Many of you do not know me here on Active Rain because I have not been blogging as regularly as one needs to do to keep on top of Google.
However, this morning, as I reflected on what I needed to do to get back at the top of Google ( a place that I held for over a year) in my home state of Rhode Island, it occurred to me that new Active Rainer's are probably in a state of confusion. I will say that a couple of emails from Mark Lebukner and a few other new Rainer's, asking questions prompted me to write this.
First of all, we have the Newbie Group. This is the biggest group here on Active Rain, and is a group to go in and post a question. It is also a group to introduce yourself, or have someone introduce you.
Experienced Active Rainer's will come to this group after they have learned the ropes to "give back". This group is for "new to Active Rain", not new Realtors, Appraiser's, Mortgage Brokers, Inspectors...You can be any of these but you are in the group to either teach or learn.
Brad Andersohn of Active Rain has probably the most complete set of questions and answers and descriptions that I know of and you would do well to read as many of those as you can. Most of Brads tutorial blogs can be found here in the FAQ Group.
All that being said, I personally like to keep things simple. I suspect a lot of that is because I am time limited. Therefor, the actual reason I am writing this is for those new Active Rainer's that cannot spend all day writing.
First of all, if you have not upgraded to a Rainmaker blog, then nothing you do will be visible to anyone outside of Active Rain. And while Active Rain is great for referrals, friends and amazing knowledge, it does not speak to your home town if no one can read it.
The simplest way that I have found to attract clients is to write about a place. You can pick just about any place nearby or at least within your realm of reach. For instance, you can write about any restaurant, event, neighborhood, girl scouts, schools, farms, cities, fire department, police department, playgrounds in your area. The list is endless. Even if someone from your area has already done it, you can write it from your own perspective!
A couple of years back, I wrote about Warwick, RI, my hometown, and then I wrote a couple of follow up posts about the villages in Warwick, RI. This past year I wrote about Warwick Neck, Highland Beach, Chelos (a restaurant), Harbor Lights ( a marina). These are a very minute sampling of what some people write here at Active Rain. But I am here to tell you that even this small amount brings you recognition!
Last summer, when I wrote about Harbor Lights, the marina that I keep my boat in, I did it because I was hoping they would get some business out of it. About a month later, someone on my dock came up to me and said. "Whatever you are doing, keep doing it". The reason she said that was she went online to find a phone number for Harbor lights,and while she could not find the number, she said she found me "all over the place" and that now she knows more about me and my brokerage!
My best return on investment was a blog about Oakland beach. I have sold four homes in Oakland Beach just since May. I consider myself and Oakland Beach expert. Note that there are not many comments on this post. But people do read them.
If I can do this, and I am an extreme introvert, then anyone can do it.
Pick a place and write a post. That's all there is to it. Make sure you repeat some of your title in that post so Google can find it. Then sit back and wait for people to contact you.
Opinions are of Karen Hurst, Broker/Owner of Stonehurst Realty only. For a free consultation, visit me at Stonehurstrealty.com and find out if this is your time to buy.
If you are looking to sell, we can provide you with the latest stats for the market value of your home.
I would like to thank Jeff Geogham of Lancaster PA for formulating the very thoughts that I have had, yet backing them up with facts and graphs. Here is a link to his original post and below is the post.
This is one of those posts where I wish I didn't have to write it, but felt it was so important to my readers that I would be remiss not to at least talk about it.
Everyone out there probably knows somebody who is behind on their mortgage payments, looking for alternatives and likely also just finding out that their home's value has dipped below what their loan amount is. I know some within my own personal circles. It's a tough situation for me to advise them as a professional because it's such a personal challenge to their pride and self-worth, not to mention their plans and dreams for the family. The question we're asking is "when is this going to stop and where are we heading?"
