Regardless Of How Religious You Are (Or Are Not), The Following Is Inspiring...

Here's a great interview with Rick Warren. He wrote the Purpose Driven Life, A highly recommended book. (and by the way, it is the book that the woman who was kidnapped by an escaped killer/prisoner used to convince her captor to turn himself in a couple of years ago.)

You will enjoy the new insights that Rick Warren has, with his wife now having cancer and him having 'wealth' from the book sales. This is an absolutely incredible short interview with Rick Warren,

'Purpose Driven Life ' author and pastor of Saddleback Church in California

In the interview by Paul Bradshaw with Rick Warren, Rick said:

People ask me, What is the purpose of life?

And I respond: In a nutshell, life is preparation for eternity. We were not made to last forever, and God wants us to be with Him in Heaven.

One day my heart is going to stop, and that will be the end of my body-- but not the end of me.

I may live 60 to 100 years on earth, but I am going to spend trillions of years in eternity. This is the warm-up act - the dress rehearsal. God wants us to practice on earth what we will do forever in eternity.

We were made by God and for God, and until you figure that out, life isn't going to make sense.

Life is a series of problems: Either you are in one now, you're just coming out of one, or you're getting ready to go into another one.

The reason for this is that God is more interested in your character than your comfort; God is more interested in making your life holy than He is in making your life happy.

We can be reasonably happy here on earth, but that's not the goal of life. The goal is to grow in character, in Christ likeness.

This past year has been the greatest year of my life but also the toughest, with my wife, Kay, getting cancer.

I used to think that life was hills and valleys - you go through a dark time, then you go to the mountaintop, back and forth. I don't believe that anymore.

Rather than life being hills and valleys, I believe that it's kind of like two rails on a railroad track, and at all times you have something good and something bad in your life.

No matter how good things are in your life, there is always something bad that needs to be worked on.

And no matter how bad things are in your life, there is always something good you can thank God for..

You can focus on your purposes, or you can focus on your problems:

If you focus on your problems, you're going into self-centeredness, which is my problem, my issues, my pain.' But one of the easiest ways to get rid of pain is to get your focus off yourself and onto God and others.

We discovered quickly that in spite of the prayers of hundreds of thousands of people, God was not going to heal Kay or make it easy for her- It has been very difficult for her, and yet God has strengthened her character, given her a ministry of helping other people, given her a testimony, drawn her closer to Him and to people.

You have to learn to deal with both the good and the bad of life.

Actually, sometimes learning to deal with the good is harder. For instance, this past year, all of a sudden, when the book sold 15 million copies, it made me instantly very wealthy.

It also brought a lot of notoriety that I had never had to deal with before. I don't think God gives you money or notoriety for your own ego or for you to live a life of ease..

So I began to ask God what He wanted me to do with this money, notoriety and influence. He gave me two different passages that helped me decide what to do, II Corinthians 9 and Psalm 72.

First, in spite of all the money coming in, we would not change our lifestyle one bit.. We made no major purchases.

Second, about midway through last year, I stopped taking a salary from the church.

Third, we set up foundations to fund an initiative we call The Peace Plan to plant churches, equip leaders, assist the poor, care for the sick, and educate the next generation.

Fourth, I added up all that the church had paid me in the 24 years since I started the church, and I gave it all back. It was liberating to be able to serve God for free.

We need to ask ourselves: Am I going to live for possessions? Popularity?

Am I going to be driven by pressures? Guilt? Bitterness? Materialism? Or am I going to be driven by God's purposes (for my life)?

When I get up in the morning, I sit on the side of my bed and say, God, if I don't get anything else done today, I want to know You more and love You better. God didn't put me on earth just to fulfill a to-do list. He's more interested in what I am than what I do.

That's why we're called human beings, not human doings.

Happy moments, PRAISE GOD.

Difficult moments, SEEK GOD.

Quiet moments, WORSHIP GOD.

Painful moments, TRUST GOD.

