We Buy Houses Indianapolis!

ATTN: Realtors Do You Hate Short Sales?

2009-06-22T22:53:00.002-04:00

-Banks making you discount your commission?

-No one want to put in an offer on your short sale listings?

-Does the bank take too long?

-Are the buyer's flaking out because of impatience?

-Sick of being on hold with Countrywide?

Make twice the commission (12% in some cases) and do half the work! YOU NEVER HAVE TO TALK TO BANKS! I'm not kidding! I charge NO fees. Call Jason Lucchesi for details...(317) 363.7685

Builder confidence drops as mortgage rates climb

2009-06-16T10:35:00.002-04:00

The following article was written by Chris McLaughlin with Short Sales Riches. If you have any questions about Short Sales or would like more information, just click HERE for more information.

Builder confidence drops as mortgage rates climb up

The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) said its Housing Market Index (HMI), which measures builder confidence in sales of houses, declined 1 point to 15 in June. The drop was largely on account of the rise in mortgage rates over the last few weeks. NAHB Chairman Joe Robson said, "Home builders are facing a few headwinds, including expiration of the tax credit at the end of November; a recent upturn in interest rates; and especially the continuing lack of credit for housing production loans." The drop in HMI in June followed two months of increase that had indicated that builders were hopeful of a recovery. "The housing market continues to bump along trying to find a bottom," NAHB chief economist David Crowe said. The HMI for June was based on a survey of 548 home builders, who answered questions about the current and near-term sales prospects. From a regional perspective, the HMI declined 3 points to 15 in the South, which is the nation's largest housing market. All other regions in the country posted gains.

Foreclosure in your neighborhood can affect your home value

According to a report from the Center for Responsible Lending, a consumer advocacy group, houses located in neighborhood of foreclosed homes experience a drop in value. Center for Responsible Lending said foreclosures are likely to cause 69.5 million nearby homes to suffer price drops averaging $7,200 per home this year. The total loss in property value could exceed $500 billion. John P. Harding, a professor at the University of Connecticut's Center for Real Estate and Urban Economic Studies, says properties under foreclosures may not be maintained well and the sight of peeling paint, broken windows and overgrown lawns often creates a negative impression in the minds of buyers of neighborhood properties. "As the foreclosure crisis continues to worsen, the contagion is spreading," said Ellen Schloemer, the executive vice president of the Center for Responsible Lending. "You can't just say those foreclosures are hurting someone else." If you are a homeowner worried about the value of your property, you would do well to have an eye on neighborhood houses.

Fed's aid for commercial real estate may have few takers

The Federal Reserve (Fed) introduced the Term Asset-Backed Securities Loan Facility (TALF) last November to support issuance of asset-backed securities collateralized by consumer loans including housing loans. The TALF support for commercial mortgage-backed securities (CMBS) will help inject liquidity into the market. That in turn would lower interest rates and stimulate demand for loans for the commercial real estate market. As the first monthly deadline for investors to apply for loans to buy new CMBS under the TALF program passes today, no issuers have announced debt that's eligible for the program. "I would be very surprised" if there are any deals this month, said Kevin Petrasic, a former official at the Office of Thrift Supervision. "Unless the market really starts to pick up within the next couple weeks, I think July is going to be a little challenging as well." Investors are concerned about government restrictions on hiring foreign workers for firms that accepted subs
idized loans and the possibility of Congress taxing earnings retroactively. According to estimates by JPMorgan Chase & Co., CMBS sales plunged to $12.2 billion in 2008, compared with a record $237 billion in 2007. "The more liquidity you can get in the market, the better off the commercial real estate market is going to be," said Chip MacDonald, a partner at law firm Jones Day.

Credit card defaults hit a high

Bank of America, the largest U.S. bank, has announced that the default rates on its card portfolio rose to 12.50% in May from 10.47% in April. American Express, which accounts for 25% of the credit and charge card sales volume in the United States, said its default rate rose to 10.4% in May from 9.90% in April. Other banks such as Citigroup and JPMorgan have seen deterioration in their card portfolios. Analysts expect the default rate to go beyond 10% this year. That would result in a loan loss of over $70 billion to the industry. Industry experts feel there will be no improvement in the performance of credit card issuers unless unemployment drops. Credit card lenders are tightening credit limits, raising standards and closing accounts in order to clean up their card portfolios. "Until lenders show stabilization then trend-bucking improvement over a several month period, we remain bearish on credit card lenders and the U.S. consumer," said John Williams, an analyst at Macquarie Research.

