NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- That lenders are ramping up their attempts to help troubled home borrowers is the good news.
Now for the bad: Most of the mortgage fixes being deployed are destined to fail.
Hope Now, the coalition put together to fight foreclosures, boasts that it has helped 3 million families stay in their homes since the housing crisis began in July 2007.
But a recent report issued by the U.S. Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) found that 53% of borrowers who had their mortgages modified in the first half of 2008 were already at least two months delinquent again. The report covered 60% of the outstanding primary mortgages.
Meanwhile, foreclosures remain on the rise: More than a million homes have been repossessed since the start of the meltdown.
Michael Van Zalingen has witnessed the problem first hand as director of home ownership services for Neighborhood Housing Services of Chicago, a non-profit group that provides foreclosure-prevention counseling.
Lenders and servicers take two approaches to working out mortgage problems: repayment plans and mortgage modifications. Repayment plans allow borrowers some time to make up missed payments. Modifications actually rewrite the terms of loans by freezing or lowering interest rates, extending the life of the loan, or reducing the amount owed.
Mortgage modifications are meant to be more effective. The problem, Van Zalingen said, is that they too often fail to reduce a borrower's monthly house payment.
The lenders often don't change the interest rates but merely freeze them at a high, unaffordable level, and then add missed payments into the balance, which increases it, according to Van Zalingen.
He said that one-third of his 121 clients granted modifications between January 2007 and June 2008 wound up with housing payments equal to a whopping 50% or more of their gross incomes.
"The modifications did not put any breathing room into their budgets at all," he said.
Before the housing bubble began, underwriters generally wouldn't approve mortgages that required monthly payments of more than 28% of a borrower's gross income.
Modifications that include interest rate reductions that result in lower payments perform much better. A recent Credit Suisse study reported redefault rates of only 15% for this kind of modification.
Chris and Cherita Barnes: Help...but not really
Chris and Cherita Barnes got a mortgage modification from their servicer, Ocwen Financial Corp., in March 2008.
But they're already behind again. The loan workout froze the 8.75% interest rate on their adjustable rate loan, but added their missed payments, interest and late fees back into the mortgage balance, raising it to $354,000 from $329,000.
The Barnes' new monthly bill came to $3,167, up from $2,890. That was better than it would have been had their interest rate continued to reset higher but it still pushed their mortgage payments, including taxes and insurance, to about 53% of their income.
The couple, who both work and have three kids, are now trying to figure out what to do next.
The Barnes' predicament is not unusual, according to James Jones, a foreclosure-prevention counselor with the East Side Organizing Project in Cleveland.
"I see quite a few of these [unmanageable modifications]," said Jones. "When we get offered them by lenders, we challenge them."
But many borrowers are terrified of losing their homes and, in that vulnerable state, will accept whatever lenders offer them -- especially if they don't have an experienced advocate helping them.
Van Zalingen said his counselors try to negotiate better workouts, but the modification offers are often presented on a take-it-or-leave-it basis, and many desperate homeowners take them.
Geoffrey Bagley: Unrealistic expectations
Geoffrey Bagley is another borrower who received an unsustainable mortgage modification. After the monthly payment on his adjustable rate mortgage jumped to $2,400 from $1,300, he got a workout with the help of the National Community Reinvestment Coalition, a community advocacy group that offers mortgage-prevention counseling.
That workout may have pushed his payment down to $2,000, but it still represented more than 50% of the gross income he and his wife earn.
"That's because the lender based the modification on the Bagley's income with overtime," said Jesse Van Tol, a spokesman for the coalition. "But in a recession, that overtime often disappears."
Lately, the couple has lost hours at work and they started missing payments. They're trying to apply for another, more affordable modification, but it looks like they'll probably lose their Maryland home.
Modifications that don't involve some kind of principal reduction or somehow lower payments substantially "just don't work very well," said Mark Zandi, chief economist for Moody's Economy.com. But, he added, many lenders have recently gotten much more aggressive when it comes to loan modifications.
The attitude among lenders seems to be evolving. In just the past couple of months, JPMorgan Chase (JPM, Fortune 500), Bank of America (BAC, Fortune 500) and Fannie Mae (FNM, Fortune 500) and Freddie Mac (FRE, Fortune 500) announced more comprehensive foreclosure-prevention programs.
According to Paul Koches, an executive vice president at Ocwen, it makes no sense to modify a loan if it results in an unaffordable payment. The mortgage will simply default again, resulting in even wider losses.
Ocwen is now considering reworking that Barnes' loan.
"I got a call from Ocwen out of the blue," said Chris Barnes. "They now want to work with me to resolve my situation."
Courtesy CNN Money
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
Country's Problems Solved
It has been a while since I have blogged, but with the election of 2008 over, I have the sudden urge now. With the election of Barak Obama, the Big O as I will now and forever refer to him as. All of the United States problems are now gone. With an African American President, this Country is no longer "racist". With the Big O, our overspending is over, the war in Iraq is over, the war in Afghanistan is over, discrimination is over, our negative view in the world is gone, and so on and so on. The Bog "O" has a democratic congress, so THERE IS NO EXCUSE FOR HIM AND HIS PARTY TO NOT SET THINGS STRAIGHT IN THIS COUNTRY! I am looking forward to the next 1000 years being smooth and peacefull. Lets see what he does. Personally I think he will be the most "handicapped" President since this country was founded. He has raised expectations so high by not detailing his plans, so every group that voted for him is expecting everything from him. This will hobble him. He will leave office more unpopular than Hoover was. I am only hoping that Sarah Palin stays active and I can take an active role in her campaign in 2012.
Tuesday, October 7, 2008
Who Wants Wachovia?
Well it seems that a war has broken out between Citigroup and Wells Fargo over who gets to buy Wachovia. According to Wachovia's filings last week, they stated that if Citigroup didn't buy them out that day, there was a good chance that Wachovia would be siezed by federal regulators. WAIT A SECOND HERE! Wasn't this the bank that only a couple of months ago was still pushing option arms? Wasn't this the bank that was supposed to be so solid in statement after statement by senior management, ie Ken Thompson? Now it would seem to me that people bought and sold stock, invested money with, applied for mortgages, opened accounts based on this "information" from the CEO and the Company. Where are the regulators? Where is the FBI? Why aren't these people being indicted? I thought banks were highly regulated institutions. Who is lying here? What happened to our money? Well,you can be the judge of that.
Seems Wachovia manages a fund that several large colleges and universities use, and when these organizations wanted to pull their money from this fund, Wachovia initially limited them as to how much they could take out. What happened to that money? Well, inquiring minds want to know......Stay tuned on that one.
I know it seems like I am picking on Wachovia, I am not, there are many wonderful people that work there and most of them had no idea of what was really going on. What we need is to find out who knew what when, dramatically scale back branch banking giants like Wachovia, and return to small local community banks. Those are easier to keep an eye on.
Seems Wachovia manages a fund that several large colleges and universities use, and when these organizations wanted to pull their money from this fund, Wachovia initially limited them as to how much they could take out. What happened to that money? Well, inquiring minds want to know......Stay tuned on that one.
I know it seems like I am picking on Wachovia, I am not, there are many wonderful people that work there and most of them had no idea of what was really going on. What we need is to find out who knew what when, dramatically scale back branch banking giants like Wachovia, and return to small local community banks. Those are easier to keep an eye on.
Sunday, September 28, 2008
Who Wants Wachovia?
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- A bidding war for Wachovia has erupted between banking giants Citigroup and Wells Fargo, according to a published report Sunday night.
Citing people involved in the talks, The New York Times reported that the discussions come as concerns have grown about Wachovia's viability, despite a breakthrough reached Sunday by Congressional negotiators on a $700 billion bailout for the financial system.
Rumors of deal talks arose on Friday as published reports said that Wachovia was considering a deal with Citigroup (C, Fortune 500), Spain's Banco Santander (STD) or Wells Fargo (WFC, Fortune 500).
Sunday's report in The Times added that the Federal Reserve and Treasury Department were also participating in the discussions, but that the government is refusing to help bidders by guaranteeing a part of Wachovia's assets the way it did for Bear Stearns in March when it was sold to JPMorgan Chase (JPM, Fortune 500).
The government was also not ready to take over Wachovia the way it did Washington Mutual last week, The Times reported, unless its financial position deteriorates more rapidly.
Timing for a deal was not clear, and the talks could extend beyond Sunday night, The Times said.
Wachovia (WB, Fortune 500) shares were hit particularly hard on Friday - the stock lost nearly a third of its value.
Though the stock closed at $10 on Friday, Citigroup and Wells Fargo are unlikely to bid more than a few dollars a share for Wachovia, according to The Times.
Also unclear, The Times said, was whether the banks would bid for all of Wachovia or pieces. Wachovia's retail banking operations would help Citigroup and Wells Fargo expand their branch networks, The Times said.
Spokespeople for Citigroup, Wachovia and Wells Fargo declined to comment on Friday. A representative for Santander was not immediately available to comment.
This isn't the first time that Wachovia has been mentioned entering tie-up talks. A little over a week ago, there was rampant speculation that Morgan Stanley and Wachovia were reportedly discussing a merger. A deal between the two firms looks increasingly unlikely though after Morgan Stanley (MS, Fortune 500) agreed to sell up to a fifth of itself to Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (MUFG), one of Japan's largest banks, earlier this week.
Following a string of high-profile collapses of banks in recent weeks, there has been increasing speculation that Wachovia could be the next one to go.
