Buyers “on the fence”? Here are the facts! - The Paul Paterakis Power Team - RE/MAX Showcase

The past lending practices caused the mess we are currently in; new and pending regulations are making the process of getting a mortgage a lot more time consuming and costly: expect higher fees, larger down payments and higher insurance premiums.

Forget the no money down, they will be looking at ten (10) percent minimum. They want the Home Buyer to have real “skin in the game.” In the past the Feds guaranteed nine out of ten loans; going forward we will see a major reduction and the buyer will have to qualify the old fashion way: on their own strength. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will be restructured but don’t expect the Federal Housing Administration(FHA) to replace them.

On April 1, 2011 most of the “Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act”
went into effect with more coming out in the fall and in 2012. Right now is the best time to buy
and get a mortgage before the process is much harder and expensive.
Regardless of regulations and costs, the buyer only has two basic questions: how much per
month and how much do I have to put down. Both of them are going up and will stay there for
the foreseeable future; isn’t time to get off the fence today?

A final quick recap:

• Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are going through major changes and complete restructuring since the Feds want to reduce their “lending” position to very little.
• Whatever loans will be made with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac as the back-up will result in much higher monthly insurance fees and higher total monthly payment.
• Some down payments currently at three (3) percent will be a thing of the past; look for a down payment (minimum) around ten (10) percent in the near future.
• FHA loans in general will cost more to build up reserves in case of default on the note.
• Credit score: like it or not, it’s controlling the loan and its interest rate
• More and more paperwork, disclosures, verifications; the ease of a loan in the past is gone, be ready for delays and a lot more time needed to complete the process.
• The sixty-day-lock will need to be longer, causing a higher cost for the longer period of time that the lender has to set aside the loan amount while not collecting interest on it.

Besides the financing part of the home, buyers now (and going forward) have the best inventory of
homes for the lowest prices in decades. Buyers…now is the time!


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New must see CPR video - PowerTeamHomes.com

If you haven’t seen this video, you should. This is a new CPR technique which is much simpler;
please watch and forward the link below to your database, friends and family.
http://tinyurl.com/2fx8r59

You may just save a life by doing so and never know about it!

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Moving toward a better future - PowerTeamHomes.com

Forbes Magazine Publisher Rich Karlgaard did a great “Entrepreneurial Excellence Presentation”

comparing our current environment from others in the past. He pointed out how from the “ashes” we

always have new “diamonds” and all we need is creativity and guts to improve, never give up when it
would be so easy to.

Today, there are indicators that point to a more positive future, such as global economic growth and
strong balance sheets for U.S. companies. Consequently, it’s a good time for individuals and
organizations to position themselves for the turnaround by exploring fresh approaches to how they do
business, Karlgaard said.

“The ones that are doing the right stuff now will prevail, and the ones that act defensively will not,” he
explained. Here’s some of the “right stuff” that you can do to prepare for future success, according to
Karlgaard:

1. Great design, whether it’s in retail spaces or on Web sites, can simplify systems
2. Speed, entails being in the right place at the right time with the right services
3. Intelligence, which means coming across as the smartest, most capable provider
4. Engagement, participating in conversations and, just as important, listening
5. Internal communication, set yourself up as a high-performing organization
6. External communication, organize people who support you on their own
7. Brand, three-dimensional that fulfills promises at every touch-point
8. Purpose, it provides a strong moral foundation under everything you do

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Be Your Transformation..PowerTeamHomes.com

Change, per Wikipedia, is the process of becoming different. Change can be something really simple like changing your clothes or your hair color or the leaves changing. BUT usually when we think of change – it can bring about anxiety and sometimes, it’s also very exciting.

We all know change is inevitable. If we stop fighting change and accept change- we may be surprised at the outcome. The story below is something I have shared before but it’s been so long, it’s definitely worth repeating. The moral of the story … accept who you are and where you are as it is exactly where you are supposed to be at this moment…enjoy.

The River – excerpt from ‘Peace is Every Step’ by: Thich Nhat Hanh

Once upon a time there was a beautiful river finding her way among the hills, forests, and meadows. She began by being a joyful stream of water, a spring always dancing and singing as she ran down from the top of the mountain. She was very young at the time, and as she came to the lowland she slowed down. She was thinking about going to the ocean. As she grew up, she learned to look beautiful, winding gracefully among the hills and meadows.

