The NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® and Lowe’s team up to bring you a FREE Marketing System.  Check it out at http://www.lowesrealtorbenefits.com/

Thanks to Jill Minerva for providing this link!

Take a look at this article via CNN.com.

It discusses the President’s plan to help troubled subprime borrowers keep their homes. His initiatives target hundred of thousands of distressed homeowners.

Photo courtesy of CNN.

New to the real estate business?  Want to find some information for your clients regarding the “livability” of a certain street or neighborhood in Modesto or any other street in the U.S.?

Visit: http://streetadvisor.com

This site allows people to rate  or post street level reviews of neighborhoods based on criteria such us:

“Cost of living”
“Clean and Green”
“Peaceful”

and even “Cell phone reception” and “Internet speed.”

So cool! Check it out!

The California Independent System Operator (CAISO), charged with managing the electricity grid in California, has issued a Flex Alert for both Wednesday, August 29th and Thursday, August 30th.

PMZ has a Group Blood Plan set up at Delta Blood Bank. The blood plan is a blood insurance policy available to individuals and groups that reimburses beneficiaries for the cost of transfused blood and blood products. We have been able to donate blood vouchers to people in need throughout the community.

Right now there are only 3 people on the list. To get on the list, just mention that you would like to be included in the plan next time you donate.

This is an excellent opportunity for the PMZ team to take care of one another and members of our local communities.

For a list of local blood banks and their hours of operation, click here.

If you would be interested in PMZ hosting a blood drive for PMZ employees at one of our offices, leave a comment so we can guage the attendance of such an event.

Thanks!

WASHNGTON, D.C., Aug. 24 (UPI) — The U.S. housing industry got good news Friday when new home sales defied odds and expectations and reflected a modest increase in U.S. government statistics.Sales of single-family homes increased by 2.8 percent last month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 870,000, the U.S. Commerce Department said Friday. June new home sales fell 4 percent an annual rate to 846,000; originally, the government said June sales dropped by 6.6 percent to 834,000.

The median estimate of 23 economists surveyed by Dow Jones was a 1.4 percent decline in July sales to an 822,000 annual rate.

Year over year, new-home sales were 10.2 percent lower than the level in July 2006, The Wall Street Journal said.

The sickly housing sector has pulled down U.S. economic growth for six straight quarters. Groundbreakings by home builders in July fell to the lowest level in 10 years.

By Greg Ip and Jon E. Hilsenrath
From The Wall Street Journal Online

An extraordinary credit boom that created many first-time homeowners and financed a wave of corporate takeovers seems to be waning. Home buyers with poor credit are having trouble borrowing. Institutional investors from Milwaukee to Düsseldorf to Sydney are reporting losses. Banks are stuck with corporate debt that investors won’t buy. Stocks are on a roller coaster, with financial powerhouses like Bear Stearns Cos. and Blackstone Group coming under intense pressure.

The origins of the boom and this unfolding reversal predate last year’s mistakes. They trace to changes in the banking system provoked by the collapse of the savings-and-loan industry in the 1980s, the reaction of governments to the Asian financial crisis of the late 1990s, and the Federal Reserve’s response to the 2000-01 bursting of the tech-stock bubble.
Read the rest of this entry »

By Ruth Mantell - From MarketWatch

As a growing number of borrowers fall behind on their mortgage payments, the smartest move they can make is to contact their lender, mortgage-industry experts and consumer advocates say.

These days, there’s more incentive for companies to work with borrowers to avoid foreclosure: Regulators and lawmakers, prompted by troubles in the mortgage market, are encouraging companies to assist troubled borrowers.

Major lenders in the subprime mortgage market have agreed to a set of principles proposed by Sen. Chris Dodd, D-Conn., calling for servicers to try to modify loans before the interest-rate reset if borrowers will be unable to afford the new payments, among other actions.

Lenders also have a financial incentive to keep you in your home: They can lose tens of thousands of dollars for each loan that goes into foreclosure, according to a June report from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency.

Also, a bank’s reputation can be sullied by borrowers who go into foreclosure. Read the rest of this entry »

I read this article today concerning the impact of internet presentations of homes for sale (i.e. photos, virtual tours, etc.) on the decision making of potential buyers.

It discusses how buyers now go online and to check out photos and virtual tours of homes to find what type of homes they are interested in and why this makes the days of Realtor’s showing clients 20 homes or so before they found what their client’s taste was, a thing of the past.

Encourage your clients to check out PMZ.com and to sign up for Email Notifications. Your clients can save properties they’re interested in and you can track what your clients are looking at.

Read the article and leave your thoughts in the comments section.

Okay, I couldn’t resist. Larry Blenn, an agent in our Riverbank Office, has a deep affection for dogs — specifically Daschunds. Come on! You know - weiner dogs! Larry now has some super cute puppies that are about ready for a loving home. Here’s what he said in an e-mail to me:

“They will be ready in two weeks if you know anyone who is looking. They all have great little personalities. Our Sire is an awesome dog, he does all kinds of tricks and is totally mello. I think the two black dogs are going to be like him. The chocolate is the runt but he is a sweetheart.”

I wouldn’t be a Doxie lover if I didn’t declare them to be the smartest dogs on the planet. Or at least the smartest living beings in my house. I have three at home myself. Their names you ask? Dixie, Daisy and Daphney.

If your considering a canine companion for your home, give Larry a call. They’re wonderful, loyal dogs.

LARRY BLENN
Cell: (209) 324-8703
Direct Line: (209) 342-2571
Email: lblenn@pmz.com