Yesterday, I was presenting an offer to another Realtor for a short sale listing of hers.  We almost didn't get the offer accepted because I put a provision in the contract to allow for a 24 hour right of first rescission after the bank approves the offer since we will be out looking at other homes while we wait.

In Idaho, we have a short sale addendum that allows either the buyer or seller to back out any time prior to bank approval; however, since I have no control on whether that will be a month, two months, four months, or never; I always have my buyers keep looking (unless they are just investors).

What would happen if the buyer found another home they liked better and we still didn't have a formal accepted offer?  If we waited on this offer (a definite maybe at best); we would most likely lose the new home they found.  The seller is in a bad position, since they don't want to even take the home off the market as a contingent offer in case my buyer walks.  One thing I have started using on my listings to resolve this situation is to state that if either the buyer or the seller defaults prior to 60 days from date of the offer, there will be $x paid to the other party.  One problem is that the seller typically doesn't have the money if they elect to go bankrupt instead of sell or decide to accept a loan modification instead of selling., etc.

A longer term solution I thought of would be to go back to the days when the banks would accepts a Deed in Lieu of Foreclosure and morph it into the short sale process.  If the seller would essentially assign power of attorney to their bank to help liquidate the home (since they can't make any money as the seller anyway) this would greatly speed up the process.  

Scenario:  Seller is in default and is hoping to complete a short sale.  Have their bank prepare a legal document stating that the only way they will begin the negotiation of a short sale is if:

• The home does / does not meet the banks initial requirements to be considered for a short sale
• They are going to start the foreclosure process by ____ day if seller doesn't fully cooperate;
• Seller to acknowledge all liens against the home (first, second, HELOC, tax liens, and delinquencies which may become liens (i.e. HOA dues) and that any undisclosed items are the sole burden of the homeowner. 
• Seller agrees to execute a limited power of attorney allowing the bank to dispose of the property
• Acknowledgement that the bank will / will not seek a deficiency judgement for any debts forgiven;
• If the home is still occupied, they agree to vacate and leave the home in it decent condition by the date of sale or else their deficiency judgement will be in full force and effect!

1. The commissions would be known up front;
2. All offers would be sent directly to the bank for approval (this stops the investors from typing up the property and reselling the home if higher offers come in that were never presented to the bank);
3. Less transactions would fall apart awaiting for the bank approvals;
4. Buyers would feel more confident the short sale will actually close;
5. The process should go much faster since it is now streamlined.

Many of you have been blessed by Lenn Harley's knowledge and wisdom here on Active Rain.  She was one of the early adopters of using the internet for real estate and also one of the driving forces behind Active Rain's success.

It is only appropriate that this online darling was able to upgrade her point icon today (Valentine's Day) to the 900,000 icon!  She is the second person to reach this lofty position on Active Rain.

• Lenn has an incredible 900,092 points.
• Lenn has 213 featured posts,
• Lenn has over a half a million "Blogging points",
• Lenn has over a quarter of a million "comment points"

Email addresses are typically not something a lot of us give enough time creating.  Too often, we "Accept" a default email address or just use one we have used forever.

You already know all the sayings about first impressions and dress for success; yet have you ever considered what type of first impression your email address makes?

Many Realtors are control freaks, yet surprisingly, they don't take control of their email address!f  I hope to show you the reasons to change this!

Here are just some of the email addresses I have used:

• JimPaulson@Micron.net;
• JimPaulson@coldwellbanker.com;
• JimPaulson@remax.net;
• JimPaulson@topproducer.com;
• IdahoNewHomes@hotmail.com
• GoOwnIt@gmail.com
• myemailspam@cableone.net
• JimPaulson@GoOwnIt.com

Shanna Wroten-Tucker is presenting a workshop for Real Estate Professionals called “Hope is not a Strategy: A 2010 Business Planning Workshop” this Friday, February 12^th from 9:30am — Noon at Pioneer Title on Rifleman, in Boise.  