Every moment, THANK GOD.

If you do not pass it on, nothing will happen. But it will just be nice to pass it on to a friend....just like I have done.

God's Blessings…

Mortgage help: Do you qualify?

President Obama's new real estate rescue plan offers two key possible benefits: More refinancing opportunities and greater chance for a loan modification.

By Les Christie, CNNMoney.com staff writer
Last Updated: February 18, 2009: 7:11 PM ET

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- The eagerly anticipated foreclosure prevention program unveiled Wednesday by President Obama targets 9 million borrowers for help - are you one of them?

The $75 billion effort, dubbed the Homeowner Affordability and Stability Plan, boils down to two basic solutions:

First, the government is aiming to help more homeowners refinance to take advantage of new low interest rates.

Second, it provides incentives to lenders and servicers to restructure your mortgage to more affordable levels.

Official guidelines won't be unveiled until March 4, but here's how to know whether you'll likely be able to take advantage of either of these options.
Help for those seeking refinancing

This part of the program targets borrowers who have kept current on their mortgages. Many of the homeowners in this group have been unable to lower their housing costs through refinancings because of falling home prices.

Right now, if you're underwater on your mortgage, owing more than the home's market value, forget about qualifying for a refi. In fact, at least 20% equity in your home is now a must.

The new guidelines should help. Even homeowners with debt that exceeds home value by 5% could be eligible. And there will be no prepayment penalties.

The Administration estimates that this will enable up to 5 million homeowners to obtain lower interest rate mortgages.

Who's not eligible. Homeowners whose property values have dipped severely, putting them underwater by more than 5% are out of luck.

Those with "jumbo" mortgages also don't qualify - only those with "conforming' mortgages do. To be absolutely sure what kind of loan you have, you need to check with your servicer or lender after March 4. But in general, until the past year, loans above $417,000 were considered jumbo mortgages, and Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were not allowed to buy and guarantee them.

All borrowers will have to prove they have sufficient income to be able to keep up their loan payments, though what would be sufficient proof wasn't yet clear.
Mortgage modification help for at-risk borrowers

Homeowners in default or at risk of default may qualify for loan modifications, which restructure the terms of loans.

Anyone with high combined mortgage debt compared to income or who is underwater may be eligible for a loan modification.

Borrowers with high levels of other debt, such as car loans and credit card debt exceeding 55% of their incomes, may still qualify for a modification but they'll be required to accept debt counseling in a HUD-certified program.

If you qualify, your servicer or lender will reduce your monthly mortgage payments to 31% of your gross income.

The payment would stay there for five years and then gradually revert back to the conforming loan rates in place at the time.

The reduction would come mostly through interest-rate reductions, though in some cases, principal reduction also would be an option.

Borrowers would also receive incentive bonuses of up to $1,000 a year for five years for making payments on time.

President Obama estimated 3 to 4 million homeowners could benefit from the new modification procedures.

Who's not eligible. Speculators, those who bought homes for investment purposes, do not qualify for help -- all homes must be owner/occupied.

The program will also not reward homebuyers who were irresponsible in their borrowing. All applicants will be closely examined by lenders and those who acted unscrupulously by, for example, misrepresenting their incomes in no-doc loan applications, would not qualify.

And, in order to protect taxpayers from excessive expenses, no loans will be modified unless it results in a net savings compared with the costs of foreclosing. Finally, rates would not be lowered below 2%.

That will disqualify many borrowers who simply can't afford any reasonable mortgage payment because of illness, for example, or job loss.

"[The plan] will not reward folks who bought homes they knew from the beginning they would never be able to afford," said Obama. "In short, this plan will not save every home."

No mortgages for amounts above comforming loan limits would be eligible. To top of page
First Published: February 18, 2009: 6:57 PM ET

Obama Announces $75 Billion Foreclosure Prevention Plan

The plan to stem the housing crisis, which President Obama released Wednesday, is more ambitious than initially expected -- and more expensive.

