Throw misery under the bus.

I knew someone, once, who was so good at manipulating her coworkers that few realized she was always blaming everyone else, requiring her coworkers to feel sorry for her.  It took a very close relationship with her before I realized I was being played.  She had all of us repeating her sad story.  She was very funny and couched many of the episodes in humor, but when I personally saw how she treated those who supposedly were treating her badly, I became disgusted.  My sympathies then went to her family which was on the receiving end of her emotions.  I was a follower of her brainwashing until the light of truth shone on her manipulation.  She isn’t the only one.  I have fallen into many friendships which by reason of deception snookered me.  Those people are no longer part of my life.  I have learned to trust but verify.

These people who are full of sad stories and misery make excuses for their own failings.  They want to drag you into the lies they are telling themselves.  Those who take responsibility for their own lives and mistakes and fight their way out of the slime pit of self-deceit will succeed.  It takes turning your back on procrastination and doing what is unpleasant.  These pity-party people refuse to GET OVER IT!  Personal responsibility brings success.  Pity parties waste everyone’s time and patience.

The next time you are invited to a pity party, refuse to go.  Parties are meant to be fun and there is no fun in misery. 

How many of you have been in a conference or church or training session where you have been told “repeat after me…”  This is brainwashing.  You were the follower of whoever was on stage.  Stop repeating what you are told and find out for yourselves.

In whatever industry you are in, find out for yourself what the real numbers are.  Most of us don’t have the time or resources to read the white papers or pick through the statistics or company financial reports to glean necessary information.  Subscribe to newsletters and blogs which give you the information you need.  You will need to trust, but verify until you weed out the undependable informants.  This is personal responsibility.  Take this proven route and succeed.

Frank-Dodd will kill the housing market

New HUD regulations say:

'in a nutshell, HUD said a lending practice that has an “unjustified discriminatory effect” can alone constitute discriminatory lending...'

More laws, more regulations, more rules, more confusion.

Rep. Scott Garrett (R-NJ) says
"For example, lenders could relax their loan approval standards to ensure there's no disparate impact violation. This would revive the economic insanity of providing loans to those that have no ability to pay."  -kpanchuck@housingwire.com
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"Finish each day and be done with it.  You have done what  you could.  Some blunders and absurdities have crept in; forget about them as soon as you can.  Tomorrow is a new day, you shall begin is serenely and with too high a spirit to be encumbered with your old nonsense." Ralph Waldo Emerson
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We lost 11,630 farms last year.  If you want to be the one driving an expensive sports car in the future, go into farm science and become a farmer.  We all need to eat and who will feed us?
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TBWSDailyShow:
FHA is officially on the 2013 high risk list of government programs along with the Management of Federal Oil and Gas Fields, Strategic Human Capital Management, Weapons Systems Acquisition.  This means the Government Accountablility's Office has deemed them overspent.  They are all in the red.  The former FHA's commissioner, Dave Stevens, said that if FHA's role got too big it could be bad for the housing market.   FHA can draw from the Treasury, but the negative numbers are all just bad accounting which I have explained in past blogs.   Much of FHA's problems came from allowing loans which were bad from the moment they were funded.  As the loans failed, the fund was dragged down with the falling home values.   And the CFPB has only implemented 48% of the 248 new rules in the Frank-Dodd bill. This is scaring the lenders who don't know how to or if they will be able to implement the whole Frank-Dodd bill.  If FHA must make a draw from the Treasury, loans from there will slow to a crawl.  Those loans cover most of the low to moderate income purchases.  Until stocks take a breather, bonds and mortgage backed securities will suffer.  (I know this is a lot of choppy info, but there was much info in a short amt of time. Take it up with the guys, Frank and Brian).
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Herman Thordsen wrote a white paper on the Frank-Dodd and the CFPB issues concerning mortgages and how we all will be affected.  It is a difficult read, but complete if you want to try it.  Look for "Get Ready for Disparate Impact" by this guy if you want some heavier reading.
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According to GoldmanSachs:

