1 lb- ground beef
1 tsp- salt
1/4 tsp- pepper
1 tsp- cumin powder
1 tsp- garlic powder
2 tbls- Worcestershire sauce
3 tbls- chili powder
1 tbls- minced onion
2 cups- red wine
2- 28 oz can diced tomato
2- 6 oz can tomato paste
1- 8 oz can undrained mushrooms
2- 15 oz can undrained black beans
THANKS, MOM! =0)
[For instructions, just ask.]
Archive for the ‘Home Buyers’ Category
Content added and contributed for the savvy home buyer looking for Mortgage and Real Estate insight.
Okay, so the subject line is long – but, believe it or not I cut it short. It could have been, “First Time Home Buyers can couple $7500 Tax Credit and Low Interest Rates and high inventories to buy Longwood Real Estate” We are seeing an unbelievable ‘perfect storm’ for buyers! Beware though – when it comes to mortgage rates, sometimes it’s better to “act now”… and no, that isn’t just salesmanship – its the difference between a rate in the 4% range and the 5% range.
Last Tuesday, mortgage rates plummeted to their lowest levels in four years. Now, I love when mortgage hacks are right for the wrong reasons – don’t you? Many have pontificated that it was because…
Well Good News for Lake Mary mortgage rates! The Federal Open Market Committee [maybe we will just call them the FED] voted to cut the Fed Funds Rate by at least three-quarters percent Tuesday.
The benchmark rate now rests in a range of 0.000-0.250%… and no, that doesn’t mean your mortgage will be at 0%. [Typically you will add 3% to that number to attain the PRIME Rate – which is what many Home Equity Lines, car loans, credit cards, and equipment loan are based upon.] In its press release, the FED ID’d 3 key sectors…
Finding the best Longwood mortgage interest rates can be tricky business… locking them in before the market swings makes it even more so!
Each Wed., the Mortgage Bankers Association [MBA] releases its Weekly Applications Survey which gives a detailed look at the new mortgage applications done over the last seven days.
A recent interest rate report will reveal what most of us already know — dropping mortgage rates created an onslaught of mortgage movement in Longwood and Lake Mary, Florida.
If you’re among the many Americans taking advantage of Florida’s low rates, don’t forget that when…
Lake Mary First Time Home Buyers… perk up. We all know what inflation is and the ugliness that can go with it. Most of us know that deflation is the opposite of inflation…. but don;t know much more than that.
In fact, business TV and newspapers have inflated deflation [sorry for the play on words… but I like doin’ that] as a hot topic this week and, since Monday, Google has tracked 13,000 mentions of it. Make this 13001.
Deflation is a recurring cycle in which the prices of goods and services fall. Suh-weet… falling prices that is so cool, right? Well, um, not really. Why? Human nature.
When prices are declining across manyindustries at the same time, IT CAN SHUT DOWN THE ECONOMY!
If you think about it…
Find out the ugly truth of deflation by finishing the blog post here:
So you wanna deal on Longwood Real Estate. I completely understand… I do to, in fact with the gloom they are painting for retail this Christmas [and Yes, iI am one of the ones still willing to CALL it Christmas] I have thought about scooping up a deal on one of those super-duper flat-screens… but I digress. Back to your needs… not mine. =0)
When it comes to housing info, there are always 2 questions to think about:
How does this impact Longwood real estate buyers?
How does this impact Longwood real estate sellers?
Since these are commonly on opposite sides of the see-saw, housing data is rarely negative or positive on a universal level — one group of us is going to see a benefit.
Today, it’s home sellers. [Sorry buyers, the longer you sit on the sidelines, the greater the chances you are going to miss it. For those seeking Orlando FHA loans… that may be even more pronounced as the guidelines become more restrictive next year with higher down payment requirements and lower loan limits.]
It is important for Florida Home buyers to know that Florida FHA loan limits are going down for 2009. For 2008 Seminole County loan limits, it is a HUGE drop. The new loan limits per county are as follows:
Foreclosure – especially in Florida is a hot topic among the press lately and it is interesting to see a staggering number of the sales in today’s market are comprised of foreclosures and/or short sales… especially in South Florida. It’s hard to turn on the TV or open up a paper without seeing a sensationalized story about it.
But what’s even more interesting about the foreclosure situation is that they appear to be consolidated in certain areas of the country. Of the four primary states… two of those were head and shoulders above the others. [Woo hoo… we never do anything half baked here in FL!] Okay, sorry, that wasn’t funny.
Drum roll please: California, Florida, Arizona, and Nevada take the cake. Something worthy of note about these states is that they share some similar characteristics:
They all have relative [no pun intended] popularity with retirees
Popular with real estate investors
They have had large home value jumps during this decade
Everyone else… yeah… they are normal. the other 46 states account for the remaining 48.8% of foreclosures, or a mere 1.06% average per state of October’s foreclosures.
