Bonnie Cox

Anyone who lives in Maryland has probably read in the "Sun" and the "Aegis" about tragedy of Altieri Homes.

Are they criminals? Or victims of the economy.

Altieri Homes is based out of Columbia County. They have been charged by Maryland's attorney general with taking deposits and payments from about 20 homebuyers in Howard and Harford counties without starting or finishing building the homes.

They have also been accused of failing to pay subcontractors, refunding customer's

deposits or advance payments. Many other builders are facing the same thing, but this is the first I've heard of an attorney general getting involved or threatening "severe sanctions" against companies falling victim to the housing market.

In the Baltimore Sun, Douglas Gansler, Maryland's attorney general, stated "My office will seek severe sanctions against builders who operate without being registered (not the case here) or fail to properly handle consumer deposits." He fails to mention that our governments (state and federal) do this on a daily basis without reprisal.

I would like to know why Altieri Homes is being made the example? Instead of folding, as many independent lumber yards in Maryland I know of have done, they simply tried to stay afloat for as long as they could, only to find that the banks were no longer lending. Why aren't charges being leveled at the lending institutions? Fannie and Freddie and the congressmen who conned so many investors into believing all was okay with them?

Many, many home builders have had to close their doors or struggle over the past few years because of the housing market. I know personally the family's of two big ones here in Maryland that have had to either pull their offices out of the state or shut down completely.

As tight as this market is, not enough business is to be had to help cushion a builder to fix any trouble spots or make repairs on construction, which is also one of the problems Altieri faces.

My husband (a wholesale lumber and millwork representative) has been laid off since January 30^th. He has had no job bites other than the odd jobs through people at church every so often. We don't own a big house, we didn't overspend during the "heyday". We have three vehicles . . . none of them under 10 years old, and we have no credit cards. We haven't used them in over six years. We are just now coming to the end of what we had in savings. We never expected him to be out of work this long and my business (real estate) is choppy at best.

I really don't think that the people who provided the jobs should be the one the government goes after when they themselves are the ones who were not only complicit, but created this mess. How do you get blood out of a turnip? Tax it? Are you freaking kidding me?

It does not matter what the attorney general does to Altieri Homes at this point. It is obvious they are broke. The best they can hope to accomplish is to make it impossible for them to ever carry a contractor's license again and possibly take the rest of everything they own.

As for me and my husband, I guess we'll just hold out and do the best that we can until the attorney general starts coming after private citizens when they can no longer pay their bills.

Did you know that closing a high limit credit card can actually hurt your credit score? This was a very interesting story I picked up at an obscure internet site and something that most consumers should consider when facing applying for a mortgage.

The article involved a story about "Rachel" making a decision to close one of her credit cards. I have done this before myself. If you want to "thin out" the credit in your wallet, choose a card you have had less time, with the least amount of activity on it. Here is what happened:

Rachel decided to close her eight-year-old VISA credit card with a credit line of $18,000. She didn't use the card but once or twice a month and had two other major bank cards that provided rewards points. In order to keep things simple, she decided to cancel the card with the highest credit line. The next month she found out that this one decision cost her 87 points on her credit score, dropping it from 752 to 665. That could mean the difference of whole percentage points in interest on a mortgage!

If you know how credit is scored and what to "tweak", you can build up a good credit score in a shorter amount of time.

A consumer credit score is made up of five key components:

•1. Payment History:

35% Types of accounts (credit card, mortgage, etc.), accounts paid as agreed, number of past due accounts, etc.

•2. Amounts Owed:

30% Balances of current loans, debt-to-credit ratio, proportion of installments still owed, etc.

•3. Length of Credit History:

15% Time since accounts opened, last activity, etc.
New Credit - 10% Recent inquiries, new accounts, etc.
Types of Credit Used - 10% Mortgages, credit, retail, etc.

Keep the major credit cards that you've paid on time every month for longest period of time. History is everything.

Keep the credit card that represents the best contribution to the payment history, debit to credit ration and length of credit history categories.

Ditch the credit cards that are only months old and had only been used intermittently. This gives them much less value on your credit score.

You will not be penalized for having too much available credit. It is better to preserve your credit score with 15 years of established credit history and old accounts in good standing than to have fewer and newer open accounts.

Major bank cards give you more score than department store cards.

