According to Realtytrac the number of actual repossessed properties in August was 95,000. They also have reported that in the second quarter the number of repos was 248,000. Call it a million over the last 12 months. "How many of these are now tainted" is a central question. But for me the more significant issue is, "Why were they were tainted".

Assume there is a home that has a $250,000 mortgage and the loan is in default. Now assume that the owner of that mortgage wants to sell it. Assume further that the mortgage is bundled up with a bunch of other busted mortgages and sold at a deep discount from par. Say the price of the loan package is 40 cents on the dollar. Now finally assume that the property can be sold at an auction level price of $175,000.

If you add up all my assumptions you get a situation where the mortgage is purchased for $100k (250*.4) and the actual value of the assets securing the mortgage is worth $175k. That 75k for a “flip” is big money if there is a lot of them to be done.

What I describe is happening in very big numbers. Busted whole mortgage loans are being packaged and sold to investors to the tune of at least $10b a month. Some of the biggest players on Wall Street are in the game of arbing the sellers. Packages are regularly being put together and sold. Who are these sellers? A lot of the banks. The big ones have sold large amounts, the smaller banks have sold regional portfolios at distressed prices. But by far and away the biggest sellers that have created the “profit window” all reside in D.C. A big seller has been the FDIC. Fannie, Freddie and FHA have also been steady sellers.

I think we've just seen the tip of the iceberg regarding what's really going on in the housing market and particularly with foreclosures. The scenario the author of this article describes is one explanation of what is happening to the so-called "shadow inventory."

It seems that greed and making big profits always finds a way no matter the situation...not much profit to be made in truly helping homeowners.

Facebook said Friday that it is doing a 5-for-1 stock split, marking the third split in the company's history. The privately held social networking company, founded in 2004, previously executed 4-for-1 stock splits in 2006 and 2007.

Facebook's shares won't have a clear market value until the company goes public -- a move that's not imminent.

Just saw The Social Network movie last night... and it is a classic story for the ages... greed, jealousy, betrayal and it's impact on friendship and love.

Go see it - even if you're not on Facebook!

The new Twitter design is in Preview phase - soon to be switched for all users. I like several of the new features..easy to embed photos, videos; related content; see mini-profiles without leaving your page

Real Estate is an enormously exciting, fast-paced and diverse industry. Whether you are interested in the foreclosure market, property investment, commercial reality or even in the economics of real estate, there is ample opportunity to make your mark.

Follow the patterns of the market, the advice of professionals, and even the personal stories of first-time realtors by using the links provided below. These engaging and insightful real estate blogs will give you the tools and expertise you need stay on top of trends, overcome obstacles, and stand out in the real estate industry.

Jan O'Brien - Real Estate Coach has been featured on Guide to Online MBA's list of the Best Real Estate Blogs found here: http://www.guidetocareereducation.com/tips-and-tools/real-estate-blogs.

Thanks for the include on this extensive real estate resource list!

For the next 30 days, HUD is seeking public comment on the following policy changes, each of which are designed to mitigate risk to the Mutual Mortgage Insurance Fund while promoting sustainable homeownership for FHA borrowers:

1. Update the combination of credit and down payment requirements for new borrowers. New borrowers seeking FHA-insured financing will be required to have a minimum FICO score of 580 to qualify for FHA’s flagship 3.5 percent down payment program. New borrowers with credit scores of less than a 580 will be required to make a cash investment of at least 10 percent. Borrowers with credit scores of less than 500 will no longer qualify for an FHA-insured mortgage.

2. Reduce allowable seller concessions from six to three percent. Allowing sellers to contribute up to six percent of the home’s sales price to offset a buyer’s costs exposes the FHA to excess risk by potentially driving up the cost of the home beyond its appraised value. Reducing seller concessions to three percent will bring FHA into conformity with industry standards.

3. Tighten underwriting standards for manually underwritten loans. When using compensating factors in the underwriting process, lenders will be required to consider those factors which are the best predictive indicators of loan performance, such as the borrower’s credit history, loan-to-value (LTV) percentage, debt-to income ratio, and cash reserves.

HUD is changing policy to "manage its risk and boost reserves." The big changes appears to be the seller concession changing to 3% - down from 6% and borrowers with credit scores of 500-580 will need 10% down payment.

Facebook reached 400 million users five months ago. This time last year, it had just reached 200 million, and eight months before that it was at just 100 million. The site launched in February of 2004, and has since become the most popular social site on the web.

Facebook continues to impress with continued explosive growth with an estimated 500 million users in July. Look for launch of "Facebook Stories" where users can share how Facebook has impacted their lives.

Press Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Jan OBrien Receives 2010 Best of Kalispell Award

U.S. Commerce Association’s Award Plaque Honors the Achievement

NEW YORK, NY, July 7, 2010 -- Jan OBrien has been selected for the 2010 Best of Kalispell Award in the Insurance Agents & Brokers category by the U.S. Commerce Association (USCA).

