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Sunday, June 26, 2011
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Before you do anything find out what FICO knows about you...
As suspected, there’s more to FICO than meets the eye.
What follows is the result of observation of FICO’s behavior and not any information published by Fair Isaac and Company.
While I believe it to be accurate, remember that if one thing is constant or predictable with FICO it’s that nothing is constant or predictable.
Your results may differ, your mileage may vary, information is presented as-is with no warranty on parts or labor.
FICO is constantly “learning”.
Remember FICO is designed not to merely capture your previous credit behavior, but also to predict the possibility that you will default in the future. FICO appears to periodically recalculate the credit patterns of both those who maintain excellent account history, and those who fall into default, and use that data to adjust itself.
What that means is- to have a good score; you have to mimic the behaviors of others who have good credit. While that seems obvious, let’s imagine a scenario where the majority with good credit have exactly two inquiries from prospective lenders in the last six months. If you have one, or three, you’ve fallen out of the pattern and may be penalized for the deviation.
Conversely, if the majority who default have three “finance company” accounts showing, you’ll be penalized for having the same, even if they were financially sound decisions for you. This alone makes understanding FICO fairly difficult as it’s a formula that changes periodically.
What constitutes good advice today may constitute bad advice tomorrow.
If 100% of those who default on their loans in the next six months all previously paid their credit cards in full monthly, while those who remain in good standing carry a 25% balance- I’ll carry that balance, thank you.
It’s a game of statistical averages and nothing more.
A good FICO is not the same as being a prudent manager of money.
FICO knows nothing about money management. Sometimes you have to make a choice between the ultimate credit score- and saving money.
-Let’s assume that you have received a zero-percent offer from your credit card issuer, allowing you to transfer other balances. So you transfer one card at 15%, another card at 18% and a third card at 9%, up to the limit of your transfer offer.
You’re saving money, an average of 14%, a sound financial move. Are you thinking FICO will reward you for your shrewd management skills? Well…no.
FICO will see that you’ve maxed out the zero-percent offer and drop your scores, possibly substantially. If the cards you transferred were themselves only partly utilized, the effect will be worse, if they were themselves maxed out, you may see a slight improvement overall.
FICO only cares about the balances (both individual and overall) that you are carrying, not about the rates that you are paying. This fact has come back and bitten more than one consumer using a HELOC to pay off high rate debt as well.
Something to consider if you will be needing high scores in the near future.
If saving that 15% will cost you a point or two on your new mortgage via the lower scores- wait until the “big” move is completed before making the smaller one!
-Similarly, investing money borrowed at low rates into higher rate investments is a basic tenant of wealth building. Again, FICO doesn’t care that you’ve maxed out the 1.5% credit and invested it at 6%. Down you go.
Advance planning is the key here, make the moves that benefit you financially but be aware of their impact on future plans.
FICO Doesn’t reward you for doing what’s right.
-That old collection account on your report, the one you’ve ignored for years? In a burst of inspiration, you decide to pay it off.
After all, the collector tells you** that doing so will improve your credit, and you feel like a responsible person again by writing that check.
So you pay it.
And you find your scores have dropped into the basement.
Why?
FICO sees the date of last activity and runs with it.
That date was aging, as the account grew older, FICO gave it less and less attention.
Paying it reset the date of last activity to the date you paid it, making it look brand new to FICO.
A human reviewer may give you “points” for paying that old obligation, but FICO apparently won’t. A collection is a collection is a collection to FICO, paid or unpaid doesn’t seem to matter. The fact it went to collections at all is what does the damage.
** Debt collectors are not a recommended source of investment advice. Results are not guaranteed. You may lose money. Not FDIC insured. And all that 
-You’ve received a “notice of change in terms” from your credit card company, raising your rates to 29.99%. The only way to keep your terms as-is is to close the account.
While the best course of action is to pay the account off and leave the card open but unused, many people instead decide to close the account and pay it off in installments.
That’s a reasonable financial move, yet FICO will punish you.
See below “the closed account trap” for the reasons why.
FICO may bite you for disputing accounts with the Credit Reporting Agencies.
Whether intentionally or not, this phenomenon has been observed, particularly with Experian credit reports.
You dispute an older charge-off account on your credit report.
The Creditor verifies it as accurate.
The date reported changes to today’s date.
Whammo! Your score takes a dive. Why?
As the account aged, it hurt you less and less. Due to some apparent mismatch in data between Experian and FICO, the date the account is updated is seen as the date the charge off actually happened, making it look very recent once again.
While both parties claim to be “looking into the problem”, it’s something to be aware of.
And stop holding your breath.
Hey, Can't you see were’ trying to predict default here? Well, Sort of.
Some defaults FICO can see a mile away, most are sudden and unexpected.
Job loss, illness, divorce all tend to happen quickly and without warning, FICO can’t predict that. But it still tries, attempting to fit you into the pattern set by those who have defaulted in the past.
Even FICO admits that its default detection rate isn’t exactly astounding…but certain actions can still be telling.
-Carrying large balances on revolving accounts without large limits.
This is probably the worst single thing you can do outside of default.
If you are carrying a balance over 25% (or so) of a card’s limit- that’s bad.
Over 50% is worse.
Hitting 100% will drop your score like a Detroit Lions lineman with a greased football.
I’m from
-Charging the card up and paying in full monthly is a matter of timing.
Make the payment before the card reports for the month, so it shows a low balance.
Letting it report before you’ve made payment punishes you for carrying a balance, when in fact you are not.
-Applying for new credit is
Too much too fast means default to FICO.
If you have established credit history, FICO will assume that you’ll probably behave with your new credit as well. If you do not, take it easy. If you have established history that is bad, take it even easier. Open a few new accounts for purposes of rebuilding, but let enough time pass to demonstrate responsible handling. Open a lot of new accounts with bad history present and FICO will assume that you are up to something…something like repeating the past…and dropkick you.
-The combination of certain actions can be worse than either action alone.
Carrying high balances on your revolving accounts is a score-killer. Applying for credit frequently (and the resulting inquiries on your report) is also cause to lower your score.
The combination of the two is disastrous.
When you are carrying high balances, over 50% of a revolving account’s limit AND applying for new credit, it appears to FICO that you are overburdened with debt and are looking for somewhere to shift it.
Sometimes referred to as “pyramiding”, it’s an unusually bad combination. Unfortunately FICO doesn’t do a good job of distinguishing inquiries by source.
