There is one reason for the financial crisis – Foreclosures.

There is only one solution – Restructure mortgages to make them affordable.

Who would benefit – Everyone

The above sounds very basic but we are providing One Trillion dollars to bailout major financial institutions and insurers without addressing the underlying cause of the crisis which are the millions of homeowners at-risk of foreclosure. They want to say it is too complicated and throw out terms like CDO, Leverage swaps, and others to justify giving President Bush a blank check. While we have been there, the Congress is getting ready to repeat the disastrous past.

We are now committing hundreds of billions of tax payer dollars to bailout the very institutions who created the crisis. At a minimum lets use some of these funds to get the investors to do what is necessary in making these mortgages affordable. The previous bailouts of Bear Stearns, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and AIG have not opened up the credit markets. Despite the huge commitments of taxpayer funds they have accomplished little. In fact, Fannie and Freddie continue to refuse restructuring on affordable terms – having their owners the American people foreclosing on themselves.

It is about time that we stop rewarding the companies, their management and investors who use the Idiot excuse. They continue to say that despite making millions of dollars a year, they could not have predicted the current circumstances and could not have thought of more effective mortgage lending. Either their actions were a resulting of unbridled greed or tremendous stupidity. Either way, they should not be bailed out.

Congress must not be allowed to commit the largest amount to taxpayer funds in rewarding these scoundrels or idiots – choose your description. A trillion dollar bailout is unconscionable. We are rewarding the companies whose only motivation was greed. For our tax dollars to meet the intended purposes we will purchase the most problematic loan portfolios from the most irresponsible lenders. We will also pay the highest price since that is required to provide them with the capital needed to survive. This is truly the moral hazard bearing its ugly head.

The solution is right in front of us. Congress and the administration must immediately put a moratorium on foreclosures for homeowners who are owner occupants. Then through regulation, legislation and/or economic incentives have homeowner’s mortgages restructured to make them affordable for the remaining term of the loan. 

Contact your politician and make your views known. TELL THEM IT’S THE FORECLOSURES STUPID. NO BAILOUT OF THE PREDATORS. MAKE THE MORTGAGES AFFORDABLE

The Titus Woman Ministry is a 501 (c)3 faith-based nonprofit organization dedicated to serve the community through the holistic development of women in need.

One of our primary goals is to construct and operate a homeless shelter for women and their children in the Waller area, with the intent of equipping the women to enter (or re-enter) mainstream society and become self-sustaining and providers for their children. This proposed shelter will be constructed in Waller County, Texas and will house families from all the surrounding communities.

We have opened a resale shop, name Grace & Mercy, on March 1, 2008. Funds obtained from sales of merchandise at the Grace & Mercy resale shop will help fund this project, we are asking for the support of your church and the community to make the vision a reality. Come out and buy our resale merchandise.

Any donations to this worthy cause will be appreciated.

The shop is called Grace & Mercy for it was God’s grace that gave us the vision and His mercy will allow us to carry it through. Can we count on you?

The resale shop wiill carry furniture, clothing (for the family), household goods, and much, much more. It is located at 71 Scroggins Lane Waller, Texas (off FM 1488 In the Held Store Mini Warehouses). The grand opening was March 1, 2008.

For further information and/or donations, contact Rosemary Butler @ 936-931-1726; 281-682-4177 or Carol O’Brien @) 281-302-S333 or Fern Poyser at 936.931.3344. Pass the word and support this God given vision. We thank you in advance for what you will do.

The Titus Woman Ministry is preparing to take Waller County for Jesus!

We have secured retail space in the Fieldstore area of northern Waller county to open the Grace & Mercy resale shop.  This will enable us to be open more often in an effort to generate the funds necessary to work towards the shelter for women and children in Waller county.

We praise God for this small stride and look forward to many, many more fruitful days and bountiful blessings as we reach out to the community.

A recently enacted law (HB 1530, 80th Legislature, Regular Session) requires any person applying for or renewing a broker or salesperson license on or after January 1, 2008 to provide their fingerprints, in a specified format, in order to enable an FBI criminal history check to be performed. These new fingerprint requirements apply only to brokers and salespersons. They do not apply to other TREC licensees, such as home inspectors. Once fingerprints are on file with DPS for a TREC license, a licensee will not need to be fingerprinted for subsequent renewals.

This new fingerprinting requirement for Texas realtors is very welcome.  This is good news for the real estate community.  It will give homeowners and property owners a greater sense of security knowing that the people responsible for selling or showing their homes are not wanted for any crimes.  Also, should any criminal activity occur within or on a property owner’s property, the law enforcement agencies can quickly and easily identify the perpetrator(s) through this new fingerprinting requirement.

The Texas Real Estate Commission (TREC) conducts background checks on ALL licensees.  This new fingerprinting requirement will NOT affect current licensees’ licensing status UNLESS that person has committed a new crime and is convicted of a felony offense within the state of Texas. 

