Robin Basichis's Blog

THE BANKS NEED TO START PLAYING BALL

Robin Basichis (Rosen Company West/Diversified Real Estate Consultants L.L.C) — Wed, 19 May 2010 14:07:10 -0700

The banks need to start working with homeowners now. If they don’t we are going to see a ripple effect in the economy that made the last meltdown look tame. I can see no reason why the banks are forcing homeowners to go 60 to 90 days late on their mortgage just to get a loan modification which doesn’t really solve the problem. The banks should be willing to short sell properties back to property owners at market rate instead of forcing the homeowner to do a short sale to a third party and have to move out. I can see reasons why the banks haven’t done this, but at this point with home prices continuing to drop and foreclosures on the rise I believe it will be in everyone’s best interest if the banks start working out deals on principle reductions. They were bailed out by our government with public money and have done nothing but some token maneuvers to placate those who really need help.

The mortgage crisis is dragging on the economic recovery as more homeowners fall behind on their payments.

More than 10 percent of homeowners had missed at least one mortgage payment in the January-March period, the Mortgage Bankers Association said Wednesday. That's a record high and up from 9.5 percent in the fourth quarter of last year and 9.1 percent a year earlier.

Around 4.3 million homeowners, or about 8 percent of all Americans with a mortgage, are at risk of losing their homes. They have either missed at least three months of payments or are in foreclosure, the trade group's top economist said Wednesday.

Should loan modification programs fail to help, their homes will go up for sale either as a foreclosure or short sale — when the bank agrees to sell the property for less than the original mortgage amount.

Many analysts have been forecasting home prices will dip again as more of these homes go up for sale at deeply discounted prices.

Moody's Analytics predicts home prices will fall about 5 percent and hit the bottom next spring. This is not a good thing for the economy.

Federal tax credits which help boost home sales in the early spring expired last month. As a result, mortgage applications to purchase homes fell to the lowest level in 13 years this week, the Mortgage Bankers Association said in a separate report Wednesday.

Stocks slid Wednesday as investors remain concerned with the European debt crisis. The rising number of mortgages also drew some attention. The Dow Jones industrial average fell more than 100 points in midday trading.

The Obama administration's $75 billion foreclosure prevention program has barely dented the problem. More than 299,000 homeowners had received permanent loan modifications as of last month. That's about 25 percent of the 1.2 million who started the program since its March 2009 launch.

About 277,000 homeowners, or 23 percent of those enrolled, have dropped out during a trial phase that lasts at least three months.

Economic woes, such as unemployment or reduced income, are the main catalysts for foreclosures this year. Initially, lax lending standards were the culprit. But homeowners with good credit who took out conventional, fixed-rate loans are now the fastest growing group of foreclosures.

Those borrowers made up nearly 37 percent of new foreclosures in the first quarter of the year, up from 29 percent a year earlier. The risky subprime adjustable-rate loans that kicked off the foreclosure crisis are making up a smaller share of new foreclosures. They made up 14 percent of new foreclosures in the January-March period, down from 27 percent a year earlier.

A LITTLE SUNDAY NOSTALGIA

Robin Basichis (Rosen Company West/Diversified Real Estate Consultants L.L.C) — Mon, 17 May 2010 00:41:22 -0700

When I was nine years old I used to travel the city by bus, train, trolley and subway. It was Philadelphia in the late fifties and early sixties. On Saturday’s I rode the Reading Railroad from my neighborhood in the northern end of the city to Center City Philadelphia and meet my Grandmother for a day of fun at the automat and the penny arcades. We’d go to the movies, usually a double or triple feature, and when the day was over we go back to her place in old Brewery Town which was right by the river and on the edge of the Art Museum Area. We’d watch some TV after breakfast on Sunday and I’d take the 48 Bus back into the City and get back on the train at the Reading Terminal and head home. We lived in a row house neighborhood called Mt Airy. My mother, like most of the mothers in the neighborhood didn’t have a car. We did a lot of walking and when we had to go someplace far we’d got on the bus or ride the subway. The subway would take you all the way into town for a quarter. You could go around the whole city on the bus for thirty-five cents which would buy you the first ride along with a transfer ticket good for three more rides. The mortgage on my father’s house was $87 a month. He bought his first new car, a 62 White Chevy Bicayne for $2300. The last time I leased as car I had to put down twice as much. We didn’t have a lot of toys. There wasn’t all that much to watch on TV, so we went out and played in the streets. We invented games with balls, bats, paddles and bottle tops to keep us occupied. There were no fast food restaurants, no malls, no x-box or Nintendo. By the time I was eleven I could cook just about anything so there was no need to run out to a restaurant. Life was simple. And though it had its boring moments I can’t help but wonder if all weren’t a better off back then. I walked through my neighborhood day and night and never had a fear of being kidnapped or harmed. The neighbors looked out for one another’s kids and if a stranger did wander in the word got out real quick. My daughter’s room is stacked with toys. Like all kids she has the computer, the video games, and now she wants cell phone. She’s never been on a bus – we drive her back and forth to school. She’s never seen a subway. She can’t cook or use the microwave. There are no kids in our neighborhood for her to play with so we have to take her on play dates. She almost nine years old but I still never take my eyes off of her when we are out in public. There are just too many stories, too much fear. Someday she’ll have a car but she’ll never ride the bus alone.

IT WASN'T SUPPOSED TO BE ALL ABOUT YOU AND ME

Robin Basichis (Rosen Company West/Diversified Real Estate Consultants L.L.C) — Wed, 12 May 2010 19:48:20 -0700

Do situations dictate character or should our character remain constant no matter what circumstances may bring? Has the meltdown in our economy changed the way we think and act? Once there was a dream and they called it the “American Dream.” Most of us who formed this nation came from humble beginnings and made dreams come true through our bravery, vision, hard work and education.

The characters that formed this nation put the idea of the American Dream in motion, and the power of that dream distinguished us from all other nations. We rose from nothing – from a land of dirt farmers and laborers to become the most powerful Country in the world.

Now the Dream is clouded; distorted and dying. The ideal to make a better place for the next generation has been replaced by marketing and advertisers selling everything from soap and houses that lose their value in a New York minute.. Owning your own home was once the centerpiece of the Dream. The Housing Bubble Burst and washed those dreams away. In places like Las Vegas 85% of homeowners have lost all their equity and are left with a toxic asset that can’t be sold or traded.

The character of the American people has been changed by circumstance. Most of us no longer look to build a future for the next generation. We have become a selfish people with a insatiable desire for instant gratification. We want everything now and the future, well that will just have to take care of itself. Let the government worry about the future – meanwhile give me a bigger house and a bigger car. Sit my ass in front of the tube and I’ll watch cable all day and buy more stuff on the Home Shopping Channel.

What's happened to the American Dream? We have turned into a society of over consumers instead of overachievers. We have allowed the Dream to turn on us and opportunity has turned into catch phrases and sound bites like “He who dies with the most toys wins.”

It is time to take back control of our own destiny. We believed that dreams can come true and they did – so we allowed ourselves to get lazy and fat. But a lot of us aren’t so fat any longer. The time to change has come. The government isn’t going to help you. It is up to us to make changes in order to recapture the American Dream which was rooted in faith and destiny.

Our drive and our purpose allowed us to achieve more than anyone. All of the things that we need and want need to be redefined. We have to reassess achievement as it pertains to lifestyle, social status, ownership and equality. We still have a chance to reclaim what we once had. We still live in a land of abundance. There are enough resources here for everyone to find opportunities for wealth and prosperity.

