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The world is experiencing a global housing crisis.  According to the United Nations, about 1.6 billion people live in substandard housing and 100 million are homeless. Every week more than a million people are born in, or move to, cities in the developing world.  Nearly one-third of the global urban population lives in slums. In the United States, 95 million people need safe, decent and affordable housing.

Founded in 1976, Habitat for Humanity is a global leader in addressing the issues of housing. Started in a small interracial community outside of Americus, Georgia, today Habitat and its tens of thousands volunteers work with thousands of low-income families to build affordable housing which is much more than a roof over someone’s head. In the clean, decent and safe housing Habitat builds, families create a stable environment in which to raise their children, their sense of dignity and pride grow and educational and job prospects increase. Equally important, a family’s health, physical safety and security improve. Thousands of local Habitat affiliates work in communities around the world to select and support homeowners, organize volunteers and coordinate the building of homes. Habitat is not a giveaway program.  In addition to a down payment and monthly mortgage payments, homeowners invest hundreds of hours of their own labor into building their Habitat house and the homes of other Habitat families.  Habitat houses are sold to partner families at no profit and financed with no-profit loans provided by local Habitat affiliates. The monthly mortgage payments are used to build more Habitat houses.

CEDAR RAPIDS, IOWA, USA (6/16/09)-During the 2009 Americorps Build-a-Thon, 500 Habitat for Humanity Americorps members and alumni helped 20 families build houses in the community hardest hit by the Iowa floods of 2008. © Habitat for Humanity International *

Habitat has build over 400,000 houses across the world, sheltering more than 2 million people in 3,000 communities worldwide. To donate, or learn more about Habitat for Humanity, click here.

YOU can vote for Habitat for Humanity International to receive a portion of our charitable contribution to commemorate First Preston’s 23^rd birthday.

After watching a news report of a severely injured Service Member who had returned from Iraq, John Gonsalves thought to himself “What now?  What happens to this person now?”  He searched for an organization that he assumed was already in place where he could donate his building expertise for a few weeks.  When he found out none existed, he quit his contractor job and started Homes for Our Troops.

Founded in 2004, Homes for Our Troops is committed to helping those who have selflessly given to our country and have serious disabilities and injuries since September 11, 2001. They coordinate donations of labor, materials and money to build homes for these servicemen and servicewomen so they can live independently and with maximum freedom of movement.

Through donations of money, building materials, and labor, Homes for Our Troops works directly with the Servicemen and Servicewomen to provide a home to an injured veteran at no cost.  Most of the projects undertaken are brand new homes.

MSG Daniel Robles explores his new home built by Homes for Our Troops

In some cases, the Veteran already owns a home, so Homes for Our Troops renovates the home with all of the necessary special adaptations to accommodate their injury or need, providing the maximum freedom of movement and the ability to live more independently.

Homes for Our Troops reaches thousands of Servicemen and Servicewomen across the United States to give back for the sacrifices they have made.  To donate, or learn more about Freedom from Hunger and the lives affected by this great charity, click here.

In many countries such as India, Guatemala, Peru, and Ghana, women are faced with wrenching choices:  Feed my children healthy food OR buy medicine for the one who is sick? Watch my children waste away with hunger OR give them my own small portion of food, praying that we all survive the hungry season? No mother should be faced with such desperate options; yet, such agonizing decisions are a daily reality for millions of women in the world living with relentless poverty—often on less than $1.25 a day.

Founded in 1946, Freedom from Hunger is an international development organization that works in 17 countries around the globe.  They bring innovative and sustainable self-help solutions to the fight against chronic hunger and poverty and are currently reaching more than 2.4 million women and families—a total of over 14 million people.  Freedom from Hunger has received the coveted 4-star rating with Charity Navigator for 4 consecutive years and has consistently been a top-rated charity with the American Institute of Philanthropy.

Freedom from Hunger’s ecuation sessions use pictures, because the women they reach cannot read or write. *

Freedom from Hunger provides access to small-scale loans of $14-$400 for women in the developing world so they can start or expand a small business (example: raising chickens to sell the eggs).  Women participating in Freedom from Hunger’s programs are also educated in how to run a small business and how to use profits from the business for the health and nutrition of their children.