Lawmakers propose to end TARP

Two lawmakers have submitted proposals which would effectively put an end to the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP), unveiled by U.S. Treasury last October in order to bail out troubled firms. Jeb Hensarling, a Republican congressman, has proposed to end TARP by the end of this year and prevent the Treasury Department from using TARP money returned by banks to lend to other struggling firms. John Thune, a senator, has proposed that the U.S. government should sell its ownership interests in all firms by July 2010 and in future the government should not own any U.S. company. "I can't tell you how many people in my state, as I traveled, are now coming up unsolicited, very concerned about the increasing intervention of the federal government into the private marketplace and the implications that that has for our economy," said Thune. Lawmakers and analysts are concerned with the increasing cost and scope of the TARP program.

In addition, some fear that government may get involved in the day-to-day operations of the firms in which the government has a stake and that would impact the return on taxpayers' money. Some analysts believe an early sale of ownership stakes will not serve the interest of taxpayers since they may lose out on large gains if the shares of struggling financial firms eventually bounce back. "There is no simple way out," said Brian Gardner, an analyst for investment bank Keefe, Bruyette & Woods. "As well intentioned as the idea may be, ending TARP early could have some pretty negative implications."

Mortgage Applications Slip 16.2% But REITs Recover

2009-06-03T12:40:00.002-04:00

The below article was written by Chris McLaughlin of Short Sales Riches, and you can find more articles similar by CLICKING HERE.

Mortgage applications decline 16.2% in the week ended May 29

According to the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA), its Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, decreased 16.2% to 658.7 from 786.0 a week earlier. Refinancing in mortgages decreased to 62.4% of total applications from 69.3% the previous week. Analysts are concerned about the negative impact of the recent rise in mortgage rates on the housing market. GMAC, a large financial services firm, has stated that the home loan volume at GMAC is now about 75% lower than a few months ago when mortgage rates hit their lows. MBA, in a separate report released yesterday, reported an increase in commercial and multifamily mortgage delinquencies during the first quarter of 2009. Jamie Woodwell, Vice President of Commercial Real Estate Research at MBA, said the delinquency rates on commercial and multifamily mortgages "are all now at levels higher than at any time since the 2001 recession." Economists believe that housing market has to stabilize for the economy to recover, and for housing market to stabilize, interest rates have to stay low.

Real Estate Investment Trusts show signs of recovery

Real Estate Investment Trusts, commonly known as REITs, are funds that make investments in the real estate sector. REITs, which did extremely well some years ago when the sector boomed, have been languishing in the last two years. In 2007, the All REIT Index, an index of REITs, fell 17.83%, and in 2008, the index dropped 37.34%. In March this year, the index rose 4.41% and in April the index rose about 28%. Analysts think that the rise in the index is a sign of optimism in investor expectations. According to Capital Analytics, a firm that follows real estate trends, publicly traded REITs have, over the past several weeks, raised more than $10 billion in equity, demonstrating that REITs are attracting investor interest. As the economy recovers, prospects of inflation loom large. Real estate is seen as an effective hedge against inflation, as property values rise. Peter Slatin, editorial director at Real Capital, says investors in REITs are "buying the prospect of recovery" and REITs are "poised to weather the storm."

Demand for TALF funding grows

The Term Asset-Backed Securities Loan Facility (TALF), announced by the Federal Reserve (Fed) last November, is aimed at lowering cost of consumer credit. Investor demand for TALF funds rose 8% to $1.5 billion in June from May and up 145% from March when the first round of TALF funding happened. The program has taken time to take-off for a variety of reasons including investors worrying about the prospect of scrutiny by the government, and complexity in paperwork involved in receiving funding. Brian Loo, portfolio manager at Metropolitan West Asset Management, says the three-year, non-recourse funding offered by TALF is attractive to investors. Auto and credit card loans are the biggest categories of consumer credit, and according to Michael Feroli, economist at JP Morgan, "that's what the program is hoping to tackle." The Fed estimates that the program could grow to $1 trillion. The next phase of TALF funding starts in mid-June when investors are expected to apply for newly issued commercial mortgage-backed securities.

Companies aren't yet in a mood to hire

With economists tracking unemployment data to look for signs of economic recovery, findings from a recent employment survey are not very encouraging. According to a semi-annual survey conducted by Dice Holdings, a provider of specialized career websites and career fairs, most of the employers in the U.S. do not expect to see an increase in hiring this year. The survey found only 10% of the employers expecting to see a recovery in hiring in the second half of this year. About 31% said they expected to see layoffs in the next 6 months. Employers said they have seen significant increase in the number of applicants in the recent past. Once the economic recovery begins, there is a 3-6-month lag before hiring revives. Scot Melland, the chief executive officer of Dice Holdings, said, "Our customers are telling us they feel better about the environment but that has yet to translate into a change in recruiting budgets."

