Thank you Sesame Street.. and Happy 40th Birthday.

Oh all the firends that lived on my street when I was growing up, there was Grandpa Mudcat, Grandmama Bear,Hero Guy,Kermit the Frog (to be a freind to all),Wally and Ralph,Baby Bear,Bert and Ernie (best friends for life no matter what) ,Big Bird (alwasy ready to learn),Cookie Monster (who tought me to love life full out),Count von Count (who tought us to have PRIDE in what we could do and show off every chance we got),Elmo,Dorothy,Grover,MS Piggy( who told us to love ourselfs regardless of what other said)

 I miss my Friends maybe I go back today for a visit ...

Who ways your BFF on Sesame Street ?

Cash for Clunkers is over, but the opportunity to cash in continues. A new tax credit promises to pay you handsomely for a buying a vehicle some say only sees time on a golf course. Nicknamed "Cash for Clubbers" by critics, the new plan causing protesters and profiteers to move quickly

It sits at a golf cart shop on a golf cart lot, but don't call it a golf cart.

"This is an LSV," explained Bob Hill, with The Cart Shed. "It is actually an automobile - an electric automobile."

LSVs, or low speed vehicles, arrived quietly about 10 years ago. But, 10 months ago the American Relief and Recovery Act put them in the limelight offering a tax credit that was hard to miss.

"It's big money...$4,300 and it's someone's ability to claim that $4,300 on this car," said Hill. 

To qualify for the program, purchase and delivery of your LSV must be made by December 31st. You will be eligible for whatever amount of credit your vehicle qualifies for when you file your 2009 federal income tax documents

 

Cash for Clunkers cost $24,000 per car

 An analysis released yesterday by the automotive Web site Edmunds.com has tallied up the taxpayer bill for the Cash for Clunkers program, and it comes in at a whopping $24,ooo per car with very little to show for it.  In fact, only 125,000 of those were vehicles that would not have been sold anyway.  The program gave car buyers rebates of up to $4,500 if they traded in less fuel-efficient vehicles for new vehicles that met certain fuel economy requirements. A total of $3 billion was allotted for the rebates.  The average rebate was $4,000, but if the overwhelming majority of sales would have taken place anyway at some time in the last half of 2009, it means the government ended up spending about $24,000 each for those 125,000 additional vehicle sales.  Of course the Department of Transportation (DOT) disagrees:  "It is unfortunate that Edmunds.com has had nothing but negative things to say about a wildly successful program that sold nearly 250,000 cars in its first four days  alone," said Bill Adams, spokesman for the DOT. "There can be no doubt that CARS drummed up more business for car dealers at a time when they needed help the most."  Edmunds.com's estimate of the sales increase generally matches what industry experts had thought, said George Pipas, a sales analyst with Ford Motor Co.

 

YES or I should say a soon to be a YES

Here is what USA Today had to say about today's announcements:

"Senators agreed to extend the existing tax credit for first-time homebuyers while offering a reduced credit of up to $6,500 to repeat buyers who have owned their current homes for at least five years, said Regan Lachapelle, a spokeswoman for Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev.

The tax credits would be available to homebuyers who sign sales agreements by the end of April. They would have until the end of June to close on their new homes, according to a summary of the legislation being circulated among lawmakers.

Details to follow...

HOME BUYER TAX CREDIT -- WATCH -- UPDATE - LOOKS LIKE THE EXTENSION IS

As I look back to  my first coaching call with Coach Tim when he asked -- what have you done today to build your business ? - after what I thought was a great answer he then asked about my "numbers" you know current listing, listing in escrow, pending new listing, total closed units, and on and on ..

Now those of you that have had a Coach, know that at some point they are going to turn on you .. Well it took Coach Tim about 10 minutes before I heard .. Hmmm sounds like a pretty LAZY 6 months ..After I got my breath back and tried one more time to tell Coach Tim how HARD I was working he said .. "Dude" your doing like 2 maybe 3 closings every 45 days and have no future business,and your pipe line is dry,  you might want to think about another line of work ... OUCH...

What Coach Tim .. did was slap the reality back into me.. and made me realize the difference between being an "agent" and being a business - a profitable business.

That call on May 25th  2009 -- Set The Challenge

Close 36 in 6 months and take 62 listing 

 I am PROUD to say .. Today I put number 36 under contract and have taken 57 new listing in the process.

I share this with you all to say .. MAKE BIG GOALS and GO FOR THEM

But PLEASE PLEASE don't tell Coach Tim Harris or he will say Dude -- told you it be a piece of cake why not get to work and Go For 50 by New Years Eve... I am so looking forward to taking the next 2 months off.

