First-time buyers grab foreclosures
by Catherine Reagor - May. 27, 2009 12:00 AMThe Arizona Republic
Metropolitan Phoenix's foreclosure home-buying frenzy has caught the attention of other parts of the country. Some national housing analysts are labeling the Valley's recent upswing in home sales another speculator- driven boom. But while investors finding bargains on foreclosure homes did help restart the area's housing market in January and February, speculators aren't dominating the scene as they did during the boom of 2004-06.


In April, about 19 percent of all Valley homes were purchased by investors, according to real-estate analyst Mike Orr. He works with the Arizona Regional Multiple Listing Service and the Information Market to analyze real-estate data daily for the Cromford Report.
During the boom, investor purchases accounted for 35 percent to 40 percent of metro Phoenix's record home sales. Now, first-timers are the Valley's fastest growing group of home buyers. One housing-market watcher believes first-time buyers soon will account for half of the area's home sales.


The federal housing plan's $8,000 incentive for first-time buyers and the state, city and county Neighborhood Stabilization programs to help people buy foreclosure homes as their primary residences is helping shift the market away from investors. Home sales are at record levels in many Valley communities, and prices are inching up. The Valley's median home price is at $116,500, up from a low of $115,000 at the end of April. That's a 1.3 percent increase, which may seem paltry compared with the drop in Valley home prices during the past few years. But a year of those monthly gains could become a 15.6 percent annual increase in home prices.
The median price-per-square-foot of metro Phoenix home sales in May climbed to $84.86, up 2.4 percent from the low it hit in April. Pending sales prices are following the same upward trend.


"There's a buying frenzy for Valley homes priced below $150,000," Orr said. "Many homes in that prices range are getting multiple offers." Investors buying Valley homes now are different than the speculators of the boom. A few years ago, most investors put very little down so it was easier for them to walk away and let homes go into foreclosure. Now most investors are paying cash. Investors who get financing are required to put down hefty down payments, which they aren't as likely to walk away from. This is a different housing market, with more conservative investors and mortgages than the Valley experienced during the boom years.



Yours to Count On,
Erika Madsen
Real Estate Consultant
Re/Max Power Realty
"Your Advisory Team" Founder/Manager
480-695-6572

p.s. if you or anyone you know is considering a move in the current real estate market- you deserve an agent who has a strong knowledge to help you succeed! Visit http://www.PhoenixAreaMls.com/ to learn more about Your Advisory Team & Our Performance GUARANTEES!!

I just got this email from Mike over at Express One Mortgage. Interesting info on the First Time Home Buyer Tax Credit!

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First-Time Home Buyer Tax Credit for Closing will Move Market
WASHINGTON (May 29, 2009) – Consumers across the country can now take advantage of a Federal Housing Administration program to allow qualified home buyers to apply the $8,000 tax credit when purchasing a home. FHA will now permit its lenders to provide a short-term bridge loan that will let qualified home buyers use the tax credit to either make a larger down payment above the FHA required 3.5 percent, cover closing costs, or buy down their interest rate.
“A true housing recovery depends on buyers returning to the market and reducing inventory,” said National Association of Realtors® President Charles McMillan, a broker with Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage in Dallas-Fort Worth. “Since many of the homes available are lower priced starter homes, the ability for individuals to use the tax credit at closing should have a meaningful impact on home sales and values and will allow thousands of families to achieve the dream of homeownership.”
Shaun Donovan, secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development, announced the change today. In an address to several thousand Realtors® gathered two weeks ago at NAR’s Real Estate Summit: Advancing the U.S. Economy, Donovan announced HUD’s plan to offer the tax credit as down payment assistance. Donovan detailed the modifications to that original proposal and announcement.
“We all want to enable FHA consumers to access the home buyer tax credit funds when they close on their home loans,” Donovan said. According to Donovan, the FHA’s approved lenders will be permitted to “monetize” the tax credit through short-term bridge loans allowing eligible home buyers to access the funds immediately at the closing table.
NAR has supported monetization of the tax credit, which was part of an Obama administration housing stimulus plan enacted earlier in the year. NAR petitioned HUD to allow home buyers to use the $8,000 tax credit to help them cover down payment or closing costs to bring new home buyers to the market and stimulate home sales.
“We think this is a good program; our members have been getting many inquiries from potential buyers about it,” McMillan said. “NAR is pleased that this enhancement has been made to the administration’s housing recovery program. As we have heard before, there can be no economic recovery without a housing recovery. With an abundance of inventory, reduced home prices, historically low interest rates and now the availability of the tax credit at closing, we expect to see the housing market further stabilize and improve.”
The National Association of Realtors®, “The Voice for Real Estate,” is America’s largest trade association, representing 1.2 million members involved in all aspects of the residential and commercial real estate industries.

