Please mark your calendars for May 17, 2012!  Why?  That is the day Realtors® from across America are conducting a peaceful rally in Washington D.C. to fight for your right to obtain the American Dream of homeownership. This rally is at the Washington Monument. To our back will be the Lincoln Memorial and the Reflecting Pool, to our side the White House and the Treasury Building. The Realtors® will be impossible to ignore.

2012 NAR President Moe Veissi says, “Our industry is facing a crucial moment. Never before in the history of our great nation have housing and real estate been forced to defend the benefits they provide our country. The very foundation of civilization is no stronger, nor more enduring than the integrity of the homes on which they rest.”

“By an overwhelming margin, American voters strongly value homeownership and oppose efforts to weaken or eliminate all together the mortgage interest deduction or diminish a federal role to help qualified homebuyers obtain affordable 30-year mortgages.”  This data is courtesy of a nationwide survey studying voters’ attitudes towards homeownership and housing policy concerns.

It is no secret that real estate drives the American economy!  Building homes provides many, many jobs including, but not limited to,  architects, builders, plumbers, electricians, framing contractors, decorators, landscaping, lumber companies, etc,

“The American electorate sends a clear message that owning a home remains a cornerstone of the American Dream and preserving a federal commitment to homeownership is essential to maintain a thriving middle class and get housing and the economy back on track,” says Neil Newhouse, a partner and co-founder of Public Opinion Strategies.

In other polls, a majority of voters are also opposed to proposals for reduction of the mortgage interest deduction, eliminate the deduction for interest paid for a second home, limit the deduction for those earning more than $250,000 per year, scale back the deduction for home owners with mortgages above $500,000 and do away with the deduction for interest paid on home equity loans.

Among the poll’s other key findings:

• 96 percent of homeowners are happy with their decision to own and 84 percent, who are “underwater,” or owe more on their mortgages than their home is worth, expressed the same sentiment.

• 79 percent of homeowners would advise a family member or close friend just starting out to buy a home, and 69 percent of those who are underwater on their mortgage would offer the same advice.

• 74 percent said that despite the ups and downs in the housing market, owning a home is the best long-term investment they can make.

• Homeownership and a retirement savings program are considered by voters to be their best long-term investments.

• 78 percent of respondents said that owning their own home is very important to them.

• Nearly seven out of 10 voters who are not currently home owners (68 percent) said it was a goal of theirs to buy a home.

• Job uncertainty and saving for a down payment and closing costs are the biggest barriers to buying a home.

The survey findings are consistent with the results of other public opinion surveys. In a New York Times/CBS News poll conducted in June, 89 percent said that homeownership is an important part of the American Dream and more than 90 percent indicated that it is important for the federal government to continue the mortgage interest deduction.

According to a Pew Research Study conducted last March, 81 percent of respondents agree that buying a home is the best long-term investment a person can make and 81 percent of renters surveyed said they would like to buy a house.

“Even in a down housing market, homeownership remains a core American value, with the vast majority of citizens who do not currently own a home saying they want to buy a home,” said Bob Nielsen, president of the National Association of Home Builders and a home builder from Reno, Nev. “Those running for office in November need to understand that voters will not look kindly on any candidates who seek to dismantle the nation’s long-term commitment to homeownership.”

For more information, visit www.nahb.org/homeownershippoll ^[2].

We are here to help you realize the American Dream of homeownership!

Remember, the Franke Team is always here for you! Call us for all your real estate needs!

www.franketeam.com |   (936) 647-4400

She began her Real Estate career in Lake Conroe in 2005, and soon became one of the highest producing young Realtors in the area, and even received the honor of highest individual producer by the end of her second year. In July of 2008 she was asked to join The Marion Franke Team, and she gladly accepted the opportunity.

Jennifer is highly motivated and professional, and she would love to have the opportunity to earn your business!