Now that you have been armed with this knowledge, here is this week's interest rates, compliments of PCR Mortgage Services:

Conforming 30-year Fixed (up to $417,000) at fully amortized - PITI:

5.625% at 0 points, 5.375% at 1 point

Super Conforming 30-year Fixed ($417K to county limit), fully amortized - PITI:

5.750% at 0 points, 5.500% at 1 point

Jumbo Mortgage (Over $625,501) (we can offer 30 yr. fixed) 5/1 ARM:

$4.500% at 1 point, 4.250% at 2 points

FHA - 30 yr Fixed . . . Regular & High Balance:

Reg FHA up to $417K or county limit - 5.750% at 0 points, 5.375% at 1 point

FHA 203 K Loans Streamline Reno. Loan - 7.000% at 1pnt, 6.000% at 2 pnts

High Bal. FHA $417K to county Limit - 5.875% at 0 pnts, 5.500% at 1 pnt.

VA Loans . . . 100% up to County Limit!

Regular VA (under $417K Incl. funding fee) - 5.750% at 0 pnts, 5.375% at 1.25 pnts

High Bal. VA ($417,001 - county limit) - 5.875% at 0 pnts, 5.500% at 1 pnts

Read more: http://rismedia.com/2009-06-09/my-credit-score-dropped-87-points-because-of-me/

This isn't about my 20 pounds of weight gain in the last four months. It's not about my shifting proportions, nor is this about my loss of skill in walking in Stilettos (I'm five-foot, nine. Stilettos are for lodging into targets on the archery field.)

The center of balance that I am talking about is in the life of a real estate agent, as some of you may just be finding out.

Yes, this means that just because you are a real estate agent, doesn't mean you are an expert at multi-tasking or time management. This is definitely pay-as-you-go, earn-as-you-learn. Fun, isn't it?

I have spent the last week and a day trying to scrounge up time to get on Active Rain and blog about my favorite subject (besides politics). Your schedule may just resemble mine:

Drove to back to Maryland from Tennessee (this was not a vacation . . . at least, not for us).

Got home, lugged everything inside from the car trunk, admired my clean kitchen (something my mother doesn't believe in), and fell into bed.

Monday morning, drove to the Prudential office in Harford County to empty my mailbox. Sifted through that, made some phone calls, caught up with my listing customer, called my partner and got the latest update while I was gone, began scheduling/planning my week. Drove home only to notice my car was ‘lurching'. I vowed never to drive that vehicle out of state again. Went with my husband to drop the lawn mower off at the church (he is on building and grounds committee and our lawn mower broke down before we could cut our 18-inch high grass). Drove back home in severe thunderstorm.

Tuesday, spent the morning on the computer, trying to catch up on a late assignment for school (yes, I am also an accounting student, bachelors online). This was because of a template I could not open on my mother's computer in Tennessee. Got my outline done, opened my brief case and began pulling up tax records on the latest expired listings I had pulled the day before. Cross searched to make sure they weren't listed as "active". Drove to the office, made some phone calls, followed up with my Thursday listing appointment, kicked myself for forgetting to take meat out of the freezer for dinner (hahahaha, dinner, Tee-hee!!!), ran into my partner who asked about the listing packet I was supposed to drop off before I left for Tennessee (uh . . . oops, I thought she had done that with HER copies . . . ugh), made copies, Admin assistant was gone for the day. Went home. Made dinner, took phone call from mom, took phone call from son, took phone call from sis-in-law, ate dinner (nine-thirty already?!! Get off the phone so I can eat!) Told husband the car was now stalling. Purple dialog box begins forming above my head. Oh . . . and it was my birthday. Husband bought me roses and Adriatic Lilies, chocolate cake and a card. Oops . . . no, that was Wednesday.

Wednesday: It's my birthday. Husband is cutting grass (at church this time, our yard was finally done after a 10-day free-grow while we were gone) and I am at the office. I have floor duty and the first call I pick up is a request to show a house that the listing agent is unavailable to show, so I go . . . through another thunderstorm . . . on my birthday . . . only to discover that the "client" that called was actually the buyers agent WITH the client and I ran 20 minutes out of my way . . . IN a thunderstorm . . . ON my birthday . . . when there was no lead for me whatsoever. Ugh. I get back home at 9pm to find my husband had gotten me everything I mentioned above. No cards or calls from: My mother, my sister, my brother, my father. I come downstairs to the office to find an email from my father and a dozen or more "facebook" notices from friends wishing me happy birthday . . . but none from my own family. See if I ever sell THEM a house!

