"As a man thinks of himself in his heart, that is how he lives" (paraphrased from some collection of Books maybe referred to as "The Bible")
Can we try an excercise? Can we "pretend" that what we say today will be true in 30 days? Try saying this about yourself in 30 days. No, say it now ABOUT yourself in 30 days silly:
I am struggling - every day is more bad news and I cannot overcome. I just cannot get my mind to think positive thoughts. No matter what I do it just gets worse.
I am hanging in there - times are tough and some days I think I may lose. Other days I think I may win and get ahead but bad news and this terrible economy is so hard to overcome.
I want to improve - but I just do not know what to do. The real estate market has been so beat up by the media and in reality it is suffering but I really think I can do it. I really believe I can improve my situation and the perception of my industry. I just need help or something.
I am an overcomer - this market has taken its toll on everyone but I know I can come through. Even though I have suffered some setbacks I am finally back in position to make some inroads and progress. Things are getting better.
What problem - there was a problem? I really do not understand the question. The last two years have been my best two years of my life!
There are 100,000 + members (actually and 903 right now) and at least 10 will read this post. Can we take this challenge and predict our own future with the power of our words? Does it really work? Can a person really influence their own actions and guide their own future by thinking positive thoughts and acting accordingly?
Let's check back in 30 days - comment at least one word if you're up to the challenge. I am an overcomer. We have definitely faced many challenges during the last 18 to 24 months and right now it appears almost hopeless to the remnant of my staff but I have a greater portion of my self which remains undaunted. WE WILL MAKE IT!
Are you with me?
Ken Cook - Georgia - FHA, USDA, VA and Conventional Home Loans (678) 439-8683
If you have not yet read Scott Schang's article House OKs Mortgage Rescue Bill - Is this really a "Mortgage Bail Out ?" you should do so now. Scott's recent article has blown away all previous records for number of hits in a 24 hour period. No wonder - it's an excellent piece of journalism well deserving of the few minutes it requires to read.
The 24 is not a competitor with Active Rain but rather an additional opportunity to post open articles to the thousands of readers who find The 24 in the top results for Google searches for many key words. You are invited to post your articles or comments to The 24 in addition to Active Rain. For best results keep the content unique to all of your blog and article postings across the net.
Ken Cook - Georgia - FHA, USDA, VA and Conventional Home Loans (678) 439-8683
GOOD NEWS!
For a decade I offered the "Real Estate Investor's QuickStart Workshop" which was attended by literally thousands of investors, prospective investors, new investors and seasoned investors. It is a 3 hour workshop designed to help the new investor understand the possibilities and options ahead of them and to give the seasoned investor the opportunity to confirm their activities and review the changes in the market.
JULY 31, 2008 - 7:00PM Sharp!
2501 E Piedmont Road, Suite 111
Marietta, GA 30062
Only EIGHT Seats Available Real Estate Investors QuickStart Workshop Real Estate Investors QuickStart Workshop
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This may sound like a proud statement but I don't mean it that way. People who have attended this workshops and applied the principles in them have fared better than any of my other clients who have "done it on their own" or attended many other so called "Investor Institutes" or "Bootcamps".
These are not principles I conjured to sell books and CD's, these are actual street level techniques, processes and attitudes I have observed for many, many years. Funny, the only people that you may know who have criticized me for saying the techniques I teach are better than almost every guru, regardless of how flashy their presentation or how expensive their seminar, are the ones who have made some terrible mistakes in investing.
The cost of the QuickStart Workshop? Only FIFTY DOLLARS
Why is it ONLY FIFTY DOLLARS? Even though it's worth hundreds of dollars if not thousands I expect to be your lender. I'll even refund you the admission price towards your first closing with me.
What Do We Cover? (Not necessarily in this order)
Buying with no money down, still possible? Make sense?
Using hard money, private funding
Building for profit
Long term hold mechanisms
Ordinances, laws and investment activity
Owning in you IRA - tax free
Getting the most return on your investment
Rent for more than your competition
Getting distressed sellers to call you
Equity harvesting from your investments - when and how
Threading the taxable income needle
Beating your short sale competition
Selling before you close on your purchase
How to get paid as a bird dog (finder, consultant)
Quit claims and security deeds, what?
Calculating profit BEFORE you make your offer (yes it CAN be done accurately)
Learn to be a wholesaler without spending a dime
How to flip and flip fast even in today's market
Building a solid exit strategy in today's market
Hold vs. flip - you need to know these numbers!
What crooked wholesalers don't tell you
Identifying ten year market potential
Retire on 2 homes per year
Much, MUCH more.