I'm going to put up a few graphs that show the trends nationally with regards to mortgage delinquincies:
This chart is by quarter - Single-family mortgages set a new record delinquency rate in the second quarter of 2009, according to a quarterly survey by the Mortgage Bankers Association. Those of us in the real estate business see the foreclosure process (just visit the local Sheriff Sale docket to see the current numbers) but the looming delinqency-to-foreclosure issue is far, far larger.
The Wall Street Journal on 8/3/09 reported the following quote: “While subprime mortgages sparked the first round of housing problems two years ago, now "troubles are lurking further up the food chain," says Joshua Shapiro, chief U.S. economist at MFR Inc. White-collar job losses have accelerated while more adjustable-rate loans to prime borrowers are resetting to higher payments. ‘You put all that together, it leads me to believe that the next leg down on home prices is going to come from the top,’ he says.”
The first objection someone may have would be to say "yes, but historically those who are delinqent usually get their act together and come current on the mortgage after a while". That WAS true, but not anymore! We call that the "Cure Rate", that is the rate of delinquencies that go back to current. The Wall Street Journal reported on 8/24/09 about a Fitch analysis that found that the Cure Rate from 2000-2006 was 45% (which means about half of people fix their delinquency). However, as of July 2009 the rate had dropped to just 6.6%! That means that over 90% of delinquent customers are going to foreclosure. Take a look again at the above chart...
The next thing someone will say is "well, that's the 'sand states' and not my area". Here's the chart for all 50 states showing the same breakdown of delinquencies and foreclosures. Guess what - most states have a significant problem, especially compared to historical figures.
Now the next thing someone may say is "aren't those loans going to get 'fixed' by a loan modification?" I know several people right now who are applying for a Lancaster County loan modification but are waiting and waiting. I hope it works out for them...
In reality, loan modifications are hardly making a dent. To me, that's a burning question. Why arent banks being more aggressive in giving customers the option to extend their loan and/or reset to a lower rate? Why are they being SO difficult? The people I know don't want to be foreclosed. They CAN make payments. They just need the terms redrawn to allow them to catch & keep up. Loan modifications are not helping us get this crisis under control.
What are the causes of all these delinquencies? Here's a chart that is enlightening:
Keep in mind, this post is not intended to give us "good news". You may be experiencing good things in your market and that's great. My intent is to get us thinking about the challenges that aren't going away and how we're going to address them as homeowners, agents and professionals. I'd love to hear your ideas!
Opinions are of Karen Hurst, Broker/Owner of Stonehurst Realty only. For a free consultation, visit me at Stonehurstrealty.com and find out if this is your time to buy.
If you are looking to sell, we can provide you with the latest stats for the market value of your home.
There are many marinas located in Warwick Cove in Warwick Rhode Island, but Harbor Lights Marina, in my opinion is one of the best.
Besides being located on a back street off Warwick Neck Avenue, Harbor Lights Marina has a clear view down Narragansett Bay. Sitting on the dock and watching the boats brings just as much enjoyment as having a boat in a slip.
Harbor Lights Marina, boasts double fingers. (for those who do not know what double fingers are, its a dock on both sides of your boat) Most of the marinas in Warwick do not have double fingers. Having a dock on either side makes it so much easier for the Captain to get the boat in the dock with a minimum of fuss. It also lets the First Mate take their time jumping off the boat to tie up the lines.
A Dock has a perfect view of not only the Oakland Beach fireworks, but a general parade of boats coming up the cove and then returning at the end of the day.
All the docks are clean, well lit and just a nice place to be. Tim and Leo are always around, either on the gas dock, or in the office, or out in the yard and both are very accessible for questions and help.
Hap, the mechanic and John, the Yard manager are also always accessible and always willing to help.
Below are a few photos of Harbor Light Marina, mostly taken from the water.
If you are looking for a slip, check out Harbor Light Marina in Warwick RI.
<
Opinions are of Karen Hurst, Broker/Owner of Stonehurst Realty only. For a free consultation, visit me at Stonehurstrealty.com and find out if this is your time to buy.
If you are looking to sell, we can provide you with the latest stats for the market value of your home.
