Doors Floors and More

Cited: Reality Times

A forecast that was put out recently included some important observations on housing but did not get the attention it deserved by Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke. He spoke to the economic club of New York describing well-known problems standing in the way of economic growth. In particular the double digit unemployment and consumer confidence that is shaky week-by-week at best.

But buried away in his speech he said: Housing in the coming year is going to be a relative bright spot - a helpful driver of national economic growth, rather than the wet blanket it’s been for the past couple of years.

Think about that: Home sales and new home construction, at least according to the Fed, are likely to stimulate the economy in 2010 — enough to generate jobs and help avoid a double-dip recession.

That forecast just happens to track nicely with another that came out last week: Fannie Mae issued its projections for the coming year — and predicted that housing sales will jump by 11 percent — even in the face of a slow recovery for the economy as a whole. Meanwhile, scattered reports from hard-hit local real estate markets suggest that there may be some reasons for guarded optimism.

For example, research firm MDA DataQuick’s latest report on sales and prices in southern California, including the counties of Los Angeles, Riverside, San Diego, Ventura, San Bernadino and Orange, found that October sales were up nearly three percent over September, and that prices are rebounding as well.

October sales in San Bernadino were 11% higher than September. In Ventura, they were up nearly 10%. Median prices for the six counties were up almost 2% for the month, but were still 6.7% below where they had been in October of 2008. Now, as is almost always the case, not all the news is on the up side. New home starts dropped by a surprisingly large, seasonally-adjusted 10.6%, according to the U.S. Commerce Department.

For those in the real estate and construction industry . . . Success in construction and building contracting requires that you deliver accurate construction cost estimates and proposals to your customers, and execute in the field according to your construction cost estimate. This means you need construction estimating software to accomplish the task accurately. But being accurate in your construction estimate is not enough, you must also have enough volume of work, and therefore volume of new proposals to pay your overhead, keep your best employees busy, and to have enough left over to pay yourself. Having good estimating software ensures your payment.

A lot of the decline came in multifamily housing apartment starts — a volatile month by month index — which plummeted by 35%. But there’s no sugar coating here: starts of single family homes dropped by 6.8%, which was enough of a negative to spook Wall Street.  The magic potion for home buyers this week is mortgage rates that are dropping again further into the upper 4% range. Fixed rate 30 year loans have averaged 4.8% and the popular 15 year loans averaged just 4.3% according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. This was thrown into the mix at the end of November, no wonder Wall Street a spooked.

——————————————————-

My Take: I think I can understand why housing would stimulate the economy, it would make more jobs available to people. More jobs means paychecks and that means people can afford to purchase homes. By building more homes, they create jobs. Workers would be needed to install granite kitchen counters, plumbing, electrical, etc.

Of course, more housing in Bethesda would mean that they would need Maryland house cleaning services, which would also create more jobs in the cleaning industry. Of course those services would have to make sure that they knew how to clean granite slabs properly. I am sure that they would know how to do it. One thing is definitely for sure that maid services MD are always needed as they are everywhere.

——————————————————

Related Resources

Employment Problems

A law firm with New York employment lawyers specializing in enforcing the rights of employees in an effort to preserve a fair, equal and just employment environment represents plaintiffs in all phases of litigation in all forums including New York State and federal courts, arbitration, and before both state and federal administrative agencies. Sometimes when an employee is fired for the wrong reasons and then a LI civil rights lawyer is needed.

Christmas Videos

There is a service that specializes in duplicating, replicating, labeling and packaging CD/DVD media. Companies cannot compete with their prices and speed because they use the most cutting edge technology to produce a massive amount of product at a daily rate. That means this Christmas you can make all the video you want and be able to get a DVD copy made for every relative at a reasonable price. That means you would be able to get the same West Coast DVD duplication that big companies get.

Landscape Design Services

Services provided by one New Jersey landscaping firm include providing designs, recommending contractors that do top quality work and optional project management. Whether you are interested in a small design or a master plan it doesn’t matter, they handle all types of landscape design projects. You can read more about some of the features they can design for you on their website. You can browse through their site and you will see why they are one of the top New Jersey Garden landscaping firm with many award winning projects! In fact, they specialize in residential design.