Yours to Count On,
Erika Madsen
Real Estate Consultant
Re/Max Power Realty
"Your Advisory Team" Founder/Manager
480-695-6572

p.s. if you or anyone you know is considering a move in the current real estate market- you deserve an agent who has a strong knowledge to help you succeed! Visit http://www.PhoenixAreaMls.com/ to learn more about Your Advisory Team & Our Performance GUARANTEES!!

Yours to Count On,
Erika Madsen
Real Estate Consultant
Re/Max Power Realty
"Your Advisory Team" Founder/Manager
480-695-6572

p.s. if you or anyone you know is considering a move in the current real estate market- you deserve an agent who has a strong knowledge to help you succeed! Visit http://www.PhoenixAreaMls.com/ to learn more about Your Advisory Team & Our Performance GUARANTEES!!

Study Buoys Mortgage Modification
Finding May Ease Concerns That Borrowers Would Fall Behind on Loans
By RUTH SIMON

Cutting financially troubled borrowers' monthly mortgage payments by more than 10% reduces the chances that they will fall behind again after their loan is modified, a study found.
While modifications that result in lower payments are increasing, nearly half of all loan workouts still result in the same or higher payments, the study found.
The report, released Friday by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and the Office of Thrift Supervision, comes as mortgage companies are preparing to modify loans under the Obama administration's foreclosure-prevention plan, which provides financial incentives to encourage mortgage companies and investors to reduce borrowers' mortgage-related payments to 31% of income.


It could help allay concerns that scores of borrowers whose loans are reworked will fall behind again on their mortgages, leading to higher losses for lenders and investors who hold these loans.
"The administration plan is premised on the notion that if you lower the payment enough you can produce sustainable modifications," said Comptroller of the Currency John C. Dugan. The report, he added, "provides evidence in support of that thought."
The report comes as a weak economy and falling home prices are creating problems for a number of borrowers, including many who previously had good credit. The biggest percentage jump in troubled loans was for prime mortgages, with 2.4% of these loans more than 60 days past due at the end of the fourth quarter, up from 1.1% at the end of the first quarter. The portion of subprime loans that were more than 60 days past due climbed to 16% from 11% during this same period. Overall, more than one in 10 loans were 60 days past due, the report found.
Redefault rates for modified loans were high and rose during the first three quarters of 2008, the report found, with loans modified in the third-quarter showing the highest redefault rates.
Some borrowers fall behind again because of job loss or other problems, but whether or not the borrower gets payment relief also appears to play a role in the outcome. The redefault rate was just 26% after nine months when monthly payments were cut by more than 10%, compared with about 50% when the payment increased or remained the same.
Loan modifications that leave the payment unchanged or higher "in better times were more sustainable," Mr. Dugan said. "In this climate, leaving mortgage payments unchanged or increasing them is resulting in too high of a risk of redefault."
Modifications can result in higher monthly payments because, by the time loans are worked out, borrowers often are behind on their payments. Lenders frequently have been adding these past-due amounts, which can include principal, interest, taxes and insurance, driving monthly payments higher.
The OCC has told the lenders it regulates that they "need to review their programs" and make sure that modifications implemented in 2008 and in the future result in loans that are affordable and sustainable, Mr. Dugan said. Lenders also have been told to review the modifications they did last year and "see if there are classes of borrowers" whose modifications may be further restructured to make them more effective, he said.
The report covers modifications by the 13 large banks and thrifts that are now owned by nine bank-holding companies. These firms, which include Bank of America Corp., J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. and Citigroup Inc., service about two-thirds of mortgages outstanding.
Servicers have stepped up their efforts to modify loans and reduce borrowers' payments in response to pressure to reduce foreclosures. The percentage of modifications that reduced loan payments by more than 10% increased to 37% in the fourth quarter from 26% in the third quarter. Still, roughly one in four borrowers saw their payments increase after their loan was modified.
Mortgage servicers have been more successful modifying loans that are held on their own books than those that are owned by mortgage investors. Nearly half of investor loans were at least 60 days delinquent nine months after they were modified compared with about 30% of loans that are held in bank portfolios. Servicers said they have more flexibility to rework loan terms for mortgages they own than for those held by investors.




