There are three questions you should ask before purchasing in today’s market:

1. Why should I buy if house prices are still depreciating?

We believe that in most parts of the country prices will in fact soften in 2011. Price is the major concern for anyone selling a home. When you are buying, COST should be your primary concern however. Your monthly payment (cost) is definitely impacted by the price of the home you purchase. The other major component is the interest rate. Waiting for prices to bottom out while rates are increasing can wind up costing you more over the life of the mortgage.

Over the last seven weeks, rates have increased over 1/2 a point going from 4.17 to 4.86. Waiting for prices to bottom out seems to make perfect sense. Yet, at a time when rates are increasing, it might NOT make sense. Make sure to have a mortgage professional help you with the math before making a decision, 1862 mortgage is here to help! Contact 1862 Mortgage with all your mortgage or financial needs.

2. When will I begin to see appreciation if I buy now?

This is a great question. Macro Markets, LLC is a company that studies housing prices. They started their Home Price Expectation Survey in 2010.  They ask 100+ housing industry experts to project housing prices through 2015. The most current survey shows that the experts are predicting prices to soften until 2012. The experts then project prices to rise reaching a cumulative appreciation of over 10% by 2015.

Purchasing a home today makes great sense from a financial standpoint. Think of the old axiom: You want to buy low and sell high. We may be at the low point regarding the COST of a home. But, this decision should not only be a financial one.

That leads me to my third and final question:

3. Why am I buying a home in the first place?

This truly is the most important question to answer. Forget the finances for a minute. Why did you even begin to consider purchasing a home? For most, the reason has nothing to do with finances. The Fannie Mae National Housing Survey shows that the four major reasons people buy a home have nothing to do with money:

• A good place to raise children and for them to get a good education
• A place where you and your family feel safe
• More space for you and your family
• Control of the space

What non-financial benefits will you and your family derive from owning a home? The answer to that question should be the reason whether you decide to purchase or not.

Bottom Line

The COST of a home will probably remain relatively unchanged even if prices continue to depreciate. Don’t allow money to get in the way of you making the right decision for you and your family. In the long run, the finances will work in your favor anyway.

Keep checking RuhlHomes.com for the most up to date information on the real estate market!

Some information and statistics provided by: KCM Blog

Once you have decided to list or buy a home, the next step is to find a real estate agent. The process of choosing a real estate agent can be overwhelming and confusing, but read over the following tips and you’ll be ahead of the game!!

Have Choices – Word of mouth and personal references can be an easy and efficient way in finding out who is a good agent in the area, but this may not always be the best way to choose an agent. Just because your neighbor’s house sold in 1 day, doesn’t necessarily mean that agent is right for you. Meeting different agents and conducting interviews is a great way to decide which agent would best suit your needs!

Interviewing Agents –  When making an investment as important as a home purchase, you should get more than one opinion. Interviewing potential agents can be a great way for you to figure out who would work best with you in buying or selling a home. Agents should want the chance to show you how they would work for you and what they would do to buy or sell a home. Don’t be afraid to ask agents how well they know the area and the markets of that area. An agent who is more knowledgeable on the area will be able to market your home better to prospective buyers.

Choosing an Agent – After interviewing several agents, it is time to make a decision on which agent you would like to list or help you purchase a home. Choose an agent that you feel comfortable with, you need to be able to communicate with them exactly what you want and need. This doesn’t necessarily mean your agent has to be your best friend, just someone that you respect and can speak with easily. Also, choose an agent who you feel will give you the upmost attention and works with your schedule, being able to reach an agent is very important when trying to sell or purchase a home.

 At Ruhl&Ruhl we have 10 offices and over 250 agents available to make purchasing or selling a home as easy as possible. Please feel free to browse each offices’ agent roster to help select an agent. If you would like one on one help in choosing the agent that is right for you, please contact Customer Service at 888.441.1776.

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Mobile applications link buyers, agents

By Doug Schorpp

New Web-based mobile application systems are up and running for two Quad-City real estate firms, giving agents and customers access to all information about properties on their mobile phones. Mel Foster Co. and Ruhl&Ruhl Realtors both announced the launch of their applications in late July.

Melfoster-co.mobi

Kris Ratigan, marketing director for Mel Foster, said the company’s Web site is optimized to work fast on all mobile devices. It is available nationwide, making it useful to companies and individuals relocating to the area, she said. The Web site is www.melfoster-co.mobi. “This new application is…designed to allow real estate clients and prospects to contact our agents and 10 area offices as well as view all area residential listings in eastern Iowa and western Illinois from their mobile devices,” Ratigan said. She said the Web site has been gaining momentum as buyers and sellers catch on. The consumer can search by address, even a partial address, city, state, ZIP code, or MLS number. “This is an exciting time as technology lends new ways to connect with people,” Ratigan said.

