Kirk Mulhearn

Long Beach, Ca. A few reflections on the current real estate market place, while awaiting Super Bowl 2009 and the Cardinals inevitable doom by being sucked up into the engines of the Steelers' finely machined aircraft; hey, didn't that cause a plane crash last week?

There are a couple new trends in the universe of Foreclosures and REO properties. Where, the unemployed and employed alike have begun to re-group and look at more options then just, "letting the house go back to the bank." Where in the past a property may be foreclosed on without much of a fight from the financially fatigued and down trodden home owners; now, potentially hapless and homeless occupants are beginning to organize and take up the fight against the banks with a renewed gusto, frankly not seen since the stampede was on to buy the properties in the first place.

The sort of industry standards of dealing with the foreclosure problem, in recent history, can be reduced to the same old usual suspects: allowing the foreclosure to go through, taking cash for keys, negotiating a loan modification, granting the property back to the bank with a deed in lieu of foreclosure, implementing a short sale, and utilizing special refinancing offered by banks for those in need, not to mention the bankruptcy options. Now; however, resourceful attorneys finding weakness in the armor of the lenders have found a new type of law to practice.

To continue reading this article, go to: http://www.longbeachrealestateandloans.com/new-bellicose-trends-in-the-foreclosure-markets

The Long Beach Mortgage Report: Fico is revising Credit Scoring Models

Long Beach, Ca. On the Credit Front. Credit scores and the system are being revised. Fair Issac will start offering the revamped score, "FICO 08," to lenders. Fair Isaac believes that the new score will do a better job of predicting borrower defaults, be more forgiving of one-time slipups, take a harder line on repeat offenders, and in general will do a deeper analysis of borrowers with poor or thin credit histories. The score will still range from 300 to 850.

Hard to believe January 2009 is almost over. This morning market is being driven by shrinking manufacturing numbers. A government report today showed the U.S. economy shrank at the fastest pace since 1982 in the fourth quarter as consumer spending slid the most in the postwar era. Gross domestic product contracted at a 3.8 percent annual pace from October through December, the Commerce Department said in Washington. Prices also retreated. The Institute for Supply Management-Chicago said today its business barometer decreased to 33.3, the lowest reading since March 1982, from 35.1 the prior month. Readings below 50 signal a contraction. As a result, the Ginny Mae 4% mortgage backed bond pricing is up 6/32nds at present and 30 year mortgages should be better priced this AM to yesterday close. Currently, the Ten Year yield is at 2.80% (2.68% yesterday).

Kirk Mulhearn, a Long Beach Realtor and professional mortgage planner can be reached at:

562-989-4608 ext. 110 You may read more at: http://www.longbeachrealestateandloans.com/

Long Beach, CA. Despite all the malicious economic news for 2008, we saw here great strides by the State of California and home owners to re-embrace solar energy. The year 2008 was a record breaking year for home owners to install systems in their homes, despite the overall economy.

These solar systems are not cheap, in fact they can run between $12000-$20000 per home, depending on the size and layout of the panels. However, encouraged by State rebates, California home owners installed over 158 megawatts of photovoltaic panels on their roofs. That's more then twice the 78 megawatts that were installed in 2007 the CaliforniaPublic Utilities Commission announced this week.

December had the most requests for rebates since the California Solar Initiative Program started two years ago. This program is funded by ratepayers and offers rebates for those businesses and homes who install the systems, typically 20%-50% of the cost of installation. Now that new federal tax breaks are available in addition to the State's, solar module installations may qualify for up to 30% tax rebates! Those benefits used to be limited to $2000.00. With the dismal returns of the equity markets, these cash credits seem a safer bet to a lot of Californians vs. taking the risk in the stock markets.

Kirk Mulhearn, a Long Beach real estate broker and mortgage planner, can be reached at 562-989-4608 ext.110 Read more of his articles at www.longbeachrealestateandloans.com

Long Beach, Ca. The U.S. House passed President Obama's $819B stimulus package without any Republican votes. In the Senate, where the Republicans have more power to demand changes, they will likely ask for more tax cuts, less spending and a bigger focus on housing. It is too bad that Washington is so divided. Without working together, nothing will ever get done properly. Rush Limbaugh's comments not withstanding, what we really need to do is to come up with a new plan that will positively affect everyone immediately. It is disappointing that Pelosi thinks that funding birth control is really going to stimulate the economy.

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Long Beach, Ca. Just to protect your family from unwanted charges, you might want to telephone the below number to put you cell on the do not call list.

REMEMBER: Cell Phone Numbers Go Public today
REMINDER... all cell phone numbers are being released to telemarketing companies tomorrow and you will start to receive sale calls.

... YOU WILL BE CHARGED FOR THESE CALLS

To prevent this, call the following number from your cell phone: 888-382-1222.
It is the National DO NOT CALL list. It will only take a minute of your time. It blocks your number for five (5) years. You must call from the cell phone number you want to have blocked.. You cannot call from a different phone number.

HELP OTHERS BY PASSING THIS ON TO ALL YOUR FRIENDS.. It takes about 20 seconds.

Kirk Mulhearn, 562-989-4608 ext. 110

www.longbeachrealestateandloans.com