You may be carrying substantial revolving balances and applying for an automotive loan, or shopping for homeowner’s insurance- resulting in multiple inquiries.
The result is the same- too many inquiries + high revolving balances = lower score.
No matter the purpose behind the inquiries themselves.
The closed account trap.
One of the most common bits of bad credit advice is to close accounts you don’t need.
This is bad for several reasons:
1) Age is important to FICO. If the accounts you close are among your oldest accounts, you may lose average age- and FICO points.
2) Available credit is very important to FICO. You may not have used those cards, but FICO counts the available balance in your favor.
Let’s say you have two cards, for simplicity- with a $1,000 limit each.
One card has $500 charged to it, the other is unused.
Overall, FICO sees that you have $2000 available and are using 25% of it.
While you will lose points for the first card being at 50%, you will gain some back for only being at 25% overall.
Close the unused card and you’ve increased your overall utilization from 25% to 50%. Double-whammy, now you are at 50% individually AND at 50% overall.
Your headroom is severely diminished. That's going to cost you, buddy.
3) Closing accounts that still have a balance owed is a triple-whammy.
While the amount still owed is calculated into your revolving debt load, the former credit limit is not.
Remember closing that account in order to stop the rate increase to 29.99%?
The balance on that account still figures into your revolving debt, but the limit is now zero. You could well be over 100% overall utilization, even if you are much lower in reality.
Expect a severe FICO point loss.
FICO loves antiques.
-Even if they are negative antiques.
As negative items on your report age, they hurt your score less and less. As they grow older, they improve your average age of accounts more and more.
At a certain point, they cross over, adding more score points than they subtract.
Imagine the shock a consumer experiences when a 9 year old bankruptcy drops off of their report leaving nothing but positive history…
and their FICO score drops!
After dusting off some old infrequently used vocabulary words, the analysis begins... and quickly ends with age.
That old Bankruptcy (or other negative) was so old it wasn’t doing much harm. After all, that was long ago and you’ve done much better since then.
It was quietly adding age, losing it caused the average age of accounts to become much shorter.
The best advice is the old advice- after a fall, get right back on the horse.
If this consumer had established positive credit right after discharging the bankruptcy, they’d be in a much better position.
Waiting to do so set a trap that caught them down the road, a trap that could not be reversed later on.
-Leave the positive antiques alone. The dust looks just fine. It adds charm. Dust is your friend. Remember the advice to leave unused accounts alone?
Stuff them in a sock drawer but leave them open is good advice for this very reason.
Better than negative antiques, positive antiques are a real asset. They add not only age, but years of positive history.
Take that old card out once or twice a year and warm it up. Make a charge, pay it off, put it back in the garage.
Doing so will help you build the foundation necessary for high credit scores in the future.
FICO isn’t FICO isn’t FICO isn’t’ FICO.
There isn’t just one FICO score, there are many. And some scores aren’t FICO at all.
-Scores you receive with some credit monitoring services, or those you receive with a credit report may not be FICO scores at all.
They’re wannabes, posers, knock off copies of a Luis Vitton sold on a street corner. Unless it says FICO and/or Fair Isaac, it’s an imitation.
These scores can vary wildly from your actual FICO score as their treatment of data is different and their calculations are their own.
Lenders don’t use these scores and you should ignore them too.
-So it’s a real FICO score, but which one?
Fair Isaac supplies customized scoring for different applications.
The score used for credit card approvals may be one number, the score tweaked for automotive loan approvals may be quite another. What’s used for mortgage lending may be a custom job, and your insurance score is possibly different than any of the above.
It’s like trying to drive somewhere using three maps, none of which agree.
A little common sense goes a long way.
If you suspect that Automotive- Enhanced FICO is being used, it’s a fair assumption that more attention will be paid to previous auto loans. A good automotive history can somewhat override otherwise spotty credit to an automotive lender.
And the reverse is true- pay everything on time except your car payment- and you’ll have a nasty surprise next time you buy a car.
Luis Noel Rodriguez
Residential Sales Specialist
Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage
Cell : 678-229-8689
Office: 770-429-0600
Fax: 770-425-1429
Follow me on 
@KennesawRealtor
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Should I be Considering a Foreclosure Home?
When we here the word foreclosure we tend to automatically think about run down damaged homes that need lots of work. This is no longer the case. Beautiful brand new or barely lived in homes are popping up all over the place. Many in just the area you may be looking to live. If you have lived in your home for over 7 years. Avoided cash out refi's and are considering making a move. This may be the best time in our life time to invest and take advantage of the buyer market.
Selling your current house is possible and can be done quickly you just need to be realistic on price and know that what your potential return can outweigh any current return. As prices continue to be in free fall, the bottom will be found once valuations have reached Late 1990's prices. This is just about the time. Banks began making made easy credit loan programs available. One could argue that this could be the exact moment that home values began to artificially rise biased on demand fueled on the fact that more people that could now afford to buy a home.
"I use the term afford loosely”
With unemployment continuing to rise. Bank foreclosures are hitting the streets at record paces. Georgia ranked eighth in the nation in the number of foreclosures in 2008, according to Realtytrac, the most quoted online source of foreclosures with 116,225 residential filings and on the rise. Banks are selling foreclosed properties at huge discounts and strapped homeowners are looking for ways out of their predicament, including selling to investors.
Is now the right time to find great deals? Absolutely! But only those who do their homework right are the most likely to succeed. Banks need to get these homes off of there portfolios. The longer they hold on to them the more money it cost them to keep them. Banks processes for dealing with these offers is becoming more stream lined making the process easer but never the less requiring careful and methodical due diligence on our part as buyers and buyer representatives. 50% off of appraised value is not unheard of anymore. The trick is to hedge against any continuation of falling prices, again do your homework. Though sales boomed last month in Los Angeles, San Diego and Las Vegas, they sank in cities with formerly healthy markets such as Atlanta. According to the Associated Press/Re-Max Monthly Housing Report, also released yesterday.It is important to understand the surrounding community or macro aspects when purchasing a Foreclosed home. Here are some aspects to consider:
1. Look around the neighborhood to see how many homes are being foreclosed. It's best that the house you're considering for purchase is the only one facing foreclosure. Obviously the more homes in forced sale, the more likely the properties will depreciate.
2. Ask around to find out what the average rate for rent is in the neighborhood and if it has changed lately. This will indicate if local housing demand is on the rise or not.