Warmth and Style

Porches are a great place to start when decorating, an antique rocker or primitive chair gives it a nice touch that invites your guest to sit and relax. Next add an old wood crate or keg as an accent piece that doubles as a plant stand. Finish it off with a hand painted welcome slate and be sure to include some primitive décor as well. Then as you step inside the door, a braided rug will help to warm that cold tile foyer floor. Next add a primitive piece of furniture such as a hall console, adorned with a candle or a lamb for rustic lighting and added warmth.

A fall in the economic gauge is a reminder to people that the recession recovery is going to be patchy even though sales of previously owned US homes jumped last month to their highest level in more than 2-1/2 years.

Sales of existing home sales surged a record 10.1% month-over-month in October, the National Association of Realtors (NAR) said November 23, as buyers rushed to take advantage of a popular tax credit for first-time buyers that had been scheduled to end this month.

“Although the data are biased higher from policy measures, we do believe this sharp gain signals pent-up demand and a willingness to purchase homes, which is a good sign for the sustainability of the housing recovery,” said Michelle Meyer, an economist at Barclays Capital in New York.

The housing numbers, which easily topped market expectations, helped drive up stocks, but a decline in the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago’s index of national economic activity offered a somewhat more sobering picture.

The White House said on Monday it was reviewing options to spur economic activity and job creation, but stressed any action would be taken in the context of the fiscal challenges facing the country.

Sales of existing home sales surged in October to an annual rate of 6.10 million units, the NAR reported, beating market expectations for a 5.70 million-unit pace and above September’s 5.54 million-unit rate. The housing market is slowly mending after a three-year decline, which helped tip the U.S. economy into its worst recession in seven decades.

U.S. stocks snapped a three-day losing streak on the housing data, which eclipsed the report from the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago showing its National Activity Index, a measure of the economy, slid to -1.08 from -1.01 in September.

The blue chip Dow Jones industrial average index hit a 13-month high before closing up 1.29%. The Chicago Fed’s National Activity Index’s three-month moving average decreased to -0.91 in October from -0.67 in September, declining for the first time in 2009.

For those who are looking to rent or own their own home . . . There are beautiful homes for rent and rent-to-own throughout the Twin Cities area, Minneapolis and St. Paul suburbs and across Minnesota. Just check with a property management company Louisville MN to find out more information about homes for rent Maple Grove MN. There are also many Houston properties available in Texas.

According to the Chicago Fed, a move below -0.70 in the three-month moving average following a period of economic expansion indicates an increasing likelihood a recession has begun.

This development will likely feed into fears the economic recovery that started in the third quarter may lose some momentum once government stimulus wanes, given the high unemployment that is crimping consumer spending.

Analysts are cautiously hoping a sustained housing market recovery will help improve the psychology of households, which has been shaken by an unemployment rate of 10.2%, the highest in 26-1/2 years.

EXISTING HOME SALES BOTTOMED

The NAR said its data, which showed broad-based gains in the largest segment of the housing market, was proof that the decline in purchases of existing homes had bottomed.

“Home prices are almost there. We are seeing less of a decline in house values,” said Lawrence Yun, NAR’s chief economist. He said the Realtors group expected strong sales for November, related to the federal tax credit. Analysts, however, cautioned of some slowdown in the sales pace, citing a drop to 12-year lows in demand for home loans during the week ended November 13.

Distressed transactions accounted for 30 percent of sales last month and continued to weigh on home prices. First-time buyers made up a third of sales in October. A separate survey based on actual home sales showed first-time home owners accounted for 47 percent of sales last month.

The national median home price fell 7.1% from October last year, the smallest decline in over a year, to $173,100. Homes in foreclosure typically sell for 15% to 20% less than other homes. Housing is healing and construction activity added to growth in the third quarter for the first time since 2005.

Recovery is being supported by the $8,000 tax credit for first-time buyers, low mortgage rates and falling house prices. The government this month extended the home buyers’ incentive into next year and added a $6,500 credit for home owners buying a new residence. It had been due to expire on November 30.

Purchases by the U.S. Federal Reserve of mortgage-related assets have helped to push home loans down, boosting the affordability of house and aiding the sector’s recovery.

On Sunday, the president of the St. Louis Federal Reserve Bank, James Bullard, said the U.S. central bank should keep its mortgage-related asset purchase program beyond a scheduled expiration in March. The Fed, which cut interest rates to near zero last December, has committed to keep borrowing costs ultra low for an extended period of time.