Highland beach, in Warwick, RI is my home town. It is on the very neck of Warwick Neck, another village in Warwick. Perhaps I should say my home "village" as I am continuing on the series I started a couple of years ago.
Back then I promised to do an entire series on the villages in Warwick. I first blogged about Oakland Beach in Warwick RI and I continue to receive calls and emails from that blog. In fact, Oakland Beach has been improving by the minute and I am selling homes there as fast as they go on the market. I am starting to think maybe I should have kept Oakland Beach a secret!
Next I blogged about Conimicut Point, another beach community (and Village) in Warwick, and of course Warwick itself!
Getting to Highland Beach is (and most Rhode Islanders remember this) usually by the "back road to Rocky Point" or Palmer Avenue. Off Palmer avenue are two streets that lead into Highland Beach. These are the only streets into and out of Highland Beach. Once inside you can go down a few different streets, like Priscilla, Ogden, Surf, Chapin, etc, but they all lead to the water.
While Highland Beach has a very small beach, most of the properties are on the waterfront and all the others back up the hill overlooking the waterfront houses. This is a very quaint community. There are homes that have been here for almost one hundred years, meaning that they survived the Hurricane of 38! which to my knowledge was the biggest hurricanes to hit Rhode Island in the past century.
There are all types of homes in Highland Beach. Former beach houses, now converted, large Cape Annes, many with wide porches and also some newer homes are all what makes Highland Beach so quaint. There are no two homes alike and the one bond is the Narragansett Bay!
If you want to live in Highland Beach, you need to be working with a Realtor because, these homes do not stay on the market for long. There are two here for sale right now. One is a waterfront and one is a raised ranch at the top of the hill.
The above statements are the personal opinions of Karen Hurst of Stonehurst Realty
"Making Realty a Reality"
Opinions are of Karen Hurst, Broker/Owner of Stonehurst Realty only. For a free consultation, visit me at Stonehurstrealty.com and find out if this is your time to buy.
If you are looking to sell, we can provide you with the latest stats for the market value of your home.
Since it has been 23 weeks since my first post on January 30, 2009 I am getting very close to another milestone in the AR community, almost at reaching 50K I am excited, howeverthis blog I am now posting is to be a special blog that I want devoted to my daughter-in-law,
Victoria Hann Corbett
Vicky, who celebrates her 38th birthday this coming August 4th is battling an autoimmune disease. She needs our help with an abundance of prayers. She needs a miracle, a donor to come forth and provide her with a new kidney.
She was diagnosed with Sjogren’s, an autoimmune disease, in 2004 after the birth of her first child, my first grandchild, Nolan Bryce, and is now suffering End Stage Renal Disease from complications of Sjogren’s.
Sjögren's syndrome often is undiagnosed or misdiagnosed. The symptoms of Sjögren's syndrome may overlap or "mimic" those of other diseases including lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome, and multiple sclerosis. Because all symptoms are not always present at the same time and Sjögren's can involve several body systems, physicians and dentists sometimes treat each symptom individually and do not recognize that a systemic disease is present.
Vicky is the wife of my first born son, John Michael and lives in Anderson, SC. She is the mother of my two grandsons, Nolan Bryce (4 to be 5 August 6) and Braydon Pierce who turned 3 on April 20th. She has managed to enthusiastically care for them even while enduring daily fatigue and exhaustion along with her loving husband, John. She works full-time during her entire ordeal. As a Certified Lactation Educator, she helps women establish a successful and loving nursing relationship with their babies. On top of all this, Vicky makes time to volunteer at community events such as cancer awareness days and the hospital’s Teddy Bear Clinic.
She started a blog, Sjogrens & Me, to help others who are suffering from this disease. Her blog is featured on Wellsphere, a comprehensive health information website.
