I was going really strong, blogging almost everyday and commenting several times per day, and then...I got caught up in transactions.  I love doing real estate deals, but I love talking with my AR friends.

I have gotten down a system which works for me and allows me time to blog nearly every day.  I do not want to become a professional author...I do want to do between 60 and 100 transactions per year-and to do that, I need to lead generate.

Now, to be honest with you (even though I love everyone out there in AR land), I do want to build a great on-line Realtor networking organization so that great referrals will come and go from Norman, Oklahoma.

I have only been blogging on AR for a few months and have not received a true referral yet, but I am sure one is on the way.  Have a great day.

It's hard to feel sorry for someone that has there home on the market for $3.99 million, but......I do feel sorry for NBA all-star Allen Iverson.  The Denver Nuggets star guard has had his 14,000 square foot home in Pennsylvnia on the market for a year.  He is obviously not getting the traffic he needs, so he is doing what every smart home owner does. 

He has reduced the price.  Wall Street Journal's Private Properties column states that his "desperate" action has resulted in a new price of $3.999 million.  That is a cool $1 million less than he and his wife reportedly paid for it some 5 years ago.

You might find the amenities attractive.  A six-bedroom home on 4 acres with a pool house.  A 12-seat movie theater room, billiard room, a wine room, four suite bedrooms, and one extreme master bedroom with his and her marble bathrooms.

Come on people, let's take pressure off Allen.  He needs to concentrate on his basketball skills, not worrying about selling his home. 

As most of us know, on Sunday the United States government seized control of these two mortgage giants.  According to Neil Irwin in the Washington Post this morning, the move was a "dramatic bid to restore faith" in these companies.  Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson announced the takeover.

In the AP this morning, President Bush said the takeover was needed to keep them from falling.  He said that risk is "unacceptable" for our battered economy.  Before anyone wants to lay blame on this administration, both political parties supported the move.

In an article in the Tulsa World, AP writers Alan Zibel and Martin Crutsinger said that Henry Paulson will lead to lower mortgage rates and spur home-buying demand.  That would be good for all of us Realtors.  I was hoping something could be done about the shutting out of a major portion of buyers come Oct. 1.

The companies own or guarantee about $5 trillion in home loans, about half the nation's total.  Both  companies were placed into a government conservatorship that will be run by the FHFA, the new agency created by Congress this summer to regulate Fannie and Freddie.

However, there is no guarantee this takeover will work, and it comes at a potentially massive cost to taxpayers.  There are more details to this event than any of us will ever know.  

One reason for this post is partly informational.  The second reason, is I would really like to know what other Realtors across the US think of this historic event

Hi fellow Realtors.  As we all know, down payment assistance is going away is approximately 25 days, some in 15 days.   I read a post by Kevin Obrien in Roseville, MN. today about this issue. 

In the body of his post, Kevin gave a site address where all of us Realtors, Loan Officers, and anyone else on AR can go and send a letter to Congress.  I thought that I would put that address in a post again, so someone that might have missed his post, can read mine and ACT NOW.

I hope this is ok.  I do not get the reblog thing, but I think it is important enough to try.  I have already sent my letter in, as have 85,000 others.  Here is how you do it:

Go to www.dpagroundswell.org.  Click on the large orange square that says "Save DPA Now."  Then scroll down to the middle of the page on the right.  Now just fill in your contact information, include a messge, if you want, and then scroll and send.

LET'S DO THIS THING!

After Attending the Keller Williams Realty Mega Camp in Austin, Texas the past few days, I appreciate the fact that I am a selling Realtor in Oklahoma.  I heard several big-time mega agents that announced they would be happy with a 50% drop in business from two years ago.

Let me explain.  Some areas of our country, including both coasts, have double digit home appreciation much of the past decade.  That rate of increase made it very hard for many families to buy a home. 

There is a correction happening in the US the past 18 months.  In areas where prices had soared, as much as doubled in just a few short years, prices have dropped 30-40%.  Looking at the big picture, even if you factor in the current "losses,", housing has appreciated very well over the past few years.

Well, the bad news is that Oklahoma never enjoyed those large yearly spikes in apprreciation.  The good news is the same sentence.  So, if anyone has a family member or friend that wants to sell in Oklahoma, please let me know.  They will probably pocket more money than they think.