"Our forecast points to steady increases in home sales going forward. We expect total existing home sales to increase to 5.2 million in 2013 and 5.7 million in 2016," said analysts Hui Shan and Jari Stehn. "We also project new single-family home sales to reach 750,000 in 2016."
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TBWSDailyShow:
Zombie Foreclosures- when the owners hand over the keys to the lender and walk away.  But are still on the hook for taxes, hoa fees, etc.  If the bank doens't actually (legally) foreclose for a couple of years, the home owner still can't buy another house for 3 yrs after the actual foreclosure.  Foreclosures also ruin your credit for 3 yrs or more.
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The percent of underwater mortgages dropped from 31.1 to 27.5.  However, 13.8 million are still underwater...according to Zillow.
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Developing and keeping clients.

What creates loyalty? Why are people loyal to one person and not another or loyal to one group and not another?  At the root is a desire to feel safe.  How do you convince clients to come back to you?  Answer:  you provide services that will help them meet their needs.  This is a safety issue.    If people feel safe with you, they will be loyal.  This is basically no different from a gang mentality or a click at school.  Others need to know you will keep your word.  If you don’t, you have betrayed them.  Children betray each other all the time.  Children’s loyalties change with the wind because of trust.  People need to know that you, as an adult, are emotionally safe.  Entrusting their finances or hopes and dreams to you is an emotional trust.  They are entrusting you with their personal security.

To be able to deserve trust means you must be enough of an adult yourself to be able to be dependable.  If you know yourself, you will be able to inspire trust in others.  This means you must be an adult in a world of children.  Too many people don’t have the power of freedom, responsibility or work to pull this off.

Now, what do I mean by those three words?  Let’s take freedom first.  Freedom  means  the moral strength to rule yourself instead of letting others manipulate your ideas, opinions and actions.  Responsibility takes credit for both successes and failures.  Work is creating value in society. 

Sometimes this means telling someone “No”.  While you may occasionally loose a client or friend, those who stay will feel more secure than if you acquiesced to unreasonable demands.   Word gets around if you can or cannot be trusted.

To quote an email friend of mine, Ah’Nay Satori:

‘No’

It's very easy to say yes, but being able to say 'no' requires a person to know their worth. We integrate with people every day who live to appease others by agreeing.

 

This is not honorable; in fact, it’s denying oneself the right to live authentically. And when we are living superficially how then can we expect others to respect and value our worth.

Know your worth by having the courage to, sometimes, say no; it can be the difference between your joy, happiness and misery, pain.

Learn to say no when necessary; you’ll find that it feels good living authentically.

 

This will require you having the strength to look yourself in the face and ask, “Who am I”.  This takes introspection, time and courage to see yourself for who you really are.  Others know consciously or unconsciously who you are.  Be brave enough to know yourself and in so doing strengthen yourself, your family, your community and your nation.

Housing market improving...due to investors.

TBWSDailyShow:
Barry Habib (along with many other money experts) says the stock market is due for a major correction.   We had major corrections in 2000 and 2008.  We are due for another humdinger some where around 10% drop.  (Buy real estate and protect your wealth!)  This also means interest rates will rise.
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Politicians in 13 states, including South Carolina, Washington, Minnesota, Iowa, Georgia, Idaho are proposing bills that would allow gold and silver coins to be accepted as legal to be used by citizens of their states. 

Read Latest Breaking News from Newsmax.com http://www.moneynews.com/Economy/states-gold-silver-coin/2013/02/07/id/489288?s=al&promo_code=125EA-1#ixzz2KbkxxnXg
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President Obama is planning to force private mortgage holders to allow mortgage holders who have kept up with their payments to refinance.  The unplanned consequence is that there will be fewer mortgages available in the future, which would hurt the housing recovery.  Congress is not on board.
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Six tips for buyers:

1. When viewing multiple offers, sellers most often accept the offer which most likely will close and meets their requirements, not necessarily the highest offer. 