If a licensee has committed new crimes and has new felony convictions which were not reported to TREC since he or she last applied for a real estate license, the new convictions resulting from a background check may or may not hinder the issuance of a real estate license.  TREC will decide if the licensee’s license should be renewed after conducting their own independent investigation of the circumstances surrounding the new felony conviction.

Under no circumstances will TREC suspend or revoke a licensee’s license unless (1) they falsify or try to hide any new felony convictions (2) they willingly lie about having new felony convictions (3) they refuse to submit to fingerprinting and background checks and (4) they fail to pay their renewal fees or honor any delinquent debts owed to TREC.

If you are a first time home buyer, you have a lot to learn.

Working from a blank slate you must build an understanding of the housing market, determine what you can afford, land a loan and hone in on a home that’s a good fit for your lifestyle.

The transaction will likely become your largest asset ever so there’s little room for error.

It is a daunting task, but you can ease your concerns if you take the process step-by-step, watching your footing as you move along the path toward the American Dream.

To that end, Coldwell Banker recently released a list of “Dos and Don’ts” to help first timers turn that stress into the self-confidence you’ll need to move closer to your first home.

The list focuses on areas first-timers typically stumble over in their initial home buying attempt. Knowing what you could face will help you avoid some of those trip ups.

The Dos

DO browse for housing information. Begin your search by arming yourself with information. For example, Coldwell Banker’s the Home Price Comparison Index allows you to compare average housing costs in over 400 U.S. markets. RealtyTimes Market Conditions gives you a snapshot of thousands of local markets. About.com’s Home Buying/Selling section is chock full of the nitty gritty insight you’ll need to get going. Stick with the known, long-time real estate information Web sites and you’ll learn more than you need to know.

DO examine your credit standing. You need to know your credit standing. You may need to request corrections if there are errors. You may need to adjust your habits if your credit behavior is less than sterling. And you need to take those steps before seeking a loan. Your credit report is free from AnnualCreditReport.com, the federally regulated place to go. You can stagger retrieval of your credit report from each of the big three credit bureaus, getting one from a different agency every four months. Your report is free, but you may have to pay a nominal fee for your credit score (a numerical scoring of your creditworthiness) depending upon your state law and other factors. Learn more about your score at Privacy Rights Clearing House.

DO explore a mortgage pre-approval or commitment. An early green light on a loan will put you in a good negotiation position when you find your dream home. It will also help you shop within your budget.

DO line up a dream team of professionals. You may need a real estate agent, attorney, mortgage broker, home inspector and others to be your professional eyes during your home search.

DO buy for your lifestyle. Your first home may not be your last, so try to anticipate how long you’ll live in your home and buy based on plans for the duration. Raising kids, starting a business, taking on a new job, housing Grandma could all impact the size or type of home you need first.

DO heed housing priorities. Separate your “wants” from you “needs” so you know where you can compromise to stay on budget.

The Don’ts

DON’T get taken by the first house or neighborhood you see. Keep an open mind and spend sufficient time finding the right fit in a house and neighborhood for your needs.

DON’T buy more than you can afford. Lenders will often loan you as much as your financial condition warrants, but that may not be what you can comfortably afford. It’s better to live with a comfortable mortgage on a smaller home than to struggle every month paying a mortgage on a house with more room than you really need. The down payment, closing costs, monthly expenses and taxes must in total all be within your income and savings range.

DON’T treat your home like a stock portfolio. Homes appreciate and depreciate in cycles which often aren’t so predictable. Don’t expect your home’s value to skyrocket. Buy a home because you need a roof over your head, not for a quick profit.

DON’T try to time the market. Pinpointing the bottom of the market almost always happens after the market has started to turn up. How, otherwise, can you see the bottom? Focus on personal lifestyle needs, not market trends, in terms of timing your home buy.

DON’T sign for a confusing mortgage. Shop around for the best loan, read every detail of your loan contract and get some help understanding terms and provisions that confuse you. Avoid exotic, “creative financing,” multi-option loans you don’t understand. Again, lifestyle is key. Get a loan that fits.

Affordable mortgage money is the fuel that is going to pull the real estate market out of the woods. And there are some encouraging signs that may be happening right now.

Take a look at interest rates: They plunged last week by nearly a quarter of a point on 30-year fixed-rate money — down to 5.74 percent from 5.98 percent, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association of America.

Then there was the big jump in new loan applications from people looking to buy houses. They were up by almost 11 percent for conventional conforming loans — those are the types funded by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac — but up by an amazing 21.1 percent for government-backed mortgages, primarily FHA.

You can be the world’s grouchiest, grimmest housing market bear … . But you can’t deny that something is stirring out there in the market.

It may not be the end of the down cycle as a whole, but it’s certainly pointing to a more active spring season than the naysayers on Wall Street have projected.

There were some other positive signs that popped up last week as well: The total inventory of unsold houses dropped by 3 percent. New homes for sale dropped 2.1 percent. Those inventory numbers are critically important because they tend to be heavy drags on local markets — pushing prices down and making buyers pickier.

Even new home sales did better than most analysts had predicted: They dropped by 1.8 percent last month, which may not sound good, but that decline was measured off upward revisions of the two prior months’ sales.

