Beware of Near Future Financial Company Failures

We are just on the onset of a great deal of Financial Institutions losing a lot of money and their stock prices will go down the tubes. Many of these were higher rollers and their stock prices are now greatly over inflated. A great deal of Mutual Funds have these stocks in their funds because they have a high yield. Why do they have such a high yield? Because they originated or bought sub prime (trash) mortgages where the borrowers had to pay a very high interest rate. Hmmmm, what happens when the borrowers stops making his payment that he NEVER really qualified for in the first place. Even Mr. Greenspan now is talking about a recession. Read his latest comment in this article. It is time to be on the alert if you are a home buyer or looking for a place to put your 401K deposit this year. Check the funds carefully and stay away from ones that have financial stocks. Be aware that Rates can go way up in a bad economy because of Inflation entering into the picture. Home Prices have not hit bottom yet in most of the overinflated areas. www.rateinformer.com

How the American Dream has Changed !

It sure is strange how things change. Years ago it was the American Dream to buy a home and then work hard to pay off the mortgage. Remember in the movies they actually used to burn the mortgage note as a sign of freedom from that huge burden of a mortgage payment. Look at us now. We can hardly wait until we get some equity (value) built up in the home so we can run down to the bank and get a home equity loan or refinance for some cash-out or get a second mortgage.All so we can go out and run up more debt and buy more toys. Is there anyone out there who still believes in the ideal of getting rid of that mortgage payment for good? We are sure there are still some out there but now you are not considered a financially smart person to do such a crazy and foolish thing. Kind of makes you wonder why it feels so great to be so stupid? Have a great weekend. www.rateinformer.com

President of Federal Reserve says: "Sweet Dreams and enjoy your Nightmare"

When you read this article you might wonder if this person is awake or not especially if you are living some of the areas of the country where our housing market is affecting the economy in all areas of life. Ask someone living in SW Florida how well they sleep sat night if they are in the housing or related marketplace. This type of thinking is why many times action needed comes around too little, too late. For many people facing bankruptcy this is a Nightmare of huge proportions. Many would say the headline should read "Welcome to My Nightmare". It kind of reminds you of the old song "Here Comes My 19th Nervous Breakdown". Sweet Dreams, Janet!

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How To Sell Your Home In One Easy Lesson (Or You Can Buy My Book On E Bay! )

This would make a one page book because it has a very easy answer. PUT THE SALE PRICE AT IT'S TRUE VALUE (Or even a little lower) AS OF TODAY. WE are not talking about what your neighbor sold his home for LAST year or what Bob sold his home for Up North or Down South. Do not listen to the sweet talking Real Estate Agents who will say anything that you want to hear. Find one who will be honest with you and show you a current sale in your area with your type of home. That may be hard to do because everyone else has their home overpriced also. But if they hunt they will find a sale which shows you can sell your home at the RIGHT price. There are buyers out there but they are not fools anymore caught up in the frenzy of the "old" market. www.ratinformer.com

Dont Worry, Be Happy! ONLY 7 to 8% of our loans are Bad. Are these Loans in your Pension Fund?

Once again the powers are working hard to make everything look fine. Read this article and see how things can be twisted around. Is the glass half full or half empty? Because of the greed in business no one wants to acknowledge the serious problem we are starting to face with all of the loans that were originated to anyone who could sign their name on the dotted line. Because of not using restraint on Lending guidelines the banking Industry and probably many Pension plans and others will have heavy losses. Does your pension plan buy mortgage securities? Check them out and see if they are paying a higher than normal yield. If they are, they are no doubt sub-prime loans that will have a high default ratio. If you are a future home owner do not get caught in the trap of sub-prime loans. Follow our information shown on the site and avoid problems that could endanger your future financial health. www.rateinformer.com

As We ride down the Slide

As we ride down the slide of falling home sales and prices Real Estate people and various others keep saying "Hold on because we are almost at the bottom". The following article gives a perspective on housing as of this time. Thanks to K.W. for providing us with this info. It would be great if we REALLY knew where each bottom was but the facts are we do not have a clue at this time because of all the uncertainty of not only our economy but the rest of the world's economic status. We are now more than ever before tied to the rest of the world and it's various powers such as oil prices, currency prices , export and imports, etc. These and other items can really push or pull on our economy. Can you imagine what would happen if economic ties with China were cut off? Look at everything you buy and it is stamped "Made in China". What would happen if Oil jumped to $80-$100 a barrel? You may say that could never happen. Time will tell. The slide in housing may be a longer ride down than you think. After all wasn't the ride up to the top fun? www.rateinformer.com

Deal or No Deal?