Now, this isn’t meant to make light of the impact of these foreclosures on the economy — nope. Foreclosures…
How come everything in Orlando gets cheaper when everyone is worried about their job and don’t want to spend any money!!
Okay, so it is a rhetorical question and the answer is somewhat obvious, but how cool would that be if, everything got cheaper and you just got a raise!?
I feel your pain.
Well, on the first Friday of every month, the Bureau of Labor Statistics releases the ‘jobs report’… officially called the ‘Non-Farm Payrolls report.’ Well, the October’s data is trending with the rest of 2008. See the pretty graph? Don’t let the green fool you.
After dropping another 240,000 jobs last month like a newbie at a craps table, the economy…
Conforming mortgage guidelines are the Home Loan Rule Book for Longwood real estate, Lake Mary real estate… and well… pretty much anywhere these days. This Orlando Home Loan ‘Rule Book’ helps in delineating between applicants that get approved for an Orlando mortgage and those that do not.
Well, the rule book just got a little bit tougher.
By Michael Dale – Vice President, Dave Brewer Realty, Inc.
Wow, given the recent dramatic economic events where do I begin; the stock market, the mortgage market, the secondary mortgage market as represented by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac?
Each of the aforementioned have so overwhelmingly impacted our economy let alone our housing market. Many I have conversed with this past week are angry and frustrated. These institutions are so mammoth and to most of us represent entities that we can’t touch let alone think of impacting or affecting change upon. And then when you add the additional frustration…
Read the whole blog post and see the TELLING historic chart here:
Do they go to a special school to ‘speak FED’??? Good Lord, fellas… we gotta be able to understand this stuff to be able to respond appropriately… or is that not what you want? LMAO
Well, the Federal Open Market Committee voted to cut the Fed Funds Rate by .5% today. The benchmark rate now stands at 1.0%. THIS DOES NOT LOWER MORTGAGE RATES
In its press release, the Fed got busy addressing the main issue at-hand, stating that economic activity has “slowed markedly”. Ha… ‘markedly’… have you ever used that word in your life? Well, my readers are notably smarter than I am, so you probably have! Anyway, they pointed to three main causes:
Consumer spending…
Read the whole Blog post at THE Orlando Real Estate and Mortgage Chili Blog:
NEWS FLASH: THE MAINSTREAM MEDIA is not your friend. Okay, maybe the subject of this Orlando Mortgage Blog Post is a little extreme, but it does prove my point. Sensational sells. Unfortunately, truth doesn’t always carry the same punch if it is not. Despite turmoil on Wall Street, despite the drum beat of doom from the media…the real estate sector continues to deliver good news.
Last month, led by a 22% surge from the West Region, new home sales went UP by 2.7% from August’s numbers. Okay, so the “West region” isn’t exactly Orlando Real Estate news, but the trend is important. Waiting for the bottom? You just might miss it if you don’t perk up and get pre-qualified now.
[A “new home” is a newly-built residence, i.e. a brand-new house.]
The surge in New Home Sales volume is aligned with the other good news we’ve seen from in the real estate market.
Lets count down the good news for real estate that you HAVEN’T HEARD in the last two weeks….
The TOP 4 countdown:
#4 …
Read the Top 4 ‘good news’ stats and more in my blog post:
Not only is that what the snail said as he hitched a ride on the back of a turtle, [laugh, that is as funny as it gets] but it is what most of us are saying about these market dips and jumps! It’s important to remember that markets are unpredictable and nobody knows what will happen tomorrow.
Unfortunately, that doesn’t stop the ‘experts’ from trying.
An obvious example comes from back in May. As oil crossed the $120 per barrel mark [eventually arriving at $147…ouch…] a Goldman Sachs ‘expert’ was quoted as saying that $200 oil was “likely”.
Well, at that time it seemed logical, did it not?
A mere 5 months later, that seems downright laughable. Oil is off by more than 40% since that day. “Well, that is a unique case, Chris.” Huh… wanna bet? There are hundreds of examples just like this one.
Every day, economic experts and analysts are on television, pontificating to us about what’s going to happen:
They tell us when housing prices will bottom out
They tell us when stock markets will rebound for good
They tell us what the economy will do over the next 12 months
But none of them operate with the proverbial crystal ball — it’s all on “gut”. But, I guess I cut them a little slack… I mean, after all, in a world of 24-hour news… they gotta have someone say something new don’t they. Oh, the monster we have created! ROFL
Want another example you say? [Herb, they want another example…] How about today’s CNNMoney.com. In the after math of the govt’s financial ‘response’, a mortgage analyst predicts 7% interest rates over the next 6 months. This would represent a 1.5% increase from recent lows. I guess it is possible, but not ‘likely’ [Oops, i just did it, geez.] Orlando FHA loans have been low too.
Anyway, the rate prediction may be accurate, but it may not. When will we know? In, say, about 6 months i reckon!
