The Secrets to Real Estate Success

The Santa Cruz Sentinel published an article today featuring the testimonies of Santa Cruz's most successful Realtors.

Frank's secret? "I love helping people."


by Jondi Gumz, Santa Cruz Sentinel

Homebuyers are scarce. Sales are down 50 percent compared to the peak of 2005.Yet some real estate agents closed a deal a month -- or more -- last year, the slowest year of the past decade. How did they do it?

About 90 people showed up Wednesday at a luncheon organized by the local chapter of the Women's Council of Realtors to hear six top agents share their secrets.

Quipped moderator Robert Bailey, president of Bailey Properties, "This could be the new cast of 'Survivor.' "

When Sally Bookman started in real estate in 1974, she made it a habit to write notes to the prospective buyers she met at open houses. She didn't procrastinate; she started writing notes before the open house ended. Now she has a huge referral business.

Bookman, originally from London, bought a house while studying at UC Berkeley. She filled the house with students, then bought the lot next door, and then another house.

"I never lost at Monopoly," she said.

She said she uses her doctorate in social anthropology to figure out what clients want."If you drive that car and the way you dress, I know what kind of house you want," she said.

Frank Murphy made only one deal in 1998, his first year in real estate. He had expected his new career would mean lots of free time, but he worked 70-80 hours a week.

He uses his 15 years of experience as a building contractor to help buyers solve problems.

"I love helping people," he said.

Audrey Tennant, who's been in the business for 20 years, stays in touch with clients. She uses seasonal marketing campaigns. Working in human resources and marketing for a food and wine company over the hill, she learned patience during union negotiations.

Real estate, she said, is "a give and take business not a push and shove business."

Michael O'Boy initially didn't want to follow in the footsteps of his dad, who was a broker. He became a therapist instead. Then he traded that profession for real estate in 1995 when he decided he wanted to become a homeowner. He found his background as a therapist helpful."You listen more and say less," he said.

Lela Willet taught kindergarten until she had a second child. Then she left the classroom to work with her husband, a builder. She sets aside time once a week to call every one of her clients. She does it away from the office, so she doesn't get interrupted.

Being with 5-year-olds, she learned patience and listening, valuable skills in real estate.Pat Simmons made connections in construction working as a masonry contractor with his father."I can recommend folks I would use," he said.

He also can advise clients how much to offer when they tell him the kitchen has to be updated. One lesson he learned from his father: Ask yourself: "Are you proud to put your name on your work?" Ask that question every day.

So what do they all have in common?

It's not high-tech gadgets.

In fact, only Murphy and O'Boy like technology. All of the others outsource computer tasks.Experience counts, certainly, but that's not enough by itself.

For each of these agents, the key is helping people. It's finding out what their clients need and helping them get what they need.

As Simmons put it, "It's about success for the client, not you and the commission."

Well said.

Lessons from survivors

Audrey Tennant
Firm: David Lyng Real Estate
'07 escrows: 14
Started in: 1987
Was in: Human resources/marketing
Relaxes by: Spending time with grandchildren.
Quote: Look for opportunities. Remember buyers turn into sellers.

Frank Murphy
Firm: Keller Williams Realty
'07 Escrows: 19
Started in: 1998
Was: Building contractor
Relaxes by: Traveling
Quote: Instead of trying to make a buck, I have an opportunity to help people solve a problem.

Mike O'Boy
Firm: Coldwell Banker
'07 Escrows: 25
Started in: 1995
Was: Therapist at Dominican Hospital
Relaxes by: Coaching
Quote: Don't take for granted where your business will come from. An open house three years ago could result in a client. Return every phone call.

Proposal to Increase Lending Limits: What Do You Think?

Designed to "jump-start the ailing U.S. housing market," the current federal economic stimulus plan includes a proposal to increase the size limit on loans from mortgage financiers such as Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. At the moment, the limit is set at $417,000. With this proposal, the loan limit would go up to $729,750.

According to this post at TheTruthAboutMortgage.com, "the hope is that the easing of the loan limits will allow homeowners in more expensive housing markets to obtain more favorable financing, which in turn should promote sales and uphold home prices."