3. What is the employment rate in the area? If declining then that may indicate that it's not the right area in which to invest. Does the local economy appear to be stable?
4.Check with the local government to see of any upcoming infrastructure projects that will be taking place within 2-3 years. Projects such as new shopping malls, highways, train/subways lines, building permits for new businesses being established, new parks near the property, etc. - 5.What are the demographics? If there is an extremely high level of seniors in town and only a small percentage living in nursing homes, guess what, it could cause a housing surplus within 10 years or so.
The facts are the facts; See the news of the day below. we need to look past the old models of investing in real estate to creatively take advantage of the new days ahead in America. If you have any questions about your investment needs please be sure to let me know.
From the AP:S&P: Home values post 18.2 pct annual drop in Nov.A closely watched index shows home prices dropped by the sharpest annual rate on record in November.The Standard & Poor’s/Case-Shiller 20-city housing index released Tuesday tumbled by a record 18.2 percent from November 2007, the largest decline since its inception in 2000. The 10-city index dropped 19.1 percent, tied with October for the biggest drop in its 21-year history.Both indices have recorded year-over-year declines for 23 straight months. Prices are at levels not seen since February 2004.Prices in the 20-city index have plummeted 25.1 percent from their peak in July 2006. The 10-city index has fallen 26.6 percent since its peak in June 2006.All 20 cities recorded year-over-year declines in November.
From Bloomberg:November Home Prices in 20 U.S. Cities Fall 18.2% from Year AgoHome prices in 20 U.S. cities declined 18.2 percent in November from a year earlier, the fastest drop on record, as foreclosures climbed and sales sank.The decrease in the S&P/Case-Shiller index was in line with forecasts and followed an 18.1 percent drop in October. The gauge has fallen started falling in January 2007, and year-over-year records began in 2001.Record foreclosures have contributed to more than $1 trillion in losses worldwide that have prompted banks to shut off access to credit. While plunging values have made homes more affordable, they have also hurt household wealth, contributing to a slump in spending that’s likely to continue for the first half of the year.“The decline has accelerated over the past few months due to the increase in deeply discounted foreclosure sales,” Michelle Meyer, an economist at Barclays Capital Inc. in New York, said before the report. “The decline in the housing market worsened markedly at the end of last year.”Economists forecast the 20-city index would fall 18.4 percent from a year earlier, according to the median of 27 estimates in a Bloomberg News survey. Projections ranged from declines of 17.4 percent to 20 percent.…“The freefall in residential real estate continued through November,” David Blitzer, chairman of the index committee at S&P, said in a statement. “Overall, more than half of the metro areas had record annual declines.”…The 20-city index is down 25 percent from its 2006 peak. Eleven of the 20 metropolitan areas showed record declines in the year ended in November, and eight showed the biggest month-to- month decrease on record.
From CNBC:Home Prices Plunge Record 18 Percent in NovemberPrices of single-family homes plunged a record 18.2 percent in November from a year earlier, indicative of a housing market that is still in the throes of a deep recession, according to the Standard & Poor’s/Case-Shiller Home Price Indices.The composite index of 20 metropolitan areas fell 2.2 percent in November from October, S&P said in a statement on Tuesday. The depreciation on a month-over-month basis was slightly worse than expectations based on a Reuters survey of economists…S&P said its composite index of 10 metropolitan areas fell 2.2 percent in November from October for a 19.1 percent year-over-year drop, matching the previous month’s record drop.
Selling your current house is possible and can be done quickly you just need to be realistic on price and know that what your potential return can outweigh any current return. As prices continue to be in free fall, the bottom will be found once valuations have reached Late 1990's prices. This is just about the time. Banks began making made easy credit loan programs available. One could argue that this could be the exact moment that home values began to artificially rise biased on demand fueled on the fact that more people that could now afford to buy a home.
"I use the term afford loosely”
With unemployment continuing to rise. Bank foreclosures are hitting the streets at record paces. Georgia ranked eighth in the nation in the number of foreclosures in 2008, according to Realtytrac, the most quoted online source of foreclosures with 116,225 residential filings and on the rise. Banks are selling foreclosed properties at huge discounts and strapped homeowners are looking for ways out of their predicament, including selling to investors.
Is now the right time to find great deals? Absolutely! But only those who do their homework right are the most likely to succeed. Banks need to get these homes off of there portfolios. The longer they hold on to them the more money it cost them to keep them. Banks processes for dealing with these offers is becoming more stream lined making the process easer but never the less requiring careful and methodical due diligence on our part as buyers and buyer representatives. 50% off of appraised value is not unheard of anymore. The trick is to hedge against any continuation of falling prices, again do your homework. Though sales boomed last month in Los Angeles, San Diego and Las Vegas, they sank in cities with formerly healthy markets such as Atlanta. According to the Associated Press/Re-Max Monthly Housing Report, also released yesterday.It is important to understand the surrounding community or macro aspects when purchasing a Foreclosed home. Here are some aspects to consider:
1. Look around the neighborhood to see how many homes are being foreclosed. It's best that the house you're considering for purchase is the only one facing foreclosure. Obviously the more homes in forced sale, the more likely the properties will depreciate.
2. Ask around to find out what the average rate for rent is in the neighborhood and if it has changed lately. This will indicate if local housing demand is on the rise or not.
3. What is the employment rate in the area? If declining then that may indicate that it's not the right area in which to invest. Does the local economy appear to be stable?
4.Check with the local government to see of any upcoming infrastructure projects that will be taking place within 2-3 years. Projects such as new shopping malls, highways, train/subways lines, building permits for new businesses being established, new parks near the property, etc. - 5.What are the demographics? If there is an extremely high level of seniors in town and only a small percentage living in nursing homes, guess what, it could cause a housing surplus within 10 years or so.
The facts are the facts; See the news of the day below. we need to look past the old models of investing in real estate to creatively take advantage of the new days ahead in America. If you have any questions about your investment needs please be sure to let me know.
From the AP:S&P: Home values post 18.2 pct annual drop in Nov.A closely watched index shows home prices dropped by the sharpest annual rate on record in November.The Standard & Poor’s/Case-Shiller 20-city housing index released Tuesday tumbled by a record 18.2 percent from November 2007, the largest decline since its inception in 2000. The 10-city index dropped 19.1 percent, tied with October for the biggest drop in its 21-year history.Both indices have recorded year-over-year declines for 23 straight months. Prices are at levels not seen since February 2004.Prices in the 20-city index have plummeted 25.1 percent from their peak in July 2006. The 10-city index has fallen 26.6 percent since its peak in June 2006.All 20 cities recorded year-over-year declines in November.
