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THIS IS A MUST READ ARTICLE describing how the Daily News ripped off the Empire State Building in 90 minutes using forged documents.  It highlights the huge potential for thieves to take advantage of a system that does no verification of information.

I believe that in the not too distant future we will see an entire industry developed to make sure your “REAL PROPERTY” is not stolen or tampered with, much like what we have today to protect ourselves from identity theft.

I had a gentleman contact me who wanted to sell some property he had and I looked it up on the tax records and told him that according to what I was seeing on the tax records he had transferred the property through sale earlier in the year.  It turns out a  family member had sold the property using bogus documents and notary.

Guess who the buyer was?  A REAL ESTATE BROKER –  who should have known that if the price was “too good to be true” there was probably something fishy going on.

		Direct: Fax:	559.301.1647 559.438.7475
1319 W Bullard #4 — Fresno CA — 93711
© Randy “Lazarus” McAtee

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Can somebody please help me understand what’s going on?

People getting trampled to death in shopping malls and retail reports indicating sales are UP this year, while hundreds of thousands of people are losing their homes and the financial markets are the worse they’ve been since the great depression.

It reminds me of Randy Pausch speaking of the cognitive dissonance he was experiencing.

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Fresno California Real Estate Market Update (edit/delete)

Interesting article in the Fresno Bee yesterday discussing the uptick real estate sales.  According to the article the same investors who sold property 2003 - 2005 and went to the sidelines are now coming back in.

• Fresno Association of Realtors reports preliminary figures of  612 units sold in October
• Over half of  October sales (56%)  were foreclosures.
• The median price of a home is now $175,000 ( down 31% from a year ago)

Go here for a chart of sales in Fresno  Clovis area

		Direct: Fax:		559.301.1647 559.438.7475
1319 W Bullard #4 — Fresno CA — 93711
© Randy “Lazarus” McAtee

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First of all, you’re not alone. Hundreds of thousands of households all across America are facing foreclosure.

First: BEWARE  OF  FORECLOSURE SCAMS.

I had a homeowner call me recently that asked for help in retrieving the money she gave to a company to save her home from foreclosure.  The company that took her money did absolutely NOTHING.  Realtors© are NOT ATTORNEYS and cant help you after you have been scammed.  Report the scammer to the police and have the local District Attorney help you.

Second: Know that there is help available through legitimate non-profit orginizations.  I suggest Neighborhood Works, ” a national nonprofit organization created by Congress to provide financial support, technical assistance, and training for community-based revitalization efforts.” or its affiliate: Foreclosurehelpandhope.org.

The primary job of a Realtor© is to SELL HOMES.  Its true that if your facing foreclosuer you may very well need the services of a Realtor© but Realtor© DO NOT have the time, resources, or expertise to help you in many of the matters one might have when faced with foreclosure.

If you and the  person who counsels conclude that a *Short Sale is the best remedy for your situation they will instruct you to contact a Realtor©.

* WHAT IS A SHORT SALE ?

Difinition from Wikipedia:  A short sale occurs when the proceeds of a real estate sale fall short of the balance owed on the property.^[1] In a short sale, the bank or mortgage lender agrees to discount a loan balance due to an economic or financial hardship on the part of the mortgagor. This negotiation is all done through communication with a bank’s Loss mitigation department. The home owner/debtor sells the mortgaged property for less than the outstanding balance of the loan, and turns over the proceeds of the sale to the lender, sometimes (but not always) in full satisfaction of the debt. In such instances, the lender would have the right to approve or disapprove of a proposed sale. Most Short Sales leave a deficiency balance for which the Mortgagor / Borrower is still liable. In 99% of all cases it is not a settlement-in-full. A deficiency balance will remain while the mortgage broker, real estate agent / broker, loan officers, title and closing agents still remain getting their profit. And no regulatory agency governs this hybrid transaction. (read more)

________

On the other hand - if all you need is help in purchasing a home - possibly a “Short Sale” or REO (real estate owned — meaning owned by the lender) feel free to call me today.  I can help.

		Direct: Fax:		559.301.1647 559.438.7475
1319 W Bullard #4 — Fresno CA — 93711
© Randy “Lazarus” McAtee

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First, a reminder for those of you missed it: Lazarus announced the recession before Bush and Buffet.

So, when I announced the recession I said I would not be buying Starbucks beans until its over.  Ok, not only am I not purchasing Starbucks beans, recently I decided to give up their formula for a perfect cup of coffee. Starbucks recommends that you brew your coffee using 2 tablespoons per 6 ounces of water.

I am convinced that the success of Starbucks has been, in great measure, simply due to the fact that they brew their coffee very strong.  Starbuck’s brew is not my daddy’s brew —  the weak, often reheated, and even sometimes made with reused grinds, brew made from the 3 lb. can of whatever brand was cheapest.  NO! Starbuck’s coffee is a REAL MAN’S coffee — STRONG —– it’ll put hair on your chest - COFFEE, and I love it that way.

