Wednesday, December 17, 2008

US Government and City Creative Loans.

I read The article on The Wall Street Journal yesterday about the USDA Loans program.


REAL ESTATE
DECEMBER 16, 2008
By NICK TIMIRAOS

Home Buyers Turn to USDA for Mortgages
Agency Program Backs Loans to Aid Rural Development; No Money Down -- Even Now

To be eligible for a USDA-backed loan, a borrower can't have income that exceeds 115% of the median county income, and the loans are restricted to areas with lower population density -- generally towns of no more than 25,000 residents. So while home buyers in big cities aren't eligible for the loans, residents of many of America's fastest-growing towns and exurbs do qualify. The loans that come through the program are made by private lenders, then insured by the government and sold to Ginnie Mae, a federal agency that sells mortgages to investors.
Home builders, many of which have overbuilt properties in these areas, are eagerly promoting the program to sell excess inventory.

The USDA program accounted for 40%-50% of sales in October and November for Scottsdale, Ariz.-based home builder Meritage Homes, says John Bargnesi, vice president for sales.

"It's one of our main tools right now."

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122937640286608173.html

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City of Temecula - Home Improvement Loan for FTHB Program

The City of Temecula Redevelopment AgencyHome Improvement Loan Program for First Time Home BuyersThe City has determined that many homes eligible for the First Time Homebuyer Program are in need of some repair. In the current market many of these affordable homes are Bank-Owned properties that may have suffered some distress either at the hands of former owners or through neglect and vacancy.

This program is designed to work in tandem with the First Time Homebuyer Program.Property Type: Single Family detached homes, condominiums, townhouses and manufactured homes on a 433 permanent foundation.Property Location: Within Temecula City LimitsMaximum Amount: $10,000Loan Terms: A ten year loan at 5% interest.

The loan is forgiven on the maturity date if the terms have not been breached. If title to the property is transferred, the borrower ceases to occupy the property or the first mortgage is refinanced with cash taken out the loan becomes due and payable immediately.

Requirements: The application must be processed concurrently with the First Time Homebuyer Program.Eligible Repairs: Housing staff will perform a pre-inspection of all work to be done to determine eligibility. Eligible repairs include, but are not limited to:

Code items
Deterioration of structure or fencing
Repair or replacement of roof
HVAC systems, wall heater or evaporative coolers
Windows, Screens, Garage Doors & Entry Doors
Exterior Painting
Electrical
Non-working or missing major appliances

Repair items damaged by neglect, vandalism or theft Participant must obtain a minimum of 2 bids from licensed contractors. All work must be inspected by housing staff or building inspectors prior to payment. Payment may be made directly to the approved contractor or to the homeowner as reimbursement.

Qualifying Income:Family Size / Income

1 / $52,100 2 / $59,500 3 / $67,000 4 / $74,400 5 / $80,400
6 / $86,300 7 / $92,300 8 / $98,200
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Farm Service Agency
How about the FSA Loans to First Time Farmers & Ranchers?

The Farm Service Agency (FSA) provides direct and guaranteed loans to beginning farmers and ranchers who are unable to obtain financing from commercial credit sources. Each fiscal year, the Agency targets a portion of its direct and guaranteed farm ownership (FO) and operating loan (OL) funds to beginning farmers and ranchers.

http://www.fsa.usda.gov/FSA/webapp?area=home&subject=fmlp&topic=bfl


More loans and Disaster Assistance Programs on USDA FSA site.

http://www.fsa.usda.gov/FSA/webapp?area=home&subject=fmlp&topic=landing

Sunday, December 14, 2008

And This Too, Shall Pass

And This Too, Shall Pass

With all our blessings, however, is one day of thanks ever enough?

Absolutely not. In his book “Discovering the Laws of Life,” the famed money manager and philanthropist John Templeton recommended a different approach. He called it thanksliving.
Thanksliving means practicing an attitude of perpetual gratitude.

That’s not hard when times are good. But for many, it’s tough out there right now. The economy is weak. The job market is soft. Credit is tight.

Combine these with the real estate slump and the recent swoon in stock and bond markets and an attitude of continual thankfulness becomes a tall order.

Yet Templeton offers a radical solution. Don’t just give thanks for your blessings. Be grateful for your problems, too.

This seems wildly counterintuitive at first blush. But facing up to our challenges makes us stronger, smarter, tougher, and more valuable as parents, mates, employees… and human beings.

Calm seas never produced a skilled sailor. Solving problems is what we’re made for. It’s what makes life worth living.