Support for Freedom from Hunger gets money into the hands of women every day, helping them earn and learn so they can meet the needs of their families.  To donate, or to learn more about Freedom from Hunger and the lives affected by this great charity, click here. YOU can vote for Freedom from Hunger to receive a portion of the charitable contribution to commemorate First Preston’s 23^rd year in business.  Vote here on our blog or on our Facebook page!

* @Freedom from Hunger, 2010

From the creators of BidSelect.com, HomeTelos is pleased to announce the launch of it’s new website: www.HomeTelosFirst.com dedicated to the sale of HUD-owned homes.  It provides buyer education and related tools to help your clients in the home buying process, including:

• Simplified navigation and property searches
• Navigation available on all site pages
• Property searches available from the home page
• Advanced Search to filter results by FHA Insurability

Single Registration. If you are registered on BidSelect you are also registered on HomeTelosFirst.  Your existing login and password credentials can be used to access either website, preventing the need for you to register again.

You can manage your profile, save searches and favorite properties from either website!  And with the “Find an Agent” feature, your contact information is available to prospective buyers on both sites.  Click on “My Account” to access your profile and update your contact information.

HomeTelos values the role and support real estate professionals provide in the marketing and selling process.  We appreciate your continued loyalty and commitment to “Getting America’s Homeownership Back on the Road!”  We look forward to a bright future together.

In the most recent report released by the National Association of Realtors (NAR), the November “pending home sales index” rose 3.5% over the prior month.  The index measures the number of signed contracts for purchases of existing previously owned homes.  This follows a record 10% jump for October and beat modest expectations!

What’s behind the renewed interest in “signing on the dotted line”? It’s the dynamic duo of “…historically high housing affordability’, and “overall economic improvement” according to  NAR’s chief economist, Lawrence Yun.  Concerns over rising interest rates played a significant role as well.  Yun is predicting an 8% rise of units sold in 2011 and an additional 4% in 2010.

According to a Fannie Mae spokesman, an estimated four million homes are at risk of foreclosure this year.  Last year, millions of distressed homeowners gave up and walked away from their homes due to hardships, frustration and the perceived lack of options.

An innovative online interactive video called WaysHome was released by Fannie Mae last week.   Users can select a character whose mortgage scenario is similar to their own then follow the character through a series of decisions and outcomes. The strikingly realistic scenarios are played out in a neighborhood that is no stranger to foreclosure. The interactive experience includes links to checklists, a registry of approved housing counselors and other helpful resources.

The WaysHome simulator can be found at www.KnowYourOptions.com and is free to use.  While there is no guarantee users will ultimately avoid foreclosure; this “virtual reality simulation model” arms homeowners with the power of knowledge.  Participants will find there is an abundance of help for distressed homeowners and multiple options can be evaluated.  If an exit strategy is the best option, homeowners can select an option that will be the least damaging.

This is a powerful tool for real estate professionals in “Getting America’s Homeownership Back on the Road!”

By guest blogger: Leesa Sandoval

Through the years, the FHA loan program has helped potential buyers achieve their goal of home ownership. The program features reasonable mortgage rates, low down payments and relaxed credit requirements.

The FHA 203k Rehab loan is very popular and follows the standard FHA guidelines with one addition; it allows buyers to roll rehab costs into the mortgage.  The financing includes the purchase price plus the cost of improvements required to make the home habitable. Cosmetic enhancements such as kitchen and bathroom updates can be included.

This is a great loan program for Buyers and for Selling Agents. Houses that would normally require the Seller to fund repairs prior to closing can now be closed without Seller repair concessions.  Distressed “Investor Only” grade properties can now be marketed “as is” because an FHA 203k rehab loan can take care of repairs for owner occupant buyers.

Typically foundation and roof repair requirements destroy financing potential and limit sales. This is not the case when using the FHA 203k rehab loan.  This loan program takes a home with ‘condition issues’ and allows the appraiser to perform an estimation of value, using the “as repaired” value. Such homes are appraised as if the repairs have been completed.