RECIPE FOR RECOVERY-Foreclosure Moratorium

Robin Basichis (Rosen Company West/Diversified Real Estate Consultants L.L.C) — Tue, 11 May 2010 13:33:33 -0700

For the past year and a half, there has been foreclosure moratoriums placed in specific states, by specific banks, during specific holiday periods for specific periods of time. The latest is due to an Ohio man facing eviction from his foreclosed home and he has gone to extreme lengths to call attention to his plight and that of other homeowners in distress. As a result, protestors are screaming for a moratorium to stop all foreclosure activity.

WE ALL NEED TO SCREAM LOUD AND SCREAM NOW!

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Recipe For Recovery

Ingredients are as follows:

Fact 1: We elect these people to represent us in the government.
Fact 2: These elected officials have the POWER to enforce a moratorium for the state they represent.
Fact 3: Nevada is one of the highest states plagued with foreclosures.
Fact 4: Nevada is one of the highest states plagued with unemployment.
Fact 5: Our election is scheduled for November 2nd, 2010.

Instructions are as follows:

So take these ingredients and throw them all into a pot and turn up the fire to HIGH and let it all come to a full boil until visual clumps begin to form. (These are FECES)
Skim the clumps from the surface and discard them into a toxic waste container.
Now add 4 quarters (to make it whole).
Add 3 cups of common household glue (to make it stick).
Turn down the fire to a slow simmer for 30 minutes while constantly stirring.

WHAT YOU GET IS THIS:

Cease all foreclosure activity in the state of Nevada for SIX (6) months, May 15th through November 15th, 2010. This period of time would allow all homeowners time to evaluate their situations and make EDUCATED decisions with FAR less pressure as to what they choose to do with the rest of their lives. A homeowner could take this time to simply get a job, start a business, short sell their homes, move to another state, find a way to save their home or many other options that may become available through the government or the Treasury Department or HUD or GOD.
I call it, “A Time of Rest and Recover”. If I were running for a government position that I currently hold in the upcoming election, this would be my one and only promise in my platform! And I would probably win!

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So, pull out your BIG pots and start tossing in the ingredients NOW by DEMANDING our ELECTED GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS to CEASE AND DESIST ALL FORECLOSURE ACTIVITY NOW!

WE NEED A BREAK TODAY and not one of us can afford a trip to McDonalds! What is wrong with this picture?

TECHNOLOGY CAN BE A DOUBLE EDGE SWORD

Robin Basichis (Rosen Company West/Diversified Real Estate Consultants L.L.C) — Mon, 10 May 2010 22:20:10 -0700

When you have access to lots of information like places on the Internet there is a good chance you are going to find wrong information. You go online and start looking for a house you are probably going to come across false listings and incorrect pricing. It was bad enough when a realtor goes on the MLS Listing Service and a listing agent misrepresents a property. Now there are hundreds of sties that prospective homeowners have access to online that can be filled with bad information and lies about the property.

BAD STUFF YOU MAY FIND ON THESE ONLINE REAL ESTATE SITES.

1. Phony Photos and Videos

Digital photos and video have been a godsend for real estate agents, homebuyers and sellers, enticing prospects to drool over images of Viking ranges, sparkling pools and lush lawns. Lately, agents have been posting interactive photos and floor plans, letting buyers view rooms and exteriors from different vantage points. Some houses have their own YouTube sites.

Problem is, it's easy to Photoshop photos and edit video to make a house and its neighborhood seems far more attractive than they are. Some sellers post photos of kitchens and gardens you won't find in the actual property. Videos get color-corrected so the grass, flowers and trees seem fresh and alive. A house may seem newly painted, even though the photo was taken five years ago.

Get the Truth: Go to Google Street View or Microsoft Live Search Maps for a reliable third-party look at a neighborhood or home exterior. They won't show the inside of a house, though, so you'll need to drive to the property and see it for yourself.

2. Valuations Lacking Value

Knowing how much a house is truly worth is vitally important whether you're a buyer or seller. With home values down an average of 30 to 40 percent since 2005 in major metro areas, every penny counts. But you can't always trust the numbers on home valuation sites such as Zillow, CyberHomes and Realtor.com.

When I plugged in a particular 5-bedroom/4-bath house on these sites, I received vastly different valuations and sometimes incorrect information about the number of bedrooms and bathrooms it had. I'd estimate the house is worth between $1.2 and $1.4 million. Zillow's "Zestimate" (a calculation also used by RealEstateABC.com) was $943,000; CyberHomes suggested a range of $960,000 to $1.2 million and Realtor.com went with $788,036.

Get the Truth: It's fine to start with online valuation sites for ballpark estimates. But to get a reliable valuation, get out of the virtual world and into the real world. If you're selling, invite several real estate agents to walk through your home and analyze its value based on recent comparable sales. You might also hire an independent appraiser (cost: around $350 and up). If you're buying, hire an agent who has worked the area for years, if not decades. It's generally a waste of money for a buyer to hire an appraiser, since the lender will require its own appraisal before granting a mortgage.

3. Mortgage Rates You Can't Get

Visit a mortgage aggregating site such as Bankrate.com and you'll naturally want to apply for the lowest rate shown. But that rate may not really exist — at least not for every applicant.

Mortgage lenders often advertise fake low rates online without explaining that you can't get them if your down payment or credit score is too low or you're not willing to pay extra-high closing costs. At worst, the rate may be a "bait and switch" and wholly unavailable.

Get the Truth: Start your mortgage shopping by identifying a well-known national or regional bank, a small local lender, a well-regarded mortgage broker, a credit union (if you belong to one or can join one), and an Internet mortgage aggregator such as Priceline. Then go to AnnualCreditReport.com to pull a copy of your credit history and to pay to get your credit score. Next, find out what each lender on your list would really charge for your loan. Use the quotes to negotiate the best deal.

4. Unreal Property Descriptions

The old saw, "You can't believe everything you read" is often true about online listings. A property advertised as having a "water view" might feature a glimpse of the ocean if you open the window, stick your head out, and look left.£ A "light, bright" apartment implies loads of sunshine, but may instead describe the wattage from overhead lighting. A condo's listing sheet promoting "Southern exposure" might leave out a key fact: The front rooms look south, but the rest of the place faces a warehouse 10 feet away. A mention of an "in-law" or "rentable" apartment over the garage won't say whether renting out that room is illegal, subjecting you to a future showdown with local zoning officials.

Get the Truth: To weed out unreal estate, do some fact-checking. If the beachfront condo supposedly has a water view, tell the broker to e-mail you a floor plan for the entire building. When a listing sheet says the house had a substantial renovation, check it out before you get too excited. And if you get serious about the property, you can always ask the town building department to confirm a renovation; there may be blueprints on file. If you're counting on renting out a room above the garage, ask the building department if it's allowed.

Bonus: Euphemism Alert

One thing that the digital revolution hasn't changed at all is the extraordinary ability of real estate agents to put lipstick on a pig. Here's a guide to words and catchphrases you're likely to encounter and what they really mean:

The Listing Says...but the Listing May Mean:

"Cozy/Dollhouse": The house is tiny, cramped and everyone over 6 feet tall will bump their head on the ceiling.

"Handyman's Special": You'll need to do a gut remodel if you want to make the home livable.

"Great View": You might have to crane your neck out the window to see the water.

"Rentable In-law Apartment": This might be a separate room, a half-finished basement, or completely illegal.