“Adversity, when overcome, strengthens us,” says Templeton. “So we are giving thanks not for the problem itself but for the strength and knowledge that will come from it. Giving thanks for this growth ahead of time will help you to grow through - not just go through - your challenges.”
Circumstances alone never decide our fate. We all have the ability to shape our destiny. And it begins with believing we can.

Worries, regrets, and complaints solve nothing. They change nothing. Rather they undermine your health, your social environment and your quality of life.

Difficult situations are rarely resolved with positive thoughts or gratitude alone, however. It takes another crucial ingredient: sustained action.

Even then, some problems are intractable. Others - like the death of a loved one - are insoluble. In certain circumstances, only an attitude of acceptance moves us forward.

Most of our day-to-day problems, however, are created by the person in the mirror.
We made them. And we can fix them.

According to Unitarian pastor Preston Bradley, “The world has a way of giving what is demanded of it. If you are frightened and look for failure and poverty, you will get them, no matter how hard you may try to succeed. Lack of faith in yourself, in what life will do for you, cuts you off from the good things in the world. Expect victory and make victory. Nowhere is this truer than in the business of life, where bravery and faith bring both material and spiritual rewards.”

This lesson is best learned at an early age. Once when I was about seven years old, for instance, my father asked me to load some heavy-looking boxes into his car.

I looked them over doubtfully. “I can’t,” I said.

It was one of the few times I’ve ever seen him really angry. “What was that word you just used?” he demanded.

“Can’t?” I asked, sheepish.

“I don’t ever want to hear you use that word again.”

Then he strode off… as I (ahem) loaded the boxes.

Journalist Sam Levenson had a similar experience:

“It was on my fifth birthday that Papa put his hand on my shoulder and said, ‘Remember, my son, if you ever need a helping hand, you’ll find one at the end of your arm.’”

I’m not suggesting that it’s wrong to ask for help. Under certain circumstances, you won’t succeed without it. We could all use a boost from time to time.

But it’s much more satisfying - and dignifying - when we solve our problems ourselves.

In addition to showing us what we’re made of, working through our setbacks makes us more sensitive to - and more compassionate toward - the problems of our fellowmen.

Look around and you’ll see plenty of good people with more troubles than you. This is the season to remember them, incidentally. (Although the true spirit of Thanksliving means remembering - and giving - all year round.)

Whatever problems you’re grappling with - personal, social or financial - the best course is always to face them with all the courage, patience and equanimity you can muster.

And, if possible, be grateful. Opportunity often shows up disguised as hard work.

On occasion, of course, our problems are simply bigger than we are. In an address in 1859, Abraham Lincoln recounted the tale of King Solomon:

“It is said that an Eastern monarch once charged his wise men to invent him a sentence, to be ever in view, and which should be true and appropriate in all times and situations. They presented him with the words: ‘And this, too, shall pass away.’ How much it expresses! How chastening in the hour of pride! How consoling in the depths of affliction!”

And how applicable in every day and age…

Whatever your problems, few of them can withstand the onslaught of optimism, persistence, and a genuine spirit of gratitude. So get moving.

As the poet Robert Frost reminds us, “The best way out is always through.”

http://www.nacreps.org/blog/?p=78

Tuesday, December 9, 2008

Chicken Little Doesn't Sell Houses.

A good article by Rismedia.

Chicken Little Doesn’t Sell Houses
Click stars to vote (left is low, right is high)
(48 votes, average: 4.42 out of 5)

By Mike Parker

RISMEDIA, Dec. 9, 2008-”One day, Chicken Little was walking in the woods when-KERPLUNK-an acorn fell on her head. ‘Oh my goodness!’ said Chicken Little. ‘The sky is falling!” Thus begins a timeless tale that seems more relevant each time I read another “authoritative” article positing that the recovery in real estate is years away.

I want to scream: “Your 2009 will be what YOU make it. The sky is not falling and you can be sure that many people will succeed in 2009, just as many continue to succeed, even now.”
We should refuse to buy in to “informed opinion” that predicts three more years of economic morass. It’s time we take responsibility for our own success and make things happen for ourselves.

Once we get through January, I believe we will see the beginnings of recovery. Credit will loosen, people will begin to regain some confidence that Washington has an idea of what they are doing, and opportunities to succeed will abound. Oh, it never will be 2005 again, but who really wants that, anyway? Agents who fail to take strong action to succeed despite conditions will be dropping like acorns in a stiff wind.