From Bloomberg:November Home Prices in 20 U.S. Cities Fall 18.2% from Year AgoHome prices in 20 U.S. cities declined 18.2 percent in November from a year earlier, the fastest drop on record, as foreclosures climbed and sales sank.The decrease in the S&P/Case-Shiller index was in line with forecasts and followed an 18.1 percent drop in October. The gauge has fallen started falling in January 2007, and year-over-year records began in 2001.Record foreclosures have contributed to more than $1 trillion in losses worldwide that have prompted banks to shut off access to credit. While plunging values have made homes more affordable, they have also hurt household wealth, contributing to a slump in spending that’s likely to continue for the first half of the year.“The decline has accelerated over the past few months due to the increase in deeply discounted foreclosure sales,” Michelle Meyer, an economist at Barclays Capital Inc. in New York, said before the report. “The decline in the housing market worsened markedly at the end of last year.”Economists forecast the 20-city index would fall 18.4 percent from a year earlier, according to the median of 27 estimates in a Bloomberg News survey. Projections ranged from declines of 17.4 percent to 20 percent.…“The freefall in residential real estate continued through November,” David Blitzer, chairman of the index committee at S&P, said in a statement. “Overall, more than half of the metro areas had record annual declines.”…The 20-city index is down 25 percent from its 2006 peak. Eleven of the 20 metropolitan areas showed record declines in the year ended in November, and eight showed the biggest month-to- month decrease on record.
From CNBC:Home Prices Plunge Record 18 Percent in NovemberPrices of single-family homes plunged a record 18.2 percent in November from a year earlier, indicative of a housing market that is still in the throes of a deep recession, according to the Standard & Poor’s/Case-Shiller Home Price Indices.The composite index of 20 metropolitan areas fell 2.2 percent in November from October, S&P said in a statement on Tuesday. The depreciation on a month-over-month basis was slightly worse than expectations based on a Reuters survey of economists…S&P said its composite index of 10 metropolitan areas fell 2.2 percent in November from October for a 19.1 percent year-over-year drop, matching the previous month’s record drop.
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
This is so important I just had to pass it along... enjoy!
Isakson: Fixing housing crisis key to economic recovery
Submitted by the office of Sen. IsaksonWASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Johnny Isakson, R-Ga., spoke on the Senate floor last week and argued that Congress must take steps to jump-start housing demand in order to boost the slumping economy. On Jan.15, Isakson introduced the Fix Housing First Homebuyer Tax Credit Act to expand the homebuyer tax credit passed by Congress last year.The text of Isakson’s remarks is below:“Madam President, to a certain extent I wish to follow up precisely on the remarks the Senator from Washington made at the end of her speech."I, too, have been disappointed with the deployment of the first half of the TARP money, and I supported that deployment in the hopes that it would stabilize the marketplace, ease credit for our customers, and help the housing market. While it probably did stabilize the banking system, there has yet to be a loosening of credit and there has yet to be a recovery of the housing market.“Looking ahead, we continue to look at suggestions that throw money at the problem rather than getting to the root cause of the problem. In fact, with the best of intentions, I think people are struggling to meet the symptoms of a serious illness rather than treat the illness. I wish to direct my remarks tonight to that illness.“The illness, as the Senator from Washington referred to, is the collapse of the U.S. housing market which began in the last quarter of 2007. In the first quarter of 2008, in January, I introduced a housing tax credit of up to $15,000 for the purchase of any house that was standing vacant or in foreclosure. I did it for a couple of reasons. No. 1, I was in the real estate business for 33 years, and I was in it in 1974, a year in which we had a housing collapse worse than the current situation. While many people think this one is bad, it is not as bad as 1974.“In December of 1974, there was a three-year supply of unsold, standing new houses in the United States of America. That is a catastrophic inventory. We currently have a supply of about 11 to 13 months, depending on the State. That is not a good market, but it is not 36 months, which is a horrible market.“President Gerald Ford, a Republican, and a Democratic Congress, came together and passed a $2,000 tax credit to any family who bought and occupied one of those standing homes. Within 1 year's time, which was the limited time of the tax credit, two-thirds of the housing inventory on the market was sold, values stopped declining and started improving, and we had a stabilization of our economy, the end of a recessionary period, and the beginning of prosperity.“I come here tonight because about an hour and a half ago I dropped a bill known as Fix Housing First, an effort for me and others in this body to rekindle that debate of last January. Now, last year, we did pass a housing tax credit, but it was a now-you-see-it/now-you-don't approach. It was a first-time home buyer credit of $7,500 that was a refundable loan, interest free, because over 15 years you would pay the credit back to the Government in the form of income taxes. It was an incentive, but it was weak. It was not bold.“The tax credit we introduced last year was scored by CBO at $11.4 billion, and Finance believed at that time--and maybe rightfully so--that was too big a price to pay and too expensive. Well, because we didn't do it, in October of this year, we approved $750 billion to address the symptoms of the problem, which is the failure of the housing market.“I had the privilege yesterday of meeting with some of President-elect Obama's team, including Rahm Emanuel, Dr. Summers, and others, and told them precisely what I am saying on the floor of the Senate today; that is, I hope they will embrace this concept of incentivizing the housing market so we can stabilize values, stop the continuing erosion of equity, and begin to reflate--not inflate but reflate--the housing market.“In America today, 20 percent of the houses are underwater, meaning there is more owed on them than they are worth. That means equity lines of credit with our banks are in default. It means students going to college are losing the money their parents had for tuition. It means there is not enough liquidity in households anymore or credit availability to make purchases of durable goods that are important to our system, and our system is continuing to feed in a downward spiral on the illiquidity, the lack of equity, and the lack of a marketplace for housing.“I was in this business for a long time, and I called 10 people who worked for me a number of years ago last weekend in Atlanta. I asked them, I said: What is going on in the market? Tell me what the buyers are saying or are there any buyers? I talked to a lady by the name of Glennis Beacham.“She said: Johnny, I had nine people come to my open house last weekend, and that is a good crowd for an open house in this marketplace. Every one of them had the money and they wanted to buy, but they were looking for two things: a short sale, which means somebody selling their house for less than is owed on it and getting a discount from the lender, which means it is a downward price or they are looking for somebody whose house is going into foreclosure that they think they can steal. They don't want to even make an offer on the 80 percent of people's houses in this country who are making their payments, aren't in default, aren't in foreclosure, but might need to sell. So the marketplace has died.