So we now know what got us here---so what now?

We have all had enough time to be able to look back and really start to see what has gotten our country in the condition it is now. Greed, poor decisions, over spending on everyones part, heads in the sand mentality etc. etc. etc.

There is a scientific principle that has held true that for every action there is an opposite and equal reaction. If that is true....................

We need to start to think and dwell in that reaction. We can and we are capable of evolving and changing to meet the needs of today. Even in the way we conduct our business. I suggest thinking outside the box on an everyday basis. The ideas may not come immediately, but they will come if this is where we put our energy. I see too many people, to include me, dwelling on what has gotten us to this point. The reality is that it was so huge, so incorrect, so devastating, that most of us are still in shock mode thinking "how the heck did all this transpire and where the heck did I fit into all this mess? It is a good thing to take a personal inventory and own what you need to own so that you can grow as a person --- I want to offer this to you---

Lets start to think of all the ways we can positively, equally react to the actions and reality of today.

I live in the Hudson Valley of upstate New York. Our area is starting to get very involved in the "Green" movement. Many companies are springing up here and I see many groups, think tanks evolving in our area. A Reator that I know has just venrured out with a former client to open a "Green" home energy company to meet the needs of local home owners. He was open to grow and saw the opportunity in the new products and saw its relativity to our environment, our economy etc. and I am sure he could perceive his way of not only contributing to this world but adding a way for him to support his family. Another avenue of income. So in my opinion he evolved into someone who now is reacting to what has happened in a totally positive way.

WHAT CAN WE DO???

It is time to put our thinking caps on! Join or form think tanks, get involved in our community like we never have before. Look for the opportunity, it is there, it just might be in a form we don't yet realize.

THE ACTION HAS HAPPENED ALREADY-WE ARE IN THE REACTION PHASE!

Don't dwell in the past, the past is like a cancelled check, don't fret about tomorrw, tomorrow is only a promissory note, stay in today, today is cash on hand, today is all we have, what can I do today to make this a postive reaction day!

An understanding of what a short sale is in todays market

This is a reprint from Rismedia. I am printing this because there are people out there who are having difficulties making their mortgages and other bills and the way they are dealing with it is

NOT DEALING WITH IT!

There is a great company right here in the Hudson Valley called RUPCO (Rural Ulster Preservation Company). They will assist and direct you to a solution for your issues with your mortgages. They have a fantastic first time home buyers program which assists first time home buyers in their quest for a home to include grant money and matched savings and help with renovations. Their number is 331-2140. for help with a short sale or possible foreclosure ask for Frank Robusco and for first time home buyers ask for Michael Burdi. You will be glad that you called.

So now for a description of short sale:

A short sale is when a bank or mortgage lender agrees to discount a loan balance due to an economic or financial hardship on the part of the mortgagor. This negotiation is all done through communication with a bank’s Loss mitigation department.
The home owner/debtor sells the mortgaged property for less than the outstanding balance of the loan, and turns over the proceeds of the sale to the lender in full satisfaction of the debt. In such instances, the lender would have the right to approve or disapprove of a proposed sale.
Extenuating circumstances influence whether or not banks will discount a loan balance. These circumstances are usually related to the current real estate market climate and the individual borrower’s financial situation.
A short sale typically is executed to prevent a home foreclosure. Often a bank will choose to allow a short sale if they believe that it will result in a smaller financial loss than foreclosing.
For the home owner, the advantages include avoidance of having a foreclosure on their credit history and the partial control of the monetary deficiency. Additionally, a short sale is typically faster and less expensive than a foreclosure.
In short, a short sale is nothing more than negotiating with lien holders a payoff for less than what they are owed, or rather a sale of a debt, generally on a piece of real estate, short of the full debt amount.
Creditors, their surrogates, and those who politically benefit from the mortgage industry — especially those in the real-estate, mortgage servicing, and banking — wrongly portray short sales as difficult to complete or morally questionable[citation needed].
This is simply untrue if the value of the underlying asset, a home, has fallen dramatically and the debtor has limited assets. Short sales are extraordinarily common in standard business transactions in recognition that creditors are not doing debtors a favor but, rather, engaging in a business transaction when extending credit.
When it makes no business sense or is economically not feasible to retain an asset businesses default on their loans (called bonds). It is not uncommon for business bonds to trade on the after-market for a small fraction of their face value in realization of the likelihood of these future defaults.
Contents [hide]1 Negotiatons2 Recent Changes to Federal Laws Affecting Mortgages3 Credit reporting4 References5 External linksNegotiatonsLenders have a department (typically called a loss mitigation department) that processes potential short sale transactions. Typically, lenders do not accept short sale offers or requests for short sales until a Notice of Default has been issued or recorded with the locality where the property is located.
Lenders have a varying tolerance for short sales and mitigated losses. The majority of lenders have a pre-determined criteria for such transactions.
Other distressed lenders may allow any reasonable offer subject to a loss mitigator’s approval. “Red tape” is very common in short sales, requiring potentially multiple levels of approvals and conditions.
Junior liens – such as second mortgages, HELOC lenders, and HOA (special assessment liens) – may need to approve the short sale.
Frequent objectors to short sales include tax lieners (income, estate or corporate franchise tax – as opposed to real property taxes, which have priority even when unrecorded) and mechanic’s lien holders. It is possible for junior lien holders to prevent the short sale.
Recent Changes to Federal Laws Affecting MortgagesWhen the lender decides to forgive all or a portion of a borrower’s debt and accept less, the forgiven amount is considered as income for the borrower and is liable to be taxed.
However, after the signing of The Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act of 2007, amendments have been made to remove such tax liability and allow the borrower and lender to work freely together to find a common solution that is beneficial to both parties.
This protection is limited to primary residences — rental properties are ineligible for relief — so consultation with a tax advisor is necessary to ensure that a borrower qualifies.[1]
More recent legislation provides for a specialized type of refinancing option, available for mortgages made after in 2006 or later, for owner-occupied homes.
Under this program a debtor provides information similar to that necessary for a short-sale but rather than selling the house to a third-party an FHA guaranteed loan at a fixed-rate is available if the original lender is willing to write-off all but 85-percent of outstanding of the debtor’s obligations (including principal, interest, late-fees, prepayment penalties, and all other fees).FHA-backed refinance packages are available beginning October, 2008, and carry a fee equal to 1.5% of the value of the house. Debtors who exercise this option must sacrifice 50-100 percent of equity that builds in a house, and may not participate in home equity loan programs.
This program is only available to owner-occupied residences. This program requires consent from a lender: consent is not automatic and may be freely withheld, though withholding consent can result in a foreclosure with adverse financial results.
Credit reportingA short sale does adversely affect a person’s credit report, though the negative impact is typically less than a foreclosure. Short sales are a type of settlement.
Like all entries except for bankruptcy, short sales remain on a credit report for seven years. Depending upon other credit information it is typically possible to obtain another mortgage 1-3 years after a short sale.
While it is frequent if not common for a lender to forgive the balance of the loan in question, it is unlikely that a lien holder that is not a mortgagee will forgive any of their balance.
Further, it is common for a lender to omit updating mortgage balances to reflect a zero balance after a short sale. However, willfully misrepresenting information on a credit report constitutes libel in many states, and lenders may be sued in civil court for engaging in this behavior.

Real Estate Market in Ulster County New York

I sell real estate in Ulster County. I love selling real estate in Ulster County. I also consider myself the type of person who thinks or envisions her cup half full. I also do not give out what I don't want coming back, that is my religion. So, that said it is my humble opinion, based on all that I have been reading to include Standard Poor's, my peer website called activerain.com, which compiles blogs from Realtors, bankers and other in the real estate industry, and other info that this year will see a deluge of foreclosures that will bring home prices down more. That coupled with the not so good report on unemployment going up again leaves me to believe if you need to sell now you must go out of your way to make your home the best it can be at the best price you can sell it at. I also think now is the time. We do not have an overabundance of great homes at great prices on the market right now( again this is my humble opinion) as people tend to wait until Spring to put their homes on the market.

So here are my simple steps to ready your house-

1- Clear out, clear out clear out. Get as much as you can out of the house the basement, the garage, the yard etc. as you possibly can. Less is more. Think model home.

2- Paint is the most inexpensive home improvement. It is hard enough to think you need to lower your house price to be competitive and SELL, you don't want to spend money unnecessarily. If your house is totally dated expect that you will not be getting today's prices for yesterdays goods. Paint and clean it to sparkle. Accept that you have a dated house and price it accordingly

3-Hire a great real estate company. That said, our company, Westwood Metes & Bounds has been the top selling company(based on mls statistics) for 17 years in a row. You don't get there by accident.

4- Hire a great real estate sales agent. Get numbers of her current and recent clients and ask how that person took care of them.

5- Price your house right. Look at the recent comps your real estate agent gives you to help establish price. Don't think about how Betty down the block got that great price two years ago. If you are paying for a professional real estate agent trust their knowledge. Understand that they work on commission so if they price your house higher they will make more so if they price your house lower than you think your castle will sell for ----hello--- there must be reason.

The one thing positive to think about is when you do sell, if you are buying another house, it will probably be a lateral move as the same circumstances will apply to the home you are buying and again my reco is to get a great real estate agent that will do a comparative market analysis on the home you are buying to make sure its value is there( also remember to to have a contingency that the appraisal shall meet or exceed the selling price so if the appraisal comes in lower you have a way to exit sale or renegotiate).