FOXNews.com

Wednesday, February 18, 2009

President Obama, calling the housing meltdown a "crisis unlike we've ever known," rolled out a $75 billion plan Wednesday that his administration hopes will keep as many as 9 million families in their homes.

The announcement in Phoenix comes a day after he signed a $787 billion economic rescue package that combines spending and tax cuts aimed at saving and creating millions of jobs.

The foreclosure prevention plan is more ambitious than initially expected -- and more expensive. It aims to aid borrowers who owe more on their mortgages than their homes are currently worth, and borrowers who are on the verge of foreclosure.

Obama said the plan is a critical component in his administration's efforts to pull the nation out of recession.

"In the end, all of us are paying a price for this home mortgage crisis. And all of us will pay an even steeper price if we allow this crisis to continue to deepen -- a crisis which is unraveling homeownership, the middle class, and the American dream itself," Obama said. "But if we act boldly and swiftly to arrest this downward spiral, then every American will benefit."

The plan would draw $50 billion from existing financial bailout money, as well as $25 billion from government-backed entities like Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

Part of the program would instruct Fannie and Freddie to automatically approve refinancing at current rates. That change is expected to give 4-5 million people an immediate reduction in their mortgage payments, according to a senior administration official.

Another component would provide government incentives to modify at-risk mortgages to drive down payments. Lenders would be asked to reduce monthly payments to 38 percent of the borrower's income, and then the government would split the cost of reducing that to 31 percent.

Obama said the funding would not reward "unscrupulous or irresponsible" speculators.

"This plan will not save every home," he said. "But it will give millions of families resigned to financial ruin a chance to rebuild."

Obama said the goal is to target families who are "underwater or close to it" and help those who "played by the rules and acted responsibly."

The goal of the overall plan is to save 7 to 9 million mortgages.

Announcing his plan in a state hard hit by the housing crunch, Obama said that stemming the tide of foreclosures is key to turning around the recession-bound economy.

FOX News' Wendell Goler and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Economic Stimulus Plan Benefits the Housing and Mortgage Industries

Economic Stimulus Plan Benefits the Housing and Mortgage Industries

Revised February 17, 2009

Just signed and sealed…a $787 Billion Stimulus Plan made up of tax cuts and spending programs aims at reviving the US economy. Although the package was scaled down from nearly $1 Trillion, it still stands as the largest anti-recession effort since World War II.

Home owners and potential homebuyers stand to gain from key provisions in this stimulus plan. Here is what we know as of today...

The following discussions are intended for you to use directly with your client either in writing or verbally.



Tax Credit for Homebuyers

First-time homebuyers who purchase homes from the start of the year until the end of November 2009 may be eligible for the lower of an $8,000 or 10% of the value of the home tax credit. Remember a tax credit is very different than a tax deduction – a tax credit is equivalent to money in your hand, as opposed to a tax deduction which only reduces your taxable income.

The tax credit starts phasing out for couples with incomes above $150,000 and single filers with incomes above $75,000. Buyers will have to repay the credit if they sell their homes within three years.


Additional Housing-Related Provisions

Tax Incentives to Spur Energy Savings and Green Jobs — This provision is designed to help promote energy-efficient investments in homes by extending and expanding tax credits through 2010 for purchases such as new furnaces, energy-efficient windows and doors, or insulation.

Landmark Energy Savings — This provision provides $5 Billion for energy efficient improvements for more than one million modest-income homes through weatherization. According to some estimates, this can help modest-income families save an average of $350 a year on heating and air conditioning bills.

Repairing Public Housing and Making Key Energy Efficiency Retrofits To HUD-Assisted Housing—This provision provides a total of $6.3 Billion for increasing energy efficiency in federally supported housing programs.Specifically, it establishes a new program to upgrade HUD-sponsored low-income housing (for elderly, disabled, and Section 8) to increase energy efficiency, including new insulation, windows, and frames.

