What a great life we have! I love this country! No where else in the world can you make this kind of money legally!
Right now I have 6 listings, working with 3 buyers and tomorrow I am in a Keller Williams Golf Tourney. Should take 1st place.
Listings:
One of the Last true loft conversions. 991 SQFT 1 bed/1 bath. 5th floor overlooking downtown SLC and a great shot of the mountains. $450,000.00
Great home on the east side of SLC. 1600 SQFT 2 bed/1 bath. Sitting on a quiet street and in a great neighborhood. $212,218.00
Secluded Cabin on 20 acres. 1024 SQFT 3 bed/1 bath. You cant find this kind of price any where for the land! $280,000.00
Private club on State St. in Lehi. 5200 SQFT. 2 levels. This is fully equipped with all! 60K in stage and sound equipment. Business licences included. $1,100,000.00
Private Club on State St. in Midvale. 2400 SQFT. 1 level. This is a turn key business. Business only. $220,000.00
Billiards and Beer bar on State St. in Midvale. This is also a Turn Key business and has a snack shop. Will be working a deal for all tree clubs. $220,000.00
If you want any more info on any of these properties, please call me. My office, cell and email is on my website. http://betts.yourkwagent.com
Sky's are clear in Real Estate! Call me if I can help in any way!
Here are the Quotes!
"Flexibility in a time of great change is a vital quality of
leadership."
-- Brian Tracy, Tracy
"See luck when it is with you; and act responsibly when it is not."
-- C.P.G. von Clausewitz, Major-General
"It does not matter how slowly you go up, so long as you don't stop."
-- Confucius, Philosopher
"I don't know the key to success, but the key to failure is trying to
please everybody. "
-- Bill Cosby, Comedian
"If you do what you've always done, you'll get what you've always
gotten."
-- Anthony Robbins, Motivational Speaker
"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that
you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines.
Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails.
Explore. Dream. Discover."
-- Mark Twain, Author
"Contentment comes not so much from great wealth as from few wants."
-- Epictetus, Philosopher
"Only free people can hold their purpose and their honor steady to a
common end, and prefer the interests of mankind to any narrow interest
of their own."
-- Woodrow Wilson, 28th President of the United States
"We must look for the opportunity in every difficulty instead of being
paralyzed at the thought of the difficulty in every opportunity."
-- Walter E. Cole, Korean War Hero
"Comfort, that stealthy thing that enters the house a guest, and then
becomes a host, then a master. And then it becomes a tamer, and with a
hook and whip it makes puppets of your larger desires."
-- Kahlil Gibran, Poet, Visual Artist
"To be nobody but yourself in a world which is doing its best night and
day to make you like everybody else means to fight the hardest battle
any human being can fight and never stop fighting."
-- E.E. Cummings, American poet
"Effort, not ability, makes the biggest difference in achievement."
-- Bill Clinton, 42nd President of the United States
"People are always blaming their circumstances for what they are. I don't believe in circumstances. The people who get on in this world are the people who get up and look for the circumstances they want, and if they can't find them, make them. "
-- George Bernard Shaw, Playwright
"It is a common experience that a problem difficult at night is resolved
in the morning after the committee of sleep has worked on it."
-- John Steinbeck, Author
"When you're riding, only the race in which you're riding is important."
-- Bill Shoemaker, Jockey
"People who are unable to motivate themselves must be content with
mediocrity."
-- Andrew Carnegie, Industrialist
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
My Life as a Realtor
Oops, We Did it again! Now we are on Zillow.com and 100 other websites. There is no other Real Estate Co. that are as linked up as we are! Check out this artice from Inman News.
http://www.inman.com/news/2008/05/14/keller-williams-sending-listings-zillow
We are still going strong. I am currently working with 1 buyer and my buyers agent is working with one too. I have those listings that I keep getting calls on. My investor and I went and looked at this one home that was MOLDY. It was a health issue of it's own.
Still on course and helping people in and out of homes. I have a referral in WY, one in Southern UT and one in AR. I can find you a great agent anywhere in this great country of our and in Canada. Let me prove this to you, your family and friends.
Here are some quotes!
"Glory is fleeting, but obscurity is forever. "
-- Napoleon Bonaparte, French emperor
"Your company's most valuable asset is how it is known to its
customers."
-- Brian Tracy, Author
"No one lives long enough to learn everything they need to learn
starting from scratch. To be successful, we absolutely, positively have
to find people who have already paid the price to learn the things that
we need to learn to achieve our goals."
-- Brian Tracy, Author
"Every great man of business has got somewhere a touch of the idealist
in him."
-- Woodrow Wilson, 28th U.S. president
"Parents can only give good advice .but the final forming of a person's
character lies in their own hands."
-- Ann Frank, writer
"A major stimulant to creative thinking is focused questions. There is
something about a well-worded question that often penetrates to the
heart of the matter and triggers new ideas and insights."
-- Brian Tracy, Author
"We should be taught not to wait for inspiration to start a thing.
Action always generates inspiration. Inspiration seldom generates
action."
-- Frank Tibolt, Author
http://www.inman.com/news/2008/05/14/keller-williams-sending-listings-zillow
We are still going strong. I am currently working with 1 buyer and my buyers agent is working with one too. I have those listings that I keep getting calls on. My investor and I went and looked at this one home that was MOLDY. It was a health issue of it's own.
Still on course and helping people in and out of homes. I have a referral in WY, one in Southern UT and one in AR. I can find you a great agent anywhere in this great country of our and in Canada. Let me prove this to you, your family and friends.
Here are some quotes!
"Glory is fleeting, but obscurity is forever. "
-- Napoleon Bonaparte, French emperor
"Your company's most valuable asset is how it is known to its
customers."
-- Brian Tracy, Author
"No one lives long enough to learn everything they need to learn
starting from scratch. To be successful, we absolutely, positively have
to find people who have already paid the price to learn the things that
we need to learn to achieve our goals."
-- Brian Tracy, Author
"Every great man of business has got somewhere a touch of the idealist
in him."
-- Woodrow Wilson, 28th U.S. president
"Parents can only give good advice .but the final forming of a person's
character lies in their own hands."
-- Ann Frank, writer
"A major stimulant to creative thinking is focused questions. There is
something about a well-worded question that often penetrates to the
heart of the matter and triggers new ideas and insights."
-- Brian Tracy, Author
"We should be taught not to wait for inspiration to start a thing.
Action always generates inspiration. Inspiration seldom generates
action."
-- Frank Tibolt, Author
Friday, May 9, 2008
My life as a Realtor.
Again, it's been a while. I graduated the SMART program with top honers. I was in the top producing group with $22 mill in transaction in a 7 week period. I was awarded the leadership award for being the asst. leader of our top producing group and I received the All Star award for Exceptional Productivity. There were only 8 out of 73 people that got that!
I have been really busy. I just picked up two more bars to go for the package deal for the Big. All tree bars are now listed and we will let all three go for $1.5 mill. For these bars bringing in aver $20k a month we are letting them go for a song. If you have anyone that is interested in this, please let me know!
So far I have closed $962,500.00 in Transaction and have $1,820,000.00 in inventory and that's not all. I will be picking up a $450,000.00 Loft condo downtown on the 1st of June. This property is a green built and ready to move into.
I also picked up a 3/1 cabin on 20 akers that we are letting go of for $280,000.00. We have had a lot of interest on this property, but we can't get into it yet. Me and the owner are going up to fish this weekend and we should be able to get into it. We went up weekend before last and there was still 2 ft. of snow on the ground.
Let me know if there is anything I can do for you, your family or your friends! I have attached a few articles and of course the Quotes!
Enjoy! More later!
"Don't worry when you are not recognized, but strive to be worthy of
recognition."
-- Abraham Lincoln, 16th U.S. president
"A successful individual typically sets his next goal somewhat but not
too much above his last achievement."
-- Kurt Lewin, Psychologist
"I have found no greater satisfaction than achieving success through
honest dealing and strict adherence to the view that, for you to gain,
those you deal with should gain as well."
-- Alan Greenspan, Former Chairman of the U.S. Federal Reserve
"If you go to work on your goals, your goals will go to work on you. If
you go to work on your plan, your plan will go to work on you. Whatever
good things we build, end up building us."
-- Jim Rohn, Motivational Speaker
"In matters of principle, stand like a rock; in matters of taste, swim
with the current. "
-- Thomas Jefferson, third president
"Ideas must work though the brains and the arms of good and brave men,
or they are no better than dreams. "
-- Ralph Waldo Emerson, poet
"Man must search for what is right and let happiness come on its own. "
-- Johann Pestalozzi, educator
"I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph
over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who
conquers that fear."
-- Nelson Mandela, Civil Rights Leader
"If you are interested, you never have to look for new interests. They
come to you. When you are genuinely interested in one thing, it will
always lead to something else. "
-- Eleanor Roosevelt, first lady
"Far better is it to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs, even
though checkered by failure than to rank with those poor spirits who
neither enjoy much nor suffer much, because they live in a gray twilight
that knows not victory nor defeat. "
-- Theodore Roosevelt, 26th U.S. President
"I learned that we can do anything, but we can't do everything.. at
least not at the same time. So think of your priorities not in terms of
what activities you do, but when you do them. Timing is everything."
-- Dan Millman, Author
This is from Forbes.com
Nationally, home prices are falling, unemployment is on the rise and the economy is expected to grow slowly--or even contract--in the first half of the year.
But some cities are doing just fine.
Take Oklahoma City, Okla. With falling unemployment, one of the country's strongest housing markets, and solid growth in agriculture, energy and manufacturing, it looks best positioned among the nation's largest metropolitan areas to ride out the current crisis.
Affordable home prices that continue to rise. Its industries are growing; it can't hurt that the new AT&T (nyse: T - news - people ) was formed when San Antonio-based SBC Communications swallowed the old AT&T Corp. and BellSouth.
The others holding steady or improving include Austin, Texas; Houston; Charlotte, N.C.; Dallas; San Jose, Calif.; Raleigh, N.C.; Salt Lake City; and Seattle.
Behind The Numbers
To find them, Forbes.com examined the country's 50 largest metros and looked at several key measures.
