So, the question is: "What is going to hurt my credit more, a short sale or a foreclosure or a deed-in-lieu of foreclosure?"

Here are the most recent guidelines from Fannie Mae:

It is pretty obvious from this that the foreclosure is on your credit for a much longer period of time and therefore the more serious of the options availalbe.  Foreclosures also have credit requirements and loan to value requirements. Deed-in-lieu is a bit easier, but not much. Worthy of note is that a Bankruptcy is only blocking a consumer for 2 years from getting a loan with FHA, but a foreclosure is still a 4 year block.

It is pretty obvious that a foreclosure is something to be avoided at all costs.

I woke up this morning to the news that the Office of Thrift Supervison had taken over the operation of Washington Mutual Banking Corp. and sold its assets to J.P. Morgan Chase.

When I logged into my WAMU account, there was a new message over the artwork. It said: " WAMU Customers, Welcome to JP Morgan Chase."

Customers, such as me, should see no change in their banking operation at this time. I am sure that J.P. Morgan will make some operation changes as time goes by. More than likely people currently working for WAMU will be looking for a job soon.

More indication of hard times in the financial markets.

We were number 1!

That is the new mantra of the USC Trojans after the Oregon State Beavers dropped them on their heads last evening at Reser Statium in Corvallis OR.

The Trojans may think of the Willamette Valley as the Valley of Death after last evening's loss. They may get used to it though. Three years ago, the Beavers did the same thing to the third ranked Trojans. No matter what the rankings, hometown crowds seem to energize the Beavers.

The 27-21 win is the best news that Beaver Nation could hear. Congratulations Oregon State University Beavers. Sorry (snicker) Trojans.

My friend, Eleanor Thorne of Cary Mortgage in North Carolina, tossed the AR Friendship Ball to me!  She is very thoughful and always has great things to say about some of my ramblings. I have enjoyed cooresponding with her even outside of the Rain.

The object of this game is to tag two people and send them this FRIENDSHIP BALL.  Then they get the honor of passing it along by copy and paste and writing something about the people they tag. 

I have had the pleasure of reading blogs from people all over the United States, not just Realtors, but loan officers, stagers and marketing gurus. I have gained so much more from this site than I can ever give it. I also believe I have made some good friends here and don't want to limit how many I send the friendship ball to, but am going to choose five and let them have fun from there.

The first one has to be Leslie Stewart who was my first subscriber and that was back during the days I really didn't know what I was supposed to do. Thanks Leslie. If you want to know more about our beautiful state, check out Leslie's blog, she has great localism posts. She also is pretty good selling real estate.

Secondly, I have to tag by brother from another mother, Jason Sardi. He and I have so many things in common, we both speak our minds, but somehow, he always has a unique way of saying it. Guaranteed, nothing is dull when you read Jason's blog. Again, he is someone I have had contact with by phone and e-mail that I never would have known if not for the Rain.

Next, I want to tag Paul Dunn. If there is someone that knows more about FHA mortgages than I do, it is Paul. Never one to hold his information back, Paul has posted so much good information, that I never fail to read his blogs. I recommend his information highly. Besides that, he is a really nice guy.

Appropriately, I have to tag Carolyn Tann-Starr next. Carolyn has been so supportive of my picture posts and always has such a great attitude. I will be super surprised if I am the first to tag her. But I will try. Thanks Carolyn, keep the eye candy coming.

I also have to tag a personal sponsored Realtor. Kelly Seeley just started with the Rain, but she has jumped in with both feet. She is already the number 1 featured in her chosen city. (She also is the only one in Junction City OR, but I won't comment on that. lol) I am impressed with her go go.

Now, just to show that I can't count to five, I am adding one more to my list. That would be Greg Nino. Greg has such a great sense of humor, I really want to do something to show him that I enjoy that humor. Don't worry Greg, hair is over rated anyway. Now, if I can just get this thing posted without another damn Proxy Error, all will be good. LOL

Wow, I really could fill up several pages with this, but will stop with the five (6). Thanks everyone for making Active Rain so enjoyable.

I cannot be more succinct about what is happening than my title. We are in a very strange time in the real estate industry and there are sharks out there trying to make money out of other peoples misery. I personally find this attitude repugnant.

Let me give you an example, there are credit counseling companies that are non profit and don't charge their clients for getting them a lower interest rate on their credit cards. Then there are for profit companies that perform the same service and charge more than enough for doing the same thing. OK, I know that doesn't have anything to do with real estate, so here goes my statement on this. There are companies out there charging anywhere from $2,000 to $10,000 to re-negotiate your mortgage for you. They are not doing anything that you can't do yourself and for a lot less money.

There are also several government programs that will assist you in doing the exact same thing with no money out of your pocket. Biggest thing, there are no guarantees that you will get the things done you want to if you pay for it or you use something like HopeNOW or Home Preservation Foundation. I wrote about both of these and a couple of other helpful organizations that are out there to help homeowners keep their homes.  Personally, I think you stand a better chance with one of the help organizations, since most of them were started and are funded by the lenders. To me, this makes a lot more sense than paying someone to call your lender for you, what can they say that you can't?

AND HopeNOW DOESN'T CHARGE FOR THEIR SERVICE!

I don't mind someone making a living by working in this industry. But there are enough ways to get fleeced. Watch out for the scams, like the "sign over your house to me and I will stop it from going into foreclosure." If it sounds too good to be true, it most often is. If you have a question, ask a professional in the mortgage business. Use the FREE services that are available.