2.  Buyers should have a folder, constantly updated, with the most recent pay stubs, bank statements and any other documents the lender might need to make a quick loan possible.  Keep the lender on speed dial.

3.  Buyers need to work with the seller instead of demand everything.  This will make the seller more agreeable to the buyer when there are multiple offers.  Sellers will be more likely to accept an offer from a buyer who will work with them.

4.  Keep your home inspector on speed dial.  If  other buyers are waiving the inspection, you need to be able to schedule your inspection as quickly as possible to reduce uncertainty for the seller.

5.  Eliminate or reduce your contingencies.  If the appraisal comes in below your offer, be sure you have the cash to cover the difference.  But leave your financing contingency in place to cover yourself.

6.  Consider an escalation clause which will allow your agent to offer a specific amount above the best offer the sellers have received.  This works well if the property is priced well under the market value.
--Donna Fuscaldo of BankRate.com
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TBWSDailyShow:

FHA mortgage premiums are going up for case numbers assigned on or after April 1, 2013, unless the loan term is less than 15 yrs, and has a loan to value of less than 78%.  You can check this out at HUD.gov Mortgagee Letter 2013-04. 

All FHA loans on or after June3, 2013 will have their mortgage insurance collected for the life of the loan.  Therefore, if you or your clients refinance after June 3, your interest rate will need to be significantly lower than present to off set the increased mortgage insurance payments.  Be sure to tell your clients about the higher rates coming down the road and that they need to lock in before June 3.

Senate Bill 16 is to shorten foreclosures to 90 days instead  of the present 680 days.

Monte Die Paschi Di Siena, the world's oldest bank is closing due to fraud.  Opened in 1472, they proceeded Leonardo Di Vinci, Christopher Colombus, the American Revolution, the French Revolution, WWI, WWII, the Iron Curtain, the first man on the moon and telemarketers.
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I just heard of a restaurant which gives a 4% discount to families which have well behaved children.  Now that's a terrific idea.
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Right now FHA represents half of all mortgage originations.  However, under the Dodd-Frank rules coming at us, half of all present mortgage originations would not qualify.  The debt-to-income ratio will be 43% max.  -kpanchuck@housingwire.com
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TBWSDailyShow:
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From HousingWire we learn, "
In an effort to prevent foreclosures and help stabilize communities, Fannie Mae introduced its HomePath for Short Sales tool to help assist common short sale challenges.

The escalation tool is available to any real estate professional working on a short sale that involves a Fannie Mae-owned loan. Once the short sale case is escalated, Fannie Mae will directly work with the agent or mortgage servicer to assist challenges such as valuation disputes, delays by servicers or uncooperative subordinate lien holders."
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Agents, you need to talk to more than just clients and customers about their credit scores.  This will impact your sales.  Talk to anyone who is even mildly interested in possibly, someday in the future buying.  Find someone who you trust to help people with improving their credit score. 
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"I cannot remember when there was such a chorus in the investment landscape calling for higher interest rates."  Marilyn Cohen founder of Envision Capital Management Inc.
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“There is no doubt that when the Fed pulls back you will see a big shoot upward in Treasury yields,” said Karl Haeling, head of strategic-debt distribution in New York at Landesbank Baden-Wuerttemberg, one of Germany’s largest banks. “There are a lot of people who think the only reason rates are here is because the Fed put them here. Nobody wants to be the last man standing.”

Read Latest Breaking News from Newsmax.com http://www.moneynews.com/FinanceNews/fed-escape-easing-bond-buying/2013/02/11/id/489768?s=al&promo_code=12664-1#ixzz2KnU9mq9E
Urgent: Should Obamacare Be Repealed? Vote Here Now!
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Is Atlanta Running Out of Houses?

Home inventory in Atlanta is getting depleted quickly. Based on recently released statistics, some people might come to the conclusion that the Atlanta real estate market is running out of homes for sale. On the surface this appears true.