Achievements:

2007 – Top Individual Producer (Keller Williams Realty)
2009 – #1 Producing Agent (The Marion Franke Team)
2010 – #2 Producing Agent (The Marion Franke Team)
2011 – #1 Producing Agent (The Marion Franke Team)
2011 – 2nd Highest Producing Selling Agent in the Lake Conroe Area (Houston Association of Realtors)
2011 – Top Producing Realtor, Greater Houston Area (Houston Association of Realtors)

Lake Conroe Real Estate and Homes for Sale

Home Sales in the Montgomery County area went way up over the last month due to home buyers taking advantage of historically low interest rates.   Just in the month of August, sales increased almost 36 % from August 2010, a total of 172 more homes sold this year.

With averages interest rates in the mid-to-low 4 percent range, Lake Conroe Real Estate saw a significant increase in home sales despite the current low water levels in the Lake.  If you have a good to high credit score, you still have the opportunity to lock in some incredibly low rates and make a move on the home of your dreams.  The Marion Franke Team in particular had their best month during the month of August for the last 3 years, selling almost 50 homes and close to $10 Million total.

Please feel free to give us a call or visit our website to search for any homes that you may be interested in while the “iron’s hot”!

Mortgage Interest Rates have dipped AGAIN – Time to BUY!!! ….
Approximate Rates as of May 30, 2011

• 30 year fixed rate: 4.625 -4.875% (Depending on loan amount)
• 30 year fixed rate – FHA: 4.25- 4.5 % (only need 3.5% down!!) – WITH SCORES POSSIBLY AS LOW AS 580!!!
• 15 year fixed rate: 3.875-4.25 %

(Rates are based on at least 5% down with at least 720 credit for approved borrowers. Borrowers having less than 720 credit have about .25% higher rate…unless they go FHA)
Prequalification is your first step in buying a home, so please contact us if you need a lender to help you get started. If you are already approved, then we are ready to assist you with your real estate needs. We look forward to hearing from you!

Lake Conroe Real Estate and Homes for Sale

If you’re like many first-time homebuyers, chances are you’ve been spending your weekends driving around visiting open houses and new model homes. This is a great way to get a feel for what you want. The problem is that what you want isn’t always what you should get.

Before you start touring homes for sale, it’s important to start off with a budget so you know how much you can afford to spend. Knowing what mortgage payment you can handle will also help you narrow the field so you don’t waste precious time touring homes that are out of your reach.

Where to begin
The key factor in figuring how much home you can afford is your debt-to-income ratio. This is the figure lenders use to determine how much mortgage debt you can handle, and thus the maximum loan amount you will be offered. The ratio is based on how much personal debt you are carrying in relation to how much you earn, and it’s expressed as a percentage.

The ideal ratio
Mortgage lenders generally use a ratio of 36 percent as the guideline for how high your debt-to-income ratio should be. A ratio above 36 percent is seen as risky, and the lender will likely either deny the loan or charge a higher interest rate. Another good guideline is that no more than 28 percent of your gross monthly income goes to housing expenses.

Doing the math
First, figure out how much total debt you (and your spouse, if applicable) can carry with a 36 percent ratio. To do this, multiply your monthly gross income (your total income before taxes and other expenses such as health care) by .36. For example, if your gross income is $6,500:

Next, add up all your family’s fixed monthly debt expenses, such as car payments, your minimum credit card payments, student loans and any other regular debt payments. (Include monthly child support, but not bills such as groceries or utilities.)

*Your minimum credit card payment is not your total balance every month. It is your required minimum payment — usually between two and three percent of the outstanding balance.

Getting ready for school and catching that last chance for a summer break, makes August another busy month. If you have a vegetable garden, most of your plants will start producing most heavily.
August is still a popular month for summer vacations, but if you´ve already had yours, now is the time to get ready for school, fall, and the holidays at the end of the year.

• Make blackberry freezer jam.
• If you like to make Christmas gifts you already know August is getting a late start for some projects. Still, no time like the present.
• Check windows and doors to make sure locks work properly and that they are in good condition. Clean tracks and lubricate hinges. Repair or replace any cracked windows.
• Perform garage door maintenance.
• Repair minor brick and mortar cracks. Call a professional if necessary, especially concerning foundations.
• Think you need more attic insulation? Add it now.
• If you haven´t cleaned gutters for awhile, check them now. You can replace damaged or leaking gutters now, or add leaf guards that will allow leaves to slide off. Now there´s a thought! No more painstaking gutter cleaning!