In October, sales of single-family homes — the biggest segment of the market — rose 9.7%, while condominium and co-ops increased 13.2%. Sales were up in all four regions of the country. Prices rose in the Midwest, which had not seen the same boom as the rest of the country.

Prices declined in the other three regions. The rise in the Midwest was the first gain in any region since November 2008.

According to the NAR, in October, the supply of existing homes for sale fell to 3.5 7 million units from the previous month. At October’s sales pace, the supply equaled seven months of sales, the lowest in 2-1/2 years and down from September’s eight months. To strike a balance between buyers and sellers, analysts say that the inventory of homes on the market must fall below six months’ supply.

——————————————————-

My Take: I really do not know how many homes are available on the market anywhere. This means that I have to take the word of realtors. If you look on the Internet, you will find Grandview NY properties for sale right alongside foreclosures. It is difficult to understand how the sale of a home can have anything to do with recovery from the recession.

With so many foreclosures up for sale, all I see is how many people who cannot afford to pay their mortgage. I do know that mortgage refinancing is increasing. In fact, if you check with property management companies anywhere in the country you will find homes for sale and rent. In fact, I have seen Palisades real estate and Houston real estate advertised for sale.

——————————————————

Related Resources

Kentucky Mortgage Refinancing

One mortgage refinancing company is a wholesale mortgage broker that shops many of the country’s largest lenders daily, wholesale rate catalog in order to find their clients exceptional pricing. The best of the Louisville mortgage companies offers a variety and competitiveness of a Fortune 100 company while providing “boutique” client service for any Louisville Kentucky mortgage.

Cited: Reality Times

A class-action suit that was filed by a Texas homeowner in Los Angeles recently that alleges three companies conspired to rig housing prices in Texas and Colorado that cost home buyers millions of dollars and provided dangerous loans to homeowners. The lawsuit charges that a national price inflation scheme was developed by KB Home, Countrywide Financial and LandSafe Appraisal Services to defraud consumers.

The suit, filed yesterday in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles, claims the three companies employed a well-planned scheme to control the typically independent appraisal process, jacking up home values, which, in turn, were used to determine the value of other homes sold by KB, affecting thousands of homeowners.

The suit claims KB Home targeted homeowners throughout Texas and Colorado with the scheme. The complaint states between 2006 and 2008 more than 19,000 homes were delivered to the area. At an average price of $167,533 a home, and conservatively assuming an average inflated appraisal of $20,000 per home, that amounts to almost $300 million in inflated contract prices, the suit states.

The homebuilder has a significant presence in Texas with 17 communities in the Austin area, 10 communities in the Dallas area, 16 communities around San Antonio and 24 communities in Houston, the suit states.

This is the fourth lawsuit Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro (HBSS) has filed against KB Home, Countrywide and LandSafe alleging a national inflation scheme to defraud consumers. The other lawsuits represent homeowners in California, Arizona, Nevada, Florida, North Carolina and South Carolina.

For those who are looking for a different type of attorney . . . An attorney needs to have the knowledge and know-how to fight for your rights no matter what the case is about. If you have suffered a personal injury, then you need a lawyer in your area. For example you could contact a NY slip fall accident attorney or a Beaverton OR personal injury attorney. Maybe you were in a car accident, then you would need a New York City car accidents lawyer or a Portland Oregon car accident lawyer. Whatever your case and whatever your location you need a lawyer who can deliver high quality, detail orientated legal service to you. You should also check the success of your chosen law firm or lawyer to check on their success on obtaining favorable settlements and verdicts for their clients.

“The lawsuit representing Texas and Colorado homeowners mirrors the others suits we’ve filed across the country,” said Steve Berman, managing partner at Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro. “These three created a systemic and tightly controlled process to inflate home values and home sales with no regard for the homeowners or the dangerous loans the companies pushed on unsuspecting purchasers.” According to the complaint, Countrywide funneled all its KB customers’ home appraisals to a single person at LandSafe, an appraisal subsidiary of Countrywide, who in turn would deliver an appraisal value at whatever KB and Countrywide ordered.

The named plaintiff, Alice Stacy, purchased her home in 2006, and initially signed a purchase agreement for $150,484. An initial appraisal submitted to Countrywide-KB mistakenly put the home’s value at $142,000 - this included a $14,000 sales incentive and rolled in the closing costs of the home that totaled $5,516, the suit states.