However, not everyone is quite so optimistic. This article by Al Yoon of Reuters gives a more cynical view than the opinion over at TheTruthAboutMortgage. Yoon fears that raising the loan limit might unintentionally raise mortgage rates, since "increasing the eligible loans to $729,750 from $417,000 would change the characteristics of mortgage-backed securities, leading traders to exact a premium for increased interest-rate risk." Higher mortgage rates would in turn, of course, "make it even harder to unload already high housing inventories and existing homes on the market, delaying any housing recovery and potentially extending the U.S. economic slowdown."

We're curious what you think about the economic stimulus proposal and its hope to increase loan limits . Go ahead and read both articles (click on the links provided) and let us know your prediction!

How the New Rate Cuts Might Affect Your Mortgage

As most of us know, last Wednesday marked another .5% rate cut for the Federal Reserve, placing the current interest rate at a flat 3%.

Alan Heavens of the Chicago Tribune has written an insightful article about the way that short-term interest rate cuts affect the public's perception of mortgage rate. Click here to read about the rush for refinancing in the wake of the most recent rate cuts.

The Santa Cruz County Housing Market in 2008

Will Santa Cruz County succeed in "bucking the statewide housing trend"?

According to Sentinel staff writer Jondi Gumz, some say it can:

"Santa Cruz County is expected to bypass the statewide housing trends in 2008.

Alan Nevin, economist for the California Building Industry Association, said his statewide prediction for smaller homes and lower prices might come true in San Luis Obispo but not in Santa Cruz.

'The problem in Santa Cruz is supply,' said Jeff Becker of DMB Associates in Hollister and association chairman. 'You're not going to see smaller homes there at lower prices. Builders can build larger and always have a buyer.'

The CBIA forecasts 2,200 housing starts in the Central Coast area, which runs from Santa Cruz to Santa Barbara counties. From 2002 to 2005, an average of 4,581 single-family homes got permits; the number dropped to 2,000 in 2007. Multifamily homes, often less than 1,000 units, are not a significant factor.

Between 2,000 and 3,000 new jobs are projected in 2008, a slight improvement over 2007, but down from 7,000 in 2005.

Here's what locals expect:

Jeff Talmadge, Aptos builder: 'I think pricing from trade contractors will be lower this year than last year. I have had some of them tell me they will be more aggressive about going after more types of work than in the past. There have been more instances of contractors who are based over the hill competing for jobs here in Santa Cruz than I have ever seen before. From an environmentalist's standpoint, I like to see homes heading toward being smaller.'

Dennis Norton, Capitola land-use planner: 'Nothing new is coming down the pike. I think it's going to be a slow year. The business in Santa Cruz is remodeling; compared to new homes, the ratio is 10 to 1 or 6 to 1. The only people building are on the high end, people who aren't affected by the economy. A third of my clients are like that. They're from over the hill. One paid $2.7 million for property in Pleasure Point, tore down the house and will probably spend $2 million to build. As for smaller houses, I don't see that. That may be true in the spec business but nobody is in the spec business now. Maybe the condos under construction on 41st Avenue. They just started framing on that project.'"

B of A Set to Buy Countrywide

Bank of America Corp officially announced today that it will buy mortgage lender Countrywide Financial Corp for $4 billion dollars.

According to Reuters, "Countrywide's market value has slid by about $22 billion in the last year." Caught in the subprime mess up until now, hopes are that the merger will "avert one of the biggest collapses in the U.S. housing crisis."

Bank of America and Countrywide will combine to create the nation's second-biggest mortgage lender.


Bank Of America to Buy Countrywide For $4 Billion, from Reuters via the New York Times

Press Release: Frank Murphy - Expertise in Luxury Home Market

Frank Murphy with Keller Williams Realty Luxury Homes Division of Santa Cruz recently completed a luxury home marketing training course offered by the Miami Board of Realtors.

The course - which covered such topics as demographics of the affluent, lifestyle segmentation, trends and amenities in today’s luxury home product, and creating a marketing plan for the multimillion dollar property – was taught by Laurie Moore-Moore, President of the Dallas-based Institute and author of the book, “Rich Buyer, Rich Seller! The Real Estate Agents’ Guide to Marketing Luxury Homes.”

