Club Chaos Agents - All Things Hollish, Wacked, and Jacked

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Ha !

... I hear so many of you right now !

"I wouldnt be caught DEAD wearing my REALTOR NAME TAG !!!!!"

 

OK ! No problem from me ! If it's not your thing, then I'd never rib you for NOT wearing your badge, but I OFTEN get people snickering at me because I wear mine ALMOST EVERYWHERE ! ... especially during my workday ! (... I would not wear it to my sons soccer match for example, but to drop him at school ? ... sometimes ;o) lol !!!)

Anyway, I'm so excited I can hardly speak type ... hold on, let me catch my breath !!!!

I stopped by last night to put a lockbox on a brand new CO-OP listing of mine in a Luxury High Rise in my region, AND I WAS WEARING MY NAME TAG !

In the elevator, a sweet older lady 'looked at my badge' ... (as everyone does if you are wearing it, whether you are in the post office, grocery store or bus stop or wherever !).

She immediately said "Oh you're a Realtor? are you showing a unit here?"

I told her I was actually just about to list a new 1 bedroom unit in the building, when she replied:

..."Oh a 1 bedroom ! I am looking for a 1 bedroom ! I live on the 19th floor in a 3 bedroom unit which I want to downsize from and get a 1 bedroom. I love this building so do you mind if I take a look at the one you are about to list ??"

Do I mind !?!?!?! Well heck of course not !!!! Come right in !!!!!!

To cut a long story short - she LOVED the 1 bedroom I'm just about to list, AND HERE'S THE CHERRY ON TOP ...

SHE WANTS ME TO IMMEDIATELY LIST HER 3 BEDROOM UNIT IN THE SAME BUILDING !!!!

She he wants me to sell that one, and buy the 1 bedroom I'm about to list !

 

THINGS ARE JUST NOT SUPPOSED TO HAPPEN THIS WAY !!!

... unless of course you are wearing your MAGIC NAME TAG !!!!!!

.... if you are, then anything is possible

Go ahead and chuckle at my name tag ! ... I'll smile right back atcha while I'm signing my new listing, and likely getting two new sales from wearing it !!!

Cheers !!!!!

Is it just me or did Summer just fly on by at warp speed? It seems like just a few weeks ago I was writing about Memorial Day and the Fourth of July.

But as the hours of daylight wane and the night air finally begins to cool, it’s time to start thinking about sampling some muscadines and scuppernongs or heading to the mountains for some fried apple pies.

The tomato vines are starting to wither from old age. Here in the South, they rarely make it until frost as the inherent genetic maladies erode the vigor of new growth and the vines simply succumb to “old age.”.

And the migrating hummingbirds are passing through on their way to warmer winter climes. We counted fifteen around the feeder yesterday.

Fall is just around the corner. And although we’ll still reach 90 degrees in Newnan Georgia today, Summer’s grip is loosening.

I hope that everyone has a great holiday weekend!

 

Life With Wee People iMix

http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewIMix?id=391032262

I keep thinking that Noah needs to be wearing the blue "It's my brother's fault" tee shirt (LOL). The cool thing about learning to be a blogging beach bum with a laptop and air card is the fact that you can have impromptu dance parties with the wee people stomping through the surf to the likes of Duffy, Glee, U2 and Jewel (LOL).

The kids even threw me a musical bone while playing iMix DJ. Check out their fave tunes during our Hurricane Earl is coming surf party. Stephen, the Blur Minion shaking his money maker to Anya Marina and Christina Aguilera was priceless. Noah likes to air guitar Chris Isaak and Meg Hutchinson. I bet you'd like to be a fly on the wall when we all do the Apple ipod Nano dance to Vertigo (LOL).

Did I mention I am sooooooo easily amused? I am you know... It's great to be a kid with your kids. Even better when they love music just as much as you do and can make up their own minds as to what it means to be a taste maker. That's what DJs do. They select music that they want to introduce to listeners. I bet if you click that link their faves will surprise you. :-)

BTW, wanna see some old but cool Apple movies? Oh go ahead... you know you want to click that link. ;-)

 

Don't Mess With Earl...

The surf is up so we had a pizza dinner on the Melbourne Boardwalk to watch the waves crashing on shore. Looks like Hurricane Earl is gonna make us leave early. Bummer... Coa Coa Beach was having a surf competition this week end and I really wanted to see/film that. US192 also has a bunch of open houses scheduled beach side and we were looking forward to being lookie-lous (LOL).

Oh well... We shall see what Earl has in store for us before we make our final decisions...

I have several YouTube drafts that need to be completed and posted before we head back up the coast. I also have to complete the second album and send it to the distributor before the end of the month. That may be delayed because Granny is in the hosp and we are stressed out about that... 