Yours to Count On,
Erika Madsen
Real Estate Consultant
Re/Max Power Realty
"Your Advisory Team" Founder/Manager
480-695-6572

p.s. if you or anyone you know is considering a move in the current real estate market- you deserve an agent who has a strong knowledge to help you succeed! Visit http://www.PhoenixAreaMls.com/ to learn more about Your Advisory Team & Our Performance GUARANTEES!!

Obama's Loan Modification Plan: 7 Things You Need to Know
The White House releases fresh details on its plan to save the housing market
By Luke Mullins
Posted March 4, 2009
At the heart of the President Barack Obama's ambitious plan to rescue the housing market is the conviction that restructuring distressed mortgages will keep struggling borrowers in their homes and help insert a floor beneath plummeting property values. With $75 billion dedicated to reworking troubled loans, that's a big bet—especially considering that a top banking regulator said last December that almost 53 percent of loans modified in the first quarter of 2008 went bad again within six months. But supporters argue that mortgage modifications need to be properly engineered to work—and many early ones weren't. To that end, the Obama administration on Wednesday unveiled fresh details on its plan to restructure at-risk loans and help as many as four million home owners avoid foreclosure. Here are seven things you need to know about Obama's loan modification program.

1. Payments, not prices: The plan centers on the belief that struggling borrowers will stay in their homes—even as values decline sharply—as long as they can make their monthly payments. Although not everyone agrees with this, billionaire investor Warren Buffett endorsed the philosophy in his most recent letter to shareholders. "Commentary about the current housing crisis often ignores the crucial fact that most foreclosures do not occur because a house is worth less than its mortgage (so-called “upside-down” loans)," Buffett wrote. "Rather, foreclosures take place because borrowers can’t pay the monthly payment that they agreed to pay."
2. Thirty-one percent: To that end, the administration's plan requires participating loan servicers to reduce monthly payments to no more than 38 percent of the borrower's gross monthly income. The government would then chip in to bring payments down further, to no more than 31 percent of the borrower's monthly income. In lowering the payment, the servicer would first reduce the interest rate to as low as 2 percent. If that's not enough to hit the 31 percent threshold, they would then extend the terms of the loan to up to 40 years. If that's still not enough, the servicer would forebear loan principal at no interest. The plan does not, however, require servicers to reduce mortgage principal, which Richard Green, the director of the Lusk Center for Real Estate at USC, considers a shortcoming. "For underwater loans, if you don't write down the balance to be less than the value of the house, people still have an incentive to default," Green says. "Writing down the principal first instead of last—which is what [the Obama administration is] proposing—makes sense to me."
3. Cash incentives: To encourage participation, servicers will be paid $1,000 for each modification and will get an additional $1,000 payout each year for as many as three years, as long as the borrower continues making payments. Borrowers, meanwhile, can get up to $1,000 knocked off the principal of their loan each year for as many as five years if they make their payments on time. Neither party can receive the cash incentives until the modified loan payments have been made for at least three months.
4. Financial hardship: The Obama administration is pitching its plan as an effort to help responsible homeowners ensnared in the historic housing slump and painful recession—not speculators. As such, only owner-occupied, primary residences with outstanding principal balances of up to $729,750 are eligible. Occupancy status will be verified through documents, such as the borrower's credit report. In addition, the program is designed to target homeowners who are undergoing "serious hardships"—such as a loss of income—which have put them at risk of default. To participate, borrowers will have to sign an affidavit of financial hardship and verify their income with documents. "If we would have had such stringent verification over the last four or five years, we probably wouldn't be in as bad a position as we are in," says Richard Moody, the chief economist at Mission Residential. But while Moody has no objection to such verification, obtaining documents from so many homeowners could be an onerous effort. "It's going to be a very time-consuming process," he says. Only loans originated on or before Jan. 1, 2009, are eligible, and modified payments will remain in place for five years. Now that the administration's plan is out, lenders are free to begin modifying loans.
