Market Update - Late 2009  Will  Economic and Real Estate Improvements continue?? The housing market has improved in the 2nd half of 2009.  The values of real estate have fallen to the lowest levels in 5-10 years in many cities in the USA.  This means that you can buy property at the same price you could have in 1999 in some areas!   Most areas are now seeing prices going back up…slowly.  In my opinion the prices will continue to go up 2010 and we might even see price spikes in some areas.  This is happening because interest rates are very low and there are lots of government programs for first time buyers out there now.  The Obamba administration is doing EVERYTHING it can to stop the recession.   Some of the "rescue" programs have worked and the stock market has rebounded well.  The big question is now…will we have massive inflation in 2010?   The odds are that we will have some inflation in 2010 and prices will go up on many of items that we Americans buy.  But with continued unemployment because companies are cutting back to save and rebuild the money they lost during the recession, inflation might be kept at bay.  With many Americans out of work and low on money to spend, inflation may be tempered during the next several months.   Here In Kentucky, we have survived the recession better than most of the USA and real estate values in most areas have only declined slightly. If there is some inflation in 2010, housing values in our area might go up at higher levels than we have seen in a long time.  So if you survived the recession and still own a property you might be in luck in the next year.  Prices will be going up and if your property hasn't lost much value in the last two years, you might see abnormally high levels of appreciation in the next couple of years as the market "snaps back."    There are still tremendous risks though. The next financial bubble could come sooner than you think. Even though a year after the collapse of home values triggered this massive recession, another rapid and irrational rise in the price of assets - whether stocks, home values or oil - might seem unlikely. But investors are still fixated on short-term gains over long-term performance.  And information now travels instantly because of the internet.  This is fueling a "herd mentality" when it comes to investing. So the highs are higher and quicker than they ever have been and the lows are the likewise.  Its kind of like the weather has been lately "more extremes on both side than ever before." Bubbles feel good when they're inflating, but that isn't a replacement for the slow-and-steady growth that makes for stability in the economy. Reckless stock day-traders were blamed for the Internet stock bubble crash at the beginning of this decade and unqualified home buyers and real estate speculators got blamed for and the still-deflating housing bubble that caused this most recent recession.  And now a surge of global capital seekers looking for the quickest and most profitable investments like hungry ants coming from a 3 foot tall ant hill could be the next problem for our economy.  Over the past 30 years the value of financial assets grew to be four times larger than annual global gross domestic product. This means there is too much money in people's pockets to invest and not enough products being produced by those people to make up for it.  To sum up, it looks like forecasting the  economy will be like forecasting the weather more than ever in the future!  At Rent2ownlouisville, we have had a record year in 2009 and we have helped numerous people get into home ownership with our Land Contract program.  In the current economic situation with real estate at 5- 10 year lows, it is a great time to buy and if you cannot get a loan because of the strict bank guidelines now in place, we can help!  We will get you into the property you want to buy right away, even without using a bank with our rent2own programs.  If you cannot come up with the money to enter our Land Contract program, we recommend renting to start.  We can put you on a short term lease in any one of our properties and then begin a search to find the property you want to buy.  Once we locate your home, we will purchase it from the seller and you can move in and lease back until you are ready to get a traditional bank loan.  When you are ready to get that bank loan, we will transfer the deed/title to you so that you can "refinance" and get a loan in your name, with NO MONEY DOWN!   The is what gave us our name "RENT 2 OWN".  We have done this for many people in 2009 with great success.  In 2010 we will continue to offer all of these programs for our customers.  Call us or email us anytime for more information!   Best Regards, Michael Howard President - Rent2ownlouisville

MARKET UPDATE - Mid 2009 The economy is improving….slowly!  There are subtle signs all around that things are getting better.  Most of the improvements have been from the stimulus package and other tinkering done by the new president Obamba.  Love him or hate him, you must admit he has been doing what government is supposed to do in time of crisis….assist us!   The real question is what effect all this "free money" flowing to the common person on the street will have next year on inflation?   Hopefully, you have survived this recession with only a few battle scars and can live to tell your children and grandchildren the horror stories of the recession of the early 2000s.    The real estate market is moving again too!  It seems that people have made the decision to buy again.  Spring 2009 has to be the most welcomed spring in history!  It was a tough winter!   Interest rates are at all time lows (you can get a 30 year fixed rate at under 5%!)  but it is harder than ever to qualify for a loan/mortgage.  Banks have lost so much money on bad debts and unpaid mortgages in the last three years, so they are still leery to loan YOU money!   It is a perfect time to buy because houses are cheap and people are desperate to sell, and rates are so low…but getting a bank to lend you money is nearly impossible.   One solution to this is our Land Contract program.  It works for you in a very simple way….you can purchase a house without a bank!   Rent2ownlouisville will purchase the house you want, then you move in and make a payment to us each month.  Then at some point in our contract, you go into a bank and get a refinance.  This allows you to show the bank you already have some equity and own the house before they even lend you the money!   