Vicky is such a positive influence on the community and rarely even complains about her symptoms. According to Victoria she tell
She patiently is waiting for a kidney transplant and needs all the help we can provide. With a failure of a kidney, everyday life is most difficult for her and has been for the past 5 years. By having this kidney transpant it will allow her to have a real chance to lead a normal everyday life enjoying her 2 little ones and family.
Please, if you or somebody you know can help Victoria, here are kidney donor options:
* Incompatible Donor too often willing live donors do not meet the medical criteria. While it remains preferable (safer, easier, and less expensive) to receive a kidney from someone who is fully immunologically compatible, you can be an incompatible donor.
PLEASE, Help me use the power of the web and social media and viral spread this request to a world wide basis of networking. May we connect in this blogosphere to everyone who might know someone who can help.
Vicky as well as needing this kidney transpant, she and her family are in need of financial assistance to cover the extremely high costs of the transplant. A fundraising campaign has been established with the National Transplant Assistance Fund (NTAF) to help offset their out-of-pocket expenses. To date, NTAF founded in 1983, is the largest financial assistance organization in the United States for transplants and is a nonprofit organization that has been assisting the transplant communityfor over twenty-six years.
Dr. Jack Kolff and wife, Patricia, B.S.N., created the NHATF with the vision that all people should be able to receive life-saving organ transplants without regard to their financial situations. tax-deductible to the full extent of the law. To support this cause:All contributions are administered by NTAF exclusively for uninsured transplant-related expenses. Donations are please visit their webpage for Victoria Hann Corbett
May the hearts of those who can help make a difference.I thank you, my AR community family. Feel free to spread this dire message on twitter, facebook, and on your blog.
My friends, you have been with me for 49,788K and 122 blogs
Copyright photo by Kathleen Ann Pacheco-Corbett, all rights reserved and may not be reproduced without the written permission of Kathleen Ann Pacheco-Corbett, The Buyer's Choice, Lincoln, RI. Permission granted with a link back to my website and/or blog providing site is appropriate for all ages. Thank you.
Opinions are of Karen Hurst, Broker/Owner of Stonehurst Realty only. For a free consultation, visit me at Stonehurstrealty.com and find out if this is your time to buy.
If you are looking to sell, we can provide you with the latest stats for the market value of your home.
Today I read a couple of posts about Active Rains' Ambassador Program. Basically it sounded like Active Rain is looking for people to be sort of like a Welcoming/mentoring person for new members to Active Rain.
I thought that I was uniquely qualified for this position since I was the founder of the Active Rain Newbie Group and also the founder of the Actve Rain Rookie Group which is for new Realtors.
Anyone that knows me, understands my desire to help people thorough the some times foggy path here in Active Rain. For a time I was a moderator in the Practice Blogging group. I have personally welcomed many new members and offered my time and what little basic knowledge I had to help them get started.
However, as I started to fill out the application, on Brad Andersohn's blog, I notice that it asks for three blogs that are #1 on Google.
When I first started here at Active Rain in July 2006, I was quite frequently on the first page of Google. As time went by, I started other blogs and those were on the first page of Google.
This past January, I opened my own Brokerage, Stonehurst Realty and I have to say my blogging days have been extremely limited. My business has been living off my previous blogging efforts and I have been very busy. This is a good thing and also a testimonial to my blogging efforts here at Active Rain. These two blogs alone have brought me more prospective buyers than any others. http://activerain.com/blogsview/244592/conimicut-point-warwick-rhode-island
They were both location centric blogs and the keywords are the locstions themselves. I wrote them because I love the two places I was writing about and that made the difference.
I have joined Facebook, Twitter, and a host of other social networking sites. So to come up with three blogs that are at the top of Google ended up being a big problem.
In the process of looking, I find that some of my blogs "should" have been on the first page of Google.
This is obviously about buyers in RI and also correctly tagged Buyers market ri. Here is the google link for Buyers market ri Notice the second item where it says ALL activerain blogs tagged with Buyers Market. Where am I?
I rest my case. Of course I cannot show up on the first page of Google if my tags are not working.