Wachovia reported losses during the past two quarters due in large part to its exposure to U.S. mortgage market. Some analysts have cited the company's ill-timed 2006 acquisition of the California mortgage lender Golden West Financial Corp. for its current woes.
A Wachovia representative stressed in a statement on Friday that it has a "strong retail franchise and large and stable deposit base," adding that it was working to strengthen both its capital and liquidity.
Were Wachovia to enter a deal, it would mark yet another big shake up of the nation's banking industry, which has undergone a dramatic transformation in the past two weeks including the demise of Lehman Brothers, the acquisition of Merrill Lynch by Bank of America (BAC, Fortune 500) and the failure of Washington Mutual and subsequent purchase by JPMorgan Chase.
Citing people involved in the talks, The New York Times reported that the discussions come as concerns have grown about Wachovia's viability, despite a breakthrough reached Sunday by Congressional negotiators on a $700 billion bailout for the financial system.
Rumors of deal talks arose on Friday as published reports said that Wachovia was considering a deal with Citigroup (C, Fortune 500), Spain's Banco Santander (STD) or Wells Fargo (WFC, Fortune 500).
Sunday's report in The Times added that the Federal Reserve and Treasury Department were also participating in the discussions, but that the government is refusing to help bidders by guaranteeing a part of Wachovia's assets the way it did for Bear Stearns in March when it was sold to JPMorgan Chase (JPM, Fortune 500).
The government was also not ready to take over Wachovia the way it did Washington Mutual last week, The Times reported, unless its financial position deteriorates more rapidly.
Timing for a deal was not clear, and the talks could extend beyond Sunday night, The Times said.
Wachovia (WB, Fortune 500) shares were hit particularly hard on Friday - the stock lost nearly a third of its value.
Though the stock closed at $10 on Friday, Citigroup and Wells Fargo are unlikely to bid more than a few dollars a share for Wachovia, according to The Times.
Also unclear, The Times said, was whether the banks would bid for all of Wachovia or pieces. Wachovia's retail banking operations would help Citigroup and Wells Fargo expand their branch networks, The Times said.
Spokespeople for Citigroup, Wachovia and Wells Fargo declined to comment on Friday. A representative for Santander was not immediately available to comment.
This isn't the first time that Wachovia has been mentioned entering tie-up talks. A little over a week ago, there was rampant speculation that Morgan Stanley and Wachovia were reportedly discussing a merger. A deal between the two firms looks increasingly unlikely though after Morgan Stanley (MS, Fortune 500) agreed to sell up to a fifth of itself to Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (MUFG), one of Japan's largest banks, earlier this week.
Following a string of high-profile collapses of banks in recent weeks, there has been increasing speculation that Wachovia could be the next one to go.
Wachovia reported losses during the past two quarters due in large part to its exposure to U.S. mortgage market. Some analysts have cited the company's ill-timed 2006 acquisition of the California mortgage lender Golden West Financial Corp. for its current woes.
A Wachovia representative stressed in a statement on Friday that it has a "strong retail franchise and large and stable deposit base," adding that it was working to strengthen both its capital and liquidity.
Were Wachovia to enter a deal, it would mark yet another big shake up of the nation's banking industry, which has undergone a dramatic transformation in the past two weeks including the demise of Lehman Brothers, the acquisition of Merrill Lynch by Bank of America (BAC, Fortune 500) and the failure of Washington Mutual and subsequent purchase by JPMorgan Chase.
Credit Crunch Coming?
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Is it even harder now for businesses to get credit from banks? No question.
Does that mean that the American economy will crumble within weeks if the government's $700 billion bailout of Wall Street doesn't pass? No telling.
In the wake of last week's demise of Lehman Brothers and last-minute government bailout of American International Group, the credit markets have all but frozen. What this means for businesses is that they are having a tougher time just getting funding even for their day-to-day operations, never mind securing loans for expansion projects.
While the credit crunch is more than a year old already, two things have changed in recent weeks. First, investors have cut off a major financing source of large corporations by shying away from buying their commercial paper, or ultra short-term debt.
Also, since banks are now holding onto their money even more, they are either not extending lines of credit to companies or are instituting more onerous terms. Businesses of all sizes depend on this funding to buy supplies and inventory, make payroll and extend credit to customers while waiting for payments to come in.
Most businesses don't keep much cash on hand. They rely on banks' lines of credit to cover them until they get paid by their customers.
What does that mean for companies and their employees? Economists are divided, with some predicting dire consequences and others saying most can weather the financial storm for now.
Can't live without credit
If businesses can't access funding on reasonable terms, they will likely either raise prices or curtail their operations or both, said Ken Goldstein, economist with The Conference Board, a business research organization. This could send the economy into a tailspin as everyone from the corner bagel shop to the local hospital to the largest manufacturer suffers.
"If they're lucky they get the money, but at a much higher price, which they then pass on to you and me," said Goldstein, adding the economy could start crumbling within weeks under that scenario. "If they don't get the money, they might have to close their doors."
For each business that can't get funding, the impact is felt by many, experts said. The company may curtail credit to its customers, forcing them to pay more cash up front. It won't buy as much from suppliers or invest in upgrading its operations. And it may have to cut its workforce, or at least postpone expanding it.
Both struggling and growing companies feel the squeeze.
"Bank capital is the lubricant that allow them to run their operations," said Amiyatosh Purnanandam, assistant professor of finance at the University of Michigan. "Even a profitable company can't undertake projects because it has no money."
Demise not imminent
Other experts, however, say that most companies can get by for the time being. Credit lines, they point out, usually last for at least a year so banks can't start pulling them willy-nilly unless the terms are broken. And business can better survive a credit squeeze than a major downturn in consumer spending, which has yet to materialize.
"It's not the disaster they are making it out to be," said Amir Sufi, assistant professor of finance at the University of Chicago Graduate School of Business.
Some companies, meanwhile, are coming up with inventive ways to circumvent the funding freeze.
Take Drew Greenblatt, president of Marlin Steel Wire Products in Baltimore.
He recently asked his bank to add $175,000 to his line of credit so he could purchase steel for two large customer orders. The bank said he could get the funding, but only if he first put $175,000 into a certificate of deposit.
"We can get the money but the terms are so silly it just doesn't make sense," he said. "It's very frustrating."
So instead, Greenblatt is demanding more cash from customers in advance. Those clients with average credit ratings now have to put down a 50% deposit on their orders, whereas two months ago they didn't have to pay anything upfront.
"We're trying to make sure what's happening in the credit markets doesn't impact us," Greenblatt said. "We will be able to ratchet up sales and not have to deal with the bank."
Courtesy of CNNMoney
By Tami Luhby, CNNMoney.com senior writer
September 28, 2008: 11:15 AM ET
Does that mean that the American economy will crumble within weeks if the government's $700 billion bailout of Wall Street doesn't pass? No telling.
In the wake of last week's demise of Lehman Brothers and last-minute government bailout of American International Group, the credit markets have all but frozen. What this means for businesses is that they are having a tougher time just getting funding even for their day-to-day operations, never mind securing loans for expansion projects.
While the credit crunch is more than a year old already, two things have changed in recent weeks. First, investors have cut off a major financing source of large corporations by shying away from buying their commercial paper, or ultra short-term debt.
Also, since banks are now holding onto their money even more, they are either not extending lines of credit to companies or are instituting more onerous terms. Businesses of all sizes depend on this funding to buy supplies and inventory, make payroll and extend credit to customers while waiting for payments to come in.
Most businesses don't keep much cash on hand. They rely on banks' lines of credit to cover them until they get paid by their customers.
What does that mean for companies and their employees? Economists are divided, with some predicting dire consequences and others saying most can weather the financial storm for now.
Can't live without credit
If businesses can't access funding on reasonable terms, they will likely either raise prices or curtail their operations or both, said Ken Goldstein, economist with The Conference Board, a business research organization. This could send the economy into a tailspin as everyone from the corner bagel shop to the local hospital to the largest manufacturer suffers.
"If they're lucky they get the money, but at a much higher price, which they then pass on to you and me," said Goldstein, adding the economy could start crumbling within weeks under that scenario. "If they don't get the money, they might have to close their doors."
For each business that can't get funding, the impact is felt by many, experts said. The company may curtail credit to its customers, forcing them to pay more cash up front. It won't buy as much from suppliers or invest in upgrading its operations. And it may have to cut its workforce, or at least postpone expanding it.
Both struggling and growing companies feel the squeeze.
"Bank capital is the lubricant that allow them to run their operations," said Amiyatosh Purnanandam, assistant professor of finance at the University of Michigan. "Even a profitable company can't undertake projects because it has no money."
Demise not imminent
Other experts, however, say that most companies can get by for the time being. Credit lines, they point out, usually last for at least a year so banks can't start pulling them willy-nilly unless the terms are broken. And business can better survive a credit squeeze than a major downturn in consumer spending, which has yet to materialize.
"It's not the disaster they are making it out to be," said Amir Sufi, assistant professor of finance at the University of Chicago Graduate School of Business.
Some companies, meanwhile, are coming up with inventive ways to circumvent the funding freeze.
Take Drew Greenblatt, president of Marlin Steel Wire Products in Baltimore.
He recently asked his bank to add $175,000 to his line of credit so he could purchase steel for two large customer orders. The bank said he could get the funding, but only if he first put $175,000 into a certificate of deposit.
"We can get the money but the terms are so silly it just doesn't make sense," he said. "It's very frustrating."
So instead, Greenblatt is demanding more cash from customers in advance. Those clients with average credit ratings now have to put down a 50% deposit on their orders, whereas two months ago they didn't have to pay anything upfront.