5. Net present value: To determine if a particular mortgage will be modified, the servicer will perform a so-called net present value test. The test compares the expected cash flow that the loan would generate if it is modified with the expected cash flow it would generate if it isn't. If the modified loan is expected to produce more cash flow for the mortgage holder, the servicer is to restructure the loan. Howard Glaser, a mortgage industry consultant and a U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development official during the Clinton administration, called this component of the plan "clever," arguing that it would work to ensure broad participation. "When you apply the formula, the loans that are modified are the ones that are in the best economic interest of the investors to modify," Glaser says. "The federal subsidy for the payment on the modification…tips the scale toward modification as a better deal for the investor."
6. Second liens: The Obama plan also addresses the issue of second liens—such as home equity loans or home equity lines of credit—by offering incentives to extinguish them. But key details on this component of the plan remained unclear. "Distinguishing the second lien is really important," Green says. "[But] exactly how they are going to convince the second lien holder to do this is not clear to me at all."
7. Will it work? Moody argues that while the plan may reduce foreclosures for primary residences, it could lead to a spike in defaults for another group of homeowners. Although he supports the administration's efforts to focus the initiative on primary residences, Moody notes that "it could be the case that a lot of [real estate speculators] have been just hanging on waiting to see exactly what the details are of this [plan]," Moody says. Now that it's clear the Obama plan leaves speculators out, "we could actually see a spike in foreclosures or at least mortgage defaults among this group."
Glaser, meanwhile, worries that lenders may soon be overwhelmed by inquiries from homeowners looking to participate. "Starting today, millions of borrowers are going to start to call their lenders to see whether or not they are eligible," he said. "And I'm not sure that the financial services industry has the capacity to handle these inquiries."

Yours to Count On,
Erika Madsen
Real Estate Consultant
Re/Max Power Realty
"Your Advisory Team" Founder/Manager
480-695-6572

p.s. if you or anyone you know is considering a move in the current real estate market- you deserve an agent who has a strong knowledge to help you succeed! Visit http://www.PhoenixAreaMls.com/ to learn more about Your Advisory Team & Our Performance GUARANTEES!!

Here is another great article by Mary Ellen Kohut on the role of appraisers in real estate transactions.
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Appraisals have become the grizzly bear in the zoo of lending. New York Attorney General, Andrew Cuomo, determined the housing crisis was caused by appraisers and their relationship with real estate agents and lenders. Legislation was passed to keep lenders, agents and borrowers all separated from the dangerous and evil appraisers. In addition new tweaked guidelines to determine value have eliminated the “most beautiful house on the planet” key and replaced it with foreclosure and short sale trends. The sellers that think their house is worth more because it is not a bank owned property better think again. Appraisers are now required to note recent REO’s and short sells in their report. If the neighborhood is foreclosure challenged, more than just one bank-owned in a neighborhood, the appraiser will be chastised if they try to bring the value up by using comps outside the subdivision...or the lender may just require a second appraisal at the buyer's expense. Builders will no longer be able to direct business to their “chosen” appraisers specifically used for their communities. The underwriter’s sworn duty to the bank making the loan is to scrutinize appraisals as well as the credit worthiness of the buyer. They now have an automated system to help confirm value. Most conventional loans are requiring a desk review or a field review. A desk review is the process of the underwriter sending an appraisal over to an independent appraiser to validate the report. A field review is a completely new appraisal. Having a strong borrower or putting an obscene amount of money down will not weigh into the decision. Back in 2005, if the buyer agreed to pay the sales price offered by the seller, the appraiser typically would make it work and with the trend at that time for rapidly appreciating housing values, underwriters rarely questioned the reports. With the combination of enforced underwriting guidelines and the current trend of declining housing values, the lending process can get knarly. Trying to get the value up by screaming and yelling or holding your breath until you pass out does not work, lord knows I’ve tried. Today’s lending environment is a different animal and we are going to have to wrestle through it until the economy turns.