The number of resale homes, townhomes and condominiums for sale based on the First Multiple Listing Service (FMLS) database shows that at present there is only a three-month supply of homes available. This is the lowest amount of inventory on record. Historically, Atlanta has had a six to seven month supply of homes, and that is what is considered “normal.” Home inventory surged to almost 14 months during the peak of the real estate bust in mid 2008. The current number indicates that Atlanta is in a seller’s market for properly priced, good condition homes in desirable locations.

This decrease in supply led to a rise in overall resale prices (including foreclosures) of 6.5 percent during 2012. Local Realtors also report multiple offers and the occasional bidding war on the best-priced and most desirable homes.

Completed unsold new construction by homebuilders has also decreased, and at the end of 2012 had reached what market observers consider a historical equilibrium of 3.6 months supply. This number is expected to drop further. This is versus an almost one year supply of vacant new homes available in 2007.

All of these statistics are encouraging for the overall housing market in Atlanta. While short and possibly midterm inventory availability is definitely tightening, with the resultant price rise, we will more than likely see a continued stream of homes coming to the market. Homeowners that had previously been unable to sell their homes due to owing more on them than their current value, or being “underwater,” will start putting their homes on the market. In addition, homebuilders will continue to ramp up production as demand increases.

Stay tuned; it looks like 2013 will be good for the housing market in Atlanta.

Statistics courtesy of - 4Q12 Metrostudy Reports.

Brian Walther
SouthCrest Mortgage
678-483-8064
brian.walther@southcrestmortgage.com
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"Despite all the noise about a court ruling invalidating recess appointments and legitimacy of the CFPB’s actions, bureau officials are still working on regulations, including a new servicing rule."  ByBrian Collins and Mark Fogarty

I don't know if it is legal for the CFPB to make regulations and rules without an appointed head.  Need to find out.
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Non-irrigated farmland is skyrocketing in price.  That is because the average age of farmers in the US is 58.  To make a mint, become a farmer and in a few years  you will be driving a Mercedes.
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Congress is working to overturn the rules and regulations the illegally appointed head of CFPB, Richard Cordray, put in place. 
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TBWSDailyShow:
FHA is crying for $16.3 billion in bailout money.  If congress agrees, MIP-mortgage insurance premium will rise.  If FHA says they will have deficits in the future, HUD takes funds out of the MMI fund and puts it in the general fund.  But if the actual losses do not exceed their anticipated losses, those funds stay in the general fund and the MMI fund stays in the red.  So, Carol Galante say the MMI fund is short $16.3 billion and needs the MIP to rise in order to replenish the fund.  Why not just move the excess from the general fund back to the MMI fund?  That would allow the MIP to stay where it is for the average person just trying to buy a house.  FHA has had the money, still has the money, so why punish the US citizen trying to buy a home?  Truth in accounting is missing.  Instead the FHA is pushing a home buyer tax.
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Freddie Mac says housing activity remains near historic lows despite the present increase in activity.  Residential fixed investment activity added 0.4% to the 4th quarter last year.  Housing starts are expected to increase 22% from last year.  mhopkins@housingwire.com
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If  you are looking for a vacation home or rental in beautiful N. Georgia, check out my listing FMLS#5092284.  2/2, 1377sqft, gated, golf, winter lake view, tennis, swimming pool, RV parking, stables, $170000, AU4056.  jpierce@RealEstateAuctions.com

GOOD TIME TO BUY

Some of you know that I write a blog, realestatesummarynews.blogspot.com, in which I summarize the latest real estate news gleaned from the multiple newsletters I receive.  Lately, I have seen that hedge funds and private equity investment firms are snapping up the foreclosures and other low priced homes.  This is driving up US home prices and spurring home building. 

Everything associated with the real estate industry is beginning to have more buyers.  Furniture, tile, bath fixtures, flooring, landscaping and all the other pieces that go into a home are selling faster than in the last four or five years.  You should be able to find good sales as the stores try to bring in former customers.

This is a great time to buy that first home, vacation home or your retirement home.  The prices are still low and the interest rates are low, but by the end of the year all the experts are saying the interest rates will have climbed back into the normal range from these historic lows.  The Federal Reserve can only keep interest rates low for so long.  At some point even Ben Bernanke says they will rise. 