It is a great program in these trying times.  It is perfect for folks with good jobs and incomes who might be credit challenged!  We also have a program that helps rebuild your credit while you lease from us.   Obviously not everyone will qualify for a Land  Contract right away.  These folks might want to rent from us to start, and then move up to a land contract when they feel they are ready.  This way you don’t have to worry about breaking a lease, since you would already be a client and we are your landlord.  At Rent2ownlouisville we do everything we can to take care of our clients and tenants!  For our renters, we have a new management company for collections and payments in 2009.  They can be contacted at 502-287-7862.  We have had several tenants move from renting to ownership in 2008 and we look forward to helping many more tenants do this in 2009!   With the burdens of daily life being what they are, we strive to make your transformation from house to house as easy and stress free as we can!  We are also buying and leasing out several commercial storefronts and retail spaces in 2009.       Feel free to contact us or email us anytime for information on our programs or properties.  Remember our goal is to get everyone into a property! Best Regards Michael Howard President - Rent2ownlouisville 502-777-5246

Strong Rental Markets, Terrible  Economy What is happening in this world?! Foreclosures are way up, home prices are down, but in many metro areas the rental market has improved since 2006.     (Here is a good example of what has been happening over much of the USA in 2008).    Michael Rodriguez planted a "For Rent" sign one Sunday morning in the yard of a three-bedroom, two-bath house he owns in West Salinas, Calif., a farming community 10 miles inland from the Monterey Bay beaches and about an hour from Silicon Valley. The same afternoon, he received 54 calls from prospective tenants. "I was shocked at the response, my cellphone wouldn't  stop ringing, so I had to shut it off!"  "I never expected so many people to call me about my house for rent.  Many of the people seemed desperate!" said Rodriguez, the broker/owner of Platinum Capital Mortgage & Estate in Salinas.  "I noticed most of the people seemed to be good, honest, hard working Americans, just like me." "They were wanting to rent because they couldn't qualify for loans anymore." Salinas, like much of California, is facing a housing slump and a surge in foreclosures. In many areas of the USA there are cities where almost 50% of the properties are now vacant! This is a mind bending statistic!!  But in the wake of these scary times, the rental market is still doing very well.  So well, in fact that in many areas rents are actually increasing.  Rental houses are a great alternative for so many Americans that can no longer get mortgages, or would have to put down more money than they can afford in order to buy the house they want. The banks have lost so much money because of all the forclosures, that they are afraid to lend money out anymore.  This is scary indeed!   But, take heart, it won't continue forever.  Things will get better, this storm will move on and the sun will come out once again….problem is, many people have good incomes and want what they deserve, but the banks won't let them have it anymore! So, why compramise if you have earned it?  The banks won't loan money out because they have been burned with bad loans to people who probably didn't deserve those loans in the first place.  Why should "we" pay for bad behavor and poor decisions by banks?   Renting, Leasing Options and  Land Contracts are GREAT ways to get around all the mess in the housing market and still get the house you want.          Rental Markets are Bad in Some Areas? "The top rental markets were less impacted by the housing bubble bursting," said Ronald G. Johnsey, president of AXIOMetrics. "The job growth in these markets is probably still good, though the rate of job growth is declining." Florida and Arizona dominated the list of metro areas with the biggest rent drops. Housing prices in those states are crashing, and so many people who could not sell their homes have instead put them on the market as rentals. Those single-family home rentals are competing for tenants with apartment complexes. Effective rents have fallen as much as 9% in the worst Florida markets-Naples and Cape Coral-where vacancies have jumped to about 17%. Apartment landlords are offering two or more months of free rent in some cases to fill vacancies!  The single-family home rentals are "affecting the apartment rental market," said Jack McCabe of McCabe Research & Consulting in Deerfield Beach, Fla. "That's going to continue to happen until you see a decline in the for-sale inventory. Once that happens, people renting out these units will end up putting them up for sale and that will lessen the rental inventory." But in much of the country, rents are strong. In uncertain times, people rent, said Walter David Smith, manager of Belhaven Residential, which owns 315 apartments near downtown Jackson, Miss., the third-best apartment market on our list. The demand for apartments was boosted in Jackson after Hurricane Katrina flooded the coastal areas and forced refugees inland. The weak housing market is keeping people in leases, Smith said. "This time last year, we probably had 10% vacancy," Smith said. "Right now, we're at full occupancy."  "When the economy is unsure, you're unsure," Thomsen said. "It's easier to work your way out of a lease than a mortgage." People are happy to sit on the sidelines and rent until the for-sale market returns. Especially in places like Kentucky.  Here in the mid south we have a strong economy, low cost of living and very nice affordable housing.  People here are still able to afford to live well, even if the banks are not giving out loans.  Our rental and Land Contract programs are great alternatives to buying a house now.  At RENT2OWNLOUISVILLE, we offer these programs to help you with alternatives to get you into the house you want now.  At RENT2OWNLOUISVILLE  feel that our Land Contract option is a great way for you to get the house you want and deserve without having to deal directly with a bank.  Or you might decide to just rent in the meantime.  Either way we will be able to help you during these times.   Call us anytime for more information at 502-777-5246 or email us at mike@rent2ownlouisville.com Best Regards,  Mike Howard (president)