Can I get a loan???

I have been working with some great clients that have paid their bills on time for over 10 years plus. They are hard working people that cannot obtain a mortgage loan today. If they would have found the home they wanted 2 years ago, no problem; Today is a different story. I speak often to lenders, brokers, bankers and investors....they all tell me the same thing. The banks that made bad loans messed the typical borrower up in today's market. Being in finance for many years, I totally agree with qualifying the loan; the person; the character of the borrower. However, lenders are just look at the bottom line with no compassion. Some of the clients I have served may have been unemployed for 6 to 9 months which put them behind on some bills. They made every effort to pay what they could; however, even after finding employment and catching upon their bills, the banks will not lend to them. I have been listening alot to CNN on the XM radio. (I do alot of driving so I catch up on the news with CNN) there is information that conveys to us that while US track our wealth through the DOW Jones. We are also tracking the median prices for home prices. The DOW was 14,164 in October 2007 and around January 2009 it was around 9,000. Good news is that we are on the climb. I feel that everything is relative and volatile.... so who knows and how can we really predict the outcome.

The moral to this blog is don't wait for the rates to plumb any further. If you want to buy a home, then by George go buy one. If you want to try a new career while you are one of the 8% unemployed....then go do your passion. You don't have to get permission to succeed. You may fail along the way, but at least you tried. Along those failures you will discover success!!!

Super Bowl Sunday

I Can't believe it is Super Bowl Sunday again. I was just figuring out who was in the 2008 game. I had a discussion today with Brian and he couldn't remember who won last year Superbowl; so why do we make such a big deal of it??? Unless of course your "baby" is playing in it or you have relatives playing or I can even see a fan who thought their team never had a chance. I always say, "Any given Sunday," any team can win.

I thought about the Superbowl games I attended the past 15 years and each one seem to be the same except for the teams, and city. Each one consisted of expensive airfare, ridiculous room rates with a minimum stay; expense of eating has doubled because the restaurants know we need to get our grub on.

I am not being negative about the Super Bowl.....but where the heck are these people getting money from to pay for the scalped tickets of at least $1200 apiece; hotel is $1,000 and transportation can run from $500 to $2000 a person. We are at a high for unemployment; a low for interest rates and our funds are decreasing as I type because of the NYSE and others. So the point that I am making is... folks don't have enough money to pay their bills but they can go to Florida for pure entertainment. Oh and let's not forget all of the $5 beer and stadium food that should be budgeted in to the equation! And if you are a real fan, you will be tailgating.

So, I guess you know that I am in the comfort of my home with store bought wings and chips.
I actually got a cold housing call today that I will work on today; I guess everyone doesn't watch the Super Bowl.

May the team wins that plays their best today.

Nascar Sponsors vs NFL strike

For Richard Petty and many employees over the past 60 years; an end of an era is ending. With a great amount of respect as well as sorrow, I am in awe that a company that started in Charlotte is actually ending in Charlotte. The job loss alone was a challenging turn. Will those Nascar employee be able to merge in the merger? Will the other Nascar drivers blend together?

This may be a part of Nascar that continues to fall like the national market. It appears that lack of sponsors is causing a downward spiral; yet the support of the fans are alive. Like the last NFL strike, the uncertainties for players each week are a constant sign of those times and yet the fans were favorable. The NFL strike gave some young men the opportunity to play on a professional level..... what a dream come true. For other NFL families, it only allowed more frustration because of the lack of communication between the NFLPA and the owners. However, after 3 games and many hours of negotiations; the league came back as a whole and it is more powerful than ever because the players stuck together. With Richard Petty racing ending its stellar 60 year career, one only hope that the economy will jilt back into place and continue the race. Although it may give younger drivers a chance to more quickly because their dollar demand is lower than the proven drivers. Which brings up another story at another time..... "why does a guy out of college in sports make more money than players that have
gone to the Pro Bowl, the All Star games etc..." stay tuned for my take on it!

I would hope that we could stick together through this hard economic times; whether we are stay at home moms, engineers, professional athletes or owners of fortune 500 companies, we should continue to suppport the businesses as much as our budget allows. Dealing with the unknown is very stressful. The owners of many small companies are closing shop. The larger companies are cutting back on advertisement and the liquidity that we once felt as a family is gone. We now buy only necessities. I am sorry but the $300 rebate didn't do much for me.

They Need some Help!

After much consideration and many many days following this bailout and that bailout; I have come to the conclusion that the bailouts need to be bailed out.

