Who says no buyer and no sales recently?

Look at this in MOVOTO: "This home is no longer active on the Multiple Listing Service."

How many days it took for the listing off "active"?  Less than ONE day in theory!

I have been providing my friends or clients info to find a good buy.   I found out this property shall be very interesting to one of them.   Immediately after a new listing notice of a website (NOTE: it is my outsourcing and they are free), I provided my study or consulting opinion.  I asked my client go to take a look ASAP.   My client went there the very morning (11/13) to find a Mexican American agent at the site (not the listing lady agent Marie who is supposed an Asian American) and was told that it was pending "Yesterday."  The agent refused to accept his all cash over-priced $290K "back-up" offer (sounds to me like no matter whatever price he might offer).

My client complained that he wouldn't lose his dream home if I could act fast enough.  Gee! he doesn't know what a "pocket listing" means in our profession.  In the above statement, I said "less than ONE day,"  did I put one modification "in theory"?  If you are a seasoned agent, you know my saying is literally equal to "no listing at all in PRACTICE."

In the past few days, I am too much into Macro-Economic or political observation on the current events.   With more than 700 clicks, there is still nobody in AR want to make a comment on my topic.   So, I will restrain myself not to talk big.   But it is too difficult to ignore the big picture to see the trend for a good opinion.

Yesterday, our stock market had a big swing of 900 points from the lowest point of below 8,000 going all the way up in the final hours to almost 9,000 after GWB's speech.  But what that supposes to say if you further factor in yesterday's bond market upswing?  Very interesting for both going up at the same time, right?

Also, so surprising enough to hear a lot of "lip service" done by GWB boys after they mess up the world.  Before G20 meeting this weekend, GWB has talked a lot about "free enterprise", "market mechanism", and "transparency."   Sounds like they are not a politician, but a good intelligent scholar knowing what capitalism is?   When I looked backward to the performance Secretary Paulson and Senator Schummer made on last Wednesday to beg the bankers do something in return of their favors done by FED, like more willingness to lend credit out, to help the economy.  It is so funny to make me laughing at both of them all day long. 

For example,  when Senator Schumer, chairman of finance, pointed out, all the bankers are very cautious or reluctant in lending money out (sounds only interested in raking FED money into their vaults only for the expense of their compensation bonuses).   He seems know the basic of market.   However, I don't blame those bankers' reaction after they are beaten by "the past reckless lending deeds."   They learned something on the trial and errors; and we should be happy to see their correction or improvement.   It is not strange for them as a capitalist as we are.  

Will you lend money out to a person with no profit (positive income) in sight, if you were them?   Further, did we just recently ask a banker to have "responsible lending" (sounds familiar, right?) as his ethics?   Do you consider it a prudent decision or responsible practice at this time that a banker lends money or renews the old loan to anyone with gloomy sales, negative profit and possible "bankruptcy" in 6 months or near future?   With "infinite" resource, FED refused to do that for the Lehman Brothers, would it be too much for us to expect from a private banker with limited financial power?

How could both VIP politicians conversely suggest to adopt a LOOSE lending yesterday?  Do they know what they are talking about?   Or suggest a banker go out to start a second round of toxic loan?    No wonder a lot of comments saying that they don't have a plan to work on, if they do have a brain.    Ooh! a banker is not in charity and a politician is in robbery of the taxpayers to do public charity business.  Good enough, that well explains the difference between them.

In what GWB said: "more regulation is worse than less regulation," Even I have to agree GWB is philosophically right.  Because we are a human, not God or a machine.   Take this house sale as example, I will be very surprised that any regulation can do anything about this real estate practice.  As an agent, we are always told to build up our "client" base to accumulate as many investors as possible.   How could we limit an agent explore or attract his offer from his "insider" group, even long before he formally puts his REO listing into MLS service and let its existence known to outsiders?   It would be very difficult, unnatural or against traditional marketing wisdom of capitalism, right?  (NOTE: In business, we call it "relationship" to ease the difficulty and keep contact; and we value it so much that we are used to say, "don't burn the bridge.") 

Does it meet our professional ethic codes to do "pocket listing"?  If it is not morally right, can it be a legal wrongdoing?  I have no right or wrong answer if I look at the nature of our human beings and "creativity" needed for the capital market machine.  Given the fact that the listing broker made this listing alive only one day, It would be safe for me to say it could be suspicious about the broker's operation.  It maybe created not enough transparency, hardly reasonable, for the broker to perform his fiduciary duties toward the seller/ lender HSBC; let alone a decent fairness to the general public as a whole, in this case.   

From this case, I am further reaffirming my belief that Paulson and Bair were wrong in handling the real estate bubble enough to create chaos of mess.   

(Note: I made a forecast 2 -3 weeks ago that bankers would change their mentality to hold REO properties into pumping them into the market.    Now, some banks are releasing their inventory at a very aggressive price and speed, say in less one month.  Sorry, I don't want to mention a name of big bankers who do the switch here.   But, allow me to say that GWB is right by saying that people expect and need a more efficient government and our bureaucrats have to listen.   So far, after 4 months FDIC took over Indymac, I am still wondering what Chairwoman Bair has done to get rid of those Indymac's REO when she bragged about her loan reduction plan to troubled homeowners in front of our Congress.  Probably nothing.  A bureaucrat is very good in providing his lip service without a decent brain.   Remember this house was foreclosed 7 months ago.   Who has done what to make bankers keep those properties on the book, not on the market? )

Enclosed my consultation email and other information for your reference: 

From: E T <e@yahoo.com>
Subject: 449 B***** WAY, ****** CA 9**** $284,900 REO
To: *****@yahoo.com>
Date: Thursday, November 13, 2008, 7:42 AM

Investment Summary

This investment summary assumes a 30-year fixed loan, 20% down, 7% APR. It uses operating assumptions of 10% management fees, 9% vacancy allotment, 3% repairs. This investment summary assumes that rents increase each year by 5%. This property would need to be purchased for $241,680in order to generate a break-even cashflow based on prevaliing market rents.

449 B****** Way
*******, CA 9****

$284,900  ($1,375 per month ) 3 Bed, 2 Bath, 1,288 Sq Ft on 0.24 Acres (10,506 Sq Ft Lot) |

MLS ID #P6****7

Request More Details      |      |   Listing added 3 days ago and refreshed 8 minutes ago

0 Photos - too new for photos New listing - Photo Coming Soon. Save Listing to be alerted when photos are available. Property Informationfor 449 B******* Way  Property Features Single Family Property Property Type: Single Family Residence, Detached Status: Pending Sale Area:  County:  Year Built: 1984 3 total bedroom(s) 2 total bath(s) Approximately 1288 sq. ft. Type: One Level Style: Traditional Master bedroom Bedroom(s) on main floor Fireplace(s) Fireplace features: Living Room Fireplace, Uses Both Gas & Wood 2 car garage Parking features: Direct Garage Access Forced air heat Central air conditioning Exterior construction: Stucco/Wood Roofing: Concrete Tile Lot is 10506 sq. ft. Approximately 0.24 acre(s) Lot size is less than 1/2 acre Utilities present: In Street Sewer, District Water School District: ****** UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT

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