foreclosure law

You've undoubtedly seen all of them or read them. Glossy ads or four-color advances in publications and newspapers promising to teach you every one of the juicy information about successful property investing. And all you have to do to learn all these real estate investing surface encounters chuck russo secrets is to pay a rather high sum for a one-or two-day seminar.




Often these slick property investing seminars claim you could make intelligent, profitable real-estate investments with absolutely no money lower (except, of course, the significant fee you buy the workshop). Now, how appealing is which? Make a profit from real est investments you made out of no money. Possible? Not probably.




Successful real estate investment requires cashflow. That's the type of any type of business or perhaps investment, especially property investing. You put your cash into a thing that you hope and plan is likely to make you more money.




Unfortunately too little newbies towards the world of real-estate investing believe that it's any magical type of business in which standard company rules do not apply. Simply place, if you would like to stay in real-estate investing for greater than, say, a day or two, then you're going to have to come up with money to utilize and invest.




While it might be true in which buying real-estate with absolutely no money down is simple, anyone who's even made a simple investment (such as buying their very own home) is aware there's a lot more involved in property investing that can cost you money. For example, what about any required repairs?




So, the number one rule people new to real estate investing must remember is to have available cash reserves. Before you choose to actually perform any real-estate investing, save some money. Having slightly money within the bank when you begin real estate investing surface encounters chuck russo can help you make more profitable real estate investments in rental properties, for example.




When real estate investing in rental attributes, you'll want in order to select simply qualified tenants. If you have no cashflow when real estate investing inside rental attributes, you could be pressured experience a a smaller amount qualified tenant as you need somebody to pay you money to be able to take treatment of fixes or lawyer fees.




For any kind of real est investing, meaning leasing properties or even properties you get to re-sell, having money reserved can enable you to ask for a higher value. You can request a higher price from your real estate investment because an individual surface encounters chuck russo won't feel financially strapped as you wait for an offer. You won't be backed into a corner and forced to accept just any offer because you desperately need the money.




Another downfall of many new to real estate investing will be, well, greed. Make a profit, yes, but don't become so greedy which you ask for ridiculous leasing or resell rates on all of your real property investments.




Those not used to real est investing must see property investing being a business, NOT an interest. Don't believe that real est investing will make you abundant overnight. What company does?




It takes about half a year to determine if real-estate investing in for you. If you have decided which, hey I really like this, then give yourself a few years to really start earning profits. It typically takes at least five years to get truly successful in real estate investing.




Persistence may be the key in order to success in real estate investing. If you've decided that real-estate investing is perfect for you, surface encounters chuck russo keep plugging away at it and the rewards will be greater than you imagined.

Socially responsible investments might be emotionally compelling investments, but do they necessarily have compelling financial returns?

The term "Impact Investing" has taken on many meanings in the past few years. I want to end the confusion and underscore that impact investing must by definition deliver impactful and compelling financial returns.

Impact investing has been labeled as a subset of socially responsible investing (SRI). But, it is not a subset of SRI.

The basic premise of socially responsible investing is to avoid investing in businesses that cause harm to the environment or society. Since SRI's approach to investing is narrow and passive, it is by definition often a niche investing strategy, which in many cases has delivered lukewarm returns.

SRIs don't necessarily impact an industry, impact investments necessarily do. Yet, many organizations still treat SRI and impact investing like synonyms - causing confusion.

For example, here is the definition of SRI from ecolife, a website that is an online guide to green living:

"Socially responsible investing is an investment strategy employed by individuals, corporations, and governments looking for ways to ensure their funds go to support socially responsible firms. The concept goes by names like sustainable investing, impact investing, community investing, ethical investing, and socially-conscious investing; it is a non-financial gauge that is used when selecting various investment options that takes into account factors such as environmental, social, and ethical values."

The reality is that some socially responsible investments can be impact investments, but not all impact investments are socially responsible investments. So, SRIs are really a subset of impact investing. According to the Monitor Institute's new report "impact investors want to move beyond 'socially responsible investment'."

All impact investments have the potential to move towards a new economy - an impact economy, not all SRIs will. In fact, most SRIs won't.

Why? Impact investing is socially responsible and must have compelling returns. Returns that make the professional investor consider it seriously as a critical piece in the portfolio. According to Dr. Arjuna Sittampalam, research associate with EDHEC-Risk Institute, "in other words, the investor makes an active decision to seek a social or developmental return alongside their financial return."

Since impact investments create compelling returns, they have a greater chance of attracting more serious professional investors than SRIs -- a necessity for creating worldwide social change and impact.

The Global Impact Investing Network (GIIN) defines impact investments as those that: "aim to solve social or environmental challenges while generating financial profit. Impact investing includes investments that range from producing a return of principal capital (capital preservation) to offering market-rate or even market-beating financial returns. Although impact investing could be categorized as a type of 'socially responsible investing,' it contrasts with negative screening, which focuses primarily on avoiding investments in 'bad' or 'harmful' companies - impact investors actively seek to place capital in businesses and funds that can harness the positive power of enterprise."

This definition is more on target with the real definition of impact investing, but to revise part of GIIN's definition: Impact investments only include investments that can offer market-rate or even market-beating financial returns.

So, my definition -- impact investing must achieve four significant goals:

1. Make an impact in solving a pressing problem of our time,

2. Generate compelling returns for investors,

3. Generate growth for economies, and

4. Generate prosperity for developed and developing nations.

An example is my own case-in-point. I founded SunEdison that created the power purchase agreement (PPA) model for the solar industry. This business model used net metering, streamlined interconnection standards, ways to connect to the grid, and actually provided a new solar power service to customers.

Investments in PPAs are delivering 7-12% unleveraged after tax returns. In today's financial environment; these are compelling returns given the low risks.

Plus, PPAs have lowered the use of fossil fuels to deliver electric energy; created thousands of jobs worldwide and are growing. They have impactful financial returns and impact a big problem.

According to the Monitor Institute's new report Investing for social and environmental impact: a design for catalyzing an emerging industry "it is certainly plausible that in the next five to 10 years investing for impact could grow to represent about 1 percent of estimated professionally managed global assets in 2008. That would create a market of approximately $500 billion. A market that size would create an important supplement to philanthropy, nearly doubling the amount given away in the U.S. alone today."

