This Class is back by popular demand!!! October is the last chance for your buyers to take advantage of the new HOME BUYERS TAX CREDIT. But that is not all that will be discussed! The Market is HOT! Come find out how you get your buyers into a house NOW! You also get 3 credit hours for Fair Housing! Hope to see you then!!!
SO – here are the graphs! I have added a new feature to graphs with multiple cities: In the footer, I added a Breakdown By City – so you can see exactly where the numbers are.
As far as the numbers go: There hasn’t been a lot of movement, but the little movement that we did see was all in the wrong direction – except in the SW Valley where their numbers are rocking! They had 64% of their inventory go Pending – that is insane!! And they are closing sales out there, too: 39% closed! WOW. Unfortunately, the numbers aren’t that good in areas like PV….
Currently the Valley’s months of supply is sitting at 4.5 months. 94% of the sales are still coming from properties under $400,000.
By graph
Scottsdale 8.8, Cave Creek 6.6, AJ and Queen Creek 4.4, Ahwatukee 5.0, East Valley 3.7, Fountain Hills 12.3, South West Valley 2.5, Northwest Valley 3.8, Peoria and Glendale 3.0, Paradise Valley 24.1.
Have a wonderful weekend, don’t work too hard, (No please do!!! This way you can bring me escrows!!!) Happy Labor Day. Equity Title Agency, Scottsdale Branch will be closed on Monday, but open bright and early on Tuesday the 8th to open your escrows!!!!
Maggie Clark Business Development Manager Mobile: 602-769-5565 E-Mail: maggiec@eta-az.com
McCormick Ranch Office 7975 N. Hayden Rd., Ste. C280 Scottsdale, AZ 85258 Business: 480-607-0200 Fax: 480-607-3370
The Council of Residential Specialists is pleased to award you the Certified Residential Specialist (CRS) Designation.
As a CRS Designee, you are authorized and encouraged to use the CRS Initials after your name and the CRS logo as set forth in the CRS Guidelines. You may begin using the designation immediately.
Your new designee kit containing your CRS pin, certificate, sample press release, and other materials will be sent to you within the coming days.
CRS Membership Referral Directory
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While you are there you can download a digital copy of your CRS Designation certificate, access materials from the CRS classes you attended or even order advertising for the CRS Directory.
Your login ID (Member ID#) is: 6619800 Your password is: hotdog
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Promotional Materials
You don't have to wait to receive you new designee kit to learn ways to promote your new designation. The Council's website has many tools available to assist you. The Council has developed guidelines for use and promotion of your designation. You can download a sample press release to announce your new credential.
You can also download the CRS Shield logo and add it to your promotional materials.
Member Connect
Member Connect is a one-stop online destination where you can find industry news, information and resources that will help you work more productively and achieve greater success.
Read the latest industry news, trends and statistics. Participate in discussions in the member forums or start a new topic and find answers to your questions from other CRS Members. Browse the networking section for referral tips or to locate CRS Designees.
Member Connect also features a searchable database of real estate articles, including stories from The Residential Specialist magazine and tools and resources with links to articles, podcasts, and sample marketing materials.
There is also a product directory of the latest and best-selling books, DVDs, software and accessories for your business and links to books recommended by our instructors or reviewed in The Residential Specialist.
In addition, if you have an account on Facebook, be sure to join the CRS Group to network with fellow CRS members. If you have an account on LinkedIn, add the CRS to your profile.
CRS Online Store
The CRS Online Store is your source for CRS Quality-Tested books, tapes, tutorials and software programs to help you become more proficient.
In addition, now that you have earned your designation you are eligible to purchase any of a number of designation promotion products. From the consumer brochure to CRS Fact Sheets you’ll find the Council has developed tools that provide answers to the questions your clients need and best explain the benefits of having a CRS for all their residential real estate needs.