There is a Realtor in our office that has a veteran getting ready to close next week using his eligibility.  Today, she found out that her buyer will have to re-enlist for another tour in order to close on his home.  He is going to Iraq within the week, and because his duty is up in 10 months, the lender will not approve his loan.

I thought if a veteran puts in the time and comes back from a tour, he was eligible for a VA loan.  Thousands of veterans have got a VA loan after they have retired.  Why can't this heroe get out and get a loan?

Anyone with VA experience out there?

I do not know if anyone thinks like I do, that the new $300B gift to Fannie Maye is not going to do anything constructive for our buyers in the coming months.  Restrictions on FHA downpayment, DPA, change re: leasing current home to qualify for new one, hits on FICO  scores less than 720.

The financing options available until the end of Sept. are being SHAKEN and done away with.  I know the alternative of having no loans to offer is worse.  There is the silver lining of it all.

And I know that some of the part time Realtors that have been pretending to sales people are going to get out of the business.  YEAH!.  And I know we will have to get focused and work a bit smarter and or harder to help people qualify for their loans.

I know I am not alone in Oklahoma, thinking that the new bill needs to be put back into the Congressional oven and BAKED a bit more.  Maybe, in the coming weeks, we will see some lessoning of the nooses around some of our buyers.

SHAKE AND BAKE...

When I think of how incredible is was when the US Women's Gymnastic Team took the Silver medal in the 2008 Beijing Olympics, I am amazed.  Not many experts gave this group of girls (Nastia Liukin, Shawn Johnson, Alicia Sacramone, Chellsie Memmel, Samantha Peszek, and Bridget Sloan) much chance to compete well, much less win a medal.

Think about it.  If you would focus on your lead generation, listing appointments, or leverage skills in your real estate business with the same skill level as these champions, what would you business look like?  Or to put it another way, if Nastia Liukin treated her conditioning and practices with the kind of focus you give to your business, how would she have faired in Jeijing?  Would she have made the team?  Would she still be in gymnastics, or complaigning to their friends about how "it is so hard to be a gymnist nowadays!"

Hey, I am in the boat too.  One reason why I have looked at much of the Olympics is I want to see what extreme dedication and focus looks like.  And what is accomplishes.  I am humbled by what I see from these women and the way they handle themselves in adversity.

So, let's buck up, buckle up, and drive our real estate careers full speed ahead.  As Ricky Bobby says so well in "Taladega Nights,"  if you ain't first, your last. 

Oklahoma City metro area, or in the bedroom community of Norman, I can assist them with their real estate needs. 

I am proud of two recent national press releases about my community.  First, Oklahoma City was named home to "one of the country's strongest housing markets," Forbes.com said.  Another article called Oklahoma City as the most "recession-proof city in the USA.  It was the top-ranked among the 50 largest metro areas based on employment figures, median home prices and data related to the impact of foreclosures and falling home prices on the local productivity.

Even Paul McCartney was sited as staying over in OKC this past Tuesday evening.  He apparently is touring our country via Route 66 in a 1989 Ford Bronco with a close friend.  The couple made Oklahoma City one of several stops along the iconic "Mother Road," reportedly staying overnight at the downtown Skiving Hilton Hotel and dining at Nona's Euro-American Restaurant and Bar in Brick town.  The hotel would not confirm or deny hosting the pair.

Second, according to CNN Money Magazine, Norman Oklahoma is the 6^th best city in American to live.  That ranking was based upon employment figures, cost of living, local attractions, and the University of Oklahoma.  I am a resident of Norman, so I am obviously biased to the lifestyle we enjoy.  And it in only 22 days until football in Norman.

Anyway, I would love to share what I know to be a great area of the country in which to live. 

Has anyone done an FHA loan for a customer since 7/14?

We just did our first customer offer since the FHA changes just over a week ago.  Since they are putting less than 20% down on a 30 year loan, there MI was a lot higher than it would have been under the old guidelines.  There  credit score was good enough so that they did not have pay any extra points.

Do very many Realtors out there do many FHA loans, or are most of them conventional?  I think I am going to begin showing my customers a 2.0 front add-on MI, instead of the old 1.75 upfront figure.  I believe the new FHA limit in the Oklahoma area is $242k.  

I would be interested to hear how Realtors in other areas of the country are handling the changes.  Thanks