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
Friday, May 9, 2008
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
Friday, January 11, 2008
My life as a Realtor
Hi Again! Well we have two more homes under contract for the month. That's three for those of you that are counting. We got the approval on the other two yesterday. They are Meth homes and we want to get more! If you know of any properties that need to be cleaned up and we can get for 60 cents on the dollar after they are fixed up then we are good to go. All three that I have under contract will all be closing on the same day at this point witch is Feb. 4th. I need to get more before that day comes and goes. HELP ME OUT!!!
Here we all to to $50 Mill!!!
Enjoy the quotes!
"An organization's ability to learn, and translate that learning into
action rapidly, is the ultimate competitive business advantage."
-- Jack Welch, General Electric CEO
"If you believe in unlimited quality and act in all your business
dealings with total integrity, the rest will take care of itself. "
-- Frank Perdue, Perdue Farms president
"You can make more friends in two months by becoming interested in other
people than you can in two years by trying to get other people
interested in you. "
-- Dale Carnegie, author
"Control your own destiny or someone else will. "
-- Jack Welch, executive
"It is the nature of man to rise to greatness if greatness is expected
of him. "
-- John Steinbeck, author
"A leader has the vision and conviction that a dream can be achieved. He
inspires the power and energy to get it done. "
-- Ralph Lauren, fashion designer
"Before everything else, getting ready is the secret of success. "
-- Henry Ford, automaker
Here we all to to $50 Mill!!!
Enjoy the quotes!
"An organization's ability to learn, and translate that learning into
action rapidly, is the ultimate competitive business advantage."
-- Jack Welch, General Electric CEO
"If you believe in unlimited quality and act in all your business
dealings with total integrity, the rest will take care of itself. "
-- Frank Perdue, Perdue Farms president
"You can make more friends in two months by becoming interested in other
people than you can in two years by trying to get other people
interested in you. "
-- Dale Carnegie, author
"Control your own destiny or someone else will. "
-- Jack Welch, executive
"It is the nature of man to rise to greatness if greatness is expected
of him. "
-- John Steinbeck, author
"A leader has the vision and conviction that a dream can be achieved. He
inspires the power and energy to get it done. "
-- Ralph Lauren, fashion designer
"Before everything else, getting ready is the secret of success. "
-- Henry Ford, automaker
Tuesday, January 8, 2008
My Life as a Realtor
Hi guys! How about the standoff last night? I was in the middle of it all. It was pretty intense until the SWAT shot the tear gas and he came charging at them with an AX! Got blasted in the chest with a 40mm rubber bullet and got back up again until he was tazed.
We got another contract, and yes I was paid on the other one. I have a listing appointment later today and I start a new class today. 36-12-3 witch is 36 Sales in 12 Months with 3 Hours of Lead generation a day. You will probably be hearing a lot more from me so you can help in my quest to 50mill!
Here is a letter and your quotes! More Later!!!
Here is a recent article I found on InmanNews.com (written by Bernice Ross):
Laurence Yun, the chief economist for NAR, had plenty of positive news for Realtors
at last month's conference. Yun attributed much of today's subprime mortgage
Bear-Stearns-Troubles Nov-07 problem to greed. Wall Street wanted the 10-12 percent
return that subprime mortgages yielded as opposed to the smaller returns from more
traditional mortgage products. His take on the Wall Street types: "They gambled.
They lost."
Yun's outlook for 2008 sees a shift from greedy speculators to serious homeowners.
2008 will be a year of opportunity where there will be serious, healthy business.
Furthermore, Yun predicted that the market returns to normal by 2009.
According to Yun, one of the biggest mistakes that reporters make is talking about
national trends. Nationally, 2007 was the fifth best year ever on record. Home
prices declined about 1.5 percent after a 50 percent run up in prices.
The challenge is that national numbers are pretty much irrelevant. Yun argues that
talking about national averages is about as effective as having a national weather
forecast. Like the weather, all real estate markets are local. In fact, you may have
a buyer's market and a seller's market operating within a single market area based
exclusively upon price point. Here are the other key pieces of positive news from
Yun's economic report:
1. New housing starts: Even though these are dropping, there was too much building
in recent years. The market is simply adjusting to normal supply-and-demand
pressures. The inventory is "being controlled which makes stabilization occur more
quickly."
2. Foreclosures: According to Yun, the 41 percent increase in foreclosures has
resulted primarily from investor-heavy real estate purchases in Arizona, California,
Florida and Nevada. The majority of these individuals are flippers whose investments
did not payoff. More importantly, the number of foreclosures in Utah, New Mexico,
North Carolina and South Carolina is actually declining.
