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For many of us, we have heard commentators talking about the slow housing recovery however, if you believe a slow housing recovery is what is happening, I beg to differ.

I have been preaching now….for at least 6 months or so, hyperinflation could be coming and after what happened last week with the Federal Reserve, I am not just speculating anymore but, predicting we will enter an era of hyperinflation. Granted, several factors need to come into play but, make no mistake, the stage has been set and the players have been cast.

Last week, the Federal Reserve decided to print almost a Trillion dollars in order to buy, almost a Trillion dollars worth of Federal Debt. This is just like you, using your Brother Multi-function printer, scanner, copier to print out some money and use it to buy your own debt back from one of your creditors. Obviously, the money you printed is absolutely no good and therefore, you end up being unable to pay off your debt and in return, go bankrupt. The problem is, it’s not that easy when we are talking about national financial planning, or lack thereof.

Ultimately, when a country, like the USA, buys back our own debt we cause inflation but, that isn’t all we do. We also deflate the dollar or cause the dollar to decline against foreign currencies. In other words, inflations skyrockets and the value of your dollar drops. It’s exactly like what happened to Germany in the Weimar Republic, see wiki link http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weimar_Republic

So, how does this impact real estate, you may be asking….well, let me elaborate a bit more.

You need to keep in the back of your head, the real estate bubble still hasn’t stopped bursting. We still have hundreds of thousands of homeowners on ARMs or other high risk lending packages that will be resetting for up to the next 2-4 years. If we go through a time of hyperinflation, these people will be priced out of their homes, days…..not years. We will flood the market with an unbelieveable amount of inventory or banks will be required to hold the inventory, similarly to what they are doing now voluntarily….so we are told.

Either way, the realestate market is doomed. If banks keep these toxic assets on their books and don’t have the necessary liquidity to fulfill the demands of withdrawals because all their money is tied up or even worse, they don’t have any money because they made so many bad loans…..we have a “Great” Depression…..like this country has never seen. Not to mention, since the US Dollar is the World’s reserve currency, we potentially could….and most likely will, take down most all of the World with us.

If you believe what I say is crazy talk or I have lost my mind, listen to what China and Germany have already said. http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE6A12IA20101108

I am not trying to scare any of you….I am hoping and praying that you will research this for yourself and make your own conclusions and prepare yourself and families for what could happen. Yes, my family does have a “disaster” plan…….I know that may sound a bit spooky but, I have tried to live my life with a couple quotes in my mind and one of those is, “Luck favors the prepared” and, in this economy, luck can go a long way.

My point is, if the Fed continues with their Quantative Easement or Debt Monetization, this country will enter a time like none we have ever seen. The worse part of all this is, what if the people I listen to, the people I know who know much more about this stuff than I do…….what if they are right?

Regardless of which side of the isle you subscribe to, last night was a nail biter for all of us. With Republican control over the House and a narrowing of the gap in the Senate, what can we, as Real Estate Professionals expects to see in the upcoming 2 years?

As most of us all can agree, the new Speaker of the House, John Boehener has pledged that jobs will be his primary focus. As a conservative, I would expect he would fight for reducing taxes and reducing the size of government in order to create those jobs, he has said as much more or less. So, does this plan bode well for real estate?

My first impression is absolutely. We know from history that a reduction of taxes frees up private sector capital and in return, that capital is used to grow private sector jobs. My only problem is, freeing up capital hasn’t been the problem with this economy, it’s been confidence. We here every talking head on television tell us that big business is setting on large amounts of cash but won’t invest, they won’t spend it and, most of the time it’s because they don’t know what the will be specifically, their taxes. Now, with a normal Republican, I couldn’t say I would believe taxes would be reduced however, in many of the races last night, we saw Tea Party Republicans win and I do believe these men and woman will staunchly work towards a reduction in taxes and a restriction if not a drawback of government. If the Tea Party Republicans can move an agenda of lower taxes, restricted or drawnback government, I really do believe we will see jobs start to recover however, will it be enough?

The truth about jobs is, at no time, in this country’s history (that I am aware of) were we ever able to recover millions of jobs in less than 2, 4 or 6 years. My point is, it would take an unprecedented, history making, future changing legislation supporting capitalism and individual liberty to recoup the millions of jobs we have already lost and, with a progressively controlled democratic party, who is in control of the White House and Senate, that isn’t going to happen.

So, what specifically do we need to do? I suggest we have “A Return to Normalcy”. Many of you reading this won’t know what that means but, some will, let me explain. The date was April 12, 1921 and President Harding (A GREAT PRESIDENT) laid out a plan to Congress that he called, “A Return to Normalcy”. This plan was a economic stimulus plan and it consisted of 6 key points that, are just as relevant today as they were back then.