In conclusion, I ended up not applying to be an Ambassador for my area, although I would have liked to be part of this new program. However, it has definitely opened my eyes, and as my title says, "I should have been paying attention".
Opinions are of Karen Hurst, Broker/Owner of Stonehurst Realty only. For a free consultation, visit me at Stonehurstrealty.com and find out if this is your time to buy.
If you are looking to sell, we can provide you with the latest stats for the market value of your home.
For the discerning buyer, this Condo has two levels, both with Master Bedrooms and Master Baths. A two car integral garage, full unfinished basement, ready to finish (has studs and electricity). Gas fireplace, dining room and lovely kitchen with a laundry room, 1/2 bath and a deck.
You can see this at 130 Boylston in the exclusive Newbury Village on the Cranston/Scituate Line. Near Churches, Fire Department, Shopping, Craft Fairs, Antiquing, yet close enough to the highway to get where you need to go in a hurry.
This condo is now offered at $309,900., a reduction due to todays market. These prices will not last forever, so contact me for a personal viewing.
<
Opinions are of Karen Hurst, Broker/Owner of Stonehurst Realty only. For a free consultation, visit me at Stonehurstrealty.com and find out if this is your time to buy.
If you are looking to sell, we can provide you with the latest stats for the market value of your home.
HUD Secretary, Shaun Donovan announced yesterday that FHA Lenders are going to allowed to let First Time Homebuyers use the up to $8000.00 tax credit as a down-payment.
To quote Mr. Donovan, speaking at the Mid-year conference of NAR in Washington:
Secretary Donovan said that important changes, which the National Association of Realtors® has been calling for, will help consumers purchase a home. “We all want to enable FHA consumers to access the home buyer tax credit funds when they close on their home loans so that the cash can be used as a downpayment,” Donovan said. According to Donovan, the FHA’s approved lenders will be permitted to “monetize” the tax credit through short-term bridge loans. This will allow eligible home buyers to access the funds immediately at the closing table.
It will be interesting to see what the rate is on the bridge loans, but regardless this is a great step in the right direction. I appreciate NAR spear-heading the effort for home-buyers.
Ann Arbor, Saline, Dexter, Chelsea, Ypsilanti, Milan buyers this is exciting news for you. This has been one of the most consumer asked question on my Ann Arbor Real Estate Blog.
Missy Caulk & Team can be reached at 734-216-2822 or email: Missy@MissyCaulk.com
Our TEAM of 6 buyer associates are available to help you relocate to Ann Arbor, Saline, Dexter, Chelsea, Milan, Ypsilanti Township, Clinton, Manchester, Whitmore Lake, or throughout Washtenaw County, MI.
Opinions are of Karen Hurst, Broker/Owner of Stonehurst Realty only. For a free consultation, visit me at Stonehurstrealty.com and find out if this is your time to buy.
If you are looking to sell, we can provide you with the latest stats for the market value of your home.
I keep hearing about Buyers getting last minute surprises before their loan closes, and this is something that should not happen if everyone does their job during the loan process. The reason why there are surprises are because the necessary steps were not taken, someone tried to take a shortcut along the way, and those involved in the transaction did not pay attention to conditions that needed to be met in order for the loan to close.
It all starts with a Buyer being Pre-Approved for a loan correctly. You can read a blog that I wrote recently "It Is A Great Time To Buy ........... Get Pre-Approved Today!!!!", where I identify the necessary steps that must be taken from the very beginning. If a Buyer is Pre-Approved correctly it will eliminate most of the surprises along the way, and set the stage for a quick and smooth transaction.
The second most important step in making sure that there are no surprises, is for the Loan Officer to take a complete Loan Application (1003) and ask ALL the questions, especially those that some times LAZY Loan Officers and Brokers overlook. I am referring to the YES and NO questions on Page #4, you can read about this on my blog "Questions That Loan Officers/Brokers Have To Ask!!!". These questions may seem silly at times, but not asking anyone of them can cause major problems later.
