TheDawgByte

     I feel very fortunate to live and work in a city that is one of my strongest marketing tools as a Real Estate Broker.   So many prospective home buyers from other states and Canada email or call me after reading on our website that Mission Viejo has been ranked one of the country's safest cities for the past several years.  The CQ Press report, based on FBI crime statistics, has Mission Viejo ranked the 2^nd Safest City in the United States for 2008, while the Uniform Crime Report for 2008 ranks Mission Viejo as "America's Safest City."  In 2007 all crime reports ranked Mission Viejo as "America's Safest City."

     Mission Viejo offers home buyers the grand troika of Southern California's wonderful lifestyle: sun, surf and safety.  Established in 1968 as one of the first master planned communities in the country, Mission Viejo's success is in feeling more like a city than a master planned community.  It has that hometown feel that seems to be missing in so many other master planned developments.

     Mission Viejo offers everything under the sun for outdoor enthusiasts, from fishing and boating on beautiful Lake Mission Viejo to hiking on our many trails. Did I mention the surf?  Mission Viejo is only minutes from the restful and romantic waves and beaches of the Pacific Ocean.  People tend to ponder such things when shoveling five feet of snow from their driveways. And safety!  Mission Viejo is ranked as one of this country's safest cities. 

     As a Real Estate Broker in Mission Viejo, I feel fortunate to live and work in a city that has so much to offer home buyers looking for a great place to live.  It certainly makes marketing a property exciting and fresh. 

     I just planted lavender in my backyard.  I mean, no big deal...right?  Well, I did get up at 5:00AM to accomplish this feat of gardening.  And now, I'm sitting here in front of my pc to write something stirring and relevant about the real estate market when it hits me.  I just planted lavendar in my backyard!  And it is relevant to the real estate market.

     How?  I'm into my backyard again!  That's a real Martha Stewart "it's a good thing" moment.  It's a positive moment!  I'm into my backyard again.  I'm not in my office pouring over local and national real estate trends and fretting over this bailout or that pay bonus.  I'm feeling positive and planting lavender in my backyard.  A sign?  Did the Cosmos just tap me on the shoulder?

     A sign!  I've been needing a sign, you know.  Yes, I'm a real estate broker and yes I've seen all the positive indicators about the real estate market.  But inside...the me deep inside...has still been waiting for that personal sign that things are turning around and improving.  I just planted lavender in my backyard...and early in the morning!  My personal sign that positive things are happening...that is it.

     Dang, this cup of coffee is the best I've had.  I think I'm ready to write that moving blog piece about the real estate market.

    

      The California Association of Realtors is launching a new program today called the California Association of Realtors' Housing Affordability Fund Mortgage Protection Program.  While it is a mouthful to say, the California Association Realtors is putting some money where their "mouthful" is.  The program is designed to address the concerns of first-time home buyers nervous about entering the housing market because of fears over potential job loss and then not being able to pay their monthly mortgage.

       The new program from C.A.R. provides that first-time home buyers who lose their jobs due to layoffs may be eligible for up to $1,500 per month for up to six months to assist them in making their mortgage payments.  A qualified co-buyer may also take part in this program and receive up to $750 per month up to six months if they suffer a job loss due to being laid off.

       To qualify for the California Association of Realtors' Housing Affordability Fund Mortgage Protection Program, the applicants must:

          Be a first-time home buyer (someone who hasn't owned a home in the last three years

          Open escrow April 2, 2009, or later, and close on or before December 31, 2009.

          Use a California Realtor in the transaction

          Purchase the property in California

          Be a w/2 employee (can not be self-employed or military personnel)

       This program is an important step taken towards the stabilization of the California real estate market and the California Association of Realtors is to be congratulated on its proactive response.

         If you are a first-time home buyer sitting on the proverbial fence about buying a home, give your Realtor a call to learn more about the benefits of this C.A.R program.  (Now for a bit of shameless self-promotion)  If you don't have a Realtor, give me a call to learn more about the benefits of this program or to request an application.