Our 2010 Realtor Business Planning workshop has been very well attended and received by over 80 local Realtors. We are receiving fantastic feedback… “The Best Realtor specific Business Planning seminar people have ever attended”. (I am not making this up!)

I know your time is valuable… And so, we promise not to waste it.  The workshop is only two hours and you will leave with a new way of thinking about business planning.

·         This is not a one-size-fits-all program, this workshop is tailor-made and full of ideas for Boise Real Estate Professionals.

·         You will leave with specific and proven money making action steps scheduled on your calendar... customized to your personal values and strengths.

·         We will share the secrets of breaking your past records with a self directed accountability system that is easy to implement and has worked for top executives across the country. Powerful stuff.

I know business planning sounds cliché, but rest assured that we cut to the chase quickly and this is not “pie in the sky” hypothetical goal setting rah-rah stuff. You will leave with solid ideas that will make a difference in your business, your income and your success.

Please RSVP

I hope that you decide to join us. The workshop is being held at Pioneer Title (on Rifleman) this coming Friday from 9:30 am — noon.  This is two hours that I promise will be well spent. Please give me a call and let me know that you plan to attend, my direct line at 287-1717. (Or reply to this email!)

For additional information on our event go to Hope is not a Strategy or call Shanna direct at 208-388-0500 at Waterstone Mortgage Corporation.

I look forward to seeing you,
Jim Paulson

I have been concerned about the national debt since I first took economics classes in the early 1980's at Boise State University.  I have finally thought of a way that might help pay it off!

While a lot of the people are asking for mortgage write downs (cram downs) due to the economic adjustments made in housing values nationwide, I am suggesting almost a diametrically opposed solution.  Mine is not a quick fix answer, since in physics, I also learned that for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction!

There are now thousands of blogs suggesting we did just drop all mortgages down to current values (and the LTV requirements thereof), yet I have not seen a single economist suggest it!  If we did take such action, this would stop some of the defaults on mortgages, but would cause defaults on the banks thereby impacting even the retired people that have their life savings in there with a free and clear mortgage!

If we were to buy into this idea of writing balances down to fair market value, does that mean my credit card balance should be written down to zero since there is no current value of the meal I charged last month?

If we were to buy into this idea of writing balances down to fair market value, will we have to do this for all the automobile loans out there too since the cars are worth less than they day they were purchase?

Can we just write off the portion of the national debt that was run up to fight the war in Vietnam, the Iran Contra Affair, Desert Storm, etc., since those are also in the past and of no present value?

Since this logic path isn't logical, I have been thinking of an actual solution instead of just buying into the problem!  I still have a lot of fine tuning to do, but think my concept is close enough that I can forward it to Dr. Lawrence Yun - NAR's Chief Economist so he can decide if it has merit or not.  Unfortunately, I did not have this idea in time to submit to NAR for their "Game Changer" challenge in 2009.

My idea is relatively simple, if the US Government lends you the money to buy your home, they are essentially your partner and therefore could offer a "Shared Equity Participation Loan" in some cases.  Since NAR statistics have shown that the average home appreciates long term at a rate of 3.8%; they could benefit from the future appreciation that resulted from this partnership.  For example, if you bought a home for $200K that appreciated 3.8% a year for 5 years, that home would be worth $240,999!  If you took out 12% of that cost for the net cost of acquisition and sale you would still have a net profit of $36,079.  If the US government provided 17% of the money (80% first mortgage + 17 US + 3% borrower's funds = 100%) then they would be entitled to 17% of that profit or $6,133.57.  If you paid cash for the home or put down 20% so you didn't need FHA or VA's help, you keep 100% of the profit (less your capital gains tax if any).

If the Debt Clock above is accurate, and there is over $14 Trillion in mortgage debt in the US.  According to a Reuters article I read, government insured loans are now over 38% of the market, up from a record low of 6.8% in August 2005.  So, if you multiply the $14 Trillion in mortgages by 38% of the market and if they averaged 17% of the down payment (assuming an FHA loan) that is still $921 Billion!  If that number appreciates by the long term average of 3.8% - that is a $35 Billion gain annually!  If only 20% of the gain is paid back, that is still $7 billion a year!  At that rate, the US can pay off it's entire national debt in only 7,831 years!