That all said:


I do think that now is a good time to put your house on the market. I do think this is going to be a challenging year. I also think if you price your house right and present it right, it may take longer(they are estimating 5 months now) it will sell. So good luck and call for any help from me at 845-417-1314- Remember a good Realtor is worth every penny you pay them.

Home valuation Code of Conduct

THIS IS A REPRINT FROM HOUSE WATCH WRITTEN BY SHEREE CURRY

Greedy appraisers, who put lofty valuations on properties to please lenders and line their pockets, played a large role in the housing bubble. And the fallout continues: On Jan. 29, a former Beverly Hills real estate appraiser was sentenced to three years in federal prison for her role in a multimillion-dollar scheme to profit from inflated property values. That came on the heels of the arrest of a father and son appraiser team in Laguna Beach, CA charged with altering appraisals to inflate home values by up to $40,000.In fact, a closer look at the industry and its scandals reveals a "Godfather"-like underbelly, complete with death threats on public officials and sting operations.The conflicts have led to the increasing use of appraisal management companies -- middlemen that are supposed to act as a firewall between lenders and appraisers. But for millions of homeowners, the issues still linger.
Just ask the owners of the quaint, but extremely moldy Denver home that apparently appraised for about $370,000, despite comps suggesting a value at least $100,000 less. The 2-bedroom home ultimately sold last summer for $237,000. How did that happen?Some of the cases working their way through the courts give a glimpse of the back-door dealing that went on. Landmark Equities Group, the family-owned appraisal firm being charged by the California DA, for example, brazenly had an on-site office at a mortgage broker's facility. The appraisers, James Merritt Eaton, 60, and his son Brian Chandler Eaton, 28, secretly changed data on staff appraisers' reports, allegedly to deliver the outcome the loan officers wanted. In the case of eAppraiseIT LLC, a division of title company First American Corp., New York State Attorney General Andrew Cuomo charged that the unit gave in to demands for higher appraisals to secure more of Washington Mutual's business. In 2006 and 2007, the appraiser did 262,000 valuations for Washington Mutual over an 18-month period, and had a total $50 million in earnings, Bloomberg News reported.Now, that's not to say all appraisers are corrupt. In fact, 11,000 of them signed a petition protesting the pressure and unethical practices. But the bad apples have given the whole profession a black eye. Thanks in large part to Cuomo, Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae last year adopted the "Home Valuation Code of Conduct" to counter such abuse. The code says that appraisal management companies, which are paid by the lender out of the appraisal fees collected, must act as a liaison to keep appraisers and lenders from having direct contact on Fannie and Freddie-backed loans. Needless to say, not everyone is pleased. In one extreme case, an appraiser was arrested and held on $500 million bail in December after allegedly threatening to shoot New York AG Cuomo. The man was "apparently upset over some of the actions [Cuomo's] office has taken regarding cracking down on mortgage-related fraud," the New York Post reported. (It should be noted that some believe that Cuomo, former HUD secretary under President Clinton, was largely responsible for the subprime mortgage crisis. And in 2004, he joined the board of AMCO, a Cleveland-based appraisal management company).Some say the appraisal management companies (AMCs) may only make things worse, after all, some of them are owned by banks. (Landsafe, an AMC, is a subsidiary of Bank of America). The well-known New York appraiser Jonathan Miller, CEO of Miller Samuel, calls it all "an accident waiting to happen."Although the HVCC is intended to ward against improprieties, it is not fail safe. In fact, the code still allows banks to be involved in the appraisal process. For one, lenders can still use in-house appraisers, and are "responsible for selecting, retaining, and providing for payment of all compensation to appraisers." It's right in the guidelines on Freddie Mac's website, with the caveat that the loan production staff is not to have direct involvement in the selection of an appraiser or discuss valuation with the appraiser or AMC.The biggest concern is that the use of AMCs opens the door to appraisals being conducted by far-flung appraisers unfamiliar with the local market, which in turn will cause more erratic valuations. "The problem is that anybody with a state-issued appraisal license has the exact same level of qualification to appraise here, whether they live in New York or Buffalo or Albany or Rockland County," Jeffrey Jackson, co-founder of New York-based appraisal firm Mitchell, Maxwell & Jackson, told The Real Deal after the code was passed last spring. "The appraiser is just the first step in the process, yet we are taking all the blame," Portland-area appraiser Burr Robson told HousingWatch. "I had the same clients for literally 15 years until HVCC. I now have to fight for appraisal work from AMCs, and my income has fallen 67%. I am worried that I'm going to have to sell my house." And there's a new concern for some homeowners and lenders: low-ball appraisals. Walt Molony, spokesman for The National Association of Realtors, one of the most vocal critics of the code, said out-of-area appraisers often lead to "apples to oranges" comparisons, resulting in many valuations coming in below the price agreed upon between the buyer and seller. "In an environment where prices have declined over the past three years, this is absurd," huffs Molony. "It has caused a rise in contract cancellations -- not exactly the best way to solve the problem, particularly when homes are selling for less than replacement construction costs in much of the country."In the end, there will always be the temptation to give in to pressure to win repeat appraisal business -- even if the pressure may not come in the form of a severed horse's head under the bed sheets. It might be something as simple as the boss of a New York appraisal management company -- let's name him "Don CordeLoan" -- saying, "I'm gonna make him an offer he can't refuse." In essence, work for us, our way, or don't work at all.Some industry watchers say appraisers should be better regulated, but setting up appraisal management companies as the intermediary has the potential of re-creating the same problem we're trying to escape.

