I have been concerned about the national debt since I first took economics classes in the early 1980's at Boise State University.  I have finally thought of a way that might help pay it off!

While a lot of the people are asking for mortgage write downs (cram downs) due to the economic adjustments made in housing values nationwide, I am suggesting almost a diametrically opposed solution.  Mine is not a quick fix answer, since in physics, I also learned that for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction!

There are now thousands of blogs suggesting we did just drop all mortgages down to current values (and the LTV requirements thereof), yet I have not seen a single economist suggest it!  If we did take such action, this would stop some of the defaults on mortgages, but would cause defaults on the banks thereby impacting even the retired people that have their life savings in there with a free and clear mortgage!

If we were to buy into this idea of writing balances down to fair market value, does that mean my credit card balance should be written down to zero since there is no current value of the meal I charged last month?

If we were to buy into this idea of writing balances down to fair market value, will we have to do this for all the automobile loans out there too since the cars are worth less than they day they were purchase?

Can we just write off the portion of the national debt that was run up to fight the war in Vietnam, the Iran Contra Affair, Desert Storm, etc., since those are also in the past and of no present value?

Since this logic path isn't logical, I have been thinking of an actual solution instead of just buying into the problem!  I still have a lot of fine tuning to do, but think my concept is close enough that I can forward it to Dr. Lawrence Yun - NAR's Chief Economist so he can decide if it has merit or not.  Unfortunately, I did not have this idea in time to submit to NAR for their "Game Changer" challenge in 2009.

My idea is relatively simple, if the US Government lends you the money to buy your home, they are essentially your partner and therefore could offer a "Shared Equity Participation Loan" in some cases.  Since NAR statistics have shown that the average home appreciates long term at a rate of 3.8%; they could benefit from the future appreciation that resulted from this partnership.  For example, if you bought a home for $200K that appreciated 3.8% a year for 5 years, that home would be worth $240,999!  If you took out 12% of that cost for the net cost of acquisition and sale you would still have a net profit of $36,079.  If the US government provided 17% of the money (80% first mortgage + 17 US + 3% borrower's funds = 100%) then they would be entitled to 17% of that profit or $6,133.57.  If you paid cash for the home or put down 20% so you didn't need FHA or VA's help, you keep 100% of the profit (less your capital gains tax if any).

If the Debt Clock above is accurate, and there is over $14 Trillion in mortgage debt in the US.  According to a Reuters article I read, government insured loans are now over 38% of the market, up from a record low of 6.8% in August 2005.  So, if you multiply the $14 Trillion in mortgages by 38% of the market and if they averaged 17% of the down payment (assuming an FHA loan) that is still $921 Billion!  If that number appreciates by the long term average of 3.8% - that is a $35 Billion gain annually!  If only 20% of the gain is paid back, that is still $7 billion a year!  At that rate, the US can pay off it's entire national debt in only 7,831 years!

Does anyone have a better plan?

There are a lot of companies that are springing up that are willing to take your money to show you how your property shows up online; however, being the frugal Owner/Broker of Progressive Realty Corporation in Boise, Idaho, I would rather do it for free!

All you need to do is use Google Alerts!  (www.Google.com/alerts)

Plug in your listing address (make sure to use "123 easy street" in quotes or else you will get all the 123's and all the easy's and all the streets).  Then set up another account for the MLS number.

This is a great way to track the effectiveness of your online campaigns by seeing where your listings show up.  You may also find companies scraping your data without your permission and stealing your leads!

I have found some of my listings show up in very unique places and it also lets me track what I can be doing better by showing me new places that already pull my data that I am not utilizing in my marketing materials.

Since I recently added a graphic on my business card that says "Google Me!"; I also set up an alert for myself and my company so I can make sure I know what people say about me online too.

If you need a Realtor in Boise, Idaho - Google Me!

I have been a Realtor in Boise, Idaho for nearly 19 years and have never seen such a great time to build a new home!  It will NEVER be this affordable again for the following reasons:

1. Some lots are being sold at less than the cost to develop them (replacement cost are higher after these are gone)!
2. Tax Credits.  If you wait till May to write an offer, you will loose the tax credits!  You can still write a contract by April 30th to build a home but it has to be completed and closed by June!
3. Subcontractors are hungry so prices are low!
4. Rates are still in the low 5% range and projected to go toward 6% by year end.
5. Available Grant money and assistance funding is available for qualified individuals.
6. Lots of inventory and choices.
7. Many communities are finally open to bring your own builder instead of a single builder or builder team.

A great example is a subdivision off of Five Mile and I-84 in which originally the developer was trying to sell lots for $100K - $125K.  After the lender took the project back in foreclosure, they are now building brand new 3 bedroom 2 bath homes with 2 car garages starting at $104,900!

At todays interest rates, the Principle and Interest would only be about $550 a month so by the time you add in the taxes and insurance you are still only around $700 a month and it would cost you about $900 a month to rent it!