3. Under-priced markets and superstar cities: Although the coastal markets are still
overpriced, Middle America is under priced. Nevertheless, Yun cites a new trend
termed, "superstar" cities. These cities will command premium prices, regardless of
what the market does. There is so much wealth concentrated in these areas, that
measurements are simply not predictive. In addition to London, Paris, Tokyo and New
York, Yun also identified San Francisco, Miami and Seattle as potential new
superstar cities.
4. The recovery has started: Other than the three states hit heavily by job losses
in the automotive industry (Indiana, Michigan and Ohio), the states that first
experienced a downturn in the Northeast, are now in recovery. Specifically,
Connecticut, Massachusetts, New York and Rhode Island were the first to feel the
slump and are now well into a recovery. Furthermore, there appears to be a pent-up
demand for first-time buyer properties due to a large number of Gen Ys (born 1977 to
1994) that are now buying their first homes. Falling interest rates will motivate
many of these buyers to step into the market now.
5. New jobs and corporate profits are still strong: Corporate profits are still
strong with companies as diverse as Microsoft and Jack Daniels reporting close to
record profits. Furthermore, the economy has generated 4 million net new jobs and
wages are rising.
6. A weak dollar may harbinger more foreign investment in U.S. real estate
Although the decline of the U.S. dollar will end up costing us more when we go
overseas or purchase imports, it has resulted in more manufacturing jobs returning
to the U.S. It also may mean more foreign investment in U.S. properties as well.
Just a few years ago, the Canadian dollar was only worth 70 cents in U.S. currency.
Today, the Canadian dollar has been hovering at about $1.05 to $1.10 U.S. What this
means is that we can expect more Canadians and Europeans to be purchasing U.S.
property, because our prices are approximately 50 percent cheaper than they were
just three years ago.
7. Real estate: Still the best shelter: For those agents who represent reluctant
first-time buyers, Yun points to some interesting research from the Federal Reserve.
Between 1995 and 2004, the average renter accumulated $4,000 in wealth. In contrast,
the average homeowner accumulated $184,400. Furthermore, the typical homeowner holds
their property for six years. Within this period of time, NAR's research shows that
approximately 97 percent of the homeowners will have a positive equity position
after that period of time.
Bottom line: 2008 represents the best window that buyers will have to find excellent
deals with excellent financing. Get the word out there. If they wait, prices and
interest rates will be higher and the reluctant buyer may be forced out of the
market.
"Salesmanship is an American specialty. It typifies the competitive
spirit of our economy. Nowhere else in the world have so many executives
come up through the selling ranks. "
-- Robert Whitney, financial executive
"I try to do the right thing at the right time. They may just be little
things, but usually they make the difference between winning and losing."
-- Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, basketball player
"Heights were made to be looked at, not to be looked from. "
-- G.K. Chesterton, writer
"Great deeds are usually wrought at great risks. "
-- Herodotus, historian
"Try not to become a man of success, but rather a man of value."
-- Albert Einstein, scientist
"Goals provide the energy source that powers our lives. One of the best
ways we can get the most from the energy we have is to focus it. That is
what goals can do for us: concentrate our energy. "
-- Denis Waitley, motivational coach
"The world is more malleable than you think, and it's waiting for you to
hammer it into shape. "
-- Bono, musician
"You have to pretend you're 100% sure. You have to take action; you
can't hesitate or hedge your bets. Anything less will condemn your
efforts to failure. "
-- Andrew Grove, Intel co-founder
We got another contract, and yes I was paid on the other one. I have a listing appointment later today and I start a new class today. 36-12-3 witch is 36 Sales in 12 Months with 3 Hours of Lead generation a day. You will probably be hearing a lot more from me so you can help in my quest to 50mill!
Here is a letter and your quotes! More Later!!!
Here is a recent article I found on InmanNews.com (written by Bernice Ross):
Laurence Yun, the chief economist for NAR, had plenty of positive news for Realtors
at last month's conference. Yun attributed much of today's subprime mortgage
Bear-Stearns-Troubles Nov-07 problem to greed. Wall Street wanted the 10-12 percent
return that subprime mortgages yielded as opposed to the smaller returns from more
traditional mortgage products. His take on the Wall Street types: "They gambled.
They lost."
Yun's outlook for 2008 sees a shift from greedy speculators to serious homeowners.
2008 will be a year of opportunity where there will be serious, healthy business.
Furthermore, Yun predicted that the market returns to normal by 2009.
