Have you tried everything you can with your lender? Called them only to have to navigate through button after button of some voicemail system? Hoping at some point that if you hit that “0″ enough times you will actually get a live person? Then “BAM” you get a real person you know the one, that says they can help you but won’t listen and leaves you even more frustrated than before your call?

Anyway, you get my point. Well, I did some digging and found a couple things that might help you. Please check them out and if you find any of this helpful let me know. Always love to hear about good things happening to the good people (you have to be good if you’re reading my blog!)

For all of you that have FHA insured loans, the good news is that your lender must follow the FHA guidelines and regulations. If they aren’t following the guidelines and giving you the service and assistance that is afforded and protected to you then do what I do. Call 888-297-8685, and put your citizen on! Don’t let anyone intimidate you, this is your home and your money, protect it and fight for it. And here is a life hint, whenever you are dealing with someone on the phone or in person always get their full name. Trust me, when you ask for someone’s name their attitude tends to improve. Don’t wait till things have got heated either, just ask up front and more often than not they will be much more helpful. And make sure you have your 13 digit FHA case number, and if you don’t have it … ASK FOR IT! Ain’t like its a secret launch code, trust me you already paid for it. Hint: it is on your loan settlement statement.

For all you VA insured customers, the first step for you is online. Go to the VA Foreclosure Alternative page. You will find so much help and assistance that you won’t know what to do with yourself. For the .0006% of you out there that internet is just not your thing, Ring up your loan service representative. Open this picture and it is the listing to every call center in the US broken down by states. Of course you could click here and it will give you the same information.

Finally, for all of those with conventional loans, call your HUD approved housing counselor at 800-569-4287. They love to help home owners with lenders that aren’t doing their responsibility helping you. Another number to put in your address book of life is 888-995-HOPE. This is the Homeowners Hope hotline, they specialize in helping homeowners with their lenders as well. You got some tools now, go use them and again, let me know how they help!

As always, please leave a comment. Like to hear from you!

Watch this short video on what credit cards you have now that you might want to get rid of and how to do it so it is best for you.

Please leave a message or email me at Rolland.agent@gmail.com and of course you can call me anytime 206-963-4307

Showing Signs of Life

Over the past several years, first-time buyers made up about 42 percent of the market. As a result of home buyer tax credits, those first timers represent close to 50 percent of buyers. However, increasing activity in the upper price ranges shows that buyers in the move-up/luxury market are sparking the housing recovery as well.

In King County, pending sales* of entry/first-time/move-up homes (those priced $599,999 or less) were up more than 100 percent
over last March. In the move-up/luxury market ($600,000+), pending sales were up more than 150 percent over last year.This is clear evidence that the move-up/luxury market is making a good recovery, especially when you consider that this market has not directly benefited from home buyer tax credits like the lower price ranges have.

Why is the move-up/luxury market improving?

• Buyers who are hoping to “time” the bottom of the market

• Low interest rates

• The increased affordability of jumbo loans

At this time last year, interest rates on a jumbo loan were in excess of 8 percent due to a large number of lenders exiting the jumbo market.Today, many of those lenders are returning, which has helped bring interest rates on jumbo loans more in line with conforming loan rates: near 5.5 percent. In addition, King County FHA loan limits are up to $575,500, which means that a buyer can purchase a home with as little as 3.5 percent down payment as long as the loan does not exceed $575,500.
There is clear evidence that the move-up/luxury
market is making a good recovery, especially when you consider that this market has not directly benefited from home
buyer tax credits. ”

With increasing optimism in employment numbers and consumer confidence, as well as the increasing availability of financing products,the housing market recovery should continue at a steady pace.And as we are already seeing,the recovery appears to be taking place throughout the price points, not just in the markets that have been bolstered by tax credits.

Hit me back with a comment please, I love’em!

Sales of previously occupied homes rose 6.8 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.35 million last month, the highest level since December, the National Association of Realtors said Thursday.

…The government is offering a $8,000 credit for first-time buyers and $6,500 for current homeowners willing to buy and move into another property.

For more … Click here!

Leave me a comment, love your insights and questions!

Hit me back with a comment, please!

Over the last year, I have learned a lot about my industry, myself, and life in general.  Some of the best things have happen in last couple of months.  Personally I am taking that as nothing but good signs for 2010!  Woohoo!