We examined unemployment data supplied by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics for the year ending in February 2008 to see which areas are most adding or subtracting jobs. Next, we looked at the BLS data on job growth in non-farm payrolls, through February 2008, for construction, education and health services, financial activities, information, leisure and hospitality, manufacturing, natural resources and mining, professional and business services, trade, transportation and utilities, and the BLS's catch-all category, "other services."
We also took into account median home price data from the National Association of Realtors--from the fourth quarter of 2006 to the fourth quarter of 2007--to see which areas posted the largest annual gains. Our data don't account for the impact of declining sales in the first several months of this year.
Finally, our rankings were adjusted using data from a November 2007 report, "U.S. Metro Economies: The Mortgage Crisis," by the U.S. Conference of Mayors. It lists each city's estimated gross metropolitan product growth by projecting how rising foreclosures and falling home prices would affect overall levels of productivity in local economies.
Sunny Southern Skies
Texas cities fared best under these measures. San Antonio, Austin, Houston and Dallas-Fort Worth have benefited from historically lower home prices, which have been affordable to a large segment of the population. The availability of land--and, in some cases, little zoning--helped keep prices in these cities low. Instead of competing for homes, Texans could move to a new subdivision a little farther out.
What's more, all four boast falling unemployment rates, with Austin dropping from 3.8% to 3.6% and San Antonio from 4.3% to 4%
Cities that are expected to see growth in non-farm payrolls include Raleigh, which is expected to see 7.4% growth in professional and business services and 6% growth in education and health. In Salt Lake City, where the median home price rose 2.5% and unemployment, at 3.1%, is below the 5.1% national average, growth in education and health services is expected to be 5.5%.
How are you planning on weathering the impending recession? Weigh in. Add your thoughts in the Reader Comments section below.
Some cities have seen increasing home prices but otherwise continue to struggle. Buffalo and Rochester, N.Y., have seen home price growth (from a low base) but still contend with high unemployment--around 6%--and slow-growing or shrinking industries.
And in the San Jose area, the median home sale price is over $830,000. That's 11% higher than it was in the fourth quarter of 2006, helping to land the area at No. 4 on our list. Problem is, that growth has since cooled, and it remains to be seen whether pricey homes coupled with a 5.3% unemployment rate will cause trouble for homeowners this year.
To be sure, even in the most resilient cities, the mortgage crisis has caused suffering. People everywhere got into bad mortgages. Similarly, even in the most battered cities, the majority of people are employed and making their mortgage payments. The extent of recession or resilience is very much in the eye of the beholder, and this list represents only one of many ways to take a snapshot of economies that are standing tall.
In his statements to Congress' Joint Economic Committee earlier this month, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke predicted the economy would possibly move into recession in the first half of 2008 but begin to rebound in the second half.
6. Salt Lake City, Utah
Median home price: +2.5%
Unemployment: 3.1% (from 2.6%)
Key growth: Education and health services, +5.5%
Though Salt Lake City's unemployment rate is rising, it's still among the lowest of the country's 50 largest cities. The state is still creating jobs, just not as quickly as its labor force is growing. A November 2007 report from the U.S. Conference of Mayors projected that Salt Lake City would be one of the few large cities in the country not to suffer a decline in gross metropolitan product from the mortgage crisis.
This is from The Wall Street Journal
The Housing Crisis Is Over
By CYRIL MOULLE-BERTEAUX
May 6, 2008; Page A23
The dire headlines coming fast and furious in the financial and popular press suggest that the housing crisis is intensifying. Yet it is very likely that April 2008 will mark the bottom of the U.S. housing market. Yes, the housing market is bottoming right now. How can this be? For starters, a bottom does not mean that prices are about to return to the heady days of 2005. That probably won't happen for another 15 years. It just means that the trend is no longer getting worse, which is the critical factor.
Most people forget that the current housing bust is nearly three years old. Home sales peaked in July 2005. New home sales are down a staggering 63% from peak levels of 1.4 million. Housing starts have fallen more than 50% and, adjusted for population growth, are back to the trough levels of 1982. Furthermore, residential construction is close to 15-year lows at 3.8% of GDP; by the fourth quarter of this year, it will probably hit the lowest level ever. So what's going to stop the housing decline? Very simply, the same thing that caused the bust: affordability. The boom made housing unaffordable for many American families, especially first-time home buyers. During the 1990s and early 2000s, it took 19% of average monthly income to service a conforming mortgage on the average home purchased. By 2005 and 2006, it was absorbing 25% of monthly income. For first time buyers, it went from 29% of income to 37%. That just proved to be too much. Prices got so high that people who intended to actually live in the houses they purchased (as opposed to speculators) stopped buying. This caused the bubble to burst.
Since then, house prices have fallen 10%-15%, while incomes have kept growing (albeit more slowly recently) and mortgage rates have come down 70 basis points from their highs. As a result, it now takes 19% of monthly income for the average home buyer, and 31% of monthly income for the first-time home buyer, to purchase a house. In other words, homes on average are back to being as affordable as during the best of times in the 1990s. Numerous households that had been priced out of the market can now afford to get in.
The next question is: Even if home sales pick up, how can home prices stop falling with so many houses vacant and unsold? The flip but true answer: because they always do. In the past five major housing market corrections (and there were some big ones, such as in the early 1980s when home sales also fell by 50%-60% and prices fell 12%-15% in real terms), every time home sales bottomed, the pace of house-price declines halved within one or two months. The explanation is that by the time home sales stop declining, inventories of unsold homes have usually already started falling in absolute terms and begin to peak out in "months of supply" terms. That's the case right now: New home inventories peaked at 598,000 homes in July 2006, and stand at 482,000 homes as of the end of March. This inventory is equivalent to 11 months of supply, a 25-year high – but it is similar to 1974, 1982 and 1991 levels, which saw a subsequent slowing in home-price declines within the next six months.
Inventories are declining because construction activity has been falling for such a long time that home completions are now just about undershooting new home sales. In a few months, completions of new homes for sale could be undershooting new home sales by 50,000-100,000 annually. Inventories will drop even faster to 400,000 – or seven months of supply – by the end of 2008. This shift in inventories will have a significant impact on prices, although house prices won't stop falling entirely until inventories reach five months of supply sometime in 2009. A five-month supply has historically signaled tightness in the housing market.
Many pundits claim that house prices need to fall another 30% to bring them back in line with where they've been historically. This is usually based on an analysis of house prices adjusted for inflation: Real house prices are 30% above their 40-year, inflation-adjusted average, so they must fall 30%. This simplistic analysis is appealing on the surface, but is flawed for a variety of reasons. Most importantly, it neglects the fact that a great majority of Americans buy their houses with mortgages. And if one buys a house with a mortgage, the most important factor in deciding what to pay for the house is how much of one's income is required to be able to make the mortgage payments on the house. Today the rate on a 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage is 5.7%. Back in 1981, the rate hit 18.5%.
Comparing today's house prices to the 1970s or 1980s, when mortgage rates were stratospheric, is misguided and misleading. This is all good news for the broader economy. The housing bust has been subtracting a full percentage point from GDP for almost two years now, which is very large for a sector that represents less than 5% of economic activity.
When the rate of house-price declines halves, there will be a wholesale shift in markets' perceptions. All of a sudden, the expected value of the collateral (i.e. houses) for much of the lending that went on for the past decade will change. Right now, when valuing the collateral, market participants including banks are extrapolating the current pace of house price declines for another two to three years; this has a significant impact on the amount of delinquencies, foreclosures and credit losses that lenders are expected to face.
More home sales and smaller price declines means fewer homeowners will be underwater on their mortgages. They will thus have less incentive to walk away and opt for foreclosure. A milder house-price decline scenario could lead to increases in the market value of a lot of the securitized mortgages that have been responsible for $300 billion of write-downs in the past year. Even if write-backs do not occur, stabilizing collateral values will have a huge impact on the markets' perception of risk related to housing, the financial system, and the economy.
We are of course experiencing a serious housing bust, with serious economic consequences that are still unfolding. The odds are that the reverberations will lead to subtrend growth for a couple of years. Nonetheless, housing led us into this credit crisis and this recession. It is likely to lead us out. And that process is underway, right now.
Mr. Moulle-Berteaux is managing partner of Traxis Partners LP, a hedge fund firm based in New York.
This is from Van Eck>;<B< span>r>
Adrian Van Eck's Mortgage and Property Hotline
For: Thursday, May 1, 2008
NOW THAT BANKS HAVE BEEN STABILIZED WITH AN INJECTION OF FUNDS FROM THE FEDERAL RESERVE, ATTENTION IS BEING TURNED TO THOSE WHO WISH TO BUY A HOME OF THEIR OWN. PERSONAL SAVINGS IN AMERICA ARE MUCH LARGER THAN MOST PEOPLE REALIZE, SO THERE IS AMPLE CASH WAITING ON THE SIDELINES TO COVER FHA-INSURED MORTGAGE DOWN PAYMENTS AND CLOSING COSTS. THE REASON NO ONE KNOWS OF THESE LARGE SAVINGS ACCOUNT BALANCES IS THAT THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT ISSUES EACH MONTH A REPORT ON AMERICA'S NET SAVINGS RATE. THEY DID SO JUST TODAY, FOR EXAMPLE. THEY SAID THAT NET SAVINGS LAST MONTH DROPPED FROM 0.4% (FEBRUARY RATE) TO 0.2%. WHAT THEY DO NOT TELL YOU IS THAT THE REASON FOR THE DECLINE IS THAT THE FEDERAL DEFICIT EXPANDED LAST MONTH.
