Local Realtor Bruce Clark Earns Most Prestigious of all Industry Achievements

Top 5 Member Bruce Clark, of First Team Real Estate, Irvine, CA Named a Charter Member of North American “Top 5 in Real Estate Network®”

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Loan Mod and Foreclosure Scams

Regulators struggle to contain foreclosure fraud: The government is struggling to hold back a wave of foreclosure "rescue scams arising from the growing number of homeowners facing the loss of their homes. It may be fighting a losing battle.

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Banks Double-Dipping With Taxpayer Money: Buying Assets With TARP Money

Banks could bet on toxic assets with taxpayers' money

So, the banks sell off their toxic assets - then use taxpayer money to re-buy them at a discount: should they be allowed to do so?

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PIMCO - Japan Credit Perspectives Jan 2009 Evolving Crisis

Excellent PIMCO market analysis titled 'Outlook for Global Finance: The Evolving Crisis and Japans Experience.' What did Japan learn and how we can apply it to the current economic crisis.

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High-End Now Being Affected: Newport, Corona Del Mar, Beverly Hills, Santa Monica and Malibu Seeing Decline In Values

The high-end of the market held up pretty well until around late-2008. The LA Times reports from California. The Southern California real estate crash has finally reached the high-end areas of the Westside. Home prices in Beverly Hills, Santa Monica and Malibu which continued to soar well into 2008 finally tanked at the end of the year, losing between 26% and 30% of their value in just a few months, the latest data show.

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Fannie & Freddie - Come Get Your Loan Modification & Pay For Life

Mr. Mortgage’s Guide to the TRUTH! has a great article about the Fannie Mae / Freddie Mac loan modification program: A real eye-opener, this is a must read if you are considering something similar.

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Wall Street Journal: World Markets End Down

What a difference a year makes: Japan's Nikkei is down 42% for the year. Throughout the world, no one escaped the wrath of the bear.

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Where Are Prices In Shady Canyon Headed?

Excellent article on the Orange County Register's site regarding Shady Canyon and the effect the economic malaise is having there.

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How to vet your financial adviser: Avoiding getting ripped off: Lessons from the Madoff Debacle

There is much angst throughout the world about financial advisers and money managers. Newsweek has an excellent interview with Evan Roth, founding partner and director of client services at BBR Partners, a boutique wealth-management firm in New York City. (BBR Partners, after performing preliminary due diligence which raised significant red flags, opted not to recommend Madoff to clients). Roth, who ranks third in Bloomberg's 2008 ranking of wealth managers, says there are a few key questions to ask when vetting your financial advisor.

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Foreclosure Homes Losing Their Luster With Buyers

Buyers looking at buying a foreclosure worried that bottom might not be here yet.

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Mortgage Rates, Consumer Spending & Confidence Down, Unemployment Claims Up

Benchmark 30-year mortgage rate at lowest level on record, U.S. consumer spending falls 0.6% in November, U.S. durable-goods orders fall 1%; transportation category is key factor, U.S. first-time claims for jobless benefits hit 26-year high

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California Association of Realtors (CAR) Reports Sales Increased 83.2 Percent; Median Home Price Fell 41.8 Percent in November

Dec. 23, 2008: Home sales increased 83.2 percent in November in California compared with the same period a year ago, while the median price of an existing home fell 41.8 percent, the California Association of Realtors (C.A.R.) reported today.

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Mortgage Rates Lowest Since 1971: Is It Enough To Stop The Downward Trend?

Fed lowers the fed funds rate to between 0 and .25 percent, but with unemployment up, is this going to have any effect on home buying?

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New Good Faith Estimate & HUD-1 Coming Jan. 1, 2010

For the first time in over 30 years, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has proposed reforms to the longstanding regulatory requirements of the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA). Looks to be much easier to read.

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Distressed Orange County Properties

Information on how to buy or sell a distressed Orange County property, including a home in Irvine, Newport, Tustin or any other city in Orange County

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