Putting on your make-up while driving.  Okay, raise your hands if you do this.  In California, we have a law that was passed last year that you can't drive your car while you are talking on your phone.  So, we have a bunch of people with speaker phones in their cars and bluetooth.  That's great.  But why is there no law against people putting on their make-up while driving.  I would think it is much more dangerous. 

Think about it.  While you are driving and have a phone in your hand, at least you are looking at the road.  You may not be concentrating on how your driving or others around you, but you are looking at the road, probably.  (How talking on a speaker phone will make you concentrate more on your driving is still a mystery to me)  But what in the world are you looking at while putting on your make-up.  Most of the people are looking at themselves in the rear view mirror. So at best, you are driving with your peripheral vision out of ONE EYE!!  In what world can this be safe.  And not only are you watching the road with one eye out of your peripheral, but you are trying not to poke yourself in the eye while putting on your make-up, so you are not concentrating on the road at all!!  Who thought this was a good idea.  And why is there no law in preventing this???

How many times have you been putting on your make-up and find yourself almost crash into the car ahead of you or swerve into another lane, just to narrowly miss another car.  Then tell yourself that you would never do that again, only to find yourself one week later putting on your make-up while driving again. 

Let's think people...most of us our not good drivers to begin with, even though most people think they are. Let's not fuel the fire with putting on your make-up while driving.  Have a great day!!

I hope this is not offensive to anyone.  But, is anyone feeling fat?  I started this business about 6 years ago, and I noticed that a lot of the more mature male Realtors were kind of chunky?  I thought to myself, why is this?  You work for yourself, you create your own hours, no one is the boss of you, (except maybe your wife), so why do you not have time to work out and keep in shape?  Well, I have been in the business for a few years, and now I know the answer.  I have gained almost 30 lbs.  WHAT!!. How can this be? 

It's our lifestyle.  We have no set schedule.  We work at the whim of our clients and jump when they call.  We eat when we can, and not very healthy most of the time.  We work late into the night, snacking on things and eating dinner at 9:00 pm.  You try to go to the gym, but when you are done you have missed 13 calls and have buyers leaving messages saying that they will go to the next Realtor to help them buy that million dollar home.  Or you get up at 5:00 am to go work out, and it turns out that you missed your asset manager's call who works out of New York and it's 8:00 am for them, and you just missed that listing that you have been trying to get.

This is why we get fat.  We are at the mercy of the buyer, seller and other agents.  Or at least this is how I feel.  Maybe next week I will get back into the gym, maybe.

This is for anyone dealling with commercial real estate.  Whether you're a buyer, seller or agent, commercial real estate is in a for change.  It is no secret that the economy is struggling all around the country, some place worse that others.  If you are an investor, get in now.  For the next 1 1/2 years, you will have an unbelievable opportunity to buy up some commercial deals, ie: apartment buildings, commercial high rises, strip malls, etc...

This area of real estate is unknown to many.  Most don't understand it, but it has great benefits to owning it.  This is the time to get your hands on property that is 70 cents on the dollar, if you structure the deal correctly.  I have sold properties like this and am in the process of buying up many of these myself.   i just wanted to give a shout out to all those looking to get into something like this.  It requires more money, of course, but the payoff is much, much greater.    

I know you have heard it before.  But this time it is a must.  The REO's are coming.  I just spoke with a top exec. at B of A, and they are drowning.  We have been told twice this year that the REO's will be dumped onto the market, and twice we have had moratoriums, keeping them under wraps. 

One of the reasons was because the government wanted to see if the loan modifications would work, which they did not.  A lot of the homeowners who did loan mods are back into default.  So, in order to fix this problem, the banks need to unload their assets and deal with the consequences. 

The number is not clear, but it is around 90,000 reo's in california alone that the banks are holding onto, and trying to keep under wraps.  But come September of 2009, the moratorium is over and we will be flodded. 

What this means is the market price will take another dive, one more time.  Supply and demand will bring the prices down and a huge rate.  Then, after a few years, we will recover and slowly climb our way back up. 

Not only is this troubling to hear for most homeowners, but here is more potentially bad news.  This exec. mentioned that it would not be out of the question for the interest rates to rise into double digits.  If you think about it, that could be very harmful.  We would have a large supply of bank owned properties, short sales and a few regular sales, and no buyers buying them because the rates are so high, no one can afford the payment. 