The appraiser mistakenly thought KB wanted to sell the home at $142,000, a number too low to support the loans KB and Countrywide decided to foist on Stacy. It was also too low to support the sales pitch KB delivered to Stacy, claiming the home’s value was $150,500.

The plaintiff obtained a report of the lower appraisal, contacted KB and demanded a lower contract price, and the company told her the appraisal was a mistake. KB insisted the house was in fact worth $150,500 and they would fix it, the suit states.

A few days later, the same appraiser submitted a revised appraisal showing an increased value on the home, exactly the level that KB promised Stacy.

“With this case, Alice called KB out and pretty much caught them red handed inflating values after the appraiser mistakenly issued the lower report,” said Berman. “The correction and inflation of the value speaks volumes to the practices we’ve alleged in all our complaint, that KB’s demanding specific home values and LandSafe is delivering without question.” The lawsuit lists several claims against the defendants including violations of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO), violation of California unfair competition law and unjust enrichment.

This information could help you if you or someone who used Countrywide or LandSafe to finance a home through KB home in Texas or Colorado. Homeowners that in this scenario are urged to contact the attorneys by visiting www.hbsslaw.com/kbhomes, by e-mailing or calling 206-623-7292 as soon as possible.

——————————————————-

My Take: Wow, I guess people will do just about anything to make more money. Is not fraud a criminal act? How come a lawsuit is the only legal action being taken? It seems someone should be contacting Monmouth County criminal attorneys! I am sure that at least a Monmouth County criminal defense lawyer should be needed by at least one of those three companies. At least they will not be contacting a New Jersey child molestation law firm.

It is only logical that somebody planned this little scheme in that portion should go to jail for fraud at least. It is not like getting Freehold reckless driving attorneys for traffic violations. To me, this is a lot more serious. Do not get me wrong, if you drink and drive you are going to need Red Bank NJ DUI attorney, but when you mess with somebody’s home and livelihood that is a different story.

The average person works too hard to be able to afford a home to have to worry about whether the builder, financer and/or appraiser are trying to screw them over. In fact, it is difficult for me to believe that Bank of America is even involved. However, the financing company is a branch of Bank of America. I have a feeling that Bank of America is going to be doing some housecleaning of their own.

——————————————————

Related Resources

A Canadian Lawyer

Have you been charged with Toronto provincial offences or traffic ticket in Ottawa, Toronto, Brockville, Kemptville, L’Orignal, Pembroke, Morrisburg, Cornwall or anywhere in Ontario? You may need and Ontario traffic ticket lawyer were paralegal. Have you been charged with assault in Ottawa Toronto or Ontario? You may need in Toronto assault lawyer.

Cited: Reality Times

“It is the most effective sales program I have ever seen.” Says Hilton head developer David Brown, it is better than good. Read this incredible good news, especially if you’re a homebuilder, builder/developer, developer or lender fending off commercial foreclosures!

Brown needed to sell his five models. He hired an internet marketing company to help him, then challenged them to design a program around a ‘call to action.”

The company, SaleAMP, suggested the developer give new home buyers what resale real estate thrives on: the opportunity to make an offer- but to do it quietly, fast and with internet marketing thrust at full throttle.

Here are the rules set by SaleAmp. They care, because they get paid profits for performance, a novelty in itself.

• Establish a thirty-day offer window
• Limit inventory
• Keep it publicly quiet to the local market to protect the perception of a distress sell
• Do not use traditional media or an auction house
• No MLS
• No absolute pricing
• No buyer’s premium
• No heavy marketing costs and no intense management
• Employ every internet marketing tool available
• Implement at supersonic speed

Hello, “stealth” auction.

“Within 30 days, we had 22 offers, sold the five models, plus two more homes. We had visitors from New York and California who flew in just to see what we were selling. It was unbelievable,” Brown said.

The results: Brown is opening a second development within a few weeks, something he said he would have never done, if the program had not worked so well.

For those who have purchased a new home and would like to keep it clean . . . One Virginia cleaning service is a 100% satisfaction guarantee on cleaning your home. That means they will reclaim any area that you’re not 100% satisfied with if you call within 24 hours of your appointment. This is part of their commitment to house cleaning services and to keep their customers satisfied. They can even provide Washington DC maid service services because they bring you more than just a “cleaning lady” to your home.

