January 30th, 2012
I love ‘the street”. It never fails to tell you what you need to know to help and serve people. I was talking with an agent this week who told me that she was gearing up to really sell some houses this year but that she had taken a sabbatical for a couple of years. She needed to catch up on what was available in today’s distressed real estate environment to finance these properties; the price range for a lot of first time buyers . She had a nice young couple who needed to buy an affordable home and everything in their price range seemed to be a foreclosure where the former owners had walked off with the kitchen or a short sale property that needed some serious TLC. She found a property that fit the bill for her FHA buyers but the listing agent told her that they’d only accept an offer if it was an FHA rehab loan since there would undoubtedly be work orders. She was referred to me because this top REO agent knows that we do these all of the time and very well. Read the rest of this entry »
January 23rd, 2012
Yet this year’s presidential election may have a very strong influence on our spring real estate market. According to Mitch Kider, Managing Partner for the Washington law firm, Weiner, Brodsky, Sidman and Kider, “2012 may be the toughest year ever from a regulatory perspective.” Right and tight is the mantra that will keep the lending community in good standing with Wall Street investors and regulators alike. As each side tries to prove its case in this ‘super charged’ political arena, expect one of the focal points of the debates to be what is the cause and cure for what ails the real estate market. Read the rest of this entry »
January 17th, 2012
Those of us in sales are challenged in today’s environment to build a case that passes the “So What?” test and the mode of message delivery is very different depending on the generation of our audience. According to Terri Sjodin, author of Small Message, Big Impact, most of us are still delivering our message like we did in the days of bell bottoms, polyester pants and platform shoes and “the 70’s called and wants their presentation back!” Read the rest of this entry »
January 3rd, 2012
2012 is shaping up to be an UNusual year and the prognosticators are out in full force with the usual blood and guts headlines about falling home prices and foreclosure activity. I say we skip those and in the tradition of Pollyanna see what we can conjure up with a round of “The Glad Game. The game consists of finding something to be glad about in every situation. It originated in an incident one Christmas when Pollyanna, who was hoping for a doll in the missionary barrel, found only a pair of crutches inside. Making the game up on the spot, Pollyanna’s father taught her to look at the good side of things—in this case, to be glad about the crutches because “we didn’t need to use them!”-Wikipedia Read the rest of this entry »
December 22nd, 2011
“Go placidly amidst the noise and haste and remember what peace there may be in silence…”-Desiderata
Ever just want to press the pause button?
As the year comes to a close, the greatest present we could all give ourselves is a little time away from the harried pace we live with day to day; time to carve out a plan for our lives that allows us to savor that which is truly important and to discard that which isn’t.
My encouragement to you would be to make the time, to take the time, before your life is simply spent. Read the rest of this entry »
November 22nd, 2011
Someone recently commented to me that some 19% of all real estate transactions are falling apart during the approval process never to get to the closing table. Ouch! Read the rest of this entry »
October 28th, 2011
The Federal Housing Finance Agency, which regulates the activities of Fanniemae and Freddiemac, announced this week that they would make refinances possible for many more millions of people who are substantially underwater on their mortgages. The devil is in the details which are not very well defined just yet. Read the rest of this entry »
October 17th, 2011
I know you want your customers to be happy but are your customers purposefully at the top of your Org Chart?
Our stated business goal is to exceed our customer’s expectations 100% of the time. As my boss always says, “you can’t manage what you don’t measure.” Read the rest of this entry »
October 17th, 2011
Every day I speak to people who have experienced the pain and stress of losing their home. They all have one thing in common; the ‘hope’ of owning their own home again and they want to get there as quickly as possible.
There is a lot of mythology circulating in the street. So, today, I thought it would be helpful to hit the high points of the rules and options as they exist today. Read the rest of this entry »
September 26th, 2011
I keep hearing this guy on the radio say something to the effect that ‘with rates this low refinancing is the biggest no brainer in the history of mankind.’
