I met Stalin. Yes, he was the real one. He was dead, had a large mustache and was smiling with his benevolent, innocent smile. I noticed that he was short as his counterpart in the Red Square mausoleum, Lenin. That’s all I could really see. How little I could see and how little I knew at the time!

If you would like to read more, please visit:

Artur's Attitudes

I would appreciate if you could share your experience with short sales for 2nd homes, especially experience with short sale for 2nd homes in Las Vegas:

Do you know how are lenders treating

• - Las Vegas
• - second homes?
• - Second homes in Las Vegas

I had an inquiry from a client who was renting her 2nd home in Las Vegas, however for quite sometime she cannot rent it out and looking for options.  I do a lot of short sales in California, but none for 2nd homes and none in Las Vegas.

A lot of us are actively involved processing shor sales with Indymac.  There was a lot of frustration out there with the way Indymac was procesing files (Indymac is a pain). The need to complain is no more.  Indymac was taken over by the Government.

Now we have to anxiously wait to see what happens to Indymac's assets and who and when will take over loss mitigation function of Indymac. I have two current sales being processed (close to 6 months each).  I received short sale payoff approvals on both, however there was a  mixup with the one and it was transferred to the trustee after the short sale payoff was agreed to.  For last 3 weeks they were reversing the process, but I am afraid that it will not happen.

Read here about the collapse background: The Fall of IndyMac

A few days ago I asked "Can Lakers recover?" .  They couldn't .  San Francisco Chronicle and a few other newspapers called their 6th and decisive loss by 39 points to Boston Celtics a "Boston Masacre"!

Congratulations all Celtics fans!

Here in the Bay Area we are thinking already about the new season.  Hopefully Warriors will make it playoff next time!

Are you a soccer fan? The stage foe quarterfinals is set!  Here is paring of 8 quarterfinalists for the Europe Cup 2008:

• 06/19/2008 Portugal - Germany  @ 2:45 p.m. ET

• 06/20/2008 Croatia - Turkey @ 2:45 p.m. ET

• 06/21/2008 Netherlands - Russia @ 2:45 p.m. ET

• 06/22/2008 Spain - Italy @ 2:45 p.m. ET

Here are my picks: Portugal, Croatia, Netherlands and Spain.

Biggest surprises untl now? Elimination of France, Check Republic and Sweden.

Many of us realized that lenders and mortgage servicers are giving short sales a “cold shoulder”. It simply doesn’t make sense that lenders and mortgage servicers don’t seem to care for success of short sales, as they don’t seem to have incentives (!) to do so. A good friend of mine and even better broker sent me a link to the excellent article from Money magazine – “WHY MORE HOMEOWNERS AREN’T GETTING HELP? It is an eye opener.

Did you know “that servicers have financial reasons for not helping homeowners who fall behind? As middlemen, they are paid a small percentage - usually 0.25% - of the principal of each loan they administer (0.5% for subprime loans). That's about $250 for every $100,000 borrowed, about $21 a month. But when borrowers fall behind, late fees alone can be $25 or more and exceed what servicers may be paid to maintain an up-to-date loan.”

Mortgage servicers do have a little incentive to do so. One my wonder, why the same happens with lenders who do both, keep loans and service them. The answer to it might be quite easy. Loss mitigation, foreclosures and loan servicing are done by different departments. Those of us who have a corporate background know very well that corporate departments are measured on departmental goals and not on corporate goals (most of the time). Thus, being from different department might separate loan mitigation, foreclosures and loan servicing departments well enough for all of them not to share the common goal – helping their clients to keep properties.

Additionally, loss mitigation and loan workout cost money. Obviously, neither lender not mortgage servicers like the idea of spending money to loose money through short sales and other option. However, what they have to realize, that they will loose much les money, than through foreclosures. So, someone in the loan industry has to wake up. Helping homeowners helps you (I hope it does not sound to novel!). To find out more about pain, despair  and confusion among homeowners facing loss of their properties check also Credit Consequences of Short Sales

Did you know that Point Montara Lighthouse on the San Mateo Count coast, California was moved there from Mayo's Beach near Wellfleet, MA on Cape Code? It was built in 1881 and "lost" approximately 80 years ago.  However it actually was disassembled and moved across the country in the late 1920s. To read more please click on History comes to light, an article by Carl Nolte published in today's San Francisco Chronicle. Carl is Chronicle's staff writer. "The discovery first came to light in the Lighthouse Digest, a Maine-based magazine that is to lighthouse fans what Fortune magazine is to financiers. The digest published a story in its June issue by Colleen MacNeney, whose parents, Robert and Sandra Shanklin, have photographed every lighthouse in the United States and Puerto Rico."

"Worst (is) over for U.S. if financial crisis ends" according to Greenspan, Doesn't sound it like "It is going to stay dry if it doesn't rain" or very "Clintonesque" (read: says nothing)?  Here is the link to the Reuters news CLIP. I guess now we understand better Greenspan's attitude towards negative ammortization loans when he said "They will help you if they don't hurt you first!" (just joking - he didn't say that. It just feels like he did!)

Have you looked to HotPads service?  If not, make sure you do.  It is another easy to use tool (like Trulia or Zillow) empowering clients and helping them to make a decison rent vs. buy. They have just introduced rent ratio heat maps. They allow users to visualize sale and rental properties and thus help them to make a decision.  Check it up as it is quite neat. It is always good what your clients might know!

Lakers fans out there! Can Lakers recover? I guess we have to go with Kobe said - "We're thinking about beating them on Sunday,'' Bryant said. "Then, you move on from there. Take one swing at a time to chop down a tree. We'll take care of business on Sunday.''

So on Sunday I will have to share my time between 2 soccer games (Are you a soccer fan?) and Lakers - Celtic game.  No Open Houses! after all it is Father's Day! OK, iI let my family to take me for lunch or dinner as well!

Happy Father's day to all soccer and basketball fans out there!