But that is only a start, a start to an "Impact Economy." To really make a difference - to leverage impact investing to create an impact economy, it must be larger. Some estimate that we need to invest over $1 trillion to combat issues like climate change, poverty, and lacking global health, to put the world back onto a stable more equitable footing.

So, let's put our money where the impact is. Stop selling impact investors short.

Jigar Shah is CEO of the Carbon War Room, a nonprofit that harnesses the power of entrepreneurs to implement market-driven solutions to climate change and create a post-carbon economy.

Warren Buffett just announced that he's making a landmark investment, $5 billion, in Bank of America.

Bank of America was facing a free-falling stock price and a number of criticisms, including that it did not have enough capital, and that its assets were not worth what it claimed.

Now thanks to Buffett, that will certainly change.

When similar investments were made in Citi and in Goldman Sachs, by Prince Alwaleed and Warren Buffett, in 1990 and 2008, respectively, the stocks experienced long term gains. 

And get this - he says he dreamt up the idea to invest in Bank of America in the bathtub on Tuesday. He liked it, so he called Moynihan on Wednesday morning. The entire story of how it happened is available in a video embedded below, as told to Becky Quick by Buffett.

The story (and the mental image) is amusing but also important - it suggests that the Obama Administration and/or the Treasury, did not have a hand in the agreement.

And to make it very clear that Treasury or Obama had no hand in the arrangement, which makes the news even better for Bank of America.

So does this - the deal is expensive for Buffett, and a good deal for Bank of America. He says in some ways, it's better than the deal he gave to Goldman Sachs in 2008.

But obviously, it's a great deal for Buffett.

Buffett's investment alone is now worth $700 million more than it was when he bought it.

foreclosure

From Jeff Horwitz and Kate Berry at American Banker: Procrastination on Foreclosures, Now 'Blatant,' May Backfire

ervicers are not initiating or processing foreclosures at the pace they could be.

By postponing the date at which they lock in losses, banks and other investors positioned themselves to benefit from the slow mending of the real estate market. But now industry executives are questioning whether delaying foreclosures — a strategy contrary to the industry adage that "the first loss is the best loss" — is about to backfire. With home prices expected to fall as much as 10% further, the refusal to foreclose quickly on and sell distressed homes at inventory-clearing prices may be contributing to the stall of the overall market seen in July sales data.
...
Banks have filed fewer notices of default so far this year in California ... than they did 2009 or 2008, according to data gathered by . Foreclosure default notices are now at their lowest level since the second quarter of 2007, when the percentage of seriously delinquent loans in the state was one-sixth what it is now.

New data from LPS Applied Analytics in Jacksonville, Fla., suggests that the backlog is no longer worsening nationally — but foreclosures are not at the levels needed to clear existing inventory.
...
"The industry as a whole got into a panic mode and was worried about all these loans going into foreclosure and driving prices down, so they got all these programs, started Hamp and internal mods and short sales," said John Marecki, vice president of East Coast foreclosure operations for Prommis Solutions ... "Now they're looking at this, how they held off and they're getting to the point where maybe they made a mistake in that realm."
...
"The math doesn't bode well for what is ultimately going to occur on the real estate market," said Herb Blecher, a vice president at LPS. "You start asking yourself the question when you look at these numbers whether we are fixing the problem or delaying the inevitable."

There is much more in the article.

Note: The LPS delinquency data for July will be released tomorrow. Here are some of the findings (no link):

• July showed an astounding 24.5% month-over-month increase in foreclosure starts, which dovetails with Treasury's latest report on HAMP cancellations (approx. 50% according to Treasury's numbers)
• Abysmal foreclosure rates in NV, FL and CA have led to much higher level equity loss for homeowners in those states as compared to the rest of the country.
• Cure rates remain steady, but seriously delinquent (6 mos.+) cures have declined significantly, by approximately 25%
• Origination remains depressed due to much stricter underwriting guidelines and low purchase activity, but what is being originated is of good quality.
• Until the deterioration ratio improves from its steady two deteriorations for every one improvement, it's hard to see how we're going to get out of the hole.

The report shows the GSEs are stepping up foreclosures.

Home sales are hitting new lows, the number of homeowners behind on their mortgages is again climbing, as is the number of foreclosures. Housing market misery is widespread -- but particularly intense for the troubled homeowners relying on the Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP), the federal foreclosure relief program.

Criticized both by those who argue for more aid and those who think the lackluster program only delays a needed bank reckoning, HAMP stumbles along, more often simply prolonging the pain of foreclosure than providing a solution. The dismal new housing numbers -- sales of existing homes are 27% lower than a year ago, new-home sales have fallen even more -- underline just how little demand there is for all the properties that banks are foreclosing on.

Real Estate Mortuary's Waiting Room

In extending the process, foreclosure relief in many cases simply stretches out borrowers' slow bleed of resources. By keeping borrowers in limbo while letting lenders delay repossessing houses they can't sell, foreclosure aid is now benefiting borrowers less than the lenders who created the mortgage mess. For lenders, mortgage modification is the waiting room in the mortuary, a convenient place to hold borrowers while the banks deal with the overflow of houses already repossessed.

Of some 3 million homeowners behind on their mortgages, only about half are eligible for HAMP. Most of the rest, ironically, don't qualify because their income is too low to handle even a modified mortgage. For those that do qualify, HAMP offers little immediate respite: Homeowners have to immediately start making payments on a trial modification plan.

Some 1.3 million borrowers have gotten the trial modifications, which last for at least three or four months (though many banks have stretched this out for longer). But 600,000 of those have already dropped out, unable to make payments in the trial stage. Another quarter-million are in modification limbo, sending checks to the bank as they wait to know if they'll get permanent adjustments. (Detailed numbers are available in the modification program's monthly reports, here.)

What Happens After Gaining Relief Is Worse

If the wait for a modification is trying, though, what happens to homeowners who do manage to get relief is worse. Most borrowers behind on their mortgages are already overburdened with other debts. After the mortgage reduction, the typical modification recipient, despite an average $513 drop in monthly payments, has to devote 63.5% of his or her income to mortgage payments, other debt, and taxes.