You will leave having created or reviewed your Real Estate Investment Model and a Business Plan. You will leave knowing how to qualify for the best loans Real Estate Investor's Trainingfor real estate investment strategies. You will have Ken's direct contact information including his Personal Cell Phone Number! You will be included on Ken's regular email list that goes out to over 2800 people with information from dozens of contacts around the nation.
Seriously, it's 3 hours of non-stop, jam packed accurate and up to date information. I could easily stretch this into a weekend and charge $2000 or more for it. The $50 is just to cover the reservation of the space, the snacks and drinks, and the printed materials you will leave with. Maximum class size is 8 people so you will get individual attention. Classes begin at 9AM and end at Noon or begin at 1PM and end at 4PM. If you're lucky you'll get me one on one like many people have in the past.
You will get a copy of the presentation and all of the Excel formulas and spread sheets used in the workshop. You will get them printed and on a CD-ROM which includes the PowerPoint presentation and links to hundreds if not thousands of resources on the web.
Listen friends, there is no way for someone outside of the mortgage banking industry to keep up with all of the changes. It even takes my full staff to keep me posted on just a narrow majority of the changes. We learn many new things every day from various sources inside the banking and investment industry. This information will give you the edge in today's market!
Ken Cook - Georgia - FHA, USDA, VA and Conventional Home Loans (678) 439-8683
Wachovia has decided they only want to do mortgage business with people who have an existing banking relationship with them.
Starting to smell a bit like IndyMac in here?
The announcement wasn't really a surprise since it has been hinted at several times over the last few weeks. It's just always nice to get a really personal, ahem, email that your Account Executive is now looking for a job just like the rest of us.
And I cut and paste ...
"As you know, the mortgage industry is experiencing a very challenging market environment. Declining housing values, increased foreclosures, disappearing mortgage lenders, and a struggling secondary market are all symptoms of this market turmoil. Wachovia Mortgage has evaluated its business model and decided to reposition its mortgage business. Going forward, we will primarily focus on customers who have relationships with the bank, and who are located in geographies where Wachovia branches are located."
I've been called a "stoned monkey", an "idiot", a "marble brain" and a few other words on a couple of other blogs because I've been predicting this for MONTHS (not just Wachovia but bank withdrawal and collapse). I haven't published too much of it here on AR because I've always tried to keep it positive.
Well, the public is still sitting on their ...
See you at the polls in November. I dare you to vote for inexperience in a time like this.
THE OPINIONS IN THIS COMMENTARY ARE STRICTLY KEN COOK's PERSONAL
OPINION AND NOT REFLECTIVE ON ACTIVE RAIN, NOVATION MORTGAGE, or ANY SPONSOR OF
THIS WEBSITE.
EDUCATION BEATS LEGISLATION EVERY TIME. Get your clients, friends and family
members to a LENDER RUN home mortgage seminar as soon as possible.
Now most of my writing is not about how bad things
are. In fact it was I who said, "If you think the market is so bad
get the hell out and let the rest of us make a living." Well,
I'm thinking about getting back into Internet Services - I programmed the online
catalogs (shopping cart systems), message boards [an old name for blogs], online
contact management and information delivery systems, online databases for The
NRA, Loomis&Fargo, Hunter Engineering, Shari's Restaurants, CrossGen Comics
and many more - in fact, I programmed and developed one of the first online
video streaming sites back in 1999 for a company called PCVision - bug I
digress.
It's bad today from a finance standpoint.
It's very difficult to get funding even for decent credit, income and asset
folks. Many lenders just flat out say "no real estate agents with stated income
at all".
It's about to get worse ... maybe much worse. Unless
...
Ben Bernanke and the Fed Board have control over Fannie and
Freddie wherein lending guidelines are concerned. One of the many lines of
"sweeping changes" they are planning on making whether you like
it or not is the complete elimination of stated income loans. Shhhhh, if you
oppose them you don't know what their real purpose is but I'm about to hit you
with an exact scenario from my office this morning.
My client makes $60,000 per year that she can demonstrate on
her taxes. Her husband makes $80,000 per year that he can demonstrate on his
taxes. The home mortgage is in her name, his truck is in her name, he pays all
of the utilities and contributes to the other cost of living expenses in the
home. He has a middle score in the mid 500's and just came out of bankruptcy -
basically nothing really available to him as a borrower. In fact, if we put him
on a loan application it would cause the application to be denied because of his
credit history. Now if she can state her income as her salary plus 1/2 of what
he contributes to the expenses (1/2 of the house payment, the truck payment,
living expenses) then she can qualify for the refinance they need to get out of
the ARM they are in.