FYI: Lenders were scratching their heads in amazement when FHA announced Wednesday that they would allow buyers who qualify for the $8000 First-Time Home Buyer Tax Credit, to use it toward the 3.5% required down payment. The government did away with the down payment assistance programs in October due to the number of foreclosures for buyers that did not have any skin in the game. And now they would allow Uncle Sam to gift the money? As quickly as the mortgagee letter appeared it was yanked from the web site with an “oh, never mind.” Stay tuned to see if reappears.
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Yours to Count On,
Erika Madsen
Real Estate Consultant
Re/Max Power Realty
"Your Advisory Team" Founder/Manager
480-695-6572

p.s. if you or anyone you know is considering a move in the current real estate market- you deserve an agent who has a strong knowledge to help you succeed! Visit http://www.PhoenixAreaMls.com/ to learn more about Your Advisory Team & Our Performance GUARANTEES!!

One of every 374 US homes received a filing during the month, the highest monthly rate that Realty Trac, an online marketer of foreclosed properties, has recorded in four + years of record keeping. "April was a shocker" said Rick Sharga, a spokesman for Realty Trac, "I would have bet on a dip because March foreclosures were so high". Instead filings inched up 1% from March and rose 32# compared with April 2008. There were 63,900 bank repossessions, the last stop in the foreclosure process. More than 1.3 million homes have now been lost to foreclosure since the market meltdown began in August 2007.


Yours to Count On,
Erika Madsen
Real Estate Consultant
Re/Max Power Realty
"Your Advisory Team" Founder/Manager
480-695-6572

p.s. if you or anyone you know is considering a move in the current real estate market- you deserve an agent who has a strong knowledge to help you succeed! Visit http://www.PhoenixAreaMls.com/ to learn more about Your Advisory Team & Our Performance GUARANTEES!!

I just got this email from Mark Sheck of Cherry Creek Mortgage about recent changes in the lending industry regarding first time buyers and tax credit. Read below for the full story.
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You may have heard that FHA is going to allow non-profits to issue bridge loans to first time buyers that can be repaid with the tax credit they would receive after filing their tax returns. This information was provided in the form of a mortgagee letter from HUD dated Monday, May 11th. This would allow first time home buyers the ability make use of this tax credit for their down payment. This would be especially helpful to customers who maybe do not have a parent or relative able to gift them down payment money.

For some reason, we are not really sure why, FHA has temporally rescinded this mortgagee letter. As more information becomes available I will be sure to pass it along.
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Yours to Count On,
Erika Madsen
Real Estate Consultant
Re/Max Power Realty
"Your Advisory Team" Founder/Manager
480-695-6572

p.s. if you or anyone you know is considering a move in the current real estate market- you deserve an agent who has a strong knowledge to help you succeed! Visit http://www.PhoenixAreaMls.com/ to learn more about Your Advisory Team & Our Performance GUARANTEES!!

This just came across my desk from Mark over at Express One Mortgage. Interesting info for hopeful buyers.
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Hello to all! I wanted to quickly pass along some information that is sure to affect us all. The following was just announced:

Shaun Donovan, secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, said that the Federal Housing Administration is going to permit its lenders to allow homeowners to use the $8,000 tax credit as a downpayment. According to Donovan, the FHA's approved lenders will be permitted to 'monetize' the tax credit through short-term bridge loans. This will allow eligible home buyers to access the funds immediately at the closing table.