“The course is a step towards earning the prestigious Certified Luxury Home Marketing Specialist designation which The Institute awards internationally to sales professionals who meet performance standards in the upper-tier residential market,” said Moore-Moore. Frank Murphy is an example of a sales associate who works to hone the special skills and competencies necessary to provide exceptional service in the fine homes and estates marketplace.”

Frank Murphy is an award-winning sales associate who has been in real estate since 1997 and specializes in the Santa Cruz County market. Frank is currently one of the 25 Top Producing Realtors in Santa Cruz County.

“The training provided new insight about the upper tier market, helped me polish my skills, and provided valuable networking contacts with other agents across the country who specialize in luxury properties,” said Murphy “In addition, I discovered new and creative tools for promoting expensive homes and estates and new resources for finding buyer prospects. Home buyers and sellers will benefit from my new knowledge.”

For current information on the upper tier market, contact Frank Murphy at Keller Williams Realty Luxury Homes Division of Santa Cruz at 831-457-5550 or email Frank@FrankMurphy.net

www.frankmurphy.net

TAX BREAK FOR MORTGAGE DEBT FORGIVENESS

President Bush signed into law today a new measure giving tax breaks to homeowners who have mortgage debt forgiven. Under preexisting law, the debt forgiven by a lender, such as for short sales and refinances, was generally taxable to the borrower as debt discharge income. With the passage of the Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act of 2007, a taxpayer does not have to pay federal income tax on debt forgiven for a loan secured by a qualified principal residence.

This tax break applies to debts discharged from January 1, 2007 to December 31, 2009. Qualified principal residence indebtedness is debt incurred in acquiring, constructing, or substantially improving the residence (up to $2 million for refinances).

For purposes of calculating capital gains, any debts discharged excluded from income under the new law must be subtracted from the basis of the taxpayer's principal residence (but not below zero). However, taxpayers may generally exclude from capital gains income up to $250,000 (or $500,000 for married couples filing jointly) for properties owned and used as their principal residence for at least two of the last five years.

For a copy of the Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act of 2007, go to http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=h110-3648.

Brought to you by the CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®

INFORMATION FOR TAXPAYERS IN FORECLOSURE

Provided courtesy of the Internal Revenue Service

The IRS has developed information and Web resources to assist taxpayers with the tax issues presented by foreclosure.

Key Points:

*The Internal Revenue Service unveiled a special new section on www.IRS.gov for people who have lost their homes due to foreclosure.

*The IRS also reassured homeowners that although mortgage workouts and foreclosures can have tax consequences, special relief provisions can often reduce or eliminate the tax bite for financially strapped borrowers who lose their homes.

Resources:

*IRS 2007-159 – The news release IR 2007-159 provides additional background. The
news release and FAQs can also be found at http://www.irs.gov/newsroom/article/0,,id=174022,00.html

The direct link to the FAQ’s is http://www.irs.gov/newsroom/article/0,,id=174034,00.html

Santa Cruz Ballet Theatre presents The Nutcracker!

2008 California Market Forecast & Statistics Galore!

That's right! On October 10, California Association of Realtor (CAR)'s Vice President and Chief Economist, Leslie Appleton-Young, released the 2008 Real Estate Market Forecast for all of California.

Click HERE to access regional and state-wide statistics, detailed charts and graphs, a 2008 forecast and 2008 market opportunities!

For more information on taking advantage of this forecast and more, be sure to call me at 831-457-5550 or shoot me an email at frank@frankmurphy.net!

Pin the Tail on the Bottom of the Market!

All of us Realtors have been working with would be home buyers here in Santa Cruz. It seems all of them feel that they should wait until the housing market is at the bottom before they buy a home. Let’s look at an interesting take on "the bottom of the market" and how it will effect your buying decision....









This is a graph that represents the Santa Cruz housing market. The left side of the V represents the market going down, the right side represents the market going up, and of course the bottom of the V represents the bottom of the housing market.





