Hello all it's been a few days since my last post. I've been nervous about this, but I agreed to an interview with Elizabeth Gentle with WAFF 48 news. As many of you know, I was the owner of the Back Yard Burgers franchise in Athens and Huntsville, Alabama. We closed for business in Athens in September of last year and we closed the Huntsville restaurant last month.
Currently I am a full time Realtor in Huntsville and Madison Alabama with RE/MAX Realty. After 20 years in the restaurant industry I am enjoying my start in real estate.
I would appreciate any referrals to buy or sell in the Huntsville or Madison Alabama real estate market.
Let me know how the interview goes! I can't bear to watch. (I always heard I had a face for radio!)
Walt
Thursday, March 27, 2008
Saturday, March 15, 2008
Liberty Knoll Subdivision Madison, Alabama
To all Liberty Knoll Subdivision residents,
This week you will be receiving a postcard with a cute monkey on the front and a message and a picture of me on the back. Once a month or so you will receive a postcard or something from me with information about your neighborhood, etc. I will be concentrating on listing and selling properties in your neighborhood.
Huntsville and Madison Alabama are great places to live, and great places to buy and sell your real estate. Let me know how I can help provide you with information to make smart real estate decisions.
Register on my site for a free monthly e-newsletter. I will try to keep all active Liberty Knoll Subdivision homes on my site.
Thanks!
Walter
Mortgage news
Mortgage costs just got cheaper for buyers in high-cost areas.
The size of loans that can be guaranteed by Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae was raised today by the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight. The new, higher loan limits will stay in effect through the end of the year, allowing the government sponsored enterprises (GSEs), to buy much higher-priced mortgages in some areas of the country.
Also today, the size of the loans that the Federal Housing Authority (FHA) can insure was raised by Housing and Urban Development (HUD).
Both moves will lower borrowing costs for buyers of higher priced homes, and aim to boost flagging real estate markets.Best time to buy a home in four years
Previously, Fannie and Freddie could only insure mortgages of up to $417,000, called conforming loans. That meant, assuming a 20% down payment, that only buyers of homes costing $521,500 or less were eligible for mortgages with GSE backing.
The new loan limits for Fannie and Freddie vary by area based on local median home prices and go as high as $793,750 in Honolulu. (For details, see table below).
Loan limits for FHA-insured loans were even lower; no more than $362,790. Now mortgages of up to $729,750 will qualify for FHA insurance.
The problem was that there are whole swaths of the nation where the typical home cost far more than that, and non-conforming or "jumbo loans" carry interest rates of about a point higher. For a $500,000 mortgage, that's an additional spending of $330 a month.
In many parts of the country prices are much higher. In San Jose, Calif, the median priced home costs nearly $850,000, according to the latest figures from the National Association of Realtors. In San Francisco, the figure is nearly $780,000; in Anaheim, Calif.; $657,000; in Honolulu $625,000; and in the New York metro area, $525,000. That means more than half the loans in those markets would not qualify under conforming loan limits.
"Families in high-cost states have been priced out of FHA-backed loans," HUD Secretary Alphonso Jackson said earlier today, in a speech before the Las Vegas Association of Realtors. "This has created a vacuum, filled by exotic subprime loans."
During the liquidity squeeze that began during the summer of 2007, jumbo loans became very difficult to find even for well-qualified borrowers. that made it hard to buy homes in certain regions, freezing up real estate markets.
By making it easier for buyers to get loans, regulators hope to get these markets moving again.
The new loan limits affect 71 metropolitan areas, as well as 21 counties outside of those metro areas. First Published: March 6, 2008: 4:37 PM EST
http://www.walterjoneshomes.com
The size of loans that can be guaranteed by Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae was raised today by the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight. The new, higher loan limits will stay in effect through the end of the year, allowing the government sponsored enterprises (GSEs), to buy much higher-priced mortgages in some areas of the country.
Also today, the size of the loans that the Federal Housing Authority (FHA) can insure was raised by Housing and Urban Development (HUD).
Both moves will lower borrowing costs for buyers of higher priced homes, and aim to boost flagging real estate markets.Best time to buy a home in four years
Previously, Fannie and Freddie could only insure mortgages of up to $417,000, called conforming loans. That meant, assuming a 20% down payment, that only buyers of homes costing $521,500 or less were eligible for mortgages with GSE backing.
The new loan limits for Fannie and Freddie vary by area based on local median home prices and go as high as $793,750 in Honolulu. (For details, see table below).
Loan limits for FHA-insured loans were even lower; no more than $362,790. Now mortgages of up to $729,750 will qualify for FHA insurance.