"We're trying to make sure what's happening in the credit markets doesn't impact us," Greenblatt said. "We will be able to ratchet up sales and not have to deal with the bank."
Courtesy of CNNMoney
By Tami Luhby, CNNMoney.com senior writer
September 28, 2008: 11:15 AM ET
Monday, September 15, 2008
Wall Street Meltdown Blues
Well, it finally happened. Wall Street finally had a meltdown. This is what happens when you borrow, borrow, and borrow some more, and then put all of your eggs in one basket. Read the blog of why the option arms caught the Wall Street banks. Its time for new leadership and vision on Wall Street. Who knows what the long term effects will be. The US economy is so diversified, and this is such a small group of individuals affected, the rest of us will probably not feel anything.
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
North Port, Charlotte County Show 2nd Best Performance in State for Real Estate Sales
While Sarasota showed a dismal performance in Real Estates Sales last quarter, North Port and Charlotte County showed a 13% gain in sales bringing them in 2nd place in the state for Real Estate Sales. The median home price in these areas was $152,500.00. According to local Realtors, Southwest Florida appears to be outselling the states more affluent markets such as the Miami - Dade area.
Saturday, April 19, 2008
Dining in Venice - Venice Boasts Variety
Venice boasts variety
A stroll through downtown will satisfy your cravings.
Wander the streets of downtown Venice for a while, and a lazy, peaceful feeling descends upon you.
The Soda Fountain349 Venice Ave. W.412-9860
Steve's Super Sub Sandwiches339 Venice Ave. W.484-7151
Truly Delicious Gourmet Food Co.305 Venice Ave. W.488-8885
Bresler's Ice cream & Yogurt249 Venice Ave. W.488-0332
T.J. Carney's Pub & Grille231 Venice Ave. W.480-9244
The Tomato Patch125 Venice Ave. W.488-0828
James Place117 Venice Ave. W.485-6742
Cafe Venice Restaurant & Wine Bar116 Venice Ave. W.484-1855
Le Petit Jardin218 Tampa Ave. W.485-4449
Geraldi's113 Tampa Ave. W.484-7072
If Teacups Could Talk239 Miami Ave. W.488-4400
CoCo's229 Miami Ave. W.480-9696
Althea's220 Miami Ave. W.484-5187
Bella Luna Cafe200 Miami Ave. W.488-3089
Luna Ristorante200 St. Augustine Ave.412-9898
Venice Wine & Coffee Co.110 Nokomis Ave. S.484-3667
Gianni's Pizza212 Tamiami Trl. S.484-4599
It is the feeling of a town, a business district, at ease with itself and its image, one not straining to be larger than it is nor struggling to squeeze into a small-town charm.
Residents and tourists stroll past shop after shop surrounding Centennial Park, the anchor for the city's core, stopping occasionally to peruse window displays, talk with friends or chat about the latest wares with shopkeepers.
It's a comfortable feeling, an inviting feeling, and one that carries over into the variety of eateries in the heart of the city.
Cozy surroundings
You won't find much cozier surroundings than those at T.J. Carney's Pub & Grille, 231 Venice Ave. W. This establishment has dished up meals and drinks since the 1940s -- though under a different nameplate -- and continues to be a drawing card for locals and visitors today.
Diners can pull up a seat at any of a handful of tables under an awning on the walkway in front of the building, and keep an eye on goings-on in the park across the street or on the passers-by. Or they can step inside and soak in the warmth of deeply stained woodwork decorating the large dining area.
The waiters happily chat about the menu items for newcomers, noting the highlights of the day, but will just as readily slip into a back-and-forth about the weather, the music, the city or anything else you'd care to talk about.
The menu features standard pub favorites, the usual assortment of cheeseburgers and Reuben sandwiches, buffalo wings and nacho plates. But it also ranges a bit, with dinner entrées (available after 5 p.m.) like chicken parmigiana and linguine, $12.99, coconut shrimp with a pineapple-mango dipping sauce, $13.99, and broiled grouper stuffed with crabmeat, $15.99.
Generally, look for American favorites with a few Irish surprises.
The baked Irish onion soup, at $4.99 a crock, is one. It comes literally overflowing with glazed onions, a hearty broth and loads of big, seasoned croutons.
And the shepherd's pie, $9.99 here and a staple of any Irish-themed restaurant, lays down a liberal helping of ground beef and vegetables, bathes that with gravy and tops it all with silky-smooth mashed potatoes.
Like any good pub, Carney's brings in live entertainment on weekends and for special events to keep the crowds tapping and tipping -- both their drinks and their servers.
Carney's is open at 11 a.m. Monday through Saturday and at noon Sunday. Dinners are served until 10 p.m.
Follow the crowd
A block to the east, James Place, 117 Venice Ave. W., also offers the indoor-outdoor seating option, with a full overhang to protect outside diners from the quick storm that brews up occasionally in Florida.
This nondescript eatery could, in another life, just as easily pass for a travel agency as a restaurant. From the sparsely decorated glass window fronting the building to the ordinary patio furniture outside, nothing about this place screams "Stop here."
Except the steady stream of patrons rushing into the small shop.
The restaurant until the New Year had eschewed the dinner crowd, only recently having added entrées like jumbo shrimp, mahi-mahi and filet mignon for the after-work crowd or on weekends.
Of course, James Place still specializes in serving up food to the breakfast and lunch set. The noontime menu featured café fare, with items like a chef's salad with turkey, ham and the works for $8.95, a bacon cheeseburger, fries and cole slaw for $7.95, fish and chips for $8.95, and a soup and/or salad and/or sandwich combo (you get two of the three) for $5.75.
Breakfast dishes include meals packing enough food to fully bust any fast.
Three-egg omelets come fluffy and steaming, filled with three fillings from a list that includes ham, bacon, Swiss cheese, tomatoes and mushrooms. A side of home fries and toast complete the $7.25 plate.
The Royal Britannica breakfast, $9.50, might better be named the Royal Family breakfast, since it has enough food on a plate to feed the extended clan. Take a breath: two eggs, Canadian bacon (though a little thin and tough), sausage links, baked beans, sautéed tomatoes and mushrooms, home fries and toast. Just for the fun of it -- and the challenge -- add a side of corned beef hash, $4.75.
A stack of apple-cinnamon pancakes, $5.25, came with large slices of apples and a none-too-thrifty dose of cinnamon. And they were stacked sky-high (OK, maybe only 6 inches or so).
James Place is open from 7 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Monday and Wednesday through Sunday. Dinner hours are 5 to 8 p.m. Thursday, Friday and Saturday. The restaurant is closed Tuesday.
Pizza plus
Turn off Venice Avenue and head a block south, and you'll find Gianni's Pizza, 212 Tamiami Trail S. It would be hard to miss.
A vast brick building with plenty of signage, this restaurant has a nifty little feature tucked inside: a fountain. Right there, smack in the middle of the tiled floors and between banks of patio furniture-style tables and chrome-and-vinyl booths. Just steps away from the open-view kitchen.
It's a nice touch, one that keeps the little ones occupied -- and you'll find lots of little ones in here -- while they wait for Mom and Dad to order at the counter, find a table and sit patiently while the cooks whip up the food.
No surprises on the menu here. A place named Gianni's better serve up plenty of Italian-based dishes. And it does, from veal Parmesan, $7.94, to vegetable lasagna, also $7.94, to spaghetti with meat sauce, $7.01. The menu also rolls out a roster of hoagies -- $4.44 for a 6-inch sub and $7.94 for a footlong -- stuffed with combinations of ingredients like salami, turkey, ham, hamburger, veal, chicken and more.
But pizzas rule at Gianni's, with the menu boasting that the slabs were rated best in Venice in 2002 and 2003. The pies come in sizes from 6 inches across to an 18-inch monster, and with regular crust or pan-style.
Toppings are pretty standard, with pepperoni, sausage anchovies and the like, but the thrill-seekers can check out a "turf" pie, with steak and mushrooms; a Greek pie, with gyro meat, black olives and feta cheese; or a surf slab, made with crab legs and spinach. The surf option deftly mixes the sweet crab with the bite of the spinach on top of a crisply cooked dough. The specialty pies cost $10.70 for a small (12-inch) or $13.78 for large (16-inch).
Gianni's is open 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and closed Sunday.
Leave diet at the door
Ask many a wanderer in Venice where they plan to stop for a bite, and the answer will be Althea's. Another in the indoor-outdoor mix, Althea's, 220 Miami Ave. W., fills up quickly, whether for breakfast, lunch or dinner.
This is an "I'm-off-my-diet-but-just-for-today" kind of place, with welcoming meals served up in a tight, though not congested, dining room.
Three separate menus throughout the day sport an amazing range of dishes, from eggs Benedict ($6.59) in the morning to a baked stuffed avocado ($7.59) at lunch to Black & Bleu Chicken ($11.95) for dinner.
A recent dinner sampling started with a bowl of chicken vegetable soup ($3.95), a nice, light broth with plenty of big chunks of chicken. Two dinners followed, with a thick slab of tender salmon ($12.95), seared on the grill and served with a side of vegetables and a choice of potato, rice or other staple. The other offering was the Black & Bleu Chicken, with two breasts of chicken seasoned and quickly blackened, topped with caramelized onions and a chunk of slowly melting blue cheese on each.
Follow that with a wide wedge of tart key lime pie ($3.99) and a smooth dish of tiramisu ($4.99), and the booths at Althea's seem just a little bit cozier -- OK, smaller -- on leaving than entering.