Thursday: My listing appointment is 11am. I am in the office at 9am to retrieve the CMA booklet my A.A. had made up for this customer. I get a call from my partner who tells me she will meet me at the clients house and "how do I get there again?" With minutes to spare before I have to leave to arrive THERE on time, the A.A. completes the CMA booklet, and I run out the door. I drive 30 minutes to the lovely, rural, northern Harford County of Maryland. I get there on time. Partner does not. Doesn't matter. We chat since this customer goes to my church. The husband isn't there. I know we are getting nothing signed on this day. Still, after my partner leaves, I stay and talk for another two hours, she feeds me pizza because . . . she goes to my church. I get home, bummed and phone calls start flying in because between the admin assistant, my partner, myself, our customer and a buyer, we are trying to nail down a confirmed appointment. I love this activity. But it ultimately amounts to nothing as the "rude" buyer's agent never brings the buyers into the house. Grrrrr! My customer is irate with me. She should have been gone, with the kids and the big dog, but since the buyer's agent arrived 45 minutes early, the dog was there to greet them. Guess it's my fault. Oh well. I blame Obama (just because I can, LOL).

Friday: Oh yes! That pesky end of the semester project is due . . . TODAY! And since I wasted all day yesterday doing my job, they wanted no excuses. Project due by 5pm. I hadn't even started anything but the title page. Somehow, I finished it. Focus, determination and the sheer desire to get that monkey off my shoulders. I sent in the revised, late outline and the project at the same time, at 2:35pm. I drove to the office to meet my partner, went over and submitted two listing packets to the admin. assistant. Called my husband and told him the car stalled three times while I was driving over there. I left my cell phone at home (I have GOT to stop DOING THAT!) so I told him I would call before I left. If I wasn't home 20 minutes after that, come get me. Spent three hours with my partner going over a buyers contract, discussed the marketing for the new listing I just submitted (two open houses to schedule for it) and got home at 9:20pm . . . to start dinner. Talked to son, other son, sis-in-law on the phone and a dinner that late at night? You know why we are now back to my changing center of balance and the 20 pounds.

Welcome to Real Estate Life. If it weren't so much fun, it might be a job!

A compelling lesson I learned from my then fifteen year old son in 2003.

After a particularly crushing career development meeting with his guidance counselor at school, My son Rich was visibly upset.

Richard is learning disabled with ADD and Ausberger's Syndrome. He had spent his entire school career in Learning Support.

In 2003, he made an appointment with his guidance counselor because he had a complaint about his teacher. His teacher would not let him take Japanese, something he was very passionate about learning.

During this meeting, Rich was told by his guidance counselor that his reading wasn't good enough to take Japanese or the other class he wanted, Computer Science (take apart and put computers back together again, troubleshoot, etc). Rich was a junior in high school. His grades were all A's and B's.

Richard countered that his grades have always been above board and his teacher's arguement did not support the decision not to allow him into those classes.

This is when the guidance counselor decided it would be in Rich's best interest to schedule another meeting when his mother could come in.

Fast-forward to meeting number two, with mom. I listened to this guidance counselor explain to Rich that in learning support, they get "graded differently" than their normal students. Rich had no idea he was reading on a third grade level . . . and aside from the yearly I.E.P. I saw where they wanted him to be, but not where he was. His guidance counselor told Rich that because he was only reading at a third grade level, he could not take the Japanese class, nor could he take the computer science class he wanted.

(Let me point out that this kid can get through and beat just about every computer game that is out, can read the gaming books and the japanese animie books that he contantly bought with his allowance).

In the car on the way back home, my son cried. I didn't know what to do for him. He is almost sixteen years old and he is crying because as he put it, he was led to believe he was at a certain level because of his grades, that he was doing good, only to be told that he was in fact far below where he should be. Suddenly he went into a rant that to this day, I think should be posted in every school across this country:

"Why? Why did they lie to me? Why are they so afraid I'm going to fail? I'm not afraid of failing!" He took a breath "Failing is how we learn? How am I going to learn anything if they don't let me fail? I'm not afraid of failing, THEY are afraid!" He took another breath and I pulled the car over "They need to let me fail because I only fail if I never try!"

Seems to me this kid was smarter than all the teachers he ever had. And I agreed with him. I took this rant as the gem of wisdom from a kid that despite the arguments from educators to the contrary, needed to experience failure. MANY kids need to experience failure.

