Friday, January 29, 2010

Government is Brilliant-NOT!!!

The Obama Administration and our Treasury Department have figured it out. I know it's hard to beleive but its true. In an article titled "Mortgage help plan requries proof" it says in order to participate in the loan modification program now under way the borrower "ACTUALLY" has to prove they have documented income!!!Can you imagine. You can no longer just make up whatever income figure you want to qualify for a loan, you now have to have it verified. The article also states that Phyllis Caldwell,cheif of Treasurys homeownership preservation office,defended the decision to allow people to qualify based on verbal statements of income(of course she did)."We needed to provide immediate relief to more homeowners faster." I guess that didn't work as many of the loan modifcations are falling delinquent now as well. Maybe the question on income went something like this: Lender-Mr/Mrs. Borrower how much montly income do you make? Borrower--A Lot!--Lender-Great your approved. How stupid can these instituitons be. Isn't that what got us into this mess in the first place. I'll bet, next they are going to tell people who buy things on credit is that they actually have to make a payment when they get thier monthly bill. No I'm only kidding,as long as the creditor promises to pay,you know "checks in the mail" The Government should be OK with that.

Thursday, January 21, 2010

Real Estate Update

Finally someone in Government gets it. In an article about The Florida Senate President Jeff Atwater advising budget writers not to raise taxes or fees this year on us Floridians,Amy Baker, a legislative economist,tells the budget writers the following: "do nothing that adds any more houses to Florida's inventory until it can work itself down some" . In other words no more land use approvals or changes for Subdivisions. Makes sense to me! Our problem starts to go away when we get rid of exisitng inventory. Don't just sit there,go sell something

Wednesday, January 20, 2010

When will the Real Estate Market Recover?

That's a question I get asked alot. There are lots of opinions out there (literally hourly it seems) but the answer is really quite simple: Employment and Inventory. With a national unemployment rate at least double what it should or normally be and a bloated nationwide unsold home inventory (doesn't count the dreaded "Shadow " Inventory,more on that in a later blog) how can it recover? On the employment side, I don't have the answer to that one. It's obvious the government doesn't either! However, on the inventory side I have a few suggestions:
1-if you are not in a "must sell" situation and are not willing to take whatever the market decides your home is worth then don't sell. In other words, now is not the time to test the waters because the sharks will bite. Stay put for awhile and you will be ahead in the long run.
2-if you are in a hardship situation make sure you are dealing with a Real Estate Professional that is experienced in these types of sales and is making you aware of all of your options,not just trying to sell(ie-loan mod,deed in lieu, etc)
3-if you are currently for sale, price your home at or below your last comparable sale! We are still in a declining market so why not stay ahead while you can.