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Statistics |
| Unique Visitors: 45 |
| Total Unique Visitors: 154850 |
| Visitors Out: 201 |
| Total Visitors Out: 201 |
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| Can You Do Better Than "This"? |
| 2008-05-14 13:30:14 |
I was trying to find a good song that sums up why I blog and this one, particularly the chorus does the best job. The song is done by John Reuben and is titled, “Nuisance”.
As the chorus goes…
I am not trying to be a nuisanceI just think we can do better than thisThat was simply [...]...
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| It Was a Mad House Today (Government Edition) |
| 2008-05-08 17:36:54 |
Today was certainly a busy one for the House. It is a good thing it is an election year or some sanity may have entered the voting process. Instead we end up with more government interventions that should do their job of prolonging the current housing crisis, almost indefinitely.
I already posted their approval of [...]...
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| House Approves Local Government Real Estate Investing Venture |
| 2008-05-08 12:26:23 |
Estate">Real estate investors may find it harder to buy foreclosed, particularly the fixer-uppers, due to an unexpected entrant, the state government. It hasn’t become law, so there is still time to grab up those properties now, but if the bill passes, local governments will be allowed to buy foreclosed properties and start their real estate [...]...
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| CNN Money: Florida Cities Still Set for Steep Losses |
| 2008-05-08 11:52:40 |
CNN Money put out an article titled “10 markets set for steep losses” and topping the list, Florida cities like Miami and Orlando. The list breaks down their forecast for continued losses in the housing market and a forecast for the bottom.
While I don’t put much weight into their analysis, it is interesting to see [...]...
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| Thomas Hoenig (KC Fed President): It’s About Time Someone in the Fed Gets It |
| 2008-05-07 10:34:47 |
The Federal Reserve Banks of Kansas City’s President, Thomas Hoenig, is the first I have seen come out with an seemingly accurate comparison of today’s inflationary risks. As I had mentioned a while back about the comparison of today’s economy with that of the late 1970s and early 1980s when interest rates went through the [...]...
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| Is Bernanke Backing Barney Fife, I mean Frank? |
| 2008-05-05 22:38:47 |
The Federal Reserve released the transcript of this evening’s speech by Ben Bernanke at the Columbia Business School’s 32nd Annual Dinner, New York. If you look deeply at its content it appears that Big Ben is backing up, or at least leaning towards, House Financial Services Chairman Barney Frank’s approach to bailing out “underwater” [...]...
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| Should the Government Clean Up the Mortgage Mess? |
| 2008-05-05 22:32:45 |
Any time the government gets involved in a bipartisan intervention, you should be scared. Their track record of successfully implement something both parties agree to is dismal, at best. And right now, both parties are working to have the government intervene to clean up the mortgage mess.
Let’s expand a bit and not limit the [...]...
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| Jose Canseco: Why the Rich Are Walking Away From Their Mortgages |
| 2008-05-04 09:44:50 |
Jose Canseco is not your typical foreclosure scenario by a long shot. However, he does represent what others like him are doing in increasing numbers these days, no matter how much money they make, even the wealthy.
Jose Conseco was born in Cuba and raised in Miami, Florida. During his famous baseball career, he was [...]...
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| Big Brown Wins Kentucky Derby: Are You Winning That Rate Shopping Game? |
| 2008-05-04 00:04:12 |
Many thought Richard Dutrow, Jr. was, dare I say, egotistical since he was saying this week that his horse, Big Brown, would win the Kentucky Derby. Many thought he was overconfident and that the odds would prove that since they were against “inexperienced” horses.
Nevertheless, Big Brown did pull off the win. So, what does that [...]...
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| Without Laughter, We Would All be Doomed |
| 2008-05-02 19:27:41 |
I came across this video on YouTube that I just had to share with you all. It is an excellent housing bubble parody and will certainly put a smile on your face (hopefully anyway) and break the bleakness that has overwhelmed out housing market. Enjoy…....
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| Headlines: Subprime Crisis; Reality: Consumption Crisis |
| 2008-05-01 16:22:27 |
Minyanville had a great post the other day, actually the quote was from an earlier post they quoted themselves, about an interesting perspective about the cause of the so-called subprime crisis. Of course, the same can be said of the entire credit crunch and financial meltdown.
“I believe that in time, historians will define the [...]...