According to Yun, one of the biggest mistakes that reporters make is talking about
national trends. Nationally, 2007 was the fifth best year ever on record. Home
prices declined about 1.5 percent after a 50 percent run up in prices.
The challenge is that national numbers are pretty much irrelevant. Yun argues that
talking about national averages is about as effective as having a national weather
forecast. Like the weather, all real estate markets are local. In fact, you may have
a buyer's market and a seller's market operating within a single market area based
exclusively upon price point. Here are the other key pieces of positive news from
Yun's economic report:
1. New housing starts: Even though these are dropping, there was too much building
in recent years. The market is simply adjusting to normal supply-and-demand
pressures. The inventory is "being controlled which makes stabilization occur more
quickly."
2. Foreclosures: According to Yun, the 41 percent increase in foreclosures has
resulted primarily from investor-heavy real estate purchases in Arizona, California,
Florida and Nevada. The majority of these individuals are flippers whose investments
did not payoff. More importantly, the number of foreclosures in Utah, New Mexico,
North Carolina and South Carolina is actually declining.
3. Under-priced markets and superstar cities: Although the coastal markets are still
overpriced, Middle America is under priced. Nevertheless, Yun cites a new trend
termed, "superstar" cities. These cities will command premium prices, regardless of
what the market does. There is so much wealth concentrated in these areas, that
measurements are simply not predictive. In addition to London, Paris, Tokyo and New
York, Yun also identified San Francisco, Miami and Seattle as potential new
superstar cities.
4. The recovery has started: Other than the three states hit heavily by job losses
in the automotive industry (Indiana, Michigan and Ohio), the states that first
experienced a downturn in the Northeast, are now in recovery. Specifically,
Connecticut, Massachusetts, New York and Rhode Island were the first to feel the
slump and are now well into a recovery. Furthermore, there appears to be a pent-up
demand for first-time buyer properties due to a large number of Gen Ys (born 1977 to
1994) that are now buying their first homes. Falling interest rates will motivate
many of these buyers to step into the market now.
5. New jobs and corporate profits are still strong: Corporate profits are still
strong with companies as diverse as Microsoft and Jack Daniels reporting close to
record profits. Furthermore, the economy has generated 4 million net new jobs and
wages are rising.
6. A weak dollar may harbinger more foreign investment in U.S. real estate
Although the decline of the U.S. dollar will end up costing us more when we go
overseas or purchase imports, it has resulted in more manufacturing jobs returning
to the U.S. It also may mean more foreign investment in U.S. properties as well.
Just a few years ago, the Canadian dollar was only worth 70 cents in U.S. currency.
Today, the Canadian dollar has been hovering at about $1.05 to $1.10 U.S. What this
means is that we can expect more Canadians and Europeans to be purchasing U.S.
property, because our prices are approximately 50 percent cheaper than they were
just three years ago.
7. Real estate: Still the best shelter: For those agents who represent reluctant
first-time buyers, Yun points to some interesting research from the Federal Reserve.
Between 1995 and 2004, the average renter accumulated $4,000 in wealth. In contrast,
the average homeowner accumulated $184,400. Furthermore, the typical homeowner holds
their property for six years. Within this period of time, NAR's research shows that
approximately 97 percent of the homeowners will have a positive equity position
after that period of time.
Bottom line: 2008 represents the best window that buyers will have to find excellent
deals with excellent financing. Get the word out there. If they wait, prices and
interest rates will be higher and the reluctant buyer may be forced out of the
market.
"Salesmanship is an American specialty. It typifies the competitive
spirit of our economy. Nowhere else in the world have so many executives
come up through the selling ranks. "
-- Robert Whitney, financial executive
"I try to do the right thing at the right time. They may just be little
things, but usually they make the difference between winning and losing."
-- Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, basketball player
"Heights were made to be looked at, not to be looked from. "
-- G.K. Chesterton, writer
"Great deeds are usually wrought at great risks. "
-- Herodotus, historian
"Try not to become a man of success, but rather a man of value."
-- Albert Einstein, scientist
"Goals provide the energy source that powers our lives. One of the best
ways we can get the most from the energy we have is to focus it. That is
what goals can do for us: concentrate our energy. "
-- Denis Waitley, motivational coach
"The world is more malleable than you think, and it's waiting for you to
hammer it into shape. "
-- Bono, musician
"You have to pretend you're 100% sure. You have to take action; you
can't hesitate or hedge your bets. Anything less will condemn your
efforts to failure. "
-- Andrew Grove, Intel co-founder
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