Juicy Estates: Mortgage Blog

Archive for the 'Home' Category

The Big Short ~ Get Rich By Betting Against the House

While a bit long this Vanity Fair article is worth the read if you have any interest in financial markets, what happened in the sub-prime mortgage market and who got rich.

The Big Short: Inside the Doomsday Machine

Got Flood Insurance?

The National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) has temporarily been stopped and no new policies can currently be issued.

WASHINGTON — Kentucky Republican Sen. Jim Bunning’s one-man anti-spending filibuster, which has brought extended unemployment benefits and transportation funding to a screeching halt, has also stopped the National Flood Insurance Program from writing or renewing policies or paying claims.

“Authorization for the National Flood Insurance Program expired February 28, 2010,” said Brad Carroll, press secretary for FEMA, which includes the flood insurance program”.

full story….

I imagine this will be cleared up quickly but it is unfortunate that politicians rarely consider the collateral damage that their actions can have.

Miami Mortgage Market Guide ~ March 1, 2010

CLICK HERE FOR THIS WEEKS NEWSLETTER

A Conversation: Inside The Minds of Top Producers

This week, RAMB and Perdigon Title Services were kind enough to host “A Conversation: Inside The Minds of Top Producers”.  The All-Star panel consisted of 7 of South Florida’s highest producing and most well respected Realtors.  In no particular order the panel was comprised of: Ashley Cusack, Carole Smith, Toni Schrager, Jorge Uribe, Pat Klock Parker, Carlos Garcia and  as panel member and moderator Jo-Ann Forster.

Jo-Ann Forster did a magnificent job as moderator keeping the conversation lively, relevant and packed full of pearls of wisdom.  There is no way I can do the event justice as there was so much material and so many great insights.  Below are just a few examples in their abbreviated format from my notes.

 

Success tips:

Visualization – prior to going into a listing appointment take a few moments to visualize giving a great presentation and walking out with the signed listing agreement

Sphere of influence – contact is key, not mailers or email but nose to nose and toes to toes

Even Top Producers have fears, don’t let limiting beliefs stand in your way or stop you from taking action

You have to pay your dues and work your way up to working on high dollar transactions

Always remember why people buy houses.  It can be for any number of reasons, security, family, prestige but historically it was not for rapid appreciation.

Use local banks for financing, they use local more seasoned appraisers and know what it takes to get deals done under our market conditions

Professional courtesy is key and a sign of success.

Don’t calculate your commissions just help people realize their goals and dreams and your business will flourish

Best Advice:

Are you busy being busy or busy being productive – spend time on money making activities

Only listen to Top Producers and only when they are producing

Take time for family

There is enough business for everyone, make your decisions from a place of abundance

Inventory is free, but watch your expenses

Technology Tips 

Top Producer – (interesting side note, when polled about 70% of the panel used Top Producer but only about 10% of the audience did) http://www.topproducer.com/

E-Fax – receive faxes in your email http://www.efax.com

Phone Tag – convert your voice mails to text messages http://phonetag.com/about.html

Sly Dial – call directly to someone’s voicemail http://www.slydial.com/index.php

What I have listed here is only about 20% of what the conversation covered.  It was a truly inspirational and informative morning and time well spent.

Thank you to all of the panel members for taking time out of their busy day and a special thanks to Maureen Levine of RAMB and Scott, Shellie and Rob Perdigon of Perdigon Title Services for putting on the event.

Miami Highlighted on Today Show ~ “A Great Time To Buy”

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Wells Fargo Kicks The Can Down The Road

With the acquisition of Wachovia Wells Fargo acquired one of the largest portfolios of Option ARMs, sometimes known as Pick-A-Pay loans.  These loans offer 4 payment options one of which is not enough to cover the interest due each month and are thus termed “differed interest loans”.   Most Option ARMs are tied to indexes that have remained artifically low masking what could be another massive wave of foreclosures.  This wave on the horizon is referred to as the “Alt-A” bomb.

Thousands of homes in South Florida were purchased or refinanced using Option ARMs.  As mentioned in a recent article in Realtor Magazine Wells Fargo started proactively reaching out to those former Wachovia clients that have Option ARM’s and is offering to modify the notes to more traditional interest only mortgages and differ balances for as much as 10 years.