Those key points were (in no particular order)

1. National Debt Reduction

2. Tax Reduction

3. National Budget Program (Balanced Budget Law)

4. Tariffs to protect industry and farm commodities (an end to the unfair trade practices of other countries, today it would be China)

5. Immigration restrictions (or in other words, American Citizen get American jobs, not illegal aliens)

6. Farm Relief (could now be industry relief or real estate relief)

The Roaring 20’s were an era of extreme prosperity for this country and it was a direct result of Harding’s “stimulus” program. Now granted, Harding didn’t get to see the program to fruition, it was Calvin Coolidge who stayed the course and ended up truly being able to experience the benefits of Harding’s plan but, it doesn’t diminish the fact, these 6 points transformed this country and led to an inventive, creative, unrestricted society that arguably could be considered one of the most prosperous times in our nations history.

The reality is, times have changed. Our country has become so dependent on the Federal Government to provide their paycheck, we may never be able to institute the kind of plan Harding and Coolidge did. I recently read a report that said over 46% of Americans depend on the Federal Government for the bulk of their income…..what?.....yes….I said that right. If that doesn’t scare you, it should. None the less, this country was built by men and woman who laid an incredible foundation Faith, Truth, Integrity and Personal Responsibility and as an American, it seems to me we are genetically hard wired to return to our founding father’s principals therefore, I truly expect the next to years to be volatile fight between 2 ideologies. One will be that of progressive socialism and the second will be staunch conservatism. Who wins, well….that depends on you, the voter.

With all that said, I believe real estate will be volatile for at least the next 2 years. I think we will start to see an end to foreclosure moratoriums, failed homeowner preservation programs (HAMP), and a more common sense approach to lending. I believe we will begin to see a paradigm shift back to personal responsibility and a reduction of the current REO housing inventory. I think this political climate will be beneficial for real estate simply because it will force our government to be more practical in their methods and let’s be honest, being practical is a conservative virtue, not a progressive virtue.

Jobs Recovery and Rent

Strategic Defaults: A Strategic Option

What To Consider When Hiring a Property Management Company

OK, so I have been struggling with good formating for photo slide shows, mixed media, video to present my listings for sale in a variety of online applications, socail media and postings. I think this is a big thing for many Realtors right now.

I finally found a great little photo slide show editing tool, mixing in video is my next step, it also has GREEN SCREEN and mixed media applications. It is low cost and easy enough for 2nd graders to teach me all about it and show me how it is done. They made a cute sample slide show for me about fake homes for sale and even took one of my listing photos off my web site and used it in their sample.

Now, if I can figure out how to post on REOPRO .... and of course the best options are when I can post the slide shows, mixed meadia automatically in multiple great on line social media areas.

I go to classes, seminars, study online stuff for HOW TO. But the secound graders have really taught me something great!

That Troublesome Contract! ….part two

For part one of this “mini-series” please see: http://reopro.ning.com/profiles/blogs/that-troublesome-contract

As you see from Part One, this all started the week after Christmas, yes...Christmas of 2009. But let me get you up to speed with the latest.

Finally, after weeks of back and forth between the buyer's agent and the bank's asset manager, we come to an agreement on terms. Which were pretty good on paper, key phrase here is “on paper”. The deal was $4000 over list price (no competing offers) so the buyer could get more closing cost paid. The bank normally would not pay more the 3%, but the buyer needed up to 6% to make the deal work according to her lender. Red flag #4 or 5, not sure as I had stopped keeping track by now as we were in the second month of this transaction and still do not have a binding agreement. Almost all the delays were cause by the buyer's agent, having him re-write the offer 7, yes 7 times, before he got it right!

I get the A/M to finally understand what was going on and their net did not change, this only took 3 or 4 emails. The A/M send me the contract back to have the buyers initial off all the changes to the contract before he signs it. WTH? Why didn't he go ahead and sign it? But anyway, I roll with it and send it to the buyer's agent with instructions on what to do. This bank's division does not use addendums, they just mark out what they don't like on the original contract and initial all the changes. I've gotten use to it but some agents get very confused about this. I tell the agent the buyer must initial each and every change or it will be sent back to him. Well, it took 3 attempts to all the initials in the proper places, still not sure if it was the agents fault or the buyer's but I'll blame the agent anyway, he should have known better!

So after 2 more weeks I send the contract back to the A/M for his final signature. Shouldn't take more then a day, two if he's busy...right? Wrong again! Three WEEKS later I get the signed contract back and guess what, now we have got to re-negotiate the closing date as by now we only have 8 days to close a FHA loan. Finally, a closing date is set for April 20.....cool! Or so I thought.

Well, by now the buyer has swapped lenders, another red flag! I called the lender to confirm the approval letter like normal, “no problems” says the lender “we can close by the 20th”. COOL! Or so I thought again. This was early mid-March so I thought they had plenty of time to get this done. Wrong again!