I know that the stock market is doing relatively well.  However, when the Federal Reserve stops printing money, stock prices will fall.  The only reason the stock market is doing well is because of the QE’s.  Only people with assets (i.e. precious metals, petroleum products, real estate) will preserve their wealth.  The stock market will rebound given a few years, but the price of homes will rise more.

We still have the problem of excess of regulation on businesses.  This will impede hiring and income.  If there remains a lack of jobs, the housing prices may rise for a while, but when the big spenders pull back, house prices will fall again no matter what the interest rates are. 

So, I am encouraging all of you who can to buy real estate now.  Let the house prices rise in the next couple years, wait for the big spenders to pull back and buy again.  For those who do not yet have the capital to buy real estate, use this time to save every possible penny to buy when the house prices drop again.

That brings us to auctions.  Auctions are the new wave of selling or buying homes.  Check out real estate auctions.  The process is a little different than traditional real estate.  We have blogs all the time with this company, RealEstateAuctions.com explaining the auction process.  You can contact any of us in the company and ask for info.  Since we are planning to be in all 50 states by the end of the year, you will have someone nearby to help in buying an auction.

Not too much news this week, however...

According to Fannie Mae, Americans believe their salaries and home prices will rise this year.  The number of homeowners underwater also dropped.     -kpanchuck@housingwire.com
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HousingWire reports all 50 states are reporting signs of housing recovery, that's 259 metro areas!  Newly added metros include locations such as Rome, Ga., Fort Wayne, Ind., Myrtle Beach, S.C., Albuquerque, N.M. and Racine, Wis.

More than 70% of the 361 metros covered by the IMI are listed as improving this month, noted NAHB Chief Economist David Crowe. "That's a far cry from when we initiated this index with just 12 improving metros in September of 2011 for the purpose of highlighting places that didn't fit the mold of the national headlines.”

For a full list of improving metro areas:  http://www.nahb.org/reference_list.aspx?sectionID=2223
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Major news outlets are reporting that the U.S. Postal Service will end Saturday home delivery of letters and other first-class mail, but will still deliver packages, starting in August 2013.

And this with higher priced stamps.  If the congress would just change the requirements to what all other federal agencies are required in accounting, there wouldn't be a problem.  Is the congress or any other federal entity trying to get rid of the Postal Service? 
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The average contract interest rate for a 30-year, FRM with a conforming loan balance grew to 3.73% from 3.67%, while the average 30-year, FRM with a jumbo loan balance edged up to 3.96% from 3.95% in the last week.

The Mortgage Bankers Association's market composite index – a measure of loan application volume – grew 3.4% over the previous week.  -kpanchuck@housingwire.com
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Did  you know that on Sept 6, 2012, Russia and China quietly signed a declaration of war on the US?
But did you also know that for the last, at least, 15 yrs, Venezuela has had a declaration of war on all of its seven neighbors?
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Hedge funds and private equity firms are buying up property of all types in the hardest hit states.  They see large profit at the bottom of the market.  Don't know how long this buying spree will last. 
--CNN Money
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Home building increases 12% over last year.