The problem was that there are whole swaths of the nation where the typical home cost far more than that, and non-conforming or "jumbo loans" carry interest rates of about a point higher. For a $500,000 mortgage, that's an additional spending of $330 a month.
In many parts of the country prices are much higher. In San Jose, Calif, the median priced home costs nearly $850,000, according to the latest figures from the National Association of Realtors. In San Francisco, the figure is nearly $780,000; in Anaheim, Calif.; $657,000; in Honolulu $625,000; and in the New York metro area, $525,000. That means more than half the loans in those markets would not qualify under conforming loan limits.
"Families in high-cost states have been priced out of FHA-backed loans," HUD Secretary Alphonso Jackson said earlier today, in a speech before the Las Vegas Association of Realtors. "This has created a vacuum, filled by exotic subprime loans."
During the liquidity squeeze that began during the summer of 2007, jumbo loans became very difficult to find even for well-qualified borrowers. that made it hard to buy homes in certain regions, freezing up real estate markets.
By making it easier for buyers to get loans, regulators hope to get these markets moving again.
The new loan limits affect 71 metropolitan areas, as well as 21 counties outside of those metro areas. First Published: March 6, 2008: 4:37 PM EST
http://www.walterjoneshomes.com
Friday, March 14, 2008
Wow! I live here?
The City of Huntsville has been recognized by various leading publications and surveys as the premier
place to rear a family, establish and grow a business, and to work. A sample of the city's recent headlines
follow:• Huntsville was named one of the country's Top Adventure Towns - National Geographic
Adventure, September 2007• Huntsville was named one of the country's Top 10 Metros for Business Vitality - Wall Street
Journal, June 2007• Huntsville was named one of America's Top 5 Cities for Professional Workers - Kiplinger's
Personal Finance, June 2007• Huntsville is one of the country's Top 10 Metros for Scientists and Engineers - Expansion
Management Magazine, May 2007• Huntsville was named the #1 Small City of the Future - Foreign Direct Investment Magazine, April
2007• Huntsville was named one of America's Top 100 Places to Live - Relocate-America.com, April
2007• Huntsville was named one of the Country's Top 10 Cities for Job Growth and Affordability -
MSN/Sperling, March 2007
• Huntsville was named one of the Country's Top 10 Job Growth Markets - Manpower, March 2007• Huntsville was named one of America's Hottest Cities - Expansion Management Magazine,
February 2007• Huntsville is one of the Country's 15 Great Cities for Job Seekers - Careerbuilder.com, January
2007• Huntsville was named one of the country's Top Entrepreneur Hot Spots - Entrepreneur Magazine,
September 2006• Huntsville was named one of the country's Top Metros for Business Opportunities - Expansion
Management Magazine, July 2006
iii• Huntsville was named the Number One Mid-Market in the South - Southern Business Development
Magazine, June 2006• Huntsville was named the country's Best value for Salaries and Cost of Living - Salary.com, June
2006• Huntsville is one of the country's Top 10 Communities for Best Overall Standard of Living -
Expansion Management Magazine, May/June 2006
• Huntsville was named one of the country's Hottest Midsize Cities - Inc. Magazine, May 2006• Huntsville was named the Top Mid-Sized" Military Community of Excellence" in the Country -
Expansion Magazine, Special Issue, April 2006• Financial Times' publication recognizes Huntsville's Biotech Brain Gain - Foreign Direct
Investment, April 2006
• Huntsville was named one of the Top 10 Green Cities in the U.S., The Green Guide, April 2006• Huntsville ranks as one of the country's Best Locations for Scientists and Engineers, Expansion
Management Magazine, April 2006• Huntsville was ranked among the country's Best Performing Cities - Milken Institute, February
2006• Huntsville was named America's 2nd Most Affordable City - Career World Magazine,
November/December 2005• Huntsville is one of the South's Booming Manufacturing Centers - The Manufacturer Magazine,
October 2005• Huntsville has the highest concentration of Inc. 500 Fastest Growing Companies in the U.S. - Inc.