Courtesy of the Herald Tribune
By KEVIN O'HORAN
Published Wednesday, Feb. 8, 2006 at 4:30 a.m.
A stroll through downtown will satisfy your cravings.
Wander the streets of downtown Venice for a while, and a lazy, peaceful feeling descends upon you.
The Soda Fountain349 Venice Ave. W.412-9860
Steve's Super Sub Sandwiches339 Venice Ave. W.484-7151
Truly Delicious Gourmet Food Co.305 Venice Ave. W.488-8885
Bresler's Ice cream & Yogurt249 Venice Ave. W.488-0332
T.J. Carney's Pub & Grille231 Venice Ave. W.480-9244
The Tomato Patch125 Venice Ave. W.488-0828
James Place117 Venice Ave. W.485-6742
Cafe Venice Restaurant & Wine Bar116 Venice Ave. W.484-1855
Le Petit Jardin218 Tampa Ave. W.485-4449
Geraldi's113 Tampa Ave. W.484-7072
If Teacups Could Talk239 Miami Ave. W.488-4400
CoCo's229 Miami Ave. W.480-9696
Althea's220 Miami Ave. W.484-5187
Bella Luna Cafe200 Miami Ave. W.488-3089
Luna Ristorante200 St. Augustine Ave.412-9898
Venice Wine & Coffee Co.110 Nokomis Ave. S.484-3667
Gianni's Pizza212 Tamiami Trl. S.484-4599
It is the feeling of a town, a business district, at ease with itself and its image, one not straining to be larger than it is nor struggling to squeeze into a small-town charm.
Residents and tourists stroll past shop after shop surrounding Centennial Park, the anchor for the city's core, stopping occasionally to peruse window displays, talk with friends or chat about the latest wares with shopkeepers.
It's a comfortable feeling, an inviting feeling, and one that carries over into the variety of eateries in the heart of the city.
Cozy surroundings
You won't find much cozier surroundings than those at T.J. Carney's Pub & Grille, 231 Venice Ave. W. This establishment has dished up meals and drinks since the 1940s -- though under a different nameplate -- and continues to be a drawing card for locals and visitors today.
Diners can pull up a seat at any of a handful of tables under an awning on the walkway in front of the building, and keep an eye on goings-on in the park across the street or on the passers-by. Or they can step inside and soak in the warmth of deeply stained woodwork decorating the large dining area.
The waiters happily chat about the menu items for newcomers, noting the highlights of the day, but will just as readily slip into a back-and-forth about the weather, the music, the city or anything else you'd care to talk about.
The menu features standard pub favorites, the usual assortment of cheeseburgers and Reuben sandwiches, buffalo wings and nacho plates. But it also ranges a bit, with dinner entrées (available after 5 p.m.) like chicken parmigiana and linguine, $12.99, coconut shrimp with a pineapple-mango dipping sauce, $13.99, and broiled grouper stuffed with crabmeat, $15.99.
Generally, look for American favorites with a few Irish surprises.
The baked Irish onion soup, at $4.99 a crock, is one. It comes literally overflowing with glazed onions, a hearty broth and loads of big, seasoned croutons.
And the shepherd's pie, $9.99 here and a staple of any Irish-themed restaurant, lays down a liberal helping of ground beef and vegetables, bathes that with gravy and tops it all with silky-smooth mashed potatoes.
Like any good pub, Carney's brings in live entertainment on weekends and for special events to keep the crowds tapping and tipping -- both their drinks and their servers.
Carney's is open at 11 a.m. Monday through Saturday and at noon Sunday. Dinners are served until 10 p.m.
Follow the crowd
A block to the east, James Place, 117 Venice Ave. W., also offers the indoor-outdoor seating option, with a full overhang to protect outside diners from the quick storm that brews up occasionally in Florida.
This nondescript eatery could, in another life, just as easily pass for a travel agency as a restaurant. From the sparsely decorated glass window fronting the building to the ordinary patio furniture outside, nothing about this place screams "Stop here."
Except the steady stream of patrons rushing into the small shop.
The restaurant until the New Year had eschewed the dinner crowd, only recently having added entrées like jumbo shrimp, mahi-mahi and filet mignon for the after-work crowd or on weekends.
Of course, James Place still specializes in serving up food to the breakfast and lunch set. The noontime menu featured café fare, with items like a chef's salad with turkey, ham and the works for $8.95, a bacon cheeseburger, fries and cole slaw for $7.95, fish and chips for $8.95, and a soup and/or salad and/or sandwich combo (you get two of the three) for $5.75.
Breakfast dishes include meals packing enough food to fully bust any fast.
Three-egg omelets come fluffy and steaming, filled with three fillings from a list that includes ham, bacon, Swiss cheese, tomatoes and mushrooms. A side of home fries and toast complete the $7.25 plate.
The Royal Britannica breakfast, $9.50, might better be named the Royal Family breakfast, since it has enough food on a plate to feed the extended clan. Take a breath: two eggs, Canadian bacon (though a little thin and tough), sausage links, baked beans, sautéed tomatoes and mushrooms, home fries and toast. Just for the fun of it -- and the challenge -- add a side of corned beef hash, $4.75.
A stack of apple-cinnamon pancakes, $5.25, came with large slices of apples and a none-too-thrifty dose of cinnamon. And they were stacked sky-high (OK, maybe only 6 inches or so).
James Place is open from 7 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Monday and Wednesday through Sunday. Dinner hours are 5 to 8 p.m. Thursday, Friday and Saturday. The restaurant is closed Tuesday.
Pizza plus
Turn off Venice Avenue and head a block south, and you'll find Gianni's Pizza, 212 Tamiami Trail S. It would be hard to miss.
A vast brick building with plenty of signage, this restaurant has a nifty little feature tucked inside: a fountain. Right there, smack in the middle of the tiled floors and between banks of patio furniture-style tables and chrome-and-vinyl booths. Just steps away from the open-view kitchen.
It's a nice touch, one that keeps the little ones occupied -- and you'll find lots of little ones in here -- while they wait for Mom and Dad to order at the counter, find a table and sit patiently while the cooks whip up the food.
No surprises on the menu here. A place named Gianni's better serve up plenty of Italian-based dishes. And it does, from veal Parmesan, $7.94, to vegetable lasagna, also $7.94, to spaghetti with meat sauce, $7.01. The menu also rolls out a roster of hoagies -- $4.44 for a 6-inch sub and $7.94 for a footlong -- stuffed with combinations of ingredients like salami, turkey, ham, hamburger, veal, chicken and more.
But pizzas rule at Gianni's, with the menu boasting that the slabs were rated best in Venice in 2002 and 2003. The pies come in sizes from 6 inches across to an 18-inch monster, and with regular crust or pan-style.
Toppings are pretty standard, with pepperoni, sausage anchovies and the like, but the thrill-seekers can check out a "turf" pie, with steak and mushrooms; a Greek pie, with gyro meat, black olives and feta cheese; or a surf slab, made with crab legs and spinach. The surf option deftly mixes the sweet crab with the bite of the spinach on top of a crisply cooked dough. The specialty pies cost $10.70 for a small (12-inch) or $13.78 for large (16-inch).
Gianni's is open 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and closed Sunday.
Leave diet at the door
Ask many a wanderer in Venice where they plan to stop for a bite, and the answer will be Althea's. Another in the indoor-outdoor mix, Althea's, 220 Miami Ave. W., fills up quickly, whether for breakfast, lunch or dinner.
This is an "I'm-off-my-diet-but-just-for-today" kind of place, with welcoming meals served up in a tight, though not congested, dining room.
Three separate menus throughout the day sport an amazing range of dishes, from eggs Benedict ($6.59) in the morning to a baked stuffed avocado ($7.59) at lunch to Black & Bleu Chicken ($11.95) for dinner.
A recent dinner sampling started with a bowl of chicken vegetable soup ($3.95), a nice, light broth with plenty of big chunks of chicken. Two dinners followed, with a thick slab of tender salmon ($12.95), seared on the grill and served with a side of vegetables and a choice of potato, rice or other staple. The other offering was the Black & Bleu Chicken, with two breasts of chicken seasoned and quickly blackened, topped with caramelized onions and a chunk of slowly melting blue cheese on each.
Follow that with a wide wedge of tart key lime pie ($3.99) and a smooth dish of tiramisu ($4.99), and the booths at Althea's seem just a little bit cozier -- OK, smaller -- on leaving than entering.
Courtesy of the Herald Tribune
By KEVIN O'HORAN
Published Wednesday, Feb. 8, 2006 at 4:30 a.m.
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
Realtors presenting "Green Expo" on Friday
More builders, designers and consumers are embracing sustainability in housing, and now real estate agents are joining the green movement.
The Green Realtors Alliance of Sarasota will present its first event at 12:30 p.m. Friday at the Sarasota Association of Realtors headquarters on Tuttle Avenue in Sarasota. The 2008 Green Home Expo will feature speakers on a variety of topics, with the goal of educating Realtors as to the realities of green building.
Lectures include "Florida Friendly Yards," with Annemarie Post of Sarasota County Extension; "The Air We Breathe" (indoor air pollution), by John Cozy of the Air and Water Team; "The Green Home," by Betty Alpaugh of the Florida House Learning Center; and "Getting the HERS Rating for Your Home," by Salena J. Wilson, Rate Division Manager of Calcs-Plus.
The Green Realtors Alliance of Sarasota (GRAS) is intended to be a "resource for the preservation of our environment and natural resources as it pertains toreal estate," according to a statement from GRAS.