 

Now comes a post this morning from the mortgage chatline from someone who apparently has some very detailed information.  I will quote it verbatum, again with the understanding that this has not been confirmed but somewhat reliable:

"The Home Buyer tax credit has apparently been extended, and eligibility expanded to include some move-up buyers. Details: Income eligibility for first-time home buyers stays at $75,000 for individuals, and $150,000 for couples. For move-up buyers, income eligibility is $125,000 for individuals and $250,000 for couples. There is a minimum 5 year residency requirement - in their current home - for move-up home buyers. The tax credit is the lesser of $7,290 or 10% of the purchase price. The credit runs from Dec. 1, 2009 to April 30, 2010, with an additional 60 day period to close escrow. (So end of April to sign contract, end of June to close escrow) Expect bill to be signed by Friday, packaged with the unemployment benefit extension."

 

HOME BUYER TAX CREDIT EXTENSION - NEW WATCH UPDATE

HOME BUYER TAX CREDIT GEORGIA - Lawrenceville GA

Senate Close to Deal Replacing Homebuyer Tax Credit

Oct. 27 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. Senate leaders moved closer to an agreement replacing an expiring $8,000 tax credit for first- time homebuyers with a smaller one that would expand access to so-called step-up purchasers, two people familiar with the matter said.

The deal would reduce the size of the tax credit to 10 percent of the sale's price, capped at $7,290, the people said. The credit would be available on home purchases that are under contract by April 30, and borrowers would have 60 days more to close the sale. The existing credit is due to end Nov. 30.

The new agreement, which is still being negotiated and may change, would grant the credit to borrowers who have lived in their current home for at least five years. Lawmakers want to keep home sales from slipping as the economy struggles to recover from the worst drop in home prices since the Great Depression.

This will You opened up a whole new pool of people who can buy into those empty homes and empty condos that were built out and provide a strong 1st quarter for 2010 .

Reverse mortgages have hidden dangers

 Panelists at the Information Management Networks 15th annual ABS East gathering in Miami Beach conference said that in the last two years reverse mortgages have moved beyond the needs-based senior and now see a significant mix of borrowers tapping into the market.  This year alone, the percentage of owners with homes valued at above $400,000 is increasing to up to 39% of the reverse mortgage claims in some markets.  The panel also said the market is set to grow dramatically, with predictions that the next leg of growth in structured finance will come by way of reverse mortgage resecuritizations, despite warnings that the product is particularly vulnerable to misuse and even fraud. 

 Annual reverse mortgage volume has topped 110,000 units and $17bn, with top banks like Wells Fargo and Bank of America and large insurance companies like Genworth and MetLife leading the way. Despite a slowdown in originations due to the recession, reverse mortgage originations are continuing at a record pace.  In the reverse mortgage market, seniors face some of the same aggressive lending practices that were common in the subprime lending boom, said Tara Twomey, an NCLC attorney and author of the report. Well-funded marketing campaigns and perverse incentives to brokers are targeting seniors home equity and using reverse mortgages as their tools.

Fannie Mae announces relief for investors

 Fannie Mae announced that its new Payment Reduction Plan (PRP) will provide forbearance for borrowers who are ineligible for the Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP).  The mortgage principal and interest payments will be reduced by up to 30% for borrowers qualified for PRP, which replaces Fannies HomeSaver Forbearance program. PRP reduces the payments by 30% rather than the previous 50% under HomeSaver Forbearance, because permanent solutions are closer to 30%, Faith said.  Faith added that non-owner-occupied properties became eligible under PRP, and owners will receive new options and support for their investment properties and second homes  even though they do not fit under the HAMP umbrella.  The US Treasury Department provides capped incentives to servicers for the modification of eligible loans on the verge of foreclosure through HAMP. The PRP will grant transitional support for borrowers who do not qualify for HAMP while more permanent mortgage solutions ar  e determined, according to Brian Faith, a vice president at Fannie Mae.

Home prices rise - Case-Shiller

 The Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller home price index of 20 major cities climbed 1 percent from July to a seasonally adjusted reading of 144.5. While prices are down 11.4 percent from August a year ago, the annual declines have slowed since February.  It shows a widespread turnaround with prices rising month-over-month in 15 metro areas since June.  "If the increases are consistent across the markets, this is key," said Susan Wachter, Wharton School real estate professor, before the index was released. "Then we're seeing the formation of a bottom." However, rising unemployment and more foreclosures could stifle the rebound. Another unknown is whether a temporary federal tax credit for first-time buyers will be extended to help boost sales. The real estate industry is lobbying Congress to extend the credit past the Nov. 30 deadline. Top Democrats in the Senate are pressing a plan that would prolong the credit but gradually phase it out over the next year.

