HAPPY THANKSGIVING TO ALL -
Here is a recipe I thought you would like for the holiday
Ingredients:
1 whole turkey
1 large lemon, cut into halves
Salt and pepper to taste
Butter or olive oil, whichever you prefer
All the best – Kenneth
November 26, 2009
Posted by kbargers |
entertainment, humor | humor, kenneth bargers, realtor, thanksgiving, turkey |
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GREAT OUTTAKES FROM A TOP NOTCH PHOTOGRAPHER – HATCHER AND FELL
November 25, 2009
Posted by kbargers |
Nashville, photography, tennessee | hatcher and fell photography, imaging, kacky fell, kenneth bargers, Nashville, outtakes, phil hatcher, photography, realtor, tennessee |
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MARKET COMMENT
Mortgage bond prices rose last week pushing mortgage interest rates lower. Mixed data resulted in up and down trading but within a relatively narrow range. Things were going well the first part of the week with rates improving until Wednesday when the consumer price index and the core came in higher than expected. Inflation, real or perceived, erodes the value of fixed income investments causing prices to fall and rates to rise. We saw some of that mid-week. Despite this, interest rates finished the week improved by about 1/8 to 1/4 of a discount point.
The US Treasury will continue the record Treasury auctions with a $44 billion 2-year note auction Monday, $42 billion 5-year note auction Tuesday, and a $45 billion 7-year note auction Wednesday. The bond market will be closed Thursday for Thanksgiving and will have a shortened trading session Friday.
PRELIMINARY GDP
The Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is one the most important reports during any given quarter. GDP is a measure of US economic output and spending. The report is significant in that it provides investors, analysts, traders, and economists with a comprehensive report of the direction of the economy. In addition, it also influences the decisions of Federal Reserve policy makers, Congressional budget employees, and corporate financial planners.
GDP is the sum total of goods and services produced by the United States. The initial report is often based on incomplete data. Therefore, additional revisions are released over the following two months. There are often substantial differences between the initial release and the revisions. The mortgage-backed security market generally responds favorably to weaker GDP growth. The preliminary third quarter gross domestic product data this week has the potential to move mortgage interest rates. Be cautious.
Source: courtesy of Todd Kabel, US Bank, Nashville, Tennessee
November 23, 2009
Posted by kbargers |
economy, real estate | bonds, economy, gdp, gross domestic product, kenneth bargers, market report, mortgage bond prices, mortgage rates, Nashville, realtor, tennessee, todd kabel, us bank, us treasury |
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November 21, 2009
Posted by kbargers |
Brentwood, Nashville, open house, real estate, tennessee | 105 alpine court, Franklin, kenneth bargers, open house, prudential woodmont realty, realtor, tennessee |
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A long-time married couple made a deal that whoever died first would come back and inform the other of the afterlife. Their biggest fear was that there was no afterlife at all.
After a long life together, the husband was the first to die.
True to his word, he made the first contact, “Marion … Marion.”
“Is that you, Bob?”
“Yes, I’ve come back like we agreed.”
“That’s wonderful! What’s it like?”
“Well, I get up in the morning, I have sex.
I have breakfast and then it’s off to the golf course … I have sex again, bathe in the warm sun and then have sex a couple of more times.
Then I have lunch (you’d be proud – lots of greens) another romp around the golf course, then pretty much have sex the rest of the afternoon.
After supper, it’s back to golf course again. Then it’s more sex until late at night. I catch some much needed sleep, and then the next day it starts all over again”
“Oh, Bob, you must be in Heaven!”
“Not exactly …. I’m a rabbit on a golf course in Arizona.”
November 20, 2009
Posted by kbargers |
entertainment, humor | humor, joke, kenneth bargers, lol fridayy |
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Tennessee: The Volunteer State We are known as the Volunteer State. This well-deserved reputation is historical in nature and takes on numerous meanings when you think of Tennessee’s volunteerism. This reputation is evident here in Middle Tennessee as we are blessed with an abundance of goodwill from individuals and organizations alike that contribute their time and resources throughout the year.
