The House and Senate just passed the 300 Billion Dollar Assistance Bill that will help current homeowners facing foreclosure if they meet certain criteria. Did this Assistance bill come in to little to late? What about Victims of foreclosure already that would have been able to meet the criteria but lost their homes already? Who is to take responsibility for this Foreclosure Mess?

They’re rewarding bad decisions and punishing the people who did NOT contribute to the demise of the real estate market by taking away the Down Payment Assistance programs. And, who’s going to pay for it? WE ARE -the TAX PAYERS! So, not only am I making my mortgage payment on a house I overpaid for and I’m losing the value of my property, but now I have to pay to bail out my neighbor? At the risk of sounding like Denise Richard’s potty mouth, ARE YOU %@!*%$@! KIDDING ME???!!!

So, you’re saying that this is the American Dream? Julie Smith bought a house at $600,000 and is making her payments on time every month and can afford her home because she put 20% cash down. Julie’s next door neighbor squeaked into their home with no money down and now they can’t afford their monthly payments…along with 3 other neighbors. So, the four neighbors get bailed out and the values of the homes in the neighborhood have gone down. Meanwhile, the one homeowner who got into her home legitimately (Ms Smith) is still making payments on a $480,000 loan when her neighbors who live in the same floorplan are making payments on a $250,000 or so loan ?

What happened to the principle we’re taught to raise our children with: Reward good behavior, don’t bribe the kid with candy for not repeating bad behavior? Isn’t that what we’re doing? There are consequences for our actions. If certain people are given a “get out of jail free” card, then ALL of us who purchased a home in 2005 should get that same card.

What they should be doing is keeping the DPA programs. They’re punishing the WRONG people! The ones who are keeping our economy going are now being swiped of the opportunity if they don’t have $10,000, $20,000 or more sitting in a bank account.

The question SHOULD be: Why are they taking away a program that allows people who are well qualified with lengthy job history, good credit scores, and good income-to-debt ratios but don’t have a huge chunk of cash sitting in their bank- from buying the surplus of homes that are sitting on the market for sale? There is a big market of first time home buyers, people who are recovering from life changes such as divorce, and multi-cultural US citizens who are buying the inventory. A large percentage of this group does not have enough cash to cover the entire down payment and closing costs.

The question SHOULD be: Why weren’t the appropriate lending guidelines in place to qualify these buyers who are defaulting? If these guidelines are now in place, then why not let the people who do qualify get down payment assistance from the seller who is willing and able to offer it?

We should be focused on that point, not bailing out the people who caused this mess. I was raised with the principle that there are consequences for our actions, whether good or bad.

Instead, go to GetDownPayment.com and click TAKE ACTION NOW to submit a plea to your congressperson to keep the DPA and the American Dream alive.

Otherwise, who will buy the homes on the market? Investors and people with $20,000 sitting in a bank account? If you’re a seller, that certainly LIMITS your buyer pool! Not to mention…the investor will severely low ball the offer price as much as $100,000 below asking price (after all, that’s what makes it an INVESTMENT, right?!).

If you’re thinking of buying real estate, you better start saving…for the next 2-5 yrs or so! And, then, you’ll most likely have missed the BEST buying opportunity in real estate in YOUR lifetime.

They’re adding to the decline of the economy and real estate market by PROHIBITING buyers who are ready, willing and able to purchase a home from doing so if they don’t have $10,000-30,000 or more sitting in a bank account.

I, personally, am helping several buyers who are well-qualified to get into a home, using this program because they simply don’t have the cash sitting in a bank account for the full down payment. Don’t get me wrong -it takes a huge amount of effort on my part to find the right home that will appraise at the purchase price and has a seller willing to contribute up to 6% (or more) of the sales price to the buyer’s down payment and closing costs, BUT I’m doing it and it’s selling homes. I’m willing to earn my paycheck ….and see the happiness of someone who’s getting the keys to their very first home…and it’s not at an inflated purchase price!