Residential Focus by Fletcher Wilcox V.P. Grand Canyon Title Agency, Inc. FWilcox@GCTA.com 602-648-1230 Residential Focus: The Newsletter with the Trends! Scottsdale Single Family Home Sales July 2009 Data from ARMLS By Fletcher Wilcox V.P. Business Development Grand Canyon Title Agency, Inc. FWilcox@gcta.com 602-648-1230 Single family home sales in Scottsdale for July continued to be hot. July 2009 was the second best month this year for the number of single family home sales. July 2009 single family homes sales were 399 or 51% more than the 265 sales in July 2008. The 399 sales in July 2009 were down 6% from the 426 single family sales in June 2009. On the downside is the mean sales price per square foot. CHART 2 shows it was $167.42 in July 2009. This is down 11% compared to January 2009 when it was $187.62. Comparing July 2009 to July 2008 the mean sales price per square foot is down 22% percent or $46.38. Residential Focus by Fletcher Wilcox V.P. Grand Canyon Title Agency, Inc. FWilcox@GCTA.com 602-648-1230 Driving down the mean sales price per square foot are sales of lender owned properties and short sales. CHART 3 shows the July mean sales price per square foot for lender owned properties at $138.96 compared to $189.12 for those single family sales that had no special listing conditions. Table 1 gives a synopsis of July single family home sales by sold price range, the estimated months of supply, and the percentage of short sales and lender owned sales by sold price range. Short sales accounted for 14% of sales while lender owned sales were 32%. So almost half or 46% of single family home sales were distressed sales (14% + 32% = 46%). CHART 1 Scottsdale Single Family Home Sales by Month Data from ARMLS 265 170 191 245 309 350 426 399 0 100 200 300 400 500 Jul-08 Jan-09 Feb March April May June July CHART 2 Scottsdale Single Family Mean Sales Price Per Sq. Ft. Data from ARMLS $213.80 $187.62 $185.65 $183.49 $181.80 $175.36 $169.93 $167.42 $0.00 $50.00 $100.00 $150.00 $200.00 $250.00 Jul-08 Jan-09 Feb March April May June July Residential Focus by Fletcher Wilcox V.P. Grand Canyon Title Agency, Inc. FWilcox@GCTA.com 602-648-1230 CHART 3 Scottsdale Single Family July Mean Price Per Sq. Ft. by Listing Condition Data from ARMLS $138.96 $156.91 $189.12 $0.00 $50.00 $100.00 $150.00 $200.00 No Special Lender Owned Short Sale Listing Condition Table 1 July 2009 Scottsdale Single Family Homes Sales Only Residential Sold Price Range Sales Active Listings on August 11, 2009 Estimated Months of Supply Mean Price Per Sq. Ft. Short Sales (No.) Short Sales (%) Lender- Owned Sales (No.) Lender- Owned Sales ( %) Other Sales (No.) Other Sales (%) Total Under 250,000 80 134 1.7 $122.33 12 15% 33 41% 35 44% 100% 250,000 to 299,999 36 110 3.1 $145.65 4 11% 14 39% 18 50% 100% 300,000 to 349,999 46 108 2.3 $149.48 1 2% 18 39% 27 59% 100% 350,000 to 399,999 35 161 4.6 $148.77 6 17% 13 37% 16 46% 100% 400,000 to 499,999 40 267 6.7 $163.48 5 13% 14 35% 21 53% 101% 500,000 to 599,999 51 275 5.4 $171.98 6 12% 13 25% 32 63% 100% 600,000 to 699,999 40 232 5.8 $186.22 10 25% 8 20% 22 55% 100% 700,000 to 799,999 10 180 18.0 $186.63 2 20% 4 40% 4 40% 100% 800,000 to 899,999 15 159 10.6 $198.06 4 27% 2 13% 9 60% 100% 900,000 to 999,999 7 153 21.9 $237.50 0 0% 0 0% 7 100% 100% 1,000,000 to 1,499,999 25 378 15.1 $251.07 4 16% 5 20% 16 64% 100% 1,500,000 to 1,999,999 8 241 30.1 $293.45 2 25% 1 13% 5 63% 100% 2,000,000 to 2,999,999 5 231 46.2 $337.72 0 0% 1 20% 4 80% 100% Over 3,000,000 1 154 154.0 $343.43 0 0% 0 0% 1 100% 100% TOTAL 399 2,783 6.9 $167.78 56 14% 126 32% 217 54% 100% Note: Percentages may add up to 99% or 101% because of rounding of numbers. Residential Focus by Fletcher Wilcox V.P. Grand Canyon Title Agency, Inc. FWilcox@GCTA.com 602-648-1230 Please contact me with your feedback and comments. And remember Grand Canyon Title Agency, Inc. on your next short sale or normal sale. It would be much appreciated! Contact me for an introduction to one of our escrow officers. Fletcher Wilcox V.P. Grand Canyon Title Agency, Inc. FWilcox@GCTA.Com 602-648-1230 Class on Foreclosure and Short Sales for three legal hours! Learn about the foreclosure process, the new anti-deficiency law and discuss short sale contract scenarios, financing