Banks asked to raise capital before repaying TARP funds

The Federal Reserve (Fed) is asking banks to raise specific amounts of capital before repaying funds they took under the Troubled Assets Relief Program (TARP). Some analysts believe that the Fed is applying a more stringent set of standards for measuring the health of banks now, than it did about a month ago when the results of the stress tests indicated that many of the banks would be able to withstand economic slump. Clearly, the Fed is concerned with the prospect of banks' capitalization becoming inadequate due to repayment of TARP funds. Banks such as JPMorgan Chase & Co., Morgan Stanley, and American Express Co. have been asked by the Fed to raise capital. Lawrence Kaplan, a former attorney at the Office of Thrift Supervision, says, "The Fed doesn't want to be criticized for allowing people to repay this and then having the banks say we just don't have the capital to make loans now. It's an exercise to make sure that no one is going to get criticized for allowing these redemptions." The Fed is likely to release a list of banks which have been granted approval to repay TARP funds, next week. Banks feel that the conditions that come with TARP funding are onerous, and have expressed their desire to repay it at the earliest. Earlier this week, Jamie Dimon, the chief executive officer of JP Morgan, in a mock letter to Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, wrote, "Dear Timmy, we are happy to be able to pay back the $25 billion you lent us. We hope you enjoyed the experience as much as we did."

Avoid Foreclosure: Working With The Right Team

2009-06-01T09:00:00.001-04:00

I've been receiving a lot of questions from realtors, investors and homeowners, in regards to having to repay the remaining balance by doing a short sale. I simply tell individuals, if you know what your doing, and know how to do it very well, it'll get figured out to where the homeowner will not have to pay. We want to help homeowners avoid foreclosure, and get them out of debt, not put them into more, right?

Most people think, "Oh, just file for a Chapter 7 Bankruptcy, and have it taken care of that way!" Why would you advise or tell somebody to file for bankruptcy if your not an attorney. I may refer somebody to a bankruptcy attorney to help out after the foreclosure is over, but I never tell them to file. If your doing that, STOP! That's not your call. Like I said above, if your working with somebody who's experienced with short sales and is successful, you can avoid the promissory note for having to pay the unpaid balance. Now, as a last resort for a bankruptcy, the remaining balance can be included into whichever bankruptcy your filing, but PLEASE check with your local state bankruptcy for further details on this. The only case a homeowner of mine has to sign a promissory note to repay the balance is when I refer them to speak with the bankruptcy attorney. I don't advise them to file, however, I advise to seek legal counsel. This is what you should do in this case. In addition, even the most successful short sale investors can't negotiate that every single loan not have a repayment plan.

The Secret. I'm giving away one of my secrets. How to avoid having your homeowners sign the promissory note and not having to repay the balance...very simple, reduce fees on the HUD, and also raise your price slightly. Remember, a profit is better than no profit, and your ultimately helping a homeowner avoid foreclosure. Also, keep this in the back of your head, even the slightest amount, and even the best hardship letter explaining the homeowner is unemployed without any savings could go a long way with that decision on the promissory note. Remember this!

Have questions, e-mail me at Jason@GlobalFortuneSolutions.com.

Avoid Foreclosure: Save Your Credit!

2009-05-29T10:34:00.003-04:00

You know what's really annoying in today's market, is those that listen way too much to the news on avoiding foreclosure! For example, one of the most common excuses I hear from those in foreclosure that say, "My credit is already screwed up...why should I care anymore?" If your a realtor or an investor reading this, and you focus some or all of your business on helping those avoid foreclosure by doing a short sale, you know exactly what I mean. The truth of the matter is that people in foreclosure don't understand what's beyond or after the foreclosure is through. The ONE single most important thing homeowners need to know is that by going through, and not avoiding foreclosure is that if they're trying to get back on track, maybe from a job loss? What's the first thing after your interview do employers do? They run a background check. When they run your credit, and they see that you've been or had a foreclosure, what do you think comes to their mind? NOT HIRED! Employers understand our economy right now and sympathize but, it's a business their essentially looking out for.

In ending, when somebody tells you that their credit is already ruined, fire back to them, and ask them what's their plans for rebuilding so that you can avoid foreclosure in the future. Most homeowners don't have a clue that they can get turned down from a job position over a foreclosure. Help them understand the consequences beyond the foreclosure. They shouldn't think twice about doing a short sale then.

Click HERE for more on this information. This website also goes into detail on you can be extremely effected by a foreclosure.

Q & A - If you do Short Sales, check this out!

2009-05-28T08:43:00.000-04:00

Want to know what's more disturbing after the foreclosure process has ended? (other than the foreclosure itself) Ask me and I shall tell. It's something that most of us investors/realtors miss to inform sellers that are shaky about doing a short sale in the 1st place.