THE GOVERNMENT IN WASHINGTON HAS BEEN BORROWING MONEY AT A SCARY RATE, DESPITE CONSTANT PROMISES THAT THE DEFICIT WILL BE CUT IN HALF WITHIN A FEW YEARS. THEIR BORROWING IS DELETED FROM A DIFFERENT MEASURE, THE ONE CALLED NET PRIVATE SAVINGS. THERE YOU WILL FIND TENS OF BILLIONS OF DOLLARS. AS I SAID, THE SAVERS IN OUR SOCIETY HAVE ALWAYS FINANCED THE BORROWERS. BUT WHEN THE GOVERNMENT RUNS BIG DEFICITS THAT TIPS THE BALANCE. IT PROBABLY ALSO ACCOUNTS FOR SOME PART OF THE PRESSURE HOLDING UP LONG-TERM INTEREST RATES, INCLUDING MORTGAGES… ALTHOUGH TO BE FAIR MORTGAGE RATES ARE STILL IN THE LOWER END OF A RANGE GOING BACK YEARS.
THE BIGGEST PROBLEM TODAY, OTHER THAN THE FACT THAT POLITICIANS RUNNING FOR OFFICE ARE SCARING THE DICKENS OUT OF PEOPLE WITH FALSE WARNINGS THAT WE ARE HEADING INTO A NEW GREAT DEPRESSION, IS THAT BANKS ARE HOARDING EVERY PENNY THEY CAN – JUST IN CASE THEY MIGHT NEED THE MONEY LATER ON. WE HAVE ALREADY SEEN HOW BANKS ARE PULLING OUT OF THE FEDERALLY-INSURED STUDENT LOAN PROGRAM. THIS CAUSED A PANIC ATTACK IN CONGRESS AND THERE WAS PRESSURE ON THE FED ITSELF TO DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT.
AS WE HAVE BEEN TELLING YOU FOR MONTHS, THE LEGISLATION THAT CREATED THE FED IN 1913 GAVE THE FED AWESOME POWERS AS A LENDER OF LAST RESORT. THEY HAVE THE POWER TO LEND MONEY DIRECTLY WHENEVER THEY DECREE AN EMERGENCY SITUATION TO BE IN FORCE. THIS CERTAINLY WOULD SUFFICE AS AN EMERGENCY. BUT CHAIRMAN BEN BERNANKE WOULD LIKE TO AVOID DECLARING ONE, IF THAT IS POSSIBLE. IT MIGHT TEND TO SCARE PEOPLE AND UNDO EVERYTHING HE HAS BEEN WORKING TO ACHIEVE.
SO I WILL TELL YOU WHAT, IN MY OPINION, THE GOOD CHAIRMAN IS LIKELY TO DO NOW. HE IS MOST APT TO QUIETLY SEND THE WORD TO INDIVIDUAL BANK CEO'S, HINTING THAT HE WOULD PERSONALLY BE PLEASED IF HE GOT WORD THAT THEY HAD LOOSENED UP AND HAD STARTED LENDING MONEY TO THOSE WHO CAN PASS NORMAL CREDIT MUSTER. WHY WOULD THEY RSP0ND TO SUCH A GENTLE REQUEST? I'LL TELL YOU WHY. THEY KNOW THAT HIS QUIET MANNER IN PUBLIC COVERS UP A PERSONA CAPABLE OF ICE-COLD ACTION. HE ONCE TOLD A REPORTER THAT AFTER SERVING AS CHAIRMAN OF AN IVY LEAGUE ECONOMICS DEPARTMENT, THE IDEA OF RUNNING THE FED SEEMED ALMOST LIKE CHILD'S PLAY.
THE FED DID NOT PASS MONEY OUT TO BANKS LIKE LOLLIPOPS. THE CASH WAS FORWARDED UNDER STRICTLY TEMPORARY CONDITIONS THAT CAN BE RENEWED AT THE FED'S DISCRETION. THERE IS COLLATERAL INVOLVED. BUT SOME OF IT MAY BE, SHALL WE SAY, OF QUESTIONABLE QUALITY.
BANKS HAVE BY NOW HEARD THAT BERNANKE FANCIES HIMSELF AS A MODERN DAY VERSION OF THE FIRST MAN TO HEAD THE FED IN 1913. THAT MAN, ACTING AS THE TOP AIDE TO J. PIERPONT MORGAN, HAD PERSONALLY ENGINEERED THE TOTAL DESTRUCTION OF THE ONCE-HUGE AND FAMOUS KNICKERBOCKER TRUST DURING THE 1907 PANIC. ONCE HE DID THAT, THE OTHER BANKS JUMPED TO OBEY ANY SUGGESTIONS HE AND J. P. MORGAN MIGHT HAVE FOR THEM.
I DARE SAY NO BANK WISHES TO BE THE ONE BERNANKE USES AS AN EXAMPLE OF HOW RUTHLESS HE CAN BE BEHIND CLOSED DOORS. IF HE WITHDRAWS THE FED MONEY LOANED TO ONE OF THESE BANKS, HANDS BACK THEIR COLLATERAL AND TELLS THE PRESS WHAT HE HAS DONE, THEY MIGHT EXPERIENCE A DISASTROUS RUN BY DEPOSITORS – ENDING THEIR DAYS. SO MORTGAGE MONEY WILL BEGIN FLOWING AND HOMES WILL START SELLING AGAIN. OUR LATEST REAL ESTATE LETTER SAYS WE THINK THE FIRST MONEY WILL FLOW OUT TO REALTORS TO BUY EXISTING HOMES. THE NEXT STEP WILL BE TO FINANCE THOSE WHO WANT TO BUY FORECLOSED HOMES, CLEARING THEM OFF THE MARKET. AND THIRD WILL COME MONEY FOR THE PURCHASE OF NEW HOMES.
NOW I REALIZE THIS GOES COUNTER TO THE CONSENSUS THINKING ON WALL STREET AND ELSEWHERE. I AM SORRY FOR THEM. THEY – FOR THE MOST PART - DO NOT HAVE A CLUE WHAT THEY ARE TALKING ABOUT. MOST OF THEM WERE SUPER BULLISH ABOUT HOUSING AT THE VERY PEAK OF GREENSPAN'S HOUSING BOOM IN 2005. WE WERE BEARISH, AS YOU KNOW – PREDICTING A "TIME-OUT" IN HOUSING, WITH HOME PRICE DECLINES. WELL, THE TIME-OUT HAS DONE ITS JOB AND NOW I BELIEVE YOU WILL SEE THE FIRST SIGNS OF A RETURN TO NORMALCY.
WE ARE IN A SITUATION THAT REMINDS ME OF THE BOTTOM OF THE LAST HOUSING RECESSION. WALL STREET WAS NOT ALONE IN 2002 IN EXPECTING HOUSING TO SLIDE FURTHER IN SALES AND PRICES, EVEN AFTER THE RECESSION LOWS WERE HIT. THE SHOCK OF SEPTEMBER 11, 2001 WAS STILL VERY MUCH WITH US AND THUS MADE MANY PEOPLE FRIGHTENED OF WHAT COULD BE COMING IN THE ECONOMY.
BUT THEN A STRANGE THING BEGAN HAPPENING. PEOPLE BEGAN FLOCKING ONCE AGAIN TO OPEN HOUSES AND PUTTING MONEY DOWN ON HOMES THEY CHOSE. THE VIEW REPORTED IN THE PRESS WAS THAT THIS COULD NOT LAST, AND THAT IT WOULD GIVE WAY TO A SERIOUS COLLAPSE BUT THAT DID NOT HAPPEN. SLOWLY BUT SURELY THE DEMAND FOR HOUSING EXPANDED. AND THAT EXPANSION – SLOW BUT SURE – WOULD LAST FOR YEARS. UNFORTUNATELY, NEW SPECULATIVE ELEMENTS CAME INTO THE MARKET IN 2003 AND CAUSED A RAPID ESCALATION OF SALES, MANY OF WHICH PROVED TO BE UNWISE AND UNREAL. TODAY WE ARE HALFWAY THROUGH DIGESTING THE EXTRA HOMES BUILT IN THAT SPECULATIVE PERIOD. AND NEW DEMAND COULD FINISH THE JOB. MORE NEXT WEEK. ADRIAN VAN ECK.
As you all can tell, I stay up on whats going down in the market place. If you want a true pro to help you buy or sell your home, why don't you give me a call.
The only realtor you will ever want!
All "Betts" on Brian!
435-513-0973 C
801-858-3080 O
I have been really busy. I just picked up two more bars to go for the package deal for the Big. All tree bars are now listed and we will let all three go for $1.5 mill. For these bars bringing in aver $20k a month we are letting them go for a song. If you have anyone that is interested in this, please let me know!
So far I have closed $962,500.00 in Transaction and have $1,820,000.00 in inventory and that's not all. I will be picking up a $450,000.00 Loft condo downtown on the 1st of June. This property is a green built and ready to move into.
I also picked up a 3/1 cabin on 20 akers that we are letting go of for $280,000.00. We have had a lot of interest on this property, but we can't get into it yet. Me and the owner are going up to fish this weekend and we should be able to get into it. We went up weekend before last and there was still 2 ft. of snow on the ground.
Let me know if there is anything I can do for you, your family or your friends! I have attached a few articles and of course the Quotes!
Enjoy! More later!
"Don't worry when you are not recognized, but strive to be worthy of
recognition."
-- Abraham Lincoln, 16th U.S. president
"A successful individual typically sets his next goal somewhat but not
too much above his last achievement."
-- Kurt Lewin, Psychologist
"I have found no greater satisfaction than achieving success through
honest dealing and strict adherence to the view that, for you to gain,
those you deal with should gain as well."
-- Alan Greenspan, Former Chairman of the U.S. Federal Reserve
"If you go to work on your goals, your goals will go to work on you. If
you go to work on your plan, your plan will go to work on you. Whatever
good things we build, end up building us."
-- Jim Rohn, Motivational Speaker
"In matters of principle, stand like a rock; in matters of taste, swim
with the current. "
-- Thomas Jefferson, third president
"Ideas must work though the brains and the arms of good and brave men,
or they are no better than dreams. "
-- Ralph Waldo Emerson, poet
"Man must search for what is right and let happiness come on its own. "
-- Johann Pestalozzi, educator
"I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph
over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who
conquers that fear."