of lender owned properties and short sales and more. Date: Thursday, August 20th from 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 pm Where: Grand Canyon Title Agency, Inc. –Pinnacle Peak Office 7308 E. Deer Valley Rd., Ste. 110 Scottsdale, 85255 Must RSVP to Kas@gcta.com or CROE@gcta.com Cost is $5.00 at door. Seating is limited. Residential Focus does not guarantee the accuracy of the data in this report. Some numbers will adjusted. Report may not reflect all real estate activity. Information should be verified. This article is of a general nature, and is not intended as legal, real estate or lending advice. Please consult your broker, your lender and your own independent legal counsel. The information in this report may not be the opinion of of Grand Canyon Title Agency, Inc. Residential Focus by Fletcher Wilcox V.P. Grand Canyon Title Agency, Inc. FWilcox@GCTA.com 602-648-1230 Residential Focus By Fletcher Wilcox V. P. Business Development for Grand Canyon Title Agency, Inc. Fwilcox@gcta.com 602.648-1230 • Fletcher is proud to be a part of Grand Canyon Title Agency, Inc. The company has been closing escrows in the Valley for twenty-six years and has sixteen escrow offices in the Valley. • Born and raised in Arizona, Fletcher remained in the state to receive his Bachelor of Science degree and a Master of Arts degree from Arizona State University. • Obtained an Arizona Real Estate license in 1985. Co-listed and closed a $2.5 million dollar commercial property in 1986. • Is a member of the Arizona Association of Realtors www.AAROnline.com and the Scottsdale Area Association of Realtors www.SAAROnline.com. Is a director on the Arizona Mortgage Lenders Association Board www.azmortgagelenders.com/ and a member of the Arizona State Escrow Association http://www.azsea.org/ • Is the statistician for the Scottsdale Luxury Tour and http://www.saaronline.com/marketing/scottsdale.php • Is the publicity coordinator and statistician for the Heart of Scottsdale Tour http://www.saaronline.com/marketing/scottsdale.php • Fletcher speaks throughout the Valley on residential real estate trends. He produces the email newsletter Residential Focus, which focuses on the residential market. He is a contributing Columnist for the Arizona Journal of Real Estate & Business; Teaches renewal courses on the Residential Resale Real Estate Purchase Contract, FHA contract writing, short sales and foreclosures at the Arizona School of Real Estate & Business. • 2008 marked the third time Fletcher chaired the Industry Partners Conference. This real estate conference is a partnership involving the Arizona Association of REALTORS, the Arizona Mortgage Lenders Association and the Arizona State Escrow Association. • To promote music and the arts Fletcher joined Alice Cooper’s Solid Rock organization as a board member. The goal is to build a music and arts center. • For eleven years served as a citizen board member on the Phoenix Police Department’s Disciplinary Review & Use of Force Boards. • Fletcher started snowboarding in 2008 going on six trips. He is not very good.D
How Online Marketing Success Has Helped One Agent Live His Dream
By Mike Parker
RISMEDIA, May 15, 2009-Unless one has been beaten down by life, we all cling to dreams in the most private parts of our minds. These dreams can apply toward all segments of our existence, but rarely is it that after a certain age we find ourselves actually fulfilling work-related dreams that involve a wholesale relocation of our business to a place thousands of miles away that has been a beacon in those dreams. Douglas Fischer is doing it now, for the second time, and he is able to do it because he has cracked the code of how to succeed at selling property online. Doug is a Coldwell Banker agent in Palm Desert, California-an area especially hard hit by the events of the past year. His online marketing skills enabled him to sell 25 homes in the past year with prices ranging from $144K to $1,575K. He’s got seven houses in escrow right now in a wide variety of price ranges. Doug grew up in the State of Washington, where it rains often, and he dreamed of living in a place that was warm and sunny all the time. Seven years ago, he moved to Palm Desert and began his practice from scratch.