Do you think it's fair to deny her or should she be able to
state her income to include her husband's contribution to expenses?
Either way the Feds plan on eliminating Stated
Income loans for any purpose or reason within a very short
time.
Down Payment Assistance for FHA Homebuyers. I know, some of
you just went, "Well, Ken, what's the problem with that? If they can't save
enough to make a 3% down payment they don't deserve to own their own
home!"
Consider this: Mary and Phil are renting an apartment for
$1200 per month. They have no tax advantage at all from renting. They have built
no equity and no mortgage credit history. I know, that genius Kyosaki or
whatever his name is tells you this is smart ... why does he own his own home
then? But again, I digress.
Mary and Phil have never owned their own home but a nice
Realtor™ who is also an Active Rain member has found the perfect home for them.
It is a nice 3 bed, 2 bath ranch right in their area and it's a steal because it
was a foreclosure. They can get it for about $110,000 and all the comps are in
the $140k range. Best of all their principal and interest payment will
be only $688 per month!
But wait, they haven't been able to save any money because
they've been working so hard to pay off their cars and student loans and they've
been paying such high rent. Their DTI will be only 31% with the new home but
they have NO DOWN PAYMENT.
Still think it's a good idea to deny them the opportunity to
own their own home because they haven't been able to save when they can get the
home for pennies on the dollar, have great credit, good income but no down
payment?
The government, by it's very design, cannot make
regulations that treat everyone fairly. The best they can do is to make
regulations that either treat the majority fairly or punish the majority
equally.
A year ago or more I wrote "The Baby, The Bathwater, And The
American Dream". It's somewhere on AR.
Lastly, at least for this blog post, interest rates
are Going To Go Up. It's a necessity. Inflation is in the
process of running away. Fuel costs are out of site, unemployment is up sharply,
Americans are using their credit cards to buy gas and food, housing values have
tanked and loans are difficult to fund. The balance is to raise interest rates.
I don't have time to explain why just Google rates vs. inflation or
something.
It's not going to get better soon and, in fact, it's going
to get even worse before it gets better.
I wrote this to tell you to act now, urge you clients to act
now. If you know anyone who has not refinanced who currently needs to or soon
will need to they better do it NOW. I mean N.O.W.
Peace, ya'll
I am available for public comment. 678-946-0100
THE OPINIONS IN THIS COMMENTARY ARE STRICTLY KEN COOK's PERSONAL
OPINION AND NOT REFLECTIVE ON ACTIVE RAIN, NOVATION MORTGAGE, or ANY SPONSOR OF
THIS WEBSITE.
EDUCATION BEATS LEGISLATION EVERY TIME. Get your clients, friends and family
members to a LENDER RUN home mortgage seminar as soon as possible.
Chairman Bernanke is about to change the face of mortgage lending and it could affect you. In fact, they have already tipped their hat to let economists know they will be raising interest rates in coming meetings.
For several months before the fallout began I literally begged people to refinance into a fixed rate mortgage before the lending environment changed drastically. A few called me and we were able to help them. Since then literally thousands have called who could not qualify under new lending guidelines and are now stuck with adjustable rates they can no longer afford and they are in or facing foreclosure.
Listen carefully to what I am about to tell you and act on it NOW: Interest rates are going to begin going up in the very near future. This is a step necessary to control inflation. What you don't know is that the Federal Reserve Board has the power to change lending guidelines at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac without any control stops.
The lending rules are about to change again and many of you who qualify today to purchase or refinance will not be able to do so after the changes and the rate increase.
Call me, Ken Cook today and let's look at your current situation. I am not a "loan officer" who will cram you into a loan just to get a commission check. I will listen to you, help analyze your needs and situation, and give you my recommendation. You can act on it or not. I have helped thousands of people in Georgia get into better properties or better loans for their existing property since 2001. We are a lender and a broker so we can help assure you get the best loan available to you. Best of all, we beat the "banks" and "big lenders" on every point of our combined service: more loan solutions, more personal service, honesty, integrity, and accuracy.
KEN COOK 678-946-0101
Novation Mortgage, 2501 E Piedmont Road, Suite 201, Marietta, GA 30062. Georgia Residential Mortgage Licensee #20014. Equal Housing Lender.
Ken Cook - Georgia - FHA, USDA, VA and Conventional Home Loans (678) 439-8683
One Hundred and Forty Four years ago the Union Army under the leadership of General William T. Sherman entered my home town. They left in November and burned hundreds of buildings and homes on their way to Atlanta.
