About Long Beach's Virginia Country Club

Long Beach, CA. In even, "normal" markets, there are always families and individuals that suffer from hardship. According to most investor publications, the default rates should only be between 1-3% in a healthy and normal economy. However, in the current real estate malaise in Southern California approximately 55% of all properties sold are considered, "distressed." Out of these properties, over two thirds of these distressed properties end up selling through what is known as, "Short Sales."

These are clearly an astonishing figures and extremely troublesome considering that unemployment figures seem to be getting worse daily. Wherein you have government officials complaining that in order for the economy to get better, we have to have even more consumerism and spending, they seem to forget that that is impossible for Americans to spend money without Americans having jobs, more on that in a later blog.

Furthermore, in some neighborhoods in California, Florida and Nevada, we are seeing foreclosures of 50% or more, the shear tidal wave of foreclosures of this magnitude is unheard of in the history of in the Republic.

It is no longer an option for real estate agents and home owners alike to be ignorant of these trends, especially considering that everyone in one way or the other is affected by them because when your next door property sells on the courthouse steps due to foreclosure, it immediately affects the value of your own home.

The fact is that the entire landscape of the residential and commercial real estate markets have completely changed due to defaulting and distressed properties. Understanding what is acceptable to a bank when proposing to list the said property is a must in the current situation.

Imagine for a moment, that you are a real estate agent sitting down to list a property for sale when, after reviewing the latest mortgage statement from the home owner it is discovered that the property is "upside down" by over $100,000.00 Then, the home owner confides that he is 2 months behind in the mortgage payments. Basically, the wheels have fallen off the traditional SUV-like real estate market. There really are few "normal" sales here in Southern California. In fact, the definition of "normal" in real estate is wide open to interpretation:

What is a normal listing? What is a normal short sale? What is a normal REO? What is a normal mortgage? What is normal devaluation? What is normal inflation/deflation?

As 2009 unfolds and we all experience the new economy wherein frugality is in and blind consumption is out, we are forced to understand that we are all in this together. That the pressure on the middle class is easily felt in your children's school yard, just talk to the other parents, or in the work place or family gatherings, just converse with your extended family about these challenging times and you will soon discover how universal are the problems facing America today.

As distressed as America is, the natural reaction is to bond together with each other and turn to people and professionals that you can depend on to help resolve whatever difficult situation you might be facing. We must learn to get along with each other again. Wherein in the past you might not cared about your neighbor, in the future, for survival's sake you must get to know all of the people around you and engage them in a positive manner.

Kirk Mulhearn is a Certified Distressed Property Expert. He runs Prudential California Realty, "The Bixby Knolls Branch," in Long Beach, California. To contact him,

Telephone: 866-961-8042 ext. 110

Email: kirkmulhearn@gmail.com

Blog: www.longbeachrealestateandloans.com

Long Beach, Ca. The United States Senate just voted in favor of passing an amended version of H.R. 5140, a $150 billion bill to jumpstart a sluggish economy through giving temporary tax breaks and raising the loan limits on conventional loans from $417,000.00 to $730,000.00. The bill also increases the size of the loans the Federal Housing Administration could insure.

Recently we wrote an article, How will higher loan limits acutally change California's real estae market?, that discussed what the effects would be if this bill passed. The question remains, "How will it affect the rest of America?"

Recently, I was in discussions with a tech friend who casually mentioned to me that the real estate market along with all of its related services only represent less then 4% of the GNP. If this is true, then the rest of the Country really is doing that bad afterall?....I don't think so.

Just start interviewing small business owners. Grant you that an extra $700-$1000 would be great to have in cash back from the government, but is this amount really going to effect the way America's true economic state. Let's admit to the fact that the average household is spending between $200-$400 a month on gasoline alone in Long Beach, California. Now add the fact that groceries are running a typical family between $500-$1000 a month. This tax rebate would definately help but seems to resemble more of a band aid rather then a cure to our current economical malaise...