Housing-Rescue Plan Adds 'Short Sales'

2009-05-28T08:40:00.001-04:00

FYI - I'd like to say I wrote the below article, but it actually came from the Wall Street Journal. The link is at the bottom of this article.

The Obama administration on Thursday laid out additions to its housing-rescue plan that are designed in part to make it easier for financially troubled homeowners to sell houses that are worth less than their mortgages.

The newest initiative creates a standardized process and adds incentives for so-called short sales, in which a borrower -- with lender approval -- sells the home for less than the amount owed.

The government also said it would make it simpler for borrowers to voluntarily transfer ownership of properties to mortgage companies through a "deed in lieu" of foreclosure, helping the companies avoid a potentially costly and time-consuming foreclosure process.

Administration officials said the new initiatives could help hundreds of thousands of borrowers or more.

The guidelines come nearly three months after the administration laid out its $75 billion housing-rescue plan, which uses financial incentives to encourage mortgage companies and investors to modify troubled loans. The latest announcement is aimed in part at borrowers who can't be helped by a loan modification.

Efforts to implement the programs are just getting off the ground. Government officials said Thursday that mortgage-servicing companies have offered more than 55,000 trial modifications to financially troubled borrowers and that thousands of those borrowers have begun making loan payments under the program.

In addition, roughly 3,600 borrowers have lowered their loan payments under a program that allows borrowers who have little or no equity to refinance, provided that their loan is owned or backed by government-controlled mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Fannie has received more than 51,000 applications for the program.

But not all borrowers can be helped by such efforts, often because they have too much total debt or not enough income or because modifying the loan may not be economical for an investor or lender compared with foreclosure.

The government will pay mortgage-servicing companies up to $1,000 and borrowers up to $1,500 for successful short sales or "deeds in lieu" transactions. It will also spend up to $1,000 to help defray the cost of getting holders of second mortgages to release their liens so these transactions can be completed.

Short sales have accounted for 15% to 20% of sales of existing homes this year, according to the National Association of Realtors. A short sale can result in lower losses to investors compared with a foreclosure but needs lender approval and can take three to four months to complete, said Bill Etchegaray, a real-estate agent with Century 21 Superstars in Yorba Linda, Calif.

The incentive payments to mortgage-servicing companies and streamlined process could help clear the logjam of distressed home loans, said Thomas Lawer, an independent housing economist, adding that "it's crystal clear" that short sales are often preferable to a foreclosure. But "giving borrowers money to encourage them to sell their homes without having to repay their debt is a slap in the face to everyone else," he added.

Another part of the program provides additional payments to lenders, servicers and investors for loan modifications in areas where home prices have been dropping. Payments under this program could in some cases total thousands of dollars per loan, administration officials said, and are designed to offset concerns that investors will face additional losses if the modified loans redefault.

So far, 14 mortgage-servicing companies have signed up to participate in the loan-modification program, and 75% of loans are now covered by the plan. The firms include Bank of America Corp., Citigroup Inc., J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. and Wells Fargo & Co. Other mortgage companies, including SunTrust Corp., PNC Corp. and American Home Mortgage Servicing Inc., said they are still evaluating the program. HSBC Mortgage Corp. said it has been implementing the Obama program for borrowers with Fannie or Freddie mortgages, but is still evaluating the program for loans it owns. PNC is applying the guidelines of the Obama plan to loans owned or guaranteed by Fannie and Freddie, but hasn't yet signed a contract with the government that would require it to apply those same guidelines to loans it owns or services for investors, a company spokesman said.

The above article came from; http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124230792743919395.html

President Obama signs two important Acts

2009-05-22T13:43:00.002-04:00

President Obama signed into law the Helping Families Save Their Homes Act, and the Fraud Enforcement and Recovery Act (FERA), on May 20. The Helping Families Save Their Homes Act is aimed at helping homeowners by making mortgages more affordable and preventing "avoidable" foreclosures. As many as 9 million homeowners could benefit from this legislation. Obama, before signing the bill, said the bill "expands the reach of our existing housing plan for homeowners with FHA or USDA rural housing loans, providing them with new opportunities to modify or refinance their mortgages to more affordable levels." The original bill was criticized for the "cram down" provision, which according to critics would encourage borrowers to abdicate their responsibility towards loan repayment. The legislation, however, was ultimately passed without the cram down provision. FERA is a bid to revamp the outdated and ineffective laws governing mortgage fraud. The number of investigations pertaining to mortgage fraud, initiated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), has doubled over the past three years. The legislation, in addition to providing $331 million to agencies such as the FBI and the Securities and Exchange Commission, expands the authority of the Department of Justice "to prosecute fraud that takes place in many of the private institutions not covered under current federal bank fraud criminal statutes," according to President Obama.