If I asked you to plot on this

graph where you thought the housing

market was right now ...












... would you pick this spot or something close?



So you think that the market is going towards the bottom. If the market isn't at the bottom yet, how will you know when it does hit the bottom?

How will you know when the housing market hits the bottom?

Experience tells us you won't know that the housing market has hit the bottom until prices start to go back up. It will be difficult to be sure that the market has hit bottom for a few months. It’s not a sudden shift, it’s a gradual shift. You'll be able to tell that the market has turned when prices reach this point (green arrow).




What is the difference in housing prices between the red arrow and the green arrow?

Not much... but there is another difference: a major difference.

If you buy a home on the left side of the graph, it is considered a buyers market. You would be more likely to get concessions from a seller including price reductions, repairs, upgrades, closing costs, maybe even personal property.

If you wait until the market turns and you buy on the upswing, you and every other buyer that has been waiting for the market to hit bottom will be bidding on the same house.

There really is no better time to buy a house than now, and here are some reasons why:

1. There is a wonderful selection of homes to choose from right now.
2. Sellers are very willing to negotiate on price, terms and perks.
3. Interest rates are still at a historical low.

I'm suggesting we take a good look at the above examples and decide what percentage the prices will have to drop before a buyer thinks housing prices have hit bottom, and then offer that price. For example, if you think that prices will go down another 5%, then submit an offer at 5% below the asking price. Sellers will either counter, accept or decline. Then look at a loan payment based on current low interest rates. On an $875,000 home with an accepted offer 5% below asking, you'd end up at $831,250. Putting 20% down ($166,250) your loan would be $665,000. At 6% payments would run $3,325. If interest rates were to go up only half a point to 6.5%, the same home with the same $166,250 down would have to sell for $797,000 to end up with a similar loan payment.

The message here is to take advantage of the market today! Opportunity is knocking now!

Fed Cuts Interest Rates by A Quarter Point

Interest rates have indeed been cut again, moving down from 4.75% to 4.5%.

While the cut was expected, it is now thought to be unlikely that rates will be cut again for quite sometime.

Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke was forced to make a decision in light of both a "faster-than-expected" growth in the economy and the threat of falling home prices and a falling dollar. And now, of course, the argument arises over whether Bernanke and the Fed are truly able to keep inflation under control.

To read about the Fed's decision in more detail and the controversy that surrounds it, go to the Wall Street Journal's article: Fed's Rate Cut Could Be Last For a While

24-Hour Hotline Available to Help Avoid Foreclosure

According to Sentinel Staff Writer Jondi Gumz, "A national survey released Monday by the AFL-CIO reports that 49 percent of homeowners with adjustable rate mortgages admit they do not know how their mortgage adjusts and 73 percent do not know how much their mortgage payment will be after the adjustment.

"'This survey shows that many homeowners simply are not prepared for the steep rise in mortgage payments that this market inflicts on ARM [adjustable-rate mortgage] holders,' said AFL-CIO President John Sweeney.

"To help union members, their parents and their children who are trying to avoid foreclosure, AFL-CIO officials have opened a 24-hour hotline staffed by Money Management International, a HUD-certified counseling agency."

The "Save My Home" hotline is at 1-866-490-5361

To read Jondi's article in its entirety, go to Union Homeowners Know Too Little About Their Mortgage Payment

Fall 2007 Horticulture Lecture Series at Cabrillo College

Don't miss this five lecture series on Water Use in the Landscape, hosted by the Cabrillo College Environmental Horticulture Center.

Water is a critical natural resource that must be protected and used wisely. We will follow water's flow into our environment and see how it is used. Who is using the water and what are they using it for? Can you garden with limited water? Can you harvest the water that naturally falls on your property and use it later? What are the tools we can use to reduce your water application? And can this be done and still have all the coolest plants in your yard?

The series of five lectures is $40 when purchased as a group; or $10 per lecture if attended individually.

For more information go to http://www.cabrillo.edu/academics/horticulture/lectureseries.html

WHY YOU SHOULD PRICE YOUR HOME REALISTICALLY

TIME Chances are that your home will sell at its fair market value. Pricing it realistically at the outset simply increases the likelihood of a timely sale with less inconvenience and greater monetary return.