I have read so much this last year, feel like it is all I do at times.  Lot of people in the real estate field talk about which system they use and why it is the best.  Social media pro and con, what to wear, how to walk, anything and everything you can imagine.  Yet, the other day I got another e-book and it hit me right between the eyes.  It spelled out to me the type of person and agent I really want to be.  I want to be a relationship based agent, and human being.  That the relationships I work at and build will enrich my life as well as the other person.  Be honest, be genuine and everything else will work itself out.  No doubt it will lead to lower stress and a healthier life.  Yes, this is what I want!

It is very exciting to have my focus and goals set out.  Having this road map to guide me forward, and I am so looking forward to the amazing people in my life that I am going to only grow closer to.  Keep your eyes open, I will be popping by and into your world!

The idea is to take 3 billion to help those homeowners, while tapping another 1 billion for local and state governments to use to purchase foreclosed and troubled properties.  Additionally, giving bankruptcy judges the ability to make changes to interest rates and principal owed to creditors.  Needless to say, this has met with some resistance from the financial community.  "The combination of unemployment and foreclosures may be the greatest threat to our economic recovery," Waters said.

This week on the Hill, this is but one of more then 100 other proposed amendments to financial reform being introduced.  Some believe that this sudden move by members of congress, is coming from the Congressional Black Caucus, who have been putting the administrations feet to the fire on how unemployment and foreclosures are effecting minorities.  With only 6% of homeowners enlisted in the administrations foreclosure prevention programs, concerns that help is just not reaching people.  Fighting over the low numbers reported are circling around homeowners that have submitted paperwork to get on the program and that they are waiting approval to benefit from the program.  While the Treasury Department claims people are not submitting the paperwork and supporting documents correctly.  Seems like the dogs are chasing their tails.

In a nut shell, the financial sector is not happy, the government is in the middle (or so they are trying to) and the American homeowner is hanging on looking for help wherever it comes from.

The explosion of e-readers in the past 12-18 months has been exciting to watch. E-readers impact in the field of education is really something and I for one love what is possible in the future with these devices.

Think about the impact on the environment just in the field of education these devices will have. Not to mention the financial overall savings it can bring to school districts and higher education. Last year alone, Princeton University spent more then 5 million dollars for paper, totaling more then 15 million pages. This fall, Princeton and five other colleges are testing out the new Kindle DX. The hope being to reduce the impact of paper while still maintaining the highest level of education to its students.

Throw in the ability that you can annotate, highlight, and take notes is really awesome. Granted, my experience has taught me that while I love these features, they are still in their infancy and there is a lot of room for improvement. While the search feature and built-in dictionary are very powerful. All these extras need refinement, but that will come. Have you seen a kid walking to a bus stop in the last couple of years? Maybe not, they are those little people trapped under those monster loaded backpacks. E-readers can carry 1500-17,000 books now, weighing in under 12 ounces! Wonder what the health impact that will be alone.

Barnes & Noble are launching their new reader called the Nook by the end of November. It has all the same features as the Kindle, with a few new ones (which I am sure Amazon will bring on with the Kindle.) The two biggies being the ability to lend a ebook to others and the ability to read your ebooks on both your reader as well as your computer. Both of these functions are awesome and positive forward moves.

For those of us that want to buy a book and just read it no matter what our eye sight is, you have to love the readers ability to increase the text size to what works for you. Overall, you can not go wrong with a e-reader and it is having the biggest (positive) impact on reading in our generation. Check out the link below for more in-depth information on the readers I have mentioned and others. If you have a moment, leave a comment and tell me what you think!

The E-Reader Explosion: A Cheat Sheet | Technologizer:
The E-Reader Explosion: A Cheat Sheet
By Harry McCracken  |  Posted at 12:14 am on Monday, October 26, 2009See all: News
By almost any imaginable definition, last week was the newsiest ever in the still-new world of e-book readers. We witnessed the unveiling of Barnes & Noble’s ambitious Nook. We got more details about Plastic Logic’s long-awaited device. We learned of an underdog known as the Spring Design Alex. We were informed that Amazon was killing the original Kindle 2 and lowering the price of the model with international roaming, and”