Jason Lucchesi - Foreclosure Tip #2

2009-05-20T12:52:00.000-04:00

Jason Lucchesi - Foreclosure Tip #1

2009-05-17T12:00:00.000-04:00

Jason Lucchesi on Foreclosures - Episode #3

2009-05-14T12:00:00.000-04:00

Jason Lucchesi - We Buy Houses Indianapolis

2009-05-11T12:00:00.000-04:00

Jason Lucchesi talks Real Estate Wholesaling Tip #1

2009-05-08T12:19:00.000-04:00

Jason Lucchesi talks about recording option contracts

2009-05-05T12:00:00.000-04:00

Jason Lucchesi talks Real Estate Wholesaling Tip #2

2009-05-03T12:00:00.000-04:00

Housing Messages Mixed…and The Next Shoe to Drop

2009-05-01T08:08:00.000-04:00

Housing messages mixed

The Obama administration keeps telling us things are looking up, but the real players in both the economy and real estate are all over the map in both results and predictions. The National Association for Realtors has pulled together some of those confusing housing indicators from last week:

- The Federal Housing Finance Agency, which regulates Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, reported that home prices rose 0.7 percent from January to February 2009.

- The February 2009 RPX Monthly Housing Market Report said home sales increased month over month in 22 of 25 key metropolitan statistical areas and 13 of these areas posted the largest gain in February 2009 since 2006.

- The National of Association of REALTORS® reported that existing home sales dropped in March 2009, and median prices fell 12 percent from a year earlier.

- First American CoreLogic announced that national housing prices declined 12.2 percent in February from a year earlier and have been in decline for 24 straight months. It predicted that home prices would continue to decline through 2010.

Clarification or more mixed messages?

Just to keep up the confusion by trying to explain it, The National Association of Home Builders reported that production of single-family homes is unchanged, despite falling housing starts. “Today’s numbers are right on target with NAHB’s forecast, which anticipates that housing starts will bottom out in the second quarter, after new-home sales have stabilized,” said NAHB Chief Economist David Crowe. “Single-family starts remained virtually unchanged over the past three months, indicating that we are closing in on a bottom. Multifamily starts – which tend to bounce around from month to month — were responsible for the decline in total starts as they readjusted following a substantial gain in February.” But he warned, “A substantial recovery in housing of the kind that’s required to help get the national economy back on its feet will not happen until the logjam in acquisition, development and construction financing has been broken.

Swine Flu hits the market

World stocks tumbled after seven weeks of gains, and both oil and the euro fell on Monday as concerns intensified the spread of swine flu would hit the global economy. Mexico seems to be the center of the outbreak, although cases have spread to countries around the world. As many as 103 deaths in Mexico are thought to have been caused by swine flu, CNN reported. In the United States, the largest number of cases has been reported in New York City. “The swine flu seems to be one of those ‘Black Swan’ events that has caught the market by surprise. This is a concern as to whether it might impact any potential…recovery chances,” said Martin Slaney, head of derivatives at GFT Global Markets. The MSCI world equity index fell 0.7 percent. The U.S. government plans to issue a travel warning later Monday urging Americans to avoid all “nonessential” trips to Mexico because of an outbreak of swine flu, a U.S. official said.

GM slashes jobs, debt, and dealerships

In its latest bid to stay out of bankruptcy, General Motors announced plans to drop Pontiac, cut 23,000 U.S. jobs by 2011, and slash 40% of its dealer network. GM is also offering bondholders 225 shares of its stock for every $1,000 it owes the bondholders in principal. GM’s first plan was turned down by President Obama’s auto industry task force in February, but this restructuring announcement goes much further.

The company had announced many of the job cuts in February, but Monday’s news that GM would have about 38,000 hourly U.S. employees by 2011 represents an additional reduction of 7,000 to 8,000 jobs beyond what GM disclosed in its previous viability plan. The Obama administration’s task force said today that the new plan “reflects the work GM has done since March 30 to chart a new path to financial viability,” but added that it “has made no final decision regarding the treatment of its current loan to GM or with respect to any future investments in the company.” Not exactly a rousing endorsement, is it?