But what we know today, though, is that Orlando mortgage rates are all over the place — just like the stock market. One day up, another day down. And nobody knows what they’ll do tomorrow.
Predicting the future has always been an inexact science… maybe art would be a better word… but that won’t stop the ‘experts’ from trying. And the experts are wrong as often as anybody else.
That all being said, my ‘expert’ opinion [don’t worry… the irony is not lost on me] is to not let market conditions trump your personal conditions. Logically, we ALL should be buying Orlando real estate right now… buy low – sell high, right? But the truth is, our personal finances are a very emotional issue… not a logical one. To think otherwise would be foolhardy. If the time is right to buy a house for you… buy one and feel fortunate that the housing gods* are in alignment with you. If it is not the right time for you, don’t do something foolish just because the deals are everywhere!
Just my .02 =0)
Chris
*for the record, I am a Christian and do not believe in said ‘housing gods’… but rather one sovereign God. This statement is made for the entertainment value to the reader. Do not sue me.
BUY BUY BUY!!! Doooh… did you miss it? Throughout the feverish activity on Wall Street last week, mortgage backed securities sold off with vengeance, driving mortgage rates to their highest levels since July. It was the 4th consecutive week in which long-term rates got more badder. [Grammar police – I know that is not correct, breathe.]
But, with the mortgage markets taking a siestacelebrating Columbus Day on Monday, stocks had a little fiesta with the largest point gain LIKE….EVER! In fact the only reason it is #5 on the chart here is because the other days were back in the 30’s where a, no joke, 8 point gain was a 15% increase! Woooaahhhhh.
The Dow’s gains are expected to push mortgage rates down today, but as of right now, that is not the case. Mortgage Backed Securities are up about +28bps but it is quite likely that they will reverse before days end.
Expect continued volatility until investor fears are somewhat squelched. For now, keep those seltbelts fastened and all extremities in the vehicle at all times.
This week, look for key inflation info including the Producer Price Index [PPI] on Wed and the Consumer Price Index [CPI] on Thurs.
Both measure the “cost of living” and reflect on price pressures in the economy. If costs are rising, it’s considered inflationary and that tends to edge mortgage rates higher. [Again… the economic anti-Christ, remember?]
As an Orlando mortgage broker that has weathered the storm of the mortgage meltdown, I have unique insight on the need for bad credit repair in today’s “New World” of Orlando real estate financing. As the mortgage ‘box’ has gotten smaller and smaller, something simply needs to be done to keep people in a position where they can get into homes.
Lenders have increased score requirements [at least for the time being], so how do these masses of people qualify for homes in the short term?
The answer, ethical Credit Repair! As a licensed mortgage broker, I had always distanced myself from credit repair because I felt that it was
A rip-off and a waste [or even worse, illegal]
Going to cost the consumer $3000!
Neither of these options were acceptable to me. The rip-off was out for obvious reasons, and the cost of $3000 wouldn’t work because in most cases, if they had $3000… they wouldn’t be in the scenario they were in! Hello…
That is where FLCreditFix.com came in. After doing some digging around, I found a place that is quite reasonable in their service offering and I have seen some pretty spectacular credit repair results.
Now, no one can guarantee that any one item will be taken off your credit report… but Florida Credit Fix, through their affiliation with Fix Credit Biz, does guarantee their service so if you do not see a significant improvement in your credit… you get your money back. 100% Refund if your Bad Credit isn’t improved upon.
As a Mortgage professional, it became somewhat of a no-brainer in order to be able to help people get back into the mix and get decent terms on a mortgage again.
When you couple Credit Repair with Orlando FHA Loans, people are simply able to get back into the housing market and buy a beautiful home again.
Written by Chris Brown, an Orlando Loan Officer. For more information about purchase loans or refinances on primary residences or investment properties, please contact me directly @ 407-377-0500 x 210.
Well Good News for 
Finding the best 
Lake Mary First Time Home Buyers… perk up. We all know what inflation is and the ugliness that can go with it. Most of us know that deflation is the opposite of inflation…. but don;t know much more than that.
So you wanna deal on 
How come everything in 
Conforming mortgage guidelines are the Home Loan Rule Book for 
By Michael Dale – Vice President, Dave Brewer Realty, Inc.
sells. Unfortunately, truth doesn’t always carry the same punch if it is not. Despite turmoil on Wall Street, despite the drum beat of doom from the media…the real estate sector continues to deliver good news.
Weeeeeee……
BUY BUY BUY!!! Doooh… did you miss it? Throughout the feverish activity on Wall Street last week, mortgage backed securities sold off with vengeance, driving mortgage rates to their highest levels since July. It was the 4th consecutive week in which long-term rates got more badder. [Grammar police – I know that is not correct, breathe.]
Orlando Real Estate and the Mortgage Chili Blog 