Shall catch up on my posting later on today. We've been very busy exploring Florida and tracking hurricanes. I have lots and lots of eye candy to sort through with the wee people and get posted. While hanging out on the Boardwalk we learned three things: (a) Melbourne has good pizza, (b) don't swim in water with a bacteria warning posted or you'll get the stomach flu and (c) don't mess with Hurricane Earl. Hurricanes rule... Also, Mr Autism and Mr PDD-NOS find their effects on the surf fascinating. :-)

 

It's that time again - Extreme Makeover Home Edition - Nashville, TN. 2010

Ty Pennington and the Extreme Makeover Home Edition Team is set to roll into Nashville, TN and suprise one lucky family.

There will be a kick off pep rally held on Friday September 3, 2010 at the Curb Event Center at Belmont University. Start time is 10:00 am

The builders for The Nashville Build are LP Products and Hardaway Construction.

I've had the honor to assist with the two Extreme Makeover Home Edition builds in Clarksville Montgomery County in 2005 & 2009 and look forward to the opportunity to help again in Nashville, TN. If you have never had the opportunity to see or participate on an Extreme Makeover Home Edition build, be sure to volunteer and enjoy the experience of a life time.

For more information - Visit www.TheNashvilleBuild.com

 

How many people love helping others?  How many like to be in front of their clients, especially when you can offer them a service that could possibly be like a one stop shop kind of place.  Something like Progressive insurance, to where you can buy and compare all at once.

Well, thanks to listening to Ken Cook's BlogTalk radio show, RE Tech Radio, he had an excellent guest on his show today. Scott Oakley from Connect My Buyer.

How does it work? This service allows you to help your buyer connect their utilities and services, such as gas, electric, television, phone, and other home services.  Read more from the site : How it works

 

This site not only gives discounts to the new homeowner, but it could allow you to make some extra money on the side by putting these buyers in touch with Connect My Buyer.

You might ask yourself, what's the catch???

There really is no catch. The site and service that it provides is free to both you and to the consumer. Because Connect My Buyer deals with 20,000 + clients daily, it can offer such discounts from these services to the consumer.  And they can even pay you for passing these clients onto the company. It's very simple, because they set up an 800# that you pass along to your buyer which keeps track of who you pass along. What's also very unique is that Connect My Buyer always you to create a flyer that you can pass along to your buyer, which introduces them to the site and to it's services. 

 

Here is an example of the flyer. (sorry if it's a little blurry)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As you can see within the flyer, that it gives you difference services, their contact information and best of all, some prices to compare. And what's nice about this set up is that you can add your own service providers such as... lawn care service, home repair person, home improvement person, day care, pest control, etc, etc.

 

Click here for - Connect My Buyer's FAQ section -

 

 

Overall... I think this is very cool and can be very helpful, especially for those buyers that are from out of town.  Now, get working on your flyers.

 

UPDATE : everyone, please read this comment.  There is some good information by a realtor that gives good insight about this company and what they offer... and it makes sense...  Please read : Comment # 35 - Good insightful info -

 

~ ENJOY ~

 

 

 

Click the box above to take you to today's talk show

 

 

 

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- FHA Loans - USDA Loans - VA Loans -

- Energy Efficient Mortgages - 

- Conventional Loans - 203 k loans -

- FHA Home Loans - Mortgages -

 

Experience & Knowledge at its BEST !!!

 

 

Follow me on:

 

 

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For more information on FHA loans, please go to this link. The FHA Expert

For important mortgage insight to watch for, please read : Consumers need to be aware of these Red Flags!

For information about FHA myths & FHA rumors, please read : FHA Myths & Rumors

 

Copyright © 2010 by Jeff Belonger of Infinity Home Mortgage Company, Inc

 

 

FHA first shared these changes on August 4th, after it had been approved by Congress and then the President signed off on it on August 11th. FHA has finally come out with the mortgagee letter, ML 2010-28, which puts it officially in writing now.

This mortgagee letter is effective on FHA loans in which the case number is assigned on or after October 4th, 2010. This policy will increase the monthly mortgage insurance and decrease the mortgage insurance premiums for purchase money and refinance transactions, to include FHA streamline refinances.

 

 

 

So what are the major FHA changes regarding mortgagee letter 2010-28? - For terms greater than 15 years -

• LTV's <= 95% will increase the monthly fee to 85 bps  >> Old monthly fee was .50 bps
  

• LTV's >   95% will increase the monthly fee to 90 bps  >> Old monthly fee was .55 bps 

 

And lastly, it will reduce the Upfront Mortgage Insurance Premium, UFMIP, from 225 basis points to 100 basis points.

 

 

How will this affect new homebuyers?

3 quick examples (these examples are putting the minimum down payment of 3.5%)

• On a $275,000 mortgage – the change in payment would be about $70 higher a month

• On a $200,000 mortgage – the change in payment would be about $45 higher a month

• On a $125,000 mortgage – the change in payment would be about $27 higher a month

 

Buyers Beware - If you have your eye set on a specific home, or are negotiating on a property, or are very serious about buying soon, you will have 31 days to make a mortgage application before these new changes take place.