It's not clear how many will default a second time. Treasury officials recently had to withdraw the government's numbers on mortgage modification success rates after they were shown to seriously understate re-defaults. One independent estimate from Barclay's Bank is that 60% of homeowners granted loan modifications will eventually default again.

So does HAMP really benefit anyone but the few borrowers who are able to run the foreclosure aid gauntlet, climb out from under their debts against tough odds and get back to making regular payments on their (still-underwater) mortgages? It does. If HAMP fails to make much of a dent in homeowners' troubles, it does mitigate a real problem for the banks: There are many more houses in foreclosure than today's market can absorb.

"Strategic Non-Foreclosure"

One of the foreclosure cascade's not-so-hidden secrets is that the banks and investors who hold millions of busted mortgages are in no hurry to kick debtors out of their homes. The markets hardest hit by the foreclosure crisis are already stuck with an enormous and growing inventory of repossessed houses, now estimated by Lender Processing Services, which tracks foreclosures, at 1 million to 1.2 million bank-owned homes nationwide.

Banks have steadily slowed down the foreclosure process: The average homeowner in foreclosure now is an amazing 461 days behind in his payments. (You can see that last stat in this report, on page 13). Barry Ritholtz of financial blog The Big Picture calls banks' reluctance to take over houses "strategic non-foreclosure." Taking a leisurely path to repossession lets lenders avoid the costs of maintaining properties they can't sell in a market that remains in free fall in much of the country.

However, there's a limit: Lenders must eventually make good on the threat of repossession or face an epidemic of homeowners who stay in their houses without making payments. Many houses have been in foreclosure for so long that the banks have little choice but to act, and repossessions are rising.

Mortgage modification lets banks put a brake on the process, keeping up the pressure on borrowers (most of whom will eventually be foreclosed on anyway) without adding to the banks' inventory of foreclosed properties. As they sit in this antechamber, instead of simply writing off their mortgages, the strapped borrowers, given the gift of reduced payments, are likely to squeeze out whatever they can manage in a last effort to keep their homes. It's a study in what Rortybomb's Mike Konczal trenchantly calls the credit "sweatbox" -- under the guise of foreclosure aid.

Another Cudgel in the Hands of Lenders

The last insult added to this mess comes from Fannie Mae, which has promulgated new rules that lock those who don't make the effort to modify their mortgages out of the Fannie-backed mortgage market for seven years. So ultimately this comes full circle, and what started as an effort to help borrowers has become another cudgel in the hands of lenders.

If we were to conceive a program to persuade borrowers to stick to their obligations and make every effort, no matter how unrealistic, to avoid foreclosure, we could hardly do better than HAMP. The program probably increases what lenders collect before they eventually foreclose -- and may let those lenders slow the process enough to prop up prices as they sell off their inventory.

In this way, it may lead to a more orderly unwinding of the busted housing market. If so, HAMP might accomplish some part of its goal -- just not the part that has to do with helping homeowners.

eric seiger

The <b>News</b> Corp. Coverup : CJR

The Guardian reports today that former News of the World senior editor Paul McMullan says ex-editor Andy Coulson, now the prime minister's spin doctor, is lying when he says he didn't know about the illegal phone tapping that was ...

Finally! <b>News</b> on When We&#39;ll See Terrence Malick&#39;s &#39;Tree of Life <b>...</b>

What's the best way to get an auteur to finish his long-awaited film? A deadline, of course! Everyone needs 'em, even (or especially) Terrence Malick,

Pentax K-r mid-level DSLR announced with brief hands-on: Digital <b>...</b>

Pentax Kr mid-level DSLR announced with brief hands-on: Pre-Photokina 2010: Pentax has announced the Kr, its latest mid-level DSLR. Initially sitting above the Kx in the range it offers more angular, K-7-esque styling, 6 fps continuous ...

foreclosure agents

BR: Funny you say that — I referred to the NAR chief economist as Baghdad Bob in one of the “previously” links mentioned: Former NAR Economist David Lereah is a Jackass (January 6th, 2009)

Soylent Green Is People Says:



September 1st, 2010 at 11:11 am

If your stocked up on Insulin, try the ever sugary http://www.positiveonrealestate.com/ for your daily firehosing of rich, delicious Kool-Aid. You thought the NAR was hyper sunny. They’re simpletons compared to whomever runs this site.

You’ve been warned….

My .02c

Soylent Green Is People.

Soylent Green Is People Says:



September 1st, 2010 at 11:13 am

If you’re fully stocked with Insulin, try http://www.positiveonrealestate.com/ for a daily firehosing of rich, delicious Real Estate Kool-Aid. You think the NAR is hyper sunny? They’re simpletons compared to the people who run this site.

You’ve been fairly warned.

Soylent Green Is People.

ACS Says:



September 1st, 2010 at 11:32 am

How long before we reach Sanford’s step 12?

gavingunhold Says:



September 1st, 2010 at 11:45 am

I used to work at NAR. And I once time forwarded a blog post by Barry Ritholtz to Lawrence Yun, kind of just as a heads up. Lawrence was none too pleased. Heh.

JustinTheSkeptic Says:



September 1st, 2010 at 11:49 am

BR, you can continue with the “Bank Spin, Auto Company Spin, etc.” Take your pick….

rktbrkr Says:



September 1st, 2010 at 11:53 am

Take your pick…

“The manufacturing sector has maintained its momentum at least through August,” said Zach Pandl, an economist at Nomura Securities International Inc. in New York. The report “makes clear the economy is not slipping into recession any time but it’s still reasonable to be concerned about where we’re heading over the next three to six months.”

General Motors Co.’s sales fell 25 percent last month and trailed analysts’ estimates, as the U.S. auto industry headed for its worst August in 28 years.

GM said deliveries fell to 185,176 from 246,479 last August, when the U.S. government’s “cash for clunkers” incentive program boosted sales.

Soylent Green Is People Says:



September 1st, 2010 at 11:56 am

Regrets for the double post. The first one did not show so I rewrote it again. I confess to my foolishness.

machinehead Says:



September 1st, 2010 at 12:02 pm

Since the time I bought my first house, the cry of the Realtor(TM) has been, ‘Buy now, before prices go up!’

They are Permabulls, like many Wall Street brokers — not to be taken seriously. Pay them for transacting, not for their stuck-clock market predictions.

