Peter Tamura

Do you want to be on House Hunters?

Well, it's possible, I know a little about the process of being selected.

1) Send in a realtor video and a homebuyer video. Short, not more than two minutes on each video.

2) Timing is critical, the show is not always accepting applications. Right now they are accepting applications according to an email I got from them today!

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We are definitely booking right now, and would love to get to do a show with you!

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3) Go ahead and select a house with your favorite realtor, (preferably me, if you are in Tulsa). The show is actually a bit of a reenactment because at the time of the filming, the homebuyer has generally already selected their home.

4) From reading about the actual shooting, it apparently takes about four days and the homebuyer receives.......................drumroll..................$500. So it's not a get rich quick scheme, more about bragging rights of having your home and yourselves featured on HGTV!

I have sent in two applications for homebuyers that I have worked with and have yet to be selected, but 2012 will be the year!! Let me know if you are interested.

On another note, the website Frontdoor.com that is the website for HGTV is a great resource and you can view past episodes of House Hunters on it.

As we get busy over the holidays, it's easy to become an accident statistic. I hope everyone that reads this blog is careful and avoids these common holiday time accidents!

1) Fires- Electrical fires are very common during the holidays due to holiday lighting and fires caused by candles are also very common. The most common thing to catch fire is the Christmas tree, especially if the pine needles are very dry.

2) Poison- Alcohol poisoning is quite common with children mistaking drinks like eggnog and other colorful drinks as something they are supposed to drink. Plants like mistletoe are also somewhat poisonous. Go to the American Association of Poison Control Centers website AAPCC.org for a guide for what to do and who to contact for various symptoms. www.aapcc.org/dnn/Portals/0/2010%20National%20Brochure.pdf

3) Traffic accidents- Due to an increase in drunk drivers during the holidays, people rushing around and inclement weather, there is an increase in accidents during the holidays. Contrary to popular belief, New Year's Eve is not the day when most drunk driving accidents occur, it is Thanksgiving according to lifetips.com. Plan ahead if you are going to go to a party and drink.

4) Hanging Christmas lights, using chainsaws and shoveling snow!!!- The holidays are a time that people might exert themselves doing unfamiliar tasks, use equipment that they don't typically use or exert themselves more than usual. Cold weather can add stress, it is important to take it easy during these types of projects. One gruesome statistic: There are around 28,000 chainsaw accidents each year, often with people that are not used to using a chainsaw requiring an average of 110 stitches, yikes!

Oh, and did I forget that according to the New England Journal of Medicine 2000, over the six week holidays, people gain an average of three quarters of a pound which they do not shed during the course of the year, adding to long term weight gain. I think it's great to enjoy the holidays, just have a plan for burning extra calories in the New Year so the extra weight is not lugged around for all of 2012!!

If you are selling your home on your own because there is not much equity in the home and you don't think you can afford to pay a realtor, you may be better of attempting a short sale if some or all of the following apply.

1. Have an agent give an objective valuation of the property to see if there would be any equity left after selling costs are subtracted. This is called a seller net sheet. A ballpark number of the selling cost is 7 1/2% of the selling price, you can use that as a rough starting point.

2. Are you overpricing your home because you feel you need to net a certain amount at the end of the transaction? This will not work in the current market, buyers are looking for deals and you are adding stress, frustration and wasting time. It is difficult emotionally to let go of an amount that your home may have been worth five years ago, but you need to bite the bullet.

3. Have you sat down and worked out a monthly budget for your household? This budget needs to show a sincere effort to minimize expense and cover monthly expenses with income. You will have to demonstrate a hardship in order to qualify for a short sale. Examples of hardships are job loss, medical emergency, divorce but are not limited to these things. You will generally write a hardship letter and the lender will determine if you are qualified for a short sale.

4. Agents and sellers in the past have avoided short sales because of the time and trouble that it takes to complete one. It was not unusually for a short sale to take six months to a year, or not even close at all and end up going to auction. Recently, some lenders have made a serious effort to streamline this process as they see imminent foreclosures piling up and ominous shadow inventory looming, the short sale process is gradually getting better.

Above all, talk to an agent to discuss your options. Try to find an agent that is experienced working with short sales. Short sale certifications include CDPE, Equator Certification and of course actual experience working short sales with different lenders.

The USTA Challenger will be played at Philcrest Hills Tennis Club in Tulsa from September 10th to the 18th!

The matches will feature USTA players with a world ranking between 100-500. The first weekend will feature qualifying matches with local top college players and others vying for a spot in the main draw.

This year the draw features Sam Querrey, a former top 20 player who is coming back from an elbow injury. Also Michael Russell and Jack Sock who both had great runs at the US Open will be here.

In the past, the Bryan brothers, Mardy Fish, John Isner and other greats have worked their way up through the Tulsa Philcrest Challenger, catch a rising star and some great tennis at Philcrest! Matches are free and the draws and schedules should be posted on the link below:

http://www.philcresthillstennisclub.com/challengerhome.htm

Philcrest Hills also needs volunteers for ballboys/ballgirls and other support, they also still need sponsors, if interested please call Philcrest Hills:

918-299-2643

The address is:

10900 S Delaware Ave

Tulsa, OK 74137

Say you or I borrowed $10,000 on a credit card and three months later discussed with the issuing bank the fact that we had hit hard times and might not be able to pay the money back.

The bank would undoubtedly reduce our credit limit and raise our interest rate.

When it comes to the US debt, however, we have seen the exact opposite. The government has raised its own credit limit, S&P has downgraded US debt yet interest rates on long term US debt have gone down!!

What on earth is going on here?

There are two primary reasons why interest rates are going down right now, let's take a look.

1) Banks with access to the Fed discount window can borrow money almost for free, then lend it back to the government longer term and profit the spread. In other words, the bank does not want or need the consumer, you! Of course, this is a terrible investment long term because the bank is lending US dollars, will get paid back in US dollars which are likely to decline over time because of the massive spending spree that the US is on. In fact, if you were able to get a loan now and buy a home, you would also likely be paying the bank back in cheaper US dollars. Hmmm... no wonder the bank doesn't want to lend you money. Of course the bank president does not have to worry about five years from now because he will show a profit on his yield spread this year, make his fat bonus this year and get his golden parachute when he gets fired later.

So banks are actually purchasing long term US debt thereby driving the interest rate lower.

http://seekingalpha.com/article/180909-why-should-banks-loan-when-they-can-play-the-yield-curve

2) There is always a certain inverse relationship between the stock market and the bond market and this is especially true during financial panics when money dives into Treasuries, or safe havens. It's not that the bond market is so great but that there is a lack of suitable alternatives.

"In the land of the blind, the one eyed man is king." -Erasmus

http://www.forexpros.com/rates-bonds/us-10-yr-t-note-advanced-chart