COMPETITION Buyers educate themselves by viewing many homes. They know what is a fair price. If your home is not competitive in value with those they have already seen, it will not sell. Buyers typically look at homes within a $10,000 price range. If your home is not priced within the correct range, it very likely will not be exposed to its potential or targeted buyers.

REPUTATION Overpricing causes most homes to remain on the market for too long. Buyers who are aware of a long exposure period are often hesitant to make an offer because they fear "something is wrong" with the house. It often happens that homes that are on the market for a long time eventually sell for less than their fair market value.

INCONVENIENCE If overpricing keeps your home from selling promptly, you can end up owning two homes - the one you've already purchased and the one you're trying to sell. This can prove costly and worrisome, as well as inconvenient.

EIGHTY PERCENT OF THE MARKETING OF YOUR HOME IS DONE THE NIGHT WE DECIDE AT WHAT PRICE WE WILL LIST YOUR HOME.

IF YOU ARE UNWILLING TO LIST YOUR HOME AT, OR JUST BELOW, THE

CURRENT MARKET VALUE YOU ARE BETTER SERVED NOT PUTTING IT ON

THE MARKET AT ALL.

FRANK MURPHY
831-457-5550

email Frank@FrankMurphy.net www.LiveInSantaCruz.com

Foreclosure Tax Relief Now Available to Many Through IRS Website!

Special Web Section Unveiled for Homeowners Who Lose Homes; Foreclosure Tax Relief Available to Many

IR-2007-159, Sept. 17, 2007

WASHINGTON — The Internal Revenue Service unveiled a special new section today on IRS.gov for people who have lost their homes due to foreclosure. The IRS also reassured homeowners that, although mortgage workouts and foreclosures can have tax consequences, special relief provisions can often reduce or eliminate the tax bite for financially strapped borrowers who lose their homes.

The new section of IRS.gov includes a variety of information, including a worksheet designed to help borrowers determine whether any of the foreclosure-related relief provisions apply to them. For those taxpayers who find they owe additional tax, it also includes a form they can use to request a payment agreement with the IRS. . In some cases, eligible taxpayers may qualify to settle their tax debt for less than the full amount due using an offer-in-compromise.

The IRS urges struggling homeowners to consider their options carefully before giving up their homes through foreclosure.

For more information visit the Internal Revenue Service website at www.irs.gov.

This article is courtesy of the Santa Cruz Association of Realtors.

7 FAST FIXES FOR YOUR CREDIT SCORE!

By Liz Pulliam Weston

So you've had a few problems getting the bills paid lately, and you're wondering what you can do to repair the damage.

You've got plenty of company. There are more than 30 million people in the United States with credit blemishes severe enough (and credit scores under 620) to make obtaining loans and credit cards with reasonable terms difficult.

Or maybe your credit is OK, but you'd like to make it better. After all, the better your credit, the lower the interest rates you can secure on mortgages, car loans and credit cards.
Know the score In order to improve your credit score, it's important to know where you stand currently. Despite all the media attention given to free credit reports, you still have to pay to find out your credit score, the three-digit number ranging from 300 to 850 that is the key to your borrowing costs. You can obtain your FICO credit scores, the ones lenders use, from MyFico.com. Or you can get Experian's "consumer education" version here.

Now you're ready to take the seven steps to speedy credit repair:

1) Pay down your credit cards. Paying off your installment loans (mortgage, auto, student, etc.) can help your score, but typically not as dramatically as paying down -- or paying off -- revolving accounts like credit cards. The credit-scoring formulas like to see a nice, big gap between the amount of credit you're using and your available credit limits. Getting your balances below 30% of the credit limit on each card can really help. While most debt gurus recommend paying off the highest-rate card first, a better strategy here is to pay down the cards that are closest to their limits.