Judging by our present state of our union, there are a few congressmen, CEO, companies and corporations that also need to experience failure. Because the cost of such lack of failure is costing the rest of us dearly.

My son still excells at computer games. He's become quite a consiencious young man and a deep thinker. He graduated high school with a 3.2 and the same third grade reading level. It is now 2009 and he reads at a sixth grade level. He's made more progess since leaving school because he's had to. He has no more crutches.

During one particularly bitter lesson recently involving employment, he was discussing with with me on the way to his brother's high school graduation. He asked me, "Why didn't you help me with the interview?"

I asked him, "Rich . . . you just experienced failure . . . something you at one time had asked for. Congratulations! How does it feel to be an adult?" The look I got in return should have been captured on Youtube. He was proud!

Look forward to failure . . . most of our greatest inventions were lying underneath a failed experiment.

Since I am stuck down here at my mother's house for the next five days (away from my familiar real estate . . . Maryland), I have little to do but plan my week's activities for when I get back, watch the news (ugh) and catch up on Active Rain. Both of the latter made me hot under the collar today and in Real Estate, you really have to stay bi-partisan . . . you know how hard that is for me?

1. Formal Announcement that GM is filing bankruptcy and tax payers now own 60% of a failed company. Why we would want it NOW is beyond me. But the Government is getting their piece, Canada is getting it's piece and the union (who helped make sure it failed - the only ones besides our Congress and the President who get health benefits for life). The "other" stakeholders get what's left, which isn't much of what isn't much.

2. Obama's announcement that he wanted to "get in, make the company viable again, and get out." After a big guffaw, I wanted to throw a brick at the screen. Obama is currently building the biggest federal defecit in our country's history and HE'S going to fix GM? With what? A long, direct stare?

3. Obama's $23,000+ dollar date (okay, I'm picking on Obama because NONE OF US can afford a date like that, yet we're paying for it!)

4. The fact that there are people who still think this is all Bush's fault (maybe the media could run, just one more time, the senate debates over how Fannie and Freddie were in good financial health).

I'm beating a dead horse, but I feel beating a live one would have PETA on my case. (I wouldn't anyway. I love horses)

My post yesterday on the Homeowners' rescue package made me realize that even the ones who loved what this administration is doing, are among those that are going to get crushed under the weight of the responsibility this deficit will cause.

I really don't think that Real Estate is the cornerstone of our economy (uh-oh! Now I've said it). You can't buy a house unless you have an income. I've had six families in my church lose their primary source of income. Of those six families, four of them were small business owners. They just went under.

One did custom concrete work.

Another did inner city and HUD restorations

Another was a broker for lumber, molding and millwork to independant lumber yards. 30 of his 49 customers either closed locations or went out of business altogether.

Another did siding and roofing.

Another sold cars (five dealership closed down shop in Harford/Baltimore County from one family owned franchise alone).

Okay, so that's five . . . I can't count. Three families left the area to be with family and I guess share the burden of trying to find work together.

My husband was the wholesale lumber and millwork salesperson for another company. His whole division got shut down.

Chrystler hasn't existed in Baltimore for several years now, Bethlehem Steel is gone and a whole generation of Dundalk/Middle River residents are living on borrowed financial time.

The prayers are flowing in our church. Regardless of who you want to blame for this train wreck, the fact of the matter is, we are going to get hurt. Every one of us . . . whether you are conservative, liberal, republican or democrat . . . unless you are working directly with the White House, you are going to get hurt and if it hasn't happened yet . . . it's coming.

The best advice I can give you is remember what's important. Those very people you may have a disagreement with are the ones who's support you are going to need. Set aside your difference, forget about who's fault it is and let's just do what is right for each other. The government is not going to help you (unless your name is Bank of America or AIG). We have got to get each other through this.

As real estate agents, we have a responsibility to just do the best job at fulfilling the needs we were hired to fulfill. Remind those facing short sale on their homes, or foreclosure that it's not their fault and they are not the only ones.

Agents, we also have a responsiblity to each other. Our market was dealt an unprecedented blow as well. This is why Active Rain has been invaluable to me. We have to take care of each other. Team up and send referrals to each other. Help the rookies and in doing so, you become "referrable" (I liked that from another post that I read, so I'm using it.)

I'm glad my rant from yesterday is over, but now it's time to get to work. Many potential customers need our help. And other agents, lenders, title companies need your support and comraderie.

And stop watching the news. It's depressing!