The Bains

(1) Tidy up kitchen cabinets & use roll-out organizing trays. (2) Add or replace tile in kitchen and
baths as can be inexpensive. (3) Add a breakfast bar & can do by cutting away some of cabinets to
open to living area. (4) Install granite tile instead of a slab as is cheaper. (5) Freshen up a bathroom without retiling with new fauce, light fixtures, vanity, French door, etc. (6) Freshen up
the playroom with paint, shelves, etc. (7) Add a room, but get help from a contractor or designer.
(8) Spruce up cabinet fronts by polishings, putting on new hardware, etc. (9) Replace light fixtures
in foyer, baths, kitchen & taken out tract & overhead lights with recessed canned lights. (10)
Tech-up the garage with a remote touchpad entry system. Done economically can add dollars to your sales price.

(1) When a homeowning parent of an adult child co-signs for a mortgage & both names appear on the note, the first-time homebuyer can qualify for the $8,000 credit, but the parent doesn’t qualify
for any portion of the credit. (2) if the child hasn’t owned a home during the 3 years preceding the
current purchase & can qualify based on income, he or she can get the entire credit. (3) When
unmarried individuals co-purchase a home & only one is eligible for the credit, the full $8,000 can be
allocated to the eligible buyer.
Have a blessed Christmas & a wonderful holiday from The Bains

223 homes sold last month, compared to 164 sold November 2008 – a 36% INCREASE, according to
the Greater Tyler Assoc. of Realtors. 4th best November ever. A 28.8% increase in October. Median sales prices increased to $129,000 from $120,750 a year ago. October saw median prices at
$137,900, so a decrease there. Tyler inventory fell to ll.8 months. However, the TX A&M Real Estate Center says a balanced inventory is 6 months. Wood County saw similar figures, but in smaller numbers. The $8,000 Tax credit drove some of this + the hopefully to be passed $6,500
credit for existing homeowners. Some of buyer reluctance is consumer fear & the “wait for the price to bottomout” attitude, but Texas has affordability & jobs. Since prices did not appreciate rapidly,
the the bottoming will be less obvious. Sales will increase because of record low interest rate (now
average 5.05%), continuation of tax credits, affordability & great selection.

To consider – what is your home worth? Ask us at Bain Real Estate & we can help you. Now
how much do you owe on your house? Look on your monthly statement or call your lender, but have
your loan number handy. Get the loan-to-value ratio by substracting what you owe from what your
house is worth (you owe $80,000 on a $100,000 valued home, then your loan-to-value ratio is 80%).
Do you have a 2nd lien? If the loan-to-value ratio is 100%+, then call your mortgage servicer & be a
candidate for the Home Affordable Refinance Program. If less than 90% then talk to your servicer &
see what they have to offer on a refinance before going to other lenders. They will want to know all
your other accounts to see what interest rate they will charge. Also if you have paid your loan off
for 5 years on a 30 year mortgage, then refinance for 25 years to be finished at the same time. While going through this process do NOT buy another major item. Wait until the refinance closes.

Treasury Dept. officials announced this week they plan to increase pressure on the 71 mortgage
companies participaing in the government’s $75 billion loan modification program. It allows homeowners to have their mortgage interest rate reduced to as low as 2% for five years. Mortgage
companies have had a hard time getting homeowners to complete the necessary paperwork to
participate in the program. Nearly 60% of the 375,000 borrowers who qualify have to complete paperwork by end of year, & HAVE NOT. The 8 largest mortgage companies will have 3-person Fed “SWAT” teams to monitor the work & publish twice-dails report on their progress.