Magazine, November 2005 and October 2004• Huntsville was named the 2nd most Cost Effective Community in the United States - Foreign Direct
Investment Magazine, June 2005• Huntsville was named one of Forbes' Leading Cities for Business - Forbes Magazine, May 2005 &
May 2007• Huntsville was named as one of the country's leading Knowledge Worker Metros and one of
America's Super Cities of the Future - Expansion Management Magazine, May 2005• Huntsville was listed as the South's 2nd ranked Metro for Quality of Life - Expansion Management
Magazine, March, 2005• Huntsville ranks in Poplar Science's list of America's Top 50 Technology Hotspots - Poplar
Science, March 2005
iv• The University of Alabama in Huntsville's graduate engineering management program was ranked
best in the U.S. by the American Society of Engineering Management, January 2005• Huntsville ranks 5th in the country for software-related employment - Software Information
Industry Association, November 2004• Huntsville leads the nation for the highest concentration of Inc. 500's fastest growing private
companies - Inc. Magazine, October 2004• Huntsville was chosen as the top city in the nation for "Best Places to Live for Black Americans"
Family Digest Magazine, March 2003• Huntsville was ranked number 4 on the list of "America's Best Places to Live and Work"
Employment Review, June 2003• NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center, located in Huntsville, has been selected as the best place to
work in federal government - Partnership for Public Service, November 2003
place to rear a family, establish and grow a business, and to work. A sample of the city's recent headlines
follow:• Huntsville was named one of the country's Top Adventure Towns - National Geographic
Adventure, September 2007• Huntsville was named one of the country's Top 10 Metros for Business Vitality - Wall Street
Journal, June 2007• Huntsville was named one of America's Top 5 Cities for Professional Workers - Kiplinger's
Personal Finance, June 2007• Huntsville is one of the country's Top 10 Metros for Scientists and Engineers - Expansion
Management Magazine, May 2007• Huntsville was named the #1 Small City of the Future - Foreign Direct Investment Magazine, April
2007• Huntsville was named one of America's Top 100 Places to Live - Relocate-America.com, April
2007• Huntsville was named one of the Country's Top 10 Cities for Job Growth and Affordability -
MSN/Sperling, March 2007
• Huntsville was named one of the Country's Top 10 Job Growth Markets - Manpower, March 2007• Huntsville was named one of America's Hottest Cities - Expansion Management Magazine,
February 2007• Huntsville is one of the Country's 15 Great Cities for Job Seekers - Careerbuilder.com, January
2007• Huntsville was named one of the country's Top Entrepreneur Hot Spots - Entrepreneur Magazine,
September 2006• Huntsville was named one of the country's Top Metros for Business Opportunities - Expansion
Management Magazine, July 2006
iii• Huntsville was named the Number One Mid-Market in the South - Southern Business Development
Magazine, June 2006• Huntsville was named the country's Best value for Salaries and Cost of Living - Salary.com, June
2006• Huntsville is one of the country's Top 10 Communities for Best Overall Standard of Living -
Expansion Management Magazine, May/June 2006
• Huntsville was named one of the country's Hottest Midsize Cities - Inc. Magazine, May 2006• Huntsville was named the Top Mid-Sized" Military Community of Excellence" in the Country -
Expansion Magazine, Special Issue, April 2006• Financial Times' publication recognizes Huntsville's Biotech Brain Gain - Foreign Direct
Investment, April 2006
• Huntsville was named one of the Top 10 Green Cities in the U.S., The Green Guide, April 2006• Huntsville ranks as one of the country's Best Locations for Scientists and Engineers, Expansion
Management Magazine, April 2006• Huntsville was ranked among the country's Best Performing Cities - Milken Institute, February
2006• Huntsville was named America's 2nd Most Affordable City - Career World Magazine,
November/December 2005• Huntsville is one of the South's Booming Manufacturing Centers - The Manufacturer Magazine,
October 2005• Huntsville has the highest concentration of Inc. 500 Fastest Growing Companies in the U.S. - Inc.
Magazine, November 2005 and October 2004• Huntsville was named the 2nd most Cost Effective Community in the United States - Foreign Direct
Investment Magazine, June 2005• Huntsville was named one of Forbes' Leading Cities for Business - Forbes Magazine, May 2005 &
May 2007• Huntsville was named as one of the country's leading Knowledge Worker Metros and one of
America's Super Cities of the Future - Expansion Management Magazine, May 2005• Huntsville was listed as the South's 2nd ranked Metro for Quality of Life - Expansion Management
Magazine, March, 2005• Huntsville ranks in Poplar Science's list of America's Top 50 Technology Hotspots - Poplar
Science, March 2005
iv• The University of Alabama in Huntsville's graduate engineering management program was ranked
best in the U.S. by the American Society of Engineering Management, January 2005• Huntsville ranks 5th in the country for software-related employment - Software Information
Industry Association, November 2004• Huntsville leads the nation for the highest concentration of Inc. 500's fastest growing private
companies - Inc. Magazine, October 2004• Huntsville was chosen as the top city in the nation for "Best Places to Live for Black Americans"
Family Digest Magazine, March 2003• Huntsville was ranked number 4 on the list of "America's Best Places to Live and Work"
Employment Review, June 2003• NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center, located in Huntsville, has been selected as the best place to
work in federal government - Partnership for Public Service, November 2003
BOOM! That's the sound of my head exploding
Yesterday I met with my good friend Neal at huntsvillepr.com. He is finishing setting up my new website. As my friends know I am a new Realtor with RE/MAX in Huntsville and Madison Alabama. We spent some time going over the different features of the new site, and Neal showed me some tips to use in my posts here at blogspot and at my ACTIVE RAIN real estate network site.