AB 149 MEDIATION - NEVADA'S ANSWER TO THE HOUSING CRISIS - SCREW THE BANKS

Robin Basichis (Rosen Company West/Diversified Real Estate Consultants L.L.C) — Sat, 01 May 2010 16:24:42 -0700

I went along with a client to the Mediation with my Lawyer his Paralegal and a Real Estate Broker who has deep knowledge of real estate law. It was held in a Law Office. The Mediator was a young kid fresh out the Law School with a bad attitude and a chip on his shoulder. He started to school us on the mediation process when the phone rang, and it was the attorney representing the clients lender saying she was running late. She tells the mediator she is authorized to make an offer for Loan Modification to the Homeowner. The mediator gets off the phone with her and tells us the deal which is about half of what the client is currently paying on the loan. Everybody seems happy. Even the mediator looks a lot friendlier than when we first walked in. Everybody loosens up a little and we all start talking and swaping stories until the the attorney for the bank walks through the door. She offers the client the deal. The client asks everyone for advice and is advised to take the deal. Half of what she is paying now is good, right? Half is good - take the deal. She's looking for a place to sign when the bank attorney tells her not to take the deal. The air leaves the room. Everyone is looking pretty sullen when the client's lawyer wants to know why she shouldn't take the deal. The bank attorney explains why. She tells the homeowner she is $300,000 underwater. The home was purchased in 2005 for $500,000 and it would be difficult to get $200,000 for it on a good day in the current market. She tells the homeowner she'll be dead before she sees the equity come back on the home. The homeowner asks where is she supposed to go. She's an older woman, her husband died, she doesn't really care about equity that much at her age - she just needs a place she can afford. She tells the bank attorney she couldn't rent the kind of house she is living in on the offered amount so why shouldn't she take the deal. The bank attoney asks her if she has any credit card debt or other unsecured debt that she didn't disclose on her financials. The homeowner tells her yes, but they've been written off and the credit card companies have stopped calling. The banks attorney explains that it is still considered debt and tells the homeowner what will happen if she takes the deal. The bank attorney explains the bank will put her on a trial mod for three months. After that time the bank will pull credit and find the unpaid debt which will offset the financials that the homeowner gave up front and deny her the modification. The banks attorney says that what they will do is extract three months payments and then start foreclosure on the house. Can't she file a Chapter Seven to wipe out her existing debt, somebody asked. No you don't qualify for AB149 Mediation if you are in Bankruptcy said the bank attorney. So this is like a trap, the client's attorney says. Silence... Then the bank attorney advises the homeowner to short sell the house. There won't be any ramifications, no deficiency judgements, no 1099, it will be a clean break. Everyone concurs - short sale it is. The bank attorney tells the woman she has 120 days to sell the house. If she needs more time to sell she can get more time. At the end everyone agrees it is foolish to try and hold on to a toxic asset at any age. The homeowner is not all that happy about moving out but she sees the logic. We leave the conference room and catch the bank attorney in the hall. We ask why she disclosed the banks strategy to the client. She told us she was sick of representing the banks and if she was going continue to do mediations she would be on the homeowner's side from now own. "Screw the Banks," she said. And we all all said yeah, "Screw the Banks."

HEY BABY LET'S GET US ONE OF THOSE NEW PAPER HOUSES

Robin Basichis (Rosen Company West/Diversified Real Estate Consultants L.L.C) — Mon, 19 Apr 2010 20:58:43 -0700

You can build houses out of paper, really. There is patented material that can produce a 387.5 square foot structure for about $5000 - small, but you can always buy more paper to build a bigger house.

Just think about all these newly designed pre-fabricated houses popping up all over the place on vacant land. These houses can be built very quickly and you could have paper neighborhoods in no time.

The patterns used for this paper stuff that is similar to material that is used to make airplanes and other products that require light weight mateiral as well as strength.

They are starting to build paper houses in places like Zimbabwe and Nigeria. It's time we got them here. A Paper House is better than no house - and they really look pretty cool.

MISTER HOUSING BUBBLES

Robin Basichis (Rosen Company West/Diversified Real Estate Consultants L.L.C) — Wed, 14 Apr 2010 16:44:37 -0700

The world has a long history of Bursting Bubbles. They come and they go like creatures in the nigh. . It wasn’t so many years ago we experienced the dot-com Burst. People were riding high on Tech Stocks and then - Whamo.

Now we are experiencing the aftermath of the Housing Bubble. Some people got rich off the debacle but the majority of us took it in the shorts. The housing crisis has wreaked havoc all across the socio-economic spectrum. Those who had it yesterday just don’t have it no more. People are struggling with negative equity and joblessness. Hey, what happened to my Lexus? That was a beautiful car. What am I doing riding around in a Hyundai Accent – I can’t get the thing to go into fourth gear. Where’s my beautiful house – my beautiful wife… and I ask myself…

Bubbles are not new. During the 1600s there was a bubble in Holland. People started buying up tulips. Tulips were traded blindly like Real Estate Portfolios on the Stock Exchange.

One day people got tired of trading Tulips and the bottom fell out. Those who got caught holding to many bulbs had to sell their wooden shoes and hock their windmills. The Tulip Crash of 1637 was a mighty sad day.

When a Bubble starts some kind of justification creeps into the picture to allow prices to keep going up and up on what ever item sits inside of the Bubble. Then one day the perception of what sits inside of the Bubble changes and the Bubble Busts. It’s kind of like getting tired of your old girlfriend. She used to be great and suddenly she’s Chicken Liver.

Another Bubble came along called The South Sea Bubble in the 1700s which was created by The South Sea Company of England. The South Sea Company made a treaty with Spain to have exclusive rights of trade with South America and lots of folks in England got a tickle up their shorts to but stock in this company. But The South Sea Company was basically worthless before the deal with Spain and after the deal with Spain. The trading exclusive created an illusion which led to a perception of let’s get rich quick, so people jumped on the bandwagon and invested. The stock rose, the stock fell, and most everybody lost their shirts.

The interesting thing about Bubbles is the time factor. It takes just about as long to create a Bubble as is does to blow one up. So, if you look back in History at all these Bubbles that have occurred in the past you can get a pretty clear picture of how long it will take the Bubble to come and go by knowing how long it took to get set up in the first place.

Bubbles have acted the same for centuries. They are shaped and manufactured by human emotions, optimism, hope and fear. Nothing has really changed. People have not really changed they just dress a little different.

People go all excited when houses started to go up and up in value. Equity was going up so fast in some cities that people had a change of lifestyle almost overnight. Then one day the Bubble Burst and all that wealth you had locked up in your home fell away. It’s just a matter of history repeating itself. The difference between our current Housing Bubble Burst had an historical magnitude that makes other Bubbles, beside the 1929 Stock Market Crash look like Soap Foam.

WHAT WE NEED IS A FAST TRAIN TO GO SOMEPLACE

Robin Basichis (Rosen Company West/Diversified Real Estate Consultants L.L.C) — Mon, 12 Apr 2010 12:32:41 -0700

The consensus here is mass transportation won't work for us - it just isn't cost effective. People love their cars too much to give it up and ride a train. Meanwhile other countries like China, France, Italy, Germany, Spain and South Korea are successful with their mass transit lines. While they forge ahead improving their infrastructure with high speed train networks America does nothing but let our existing rails deteriorate. .

