My New Blog

NUMBER 1

Rock Bottom Restaurant and Brewery is probably my wife and I's favorite place to eat or just to hang out and have a drink. We used to live right up the street from them in Springs Ranch. It is located right next door to the Cinemark IMAX at Carefree Circle. It is great to have dinner and go catch a movie afterwards. We have been going their since they first opened their doors.

We have tried almost half the menu and have not found anything we do not like. They brew their own beer in house. You can order a Bud if you want, but their beers are far better. They offer anything from lights to ambers to stouts and specialties. We were there the other night and to our surprise they added a bunch of new items. My wife had the Brewers Club sandwich. I had one of the new dishes. It is called the Baja Tuna. It is a sushi grade piece of Tuna cooked medium rare with a pineapple and green pepper sauce on top...unbelievable! They also have great steaks like the Texas Fire Steak that comes with jalapeno butter! The BBQ Stout ribs are awesome. The BBQ sauce is made with their Stout Beer, which is awesome by itself. (I had that the other night). They also brew soda.

The ambience is also very nice. Not a whole lot of light, lots of booths and nice, relaxing colors. The wait staff is always great. I also noticed that they were starting an open mic night soon, which sounded weird for the place, but who knows. We will check it out and let you know how it is.

 Here is their link:

 http://www.rockbottom.com/

NUMBER 2

Salsa Brava Fresh Mexican Grill is great! I am kind of biased though, my sister works there.

First the wait staff is incredible...Stacie and Rick, you know who I'm talking about. The Manager, Ally, makes sure everything is perfect. Their website states traditional mexican with a twist...perfect. I was there last week for lunch. I had a Taco Salad with pork in a taco shell. We have all had taco salads, but theirs is by far the best. I have had many other dishes and I have not been disappointed. They serve fresh chips and salsa when you are sat at your table. The fresh guacamole is incredible!

The ambience is very laid back and relaxing. This is especially true when night falls and you feel like eating outside. They have a beautiful patio with a fire pit. 

Here is their link:

http://salsabravaonline.com/

NUMBER 3:

Coming Soon.

Not all Realtors® are equal. Did you know that more people find their homes online through a Realtor® than any other way? The internet has changed how we all live and work. And this is no different when it comes to selling your home.

I have an incredible online marketing campaign that puts your home in front of the maximum amount of Buyers. My online plan includes things like online magazines, narrated virtual tours, Seller Statistics Reports, Agent Accountability Reports, unlimited photos, house website and Google® Earth Aerial maps.

Some other things that I do includes a 1-800 call capture system, follow up on all showings, always providing the Seller with an accurate view of the current market conditions throughout the listing term in case we need to change marketing strategies, full color brochures with multiple contact points for prospective Buyers and more. Please give me a call at 719-492-2439 or send me an email to johnnyj@topproducer.com if you would like to schedule an appointment to meet.

Here are two BIG reasons:

1. Abnormal Appreciation 

Historically, home prices appreciate at about 5% per year. During the six years between 2000 and 2006, appreciation was at 89%. So, instead of 5% appreciation during the 5 year span, we had nearly 15% appreciation per year! Today's correction is a move toward stability.

1980-1985   Homes appreciated 25%

1985-1990   Homes appreciated 27%

1990-1995   Homes appreciated 25%

1995-2000   Homes appreciated 29%

2000-2006   Homes appreciated 89%

2. Lots of listings create depressed prices.

A normal market should contain about 5-6 months worth of inventory. To obtain this number of inventory, you would take the total inventory and divide it by the number of houses sold per month.So an example of a normal market would be if 100 houses sell a month, there should be 500 to 600 houses in active inventory.

In our current market of excessive inventory, there are not enough Buyers to support the number of active inventory. This in turn, drives home prices down. In a "Sellers Market", there is much less inventory which drives prices up, because Buyers are forced to "move quickly" on making an offer due to the competition of other Buyers and not much inventory.

So, what should we do?

Well, as you can see, this is a tremendous market to buy in. Rates are low, home prices are low and there are benefits like the new $8,000 tax credit available for first time home buyers or buyers who have not owned a home in the last 3 years.

My wife and I got a great deal on a Bank-Owned property almost a year ago. It is a part of town that is pretty far out from "civilization", but our goal is in the long run. We are currently doing minor upgrades and plan to sell when the market corrects itself. Hopefully we will realize a great profit and be able to move to exactly where we want.

We are in a market correction. This is not the first time, nor the last time we will see this happen to the real estate market. Real estate has always been a fabulous investment, and it will be like that again. We just need to be patient and look on the bright side that if you have the means, or a goal of first time home-ownership, or "moving up", or buying a second home then now is definitely the time to do it.

Please give me a call at 719-492-2439 or send me an email to johnnyj@topproducer.com

Sponsored by: Fucothin

What a great time for first time home buyers! I want to be sure that all first time home buyers and previous buyers who have not owned a house in the past three years know about the $8,000 tax credit. Here it is:

• True Credit: The $8,000 requires NO payback, making it a true credit, unlike last years $7,500 "credit" which is required to be paid back interest free over the course of 15 years.
• Purchase Date: The purchase date needs to be between January 1, 2009 and November 30, 2009 in order to qualify for the credit.
• First time buyer definition: Buyer must not have owned a home during the past three years and must live in the purchased house for at least three years (primary residence).
• "How do I receive the credit"?: All you need to do is claim it when you do your taxes. Taxpayers who have already filed may file an amended return for 2008 to claim the credit. 
• Restrictions on Income: Single Buyers must not make more than $75,000 per year and Married Buyers must not make more than $150,000 per year.  

I hope that helps. If you or someone you know is interested in buying a home and utilizing the $8,000 First Time Home Buyer Credit, please call me at 719-492-2439 or send me an email to johnnyj@topproducer.com