Well, about 2 AM this morning my head exploded. I woke up thinking about all of the awesome things of living in Huntsville, Alabama, my new career in real estate, some of the new clients and contacts I have made recently, and then it happened. BOOM! Grey matter all over my dark bedroom. I began thinking about, real estate blogs, personal blogs to post about coming through tough times, blogs about Huntsville Alabama, a running blog. (running Country Music 1/2 marathon next month) etc, ad braineum.
I did manage to gather up the chunks and put them back for a little while, knowing that I could sleep in this morning for a little while when 6 AM my alarm was still set from yesterday. I laid there and the mice inside the wheels in my head started running again. BOOM! there it went again! So here I sit. Grey matter splatter.
Thursday, March 13, 2008
Huntsville real estate news
Ckeck out www.walterjoneshomes.com for more Huntsville real estate news
Huntsville Alabama Mortgage foreclosure Help
If you are a residence of Huntsville Alabama or your home is located in Madison county area chances are you are not stridently affected by the mortgage fiasco that now holds the financial markets in a blizzard.
However, if you&n...
Jeff Benton Homes Receives Guildmaster� Award for Customer Satisfaction
GuildQuality� Incorporated, has recognized Jeff Benton Homes as a Guildmaster Homebuilder. To earn the Guildmaster designation at least 70% of a homebuilder�s customer base must complete a GuildQuality satisfaction ...
Huntsville Alabama Mortgage: Good Credit Bad Credit
In a large part, Huntsville Alabama real estate market has weathered the mortgage foreclosures storms that are now raking and riving the nation. Even in other parts of Alabama, like in Jefferson County, whose financial center is Birmingham, the...
Strategies for Purchasing Post-foreclosure Bank Property in HuntsvilleRhea Perry�s Real Estate Days conference provides practical real estate investing education by teaching how to look at today�s soft real estate market from an investor�s perspective. Perry shares that now is the best time in all of history...
Huntsville Alabama Real Estate Market: Solid as a Rock
If you are in the real estate market either as a commercial property investor or you are just looking for a home in Alabama, Huntsville offers a rich choice of properties at fantastic prices: from enticing 3 bedroom homes to prestigious, sophis...
Huntsville Alabama Mortgage foreclosure Help
If you are a residence of Huntsville Alabama or your home is located in Madison county area chances are you are not stridently affected by the mortgage fiasco that now holds the financial markets in a blizzard.
However, if you&n...
Jeff Benton Homes Receives Guildmaster� Award for Customer Satisfaction
GuildQuality� Incorporated, has recognized Jeff Benton Homes as a Guildmaster Homebuilder. To earn the Guildmaster designation at least 70% of a homebuilder�s customer base must complete a GuildQuality satisfaction ...
Huntsville Alabama Mortgage: Good Credit Bad Credit
In a large part, Huntsville Alabama real estate market has weathered the mortgage foreclosures storms that are now raking and riving the nation. Even in other parts of Alabama, like in Jefferson County, whose financial center is Birmingham, the...
Strategies for Purchasing Post-foreclosure Bank Property in HuntsvilleRhea Perry�s Real Estate Days conference provides practical real estate investing education by teaching how to look at today�s soft real estate market from an investor�s perspective. Perry shares that now is the best time in all of history...
Huntsville Alabama Real Estate Market: Solid as a Rock
If you are in the real estate market either as a commercial property investor or you are just looking for a home in Alabama, Huntsville offers a rich choice of properties at fantastic prices: from enticing 3 bedroom homes to prestigious, sophis...
Welcome to my first blog
Hello all. This is Walter Jones, I am a Realtor with RE/MAX realty in Huntsville, Alabama. You can count on me to help you find the home you are looking for. I will try to post regularly about myself and about the current Huntsville Alabama real estate market. I love the Huntsville area and I plan to stay! More information to come..........stay tuned.
Walter
Walter
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