“Now, Fix Housing First proposes the following: Repeal the $7,500 tax credit we passed last year, which is not being used, by the way. That credit has not been used to any extent whatsoever. Replace it with a tax credit that will go from $10,000 to $22,000 depending on the formula. It would be a monetizeable tax credit. What that means is this: you make the tax credit good for this year--January 1 through December 31 of 2009--but you allow the monetization or the claiming of that credit against the 2008 income taxes of that family. The 2008 income taxes come due in April of this year, the 15th. We all know that. By allowing the credit to be taken against 2008 income taxes, you can monetize that money at the closing, use it as a part of the down payment, and immediately incentivize the marketplace. Is that a little costly? Sure. Is it something we would rather not do? Probably. But what are we going to do? Watch the marketplace go down to where four out of every five houses are underwater? Watch sales go down to where there is no viable housing market in this country? It has not stopped spiraling. It is continuing, and everything feeds off of it.“I don't wish to belabor this point, but I wish to talk for the American people, the people of Georgia. The community bankers are hamstrung right now. Most of their investments are in real estate, residential construction, and acquisition and development loans. With no marketplace to buy the lots or buy the houses, they have no cash flow coming in to service the loans. They are deteriorating in terms of their value. Americans who have been transferred who are making their payments, who have a viable house, who have to sell it to move to the next city of choice, there is no marketplace to buy that house, so that is stagnating.“Consumer products, take carpets, for example. The State of Georgia, the County of Whitfield, the City of Dalton produces about 85 percent of the domestic carpet in the United States of America. It is shut down. The mills are shut down. Why? People aren't recarpeting. They aren't redoing their houses. New houses aren't selling. The market is gone. I could go on and on with durable products made in the United States of America whose industries are now in trouble because the housing market has taken a severe hit over a protracted period of time.“So my plea to the President-elect, to my friends on both sides of the aisle, to the Members of the United States House of Representatives, as we are deploying countless billions of dollars to react to problems that are manifesting because of a failed housing market and mistakes that were made in the past, let's put some money out there to incentivize Mr. and Ms. America who want the American dream to buy a home, to buy one for their family, occupy it as their residence, and give them a tax credit for doing it. It is a small price for the Government to pay to begin to restore the industry that got us to where we are and will lead us out of these dangerous and dark times.“So I come tonight on behalf of the homeowners of the Presiding Officer's State of Florida and mine, the community bankers, the realtors, the homebuilders, the fix-it people, the durable goods producers, the building supply makers, the landscapers--every job that has been lost and gone, in some cases forever, because the housing market in this country has collapsed.“We have learned our lesson for loose underwriting. We have learned our lesson from loaning money to people who weren't qualified to borrow. We have paid a terrible price for that lesson, both the country and the people. It is time for us to do what we know we should have done: have quality underwriting, available credit, but have accountability in our lending system, make sure values are appraised right, underwriting is done right, and credit is available but people are qualified. If we can do that and incentivize people to come back because of the tax credit, we can solve this problem.“I don't want to oversimplify the gravity of the problem we face, but the housing market led us in; the housing market will lead us out. It is time for us to fix housing first. Our failure to do so will cost us a lot more than $700 billion of our taxpayers' money, and countless Americans who shouldn't will lose their homes, lose their jobs, and lose their faith in the greatest country on the face of this Earth.“I ask my colleagues to study this recommendation. I hope the President-elect will embrace it. I hope, quickly, we can fix housing first in the United States of America.”
Submitted by the office of Sen. IsaksonWASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Johnny Isakson, R-Ga., spoke on the Senate floor last week and argued that Congress must take steps to jump-start housing demand in order to boost the slumping economy. On Jan.15, Isakson introduced the Fix Housing First Homebuyer Tax Credit Act to expand the homebuyer tax credit passed by Congress last year.The text of Isakson’s remarks is below:“Madam President, to a certain extent I wish to follow up precisely on the remarks the Senator from Washington made at the end of her speech."I, too, have been disappointed with the deployment of the first half of the TARP money, and I supported that deployment in the hopes that it would stabilize the marketplace, ease credit for our customers, and help the housing market. While it probably did stabilize the banking system, there has yet to be a loosening of credit and there has yet to be a recovery of the housing market.“Looking ahead, we continue to look at suggestions that throw money at the problem rather than getting to the root cause of the problem. In fact, with the best of intentions, I think people are struggling to meet the symptoms of a serious illness rather than treat the illness. I wish to direct my remarks tonight to that illness.“The illness, as the Senator from Washington referred to, is the collapse of the U.S. housing market which began in the last quarter of 2007. In the first quarter of 2008, in January, I introduced a housing tax credit of up to $15,000 for the purchase of any house that was standing vacant or in foreclosure. I did it for a couple of reasons. No. 1, I was in the real estate business for 33 years, and I was in it in 1974, a year in which we had a housing collapse worse than the current situation. While many people think this one is bad, it is not as bad as 1974.“In December of 1974, there was a three-year supply of unsold, standing new houses in the United States of America. That is a catastrophic inventory. We currently have a supply of about 11 to 13 months, depending on the State. That is not a good market, but it is not 36 months, which is a horrible market.“President Gerald Ford, a Republican, and a Democratic Congress, came together and passed a $2,000 tax credit to any family who bought and occupied one of those standing homes. Within 1 year's time, which was the limited time of the tax credit, two-thirds of the housing inventory on the market was sold, values stopped declining and started improving, and we had a stabilization of our economy, the end of a recessionary period, and the beginning of prosperity.“I come here tonight because about an hour and a half ago I dropped a bill known as Fix Housing First, an effort for me and others in this body to rekindle that debate of last January. Now, last year, we did pass a housing tax credit, but it was a now-you-see-it/now-you-don't approach. It was a first-time home buyer credit of $7,500 that was a refundable loan, interest free, because over 15 years you would pay the credit back to the Government in the form of income taxes. It was an incentive, but it was weak. It was not bold.“The tax credit we introduced last year was scored by CBO at $11.4 billion, and Finance believed at that time--and maybe rightfully so--that was too big a price to pay and too expensive. Well, because we didn't do it, in October of this year, we approved $750 billion to address the symptoms of the problem, which is the failure of the housing market.