“If you don’t know where you are going, any road will get you there.” Lewis Carroll

That seems to be the attitude many people have been taking lately. What do you think will make this change?

Everyone knows that the REO market is wild right now. Nearly every neighborhood has at least one bank owned property, sometimes more.

Currently across the country there are nearly 900K foreclosed properties. They are sometimes the eye sore of the block. Although some agents try to take care of their listings, many agents are overloaded (much like the banks) and the agents become like the old woman in the shoe.

These REO listings, because the banks take so long to accept offers and make decisions, are usually over priced by at least 8 to 10% making them even harder to sell.

What will happen to the already flooded market when the next 900K are dumped out into the market? Only time will tell.

With so many things going on around the it’s hard to decide where to center your energy, or to focus your interest.

Interest rates are still low, in fact they are at an all time low. How long will they stay there is anyone’s guess. Homes prices are still rock bottom. Foreclosures and Short Sales are still flooding the market. Buyer’s and Seller’s are working hard to meet their deadlines and also to make the important decisions.

I am hard pressed as to what to write today’s blog about. How about you let me know what you’d be interested in and send me a comment so that I can focus on what you want and need.

Hope all the Mothers around the world have a fabulous Mother’s Day. I know I did. I took some needed time to rest, relax and regroup. It was wonderful.

As usual, especially in May, it’s sunny and warm in Tucson. At nearly 9AM the temp is already 77 degrees. Why don’t you live in Tucson, and if you do are you enjoying this great weather?

Let us know what the weather where you live is and how you enjoy your summer time with family and friends. We always enjoy talking to you.

Whether it’s better for you to Buy or Rent really depends on your personal circumstances. Go through the advantages and considerations, then check out the numbers with the NY Time link. I think these will help you to make an informed decision. As always if you have questions don’t hesitate to email or call.

Buy Advantages:

• Build equity
• Great tax write off
• House becomes a home – stable environment
• Free to decorate as you see fit
• Not at mercy of landlord

Buy Considerations:

• You do your own maintenance
• Property taxes come out of your pocket
• Possibility of foreclosure if you loose your job
• Need to sell to move

Rent Advantages:

• Landlord takes care of maintenance
• Can move out when the lease is complete

Rent Considerations:

• No tax write off
• Have to get permission to make changes
• No equity – money is gone
• Rent can increase at any time
• You can be evicted or trapped in a lease
• Living situation is always temporary

Here’s a link that could help you to make the decision utilizing only the numbers.

You’ll have to make the emotional decisions yourself.

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/business/buy-rent-calculator.html

Mary Ann and Cisco here. Sorry it’s been a couple of weeks since we’ve posted, but it’s been a very busy couple of weeks.

The interest rates are still below 5% and it’s still a wonderful time to buy property. We have quite a few available in Tucson, as you can see driving around town. 16 new listings just today added to the over 6700 around town and we can see that the market is alive and well.

March saw over 1000 listings sold and the average price was around $125,000 – not too bad from a sales standpoint. We enjoy our work so give us a call to see how we can help you.

Here’s a very interesting article I found today that features a Buyer’s Guide.

http://money.usnews.com/money/personal-finance/articles/2011/04/18/the-ultimate-spring-home-buyers-guide

Welcome to Mary Ann and Cisco’s Blog. We’ll have tons of updated informtion added as the market changes. Come back often to see what’s new in the world of real estate. Make comments about what you’d like to see us focus on. This is interactive so have fun.