And — until proven otherwise — don’t regard them as professionals. That’s what the idiot NAR has accomplished — to deprofessionalize the image of a group which includes some very dedicated people. It took the NAR decades of hard work to break into the circus-clown limelight. Take a bow, bozos!

lalaland Says:



September 1st, 2010 at 12:07 pm

I doubt it’s the NAR’s fault that people expect their homes to appreciate 10% a year. Nobody really pays attention to them outside the statistics junkies I would wager. I blame exactly the kind of stupidity that has proven to be rampant across all sectors of the economy. Oh, and, you know – unrelated – it’s time to go watch Dick Fuld.

Mark Wolfinger Says:



September 1st, 2010 at 12:16 pm

The news media eat up those NAR reports.

Surely you have contacts at the big media to whom you can pass along this report with the hope that someone does the right thing.

http://blog.mdwoptions.com/options_for_rookies/

Expat Says:



September 1st, 2010 at 12:21 pm

There is no one thing to blame for all this. The NAR is not the cause of the bubble. Wall Street is the proximate facilitator but not really the cause. Washington was a complicit beneficiary but not the cause. Assholes who bought homes that cost more than three times their income are victims and perpetrators but not truly guilty of anything but stupidity and gullibility. Lereah, Yun, and the NAR are in the unfortunate position of being mouthpieces for this mass hysteria so they are singled out.

But in reality, Lereah is no worse than any US president or member of congress when it comes to huge, important lies. What about the pope or any priest with a pulpit? The hellfire and brimstone, homophobic racists on the Bible Belt circuit? Imams calling for jihad. Etc.

Personally, I think the NAR is guilty of high crimes and treason against the US, having done more damage to our country than any blind or diabetic islamic terrorist. And what do we try to do to islamic terrorists? And what should we do to all members of the NAR? Anyone? Anyone? Bueller?

How the Common Man Sees It Says:



September 1st, 2010 at 1:03 pm

What do they expect when they are always selling houses as investments and not places to live? In the investing world RE is the equivalent of the summer resort if we are talking timing. What I’m saying is that the owners of a summer resort know their product is only marketable a few months out of the year and that is what they target for.

Do you think the folks in the RE industry and/or the NAR want to be telling folks their ‘investment dream’ is only a great deal a few years out of many in the investment cycle? NO! That would put them out of business for years until the crowds came back every cyclical summer

That’s not gonna happen

d4winds Says:



September 1st, 2010 at 1:31 pm

Red pill HGTV sounds like a fabulous idea–to replace that NAR of the “financial” TV, CNBC.

Julia Chestnut Says:



September 1st, 2010 at 3:04 pm

The NAR are liars, and they aren’t even very good at it. Lawrence Yun is a laughing stock. The people who need to be strung up are the corporate media outlets that just take the press releases full of whoppers along the lines of “cotton candy cures cancer!!!!!!!!” and reprinting it along side what passes for “news.”

Industry shills are industry shills and always have been. What has changed is any semblance of concern for truthful and accurate reporting of statistics, facts, and trends. Statistics, facts, and trends are considered so malleable these days, no one worries about what conflicts of interests the spinners may have – they just care how little they have to rewrite it from the NAR’s website before press/broadcast time.

Despicable.

TomL Says:



September 1st, 2010 at 4:35 pm

Why is that *every* article written by or quoting a real estate professional includes the refrain “It’s never been a better time to buy.” ?

Reminds me of the warning how do you know a politician is lying…

loganagent Says:



September 1st, 2010 at 6:55 pm

It’s so true I recently had an experience where the local newspaper quoted me, after I said that our local market was going to decline, in my blog: http://loganrealestate.blogspot.com/2010/02/number-of-logan-homes-for-sale.html The local Board President came to me and told me not to speak with the media anymore. He said those in leadership had special “training” in how to handle media.

The ironic thing is that my market falling predictions came true. But we don’t want the public to know the truth do we.

philipat Says:



September 1st, 2010 at 8:37 pm

The “Blue Pill” being Viagra. Or, in other words the NAR is saying “Up yours”?!!

Very appropriate!

IrvineRenter Says:



September 1st, 2010 at 9:30 pm

I have beaten up on RE agents a couple times over the last year:

http://www.irvinehousingblog.com/blog/comments/realtors-treated-as-lackeys-and-maids-grovel-for-6/

and

http://www.irvinehousingblog.com/blog/comments/urgency-versus-reality-realtors-win-buyers-lose-14-jackson-irvine/

I totally agree with your assessment of the foolish way they operate. In fact, the growth of my side business as a broker is largely due to the fact that I refuse to spin BS the way they do.

BTW, thank you for the link yesterday. I greatly appreciate it, and I am flattered that you stop by and read my blog.

canoles Says:



September 2nd, 2010 at 8:36 am

“In other words, mislead the public with spin. Create false hope. Lie.” – Sir, that is NAR’s job as a trade association. Please name one trade association that does not do this.

BR: Funny you say that — I referred to the NAR chief economist as Baghdad Bob in one of the “previously” links mentioned: Former NAR Economist David Lereah is a Jackass (January 6th, 2009)

Soylent Green Is People Says:



September 1st, 2010 at 11:11 am

If your stocked up on Insulin, try the ever sugary http://www.positiveonrealestate.com/ for your daily firehosing of rich, delicious Kool-Aid. You thought the NAR was hyper sunny. They’re simpletons compared to whomever runs this site.

You’ve been warned….

My .02c

Soylent Green Is People.

Soylent Green Is People Says:



September 1st, 2010 at 11:13 am

If you’re fully stocked with Insulin, try http://www.positiveonrealestate.com/ for a daily firehosing of rich, delicious Real Estate Kool-Aid. You think the NAR is hyper sunny? They’re simpletons compared to the people who run this site.

You’ve been fairly warned.

Soylent Green Is People.

ACS Says:



September 1st, 2010 at 11:32 am

How long before we reach Sanford’s step 12?

gavingunhold Says:



September 1st, 2010 at 11:45 am

I used to work at NAR. And I once time forwarded a blog post by Barry Ritholtz to Lawrence Yun, kind of just as a heads up. Lawrence was none too pleased. Heh.