Wall Street Journal explodes at regulators

In perhaps its harshest language yet, the Wall Street Journal takes a crack at mismanagement by Paulson and Ben Bernanke. Here’s how the article opens: “The cavalier use of brute government force has become routine, but the emerging story of how Hank Paulson and Ben Bernanke forced CEO Ken Lewis to blow up Bank of America is still shocking. It’s a case study in the ways that panicky regulators have so often botched the bailout and made the financial crisis worse. In the name of containing “systemic risk,” our regulators spread it. In order to keep Mr. Lewis quiet, they all but ordered him to deceive his own shareholders. And in the name of restoring financial confidence, they have so mistreated Bank of America that bank executives everywhere have concluded that neither Treasury nor the Federal Reserve can be trusted.”

by Chris McLaughlin

Home Ownership Declines in the US

2009-04-30T12:18:00.000-04:00

Economy declines 6.1%

In the first quarter of 2009, the U.S. gross domestic product shrank almost as much as it did in the fourth quarter of 2008, according to a government report today. The drop was much worse than expected. According to economists surveyed by Briefing.com, expectations were for a drop of 4.7% in gross domestic product, but the actual drop turned out to be 6.1% — the biggest drop in 26 years. The two major influences are businesses pullbacks in spending, accounting for 2.6 percentage points of the overall decline in GDP; and inventory reduction during the quarter, which contributed another 2.8 percentage points to the drop in GDP. State and local governments also cut back on spending.

Mortgage loan application volume down 18.1%

The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) announced that the Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, decreased 18.1 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis to 960.6 from 1172.2 a week earlier. On an unadjusted basis, the Index decreased 17.4 percent compared with the previous week and increased 62.7 percent compared with the same week one year earlier. The refinance share of mortgage activity decreased to 75.3 percent of total applications from 79.7 percent the previous week, and the adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) share of activity increased to 2.1 percent from 1.4 percent from the previous week.

Home ownership declines

According to the US Department of Commerce Census Bureau, the rate of U.S. homeownership slipped in the first quarter to the lowest level since the start of the decade. U.S. homeownership dropped to 67.5 percent from 68 percent a year earlier, driven by a sharp decline among younger buyers as well as among African-American households. Today, 74.7% of adult whites own their homes, and blacks are the smallest segment of mortgage borrowers, with only 46.1% of the population currently owning their home. Hispanics followed at 48.6%, with “all other races” experiencing a homeownership rate of 57.4%.

Six banks fail stress test

Bloomberg says that at least six of the 19 largest U.S. banks require additional capital, according to the results of the so-called “stress-tests.” Fed Chairman Ben S. Bernanke, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, and other regulators are scheduled to meet this week to discuss the tests, but Geithner has suggested that the options for raising capital include converting government-held preferred shares dating from capital injections made last year, raising private funds, or getting more taxpayer cash. Bank of America and Citigroup – two of the banks in question – are currently appealing. According to an April 24 analysis by Morgan Stanley, three of the other four banks are likely to be SunTrust Banks Inc., Keycorp, and Regions Financial Corp.

by Chris McLaughlin

Funny Video of My Son Playing with Daddy

2009-04-30T12:00:00.000-04:00

LOL...My Son's 1st Birthday Cake...TOO FUNNY!

2009-04-29T12:17:00.000-04:00

Housing Messages Mixed��and The Next Shoe to Drop

2009-04-28T10:00:00.000-04:00

Housing messages mixed

The Obama administration keeps telling us things are looking up, but the real players in both the economy and real estate are all over the map in both results and predictions. The National Association for Realtors has pulled together some of those confusing housing indicators from last week:

- The Federal Housing Finance Agency, which regulates Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, reported that home prices rose 0.7 percent from January to February 2009.

- The February 2009 RPX Monthly Housing Market Report said home sales increased month over month in 22 of 25 key metropolitan statistical areas and 13 of these areas posted the largest gain in February 2009 since 2006.

- The National of Association of REALTORS® reported that existing home sales dropped in March 2009, and median prices fell 12 percent from a year earlier.

- First American CoreLogic announced that national housing prices declined 12.2 percent in February from a year earlier and have been in decline for 24 straight months. It predicted that home prices would continue to decline through 2010.

Clarification or more mixed messages?

Just to keep up the confusion by trying to explain it, The National Association of Home Builders reported that production of single-family homes is unchanged, despite falling housing starts. "Today's numbers are right on target with NAHB's forecast, which anticipates that housing starts will bottom out in the second quarter, after new-home sales have stabilized," said NAHB Chief Economist David Crowe. "Single-family starts remained virtually unchanged over the past three months, indicating that we are closing in on a bottom. Multifamily starts - which tend to bounce around from month to month -- were responsible for the decline in total starts as they readjusted following a substantial gain in February." But he warned, "A substantial recovery in housing of the kind that's required to help get the national economy back on its feet will not happen until the logjam in acquisition, development and construction financing has been broken.