-- Nelson Mandela, Civil Rights Leader
"If you are interested, you never have to look for new interests. They
come to you. When you are genuinely interested in one thing, it will
always lead to something else. "
-- Eleanor Roosevelt, first lady
"Far better is it to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs, even
though checkered by failure than to rank with those poor spirits who
neither enjoy much nor suffer much, because they live in a gray twilight
that knows not victory nor defeat. "
-- Theodore Roosevelt, 26th U.S. President
"I learned that we can do anything, but we can't do everything.. at
least not at the same time. So think of your priorities not in terms of
what activities you do, but when you do them. Timing is everything."
-- Dan Millman, Author
This is from Forbes.com
Nationally, home prices are falling, unemployment is on the rise and the economy is expected to grow slowly--or even contract--in the first half of the year.
But some cities are doing just fine.
Take Oklahoma City, Okla. With falling unemployment, one of the country's strongest housing markets, and solid growth in agriculture, energy and manufacturing, it looks best positioned among the nation's largest metropolitan areas to ride out the current crisis.
Affordable home prices that continue to rise. Its industries are growing; it can't hurt that the new AT&T (nyse: T - news - people ) was formed when San Antonio-based SBC Communications swallowed the old AT&T Corp. and BellSouth.
The others holding steady or improving include Austin, Texas; Houston; Charlotte, N.C.; Dallas; San Jose, Calif.; Raleigh, N.C.; Salt Lake City; and Seattle.
Behind The Numbers
To find them, Forbes.com examined the country's 50 largest metros and looked at several key measures.
We examined unemployment data supplied by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics for the year ending in February 2008 to see which areas are most adding or subtracting jobs. Next, we looked at the BLS data on job growth in non-farm payrolls, through February 2008, for construction, education and health services, financial activities, information, leisure and hospitality, manufacturing, natural resources and mining, professional and business services, trade, transportation and utilities, and the BLS's catch-all category, "other services."
We also took into account median home price data from the National Association of Realtors--from the fourth quarter of 2006 to the fourth quarter of 2007--to see which areas posted the largest annual gains. Our data don't account for the impact of declining sales in the first several months of this year.
Finally, our rankings were adjusted using data from a November 2007 report, "U.S. Metro Economies: The Mortgage Crisis," by the U.S. Conference of Mayors. It lists each city's estimated gross metropolitan product growth by projecting how rising foreclosures and falling home prices would affect overall levels of productivity in local economies.
Sunny Southern Skies
Texas cities fared best under these measures. San Antonio, Austin, Houston and Dallas-Fort Worth have benefited from historically lower home prices, which have been affordable to a large segment of the population. The availability of land--and, in some cases, little zoning--helped keep prices in these cities low. Instead of competing for homes, Texans could move to a new subdivision a little farther out.
What's more, all four boast falling unemployment rates, with Austin dropping from 3.8% to 3.6% and San Antonio from 4.3% to 4%
Cities that are expected to see growth in non-farm payrolls include Raleigh, which is expected to see 7.4% growth in professional and business services and 6% growth in education and health. In Salt Lake City, where the median home price rose 2.5% and unemployment, at 3.1%, is below the 5.1% national average, growth in education and health services is expected to be 5.5%.
How are you planning on weathering the impending recession? Weigh in. Add your thoughts in the Reader Comments section below.
Some cities have seen increasing home prices but otherwise continue to struggle. Buffalo and Rochester, N.Y., have seen home price growth (from a low base) but still contend with high unemployment--around 6%--and slow-growing or shrinking industries.
And in the San Jose area, the median home sale price is over $830,000. That's 11% higher than it was in the fourth quarter of 2006, helping to land the area at No. 4 on our list. Problem is, that growth has since cooled, and it remains to be seen whether pricey homes coupled with a 5.3% unemployment rate will cause trouble for homeowners this year.
To be sure, even in the most resilient cities, the mortgage crisis has caused suffering. People everywhere got into bad mortgages. Similarly, even in the most battered cities, the majority of people are employed and making their mortgage payments. The extent of recession or resilience is very much in the eye of the beholder, and this list represents only one of many ways to take a snapshot of economies that are standing tall.
In his statements to Congress' Joint Economic Committee earlier this month, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke predicted the economy would possibly move into recession in the first half of 2008 but begin to rebound in the second half.
6. Salt Lake City, Utah
Median home price: +2.5%
Unemployment: 3.1% (from 2.6%)
Key growth: Education and health services, +5.5%
Though Salt Lake City's unemployment rate is rising, it's still among the lowest of the country's 50 largest cities. The state is still creating jobs, just not as quickly as its labor force is growing. A November 2007 report from the U.S. Conference of Mayors projected that Salt Lake City would be one of the few large cities in the country not to suffer a decline in gross metropolitan product from the mortgage crisis.
This is from The Wall Street Journal
The Housing Crisis Is Over
By CYRIL MOULLE-BERTEAUX
May 6, 2008; Page A23
The dire headlines coming fast and furious in the financial and popular press suggest that the housing crisis is intensifying. Yet it is very likely that April 2008 will mark the bottom of the U.S. housing market. Yes, the housing market is bottoming right now. How can this be? For starters, a bottom does not mean that prices are about to return to the heady days of 2005. That probably won't happen for another 15 years. It just means that the trend is no longer getting worse, which is the critical factor.
Most people forget that the current housing bust is nearly three years old. Home sales peaked in July 2005. New home sales are down a staggering 63% from peak levels of 1.4 million. Housing starts have fallen more than 50% and, adjusted for population growth, are back to the trough levels of 1982. Furthermore, residential construction is close to 15-year lows at 3.8% of GDP; by the fourth quarter of this year, it will probably hit the lowest level ever. So what's going to stop the housing decline? Very simply, the same thing that caused the bust: affordability. The boom made housing unaffordable for many American families, especially first-time home buyers. During the 1990s and early 2000s, it took 19% of average monthly income to service a conforming mortgage on the average home purchased. By 2005 and 2006, it was absorbing 25% of monthly income. For first time buyers, it went from 29% of income to 37%. That just proved to be too much. Prices got so high that people who intended to actually live in the houses they purchased (as opposed to speculators) stopped buying. This caused the bubble to burst.
Since then, house prices have fallen 10%-15%, while incomes have kept growing (albeit more slowly recently) and mortgage rates have come down 70 basis points from their highs. As a result, it now takes 19% of monthly income for the average home buyer, and 31% of monthly income for the first-time home buyer, to purchase a house. In other words, homes on average are back to being as affordable as during the best of times in the 1990s. Numerous households that had been priced out of the market can now afford to get in.
The next question is: Even if home sales pick up, how can home prices stop falling with so many houses vacant and unsold? The flip but true answer: because they always do. In the past five major housing market corrections (and there were some big ones, such as in the early 1980s when home sales also fell by 50%-60% and prices fell 12%-15% in real terms), every time home sales bottomed, the pace of house-price declines halved within one or two months. The explanation is that by the time home sales stop declining, inventories of unsold homes have usually already started falling in absolute terms and begin to peak out in "months of supply" terms. That's the case right now: New home inventories peaked at 598,000 homes in July 2006, and stand at 482,000 homes as of the end of March. This inventory is equivalent to 11 months of supply, a 25-year high – but it is similar to 1974, 1982 and 1991 levels, which saw a subsequent slowing in home-price declines within the next six months.
Inventories are declining because construction activity has been falling for such a long time that home completions are now just about undershooting new home sales. In a few months, completions of new homes for sale could be undershooting new home sales by 50,000-100,000 annually. Inventories will drop even faster to 400,000 – or seven months of supply – by the end of 2008. This shift in inventories will have a significant impact on prices, although house prices won't stop falling entirely until inventories reach five months of supply sometime in 2009. A five-month supply has historically signaled tightness in the housing market.
Many pundits claim that house prices need to fall another 30% to bring them back in line with where they've been historically. This is usually based on an analysis of house prices adjusted for inflation: Real house prices are 30% above their 40-year, inflation-adjusted average, so they must fall 30%. This simplistic analysis is appealing on the surface, but is flawed for a variety of reasons. Most importantly, it neglects the fact that a great majority of Americans buy their houses with mortgages. And if one buys a house with a mortgage, the most important factor in deciding what to pay for the house is how much of one's income is required to be able to make the mortgage payments on the house. Today the rate on a 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage is 5.7%. Back in 1981, the rate hit 18.5%.
Comparing today's house prices to the 1970s or 1980s, when mortgage rates were stratospheric, is misguided and misleading. This is all good news for the broader economy. The housing bust has been subtracting a full percentage point from GDP for almost two years now, which is very large for a sector that represents less than 5% of economic activity.
When the rate of house-price declines halves, there will be a wholesale shift in markets' perceptions. All of a sudden, the expected value of the collateral (i.e. houses) for much of the lending that went on for the past decade will change. Right now, when valuing the collateral, market participants including banks are extrapolating the current pace of house price declines for another two to three years; this has a significant impact on the amount of delinquencies, foreclosures and credit losses that lenders are expected to face.
More home sales and smaller price declines means fewer homeowners will be underwater on their mortgages. They will thus have less incentive to walk away and opt for foreclosure. A milder house-price decline scenario could lead to increases in the market value of a lot of the securitized mortgages that have been responsible for $300 billion of write-downs in the past year. Even if write-backs do not occur, stabilizing collateral values will have a huge impact on the markets' perception of risk related to housing, the financial system, and the economy.
We are of course experiencing a serious housing bust, with serious economic consequences that are still unfolding. The odds are that the reverberations will lead to subtrend growth for a couple of years. Nonetheless, housing led us into this credit crisis and this recession. It is likely to lead us out. And that process is underway, right now.
Mr. Moulle-Berteaux is managing partner of Traxis Partners LP, a hedge fund firm based in New York.