Does anyone have a better plan?

There are a lot of companies that are springing up that are willing to take your money to show you how your property shows up online; however, being the frugal Owner/Broker of Progressive Realty Corporation in Boise, Idaho, I would rather do it for free!

All you need to do is use Google Alerts!  (www.Google.com/alerts)

Plug in your listing address (make sure to use "123 easy street" in quotes or else you will get all the 123's and all the easy's and all the streets).  Then set up another account for the MLS number.

This is a great way to track the effectiveness of your online campaigns by seeing where your listings show up.  You may also find companies scraping your data without your permission and stealing your leads!

I have found some of my listings show up in very unique places and it also lets me track what I can be doing better by showing me new places that already pull my data that I am not utilizing in my marketing materials.

Since I recently added a graphic on my business card that says "Google Me!"; I also set up an alert for myself and my company so I can make sure I know what people say about me online too.

If you need a Realtor in Boise, Idaho - Google Me!

I wish I could embed the video on this site to make it easier for you to watch this great video but I have not paid for that widget.

This is a 4:36 minute video on YouTube that currently already has 1,746,507 views.  As the 2010 President of the Ada County Association of Realtors, I will use this video throughout the year.  Check it out and enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WEqdr_Awdak

I have been a Realtor in Boise, Idaho for nearly 19 years and have never seen such a great time to build a new home!  It will NEVER be this affordable again for the following reasons:

1. Some lots are being sold at less than the cost to develop them (replacement cost are higher after these are gone)!
2. Tax Credits.  If you wait till May to write an offer, you will loose the tax credits!  You can still write a contract by April 30th to build a home but it has to be completed and closed by June!
3. Subcontractors are hungry so prices are low!
4. Rates are still in the low 5% range and projected to go toward 6% by year end.
5. Available Grant money and assistance funding is available for qualified individuals.
6. Lots of inventory and choices.
7. Many communities are finally open to bring your own builder instead of a single builder or builder team.

A great example is a subdivision off of Five Mile and I-84 in which originally the developer was trying to sell lots for $100K - $125K.  After the lender took the project back in foreclosure, they are now building brand new 3 bedroom 2 bath homes with 2 car garages starting at $104,900!

At todays interest rates, the Principle and Interest would only be about $550 a month so by the time you add in the taxes and insurance you are still only around $700 a month and it would cost you about $900 a month to rent it!

If you bought it for $104,900 and got $8,000 back in tax credit your acquisition cost is under $100K!  That is less than the first lot sold for in the subdivision!  The more grants and programs you can stack on top of that, the better off you are!

I have closed over 50 brand new homes in the Treasure Valley (Boise, Kuna, Meridian, Eagle, Nampa, Caldwell) and would be glad to help you pick the right builder and the right location to keep you in budget!

Jim Paulson
Owner/Broker - Progressive Reatly Corporation
www.Progressive-Realty.info
GoOwnIt@gmail.com

Today is a unique day not just because it is the end of 2009 but because it is what they call a "Blue Moon".

When you have two full moons in a given month, the typically refer to second one as a "Blue Moon".

The moon is also credited / blamed for influencing peoples behaviors due to it's gravitational pull.  Did you know it is the moon's gravitational impact that control the tides on earth?  Some believe the impact of the moon's gravitational pull on some peoples cerebral fluid surrounding their brain on full moons can have a negative impact as well.  Lunar is a word for moon so you shouldn't be surprised to know that "Lunatic" is based on this concept.

Therefore, it seems appropriate to play this song today in tribute:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xp9852hq0W0

Happy New Year!

2009 was a very unique year for me here in Boise, Idaho.  