Don't add you blood to the water, there are enough sharks out there as it is. Maybe it is my attitude, but I have always helped my clients do their own credit repair work instead of sending them to someone that charged for it. This seems like the same kind of deal.

The following was added 10/2/08 after the comment below from Brett. He has a link to a site where the phone numbers, paperwork and step by step information is available at a very reasonable rate. Take a look at the website: http://www.negotiatetherate.com/index.html

Thanks for the information Brett!

Are you aware of Fannie Mae's HomePath website? They answer the following two questions for home owners:

I Am Current on My Mortgage. I Want To Stay That Way

I Am Worried About Losing My Home

Both questions are covered in a very upfront and business like manner. I am impressed with the information available here. There are also links to the Home Loan Learning Center, Home Preservation Foundation and HopeNOW.

For home buyers, the basics of home buying are covered, along with a link to Fannie Mae owned homes. According to my search, there is only one in Eugene and two in Springfield. Apparently, there are 157 in Oregon. The REO search is an interesting tool.

The link to the HUD Tips for Avoiding Foreclosure is also an excellent reference. The number one tip is: "Don't ignore the problem." How many times have we in this business found this to be true. Realistically, no lender wants to foreclose on a home. Almost everytime, they are looking at a loss, they would much rather work something out. And that is why the 2nd tip, "Contact your lender as soon as you realize that you have a problem," is an excellent follow up.

Overall, there are great resources available. We, as real estate professionals, need to be promoting these resources.

Homeownership is still the American Dream. We need to help with keeping the dream alive. Call me if you have any questions, I am available to help set up counseling if necessary. The FHA Secure is still an excellent way to help many in difficulty.

J. J. Guilbault, a Mortgage Broker Based Out of the San Francisco Bay Area, wrote the following explanation about why it is good to use someone local with your mortgage needs. Overall, it is a well thought out piece but that doesn't mean I am not here to help my clients in other areas as well. Relationships are important in real estate lending, sometimes those relationships can be found through the phone and e-mail or can be continued. Make your own decision as to what is best for you.

 Via Janet Guilbault, California Mortgage Expert:

"If you don't want to work, you have to work to earn enough money so that you won't have to work."

--Ogden Nash

This was a quote I received today from one of the wholesale lenders. It makes a lot of sense in a round about way. I think this may be what circular thinking is all about. My favorite two quotes from Ogden Nash are as follows:

About food -

"Some people call the parsnip edible; Myself, I find this claim incredible."

Or about dating -

"Candy is dandy, but liquor is quicker."

Enjoy your Monday.

I just received notice that the Big Look Task Force will be in Eugene Friday to get feeback on land use. This will be used to help make decisions about farm and forest lands, urban communities, issues related to sustainabiltiy, climate change, housing choice and economic prosperity.

This will be a town hall format held at Lane Community College from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. If unable to attend the town hall, you can fill out a survey about your thoughts on land use. For a complete copy of the Big Look Task Force recommentations in June of this year, visit: "Choices for Oregon's Future."

Here are the talking points of the town hall meeting:

1.  "One size does not fit all" -- there must be increased flexibility in our land use system that accounts for the regional differences throughout the state and allows for greater local determination of the specific needs of a community and/or region.

 2.  Standing -- there must be clear parameters for who has standing to appeal a land use decision.  Only those directly impacted by a land use decision should have standing to challenge.  In addition, there must be a reduction in the number of allowable appeals if land is already zoned for increased density or a particular purpose. 

3.  Climate change -- climate change is best addressed by the Oregon Global Warming Commission.  

 4.  Accurate identification of resource lands -- modern technology allows for a much more accurate determination of what constitutes "high value" farmland, and the antiquated soil classification system has resulted in "farm land" with zero to little growing potential to remain off limits to development. 

 5.  Economic Development -- there must be a higher value placed on employment lands.  While the land use system was designed to protect farm and forest, the primary economic drivers in Oregon when SB 100 was enacted, the economy is far more diverse today.  Our current land use system does not reflect or embrace this diversity. 

With the recent divorce of Eugene and Springfield in their land use and urban growth goals, this could be an interesting view of the area.

How do I hate thee? Let me count the ways.
I hate thee to the depth and breadth and height
My soul can reach, when feeling out of sight
For the ends of Being and ideal Grace.
I hatethee to the level of everyday's
Most quiet need, by sun and candle-light.
I hate thee freely, as men strive for Right;
I hate thee purely, as they turn from Praise.
I hate thee with a passion put to use
In my old griefs, and with my childhood's faith.
I hate thee with a hate I seemed to lose
With my lost saints, --- I hate thee with the breath,
Smiles, tears, of all my life! --- and, if God choose,
I shall but hate thee better after death.

My pardon to Elizabeth Barrett Browning but I could not find a better way to express my feelings about this new attempt to manipulate the financial dealings of the United States. Call me simplistic, but if banks are going to fail for making bad decisions, banks are going to fail.

If investors were willing to make investments in REITs that turned out to be glorified Ponzi Scemes, then they deserve to lose their money. Will it hurt my business? Probably. But, isn't that what the free market is all about? The ability to make or lose money.

I know I am not a financial genius, but I am beginning to believe that neither are the people in charge. Another trillion dollars here, another trillion dollars there. Don't they realize that really is money? I saw what the FSLIC did to the Savings and Loans during the 80s. This is not the answer.

What ever happenned to the limited federal government our founding fathers dreamed of? Where are the John Adams? The Thomas Jeffersons? I certainly hope I am wrong, but only time will tell.