Well I am thrilled to say that Ike is gone and is no more.  He hit Southwest La like a frieght train.  My neighbors and I thought we would all end up with water in our homes.  Thank the good Lord we didn't but 5 inchs more and I would have gotten water in our home.  This is the 3rd storm I have "riden" out and am glad I have stayed.  I am fortunate to have a friend that has a building (thanks to State Farm policy of building the same building everywhere they go) that will with stand a cat 3 direct hit.  Knowing I have this as a backup gives me more of a sense of security than I should have.  I do know this lots of folks are getting pretty tired of our weather problems.    I never thought that I would even consider moving but must admit that I am at least talking about it now.  Where does a wornout out wannabe entrapreneaur go to start over?  What towns are the best?  I have Grandsons so I have to be able to fly out and be back home pretty quickly, I am a salesman so I think I can go anywhere but there has got to be some places better than others.  As you can see I need some advice...

Signed

waiting & curious

ok I have come up with a website that has been a real hit so far.  Not saying my Realtor friends are thrilled about it but its really a way for them to farm as well.  Its a simple process.  We call folks that have there house listed in the paper and offer to put in on our website at no cost.  You can go and look at it when you have time.  www.southwestlahomes.comis the site I created.  When we call to make the appointment we get to go into the house to get pictures and spend soime quality time with the sellers.  As you know most people that are selling will be buying pretty quickly. 

We provide a for sale sign that has a 800 number on it.  When the possible buyer calls it captures his phone number so we can follow them.  It has been a home run to say the least.  Seller love it because the system screeens callers that are looking for a price or owner financing.  The system culls lots of callers that never bothers the sellers.  We answer with a recording that tells the caller the price and description of the house.  Then it give you caller the sellers direct phone number.  As I said earlier our sellers love it.  Not only have we gotten the folks that are selling but we have gotten a high percentage of the buyers that are looking.  Its drives people to the web site and then to our mortgage companies web site.  www.absolutelowestrate.com   Please visit the sites and give me your input on them.   If your a Realtor go there and get the phone numbers and then get the listing.

Fannie Mae admits it may need fresh capital

 Ok you heard it (read it) here first.... The govt may have to take over fannie Mae?  It is a little closer that you might think.  These guys are out of capital and they are really concerned about 2009.

 Yes I have heard the economy is doing better but according to some numbers the people giving houses back to there lender is still BIGTIME.  Fannie lost a record $2.3 billion in the three months to the end of June, as more and more folks throw in the towel.

 Fannie and Freddie Mac together own or guarantee about half of all outstanding US mortgages, worth a total of $5.2 trillion, but with the value of houses dropping daily its wiped billions from the value of the underlying collateral.

 To no surprise to most of us Fannie said it would open offices in Florida and California, two of the worst affected areas, because it had taken over so many foreclosed homes in these areas.

 The company said it saw no change in the problems in the housing markets where it has a big portfolio of investments that have also declined in value. In fact, things had got worse in July, and the company said it would slash its dividend by 85 per cent to preserve cash.  This is the same company that paid the CEO a crazy bonus last yr?  Why does he loan them the money.  He has plenty according to the bonus he and fellow big shots received.

OK so now they have told everyone that they have already undertaken a series of initiatives, including raising more than $7bn in additional capital in the second quarter, to help them manage through the most difficult housing market in more than 70 years.  Most alarming is the fact that they say it was not sure about the outlook for 2009.

If the trend continues Fannie will no longer have those big reserves that they have enjoyed in the past.That would mean they would have to go the street or congress to get additional monies just to get by. Thank goodness the Treasury has said it would do whatever it takes to ensure that Fannie and Freddie do not fail, including injecting taxpayers' money in return for new shares, which could give the federal government de facto control of the companies.  Now that has got to thrill you.  I have yet to see the govt run anything successfully

There is aleady a backlash over the Housing Bill

So the ink is not even close to being dry on the 2008 housing bill when the first critical backlashes began circulating in Washington.

Some doubts about whether HUD will be able to complete the operating rules and regulations for the centerpiece of the entire legislation -- Who would have thought this.  More rules more beurocats more goverment the $300 billion foreclosure-relief program -- And it gets better.  Congress wants it done by the October 1 date mandated by Congress.

Folks at HUD have been quoted earlier in the week saying that it would be almost impossible for the agency to have the complicated and extensive underwriting criteria required to run the program in final form that quickly.

This, in turn, would delay Congress's efforts to reach out and save over 300,000 deeply distressed home owners by refinancing them into affordable, fixed-rate FHA loans.

The Democratic chairmen of the Senate and House committees that authored the "HOPE" refinancing program were incensed that HUD couldn't produce the operating rules in a more timely manner.