Season of Giving This time of year, as we pause to give thanks during Thanksgiving, celebrate the gift of life during Christmas, and reflect on memories of 2009 and the possibilities of the upcoming year, we naturally think of others and their needs and what we can do to help during the Season of Giving. Our community’s volunteer organizations work hard to fill the food banks, gather clothing for the needy, promote coat drives, and collect care packages for our men and women that volunteer there lives in the protection of all of us back home in the United States.
Each year, I am proud to feature one of these worthy charitable organizations during the Season of Giving. This year, I wish to introduce you to and feature the 100 Club of Nashville.
Feature: 100 Club of Nashville I was introduced to the fine work of this twenty-five year old charity a few years ago while working on a community affairs project here in Nashville. Since that time I have been equally impressed by the volunteerism of this police and fire benevolence fund. Under the guidance and leadership of Reed Trickett, the numerous volunteers and vendors are dedicated to protecting and helping those that protect all of us each and every day.
The 100 Club of Nashville accomplishes its task with members who donate $100 per year in dues. The 100 Club of Nashville has NO paid staff, NO paid or professional fundraisers, solicits its members entirely through volunteers, and limits its administrative costs to a small amount of printing and postage.
The Charity in Action: Police Officer Danita Marsh Most recently the 100 Club of Nashville was called to service by assisting officer Danita Marsh who was shot multiple times and left paralyzed October 27, 2006 while assisting a victim of domestic violence.
Last year, the 100 Club of Nashville presented Marsh with the deed to her specially built residence during a Home Dedication Celebration at the North Precinct. Chief Ronal Serpas and 100 Club President Reed Trickett also awarded certificates and Metropolitan Police Department Chief’s Coins to representatives from a number of area businesses for donations of manpower and supplies to the home construction process. To learn more about Officer Marsh’s story, please visit the following news release, CLICK LINK.
Become a Member of the 100 Club of Nashville During the Season of Giving, I invite you to learn more about the 100 Club of Nashville at its website and consider becoming a member of this worthy charitable organization. WEBSITE LINK
November 19, 2009
Posted by kbargers |
Inspiration, Nashville, tennessee | 100 club of nashville, bargers, bargers solutions, Brentwood, charitable contributions, charity, charity feature, chief ronald serpas, community affairs, community organizations, danita marsh, kenneth bargers, middle tennessee, Nashville, officer danita marsh, prudential woodmont realty, realtor, reed trickett, ronald serpas, season of giving, tennessee, thanksgiving, volunteer, volunteerism |
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The Home Valuation Code of Conduct (HVCC) is getting a bad rap for causing what real estate professionals say is a rise in inaccurate appraisals, Alfred Pollard told a packed room of REALTORS® Friday in a risk management-regulatory issues joint forum at the 2009 NAR Conference & Expo in San Diego.
Pollard, the general counsel for the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), said HVCC was released at a time when the economy was in a massive contraction—what he called a systemic event—and that this broader picture has to be taken into consideration when talking about valuation trends. “Concerns [over valuations] might not be 100-percent tied to this code,” he said.
FHFA oversees Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which earlier this year adopted HVCC and applied it nationwide in an agreement with the New York attorney general. HVCC expires in late 2010 but the two secondary-mortgage-market companies can retain all or parts of HVCC going forward.
It isn’t fair to criticize all appraisal management companies (AMCs) for handing out valuation assignments to inexperienced or out-of-market appraisers who are willing to work for reduced fees, said Mark Johnson, chief operating officer of LSI, a large AMC. Any AMC that lets appraisers work outside their area of geographic competency is violating appraisal standards under USPAP and they should be reported. “I do believe there have been some bad actors,” Johnson said.
The average travel distance of the 20,000 appraisers in his company’s database is eight to 12 miles, he said. Any appraiser who wants to travel more than 25 miles under his company’s policy must explain why and get an OK. “We don’t want guys driving 50 miles,” he said.