Are you Chicken Little? Paralyzed by fear and “informed opinion?” Or, are you a real professional, determined to harvest the opportunity that you know will manifest itself when confidence returns?

http://rismedia.com/wp/2008-12-08/chicken-little-doesnt-sell-houses/

Monday, October 20, 2008

September home sales up 65%

September home sales up 65% from last year in Southern California


September home sales up 65% from last year in Southern California
Experts say the numbers reflect attitudes before the economic crisis worsened, and warn that despite the increase, the real estate market is likely to suffer.
By Peter Y. Hong, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer

10:43 AM PDT, October 20, 2008
Sinking home values continued to drive home sales in September as bargain hunters snared properties at 2003 prices.

The median Southern California home sales price was $308,500 in September, the lowest since May 2003 and down 33% from the September 2007 price of $462,000, according to real estate research firm MDA DataQuick.

The number of homes sold in Los Angeles, Orange, San Bernardino, Riverside, Ventura and San Diego counties shot up 65% compared with September 2007. Fifty percent of homes sold last month had been foreclosed.Real estate experts said despite the increase in September sales, the real estate market is likely to suffer along with the rest of the economy.September's figures reflect home purchase decisions that were made in mid- to late-summer, before the dramatic worsening of the nation's economic crisis in recent weeks, said MDA DataQuick president John Walsh.


"Over the next few weeks our sales data will begin to show how the meltdown in financial markets this fall has impacted housing demand," Walsh said in a statement.


Since September, the stock market has declined sharply and unemployment in California has remained close to 8%.


Mortgage interest rates have also been rising, elevating the cost of home purchases.

A total of 20,497 homes closed escrow in the Southern California in September, up 5.8% from 19,366 in August.


Sales were up most in Riverside County, which posted a 106% gain from the same month a year ago.


Riverside and San Bernardino counties also recorded the steepest year-to-year price declines in the region, with the median sales price down 37% compared with a year ago.

In Riverside County, 69% of homes sold in September had been foreclosed, while foreclosed properties comprised 63% of San Bernardino County homes sold last month.


Foreclosed homes made up 39% of Los Angeles County homes sold in September and 37% of Orange County homes sold last month.


Saturday, October 11, 2008

top 10 foreclosure cities

top 10 foreclosure cities
By Inventory

1. Las Vegas, NV
2. Miami, FL
3. Chicago, IL
4. Phoenix, AZ
5. Los Angeles, CA
6. Sacramento, CA
7. Cape Coral, FL
8. Orlando, FL
9. Tampa, FL
10. San Diego, CA

By Activity

1. Fort Lauderdale, FL
2. Las Vegas, NV
3. Miami, FL
4. Pompano Beach, FL
5. Phoenix, AZ
6. Hollywood, FL
7. Orlando, FL
8. Tampa, FL
9. Chicago, IL
10. West Palm Beach, FL

Sources: MSN-NBC.com

Friday, September 19, 2008

Moving Can be a Taxing Decision

Moving Can be a Taxing Decision

By James O. Armstrong

So, what motivates employees to move during retirement? While there may be other factors, this list covers a number of the considerations many of our fellow baby boomers and others consider important in making such a decision.

First, we may decide to move because a specific job offer emerges from either the private or public sector. This offer to someone in greater demand could also include a future independent contractor status or registration with a speaker's bureau or talent agency, for example. Or, it may include starting your own business or even buying a franchise with an established business plan and strategy to pursue.

Second, we may decide to move because of family considerations, which range from aging parents to relocating so that we can be closer to our children and grandchildren. In fact, a number of my daughter's closest young adult friends in Greater St. Louis have talked about their parents taking precisely this step recently. By the way, this observation includes the movement of grandparents to the St. Louis area, who have never before lived in that region.

Third, men and women also choose to move to a more exciting part of the US or they may choose to live abroad, which an increasing number of Americans are now deciding to do. For example, a fellow baby boomer web entrepreneur, Ann Fry, decided to move from Austin, TX to New York City over the past year and she has never looked back on her decision. The 62 year old Ann runs a successful web site plus works as a motivational speaker and career coach. So, part of her relocation formula has included an upsurge in her speaking engagements and coaching assignments, especially since she moved to New York, despite the warnings of doom and lack of success from her Austin, Texas-based friends.

Fourth, other men and women choose to move to a different part of the US especially for tax reasons. But, of course, the question, which quickly emerges in this complex set of variables is "which taxes?" Many of us no doubt already know Texas or Florida (part-time) citizens, who have emigrated to these states because neither levies a state income tax. Of course, the winning formula is that "they" actually live in their adopted states for one-half of the year plus one day.

But, did you know that there are actually a total of seven states with no income tax as follows: (1) Alaska, (2) Florida, of course, (3) Nevada, (4) South Dakota, (5) Texas, (6) Washington and (7) Wyoming. In addition, New Hampshire and Tennessee only tax interest and dividends.