This is from Van Eck>;<B< span>r>
Adrian Van Eck's Mortgage and Property Hotline
For: Thursday, May 1, 2008
NOW THAT BANKS HAVE BEEN STABILIZED WITH AN INJECTION OF FUNDS FROM THE FEDERAL RESERVE, ATTENTION IS BEING TURNED TO THOSE WHO WISH TO BUY A HOME OF THEIR OWN. PERSONAL SAVINGS IN AMERICA ARE MUCH LARGER THAN MOST PEOPLE REALIZE, SO THERE IS AMPLE CASH WAITING ON THE SIDELINES TO COVER FHA-INSURED MORTGAGE DOWN PAYMENTS AND CLOSING COSTS. THE REASON NO ONE KNOWS OF THESE LARGE SAVINGS ACCOUNT BALANCES IS THAT THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT ISSUES EACH MONTH A REPORT ON AMERICA'S NET SAVINGS RATE. THEY DID SO JUST TODAY, FOR EXAMPLE. THEY SAID THAT NET SAVINGS LAST MONTH DROPPED FROM 0.4% (FEBRUARY RATE) TO 0.2%. WHAT THEY DO NOT TELL YOU IS THAT THE REASON FOR THE DECLINE IS THAT THE FEDERAL DEFICIT EXPANDED LAST MONTH.
THE GOVERNMENT IN WASHINGTON HAS BEEN BORROWING MONEY AT A SCARY RATE, DESPITE CONSTANT PROMISES THAT THE DEFICIT WILL BE CUT IN HALF WITHIN A FEW YEARS. THEIR BORROWING IS DELETED FROM A DIFFERENT MEASURE, THE ONE CALLED NET PRIVATE SAVINGS. THERE YOU WILL FIND TENS OF BILLIONS OF DOLLARS. AS I SAID, THE SAVERS IN OUR SOCIETY HAVE ALWAYS FINANCED THE BORROWERS. BUT WHEN THE GOVERNMENT RUNS BIG DEFICITS THAT TIPS THE BALANCE. IT PROBABLY ALSO ACCOUNTS FOR SOME PART OF THE PRESSURE HOLDING UP LONG-TERM INTEREST RATES, INCLUDING MORTGAGES… ALTHOUGH TO BE FAIR MORTGAGE RATES ARE STILL IN THE LOWER END OF A RANGE GOING BACK YEARS.
THE BIGGEST PROBLEM TODAY, OTHER THAN THE FACT THAT POLITICIANS RUNNING FOR OFFICE ARE SCARING THE DICKENS OUT OF PEOPLE WITH FALSE WARNINGS THAT WE ARE HEADING INTO A NEW GREAT DEPRESSION, IS THAT BANKS ARE HOARDING EVERY PENNY THEY CAN – JUST IN CASE THEY MIGHT NEED THE MONEY LATER ON. WE HAVE ALREADY SEEN HOW BANKS ARE PULLING OUT OF THE FEDERALLY-INSURED STUDENT LOAN PROGRAM. THIS CAUSED A PANIC ATTACK IN CONGRESS AND THERE WAS PRESSURE ON THE FED ITSELF TO DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT.
AS WE HAVE BEEN TELLING YOU FOR MONTHS, THE LEGISLATION THAT CREATED THE FED IN 1913 GAVE THE FED AWESOME POWERS AS A LENDER OF LAST RESORT. THEY HAVE THE POWER TO LEND MONEY DIRECTLY WHENEVER THEY DECREE AN EMERGENCY SITUATION TO BE IN FORCE. THIS CERTAINLY WOULD SUFFICE AS AN EMERGENCY. BUT CHAIRMAN BEN BERNANKE WOULD LIKE TO AVOID DECLARING ONE, IF THAT IS POSSIBLE. IT MIGHT TEND TO SCARE PEOPLE AND UNDO EVERYTHING HE HAS BEEN WORKING TO ACHIEVE.
SO I WILL TELL YOU WHAT, IN MY OPINION, THE GOOD CHAIRMAN IS LIKELY TO DO NOW. HE IS MOST APT TO QUIETLY SEND THE WORD TO INDIVIDUAL BANK CEO'S, HINTING THAT HE WOULD PERSONALLY BE PLEASED IF HE GOT WORD THAT THEY HAD LOOSENED UP AND HAD STARTED LENDING MONEY TO THOSE WHO CAN PASS NORMAL CREDIT MUSTER. WHY WOULD THEY RSP0ND TO SUCH A GENTLE REQUEST? I'LL TELL YOU WHY. THEY KNOW THAT HIS QUIET MANNER IN PUBLIC COVERS UP A PERSONA CAPABLE OF ICE-COLD ACTION. HE ONCE TOLD A REPORTER THAT AFTER SERVING AS CHAIRMAN OF AN IVY LEAGUE ECONOMICS DEPARTMENT, THE IDEA OF RUNNING THE FED SEEMED ALMOST LIKE CHILD'S PLAY.
THE FED DID NOT PASS MONEY OUT TO BANKS LIKE LOLLIPOPS. THE CASH WAS FORWARDED UNDER STRICTLY TEMPORARY CONDITIONS THAT CAN BE RENEWED AT THE FED'S DISCRETION. THERE IS COLLATERAL INVOLVED. BUT SOME OF IT MAY BE, SHALL WE SAY, OF QUESTIONABLE QUALITY.
BANKS HAVE BY NOW HEARD THAT BERNANKE FANCIES HIMSELF AS A MODERN DAY VERSION OF THE FIRST MAN TO HEAD THE FED IN 1913. THAT MAN, ACTING AS THE TOP AIDE TO J. PIERPONT MORGAN, HAD PERSONALLY ENGINEERED THE TOTAL DESTRUCTION OF THE ONCE-HUGE AND FAMOUS KNICKERBOCKER TRUST DURING THE 1907 PANIC. ONCE HE DID THAT, THE OTHER BANKS JUMPED TO OBEY ANY SUGGESTIONS HE AND J. P. MORGAN MIGHT HAVE FOR THEM.
I DARE SAY NO BANK WISHES TO BE THE ONE BERNANKE USES AS AN EXAMPLE OF HOW RUTHLESS HE CAN BE BEHIND CLOSED DOORS. IF HE WITHDRAWS THE FED MONEY LOANED TO ONE OF THESE BANKS, HANDS BACK THEIR COLLATERAL AND TELLS THE PRESS WHAT HE HAS DONE, THEY MIGHT EXPERIENCE A DISASTROUS RUN BY DEPOSITORS – ENDING THEIR DAYS. SO MORTGAGE MONEY WILL BEGIN FLOWING AND HOMES WILL START SELLING AGAIN. OUR LATEST REAL ESTATE LETTER SAYS WE THINK THE FIRST MONEY WILL FLOW OUT TO REALTORS TO BUY EXISTING HOMES. THE NEXT STEP WILL BE TO FINANCE THOSE WHO WANT TO BUY FORECLOSED HOMES, CLEARING THEM OFF THE MARKET. AND THIRD WILL COME MONEY FOR THE PURCHASE OF NEW HOMES.
NOW I REALIZE THIS GOES COUNTER TO THE CONSENSUS THINKING ON WALL STREET AND ELSEWHERE. I AM SORRY FOR THEM. THEY – FOR THE MOST PART - DO NOT HAVE A CLUE WHAT THEY ARE TALKING ABOUT. MOST OF THEM WERE SUPER BULLISH ABOUT HOUSING AT THE VERY PEAK OF GREENSPAN'S HOUSING BOOM IN 2005. WE WERE BEARISH, AS YOU KNOW – PREDICTING A "TIME-OUT" IN HOUSING, WITH HOME PRICE DECLINES. WELL, THE TIME-OUT HAS DONE ITS JOB AND NOW I BELIEVE YOU WILL SEE THE FIRST SIGNS OF A RETURN TO NORMALCY.
WE ARE IN A SITUATION THAT REMINDS ME OF THE BOTTOM OF THE LAST HOUSING RECESSION. WALL STREET WAS NOT ALONE IN 2002 IN EXPECTING HOUSING TO SLIDE FURTHER IN SALES AND PRICES, EVEN AFTER THE RECESSION LOWS WERE HIT. THE SHOCK OF SEPTEMBER 11, 2001 WAS STILL VERY MUCH WITH US AND THUS MADE MANY PEOPLE FRIGHTENED OF WHAT COULD BE COMING IN THE ECONOMY.
BUT THEN A STRANGE THING BEGAN HAPPENING. PEOPLE BEGAN FLOCKING ONCE AGAIN TO OPEN HOUSES AND PUTTING MONEY DOWN ON HOMES THEY CHOSE. THE VIEW REPORTED IN THE PRESS WAS THAT THIS COULD NOT LAST, AND THAT IT WOULD GIVE WAY TO A SERIOUS COLLAPSE BUT THAT DID NOT HAPPEN. SLOWLY BUT SURELY THE DEMAND FOR HOUSING EXPANDED. AND THAT EXPANSION – SLOW BUT SURE – WOULD LAST FOR YEARS. UNFORTUNATELY, NEW SPECULATIVE ELEMENTS CAME INTO THE MARKET IN 2003 AND CAUSED A RAPID ESCALATION OF SALES, MANY OF WHICH PROVED TO BE UNWISE AND UNREAL. TODAY WE ARE HALFWAY THROUGH DIGESTING THE EXTRA HOMES BUILT IN THAT SPECULATIVE PERIOD. AND NEW DEMAND COULD FINISH THE JOB. MORE NEXT WEEK. ADRIAN VAN ECK.
As you all can tell, I stay up on whats going down in the market place. If you want a true pro to help you buy or sell your home, why don't you give me a call.
The only realtor you will ever want!
All "Betts" on Brian!
435-513-0973 C
801-858-3080 O
Wednesday, April 2, 2008
My Life as a Realtor
It's been a while. Sorry, just really busy. I have started a program called The S.M.A.R.T. program. So far our group is the highest Per Person Production, and that is thanks to you!
For thoses who are keeping track, the count is $797,500.00 closed for the year.
I ask for your help today. I need listings! Any Listings. I need 9 more in the next month to hit my goals. Call me and give your homes to list. The listing I got last Tue. it was Under Contract by Fri. 3 Days!! Help me out with this.
Here are some quotes and some info about the Mortgage Crises!
An additional $200 billion in financing is headed to the battered mortgage markets after federal regulators Wednesday said they would allow finance giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to reduce the capital they keep on hand.
The move is the latest attempt by policymakers to ease the housing crisis, although it raises risks faced by two government-sponsored firms that are crucial to the functioning of global financial markets.