One day she noticed the clouds within herself. Clouds of all sorts of colors and forms. She did nothing during these days but chase after clouds. She wanted to possess a cloud, to have one for herself. But clouds float and travel in the sky, and they are always changing their form. Sometimes they look like an overcoat, sometimes like a horse. Because of the

nature of impermanence within the clouds, the river suffered very much. Her pleasure, her joy had become just chasing after clouds, one after another, but despair, anger, and hatred became her life.

Then one day a strong wind came and blew away all the clouds in the sky. The sky became completely empty. Our river thought that life was not worth living, for there were no longer any clouds to chase after. She wanted to die. “If there are no clouds, why should I be alive?” But how can a river take her own life?

That night the river had the opportunity to go back to herself for the first time. She had been running for so long after something outside of herself that she had never seen herself. That night was the first opportunity for her to hear her own crying, the sounds of water crashing against the banks of the river. Because she was able to listen to her own voice, she discovered something quite important. She realized that what she had been looking for was already in herself. She found out that clouds are nothing but water. Clouds are born from water and will return to water. And she found out that she herself is also water.

The next morning when the sun was in the sky, she discovered something beautiful. She saw the blue sky for the first time. She had never noticed it before. She had only been interested in clouds, and she had missed seeing the sky, which is the home of all the clouds. Clouds are impermanent, but the sky is stable. She realized that the immense sky had been within her heart since the very beginning. This great insight brought her peace and happiness. As she saw the vast wonderful blue sky, she knew that her peace and stability would never be lost again.

That afternoon the clouds returned, but this time she did not want to possess any of them. She could see the beauty of each cloud, and she was able to welcome all of them. When a cloud came by, she would greet him or her with loving kindness. When that cloud wanted to go away, she would wave to him or her happily and with loving kindness. She realized that all clouds are her. She didn’t have to choose between the clouds and herself. Peace and harmony existed between her and the clouds.

That evening something wonderful happened. When she opened her heart completely to the evening sky she received the image of the full moon – beautiful, round, like a jewel within herself. She had never imagined that she could receive such a beautiful image. There is a very beautiful poem in Chinese: “The fresh and beautiful is travelling in the utmost empty sky. When the mind-rivers of living beings are free, that image of the beautiful moon will reflect in each of us.”

This was the mind of the river at that moment. She received the image of that beautiful moon within her heart, and water, clouds, and moon took each other’s hands and practiced walking meditation slowly, slowly to the ocean.

There is nothing to chase after. We can go back to ourselves, enjoy our breathing, our smiling, ourselves, and our beautiful environment.

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With the economy in the doldrums and house prices stalled, short sales boom - PowerTeamHomes.com

The federal government’s massive HAMP rescue program failed when lenders balked at any reductions in mortgage principle. Lowered interest rates and longer terms reduced monthly payments somewhat but not nearly enough, many borrowers re-defaulted.

That was then. With the home market possibly poised for another slip downward, lenders are more willing to deal. CoreLogic says short sales have tripled since 2008 with 400,000 likely to close in 2010.

A recent Washington Post story tells us it’s happening as well in the D.C. metro area, a region envied everywhere for its many thousands of well-paying government jobs. Fannie Mae says it did 36,534 short sales in this year’s first half.

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Newest Credit Card Restrictions Take Effect - PowerteamHomes.com

By now, most of us have already noticed that our credit card statements have taken on a more reader friendly look than they have in prior years. Information such as when payments are due, the amount owed, the consequences of making late payments and how much we are paying in fees and interest on different types of accounts are now easier to find. The Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility, and Disclosure (CARD) Act of 2009 was passed by Congress with the intent to protect credit card users from unfair rate hikes and hidden fees. The bulk of this new Act has already taken effect, but the final phase came into force on August 22, 2010.

