About New Hanover County, NC

My husband had a friend send this to him... While I actually like Al Gore, I thought this lament would give all of you stuck in snow storms right now a good laugh:

In this vision I saw a prophet approach the great nation of America and declared " Thus saith the Lord, if thou worship the god Goreis and bow thy knee to the beast of global warming I will curse thee as I have not cursed Egypt.

I will curse thee with snow in feet, not inches that will confound thy senses. Thou will'st curse thy children because they are not in school and destroy thy nerves with relentless boredom and house cleaning. Thy dogs shall stain thy floors.

I will curse thee with sleet and ice that will try thy patience and cause thy SUV, s and expensive vehicles to slip and slide continuously as thou stocketh up milk, bread and fruitloops.

I will send rain, which will wash away thy manicured lawns and shrubs. Thy mansions on the hill will slide into the sea. Thy trusty mailman will depart his appointed rounds. I will interrupt thy precious electric power so thou canst not blog thy favorite blogs nor watch the goddist Oprah and her worship ceremonies. Nine months later thy children shall be born naked, without hair, totally helpless with a burning desire for milk and cry incessantly for thy attention.

If thou shalt depart from thy god Gore and turn from thy wicked ways I shall bless thee with golden listings in thy pan and joys unthinkable. Thy streams will run clean and rich with precious stones, gold, silver, and many preapproved Buyers. The greenies will repent and bless thy dredges with open arms.

But if thou shalt not harken to my words, I will also place upon thee the curse of Puxatauny Phil. Thrice and twelve days of winter that will cause a famine of cabin fever with no cure in sight.
Repent I say".

Is anyone else as consumed as I am with the fact that REALTOR.com is allowing FSBOs to post their listings - and with a $1 commission?

The last few years, in my area, many agents have started doing the "one time fee-list", to put some extra cash in their pocket, even whole company's are taking part! So the FSBO for a low cost of maybe $400.00 gets to list their property on OUR MLS for six months! I realize it has been going on for a long time - But it is getting worse! Now REALTOR.com???

What is even worse about the whole process is dealing with FSBO homeowners!! I am so sorry if I offend someone with this, But tell me, how many of you have tried to show a FSBO where (A) it is a complete pain to gain access to the home (B) they tell you at the last minute they "just decided" they are not working with Brokers, and you client really wants to see the house "and it's listed on the MLS" hello! (C) The homeowner follows you around the home like a rabid Dog.....

What is making this even worse are the Distressed Property owners. The only information they have is what they hear on the news... So they throw a sign in the yard of do a one time payment to list - they may be 30 days away from foreclosure and think they will do better without an agent? What they don't get is that it is highly unlikely they will be able to help themselves! They have no idea that an agent may, not only be able to keep them in their home for quite a bit longer, but also may able to negotiate a short sale with no deficiency judgement!!!

I am sorry to start off with such a rant! But I would love to hear your take on this subject!

http://www.edhomeseller.com

I hate to be the Monday Morning Downer... But I really wanted to share this blog with all of you from my partner.... It really has a huge message for us all!!!!!

by Ed Wagenseller

Now that I have a blog, that means I have to actually write a blog. To me this reminds me of some homework assignment given to me while junior high school. You know the one I am talking about, free write for 20 minutes about anything. So you start out with something like, "I can't believe I have to free write something for 20 minutes, what am I going to write about? Well there's that cute new girl named Laura, she said Hi to me and smiled. That was kind of cool. Then she got bombarded by the Jock Squad and I was soon forgotten." At least that was how my free writing experience typically went. Writing a Real Estate blog feels eerily similar. I sit behind my keyboard prepared to write and then see that my desk is a wreck and I think I should clean it off first and then I'll write the blog. Meanwhile I pray someone will call me and interrupt me so I may perhaps put the blog off for one more day. But if there is one thing I've learned is that procrastination is not only silly, it can be devastating.

