Bufford Warren Homes

Respect, Ethics and Fiduciary Duty

On February 27 I called an agent who works out of a Prudential Real Estate Office to make arrangements to show a home he had listed in Anthem. I was told at that time that the tenant had not been informed that the home was for sale and they did not wish to tell them prior to receiving the monthly rental payment (Ethical ??).

On March 6, I again called the listing agent but only got a voice mail; I left a message asking that he make arrangements for me to show the home on March 9 between 11:00 AM and 1:00 Pm, I followed this up with an email asking the same. In my email I also ask if this was a short sale because that could possibly affect possession in the event of a sale. I never received a return call or an answer to my email.

Forward to March 24, I again called the listing agent and sent an email asking if the home could be shown because he buyers still had an interest. I got no response.

On March 25 I called and left a message with a Lady (she was in a meeting) that purportedly is one of the office managers and I sent her an email. On March 27 I left a detailed message with gentlemen (he was in a meeting) who I was told was also an office manager. I also called and left a detailed message with the Designated Broker (he was in a meeting)

In this detailed report I have shown why our industry has a problem with trust. There has clearly been a violation a fiduciary duty and a lack of ethics as well as common respect.

How Much Power Do We Give Washington Bereaucrats

The other morning I watched as Barney Franks and his congressional pane holding a hearing to give the Treasury Department and Federal Reserve more power to take over more of our financial system. Now they want the power to take over businesses that may not be in trouble and are not asking for help. This just another step on the road to Nationalizing our Banking industry and I think is a bad idea.

We are gravitating toward a welfare state. Do we really want a European style of government? France has had 15% unemployment for years and all the major industries in Sweden are now owned by outside sources because they were taxed so heavily that they could not grow. Since I don't know what Socialism is any more for many people, I'll just say that in Eastern Europe, with its problems, most people believe that our free market/government systems is the best.

Does the Treasury Really need more Power??

The other morning I watched as Barney Franks and his congressional pane holding a hearing to give the Treasury Department and Federal Reserve more power to take over more of our financial system. Now they want the power to take over businesses that may not be in trouble and are not asking for help. This just another step on the road to Nationalizing our Banking industry and I think is a bad idea.

We are gravitating toward a welfare state. Do we really want a European style of government? France has had 15% unemployment for years and all the major industries in Sweden are now owned by outside sources because they were taxed so heavily that they could not grow. Since I don't know what Socialism is any more for many people, I'll just say that in Eastern Europe, with its problems, most people believe that our free market/government systems is the best.

Our Congressional Representatives Have Failed Their Constituency

Congressional Representatives are standing in line to get their face in the news so they can feign anger over the AIG bonuses when all they are doing is trying to make a case for them-selves because they failed in their fiduciary duty to the American People by voting on a Bill without knowing what it said.
If congress would do a little research they would find that AIG is governed by Connecticut Law and punitive damages for the violation of their employee contracts could be substantial.

Please do not give our government the right to re-write contracts at the discretion of some judge.
The very fabric of our social system is based on contracts and to change this would corrupt our entire world. No one could ever trust anyone. I can remember a time when a person's word was a bond not to be broken. We now demand that everything be in writing and this is ok, it keeps things straight and gives attorneys something to argue about.

At this time in history the government of our great country is being re-shaped by the far left. Please do not let this country become a mirror image of a European government.

 

President Obama’s Home Foreclosure Rescue Package –Part 1

I waited with anticipation for President Obama's Home Foreclosure rescue package. I wanted to know what I was going to get for my 75 Billion dollars. I listened to his speech and it sounded more like a political speech than a workable plan to rescue home owners. Lots of wind and very little substance.

I did find out that in addition to the 75 Billion for this project, there would be another 200 Billion go into Fanny Mae and Freddie Mac so they could fund 100% of the homes that would be refinanced under the FHA guide lines. Up to this point Fanny and Freddie only guarantee 80% of those loans with the other 20% were owned by the lender of choice.

This package is getting a lot of hype but I am reserving my judgment until I see how many people it is really going to help. Much of this hinges on voluntary cooperation and rather large mortgage write downs by lenders. What I did not hear was a way to address the issue of how to address the huge number of homes already on the market. This must be addressed in order to stabilize values and stop the downward spiral.

The Stimulus Bill and Home Financing

 

The Stimulus Bill and Home Financing
In the pending legislation there is and $8,000 tax credit for home buyers. This credit is for people that purchase a home between January 1, 2009 to December 1, 2009. And if the home is resold within 3 years the credit must be recaptured on the sale of the property, but if it is held for more than 3 years it is nonrefundable.
Fannie May and Freddie Mac have adopted the same loan limits for 2009 as those for 2008. For Arizona the Maximum limit on a FHA mortgage is $417,000. There is also money appropriated for cities and counties to use for neighborhood stabilization and redevelopment.
This will not be enough to address the root cause of our economic problems that were created by the mortgage finance and housing industries.