100% of his business comes from the Internet and it kept him safe
“Although this area is known as Palm Springs, it actually consists of a valley, the Coachella Valley, where you will find 8 different cites spread out over several hundred square miles,” Doug told me. “I live and work in the middle, Palm Desert, but I know and sell properties anywhere in the valley. I also sell investment properties and multi-family. I diversified on purpose so that I would have many possibilities at any time. I aimed my business at the Internet for the same reason. I now obtain 10-20 good leads per week, all with valid email addresses and phone numbers, from my website. These leads go into my database each week, which now numbers some 2,500 people who have visited my website and signed in. I stay in touch with these folks monthly with my newsletter: I actually send out three differently targeted newsletters once or twice each month to keep my name and business in front of these people. My website gives me leads looking to buy now and leads looking to buy later-maybe Palm Springs is in their dreams. Whatever the case, a number of these in my database turn into closings every month. I feel like I have sales stashed in my “Internet bank account” and that I can ride out any market issues because of it. I’ve built this safety net entirely through my website and the people who visit it.”
He designed his success and he gives constant value to his prospects to continue it
“I specifically set out creating the site to be lead generating in a way that was passive for the visitor. I run small line ads in classifieds to bring more people to my site. When they ask for a list of whatever I am offering, I capture their information if they choose to sign in and put them into my database of interested prospects. I also call them immediately, because they expect that. I have a 35-page packet I send out to prospects titled, “How to market your property in the 21st Century.” In it, I describe my online presence and success, with screenshots from my website. I get most of my listings that way. I believe that the number one reason that I do so well is that I offer hassle-free information, mostly current listings, NOT IDX, that is updated daily; and I am responsive to all inquiries, answering all email in minutes. I also offer to research properties that are bargain priced, and many people seem to be looking for that today. The 4-6 hours a week I spend on updating the site and following up are well worth the effort.”
Living the dream and moving his business 3,000 miles to the west
“We bought our condo in Hawaii, sight unseen (except online), and I will move my permanent residence there within the next six months, but I will continue to work in the desert for 1-2 more years. I will gradually phase myself out of handling the leads and share them with three other agents on a commission-split basis. I will continue to do all the online work, newsletters, lead follow-up etc., so that when I turn the lead over to one of my associates, it will be close to writing an offer or getting into contract. I can do all this online, from anywhere in the world, and that is how the Internet has allowed me to live out my dream: I am the business, and I can handle my business from anywhere there is a broadband connection and cell phone coverage. Meanwhile, I will also start working in Honolulu-virtually. I’ll use the same methods and techniques there that I use in the desert, and as business from Hawaii becomes more of the mix, I will start phasing myself out of the desert over the next year or two. My success in making the Internet work for me has empowered me in ways I can’t even begin to describe-sure, I am successful in my business, but it’s more than that, I’m able to live my life the way I want to without regard to geography. My buyers come from everywhere and I can handle them professionally anywhere. All those things are the power of the Internet! I can literally sit on the beach in Hawaii and carry on business with a buyer sitting in his living room in the frozen tundra somewhere; each of us connected to each other and fully functioning.”