Its goals are to:
-- "Practice and encourage preservation of our environment andnatural resources in our personal and professional lives."
-- "Stay informed and share information about local and relevantenvironmental issues."
-- "Educate other Realtors, clients and the public about sustainableliving as it pertains to real estate."
-- "Volunteer and participate in local sustainability projects and organizations."
The Green Realtors Alliance of Sarasota will present its first event at 12:30 p.m. Friday at the Sarasota Association of Realtors headquarters on Tuttle Avenue in Sarasota. The 2008 Green Home Expo will feature speakers on a variety of topics, with the goal of educating Realtors as to the realities of green building.
Lectures include "Florida Friendly Yards," with Annemarie Post of Sarasota County Extension; "The Air We Breathe" (indoor air pollution), by John Cozy of the Air and Water Team; "The Green Home," by Betty Alpaugh of the Florida House Learning Center; and "Getting the HERS Rating for Your Home," by Salena J. Wilson, Rate Division Manager of Calcs-Plus.
The Green Realtors Alliance of Sarasota (GRAS) is intended to be a "resource for the preservation of our environment and natural resources as it pertains toreal estate," according to a statement from GRAS.
Its goals are to:
-- "Practice and encourage preservation of our environment andnatural resources in our personal and professional lives."
-- "Stay informed and share information about local and relevantenvironmental issues."
-- "Educate other Realtors, clients and the public about sustainableliving as it pertains to real estate."
-- "Volunteer and participate in local sustainability projects and organizations."
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
Wachovia Needs $7 Billion Dollars
It seems that Wachovia Bank is looking for $7 Billion dollars? Why? Where did they loose so much money? Who made it? Would Wachovia loan money to me if I needed it under those circumstances? Are investors throwing good money after bad? I think the board and CEO Ken Thompson need to step down. They got way too much power and control way too much money and so far they have demonstrated they can't handle it. That is from another fellow banker..ME! We need new blood there.
Stay tuned.
Stay tuned.
County's population to double by 2040, expert says
Forget the housing bust; Sarasota County’s population will still double by 2040, according to a national growth expert.
Sarasota County
Population 2000 - 327,000 est. 2040 - 664,000
Housing units 2000 - 183,000 est. 2040 - 372,000
Jobs 2000 - 192,000 est. 2040 - 450,000
Source: Arthur C. Nelson, Metropolitan Institute at Virginia Tech
The county’s population will grow to 664,000 by that year, said Arthur Nelson, co-director of the Metropolitan Institute at Virginia Tech. That’s double what it was in 2000.
Nelson dismissed arguments that Florida had become unattractive to retirees and that its taxes were too high. Similar arguments were made in the 1980s and the early 1990s about Florida, preceding housing booms in the state, he said.
Nelson was hired to do the study by Sarasota County as part of the effort to rewrite Sarasota County’s redevelopment code.
Nelson also criticized how the low-density way property has been developed here.
“I would say you could accommodate all of your future growth on parking lots,” he said.
Courtesy Herald Tribune
Sarasota County
Population 2000 - 327,000 est. 2040 - 664,000
Housing units 2000 - 183,000 est. 2040 - 372,000
Jobs 2000 - 192,000 est. 2040 - 450,000
Source: Arthur C. Nelson, Metropolitan Institute at Virginia Tech
The county’s population will grow to 664,000 by that year, said Arthur Nelson, co-director of the Metropolitan Institute at Virginia Tech. That’s double what it was in 2000.
Nelson dismissed arguments that Florida had become unattractive to retirees and that its taxes were too high. Similar arguments were made in the 1980s and the early 1990s about Florida, preceding housing booms in the state, he said.
Nelson was hired to do the study by Sarasota County as part of the effort to rewrite Sarasota County’s redevelopment code.
Nelson also criticized how the low-density way property has been developed here.
“I would say you could accommodate all of your future growth on parking lots,” he said.
Courtesy Herald Tribune
Friday, April 11, 2008
Bay Street Village
Today I had the pleasure of discovering this new town center development that includes condos, libraries, shops, dining, and much more. It is nestled in between Osprey and Sarasota just off of Route 41. Its minutes from the beautiful beaches at Siesta Key. This is a place the developers plan to bring business, leisure, and living together at your doorstep. The condos are reasonable priced and there is special financing available for first time homebuyers, municipal and county employees, and medical personell. For more detailed information, check out their web site at http://www.BayStreetVillage.com.
Saturday, April 5, 2008
Lakewood Ranch sees small rebound in housing with Neal Communities
It seems not is all that bad in Lakewood Ranch Real Estate these days. Neal Communities sold 33 homes in March in Forest Creek, the Hharborage on Braden River, Wisteria Park, Edmore, Greystone, and Thornhill. This brings the total to 65 so far this year. They are crediting a new pricing strategy which starts homes in the $120's. The smart buyers are buying now. For more info, visit their site http://www.nealcommunities.com/.
$5 Million Plus Home Sold on Siesta Key
A mansion on Siesta Key has been sold for $5,150,000.00 according to Michael Saunders & Company, http://www.michaelsaunders.com/, which represented both sides in the transaction. This is the most expensive sale in the area since 2006. Seems not everybody is affected by the down turn in Real Estate
Sunday, March 23, 2008
Mortgages after Divorce
I am writing this blog because it is very close to my heart. To quote Robin Williams,
"Ah yes, divorce, from the Latin word meaning to rip out a man's genitals through his wallet." Ouch! He couldn't be more correct. My divorce was just finalized last May, and I certainly felt as though some things were ripped out with it. I gave everything to the ex, my kids hate me, my credit stinks, and of course the mortgage biz is in the toilet. So, no house, no equity, no kids, no credit, and no money. That pretty sums up our "family law system". I hope the judge that did my case reads this. All in all some day again I will be on top again (at least that is what everybody keeps telling me). Now, believe it or not, there is life after divorce. There are two things you should know. If the ex doesn't refinance the house and take your name off of it, that is okay, as long as they supply you with 12 months cancelled checks showing they are making the payment, mortgage companies won't count that debt against you. For credit cards, the same thing goes, except all that you have to show is the divorce decree and we won't care about the debt. HOWEVER, there is one area we run into problems. Even though you have a divorce decree, if they stop making payments on the mortgage or the joint credit cards, the creditors don't care who is supposed to pay what. They will come after you. The creditors were not party to the divorce and you are liable. If the accounts go into collection, it will affect your credit and thus your ability to get it. My advice to you is put a time limit in the divorce decree of 2 years or less for the house to either refinance or sell the home, and require your ex to refinance their credit cards. Just some common sense tips to help you get a mortgage after divorce.
"Ah yes, divorce, from the Latin word meaning to rip out a man's genitals through his wallet." Ouch! He couldn't be more correct. My divorce was just finalized last May, and I certainly felt as though some things were ripped out with it. I gave everything to the ex, my kids hate me, my credit stinks, and of course the mortgage biz is in the toilet. So, no house, no equity, no kids, no credit, and no money. That pretty sums up our "family law system". I hope the judge that did my case reads this. All in all some day again I will be on top again (at least that is what everybody keeps telling me). Now, believe it or not, there is life after divorce. There are two things you should know. If the ex doesn't refinance the house and take your name off of it, that is okay, as long as they supply you with 12 months cancelled checks showing they are making the payment, mortgage companies won't count that debt against you. For credit cards, the same thing goes, except all that you have to show is the divorce decree and we won't care about the debt. HOWEVER, there is one area we run into problems. Even though you have a divorce decree, if they stop making payments on the mortgage or the joint credit cards, the creditors don't care who is supposed to pay what. They will come after you. The creditors were not party to the divorce and you are liable. If the accounts go into collection, it will affect your credit and thus your ability to get it. My advice to you is put a time limit in the divorce decree of 2 years or less for the house to either refinance or sell the home, and require your ex to refinance their credit cards. Just some common sense tips to help you get a mortgage after divorce.
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
Long Boat Key Endorses New Hotels
Seems Long Boat Key is finally realizing that the loss of hotels in the area has send high end toursists elsewhere and has finally voted to make it easier for small restaruants and hotels to rebuild and remain in the area.
Fed Cuts Key Rate
Here is a series of Q's and A's on the Fed's cut today. My take on it is that we have some real problems here with the banking system in this country and nobody wants to fess up on what's really happening - Tom
WASHINGTON — The Federal Reserve reduced its benchmark interest rate by three-quarters of a percentage point on Tuesday, to 2.25 percent, a cut that was less than investors had been hoping for even though it was one of the deepest in Fed history.
Falling interest rates may be a boon to borrowers, but they can be hard on savers and retirees on fixed incomes.
On Tuesday, the Federal Reserve cut its key short-term interest rate three-quarters of a percentage point to 2.25 percent -- a move designed to spur banks, credit card issuers and other financial institutions to lower their rates as well.
It was the sixth cut since September, and it pushed the rate a full three percentage points below the 5.25 percent that prevailed last summer.
Here is how borrowers and savers are faring in the lower-rate environment.
Q:How does the Federal Reserve action affect the interest rates on consumer products?
A:When the Fed lowers its federal funds rate, which is the interest banks charge each other on overnight loans, the financial institutions typically pass on the lower rates to borrowers and savers. Shortly after the Fed acted, many of the nation's big banks lowered their prime lending rate to 5.25 percent from 6 percent.
Q:Will consumers see lower rates on their credit cards?
A:Probably, but not right away, said Greg McBride, senior financial analyst with Bankrate.com.
"Card issuers tend to pass along rate increases more quickly than rate decreases," he said. The lag is typically up to three months, and the reduction may not match the Fed's cut, he added.