The other night on the show, Deal or No Deal?, the contestant had been offered $170,000 and there was only ONE big number left on the board. It was of course the $1,000,000. Her friends were saying "just one more time and you will hit the big offer". Of course it was not their $170,000 they were talking about losing. And lose she did. She left the show with $15,000 going for that last big offer that never came. Does this remind you of all the homeowners sitting on their homes that are STILL for sale They missed that last big Month of getting top dollar for their home. They thought,"One more month or two and we will hit the housing jackpot." It is amazing how many times we get blinded by the Big dollar signs that flash in our minds and roll around in our stomachs. We all had big plans for the money that never arrived. Howie Mandell, please give us just ONE more chance! So when the next Buyer comes looking at your home will it be Deal or No Deal? www.rateinformer.com

Chinese Takeout Economic Forecaster

As I picked up my takeouts the Woman behind the counter ( We are regulars) asked me, in her broken English, how my business was doing. I told her it was slow and asked her how the new location was working for them on the busiest street in our City. She said it was terrible (or something close to that effect) and I asked her why she thought it was so bad. Her answer was that the workers (mostly in the construction trades) who always came in for takeouts have stopped coming in as much because they are not working or have slowed down. She said they were worried about if they would be able to stay in business with the slowdown. So here it was,in scattered English, the Economic Indicator by the domino effect method. If the construction Industry continues along with its slowdown how many other businesses like this one will feel its effects. Have you tightened your budget? Are you thinking more carefully about what to buy or what not to buy? This has a trickle down effect into the economic river. If anything causes a rise in prices, such as oil Prices, overseas economies, etc. it could turn out to be a sad year for the economy. So do your part and make sure you buy Chinese takeouts this week. You might be just the boost the economy needs! www.rateinformer.com

Should I Pay off My Mortgage?

First of all let us say if you are in the position to pay off your mortgage it is a nice platform to work from. There is not a hard and fast answer for everyone. Many financial astute advisers would say NO, NO, and NO. They reason you should actually mortgage your home as much as possible or even refinance it and take the cash out to the maximum and use those funds to invest in other more profitable areas. If, and this is a big IF, you are sure you can get a greater return (such as paying off high rate credit cards,etc) than what your Mortgage Interest Rate is then that line of thinking is great. On the other hand if you are not itemizing on your tax return and are just thinking about a unknown factor in regards to investing you might find out your best and safest investment is paying off your home. The BIG item that is always left out of the picture is the PEACE OF MIND and satisfaction you will receive when you no longer have that big mortgage payment to make each month. Ask someone who has paid off their mortgage how they FEEL about it and you will understand this train of thought. www.rateinformer.com

Are you a Worried Dual Home Owner?

There are more and more home owners that are making double mortgage payments right now because of situations beyond their control. Some have bought a new home and have not sold their old one. Some have had their old home sale fall though and have had to re-list it. Some have bought a new home with the intent of "flipping" it as soon as they had it for a year and now are caught in a down market and the property may be worth less than they owe on it. Others have had to relocate for various reasons and bought a new home where they relocated and got caught in a down market in their old area and cannot sell their old home for what they feel it is worth. The hard facts of life are this market has its highs and lows and sometimes you just have to go with the market conditions IF YOU FINANCIALLY ARE STILL ABLE TO DO SO. We highlight those words because for some owners there is the way out by selling their home for less than they think it is worth. This get them out of the dual payment situation. For others though, if they are underwater (owe more than the house is worth) they need to think about cutting their losses and moving on just as if they bought a bad stock while investing in the stock market. A loss now can be much better damaging your credit and causing long term problems that can take years to repair. If you have the financial means to wait then things may very well work out after a period of time. No one can predict that time period. It could be longer than you think. We hope we have helped some to count the cost prior to making that big decision. www.rateinformer.com

Low Interest Rates have been the Glue holding the Housing Market Together

Low Interest Rates have been the saving factor to letting borrowers get into there homes. Home prices and costs have been like a runaway train with no conductor on board to keep it steady. Now in many areas of the country the train of rising prices has been derailed which has been a help for home buyers. When Interest Rates go up (and They WILL) as problems come up with the economy such as a weak dollar, rising oil prices, increase costs, etc. causing Inflation it could very easily bring the housing market to it knees. Home ownership is the American Dream but not everyone gets their dream fulfilled at the same time. Borrowers need to count the true cost of home ownership beside the initial purchase price. Does it fit into their financial budget at this time. If not they need to wait and balance their budget and save more to cover the cost they will incur along the way. Many home owners are buying home that are way beyond their financial means (to keep up with the Jones?) and it can mean financial ruin. Count the costs and buy within your means and your anxiety levels will be much lower and you can keep from getting Ulcers staying up at night with worries of how to pay the bills. www.rateinformer.com