The Marion Franke Team would like to introduce our recently improved Lake Conroe Subdivision Map!  We have added feature-specific placemarks that differentiate between Waterfront Subdivisions, Golf Course Subdivisions, or both.  We are always adding new Montgomery County Texas Subdivisions so please feel free to request or suggest a new community!  Soon we will introduce a similiar tool for Subdivions in The Woodlands, in addition to our existing Lake Conroe Golf Course Map!

We are going to be adding more subdivision-specific information all the time, but for now you can click on any subdivision placemark and you will be given the option to view all Active Listings in that Community!

If you have any questions or concerns, please visit our website at http://www.franketeam.com or call us at (800) 518-7755!

UPBEAT, REPORTS CBRE
HOUSTON (CB Richard Ellis) – Economic indicators such as job growth and housing offer an upbeat outlook for Houston, reports CB Richard Ellis in its second quarter 2011 retail market report.

Houston’s economy is now back to prerecession levels, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, and an “On Numbers” study of new data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics ranks Houston number one in retail job growth, with 4,100 retail jobs added since 2008.
Also, according to estimates released by the Texas Workforce Commission, Houston gained 45,000 jobs from May 2010 to May 2011.

The majority of Houston retail leasing activity is largely represented within the food and services industries, while grocery-anchored centers perform well because of their ability to attract significant amounts of consumer traffic.

Retailers continue to focus on the historically fast-growing, master-planned suburban areas and the high-income Inner Loop area. According to Metrostudy’s quarterly statistics, the most recently reported top five master-planned communities were Cinco Ranch (770 home starts), The Woodlands (756), Telfair (379), Bridgeland (287) and Sienna Plantation (259).

What is a QR Code?

QR Codes, a two-dimensional bar code system, is a widely used technology in Japan and other foreign countries, and is quickly becoming popular in the northern United States. QR is short for Quick Response (they can be read quickly by a cell phone), and they are used to take a piece of information from a transitory media and put it in to your cell phone. You may soon see QR Codes in a magazine advertisement, on a billboard, a web page or even on someone’s t-shirt. In fact, you have probably already seen them without realizing what you were looking at.

Once you scan a QR code with your smart phone or tablet device, it may give you details about a business, or the person wearing a QR code on their t-shirt. Or it the code can be generated to place a phone call or submit a text message upon scanning. In any case, the reason why they are more useful than a standard barcode is that they can store (and digitally present) much more data, including url links, geo coordinates, and text. The other key feature of QR Codes is that instead of requiring a chunky hand-held scanner to scan them, many modern cell phones can scan them.

We decided to take advantage of the rising popularity of this technology, and have already started adding custom QR codes to the yard signs on all of our team’s listings, that will direct a user to a listing-specific webpage with information, pictures, and much more about the listing they are sitting in front of! We are very excited to offer this service to our clients, so keep an eye out in the coming weeks, as we outfit all of our signs, both residential and commercial, with yet another avenue to our clients’ properties!

If you have an iPhone or Android phone, here are a couple QR Scanning apps that you can download directly from the links provided:

iPhone Apps:
“Scan” – http://www.itunes.com/app/scan (free)
“QuickMark” – http://www.itunes.com/app/quickmark ($1.99)

Android Apps:
”QuickMark” – https://market.android.com/details?id=tw.com.quickmark (free)
“QR Droid” – https://market.android.com/details?id=la.droid.qr (free)

If you are willing to give them a try, these thrifty habits will reduce day-to-day water and energy consumption and lower your utility bills:

- Turn off the water in the sink or shower while you brush your teeth, scrub or shave, then turn it on again to rinse.

-  Lower the temperature setting on your water heater to 120 degrees and wash only full loads of dishes or clothes.

- Make a sweep through each room before bed and turn off all electrical devices, including computers and printers. Unplugging appliances or using power strips will avoid “phantom” energy drain, as most electonics draw a small amount of power even when they are turned off.

- Set your thermostat at 70 degrees or below in the winter months; your heating costs could rise 4 to 6% for every degree above 70.

- Forego the fresh towel: a family that hangs up and reuses their own bath towels several times will save 3,400 gallons of water, 50 therms of natural gas, 410 kilowatt hours of electricity and $105 each year.