The average rate on a variable-rate credit card six months ago was 14 percent; now it is about 12.35 percent.
Another maneuver that can reduce the benefit for consumers is that some card issuers switch to fixed rates from variable rates to keep their profits from dropping.
Q:What about home mortgage loans?
A:"The biggest beneficiaries of the repeated rate cuts are homeowners facing resets with adjustable-rate mortgages," McBride said.
That is because the rate on many of these home loans is pegged to the rate on the one-year Treasury bill, which tends to move down after Fed rate cuts.
"Last summer, borrowers with an adjustable-rate mortgage pegged to one-year Treasuries could have seen their rate jump by 3 percentage points," McBride said. "Now, borrowers could see their rate decline."
So a family with a $200,000 home loan would have seen a $370 increase in monthly payments if the rate adjusted last summer, but a loan that reset this spring would have a $50 per month decline, he said.
Q:Will fixed-rate mortgages be affected?
A:These loans typically reflect the rate on 10-year Treasury notes, and this is affected more by conditions in credit markets and inflationary expectations than by Fed action on short-term rates. Fixed-rate mortgages currently are being offered a bit below 6 percent now, not much of a drop from the high around 6.8 percent last July, Bankrate.com estimates.
Q:What about homeowners with lines of credit?
A:Borrowers with outstanding lines of credit should see their monthly payments drop as the rate on these loans falls in line with the prime rate, said David Tysk, a senior financial adviser with Ameriprise Financial in Minneapolis.
He said that a client with a $100,000 outstanding line of credit already has seen a $180 drop in his monthly payment and could see that rise to more than $200 after the latest Fed action.
Q:What about savers?
A:As the Fed has lowered rates, the return on savings accounts and many short-term investments has fallen, too.
Tysk noted that the yields on certificates of deposit are down and that investment alternatives such a municipal bonds and money market funds "are not doing well in the current climate."
He said that what a consumer should do depends on his or her short-term needs -- and comfort level.
Tysk said one concerned client recently moved a big chunk of his savings to federally insured bank accounts and government securities. "Consumer sentiment is very real," he said.
Q:How are retirees and others living on fixed income feeling the pinch of lower rates?
A:"If you are a retiree, these are tough times," Tysk said. That is because returns on savings are down while costs -- from gasoline to heating oil, health care and food -- are rising.
The retirees, he added, are finding a variety of ways to cope.
Some have been borrowing, perhaps to pay for a new furnace or car, because paying a low rate on a loan beats paying tax of 25 percent or more on a withdrawal from an Individual Retirement Accounts or a company-sponsored retirement savings plan, he said.
"They also have an incredible ability to adapt ... delaying purchases, home projects, things like that," Tysk said.
Q:Is the Fed finished?
A:Mark Vitner, senior economist with Wachovia Corp. in Charlotte, N.C., thinks there is room for more rate cuts.
"They probably have to overdo it, and then take some back later in the year or next year," he said. He described the Fed action to date as "a full frontal assault on the credit crunch. They're hitting with everything they've got. It's pretty remarkable. I think six months from now we'll look back and marvel at how creative the Fed was and how successful they were."
While leaving the door open for additional rate cuts, policy makers also expressed growing concern about inflation. "Uncertainty about the inflation outlook has increased," the central bank said. "It will be necessary to continue to monitor inflation developments carefully."
The statement highlighted the growing problem that the Fed faces, between fighting an economic downturn and heading off new inflationary pressures that have become apparent in everything from energy and food prices to the falling value of the dollar.
In a sign of the difficult choices the Fed faces, two of the 10 members of the policy-making Federal Open Market Committee dissented from the decision, favoring a smaller rate cut.
The two dissenters in Tuesday's decision were Richard W. Fisher, president of the Dallas Fed, and Charles I. Plosser, president of the Philadelphia Fed, both of whom have been outspokenly hawkish about inflation issues in recent months.
The Fed's announcement was the culmination of an extraordinary series of actions over the past two weeks to prop up financial markets and the economy with a flood of cheaper money.
The Federal Reserve has reduced its overnight lending rate, the federal funds rate, six times since September, and did so twice in January alone.
With the latest reduction, the federal funds rate is far below the rate of inflation, meaning that the "real," or inflation-adjusted, rate is below zero. It is also well below the European Central Bank's benchmark interest rate of 4 percent or the Bank of England's rate of 5.25 percent.
On the edge of panic
Investors had already assumed that the central bank would reduce the cost of borrowing by at least another three-quarters of a percent on Tuesday, but mounting worries about a meltdown in financial markets and the Fed's emergence as lender of last resort had elevated expectations even higher.
Indeed, expectations about another deep cut in interest rates were so high that the central bank was at risk of setting off a new wave of panicky selling if it had announced a reduction of less than three-quarters of a percentage point. In fact, the Dow Jones Industrial Average began falling after the announcement of the Fed action before reversing course and finishing the day up 420.41 points at 12,392.66, its highest one-day gain in five years.
A lower federal funds usually leads to lower interest rates for mortgages, consumer loans and commercial borrowing.
But Fed officials had been startled and frustrated that their previous rate reductions were doing nothing to lower the long-term interest rates that are most relevant for expanding a business or buying homes or cars.
Part of the reason, analysts said, is that lower overnight interest rates have only limited relevance to the fundamental problem that is roiling the credit markets and the economy: the huge losses caused by the collapse of the housing bubble and the home loan environment that fed it.
Most analysts predict that housing prices, which have already fallen in most parts of the country, will drop much further before they hit bottom.
About 8 million homeowners already owe more on their mortgage than their houses are currently worth, and foreclosure rates have soared over the past year.
The Fed's problem is that its primary tools for stimulating growth -- reductions in the cost of borrowing -- do little to address the fears about bad loans. Many if not most private forecasters have concluded that the United States has probably entered a recession. The Labor Department has reported back-to-back declines in payroll employment in January and February.
And while the unemployment rate is still low at 4.8 percent, the number of private-sector jobs has declined for three months in a row -- a pattern that has almost always been accompanied by a recession in recent decades.
Bailing out banks
With financial markets becoming dysfunctional, Fed officials have announced a series of steadily bigger lending programs for banks and Wall Street investment firms.
On Sunday, Fed officials agreed to lend up to $30 billion to JPMorgan Chase to engineer its takeover of Bear Stearns, a major Wall Street firm that was near collapse.
But Fed officials face increasingly contradictory pressures: inflation is rising even though growth has stalled.
The federal funds rate is once again edging close to zero, at which point the central bank would have to resort to entirely new strategies if it wants to keep opening its monetary spigots.
But a growing number of economists, including some Fed officials, contend that the housing bubble and downturn stemmed at least in part from the central bank's own decision to keep interest rates at rock-bottom lows from 2001 to the middle of 2004.
Meanwhile, consumer prices, even after excluding the prices of food and energy, are climbing faster than the central bank's unofficial target of less than 2 percent a year.
Courtesy: New York Times
WASHINGTON — The Federal Reserve reduced its benchmark interest rate by three-quarters of a percentage point on Tuesday, to 2.25 percent, a cut that was less than investors had been hoping for even though it was one of the deepest in Fed history.
Falling interest rates may be a boon to borrowers, but they can be hard on savers and retirees on fixed incomes.
On Tuesday, the Federal Reserve cut its key short-term interest rate three-quarters of a percentage point to 2.25 percent -- a move designed to spur banks, credit card issuers and other financial institutions to lower their rates as well.
It was the sixth cut since September, and it pushed the rate a full three percentage points below the 5.25 percent that prevailed last summer.
Here is how borrowers and savers are faring in the lower-rate environment.
Q:How does the Federal Reserve action affect the interest rates on consumer products?
A:When the Fed lowers its federal funds rate, which is the interest banks charge each other on overnight loans, the financial institutions typically pass on the lower rates to borrowers and savers. Shortly after the Fed acted, many of the nation's big banks lowered their prime lending rate to 5.25 percent from 6 percent.
Q:Will consumers see lower rates on their credit cards?
A:Probably, but not right away, said Greg McBride, senior financial analyst with Bankrate.com.
"Card issuers tend to pass along rate increases more quickly than rate decreases," he said. The lag is typically up to three months, and the reduction may not match the Fed's cut, he added.
The average rate on a variable-rate credit card six months ago was 14 percent; now it is about 12.35 percent.
Another maneuver that can reduce the benefit for consumers is that some card issuers switch to fixed rates from variable rates to keep their profits from dropping.
Q:What about home mortgage loans?
A:"The biggest beneficiaries of the repeated rate cuts are homeowners facing resets with adjustable-rate mortgages," McBride said.
That is because the rate on many of these home loans is pegged to the rate on the one-year Treasury bill, which tends to move down after Fed rate cuts.
"Last summer, borrowers with an adjustable-rate mortgage pegged to one-year Treasuries could have seen their rate jump by 3 percentage points," McBride said. "Now, borrowers could see their rate decline."
So a family with a $200,000 home loan would have seen a $370 increase in monthly payments if the rate adjusted last summer, but a loan that reset this spring would have a $50 per month decline, he said.
Q:Will fixed-rate mortgages be affected?
A:These loans typically reflect the rate on 10-year Treasury notes, and this is affected more by conditions in credit markets and inflationary expectations than by Fed action on short-term rates. Fixed-rate mortgages currently are being offered a bit below 6 percent now, not much of a drop from the high around 6.8 percent last July, Bankrate.com estimates.
Q:What about homeowners with lines of credit?