What about that train that was supposed to go between LA and Vegas? What happened to that train? A direct line opens an opportunity to bring in all types of commerce to the Las Vegas area to improve and expand our economic infrastructure. Business people could move in and out of the city without the hassle and frustration of traffic jams on Route 15. For some reason the politicians didn't like it. Harry Reid decided he didn't like it and shut it down. Las Vegas needs this rail as well as other things to expand commerce to bring our city back to life. We can no longer depend on the Casinos to support a population of 2 million people, we have to diversify our economy and create other streams of revenue for the future.

China is now leading the way in transportation by building the second largest public works program in the history of man. The biggest Public Works Project in the history of man was Eisenhower's Interstate Highway System, and folks that was a long time ago, like way back in the 1950's. We need to do something now - something big. We stand on the sidelines and watch the government hand over billions of dollars to Wall Street and the Banks while China takes it's Simulus Package and spends 1$trillion on expanding it's railway network. What are we thinking?

China, which already has a passenger rail network about the size of our highway system, will be doubling its mileage capacity of intercity connections. China will have all kinds of trains. Trains for long range travel, trains for commuters, trains for freight. Some will go real fast, like over 200 MPH.
China believes the rail system will boost their economy tenfold by increasing intercity commerce. They've been pretty clever in business so far and they probably aren't wrong about this one. China feels that to end their recession the must create rails that connect all the major cities which in turn will create more business and more commerce. Would it work for us? Why not.

Robin Basichis

FIX MY CREDIT OR I'LL START MARCHING

Robin Basichis (Rosen Company West/Diversified Real Estate Consultants L.L.C) — Mon, 12 Apr 2010 12:14:07 -0700

Wouldn't it be nice if you could just get rid of that house you're underwater on and not get crucified for it? If you surrender your property thorugh Short Sale or Deed in Lieu of Foreclosure wouldn't it be great if there was some way for you to go out and buy another home in the near future instead of getting locked out of the market for several years becasue of bad credit. It sure would ease the pain and take the sting out of walking away from your property if you knew that soon you could find another house similar to the one you used to live in for say half the money.

The banks won't cut a deal on the property you are currently living in. They want the property back. If you do the right thing and let them have it back by doing a Short Sale or Deed in Lieu why should you be left out in the cold? When the banks got in trouble they weren't left out in the cold - they got bailed out by the government. If you let your property go the banks should leave your credit alone or help restore it. Secondly they should offer offer up some compensation package for you to get started again. It costs them thousands of dollars to foreclosue and they should compensate you for saving them money by leaving quietly.

Their ought to be some kind of Government program established to repair the dings in your credit caused by late payments and all that other stuff that occured when you got in trouble with your house. Hell, the Government is getting involved with everything else in our lives why not let them do someting positive and bring our scores up to the point where we can at least go out and secure an FHA loan. All you need is a 620 credit score for that. If you didnt' act out like Jesse James and blow up a bunch of credit cards on purpose and your scores are low mostly becasue of late payments, how hard would it be for the banking institutions and the government to get your credit restored as part of the deal when you surrender your home. It would give you options. It would help stimulate the economy instead of locking people out of the housing market for several years.

Asking the banks to reduce principle is like beating a dead horse. Even with the new plan from Bank of America I don't think the banks are going to do principle reduction on a wide scale. They have to keep their image as tough guys - not unlike Mob Guys who have to protect their reputation and territory by breaking legs when you don't pay the vig on your debt. Some guys that work for the mob don't really like breaking legs, but hey businsess is business.

Not unlike the Mob Banks can't show weakness or kindness to anybody becasue if they did then everyone and their sister would look to take advantage of them. People would be aksing for low interest rates and truth in lending - and the banks just aren't going for that kind of stuff. So I'm just thinking out of the box here and looking for another way to skin the cat. If there could be A Save Your Credit Program (SYCP) initiative put into place that would allow you to bring your credit score back after you surrendered your house so you could buy another house within a year then the housing market would definitely pick up. Everyone would be happy. The sun would shine again. People would sing praises and dance in the streets.

Call up your congressmen. Talk to the people in Washington. Let's get Obama on the program. I'm ready to a march on someplace but I don't know where to start. You want to go on a march with me? Pick a place and I'll buy some sensible shoes and march with you. Think of how many people we're going to need. I can come up with a million off the top of my head, how about you?

THE GIANTS OF METROPOLIS

Robin Basichis (Rosen Company West/Diversified Real Estate Consultants L.L.C) — Fri, 02 Apr 2010 17:24:49 -0700

Abandoned houses everywhere, abandoned houses all over the country. Detroit, Chicago, Phoenix, Nevada, Florida, California all have houses boarded up and ripped to shreds by the former owners and vandals

I drive though Las Vegas and see neighborhoods that were once beautiful and filled with life now reduced to Ghosts Towns. No more new shiny cars in the driveway. No more happy children playing in the streets – just a bunch of foreclosure signs. It breaks your heart.

Congress passed the Housing and Economic Recovery Act in 2008. They gave cities and counties $4 billion to buy up unwanted foreclosed properties through community block grants. The $4 billion wasn’t enough to solve the problem so they gave them another couple million.

Local officials hooked up with investors and non-profit organizations and started buying and fixing up bank owned properties so they could sell them to marginal income or low income families through Government backed FHA loans. This program would breathe new life into the blighted neighborhoods and the sun would shine on Main Street once again.

If you want a good deal on a foreclosed home go talk to the city because they cut a real sweet deal with the banks to get first dibs on the REO portfolios.

Cities front nonprofit housing organizations as middleman to acquire these abandoned and foreclosed properties. The nonprofit sets the deals up for the city by bringing buyer and lender together. What a way to get rid of the blight and solve the tax problem.

The National Community Stabilization Trust, a nonprofit organization has established ties in 120 markets to give cities a first crack at purchasing properties in designated markets at a 10% to 15% market discount on REOS.

When banks begin to release REO’S Cities have up to two weeks to snap them up before they hit the market. The NCST has that two week exclusive period to purchase houses located in community development zones designated for federal funding.

The NCST has become a clearinghouse and works with all the big banks making deals to buy properties designated for federal funds.

There is a problem. Many of these homes that are being purchased by Cities are not being sold but rented. The renter is normally subsidized by the Government through a Section 8 Program or other Government assist program. The renter pays a token amount and the Government picks up the rest of the tab so how does this help the tax base? When a purchase is made the buyer signs an agreement to give up 50% of their equity to the City when they sell the property. The end result is clear. If the homeowner stays in the house forever, doesn’t care about heirs or equity it might be okay.

If the buyer is looking for an investment through this program its okay as long as they know and understand they have bought in with a fifty-percent partner named Uncle Sam. What this program does is convert private ownership of property to Government entities which continue to fill their coffers. Enjoy your Government Home and welcome to the wonderful world of change.

DEAR ROBIN - HOW CAN THE LAW HELP ME NOW?

Robin Basichis (Rosen Company West/Diversified Real Estate Consultants L.L.C) — Tue, 30 Mar 2010 14:34:18 -0700

DEAR ROBIN - HOW CAN THE LAWYERS HELP ME NOW?

Dear Robin,

I wish that attorney could just walk into a court room and demand the judge give me a free house based on the violations and all the other dirty stuff the lender did to me when I was so dumb and eager to buy that house in Vegas that I couldn't afford but hell the market was so aggressive I was counting on that equity surge or bubble or whatever they call it to cushion me should anything go wrong with my job or my health as it were. Now the equity has gone with the wind and the only cushion I have left is some black macadam, fireplugs and streetlights.

Can somebody please help me now that I'm underwater $200,000 on what I believed would be my Ancestral Home where I could raise my children and my children's children. Damn I should have stayed down on the in Kentucky farm like my Mama told me. I mean I thought I could get a free house but everybody is saying no way.