Expanding Housing Assistance—This provision increases support for several critical housing programs. It includes $2 Billion for the Neighborhood Stabilization Program to help communities purchase and rehabilitate foreclosed, vacant properties.


More Help for Homeowners in the Future

Another thing to keep an eye on in the coming weeks is President Obama’s plan to help struggling borrowers before they are faced with a default on their mortgage.

According to reports, the Obama administration is discussing plans to help borrowers who are struggling to stay afloat, but who have not yet fallen behind on their payments. At this point, details are scarce; however, reports indicate that President Obama is looking to spend approximately $50 Billion to directly help homeowners before they face foreclosure and financial disaster.

While this is good news for individual homeowners, it will likely be good for the housing industry as a whole. That’s because, assisting struggling borrowers before they default should help stop the wave of foreclosures, which are estimated to top two million this year. That, in turn, will help stabilize home prices.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac Follow Banks with Foreclosure Moratorium!

Phoenix Business Journal

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac said they will suspend foreclosure sales involving occupied single-family and two- to four-unit residential properties through March 6.

The announcement from McLean, Va.-based Freddie (NYSE:FRE) and Washington D.C.-based Fannie (NYSE:FNM), which own or guarantee almost half of the nation’s mortgages, comes after some of the largest U.S. banks with Arizona operations last week agreed to a similar measures while the government works out a plan to stabilize the banking industry.

Moratoriums from JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo, Bank of America Corp. and Citigroup Inc. also will remain in effect until March 6.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac said the temporary suspension should give give loan servicers more time to help troubled borrowers find an alternative to foreclosure. The latest suspension does not apply to vacant properties in foreclosure.

In addition, the moratorium gives lenders servicing Freddie Mac mortgages broad authority to provide forbearance to borrowers who are not yet delinquent, the lender said. Lenders also can provide permanent rate reductions, mortgage term extensions, forbearance of principal or other modifications to borrowers who are delinquent.

Stimulus Plan Benefits Home Sellers and Buyers in 3 Ways

The Recovery Bill was passed today which includes provisions to benefit home owners and home buyers.

First Time Homebuyer Tax Credit has been amended. The Tax Credit has been increased to $8,000 for homes purchased between 1/1/09 and 12/1/09. Additionally, the credit will not be required to be paid back if the home is purchased between 1/1/09 and 12/1/09 and the buyers remain in the home without selling it for at least 3 years. The credit can be claimed on 2008 taxes with an amended return or on 2009 tax returns. It should be noted that if the home was purchased in 2008 the credit remains $7,500 and it still needs to be paid back over a 15-year time frame beginning in 2011.

FHA Loan Limits will temporarily be reverted back to the 2008 loan limits.
This would mean that the current FHA loan limits for Maricopa county of $271,050 would increase back to $346,250. Effective date for these loan limits is not yet known as Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and FHA must determine pricing, policy and delivery requirements. We are anticipating a March 1st effective date, but will let you know as more details become available.

Home Improvement Tax Credit has been expanded.
Tax credit for making energy efficient home improvements is now 30% of the cost of the improvements, or a maximum amount of $1,500. Eligible improvements include energy efficient exterior doors and windows, insulation, heat pumps, furnaces, central air conditioners and water heaters.

6 Ingredients of Strong Housing Markets

Luke Mullins wrote a great article below about buying in the "right" neighborhoods but I would like to add that buying in Arizona is an obvious plus because of our attractive Winter weather. Why not get the best of both worlds?

By Luke Mullins, US News

Feb 2009

Community elements essential to supporting favorable home prices over the long haul

With lower home prices and attractive mortgage rates, 2009 will present plenty of bargains for real estate shoppers. But as the historic bust continues, Americans everywhere are learning a painful lesson about home buying: property values don't always increase. As such, anyone looking to purchase a home this year should make sure they're buying into a community that can support long-term value. With the help of housing experts, U.S. News compiled a list of the top 6 ingredients of strong housing markets:

Please note that although the following factors will help support a home's value over the long term, they can't prevent short-term declines in a given market—especially in light of the ongoing real estate crash. "These would be forces that are going to impact [your home] over the next five to ten years, as opposed to next year," says Mike Larson of Weiss Research.