If I had to describe in two words, it would be Upside Down or should I say uʍop ǝpısdn

Many borrowers are uʍop ǝpısdn in their mortgages;

Many Realtors incomes were uʍop ǝpısdn

I had four companies declare bankruptcy instead of paying me what I was owed over the past few years;

I have not yet figured out how to put things right side up, but here is a link to help you join the rest of the people that are already upside down:  http://www.typeupsidedown.com/

If you are still super serious after 2009, you might want to create a super strong password using your regular password upside down!

If you are currently using a Tablet PC in the Real Estate industry, I would like to invite you to join the new users group!  This will be my 2009 Christmas Present to Active Rain members.

http://activerain.com/groups/TabletPC

You can also just click on "join group"

If you would like me to email you an invitation, let me know and I will do that too.

Jim Paulson

Statistics and market data on how well the market is or is not doing vary wildly in todays market.  Therefore, I went back to the Intermountain MLS records to try to help quantify the market from a historical perspective for homes in the Treasure Valley and specifically for Ada County Real Estate.

	# sales	Ave. Price	Median Price
Nov 05	1335	234973	207000
Nov 06	626	266170	230000
Nov 07	409	251848	213000
Nov 08	290	223024	185000
Nov 09	567	187872	157900

The decrease in sales prices is due to several factors:

• The tax credits are accelerating the purchases of low to moderate priced homes;
• Upper end homes typically sell via reselling existing homes and many sellers have reduced equity positions to make that happen;
• Tighter lending on upper end homes make those purchases more difficult for many buyers;
• Lot prices have decreased substantially ($100,000 in some areas) allowing for the building of more moderate priced homes.
• New construction has gone back to the basics and Granite counter tops and jetted tubs and 3 car garages are once again options and upgrades, not standard features.

One of the first tasks I hoped to figure out with my new HP Tablet PC was how to use it's Infra Red port and a Palm or Windows Mobile Emulator to use it as a lockbox key with Supra.  Supra claims this isn't possible, but I have not given up yet.  I downloaded a Palm emulator, but I couldn't figure out how to have it let me download to it to expand the use.

Now, I am in the process of trying a Windows based version.

If anyone has had success with emulators, I would appreciate a quick lesson.  My computer is running Windows 7.

Thanks!

I was surprised that I didn't find much here on Active Rain regarding the benefits and use of Tablet PC's so I started my own group.  If you use a Tablet PC, please join this group and share your knowledge and feedback.

I would appreciate knowing what types of Tablet's people are using in the real estate industry and why you selected the Tablet you did.  For example, my first TabletPC was a Gateway and I selected it since it had a 14.1" screen (the largest I could find four years ago).  Finally, the on board sound card died, so I used that as an excuse to upgrade.

I bought an HP Tablet last week and love it.  It is the Touchsmart TX2 1370.  It came with 4 gigs of ram, 2.3 GHz Ultra Dual Core Mobile Processor, 12.1" Hi Def Widescreen Display, a 320 GB 7200 RPM Hard Drive, Light Scribe DVD burner, webcam, finger print scanner, and more!

I will be posting software I download (i.e. Microsoft Office 2010 Beta) and test the limits of this machine.

I hope you will join this group and share your experiences if you too are a Tablet PC user.

I have a great one acre building lot for sale that is between Nampa and Caldwell Idaho that is perfect for building your next dream home.  Why pay the same price or more for a lot in a subdivision with neighbors and CC&R's?

Easy commute to anywhere in the valley!

Views of the Owyhee Mountains or the Boise Front (Bogus Basin).

Use your own builder or I can assist with that process too.

Call or email me for additional details or go to www.IdahoMLStours.com/smith3

Smith 2A lot for sale in Nampa

Thanks!

Jim Paulson

Owner/Broker - Progressive Realty Corporation

If you are looking for a home under $200,000 that has:

• walking distance to the golf course
• that brand new home feeling;
• four bedrooms, 
• a great room for open living space, 
• Separate Living and Family Rooms;
• a bonus room (media, studio, etc.) over the garage
• three car garage

you will find it at !

