Economics

$48 billion in debt reduction

In The News

It seems like everyday we’re faced with mainstream media stories about how massive the foreclosure crisis has been. I don’t know about y’all, but I usually have a hard time getting a mental picture of how much money we’re actually talking about. This morning I stumbled on an article with an easy-to-understand number and it’s [...]

8 December 2010 Read the full article →

Rental scams still alive and well

In The News

We’ve been looking for a small 1 bedroom condo in downtown Phoenix for a very longtime customer of ours. Something in the range of $600. I found an ad on Craigslist that advertised a two-bedroom condo at the Copper Square condos for $588 per month. Copper Square is one of the premiere upscale hi-rise condo [...]

19 November 2010 Read the full article →

Jumbo mortgages

In The News

A jumbo mortgage is a home loan that’s too big (in dollars) to be sold to government backed agencies (Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac). The upper dollar limit for jumbos varies geographically but the general rule of thumb is a loan larger than $417,000 is a jumbo. It seems to me that people who have money [...]

17 November 2010 Read the full article →

First time homebuyer rates surge

In The News

First-time homebuyers accounted for 50% of all home sales from July 2009 through June 2010, according to a National Association of Realtors (NAR) survey of buyers and sellers. That’s the highest share of first-time-buyer purchases in the history of the survey, which dates back to 1981. In July 2010 first timers bought 38% of the [...]

15 November 2010 Read the full article →

Most banks already repaid TARP funds.

In The News

Bailout is a dirty word these days. A lot of people go beet red and start shouting about ‘big government’ and ‘where’s my bailout’ when you mention TARP. Some people even go looking for the nearest Tea Party rally they can join. But did you know that most banks already repaid their TARP funds? You [...]

18 October 2010 Read the full article →

Bank of America halts foreclosures in all 50 states

Foreclosures

Just announced today, Friday, October 8, 2010 – Bank of America will stop all foreclosure proceedings in all 50 U.S.  states while they review their internal legal procedures related to the foreclosure document filing process. From the official statement: “Bank of America has extended our review of foreclosure documents to all 50 states. We will [...]

8 October 2010 Read the full article →

Fannie and Freddie caused housing crash?

In The News

Did Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac cause the housing debacle? Before we get to the answer, let’s all get on the same page about what Fannie, Freddie and FHA actually are. Neither Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac or FHA is a bank, they don’t lend money.  FHA insures loans and Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are [...]

30 September 2010 Read the full article →

Save money on your phone bill

Homeowner Help

I stumbled on this money saving tip by accident this morning. Do you have a land line telephone in your home? I do. Never use it. It exists only to keep my TiVo happy and full of programming data. I called the phone provider – who is also my internet provider – and asked them [...]

29 September 2010 Read the full article →

Lease Purchase, Rent to Own

Buyer Help

Rent to own and lease-purchase agreements are cropping up in the Greater Phoenix real estate world these days. They’re a natural result of the continuing tight credit market. Lease-purchase and rent to own are essentially the same things.  A lease with a purchase option is almost the same, just with more complicated legalese thrown in [...]

11 September 2010 Read the full article →

Short sales, loan modifications and checking accounts

Homeowner Help

image credit, user sgback at StockExchange If you’re trying to complete a short sale or loan modification on your home, do not keep money in a checking or savings account with the bank that holds your mortgage. Open accounts with another bank, savings and loan, credit union (or whatever) that is not related to your [...]

31 August 2010 Read the full article →

Sometimes it’s just too much

Lifestyle

This was taken with my Blackberry, so the color tone is ‘off’. I didn’t capture the whole closet because I was trying to avoid showing anything personally identifying (it’s not my kid, or even my clients’ kid, and the house is currently for sale). Nevertheless… I saw this in a home I was showing last [...]

29 August 2010 Read the full article →