2) Use your cards lightly. Racking up big balances can hurt your score, regardless of whether you pay your bill in full each month. What's typically reported to the credit bureaus, and thus calculated into your score, is the balance reported on your last statement. (That doesn't mean paying off your balances each month isn't financially smart -- it is -- just that the credit score doesn't care.) You typically can increase your score by limiting your charges to 30% or less of a card's limit. If you're having trouble keeping track, consider using a check register to track your spending, logging into your account frequently at the issuer's Web site, or using personal finance software like Microsoft Money or Quicken, which can download your transactions and balances automatically.

3) Check your limits. Your score might be artificially depressed if your lender is showing a lower limit than you've actually got. Most credit-card issuers will quickly update this information if you ask. If your issuer makes it a policy not to report consumers' limits, however -- as is the usual case with American Express cards and those issued by Capital One -- the bureaus typically use your highest balance as a proxy for your credit limit. You may see the problem here: If you consistently charge the same amount each month -- say $2,000 to $2,500 -- it may look to the credit-scoring formula like you're regularly maxing out that card.
You could go on a wild spending spree to raise the limit, but a more sober solution would simply be to pay your balance down or off before your statement period closes. Check your last statement to see which day of the month that typically is, then go to the issuer's Web site about a week in advance of closing and pay off what you owe. It won't raise your reported limit, but it will widen the gap between that limit and your closing balance, which should boost your score.

4) Dust off an old card. The older your credit history, the better. But if you stop using your oldest cards, the issuers may stop updating those accounts at the credit bureaus. The accounts will still appear, but they won't be given as much weight in the credit-scoring formula as your active accounts, said Craig Watts, an executive at Fair Isaac & Co., one of the leading credit scorers. That's why Ferguson often recommends to her clients that they use their oldest cards every few months to charge a small amount, paying it off in full when the statement arrives.

5) Get some goodwill. If you've been a good customer, a lender might agree to simply erase that one late payment from your credit history. You usually have to make the request in writing, and your chances for a "goodwill adjustment" improve the better your record with the company (and the better your credit in general). But it can't hurt to ask. A longer-term solution for more-troubled accounts is to ask that they be "re-aged." If the account is still open, the lender might erase previous delinquencies if you make a series of 12 or so on-time payments.

6) Dispute old negatives. Say that fight with your phone company over an unfair bill a few years ago resulted in a collections account. You can continue protesting that the charge was unjust, or you can try disputing the account with the credit bureaus as "not mine." The older and smaller a collection account, the more likely the collection agency won't bother to verify it when the credit bureau investigates your dispute. Some consumers also have had luck disputing old items with a lender that has merged with another company, which can leave lender records a real mess.

7) Blitz significant errors. Your credit score is calculated based on the information in your credit report, so certain errors there can really cost you. But not everything that's reported in your file matters to your score. Here's the stuff that's usually worth the effort of correcting with the bureaus:

-Late payments, charge-offs, collections or other negative items that aren't yours. -Credit limits reported as lower than they actually are
-Accounts listed as "settled," "paid derogatory," "paid charge-off" or anything other than "current" or "paid as agreed" if you paid on time and in full.
-Accounts that are still listed as unpaid that were included in a bankruptcy.
-Negative items older than seven years (10 in the case of bankruptcy) that should have automatically fallen off your report.

You actually have to be a bit careful with this last one, because sometimes scores actually go down when bad items fall off your report. It's a quirk in the FICO credit-scoring software, and the potential effect of eliminating old negative items is difficult to predict in advance.

Some of the stuff that you typically shouldn't worry about includes:
-Various misspellings of your name.
-Outdated or incorrect address information.
-An old employer listed as current.
-Most inquiries.
-If the misspelled name or incorrect address is because of identity theft or because your file has been mixed with someone else's, that should be obvious when you look at your accounts. You'll see delinquencies or accounts that aren't yours and should report that immediately. However, if it's just a goof by the credit bureau or one of the companies reporting to it, it's usually not much to sweat about.

Two more items you don't need to correct:
-Accounts you closed listed as being open.
-Accounts you closed that don't say "closed by consumer."

Closing accounts can't help your score, and may hurt it. If your goal is boosting your score, leave these alone. Once an account has been closed, though, it doesn't matter to the scoring formulas who did it -- you or the lender. If you messed up the account, it will be obvious from the late payments and other derogatory information included in the file.