Time will tell.  We are not out of the woods yet.

I am trying to win a contest for my doggy.  The winner gets to donate $10,000 to a charity of their choice.  Mine would be to the Animal Foundation in my neighborhood.  Please vote for COOPER!! Just click on the picture!!

Democrats have wasted no time in creating a new bill to change bankruptcy rules with the aim of reducing home foreclosures. Under the proposal, judges could order lenders to forgive some mortgage debt.

The measure would change the law to give homeowners filing for bankruptcy the opportunity to restructure their loans so that they can save their homes from foreclosure.

"The economic turmoil we are experiencing is a direct result of the burst housing bubble," said House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers, D-Mich., who co-sponsored the bill in the House. "Foreclosure is now expected to claim more than 8 million homes by 2012 -- 16% of all mortgages in America. To set our economy on the path to recovery, we need to strengthen our communities by taking steps to stabilize the home mortgage market. Giving homeowners the chance to restructure their loans will help more families avoid foreclosure."

Lawmakers who introduced the Bankruptcy Act of 2009 argue that the effect of the anticipated stimulus package will be greatly diminished unless foreclosures can be reduced. They say it would help break the continuing cycle of foreclosure that threatens neighborhoods and cities across the country.

Rep. Linda Sanchez, said that under the current bankruptcy law, judges can restructure debt on vacation homes, yachts and private jets, but not on primary homes. "There is no reason why average Americans should not have the same legal protection to save their family homes."

Rep. Jerrold Nadler, said that under current law, home mortgages are virtually the only debts that cannot be modified in bankruptcy. The proposal, would give homeowners the same advantages corporations have when trying to restructure their debt. Voluntary efforts to modify loans have not produced the desired results.

This is a plea for our environment.  President Bush is trying to destroy one of the few places we have to enjoy our beautiful nature.  Bush's plan is to auction off hundreds of thousands of acres of land near national parks.  A week from today, he wants to lease 276,000 acres of pristine land.  Areas such as Arch's national monument, Dinosaur national park, Canyon Lands national park, to name a few.   

Bush is planning a midnight regulation which would do the following:

1) Weaken rules on drinking water, allowing higher arsenic levels.

2) Allow coal companies to dump into streams.

3) Oil and Gas leases next to national parks.

4) Concealed weapons in national parks.

5) Uranium mining near Grand Canyon.

6) More snowmobiles at Yellowstone.

These iconic places, gifts for the entire world are being threatened by one man, for a short gain.  This plan is definitely aimed at helping the big oil companies, which Bush is a big part of.  And it would destroy these grand places permanently for a quick buck in the already rich pockets of the oil companies.

But there is something we can do to stop this.  Please.  You have exactly one week to contact your leaders, representatives, congressmen, and the White House, and tell them not to allow this.  Do not permanently harm this great countries monuments for temporary gain.

 

If you haven't heard, there has been talk about the treasury dept. lowering the interest to 4.5%.  However, what you might not know is that the National Association of Realtors (NAR) was in secret talks with the treasury about how this would affect the economy.  The proposal would be something like this:

"A buyer would qualify for a traditional loan (from Wells or others) and then the government would buy the loan down to 4.5%.  The government would get the money by issuing bonds at 3% thereby making a 1.5% profit on the buy-down.  This program could only last six months or could go up to 18 months."

Well, The bad news is that there was a significant leak regarding these discussions as a story appeared in the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, and the Washington Post yesterday morning.  NAR claims no responsibility in the matter and apparently treasury is not extremely happy!  The net of this leak is that buyers potentially may sit on their hands until this buy-down takes place!

I believe this proposal is in the best interest of the industry and real estate practitioners.  Please galvanize your offices and agents to email congress and our senators to approve this buy-down.  There is perhaps a 50% chance that there will be an announcement on the weekend for this program.  This lobbying needs to take place over the next week!  Please contact government officials to express your approval of this type of buy-down.

A sample letter would look like this:

I support the proposal to have the government lower interest rates to 4.5% for the purchase of homes.  This proposal, in its current state, could potentially change the picture for the entire real estate industry and therefore the entire economy. 