Steve White of Keller Williams Realty in Santa Clarita, Calif., and chair of NAR’s Risk Management Committee, said real estate professionals are losing deals because valuations are coming in far below the price agreed upon by the buyer and seller and that the process for getting valuations reconsidered doesn’t work. Valuations are taking so long that there is no time to get them reconsidered before the deal collapses. And when real estate professionals try to share comparables or familiarize out-of area appraisers with unique market issues, appraisers say they can’t talk to them.
Pollard and Johnson said there’s nothing in HVCC that prohibits real estate professionals from sharing comparable or other information with appraisers. “You can talk; you just can’t drive them to a value,” said Pollard.
Source: Robert Freedman, REALTOR® magazine
November 18, 2009
Posted by kbargers |
economy, real estate | appraisal management companies, bargers solutions, federal housing finance agency, home valuation code of conduct, HVCC, kenneth bargers, Nashville, national association of realtors, prudential woodmont realty, realtor, realtor magazine, robert freedman, tennessee |
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The downturn in commercial real estate still seems to be getting worse.
By 2012, more than $1.4 trillion worth of commercial real estate loans will come due, according to investment firm ING Clarion Partners. Analysts at Deutsche Banks estimate that commercial borrowers will be unable to roll over three-quarters of the loans they took out in 2007, the worst year for toxic loans.
But the more serious problem is the quality of the underlying loans, analysts say, pointing to examples of pricey deals that went south within months of the original sale. Research firm Reis Inc. estimated that income projections made for properties that sold between 2005 and 2008 exceeded their historical performances by an average of 15 percent.
“It was all based on assumption of cash flow,” says Howard S. Landsberg of New York-based consultant Weiser Realty Advisors. “If you couldn’t afford to pay the bank back now, in three years you could count on another $20 a square foot in rent. When the numbers didn’t add up, some lenders got imaginative.”
Source: BusinessWeek, Mara Der Hovanesian and Dean Foust, with John Cady (11/13/2009)
November 16, 2009
Posted by kbargers |
economy, real estate | bargers solutions, BusinessWeek, commercial real estate, dean foust, economy, john cady, kenneth bargers, mara der hovanesian, market prediction, Nashville, prudential woodmont realty, realtor, tennessee |
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Customer satisfaction with their mortgage lender has declined as the time between between application and closing has increased, according to the J.D. Power and Associates 2009 study of mortgage lender satisfaction.
Overall satisfaction among mortgage customers fell to 739 on a 1,000-point scale, down 18 points from 757 in 2008. The decline appeared to be a response to tighter underwriting standards and extended turnaround times.
The study found that the average time required to approve and close a loan has increased to nearly 47 days in 2009, compared with 30 days in 2008. The increased time is a reflection of tighter scrutiny and the rising volume of applications to refinance, lenders say. Borrowers also report that requests for increased documentation have increased from 33 percent of applicants to 45 percent.
Lenders with better-than-average customer satisfaction were:
BB&T (Branch Banking and Trust, 783 out of 1,000
Wachovia, 781
National City Mortgage, 769
SunTrust Mortgage, 769
Wells Fargo, 754
Flagstar Bank, 744
GMAC Mortgage, 744
Bank of America, 741
Source: J.D. Power (11/12/2009)
November 14, 2009
Posted by kbargers |
economy, relocation | Bank of America, bargers solutions, BB&T, Flagstar Bank, GMAC Mortgage, j.d. power, kenneth bargers, mortgage lender satisfaction, National City Mortgage, prudential woodmont realty, realtor, SunTrust Mortgage, Wachovia, Wells Fargo |
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HAPPY THANKSGIVING TO ALL - 
Feature: 100 Club of Nashville I was introduced to the fine work of this twenty-five year old charity a few years ago while working on a community affairs project here in Nashville. Since that time I have been equally impressed by the volunteerism of this police and fire benevolence fund. Under the guidance and leadership of Reed Trickett, the numerous volunteers and vendors are dedicated to protecting and helping those that protect all of us each and every day.
