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An Explanation of Life (Today's Funny)

 

On the very first day, God created the cow.  He said to the cow,  "Today I have created you!  As a cow, you must go to the field with the farmer all day long.  You will work all day under the sun!  I will give you a life span of 50 years."

 

The cow objected,  "What?  This kind of tough life you want me to live for 50 years?  Let me have 20 years, and the 30 years I'll give back to you."  So God agreed.

 

On the second day, God created the dog.  God said to the dog,  "What you are supposed to do is to sit all day by the door of your house.  Any people that come in, you will have to bark at them!  I'll give a life span of 20 years."

 

The dog objected,  "What? All day long to sit by the door?  No way!  I give you back my other 10 years of life!"  So God agreed.

 

On the third day, God created the monkey.  He said to the monkey,  "Monkeys have to entertain people. You've got to make them laugh and do monkey tricks.  I'll give you 20 years life span."

 

The monkey objected.  "What? Make them laugh?  Do monkey faces and tricks?  Ten years will do, and the other 10 years I'll give you back."  So God agreed.

 

On the fourth day, God created man and said to him,  "Your job is to sleep, eat, and play.  You will enjoy very much in your life.  All you need to do is to enjoy and do nothing.  This kind of life, I'll give you a 20 year life span."

 

The man objected.  "What?  Such a good life!  Eat, play, sleep, do nothing?  Enjoy the best and you expect me to live only for 20 years?  No way, man!.... Why don't we make a deal?  Since the cow gave you back 30 years, and the dog gave you back 10 years and the monkey gave you back 10 years, I will take them from you!  That makes my life span 70 years, right?"  So God agreed.

 

AND THAT'S WHY....

In our first 20 years, we eat, sleep, play, enjoy the best and do nothing much.  For the next 30 years, we work all day long, suffer and get to support the family.  For the next 10 years, we entertain our grandchildren by making monkey faces and monkey tricks.  And for the last 10 years, we stay at home, sit by the front door and bark at people!

 

Top 100 markets! Has yours hit bottom?

The Top 100 Markets - has yours hit bottom? The December 22, 2008 issue of Fortune magazine page 68 & 69: The 2009 Housing Outlook - by Scott Cendrowski Yesterday I picked up this article and skimmed it as I was heading out to a Christmas party. This morning I had a chance to read it more thoroughly.  The sources quoted for the stats in the article are National Association of REALTORS and Moody's Economy.com.  The bottom line is the market hasn't turned around YET - but we all knew that. The good news is there is signs of the end being in sight. My market is the Crystal Coast of NC so of-course my eyes zoomed into that section of the map. Well Raleigh, Charlotte and Greensboro - High Point are the 3 NC markets noted in the survey so I will have to use those as my guiding factor. With many of our buyers and sellers coming from other area of the state this should give insight to our market as well. Rank City 2008 Median Price 2009 2010 26 Greensboro-High Point $149,240 -2.7% 0.1% 42 Charlotte $199,030 -5.9% -1.6% 45 Raleigh $217,510 -6.2% -0.5% "It's the billion-dollar question: When will prices rebound? With the economy weakening, probably not next year, when only two out of the top 100 markets in the country are expected to show gains. The bright side: In 2010, 47 markets will swing from negative to positive territory. -- Scott Cendrowski Well Scott that is accurate in saying only 2 markets, McAllen-Mission, TX and New Orleans, show predicted gains in 2009 and when I looked at the chart and map I saw several other positives. Four more markets with less than a -1%  slide projected: Fort Worth-Arlington,  Birmingham, El Paso and Pittsburgh. There are 10 markets with slide of between -1% and -1.9% slide: Indianapolis, Wichita, Youngstown, OH, Dallas-Irving, Columbia, SC, Little Rock, Oklahoma City, Austin, Rochester, NY, Buffalo-Niagra Falls Eleven more markets will have between a -2% and -2.9% slide: Omaha, Gary, IN, Dayton, Grand Rapids, Tulsa, Houston, Greenville SC, San Antonio, Greensboro-High Point NC, Albany NY and Syracuse NY That makes 25% of the market seeing bottom and beginning the turn toward recovery and 2% in recovery. With 47 markets seeing positive gains in price in 2010. I feel like we may be close to the tipping point. The article broke up the market into sections: 2009 range of price changes      The West -9.2% (Albuquerque) to -24.9% (Los Angeles)      The Midwest -1.3% (Indianapolis) to -11.7% (Farmington Hills-Troy, MI)      The South +2.8% (McAllen-Mission, TX) to -22.8% (Miami-Miami Beach)      The Northeast -0.9% (Pittsburgh) to -15.8% (Stamford, CN) California has the most -20+% markets for 2009 but look at 2010 they all drop below -5% with the exception of Los Angeles which comes in at -5.1%. Hopefully this means something has to be selling to get that change year over year. Not one of the top 100 markets will see double digit negative percentage price changes in 2010. Of the 50 markets still seeing negative price changes in 2010 - 18 of those markets will see less than -2.0%. Of the 50 markets in 2010 that see positive price changes (including one neutral market Nashville), the South region will see the most positive markets coming in at 21, followed by the midwest with 16, the northeast at 10 and the west with 3.

