Now that Cash for Clunkers is over, who wants to bet that we're going to see many more Repo reality shows with the Repo guy hunting for the car, finding it, and hauling it away?
Why, you ask? Many people have clunkers for a reason. Because they can't afford new cars. Just because they were given $3500-4500 to trade in their old car, does that mean they have the means to actually pay the car payment every month?
People got 100% financing so they could buy a house when they couldn't actually afford it, and look at all the foreclosures.
Why did the government not think for a second that this program would just create more jobs for the Repo Man?
My bet is that within three months, it's going to be all over the news.
What do you think? Are people going to actually make these car payments, or expect a free ride??
**Are You Packed Yet?**
Donna Harris, REALTOR®
RE/MAX Austin Skyline
www.DonnaHomes.com
Donna@DonnaHomes.com
Austin TX Real Estate and the surrounding areas of Lakeway, Bee Cave, West Lake Hills, Cedar Park, Round Rock, Spicewood, Circle-C, Steiner Ranch, and everywhere in between... Hill Country Austin TX Real Estate and beyond. Whether you're buying or selling an Austin home, I'll be with you every step of the way.
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** #1 Agent in my Office for all of 2008 **
All my blog posts were first published on donnahomesblog.com.
Copyright© 2009 By Donna Harris, All Rights Reserved. You may re-blog with links back to this post.
* Cash for Clunkers - Going to Create New Repo Jobs? *
The first option was to leave the house vacant. We lived in a very nice neighborhood, so there were no worries about safety of a vacant house.
Another bell went off when we received calls and emails from some of our neighbors about all the people that were always at the house, the fact that they were always working on a junkie car in the driveway or garage, and the LOUD car that could wake the entire neighborhood when they started it. Sounds like they should have taken advantage of the Cash for Clunkers program.
Ummm, the home tenders said the neighbor was taking care of things. So? It's my house, and I deserve to know that the fence has been down as we continue to have showings!!
My mom was in town last week, and I showed her the Wii and all the games I could play. I mentioned that I was going to buy the 
Today, Austin TX Weather ties the #2 spot of 66 days over 100 degrees! This record spot has been held since 1923! That's a long time!
We're so used to typing these days, that's it's hard to actually "write" something out, especially our own name a million times. If you're not used to writing or signing your name, legibly, you need to practice. This will be hard on your wrist as well, so do some wrist exercises prior to closing.
Funding could take 10 minutes, or it could take the rest of the day. It all depends on how many files the closing department at the lender has on his desk. You can get your keys once a funding number is released. 
I've been working with these buyers for a few weeks now. We were supposed to close last week, but we've come up with an issue of obtaining Mortgage Insurance. To say the least, the mortgage person has sent updates almost every day for 2 weeks saying things like, "Once we get the Clear to Close, which should be today, we'll have docs same day."
Why?
Oh my... I was completely spoiled by the summer months as we weren't hear long enough before school let out for me to realize how bad it was. 
The next step is the waiting game...
As you're waiting, what things should you should NOT do? Do NOT go buy anything for this new house. That includes, but is not limited to furniture, washer and dryer, and new car! Do not charge anything on credit cards that would substantially alter your pre-approval as the lender will be pulling your credit again prior to closing to double check.
This next part will address the inspections.
The inspection is not for a laundry list of items to hand over to the seller. You're buying a house "AS IS", and no house is perfect, and part of home ownership is making the house your own... but if there is something pertaining to the actual functionality of the home, repairs can further be negotiated as those were things you didn't know about previously and the house needs to function.
Before writing an offer, you need to have your REALTOR® pull up the history of the property along with recent activity in the immediate neighborhood. And I mean immediate neighborhood, not 2 miles away or even 1 mile away, unless those houses are in the same subdivision and it's a large subdivision.
Earnest money is your money, but held at the title company until closing. Putting up only $1000 might insult a seller, but doing just a little more like $1500 looks better. In higher price ranges, like the $350k house I mentioned above, you should be prepared with a minimum of $2500-4000 for earnest money. As you go higher in price, some people use a rule of thumb of 1% of the contract price, but it's all negotiable.
The second thing to be looking for is condition, even in newer homes. This is not cosmetic. This is about how the "functionality of the home" is, like foundation. Does the foundation look like it's been maintained with no cracks around the exterior or the interior. Look in the corners of your walls as well as the doors. When walking the exterior, look in the mortar for any cracks.
These are considered Cosmetic items. Cosmetic items can all be changed, as long as you're willing to do the work. However, it's a bit unrealistic to go looking for houses and assume you're not going to do any changes to a house. It could be as simple as needing to neutralize the paint because there was a bright orange bedroom with a neon yellow kitchen... but don't let someone else's color selections make you not want to buy a house.