1. A well-groomed neighborhood: Well-maintained homes and landscaping have a positive effect on property values in that community, says Joshua Dorkin, founder and CEO of BiggerPockets.com, a real estate networking and information site. By caring for the appearance of their homes, residents help to create a more aesthetically-pleasing environment that future real-estate hunters will want to buy into. So when you're eyeing a home, make sure to take a drive through the entire neighborhood. Take note of how the neighbors care for their homes, lawns and gardens. "Run-down houses and abandoned cars are big red flags," Dorkin says.

2. Good schools: Given the importance of education, communities located within strong school districts tend to support higher home prices. Parents, after all, will want to move into the communities with the best educational opportunities. "The school district is important in terms of increasing demand for that particular area," says Richard Moody, chief economist at Mission Residential. Would-be home buyers can determine the strength of a local school system by accessing online information from local governments or community websites, Moody says.

3. Low Crime: Low crime rates also support strong home values. Since nobody wants to live in a neighborhood where they feel unsafe, crime limits housing demand in a given community. As a result, it's important to obtain crime statistics for the neighborhood you're considering moving into. The best way to do that, says Steve Dexter, a foreclosure expert and author of the book Beat the Banks, is to contact the local police department. "The police department is a public utility," Dexter says. "Most medium- to large-sized [communities] have a public information [officer] that is dedicated to interacting with the public." By contacting this office, home shoppers can get their hands on all the information they'll need to determine a community's level of safety.

4. Close to public transportation: Proximity to public transportation or commuter rails can also help boost home values, says Ron Phipps, a broker with Phipps Realty in Warwick, R.I. He argues that Americans are increasingly willing to pay a premium for properties that allow them to be less dependent on cars. "Access to bus lines and commuter rail lines is of huge value," Phipps says. "The price of fuel is going to go up again and a lot of my clients are saying, 'O.K., how do we position ourselves to minimize that impact?'" Phipps says.

5. Favorable population trends: It's also important to look at the population trends in the city you're considering moving to, Moody says. "You want to see a track record of steady population growth, which supports growing demand for housing, which will in turn support rising home values," Moody says. Such data can be found online at the U.S. Census Bureau, or though local county or township web sites, he says.

6. Healthy employment landscape: Employment plays a key role in population trends, as workers migrate to locations where they can find jobs. Thus, a healthy employment outlook is a key component of a strong housing market. "If you are in one of these upper Midwest cities and you've got layoffs, especially in a sector like automotives where the jobs are disappearing and they are not coming back, that is a huge problem," Larson says. Home shoppers can obtain economic data from the local government or chamber of commerce, Larson says. Pay special attention to the unemployment trends and find out if any new companies are slated to move into—or out of—the area. "A lot of communities have been trying to attract the sort of economically insensitive industries like biotech and [pharmaceutical companies]," Larson says. "If you've got an area where that kind of business is being brought in—through tax incentives or other efforts—that would be a positive for your local area."

Selling A Home Is Like Selling A Stock

In today's market, if you sell your home, you will sell at tens of thousands below what you would have sold for 2 years ago. Yet many homeowners who bought during those years of price appreciation have earned positive equity in their home. Some homeowners who did not need to sell at the market peak, but need to sell now are remembering those peak prices and feeling that they are losing money by selling at today’s market-influenced prices.

One way to look at this is to compare a similar situation with another commodity. What if someone bought stock in a company at $70 per share and then watched it rise to $130 per share and then fall to $100 at the time they needed to sell it. Did that person lose $30 per share or gain $30? If they focus on the peak price, they lost an imaginary $30. However, since they paid only $70 and sold it at $100, they actually gained $30 per share, an excellent return. Today’s sellers need to see their situation in a similar light.