Maybe you have a simpler dream
Perhaps you simply have a dream of tapping in to where 87% of residential real estate sales start (the Internet). Not many agents are as laser-focused on the Internet as Doug is, and many don’t have the technological know-how to make it work for them. Maybe you harbor no Hawaiian dreams, maybe you just want to get your kids through college, or get in shape for the ability to live well when you retire. The power of the Internet can bring those things to you, as well. “I’m a client of CompassSearch,” Doug says, “and I love the total transparency of their work; having the ability to actually see what is being done for me behind the scenes. I also love the reporting tools and the ability they give me to monitor and adjust what I am doing on my site. While I’m very proud of my success and my efforts in making that happen, when someone goes to Google and types in “Palm Springs MLS,” they’ll find my site. That couldn’t happen without CompassSearch, and it is the first step in succeeding online: being found by Internet shoppers. All the work I do and all the good advice I get from the people at Compass wouldn’t matter if my site can’t be found. But it is found, and Internet shoppers found me 2,425 times in recent months, under 500 different real estate-related search terms. You can bet that Compass will be on my team in Honolulu, too.”
About the Author: Mike Parker (mparker@theblackwatercg.com) specializes in online marketing services for Realtors® and real estate professionals. To request a free review of your website to determine if it is set up properly to be effective click here and it will be evaluated free. NOTE: For the next 90 days (May, June, July of 2009), any new client will receive a FREE Professional website as part of their subscription for one year, built and set up to succeed, if needed. You can keep the one you have and harvest leads from the one we build for you, if you like. We’ll be happy to do everything in this article for you except sell homes to the leads you receive.
Economic Highlights for the Week Ending August 7, 2009
MONDAY, August 3rd
The ISM manufacturing index increased to 48.9% in July from a level of 44.8% in June. The July index reading is just below the key 50% level which indicates mild contraction in total factory activity, nationwide. Stronger new orders bode well for future production while higher employment and inventories suggest improvement in current activity. Manufacturing activity remains weak and will likely float around the breakeven line this year and into next.
Motor vehicle sales received a boost from the cash-for-clunkers program, rising 15.8% in July to an annualized pace of 10.2 million units. Nevertheless, the lift from the government program was less than expected, given the cost. August vehicle sales will also receive a boost and auto dealers and manufacturers will have significantly reduced their inventories. Vehicle sales will likely slump again, after the government cash runs out.
TUESDAY, August 4th
The pending home sales index, which tracks the number of signed contracts, rose for the fifth straight month, gaining 3.6% in June to a level of 94.6. The monthly gain and the level of the index indicate stronger existing home sales in the July to August timeframe. Because they are rising from a very weak level, the pace of existing home sales, while improved will likely remain subdued.
Personal income fell 1.3% in June led by a sharp drawback in transfer payments related to the stimulus package, though wages and salaries were also weak because of soft labor market conditions. Consumer spending jumped 0.4% in June which was largely due to higher gas prices. A closely watched inflation gauge contained in this data series, the PCE price index shot 0.5% higher in June also related to higher energy costs.
WEDNESDAY, August 5th
The MBA mortgage applications index increased 4.4% to 517.3% for the week ending July 31. The purchase index edged 0.9% higher for the week as the refinance index jumped 7.2%. Application activity has been slow but steady on the purchase side while refinance activity seems to bounce around in response to movement in long-term fixed mortgage rates.
The ISM non-manufacturing index fell to 46.4% in July from 47.0% in June. The level of the index suggests sluggish activity in the services, construction and government sectors of the economy. Service sector activity remains weak but the steep declines have abated for now.
THURSDAY, August 6th
Jobless claims fell 38k to 550k for the week ending August 1. The Labor Department reported no special factors that may have distorted the data this week so the drop in jobless claims clearly points to some fundamental improvement in labor market conditions. We hope to see fewer declines in July payrolls, due out tomorrow.
Mortgage rates eased this week despite better economic data readings and higher yields in the bond market. 30-year fixed rate mortgages averaged 5.22% this week compared to 5.25% last week according to Freddie Mac's mortgage market survey.
FRIDAY, August 7th
Payroll employment declined by 247,000 in July compared to market expectations for a 328,000 drop. Job losses were broad based across most industries with only various services and the government reporting small job gains. Nevertheless, this was the smallest payroll decline since August of last year. Since the recession began in December 2007, 6.664 million jobs have been lost. The unemployment rate unexpectedly fell to 9.4% of the workforce, down from 9.5% in the previous month.