We need something to change the course of America today as badly as we needed something to change the course of America then. We need a STOP to wasteful spending on special interests. We need LEADERSHIP not afraid to be "run out of town on a rail" for standing up for what is RIGHT and condemning waste, arrogance and selfishness. We need a righteous and worthy leader who will NOT BE SILENCED and who will dare any opponent to "cross this line".
We need the liberal scum lawyers to be STOPPED once and for all - they have cost the economy BILLIONS upon BILLIONS with their frivolous suits. Any judge who hears any frivolous suit should be disbarred for wasting time and resources. It's a JUDGE's BOX people NOT A THRONE! Special interest NO MORE! This is AMERICA - we believe in FREEDOM, OPPORTUNITY, EQUAL JUSTICE and LIBERTY - every tax dollar spent, every public vote cast, every government deal inked should be done so with THAT and THAT ONLY in mind.
DOWNSIZE the government, DOWNSIZE spending, DOWNSIZE taxes. REWARD people for INVESTING and SAVING. REWARD first time HOMEBUYERS with tax incentives like never before. REWARD welfare recipients for getting off the government teat.
We need BLUE BLOODED AMERICANS of all colors, races and beliefs to STAND UP, SPEAK UP and GET MOTIVATED! We CAN turn this country around because it IS headed in the WRONG DIRECTION and we are "headed down a slippery slope fast".
This is NO TIME to be silent about your dismay, distrust and displeasure. It's also not time to VOTE AGAINST something - it's time to VOTE FOR something. Attention Bush haters: he's gone, you don't have to vote for the inexperienced power whore to get him out of office. Vote with your intellect if you have any, your pride for America if it exists, your desire for change, and your hope for resurrection of Greatness.
WE CAN RESTORE AMERICA STARTING RIGHT NOW! TODAY!
- Yes, I am available for comment :)
Ken Cook - Georgia - FHA, USDA, VA and Conventional Home Loans (678) 439-8683
Chrysler in June down 36%. Ford is down almost 30%. GM is down 18%. Nissan is down 18%. Toyota is down 21%. Honda actually increased sales by 1% and Hyundai increased 3.5%. Daimler is up 13% and Subaru had an increase of 5%. But all in all the auto industry went from 1.455 million down to 1.189 million sales in June.
Crude 143.76 and heating oil 407.70- up 13% !!!!
Unemployment 5.5% in May. (BLS)
"GM sank $1.53, or 13 percent, to $10.22 for the biggest retreat in the Dow. The automaker was cut to ``underperform'' from ``buy'' at Merrill on bankruptcy concerns. GM, battered by the slowest U.S. sales market in 15 years, may need to raise as much as $15 billion" - Bloomberg online.
Payrolls probably shrank by 60,000 workers as employers cut jobs for a sixth consecutive month, according to the median estimate of economists surveyed by Bloomberg News.
The sky is falling, the sky is falling!
Yet all the while:
Interest rates are still historically low - only about 1.25% above their all time low. Housing prices are down as much as 30% on the retail market and many of these are newer, more energy efficient homes which can save hundreds per month in heating and cooling. There are literally hundreds of thousands of homes for sale so not being able to find "one you like" is a bad cop-out.
Fear is the most paralyzing emotion there is and right now we are an entire nation caught in the bright beams of oncoming traffic.
Chances are, later this year, the Feds are going to start bringing the target rate back up. It's not an absolute but it's of high probabillity.
Here is what you can do to stop your personal crisis: Turn off your cable. Get rid of the extra telephone. Turn off your satellite. Start eating at home more often (or out less often). Read books or get videos from the library. Go camping instead of shopping. Turn your A/C off until it is absolutely necessary. DO NOT CHARGE ANYTHING!!!!! Pay off your credit cards that have 12, 15, 0r 20% interest rates and stop using them!
VOTE FOR SOMEONE WHO HAS RESEPECT AT WHATEVER LEVEL OF GOVERNMENT
Hey, I'm a conservative and I am NOT 100% happy with my choices. I would probably vote for Bob Barr but I'm not going to vote for the party he is running with.
Mount your own campaign to your representatives and let them know we are fed up with the high cost of energy and the excessive government spending programs. We want CUTBACKS in government spending and we want them NOW!
Ah, that's it. Just sharing with all my friends. I'm available for comment. I'm also working around the clock to run a mortgage business, a web development business and a rental property business. I need a nap ;)
Ken Cook - Georgia - FHA, USDA, VA and Conventional Home Loans (678) 439-8683