What about those sellers with negative equity – owing more than their property is worth? There are many reasons – refinancing or taking out a home equity loan on equity valued during the peak, or buying at the peak. If they don’t need to sell for a while, they know that commodities that go down will come up as real estate always has. If they do need to sell now, there are multiple ways to get to the settlement table with a buyer depending on the situation.

The ideal scenerio for a seller would be to rent out their current home if they can get a positive cash flow and purchase a foreclosure or pre-foreclosure. Buyer's are getting homes at fire sale prices and will profit nicely once the market turns around. Frank and I specialize in helping buyers find incredible deals in this volatile market. Please contact us an we can send you the latest foreclosure lists.

Arizona Sales Up As U.S. Home Values Fall

Arizona sales up as U.S. home values fall
Thursday, February 12, 2009, 9:41am MST
Phoenix Business Journal - by Adam Kress

The National Association of Realtors reports a record drop in home values around the country, but home sales are up in Arizona.

Nationwide home prices fell 12.4 percent during 2008, according to NAR. That’s the largest yearly decline since the group began tracking the numbers in 1979. The median price for a U.S. home sold during the fourth quarter of 2008 fell to $180,100, down from $205,700 during the last quarter of 2007.

The vast majority of metropolitan areas -- 134 out of 153 -- recorded price declines compared with the last quarter of 2007.

Foreclosures and short sales accounted for 45 percent of all deals. That has driven sales volume up in states like Arizona, Nevada, Florida and California.

The largest sales gain in the fourth quarter from a year earlier was in Nevada, up 134 percent, followed by California at 84.7 percent, Arizona, up 42.6 percent, and Florida with a 12.5 percent increase.

“Once again, we see a pattern of strong sales gains, particularly in lower-price homes, in areas with price declines resulting from foreclosures,” said Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, in a statement.

Despite the record drop in home values last year, Yun said there is hope in the form of government help.

“Assuming housing provisions in the economic stimulus package are quickly enacted and provide enough encouragement for home buyers, we could see a quick lift in home sales for the critical spring home-buying season,” he said. “If that occurs, we could see home prices begin to stabilize in many metro areas later this year as supply and demand begin to return to balance, which would greatly benefit the overall economy,” Yun said.

Cape Coral-Ft. Myers, Fla., saw home prices fall nearly 51 percent for the year -- the steepest drop in the nation. The Beaumont-Port Arthur area of Texas saw median home prices increase almost 17 percent -- the highest increase in the nation.

$15,000 Tax Credit to Homebuyers!

New Law could make it possible for buyers to pocket an additional $15,000 with the Home Buyer Tax Credit. Not only are buyers able to buy real estate at record low prices and get the lowest interest rates since the depression of 1929 but now they can make an additional $15,000 dollars by purchasing a home! Unbelievable!!

Below is a snipit from a Bloomberg article explaining some of the negotiations going on in Washington.

"Feb. 5 (Bloomberg) -- The U.S. Senate voted to cut taxes on homebuyers and weaken “Buy American” provisions in an economic stimulus package that tops $900 billion and could come to a vote as soon as today.

Lawmakers, aiming to boost the ailing housing industry, yesterday unanimously approved a Republican amendment that would temporarily offer home buyers a tax credit worth $15,000 or 10 percent of a home’s purchase price, whichever is less. The plan would cost $18 billion.

Senator Johnny Isakson, a Georgia Republican who sponsored the amendment, said it was critical to pulling the economy out of the worst recession in decades. “If we don’t fix housing first, it doesn’t matter what else we fix,” Isakson said."

While this is clearly GREAT news, my concern is that there are some of you that will wait for the approval of the credit with plans of pairing "savings" with the current low interest rates. I'm concerned because by the time this measure is fully passed and enacted the rate train may have left the station."

For anyone in a position to buy a home- there is no better time than right now!

If you'd love to purchase a new house but you're sitting on the fence, what exactly would it take to get you to buy?