Likewise, it should be clearly said that a total of 26 states plus the District of Columbia do not tax Social Security benefits. IMPORTANT: Our web site, www.NowWhatJobs.net, is against any states taxing Social Security income. From our standpoint, because of the current and coming labor shortages and especially because of the current skills shortages, our society cannot afford to do anything, which has the net effect of discouraging men and women from continuing to work in America.

Finally, other men and women will factor some or all of these issues into consideration, when deciding where and when to move in our society. In the final analysis, even local sales taxes and property taxes can and should enter into this equation. For example, the City of Chicago recently passed an incredibly high local sales tax, which put this great city at or near the top of local sales taxes in the whole US among major cities. Of course, this consideration only becomes important when someone wants to buy something, whatever that may be.

To tax or not to tax -- that will indeed be the question for state and local governments in the future in the US and elsewhere, as a wave of baby boomers begin to consider all of their relocation factors and options. "Yes," state and local governments would like the bank deposits, which provide the necessary capital needed for consumer loans and local businesses to expand and create even more jobs in that area. "Yes," state and local governments would also like men and women, who will not be adding to the local student population in our nation's public schools, but who will never the less be adding to the local property tax base. "Yes," state and local governments would also like to have men and women, who are creditworthy and who have a greater equity position in their homes move into the community.

But, what if anything are these state and local governments willing to do in order to court "our" favor, you might logically ask? This writer submits to you that the answer to this question will cause state and local governments around the US to make a whole series of different decisions, both now and in the near future, in order to demonstrate "their friendliness" to my fellow baby boomers, who are 78 million strong just in the US.

JAMES O. ARMSTRONG BIOGRAPHY

James O. Armstrong, President of NowWhatJobs.net, Inc., http://www.nowwhatjobs.net, also serves as the Editor of NowWhatJobs.net. NowWhatJobs.net is the resource for job and career transitions for workers 40 years old and over, Baby Boomers and Active Seniors. Read NowWhatJobs.net for skills training, relocation options, job opportunities and much more. In addition, James is the author of "Now What? Discovering Your New Life and Career After 50" and the President of James Armstrong & Associates, Inc., a media representation firm based in Suburban Chicago.

Wednesday, September 17, 2008

Reduced Prices - Estate Homes






Best kept secret in Temecula West Hills - De Luz.


OFFERRED AT $1,599,000

Recently completed gorgeous estate home on 4.52 acres is situated in Santa Margarita Ranchos in serene De Luz/Temecula West Hills. A long driveway leads up to the privacy of this home. The Beautiful Wooden double-doors lead onto a Hugh Great room with Entertainment center, Formal Living, Dining Room & Outside Patio. Features include Separate Master Bedroom Suite and a contemporary bathroom with a fireplace and dressing area. Other Bedrooms with Jack & Jilll bath. Study, Exercise/Nursery. Laundry room, plenty of storage. The property features a stylish modern kitchen with Granite counter tops, Tile, Top Of The line stainless steel appliances. Professionally landscaped, sprinkler systems all around. Three car garage with door openers. Alarm Systems installed. Quite but close to I-15, Old Town & Shopping. Private sanctuary of a garden, majestic oak trees, small orchard, fantastic views. Existing income producing Avocado grove with 200 mature HASS avocado trees. (Buyer to verify).


http://www.ihomefinder.com/idx/detail.cfm?cid=1501&bid=21&pid=T08096389








OFFERRED AT $1,549,000

This recently completed gorgeous estate home on 8.15 acres Situated in the Santa Margarita Ranchos in serene De Luz/Temecula West Hills. Beautiful Custom Iron Double Doors Open onto a Hugh Galleria, Formal Living Room, Dining Room & Outside Lanai. Private Master Bedroom Suite with expansive, contemporary Master bathroom with a fireplace. and dressing area. Carpets & Travertine throughout. Features include large bedroom with storage bathroom, study, Exercise/Nursery. Separate Laundry. Large family /entertainment with a fireplace, French doors to patio. Features a stylish modern kitchen with Granite counter tops, Cherry, Tile, Top Of The line stainless steel appliances. Professionally landscaped, sprinkler systems all around. Three car garage, door openers. Alarm Systems installed. Quiet, close to I-15, Old Town, Shopping. Room for horses, RV, Pool, Fantastic views of mountains & hills. Existing income producing Avocado w/ 500 HASS avocado trees. (Buyer to verify).


http://www.ihomefinder.com/idx/detail.cfm?cid=1501&bid=21&pid=T08096316