A:Borrowers with outstanding lines of credit should see their monthly payments drop as the rate on these loans falls in line with the prime rate, said David Tysk, a senior financial adviser with Ameriprise Financial in Minneapolis.
He said that a client with a $100,000 outstanding line of credit already has seen a $180 drop in his monthly payment and could see that rise to more than $200 after the latest Fed action.
Q:What about savers?
A:As the Fed has lowered rates, the return on savings accounts and many short-term investments has fallen, too.
Tysk noted that the yields on certificates of deposit are down and that investment alternatives such a municipal bonds and money market funds "are not doing well in the current climate."
He said that what a consumer should do depends on his or her short-term needs -- and comfort level.
Tysk said one concerned client recently moved a big chunk of his savings to federally insured bank accounts and government securities. "Consumer sentiment is very real," he said.
Q:How are retirees and others living on fixed income feeling the pinch of lower rates?
A:"If you are a retiree, these are tough times," Tysk said. That is because returns on savings are down while costs -- from gasoline to heating oil, health care and food -- are rising.
The retirees, he added, are finding a variety of ways to cope.
Some have been borrowing, perhaps to pay for a new furnace or car, because paying a low rate on a loan beats paying tax of 25 percent or more on a withdrawal from an Individual Retirement Accounts or a company-sponsored retirement savings plan, he said.
"They also have an incredible ability to adapt ... delaying purchases, home projects, things like that," Tysk said.
Q:Is the Fed finished?
A:Mark Vitner, senior economist with Wachovia Corp. in Charlotte, N.C., thinks there is room for more rate cuts.
"They probably have to overdo it, and then take some back later in the year or next year," he said. He described the Fed action to date as "a full frontal assault on the credit crunch. They're hitting with everything they've got. It's pretty remarkable. I think six months from now we'll look back and marvel at how creative the Fed was and how successful they were."
While leaving the door open for additional rate cuts, policy makers also expressed growing concern about inflation. "Uncertainty about the inflation outlook has increased," the central bank said. "It will be necessary to continue to monitor inflation developments carefully."
The statement highlighted the growing problem that the Fed faces, between fighting an economic downturn and heading off new inflationary pressures that have become apparent in everything from energy and food prices to the falling value of the dollar.
In a sign of the difficult choices the Fed faces, two of the 10 members of the policy-making Federal Open Market Committee dissented from the decision, favoring a smaller rate cut.
The two dissenters in Tuesday's decision were Richard W. Fisher, president of the Dallas Fed, and Charles I. Plosser, president of the Philadelphia Fed, both of whom have been outspokenly hawkish about inflation issues in recent months.
The Fed's announcement was the culmination of an extraordinary series of actions over the past two weeks to prop up financial markets and the economy with a flood of cheaper money.
The Federal Reserve has reduced its overnight lending rate, the federal funds rate, six times since September, and did so twice in January alone.
With the latest reduction, the federal funds rate is far below the rate of inflation, meaning that the "real," or inflation-adjusted, rate is below zero. It is also well below the European Central Bank's benchmark interest rate of 4 percent or the Bank of England's rate of 5.25 percent.
On the edge of panic
Investors had already assumed that the central bank would reduce the cost of borrowing by at least another three-quarters of a percent on Tuesday, but mounting worries about a meltdown in financial markets and the Fed's emergence as lender of last resort had elevated expectations even higher.
Indeed, expectations about another deep cut in interest rates were so high that the central bank was at risk of setting off a new wave of panicky selling if it had announced a reduction of less than three-quarters of a percentage point. In fact, the Dow Jones Industrial Average began falling after the announcement of the Fed action before reversing course and finishing the day up 420.41 points at 12,392.66, its highest one-day gain in five years.
A lower federal funds usually leads to lower interest rates for mortgages, consumer loans and commercial borrowing.
But Fed officials had been startled and frustrated that their previous rate reductions were doing nothing to lower the long-term interest rates that are most relevant for expanding a business or buying homes or cars.
Part of the reason, analysts said, is that lower overnight interest rates have only limited relevance to the fundamental problem that is roiling the credit markets and the economy: the huge losses caused by the collapse of the housing bubble and the home loan environment that fed it.
Most analysts predict that housing prices, which have already fallen in most parts of the country, will drop much further before they hit bottom.
About 8 million homeowners already owe more on their mortgage than their houses are currently worth, and foreclosure rates have soared over the past year.
The Fed's problem is that its primary tools for stimulating growth -- reductions in the cost of borrowing -- do little to address the fears about bad loans. Many if not most private forecasters have concluded that the United States has probably entered a recession. The Labor Department has reported back-to-back declines in payroll employment in January and February.
And while the unemployment rate is still low at 4.8 percent, the number of private-sector jobs has declined for three months in a row -- a pattern that has almost always been accompanied by a recession in recent decades.
Bailing out banks
With financial markets becoming dysfunctional, Fed officials have announced a series of steadily bigger lending programs for banks and Wall Street investment firms.
On Sunday, Fed officials agreed to lend up to $30 billion to JPMorgan Chase to engineer its takeover of Bear Stearns, a major Wall Street firm that was near collapse.
But Fed officials face increasingly contradictory pressures: inflation is rising even though growth has stalled.
The federal funds rate is once again edging close to zero, at which point the central bank would have to resort to entirely new strategies if it wants to keep opening its monetary spigots.
But a growing number of economists, including some Fed officials, contend that the housing bubble and downturn stemmed at least in part from the central bank's own decision to keep interest rates at rock-bottom lows from 2001 to the middle of 2004.
Meanwhile, consumer prices, even after excluding the prices of food and energy, are climbing faster than the central bank's unofficial target of less than 2 percent a year.
Courtesy: New York Times
Thursday, March 13, 2008
Second Phase of Parking Coming to Sharky's
The engineering department in Venice is starting to build the second phase of the parking lot at the Venice Fishing Pier.
The improvement, which replaces the existing dirt parking area south of the pier, will provide 182 paved parking spaces, eight for handicap use and 46 grass spaces.
It also includes sea turtle-friendly lighting, landscaping, a handicap accessible ramp to the beach, continuation of the boardwalk to connect the north parking area, restrooms and pier and stormwater collection and treatment that will reduce flooding during rain storms, the city said.
Once the project is complete, there will be 375 parking spaces. The project’s cost is $1,290,646 and the money is coming from the Pier Fund and General Fund Reserve.
It should be done by the end of May. Sharky’s on the Pier restaurant and the fishing pier will be open throughout the construction, the city reports. Parking is currently available north of the fishing pier and along the east side of Harbor Drive next to the golf course.
Other activities at the beach include beach tilling as required by the city's beach nourishment permits in order to prepare the sand for the sea turtle nesting season. (courtesy Venise Gondolier)
The improvement, which replaces the existing dirt parking area south of the pier, will provide 182 paved parking spaces, eight for handicap use and 46 grass spaces.
It also includes sea turtle-friendly lighting, landscaping, a handicap accessible ramp to the beach, continuation of the boardwalk to connect the north parking area, restrooms and pier and stormwater collection and treatment that will reduce flooding during rain storms, the city said.
Once the project is complete, there will be 375 parking spaces. The project’s cost is $1,290,646 and the money is coming from the Pier Fund and General Fund Reserve.
It should be done by the end of May. Sharky’s on the Pier restaurant and the fishing pier will be open throughout the construction, the city reports. Parking is currently available north of the fishing pier and along the east side of Harbor Drive next to the golf course.
Other activities at the beach include beach tilling as required by the city's beach nourishment permits in order to prepare the sand for the sea turtle nesting season. (courtesy Venise Gondolier)
New Insurers help Citizens
It seems as though there are some insurers besides Citizens that want to do business in Florida. They have snapped up almost 500,000 policies so far this year. Most of the policies aren't in the riskiest areas, but its a start. This offers the people of Florida a much wider variety of insurers that ultimately leads to lower premiums and greater service. Beware though, the policies can adjust higher at renewal, but you have the option of going back to Citizens.
Sarasota County Fair 3/14/08 to 3/23/08
The Sarasota County Fair is in town at Robarts Arena startint this Friday 3/14/2008 at Robarts Arena. The Arena is located on Fruitville Road, just west of Lockwood Ridge Road.
Foreclosure Crisis? Myth or Fact?
Is there really a foreclosure crisis, or something manufactured by the news media outlets? If you look at the superficial numbers, yes, foreclosures are up on average 78.23% nationwide. However the number of foreclosures are actually less than 1% of the homes out there. This is because the foreclosure rate has always been very low, and really except for a few markets, see below chart, nothing much is happening. The medial outlets make it look like most of the country will end up on the street. I think they need some regulation. There has to be something we can put on them for upsetting the economy.
In fact, most people that are in trouble to to resetting loans, ie option arms, are working with their lenders to re negotiate the loans so it is a win win for eveybody!
In fact, most people that are in trouble to to resetting loans, ie option arms, are working with their lenders to re negotiate the loans so it is a win win for eveybody!
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
Bank of America and Countrywide Deal in Trouble?
I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but it seems there might be a problem here. Does B of A really want all the liability that is coming from Countrywide? I personally blame Countrywide for a lot of the problems going on in the mortgage industry, and quite frankly the economy. They gave many people loans that should of never gotten them. Here is a spot from Jim Cramer on his views on the B of A merger with CW. He makes an ominous comment about one and a half minutes into his thing. Enjoy. http://www.thestreet.com/video/10406994/index.html#10406994
Option Arms?
