BENNINGTON, VT — Many consumers think that any home they might want to purchase will be listed on real estate Web sites or in newspaper sections, whether sold through brokers or by owners. And indeed, most properties can be found this way. But limiting any search to just these channels can eliminate many prospects for a new home.

“The ‘hidden’ options of auctions and foreclosures can open up greater possibilities,” says Troy Richardson with RE/MAX Maple Leaf Realty. In some cases, these purchase methods can even offer opportunities to consumers who might not otherwise be able to purchase a home.
Properties are auctioned by motivated sellers for a variety of reasons, but the reasons rarely have any effect on the property itself. In the recent housing market, foreclosure has become regrettably familiar. But this creates a situation where banks and other mortgagees have a surplus of properties that they would rather divest themselves of than own.
Auctions and foreclosures can be found in most every area, too, and in almost every market segment: single-family homes, condos, resort and multi-unit properties.

Yet many consumers may be unaware of these purchase options or are reluctant to pursue them, due to a lack of knowledge. Certainly learning the ropes to these “alternative” homeownership paths can be difficult, and the cost of making a mistake can be steep.
However, working with someone who understands these industry niches can smooth out the process. “Real estate professionals who know how to manage both traditional transactions and those conducted through less well-known purchasing methods can help guide consumers through the intricacies of such alternative-method purchases,” says Richardson.

Richardson is one of more than 50,000 members of the Real Estate Buyer’s Agent Council (REBAC) of the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®, who have attained the Accredited Buyer Representative (ABR®) designation. As the world’s largest association of real estate professionals focusing specifically on representing the real estate buyer, REBAC is “The Voice for Buyer Representation,” with more than 50,000 active real estate professional members of the organization throughout the world. 

Whether down the traditional route transacting business through a seller’s agent or along less-traveled paths of finding auction and foreclosure properties, ABR-designated REALTORS® make a buyer’s best interests their own.

RE/MAX Maple Leaf Realty is located at 203 Northside Drive in Bennington Vermont.  Troy Richardson can be reached at 802-447-3210  or through the website www.TroyRichardson.com.

We have certainly seen a number of buyers take avantage of the First Time Home Buyer credit that expires on November 30 in the Bennington VT real estate market.

The new legislation recently passed includes a First Time Home Buyer credit and a Repeat Buyer credit.

Of course, this causes those looking in the Bennington Vt real estate market to ask questions, and I can’t blame them, becuase it can all seem so confusing.

Here is an example of a question that was received by a local Mortgage Officer, who sent it along to educate us all:

We have certainly seen a little up-tick in activity over the past few weeks in the Bennington VT real estate market.  This article from the National Association of Realtors gives a more macro view of the national real estate market.

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Driven by the home buyer tax credit, existing-home sales showed another big gain in October with a strong uptrend established over the past seven months, according to the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®. At the same time, inventories have continued to decline.

Existing-home sales—including single-family, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops—surged 10.1 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 6.10 million units in October from a downwardly revised pace of 5.54 million in September, and are 23.5 percent above the 4.94 million-unit level in October 2008. Sales activity is at the highest pace since February 2007 when it hit 6.55 million.

Tax Credit Fuels Surge (more…)

Confused about the Home Buyer Tax Credit?  You’re not alone.  Here is a video to help explain it further.  This is important information for you to have if you’re looking for a home in the Bennington Vt real estate market.

Home Buyer Tax Credit Explained

Some of the best public schools in the country are in very affordable housing markets.

BusinessWeek.com, in cooperation with real-estate marketer Cyberhomes, identified 25 locales nationwide where the price of homes is moderate and schools are A-rated.
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BENNINGTON, VT The old adage “There’s no time like the present” might not first come to mind when looking at today’s national housing market. But according to Troy Richardson, ABR, Broker / Owner of RE/MAX Maple Leaf Realty, these homespun words of wisdom are quite appropriate when a closer look is given to individual local markets across the country. Richardson points out these favorable factors that can contribute to making this, for many consumers, a most opportune time to buy a home:

Inventory is up. When the market is hot, new listings can’t replenish the supply of homes fast enough, and that works in the sellers’ favor. In today’s market, the opposite is true, providing more choices for buyers.

Sellers are motivated. Homes that in a hot market would have been snapped up in days are now lingering unsold for weeks, even months. Factor in bank-owned properties due to the recent and unfortunate spike in foreclosures and buyers find themselves in an advantageous negotiating position they haven’t enjoyed for years.

Interest rates are down. Recent cuts in the prime rate by the Federal Reserve have sparked drops in interest rates, which at the end of January were below 6 percent for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage. While banks have tightened lending requirements in the wake of increased loan defaults, homebuyers with few credit problems qualifying to purchase a home they can afford should still have little trouble securing favorable financing terms.

What’s more, a market climate like this especially favors buyers who don’t need to sell an existing property before their purchase, buyers like first-timers and those looking for a second home. This tilts the scale even more towards many buyers.

But regardless of the situation, for every buyer, the key is to work with a real estate professional that knows the local market and specializes in buyer representation – like an agent who has earned the Accredited Buyer’s Representative (ABR®) designation.

Richardson is one of more than 50,000 members of the Real Estate Buyer’s Agent Council (REBAC) of the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®, who have attained the Accredited Buyer Representative (ABR®) designation. As the world’s largest association of real estate professionals focusing specifically on representing the real estate buyer, REBAC is “The Voice for Buyer Representation,” with more than 50,000 active real estate professional members of the organization throughout the world. 

Troy Richardson is Broker and Owner of RE/MAX Maple Leaf Realty, located at 203 Northside Drive in Bennington, Vermont.  He can be reached at 802-447-3210 or www.TroyRichardson.com

HomeSteps “SmartBuy” expiring Oct. 30 Offers 2-Year Comprehensive Home Warranty

MCLEAN, Va., Oct. 5 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — Freddie Mac (NYSE: FRE) today reminded homebuyers they have less than a month left to take advantage of Freddie Mac’s offer to pay up to 3.5 percent of the buyer’s closing costs when they buy a single family HomeSteps® home as their primary residence under HomeSteps “SmartBuy.”
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Young people just starting to invest and buying their first homes are potentially the winners in this recession.

First-time homebuyers, most between the ages of 25 and 45, accounted for about 45 percent of home sales from January through July 2009, according to the National Association of REALTORS®
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A “buyers’ market” is just what it implies – a market in which buyers have the advantage and exploit it. It’s not a market that rewards foot-dragging, hesitation or indecision.

Unfortunately, all the factors that created the buyers’ market we have today have been reported so negatively and rampantly by various media outlets that buyers are themselves too spooked to even enter the fray. Strangely, people were buying like crazy during the previous sellers’ market, when the advantage was actually all to the sellers.

That’s when buyers didn’t fear paying too much, and now that prices are so low and inventories so high, suddenly buyers DO fear paying too much! However, it’s impossible to purposefully time the market to buy at the bottom and sell at the top.

Once the market begins to settle and subsequently improve (and it will), the amazing buying opportunities we’ve been seeing will begin to disappear. With decreased buying activity now, pent up demand for homes will explode when the market recovers, and buyers will once again be competing for the best homes.

Don’t rely on luck in the marketplace – rely on planning. Make a careful decision with a predictable outcome. Has the market dropped enough, right now, to make such a purchase? Absolutely! Forget about the top and the bottom and enter your “safe zone” with confidence.

Bennington VT, Selling, Buying

Improve your credit score with the following tips.

• Watch the calendar. If you aren’t doing so already, start paying your bills in time for the payment to process well before the due date. If you always apy on time but find you have accidentally missed a payment, call the company and ask to have the problem waived.
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