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| Fed Cut Rates Yesterday, Says Will Stop Causing Inflation |
| 2008-05-01 16:06:54 |
Yesterday the Fed cut the Fed Funds Rate another .25%, bringing it down to an even 2%. Good news for those of you carrying more debt on credit cards, and there are plenty of you out there, according to the data.
But what is the real benefit behind yesterday’s Fed announcement?
Well, hidden in the wording [...]...
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| Money Merge Accounts: Why Does This Program Seem to be Everywhere? |
| 2008-05-01 15:20:03 |
The Money Merge Account, a product of United First Financial, is becoming more and more popular these days, with even so-called “gurus” in the industry starting to back them up. What you need to know is why.
The Money Merge Account (MMA) has been around for several years, but seems to have grown legs in [...]...
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| Are You the Vulture or Are You the Prey? |
| 2008-04-24 10:11:00 |
In this economy, one thing is for sure, you are either the vulture or you are the prey. I am guessing most of you are the prey.
Why? Quite simply, you have not prepared yourself for a financial crisis in your lives; the impending job loss, increased cost of living, business going bankrupt, you name [...]...
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| Today’s Dilbert is Quite Fitting for Many |
| 2008-04-24 08:44:29 |
With businesses going bankrupt at increased rates and more to come, today’s Dilbert cartoon strip may be more applicable than you think…
Of course, it’s not my style to let this type of data go without it’s own post in relation to mortgages, so you can expect one soon. Until then, laugh if you still can....
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| Quest For Lowest Rate and Fees Could Result in Identity Theft |
| 2008-04-23 21:13:26 |
I am sure that many of you have already heard about those online mortgage places where you can have “lenders compete”. You may even have heard some of the horror stories about how many unsuspecting borrowers to be filled out their forms, expecting to be contacted by up to four lenders (as the site says), [...]...
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| HELOC Delinquencies Rise: Lenders Freeze and Even Shrink |
| 2008-04-21 13:23:39 |
Chances are that you have already heard that some lenders have begun freezing Home Equity Lines of Credit (HELOCs), but do you know how bad it is actually hitting some?
HELOCs have long been used, even advocated, as an emergency fund, allowing homeowners to have “liquidity” while paying off their primary mortgage, other debts, or [...]...
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| Mortgage Acceleration: Is the Latest Fad for You? |
| 2008-04-19 13:20:05 |
Many of you know that I contribute over at Agent Genius, and that is what this particular post is about. I added a post with the above title over at AG and rather than repeating the same content, I decided to just inform you about it and supply this link. Take a moment and go [...]...
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| Stagflation: Is It Now Obvious to Everyone? |
| 2008-04-17 17:24:56 |
Stagflation is something I have talked about many times. In the past it had been warnings about its oncoming. Lately I have talked about its arrival. Now that we have seen plenty of data, can we all agree it is here already?
It amazes me to see articles saying that inflation is retreating, even while oil, [...]...
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| Federal Reserve to Blame for Global Financial Meltdown? |
| 2008-04-16 10:41:05 |
Ron Paul slammed the Federal Reserve, and rightfully so, a couple of days ago. Here is an excerpt from Lanka Business Online…
“Few Americans give much thought to the Federal Reserve System or monetary policy in general,” Ron Paul wrote in his column this week.
“But even as they strive to earn a living, and hopefully save [...]...
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| Walkaways Waste Wachovia? |
| 2008-04-15 08:11:49 |
Wachovia reported disappointing earnings today and highlighted that homeowners walking away from their mortgages, particularly in California, were at least part of the reason. They are certainly the reason Wachovia is cutting dividends.
Calculated Risk discussed the Wachovia conference call and the remarks made by Don Truslow, the Chief Risk Officer…
Don Truslow, Wachovia Corporation - SEVP, [...]...
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| Florida Mortgage Report Refocusing Content |
| 2008-04-14 15:12:28 |
At times, I have broken away from strictly talking about mortgages, real estate and the economy. Well, the Florida Mortgage Report is going back to its core, focusing on exactly those topics and adding more thoughts on mortgage planning as well.
It doesn’t mean I won’t be blogging about other stuff, just not here. I am [...]...
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| Would You Like $7,000 in Tax Credits? |
| 2008-04-12 13:45:42 |
How would you like to receive tax credits totaling $7,000? Sounds good, doesn’t it? Well, the Senate’s recent passing of a housing bill could do just that.
These are tax credits folks, not tax deductions. That means a dollar for dollar reduction in your tax bill, with the ability to carry over any amounts in excess [...]...