JustinTheSkeptic Says:



September 1st, 2010 at 11:49 am

BR, you can continue with the “Bank Spin, Auto Company Spin, etc.” Take your pick….

rktbrkr Says:



September 1st, 2010 at 11:53 am

Take your pick…

“The manufacturing sector has maintained its momentum at least through August,” said Zach Pandl, an economist at Nomura Securities International Inc. in New York. The report “makes clear the economy is not slipping into recession any time but it’s still reasonable to be concerned about where we’re heading over the next three to six months.”

General Motors Co.’s sales fell 25 percent last month and trailed analysts’ estimates, as the U.S. auto industry headed for its worst August in 28 years.

GM said deliveries fell to 185,176 from 246,479 last August, when the U.S. government’s “cash for clunkers” incentive program boosted sales.

Soylent Green Is People Says:



September 1st, 2010 at 11:56 am

Regrets for the double post. The first one did not show so I rewrote it again. I confess to my foolishness.

machinehead Says:



September 1st, 2010 at 12:02 pm

Since the time I bought my first house, the cry of the Realtor(TM) has been, ‘Buy now, before prices go up!’

They are Permabulls, like many Wall Street brokers — not to be taken seriously. Pay them for transacting, not for their stuck-clock market predictions.

And — until proven otherwise — don’t regard them as professionals. That’s what the idiot NAR has accomplished — to deprofessionalize the image of a group which includes some very dedicated people. It took the NAR decades of hard work to break into the circus-clown limelight. Take a bow, bozos!

lalaland Says:



September 1st, 2010 at 12:07 pm

I doubt it’s the NAR’s fault that people expect their homes to appreciate 10% a year. Nobody really pays attention to them outside the statistics junkies I would wager. I blame exactly the kind of stupidity that has proven to be rampant across all sectors of the economy. Oh, and, you know – unrelated – it’s time to go watch Dick Fuld.

Mark Wolfinger Says:



September 1st, 2010 at 12:16 pm

The news media eat up those NAR reports.

Surely you have contacts at the big media to whom you can pass along this report with the hope that someone does the right thing.

http://blog.mdwoptions.com/options_for_rookies/

Expat Says:



September 1st, 2010 at 12:21 pm

There is no one thing to blame for all this. The NAR is not the cause of the bubble. Wall Street is the proximate facilitator but not really the cause. Washington was a complicit beneficiary but not the cause. Assholes who bought homes that cost more than three times their income are victims and perpetrators but not truly guilty of anything but stupidity and gullibility. Lereah, Yun, and the NAR are in the unfortunate position of being mouthpieces for this mass hysteria so they are singled out.

But in reality, Lereah is no worse than any US president or member of congress when it comes to huge, important lies. What about the pope or any priest with a pulpit? The hellfire and brimstone, homophobic racists on the Bible Belt circuit? Imams calling for jihad. Etc.

Personally, I think the NAR is guilty of high crimes and treason against the US, having done more damage to our country than any blind or diabetic islamic terrorist. And what do we try to do to islamic terrorists? And what should we do to all members of the NAR? Anyone? Anyone? Bueller?

How the Common Man Sees It Says:



September 1st, 2010 at 1:03 pm

What do they expect when they are always selling houses as investments and not places to live? In the investing world RE is the equivalent of the summer resort if we are talking timing. What I’m saying is that the owners of a summer resort know their product is only marketable a few months out of the year and that is what they target for.

Do you think the folks in the RE industry and/or the NAR want to be telling folks their ‘investment dream’ is only a great deal a few years out of many in the investment cycle? NO! That would put them out of business for years until the crowds came back every cyclical summer

That’s not gonna happen

d4winds Says:



September 1st, 2010 at 1:31 pm

Red pill HGTV sounds like a fabulous idea–to replace that NAR of the “financial” TV, CNBC.

Julia Chestnut Says:



September 1st, 2010 at 3:04 pm

The NAR are liars, and they aren’t even very good at it. Lawrence Yun is a laughing stock. The people who need to be strung up are the corporate media outlets that just take the press releases full of whoppers along the lines of “cotton candy cures cancer!!!!!!!!” and reprinting it along side what passes for “news.”

Industry shills are industry shills and always have been. What has changed is any semblance of concern for truthful and accurate reporting of statistics, facts, and trends. Statistics, facts, and trends are considered so malleable these days, no one worries about what conflicts of interests the spinners may have – they just care how little they have to rewrite it from the NAR’s website before press/broadcast time.

Despicable.

TomL Says:



September 1st, 2010 at 4:35 pm

Why is that *every* article written by or quoting a real estate professional includes the refrain “It’s never been a better time to buy.” ?

Reminds me of the warning how do you know a politician is lying…

loganagent Says:



September 1st, 2010 at 6:55 pm

It’s so true I recently had an experience where the local newspaper quoted me, after I said that our local market was going to decline, in my blog: http://loganrealestate.blogspot.com/2010/02/number-of-logan-homes-for-sale.html The local Board President came to me and told me not to speak with the media anymore. He said those in leadership had special “training” in how to handle media.

The ironic thing is that my market falling predictions came true. But we don’t want the public to know the truth do we.

philipat Says:



September 1st, 2010 at 8:37 pm

The “Blue Pill” being Viagra. Or, in other words the NAR is saying “Up yours”?!!

Very appropriate!

IrvineRenter Says:



September 1st, 2010 at 9:30 pm

I have beaten up on RE agents a couple times over the last year:

http://www.irvinehousingblog.com/blog/comments/realtors-treated-as-lackeys-and-maids-grovel-for-6/

and

http://www.irvinehousingblog.com/blog/comments/urgency-versus-reality-realtors-win-buyers-lose-14-jackson-irvine/

I totally agree with your assessment of the foolish way they operate. In fact, the growth of my side business as a broker is largely due to the fact that I refuse to spin BS the way they do.

BTW, thank you for the link yesterday. I greatly appreciate it, and I am flattered that you stop by and read my blog.

canoles Says:



September 2nd, 2010 at 8:36 am

“In other words, mislead the public with spin. Create false hope. Lie.” – Sir, that is NAR’s job as a trade association. Please name one trade association that does not do this.

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foreclosure list

Foreclosure Mediation Programs Succeed Across The Country — Will Pawlenty Give Minnesota’s A Chance?