While this is not the ideal fix for the problem I applaud Wells Fargo’s effort to address the issue before it becomes another mortgage sunami.

HVCC May Be History!

The HVCC has been an unmitigated disaster since it’s implementation on May 1st.  Any real estate professional who is active in their market can tell you of the horror stories that HVCC has created, the dreams of home ownership it has destroyed and the high price to the economy, the housing market and the consumer.

But hope springs eternal and it appears that some of the elected officials on Capital Hill are starting to realize that HVCC was just one big mistake.  The House Financial Services Committee has just passed an amendment to the Consumer Financial Protection Agency Act to sunset the HVCC.

An amendment offered by Rep. Gary Miller (R-Ca) would place an 18 month moratorium on HVCC giving legislators an opportunity to create a workable set of standards to oversee the appraisal industry.

“I have repeatedly expressed concern that the HVCC has potential to increase costs to consumers, significantly hinder a consumer’s ability to obtain legitimate and reliable appraisals, and adversely impact small business professionals who work in the very neighborhoods where these consumers are looking to purchase homes,” said Congressman Miller. “In fact, since the implementation of the HVCC on May 1, there are numerous examples of higher costs for appraisals, poor service, the inability to use one appraisal for more than one lender, questionable quality of appraisals, and the inability to make corrections to inaccurate information on an appraisal report.”

A moratorium would mean that lenders could start ordering appraisals through the more seasoned appraisers who work local markets and would no longer be required to use management companies that deliver inferior quality reports completed by the less experienced and the out of area.

The elimination of HVCC would give a significant boost to the housing market at a critical time when the $8,000 first time home buyer tax credit is about to expire and the end of the Fed’s program to purchase mortgage backed securities is on the horizon.

Renowned Gourmet Chef Stella Sellian-Burgess Prepares Lunch for Deering Bay Progressive Brokers Open

Why get wet and drive all over town to see brokers opens when four luxury townhomes  in Deering Bay will be open for a progressive brokers open today October 21st from 12:00 to 2:00.  Please join us for lunch and a preview of some exceptional properties.

It is a short but beautiful drive down Old Cutler Road that will take you to a different world. Deering Bay Yacht and Country Club sits on over 220 acres of land populated by indigenous fauna, golf courses, luxury homes and condominiums as well as a world class marina.

I assure you it will be time well spent given the caliber of the properties, the expected turn out and the delicious lunch being prepared by renowned Chef Stella Burgess.

The addresses and Mapquest links are below….see you there!

13646 Deering Bay Drive (SW 60 Ave) – Listed for $1,149,000 by Joe Olozaga & Chris Monge 305-613-3121 ~ click here for map

13626 Deering Bay Drive (SW 60 Ave) – Listed for $1,249,000 by Geri Brodie 786-853-4374 ~ click here for map

13630 Deering Bay Drive (SW 60 Ave) – Listed for $1,200,000 by Elizabeth Montero 786-385-9638 ~ click here for map

13632 Deering Bay Drive (SW 60 Ave) – Listed for $999,000 by Valarie Byrne 305-960-2413 ~ click here for map

Advantageous financing is available for these luxury townhomes with as little as 20% down and interest rates in the low 5% range.

Pinecrest Homes For Sale ~ Inventory Drops

As illustrated by the very telling graph below the Pinecrest market (33156 zip code) has made a major turn around.  This market is poised to be one of the first luxury home areas in South Florida to experience a “bounce” off the bottom as inventories shrink and buyer traffic increases.

Additionally the charts for homes for sale in Coral Gables, South Miami and Miami Beach look very similar.  The perfect storm of disappearing inventory, increased buyer traffic and low interest rates is upon us.  The South Florida luxury home market has and will always be resilient so the smart money is buying now.

$8000 First Time Home Buyer Tax Credit Extended

The House of Representatives has voted to extend the FTHB Tax Credit to those most deserving, our military personnel.   HR3590 will allow eligible military personnel to apply for the credit for up to one year past it’s current deadline of November 3oth.

It is only logical that the Senate will follow the Houses lead and pass this same legislation and we can only hope that our elected officials realize the importance of extending the tax credit deadline for all home buyers into the new year.

The availability of this tax credit has had a positive impact on the South Florida real estate market and the recent development of County funded programs that allow for the tax credit to be used towards down payment further enhance the effectiveness of the legislation.