 

 

FYI in regards to Charlie Ragonesi's  comment, #4 - I still don't think that this will move buyers from FHA loans to conventional loanss.  Here is my reason why... please read : FHA loans vs conventional loans  - The buyer's buying power will only decrease by about $10,000 or so. 

 

 

These 2 posts I wrote previously below go into more details about the changes and showing more detailed figures.

 

• Bill H.R. 5981 passes - FHA Mortgages to increase it's annual mortgage insurance premium

• STOP TAXATION? - The new changes for FHA loans are being called : The New Homebuyer Tax

 

 

 

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________

 

                  

                                                                                                             FOLLOW ME ON FACEBOOK

 

 

- FHA Loans - USDA Loans - VA Loans -

- Energy Efficient Mortgages - 

- Conventional Loans - 203 k loans -

- FHA Home Loans - Mortgages -

 

Experience & Knowledge at its BEST !!!

 

 

Follow me on:

 

 

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________

For more information on FHA loans, please go to this link. The FHA Expert

For important mortgage insight to watch for, please read : Consumers need to be aware of these Red Flags!

For information about FHA myths & FHA rumors, please read : FHA Myths & Rumors

 

Copyright © 2010 by Jeff Belonger of Infinity Home Mortgage Company, Inc

 

This Moment - A new Social Media Way To Record and Share the past, the now, and the future!

What are you doing right at this very moment?  Well you're reading this post obviously, but wouldn't it be cool if there were a site that could combine all your "moments" and social media and real life adventures into one nice convenient place that you could seamlessly share with friends and family? 

Imagine having all your accounts like Youtube, Flickr, Twitter, and Facebook accessible from a single link or click, and then you could share "Those Moments" with specific friends or others from your Google or Yahoo contacts.  That would be the coolest site imaginable!

ThisMoment.com is exactly what you'll want to check out.  I played on the site this morning after seeing this video that The Scobelizer (Robert Scoble) put up on Youtube, and I'm totally loving this new site.  Follow Robert Scoble if you want to keep up with World Changing Technology.  I've posted a couple samples on the site so I could demonstrate it here, but once you dive into it, I can guaranty you'll be hooked.

Take a look at the time-line and widget I added below, then head on over and check it out. Be sure to add me as a friend there, this way I can keep up with what YOU'RE doing at any given moment, at least with the moments you're wanting and willing to share. lol~ I give these guys @ThisMoment a BIG 10 and 5 GOLD stars for this site. It's the THEN, The NOW, and THE FUTURE all wrapped up into one!

See Brad's full public timeline

I've added a couple steps below to get you started, the rest is up to you:
The First Step is that you'll need to join ThisMoment. Yes, it's FREE! :-)

What is thisMoment

Connect with friends and family

Link photos, videos, and update services

Add your first moment

Learn how to add moments by email

... boy this one is frustrating !

 

I have a buyer couple who I have shown about 20 listings to, super nice couple, but are nervous first time buyers.

They have been uneasy whether they should buy now or 'wait and see if prices go lower' !!

I have told them that no-one can predict if in fact prices will dip a little more, but all forecasts are in agreement that if you buy now, your home will almost certainly increase in value over the next 3 to 5 years and beyond.

... so they are willing to buy if they run into the right home !

 

Enter the perfect home !

 

Has everything they need - just at their price limit, and just at the limit on the amount of annual taxes they did not want to exceed.

Exciting stuff !

However !

When they excitedly asked for a second showing, I decided to check the taxes with the local tax office, just to be sure that the annual tax amount listed in the listing was accurate, or at least close.

Well, it turns out the current taxes, are $1,900 / year HIGHER than the amount stated in the listing !

... that is not chump change !!

And at almost $2000/yr more than they budgeted for in annual taxes - it was GAME OVER FOR THIS HOUSE !!!

Now my buyers are completely deflated. They now feel this is a sign they shouldnt buy !!!

SO ! ... thank you Mr Listing Agent for DREADFULLY INDICATING THE INCORRECT TAX AMOUNT IN YOUR LISTING, as you may have cost me a buyer :o)

 

Disclaimer: I'm sure all members of ActiveRain are sharper than this listing agent, but this is just a reminder to double check facts in your listing for accuracy :o) Cheers !!!!

Pundits ignore it. Prognosticators omit it. Politicians are oblivious to it. But there is one argument in favor of home ownership that no one can legitimately dispute:

40% of American homeowners own their primary residences “free and clear.”

This large segment of our society is immune to the cyclical winds of real estate change. They can never be “upside-down” or “underwater.” And while they may have lost some equity in the market value of the property, their only consequence is a lower tax assessment if they opt to appeal.

As long as they choose not to sell, the true value of their property as a residence remains intact. It will continue to serve their housing needs for years to come.

And as long as the ultimate goal of any purchaser is to own their home outright, ownership will NEVER be passé!