Today, across the country, mortgage mediation programs aimed at helping struggling homeowners stay in their homes are getting underway. Programs are launching in Maryland, as well as Florida’s 6th and 10th judicial circuits — encompassing Pasco, Pinellas, Hardee, Highlands, and Polk counties — while Cook County, Illinois is beginning a huge round of outreach for its burgeoning program.

In all, “the number of jurisdictions with foreclosure mediation programs is nearly double the number a year ago, with jurisdictions in 21 states now offering foreclosure mediation or negotiation programs.” Not on this list, however, is Minnesota, where Gov. Tim Pawlenty (R) saw fit to veto a program last year.

The Minnesota state senate recently passed the bill again, sending it to the state House, so Pawlenty could very well get a second shot soon. And there’s simply no reason for him to oppose the program, as mediation — during which a bank meets face-to-face with a borrower, often in the presence of a judge and housing advocates, to try and forge a mortgage modification or other arrangement that prevents a foreclosure — is one of the most successful methods of helping struggling borrowers stay in their homes.

Connecticut’s mediation program, for instance, has kept 60 percent of its borrowers out of foreclosure. Philadelphia’s success rate is also 60 percent, while Nevada claims an 85 percent success rate:

About 80 percent of homeowners at risk of losing their homes don’t engage in any efforts to negotiate with their lender. And those who do so on their own often run into a bureaucratic mess, including hours on hold, lost records, and customer service representatives who know nothing about the borrower’s situation. Mediation helps to ensure that situations like that don’t happen.

“These new protections empower our fellow Marylanders, putting them on a more equal footing with mortgage companies that too often can’t be bothered to pick up the phone before beginning a foreclosure proceeding against a Maryland family,” said Governor Martin O’Malley (D). And lest Pawlenty think this is a purely partisan issue, it has also won the praise of Gov. Jodi Rell (R-CT). “Clearly, mediation is an effective tool homeowners can use to ward off foreclosure,” she said. “This program is a beacon of hope for hard-pressed homeowners and a real alternative for lenders.”

In mediation, there’s no requirement for a lender to accommodate a borrower, but it’s often the case that preventing a foreclosure is in the best financial interest of both the borrower and the lender. As CAP’s Andrew Jakabovics and Alon Cohen wrote, “the simple act of participating in mediation consistently yields solutions short of foreclosure that are acceptable to both sides.” Hopefully, should the Minnesota legislature do the right thing and create a program, Pawlenty will allow it to stand.

That's so this year. What's that? Silly Bandz? Twilight? As Mark Cuban writes on his blog, "Location check in is so 2010." Cuban explains that he just invested in a company that, through video footage, determines how many people are in a given area at a time, ostensibly for security and traffic-pattern analysis. For now anonymity is given to crowd members, but Cuban wonders if adding facial recognition software would allow locations to forego checkin applications because "we would already know you are there." Sound a little like Minority Report? TechCrunch thinks so. "It sounds like a future we're inevitably headed toward."

Behind the scenes at Gilt Groupe. In an interview with the Wall Street Journal, Alexis Maybank shares the story of how she and co-founder Alexandra Wilkis Wilson built Gilt Groupe, the online flash sales site for men's and women's luxury fashions. The company, founded in 2007, reported $170 million in revenue last year and now boasts three million members who shop for designer brands at up to 70 percent off retail prices. Maybank talks about the challenges of getting the word out there, signing up initial designers, and raising VC as a woman. She explains to the Journal that "it's an old boy's network, and that's intimidating for a lot of women. So when explaining fashion to a bunch of men in khaki pants and blue button-down shirts, their response was always 'Oh, let me see if my wife thinks if this is a good idea.' But it worked."

Our annual 30 Under 30 list. They're running innovative companies, they're building communities, they're setting trends, they're giving back--and they're all under 30. Here's this year's winners, from Sprouter, to Agile Sports, to The Man Registry. Did we miss anyone? Let us know in the comments.

Foursquare is prowling for a partnership. Yet another 30 Under 30 winner is making headlines this morning as it attempts to snag a whale of a partnership. Foursquare, the game/ social network that recently raised $20 million in Series B funding, claims it is in talks with Google, Yahoo and Microsoft about deals involving their location-based data (via GigaOM). While the novelty of being the mayor of your local mall might gradually wear off it can still be a useful tool to make money for your business. Also, this type of partnership is what catapulted Twitter to profitability.

Facebook's co-founder on the Facebook movie. When you're trying to revolutionize social networking while you're still at Harvard, you're probably not thinking about how Aaron Sorkin might portray your life in a feature film six years hence. In SocialBeat, Facebook co-founder Dustin Moskovitz, gives his take on the silver screen adaptation. In short: it overplays the sex and booze. "It is interesting to see my past rewritten in a way that emphasizes things that didn't matter . . Other than that, it's just cool to see a dramatization of history. A lot of exciting things happened in 2004, but mostly we just worked a lot and stressed out about things; the version in the trailer seems a lot more exciting, so I'm just going to chose to remember that we drank ourselves silly and had a lot of sex with coeds," writes Moskovitz, who is currently working on a productivity startup Asana, backed by Benchmark Capital and Andreessen Horowitz. As for Zuckerberg, he adds, "At the end of the day, they cannot help but portray him as the driven, forward-thinking genius that he is."

What financial reform means for angel investing. In a guest post at VentureBeat, Scott Walker, CEO of a law firm that specializes in entrepreneur representation, breaks down the impact of the financial regulation bill on angel investing. The verdict: it's a mix of good and bad.  

Renting a room to save a home. Today's BusinessWeek explains how San Francisco-based startup AirBnB is helping homeowners escape foreclosure. The site allows people from 142 countries to rent out empty rooms and pull in a little extra income. One New Yorker tells BusinessWeek, "This has been our stimulus package...we were going to lose our house." Founders Brian Chesky and Joe Gebbia say they got the idea for the company when they were cash-strapped, themselves. After renting out space in their own home, they decided to turn the idea into a business, enlisting the help of their friend Nathan Blecharczyk. All three founders made it onto our 30 under 30 list this year, having seen a tremendous amount of growth since the site launched just two years ago.