Robin I really need help, please what can I do?

Yours truly, Jake Jones

Dear Jake, I'm sorry to hear you are down and out, but I assure you that you are not alone. Unfortunately the free house thing is not available to most of us since the courts aren't going for it no matter how much fraud the lender may have committed on you when he sold you that home and the banks are as bad natured as snakes in a barrel and don't normally go about giving free houses to people if they can't help it.

What you got to do is find a mouth piece looking to present something that is fair and reasonable to the court in an effort to satisfy your needs as a homeowner. That "Show Me the Note" strategy, well that doesn't really work so well as a permanent solution - at best it will only serve to slow the Foreclosure Process down since that bank will pull a note out of its sleeve sooner or later, and the judge, well he don't really care if that note is bogus or not because he probably went to school with that banker or knows one of his cousins.

When you get your matter up into a mediation or court you need yourself an attorney that knows how to use strategy that proves the straw-lender or lawyer talking to the judge on behalf of a lender or a bank has no knowledge or connection to the real lien holder. They need to be exposed as a pretend lender.

Anybody who is posing as a representative of a property should be challenged to prove it. If the attorney makes a demand for proof and presents facts that are counter to what the bank representative is claiming to possess it opens a door that encourages the court to move for discovery and an evidentiary hearing which allows an opportunity for justice, and that's what your after Jake, justice.

Your gonna get these so called representatives of the banks that flex their muscles and try and take control of the situation when if fact they have no real knowledge of the loan or whom they are representing - they're just hired guns Jake.

This hired gun usually is not sworn in as a legal witness and if challenged and proven as making false representations then the defending attorney has the opportunity to convince the judge to allow discovery. Once you have obtained that position in the court you have the pretender lender trapped like a rat in a cage because their representation was nothing but a lie to begin with.

The attorney's goal in a case between homeowner and lender should be to find out who the real creditor is, re-underwrite all documents pertaining to the loan and to make sure the loan was made in good-faith without predatory intentions or fraud. A Forensic Audit should be performed on all documents pertaining to the transaction so when discovery is presented your attorney has a hand to play. If you get the upper hand on the bank by finding out they did commit some hanky panky then your attorney can fight for what's right for you and yours.

I wish you good luck Jake and God's Speed.

Robin Basichis - President CBC Property Solutions Inc.

THE NEW SHORT SALE LAWS HAVE ROLLED INTO TOWN

Robin Basichis (Rosen Company West/Diversified Real Estate Consultants L.L.C) — Tue, 23 Mar 2010 18:51:35 -0700

Treasury sets new rules for Short Sales process

The Treasury has a new set of rules for Short Sales. Under the new rules, which will go into effect April 5th 2010, the Short Sale Process will be simplified and give the homeowner some protection from the bank foreclosing on the property before the property has been sold.

These new changes will allow the Short Sale to start before a purchase contract offer has been created. The idea is to create a time-line that is fair for the homeowner and their agent to find a buyer and sell the property.

The law says that Foreclosures can be initiated during the Short Sale period but the banks should not sell the property at Sheriff Sale while the Short Sale is in process. The new law should help to protect the homeowner and the Broker's commission - disallowing the banks to slice and dice on the co-ops.

THE NEW TREASURY SHORT SALE CRIETERIA

The property must be Owner Occupied.
The homeowner will not qualify for a Loan Modification or have the capability to refinance.
The loan on the property had to taken before January 1, 2009 and be in arrears or at risk of being in arrears in the opinion of the lender.
The homeowners total housing expenses exceeds over 31% of borrowers total monthly income.
Loan amount can not exceed over $729,750.00
Borrowers would be entitled to $1,500.00 for relocation costs upon vacating the property in a clean condition.
The Loan Service Company would be entitled to $1,000.00 for agreement to the Short Sale or deed-in-lieu.
Lenders would be entitled to $1,000.00 for the agreement to the Short Sale or deed-in-lieu.
Second Lien holders would be entitled up to $3,000.00 for Short Sale or Deed-in-lieu approval.

This is the government's way of giving everyone a little slice of the pie in the hope they will walk away quietly.

The law demands the Lender waive their rights to any deficiencies judgments and release the deed promptly upon completion of the sale.

I'm getting ready to sing the Barney Song - I love you - you love me....

THIS CITY WAS ONCE A PALACE

Robin Basichis (Rosen Company West/Diversified Real Estate Consultants L.L.C) — Sat, 13 Mar 2010 22:26:05 -0800

NEIGHBORHOOD STABILIZATION ACT OF 2008

The Neighborhood Stabilization Act has allowed HUD to hand over $7.5 Billion in Grants and $7.5 Billion in no-interest loans to States for the purposes of purchasing rehabilitating - selling and renting properties that are abandoned, vacant and foreclosed.

This piece of legislation allocates funds based on the percentage of foreclosures in a State during the last four calendar quarters and the number of sub-prime loans that have gone delinquent in a state for more than 90 days. The City of Las Vegas is a prime target for this plan since we have more delinquent and abandoned homes in that are sitting in the hot sun drying up than just about anybody else in this country.

The State of Nevada must submit a financial plan to HUD on how it is going to grab all the REO'S Foreclosed and Abandoned houses in Las Vegas. The properties the city purchases under the act will be sold to families with income below 140% of the local median income. Housing purchased for rental will be made available to families whose incomes are less than or equal to the local median income. What we have here is Public Housing for poor people. When the properties regain their equity sometime in the distant future the federal government is allowed to grab 50% of any appreciation that a property owner gains from resale. The Government is now the poor man's partner.

HOW DOES THIS IMPACT NEIGHBORHOODS?

Areas in Clark County, like most Counties, have variations in demographics and stats. There are neighborhoods that have a higher amount of income per-household, or a half a child more per family, and like everywhere else some neighborhoods just look prettier than others. In the overall the majority of Las Vegas neighborhoods fall into the category of Blue and White Collar Middle Class

Now there has been a breakdown in several Las Vegas communities resulting from the housing crisis which left scores of vacant and foreclosed homes in its wake. Foreclosures have caused property values to plummet.

People who have chosen to stay in their homes are seeing the properties in their neighborhoods losing equity at a rapid pace as foreclosures continue to remain the current fad. Because no one is living in the abandoned properties taxes are not being paid and the local tax base is eroding. We can barely keep our schools open and the Governor would like to have us eating out of garbage cans while he bangs around cocktail waitresses in parking garages. Gibbons would be more than happy to let us live life without basic necessities like plumbing and electric if he could get away with it.

The Center for Responsible Lending says approximately 40.6 million homes nationally will experience devaluation because of sub- prime foreclosures and that homeowners living near foreclosed properties will lose on average $5,000 on the value of their homes. In Las Vegas it's more like a couple of hundred thousand in lost equity.

The days when you could get a good deal on a bank-owned home have fallen to the waste side in Vegas. The City of Las Vegas has first dibs on REO'S and foreclosed properties now because of The Neighborhood Stabilization Act. The City will either sell these homes off cheaply to the underprivileged below market value or rent them out Section 8 style where the renter only makes a token payment and the City picks up the rest of the tab. Not such a bad business plan when you have billions of dollars to float. Let the renters stay there for awhile until the equity comes back - when the equity comes back tell the renter they have to go and sell the property on the open market back to the consumer. Again, the underprivileged buyers have to share 50% of their equity with the City when they sell their homes - so the house wins no matter what. Well, hey this is Vegas and the House always wins. A few years down the road a person may wind up buying back the same property they lost to foreclosure at a price they can at last afford. the House wins again.