The third is making sure that you have a completed Good Faith Estimate (GFE), and Truth In Lending Statement (TIL). The Good Faith Estimated is particularly important to have as soon as possible in the process so that everyone has a very close estimate of how much money the the Buyer needs to have to purchase the house. Being short of funds to Close at the last minute is not something that anyone wants to be surprised with.
The forth thing to pay attention to and make sure that you have is a Rate & Point Lock Letter, which I covered in this blog "Rate & Point Lock Letter…………Got To Have One!!!" You want to make sure that you know what your interest rate will be, and any points associated with it before you get to the Closing Table.
The fifth and final one that I will cover here is pay very, very close attention to the conditions listed on the Commitment Letter once the loan is approved in Underwriting, everything that will need to be done before a "Clear To Close" is given is listed on the Commitment Letter, and these conditions need to be taken care of as soon as possible. No one should be surprised by anything that will be needed before the loan can close, ir they took the time to read the Commitment Letter. It is everyone's responsibility to know what is on it, and to stay on top of each other until everything on it is done.
Can there still be a chance for a last minute surprise if all this is done, yes there is, anything is possible, and never say never. But if everything that I have listed above is done, the chance for a surprise will be 99% eliminated, and only something that is very odd, or that could not have been anticipated will cause a surprise at that point.
How can you ensure all this. Make sure that you are dealing with professionals that do this FULL time, and that you can see FACE to FACE. Professionals that will be there every step of the processes, and that can be reached quickly whenever a question arises.
George Souto is a Loan Officer who can assist you with all your FHA, CHFA, and Conventional mortgage needs in Connecticut. George resides in Middlesex County which includes Middletown, Middlefield, Durham, Cromwell, Portland, Higganum, Haddam, East Haddam, Chester, Deep River, and Essex. George can be contacted at (860) 573-1308 or gsouto@mccuemortgage.com
Opinions are of Karen Hurst, Broker/Owner of Stonehurst Realty only. For a free consultation, visit me at Stonehurstrealty.com and find out if this is your time to buy.
If you are looking to sell, we can provide you with the latest stats for the market value of your home.
So, one can conclude with mathematical certainty, that While Hard work and Knowledge will get you close, and Attitude will get you there, its the Bullshit and Ass kissing that will put you over the top.
'REMEMBER SOME PEOPLE ARE ALIVE SIMPLY BECAUSE IT IS ILLEGAL TO SHOOT THEM'
Opinions are of Karen Hurst, Broker/Owner of Stonehurst Realty only. For a free consultation, visit me at Stonehurstrealty.com and find out if this is your time to buy.
If you are looking to sell, we can provide you with the latest stats for the market value of your home.
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.
Many of you do not know me here on Active Rain because I have not been blogging as regularly as one needs to do to keep on top of Google.
There are many marinas located in Warwick Cove in Warwick Rhode Island, but Harbor Lights Marina, in my opinion is one of the best.
Highland beach, in Warwick, RI is my home town. It is on the very neck of Warwick Neck, another village in Warwick. Perhaps I should say my home "village" as I am continuing on the series I started a couple of years ago.
or Palmer Avenue. Off Palmer avenue are two streets that lead into Highland Beach. These are the only streets into and out of Highland Beach. Once inside you can go down a few different streets, like Priscilla, Ogden, Surf, Chapin, etc, but they all lead to the water.
HUD Secretary, Shaun Donovan announced yesterday that FHA Lenders are going to allowed to let First Time Homebuyers use the up to $8000.00 tax credit as a down-payment.
Missy Caulk & Team can be reached at 734-216-2822 or email: Missy@MissyCaulk.com
I keep hearing about Buyers getting last minute surprises before their loan closes, and this is something that should not happen if everyone does their job during the loan process. The reason why there are surprises are because the necessary steps were not taken, someone tried to take a shortcut along the way, and those involved in the transaction did not pay attention to conditions that needed to be met in order for the loan to close.
;)
;)