TBSWDaily Show:
When the President appointed Richard Cordray as director to head the CFPB, the Senate was officially in session.  However, they, the Senate, were not in town.  Without someone in charge, the CFPB is not allowed to pass rules and regulations.  These rules and regulations, including QRM, neither would the CFPB be allowed to pull out money from the Federal Reserve to carry out actions that would otherwise require approval of congress.  This could completely derail the CFPB and put into question what has been done.  This might sound like a good idea, but the question is do we need regulation in mortgage lending and how do we implement that change?  Is it better to have a single agency decide the rules and regulations or should we do as before when we had multiple agencies making different rules to the same set of circumstances, many of which seem at odds with each other?
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Georgia, Texas, Michigan and California, Arizona and Nevada are non-judicial foreclosure states.  They led the way in the number of foreclosures in 2012.  They are seeing a bottom to the massive foreclosure rate.  House prices are on the rise in these states.  The judicial foreclosure states will take much longer to work their way through the back log of foreclosures.   There are only so many courtrooms and judges available. -cmlynski@housingwire.com
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Places to find good foreclosure deals:
Palm Beach and Lakeland, FL
Albany and Rochester NY
Tough places to find foreclosures:
McAllen, TX
Ogden, UT
Little Rock, Ark
Las Vegas
Salt Lake City
--Les Christie
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Foreclosure inventory, as measured by CoreLogic, is the share of all mortgaged homes in any stage of the foreclosure process.  Foreclosure activity is down 19.5% from a year ago. 
kpanchuck@housingwire.com
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TBWSDailyShow:
The refi business is down 10% from last year and is expected to drop another 40% this year.  All real estate agents should call their past clients and suggest refi.  That way you will be a hero if they are able to do so and haven't and you will continue to be at the forefront of their minds for future business.  But since this is mainly a mortgage lender's website, all the mortgage folks should go after their past clients as well to see if any want to refi. 
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The US GDP is worse than the gov't is reporting due to the way they are choosing to report it.  So says economist Richard Wiedemer.
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TBWSDaily Show:
Home ownership dropped to 65.4% in Q4 of 2012 down from 66% in Q4 of 2011.  Hedge funds are on the rampage to buy up foreclosures and other property for rentals and rent-to-own. 

People who had stepped out  of the real estate business and mortgage loan business are reentering. 
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FHA will increase its annual mortgage insurance premium for most new mortgages by 10 basis points or .1%.  And they will force most mortgage holders to have mortgage insurance for the life of the loan.
Through a Federal Register Notice, the FHA will announce a proposal to increase down payment requirements for mortgages that have original principal balances above $625,000. The minimum down payment requirement for these mortgages will increase from 3.5% to 5%.

Additionally, the FHA will require lenders to manually underwrite loans of which borrowers have a credit score below 620 as well as a total debt-to-income ratio greater than 43%. Thus, lenders will be required to document compensating factors supporting underwriting decisions to approve loans where parameters are exceeding.          --cmlynski@housingwire.com
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The nation's volume of mortgage applications fell 8.1% for the week ending Jan. 25 as mortgage rates ticked higher, an industry trade group said Wednesday.
The refinance share of mortgage activity declined to 79% of total applications, down from 82% the previous week, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

Average interest rate is 3.67% for 30 yr loans, the highest since Sept 2012.  Mortgage applications are down 8.1% from 2 wks ago and refi's are down 3% from the prior week.-kpanchuck@housingwire.com
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Rep. Brad Miller (D-NC) says the congress won't bail out any more big banks because the TARP was so unpopular accross the board.  That the "market is as dumb as a box of rocks" concerning politics.

The too-big-to-fail banks should be broken up, said Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas Director Richard Fisher, in a recent speech.
By Michael Kling in MoneyNews
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The 20-city composite index rose 5.5% during the 12-month period, while the Case-Shiller's 10-city composite index rose 4.5%. Bloomberg noted that November home prices grew the most in six years, suggesting a significant market turnaround in 2012.
Blitzer added, "Housing is clearly recovering. Prices are rising as are both new and existing home sales. Existing home sales in November were 5 million, highest since November 2009. New home sales at 398,000 were the highest since June 2010. These figures confirm that housing is contributing to economic growth."
But seeing strong price growth is not necessarily evidence of a full recovery, according to Josh Tashjian, principal at Centurion Real Estate Partners in New York City.
--kpanchuck@housingwire.com
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From power tools to carpets, appliances and furniture, signs of housing recovery abound.  Time to buy stock in HomeDepot and Lowe's.
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Robert Schiller says that home prices are not necessarily set to rise in 2013 or for the next five years due to the inflated money value we have experienced with the QE's.
We'll see who is right.
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Jill Pierce works with RealEstateAuctions.com