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| Foreign Investors: Florida Real Estate Has Plenty of Potential |
| 2008-04-12 11:24:43 |
As I have mentioned several times before, foreigners looking to buy property in Florida are in a prime position to pick up that home, condo, even commercial property for what is, in essence, pennies on the dollar. The devaluation of the dollar, combined with price depreciation of properties in Florida, especially South Florida, leave plenty [...]...
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| American Airlines: How Not to Run a Company |
| 2008-04-10 17:35:33 |
With the economy struggling, basically in a recession, now is not the time to make major mistakes in your operations. While American Airlines is not in real estate, there is plenty to learn from the current operational disaster.
American has been forced to cancel over 2,500 flights this week, due to nothing short of mismanagement. [...]...
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| Senate Passes Housing Bill 84-12: Real Estate Investors Get Tax Credits |
| 2008-04-10 13:11:49 |
The Senate passed a package of tax breaks and funds for foreclosure counseling today, just one day after the White House took separate action to expand a federal program to allow more homeowners to refinance mortgages. Even though the White House is not happy with the bill, it is not expected to be vetoed.
The package [...]...
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| Adjustable Rate Mortgages Back in Fashion? |
| 2008-04-10 11:26:38 |
Adjustable Rate Mortgages (ARMs) have been seeing rates on the decline while fixed rates remain steady. As I have mentioned before, many homeowners who are rushing to get their ARMs “fixed” are trying to heel an ARM which may not be broken.
When trying to decide if your ARM is broken, look at what it will [...]...
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| Do You Have a Deadbeat Landlord? |
| 2008-04-08 18:15:05 |
All across South Florida, and in other parts of the nation, more and more renters are being evicted due to their landlord going into foreclosure. Even though the renters are paying their rent on time every month, deadbeat landlords are not paying the mortgages on the property and pocketing the money as profit.
Yes, Bobbie Dust [...]...
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| WaMu (Washington Mutual) Closes Door on Mortgage Brokers |
| 2008-04-08 16:44:14 |
According to the Wall Street Journal and Bloomberg this afternoon, Wamu is making a lot of changes to deal with their ongoing struggle to survive. With the infusion of $7B from an investment group led by private-equity firm TPG, along with closing 186 home loan centers and laying off 3,000, Washington Mutual has joined the [...]...
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| The Most Important Button on Your Computer to Regain Sanity |
| 2008-04-07 18:13:13 |
After returning from my vacation, from blogging, email and the Internet as well as business, I was overwhelmed to say the least. Why? Literally thousands of emails, feeds, etc. to sift through with more piling in each day.
It has been a long time since I took a vacation from everything, and I mean blogging and [...]...
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| A Quick Update Why Posts Delayed |
| 2008-04-04 11:54:05 |
As I mentioned earlier, I returned from vacation Monday, consequently was called to fly early morning and my Tuesday morning flight even made the Boston Herald (which I briefly posted a link to here).
The down time during my last trip allowed me to get caught up on over 1,500 emails, not to mention the daily [...]...
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| Back From Vacation |
| 2008-03-31 14:04:01 |
I made it back from my vacation and will get back to normal posting soon. Please be patient as I get caught up and digest the happenings of the last week. That’s right, I refused to connect to the Internet while I was gone and I was successful (withdrawal symptoms were painful).
A lot of stuff [...]...
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| Taking a Vacation |
| 2008-03-23 09:54:19 |
Some of you already know, but I am off to take a much needed vacation this week, so posts will be very scarce if at (I am betting not at all). My blogging addiction may get the best of me and you will see a post or two, but I will try to fight the [...]...
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| ‘My House. My Dream. It Was All an Illusion.’ |
| 2008-03-22 10:09:13 |
This is the title of a Washington Post article which everyone in the real estate industry should read. Please read it and list all of the violations you think occurred, as there are plenty and I just find myself lost at where to begin.
It would also be a beneficial read to everyone else. Feel [...]...
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| Happy Easter!! |
| 2008-03-22 08:02:57 |
The Bible says that on the third day he rose again, so here is a fitting song from Third Day…
And since he rose again, this song from MercyMe is also fitting…...
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| The Fed is Now Lender of First Resort |
| 2008-03-21 18:19:21 |
In normal times, the Federal Reserve is obligated to become the lender of last resort. The Fed does so by supplying cash to banks requiring it to prevent a systemwide breakdown. However, these are not normal times, are they?
But for this crisis, the Fed has become the lender of first resort to a whole [...]...
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