Stock Market Close for the Week
Index
Latest
A Week Ago
Change
DJIA
9370.07
9171.61
+198.46 or +2.16%
NASDAQ
2000.25
1978.50
+21.75 or +1.10%
WEEK IN ADVANCE
Data releases in the week ahead focus on consumer spending and inflation. We will hear from the Fed mid-week when the post-FOMC meeting policy statement comes out. No rate change is expected but the statement could provide some insights on how the Fed sees the recovery shaping up. Also, the Treasury is set to sell another $75 billion in notes and bonds in three separate auctions.
THE EPISCOPAL PARISH OF SAINT BARNABAS ON THE DESERT
SIXTH SUNDAY OF EASTER
May 17, 2009
Enjoy! Enjoy!
You have now heard everything I have to say this morning.But there is so much more to say because this is at the very heart of my Biblical faith and what I believe it means to be a Christian...
Author Harry Golden grew up on the Lower East Side of New York City in the early part of the last century.In one of his essays he speaks of his Mother’s faith in God. His Father was an intellectual who spent a lot of his time discussing God. Golden writes: “My mother, of course thought all those discussions were nonsense.She cooked and sewed and cleaned for the family and the neighbors. Even if a dish turned out well she would not take credit. The credit went to God. My mother talked with God all the time, actual conversations.”
Out of this faith came one of the few English words she knew—Enjoy! Golden writes, “When my Mother served our meals and placed before us a dish that may have turned out particularly well, she would always say, ‘Enjoy, enjoy’. The word covered hundreds of other situations. When the school had an outing and we all went off with our teachers, the last thing we heard going out the door was, ‘Enjoy, enjoy’.”
For nearly fifty years, Harry Golden’s mother’s faith and admonitionhave given illustration to a basic tenet of my Biblical faith—Enjoy!
One sentence in the Gospel this morning is one of a dozen passages of Scripture that provide the framework of my faith.
In the midst of a long conversation with his disciples, Jesus put it this way: “I have said these things to you so that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be complete.” (John 15:11)
Out of her deep faith, Mrs. Golden put it this way:Enjoy! Enjoy!
I put it this way:God wants us to enjoy this life—and the next. In Jesus he has given us the way. Walk the path with me for a few moments.
Jesus said, “I have said these things…” What things?
Be at one with God. “I am the vine, you are the branches. Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit, because apart from me you can do nothing.” (John 15:5)
Be at one with yourself and your neighbor.“This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.” (John 15:12)
It all comes together in Matthew’s gospel at a time the enemies of Jesus are trying to trap him into saying something for which he could be arrested. One asked, “…which commandment in the law is the greatest?’” and he replied, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and first commandment. And the second is like unto it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” (Matthew 23:36-39)
Be at one with God. Be at one with yourself and your neighbor. But there is yet one more thing he said that is of critical importance. As you read a little beyond our lesson today Jesus reminds his disciples that “If the world hates you, be aware that it hated me before it hated you. If you belonged to the world, the world would love you as its own.” (John 15:18-19) Don’t abandon the world. Just don’t be owned by it.
If we are at one with God and at one with ourselves and our neighbors, it is not possible for the world to own us. Conversely, it the world owns us it is not possible to be at one with God and at one with ourselves and our neighbors. We cannot enjoy the world if the world owns us. It is that simple.
Jesus said, “I have said these things to you so that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be complete.” What is the joy that these things bring?
First let me say, the joy promised is not the mad dash for happiness we see in the proliferation of books on the subject nor the ever expanding market for better living through chemistry nor the preachers promising financial success.
I have followed the current financial crisis economically and sociologically. From a theological point of view, I am convinced that at the bottom of it all is the thought that we have a right to happiness.
In a recent column, David Brooks comments on a study of 268 prominent young men who entered Harvard College in the late 1930’s. These were young men who had everything the world had to offer and yet over the years many of them made a mess of their lives. Brooks writes: “There is a complexity to human affairs before which science and analysis simply stands mute.” I believe that it is in that complexity we find the promised joy.