The rule change was announced by the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight, (OFHEO), a normally low-profile agency that sets rules for the two government sponsored companies that between them hold or guarantee nearly $5 trillion in mortgages.
Fannie (FNM) and Freddie (FRE, Fortune 500) are two publicly-traded companies set up by the federal government nearly 40 years ago to help provide financing needed by lenders looking to make home loans. With the change, they are expected to buy or guarantee $2 trillion in mortgages. That is about $200 billion more than they would have without the rule changes announced Wednesday.
Kieran Quinn, the chairman of the Mortgage Bankers Association, said the new rules are a crucial step in reestablishing the pipeline of funds that flow from investors through lenders to those buying a home or refinancing a mortgage.
"This will enhance lenders' ability to offer financing to a wide variety of borrowers," said Quinn. "This should help keep some at-risk borrowers in their homes which will help stabilize the real estate market."
Relief for troubled markets
Both firms have been working in recent years to clean up accounting problems. During that process, OFHEO has been requiring them to keep 30% extra capital in reserve. The rule change allows them to reduce that excess capital to only 20%.
Even as the market for mortgage-backed securities has melted down over the past year, the securities backed by the so-called conforming loans that met Freddie and Fannie criteria were considered the gold standard.
By the fourth quarter of 2007, the two firms between them were responsible for nearly three-quarters of mortgage backed securities on the market.
But the loans that backed those securities could not be made to borrowers who had less than top credit scores, did not have significant equity in their home or needed loans for more than $417,000.
Congress recently raised the limits for the loans that Fannie and Freddie can buy or insure up to $729,750, increasing the risks for the firm and the demands on their capital.
The new loan rules were seen as a necessary step to end the credit squeeze that has hammered home values across the nation and caused billions in losses and writedowns on Wall Street, raising the risk of a recession.
Change in thinking
The lower capital limits are important, not just for the additional $200 billion they make available, but for the change of thinking it signals in the Bush administration, said Jaret Seiberg, financial services analyst for policy research firm Stanford Group.
"The psychology is quite critical here," said Seiberg. "There is now an increasing view in the market that the administration understands the seriousness of the crisis and is willing to take steps it previously dismissed."
In recent weeks, Wall Street's appetite for mortgage-backed securities insured by Fannie and Freddie started to wane. That weakening demand helped force mortgage rates higher than they would have been.
"That showed that investors were starting to get nervous," said Seiberg. "That could have had a devastating impact on not just the mortgage market but the economy. Any step to make sure that market remains liquid is an important one."
But there are risks involved in Fannie and Freddie lowering their capital reserves and in buying larger loans. If problems in the housing and mortgage markets continue to deepen, it could in the worst case scenario lead to a federal government bailout of Fannie and Freddie. Seiberg believes that's a risk worth taking given the need to inject more cash into the market.
"There's a trade off when you lower capital levels, you take on more risk," said Seiberg. "That's unavoidable. The question going forward is whether Freddie and Fannie can manage that risk."
But some argued the risks are not worth it and this was the wrong move. "In truth, both Fannie and Freddie are already in a more precarious position than politicians or investors would like to admit," said Peter Schiff, president of Euro Pacific Capital, a brokerage firm focusing on overseas investments.
"Lowering reserve requirements is simply an irresponsible attempt to postpone the pain of falling home prices, but it will simply result in greater indebtedness and a deeper recession."
OFHEO Director James Lockhart said in a statement he was confident that both firms have resolved their accounting issues enough to allow the agency to lower its previous capital requirements. He pointed out that as part of this initiative, both companies announced that they will begin the process to raise significant additional capital.
"Let me be clear - both companies have prudent cushions above the OFHEO-directed capital requirements and have increased their reserves," he said. "We believe they can play an even more positive role in providing the stability and liquidity the markets need right now."
Fannie Mae CEO Daniel Mudd said while the rules changes are not a complete solution for the embattled housing and home loan markets, he believes it will help, even though the two firms will continue to focus on prime loans to borrowers with good credit and a large amount of equity in their homes.
"We hope it will help restart the housing engine that powers our economy," he said
"In the realm of ideas everything depends on enthusiasm... in the real
world all rests on perseverance."
-- Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Author
"Fear melts when you take action towards a goal you really want."
-- Robert G Allen, Author
"Practice Golden-Rule 1 of Management in everything you do. Manage
others the way you would like to be managed."
-- Brian Tracy, Author
"The more you seek security, the less of it you have. But the more you
seek opportunity, the more likely it is that you will achieve the
security that you desire."
-- Brian Tracy, Author
"Ability may get you to the top, but it takes character to keep you
there. "
-- John Wooden, basketball coach
"Formulate and stamp indelibly on your mind a mental picture of yourself
as succeeding. Hold this picture tenaciously. Never permit it to fade.
Your mind will seek to develop the picture."
-- Norman Vincent Peale, Author
"Every choice you make has an end result."
-- Zig Ziglar, Author
"Character is much easier kept than recovered. "
-- Thomas Paine, author
"Genius is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration. Accordingly a genius is
often merely a talented person who has done all of his or her homework."
-- Thomas Edison, Inventor
"Act that your principle of action might safely be made a law for the
whole world. "
-- Immanuel Kant, Philosopher
"I find my greatest pleasure, and so my reward, in the work that
precedes what the world calls success. "
-- Thomas Edison, inventor
For thoses who are keeping track, the count is $797,500.00 closed for the year.
I ask for your help today. I need listings! Any Listings. I need 9 more in the next month to hit my goals. Call me and give your homes to list. The listing I got last Tue. it was Under Contract by Fri. 3 Days!! Help me out with this.
Here are some quotes and some info about the Mortgage Crises!
An additional $200 billion in financing is headed to the battered mortgage markets after federal regulators Wednesday said they would allow finance giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to reduce the capital they keep on hand.
The move is the latest attempt by policymakers to ease the housing crisis, although it raises risks faced by two government-sponsored firms that are crucial to the functioning of global financial markets.
The rule change was announced by the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight, (OFHEO), a normally low-profile agency that sets rules for the two government sponsored companies that between them hold or guarantee nearly $5 trillion in mortgages.
Fannie (FNM) and Freddie (FRE, Fortune 500) are two publicly-traded companies set up by the federal government nearly 40 years ago to help provide financing needed by lenders looking to make home loans. With the change, they are expected to buy or guarantee $2 trillion in mortgages. That is about $200 billion more than they would have without the rule changes announced Wednesday.
Kieran Quinn, the chairman of the Mortgage Bankers Association, said the new rules are a crucial step in reestablishing the pipeline of funds that flow from investors through lenders to those buying a home or refinancing a mortgage.
"This will enhance lenders' ability to offer financing to a wide variety of borrowers," said Quinn. "This should help keep some at-risk borrowers in their homes which will help stabilize the real estate market."
Relief for troubled markets
Both firms have been working in recent years to clean up accounting problems. During that process, OFHEO has been requiring them to keep 30% extra capital in reserve. The rule change allows them to reduce that excess capital to only 20%.
Even as the market for mortgage-backed securities has melted down over the past year, the securities backed by the so-called conforming loans that met Freddie and Fannie criteria were considered the gold standard.
By the fourth quarter of 2007, the two firms between them were responsible for nearly three-quarters of mortgage backed securities on the market.
But the loans that backed those securities could not be made to borrowers who had less than top credit scores, did not have significant equity in their home or needed loans for more than $417,000.
Congress recently raised the limits for the loans that Fannie and Freddie can buy or insure up to $729,750, increasing the risks for the firm and the demands on their capital.
The new loan rules were seen as a necessary step to end the credit squeeze that has hammered home values across the nation and caused billions in losses and writedowns on Wall Street, raising the risk of a recession.
Change in thinking
The lower capital limits are important, not just for the additional $200 billion they make available, but for the change of thinking it signals in the Bush administration, said Jaret Seiberg, financial services analyst for policy research firm Stanford Group.
"The psychology is quite critical here," said Seiberg. "There is now an increasing view in the market that the administration understands the seriousness of the crisis and is willing to take steps it previously dismissed."
In recent weeks, Wall Street's appetite for mortgage-backed securities insured by Fannie and Freddie started to wane. That weakening demand helped force mortgage rates higher than they would have been.
"That showed that investors were starting to get nervous," said Seiberg. "That could have had a devastating impact on not just the mortgage market but the economy. Any step to make sure that market remains liquid is an important one."
But there are risks involved in Fannie and Freddie lowering their capital reserves and in buying larger loans. If problems in the housing and mortgage markets continue to deepen, it could in the worst case scenario lead to a federal government bailout of Fannie and Freddie. Seiberg believes that's a risk worth taking given the need to inject more cash into the market.
"There's a trade off when you lower capital levels, you take on more risk," said Seiberg. "That's unavoidable. The question going forward is whether Freddie and Fannie can manage that risk."
But some argued the risks are not worth it and this was the wrong move. "In truth, both Fannie and Freddie are already in a more precarious position than politicians or investors would like to admit," said Peter Schiff, president of Euro Pacific Capital, a brokerage firm focusing on overseas investments.
"Lowering reserve requirements is simply an irresponsible attempt to postpone the pain of falling home prices, but it will simply result in greater indebtedness and a deeper recession."
OFHEO Director James Lockhart said in a statement he was confident that both firms have resolved their accounting issues enough to allow the agency to lower its previous capital requirements. He pointed out that as part of this initiative, both companies announced that they will begin the process to raise significant additional capital.
"Let me be clear - both companies have prudent cushions above the OFHEO-directed capital requirements and have increased their reserves," he said. "We believe they can play an even more positive role in providing the stability and liquidity the markets need right now."
Fannie Mae CEO Daniel Mudd said while the rules changes are not a complete solution for the embattled housing and home loan markets, he believes it will help, even though the two firms will continue to focus on prime loans to borrowers with good credit and a large amount of equity in their homes.
"We hope it will help restart the housing engine that powers our economy," he said
"In the realm of ideas everything depends on enthusiasm... in the real
world all rests on perseverance."
-- Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Author
"Fear melts when you take action towards a goal you really want."
-- Robert G Allen, Author
"Practice Golden-Rule 1 of Management in everything you do. Manage
others the way you would like to be managed."
