So they were right – sorta. It actually depends on where you live. Because you’ve got to remember, gains of 3 percent are the average. And when you’re using an average it means some people are going to see much higher gains (topping 5%) and some people will see, um, no gains (or even losses).

It’s just the way the system works and you can’t really blame the people for giving their predictions. But it really doesn’t do you much good unless you know what to look for. For instance, the states that are looking to do well are the ones that weren’t really hit that hard: North and South Dakota, Montana, Nebraska, etc. But Florida, Nevada and the like, well let’s just say Florida won’t just be known for slow drivers anymore, we’ll have to throw in slow recovery also.

But all is not lost. Never fear. If employment picks up and investors scoop up properties fast enough early on then recovery should follow.

So are you a leader or a follower?

Are you waiting for prices to pick up or are you investing and causing them to rise? Where do you want to be in a couple of years – riding the results of your investments or trying to keep up with prices that you missed out on?

The choice is yours.

That being said the average household is still in financial stress. On a scale of 100, 70 being financial distress, we rate at 69.9.

Now I know you think that’s cutting it close. But it’s a drastic improvement over previous years. Actually this is as close as we’ve been to the red line since late 2008.

So in the categories of employment, housing, credit, household budgets, and net worth we’ve been slowly improving. Don’t get too excited though. We’re supposed so be safely over the minimum mark. But it’s a step in the right direction.

I can’t give you too many words of encouragement but I can give you some advice. Take your success into your own hands. There are plenty of programs out there to choose from and they can give you opportunities in this tough economy.

So what’s the hold up? Can you think of any reason to wait? Nah, me either.

Eight of the top 10 cities at the top of the turnaround indexes are in Florida and this is credited almost entirely to investor interest. So it’s no surprise that distressed properties are playing a large role in home prices – they’re the reason we saw so much activity in the state in the first place. Nearly 1/3 of the entire supply of soon-to-be-available investment opportunities are in the Florida and that’s enough to keep you, me, and your friends and students busy for the next few years.

I really can’t stress this enough – opportunity is where you make it, but some times it’s like shooting ducks in a barrel. Short sales are becoming more and more the preferred option by the establishment, the process is becoming more streamlined, and profits are going to start rolling in.

Why wait until things get harder? Why have to earn less returns later? Why watch your friends master short sales now when the market is ripe and then jump on the bandwagon when it’s too late?

I think you need to decide seriously whether you’re getting in the game or sitting it out. Because it’s happening now, not just in Florida but around the country. Are you in?

Men can read smaller print than women can; women can hear better.
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Coca-Cola was originally green.
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It is impossible to lick your elbow.
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The State with the highest percentage of people who walk to work: Alaska
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The percentage of Africa that is wilderness: 28%
now get this…
The percentage of North America that is wilderness: 38%
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The cost of raising a medium-size dog to the age of eleven: $ 16,400
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The average number of people airborne over the U.S. in any given hour: 61,000
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Intelligent people have more zinc and copper in their hair.
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The first novel ever written on a typewriter: Tom Sawyer.
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The San Francisco Cable cars are the only mobile National Monuments.
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Each king in a deck of playing cards represents a great king from history:
Spades – King David
Hearts – Charlemagne
Clubs – Alexander the Great
Diamonds – Julius Caesar
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111,111,111 x 111,111,111 = 12,345,678,987,654,321
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If a statue in the park of a person on a horse has both front legs in the air, the person died in battle. If the horse has one front leg in the air, the person died because of wounds received in battle. If the horse has all four legs on the ground, the person died of natural causes.
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Only two people signed the Declaration of Independence on July 4: John Hancock and Charles Thomson. Most of the rest signed on August 2, but the last signature wasn’t added until 5 years later.
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Q. Half of all Americans live within 50 miles of what?
A. Their birthplace
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Q. What is the most popular boat name requested?
A. Obsession
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Q.. If you were to spell out numbers, how far would you have to go until you would find the letter ‘A’?
A. One thousand
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Q. What do bulletproof vests, fire escapes, windshield wipers and laser printers have in common?
A. All were invented by women.
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Q. What is the only food that doesn’t spoil?
A. Honey
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Q. Which day are there more collect calls than any other day of the year?
A. Father’s Day
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In Shakespeare’s time, mattresses were secured on bed frames by ropes. When you pulled on the ropes, the mattress tightened, making the bed firmer to sleep on. Hence the phrase…’Goodnight , sleep tight’
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It was the accepted practice in Babylon 4,000 years ago that for a month after the wedding, the bride’s father would supply his son-in-law with all the mead he could drink. Mead is a honey beer and because their calendar was lunar based, this period was called the honey month, which we know today as the honeymoon.
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In English pubs, ale is ordered by pints and quarts… So in old England, when customers got unruly, the bartender would yell at them ‘Mind your pints and quarts, and settle down.’ . . . It’s where we get the phrase ‘mind your P’s and Q’s’.
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Many years ago in England, pub frequenters had a whistle baked into the rim, or handle, of their ceramic cups. When they needed a refill, they used the whistle to get some service. ‘Wet your whistle’ is the phrase inspired by this practice.
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At least 75% of people who read this will try to lick their elbow!