“I had the privilege yesterday of meeting with some of President-elect Obama's team, including Rahm Emanuel, Dr. Summers, and others, and told them precisely what I am saying on the floor of the Senate today; that is, I hope they will embrace this concept of incentivizing the housing market so we can stabilize values, stop the continuing erosion of equity, and begin to reflate--not inflate but reflate--the housing market.“In America today, 20 percent of the houses are underwater, meaning there is more owed on them than they are worth. That means equity lines of credit with our banks are in default. It means students going to college are losing the money their parents had for tuition. It means there is not enough liquidity in households anymore or credit availability to make purchases of durable goods that are important to our system, and our system is continuing to feed in a downward spiral on the illiquidity, the lack of equity, and the lack of a marketplace for housing.“I was in this business for a long time, and I called 10 people who worked for me a number of years ago last weekend in Atlanta. I asked them, I said: What is going on in the market? Tell me what the buyers are saying or are there any buyers? I talked to a lady by the name of Glennis Beacham.“She said: Johnny, I had nine people come to my open house last weekend, and that is a good crowd for an open house in this marketplace. Every one of them had the money and they wanted to buy, but they were looking for two things: a short sale, which means somebody selling their house for less than is owed on it and getting a discount from the lender, which means it is a downward price or they are looking for somebody whose house is going into foreclosure that they think they can steal. They don't want to even make an offer on the 80 percent of people's houses in this country who are making their payments, aren't in default, aren't in foreclosure, but might need to sell. So the marketplace has died.“Now, Fix Housing First proposes the following: Repeal the $7,500 tax credit we passed last year, which is not being used, by the way. That credit has not been used to any extent whatsoever. Replace it with a tax credit that will go from $10,000 to $22,000 depending on the formula. It would be a monetizeable tax credit. What that means is this: you make the tax credit good for this year--January 1 through December 31 of 2009--but you allow the monetization or the claiming of that credit against the 2008 income taxes of that family. The 2008 income taxes come due in April of this year, the 15th. We all know that. By allowing the credit to be taken against 2008 income taxes, you can monetize that money at the closing, use it as a part of the down payment, and immediately incentivize the marketplace. Is that a little costly? Sure. Is it something we would rather not do? Probably. But what are we going to do? Watch the marketplace go down to where four out of every five houses are underwater? Watch sales go down to where there is no viable housing market in this country? It has not stopped spiraling. It is continuing, and everything feeds off of it.“I don't wish to belabor this point, but I wish to talk for the American people, the people of Georgia. The community bankers are hamstrung right now. Most of their investments are in real estate, residential construction, and acquisition and development loans. With no marketplace to buy the lots or buy the houses, they have no cash flow coming in to service the loans. They are deteriorating in terms of their value. Americans who have been transferred who are making their payments, who have a viable house, who have to sell it to move to the next city of choice, there is no marketplace to buy that house, so that is stagnating.“Consumer products, take carpets, for example. The State of Georgia, the County of Whitfield, the City of Dalton produces about 85 percent of the domestic carpet in the United States of America. It is shut down. The mills are shut down. Why? People aren't recarpeting. They aren't redoing their houses. New houses aren't selling. The market is gone. I could go on and on with durable products made in the United States of America whose industries are now in trouble because the housing market has taken a severe hit over a protracted period of time.“So my plea to the President-elect, to my friends on both sides of the aisle, to the Members of the United States House of Representatives, as we are deploying countless billions of dollars to react to problems that are manifesting because of a failed housing market and mistakes that were made in the past, let's put some money out there to incentivize Mr. and Ms. America who want the American dream to buy a home, to buy one for their family, occupy it as their residence, and give them a tax credit for doing it. It is a small price for the Government to pay to begin to restore the industry that got us to where we are and will lead us out of these dangerous and dark times.“So I come tonight on behalf of the homeowners of the Presiding Officer's State of Florida and mine, the community bankers, the realtors, the homebuilders, the fix-it people, the durable goods producers, the building supply makers, the landscapers--every job that has been lost and gone, in some cases forever, because the housing market in this country has collapsed.“We have learned our lesson for loose underwriting. We have learned our lesson from loaning money to people who weren't qualified to borrow. We have paid a terrible price for that lesson, both the country and the people. It is time for us to do what we know we should have done: have quality underwriting, available credit, but have accountability in our lending system, make sure values are appraised right, underwriting is done right, and credit is available but people are qualified. If we can do that and incentivize people to come back because of the tax credit, we can solve this problem.“I don't want to oversimplify the gravity of the problem we face, but the housing market led us in; the housing market will lead us out. It is time for us to fix housing first. Our failure to do so will cost us a lot more than $700 billion of our taxpayers' money, and countless Americans who shouldn't will lose their homes, lose their jobs, and lose their faith in the greatest country on the face of this Earth.“I ask my colleagues to study this recommendation. I hope the President-elect will embrace it. I hope, quickly, we can fix housing first in the United States of America.”
Wednesday, January 7, 2009
Don't Miss Out on This Years Spring Market
The AJC is reporting… “The good news? Since World War II, no recession has lasted longer than 16 months. That’s a mark the current downturn could pass this spring”.
When is now! Spring market in real estate. It is practically a legendary time. It's the time when all sellers and buyers come out of hibernation invest in real estate. But if you wait for spring to sell your house, it may be too late. If you are thinking about buying or selling a house, you may want to get your ducks in a row a little while before you are ready to get your house listed on the market. This way, you can know what to expect and how long it will take. You will also have knowledge of when the best time to sell your house will be. When you think of Spring, you think of April showers and May flowers. But in real estate, the spring Market is half over by then. Will you have missed your buyer if you list your house in April or May? Are you still going to get the best traffic, and therefore the best offers, through your house? If you are thinking of putting your house up for sale in the Spring, you should think February. February? Yes, February. Actually, the landmark date that you should think of as the beginning of the Spring Real Estate Market is the Super Bowl. That seems to be the time when most people venture out of their houses, are settled back in after the holidays and are starting to get stir crazy. It's also a great time to start getting your house on the market for sale. Prices and interest rates have not been this low since the mid 1990s .