-- Brian Tracy, Author
"The more you seek security, the less of it you have. But the more you
seek opportunity, the more likely it is that you will achieve the
security that you desire."
-- Brian Tracy, Author
"Ability may get you to the top, but it takes character to keep you
there. "
-- John Wooden, basketball coach
"Formulate and stamp indelibly on your mind a mental picture of yourself
as succeeding. Hold this picture tenaciously. Never permit it to fade.
Your mind will seek to develop the picture."
-- Norman Vincent Peale, Author
"Every choice you make has an end result."
-- Zig Ziglar, Author
"Character is much easier kept than recovered. "
-- Thomas Paine, author
"Genius is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration. Accordingly a genius is
often merely a talented person who has done all of his or her homework."
-- Thomas Edison, Inventor
"Act that your principle of action might safely be made a law for the
whole world. "
-- Immanuel Kant, Philosopher
"I find my greatest pleasure, and so my reward, in the work that
precedes what the world calls success. "
-- Thomas Edison, inventor
Tuesday, March 4, 2008
My life as a Realtor
I just sent out a massive mail and email campaign. I have 1200 leads to follow up on. I will have my first buyers agent tomorrow. She will help A LOT! She will be following up for me on most of my leads. I will have her door knocking and calling. She will be a huge benefit to my team.
We have 2 closings today. They will happen at 4:30 today. This one has been a learning experience. It should be done today.
For those who have been keeping count the total will be $617,500.00 for the year. We should have another closing before the 10th. I will keep you posted.
Here is a story I came across for your enjoyment!
More Later!
What Will You Be Doing 7 Years From Now?
I graduated from Brazosport High School in Freeport, Texas in May 1972. Not dressed
in white (honors), but I graduated.
That summer like the previous summer, I worked as a longshoreman loading corn, flour
and corn sacks weighing 50 to 140 lbs. and 900 lbs. caustic soda drums on freight
ships bound to other countries at nearby Brazos Harbor and Dow Chemical A2 Dock.
This was one of the better paying jobs in the area. It was grueling, hard, heavy
work, but I loved it at the time. My father had been doing this job most of his life
since it paid well.
Fall came around and I had already decided that I did not want to make my living as
a longshoreman. Work was inconsistent and when it was there it only went to the ones
with the most seniority, unless there was too much. There was very little
opportunity for a better job when you got older.
I had always heard that a college education would get you a better job and decided
to find out. So I went to nearby Brazosport College and set up an appointment with a
counselor.
I got to his office at the appointed time and he asked me what work or profession
interested me the most. I had taken Auto Mechanics I & II during my junior and
senior years in high school and asked him if Brazosport College had an auto
mechanics program.
He said "no." I asked him if they had anything similar to it. He said that the
Machine Tools Technology program was very similar and described the program to me.
I was very interested and asked him how long it would take if I went full time. He
said "4 years." I said I couldn't go full time since I am working (whenever work was
available).
I asked how long would it take if I go part time? He said "7 years." I was shocked.
I said, "Man, I'll be old then, I'll be 25 years old. I don't thing so."
He asked me, "what did you say you did for a living right now?"
I told him again that I worked as a longshoreman throwing bags and manhandling
drums. Then he bent over his desk and looked me square in the eye and asked me the
most significant words I will never forget in my life:
"IF YOU DON'T TAKE ANY CLASSES. WHAT WILL YOU BE DOING 7 YEARS FROM NOW?"
These words hit me like a ton of bricks! I sheepishly told him that I would be doing
the same thing. I signed up for the classes right then and there.
These prophetic words have inspired many of my relatives and friends. The sun will
rise and fall 365 days a year. What you choose to do in between will determine many
things in your life.
This story alone has inspired relatives and friends to realize an age-old truth:
Time will go on regardless and it waits on nobody.
Years later, I told a co-worker this story. He got inspired enough that he went on
and got 3 different degrees in computers in less than 7 years! He said afterwards,
"7 years ago I would've been saying to myself, 'If only I had the opportunity.'"
TIME WILL PASS REGARDLESS!
Augie Mendoza
"If money is your hope for independence you will never have it. The only
real security that a man will have in this world is a reserve of
knowledge, experience, and ability."
-- Henry Ford, Founder of the Ford Motor Company
"A clear vision, backed by definite plans, gives you a tremendous
feeling of confidence and personal power."
-- Brian Tracy, Author
"High achievement always takes place in the framework of high
expectation."
-- Charles Kettering, Inventor
"Doing what you love is the cornerstone of having abundance in your
life."
-- Wayne Dyer, Self-help Author
"You can become an even more excellent person by constantly setting
higher and higher standards for yourself and then by doing everything
possible to live up to those standards."
-- Brian Tracy, Author
"Belief is the ignition switch that gets you off the launching pad. "
-- Denis Waitley, writer
"In proportion to the development of his individuality, each person
becomes more valuable to others. "
-- John Stuart Mill, philosopher
"Customers today want the very most and the very best for the very least
amount of money, and on the best terms. Only the individuals and
companies that provide absolutely excellent products and services at
absolutely excellent prices will survive."
-- Brian Tracy, Author
"I believe through learning and application of what you learn, you can
solve any problem, overcome any obstacle and achieve any goal that you
can set for yourself."
-- Brian Tracy, Author
"You have to put in many, many, many tiny efforts that nobody sees or
appreciates before you achieve anything worthwhile."
-- Brian Tracy, Author
"Pray as if everything depended upon God, and work as if everything
depended upon man. "
-- Francis Spellman, clergyman
We have 2 closings today. They will happen at 4:30 today. This one has been a learning experience. It should be done today.
For those who have been keeping count the total will be $617,500.00 for the year. We should have another closing before the 10th. I will keep you posted.
Here is a story I came across for your enjoyment!
More Later!
What Will You Be Doing 7 Years From Now?
I graduated from Brazosport High School in Freeport, Texas in May 1972. Not dressed
in white (honors), but I graduated.
That summer like the previous summer, I worked as a longshoreman loading corn, flour
and corn sacks weighing 50 to 140 lbs. and 900 lbs. caustic soda drums on freight
ships bound to other countries at nearby Brazos Harbor and Dow Chemical A2 Dock.
This was one of the better paying jobs in the area. It was grueling, hard, heavy
work, but I loved it at the time. My father had been doing this job most of his life
since it paid well.
Fall came around and I had already decided that I did not want to make my living as
a longshoreman. Work was inconsistent and when it was there it only went to the ones
with the most seniority, unless there was too much. There was very little
opportunity for a better job when you got older.
I had always heard that a college education would get you a better job and decided
to find out. So I went to nearby Brazosport College and set up an appointment with a
counselor.
I got to his office at the appointed time and he asked me what work or profession
interested me the most. I had taken Auto Mechanics I & II during my junior and
senior years in high school and asked him if Brazosport College had an auto
mechanics program.
He said "no." I asked him if they had anything similar to it. He said that the
Machine Tools Technology program was very similar and described the program to me.
I was very interested and asked him how long it would take if I went full time. He
said "4 years." I said I couldn't go full time since I am working (whenever work was
available).
I asked how long would it take if I go part time? He said "7 years." I was shocked.
I said, "Man, I'll be old then, I'll be 25 years old. I don't thing so."
He asked me, "what did you say you did for a living right now?"
I told him again that I worked as a longshoreman throwing bags and manhandling
drums. Then he bent over his desk and looked me square in the eye and asked me the
most significant words I will never forget in my life:
"IF YOU DON'T TAKE ANY CLASSES. WHAT WILL YOU BE DOING 7 YEARS FROM NOW?"
These words hit me like a ton of bricks! I sheepishly told him that I would be doing
the same thing. I signed up for the classes right then and there.
These prophetic words have inspired many of my relatives and friends. The sun will
rise and fall 365 days a year. What you choose to do in between will determine many
things in your life.
This story alone has inspired relatives and friends to realize an age-old truth:
Time will go on regardless and it waits on nobody.
Years later, I told a co-worker this story. He got inspired enough that he went on
and got 3 different degrees in computers in less than 7 years! He said afterwards,
"7 years ago I would've been saying to myself, 'If only I had the opportunity.'"
TIME WILL PASS REGARDLESS!
Augie Mendoza
"If money is your hope for independence you will never have it. The only
real security that a man will have in this world is a reserve of
knowledge, experience, and ability."
-- Henry Ford, Founder of the Ford Motor Company
"A clear vision, backed by definite plans, gives you a tremendous
feeling of confidence and personal power."
-- Brian Tracy, Author
"High achievement always takes place in the framework of high
expectation."
-- Charles Kettering, Inventor
"Doing what you love is the cornerstone of having abundance in your
life."
-- Wayne Dyer, Self-help Author
"You can become an even more excellent person by constantly setting
higher and higher standards for yourself and then by doing everything
possible to live up to those standards."
-- Brian Tracy, Author
"Belief is the ignition switch that gets you off the launching pad. "
-- Denis Waitley, writer
"In proportion to the development of his individuality, each person
becomes more valuable to others. "
-- John Stuart Mill, philosopher
"Customers today want the very most and the very best for the very least
amount of money, and on the best terms. Only the individuals and
companies that provide absolutely excellent products and services at
absolutely excellent prices will survive."
-- Brian Tracy, Author
"I believe through learning and application of what you learn, you can
solve any problem, overcome any obstacle and achieve any goal that you
can set for yourself."
-- Brian Tracy, Author
"You have to put in many, many, many tiny efforts that nobody sees or
appreciates before you achieve anything worthwhile."
-- Brian Tracy, Author
"Pray as if everything depended upon God, and work as if everything
depended upon man. "
-- Francis Spellman, clergyman
Monday, March 3, 2008
My Life as a Realtor
How busy can you be? We will have 3 closings this week alone! It is amazing how quickly things come together when you work. I have been sending out Mail, Email and calling. I have a great big goal and I need everyone help in achieving it. ARE YOU WITH ME???
We will close $160k tomorrow and $180k Fri or Mon. I need two more this month to help with my goals. Last month I was one of 4 top producers in my office with 2 closed. This month I want to be #1 with 5 closed. Can you help me? Yes You Can!!
