…. Young Hillary Clinton!

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Tags: funny, hillary clinton, younger
Categories: Humor and Fun, Uncategorized
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The week just flew by. Hello. Its Friday night already.

The highlight of the week for me was of course Thursday. I was the substitute presenter at the Arizona RE EV Blogging Networks monthly gathering. Jay Thompson, The Phoenix Real Estate Guy, was not able to do the kick off Wordpress training and so I had the honor of stepping in. It was a lot of fun actually. I want to thank everyone for showing up and for your enthusiasm. It is always a pleasure to talk about blogging.

My presentation was a very basic over view of how to set up a Wordpress blog and all that good stuff. It went well for the most part, but the area where I felt I was weak was in actually getting people to start a blog. A few people did end up setting up blogs, but many seemed to just want to listen and take notes. Which is fine. As promised I have uploaded my powerpoint presentation.

A lot of folks out there are hungry to learn about blogs and how to blog. If you have questions and concerns, why don’t you leave a comment on this post and I’ll try to answer it - or someone else could and that way we build a repository of information for agents and lenders eager to learn about blogging. You can still write to me directly if you wish too.

Some of the usual suspects were there - like Christoph, Nick and Doreen. Many thanks to Candace and Shelli for all their hard work in putting this meeting together. Also the our sponsors. Thank you all. See you next month.

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Tags: arizona, bloggers, blogging, phoenix
Categories: Arizona, Bloggers, Blogging, Uncategorized
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We have a few clients who check up on us every few weeks asking about the current mortgage interest rate on both a 30 year fixed and 5/1 ARM. I figured it’s time to post a chart of how rates have been doing since the beginning of this year (2008):

Points on interest:

• The 30 Year Fixed reached a high of 6.24% the week ending February 28th and a low of 5.48% the week ending January 24th.
• The 5/1 ARM started on a high note of 5.78% the week ending January 3rd and reached a low of 5.13% the week ending January 24th.

The blue line is the 30 year fixed rate and green is for the 5/1 ARM. Data is from Freddie Mac.

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Tags: ARM, Fixed, Interest Rate, Mortgages
Categories: Interest Rate, Mortgages
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From GasBuddy.Com. If you visit their site you can zoom in on your area and get an idea for what prices are like nearby. Great tool.

For Phoenix Metro (a bit hard to read, but if you go to GasBuddy.Com you can view a larger much readable map):

Have a great Memorial Day Weekend everyone!

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Tags: arizona, gas prices, phoenix
Categories: Phoenix
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I guess even folks in Congress are close to foreclosure on their homes. I really shouldn’t be surprised though. The guys on the Hill are so used to spending other people’s money like it grows on trees and I’m sure that mentality is bound to sink into their own personal finances at some point - at least if you’re a rookie which this Congresswoman seems to be. Here is the story from the LA Times this morning:

Update: California Rep. Laura Richardson today denied a published report that her $535,000 Sacramento home had slipped into foreclosure, saying she had renegotiated her loan to keep the home.

The house “… is not in foreclosure and has NOT been seized by the bank,” Richardson, a Democrat from Long Beach, said in a statement. “I have worked with my lender to complete a loan modification and have renegotiated the terms of the agreement — with no special provisions.” (Richardson’s entire statement is at the bottom of this article).

Earlier, Capitol Weekly reported that Richardson walked away from the mortgage on her $535,000 Sacramento home, letting the house slip into foreclosure and disrepair less than two years after she bought it with no money down.

“While being elevated to Congress in a 2007 special election, Richardson apparently stopped making payments on her new Sacramento home, and eventually walked away from it, leaving nearly $600,000 in unpaid loans and fees,” the publication reported.

Related post: Fed Chairman Bernake’s home loses value.

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Tags: congresswoman, foreclosure, Mortgages
Categories: Congress and Government, Mortgages, Personal Finance
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Two key Senators on the Senate Banking Committee have reached an agreement to help distressed homeowners.

According to Bloomberg:

“The primary goal is to keep people in their homes, but also to help establish a floor and a bottom” to the housing slump, Dodd, a Connecticut Democrat, told reporters during the call.

The proposed legislation would a create a Federal Housing Administration program to insure up to $300 billion in refinanced mortgages for struggling borrowers after loan holders reduce principal. The Banking Committee is scheduled to debate and vote on the plan tomorrow.

According to CNN Money:

The deal was struck between the top Democrat and Republican on the Banking Committee: Chairman Christopher Dodd, D-Conn., and Ranking Member Richard Shelby, R-Ala.

“This legislation is good news for both the markets and homeowners,” Dodd said in a statement. “The bill addresses the root of our current economic problems - the foreclosure crisis - by creating a voluntary initiative at no estimated cost to taxpayers which will help Americans keep their homes.”

Dodd and Shelby had been in prolonged negotiations over the bill.

A key sticking point has been Shelby’s push to shield taxpayers if borrowers default on their payments after getting government-backed loans. He has said that he wants the FHA plan funded by redirecting money that Dodd’s original bill earmarked for a new affordable housing trust fund. The funds would be paid by Fannie Mae (FNM, Fortune 500) and Freddie Mac (FRE, Fortune 500).

I’ve already expressed my thoughts on this bill in a prior post called “FHA: The Be All and End All of Loans“. I’m just glad that the tax payer is not on the hook for any of this - if you’re to believe Uncle Sam that is.

Image: Shared under creative commons license from submarginals’.