Nevertheless, I have decided, that I can still enjoy a decent cup of coffee with half the amount of grind.  So, as the recession deepens I am cutting back to 1 tablespoon per 6 ounces of water which still falls within guidelines for good cup of coffee according to the National Coffee Association.  But folks, it hasn’t stopped there.  I’ve also decided that I can use our 2% milk as a creamer instead of buying Half and Half. Since I go through approx 1 quart of half and half per week and approx 2 lbs of beans per month I estimate a monthly savings of $12.00 to $15.00 per month.

		Direct: Fax:		559.301.1647 559.438.7475
1319 W Bullard #4 — Fresno CA — 93711
© Randy “Lazarus” McAtee

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Awhile back I submitted an offer for clients on a Mobile Home that our MLS states to be a 1979 on a permanent foundation.

The date of manufacture and the foundation are critical to what kind of financing you can obtain. I’m not an expert on Mobile Home sales but I do know that to get the best financing the home must be on a permanent foundation: meaning in a California, a seismic foundation system. Also, you want the mobile home to be newer than 1978.

This particular home seemed to meet the requirements. In fact, it was REALLY NICE — almost like new. Besides installing a permanent foundation certifed by the County of Fresno, the unit also had the following: New roof, siding, doors, window, sheet rock, paint, etc … in fact, just about everything was new. There was also a second mobile home on the property (single wide)

The first thing I learned - from the lender - is that in order for a mobile home to qualify for FHA financing there can only be one unit on the property. So, knowing that there was a second unit on the property the lender instructed the owners to remove the stove and water heater from the smaller single wide so it could be deemed and out building. In theory this would generally work but this little single wide looked brand spankin’ new just like the other one so the appraisers pictures left no doubt in the mind of the lender as to it being a second home.

I also learned that if the mobile home has been moved from its original location it no longer will qualify for FHA financing (even if it qualified in its previous location)

But here’s where I got my education. Every mobile home that qualifies for FHA financing MUST HAVE HUD TAGS. HUD tags are the equivalent of license plates or more specifically the VIN numbers of a vehicle.

The appraiser could not find the HUD tags so I gave here the information from the Engineering Dept of the County of Fresno that had the serial number ID info on it. This was all the seller was able to produce.

This wasnt sufficient so the appraiser gave me information from HUD to pass on to the listing agent that would allow them to get the original tags based upon that information.

According to what I was told by the listing agent HUD had no record of those units so they could not be reproduced.

As a last ditch effort the sellers had the siding removed in an attempt to locate the original stamps, to no avail.

So, after weeks of work trying to get FHA financing we had to give up.

The listing agent then emailed me and told me he knew of a source for financing, albeit not FHA.

So, I contacted the source and the gal I spoke with was very knowledgeable. The only information I could give here was the serial numbers that I had on the County Engineering Document that stated the age of the unit, the year the foundation was installed, etc.

When she ran the numbers she came up with a match. The match was a unit that 1976 and NOT 1979. It also had a stated address different from the current address — BUT VERY CLOSE BY. So close that it looked like to me that when the property was subdivided it was formerly on another parcel. The most troubling thing she said though, was that her information showed a different owner that the current one.

The information she provided me led me to conclude the following:

• The mobile home was perhaps originally placed at that property prior to a subdivision of the property — but not at that location.

• The mobile home is not a 1979 model as advertised in the MLS but rather a 1976.

• After the property was subdivided the mobile home was moved from one parcel to another.

		Direct: Fax:		559.301.1647 559.438.7475
1319 W Bullard #4 — Fresno CA — 93711

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Two weeks into the beginning of the new year - January 14th, 2008 - I announced the official beginning of the recession.  It now appears that folks in suits and bowties who are supposed to know more about this stuff than me are finally beginning to realize the recession is NOT coming in the future - we are IN IT NOW!

An exerpt from  an article on Mid-Atlantic region factory output:

The Philadelphia Federal Reserve Bank said its business activity index slumped unexpectedly hard to -37.5 in October from 3.8 in September. That was its lowest since October 1990.

“The data, put simply, were horrendous coming out of the Philadelphia Fed region today,” said Dana Saporta, economist at Dresdner Kleinwort in New York.

“This reading is consistent with the recession we are in and probably have probably been in for a while.”

There you have it!

..and yes, I am still drinking coffee made from beans bought at Savemart.

____________

Want to buy a foreclosed home in Fresno?  You can contact me at 559-301-1647

Lazarus Realty

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I just read an article in today’s Fresno Bee title “Real Estate Loses Luster” that in April of 2005 at around the peak of the market there were 19,795 people who took the california real estate exam.  This July only 1,702 people took the exam.According to the article, “everyone and his or her brother took the test to become a real estate agent hoping to cash in” —- back then.

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I just received a letter from Countrywide with not-so-good news.  According to the letter Countrywide “recently became aware that a Countrywide employee (now former) may have sold unauthorized personal information about you to a third party.  Based upon a joint investigation conducted by Countrywide and law enforcement this authorities, it was determined that the customer information involved in this incident included your name, address, Social Security number, loan number and various other loan application information.“

That’s a good way to take a bad reputation and make WORSE.

Maybe I will refinance next year with Wells Fargo.

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