My New Outside Blog

How is a good professional Realtor like James Bond? Mike Cooper does it again.  A confident, self-assured consummate professional builds confidence in clients, and that image attracts people.

Greetings from Innerloop Houston Texas

Linda Jamail Marshall,Broker,ABR,RECS,QSC

2011 FIVE STAR™Real Estate Agent- Texas Monthly Magazine
2003-2009TOP 150™ of 27,000 Houston Buyer Agents

 713-523-4600(O), 713-201-3469(cell), marshallrealtor@gmail.com,info@LindaMarshallRealtors.com

 Breast Cancer Benefit at Anderson Fair Montrose Houston Tx.

 Houston Area Womens Festival is distributing information on Brest Cancer Benefit at Anderson Fair in Montrose.  Join us and support the cause

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 Doggy Party On The Plaza to benefit Rescues in Houston Tx.

Houston PetTalk Magazine, in partnership with CityCentre and MyFuzzbook.com is proud to host the 2011 Doggy Party on the Plaza. Join us on April 2, 2011 from Noon to 5:00pm to help promote rescue awareness and showcase pet businesses to the pet-loving public.  

Resuce One till there are none!!!!!

The Party Is On! Don't Miss The Fun.    Quick Links Houston PetTalk Magazine, in partnership with CityCentre and MyFuzzbook.com is proud to host the 2011 Doggy Party on the Plaza. Join us on April 2, 2011 from Noon to 5:00pm to help promote rescue awareness and showcase pet businesses to the pet-loving public. Part of the events proceeds will be used to help make a positive difference in the lives of rescued animals throughout Houston. This years sponsors include Natura Pet Products, Houston Dog Ranch and Carter's Pet Depot. We're kicking off this event at the City Centre complex again at 800 West Sam Houston Parkway North at Queensbury Lane. It promises to be a fun-filled day including loads of activities, raffles, vendor sales, games, contests and this year we are introducing the Doggy Party Rescue Me! Parade. Deborah Duncan of Channel 11Great Day Houston will host the day's events along with Todd Freed of Channel 57 the KUBE High School SportZone and other surprise celebrity judges who will be selecting the winners for the Mascot Madness Canine Costume Contest and the best float in the first Doggy Party Rescue Me! Parade. The Rescue Parade will feature area rescue groups competing for prize packages valued at over $6,000 including: 1st  Place:  Prize package valued at $4,000, including $2,000 of pet food, generously donated by Natura Pet Products, a $700 surgery certificate generously donated by Gulf Coast Veterinary Specialists and certificates  for use on rescue animals from local veterinary clinics, boarding facilities and grooming facilities. 2nd Place:  Prize package valued at $1,500 3rd Place:  Prize package valued at $500 4th Place:  Prize package valued at $250 Other  activities will include Spin The Wheel, Fido Face Painting, photos with you and your pet and more. Visit stores and restaurants throughout CityCentre as they join in the festivities to create a doggy party extravaganza to remember. Vendor booths will surround CityCentre's courtyard and street filled with unique doggy items, one of a kind crafts, healthcare tips, and even tail wagging treats. To learn more, become a vendor or download a registration form for the Rescue Me! Parade, visit www.doggypartyontheplaza.com!

A very important news alert from Market Watch, reblogged with permission

Economic Report

Sept. 22, 2010, 10:59 a.m. EDT · Recommend (5) · Post:

U.S. house prices lowest in nearly six years

Prices fall 0.5% in July, and June price drop revised to 1.2%

By Steve Goldstein, MarketWatch

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) - U.S. house prices fell 0.5% in July to the lowest level in nearly six years, according to data released Wednesday by the Federal Housing Finance Agency.

The 0.5% seasonally adjusted drop in monthly prices came after a 1.2% drop in June; the FHFA initially reported that June prices slipped 0.3%.

Over 12 months, prices are down 3.3%. The FHFA said that the July index is roughly the same value as was seen in September 2004.

The FHFA monthly index is calculated based on purchase prices of houses backing mortgages that have been sold to or guaranteed by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac. The more closely followed Case-Shiller home price index for July is due on Tuesday.

House prices have been hurt more recently by the expiration of the home-buyer tax credit, and more broadly by the availability of foreclosed homes and a nearly 10% unemployment rate.

"In the absence of a rapid employment growth, and factoring in all the potential excess housing supply from foreclosures and looming delinquencies, housing prices will likely remain under pressure and continue trending lower throughout this year and next," said Yelena Schulyatyeva, an economist at BNP Paribas.

reblogged with permission from Energized Seller

August 24, 2010, Vol I, No. 9 Home Staging and Home Selling Before and After Issue   Staging A Challenging Space Help buyers visualize placement Home buyers often times have difficulty seeing how their furniture will look in a vacant home. Karen Eubank, a home stager in Dallas, TX, staged this living room so home buyers could better envision what their lives could be like in this home. Go here to see the "after" photo. Also check out the staging she did in the RED dining room. Skirting the Issue $25 Bathroom staging solution Home stager Tori Toth turns this bathroom into a showcase. See how a small changes can make a big difference. Playful Clutter To Pretty N' Crisp Spacious and sophisticated   Stefanie Levine stages this children's bedroom by de-cluttering to give the room a more spacious and sophisticated look. To see the "after" picture, click here. Also check out the staging she did in this outdated bathroom. Vacant Living Room Staging 5 Day makeover   Home stager Alana Merritt and Heather Cook stage this vacant living room for a home sale. Do you think the chair stayed? See for yourself here.

In This Issue   Staging A Challenging Space   Skirting the Issue   Playful Clutter to Pretty 'N' Crisp   Vacant Living Room Staging    Copyright 2010 EnergizedSeller        101 Home Selling Tips View Your Free Copy EnergizedSeller is now on Twitter. Check out our twitter page and follow us by clicking here. Find a Stager who is offering 10-50% off their staging services just for EnergizedSeller members. Don't see one in your market, shoot us an email and we'll help you locate one.

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reblogged with permission from Iron Harbor Mortgage 8/23/2010

Market Analysis Section in Middle of Email and Link to Today's Rates below That

If your current rate is in the low 5's or higher it may make sense for you to refinance. Also if you are in the high 4's and you want to refinance to a 15 year fixed loan it may make sense to refinance.  The vast majority of our customers use the rebate feature from our grid to accomplish refinances with very low closing costs.  Those closing costs that they do incur are typically financed into the loan.   If you think you may want to refinance, in Texas it is better to close your loan prior to the 2010 property taxes being certified by your county. For most counties, this certification process occurs in mid-October.  Once the 2010 taxes are certified, the full year of taxes will need to be paid at closing.  If you have enough equity in your home you can finance this.   Please remember that the days of streamlined loans are essentially gone.  It is important for you to know what information will be requested from you when you apply for a loan.  It is also important for you to be aware of a couple of key items such as to save documentation on any deposits (generally over $500) on your last month's bank statements that are not clearly labeled as payroll deposits.  In a case where you have cash or a check from a relative that is paying you back for a loan you gave them, it is probably better for you to just hold on to the cash and not deposit it so that you do not need to provide source documents to explain what is occurring.  Also, any credit inquiries will need to be explained and it is now a requirement on conventional loans that your credit be re-pulled just prior to closing.  It is typically better to not apply for any new credit until after your loan is closed.  For those who filed for an extension for your 2010 taxes and have not yet filed your 2010 taxes but are planning to try to close a loan between Oct 15 and Dec 15, you will want to be sure to send your taxes in via registered mail and to save the receipt documenting the IRS received your tax return.

Below is a list of the typical documents requested on a home loan:

1)  Most recent 2 pay stubs for all borrowers who are employed
2)  2008 and 2009 w2s (all employers) and, if applicable, 1099s for retirement income
3)  If any of the borrowers receive retirement income, we need a copy of the most recent award letter to document the current year's benefit amount.
4)  Your 2009 tax return (all pages filed with the IRS) .  If you have not filed 2009, we need those pages from your 2008 return and a copy of your request for extension for your 2009 return. 
5)  Copies of your most recent month/quarter of account statements for your checking, savings/money market and non retirement brokerage accounts.  An official statement should be available online.  Please note though just a screen print with the account balances will not suffice.  We need all pages of each statement.  On the statements if a statement is numbered 1 to 6, we need all 6 pages even if some of the pages have no information on them.
6)  If a refinance, copy of a recent mortgage statement for your current mortgage(s).  If a purchase and you are not selling your current home prior to closing on a new home and you have taxes and insurance included in your payment, we will also need a copy of your current mortgage statement.
7)  If you own a 2nd home and/or investment properties and taxes and insurance are included in the mortgage payments, we will need copies of a recent mortgage statement to document that taxes and insurance are included in the payment.
8)  If you own any real estate without liens, we will need a copy of either the release of lien documenting that a prior loan was paid off and released or the cash warranty deed documenting you purchased the property for cash.
9)  If the transaction is a refinance, copy of the settlement statement from your purchase of the property (HUD1).
10)  If the transaction is a refinance, copy of the survey of your home. This is a 2 dimensional drawing of the lot and where the home sits on the lot. It is sealed by a registered surveyor.
11)  If the transaction is a refinance and you are in a home owner's association, copy of your most recent HOA bill and cleared check image documenting that the most recently assessed HOA dues have been paid.  In lieu of this, you can also request that the HOA manager email us at mbreston@IronHarbor.com to confirm the amount of dues and that you are current.
12)  Contact information for your insurance agent.
13)  Copy of driver's license for all borrowers.  Please make the copy dark enough so that the date of birth is legible.
14)  If any borrower(s) are not US Citizens, we need a copy of their permanent resident alien card (front and back) or Visa.



Iron Harbor Mortgage - Market Update 08/23/2010 August 23rd, 2010 9:01 AM

Mortgage-backed securities (MBS) issued by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are flat with a slight positive bias this morning while the 10 Yr US Treasury note is slightly negative after posting gains over the past two weeks. Stocks are up with the Dow currently up 78 points to the 10,291 level.

Below is a recap of this week's economic calendar:

Monday, August 23, 2010

• No key economic data released
• US Treasury auctions $7 billion of 30 year inflation indexed securities

Tuesday, August 24, 2010

• July Existing Home Sales - expected annualized pace of 4.72 million, down from June's annualized pace of 5.37 million.
• US Treasury auctions $37 billion of 2-year notes

Wednesday, August 25, 2010

• July Durable Goods Orders - expected up 3% vs down 1.2% in June and excluding the transportation component expected up .5% vs down .9% in June.
• July New Home Sales - expected annualized pace of 334,000 vs annualized pace of 330,000 in June.
• US Treasury auctions $36 billion of 5-year notes

Thursday, August 26, 2010

• Initial Jobless Claims Week Ended 8/21 - expected down 15,000 to 485,000 from 500,000 the prior week.
• Continuing Jobless Claims Week ended 8/14 - expected up to 4.515 million from 4.478 million the prior week.
• US Treasury auctions $27 billion of 7-year notes

Friday, August 27, 2010

• 2^nd Estimate 2^nd Qtr GDP - expected to be revised down to 1.4% growth vs initial estimates for 2.4% growth.
• University of Michigan Final August Consumer Sentiment Index - expected 70.0 final reading vs 67.8 in July and an initial reading of 69.6 for the August figure earlier this month.

Posted by Matthew Breston on August 23rd, 2010 9:01 AM


You can access today's rate grid at http://www.IronHarbor.com/Rates .  If you have any difficulty accessing the website, please email us.

If your transaction is a purchase, you can access a detailed quote at http://www.ironharborquotes.com .   Just log in with your email address.  If your transaction is a refinance, please answer the questions at http://www.ironharbor.com/Questionaire-RefinanceLoan and we will email you a quote.

If you would like to access Market Updates from earlier this week as well as historical updates, you can find them at http://www.ironharbor.com/MarketAnalysis .

The key reasons to consider Iron Harbor Mortgage for the financing of your new home are:

• We publish our rates and provide detailed, comprehensive quotes.  There is a reason most other companies do not publish their rates.
  
• Your questions will be answered by a knowledgeable person during extended business hours.
• We have closed loans in over 250 cities in Texas.  We are Texas experts.
• We typically provide you with a copy of your key closing documents and an explanation of those documents in pdf format at least 1 day prior to closing.
• Unless we specifically indicate otherwise, your loan will be funded by Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. and you will make payments to Wells Fargo.     

How to Opt Out or Change Frequency of Emails

If you would like to receive these emails weekly or monthly instead of daily or if you would like to be removed from the rate update list, just email me at mbreston@IronHarborMortgage.com .

Reblogged with permission from Texas Real Estate Center (College Station Texas)news release 8/20/2010

WEAK HOME SALES NUMBERS NOT WHOLE STORY

COLLEGE STATION (Real Estate Center) - Home sales statistics are likely to paint a picture of a weakening market through the end of 2010 and the first half of 2011. While it's tempting to attribute the bleak numbers to a deteriorating housing market, an economist with the Real Estate Center at Texas A&M University said that doesn't tell the whole story.

"The year-over-year decline in existing home sales will be the result of comparing months when there was no tax credit with those from a year earlier, when the tax credit was artificially increasing sales," said Dr. Mark Dotzour, the Center's chief economist.

The $8,000 tax credit for first-time homebuyers went into effect in January 2009 and was planned to expire in November 2009. Home sales gradually started to increase after the tax credit was announced, after bottoming out in January at an annual rate just above 4.5 million sales.

Existing home sales gradually increased in 2009 as buyers and real estate agents became more familiar with the program. Sales topped an annual rate of five million in July 2009 for the first time since September 2008.

As the tax credit deadline approached, home sales spiked in September, October and November 2009. November 2009 was the peak at an annual rate of almost 6.5 million.

The tax credit was extended late in 2009 to include sales with contracts written until April 30, 2010, and closed by June 30 (extended to September 30). Initial homebuyer response to this extension was tepid, but sales picked up substantially in March, April and May 2010, when sales were up 18 percent, 28 percent and 18 percent, respectively, over the same months in 2009.

Then the process reversed itself. Pending home sales fell dramatically in May 2010, the month after the tax credits expired. This was followed by a significant drop in home sales in June and July. In Texas, July 2010 sales were down approximately 25 percent from July 2009.

Dotzour said August figures may not be much better since many buyers purchased homes before the tax incentive expired.

"When you ‘bring forward' sales through tax incentives, sales will be lower after the tax credit ends," he said.

Unless Congress creates a new tax credit this fall, Dotzour said monthly sales for 2010 will likely exhibit significant variance from 2009, and a true reading of housing market conditions may not be possible until June or July 2011.

Reblogged from Texas Association of Realtors press Release 8/20/2010 with permission

SELLER-FINANCING LICENSING EXEMPTION REINSTATED

AUSTIN (Texas Association of Realtors) - Texas Department of Savings & Mortgage Lending Commissioner Doug Foster has issued a notice allowing the continuation of the de minimis exemption until further action is taken by the state legislature.

This exemption, which was briefly repealed by the federal SAFE Act, means that a seller can once again finance up to five properties in a 12-month period without being licensed as a residential mortgage loan originator.