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Tags: assistance, FHA, foreclosures, homeowners, senate
Categories: Congress and Government, FHA, Mortgages
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When I lived in Madison, WI I used to read The Onion every tme it came out - since it was distributed freely on the UW-Madison campus. It was the only way to live through the Clinton scandals - seriously. Some of the stuff they came up with during those years was truly classic.

Well now they have stuff online and even have videos and I go on their website from time to time to check things out. Here is one that was kind of thougth provoking for me. I guess the message of this is clear for business owners. Innovate or vegetate!

The Onion at its finest:

Historic 2018Blockbuster2019 Store Offers Glimpse Of How Movies Were Rented In The Past

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Categories: Humor and Fun
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The East Vally Tribune reports that existing home sales increased compared to last year. According to the morning news, this is the first time since 2005 that the year over year (YOY) sales numbers have been positive. For Gilbert, there were 360 sales in April of 2008 compared to 330 in the same month last year, a 9% increase. The news is mixed though since median home prices have come down a bit over the same period.

Now, what I just said is just a paraphrase of what is being reported across newspapers and T.V. news. But in a Web 2.0 world, I’m also interested in what local real estate bloggers have to say with the same numbers. This is because most of the time local area agents have a better understanding of the market and can shed better light on these numbers than the so called “experts”. Below is a sampling of what I found in some prominent local real estate blogs discussing the good news.

The Phoenix Real Estate Guy (Jay Thompson) says:

Beginning of a recovery? One time blip? Who knows. One YOY data point does not a trend make. But sales seem to be picking up steam, foreclosures are creating affordability, and absorption rates are falling. All of this seems to indicate we may be bottoming.

AllPhoenixRealEstate.Com (Jonathan Dalton):

Lower prices can be expected since it is the bank owned home sector fueling the current real estate market. And as I’ve said at least a half-dozen times, that’s not necessarily a bad thing.

The biggest gem though comes from North Phoenix Agent (Heather Barr) who in the middle of April posted anecdotal evidence asking if the market was improving, some of her nuggets (which is being validated through improved numbers):

• I’ve also got 3 new buyers, money in hand, FICO score safely in the mid- to high-700’s, ready to buy this month
• My A/C guy is busier than he can keep up with, with new work based on home inspection findings
• His friend who does truss work for area builders, says he’s busy again after a 1-1/2 year lull
• A friend of mine who works for Pulte says their sales office is slammed; she’s working Saturdays again

So what does it all mean? It seems we’re getting our usual spring inventory increase. With an already bloated market full of too many under-improved and over-priced houses, this should be bad. But the good news it we seem to be selling it.

Way to go Heather. You nailed this one a month in advance.

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Tags: bloggers, phoenix, Real Estate
Categories: Bloggers, Phoenix, Real Estate
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With all the press FHA loans has garnered recently we have received quite a bit of inquiry on this government insured mortgage. We have been able to qualify most who have contacted us, however, we’ve had to disappoint a few. The crazy thing is the reason for denial wasn’t even something related to the borrower. It was entirely based on the property they were seeking to mortgage. While there are relatively few property related hurdles for single family homes, when it comes to condominiums and FHA it’s a different story entirely.

Basically, it boils down to the condo itself being FHA approved. So, if you are thinking of purchasing a condo or refinancing a mortgage on a condo, and would like to use the FHA loan program, the first thing you need to do is make sure it is FHA approved. The loan goes nowhere if the condo in question is not on the FHA approved list. To help you the HUD maintains a master list on its website, but to be double sure, I suggest contacting a FHA approved lender.

If you are curious about what qualifies a condo for FHA approval, the Mortgage Porter has written a fantastic post on this topic. Here are some of the requirements she highlights from the FHA guideline:

1. At least 51% of the total units in the project must be owner occupied.
2. At least 90% of the total units in the project have been sold.
3. No single entity owns more than 10% of the total units in the project.
4. The project, including common areas, is complete with no special assessments and no legal actions pending.
5. The owners association has a reserve plan and a reserve fund , separate from the operating account that is adequate to prevent deferred maintenance

Feel free to contact me if you have a particular property in mind and want to find out if it is FHA approved.

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Tags: Condo approved, FHA, Mortgages
Categories: FHA, Mortgages, Real Estate
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Regular readers of this blog know that even though this blog is focused on mortgages and home financing like a laser beam, I’ve had Jennifer Furrier contribute a few times. Jennifer is a professional organizer, and a very good one at that. The feedback from her customers is always amazing and her work ethic is legendary. That is why I’ve always thought she’d be a great addition to the blogging community.

Well, now it looks like she’s taken the plunge. Last week she e-mailed and and told me she’s set up a blog on professional organizing and I was elated to hear that. Her blog is called “Overcome the Overwhelm” and already has some really good nuggets on getting organized, improving productivity and living a stress-less life. I already know this is going to be an awesome blog, and that is because I know that Jen is an awesome professional organizer!

The only thing I can say at this point is “watch out”, to the other bloggers who focus on professional organizing. You guys now have some pretty tough competition coming your way. However, as a blogger I know it’s not all about competition, but also about building community and interaction and relationships. So, on that front Jennifer is going to make a great addition to the already mushrooming professional organizing blogosphere.

Head on over to Jennifer’s blog and leave a note!

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Tags: Jennifer Furrier, professional organizer
Categories: Bloggers, Blogging, Phoenix
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