Here is a breakdown of some of the most important provisions of the law:

• Credit card statements must clearly disclose the following:
1. How long it would take to pay off a credit card balance if the cardholder makes only the minimum payment each month.
2. The total cost in interest and principal payments if a cardholder makes only the minimum payment each month.
3. The late payment deadline and postmark date.
• Credit card companies must give the consumer advance notice of forty-five days prior to significant changes to credit card terms. This includes change of interest rates and the benefits/rewards structure of a credit card.
• Bills must be sent out no later than twenty-one days before the due date.
• Retroactive interest rate increases are banned except when a cardholder is more than sixty days late paying a credit card bill.
• The interest rate cannot be increased within the first twelve months and promotional rates must have a minimum of six months in duration.
• The practice of double-cycle billing is no longer allowed. This is a practice by which credit card companies would use their customers' average daily balance from the current and previous month to calculate finance charges.
• Over credit limit fees are prohibited unless consumers specifically agree to allow the transaction to go through instead of being denied.
• Payments must be considered on-time if the payment is received by 5 p.m. on the due date.
• Credit cards cannot be issued to people under the age of twenty-one unless they have an adult co-signer or show proof that they have the means to repay the debt.

The newest provisions that recently took effect on August 22, 2010 cover the following:

• Credit card companies can no longer charge more than $25 for late payments except in extreme circumstances. A consumer may be charged more than $25 if the credit card company can show a pattern of repeated violations or if a card issuer can show that a higher fee reasonably offsets its own costs in dealing with the violation that spurred the penalty.
• Customers may not be charged for not using their cards.
• Penalty fees cannot exceed the dollar amount incurred by the consumer’s violation that spurred the fee. For example, if a customer is late making a $10 minimum payment, the fee can’t exceed $10. Or, if a customer spends $5 over his or her credit limit, the credit card company may not charge more than $5 as a penalty fee.
• Credit card companies may only charge one fee per infraction.
• If a credit card company increases the Annual Percentage Rate (APR), it must explain to the customer why.
• The credit card company must review the cardholder’s account six months after increasing the interest rate, and return the APR to the previous lower level if the cardholder has been on-time with payment.

These provisions were enacted to put a stop to unfair and deceptive credit card practices, but consumers must also analyze their own financial habits to make sure that they are not building up a credit card balance by paying off their monthly credit card balances and spending only what they can afford.

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Improve your credit score quickly !

If you are looking to improve your credit score quickly, now is the time to get started. Here are some great strategies you can utilize right away to give your score a little boost.

Create Some Balance: While paying down installment debt (car, school, mortgage, etc.) will definitely boost your credit score, paying down or paying off revolving debt, such as credit cards, can cause a quick jump in your credit score. The trick is to get and keep your balances below 30% of your credit limit on each card. For faster results, attack those cards with balances closer to their respective credit limits first, as opposed to those cards with simply the highest debt. Remember, if you pay off any credit cards completely, do not close your accounts without discussing it with your mortgage professional first. Cancelling those cards may inadvertently undo all of your hard work.

Know Your Limits: Make sure that your credit card issuers are reporting the correct limits on your accounts to the three major credit bureaus. Without an available limit, your account will appear to be maxed out at its highest reported balance each month. This could cost you up to 80 points in certain instances. Some creditors, such as American Express® and certain cards issued by Capital One®, actually have a policy of not reporting available credit. However, most companies will report your credit limits if you ask them in writing.

Take Some Credit: If you have a credit card account in very good standing, make sure that all three credit bureaus know about it. Just like your credit limits, some creditors don’t report your information to all three credit companies - this is why credit scores often vary between bureaus. If this is the case, give them a call to find out why. Correcting this oversight could provide a significant boost to your score. Also, if you’re in very good standing, ask your creditor for a lower rate or higher credit limit. This will increase the gap in the debt you owe versus the credit you have available. Sometimes hinting about closing an account can suddenly bring out the generous spirit of certain card issuers. Give it a try. The worst they can say is no.

Protect Your Interests: Your credit is calculated based solely on the information available to your creditors. If you have a HELOC, make sure it’s listed as a mortgage or an installment account on your credit reports and not a revolving debt. If you had a bankruptcy, be sure that all items associated with the bankruptcy are being reported correctly, that is with a zero balance. This action could increase your score by 50-100 points. Because simple mistakes like these can wreak havoc on your credit score, it’s important to monitor your credit every four to six months.

Even the Score: If you find information on your credit report that you believe is inaccurate or incomplete, then you have the right to dispute it free of charge. For the fastest results, visit the appropriate credit bureau’s website and file a complaint online. If supporting documents are necessary, you have to file your dispute by mail.