Of course, the promised joy is happiness, but it is also sadness. It is deeper than both. It is a mystery that keeps opening to us as we walk life’s way. And it is a gift. It was demonstrated on the cross and made real in the empty tomb.
Between the pursuit of happiness and the gift of joy is a very fine, perhaps mystical, border where we come face to face with God—where “science and analysis simply stand mute”.
There is so much I want to say about this joy because it is so central to my Biblical faith—to my understanding of what it means to be a Christian. Let me put it as starkly as I can:I enjoy both the grandeur of the Rocky Mountains and the glitz of the Las Vegas strip—recognizing each for what they are. I believe that is Biblical joy.
The movie Angels and Demons premiered Friday. The critics and panned it and the religious folks have dammed it. It’s just a story. It’s curious to me that we have so much trouble having fun with our religion—poking fun at it a bit.
Someone said, “Life’s journey is not to arrive at the grave safely in a well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways totally worn out shouting ‘Wow, what a ride!’” I believe that is Biblical joy.
In my life I have experienced the normal highs and low, successes and failures but I have never experienced anything catastrophic. If I do, it is my prayer that I will have the faith to experience the joy of those terminally sick persons who decide to spend their days living rather than dying.It has been said, “Life is not about waiting for the storm to pass. It’s about learning to dance in the rain.” I believe that is Biblical joy.
I believe God wants us to enjoy this life—and the next.
Be at one with God. Be at one with yourself and your neighbor. Don’t let the world own you.
The travel writer, William Least Half-Moon, shares the complaint of a woman he met. “I got a livin’ room, but in my life I got no room to live and that means I’m doin’ some wrong livin’”.
Jesus said, “I have said these things to you so that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be complete.”
Out of her life of faith, Harry Golden’s mother said it all.Enjoy! Enjoy!Amen.
Short Sales challenge us to be kind. There are many people involved in a short sale all of whom have must to loose and or gain in the transaction. The business ethic of win'-win becomes an issue of selfishness or kindness.
My current thoughts as a listing agent of short sales is to see that the property is improved over the months of a short sale process. If a home has two loans on it from two different banks or lending institutions you can expect a long negotiation period. -- 45-90 days. During that time I have on two occasions had 2 offers go in and out of escrow on to close on a third offer.
The critical pieces are to talk with the loss mitigators and work out the agreed settlement amount from the 2nd and the 1st. Continue to market the home and lower the price regularly so that you always have a good or better backup offer if your primary disappears.
Remember to not submit an incomplete short sale package. It must be complete and easy to understand. The hardship letter must be compelling.
A short sale is much better than a foreclosure on your credit and can be less painful if done with a CDPE.
Disclaimer: ActiveRain Corp. does not necessarily endorse the real estate agents, loan officers and brokers listed on this site. These real estate profiles, blogs and blog entries are provided here as a courtesy to our visitors to help them make an informed decision when buying or selling a house. ActiveRain Corp. takes no responsibility for the content in these profiles, that are written by the members of this community.
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The ISM manufacturing index increased to 48.9% in July from a level of 44.8% in June. The July index reading is just below the key 50% level which indicates mild contraction in total factory activity, nationwide. Stronger new orders bode well for future production while higher employment and inventories suggest improvement in current activity. Manufacturing activity remains weak and will likely float around the breakeven line this year and into next.
Personal income fell 1.3% in June led by a sharp drawback in transfer payments related to the stimulus package, though wages and salaries were also weak because of soft labor market conditions. Consumer spending jumped 0.4% in June which was largely due to higher gas prices. A closely watched inflation gauge contained in this data series, the PCE price index shot 0.5% higher in June also related to higher energy costs.
The MBA mortgage applications index increased 4.4% to 517.3% for the week ending July 31. The purchase index edged 0.9% higher for the week as the refinance index jumped 7.2%. Application activity has been slow but steady on the purchase side while refinance activity seems to bounce around in response to movement in long-term fixed mortgage rates.