Another one bites the dust

Remember Billy Squier? I was dating a car stereo installer in the 80s. My 1973 Datsun 240z had a stereo so loud that if I left it up full blast for too long, my ears would ring. The 6x9 speakers were mounted in the back and if my baby sister wanted to ride with me she was subjected to the loudest, squirreliest ride of her life. Given that or hanging out in Morgan Hill - she always opted for the ride.

One of my favorite tapes - remember tapes?- was Billy Squire, Emotion in Motion. It sounded great cranking in my tiny car. Like the Billy Squire song, another on bit the dust today.

I have been working on a long and tedious transaction. The listing agent started off lying to us - I am the lender on the deal - then the title company wouldn't release docs until an extension was executed. My client is in Washington, I am in Campbell, the buyer's agent is in Duncanville, TX, the title company is in Houston and the Seller is in Redding, CA. Executing a document is a major event. Docs were finally delivered to title and the title company halted the close because there was a non-disclosed HOA. After a few days and no HOA, we re-ordered docs. In the meantime the buyer began working in Hawaii. We scheduled a courtesy sign off in Honolulu and the Buyer no showed. That was yesterday.

Today I was working hard to get a mobile notary to track down the buyer when I got a call from the Buyer's agent. United Title of Texas closed their doors today.

Looks like I'll be re-re-drawing docs.

The Land of Fruits and Nuts

California has a certain - um - reputation. While my Texas buddies are loving their chicken fried chicken with gravy and mashed potatoes and cornbread we just made it illegal.

California bans restaurants from using trans fats - Yahoo! News

My family is from the south - where fried chicken was invented. I grew up thinking that the gigantic tub of crisco in the cabinet was a food staple. Now that contraband is relegated to back alley street vendors and grandma's house.

California Contraband

Any Bank That Would Lend Money To Me Is Not Conservative Enough

Federal regulators close 2 more banks - CNN.com

1st National Bank of Arizona - gone.
Quite a different story than IndyMac in that bank margins are relatively narrow and a downturn in the economy was blamed for 1st National's demise vs questionable lending practices with IndyMac.

Still, it reminds me that we the consumer are making choices with our pocket book. I would guess that the average consumer chooses their bank based on which one is on the street corner. What a wake up call if your bank was IndyMac or 1st National.

PS Remember Atlantic Financial? Home Savings? American Savings?

1st National Bids Adieu

Inflation is up but oil is down

Inflation numbers are historical vs current oil prices are just that - current.

Oil drops again as US pump prices slip to near $4: Financial News - Yahoo! Finance

Have we seen the peak? Americans are trading in their SUVs for priuses - what's the plural for prius - thank god, I hate SUVs. Stocks are rallying today, after the media reporting this week has seen a "false rally"

What do you think?

Are We Rebounding?

I think the main engine for our economy is jobs but, consumer perception is a close second. Perception normally lags reality by about 90 days and the Campbell real estate market has seemed to be rebounding for the last 90 days.

Consumer confidence rebounds from 28-year low: Financial News - Yahoo! Finance

When I say rebounding I mean that the sales per day is up from last month and it's up 25% from last year.

The economic stimulus package was signed in yesterday and I believe our current real estate problem is one of liquidity. Once the liquidity crisis is resolved the real estate issues will be resolved. Some say that this stimulus package will resolve the liquidity issues and, while optimistic, I think it's not the "end" but the beginning of the end.

What do you think?

Are Your Property Taxes Too High?

With the drastic change in property values this last year, you may be paying too much in property taxes - and you know how I hate to pay taxes!

Here's the form for you to challenge your assessment:

DeclineInValueRequest

and email me if you need supporting comps!

Just lookin' out for ya!

Say Bye Bye to Mortgage Loans

WASHINGTON (Associated Press) – The Federal Reserve has adopted a new plan intended to curb shady lending practices that sent home foreclosure rates to record highs.

The plan will:
*prevent loans made without documentation of borrower’s income;
*require lenders to escrow money to pay taxes and insurance for risky borrowers;
*limit — and, in some cases, ban — prepayment penalties;
*prohibit lenders from making a loan without considering a borrower's ability to repay a home loan from sources other than the home's value;
*require mortgage advertising to contain information about rates, monthly payments and other features of the loan;
*require that lenders credit a mortgage payment to a homeowner’s account on the day it is received; and
*forbid brokers and others from "coercing or encouraging" an appraiser to misrepresent the value of a home.

Most of the rules take effect Oct. 1. Escrow requirements will take effect April 1, 2010.
More information is available on the Federal Reserve Board’s website.

How I got blood streaked all down the side of my car before 9AM

No, I didn't murder one of my clients :-)

It was a normal day for me. Went for a walk with my dog, Rebel. By 7 I was working from my home office - negotiating loan workouts with Litton Loan Service. Rebel was laying in the hall right outside my door - he likes to keep an eye one me.

I had finished my FRS drink and went into the bathroom to find the toilet bowl bright red with blood. At first blush that may be too gross for you until you realize that Rebel thinks the toilet bowl is his personal water dish.

My brain clicked back through the morning. He eats all the junk at the park and he was munching on a beef rib earlier today. I had also noticed him licking his forearms [do dogs have forearms?]- which he sometimes does when his allergies are bad. He had been licking enough to tell him to stop.

I went back into the hall and realized there were hundreds of little blood drops in the carpet on both sides of his forearms. He hadn't been having an allergy attack, he'd been licking the blood off. Rebel trails behind me for the last block or so before the house so, he was out of my sight for 5 minutes or so. What could have happened in 5 minutes? I got him into the bathroom and, seeing blood all down his chest and forearms, wondered if he could have been hit by a car.

I took a long look at him and wiped him down with a wash rag. He didn't seem to be bleeding other than a steady dripping of bright red blood from the right side of his mouth. Each little drop splashed leaving a one inch puddle on the white linoleum. I got him to open his mouth and I cleaned it up as I looked for a laceration. I couldn't figure out where it was coming from - maybe it's not his mouth.

I got him to lay down, his stomach was not hard or distended. He was bright and happy. And he was dripping; splash, splash, splash.

So, I called the vet and got an appointment at 9:20. "What time is it?' I asked. It was just after 8. I confirmed and hung up.

I sat there watching him. Happy and smiling, tongue handing out, the right side of his mouth thick with blood and dripping on the linoleum. He then cleared his throat and threw up about a 1/4 cup worth of blood.

I hit redial and told the vet that we were coming.

I grabbed my keys and Rebel bounded out to the car. I put a towel down and as we drove away I looked back at him as he was happily dripping on the leather interior.

Driving the 8 minutes, I began racing scenarios through my head. Maybe the beef ribs had lacerated his stomach and he'd need surgery - friends had spend upwards of $4,000 on emergency surgery for their dogs. Could I spend $4,000 on a dog? Which credit card can I put that on? Maybe they will take payments. Could he be coughing blood out of his lungs?

I was getting scared so I prayed for God to be with me and I called my sister. As I told her what was going on I got all choked up and tears came. She told me that I was doing all I could, the vet would know and to call her when I got done with the vet.

Hanging up the cellphone - which I had been illegally using without my headset - I took a deep breath as the stop light turned green and I jammed on the accelerator.

Check back here tomorrow to hear the rest of Rebel's adventures.