Paper loss is actually what the banks are claiming you’ve suffered on your home. Yep, if you’re underwater they say you haven’t really lost any money, it’s all just lost on paper. Their point being – keep making your payments. Because assuming the market keeps recovering and you keep paying down your debt, you’ll be out of the hole in no time.

So, how do you feel about that? No harm, no foul? Doesn’t matter what your home is worth as long as the roof doesn’t leak? Or are you ticked off that the banks got us into this mess and now they’re claiming, well, no one really lost money.

Look, I’m willing to admit that loads of people took on loans they shouldn’t have, and the market crash was inevitable. And let’s hand it to ourselves, the latest numbers say even though over 15 million people are underwater, 90% of them are still current on their payments. That’s to our credit! We do what it takes to keep paying.

But I’ve got news for you – unless you’re deeply attached to your home (and if you are that’s awesome!) you need to seriously consider a short sale. If your payments are too high, the economy too rough, and your home value not rising fast enough, then a short sale is a really responsible option. I don’t want to see anyone suffer, and least of all just to please some bankers. Do what’s right by your family, pursue a short sale if it’s right for you, and get on your feet today.

It’s true! Some people with a little too much time on their hands took the trouble to study our nation’s Congress and figure out just how dumb they’ve gotten. I assume they walked into this “study” with open minds and hoped to find that Congress had actually gotten smarter. But the proof is in the pudding, as they say, and with the country the way it is, not to mention Washington’s latest “fixes” it looked like a foregone conclusion.

So, ready for the answer? Our Senators and Representatives, on average, speak at a 10th grade level.

Yup, 10th. That’s down from 11th in 2005.

The measured all sorts of things, like words per sentences, syllables in words, and I’m sure a ton of other factors. But the bottom line is being in Congress doesn’t ensure that you’re any smarter than the average Joe. In fact, if you’re dumb enough to want to be in Congress, you probably are dumber than the average Joe.

But I’m not here to judge, really. I like that there’s lively debate in the House and the Senate. And I like that laws aren’t passed until they’re put through some kind of investigation.

I just wish it wasn’t so painful to listen to!

Fore more info on the study check out the Sunlight Foundation.

Here are the major points to keep in mind:

- response time to a short sale offer should be 20 days or less

- sellers need a pre-approved sale price before submitting an offer

- agents must submit all 5 documents to initiate the process (Buyer’s Acknowledgment and Disclosure HUD-1; IRS Form 4506-T; Bank of America Short Sale Addendum, which includes the Agent Certification form; and Bank of America Third-Party Authorization Form.)

But the kicker is this: they’re offering cash to cover “relocation” costs. This can range from $2,500 to $30,000 and varies based on each case. But this kind of money can sometimes make the difference in convincing a homeowner to take the short sale route, as if there wasn’t enough reason before.

But I want you to play both sides of the coin for now. We don’t know how reliable BofA is going to be here (and we DO know how unreliable BofA can be). So you need to be a servant and make sure your clients are aware of the possible benefits but also the costs.

Short sales have proven to be the mainstay of the real estate recovery (BofA has done 230,000 so far in the recession) so you won’t have problems convincing people to look into them. This latest news from the first of what should be many lenders is just icing on the cake.

Leave a comment if you’ve dealt with these regulations first hand and what you’ve seen.

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!