May 2009

Prices have Dropped 20%.

This is great news for home buyers and especially first time home buyers, but not such good news for people trying to get their existing loan refinanced or modified.   CNN Money out of New York this morning put this article up to talk about the 20% drop since the beginning of the year.

The Case-Shiller 20-city index dropped 18.7% year-over-year, also a record. It fell 18.5% during the last three months of 2008. This index has plummeted 32.2% from its July 2006 peak and has fallen 32 straight months.

The national index covers almost all homes sold throughout the United States and is reported quarterly, while the 20-city index reports sales in 20 major metro areas and represents a cross section of the national market. The 20-city index comes out every month.

Getting it Right, not…yet.

Why is it that there have been slightly over 55,000 loan modifications done with over 4,000,000 in need?

Some quick answers are that the Obama Initiatives demanded that the lenders/servicers conform their systems to enter information in a new electronic format.  That takes time to do.  It takes time to get each file re-prepared and re-submitted.  It took time for the lenders/servicers to fully undestand the program, because there was a lot of revision.  The program is still being revised.

Now this week the investors who have purchased these loans are threatening to sue the lenders/servicers if they write down some of the loan to make it workable for the homeowner. This puts everyone in a difficult spot.

In today’s world people look to place blame rather than fix the situation.  Frankly it is not the real estate agent who is to blame, but this professional is someone who can help the glut of these loans to be worked through, and yet they are being vilified.  We here at Truth and Service intend to work with each and every homeowner to get them the best deal possible.  It takes persistence, experience and focus.  Get some help here for a loan modification at No Home Loss

Mad as h*** and not going to take it anymore! (Members Only)

It has grown so tiresome to hear people in government and the news spewing venom in the direction of the real estate professionals.  We are not to blame for the debacle of this economy.  On the contrary we are the people who can help solve this problem.  Why is it that there are only 55,000 loan modification completed this week when over 4,000,000 are in need.  Why is the government and several large lenders actively telling people not to work with professionals.  Do homeowners really think that the lender has their best interest in mind?  I hope not.  Do the officials in the government really think that real estate professionals are the bad guys, how could they?  More importantly, why do they keep  saying it.

It is true that the loan modification business is unregulated and there is a huge scam potential, but to say all real estate people can’t help is such the wrong approach.  We have decided to rededicate our office and our people to do more for each person that walks through our door.   We are instituting  a type of concierge service of sorts so that when a call comes in, an email sent, an inquiry made that we get back to those people immediately. We are making sure each person that comes in contact with us knows that we care and we can help.  In this manner we will win the public trust one person at a time.  In the meantime we are making concerted efforts on our blog sites and at our meetings to talk about these issues.  Real Estate professionals are the only ones who understand both sides of these issues.  We are the solution, not the problem and we intend to prove that with every single encounter.  What do you think?  Are you mad and ready to take action, or are you still hiding?

Getting Started (Members Only)

Today I was concerned about what is happening with loan modifications according to a report out of CNN Money.  We all know that the loan mod business has been extremely slow in reacting to the incredible needs.  The Obama Programs promised help and began to deliver funds to the banks and lenders, we thought the floodgates would open then.  They did not.  Each lender had to retrofit their electronic process to conform to the way the government wanted to receive the information.  Ok, so that took a while.  To date, of the over 4 million people in need there have been only about 55,000 loan mods.  Talk about not meeting needs. So today the news is that the investors in these assets are threatening to sue the lender/servicers because they don’t want to loose more money.  This is such a “caught between a rock and a high place” situation for everyone.  My real concern is that the 4 million are being hurt while the lenders and asset managers are quibbling over losses.  Does anyone hear Nero’s fiddle?  As we attempt to move forward it would be so helpful to find common ground.  We know that the average home owner is the backbone of our country and our economy.  Let’s find a way to help them.  For the article I am referring to, click on the image here.