Amy Garcia, marketing director for The Reserve At Lake Travis in Austin, Texas, and The Boardwalk at St. Charles Bay, Texas, agrees with Brown. She credits SaleAMP’s real estate internet marketing prospect capture and delivery systems with a forty percent increase in sales of lots and cottages.

“If we get the right offers, we accept the offers. If the offers come in too low we call the buyers, explain that the offers for the properties were too low, and encourage them to raise their bid. If they choose not to, we offer them lower priced lots. We keep two or three units in the offer inventory all the time. It costs us nothing, is totally flexible, easy to control, and requires no management.” Garcia says.

Internet auctions for real estate are nothing new, of course. What seems to be driving sales while protecting property pricing integrity and brand is the stealth approach to online auctions?

This approach gives developers with distressed or pending foreclosure inventory a fast, low cost way to test the market and generate sales without publicly conceding or implying desperation. In less than two months developers could have enough sales to support a request for a forbearance agreement. Lender with foreclosed assets may also move in this direction as a fast way to determine pricing and disposition alternatives. Traditional auction houses already have internet auction capability. So do major real estate franchises. It would be reasonable to assume that online real estate auctions will continue to grow and to become fairly common place in the days ahead.

But Paul Kirchoff, SaleAMP’s Founder and CEO, a former Dell Computer marketing guru, says that the key to any marketing program, whether it be an auction or not, is not the program or event. It is the traffic driven to it.

“It is exciting to design innovative programs like the stealth auction that work, for sure, but the real key, assuming the product is saleable and priced right, is getting traffic to the event. Without it, your auction landing page is nothing but another billboard on a back road to nowhere,” Kirchoff said.

For sure, SaleAMP is not the only internet marketing service out there.

The following key word Google searches were conducted on October 31, 2009. The results were surprising.

• Online real estate auction – 42,800,000 pages
• Online shopping center auction – 5,930,000 pages
• Orlando shopping center auction – 170,000 pages

The bottom line is that there are now real auction choices developers and lenders. They can conduct traditional, online or a combination of both.

Brown believes the stealth auction, or as he calls it, the ‘best offer bid’ will be the dominant new homes marketing strategy in 2010 and beyond.

He could be right or he could already be losing ground to yet unknown technology now being designed somewhere. Who knows?

Of those homeowners who are looking to buy, 85% of them shop on the Internet first. In fact, few people know they are even looking to buy. Another thing, most have not contacted her real estate agent and do not plan to. And stealth sellers are doing more than just drawing traffic, they are selling homes!

——————————————————-

My Take: The only problem I can see with this is the integrity of the seller. If the seller has no integrity, you do not know what you are really buying or the Internet. If you’re buying a house or property as an investment, you will probably have the money to fly to the location to see the house or property. There is not much you can tell from the picture of a home with custom wood entry doors.

Those exterior wood doors could be hiding a disaster area and you would not know it until you went to move it. However, you would definitely be surprised if you found bifold interior doors. I think it is a great idea to sell property online. But they need to have some kind of safeguards or regulations to ensure that people do not get scammed or cheated. Otherwise, people are going to purchase something they think is good, only have to put out more money to repair it.

If it is an investment, the extra cost could cause them to need a commercial loan workout just to keep the investment going. I am sure that nobody would want to have to contact commercial loan specialists following an Internet scam like that.

——————————————————

Other Resources

Internet Clothing

With a click of a mouse, one Carhartt distributor can ship his inventory around the world. That inventory includes flame resistant clothing, which provides superior abrasion resistance and offers increased comfort and durability. The arc resistant high-tension snap closure at the waist of a pair of ultra soft duck pants is a brass zipper fly with Nomex zipper tape. It also includes 100% cotton denim Black fleece lined relaxed fit jeans that set at the natural waist with two reinforced back pockets for excellent lined work pants. These will make a great addition to your Carhartt work clothes.

Little Princess Accessories

An Internet retailer that specializes in customized accessories for every Little Princess can help you accessorize that beautiful little girl this Christmas. Whether you need headbands for infants to show off your little angel’s eyes or a crocheted hat to keep her warm, you will find what you need or have it made. This retailer can customize accessories like hair bows, baby headbands, flower hats, bracelets and many other items with outfits to complete the look.