4 other credit mistakes Other actions to beware when you're trying to improve your score:

-Asking a creditor to lower your credit limits. This will reduce that all-important gap between your balances and your available credit, which could hurt your score. If a lender asks you to close an account or get a limit lowered as a condition for getting a loan, you might have to do it -- but don't do so without being asked.
-Making a late payment. The irony here is that a late or missed payment will hurt a good score more than a bad one, dropping a 700-plus score by 100 points or more. If you've already got a string of negative items on your credit report, one more won't have a big impact, but it's still something you want to avoid if you're trying to improve your score.
-Consolidating your accounts. Applying for a new account can ding your score. So, too, can transferring balances from a high-limit card to a lower-limit one, or concentrating all or most of your credit-card balances onto a single card. In general, it's better to have smaller balances on a few cards than a big balance on one.
-Applying for new credit if you've already got plenty. On the other hand, applying for and getting an installment loan can help your score if you don't have any installment accounts, or you're trying to recover from a credit disaster like bankruptcy.

By the way, all these suggestions work best if you have poor or mediocre scores to begin with. Once you've hit the 700 mark, any tweaking you do will tend to have less of a positive impact.
And if your scores are in the "excellent" category, 760 or above, you'll probably be able to eke out only a few extra points despite your best efforts. There's really no point, anyway, since you're already qualified for the best rates and terms. Here's one area where it's really OK to rest on your laurels and worry about something else.

Liz Pulliam Weston's column appears every Monday and Thursday, exclusively on MSN Money. She also answers reader questions in the Your Money message board.

Prop 60 Tax Base Transfers

While Santa Cruz County allows Prop 60 transfers of a qualifying property tax basis from one Santa Cruz County property to another, it does not accept transfers from outside the county. For example, you can not transfer your basis from San Mateo County into Santa Cruz County. You can however transfer it within San Mateo County or into one of the other counties which accept inter-county transfers. Please contact me at frank@frankmurphy.net if you would like to receive the "Prop 60 Tax Base" brochure prepared by the Santa Cruz County Assessor's Office for a list of counties which accepted transfers when this brochure was prepared. You need to check the current status with any county you intend to transfer into to be sure they still accept transfers.

I hope this information proves helpful for you.

And remember, if you need any information about any real estate issues I will be glad to help provide resources for that info.

ON PREDICTING THE REAL ESTATE MARKET

Jeff Schoenfield, my colleague and fellow member of the invitation only Allen Hainge CyberStars, offers this opinion about predicting the real estate market. I couldn’t agree more!

"The real question (whether you are a potential buyer or seller) of course is when will the market turn? While I don't have a crystal ball you can be assured of one thing: The turn of the market will NOT be announced by headlines in USA Today and other national and local publications stating 'Real Estate Market Bottom Reached - Now Time to Invest!'. Rather, the news reported will still be mainly negative even as the market turns. We also do know that prices are the best they've been in some time and there are bargains available. By the time the market actually turns and everybody knows about it the best values will be behind us and buyers will have missed their opportunity to get a true bargain."

Jeff Schoenfield
Broker/Owner
RE/MAX All Pro, Realtors, Inc.
Gatlinburg, TN
Jeff@Gatlinburg-Homes.com

Show Your Support: Please Join Us in the FLY THE FLAG Campaign

On Tuesday, September 11th, 2007, an American flag should be displayed outside every home, apartment, office, and store in the United States.

Every individual should make it their duty to display an American flag on this sixth anniversary of our country's worst tragedy. We do this in honor of those who lost their lives on 9/11, their families, friends, and loved ones who continue to endure the pain, and those who today are fighting at home and abroad to preserve our cherished freedoms.

In the days, weeks and months following 9/11, our country was bathed in American flags as citizens mourned the incredible losses and stood shoulder-to-shoulder against terrorism. Sadly, those flags have all but disappeared. Our patriotism pulled us through some tough times and it shouldn't take another attack to galvanize us in solidarity. Our American flag is the fabric of our country and together we can prevail over terrorism of all kinds.

Thank you for your participation.