The option arms that are surviving the mortgage wars are actually pretty good. These are very distant cousins to the ones that everybody is in trouble with. The really good ones work like this: The minimum payment is from 3% to 4%, this keeps you from building up too much defered interest too fast. You can get a fixed rate around 8% or less, so you are not at the mercy of the market. They offer stated income options for situations that make sense. You can get these for investment, primary, and secondary residences. If you use them right, you can actually pay off your property sooner than with a regular mortgage.
Big Banks in Trouble
Big banks have only themselves to blame on this one. They entered markets and bought local community banks and for the most part erased any connection and duty they had to the local community. When a "big bank" takes over a local bank a number of things happen. All the money the bank kept locally was sent to another "central location"in another state. Most of the existing staff is let go and college "wannabees" were hired who have no clue past checking or savings accounts. They were hired and trained to sell the "product of the day" rather than what was best for the borrower. Then the local "trust" accounts were taken to a "central location" and, here a crime, the new managers of the trusts would then decide where the trust money would go, and often it wasn't what the trust was set up for initially. Example, there was a couple in Texas that saved all their lives and donated millions to a trust to support their favorite charity. A "big bank" came in and bought the local bank that was managing the trust. The "big bank" decided that the trust wasn't making enough money (the managers of the trust get paid on how much money the trust makes), so they stopped giving to the charity the trust was set up for. WOW! Now if the bank had been under local ownership and management it would of never happened.
Go into a bank today and go back in 30 days and see how many of the same people are still there. I worked for a year at a "big bank" as a mortgage loan officer and I was assigned a couple of branches to call on. I felt so sorry for the people at the branch. They were so overworked and under appreciated. Every day they would have their priorities by upper management changed, so in reality nobody could get ahead and people were constantly being shuffled around. It was like the bank didn't want anybody to become too good at their job.
Then came the mortgage mess. Where were the regulators during all of this? I saw a couple of them testifying on Capitol Hill and they sure didn't look smart to me. I never saw so many dumb looks in my life as I did that day. Whose money did the banks loose? Where did they get this kind of money to play with? Why does it seem that all their money was in mortgages? Why weren't they investing in their local communities by loaning money to businesses? Why aren't they responsible to the local community.
It seems to me that if we are going to allow "big banks" then they have to be held much more accountible for their actions. Otherwise I am all for eliminating "branch banking" and going back to much smaller and more responsible banks in this country.
Go into a bank today and go back in 30 days and see how many of the same people are still there. I worked for a year at a "big bank" as a mortgage loan officer and I was assigned a couple of branches to call on. I felt so sorry for the people at the branch. They were so overworked and under appreciated. Every day they would have their priorities by upper management changed, so in reality nobody could get ahead and people were constantly being shuffled around. It was like the bank didn't want anybody to become too good at their job.
Then came the mortgage mess. Where were the regulators during all of this? I saw a couple of them testifying on Capitol Hill and they sure didn't look smart to me. I never saw so many dumb looks in my life as I did that day. Whose money did the banks loose? Where did they get this kind of money to play with? Why does it seem that all their money was in mortgages? Why weren't they investing in their local communities by loaning money to businesses? Why aren't they responsible to the local community.
It seems to me that if we are going to allow "big banks" then they have to be held much more accountible for their actions. Otherwise I am all for eliminating "branch banking" and going back to much smaller and more responsible banks in this country.
Wednesday, March 5, 2008
Countrywide Junket Called Off
My Radio Spot (click here for spot)
Here is my radio spot that we recently recorded with Star 107.9 here is Sarasota, Fl. They are a classic radio station and you can listen to them at http://www.oldies108.com/.
Sunday, March 2, 2008
From Our Friends at Countrywide
Thursday, 28 Feb 2008
Countrywide Chooses Sun Over Ski Trip!
OriginallyPosted By:Jane Wells Funny Business
I've been hearing from sources that Countrywide, despite cancelling an expensive ski junket to Colorado, is planning two even bigger events in Hollywood, Fla.
Now comes confirmation from a source at The Westin Diplomat Resort & Spa that Countrywide Financial has booked the location for two different events, one starting next Wednesday -- lasting a week -- the second, happening at the end of April.
Those familiar with the details say the first event is for 300 people, the second event will be much larger. Who's coming and why, I don't know. Is it for clients? Countrywide employees? People being foreclosed on? Florida has one of the highest foreclosure rates in the nation.
We have asked Countrywide for information -- and to confirm whether the trips are still on -- but haven't heard back yet.
The Westin Diplomat is described as a resort with "luxurious accommodations, magnificent views, and an experience sure to inspire renewal." Rooms start at $400 a night (yes, that's where they start), but can go up to $1,000 for a "Club Floor Suite."
One source tells me Countrywide spends "about $4,000 per guest and $5-6 million combined," and that the events include "parties/dinner every day, celebrity entertainment, activities, suite upgrades, private jet usage for execs, gifts, etc., etc."
I'll let you know what the company says, if anything. It has not responded to our questions recently.
Countrywide Chooses Sun Over Ski Trip!
OriginallyPosted By:Jane Wells Funny Business
I've been hearing from sources that Countrywide, despite cancelling an expensive ski junket to Colorado, is planning two even bigger events in Hollywood, Fla.
Now comes confirmation from a source at The Westin Diplomat Resort & Spa that Countrywide Financial has booked the location for two different events, one starting next Wednesday -- lasting a week -- the second, happening at the end of April.
Those familiar with the details say the first event is for 300 people, the second event will be much larger. Who's coming and why, I don't know. Is it for clients? Countrywide employees? People being foreclosed on? Florida has one of the highest foreclosure rates in the nation.
We have asked Countrywide for information -- and to confirm whether the trips are still on -- but haven't heard back yet.
The Westin Diplomat is described as a resort with "luxurious accommodations, magnificent views, and an experience sure to inspire renewal." Rooms start at $400 a night (yes, that's where they start), but can go up to $1,000 for a "Club Floor Suite."
One source tells me Countrywide spends "about $4,000 per guest and $5-6 million combined," and that the events include "parties/dinner every day, celebrity entertainment, activities, suite upgrades, private jet usage for execs, gifts, etc., etc."
I'll let you know what the company says, if anything. It has not responded to our questions recently.
Short Sales
Here is the scoop on short sales. A short sale is when you sell your house or the bank in a foreclosure action sells your home for less than you own on it. In the old days, (pre-2008), when this happened at the end of the year you got a pleasant (NOT!) surprise from your lender of a 1099 for the short sale amount. For example: You owed $200,000 on your mortgage and only for $150,000 for it. In the clear, NO! Under the old rules you would have to treat the $50,000 difference as income at the end of the year. YIKES! Under the new rules, that doesn't happen anymore. HOWEVER, this only applies to your PRINCIPLE RESIDENCE! People that walk away or are foreclosed on their investment property and end up with a short sale, THEY WILL GET STUCK PAYING TAX ON THAT MONEY! If you think the bank was tough, wait till you see what the IRS will do if you don't pay it.
The GOOD NEWS on this rule is that you don't get nailed with a double whammy of loosing your home and then a HUGE tax liability. The BAD NEWS is that many people who are not in danger of loosing their homes, are using this "help out" as an way to walk away from a home that has lost value in this market. Those people should be prosecuted. Why you ask? Well when they dump their homes out of selfishness, they are hurting the values of the homes around them. There are whole straits of homes in Detroit that are just empty! Me think that we are creating a self fullfilling prophecy.
My advice to people is to stick it out and ride the wave.
The GOOD NEWS on this rule is that you don't get nailed with a double whammy of loosing your home and then a HUGE tax liability. The BAD NEWS is that many people who are not in danger of loosing their homes, are using this "help out" as an way to walk away from a home that has lost value in this market. Those people should be prosecuted. Why you ask? Well when they dump their homes out of selfishness, they are hurting the values of the homes around them. There are whole straits of homes in Detroit that are just empty! Me think that we are creating a self fullfilling prophecy.
My advice to people is to stick it out and ride the wave.
Thursday, February 28, 2008
Welcome Introduction
You're going to love working with Hamilton Home Mortgage. Our team is experienced and dedicated to making the mortgage application process smooth and easy. At Hamilton Home Mortgage, you can expect:
Real People with Real Rates ! We'll never advertise incredible rates that are impossible to actually use. We are constantly in contact with lenders to determine REAL rates that our customers can expect to take advantage of. See our rates page for more details.
Attention to Detail ! That's what comes with experience and dedication. We'll work hard to answer all of your questions and work out any problems or concerns that may arise. We want your business and want your experience be as clear and easy as possible.
Good Advice and a Flexible Approach ! Sometimes the most obvious approach is not the best for you. We'll work with you - finding out about your goals and needs to help you choose a program that will work for you. When you come to Hamilton Home Mortgage, we'll sit down and discuss a variety of traditional and non-traditional mortgage options along with their respective benefits. You'll be sure that you got the best possible deal!
Real People with Real Rates ! We'll never advertise incredible rates that are impossible to actually use. We are constantly in contact with lenders to determine REAL rates that our customers can expect to take advantage of. See our rates page for more details.
Attention to Detail ! That's what comes with experience and dedication. We'll work hard to answer all of your questions and work out any problems or concerns that may arise. We want your business and want your experience be as clear and easy as possible.
Good Advice and a Flexible Approach ! Sometimes the most obvious approach is not the best for you. We'll work with you - finding out about your goals and needs to help you choose a program that will work for you. When you come to Hamilton Home Mortgage, we'll sit down and discuss a variety of traditional and non-traditional mortgage options along with their respective benefits. You'll be sure that you got the best possible deal!
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