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iPhone 4 hitting 17 more countries on Friday | Apple - CNET <b>News</b>

The newest flavor of Apple's smartphone will arrive in additional markets July 30, including Canada, Denmark, Ireland, Italy, and Singapore--but not South Korea. Read this blog post by Lance Whitney on Apple.

New Leak Found on Gulf Coast « Liveshots

The Coast Guard is responding to a new oil leak on the Gulf Coast. This spill involves a well in.

Football Spy transfer <b>news</b> video: The latest on moves for Sol <b>...</b>

Sol Campbell, Javier Mascherano, Mario Balotelli and Manuel Almunia feature on today's Football Spy Show.

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iPhone 4 hitting 17 more countries on Friday | Apple - CNET <b>News</b>

The newest flavor of Apple's smartphone will arrive in additional markets July 30, including Canada, Denmark, Ireland, Italy, and Singapore--but not South Korea. Read this blog post by Lance Whitney on Apple.

New Leak Found on Gulf Coast « Liveshots

The Coast Guard is responding to a new oil leak on the Gulf Coast. This spill involves a well in.

Football Spy transfer <b>news</b> video: The latest on moves for Sol <b>...</b>

Sol Campbell, Javier Mascherano, Mario Balotelli and Manuel Almunia feature on today's Football Spy Show.

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Washington Post acquires iCurrent, a personal <b>news</b> aggregator <b>...</b>

The Washington Post Company has acquired iCurrent, an online tool that allows users to collect news automatically according to their ...

Balloon Juice » Blog Archive » <b>News</b> break

NYT was more upfront that bill passed with little GOP support; LAT and WaPo bunted on that in early online editions. Good news on LA Times, though: Barbara Boxer has $11.3 million in her campaign chest. Fiorina has about $620000. ...

openSUSE <b>News</b> » openSUSE 11.3 is here!

19 July: Birthday of openSUSE News; 21 July: German Wiki Team Meeting; 24 July: Hadoop Lab with openSUSE in Taiwan; 28 July: German Wiki Team Meeting; 28 July: openSUSE Project Meeting. Categories ...

Buying stocks Online

Hey, what's up with gold, supposedly the bullet-proof investment when things look like they're going to hell (like now)? Somehow, the script got screwed up. Instead of roaring, gold is crawling, and not only that, it's going backwards to boot.

After tripling since 2001 and steadily ballooning in recent years to an all-time high a couple of weeks ago of $1,250.40 an ounce -- about a 50% jump from its 2007 close of $833 and nearly a 15% gain from last year's wrapup of $1,098.60 -- the yellow metal is starting to tarnish. Last week alone, it dropped $54.40 or 4.4%.

Granted, nothing goes up forever, but the sudden retreat by the investment darling of the flight-to- safety crowd into the $1,100s -- coupled with growing predictions of more erosion ahead -- seems totally out of line, given a slew of gold-buying catalysts. These include:

--Europe's worsening sovereign debt crisis.

--A growing number of forecasts that Greece will default.

--Swelling currency concerns, led by the collapsing Euro.

--French President Sarkozy's threat to pull France out of the Euro.

--Burgeoning money printing world-wide, a sure harbinger of future inflation.

--Fears that the European debt crisis will lead to a faltering global recovery, maybe even a recession.

--Our exploding debt and deficit.

--A warning by former Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill that the U.S. could go the way of Greece, that "if we don't change course, we could become a basket case ourself."

--Increasing worries about bonds, including long-term U.S. Treasuries.

--An increasingly erratic U.S. stock market, characterized by growing daily triple-digit losses in the Dow Industrials and the recent nasty one-day decline in the Dow of nearly 1,000 points.

Actually, given world-wide financial turmoil and no indication of any let-up in sight, some gold traders think the metal should already be commanding a price tag of around $2,000. But even some bulls see additional weakness, with the metal, currently around $1,192, seen falling over the near term to $1,120 and perhaps even retesting $1,000.

One concern, as a number of gold experts see it, is a worrisome contrary indicator, namely there are way too many bulls. "It's a crowded trade on the upside," says Larry Edelson, who monitors precious metals trends for Weiss Research in Jupiter, Fla. and notes that sentiment readings show 98% of investors are bullish on gold. "Near term, it's putting in a little top, says Edelson, who thinks the metal could drop to the $1,130-$1,150 range.

One reason, he believes, that gold is being negatively impacted short term is stepped-up overseas demand for the U.S. dollar for safety purposes, although Edelson views such buying as tantamount "to jumping from the frying pan into the fire."

Although concerned about the near term outlook for gold, the analyst takes a far more positive view beyond that, arguing that it's surely headed higher. Pointing in particular to the collapsing Euro and growing financial distress in the U.S., Edelson sees gold subsequently rising to $1,500 this year and on to $2,300 in 2011. As another positive for the metal, he notes that gold, before its recent spell of weakness, has been climbing even in the face of a rising greenback. "That's proof positive of a crisis in the fiat currency system," says Edelson.

Taking a longer term view, he thinks gold should be part of every investor's portfolio. His favorite is the physical gold itself, which can be purchased from such well known outfits as Monex; Manfra, Tordello and Brookes, a New York bullion dealer, and Kitco.com., an online dealer. As for individual stocks, he goes for the biggies, notably Barrick Gold., Goldcorp., and Newmont Mining.

A fella who has made some excellent up and down calls on the direction of gold prices -- in fact, he accurately predicted the recent weakness -- is Mark Leibovit, editor of the VR Gold Letter in Sedona, Ariz.

He drew my attention to several recent negative technical signs that suggest gold could continue its recent drop to around $1,060 an ounce, which would be equivalent to an overall retreat of say 15%. which Leibovit contends would represent a buying opportunity. One of those signs was what he calls a reversal pattern, which occurred when gold rose to higher highs during one recent trading session and then reversed to lower lows the following day. Another red flag was the failure of a couple of gold indexes -- the Gold Bugs Index and the Philadelphia Gold Index -- to accompany and confirm the metal's recent rise to record highs.

Leibovit cited the possibility of a strengthening Euro, which could hurt gold, maybe even lead to a retesting of the $1,000 price tag, but he thought a more likely course was the fear that the European debt crisis might expand, leading instead to a higher gold price. In any event, he thinks the wind is at gold's back and views $2,000 or $3,000 as only a matter of time.