If you bought it for $104,900 and got $8,000 back in tax credit your acquisition cost is under $100K!  That is less than the first lot sold for in the subdivision!  The more grants and programs you can stack on top of that, the better off you are!

I have closed over 50 brand new homes in the Treasure Valley (Boise, Kuna, Meridian, Eagle, Nampa, Caldwell) and would be glad to help you pick the right builder and the right location to keep you in budget!

Jim Paulson
Owner/Broker - Progressive Reatly Corporation
www.Progressive-Realty.info
GoOwnIt@gmail.com

Today is a unique day not just because it is the end of 2009 but because it is what they call a "Blue Moon".

When you have two full moons in a given month, the typically refer to second one as a "Blue Moon".

The moon is also credited / blamed for influencing peoples behaviors due to it's gravitational pull.  Did you know it is the moon's gravitational impact that control the tides on earth?  Some believe the impact of the moon's gravitational pull on some peoples cerebral fluid surrounding their brain on full moons can have a negative impact as well.  Lunar is a word for moon so you shouldn't be surprised to know that "Lunatic" is based on this concept.

Therefore, it seems appropriate to play this song today in tribute:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xp9852hq0W0

Happy New Year!

2009 was a very unique year for me here in Boise, Idaho.  

If I had to describe in two words, it would be Upside Down or should I say uʍop ǝpısdn

Many borrowers are uʍop ǝpısdn in their mortgages;

Many Realtors incomes were uʍop ǝpısdn

I had four companies declare bankruptcy instead of paying me what I was owed over the past few years;

I have not yet figured out how to put things right side up, but here is a link to help you join the rest of the people that are already upside down:  http://www.typeupsidedown.com/

If you are still super serious after 2009, you might want to create a super strong password using your regular password upside down!

Statistics and market data on how well the market is or is not doing vary wildly in todays market.  Therefore, I went back to the Intermountain MLS records to try to help quantify the market from a historical perspective for homes in the Treasure Valley and specifically for Ada County Real Estate.

The decrease in sales prices is due to several factors:

• The tax credits are accelerating the purchases of low to moderate priced homes;
• Upper end homes typically sell via reselling existing homes and many sellers have reduced equity positions to make that happen;
• Tighter lending on upper end homes make those purchases more difficult for many buyers;
• Lot prices have decreased substantially ($100,000 in some areas) allowing for the building of more moderate priced homes.
• New construction has gone back to the basics and Granite counter tops and jetted tubs and 3 car garages are once again options and upgrades, not standard features.

One of the first tasks I hoped to figure out with my new HP Tablet PC was how to use it's Infra Red port and a Palm or Windows Mobile Emulator to use it as a lockbox key with Supra.  Supra claims this isn't possible, but I have not given up yet.  I downloaded a Palm emulator, but I couldn't figure out how to have it let me download to it to expand the use.

Now, I am in the process of trying a Windows based version.

If anyone has had success with emulators, I would appreciate a quick lesson.  My computer is running Windows 7.

Thanks!

I was surprised that I didn't find much here on Active Rain regarding the benefits and use of Tablet PC's so I started my own group.  If you use a Tablet PC, please join this group and share your knowledge and feedback.

I would appreciate knowing what types of Tablet's people are using in the real estate industry and why you selected the Tablet you did.  For example, my first TabletPC was a Gateway and I selected it since it had a 14.1" screen (the largest I could find four years ago).  Finally, the on board sound card died, so I used that as an excuse to upgrade.

I bought an HP Tablet last week and love it.  It is the Touchsmart TX2 1370.  It came with 4 gigs of ram, 2.3 GHz Ultra Dual Core Mobile Processor, 12.1" Hi Def Widescreen Display, a 320 GB 7200 RPM Hard Drive, Light Scribe DVD burner, webcam, finger print scanner, and more!

I will be posting software I download (i.e. Microsoft Office 2010 Beta) and test the limits of this machine.

I hope you will join this group and share your experiences if you too are a Tablet PC user.

I have a great one acre building lot for sale that is between Nampa and Caldwell Idaho that is perfect for building your next dream home.  Why pay the same price or more for a lot in a subdivision with neighbors and CC&R's?

Easy commute to anywhere in the valley!

Views of the Owyhee Mountains or the Boise Front (Bogus Basin).

Use your own builder or I can assist with that process too.

Call or email me for additional details or go to www.IdahoMLStours.com/smith3

Smith 2A lot for sale in Nampa

Thanks!

Jim Paulson

Owner/Broker - Progressive Realty Corporation

If you are looking for a home under $200,000 that has:

• walking distance to the golf course
• that brand new home feeling;
• four bedrooms, 
• a great room for open living space, 
• Separate Living and Family Rooms;
• a bonus room (media, studio, etc.) over the garage
• three car garage

you will find it at !