Now all of this being said, how will they monetize the Tax Credit, you ask

I HAVE NO IDEA how it will work, no guides or descriptions of the program have been released. BUT you can bet this will take some time to implement, they first must determine who will be issuing the Bridge Loan then they must help lenders implement it. So when I get the answers I will be sure to pass along to you.
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Yours to Count On,
Erika Madsen
Real Estate Consultant
Re/Max Power Realty
"Your Advisory Team" Founder/Manager
480-695-6572

p.s. if you or anyone you know is considering a move in the current real estate market- you deserve an agent who has a strong knowledge to help you succeed! Visit http://www.PhoenixAreaMls.com/ to learn more about Your Advisory Team & Our Performance GUARANTEES!!

Beware of reporters who post articles like this saying things are working… the moratorium itself is creating this inflated bubble of hope… 2 more waves of foreclosures loom on the horizon. ~Erika
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Drop in metro Phoenix foreclosures

Valley foreclosures and pre-foreclosures both fell in April, while the number of foreclosure cancellations climbed. All good indicators for the housing market as long as they continue.

Trustee notices, or pre foreclosures, fell to 9,092 in April from 10,689 in March, reports data research firm Information Market.


Actual foreclosures, trustee deeds, fell to 3,103 last month from March’s 3,377. Cancellations fell by 500 in April to 2,668.

Also, fewer foreclosures are going back to the lender, which could signal more short sales going through and investors buying homes at trustee auctions. About 89 percent of Valley foreclosures went back to the lender in April. In March and for most of the past year, about 95 percent of all foreclosures have gone back to the lender.

The extension of big lender moratoriums on foreclosures and the federal push for more loan modifications are likely both working. But lenders could also be holding back some foreclosure properties so they don’t flood the market again and push prices farther down.

Auction house REDC had an auction last week for almost 200 Valley foreclosure homes. The opening bids started as low as $500 on some properties in Phoenix’s 85006 ZIP code.

Tom Ruff, Information Market’s analyst, said its possible foreclosures could climb again this month or in June.
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Yours to Count On,
Erika Madsen
Real Estate Consultant
Re/Max Power Realty
"Your Advisory Team" Founder/Manager
480-695-6572

p.s. if you or anyone you know is considering a move in the current real estate market- you deserve an agent who has a strong knowledge to help you succeed! Visit http://www.PhoenixAreaMls.com/ to learn more about Your Advisory Team & Our Performance GUARANTEES!!

Current Greater Phoenix Area Real Estate Market

There are many things currently happening that both sellers and buyers must be aware of before & during a sale or purchase. Our team is staying on top of these developments on a daily basis. Some of the issues currently at hand are:

• Average length of time it is taking to sell a home and what can be done to shorten it;
• strong marketing is needed to help a home stand out from the rest.
  

If you are seriously considering the purchase or sale of a home then you deserve an aggressive Realtor to represent you! We're here so feel free to call with any questions or concerns about our current market. We’d be happy to help you or anyone you know get the best deal possible!

Yours to Count On,
Erika Madsen
Real Estate Consultant
Re/Max Power Realty
"Your Advisory Team" Founder/Manager
480-695-6572

p.s. if you or anyone you know is considering a move in the current real estate market- you deserve an agent who has a strong knowledge to help you succeed! Visit http://www.PhoenixAreaMls.com/ to learn more about Your Advisory Team & Our Performance GUARANTEES!!

Here are some graphs on inventory levels throughout the valley!

Yours to Count On,
Erika Madsen
Real Estate Consultant
Re/Max Power Realty
"Your Advisory Team" Founder/Manager
480-695-6572

p.s. if you or anyone you know is considering a move in the current real estate market- you deserve an agent who has a strong knowledge to help you succeed! Visit http://www.PhoenixAreaMls.com/ to learn more about Your Advisory Team & Our Performance GUARANTEES!!

Have you been wondering what a home is worth in this changing housing market? Are you thinking of buying a home and want to know other home sale prices? Check the value of homes recently sold in the Phoenix, Arizona, area since 2003. Search for home in metro Phoenix, Pinal and Maricopa Counties:

Valley Home Values

Now is a GREAT time to buy! Call me and our team can assist you in taking advantage of these prices we haven't seen since 2003!