I am not sure, they know what they are doing. Point in fact, my client called the bank to try and do a modification so that his interest rate wouldn't go up 3% and then he would be able to continue to pay his mortgage on time. You would think the bank would jump all over that; however, they responded that they haven't heard about how their bank will handle the money from the government. My client proceeds to ask, "has your bank received its TARP money." She exclaims, tarp, what are you talking about. I don't know tarp.

They need our help!!! I think they are realizing they need our help because in a cnbc statement about the $700 billion TARP money, Cohn states, "You can only stabilize prices by stemming the foreclosure rate." It also states that the systematic Foreclosure Prevention and Mortgage Modification Act of 2008, to be paid for with TARP money, would commit 24.4 million to modify half of the 4.4 million non GSE loans expected to become problems in 2009.

If this is not a cry for our help, then what is. I can help them; it is a simple formula. If the owner of the house can afford to pay $1000 per month and be on time for the next 20 years instead of the $1200 per month for the next 20 years; then I would as a bank representative would choose to make a little less on a current mortgage or I could choose to backload the minute loss. Unfortunately for the banks, they are allowing the owner of the home to not pay for up to 12 months at $1000 per month. So when an offer to purchase finally comes in, they decline it because it isn't enough to cover the principal of the loan; oh so lets just let it sit another 12 months at $1000 plus upkeep, until it is vandalized or until it becomes unlivable...... I on the other hand; (not a professional, just my opinion) as a bank rep would take the offer since my bank is loosing $1000 per month and the upkeep on a vacant home. I am not sure, but my dad always taught me that a little bit of something is better than NOTHING.

They need some help.
There are over 55 million mortgages in foreclosures. I guess there won't be any lay offs in that department. Hey, maybe if you are looking for a job.... apply at the mortgage dept and become a loss mit person or just answer the phone, and maybe you CAN HELP.... PLEASE!

The CHANGE

...... and I thought the "change" only happened in women. Now days everything is changing..... the leaves, the weather constantly, the moods of our peers, the gas prices, the market, the dow, and yes even MEN.

I know we all want change to happen fast. At least I know women want to zip through the "change." But through the storms are when we really learn how to survive and conquer. We change our perspective on life, we look at the leaves as they turn color; we appreciate those warm sunny days in the winter months, we miss those first steps our child made because now they are making large footprints out of the home.

Just going through life is not WORTH living. Our forefathers went through trauma. For some of our "grands," they lived through slavery and for some the holocaust. For many, they survived the recession; and if we want to dig deep in our past generations; Joseph helped save his 6 brothers (who sold him into Egyptian slavery) get through the famine that was affecting everyone.

What we must do during these times of change is learn from them. Start a new budget.... stick by it. Change your spending habits; only get what you need and cut out the wants. Don't give your kids "everything." Lets not look at this time of slumber as a totally bad thing because I know what doesn't kill us will make us stronger. I become stronger through each adversity whether it is personal, financial or physical. I say become and not became because I know that I am still alive and I will have more to overcome.

This is the time to start a new thang. Don Ward stated, "if you are going to doubt something, doubt your limits." Now go start!

Nascar Fans

Being from the North, I was not aware of the Nascar sport until I moved to Charlotte almost 10 years ago.
Like so many transplants, I did not have a clue that Nascar was just as big as the NFL or even NBA. I thought
it was a bunch of cars going around in a circle.

Now for the budget crunch; Brian France says that they will continue to work with its partners. The article is interesting; check it out for yourself. We know the economy is scaling back a tad. The necessary things are becoming essentials and the entertainment companies are feeling the heat.

Drivers are almost like the free agents in the NFL and are changing teams more than they did in the past.
Petty http://www.nascar.com/2008/news/headlines/cup/12/10/blabonte.rpetty.announcement/index.htmlSponsorship has hit the elite and the players that just want to play.

Sara W.

Spend the Money

We continue to hear that we are in the worst of the worst recession in over 30 years. So why is it I still see folks shopping everyday at retail stores. I go to a chain store and can't find a parking space. So I have to park 20 cars away with crutches and everything. I notice the items in the carts and it doesn't look like all of it is "need." We are still spending money.

Being in Charlotte, I have been blessed as a realtor because we have not seen the slump in the market like California, Florida, Ohio etc. We are actually in a good place according to the wall street journal. Charlotte along with some other cities that I won't advertise are among the strong elite. So if you are looking for a city that is fast growing and apparently the people here are still showing the money.....then welcome to Charlotte.