Turn that to purchasing a home and the same should be true. With rates at 60 year lows, why aren’t people stampeding Real Estate offices right now to purchase homes? The Feds announced Wednesday that they are going to try a new trick to stimulate the economy aptly named Operation Twist. Read the rest of this entry »
September 26th, 2011
Yet, a lot of people don’t know about these programs or don’t understand how they work. We’ve spent 25 years working in this arena. For some, the notion is that Affordable Housing translates to ‘inferior’ in some way and nothing could be further from the truth. Learning about just a few of these resources could put a family in the home of their dreams. Read the rest of this entry »
September 9th, 2011
FHA loan limits could drop yet again on January 1, 2012
While Congress debates how to create jobs, a vote on retaining the current high cost limits on mortgages has not yet taken place. Thus we revert to the ‘old’ way of calculating the loan limits as of loans not fully credit approved and clear to close by September 30th. Currently, the new loan limits in place on Oct 1st, in the Minneapolis/St. Paul Metro area will revert to $318550. However, the formula for calculating the limits in place on January 1st, 2012 may result in even lower limits. The loan limits in place after Oct 1 2011 expire December 31 2011. This could dramatically affect purchase agreements written that are set to close after the 1st of the year. Read the rest of this entry »
September 2nd, 2011
“Nothing is more noticeable between an older home and a new home, than the check you write for utilities every month.” – Fall Parade of Homes Magazine 2011 Read the rest of this entry »
August 26th, 2011
Appraisals continue to be the knothole in a lot of real estate transactions. If you’ve ever had one come in low, then you know how frustrating it can be to look at the comparable sales and try to make sense of how the appraiser came up with that value. Underwriters and Investors struggle to make sense of the hodge podge of commentary and adjustments on appraisals as well. Read the rest of this entry »
August 19th, 2011
An old friend of mine once asked me if my husband and I were on a mission to renovate all of the derelict farm houses in Scott County. Over the past 26 years we’ve pulled a lot of plaster and lathe, shoveled our share of bat poop out of attics, rewired, plumbed, and lovingly restored more than a dozen houses. Years of neglect showed itself in many ways; in the peeling paint on their facades, dry rotted boards, failed septic systems, leaky rock foundations that let water and mold into damp, musty smelling basements. Read the rest of this entry »
August 16th, 2011
“You can coach and encourage a thousand people but you can’t carry 3 on your back.” Let that sink in for a minute. Read the rest of this entry »
August 5th, 2011
It’s the Eleventh hour of the day and you feel that your title ought to be Fire Chief. That’s how I felt for the entire month of July. Tuesday, I decided to step back and debrief the month with my people. In doing so, we came up with a number of ways that we could “One Time” our business practices to insure that we don’t run out of day before we finish our work during the month of August. Read the rest of this entry »
July 29th, 2011
Worry a little bit every day and in a lifetime you will lose a couple of years. If something is wrong, fix it if you can. But train yourself not to worry. Worry never fixes anything.
Mary Hemingway
Spoken like the true Minnesotan that she was, Ernest’s fourth wife and widow has a point. Read the rest of this entry »
July 22nd, 2011
This could be an interesting week.
That is still the big question. So far, the markets seem to believe that Congress will burn the midnight oil and strike a deal. I hope so and I hope it is one both sides of the aisle can and do embrace. Time is running out. The closer we get to the deadline without a deal, the more likely the market is to start pricing in the risk of both a default and a downgrade of US bonds. Keep your eyes on the rates and the news this week. Better to be safe than sorry. According to my Financial Planner, his advisors believe a default or failure to reach a deal on the deficit might result in an immediate .5-1.0% increase in rates and an 8-15% decline in the stock market. Read the rest of this entry »
July 19th, 2011
Yesterday, our underwriter walked in to my office and asked me if I knew when interest rates had last been at 7.0% or higher.
As it happens, I have been keeping track of interest rates since the early 80’s. The answer: March 2002.
Given the stalemate in Washington over the budget, and the current debt ceiling, I thought it might be important to issue a pointed warning today that these incredibly low interest rates may soon rise. Read the rest of this entry »
July 12th, 2011
For homeowners on the brink of foreclosure, new federal program might offer help. The Emergency Homeowners Loans Program (EHLP) offers up to $50,000 in loans to homeowners in danger of foreclosure because of unemployment, underemployment or medical issues. The program was developed by HUD, which has set aside more than $50 million to use in Minnesota over the next two years. Read the rest of this entry »
July 1st, 2011
“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. — That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, — That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.” Excerpted from The Declaration of Independence. Read the rest of this entry »
June 24th, 2011
I heard someone this week say, “Real Estate is still the final frontier in America for those who want to determine their own financial destiny.” I agree. But, for many, there is a conversation going on inside of their heads that stops them in their tracks. It’s all about fear. It sounds like, “what if they don’t like me, or perhaps, what if they say no. Furthermore, sales are down, prices are down and I am down!” The news is filled with negativity. The importance of our mission is called into question. There’s a great book out right now called, Go for No. Get it. It’ll change your life if you let it. No kidding. Read the rest of this entry »
June 21st, 2011
“Every company has its own DNA. Ours is to seek wise counsel.” Those were the opening remarks at Fairway’s annual meeting. We have entered a ‘rules over risk’ environment in consumer lending. High quality loan origination has to become Job #1 or your bank or lending institution risks failure. Period.
Read the rest of this entry »
June 14th, 2011
True or False? “There is no Down Payment Assistance Money Left.” VERY FALSE.
“I was just so amazed and excited to hear about all of the great programs for funding for 1st time home buyers.” Quote from a Homestretch Class Participant this past weekend. Read the rest of this entry »