What Stimulus Bill is Our Representative Voting On ???

Have all of the Democrats turned stupid? How can anyone vote for a piece of legislation when they have not had the time to read it and study it? This 800 Billion dollar bill (stimulus package) was not even printed until the evening of February 13, 2009 and I will defy anyone to read it and comprehend its meaning without having a few days to study. Yet the House of Representatives has rushed a vote on this early morning on February 13, 2009 and the Senate has scheduled a vote for February 14, 2009.

This kind of political activity is very self serving and is not in the best interest of the country.

Help For Main Street That Will Help Wall Street

Our government has invested a great deal of money in Freddie Mac and Fannie May and I believe that this investment should give us the ability to shape policy. We, the government, are essentially guarantying all the loans under these two entities. By putting pressure on the Federal Reserve to lower the interest rates on FHA mortgages. I suggest that the interest rate on a home purchased with a Thirty Year Fixed rate FHA mortgage that is owner occupied to be lowered to 4%. This will translate into a payment on a $200,000 mortgage to be $955 monthly, an affordable amount for most. I also suggest that second home buyers and investors be offered the same rate but have to put down a minimum of 10%. This will bring buyers back into the market, stabilize prices and absorb the inventory. There should be a sunset clause on this type agenda, possibly eighteen to twenty four months.

In addition you might consider allowing people that are upside down in their homes to refinance 125% of the present market value at the same rate. This should only be made available to those that the lenders agree to cooperate by rewriting the mortgage to the lower amount. I believe that this would be very attractive and be doable for many of the people in this situation. The lenders involved would need to have some future obligation for the 25% in excess of market value in case of a future foreclosure on the same property. This would also accomplish two things. It would allow many people to stay in their homes and the mortgage holders would lose less money than they would by going through the foreclosure process.

In addition to the above I suggest that these loans be assumable after the lender qualifies the prospective buyer for credit worthiness and only after the mortgage has been active for a minimum of one year. I believe that this and the low interest rate will eliminate most foreclosures.

 

 

 

An Idea To Jump Start Our Economy

We in America are experiencing a very depressed economy as a result of mismanagement of our credit markets. This has started a domino effect that has spread throughout the business world. I have stated in the past that in order to get markets and business back on track we need to address the issue of the excess inventory in housing and this I still believe.

Banks have now got to the point where they are refusing to loan money. I and many others have been under the impression that the reason banks were not lending money was that they did not have the money to loan. I no longer believe this to be the case. The Feds have lowered the discount rate to levels that have not been available for decades and the treasury has made a lot of capital available. We need an answer to this problem before business can again start providing goods and services. I do not believe in big government but there are times that their power should be used for the good of all. If the banks do not want to do the job that the business world needs to survive we may need to put them into a situation where they either perform or be nationalized.

Our government has invested a great deal of money in Freddie Mac and Fannie May and I believe that this investment should give us the ability to shape policy. We are essentially guarantying all the loans under these two entities. I suggest that this position be used to dictate that the interest rate on a Thirty Year Fixed rate FHA mortgage at 4%. This would calculate a monthly payment on a $200,000 mortgage to be $955; an affordable payment for most households. I also suggest that second home buyers and investors be offered the same rate but have to put down a minimum of 10%. This will bring buyers back into the market and absorb the inventory of homes in most parts of the country.

 

 

Does Obamas Plan Change Our Government For The Better ???

The social engineering that Mr. Obama has planned for this country's future scares the heck out of me. When you study his plan, his past actions and listen to what he says, it tells me that he wishes our government to emulate many of the countries in Europe.

I am a Senior Citizen that has worked all my life and I am still working full time because my retirement income will not stretch far enough to provide for those to whom I am responsible. I see some tough days ahead for me and my family but I do not want this country to become another Sweden.

The Social Democratic Party that controls the Swedish government has instilled a cradle to grave existence but at a very big price to its citizens. The Health Care industry is the country leaves much to be desired. A relative of my wife needed an operation on her feet. She was on a waiting list for 18 months, (Socialize Medicine). An uncle needed a gall bladder operation and elected to go out of country for the surgery. He worked in the USA for many years and could afford the flight for better medical care.

Taxes on income in Sweden range from 28% to 59.5%. But what most people outside the country do not know is they also have a Value Added Tax (VAT). The value added tax (mervärdesskatt or moms) rate in Sweden is 25%, with exceptions for food and services like hotel room rental fees (12%), and for sales of publications, admission tickets to cultural events and travel within Sweden (6%)^[1]. This tax in addition to the price of the product has made many products unaffordable. The result of VAT is a very thriving black market industry for many products.