Don’t forget the tax credit

Print10_UncleSam_PDF  this flyer can make a difference in your business.  Get those buyers off the fence by reminding them of the two tax credits offered until April 30.

Affiliates and SMDRA Enjoy great networking opportunity

This Wednesday January 27 is Business After Hours held here at SMDRA.  At 4PM-5PM is a 1 hour continuing education class free to SMDRA members.  Richard Tally is teaching a HUD Workshop.  From 5-7 PM is fun, fun fun.  Refreshments of course will be here.

You will never go wrong spending your time networking.  Building relationships is you job and this is an ideal opportunity.  Come on by.

Day at the Capitol

Pre-Registration Deadline for REALTOR® Day at the Capitol Ends Soon

Pre-register today for the 2010 REALTOR® Day at the Capitol on February 2, 2010! By attending you can learn about government issues affecting the way you do business and will have the opportunity to network with your fellow REALTORS® and legislators from around the state. The deadline to pre-register is Tuesday, January 26, 2010. Go to  http://coloradorealtors.com/car_events_main.asp?EventID=RDAC2010

For more information

FHA announces new rules

Announced FHA Policy Changes:

1. Mortgage insurance premium (MIP) will be increased to build up capital reserves and bring back private lending
   • The first step will be to raise the up-front MIP by 50 bps to 2.25% and request legislative authority to increase the maximum annual MIP that the FHA can charge.
   • If this authority is granted, then the second step will be to shift some of the premium increase from the up-front MIP to the annual MIP.
   • This shift will allow for the capital reserves to increase with less impact to the consumer, because the annual MIP is paid over the life of the loan instead of at the time of closing
   • The initial up-front increase is included in a Mortgagee Letter to be released tomorrow, January 21st, and will go into effect in the spring.
2. Update the combination of FICO scores and down payments for new borrowers.
   • New borrowers will now be required to have a minimum FICO score of 580 to qualify for FHA’s 3.5% down payment program. New borrowers with less than a 580 FICO score will be required to put down at least 10%.
   • This allows the FHA to better balance its risk and continue to provide access for those borrowers who have historically performed well.
   • This change will be posted in the Federal Register in February and, after a notice and comment period, would go into effect in the early summer.
3. Reduce allowable seller concessions from 6% to 3%
   • The current level exposes the FHA to excess risk by creating incentives to inflate appraised value. This change will bring FHA into conformity with industry standards on seller concessions.
   • This change will be posted in the Federal Register in February, and after a notice and comment period, would go into effect in the early summer.
4. Increase enforcement on FHA lenders
   • Publicly report lender performance rankings to complement currently available Neighborhood Watch data – Will be available on the HUD website on February 1.
     • This is an operational change to make information more user-friendly and hold lenders more accountable; it does not require new regulatory action as Neighborhood Watch data is currently publicly available.
   • Enhance monitoring of lender performance and compliance with FHA guidelines and standards.
     • Implement Credit Watch termination through lender underwriting ID in addition to originating ID.
     • This change is included in a Mortgagee Letter to be released tomorrow, January 21st, and is effective immediately.
   • Implement statutory authority through regulation of section 256 of the National Housing Act to enforce indemnification provisions for lenders using delegated insuring process
     • Specifications of this change will be posted in March, and after a notice and comment period, would go into effect in early summer.
   • HUD is pursuing legislative authority to increase enforcement on FHA lenders. Specific authority includes:
     • Amendment of section 256 of the National Housing Act to apply indemnification provisions to all Direct Endorsement lenders. This would require all approved mortgagees to assume liability for all of the loans that they originate and underwrite
     • Legislative authority permitting HUD maximum flexibility to establish separate “areas” for purposes of review and termination under the Credit Watch initiative. This would provide authority to withdraw originating and underwriting approval for a lender nationwide on the basis of the performance of its regional branches

In addition to the changes proposed today, the FHA is continuing to review its overall response to housing market conditions, and continuing to evaluate its mortgage insurance underwriting standards and its measures to help distressed and underwater borrowers through FHA/HAMP and other FHA initiatives going forward.

Todays Board of Directors meeting

SMDRA’s Board of Directors met today in it’s monthy and was very much focused on the Ends for SMDRA. end 1.2 states that Members Receive a High Value Return on their Memebership.The value proposition seems not to be the issue but the communications of those values is the issue.  The trick seems to be how to engage our members.  We know that 20% of our members participate at a very high level. 

20% don’t participate at all and the rest participate anat some level.  How do we engage more people at higher levels? 

 

Martin Luther King, Jr.

Every man must decide whether he will walk in the light of creative altruism or in the darkness of destructive selfishness.

 

Ten Rules for Being Human

b y Cherie Carter-Scott

1.	You will receive a body. You may like it or hate it, but it’s yours to keep  for the entire period.
2.	You will learn lessons. You are enrolled in a full-time  informal  school called, “life.”
3.	There are no mistakes, only lessons. Growth is a process of trial, error, and experimentation. The “failed” experiments are as much a part of the process as the experiments that ultimately “work.”
4.	Lessons are repeated until they are learned. A lesson will be presented to you in various forms until you have learned it. When you have learned it, you can go on to the next lesson.
5.	Learning lessons does not end. There’s no part of life that doesn’t contain its lessons. If you’re alive, that means  there are still lessons to be learned.
6.	“There” is no better a place than “here.” When your “there” has become  a “here”, you will simply obtain another “there” that will again look better than “here.”
7.	Other people are merely mirrors of you. You cannot love or hate something about another person unless it reflects to you something you love or hate about yourself.
8.	What you make of your life is up to you. You have all the tools and resources you need. What you do with them is up to you. The choice is yours.
9.	Your answers lie within you. The answers to life’s questions lie within you. All you need to do is look, listen, and trust.
10.	You will forget all this.

Saturday CREC update is going on at SMDRA. Getting my arms around the double short sale issue

I just re-read one of my favorite little books “The One Minute Manager Meets the Monkey”. It can change your life!

Take a look at the latest post on http://www.smdrablog.com. What do you think about being a salesman?