In December I learned that a dear friend of mine who had been fighting cancer was at the end of the line. He was admitted to Hospice Care in Durham. His wife contacted me to inform that he was nearing the end. I planned to go and visit him on Saturday, but life interrupted and I did not make the trip. I rescheduled it for the following Wednesday. I called the night before to tell the wife I would be up the following morning only to find out that Ken had passed just a few hours prior to my call. I was devastated. I was devastated at the loss of one of the most pure souls I've ever known. I was selfishly devastated by the fact that I did not get to say goodbye. I made a promise that I would not procrastinate on matters of such importance ever again.

Obviously a blog isn't life or death, but as the old saying goes, "Never put of til tomorrow what you can do today, because tomorrow your friend might be dead." That is not the old adage, but that's if for me. Morbid, yes. Depressing, certainly. But Ken would laugh at that quote, as would his wife. Incidentally, after the tears and heartbreak during that phone call with his lovely wife I said, "Well I was calling to say I'll see you in the morning...but I guess not". We laughed...because we could not cry anymore. Live, love, and laugh DAMMIT!

http://www.edhomeseller.com

There are a lot of changes coming down the pike in short order that will surely affect the housing market & the ability of some buyers to purchase a home. The one-two-three punch includes the expiration of the Home Buyer Tax Credit on April 30th & the scheduled end on March 15th of the Federal Reserve's program of purchasing of Mortgage Backed Securities. This program was begun in 2009 to help keep a lid on rising mortgage rates and make more money available for loans.

The upcoming game changers along with stricter guidelines for FHA Mortages taking effect on April 15th are expected to raise interest rates & de-incentivize and/or eliminate some of the home buyer pool.

These three strikes looming against the housing market may mean a volatile spring ahead. The spring bounce we look forward to just might become instead a 9th inning cliffhanger. the Washington Post reported on Friday there has been some buzz re: A Possible Extension of The Feds Mortage Backed Securities Buying Program. (I breathed alittle easier after that report)

I think they would be wise at least for the short term to maintain the status-quo. Since the termination of this program is expected to have a major impact on mortgage rates/interest rates to the upside, & since whatever housing recovery we see is currently being sustained by low price tags, mega inventory, tax credit incentives & historically low rates, the impact of losing two of these market "prop ups" & safety nets (the buyer tax credit & Feds Mortgage buying) IMHO will lead to a dramatic downside for Housing Market & the economy overall.

Let's hope(& pray)as reported in the Washington Post, the FED will not only seriously consider but implement a last minute pinch-hit to save the game! Of course the Feds weighty decision hinges on a lot of economic variables, ( & surely some political consideration and/or pressure), so toss a coin & take a guess at what their decision will be. You'll have 50% chance of getting it right!

• The Wall Street Journal Weighs in:

"So far, the Fed's net buying of mortgage-backed securities totals nearly $850 billion, or about 80% of securities issued this year by entities like Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

Since these agencies bought nearly all new mortgages made this year, the central bank has effectively acquired most of the home loans made in the U.S. That has helped soften the decline in house prices and sparked a refinancing boom that has boosted spending power for many households." Read Full Article

• Mortgage Guru Dan Green has some insightful views on the future of the mortgage/housing market.

Check out his 5 minute video! The Crystal Ball : Housing Market, Mortgage Rates, FHA Guidelines, And Investor Overlays

NOTE: There is still time to find your Wilmington NC area home & take advantage of the Home Buyer tax credit. As long as the Contract is signed before April 30th, we're good to go!

This weekend is the North Carolina Jazz Festival. They are celebrating their 30th anniversary. This festival of music is Saturday, Feb 6 10:00a
at Hilton Wilmington Riverside, Wilmington, NC
This is a 3 day traditional jazz festival, held at the Wilmington Hilton Riverside Hotel. All events are held in the ballroom in a cabaret setting with tables of ten. The aim of the festival is to preserve and present some of America's original classic music - Jazz - and we feature the style of jazz known as Traditional Jazz.

Also this weekend is the Chocolate Festival to benefit the Senior Citizens center. There will be 30 vendors with all kinds of chocolate confections, music, wine tastings and other goodies. Admission is $ 8.00 and is at the Senior Center on Shipyard and S. College Road... Yum yum