Happy New Year!

From all of us… we wish you a Happy New Year! 

Thanks for reading in 2007, and we hope you will bookmark us and visit often in 2008!

If you're going to be out tonight… please drive carefully!

What Interest Rate Cuts Mean to You

When the fed lowers interest rates and gets everyone all excited, what do these lower interest rates really mean to you and me?

Homeowners: You could save hundreds of dollars a month if your loan is pegged to Treasury rates, which have fallen considerably thanks to the Fed's recent cuts.  But many buyers in expensive areas resort to so-called jumbo loans, which are typically pegged to slower-moving indexes that remain elevated.

Borrowers: Several banks lowered their prime rate, which forms the foundation for car loans, home equity lines and other loans.  But you must carry a whopping $5,000 credit card balance to save just $12.50 annually from a quarter-point rate cut.

Consumers: Lower rates threaten to boost inflation and the price of imports.  So far, inflation has been held in check, and foreign companies generally are holding the line on prices.

Savers: Falling interest rates normally would whack rates on CDs and other savings.  But the cash crunch has spurred many banks to prop up such rates.

Travelers: International vacations and business trips cost more because the dollar has sagged in the wake of the Fed's cuts.  But it could be buoyed if other central banks trim rates.

So, before getting all excited about the Fed lowering interest rates again, stop and ask yourself, "What will an interest rate cut really mean to me?"  The answer will probably be, "Not much."

We'd love to hear your opinion about this if you'd like to leave a comment.  Click the "comment" link below to tell us what you think about interest rate cuts.

Home Builders Blaming the Media

According to new figures released recently, U.S. home builders remained pessimistic in November and are now beginning to blame the news media for their woes, worried that the national media's tendancy to report negative housing stories as if there is one real estate market, when, in fact, there is no such thing.

All housing markets are local, and our personal opinion is, builders blaming the media for their low numbers is a bunch of bunk.

What do you think?  We'd love to hear your opinion on this.  Click the comment link below and sound off.

Real Estate Seminar Ripoff?

If you've ever been tempted to attend a free seminar on real estate investing, or felt attracted to a money-making course you see on some late night infomercial, this next story is for you. Part 2 of 2. (1:40)

Have you, or anyone you know, been taken in by something like this?  We'd love to hear about it.  Leave any comments you'd like to make about the video by using the "Comments" link below.

Help on the Way for Strapped Homeowners

The Senate moved against the worsening mortgage crisis, voting recently to make it easier for thousands of homeowners with ballooning interest rates to refinance into federally insured loans.

The legislation, approved 93-1, would allow the Federal Housing Administration to back refinanced loans for borrowers who are delinquent on payments because their mortgages are resetting to sharply higher rates from low initial "teaser" levels.

The bill also tries to make FHA loans more attractive than risky subprime loans by accepting lower down payments and expanding the eligibility for counseling for homeowners having difficult with their mortgage payments.

The Senate's proposed changes are especially important now, given the credit crisis that has made it much more difficult and more expensive for people to refinance or get financing to buy a home.  Private lenders have been reluctant to make new loans.

Allowing the federal government to insure more and bigger loans should help provide some relief and ease the credit crunch.

The Senate also passed legislation that would allow homeowners to receive mortgage forgiveness from their lender tax free. That's when a lender allows a homeowner not to pay a portion of their mortgage.

The IRS currently taxes any loan forgiveness as income. The tax forgiveness is available on mortgage indebtedness of up to $1 million.

What do you think?  Will this new legislation help the current state of the real estate market and/or the overall economy?  We'd love to hear your feedback.  Leave us your opinion by clicking on the "Comment" link below.