I will let you know who it all works out! More later on our quest to $50 Mill!
Here is something I received from Keller Williams International
It’s time to get potential home-owners to go ahead and buy in this so-called “buyers' market”. While today’s market plays to their advantage, buyers, who should be swooping in to make the most of reduced housing costs and favorable interest rates, are sitting by, waiting. When the market turns, today’s bargains will be yesterday’s missed opportunities.
This is Real! Let me know If I can help anyone you know out!
"One of the virtues of being very young is that you don't let the facts
get in the way of your imagination. "
-- Sam Levenson, humorist
"Talent is cheaper than table salt. What separates the talented
individual from the successful one is a lot of hard work. "
-- Stephen King, author
"Always think outside the box and embrace opportunities that appear,
wherever they might be."
-- Lakshmi Mittal, CEO of Arcelor Mittal
"If you are not moving closer to what you want in sales (or in life),
you probably aren't doing enough asking."
-- Jack Canfield, Inspirational Self Help Author and Success Coach
"Security is mostly a superstition. It does not exist in nature.Life is
either a daring adventure or nothing. "
-- Helen Keller, lecturer
"An enterprising person is one who sees opportunity in all areas of
life."
-- Jim Rohn, Motivational Speaker
"Your attitude, not your aptitude, will determine your altitude."
-- Zig Ziglar, Author
"Failure is the opportunity to begin again, more intelligently."
-- Henry Ford, Founder of the Ford Motor Company
"I enjoy every opportunity and live every moment. And that is why I have
no regrets. It's when you are not scared of losing that you win
everything."
-- Shailendra Singh, Vice President, Sequoia Capital
"Do not let what you cannot do interfere with what you can do."
-- John Wooden, Basketball Hall of Famer
"Opportunities are not offered. They must be wrested and worked for. And
this calls for perseverance..and courage. "
-- Indira Gandhi, Indian prime minister
We will close $160k tomorrow and $180k Fri or Mon. I need two more this month to help with my goals. Last month I was one of 4 top producers in my office with 2 closed. This month I want to be #1 with 5 closed. Can you help me? Yes You Can!!
I will let you know who it all works out! More later on our quest to $50 Mill!
Here is something I received from Keller Williams International
It’s time to get potential home-owners to go ahead and buy in this so-called “buyers' market”. While today’s market plays to their advantage, buyers, who should be swooping in to make the most of reduced housing costs and favorable interest rates, are sitting by, waiting. When the market turns, today’s bargains will be yesterday’s missed opportunities.
This is Real! Let me know If I can help anyone you know out!
"One of the virtues of being very young is that you don't let the facts
get in the way of your imagination. "
-- Sam Levenson, humorist
"Talent is cheaper than table salt. What separates the talented
individual from the successful one is a lot of hard work. "
-- Stephen King, author
"Always think outside the box and embrace opportunities that appear,
wherever they might be."
-- Lakshmi Mittal, CEO of Arcelor Mittal
"If you are not moving closer to what you want in sales (or in life),
you probably aren't doing enough asking."
-- Jack Canfield, Inspirational Self Help Author and Success Coach
"Security is mostly a superstition. It does not exist in nature.Life is
either a daring adventure or nothing. "
-- Helen Keller, lecturer
"An enterprising person is one who sees opportunity in all areas of
life."
-- Jim Rohn, Motivational Speaker
"Your attitude, not your aptitude, will determine your altitude."
-- Zig Ziglar, Author
"Failure is the opportunity to begin again, more intelligently."
-- Henry Ford, Founder of the Ford Motor Company
"I enjoy every opportunity and live every moment. And that is why I have
no regrets. It's when you are not scared of losing that you win
everything."
-- Shailendra Singh, Vice President, Sequoia Capital
"Do not let what you cannot do interfere with what you can do."
-- John Wooden, Basketball Hall of Famer
"Opportunities are not offered. They must be wrested and worked for. And
this calls for perseverance..and courage. "
-- Indira Gandhi, Indian prime minister
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
My Life as a Realtor
Hi all! We had another closing today. Should have a few more next week. Here is a great story. On our way to $50 Mill!
I got the 4th quarter market report for all interested. Email me!
In nature, there are general rules to surviving a bear attack. Bears will
attack when they are surprised or sense danger. The best way to avoid an
attack is to avoid the bear. If you can't avoid them, make sure they know
you are there.
Bears rarely look for confrontation, so call out and make lots of noise
until you enter a clear, safe area! In most cases, when you do, the bear
will move off trail and watch you pass by.
You may be thinking, "Gee, thanks John, but I hate camping!"
Well, there is another type of bear we need to watch and it acts much the
same.
Yale economist, Robert Shiller, predicted the current real estate collapse
in 2005. Many refused to believe it was possible. Yet look at just two
recent news stories...
"Last week, Countrywide Mortgage said that 7% of its borrowers were in
default. Last year the company was worth $24 billion but Bank of America
plans to buy it for $4 billion. 'We expect continued weakness in housing
throughout 2008 … and rising delinquencies and defaults continue to
increase,' said Ken Lewis, CEO of Bank of America."
"Citigroup Inc. posted the biggest loss in the bank's 196-year history as
surging defaults on home loans forced it to write down the value of
subprime-mortgage investments by $18 billion. A fourth-quarter net loss of
$9.83 billion compared with a profit of $5.1 billion a year earlier."
My friends, we are in bear territory.
There is plenty of "surprise" in the economy and certainly a "sense of
danger." You can survive if you know how to properly "call out" and "make
noise" so the bear will watch you pass by unharmed.
As I've mentioned in past emails, I've started a national marketing
campaign for my new program, The Real Estate Inner Circle. It's a group
designed to help real estate professionals survive this bear attack and
actually thrive in it, while other real estate professionals get eaten
alive.
Tomorrow, at 12:00 EST, I will be conducting the first conference call in
this campaign. I will provide exciting and powerful information about
surviving this market.
I am inviting you to join this call. If you have a specific question,
please submit it in advance and I'll do my best to answer as many
questions as I can.
"The principle is competing against yourself. It's about
self-improvement, about being better than you were the day before. "
-- Steve Young, football player
"You always pass failure on the way to success."
-- Mickey Rooney, actor
"You have to expect things of yourself before you can do them. "
-- Michael Jordan, basketball star
"There is at least one point in the history of any company when you have
to change dramatically to rise to the next level of performance. Miss
that moment, and you start to decline."
-- Andy Grove, Intel CEO
"It is not the strongest of the species that survive, nor the most
intelligent, but the one most responsive to change."
-- Charles Darwin, scientist
"The path of least resistance is the path of the loser. "
-- H.G. Wells, author
"There are only two options regarding commitment. You're either in or
out. There's no such thing as a life in-between. "
-- Pat Riley, basketball coach
"Self-trust is the first secret of success. "
-- Ralph Waldo Emerson, poet
"The very essence of leadership is that you have to have vision. You
can't blow an uncertain trumpet. "
-- Theodor Hesburgh, Notre Dame president
"Work is not man's punishment.
It is his reward and his strength and his pleasure."
-- George Sand, novelist
I got the 4th quarter market report for all interested. Email me!
In nature, there are general rules to surviving a bear attack. Bears will
attack when they are surprised or sense danger. The best way to avoid an
attack is to avoid the bear. If you can't avoid them, make sure they know
you are there.
Bears rarely look for confrontation, so call out and make lots of noise
until you enter a clear, safe area! In most cases, when you do, the bear
will move off trail and watch you pass by.
You may be thinking, "Gee, thanks John, but I hate camping!"
Well, there is another type of bear we need to watch and it acts much the
same.
Yale economist, Robert Shiller, predicted the current real estate collapse
in 2005. Many refused to believe it was possible. Yet look at just two
recent news stories...
"Last week, Countrywide Mortgage said that 7% of its borrowers were in
default. Last year the company was worth $24 billion but Bank of America
plans to buy it for $4 billion. 'We expect continued weakness in housing
throughout 2008 … and rising delinquencies and defaults continue to
increase,' said Ken Lewis, CEO of Bank of America."
"Citigroup Inc. posted the biggest loss in the bank's 196-year history as
surging defaults on home loans forced it to write down the value of
subprime-mortgage investments by $18 billion. A fourth-quarter net loss of
$9.83 billion compared with a profit of $5.1 billion a year earlier."
My friends, we are in bear territory.
There is plenty of "surprise" in the economy and certainly a "sense of
danger." You can survive if you know how to properly "call out" and "make
noise" so the bear will watch you pass by unharmed.
As I've mentioned in past emails, I've started a national marketing
campaign for my new program, The Real Estate Inner Circle. It's a group
designed to help real estate professionals survive this bear attack and
actually thrive in it, while other real estate professionals get eaten
alive.
Tomorrow, at 12:00 EST, I will be conducting the first conference call in
this campaign. I will provide exciting and powerful information about
surviving this market.
I am inviting you to join this call. If you have a specific question,
please submit it in advance and I'll do my best to answer as many
questions as I can.
"The principle is competing against yourself. It's about
self-improvement, about being better than you were the day before. "
-- Steve Young, football player
"You always pass failure on the way to success."
-- Mickey Rooney, actor
"You have to expect things of yourself before you can do them. "
-- Michael Jordan, basketball star
"There is at least one point in the history of any company when you have
to change dramatically to rise to the next level of performance. Miss
that moment, and you start to decline."
-- Andy Grove, Intel CEO
"It is not the strongest of the species that survive, nor the most
intelligent, but the one most responsive to change."
-- Charles Darwin, scientist
"The path of least resistance is the path of the loser. "
-- H.G. Wells, author
"There are only two options regarding commitment. You're either in or
out. There's no such thing as a life in-between. "
-- Pat Riley, basketball coach
"Self-trust is the first secret of success. "
-- Ralph Waldo Emerson, poet
"The very essence of leadership is that you have to have vision. You
can't blow an uncertain trumpet. "
-- Theodor Hesburgh, Notre Dame president
"Work is not man's punishment.
It is his reward and his strength and his pleasure."
-- George Sand, novelist
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