Regular homebuyers should be picking up these REO'S not the City. People who are upside down in equity should be getting help from the government and not foreclosed upon if they can afford to make a monthly mortgage payment that reflects market value.

In the name of public welfare the Government is creating a false economy that will collapse just like the last one, and in the end they will scrape up all the cream off the table once again and sell it back to us.

POWER TO THE PEOPLE.

NEVER TRUST A CHILD TO LIE

Robin Basichis (Rosen Company West/Diversified Real Estate Consultants L.L.C) — Sun, 24 Jan 2010 13:59:22 -0800

If there are problems with the home your are trying to sell the best thing is to just disclose them. If you lie about something that is significantly wrong with the property you open yourself up to being sued. On the other hand if there are little things you are trying to hide like a creaking floor board or the unpainted portion of the wall behind the sofa, never have a child present if a Realtor is showing your Home to a prospective buyer. You shouldn't even really be around the house when it's being shown in the first place - but if you get caught in a situation where you have to tout the house make sure none of your kids are within hearing range. Kids usually have a negative repsonse to lies no matter how white they may be. So if you have to bend the truth a little like lying about how old the carpet is or when the last time you had the air - conditioners serviced make sure that Junior is nowhere to be found because he will rat you out and set the record straight. Unless trained at a very early age to lie children are by nature a brutally honest bunch. It's only in the latter stages of life that some of us become liars and cheaters.

Will Your Legacy Have An Asterisk Beside It?

Robin Basichis (Rosen Company West/Diversified Real Estate Consultants L.L.C) — Sun, 24 Jan 2010 12:03:36 -0800

They are developing Legacies for everyone now - just take a look at some of the new reality shows on Fox and other stations. Hoarders - you can go down in history as being one of the greatest Dirty Pigs that ever graced the earth. The Biggest Losers - you go through life looking like the Goodyear Blimp and then one day somebody offers you a spot on a show where you can bear your soul and your body to millions of viewers routing for you to loose that 500 pounds. American Idol - an old guy gets on the show last week and sings a song called "Pants on the Ground." Suddenly he's as Quasi Celebrity. If it wasn't for that show he'd be singing that song in the shower by himself for the rest of his life. Hell's Kitchen - where cooks with vulgar vocabularies - sitting around smoking and drinking and stabbing each other in the back in front of the camera. If you really want to reveal you true character and you can fry and egg this is a show to go on to ensure your place in the annuls of history.

The idea of leaving a mark in the world has changed. It used to be cool to write a book - become a war hero - or become famous by sheer talent. That's all changed now. Just forget to put money in the meter in Philadelphia and you'll wind up on Parking Wars. Andy Warhol was right. Everybody will get their fifteen minutes of fame and with all these new shows on the air they will get a lot more than fifteen minutes.

Via Gary Woltal - Associate Broker REALTOR® Dallas Ft. Worth (Keller Williams Realty):

In driving around with Buyers and talking with Associates lately the topic of "legacy" came up. What will you leave behind after you are gone? Do you care? Do you ever think about it? Does your reputation, your contribution, your work, the "residue" of your life mean anything to you?

Will Your Legacy Have An Asterisk Beside It?

Three celebrity news stories made me think of possible asterisks.

Conan O'Brien - will he be known as a young guy with a Tonight Show gig for awhile who moved on to greener pasture or a FAILURE in staying with the show such a short period of time?

Tiger Woods - greatest golfer ever or philanderer with women outside marriage or maybe both?

Mark McGwire - St. Louis Cardinals baseball homerun super slugger or it didn't count cause he used steroids?

We all are flawed human beings and a composite of our best and our worst. But thinking before we go down a path can help us with a legacy we choose rather than by drifting into one with an asterisk beside it. Most people are so focused on "success" under the age of 35 they don't think about "significance" till the second half of life, so asking them about legacy, you usually get a deer in the headlights look back.

But if it does mean anything to you whether you call it success OR significance know what that is in as carefully a constructed life mission statement that could be validated at your funeral when others are "celebrating" your life.

Ralph Waldo Emerson had a short and sweet view of success from way back when that could fit any of us if this is what you want people to think of your life after you are long gone and turned to dust. It said,

"To laugh often and much;

To win the respect of intelligent people
and the affection of children;

To earn the appreciation of honest critics
and endure the betrayal of false friends;

To appreciate beauty;
To find the best in others;

To leave the world a bit better, whether by
a healthy child, a garden patch
or a redeemed social condition;

To know even one life has breathed
easier because you have lived;

This is to have succeeded."

So what say you? Are you cool with the legacy you are developing and leaving behind?

Don't bother me. I'm a Realtor.

Robin Basichis (Rosen Company West/Diversified Real Estate Consultants L.L.C) — Sun, 24 Jan 2010 11:34:23 -0800

Somtimes playing hard to get is a real cool deal. Maybe this realtor is somebody really special and will only offer his or her services to those who are truely worthy. Maybe by putting up all these roadblocks for communication and contact this Realtor figures that only the hearty and the brave will wind up on his doorstep. It's kind of like a girl who makes a guy jump through a bunch of hoops to get a date with her. The more hoops they guy jumps through the more he gets caught up in the game and the more he wants the girl. I'm probalby reading too much into this. Sounds like they're just plain lazy and rude. If you live in the area find out if they're holding a lot of REO's and Short Sales for the Banks. You might be able to steal them away if you expose them.

Via Amy Jones (Chandler, Arizona RE/Max Excalibur):

I tried to set up an appointment today to show a short sale in Maricopa, AZ. The Realtor Instructions on the listing went something like this:

"Listing agent office hours, Monday-Friday 8-4. Do not call me with any questions about the home unless you have seen it and are going to write an offer. Do not call me. Please email or text me. Do not call me on Sunday"

Are you kidding me? My Buyer and I both decided we didn't want to deal with this agent now OR during escrow, so we didn't bother to see it.

One question, Mr "Don't Bother Me"~ Does your Seller know the potential harm you are causing him, if no one wants to see his home due to your limitations?

What will you do when the time runs out on this short sale and the Seller is foreclosed on? Will you be available for the court date when the Seller wants to sue you for limiting the exposure on his home which may have contributed the ruin of his financial future?

Amy Jones, Realtor, ABR, CNE, EPro, CDPE
Chandler, Sun Lakes, Ahwatukee, Gilbert, Tempe & Mesa
Named one of the "Top 50 Real Estate Agents" by the Phoenix Business Journal

RE/Max Excalibur
4921 S. Alma School Rd
Chandler, Arizona
Direct~480-250-3857

Visit www.AmySellsAZ.com for more information including free MLS search.
Visit www.PhoenixArizonaRealEstateBlog.com for a comprehensive Phoenix Area Blog.
Visit www.SunLakesBlog.com about living in Sun Lakes, AZ.

YOU'RE JUST A NUMBER MISTER - PAY FOR YOUR TICKET AND DON'T COMPLAIN

Robin Basichis (Rosen Company West/Diversified Real Estate Consultants L.L.C) — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 22:06:59 -0800

The banks are still hesitant to make loans to homeowners. They just don't want the risk. They took the risk and look where it got them. Lenders are now looking for new metrics, actuary tables and analytics to protect them from getting stuck with bad loans.