The National Association of Realtors had a contest this year about "Game Changing Ideas for the Real Estate Industry".  Let's use the collective knowledge of Active Rain to think about the way to effectively use our industry to help get us out of this financial mess our country is in!

For example, I was just thinking of Fannie Mae's new Deed For Lease program in people living in a home can lease it back for 12 months at fair market rents if they meet certain criteria and their housing ratio is at or below 31%.

https://www.efanniemae.com/sf/servicing/d4l/

I think that program has a lot of merit; however what about taking it a step or two further?

1. If it was my property, I would consider doing a lease purchase on the property, not just a lease.  That helps the tenant buy into the mindset of homeownership and they are responsible for upkeep and maintenance.
2. What about the a "Shared Equity Loan" after the buyer proves themselves after 12 months?  In that capacity, the bank that agrees to do the loan could have a deed restriction that uses their end of the profit to pay down additional debt to their bank (i.e. non secured loans, credit card loans, car loans, etc.).

Maybe the banks don't want to get rid of the other higher interest loans, so what about the US Treasury doing this with any future profits on their share going to pay off our national debt?

What about using the amount of the Tax Credits to equal the Treasury's shared equity portion and when the home is sold, that tax credit is paid back plus what ever the net profit percentage of the home is upon sale (less improvements, sales costs, etc.)

We have several Shared Equity loan programs here in Boise, Idaho and these models could be mirrored in other parts of the country.

I just learned about the Fannie Mae program which was launched in November to help keep properties occupied if they are foreclosed and also help the tenants from becoming homeless through no fault of their own.  It is called Deed For Lease.

Essentially, as long as the tenant (either borrower or renter) can afford to pay "fair market rents" and their lease payment still falls below 31% of their income, they can sign a 12 month lease and stay in the home instead of adding another distressed looking property into the market!

I hope my fellow Realtors will take the time to learn about this program since it should help stabilize the market in many areas of the country!  For additional details, check out Fannie Mae's website at:

https://www.efanniemae.com/sf/servicing/d4l/

I hope this program helps some of the home owners in Boise, Idaho where I live and across the nation.

Microsoft announced today at the Professional Developers Conference that they are unveiling the public beta of Office 2010, SharePoint Server 2010, Project 2010, Visio 2010, Office Web Apps for businesses and Office Mobile 2010 effective today!

For the complete article, go to:

http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/features/2009/nov09/11-18PDCKurtDelBene.mspx

People can download the beta products by visiting http://www.microsoft.com/2010

I would love to try the Windows Mobile 2010 but my Treo 800W only has Windows 6.1 mobile and not the required 6.5 mobile.

The feedback they get from this trial will be used to tweak the programs before their anticpated releases in mid 2010.  

One new feature that might be pretty interesting to those of us using blogs and social media will probably be "Social Connector".  Kurt DelBene, Sr. Vice President of the Office Business Productivity Group, Microsoft was quoted in the Microsoft Press Pass today as saying "Social Connector lets them connect with people faster, without switching programs or changing their routine.  Essentially, with this new capability, people can collaborate and work better together. The Outlook experience customers are familiar with and use on a daily basis becomes the hub of their social networking experience. Outlook Social Connector brings their communications history, business and social networking feeds directly into Outlook to help them keep track of conversations and stay up to date with co-workers, friends and family."

I know I will be downloading a number of these new programs.  As an EPRO Instructor, I am always looking for new things to share with my fellow Realtors, so don't hesitate to share your ideas as well directly with me and I will be sure to give you credit if you are the first one to bring things like this to may attention!

Enjoy!

I am usually not a fan of Re-blogging; however Brad did such a great job on his video, I wanted to help get his message out.  

Next year, the convention is in New Orleans so plan on coming down for NARdi Gras!

When looking to buy or sell a home, it is very important to know the inventory!  You can see that in September, we had an average of 6.7 months of inventory but that figure varied drastically by price range.

When the average income in Ada County substantiates about a $250,000 home, it is no surprise to me that it will take 28 months to absorb the inventory of $1 million plus homes!

