For the second year in a row, REALTORS report that exterior remodeling projects return the most money as a percentage of cost, as detailed in the 2008 Remodeling Cost vs. Value Report.

On a national level, wood deck additions and all types of siding replacements-upscale fiber cement, midrange vinyl, and upscale foam-backed vinyl-returned more than 80 percent of project costs upon resale. Of these, the most profitable project was upscale fiber cement siding, which recouped 86.7 percent of costs, followed by wood decks at 81.8 percent, midrange vinyl siding at 80.7 percent, and upscale foam-backed vinyl siding at 80.4 percent.

The 2008 Remodeling Cost vs. Value Report compares construction costs with resale values for 30 midrange and upscale remodeling projects comprising additions, remodels and replacements in 79 markets across the country, expanding from 60 markets last year.

Projects With Highest, Lowest Returns

In addition to wood decks and siding, window replacements and kitchen remodels also returned a relatively high percentage of remodeling costs on a national basis.

All types of window replacements-upscale and midrange wood and upscale and midscale vinyl-returned more than 76 percent of costs. A major midrange kitchen remodel returned 76 percent of project costs, while a minor midrange kitchen remodel returned 79.5 percent of costs.

On a national level, bathroom remodels, while still a relatively good investment, do not return as high a percentage as in previous years. A midrange bathroom remodel was estimated to return 74.4 percent on resale, comparable to a midrange attic-to-bedroom conversion, at 73.6 percent of costs recouped, and a midrange basement remodel, at 72.7 percent of costs recouped.

As in last year's report, the least profitable remodeling projects in terms of resale value were home office remodels, sunroom additions, and back-up power generators, returning only 54.4 percent, 56.6 percent, and 57.1 percent, respectively, of project costs.

National Association of Realtors President Charles McMillan says the resale value of any given remodeling project depends on a variety of factors.

"A home's overall condition, availability and condition of surrounding properties, location, and regional economic climate are all factors that will influence the value of any remodeling project," he says.

Results of the report are summarized in the December 2008 issue of REALTOR Magazine. The issue also includes examples of actual remodeling projects that were less expensive than many of the report's cost estimates.

Full project descriptions, as well as national, regional and local project data for the 79 cities covered by the report will be posted at http://www.costvsvalue.com/ by Dec. 5.

This is the 11th consecutive year that the report, which is produced by Hanley Wood, LLC, was completed in cooperation with REALTOR Magazine. For the report, Realtors provided their insight into local markets and buyer home preferences.

Source: NAR

An empty tent waiting for the guests to arrive

A few RE/MAX Lake Oconee agents, Left- Cynthia Strother and husband Jim
Right- Glenn Rivers and fiance Tammy Paradise


(L-R) RE/MAX agents Carol Walker, Tim Rogers, and Lyn Smith

A few guests mingle with Ann Foster (far right) broker/owner.

Owner Kay Stevens & Agent Mary Lenett

What's a party without a little music?

Agent Harold Michaelis and a few guests enjoying the Christmas spirit!

A big thank you to "At Your Service Catering" for all the delicious food and for "Tent-Sational Events" for the beautiful tent (and heaters to keep us warm!) It was a wonderful evening! We hope to see all of you back next year!

By G.M. Filisko December 2008

Despite home price drops in many cities, remodeling projects are holding their own as a way for owners to add value.

Many people are wondering where their money will be safest during these uncertain economic times. When home owners turn to you for your expert advice, counsel them that some things never change: Investing in their home still pays off.

NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS statistics show that home prices have fallen by an average of 7 percent nationally in the past year. But the value of home owners’ investment in remodeling projects has declined only 3.86 percent on average between 2007 and 2008, according to Remodeling's 2008–2009 Cost vs. Value Report.

Remodeling produces the Cost vs. Value Report each year in cooperation with REALTOR magazine. REALTORS responding to a survey in midsummer said home owners could expect to recoup a national average of 67.3 percent of their investment in 30 different home improvement projects. At the height of the housing boom in 2005, home owners could expect to recoup a national average of 86.7 percent on projects.

Remodeling remains hot in 10 cities, where on at least some projects. home owners can recover 100 percent of their costs. In Charlotte, N.C., for example, decks, midrange kitchen remodels, vinyl siding, and window-replacement projects all would net more than they cost, in respondents' estimation. High rates of recovery were seen in both strong real estate markets and weak ones.

Many cities with the highest rates of recovery were smaller—Jackson, Miss., and Billings, Mont., for example—which may point to lower labor and materials costs that are easier to recoup.

Seattle also made the list of cities with a cost recovery of more than 100 percent on decks and minor kitchen remodels. In fact, Pacific Coast cities recorded the best payback on remodeling by a wide margin as they did in 2007. Although construction costs on the Pacific Coast are nearly 17 percent higher than national averages, the value of renovations at resale more than makes up for those higher prices.

The result is an average cost-recouped percentage that's 14.8 percent higher than in the rest of the country. The toughest place to get your money back: Midwestern cities such as Chicago Cleveland, Indianapolis, and Milwaukee.

RISMEDIA, Nov. 26, 2008-Mortgage rates fell last week, with rates for 30-year fixed mortgages declining to 5.92%, down from 6.03% the week prior, according to the Zillow Mortgage Rate Monitor, compiled by real estate website Zillow.com(R). Rates for 15-year fixed mortgages decreased to 5.69%, down from 5.76% and 5-1 adjustable rate mortgages rose to 5.87% from 5.85%.

Please click on link below for complete article.

Nov._Mortgage_Rates.pdf