In other words, there were more home sales going on than reported earlier in January and December, and overall sales are stabilizing.

Now, in fairness, not everything is cheery out there. Consumers are still rattled by the economy and the upheavals they see on Wall Street. The latest consumer confidence index from the Conference Board nosedived to levels usually associated with recessions.

People are worried. They’re spending less, and that is rippling throughout the economy. Continuing price declines in the once-booming housing bubble markets are also keeping consumers on the sidelines. Many of them don’t want to commit to a purchase until they are sure prices won’t go much lower.

So all in all: There are unmistakable glimpses of light out there. You can’t — and shouldn’t — ignore them.

But we’ve still got a way to go before we can officially pronounce the correction cycle done, down and out.

FERN POYSER HAS JOINED THE TITUS WOMAN MINISTRY LAUNCHED BY ROSEMARY BUTLER IN WALLER, TX.

Titus Woman Ministry has opened a resale shop on March 1 in Waller, Texas.

WALLER – The Titus Woman Ministry is a 501 (c)3 faith-based nonprofit organization dedicated to serve the community through the holistic development of women in need.

One of our primary goals is to construct and operate a homeless shelter for women and their children, with the intent of equipping the women to enter (or re-enter) mainstream society and become self-sustaining and providers for their children. This proposed shelter will be constructed in Waller County, Texas and will house families from all the surrounding communities.

We will open a resale shop, named Grace and Mercy, March 1,2008. To help fund this project, we are asking for the support of your church and the community to make the vision a reality. Come out and buy our resale merchandise.

Any donations to this worthy cause will be appreciated.

The shop is called Grace and Mercy for it was God’s grace that gave us the vision and His mercy will allow us to carry it through. Can we count on you?

The resale shop wiill carry furniture, clothing (for the family), household goods, and much, much more. It is located at 71 Scroggins Lane Waller, Texas (off FM 1488 In the Field Store Mini Warehouses). The grand opening was March 1, 2008.

Thereafter, the resale shop will be open the first Saturday of each month with the same operating hours from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m..

For further information and/or donations, contact Rosemary Butler @ 936-931-1726; 281-682-4177 or Carol O’Brien @) 281-302-5333; 713-294-1476 Fern Poyser @ 936-931-3344. Pass the word and support this God given vision. We thank you in advance for what you will do.

With the State of Texas being the 8th largest economy in the world (oh yes!) and with the population projected to increase by 17 million by the year 2040, it should come as no surprise that land prices in Texas is soaring to new heights (no pun intended).

Texas land markets continued to push into unchartered territory in 2006.  Driven by an unprecedened demand for land, the statewide price per acre jumped 23 percent over 2005 market levels. 

The 2006 prices represent an appreciation at a 14% annual compound rate since 2001 and a more than 93% total increase over the five-year period.  This was the fourth straight year annual price growth exceeded 10%.

Fueled by high demand, Texas recorded 8,215 land sales transactions, slightly below 2005’s record volume of 8,368.  The explosion in land buying activity that began in 2002 continues unabated.

Market developments in 2006 reflected an increasingly intense contest for control of the Texas countryside.  Investment minded buyers continued to pour funds into land purchases, and recreational buyers rushed to get in before prices climbed even higher.

Current activity sugests that by the end of 2007, Texas land prices will post another sizeable gain.

Whether you call it a “farmlet,” a “farmette” or
a “lifestyle” farm, the trend toward returning to
life on the land is increasing.

Such residential farms account for nearly half of all farms in
the United States with owners who earn their income from off-farm work, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Economic Research Service.

Farmettes are increasing at the rate of 2 percent a year.

Most people aren’t in it for the money. In Iowa, where there
are a rapidly increasing number of these properties, farmettes
generate average sales of less than $1,000 annually, says Mike
Duffy, director of the Beginning Farmer Center at Iowa State University.

Most buyers are fulfilling a dream to own a piece of land. Jeff
Sanders, a retired computer specialist, and his wife Michelle bought
22 acres near the University of Virginia at Charlottesville. They
have a couple of cows and hope to plant a vineyard.

“For people who push paper, you never see your results of
all your work. Here you see the results. And now that I can see
the results, I really like doing it,” Sanders says.

Farm real estate values have more than doubled from 1996 to 2006, rising 40 percent form 2004 to 2006 alone, the U.S. Agriculture Department says.

The increases have been driven by good crops, outside investors, low interest rates, tax incentives, and a strong housing market.

In the Midwest cornbelt, despite a faltering housing market, land values are surging thanks to a demand for corn-based ethanol production. In Nevada and Montana, farm and ranchland have risen by about 50 percent from 2005 to 2006, due in large part to wealthy people seeking land for scenic and recreational reasons. In Florida, prices were up 35 percent in the same time period because of a booming housing market.

Rising land values, however, are making it more difficult for newcomers to get into agriculture, while also increasing the costs to farmers and ranchers who lease acreage. Rents for farmland in Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, and Wisconsin recorded the biggest increase since 1981 from the first quarter of 2006 to the same period in 2007, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago.