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What does it mean to be proactive?

Many people come to me without a full understanding of the word “proactive.” What does it mean to you? Does it mean not procrastinating? Does it mean “getting on the ball?” If you answered “yes,” you’re right but there’s a lot more to it.

Are you the “cause” or “effect”?

If you get caught up in the idea that you’re at the effect of outside forces, which we all do sometimes, then you are not viewing your life or business from a proactive perspective. What do you do when you don’t have enough clients? Do you blame it on the economy, the interest rates, your boss or your environment in some way? » Read the rest of the entry..

Lease-options are back in vogue. And that is just fine as long as the optionor (owner) and the optionee (tenant) take care to be clear about exactly what they intend with the option. “I’ll rent your house now, and I get a chance to buy it later on,” isn’t quite enough.

This subject has been addressed here before, but it is important enough to warrant further attention. Anyone who doesn’t think so should pay attention to a recent case from California’s Fourth Appellate District (Sunil Patel v. Morris Liebermensch et al.).

In July of 2003, Sunil Patel and his wife rented a condominium from Morris Liebermensch. The parties also agreed that Patel would have an option to buy the unit. Liebermensch drew up a document that said, “Through the end of the year 2003, the selling price is $290,000. The selling price increases by 3 percent through the end of the year 2004 and cancels » Read the rest of the entry..

The downturn in the real estate market is leaving some people searching for work, but not all construction-related workers are completely leaving the industry despite a 15 percent drop in wages.

“There are a lot of unemployed people in the homebuilding industry and that has affected the wage; … people are willing to work for less,” says Angel Ahumada, CEO for Integrity Recruiting.

It’s no surprise that the Compensation Outlook 2008 report by Integrity Recruiting expects declines for people in the single-family residential construction industry.

“If you’re looking at the construction industries, the private development as it relates to » Read the rest of the entry..

EW YORK (Reuters) - A key element of the stimulus package aimed at jump-starting the ailing U.S. housing market may have the unintended consequence of raising mortgage rates, said analysts studying the plan.

A federal proposal to increase the size limit on loans eligible for purchase by mortgage finance giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac has unsettled traders in the $4.5 trillion market for bonds backed by the “conforming” mortgages.

Increasing the eligible loans to $729,750 from $417,000 would change the characteristics of mortgage-backed securities, leading traders to exact a premium for increased interest-rate risk.

Borrowers with large, jumbo loans are more likely to refinance since their savings are greater for each incremental drop in rates than for a smaller loan. The loans will taint the bonds since traders don’t initially know the make-up of the securities known as “agency” MBS. » Read the rest of the entry..

Mortgage reform legislation has passed in both the House and the Senate, the President has recommended an interest-rate freeze for certain loans and HUD has introduced the FHASecure program. These efforts, however, have had little practical impact because final legislation from Capitol Hill has been neither completed nor signed, the President’s proposals are voluntary and as of mid-December the FHASecure program had only funded several hundred loans.

But another approach is also underway, an effort by the Federal Reserve to change the way mortgages are designed, marketed and underwritten. Because the Fed has regulatory powers, any changes it enacts can immediately impact the mortgage marketplace. » Read the rest of the entry..

Lenders’ struggles to raise funds and the growing gloom over house prices drove gross mortgage lending to its lowest level since May 2005 last month, figures from the Council for Mortgage Lenders showed yesterday.

The CML said gross mortgage lending fell to £22.6bn in December, 21 per cent below the same month the previous year and 25 per cent below November’s lending volumes.

The housing market is usually quiet towards the end of the year, but lending volumes would typically fall only 6 per cent in lending between November and December, the CML said. » Read the rest of the entry..

It may not be internationally recognized in the same stream of consciousness as a masterpiece by Renoir, Goya, Monet or Picasso, but a well-constructed foreclosure investment deal can be a thing of beauty to those who appreciate the effort that went into it.

For Chicago-based investor/educator Doug Crowe, president of real estate investment group Springboard Corp., not only was the bank-owned condo he recently purchased a turn-of-the-century work of art, but so was the deal he worked on both ends.

“I invested about 12 hours of my life and made $18,000 on it,” Crowe said (see “Anatomy of a Foreclosure Deal” on Page 5).
» Read the rest of the entry..

Lenders’ struggles to raise funds and the growing gloom over house prices drove gross mortgage lending to its lowest level since May 2005 last month, figures from the Council for Mortgage Lenders showed yesterday.

The CML said gross mortgage lending fell to £22.6bn in December, 21 per cent below the same month the previous year and 25 per cent below November’s lending volumes.

The housing market is usually quiet towards the end of the year, but lending volumes would typically fall only 6 per cent in lending between November and December, the CML said.

The CML’s members undertake about 98 per cent of UK residential mortgage lending, and its figures are viewed as an early indication of housing market activity. » Read the rest of the entry..

We just about all the time write about Victoria Real Estate in our blogs. Well, this one is about entertainment and it is very close to my heart.

As you may or may not know CBC has a new show called MVP starting on Friday the 11th of January at 9pm, my niece Natalie Krill is “The Pricess” or Molly in the show. It will be a fantastic series that is sure to please all audiences. Don’t miss it. I have seen Natalie grow up starting dancing ballet at a very early age. If I’m right she was three years old when she first started.

Natalie has so many talents; not just dancing and acting but also a fantastic singer. She is now currently performing in the musical Dirty Dancing at Royal Alexandra Theatre in Toronto. If you have not yet had a chance to see that show, you must do so. It is fantastic. » Read the rest of the entry..