Two weeks before any closing I usually start calling the buyer's lender to see how things were going and if there were any snafu's popping up. Well, when I call the lender his office phone number has been disconnected (red flag # 30 something by now?) but he answers his cell phone. Kids and a TV in the background, he quickly tells me he is swamped and would call me back in 10 minutes. Three days later I call him back, same story...will call you back in 10 minutes. I then call the agent, he says he will talk to the lender and call me back in 10 minutes. LOL, this is starting to become a funny game. Two days later he calls me back and says “no problems, we will close on the 20th”. It was around the 15^th, (the closing was the 20th) so I say COOL! (I have got to stop saying this)

On the 20^th the agent calls me early in the morning to say there is a problem. No kidding? There has been a problem since the very start! I told him he gets one shot at extending the closing date, talk to the lender and see exactly what the problem was and how long he needs to get this done and closed. That afternoon he calls me to say that the lender told him that the buyer's credit score was 613, that they were working on some credit repairs and would need an additional 21 days. WTH? This “lender” issued a letter of approval knowing that the buyer is not qualified? And I believe the agent knew this all along!

After I calm down and come off the ceiling, I tell this agent that this was unacceptable and that he needed to find a way to get this closed by the end of the week, 7 days max. To send me a closing extension request form before 4pm. Well I get it at 10pm that night.....requesting the 21 days I told him earlier he would not get. Needless to say that the bank rejected the request and I prepared the Termination of Contract and Release of Earnest Money form, sent it to the A/M on April 21 for him to sign, the day after the scheduled closing. COOL, I think to myself, I can get this back on the market in time for the last week or so of the tax rebates. Which did prompt a lot of activity locally.

Well, not so fast there big boy! Even so the A/M said that the bank wanted the earnest money ASAP because the buyer failed to close, and I sent the form to the A/M last month for him to sign and send back, I'm still waiting. The contract is still active and I cannot put it back on the market because in Georgia, contracts do not automaticly expire if not closed. It MUST be terminated in writing, no if's, and's or but's. This was explained to the A/M when I sent him the form.

I inquired again this past week with the A/M, as now I'm getting nasty letters from our business office wanting the paperwork or threatening to fine me. Again the A/M says that the contract has expired because it did not close, to send him the E/M ASAP. Now I can understand that keeping up with contract laws in multiple states can be overwhelming and hard to do, no problems. He tells me that other agents in my state do not require this form, why am I?

Because it's Georgia contract law and these other agents are wrong, not to mention breaking the law. I was only trying to protect them from any future legal liability. He did not believe me and requested documentation on this, so I found an article written by the very attorney who writes the contract forms for the Ga. Assoc. of Realtors (GAR) that states exactly what I have been telling him. Still not good enough and they call one of the partners in the mega law firm that handles all of their closing services.

That was Thursday, I'm still waiting for a one page form needing one signature and fax/emailed back to me and I'll take care of the rest.

I'm starting to think this house is jinxed! This is the third contract that has failed to close, I've had to fire a team member over it (that's for a whole other blog there), and now I expect to be fired by the bank because I refused to break contract law. Not to mention that I'm about to get a $50 fine for not turning in paperwork that the A/M has refused to sign.

I'm hoping that Part Three is a much shorter story to write!

Steve Adkins – REALTOR®

Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate Metro Brokers

404-843-2500

Hiram Office

www.The-Adkins-Group.com

Keller Williams Realty Associates may be taking the day off on Thursday, May 13, 2010, but it will hardly be a day of rest. Over 25,000 associates across the United States and Canada will spend their day off by giving back as part of the company’s community service initiative: RED Day.

Short for “Renew, Energize and Donate,” RED Day was created to unite Keller Williams Realty offices and associates in an international day of service. During RED Day 2009, over 25,000 Keller Williams associates participated in activities ranging from food and blood drives to cleaning up trash in public parks, doing yard work for neighbors in need or revamping gardens at nursing homes. Last year on RED Day, the company donated over 130,000 hours.

As part of the RED Day effort, Keller Williams Realty of Tracy has chosen to spend the day with McKinley Elementary, one of the 1st schools to be established in Tracy, CA. We have found that this aged site is lacking an outdoor sports field & sports equipment and many of the 450 children come from families with little to no income, making necessities such as paper and pencils a rarity. With the majority of students being on free or reduced lunch and/or breakfast, these teachers and staff have many obstacles to overcome in order to provide the learning facility that each and every child deserves.

We’ve made a commitment to McKinley Elementary to donate 450 backpacks filled with school supplies to start out the 2010-11 school year on the right track. We are reviving the sports field and building a soccer goal for the kids and their soccer field. We’re also hosting a BBQ for the staff and enjoying an afternoon of outdoor play with all the students; DJ playing Kids BOP, activity booths, raffle prizes and soccer play with Troy Dayak of Dayak’s Den.

The Silveria Team has raised nearly $1,000 of cash donations to contribute toward the school supplies. We’ve received gift cards and meal vouchers from many local businesses, which we greatly appreciate.

We are all very excited to spend the day with the students and staff of McKinley Elementary. We would like to invite you all to join us in our RED Day activities. We will start our day at 8:20 AM and stay until school lets out in the afternoon. If you would like to make a donation of school supplies, soccer equipment, raffle prizes or your time, we would love to hear from you.