What you needed to buy a house a couple of years ago were a good credit score, proof of funds and an appraisal. New regulations are coming that will expand the entire criteria spectrum. What lenders are now looking for is what is called "Future Trending"

To gather data for Future Trending you first need history on the borrowers FICO score. Instead of accepting your current score they want to go back in your History and see what you've been doing in the past. What that means exactly and how far back they are planning to go - well who knows. You just better hope you paid for those pretzelsticks and milk cartons in Kindergarten.

To achieve proper and accurate Future Trending Profiling geographical areas will have to be accessed. Where you currently live and where you may have lived before will make a difference whether you get that house or wind up in a cold-water flat. The strength or weakness of the economy in your neighborhood will also be a determining factors in the Future Trending Analysis. Good luck if you live in a place like Detroit. Better off moving to Washing DC if you want good profiling - there's lots of money there.

The banks will have no choice but to take into consideration how stable your job may be. How is it now? What was it like in the past? How does the future look? Do you have a history of climbing the ladder of success or are you one of those who hide their ass behind the water cooler? Hopefully you've been working hard and the boss likes you and your company looks stable, and you shake everybodies hand when you arrive at work in the the morning and bring doughnuts. It is a plus if you have given the janitors and custodians of the building Chistmas Presents every year. It doesn't have to be anything big - just something to show your appreciation for those less fortunate than yourself bolsters up your points on the character profile chart.

They want to know everthing, and they want to know everything as soon as possible so they can sell your information to other people and institutions who don't want to lend money to shady characters. They also want to know if the industry you are working in and thriving in today will be a viable industry tomorrow. If they determine that it's not, well somebody else just might get that house you were dreaming about. If you working at NASA I'd get out right now. They always have problems with budget cuts and there's a slim chance they'll be building a rocket to make it to Mars in the next ten years. So all you Astro Physicists should think about a career change.

Isn't it tough enough to get a loan right now? As the banks become more and more risks adverse and they keep throwing up all this new criteria how many people will actually qualify for a loan? One out of Ten - maybe. And how are the lenders going collect and sift through all of this data? Will they use more tax money to build this system? Will they use your money to turn the screws on you one more time just for fun and good measure?

Let's say you get all of this data, compile it and do the market research. You then come up with and employ this risk adverse model that is supposed to hedge all bets. You have computers humming, guys with white suits sitting in front of monitors with sharpened pencils and the best predictive analytics ever devised by man. Now somebody gets sick. Somebody gets divorced. Sombody starts taking drugs and drinks. Somebody goes nuts. How can any system or model ever predict what is going to happen in someone's life. A safer bet and a more accurate prediction can be done on the value of a property. The banks are better off hedging their bets off of LTV than they are on the next turn someone might take on the highway of life.

DEAR FORMER OWNER - YOU ARE NOW THE PROUD RENTER OF THIS GOVERNMENT HOME - GOOD LUCK TO YOU AND YOURS

Robin Basichis (Rosen Company West/Diversified Real Estate Consultants L.L.C) — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 23:16:56 -0800

COULD SOMEBODY PLEASE COME UP WITH SOME ANSWERS TO THE HOUSING CRISIS

Robin Basichis (Rosen Company West/Diversified Real Estate Consultants L.L.C) — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 13:32:46 -0800

THIS HOUSE HAS BEEN OFFERED TO SHOWCASE AT THE INTERNATIONAL BUILDERS SHOW

The International Builders Show at the Las Vegas Convention Center will not feature The New American Home, a sample home that showcases state-of-the-art home-building concepts, materials and construction techniques that eventually find their way into production homes across the nation.

For the last twenty odd years the show has had a sample home on the floor built with new innovations for the eye to see and the hand to touch. Unfortunately the company building the sample home for the trade show ran into money problems with their lender and the funding had to be withdrawn, so their won't be a Sample Home.

Confidence is not instilled when a company can't come up with the money for one Sample Home to be placed on the floor of a trade show. Builders are in trouble and nobody knows what lies ahead in the near or distant future for new home construction.

In Las Vegas new home sales have to compete with Foreclosures and REO's which don't look like they are going away anytime soon. The banks are being tight-fisted and overly discretionary about releasing their inventory. They know if they dump the bulk of their inventory on the market all at once it will depress the market even further - so the banks are releasing homes in drips and drabs to satisfy some of the current home-buyers looking for a discount. These discounts will continue to interfere with the Sales and Marketing of New Homes which is the second most important industry in Las Vegas next to Gaming.

In the eighties and ninties this town came to light from the construction boom. Now the lights are out. How long will it take for all the abandoned properties to get back in the hands of homeowners? How long can the town wait? New Home construction and existing home sales creates jobs. There aren't a whole lot Real Estate and construction jobs being created right now. What's the answer?

MAYBE I SHOULD HAVE LOOKED BEFORE I LEAPED

Robin Basichis (Rosen Company West/Diversified Real Estate Consultants L.L.C) — Sat, 16 Jan 2010 16:00:25 -0800

The decline in housing values and home equity affects people differently than other investments. The average person who invests in stock or bonds and other securities look at those things from a different vantage than an investment in a home. Most people feel their biggest investment is their home and housing values, not stocks or bonds, help define a person's sense of financial stability as well as their perception of wealth, soical status, etc. The right to pull equity out of the home changed the life styles of many. The average person could now live on a much higher economic level than they experienced before. Whether it was right or wrong or fiscally irresponsible for homeowners to pull so much equity in such a short period of time is certainly arguable, but at this point the argument becomes merely academic. It happened, and now so many are underwater - economically speaking.

The sudden rise in housing values made lots of Americans feel rich. Suddenly the have nots had something. People went out spent and invested that money. A lot of the investments went into more properties. The whole idea was to ride the wave of the boom and cash out on the crest - problem was most people never saw the crest and when the wave collapsed it was too late. Prices fell along with people's psychological sense of wealth and financial well being.

People who once had equity are now left with debts and deficits. It may take years for many to recover not only financially but psychologically. Scores of depressed housing prices can create scores of depressed people. Many folks cashed their retirement funds to chase the craze. How long are they going to have to work before they can retire? I guess for many it's a question of how long are you going to live.

DEAR JOHN - I JUST DON'T LOVE YOU LIKE I USED TO

Robin Basichis (Rosen Company West/Diversified Real Estate Consultants L.L.C) — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 13:58:56 -0800

IT'S BEEN AWHILE SINCE I SIGNED A LISTING

Will Realtors eventually find themselves faced with the same fate as travel agents and stockbrokers? Is there truely a real need for a live person to press the fresh to make a property sale or can it eventually be done online like so many other purchases? Is it possible we will become extinct? Some people say it will never happen. I don't know for sure. Will we go the way of the Woolly Mammoth and the Dinosaur? Should we all start thinking about finding a new profession?

Real Estate consumers can go on the internet and find all kinds of information that was never available to them before. Right now there is information on sites like Zillow, Realtor.com, Forsalebyowner.com, Realestateabc.com and Foreclosure.com that give customers a fairly good idea of what's going on in the market. These sites along with Blogs and other sources of information that emerge on the Internet every day educate the public rather quickly about what their options are on home criteria, inventory, pricing etc.

The power of Social Networks and online interaction acts as a double-edged sword. As channels of communications keep opening up it makes it easier for us to find John Doe and sell him our services, but at the same time there is a foot race created as John Doe picks up information and learns how to buy and sell property on his own - eventually bypassing the Realtor altogether?

How safe is it to assume that day is far off in the future? Communicative tools are constantly being produced in cyberspace. These tools create transparency and educate customers on Real Estate in ways that were never possible before. Nobody can predict the future, but it doesn't take a psychic to read the writing on the wall.