He also points out that despite his near-term conerns, gold stil has the wherewithall to rebound sharply at any given moment.

A HuffPost reader in Brisbane, Australia, Cornel Campeanu, a chartist at Techpro.au.Com, e-mailed me with an entirely different scenario. Based on his work, he believes we are a short time away from a meltdown of biblical proportions in mining stocks, with such names as BH Billiton and Rio Tinto leading the charge. As for gold, he sees a potential drop of hundreds of dollars an ounce, preceded by a possible near term drop to $1,120.

Campeanu, it should be duly noted, is spouting contrarian views. Most market pros I talk to overwhelmingly feel that long term, the outlook for gold remains golden.

What do you think? E-mail me at Dandordan@aol.com

We've all heard, ad nauseam, the traditional commands to save paper: recycle, print double-sided, don't use more than you need. And so on. By now, I'm going to assume, you're looking for a fresh stock of ideas for your green-living arsenal.

With that in mind, I've compiled four new tips about how to cut down on paper use. There are many reasons to, perhaps the foremost of which is that much of climate change is caused by deforestation. Also, paper production consumes a lot of energy, paper mills are big polluters, and thrown-away sheets clog landfills. So here's what you can do:

1. Post a Reminder

We know you wouldn't use more paper towels or napkins than you need - but what about everyone else? Engage in some minor guerrilla tactics by ordering a stash of these wonderful stickers, which you can post on paper-towel dispensers in public restrooms, or anywhere else paper products are dispensed, to remind people that, as the stickers say, "These come from trees." Each of these little pieces of positive propaganda, say its creators, saves 100 pounds of paper per year. Plus, profits are donated to the Sierra Club. Want to start combating mindless napkin-pulling right away? Get creative and make your own reminder signs to post.

2. Opt for Hemp

It's Hemp History Week, and while hemp has a controversial history in the U.S., buying paper made of hemp instead of trees isn't illegal. And it's certainly a lot more environmental, considering that as a crop, hemp needs no pesticides, grows back quickly, and preserves the soil it's in better than most commercially grown plants do. No trees need to be killed for a hemp-paper product such as this one or this one.

3. Cure "Bagnesia"

It happened again: You were in line at the grocery store, satisfied with your organic, vegetarian, not-too-packaged purchases. Then it hit you: A vision of your reusable grocery bags -- collecting dust in your car's trunk or kitchen cupboard. You sighed and lugged home your loot in bags of paper or plastic, swearing to remember better next time.

To help you, consider getting Bagnesia's Reusable Bag Solution Kit ($20), which includes two reusable bags, plus two ways to remind yourself to bring 'em along: a doorknob hanger that instructs, "Grab your bags," and a steering-wheel wrap with the same imperative. To save the cash, you can develop your own reminder system -- as long as it works.

4. Go Electronic

The rise of e-mail has saved forests' worth of trees. Which is great -- but perhaps it's time to take the paper-saving up another notch. Are you willing to rethink social graces traditionally carried out with paper? If you're planning a wedding, say, would you consider making your save-the-dates electronic? How about the actual invitations? Can thank-you cards be e-mailed instead of produced, bought, and delivered? How do you feel about sending electronic special-occasion cards, like for this upcoming Father's Day? A Google search turns up plenty of services for sending online greetings; a high-quality choice is Pingg, which stocks stunning nature imagery.

Please comment: What are your innovative tips to save paper?

[via The Green Life]

Mike Fuljenz Mike Fuljenz

foreclosure victims

New YorK (CNNMoney.com) - Mortgage borrowers hurt by the Gulf oil spill may qualify for temporary relief from paying their mortgages, without fear of losing their homes.

Citigroup's CitiMortgage unit announced Wednesday that it would suspend all foreclosure sales and filings for 90 days, through Sept. 17, on its Gulf properties. The policy applies only to first mortgages on homes that are within 25 miles of the coast.

Fannie Mae, the government-supported mortgage company, also touted its own relief policy Wednesday, saying that servicers of Fannie-backed loans may immediately suspend or lower payments on mortgages for borrowers whose income or property were affected by the spill.

"This was a reiteration of special relief policies that Fannie Mae has had for a while," said Janis Smith, a spokeswoman for Fannie.

"Borrowers who hope to obtain relief under this policy should call their servicers right away," Smith said. "They should not sit around waiting for a call."

Under the Fannie Mae program, servicers can offer to postpone or lower payments for up to 90 days, during which the servicer is expected to verify the borrower's income loss or the damage the oil spill may have done to their property.

Freddie Mac, the other government-supported mortgage giant, will grant up to six months forbearance to victims of the oil spill.

Full story

ANAHEIM, Calif. — Money problems and marital troubles were being investigated as possible motives in a couple's murder-suicide and the critical wounding of their 3-year-old son, police said.

The boy, who hid behind a trash can in the backyard for more than 12 hours before he was rescued Monday, remained in critical but stable condition, recovering from at least three bullet wounds to his hip, shoulder and torso, Sgt. Rick Martinez said,

The boy's father, Wayne Zickefoose, 51, shot his 39-year-old wife Herminia Zickefoose Sunday night and tried to kill his two sons, police said. The 3-year-old was trapped in a corner of the backyard. A shot aimed at his 5-year-old brother missed. The boy was inside the house, and the shot was fired through an open doorway, Martinez said.

The family had money troubles and their home was in foreclosure, police said.

The home was purchased in 2001 with help from a loan backed by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, according to records obtained by The Orange County Register.

In 2007, the couple borrowed $462,000 from Countrywide Home Loans and began missing mortgage payments on that loan last year. The bank sent a notice in March that the home could be sold at public auction on April 1. At the time, interest and other charges added to the main loan had pushed the debt on the mortgage to nearly $500,000, the newspaper reported.

Civil court records also show that a woman identified in one case as Hermie G. Zickefoose and in another as Herminia Zickefoose had amassed more than $26,000 in debt on four credit cards, according to the Register.

The shooting was discovered Monday when a co-worker of Wayne Zickefoose stopped by because he had failed to show up for work at an auto body shop.

The 5-year-old boy came to the door and told the co-worker his parents had been shot. The co-worker's wife, who was waiting in a car, called 911, Martinez said.

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