When interviewing Realtors in order to decide who to hire, make sure to ask them when the best time to sell is. If you have no time constraints, you may want to target the Spring Real Estate Market. However, be sure that you know when that is in your area. If you need help we can refer you to Realtors that will best suit your needs. Since prices are not rising in most areas, there is nothing to loose by listing your house for sale in February. In fact, if prices are actively falling in your area, you can be sure that there are many, many houses for sale. If you get a jump on some of the new listings that will surely be coming on the market for Spring, you may find yourself ahead of falling prices and get more money for your house. Additionally, if you are in a real estate market where prices are not holding, there are probably many houses which were recently listed for sale and which did not sell. When do you think the owners of those houses are waiting for to relist their houses for sale? Spring, of course! Don't you think it will be a good idea to get your house on to the market before there is so much more inventory added to the mix.
Reminder : If you are a FIRST TIME HOME BUYER Remember that the US $7500 tax credit will be gone in April.. Don’t let it pass you by…
When is now! Spring market in real estate. It is practically a legendary time. It's the time when all sellers and buyers come out of hibernation invest in real estate. But if you wait for spring to sell your house, it may be too late. If you are thinking about buying or selling a house, you may want to get your ducks in a row a little while before you are ready to get your house listed on the market. This way, you can know what to expect and how long it will take. You will also have knowledge of when the best time to sell your house will be. When you think of Spring, you think of April showers and May flowers. But in real estate, the spring Market is half over by then. Will you have missed your buyer if you list your house in April or May? Are you still going to get the best traffic, and therefore the best offers, through your house? If you are thinking of putting your house up for sale in the Spring, you should think February. February? Yes, February. Actually, the landmark date that you should think of as the beginning of the Spring Real Estate Market is the Super Bowl. That seems to be the time when most people venture out of their houses, are settled back in after the holidays and are starting to get stir crazy. It's also a great time to start getting your house on the market for sale. Prices and interest rates have not been this low since the mid 1990s .
When interviewing Realtors in order to decide who to hire, make sure to ask them when the best time to sell is. If you have no time constraints, you may want to target the Spring Real Estate Market. However, be sure that you know when that is in your area. If you need help we can refer you to Realtors that will best suit your needs. Since prices are not rising in most areas, there is nothing to loose by listing your house for sale in February. In fact, if prices are actively falling in your area, you can be sure that there are many, many houses for sale. If you get a jump on some of the new listings that will surely be coming on the market for Spring, you may find yourself ahead of falling prices and get more money for your house. Additionally, if you are in a real estate market where prices are not holding, there are probably many houses which were recently listed for sale and which did not sell. When do you think the owners of those houses are waiting for to relist their houses for sale? Spring, of course! Don't you think it will be a good idea to get your house on to the market before there is so much more inventory added to the mix.
Reminder : If you are a FIRST TIME HOME BUYER Remember that the US $7500 tax credit will be gone in April.. Don’t let it pass you by…
Saturday, April 5, 2008
How Can I Sell My Home to Take Advantage of the Buyers Market?
We all have said at one time or another “I Wish I Would Have Bought Back When" Well truly now is When! These days many people would invest in real estate if they could only sell their existing home. You must be able to look at the big picture. With the incentives offered in the market today the future potential return can far exceed what you think you are losing on your current home. The perceived loss of equity is mostly that, perceived. Most people were not aware of what their home was worth before the news told us about it, so it is understandable that they would be shocked. It is true that property values have fallen, that is a fact. With that, the actual number of existing home sales has gone up! Selling your existing house these days is very possible but you must be serious and committed to do the things that buyers are looking for. I have found with some creative thinking and a real understanding of the numbers, you will find yourself winning in the end. Here are a few ideas to help you gather the information you will need to make the most informed decision.
Before the Sign Goes Out in the Yard
Work With a Realtor – The days of “one sign, one sale” is gone. With all the information on various mass media outlets available today, many prospective purchasers (as you are soon to be) are more informed than at any other time. Having someone committed to being there to help you is more important than it has ever been. Many people do not realize how time consuming and costly the process of marketing a house listing (correctly) can be and that is just the start. Great agents are constantly educating themselves to the legal, technical, sociological aspects of the real estate market just to insure your best interests. In fact, the smoother and quicker the process of selling your home seems, it is a likely sign of the skill and education of your agent possesses. A great agent has a very real way of “making it look easy.” The more you think that they did not earn it the more probable it is that they did.
Get Your Home Appraised – The best way to negotiate on your new home is to know what you can expect to make on your existing one. Although you may have a very talented agent, a true appraisal of your home validates your asking price. Only a registered appraiser is legally trained to do that for you. Think about it; you get an offer, you address any issues, you negotiate a fair deal and then the lender calls your buyer to let them know that the appraised value of the home is just not there. Now you have run the risk of losing that buyer or having them ask for even more money off the price.(remember the smooth process I mentioned earlier) In this market where every buyer is a blessing and one of your first ten potential purchasers will more than likely be your buyer. Can you really afford to take the chance on losing them? With the power of the appraisal in you hand you can stand up and feel good about your asking price and take the emotional ache of not being sure if you should consider an offer or not. When every dollar is on the line appraisal will help you make the most educated decision. Get an appraisal.
Get a Home Inspection – “What, you want me to spend more money?” No, I want you to sell your home as quick as possible for the most money possible without spending a lot of money. Having your home inspected tells your probable buyer that you are an honest seller with nothing to hide. It is a fact that most buyers these days will have a home inspection done and should that inspector find anything, even things considered to be “minimal or normal” the damage is done. They will ask for some crazy discount to off set the cost or worse not feel good about the investment and move on. An inspection is also helpful when marketing a house. I know of people that went out and remodeled their kitchen for thousands of dollars to get the home ready. The reality was they only needed to spend a few hundred dollars in repairs that an inspector found. With just these things alone, they would have been ready to out shine the competition. Get a home inspection Offer a home warranty – “You are killing me!” Ok, Ok, I know the out of pocket expenses can add up. Hopefully you have done basic maintenance to your investment to protect it. So the cost of repairs should be manageable. In today’s market you are competing with builders and their deeply discounted inventory homes. All of the homes have one thing in common, a warranty. The great thing for you is that many pre owned homes and sellers do not offer warranties. This fact alone gives you an additional edge over the other homes in you neighborhood. These warranties are available through third party companies and offer your buyer very good protection for very little money. (Typically $350 to $600 dollars in our area) When you offer a warranty you will again cement into the mind of your buyer how great an investment your house is and how you are not just forgetting about it or them after the sale. As far as the out of pocket expenses go the warranty can be paid for at the closing table and just subtracted from the return on your investment.