What does it really take to sell a home? First thing you have to do is price it right. How hard is that if you have access to the comps in your neighborhood? Zillow will give you comps. Secondly the property has to be marketed, and thirdly the title has to transfer from the seller to the buyer.

Marketing properties is the most difficult of the three but with sites like Craigslist and other free property listing sites coming on line how hard will it be for the average person to take some digital pictures of their property and set it up on a data base like the MLS. Craigslist alone gets 4 million page views per month. www.realtor.com a public listing service holds 2.5 million listings.

Turn on cable television and you'll find shows like Curb Appeal, This Old House, Weekend Warrior and other programs that teach homeowners what they need to do to get their homes ready to market and sell.

What do we need to do? I guess we need to have a greater wealth of information in our heads than the next guy. We have to be the experts in our field in order to capture current and future generations of home buyers.

SHOW US SOME MERCY

Robin Basichis (Rosen Company West/Diversified Real Estate Consultants L.L.C) — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 20:02:35 -0800

Guidelines for Loan Modifications and Short Sales are becoming stricter and more burdensome. It seems that banks and service providers would rather get rid of the annoying homeowner than try and work a deal. If a homeowner has no money and can no longer afford to pay the freight or 31% of their gross income is just too low to make an acceptable payment then it is in the bank's best interest to foreclose so they can resell the property at market value. But what if the homeowner can come up with a payment. Maybe it's not as much as before becasue times have changed and they can no longer afford as much as they were once paying, but they are willing to stick it out and make a payment if they are given a lower rate. Sometimes people are satisfied to get $300 or $400 knocked off their mortgage each month - it can make a big difference. It's a car payment - it pays the utilities - puts food on the table and clothes on your kids back. Why are the banks having such a hard time showing mercy? I think it is foolish on their part. If a family has lived in a property for a time, say 2 to 7 years they usally have an attachment to that property wat beyond it's financial significance. They have memories and sentiments tied up in that home. It's as place where they raised their kids - celebrated holidays - partied - laughed and cried. They made it their own by painting it, putting down flooring, adding on an addition and making other improvements. They are emotionally invested in their home. Losing it could be devastating. If the bank forecloses and puts the family out all they are going to get when they sell the home is market value. Why can't they work out a similar deal for the homeowner so they can remain in the home. Set a payment that is fair and revaluate the market down the road. Instead of Short Selling to an Investor Short Sell the home back to the homeowner. Oh my God what a horrible concept!

HEY ZEEK WHAT'S THAT BORROWER THINK HE'S DOING SENDING US ONE OF THOSE QWRs.

Robin Basichis (Rosen Company West/Diversified Real Estate Consultants L.L.C) — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 18:29:19 -0800

QWRs, “Qualified Written Requests” under RESPA are a tool we use to bring mortgage servicers to the table to make deals quickly and honestly on Loan Modifications and Short Sales. When assembled properly the QWR creates a big headache for the lender and great leverage for the borrower.

HOW A QWR WORKS…

The homeowner or the homeowner’s attorney sends the QWR letter demanding that the lender provide discovery on the borrower’s loan.

The letter also contains a Forensic Audit that points out the defects and mistakes that were made on the borrower’s file from the time of origination. The lender is instructed to immediately make corrections to the file.

The Forensic Audit points out violations like predatory lending and fraud that could have caused damage to the borrower. The purpose of the QWR combined with the Forensic Audit is to put the lender on tilt by demanding tremendous amounts of information relating to all aspects of the loan’s origination and processing. Because there are legal consequences that come from RESPA it is difficult for the lender to ignore the QWR and once they receive the QWR they often find themselves caught in a scramble trying to provide the requested information which the law allows the borrower to request.

The QWR gets its teeth from RESPA and TILLA regulations that have been put in place to insure the service provider has met their responsibility in using best practices regarding the assignment sale and transfer of note and deed. Under Section 6 of RESPA, borrowers are afforded a dispute resolution mechanism that gives rise to specific duties on the part of servicers where certain conditions are met.

When the QWR is submitted properly the loan servicer has 20 business days from receipt of request to respond. The receipt of a QWR triggers an affirmative duty to investigate the problem identified by the consumer or their advocate, which must be rectified or explained not later than 60 business days after the receipt of the request.

The relevance of the RESPA provisions sets the QWR apart from a normal consumer request. After receiving the QWR the service provider is burdened with having to provide discovery in order to avoid legal consequences.

Under RESPA, borrowers can institute a private lawsuit for violations. They can potentially recover actual and statutory damages (up to $1,000 per violation), plus attorney’s fees. Quite often our Forensic Audits show hundreds of RESPA and TILLA violations.

RESPA Lawsuits can be brought forth in any federal district court in the district in which the property is located or where the violation is alleged to have occurred. If need be the case can be taken out of the district into a different county and a different court.

The QWR is one of many tools CBC Property Solutions uses to encourage the bank to do what is right for the borrower. If there are enough legitimate violations within a file – which there normally are, it is much easier for the bank or service provider to lower the interest rate than have to fight numerous violations in court.

THE SQUATTERS ARE COMING!!

Robin Basichis (Rosen Company West/Diversified Real Estate Consultants L.L.C) — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 23:12:44 -0800

SQUATTERS CREATE THEIR OWN VERSION OF HOME IMPROVEMENT

The Recession has caused job cuts, endless runs of bleak headlines, 24 hours of depressing live news and an abundance of fear and loathing for everyone who is still breathing and affected by it. It has also created an Underclass called Squatters. They come from everywhere, and it really doesn't take much to qualify - all you have to be is poor with no place to live. It doesn't really matter how you acquired Squatter status because nobody is really checking. With a little bit of laziness, some bad luck and grain alcohol anybody can become a Squatter.

A certain type of environment is needed in which Squatters can proliferate. A city with lots of empty and abandoned homes is more or less the optimum place for Squatters to thrive and grow in numbers. Las Vegas, of course, is the perfect place. For the moment I believe our community may be in denial and acting foolishly reluctant about this matter, but if we truly put our hearts and minds to it Las Vegas could become the Mecca - the Garden Spot and the guiding light for Squatters because we have in our grasp all the empty homes you could possibly need to spurn this phenomenon on for years to come.

One big question is do we have a large enough demographic segment of the disenfranchised and slovenly poor here in our fair city to fill all the available empty homes in order to create the perfect breeding ground for Squatters - or will we need to invite outsiders to come here in droves so they can live in fear and squalor without utilities or security side by side and in harmony with our Native Las Vegans. Nobody is sure yet. The Mayor has set up a special commission and task force to decide on these matters. Some conclusions are expected to be made by the end of 2010. Until then we're just going to have to play this thing by ear.

If the Recession gets worse I think we are going to see a Squatting Boom. Right now there are millions of bank owned homes sitting vacant. Will there be enough Squatters to occupy these properties? It may be in the government's best interest to give incentives to people who want to become Squatters so the gap is eventually filled. Stuff like free soap, blankets and blocks of processed cheese like they serve at I Hop may do the trick.

If we have learned anything from this last downturn the trick is to keep the Squatters Boom from turning into a Squatters Bubble. Regulations and laws on Squatters Rights like the Homestead Act of 1862 and Adverse Possession may have to be amended. If these dirty bums wind up owning these properties at some point in time we don't want to see them driving up the prices overnight like the greedy investors did in the last decade. I sure hope everything works out okay.