Freddie Mac announced today that its mortgage investment portfolio grew by an annualized 7.3 percent rate in September, while delinquencies on loans it guarantees accelerated.  The portfolio increased to $784.2 billion, for an annualized 3.4 percent decrease year to date, and delinquencies, which increase stress on the company's capital, jumped to 3.33 percent of its book of business in September from 3.13 percent in August and 1.22 percent in September 2008. The multifamily delinquency rate accelerated slightly in September to 0.11 percent from 0.10 percent in August. A year earlier it was 0.01 percent.

2010 is shaping up for a weak recovery The Federal Reserve is in no rush to pull back its extensive economic life support measures.  Chicago Federal Reserve President Charles Evans said: We have to think about our exit policy and are looking at it very carefully, but at the moment, that's not our first order concern, at the moment, its policy accommodation.  I think that the recovery is going to be very unsatisfactory in 2010.  Evans, who will vote on the Fed's policy-setting panel in 2010, said he expects unemployment to rise above ten percent.  The Fed has cut rates to near zero and pledged to hold rates there for an extended period.  Its next policy-setting meeting is Nov. 3-4 and it is not expected to signal any movement toward an exit then.  High unemployment and low inflation rates both indicate that policy accommodation is in order, and with economic growth, household spending will be restrained and businesses will face weaker demand for their goods and services, Evans said. "It is not going to feel l  ike a recovery for some time.

If theres another real estate collapse on the way, its in commercial real estate, and the FDIC closing Chicago's Corus Bank last month may have signaled the beginning of it.  Corus, whose balance sheet full of bad construction loans, was just one of many banks that have this type of debt on their books, and refinancing the $2 trillion in commercial mortgages is going to be tough as property values decline.  In this new age of cautious lending, few banks are willing to refinance loans.  Michael Haas, a real estate attorney at Jones Day, says, "There is a hesitancy to extend credit when there is a real possibility that the real estate may be worth less than it was a few years ago." In a situation similar to the subprime crisis, we may be looking for a wave of foreclosures and loan defaults that could, in turn, trigger a collapse in the market of the structured bonds backed by commercial real estate and construction debt.

Commercial Real Estate - Facing Foreclosure Crises

This report lead one to think it is more real than o=anyine want to let out of the bag.

RBS says 2.7 million more distressed sales in pipeline

 Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) economists say that recent months of nascent housing recovery remain overshadowed by the delinquency pipeline that threatens to put as many as 2.7m distressed sales on the market in the US.  Given the lag time between a start and a completion, homebuilders and new home buyers probably had to act by July in order to feel confident that they would be able to claim the credit, said RBS chief economist Stephen Stanley, explaining the surge in sales earlier this year.  So, a portion of the increase in both starts and sales in recent months likely reflected activity being pulled forward into the summer.  According to the report, resales are likely to be soft in coming months if the tax credit expires and is not extended as some industry groups are calling for Congress to do.  The inventory of existing homes held at 3.622m in August, 21% below the 4.575m peak in July 08. The dip may be due to various foreclosure moratoria as well as  a delay in the process of foreclosed properties to reaching the market, RBS said. The typical foreclosure timeline is doubled in some cases from 12 months to 24 months.  A housing market that is just beginning to climb from the ashes would be unable to handle influx of nearly 3 million additional homes for sale all at once, RBS economists said.

 

The Obama administration announced another initiative to aid state and local housing finance agencies in providing mortgages to first-time and lower-income homebuyers and to assist in the development or rehabilitation of rental properties.  Officials declined to put a price tag on the program, but said there would be no cost to taxpayers. Under the initiative, the Treasury Department, along with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will purchase housing bonds issued by the finance agencies.  This will give the groups the funding needed to make new loans.  The government will also provide a temporary credit program to allow the agencies to refinance their existing bonds to more favorable terms.  Agencies will pay fees to participate in the program, which officials say will cover its cost. They are still working with the agencies to determine the extent of support needed. the initiative could cost  as much as $35 billion.  Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner explains:  "This initiative is critical to helping working families maintain access to affordable rental housing and homeownership in tough economic times." 

 

Housing starts lower than expected

 The Commerce Department announced today that Housing starts increased to a seasonally-adjusted annual rate of 590,000 last month, up 0.5% above a revised 587,000 in October, but down 28.2% from September 2008, and less than the 610,000 forecast by Briefing.com.  New construction of single-family homes, the key sector of the housing market, increased 3.9% to an annual rate of 501,000 versus 482,000 in August. Starts fell by 1.7% in both the South and the West, and new home construction was flat in the Northeast at 62,000 units, and in the Midwest at 100,000 units. Multi-family homes increased despite the overall housing starts drop, and new construction of buildings with 5 or more units increased to an annual rate of 104,000, up 7.2% from 97,000 in August.  Applications for building permits also missed predictions; permit applications fell 1.2% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 573,000. Economists had expected permits to rise to 595,000.