Do The Math – Once you and your agent gather the information from the appraisal, you can come up with the asking price on your house. The appraised value does not always dictate what the asking price will be. Many factors add to the estimated value. Demand can be highly localized. Things like schools, and distance to highways, and architectural design features can play a big role in what your house will sell for. Add up your estimated costs for the appraisal, inspection and its repairs. To that add the warrantee and real estate fees and what is left on you current mortgage. Subtract those from the sales price (give yourself a 5% cushion for negotiation) and you have arrived at your “estimated working equity”. It is important to remember that no matter what this number is, it will be normal to feel that it is less than you expected.
The Great News! You now have powerful information which to go out in the market place to position you self to take advantage of what many people say is the best time to invest in a new home ever. That $25,000 “hit “ you take on your house can translate into things like a $40,000 basement finish or maybe ¼ point interest rate buy down on your new mortgage. Huge money! A new home purchase has all the potential in the world to make it up to you. It’s less expensive now that ever before to finance and invest in a home. Even building a new custom home, which used to be reserved to people that would pay top dollar, is a great deal. The lack of demand on the work force means you will get better quality at better price. You can relocate to the areas that you have always wanted to live in and have a home with the features that best suit your lifestyle. In the end it is about improving your quality of life and investing your hard earned money wisely.
In part 2. I will discuss the new home market and all the creative ways you can set yourself up to win and win big.
Happy Hunting!
Before the Sign Goes Out in the Yard
Work With a Realtor – The days of “one sign, one sale” is gone. With all the information on various mass media outlets available today, many prospective purchasers (as you are soon to be) are more informed than at any other time. Having someone committed to being there to help you is more important than it has ever been. Many people do not realize how time consuming and costly the process of marketing a house listing (correctly) can be and that is just the start. Great agents are constantly educating themselves to the legal, technical, sociological aspects of the real estate market just to insure your best interests. In fact, the smoother and quicker the process of selling your home seems, it is a likely sign of the skill and education of your agent possesses. A great agent has a very real way of “making it look easy.” The more you think that they did not earn it the more probable it is that they did.
Get Your Home Appraised – The best way to negotiate on your new home is to know what you can expect to make on your existing one. Although you may have a very talented agent, a true appraisal of your home validates your asking price. Only a registered appraiser is legally trained to do that for you. Think about it; you get an offer, you address any issues, you negotiate a fair deal and then the lender calls your buyer to let them know that the appraised value of the home is just not there. Now you have run the risk of losing that buyer or having them ask for even more money off the price.(remember the smooth process I mentioned earlier) In this market where every buyer is a blessing and one of your first ten potential purchasers will more than likely be your buyer. Can you really afford to take the chance on losing them? With the power of the appraisal in you hand you can stand up and feel good about your asking price and take the emotional ache of not being sure if you should consider an offer or not. When every dollar is on the line appraisal will help you make the most educated decision. Get an appraisal.
Get a Home Inspection – “What, you want me to spend more money?” No, I want you to sell your home as quick as possible for the most money possible without spending a lot of money. Having your home inspected tells your probable buyer that you are an honest seller with nothing to hide. It is a fact that most buyers these days will have a home inspection done and should that inspector find anything, even things considered to be “minimal or normal” the damage is done. They will ask for some crazy discount to off set the cost or worse not feel good about the investment and move on. An inspection is also helpful when marketing a house. I know of people that went out and remodeled their kitchen for thousands of dollars to get the home ready. The reality was they only needed to spend a few hundred dollars in repairs that an inspector found. With just these things alone, they would have been ready to out shine the competition. Get a home inspection Offer a home warranty – “You are killing me!” Ok, Ok, I know the out of pocket expenses can add up. Hopefully you have done basic maintenance to your investment to protect it. So the cost of repairs should be manageable. In today’s market you are competing with builders and their deeply discounted inventory homes. All of the homes have one thing in common, a warranty. The great thing for you is that many pre owned homes and sellers do not offer warranties. This fact alone gives you an additional edge over the other homes in you neighborhood. These warranties are available through third party companies and offer your buyer very good protection for very little money. (Typically $350 to $600 dollars in our area) When you offer a warranty you will again cement into the mind of your buyer how great an investment your house is and how you are not just forgetting about it or them after the sale. As far as the out of pocket expenses go the warranty can be paid for at the closing table and just subtracted from the return on your investment.
Do The Math – Once you and your agent gather the information from the appraisal, you can come up with the asking price on your house. The appraised value does not always dictate what the asking price will be. Many factors add to the estimated value. Demand can be highly localized. Things like schools, and distance to highways, and architectural design features can play a big role in what your house will sell for. Add up your estimated costs for the appraisal, inspection and its repairs. To that add the warrantee and real estate fees and what is left on you current mortgage. Subtract those from the sales price (give yourself a 5% cushion for negotiation) and you have arrived at your “estimated working equity”. It is important to remember that no matter what this number is, it will be normal to feel that it is less than you expected.
The Great News! You now have powerful information which to go out in the market place to position you self to take advantage of what many people say is the best time to invest in a new home ever. That $25,000 “hit “ you take on your house can translate into things like a $40,000 basement finish or maybe ¼ point interest rate buy down on your new mortgage. Huge money! A new home purchase has all the potential in the world to make it up to you. It’s less expensive now that ever before to finance and invest in a home. Even building a new custom home, which used to be reserved to people that would pay top dollar, is a great deal. The lack of demand on the work force means you will get better quality at better price. You can relocate to the areas that you have always wanted to live in and have a home with the features that best suit your lifestyle. In the end it is about improving your quality of life and investing your hard earned money wisely.
In part 2. I will discuss the new home market and all the creative ways you can set yourself up to win and win big.
Happy Hunting!
Welcome All
Welcome to Cobb County Real Estate Blog! This blog will provide you with valuable information, tips, and general insight into the real estate market in The Greater Cobb County Area. My goal is to help you with the moist current and relevent information to help you navigate the current challenging market. Please enjoy and your feedback is greatly appreciated. I am proud to bring to you our latest offering to our incrementally expanding business. I would like to thank our entire group valued client partners to whom I owe the richest of experiences. Much of the information found in our "Home-Zine" we learned together and special thanks to my wife Colleen your inexhaustible support has always been my inspiration.
For that, I am eternally grateful.
For that, I am eternally grateful.
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