1) Be underwater
2) Be 60 days late in payments
3) Loan payments are more than 1/4 of household income

You could end up saving 30% on your monthly payments if this plan goes through. This is going to cut steeply into BofA’s profits, though I’m sure with some creative “banking” they’ll find a tidy way to recoup their losses. Though the $11 billion loss they’re predicting is a steep price.

Do you think this is fair? Do you think this is a good solution? Or do you think this is skirting the real issue? Or not going far enough?

I really want to see some dialogue from you guys. Where do you stand on principal reduction? Let’s hear from the people out there doing the work, trying their best, and leave the hype and misdirection to Washington and the bank.

http://online.wsj.com/article.html

After reading through these lessons, here’s what I want you to think about. In life, success doesn’t happen overnight. Life is about the process of learning, of continually taking steps to get closer to what we want out of life.

Sure, success isn’t the pretty picture that we thought it would be, painted by only making perfect decisions so all our dreams come true. Instead, it’s a rugged, tattered, piece of parchment. It’s stained from mistakes we made in life, torn from the chances missed and opportunities wasted. Yet still we persist and continue to complete our greatest masterpieces, our lives.

Don’t miss opportunities – even the bad ones become part of who you are.

Don’t be afraid to take a chance – even if you fail, facing your fears leaves you a better person.

And keep persevering. And if you need help along the way, just ask. My door is always open.

I just wouldn’t have put all those in the same thought, but apparently someone did. A top economist was asked if the housing market has hit bottom. He wisely avoided the question by pointing out people saw false bottoms before this. His two examples: 2010 with the tax credit, and 2011 with its . . . incidents (see above).

I’d say he has his economic priorities confused but he’s the expert and I guess I get his point. You can’t predict the market. You may think you see how government policies are going to affect things, but then natural disasters and foreign problems creep in and knock you down. Or you may plan for the worst but think the next big idea from Washington is going to keep you afloat.

But when it all comes down to it, real recovery, an escape from the real “bottom” is only possible through one thing: the resilience of the American market. Us investors moving along making the deals that bounce things back, training the next wave of pioneers in the housing market, and taking some small credit for the declining delinquencies and increasing short sales – we’re the ones who are poised to see the future.

So I leave the predictions to you guys. Tell me how hard you’re working and I’ll tell you how quickly we’ll recover. Show me the deals you’ve made and I’ll show you strength of our economy. And most importantly, show me you’ve got a plan for an awesome weekend and I’ll show you mine! Till next week!

Back to people for a minute, we’re talking a 1.9% increase in average home prices. And everyone admits this was a result of heavy investor purchases. Now if you’re still living in the past you think this is keeping prices down (you know, because the discounts on distressed properties aren’t real) but it’s time to snap out of it. The new lower values are an unfortunate reality.

The truth is investor buying power is helping our economy. You and I are making a difference to the entire industry. We can’t necessarily help every single distressed homeowner out there (though I’m trying my best with every short sale) but we can help everyone in the long run.

- Keep investing strong

- Keep finding killer deals and making a play

- Pay fair value and deal squarely

It’s all in your attitude. I always say “Be a servant” and I mean it. I don’t just say it – I live it. You can help yourself and help others at the same time. We’re working towards the same goal and the latest upswing in prices means our efforts are paying off. So get in the game, get invested, and start earning.

Expert after “expert” has been testifying that some things would make the program work better:

- letting a new servicer compete for the refinancing or loan mod

- letting non-Freddie or Fannie backed mortgages be eligible

- dropping the loan-to-value requirements for qualifying

Now I understand that the government would be interested in changing the rules of a publicly embarassing program to try to improve things but it doesn’t seem to me that any of these suggestions addresses the real issue. In a nutshell:

If it’s not worth it for a bank to particpate in the program, then what good will it do to allow more banks in? Now you’ve just got more banks who are eligible but don’t want in.

And make more loans eligible? I believe those loans would be known as the “riskier” loans which could set the whole recovery back if they default again.

So what’s this really going to accomplish? How is this going to finally convince banks to make a solid effort at renegotiating bad loans? I’m pretty sure it won’t, but let me know what you think.

Well, $25 billion is the amount of the enormous mortgage servicing settlement that bought the banks out of trouble and will eventually find its way into someone’s hands. The question now is, whose? Because they’ve found the man to give it out – Joseph Smith, former banking commissioner.

Thing he says he wants to accomplish in this role:

- deal with the mortgage servicers
- maintain integrity
- give out tons o’ cash

I like that list, it seems like fun. He’s got to navigate the bizarre and twisted world of banking, figure who was corrupt, who was improperly evicted/fined/embarrassed, and decide where the money is supposed to go. And if the banks don’t cooperate, then all bets are off and he can start suing the pants off them.

So while I think the settlement was barely even a slap on the wrist for the worst offenses we’ve seen committed in this country in a long time, it’s at least going to be interesting to see how far down this money trickles. I sincerely hope that the people who were most hurt by these awful tactics get compensated, and I hope the guy in charge of this doesn’t turn out to be as corrupt as the banks.

Think that’s not possible? Think this whole exercise is a big waste of time? Whatever you think, let me know by leaving a comment.