Mortgage Brokers – R.I.P ??

Mortgage Brokers - R.I.P ??

A few months ago, the headquarters of mortgage banks and the surrounding buildings were filled with people working for mortgage companies, selling mortgages to people looking for the best deals in town.Thousands of people used to work in such areas.No longer.

One of the hardest hit sectors in the current credit crisis is the mortgage industry.Jobs by the thousands have simply disappeared.People in other industries have managed to hang on to their jobs, but mortgage brokers and those depending on the mortgage industry have lost theirs.

The housing market is stuck with an existing inventory of 4.5 million homes and no one is buying.With so much supply but very little demand, home prices have plunged across the country.Depressed house prices in turn have reduced the market values of mortgage-backed securities - a major factor in the current financial turmoil we are all living through.

Falling mortgage rates

In late November, the Federal Reserve announced plans to buy $500 billion - that`s right, one-half trillion dollars - worth of mortgage-backed securities through June 2009.

This program induced mortgage rates to slide downwards.

Interest on 30-year fixed-rate mortgages fell from above 6% to a national average of 5.10% at year-end, according to a survey ran by Freddie Mac.For 15-year fixed mortgages, the average rate was down to 4.83%.

The Treasury Department is also purchasing mortgage bonds.With the Fed and the Treasury acting in tandem, analysts believe the mortgage market as well as housing market will attain some stability.The move towards lower rates will open up refinancing options to current homeowners as well as attract potential buyers.

In mid-December, Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson announced serious plans to reduce mortgage interest rates even further to 4.5%, which he hoped would be pursued by the incoming Obama administration.Further reductions in mortgage rates would give a powerful boost to the housing market, Paulson said.

The 4.5% rates would be available only to new loans for the purchase of new or existing homes.It would exclude refinancing of existing mortgages.If these plans materialize, several hundred billion dollars in new mortgages could be financed, according to people in the industry.This could set conditions right for a revival in the housing market.

Initial market reactions

Lower mortgage rates have triggered an avalanche of applications for home refinancing, but they have not sparked renewed interest in home purchases.

Application volumes for refinancing surged more than fivefold since October, when rates started moving down, but applications for home purchases have barely reached 15 percent increase.

While lower mortgage rates help in the decision to buy a house, there are other things to consider.For one, buying a house may not be a priority when people are still concerned if they`ll still have a job or if home prices will continue plummeting.

As well, it usually takes some time for people to learn about changes in interest rates.A year ago, they might have heard about it from mortgage brokers but these people are gone.

Then, too, banks have imposed tougher standards for credit approval.It is now more difficult for borrowers to comparison shop for deals to which they may qualify.People used to depend on mortgage brokers to help them find suitable deals.

Some conditions for revival may already be present; some are not.

It is people who buy houses, and it is still people who help them arrange the financing.The market may soon look for the return of the lost army of mortgage brokers.Until then, those 4.5 million houses may remain unsold.

Revenue Blitz is Your Business Coach.Anytime.Anywhere.

http://www.revenueblitz.com

About the Author

Whether you are starting a new business,
growing an existing one or considering a new business venture altogether,
 
Revenue Blitz is Your Business Coach.

Anytime.Anywhere.
http://www.revenueblitz.com

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Steps To Obtain Business Credit And Capital For Your Small Business!

Small businesses are extremely important to our culture and our economy, especially in the current economic challenges we face as a nation.In fact, small businesses make up a very significant portion of our economy.

The financial success of America's small businesses lies heavily on their ability to attain credit in order to maintain their business.It is shocking that nearly all small-businesses fail in their first months or years of business.One of the primary flaws is how business owners do not start their business on the proper foundation to put their business in the best position to obtain cash and capital.

Another problem is the way people run their businesses is being lax when is comes to book keeping and cash flows.However, taking some steps to alleviate and deter credit problems can ensure a continuous supply of capital and will more than likely put the small business owner in a position to succeed!

The first step is to stop using your personal credit cards to finance your small business.That means form a corporation or LLC (not a sole proprietorship) and obtain a business credit card in the name of the corporation or LLC.Yes, the debt will be personally guaranteed but the debt will not affect your personal revolving debt ratio!

It is very important to keep your personal revolving debt on your credit cards below 30% or less.This will put you in a better position when you work with the banks and other business credit resource to help your business to obtain cash and capital.This is very different than business trade credit which is a different strategy.

Separating your personal and business credit also has been shown to improve cash flows and maintaining accounts.This allows you to increase your credit and even help you save cash.

Different kinds of credit are needed for all business owners and you should know what you need.For example, if you are running a major office based business with many supplies and office employees, you may need a forty thousand dollar line of credit with Office Max.But if you run a small business from home your line of credit may come from the bank that you do business with.Either way, lines of credit are like cash, they increase your assets and help the success of a business.

You may even use a line of credit to directly give you cash, say to pay for marketing expenses or office space.Either way, these are all things that ultimately benefit your business.It is important for businesses to have capital, especially if they have these other lines of credit.This is because you cannot use your line of credit with Office Max to pay rent or payroll expenses.

If you have a corporation, you may be eligible to receive a lot of money in credit, if you follow the proper steps (even in today's tight credit markets).This is very important for new businesses because they need to have significant amounts of capital to remain in business.Often times, companies that are incorporated can get one hundred thousand, five hundred thousand, or even one million dollars in credit limits, which is a great start up amount of money.

New small business owners should be sure to increase their chances of getting capital and should consider the benefits of separating personal and business accounts.This should be done for the sake of organizing cash flows, increasing capital, and ultimately increasing revenues.

About the Author

Scott Letourneau is the CEO of Fast Business Credit, Inc.

and has a valuable free guide to help small business owners get access to capital plus a new program to help business owners understand the importance of credit!Go to our Business Credit Program page for powerful details!

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How to Incorporate in Nevada!

A mistake that people often make before forming their business entities is assuming that they must incorporate in the state with which they reside.There's nothing further from the truth.In fact, many people choose to incorporate their businesses in other states to gain more benefits, more protection, vs.'keeping it simple' by incorporating in their home state.

Why incorporate in Nevada?Here's the main advantage:

It's extremely difficult for anyone to pierce your "Corporate Veil.

" Your personal assets would experience less exposure in a corporate lawsuit.This is especially important in today's litigious society that is only going to get worse in today's tight credit markets.

First, what exactly does "piercing the corporate veil" mean?When you form a corporation you must follow certain corporate formalities.If your corporation does not comply with all relevant corporate rules and regulations, keep accurate records of meetings by minutes, or if the corporation commingles funds, your board of directors, officers and shareholders could be held personally liable in the event of a lawsuit."Piercing the corporate veil" refers to having personal assets exposed in a corporate lawsuit.
How does Nevada feel about this?Nevada has a tough attitude about piercing the corporate veil, which is why major corporations domicile in Nevada.Essentially, Nevada says that unless they can prove fraud, your corporate veil will not be pierced!That provides an awesome degree of protection for your personal assets.

Hire a planner with experience.Don't rely on word-of-mouth advice to get you through the process.Because many people make mistakes with the paperwork and fees, you'll want to hire someone with experience who will not only walk you through the process but also walk with you.Find a company that has been in business for over 10 years, has nationally-known professionals that endorse the company on their web site, that have date testimonials, ideally video and audio also plus under the 'about us' section on their web site, there is information about the 'face' behind the company.

Once you've hired someone to help you form your corporation, you'll need to have the following information:

1.

The type of entity.There are at least 6 choices and your problem is you have an 83% chance of picking the wrong entity!

2.Your Company Name.Do a little research ahead of time to ensure that your company name is not used by another corporation.Otherwise, your company name will have to be modified to distinguish itself from other businesses, causing delays.

3.The name of the manager of the LLC or director of the corporation.This is typically required to file the article of organization or incorporation.Keep in mind, an LLC may be managed by managers or by members.Make sure who you work with understands the difference and what is best for you.Most do this improperly.

4.The address of the manager or director.This may seem simple but there are nexus (business presence) issues with this decision that should not be taken lightly.

5.Obtaining the EIN number.Who will sign the SS4 application and provide their SSN.

6.Type of Business.Are you going to operate a retail establishment, a service company, or another type of business?You'll have to list the business type when you file your papers.

7.List of Officers and Their Addresses: President, Vice President (optional), Secretary, and Treasurer.(Note: One person may assume all of these offices within the corporation.) The good news about Nevada corporations is that officers don't have to live in Nevada or be U.S.citizens.This provides greater flexibility when forming a corporation.

8.The steps to foreign register (qualify) to do business in your state of operations.That means more than likely the bank account, business license and office location will be the state where you conduct business even if you incorporate in Nevada.

Knowing how to incorporate in Nevada will prevent speed bumps that cause delays.Don't gamble with your livelihood.If you want to get your business off to a running start, avoid the common filing mistakes so you can focus on building a lucrative, profit-making company.

About the Author

Scott Letourneau is the CEO of Fast Business Credit, Inc.

and has a valuable free guide to help small business owners get access to capital plus a new program to help business owners understand the importance of credit!Go to our Business Credit Program page for powerful details!

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Getting More Construction Jobs In A Tough Market

Two years ago the housing marketing was booming and everyone in the construction trades was successful. Some were charging outrages rates for shoddy work commonly done by inexperienced workers. Now that the housing market has taken a 180 degree turn, many building contractors wonder why things are so bad for them. Some are just barely making, but some are going out of business or nearly so.

Some wonder why they cant get any projects when they submit bids that are 10 cheaper than they used to be just 12 months ago. There are of course a multitude of reasons why contractors are having a hard time getting more construction jobs and why they are failing in their requests for proposals, but whatever is definite is that the promotes are not the similar.

The promotes are competently not the equivalent and offering bids that are simply a bit below than they second hand to be are not running to do a lot of for the contractor, since the promote is so a lot of added competitive. A new factor they suffer to agree is the trait of the textbook that was pulled off in the ancient times. The days of the swift barmy every time materials and barren region were not an matter are as well gone.

When contractors were by way of oblivious toil incessantly in the sort undocumented recruits to double or triple their hitherto large margins, recruits take into consideration. For these contractors it will turn out to be vastly tasking to delete their fame. It is factual that a few were tirelessly in insuring that the book was costly mark, but every time book was so variant and contractors might not simply prefer and select, but moreover payment what on earth they wanted, few hunted to insure the aspect of the book.

There is no agreed answer as to what a contractor can do to augment the quantity of construction careers that can be secured, but what is agreed is that at the precisely slightest the contractor can fight to lodge in the look up and bidding of construction guess. For one craze the a bid for an RFP should be abundantly bottom than whatever it hand-me-down to be. Application crave to be aggressively priced, based on the publicize. Contractors should style it a purpose to get construction professions not cleanly bid on careers. The goal should be to buckle construction vocations at the rate that will award enough income for the contractor to without difficulty only just live on. The contractor should beyond doubt not try and type up by charging added than in advance.

This is not a epoch for picking and picking and attempting to buy an extra luxury toy. It is a era of living. This should be chewed over in the appeal submitted in comment to the RFP and RFQ. The bid should be inexpensive, not merely adequate, the purpose is of accomplishing spare construction careers and the contractor should not lose sight of that. This is above all genuine where sooner than book was shoddy, why would a big shot prefer a contractor also a past of shoddy book if element textbook can be accomplished for the identical.

Another components is where can the contractor search out construction predictions to bid on. The traditional methods cast off by the contractor may additionally book, but the contractor has to peep for other avenues. The contractor should look into what that is probable that had not been thinking prior to, the contractor should also look into juvenile construction forecast. The three hour drywall repair test, but not a existence shifting sport, but it can give enough income to pay a bill.
Concerning the Architect

Search out added construction jobs, post at

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A Guide to Investing in Property in Dubai

Property investors in Dubai are slowly beginning to show more caution when purchasing property in Dubai, as there exists enough historical data to indicate which developments and property types are sure to offer the best capital growth returns and rental yields.

Dubai, being one of the seven emirates that compose the Unite Arab Emirates (UAE), is nestled on the coast of the Persian Gulf.

Until only a few years ago, the area of Dubai was a small fishing community with a speciality in pearl fishing, however it is now a major international business hub and a top ranking property hotspot.

As the population continues to grow rapidly and steadily, (an expected increase from the present level of 1.67 million to 3.5 million by 2010 is predicted), so does the demand for property and developments to be constructed and made available to locals and international alike.

The unique levels of success achieved by Dubais unseasoned property market in such a short space of time could never have been projected. With investor interest in the emirate so apt, and with the Dubai governments commitment to the development of Dubais long term economic fortunes, it is becoming increasingly clear that the short, medium and long term forecasts for the Dubai property market is incredibly strong.

Dubais government have recently created a series of themed free zones such as Dubai Media City and Dubai International Financial Centre means that even more international companies are choosing to base themselves in the emirate while taking full advantage of the attractive fiscal and structuring arrangements on offer in Dubai.

These overseas companies are continually bringing in investments and creating vast employment opportunities, which accordingly attract increasing numbers of expatriate professionals to Dubai, annually. By seeking accommodation to let or purchase, these professionals continue to fuel the property market fire.

As a result of the forward thinking governments approach to the development of Dubai, the emirate is so attractive an investment and lifestyle opportunity and destination that many visitors to Dubai end up choosing Dubai as a destination for investment.

Dubai can have great confidence in the fact that the government of Dubai have interests in all the major real estate development companies in the emirate. It is therefore absolutely in their best interests for the real estate sector to remain attractive, buoyant and growing.

An investor who purchases apartments in the best, most accessible areas of Dubai can enjoy the best rental yields currently available. Alternatively, an investor who would like to buy off plan will find that well proportioned and situated villas and houses will return the best capital appreciation and sell more quickly.

With the demand for completed apartments and villas to rent or purchase in Dubai currently outweighing supply, is slowly but surely creating a problem. One factor that appeases in this case is the fact that the rate at which new high rise developments are coming to completion is easily curtailing the problem (in the short term), however, the constant rise in rental rates do not help ease matters.

According to recent statistics, approximately 800 new international residents set up home in the emirate daily, meaning demand consistently surpasses supply and is ensuring the property market remains buoyant.

Following a decision by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoom (UAE President), foreign nationals are finally allowed to buy property in Dubai for the first time, further opening up the region to international property investment.

However, there remains a number of draw backs when looking to purchase property in Dubai: Free-hold ratification can take a great deal longer to acquire than initially anticipated, and local laws make obtaining mortgage credit a horrible hassle.

When it comes to Dubais future, the local government is ready with a plan! Dubai may possess the title for the leading trading and commercial centre in the Middle East currently, but now Dubai wants to establish itself as the number one tourist destination in the region and possibly the wider world in time.

To ensure Dubai reaches its target of number one tourist destination, developers are creating the multi billion dollar development, Dubailand, which will take until 2018 to complete fully and which should create a brand new holiday home market as well as creating demand for villa accommodation to let around the Dubailand vast site.

Property investors are watching the development phases keenly and seeing which new property developments being announced are most likely to prove irresistible to the tourist market in the medium to long run.

There is still so much to fire to fuel the property investment spark in Dubai. The unrelenting commitment of the local government to promote the emirate in the best possible light gives an investor the confidence he needs in Dubai and the levels of overseas interest in Dubai for employment, business and leisure means that an investor has a growing market to rent or buy his underlying investments.


About the Author

Property Select offers a comprehensive selection of overseas Property in Dubai, news, members club and reviews of the latest property developments.

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