I believe this proposal is in the best interest of the industry and the country as a whole.

                        Best regards,

                        Name

In addition to sending correspondence to your senator, please also send it to your local congressperson.  Click on the link below, add your address, and you will see the link for your local congressperson.

                                             http://www.visi.com/juan/congress/

 

If you are considering selling your home or purchasing real estate in Contra Costa, you owe it to yourself to contact Steve Dawson for all your real estate needs in the East Bay.

                                                                               "Whatever It Takes"

                                              Search over 14,000 listings in the East Bay

                                                                     www.SteveDawsonRealty.com

                                                                    Call Today for more information

                                                                                  925-788-7572

 

So, the Big 3 are back again to try to beg for the money they say they need to stay afloat.  When they first came, in their private jets, they were asking for 25 billion from the taxpayer.  Of course, they said it was going to be a loan, which would be paid back.  But I wonder, if we pay for the bailout with our tax money, and they pay back the loan, do we see that money again?  I doubt it.  If the money leaves our pocket, we won't see it again.  Now they are asking for 34 billion.  An increase of 9 billion in 2 weeks.  Wow, I would love to see this kind of increase in my pay that quickly.

Iknow the biggest problem with not helping out the auto industry.  The biggest problem being that lots of jobs will be lost.  But is it really a good idea to fix a boat with a whole that is sinking with elmer's glue?  These companies aren't failing because the economy is hurting, these companies are failing because of bad business decisions. 

Before we start giving money away to these auto makers, let's look quickly at what just happened.  Some major banks just got billions of dollars to help free up funds to start lending again, with the idea that it would help people be able to start buying homes.  But what happened?  The banks took the money, and did what with it?  NOTHING.  They said they were going to free up some money, but they haven't and no one is making them at this point.  Is anyone is control out there?  It is getting very frustrating.

But I digress.  Today, the Big 3 will ask for it's money.  They will try to convince that it is necessary for them to have this gift.  It is very important that the right decision is made, because we don't want another disaster like TARP. 

What are your thoughts on whether or not the Big 3 should receive this money?  The pros and cons.

If you are considering selling your home or purchasing real estate in Contra Costa, you owe it to yourself to contact Steve Dawson for all your real estate needs in the East Bay.

 "Whatever It Takes"

Search over 14,000 listings in the East Bay

www.SteveDawsonRealty.com

925-788-7572

 

Economic activity has weakened across the United States since early October, while price pressures have eased with declines in retail and energy prices.  This is no secret to the American people.  We have been feeling the pinch for many months now.

The Fed's Beige Book summary portrayed declining conditions in most areas of the economy.

Labor markets weakened as firms in many districts reported accelerating layoffs. Wage pressures were largely subdued, the Fed said.

Consumer spending slumped, with retail sales decreasing and vehicle sales falling off sharply in most regions of the country.  The report was based on data collected before November 24.  And obviously, it hasn't gotten any better.

Earlier this week, a panel of experts formally declared the U.S. economy in recession since December 2007. The Fed is expected to its lower benchmark interest rate target by a half-percentage point to 0.5 percent at its next scheduled policy meeting December 15-16.

Some analysts expect the Fed could bring rates down to zero by its following meeting at the end of January as it seeks reverse the economic contraction linked to the collapse of housing markets and a jump in home loan defaults.

Adding to the gloomy picture, the Beige Book described weak housing markets characterized by reduced selling prices in many regions. Sales were down in most districts, the Fed said.

Credit conditions remained tight and business and consumer lending activity slowed in most districts.  Unfortunately, this should not be happening still.  The reason our government bought up a bunch of stock in major banks is so the banks would free up some money to lend to consumers.  But it looks like so far, they are still be greedy and not lending much at all.  Is anyone in control out there, or are we just giving money to everyone and letting them do as they wish?  We won't last long if we keep doing this.

I am really curious as to what the government will do regarding the Big 3.  At first, they were asking for 25 billion, now it is up to 34 billion.  When will this end?  Time will tell I guess.

If you are considering selling your home or purchasing real estate in Contra Costa, you owe it to yourself to contact Steve Dawson for all your real estate needs in the East Bay.

 "Whatever It Takes"

Search over 14,000 listings in the East Bay

www.SteveDawsonRealty.com

925-788-7572