Yours to Count On,
Erika Madsen
Real Estate Consultant
Re/Max Power Realty
"Your Advisory Team" Founder/Manager
480-695-6572

p.s. if you or anyone you know is considering a move in the current real estate market- you deserve an agent who has a strong knowledge to help you succeed! Visit http://www.PhoenixAreaMls.com/ to learn more about Your Advisory Team & Our Performance GUARANTEES!!

You may have heard the rumors about the gov’t shutting down the FHA, please click on the link to watch the video for clarification on this.

https://www.thinkbigworksmall.com/mypage/tbws/8265/149963

Yours to Count On,
Erika Madsen
Real Estate Consultant
Re/Max Power Realty
"Your Advisory Team" Founder/Manager
480-695-6572

p.s. if you or anyone you know is considering a move in the current real estate market- you deserve an agent who has a strong knowledge to help you succeed! Visit http://www.PhoenixAreaMls.com/ to learn more about Your Advisory Team & Our Performance GUARANTEES!!

Well, the first 100 days of the Obama administration has come and gone. Here is an article by Mary Ellen Kohut from TMA discussing the economics and the market.

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President Obama’s first 100 days probably were not what he imagined when he began courting the American public for the Presidency in 2007. The stock market was over 14,000, unemployment was at 4.5% and large bonuses with shiny expensive cars were a part of the American Dream. Our charismatic, Harvard educated leader’s term is being compared to that of President Franklin D. Roosevelt our 32nd President from 1933 to 1945. When President Roosevelt began his campaign for the presidency, our country was in the dark throws of the Great Depression. This visionary man implemented social security, appointed the first woman to his cabinet, and developed work programs so American’s could put food on their tables. One of his first triumphs as president was to repeal the 21st Amendment Prohibition Act, or legalize alcohol consumption.

President Obama is still in the honeymoon phase of his presidency although the stock market plunged to below 8,000, and unemployment rose to 8.5%. He successfully guided our Navy Seals to fight pirates, (not the “aahrr matey" of lore but mercenaries on a mission of death... and none of them look like Johnny Depp) and has improved our global image while introducing his political platforms. With all of our big problems it has given our President a smaller library to focus his talk of reform. The economy has provided him with an opportunity to pass his massive stimulus bill and probably will allow the implementation of a national health care. Immigration is a spicy subject and was brought to the forefront this week with demands to close our borders to contain the swine flu. After all, if you get rid of the Mexicans you will get rid of the flu. I always thought that germs were the reason for the illness but in High School I was too concerned about my hair and my date on Friday night so I probably wasn’t paying attention in class when the teacher said it was the Mexicans. President Obama’s exuberant confidence in the United States and his programs is contagious. With any relationship we must believe in our partner…..until proven otherwise.

FYI: All conventional appraisals are now required to be ordered through specific Fannie Mae approved Web sites. No exceptions. You can thank Attorney General Andrew Cuomo for determining that "ground zero" for the housing crisis was all due to the appraisers.
Interest rates are still incredibly low and we are seeing a lot of first time home buyers getting into the buying market and a lot of people who already have mortgages looking to refinance.

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Yours to Count On,
Erika Madsen
Real Estate Consultant
Re/Max Power Realty
"Your Advisory Team" Founder/Manager
480-695-6572

p.s. if you or anyone you know is considering a move in the current real estate market- you deserve an agent who has a strong knowledge to help you succeed! Visit http://www.PhoenixAreaMls.com/ to learn more about Your Advisory Team & Our Performance GUARANTEES!!

You may have heard about the HVCC which requires all appraisals to be ordered through a 3rd party thus ending the communication between a loan officer and an appraiser on CONVENTIONAL loans. This goes into affect TODAY. Click on the link below to watch a short video on this…

https://www.thinkbigworksmall.com/mypage/tbws/7967/149963


Yours to Count On,
Erika Madsen
Real Estate Consultant
Re/Max Power Realty
"Your Advisory Team" Founder/Manager
480-695-6572

p.s. if you or anyone you know is considering a move in the current real estate market- you deserve an agent who has a strong knowledge to help you succeed! Visit http://www.PhoenixAreaMls.com/ to learn more about Your Advisory Team & Our Performance GUARANTEES!!