Mobile Ruhl

Ruhl&Ruhl’s new application, Mobile Ruhl, allows users to search real-time property information, display listings on a map and has GPS capabilities. Consumers can search almost every listing in eastern Iowa, western Illinois, and southwestern Wisconsin, whether listed by Ruhl or another company. The GPS technology pinpoints the location of the user and delivers information. Users also can search by price, the number of bedrooms and bathrooms, as well as address, city and ZIP code. The application can be downloaded by going to www.Ruhlhomes.com and clicking on the “Mobile Ruhl” icon. “This new technology gives our clients the benefit of having all real estate listings right at their fingertips, whether at home, in the office or even in the car,” Ruhl&Ruhl company president Caroline Ruhl said.

 Survey Shows changing habits

                An online survey of respondents ages 25-59 done for Smarter Agent, the company that worked with Ruhl&Ruhl, showed the availability of a mobile real estate application had a significant impact on loyalty and perception of a specific real estate agent or broker.

Among the findings:

• 49 percent said they would be more inclined to use a real estate agent to list their home who offered a mobile application as part of a marketing plan to attract buyers
• 39 percent said they would choose a real estate agent who offered a mobile application to search for real estate for free
• 90 percent are aware that they can download applications to their cell phones

Article provided by: Quad-City Business Journal

Contact: Customer Service
Office Telephone: 866-441-1776
CustomerService@RuhlHomes.com

Ruhl&Ruhl REALTORS is adding another tool to your property search capabilities – your cell phone.

Ruhl&Ruhl is now the first agency in the Quad Cities and surrounding region to offer Mobile Ruhl, a mobile application used to search and provide real estate listing information on your cell phone, powered by Smarter Agent. Mobile Ruhl allows users to view real time property information, displays listings on a map and has GPS capabilities to show properties for sale in the area around the user’s location. Consumers are able to search almost every listing in Eastern Iowa, Western Illinois and Southwestern Wisconsin using their personal cell phones, whether it is listed by Ruhl&Ruhl or another company.

“This new technology gives our clients the benefit of having all real estate listings right at their finger tips, whether at home, in the office or even in the car,” said Caroline Ruhl, President of Ruhl&Ruhl REALTORS.

By accessing the Mobile Ruhl cell phone application, the GPS technology pinpoints the location of the user and instantly delivers information on almost any home for sale in that immediate area. In addition, consumers can search by mapping properties, minimum/maximum price, number of bedrooms, number of bathrooms, as well as address, community name, city and zip code.

Search results reveal:

• Price
• Total Square Footage
• Square Feet on each Floor
• Large Pictures
• Taxes
• Interior and Exterior Features
• Interactive Map
• Beds/Baths
• Estimated Mortgage
• Property Type
• County
• Amenities
• Appliances
• Fireplace
• Location of Baths
• Parking/Garage
• Heating/Cooling
• Utilities

Users have the ability to connect directly from the application to a phone call with an experienced Ruhl&Ruhl professional who can schedule an appointment to see a specific property. The user can also choose to save the search or share the property.

Mobile Ruhl can be downloaded to a cell phone by visiting www.RuhlHomes.com and clicking the “Mobile Ruhl” icon to begin the process. The application works on 95% of cell phones across all U.S. carriers as a fully downloadable application or a premium mobile web version. Mobile Ruhl is free to download on Sprint devices, as well as the iPhone, BlackBerry devices across all carriers and Google’s Android G-1. For other carriers and devices, a nominal download fee may apply, similar to the cost of a game or ringtone. The premium mobile web version is free to access.”

Ruhl&Ruhl belongs to ten Multiple Listing Services in the region. Mobile Ruhl was launched first in the Quad City area and will be implemented in all other markets over the next 30 days.

A family-owned company since 1862, Ruhl&Ruhl REALTORS annually sells approximately 3,400 homes in eastern Iowa, western Illinois and southwestern Wisconsin. Caroline Ruhl is the President and owner of Ruhl&Ruhl REALTORS, and is the fourth generation of the Ruhl family to lead the residential brokerage and home services company. Headquartered in Davenport, Iowa, the company has 250 sales associates and 60 employees based in sales offices located in Bettendorf, Bellevue, Clinton, Coralville, Davenport, DeWitt, Dubuque, Maquoketa, and Muscatine, in Iowa, and in Moline, Illinois. In addition to residential sales, Ruhl&Ruhl offers services in relocation, new home sales, farm sales, senior services, and mortgage services through 1862 Mortgage. For more information on Ruhl&Ruhl, visit their website at www.RuhlHomes.com.

About Smarter Agent: Smarter Agent® creates mobile, location-aware (such as GPS) search applications that help consumers and professionals learn about, interact and transact with the world around them as never before possible. Smarter Agent invented and patented mobile, location-triggered real estate search and is now the largest mobile real estate portal in the world. Smarter Agent represents the first mass commercialization of a mobile application in the United States. Its reach includes premium downloadable applications with all major carriers, as well as access from all phones, operating systems and formats. CTIA, the Cellular Telecommunications Industry Association, named Smarter Agent the Winner in its Emerging Technology Awards LBS/GPS category.

Visit www.RuhlHomes.com or contact us at 866-441-1776.

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