REASONS FOR HOME OWNERSHIP

There are a number of personal and emotional reasons to buy a home. But there are also some strong financial reasons to make the investment.

Here are just a few of those reasons:

$8000 First Time Home Buyer Credit: This is free money that over 1.4 Million buyers have been able to use this year. Act NOW because you only have until November 30th, 2009 to close and fund on your new home to take advantage of this opportunity.

Increase Net Worth: Few things have a greater impact on net worth than owning a home. In a comparison of renters versus homeowners, the Federal Reserve Board of Consumer Finance found that the average net worth of renters was just $4,000 compared to homeowners at $184,400.

A Big Tax Deduction: One of the largest tax deductions available is the amount of interest paid on a mortgage. In fact, a $150,000 home at a 5.50% interest rate can add up to approximately $8,000 in first year's interest. T his amounts to a significant savings – effectively reducing the amount of a homeowner's monthly mortgage payment.

Long-Term Appreciation: Over the last couple of years, home prices have corrected and become more affordable. While that's good news for potential buyers, it has overshadowed the long-term appreciation of a home's value. The reality is, despite market ups and downs between 1950 and 2002, US home prices appreciated at an annual growth rate of 4.8%. Even if you calculate a modest appreciation of 3%, a home purchased today for $150,000 will grow in value to $364,000 over 30 years.

THE BOTTOM?

This from MSN today:

Late last month, Standard & Poor's reported that its S&P/Case-Shiller U.S. National Home Price index of real-estate values increased this past quarter over the first quarter of 2009, the first quarter-on-quarter increase in three years. Its index of 20 major cities also rose for the three months ended June 30 over the three months ended May 31, with only hard-hit Detroit and Las Vegas experiencing declines. The week before that, the National Association of Realtors reported that sales volume of existing homes was up 7.2% in July from June.

In short, the data suggest that real-estate prices hit a bottom some time during the second quarter and have now begun to rise. There's no way to be certain that this marks the end of the long, painful correction that followed the real-estate bubble, but clearly prices are no longer in free fall.

That means if you've been sitting on the fence, it's time to act. Call me, or email me at john@johncmartin.com

TIME FOR A CHANGE?

The "change" we've been looking for, in my opinion, is going to be a lot different and a lot more than what we imagined. I'm thinking that it might really get bad.

Your stocks may not be worth much; your bonds may go away; government debt may be worth nothing. And your bank account just might be frozen. Should all of this take place, then the only thing safe will be the property that you own and live on.

Right now is the time to buy it; and East Texas is a great place for safety and stability. Call me, or email me, and let's look for yours. john@johncmartin.com