At closing the seller receives their proceeds.  The remaining borrowed funds are placed into an escrow account for use during the rehab.  Construction begins three days after closing.   The seller and the Agents are not involved. The closing date (close of escrow) is not delayed by pending repairs. Therefore, sales transactions usually close within a 45-90 day time frame. (Depending upon the Lender.)

Perhaps the only limiting factors with the 203k loan are that there are not many lenders that do this loan and not many buyers and sellers know the program exists. A list of qualified Lenders can be found here.  Click on HUD-Approved Lenders (at the bottom of the page), select category 203K and a geographic coverage area.

About our guest blogger: Leesa Sandoval is a Senior Loan Officer with PrimeLending, a PlainsCapital Company.  She has been working in the mortgage business for over 8 years and considers her niche to be rehab loans.

Brace yourself it’s going to be a rocky road for US residential prices.  Paul Dales, US economist at Capital Economics predicts a second dip in US residential prices. His forecast is that over the next 2-3 years, “prices could slide by between 5-10%”.  However, this is considered mild in comparison to the first deadly dip of 30% between 2006-2009.

Unless you have been in hiding, you probably know that the three most likely culprits for the second dip in residential prices are:

1. 10% unemployment and significant “under-employment”.
2. High supply and wilted demand equals lower values.
3. REO inventories expected to continue to rise.

However there are several things that add a silver lining to this storm cloud!

Refinancing: Lower prices and low interest rates equal affordability and purchasing power for qualified buyers. Many well positioned homeowners are refinancing to minimize housing costs.

Way Out is Up: American housing is now undervalued. Therefore there is potential for housing to perform well in the medium term.

People Still Need Homes: Productive REO professionals and Asset Management experts will be in strong demand for the foreseeable future.

Don’t get distracted by the bad news.  People are still buying homes. People still really need REALTORS.  What ‘bright spots’ are you focused on?

At this time last year we were seeing ominous headlines like FHA Bailout Inevitable, The FHA’s Bailout Warning, and FHA Bailout Program May Require a Bailout. Despite the dismal forecast, a year has made all the difference for the future of the Federal Housing Administration.

Fortunately for millions of first time homebuyers and taxpayers in general, the FHA defied the odds and roared back with a record year. The Agency published its Annual Independent Financial Report and Economic Outlook for Fiscal Year 2010 in November.  Its fiscal year ended on September 30^th. During the preceding 12 months the FHA insured a record 1.1 million loans. This is the highest mark in its 76 year history!

There are three significant ways that this will impact the real estate industry and potential homebuyers:

1. Continued availability of loans for which borrowers (especially first timers) more easily qualify.
2. Assumable loans. FHA Loans are “assumable”. When interest rates increase, sellers who have low interest rate FHA mortgages could have a huge selling advantage.
3. Down payments as low as 3.5% increase affordability.
4. Rehab loans maximize updates and makeovers.

How do buyers rate FHA buyer perks? Who uses them most, first timers or experienced purchasers?

In keeping with the tradition of investing in communities, First Preston employees have participated for the last 8 years in the Salvation Army Angel Tree outreach. This year the employees adopted 8 angels that ranged from ages 2 to 82.

The staff rallied around this cause quickly by contributing funds, shopping, and wrapping gifts. Brent Priddy, a 9- year First Preston IT team member led the charge by packaging the gifts to be sent to The Salvation Army for distribution.

When asked why they participate in Angel Tree giving, employees shared a variety of reasons. For Laywanna Taylor, “it’s for the love of children”.   Janet Kelly stated that “So many people are hurting. It feels better to give than to receive.” Brent Priddy, remembers that as a child he “never went without” on Christmas.  He wants to make sure that every child gets to experience that same joy!

Because many employees contribute, it makes it possible to accumulate extra gifts for additional angels –just in case there is an un-fulfilled need which may have been overlooked.  Our employees make sure that no Angel is left behind!

For the 8^th straight year, we’re proud to announce that our corporate employees are working to make a difference … one Christmas wish at a time.