Charts - by Rank and by Region per December 22, 2008 issue of Fortune magazine CHART by RANK

Charts - by Rank and by Region per December 22, 2008 issue of Fortune magazine CHART by REGION

or should I say ... a new beginning

Homes For Rent 11/25/08

SOLD AND CLOSED IN 33 DAYS

FHA...the time to act is now!

FHA mortgages are the best thing out there.  Now representing over 40% of the market in this economy, this once dinasour of a program that was thought to be near extinction is now the buzz for most home buyers.  What does FHA give you as a homebuyer?

1)  The loan is assumable.  If you want to, when you sell your home, you can get your mortgage to be assumed by future homebuyers.  If rates climb to 9% and the rate your in is 6.5%, you can have your mortgage be assumed by a future homebuyer;

2)  Gifts are still allowed for downpayments.  No other program is as agressive in getting buyers into loans.  Conventional loans require a minimum of 3% of the buyer's own funds to be invested into the purchase.  No so with FHA.  FHA allows gifts for the entire downpayment.

3)  Downpayment Assistance, albeit for the time being short lived, can still be used to puchase a home.  In other words, a non for profit downpayment assistance company can get you in the home by providing for your entire downpayment;

4)  Non-occupant co-borrowers - are allowed.  The primary borrower doesn't even need to qualify by their own merits.  I see this a lot for parents who want to buy a home and have their college child live in it during their schooling;

5)  Non-traditional credit.  FHA has a manual called the 4155.  The 4155 specifically says "the lack of credit is not sufficient reason to deny a borrower."  That means that even if you don't have credit you still have the opportunity to buy a home.  You'll never find this with a conventional loan;

6)  Credit in general - FHA allows for manual underwriting and automated underwriting.  That means that if your credit is less than stellar, that, in and of itself will not bar you from obtaining a loan.

7)  Appraisals - Appraisals have been streamlined to look more like Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.  What does that mean to you?  You won't have all of the headaches that you initially would have in order to get an appraisal approved.  A lot less conditions for appraisals;

8)  Increased loan limits - FHA has raised the county loan limits nationally.  Those of you who thought your loan was too big to refinance....that's not the case anymore.  With expanded loan limits, this just might be perfect.  Plus FHA is more agressive in what they'll permit for cash-out refinances.  This is huge!

There are a myriad of other FHA pluses to help you consider buying a home, but if you're looking to buy.  The FHA Modernization Act has brought FHA back to the forefront.  Call me today to find out more about your homebuying options.

DEL CITY'S CITY WIDE GARAGE SALE

FHA Financing Changes...

FHA financing is undergoing some changes as a result of the "Housing and Economic Recovery Act" or HERA. Here are a few of the major changes.

*No more seller-funded Down Payment Assitance programs.  Grants and gift money is still OK. 
*Buyer contributions will be increased from 3% to 3.5%
*The recent credit-score driven mortgage insurance costs are being postponed.
*For most FHA home purchases and refinances, there is a small bump from 1.5% to 1.75% for the Upfront Premium that is financed and the monthly renewal cost is increasing from .50% to .55%. This is a minor change that won't alter qualifying or anyones ability to qualify for a home.

FHA home financing has dramtically increased their market share of loans due to the HUGE tightening changes that conventional (FNMA and FHLMC) and private mortgage insurance companies have initiated over the past 10 months. FHA is flexible, has more credit score flexibility and more down payment options and similar and even sometimes lower interest rates.
Primary benefits of FHA:
*6% seller concession is allowed
*3.5% buyer contribution may be gifted to the buyer
*Non-occupying co-borrowers are allowed to help with qualifying
*FHA says they have no minimum credit score, but most investors have their own limitations, often in the 580 range. 
*1-4 unit properties, owner-occupied only, may be purchased with small down payment 

Luckily for me, FAIRWAY Independent Mortgage is a fully approved FHA Lender which gives us many advantages over mortgage brokers that are not approved FHA lenders or acting as a broker. Be safe, work with a fully approved FHA lender and mortgage banker.

PA's Best Lender
Ken Pederson
Certified Mortgage Planner, CMPS
717-431-9299