Nation's Housing

* What will it to take to get you to buy a house? 02.01.09
* Stimulus package gives credit to new home buyers 01.25.09
* FTC's warning to foreclosure fix-it firms 01.18.09
* New rules making appraisers angry 01.11.09

More Nation's Housing »

Mortgage rates lower than 5 percent? Smaller down payments? Below-market value pricing? Special amenity packages? Or a big tax credit?

What's the magic mix that will get you motivated? Or is it unlikely you'll get off the fence as long as you're worried about the economy and further drops in real estate values?

Questions like these are at the core of the housing industry's dilemma: Builders are stuck with bulging inventories of homes - most of them priced lower than six months or a year ago - that are still not selling. Strategies to bring buyers back into the market dominated the recent weeklong annual convention of the National Association of Home Builders. It was also the key subject of an eye-opening new consumer opinion survey conducted by the association's research subsidiary.

The study, conducted in early January, polled more than 700 self-described "on-the-fence" buyers, segmented to represent consumers in all areas of the country at varying price levels. Asked why they hadn't yet committed to a purchase, 44 percent said they're holding out for lower mortgage rates, 41 percent said they weren't sure they could qualify for financing and 38 percent said they expect to see lower house prices.

Concerns about falling property values were most prevalent among consumers in the Western region, while buyers in the Northeastern and Midwestern states were more likely to be waiting for lower interest rates. Buyers in the South tended to be more concerned about their ability to qualify for a new mortgage.

Researchers asked what individual enticements - financial or otherwise - would motivate them most to get past their worries and buy. Some of the results were surprising to builders at the convention session where the study was introduced. A few of the findings even appeared to conflict with the builders association's policy positions.

For example, although the association is vigorously lobbying the Obama administration and Congress for a 10 percent federal tax credit with a cap of $22,000 in the most expensive markets, the survey results suggested that a tax credit alone is not sufficient to motivate buyers to sign purchase contracts.

The study examined the effectiveness of a credit roughly the size the association is seeking from Congress, but it ranked sixth on a list of 10 features that would pull buyers off the fence - well behind mortgage and price concessions.

The mortgage rate that consumers said would be most effective in persuading them to buy now: a 30-year loan with a fixed 3 percent interest rate. Whether by coincidence or design, one of the country's largest home builders for high-end buyers, Toll Brothers Inc., announced a 3.99 percent 30-year fixed rate on new houses nationwide during the convention, through Jan. 25.

A 30-year fixed-rate loan at 3 percent was ranked twice as effective an enticement as a 3 percent loan fixed for five years, with an adjustment to 5 1/4 percent, fixed for the remainder of the loan term. Not surprisingly, at a time when Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac require substantial down payments for the best interest rates, the study found that a zero-down option would be highly attractive to potential buyers - more than twice as effective as 10 percent down.

Guarantees by builders that loan applications will be accepted if buyers verify their income and have a "fair" credit score ranked high in the survey. Such a guarantee was rated six times more effective than standard application procedures, where applicants can be rejected at the underwriting, appraisal review or other stages.

Price concessions also are compelling to would-be buyers. Most effective of all: a 10 percent discount below true market value - in other words, instant equity for the purchaser up-front.

Among other findings in the study that some builders found sobering: Their traditional approach of offering incentive packages of free upgrades and amenities may not be all that effective. The same may be true for heavily marketed green features - energy efficiency certifications and environmentally sensitive designs. If a new house comes with a green certification but costs $2,000 more than a standard model, this doesn't motivate shoppers to buy, researchers found. Even if the house is green-certified and costs the same as a standard house, that alone won't do the trick.

Bottom line: Look for builders to offer combination packages of special financing, price concessions, lower down payments and perhaps application guarantees. They'll still push for tax credits on Capitol Hill, but financing concessions appear to have more clout with their potential customers.

This article appeared on page N - 3 of the San Francisco Chronicle