"The notion that this takes a normal bureaucratic response when you have this social and economic crisis is unacceptable," Rep. Barney Frank, chairman of the House Financial Services Committee told the American Banker, a trade publication. "I cannot believe that this would wait."

Then HUD Secretary Steve Preston told both Frank and Dodd, chairman of the Senate banking committee, that his guys would pull out all stops to have the FHA rules ready by October 1 to say the least that would be super fast by usual federal rule-making standards. Dodd later met with Preston and said that HUD staffers feel they can do it.  What would you expect him to tell his bosses?  I mean lets face it these guys sign his check.  So lets face it, what comes out will be wrong and have to be redone again.  Further adding to the clost of software updates

Meanwhile, the big boys are complaining that the final housing legislation is forcing them to do new software updates to their computer system for the second time within a short time, which can't be cheap in order to participate with FHA refinancing or new home purchase programs.

That's because Congress clamped a one year moratorium on the use of "risk based pricing" underwriting for all FHA loans, barely weeks after FHA itself required lenders to switch their systems to a risk-based program using credit scores and varying downpayment amounts.

Below are parts of the bill that congress is considering as we speak.  If your like me have got to be wondering when if ever will the govt STOP getting into every part of our lives.  When you read the details you may think that our govt is going into the venture capital business.  They will actually get part of homeowners profits when they sell the house in question.  So here we go again with another bailout...  Who really pays for the bailout... Its you and I.  Read some of the information below.

The Emergency Mortgage Loan Modification Act of 2008, HR 5579, would:

1. Establish a standard for loan modifications or workout plans for pools of certain residential mortgage loans;
2. Create a duty for the service's of such pooled loans to maximize recovery of proceeds for the benefit of all investors and holders of beneficial interests in the pooled loans, and not to any individual party or group of parties;
3. Deem the loan servicer to be acting on behalf of the securitization vehicle in the best interest of all such investors and holders if the servicer makes certain loss mitigation efforts for a loan in or facing payment default in the reasonable belief that such efforts will maximize the net present value to be realized over that which would be realized through foreclosure; and
4. Declare that, absent specific contractual provisions to the contrary, a servicer acting in a manner consistent with such duty shall not be liable to specified persons for entering into a qualified loan modification or workout plan for loss mitigation purposes.

The good new is that congress has initiated bipartisan foreclosure legislation..!!! What does that mean?  It sounds like if they had not enacted this legislation If were democrat I get foreclosed on one way, repubs get it another way & heaven knows what happens to independents. (couldn't be good huh)  Anyway it looks like there will be another group of bureaucrats looking to get paid and our overhead just went up again.  Does it ever end? 

Well could it be?  Are price really going to drop to $3.00 a gallon?  Most importantly are we going to get excited about it?  This time last year if someone had told you gas would be $3.00 per gallon you would have bet the farm they would be wrong.  Now look at us.... Actually ecited that gas may drop to that number! 

So my question to you Realtors out there is a simple one?  Have you curtailed your driving at all with gas prices soaring past $4.00?  A Realtor friend of mine says he will not stop or ever slow down a little bit when it comes to showing houses.  Back in the old days potential buyer would meet at the Realtors office then all get in his or her car/SUV and look at all the potential house available to this client.  Of course now we are a generation of NOW and we stop everything to "service" this caller.  Knowing nothing about them, no time to get to know them.  We jump in our SUV so quick that when we get there we realize that these clients are years from buying a home.  Lets use this gas problem as a time to get back to the old days of them riding with you or you riding with them.  Lets use the time to qualify them.  My favorite is lets go by the mortgage company together.  Meet there lender or introduce to one of yours...  Its just an idea. One worth some consideration.  Think about it.... 2 or 3 hours to get to know them?  Wow it could work.  Lets hear some comments from you Realtors out there. 

Richard Baggett

Who can give me some pointers?  I own 12 rentals now but have squired them through foreclosures.  I have never bought a house that I intended to use as a rental.  Most of the ones I am looking at now require some TLC (as the listing agents always points out)  How do you go about hiring someone to do the TLC?  I am not very handy, I don't even own tools needed, couldn't use them if I did.  So where is a guy like me to go for these handy men?  I am in Louisiana, Calcasieu parish, Lake Charles, La.  If you know of anyone that can help me please send me his or her information.  I am into residential and commercial property so I could use someone on a pretty regular basis.  My experience has been that its impossible to afford a general contractor so that's out.  I guess I could paint but its hard for me to get excited about that even...  Can you tell I need help!  Don't be bashful call or write to me with suggestions.

Richard Baggett 

We got some great news this morning.....