Swine Flu hits the market
World stocks tumbled after seven weeks of gains, and both oil and the euro fell on Monday as concerns intensified the spread of swine flu would hit the global economy. Mexico seems to be the center of the outbreak, although cases have spread to countries around the world. As many as 103 deaths in Mexico are thought to have been caused by swine flu, CNN reported. In the United States, the largest number of cases has been reported in New York City. "The swine flu seems to be one of those 'Black Swan' events that has caught the market by surprise. This is a concern as to whether it might impact any potential...recovery chances," said Martin Slaney, head of derivatives at GFT Global Markets. The MSCI world equity index fell 0.7 percent. The U.S. government plans to issue a travel warning later Monday urging Americans to avoid all "nonessential" trips to Mexico because of an outbreak of swine flu, a U.S. official said.

GM slashes jobs, debt, and dealerships
In its latest bid to stay out of bankruptcy, General Motors announced plans to drop Pontiac, cut 23,000 U.S. jobs by 2011, and slash 40% of its dealer network. GM is also offering bondholders 225 shares of its stock for every $1,000 it owes the bondholders in principal. GM's first plan was turned down by President Obama's auto industry task force in February, but this restructuring announcement goes much further.

The company had announced many of the job cuts in February, but Monday's news that GM would have about 38,000 hourly U.S. employees by 2011 represents an additional reduction of 7,000 to 8,000 jobs beyond what GM disclosed in its previous viability plan. The Obama administration's task force said today that the new plan "reflects the work GM has done since March 30 to chart a new path to financial viability," but added that it "has made no final decision regarding the treatment of its current loan to GM or with respect to any future investments in the company." Not exactly a rousing endorsement, is it?

Wall Street Journal explodes at regulators
In perhaps its harshest language yet, the Wall Street Journal takes a crack at mismanagement by Paulson and Ben Bernanke. Here's how the article opens: "The cavalier use of brute government force has become routine, but the emerging story of how Hank Paulson and Ben Bernanke forced CEO Ken Lewis to blow up Bank of America is still shocking. It's a case study in the ways that panicky regulators have so often botched the bailout and made the financial crisis worse. In the name of containing "systemic risk," our regulators spread it. In order to keep Mr. Lewis quiet, they all but ordered him to deceive his own shareholders. And in the name of restoring financial confidence, they have so mistreated Bank of America that bank executives everywhere have concluded that neither Treasury nor the Federal Reserve can be trusted."

Bank of America loosening short seller policy

2009-04-27T09:03:00.000-04:00

"Face your fears and doubts, and new worlds will open to you." - Robert Kiyosaki

BOA loosening short seller policy

Bank of America (BOA) says it will relax its policy on payoffs connected with short sales. Large banks have been demanding money for home equity lines and second mortgages that would otherwise be worthless if the short sale property went to foreclosure. BOA has been among the least cooperative of all banks in agreeing to short sale payoff terms, demanding 10 percent of what the homeowners owed on the equity line balance or second mortgage before signing off on the short sale, which is necessary for the deal to go through. BOA spokesman Terry Francisco says the new policy is "less arbitrary, more rational."

New policy
BOA's new policy is to ask for five percent of the sale proceeds on the short sale, net of realty commissions, closing, and other costs. Some short sellers point to problems, though: The bank's previous 10 percent policy meant they'd demand $20,000 on a $200, 000 equity line balance, but under their new policy it will cost the short seller $15,000 if the net proceeds are $300,000" on a short sale, even though the economic value of their holding may in fact be zero. Says the Realty Times: "Bottom line for investors: If there's a Bank of America second mortgage or credit line on the house you're after in a short sale, work the new numbers. At least some of the time you might be surprised that the answer from the big bank is now 'yes.'"

Jason Lucchesi - Foreclosure Tip #4

2009-04-27T08:57:00.000-04:00

Mortgage Applications Up 5.3%

2009-04-23T10:26:00.000-04:00

"Big jobs usually go to the men who prove their ability to outgrow small ones." - Theodore Roosevelt

Mortgage applications up

The Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey released by the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA), showed an increase of 5.3 percent in the Market Composite Index on a seasonally adjusted basis from 1113.2 one week earlier, with most of the increase attributable to refinancing. On an unadjusted basis, the Index increased 5.3 percent compared with the previous week and increased 76.9 percent compared with the same week one year earlier.

The Refinance Index increased 7.7 percent to 6540.7 from 6071.7 the previous week, while the seasonally adjusted Purchase Index decreased 4.2 percent to 253.0 from 264.1 one week earlier. The seasonally adjusted Conventional Purchase Index decreased 4.6 percent while the seasonally adjusted Government Purchase Index (largely FHA) decreased 3.6 percent. The refinance share of mortgage activity increased to 79.7 percent of total applications from 77.8 percent the previous week.

Jason Lucchesi on Foreclosures - Episode #2

2009-04-23T09:16:00.000-04:00

Jason Lucchesi on Foreclosures - Episode #1

2009-04-21T15:22:00.000-04:00

Five Days to Success with Google AdWords - Day 1

2008-12-15T21:11:00.000-05:00

There is ONE central idea, one key concept that Google wants you to understand.