The USCA "Best of Local Business" Award Program recognizes outstanding local businesses throughout the country. Each year, the USCA identifies companies that they believe have achieved exceptional marketing success in their local community and business category. These are local companies that enhance the positive image of small business through service to their customers and community.

Various sources of information were gathered and analyzed to choose the winners in each category. The 2010 USCA Award Program focuses on quality, not quantity. Winners are determined based on the information gathered both internally by the USCA and data provided by third parties.

About U.S. Commerce Association (USCA)

U.S. Commerce Association (USCA) is a New York City based organization funded by local businesses operating in towns, large and small, across America. The purpose of USCA is to promote local business through public relations, marketing and advertising.

The USCA was established to recognize the best of local businesses in their community. Our organization works exclusively with local business owners, trade groups, professional associations, chambers of commerce and other business advertising and marketing groups. Our mission is to be an advocate for small and medium size businesses and business entrepreneurs across America.

SOURCE: U.S. Commerce Association

CONTACT:
U.S. Commerce Association
Email: PublicRelations@uscaaward.com
URL: http://www.uscaaward.com

Thanks to the U.S. Commerce Association for the recognition. Be sure to check out their site for comprehensive small business resources, tips, articles, news, and marketing ideas: http://www.uscaaward.com.

Yahoo is outsourcing yet another product to an outside company. Tonight, Yahoo is announcing an exclusive partnership with real estate listings and search site Zillow. As part of the partnership, which will go into effect later this year, Zillow will power all for-sale listings on Yahoo Real Estate. The financial terms of the partnership were not disclosed.

Zillow’s will integrate its 4 million for-sale listings on Yahoo’s real estate site, where users will still be able to search for home listings by the same parameters as on Zillow’s site, such as by geography, price and other criteria. For-sale listings placed on Zillow will automatically appear on Yahoo Real Estate.

Do you have your Profile on Zillow? Check out this page for how to leverage Zillow for your real estate business: http://www.zillow.com/learnmore/why-use-zillow.htm.>

Personal Productivity and Creativity

Advice about getting productive makes up the core of Lifehack’s content, so naturally our most popular and most talked about posts this year were just that. From developing the right mindset to promoting creativity to finding inspiration and motivation, we offered tons of advice on getting things done.

1. 12 Lists That Help You Get Things Done (Dustin M. Wax)
2. Procrastination – NOT a Problem! (Francis Wade)
3. 10 Best Productivity Books of 2009 (Dustin M. Wax)
4. 11 Ways to Think Outside the Box (Dustin M. Wax)
5. 8 Ways to Kill Clutter in 5 Minutes (David Pierce)
6. Reaching Your Goals – Dutch Style (Christine Buske)
7. New Year’s Resolutions Don’t Work – Here’s Why (Steve Errey)
8. How to Make Decisions Under Pressure (Joel Falconer)
9. Limits and Creativity (Dustin M. Wax)
10. The Daily Grind: A Matter of Momentum (Joel Falconer)
11. 4 Pocket-Sized Tools to Help You Generate Killer Ideas Any Time, Anywhere (Chuck Frey)
12. How to Think What Nobody Else Thinks (Paul Sloane)
13. 9 Lists To Keep Updated, and Keep Handy (David Pierce)
14. 10 Reasons Paper is The Most Flexible Productivity Platform (Joel Falconer)
15. 3 Tips to Improve Memory Quickly (Steve Martile)
16. How to Wake Up and Instantly Achieve Something Everyday (Paul Dickinson)
17. Stripped GTD: 3 Habits That Make You More Productive (David Pierce)
18. Ten Great Ways to Crush Creativity (Paul Sloane)
19. Scoring 100% in Time Management (Francis Wade)
20. 7 Steps For Making a New Year’s Resolution and Keeping It (Annabel Candy)

My incomplete series on getting back on track with a productivity system, “GTD Refresh”, was quite popular but was never completed. The next step for me was supposed to be eliminating my email backlog and adopting an “Inbox Zero” approach, but frankly, email won. This year – I’m going to try again in 2010 and so you may well see more “GTD Refresh posts in the not-too-distant future.

• GTD Refresh, Part 1: Getting My Head Together
• GTD Refresh, Part 2: Contexts and Calendar
• GTD Refresh, Part 3: Projects
• GTD Refresh, Part 4: Getting Sorted
• GTD Refresh, Part 5: Building the Weekly Review Habit
• GTD Refresh, Part 6: Decisiveness

2009 was bookended by two publications with something to offer the would-be personal productivity expert. David Allen’s Making It All Work revisited the core concepts of GTD and expanded on elements that had been weakly developed in his earlier work. You can read my lengthy review here: (Part 1) (Part 2) (Part 3)

And our most popular series, my “Back to Basics” posts from 2008, were collected, revised, and expanded (with 2 new chapters) in the release of Back to Basics Productivity which will be joined in 2010 by several more ebook releases.

Lifehack.org posted this Best of 2009 - I am highlighting the Productivity and GTD links in this post.