”…I’m just saying…”
Kelli Grant, Residential Realtor TRYING to help dreams come true

The response you posted regarding “Will the 300 Billion Dollar Assistance Bill Passed by the House and the Senate Help the Current Real Estate Market?” was very insightful.- Alexander Bermudez, www.Classic-Apartments.com

Recently, realtors and industry experts gathered to showcase neighborhoods in central and east Phoenix. It appears that home buying and selling is strong in specific neighborhoods, such as the area between 35th and 40th streets, from Oak St. to McDowell. Homes have consistently been selling for about 97 percent of value.

With gas prices soaring to an all-time high, people are focused on living closer to work.

The foreclosure and mortgage crisis dominate the news. Andrew Waite, author of ‘Where to live in Phoenix’, confirms that 94.6 percent of all mortgages are current. And, with certain neighborhoods still doing well, it’s really not accurate to blanket the entire valley with the same negative stats.

Phoenix, the ‘Valley of the Sun’, has always been very neighborhood-centric. The recent housing market highlights how individual communities within one city have their own lifestyle and characteristics.

In the last Neighborhood Advisory Council meeting in Sonoran Foothills, the Community Manager pointed out how we can be proactive in taking control of our neighborhood. Developers and home builders market new communities using enormous marketing budgets. Once the community is turned over to the homeowners, we can still make an impact.

I guarantee each neighborhood has several resident realtors and mortgage brokers. I, for one, am looking forward to marketing my neighborhood as an attractive place to live with all of our surrounding beauty and amenities! I don’t think it’ll happen right away due to simple geography, but as more businesses are built nearby –the better it will get.

For accurate neighborhood housing stats, contact your neighborhood Realtor, Kelli Grant.

It’s not about real estate, but Money Matters in this tough economy! Have you heard of the Pre-Ignition Catalytic Converter claiming, “The PICC, Pre-Ignition Catalytic Converter is a breakthrough new technology that could get your car up to five times the gas mileage!”

I had a family member contact me about this and was thrilled that they had found something they thought would be the golden ticket to saving fuel costs . . .and the environment. Several phone calls were put out to mechanics about installing this “revolutionary” technology that was sure to be the next big thing, and since it wasn’t well-known yet - they were excited to be getting it at a fair price before supply and demand went through the roof and the cost tripled.

BUYER BEWARE!! I immediately opened my trusty source for everything you want to know and more, the Internet. I Googled the term PICC fuel and found all of the following information that supports this is a TOTAL SCAM. What’s most scary is that there are ads in reputable magazines such as Popular Science, so why would someone question its validity? It sounds good!

I share this with you because it enrages me as much as any real estate or lending scam would. Taking advantage of people who are completely frustrated and vulnerable in such uncertain times is UNacceptable. So, please click the links and forward to any friend or family member who may contact you with this golden key to the future either because they are passionate about saving the environment or simply cutting their fuel costs in half. And, if all these links still don’t convince you (you’re dillusional), remember that by installing this, you would void all manufacturer’s warranties on your vehicle.

If it’s too good to be true, it probably is! The links below are just a few of the sites that I found with facts, news stories and bulletins about the creator of PICC, Dennis Lee, this so-called technology and other scams he’s created.

http://www.funwithbutter.com/search/label/Automobile

http://www.electricitybook.com/dennis-lee-scam/

http://www.phact.org/e/z/dennisLeeonstealsanddeals.WMV

http://www.phact.org/e/dennis.html

http://www.nmsr.org/denislee.htm

http://www.rv.net/FORUM/index.cfm/fuseaction/thread/tid/21034695.cfm

Could you treat your family member like this??

As more and more home foreclosures hit the market, the biggest and most unknown losers are family pets who are being deserted by their owners.

Animal welfare experts say that the United States slumping housing market has led to an increase in the number of abandoned animals. For some of these homeowners, feeding their pets is just not affordable anymore. Many homeowners are having to move in with relatives or find rentals where pets are not allowed.

Pets are being dumped all over the country. Dogs are being found in farms and domestic cats are showing up in feral wild colonies. Even worse, some pets are being left behind in their foreclosed homes without any food and water.

Many foreclosure homes and go weeks without having a showing. An animal left behind does not stand a chance. It can take weeks for an animal to starve to death. Desperate scratch and bite marks are usually found on doors, windows and baseboards.

Recently, the animal rescue group, Paw Placement, was part of a a huge rescue mission to save abandoned cats that were left behind by their previous owners in a demolished apartment building. Many of these cats were starving and sick due to neglect.

Although some pet owners may think they are doing their pets a favor by not taking them to a shelter or the local pound, they are mistaken. Pets get dependent on their owners for food and their well being. They are domestic animals that are not equipped to survive on their own. They have no chance of survival by being abandoned and their fate is ultimately a painful and suffering death.

Homeowners facing foreclosures should be encouraged to bring their pets to the local humane society or Animal Care and Control facility. In these facilities, their pet at least has a good opportunity of being adopted. Although not every pet will find a home and may be euthanized, they still have a chance. As Stephanie Shain from the humane society put it, " They’ll be fed, have water and/or have a humane euthanization, as opposed to spending the last days of their lives eating carpet or wallboard."

*** Pet abandonment and pet dumping are illegal in most of the United States. In Arizona, this is a class 6 felony.

November 20, 2007
By Bernice Ross
Inman News

I am sick and tired of the negative media constantly ranting about how horrible everything is in our business. It’s time for our industry to fight back against these psychic vampires who seek to suck every bit of hope and optimism out of us just to build their circulation.

Newspaper headlines and buzzwords abound, such as: “Two million people will lose their homes in foreclosure in the next two years!” “Subprime Fiasco!” and “Mortgage Meltdown.”

These are the headlines we hear every day, yet where is the positive news about the real estate market? The answer is, buried in statistics on page 15 of section 3 of your newspaper, provided you can find them at all.

Here’s a typical example from USA Today, Oct. 26, 2007, page 1B:

New Home Sales Unexpectedly Rise

New homes sales posted an unexpected increase in September. But analysts were highly skeptical given the credit crunch and predicted further sales declines. The Commerce Department said sales of new homes rose 4.8 percent last month…”

By the way, here’s what they didn’t report. Sales in the West were up 36.6 percent. The media totally discounted these statistics. What about a different headline: “Great News! Real Estate Sales Surge Despite Biggest Credit Crunch in Decades”?

Here’s another example. In Sept. 6, 2007, article entitled, “New Mortgage Foreclosures Set Record,” Martin Crutsinger provided the following summary of a speech given by Doug Duncan, the chief economist for the National Mortgage Bankers Association. Here’s how it was reported:

“The number of homeowners receiving foreclosure notices hit a record high in the spring, driven up by problems with subprime mortgages. The Mortgage Bankers Association reported Thursday that mortgage-holders starting the foreclosure process in the April-June quarter reached 0.65 percent, marking the third consecutive quarter that this figure has set an all-time high.

“The delinquency rate has risen to 5.12 percent … The worsening performance was driven by two factors — heavy losses in the Midwest states of Ohio, Michigan and Indiana, and the collapse of previously booming housing markets in California, Florida, Nevada and Arizona … Analysts said the problems in the formerly red-hot housing markets of California, Florida, Nevada and Arizona reflected in part speculators walking away from mortgages they can no longer afford.”

This article ends with the negative media’s favorite theme for scaring their readers and/or listeners: “Two million people will face foreclosure in the next two years.”

Here are the numbers that the negative media did NOT report from Duncan’s speech:

1. Thirty-five percent of the homes in the U.S. do NOT have a mortgage.

2. Some 94.88 percent of the loans ARE performing.

3. The foreclosure problem in this country is really a story about seven states.

4. The biggest foreclosure problems are in Michigan, Ohio and Indiana. These are manufacturing states that had horrible job losses. Since 2001, Michigan has lost 300,000 jobs. These states would probably have had problems no matter what the market was doing.

5. The other four states — California, Florida, Nevada and Arizona — experienced significant overbuilding. Twenty-five percent of the foreclosures in these states are on properties that are held by investors who were speculating.

6. Only 25 percent of all mortgages are subprime, and of these, 75 percent are performing.

7. In the other 43 states, foreclosures have fallen in 2007 from 2006 (data from Michael Clawson, vice president, Central Texas Mortgage).

Furthermore, buyers who are waiting to purchase when the so-called bubble pops in California’s major metropolitan areas are going to be sitting on the sidelines, according to the latest data from a state Realtor group.

According to Leslie Appleton Young, chief economist for the California Association of Realtors, the areas being hardest hit in California are the outlying areas where there has been overbuilding. The resale market in California’s major markets continues to be strong. In fact, the closer you are to a metropolitan area, the better the sales are. In the million-dollar-plus price range, there has been essentially no change from 2006 to 2007.

There’s no question about the fact that there is bad news in some markets. What irks me is that there is also a lot of good news that is either being buried or is not being reported at all.

To get a PDF copy of The Forecast, Email Me. To get a report of sales activity and comparisons in a specific neighborhood, contact me and I’ll prepare one for you.

For more details and stats on other zip codes, click HERE

According to CNNMoney.com, Scottsdale ranks 7th in the Top 100 Best Places To Live in 2006. So, what criteria did they base this on? The categories listed are:

• Financial
• Housing
• Education
• Leisure and culture
• Quality of Life
• Weather
• Health
• Meet the Neighbors

So, when you look at the financial category, the Median family income per year is $84, 747, where we actually rank 8th. Out of the top 10 cities, Scottsdale had the highest home price gain from 2004-2005 at 25.40%. Columbia/Ellicott City, MD was the only other city that exceeded 14.80%, coming in at 21%.

In regards to education, we were the highest above our state average for test scores in reading and math. However, that poses the next question: How does our state rank?

Ironically, when you look at quality of life, we had the highest incidents of personal/property crime. It must be because we have more property that can be stolen, right? Leisure and culture is where we really shine. Proudly, we have more restaurants and bars (within 15 miles) than the other nine cities. (3822 restaurants and 241 bars!) AND, we rank third for number of libraries (within 15 miles), at 45. So, does that mean the parents can drop the kids off to get educated on their reading and math while they have a cocktail?? You’ll be happy to know that we rank equally with the other cities under health for body mass index, who all have scores of 26 except for Fort Collins, CO and Sugar Land, TX with BMI scores of 25. Whew!

Now, let’s meet our neighbors. Scottsdale, AZ ranks second in the “divorced” category only exceeded by Boise, ID. Is it because we have too many bars and not enough museums?

You can also check out best places to live for various categories, such as “Hottest”. Arizona has 15 out of 25 cities in this category!! Calm yourself. They’re not referring to the people, but to the temperature. Darn. We didn’t even make the skinniest list of top 25. This surprises me a little when I look around at the gym.

All in all, we can see why people come here in droves. It’s a really “hot” place to live and I’d say we’re pretty well-rounded, comparably.

Women Helping Women!

Denise Bentley is in one of my networking groups and is a beautiful person with a beautiful story about her premature twins. She needs some help reaching out to local businesses for silent auction items for a fundraiser coming up for the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. Please read her story below. Her email is dbentley@sbconsultants.biz

Donations are ranging from $100 in value on up, so get creative and donate something for the auction and/or spread the word to your friends and colleagues.

Blessings,
Kelli Grant
———————————————————————————

Dear Friend,

In December 2004, after many years of trying and losing the battle to get pregnant, after numerous miscarriages and many tears, my husband Rob and I were delighted to discover we were successfully pregnant with twin daughters.

It was a rough pregnancy that included 6 weeks hospital bed rest for me. I never left the hospital until the girls were born and, most difficult of all, I left the hospital without my new precious baby girls.

Ashton Reese and Sydney Monet entered the world June 30, 2005, a full 10 weeks before they were due to have been born. They came into the world weighing less than 3 pounds each and were so fragile that I was not even able to hold them or look at them until after they had been rushed to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) to save their tiny, underdeveloped lungs.

Over the next two months, the girls battled blood transfusions, brain bleeds, treatments for pneumonia and other respiratory complications. They had other complications such as trouble maintaining their body temperatures as well as difficulty sucking, breathing, and swallowing. The girls had to learn how to breathe while eating; eat enough to gain a healthy weight and many other obstacles. Over time, the girls slowly grew and gained strength. After a 2 and half month stay in the NICU, the girls finally came home at just 6 pounds each.

The doctors, nurses and support staff at Scottsdale Shea NICU were our biggest cheering squad and still check in on our progress from time to time.

Ashton and Sydney had a tough start in life, but thanks to the NICU, most of that is now forgotten.

Many other preemie babies have a similar, if not more challenging beginning. Some preemies make it and, unfortunately, some are now angels hoping for a second chance for their parents.

Seconds count in responding to a premature baby in distress and the Scottsdale Shea NICU was created with a uniquely built design that unfortunately requires the staff to leave the bedside of an infant if they need to race for help.

We, the parents of the NICU, are helping the unit to raise $50,000 for a new emergency response unit similar to what your local firefighters and police use today to respond in an emergency.

We, Ashton, Sydney as well as their mom and dad, are hoping you can offer any assistance to help us with our NICU fundraiser event being held March 17, 2007 at the DC Ranch Country Club.

We are looking for auction items that can be donated to the event to help raise money and/or sponsorships to help meet our goal.

Please see the attached donation request letter, if you choose to donate, feel free to call me and I will pick up any donated items.

Thank you for your generosity and the chance for other preemies to come home and smile for their parents too.

With love and tiny hugs,

The Bentley family

————————————-

A fundraising dinner will be held on March 17, 2007. The dinner will be held at Country Club at DC Ranch. You can help by donating a prize for the silent auction that will be held that evening!

The Bowe Special Care Nursery is a designated Level 2 Enhanced Qualifications neonatal intensive care unit. Located within the Family Birthing Center at Scottsdale Healthcare Shea, the nursery cares for infants and families who require services that are more advanced.

Scottsdale Healthcare is a non-profit comminity hospital system. If you have any questions or would like further information, please contact Denise at dbentley@sbconsultants.biz, or call Joanne Gain, Vice-President, Annual & Major Gifts at 480-882-4541

With the holidays just behind us, many of you have received some handy little gadgets from your loved ones.

I wanted to give you some important tips to keep in mind to “ring” in the new year!

Protect Your Personal Information on Old Cell Phones or PDA’s!

Just when you thought your personal data like passwords and bank information was safe because you deleted it from your cell or PDA…turns out that hackers can still steal the information. Believe it or not, your private data can easily be hijacked from your trashed or turned in device, even when you’ve deleted everything. That could cause some major headaches for a lot of innocent people. But the good news is that you can protect yourself.

With the advancement of PDA’s and cell phones, these devices have become mini computers and contain loads of valuable and private information. Individuals store information in their cell phones like passwords, bank account numbers, appointments, contact information, even social security numbers.

And for most individuals, cell phones and PDA’s are used for about 1.5 years and then replaced, usually by upgrading to a newer model. Old cell phones and PDA’s are sold on EBay, tossed in the trash, or sent off to a cell phone recycling center. Of course, before turning it in or trashing it, most wisely delete the information.

But in reality, the information is not completely deleted…it remains on the device.

The part that is deleted is the pathway for the information to be displayed. Much like with a computer - when a file is deleted the operating system never erases the data, it only deletes the pointers to where the data is located. Hackers have the advanced software available that can resurrect erased data from a cell phone or PDA, even if you have already “deleted” the information.

In fact, the data can be recovered in 85% of cell phones and PDA’s! So hackers are buying old cell phones, extracting this valuable information, and passing it along to identity thieves.

But, there is a solution and it only requires a few additional steps to ensure that the data is permanently deleted and hacker-free.

Simply start by hitting this link www.wirelessrecycling.com, click on the “Cell Phone Data Eraser”, select the cell phone manufacturer, model, and click on the download instructions icon. Follow the instructions and all of the data will be completely and permanently removed. Can’t find the make and model? No worries - just contact the manufacturer of the cell phone or PDA, and ask for instructions on how to permanently delete all information from the device.

With just a few clicks of the mouse you can rest assured that when you sell or trash that old model, hackers and identity thieves will not be able to track where you have been, what your account numbers are, read confidential emails, or view photos or videos of your loved ones. And be sure to forward this important information on to everyone you know. Most likely they have cell phones or PDA’s and may be looking to upgrade. Knowing this valuable bit of information will keep them safe, so pass it on!

Being an e-Pro certifiied Realtor in the Scottsdale-Phoenix area, I utilize technology for several reasons. Among them, two top benefits are:

1) to efficiently manage each real estate transaction and
2) to provide you with access to ground-breaking tools to help us in your home selection and purchase!

Since I rely on technology so heavily, I’m also very diligent about security. Keep your identity and information safe in 2007!