driving home sunset in Ulster County

I love where I live. I like so many of the people in my area. I left work this afternoon and stopped in Emmanuel's for some food stuffs. I was going to the checkout and remembered something on my list that I did not pick up and whirled my basket around and there in front of me was this gentleman who probably thought who is this wild demon. But just like the gentleman I know he is he waved me on and gave me a lovely smile. When I had put my groceries in the car and was pushing my cart back to the store a woman stopped her car to let me pass. As I drove home I saw this wonderful sunset and thought wow, God is a fabulous artist. Every day a new painting for me and never the same. So I stopped to take this pics to share with you. Now I am no Polyanna and every day is not perfect but those are the days I give no power to and this day is the day I give power to and attention to.

I am so grateful to be able to drive home and see things like this or horses or cows or hawks gliding in the sky. I give my attention to these things. I love this area that I sell houses in. I just sold a house up the road from me. They are a young couple, sweet as can be. I am looking forward to them being my neighbors and enjoying watching them put their personality into their new home. I am very lucky. I love where I live and I love what I do. Selling real estate in Ulster County with a great quality of life.

News for investors of short sale and REO flipping

As we have been saying all along ... short sale and REO flipping are becoming more and more accepted by the government and major lending institutions. This is evidenced, among other things, by Freddie Mac's recent bulletins, updated credit policies by major lenders allowing for C buyer financing, and revised title bulletins stating that the C purchase price does not need to be revealed to the A lender as long as certain disclosures are made.
Last Friday the FHA has rescinded its 90 anti-flipping rule and will, for a period of 1 year, allow FHA buyers to obtain loans on properties that have been recently purchased by investors who intend to flip them for a profit

SO WHAT DOES THIS MEAN FOR YOU?????

In an effort to facilitate the sale of bank-owned properties, the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) has temporarily suspended its 90-day rule against flipping properties. Under the anti-flipping rule, the FHA will not insure a mortgage loan if the sales contract is executed within 90 days of the seller's acquisition of the property. Effective June 9, 2008, the anti-flipping rule has now been waived for one year for properties acquired by lenders, their subsidiaries, and their outside vendors.
The purpose of FHA's new policy is to facilitate the sale of bank-owned properties, given that foreclosed and abandoned homes harm neighborhoods and delay a community's recovery. However, FHA still requires homes to be "safe," "secure," and, "sound," which may not be the condition of certain foreclosed-upon properties.For information, go to http://www.fha.gov/. For general information about bank-owned property transactions.

This is information gathered and presented.

sandyreid.com is providing the information on this blog for general guidance only. The information on this blog does not constitute the provision of legal advice, tax advice, accounting services, investment advice, or professional consulting of any kind nor should it be construed as such. The information provided herein should not be used as a substitute for consultation with professional tax, accounting, legal, or other competent advisers. Before making any decision or taking any action on this information, you should consult a qualified professional adviser to whom you have provided all of the facts applicable to your particular situation or question. None of the information on this blog is intended to be used nor can it be used by any taxpayer, for the purpose of avoiding penalties that may be imposed on the taxpayer. The information is provided "as is," with no assurance or guarantee of completeness, accuracy, or timeliness of the information, and without warranty of any kind, express or implied, including but not limited to warranties of performance, merchantability, and fitness for a particular purpose

FOOD AND COAT DRIVE THIS MONTH

MY HOME OFFICE AT 134 MAIN ST. IN NEW PALTZ IS HAVING A FOOD AND COAT DRIVE FROM DEC. 16TH TO THE 31ST OF DECEMBER.

WE WOULD BE VERY GRATEFUL FOR ANY GOOD USED COATS AND ANY FOOD YOU WOULD LIKE TO DONATE.

STOP ON DOWN TO OUR OFFICE OR IF YOU HAVE A LARGE AMOUNT OF COATS OR FOOD CALL US AAT 255-9400 AND WE WILLPICK UP.

BLESSINGS TO ALL.