U.S. Economy: Goods Orders Gain, Home Sales Exceed Forecasts

If you read Bloomburg we got you will see that orders for U.S. durable goods unexpectedly rose in June, and sales of new homes were higher than forecast, easing concern that the economic slowdown will worsen.

One of the factors helping is that bookings for goods made to last several years gained 0.8 percent and posted the first consecutive monthly rise since July 2007, the Commerce Department said today in Washington. Great new for me as a mortgage lender is that new homes sold at an annualized pace of 530,000, exceeding the median forecast of 503,000 in a Bloomberg News survey. A private report showed consumer sentiment rose from a 28-year low, this is hugh!!!!

As you have all noticed from your 401K & other investments stocks rose and treasuries fell after the reports indicated the economy accelerated in the second quarter from the weakest pace of growth in five years. Economists had forecast that the slowdown would worsen by year-end as the impact of tax rebates fades and as job losses and rising consumer prices force households to cut spending.

``At the end of the day, we are going to avoid a severe recession,'' said a noted economist with at UBS Securities LLC in Stamford, Connecticut.

Friends tell me that gas prices are killing blue collar america & that we have to do something.  So the new above is GREAT.

Richard

Just as a "perfect storm" of various economic factors - the subprime mortgage crisis, weakening dollar, and rising inflation at a time when housing prices plummeted from their peak - contributed to the current housing outlook, another set of dynamics is now creating an upside for buyers. While most of the real estate news is focused upon the ominous clouds, another "perfect storm" of positive factors is conspiring to create a silver lining in the sector of the real estate market dedicated to income-producing properties.

Homeowners have begun to get realistic about pricing their listed homes. Whereas many were holding out for higher amounts at the beginning of the year, real estate agents report that sellers are now bringing their asking prices more in line with current appraisal values. Rather than trying to sell and make enough extra money to pay off extraneous debts like credit card balances, for example, homeowners are pricing property based on its own intrinsic value.  A recent storm in our area had everyone thinkning there homes were worth unrealistic amounts however they are getting back in line now. 

One of the most important sellers of single family homes this year happens to be lenders, because they have amassed a great deal of property due to an avalanche of foreclosure repossessions. Banks lose money when they hold on to such properties, and they are reportedly slashing prices aggressively. The homes that don't sell at foreclosure auctions are retained as so-called "real estate owned" or REO properties, and lenders have cut their asking prices for REO homes dramatically within the last several weeks.

But while the housing crisis is causing unprecedented numbers of homeowners to lose their homes - forcing many back into the rental market in search of housing - those who own income-producing rental property are experiencing a rare bull market.

As many as 40 percent of the foreclosures in some cities in the USA involve debtors who bought tenant-occupied rental houses, and savvy investors are now buying up those properties just as monthly rental prices surge.

That means that they can buy the properties at deep discounts but charge higher than normal rental fees.

As a result, they are able to realize positive cash flow. In essence they are buying homes and then letting their eager tenants pay the mortgage, which is a classic formula for investment success and high returns.

Prices have fallen in unlikely high-end markets such as NYC, for instance, and one of the most depressed markets within the luxury home market - Palm Beach, FL - is a prime example. Although the low end of that upscale market is in the millions, the discounts relative to normal pricing are extraordinary.

To maximize success when buying a rental property, experts offer these tips:

*It cost a little more but try to buy in neighborhoods primarily populated by owner-occupied homes, where few rentals are available. The added demand will help ensure a wider pool of tenants willing to pay higher rents.

*Its a good idea to aet aside an interest-bearing escrow account and put security deposits there for safekeeping to avoid the temptation of spending them.

*Those looking for retirement or vacation property can buy it as a rental and gradually convert it to a personal second home as retirement nears.  Generally you have the mortgage paid down substantially.

*Hiring a professional management company to manage rental properties can save money in the long run BIGTIME.  Its what they do, they do it better than you.  Let them do it

*Property owners can tax-deduct management costs while avoiding the time-consuming and stressful business of hands-on management such as late-night emergency repair calls, monthly rent collection, and background checks for potential tenants.

*Ok never use home equity loans to buy a rental property, because it can lead to owing more on your home than it is worth.

7) Consider setting up a simple corporation to hold investment properties. That can help to shield an individual from legal liability, and can make it easier to qualify for tax deductions available to those who own income-producing properties.

8) Be sure to maintain adequate homeowner's insurance coverage, and encourage tenants to take advantage of an affordable renter's insurance policy.

In recent weeks the new listings for homes on the market have slowed to a crawl, which may indicate that the inventories will diminish as demand at current prices grows. The Fed has always insinuated that it may begin a long series of interest rate hikes to fight inflation, and that would inspire those buyers who have been sitting on the fence to go ahead and purchase. If those signs appear it may point to a market bottom and renewed traction for real estate.