If you have this right, Google will literally reward you by giving you lower prices on clicks, and your customers will reward you by buying what you have to sell.

If you DON'T have this right, you'll pay way too much for clicks, your competitors will eat you up, and your whole Google experience will be very, very unpleasant.

The one thing that matters on Google is relevance.

You might think of this as "message-to-market match."

This will make complete sense once you understand a bit of Google's history.

Google started in 1998, after the "big boys" in the search engine game like Yahoo and AltaVista were already well-established.

At the time, few people would have bet that Google would overtake them all - but in less than five years they did exactly that.

What's even more remarkable is they did so without a bunch of hype and loud marketing. They literally built a better mousetrap and the world beat a path to their door.

So what happened?

Google's mission in life was to build a search engine that would give people exactly what they were searching for, as fast as possible. If you were searching for "California butterflies" they wanted to give you the very best and most popular California butterfly websites on the very first page of results.

They developed an amazing mathematical formula for figuring out who visited websites and why, and using that information in their search engine.

So ... when they began to sell Pay Per Click advertising, they were extremely concerned that advertisers should also put out messages that were highly relevant.

Google rewards you for being relevant, and they let people who are searching vote for you. If your ad gets clicked on, it's relevant. If it doesn't, it's not. It's that simple.

The higher your clickthrough rate - i.e., the more folks who see your ad and click on it - the less you have to pay for the position you want. But if you write lousy ads, Google will make you pay more to get your ads to show at all.

So this creates a "Darwinian" effect, a deliberate natural selection that weeds out bad advertisers and rewards good ones. What's good for Google's customers is good for Google and good for you.

When all the dust has settled, what really matters is that your ads and your content be relevant to the keywords you're bidding on. Your message must match what the person is thinking.

So ... what were they really thinking when they typed in "California butterflies?" That is the question! Figure that out and put it in front of them, and you'll win at Google. Write an ad that matches exactly what they're searching for and you'll beat your competitors by a country mile.

A Valuable Little Piece of Customer Psychology for You:

Here's a little mental trick to help you write Google ads.

Imagine that you are not you. You are your customer.

You're not the dude with the cool solution. You're the guy or gal with some stupid problem. You've got an itch and you want to scratch it.

And you're not in front of your computer. You're sitting in front of their computer. What do you type into the search bar on Google?

And what do you hope will come up?

Answer that question and you'll be successful marketing online.

Tomorrow's installment is called:

"How with One 'Trivial' Change You Could Cut Your Bid Prices NINETY PERCENT - Plus a Permanent Solution to Keywords Made 'Inactive.'"
Sincerely,

Jason Lucchesi
Mobile - 317.363.7685
E-mail - 100kprojectjl@gmail.com

5 FREE Video's Show You How To Attract Prospects Effortlessly

2008-11-21T12:08:00.000-05:00

Have you ever wondered if there was a way to build your business almost effortlessly? Actually attract leads and prospects to you, credit card in hand, ready to join?

Well I just found a great free video series that will help you do just that. It is by my friend Mike Dillard. In this video series Mike explains how you can actually become the hunted instead of the hunter. Attracting leads and prospects to you ready to join.

You will also learn how actually get paid to prospect and build your business just like all the big dogs do. Getting rid of rejection, leaving you sponsoring only qualified and quality prospects.

You can get this free video series by going to...

Check it out. It truly is some great information.

Make It A Successful Day!

Jason Lucchesi
Mobile - 317.363.7685
E-mail - 100kprojectjl@gmail.com

HOLY COW...MY BROTHER-IN-LAW KICKS A 62-YARD FIELD GOAL?!?

2008-11-10T15:56:00.000-05:00

***ATTENTION - WHAT YOUR ABOUT TO WATCH MIGHT BE HARMFUL TO YOUR EYES, AND I'M NOT LIABLE FOR ANY NEGATIVE SIDE EFFECTS!!!***

HAHAHA....TOTALLY JUST JOKING WITH YA!!!

WATCH MY BRO, MITCH, KICK A 62 YARD FIELD GOAL LIKE IT WAS NOTHING. HE MIGHT BE REPLACING VINATIERI HERE WITHIN THE NEXT COUPLE OF YEARS...COLTS TICKETS FOR EVERYBODY!!! maybe not everybody....depends on how much Mitch's contract is for. ;)

ANYWAY, JAMIE AND I ARE VERY PROUD OF YOU MITCH! KEEP UP THE HARD WORK, AND YOU'LL MAKE YOUR DREAM BECOME REALITY VERY, VERY, VERY SOON!

COME CHECK OUT MITCH'S MYSPACE PAGE