With our lot prices dropping to less than development costs alone, it is a great time selectively start looking at the affordable price ranges and niches and consider building again.  I have learned that I can effectively compete with short sale prices in our area by building a home on a lot that can now be bought for $40K instead of the $100K two years ago; therefore, competing directly with short sales without the fear that in 3 months your offer would get turned down from the bank or that the seller decided to declare bankruptcy and stay in the home for another six months instead!

I just learned that NAR has just acquired some of the pieces of the puzzle to finally produce the national database they have been talking about for quite some time.  It should have parcel information on nearly 150 million properties!

This project has been referred to in the past as:

• Gateway
• Real Estate Channel
• Library/Archive

It will be interesting to see what NAR discloses in San Diego later this week!  

If you are frustrated by the the human race today, consider the evolution in teaching since you were starting school.  Is it any surprise that looking at this one example, why our society has issues?

1. Teaching Math In 1950's
A logger sells a truckload of lumber for $100. His cost of production is 4/5 of the price.
What is his profit ?

2. Teaching Math In 1960's
A logger sells a truckload of lumber for $100 His cost of production is 4/5 of the price, or $80.
What is his profit?

3. Teaching Math In 1970's
A logger sells a truckload of lumber for $100. His cost of production is $80.
Did he make a profit?

4. Teaching Math In 1980's
A logger sells a truckload of lumber for $100. His cost of production is $80 and his profit is $20.
Your assignment: Underline the number 20.

5. Teaching Math In 1990's
A logger cuts down a beautiful forest because he is selfish and inconsiderate and cares nothing for the habitat of animals or the preservation of our woodlands. He does this so he can make a profit of $20. What do you think of this way of making a living? Topic for class participation after answering the question:
How did the birds and squirrels feel as the logger cut down their homes?
(There are no wrong answers, and if you feel like crying, it's ok. )

6. Teaching Math In 2009
Un hachero vende una carretada de madera para $100. El costo de la producciones es $80.
Cuanto dinero ha hecho el hachero?

Who knows what they will teach them next year!

President Obama is expected to sign House Bill 3548 as amended today!  (he did sign it)

I finally found a copy of the bill http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/D?c111:5:./temp/~c111AKbnXR:: 

Here are some of the key points that should be of interest to Realtors and Mortgage professionals:

This Act may be cited as the `Worker, Homeownership, and Business Assistance Act of 2009'

•  
  • (6) EXCEPTION FOR LONG-TIME RESIDENTS OF SAME PRINCIPAL RESIDENCE- In the case of an individual (and, if married, such individual's spouse) who has owned and used the same residence as such individual's principal residence for any 5-consecutive-year period during the 8-year period ending on the date of the purchase of a subsequent principal residence, such individual shall be treated as a first-time homebuyer for purposes of this section with respect to the purchase of such subsequent residence.'.
  • (D) SPECIAL RULE FOR LONG-TIME RESIDENTS OF SAME PRINCIPAL RESIDENCE- In the case of a taxpayer to whom a credit under subsection (a) is allowed by reason of subsection (c)(6), subparagraphs (A), (B), and (C) shall be applied by substituting `$6,500' for `$8,000' and `$3,250' for `$4,000'.'.

• INCOME LIMITATION- Subsection (b)(2)(A)(i)(II) of section 36 of such Code is amended by striking `$75,000 ($150,000) and inserting `$125,000 ($225,000)'.
• LIMITATION BASED ON PURCHASE PRICE- No credit shall be allowed under subsection (a) for the purchase of any residence if the purchase price of such residence exceeds $800,000.
• If you are working with our armed forces personnel, make sure to read up on the "SPECIAL RULE FOR MEMBERS OF THE ARMED FORCES"

Except as otherwise provided in this subsection, the amendments made by this section shall apply to purchases after the date of the enactment of this Act. (which as of the time of this blog, have not yet been signed by President Obama).  I will amend this blog if another amendment occurs prior to his signature and/or upon his signature!