December 12 & 19, San Diego Bay Boat Parade of Lights

Spectacular event--free to view! The Annual Port of San Diego Boat Parade of Lights features a large fleet of private craft decorated and illuminated for the holidays. The boat parade will travel a 7-mile route from Shelter Island to Coronado.

December 12, Annual Pacific Beach Holiday Parade


A community holiday parade that features floats, marching bands, color guards, community groups, children marching groups, clowns, Santa Claus, and more.

Time: 1:00 pm – 4:00 pm

Parade Route: Garnet Ave/Haines St, Garnet Ave., Bayard St/Garnet Ave.

For more information visit http://www.pacificbeachfest.com/

December 12, Gaslamp Holiday Pet Parade

A pet parade where pets and people can dress up in costume and march in a parade through the Gaslamp Quarter with the hope to win a prize. The event isn’t just for dogs; any pet will do. A fun parade to watch or participate in. This event includes a Pet Expo.
Time: 1:20 pm – 4:00 pm / Pet Expo 2:00 pm – 5:00 pm

Parade Route: Starts from the Hilton Hotel parking lot at 5th & L Street. Admission $10.00 per pet & owner for the parade & costume contest.

For more information visit http://www.gaslamp.org/

December 3 & 4, Balboa Park December Nights

Free community festival. Balboa Park holiday extravaganza featuring two days of light displays, nativity, Santa, musical & dance presentations, plus shopping, and holiday food & spirits. More than 80 museums & cultural organizations will be open for this event. Participating museums will be free to the public from 5:00 to 9:00 each evening.

Time: Fri 5:00 pm – 10:00 pm / Sat Noon – 10:00 pm

Location: Balboa Park

For more information visit http://www.sdhpr.org/

CHRISTMAS IN SAN DIEGO
December 3, Coronado Christmas Parade –

Open House – Snow Mountain

The holiday season in Coronado starts when Santa arrives by ferry at the Coronado Ferry Landing. A festive parade along Orange Avenue follows, while merchants keep their doors open late for shopping. Santa lights the 75-foot star pine Christmas tree located in the center of town as the community band plays holiday music. Snow Mountain is open from 3:00

to 8:00 pm. The evening finishes with 2 concerts at 2 different locations.

Time: Refer to website for schedule

Location: Ferry Landing Marketplace – Coronado

For more information visit www.coronadovisitorcenter.com

CAN YOU BELIEVE THE BANKS???
I have tried to decypher America's largest bank's approach to short sales.

 

I understand that they have a huge percentage of assets that should not be called assets any more, and the moment they recognize this truth they probably will go out of business or at least be in deep, deep trouble.

 

The problem that I see, is that, instead of dealing with it and establishing a plan, they are simply waiting and pretending, waiting for a miracle and pretending nothing is wrong. The people that gets affected by this lame attitude is: homeowners that want to short sale, end their nightmare and go on with their lives; and Real Estate agents, who work like dogs to get a sale through, just to find ourselves immersed in this bureaucratic ocean of crap, playing the waiting game, the foreclosure l. The bank probably does not have the intention to authorize a short sale because their reserves are low, they could inform the agent to not come back until 6 months from now, because they cannot afford to foreclose or short sale that house at that moment, get a number and we will call you.... then the agent could go on and continue to collect sellers and place them in that huge line and wait for the number to come up, but NO, how could it be so easy. The bank, instead, prefers to ask for 5 lbs of documents, to upload them in their stupid Internet portal, to lower our commissions, to send another 5 lbs of documents, to go back to square one if the buyer got tired of this load of crap, and then when you think its over, after 6 or 8 months..... They transfer the property to one of the paper companies they have created to hide the ball:

• Home loan Servicing LP
• Realtime Resolutions
• LRC
• Moscodilis LLP

Collection agencies, or outsourcing companies designed to transfer the blame for whatever happens, to allow to play the game: wait and pretend.
Do you really think they have the "investor" voicing an opinion if Mr. Smith should bring $2,000 more to the table? or if they are going to pay HOA or not?, The investors only know that they bought a financial instrument, and are receiving their interest payments, they don't give a rat's ass where the money is coming from. There is really no investor reviewing the files, this would take years to do, just do the math. They have just created this scripted crap to have a story to tell to all the real estate agents, who cares about us?, we are disposable, the only use they see for us, is that they may also decide to sell stuff to us and get what is left of our retirement money (designations, courses, portals, lists of asset managers, seminars, conferences and all that %^&* crap).

 

I was scared in the begining of the possibility of Banks going broke, this would be the end of the world, I thought. Now, I have come to the conclusion that nothing would happen, life would go on, they probably deserve to go broke, they probably need to be replace with a fresh batch of independent investors that would begin lending money and would create a system based on supply and demand and all the principles that gave birth to our great Nation.
Its about time we allow all these TO BIG TO FAIL entities to start failing and allow us, the people to breath and live free again, when did we turn communist? when did all go away?
To hell with the banks, to hell with the oil companies, to hell with the pharmaceuticals, to hell with the insurance companies, to hell with Republicans and Democrats, WE NEED HEROES, WE NEED AMERICANS THAT LOVE AMERICA.

Luxury homes…the so-called McMansions are going into default at a faster rate than anyone expected. Expect this trend to only increase.


Why is this happening with the least risky, most able to pay borrowers?
Chronic negative equity. In many cases the owners have made the financial decision to do a strategic default.

Nationally, housing prices might continue to fall....FHA
For those of you who are hold-outs in the belief we are experiencing a double dip in home prices…this new report from the FHA should convince you.
The Federal Housing Administration (FHA) submitted their annual report to Congress today and they predict a continuing decline of home prices going into the future.
In a report by the FHA on their government website, the administration reported that insurance claims declined which means either less people are buying homes and need FHA assistance, or the prices have declined and less money is needed to backstop home purchases.
FHA’s study finds that since last year, the capital reserve ratio held steady, insurance claims declined significantly, and the economic value of FHA’s single-family insurance program grew by more than $1 billion, from $3.6 billion in 2009 to $4.7 billion in 2010.
Like last year’s report to Congress, this accounting shows that FHA is sustaining significant losses from loans insured prior to 2009 and its capital reserve ratio remains below the congressionally mandated threshold of two percent of all insurance-in-force. However, the report concludes that under conservative assumptions of future growth of home prices, and without any new policy actions, FHA’s capital ratio is expected to approach two percent in 2014 and exceed the statutory requirement in 2015.
“It’s clear that FHA is in a stronger position today than we were just one year ago,” said FHA Commissioner David H. Stevens. “While we are not yet completely out of the woods, based on the evidence we’re seeing, FHA is weathering the economic storm while helping to create a firm foundation for our nation’s recovery.”

FHA’s capital reserve ratio measures reserves in excess of those needed to cover projected losses over the next 30 years. The independent actuarial reviews of the MMI Fund estimate FHA’s capital reserve ratio to be 0.50 percent of total insurance-in-force this year, falling fractionally from 0.53 percent in 2009. The difference is primarily attributed to the use of much more conservative assumptions regarding future house price growth than were used last year, which also resulted in an $8.5 billion decrease in economic value. However, that decrease was offset by a variety of factors, including an $8.7 billion increase in value due to better credit quality, loan performance, and the premium increase implemented earlier this year.

Since over 40% of home purchases go through the FHA each year, they are a very good barometer in determining the strength of the home markets, and in determining the direction of home values. Many monthly reports that come out of government agencies are based on faulty accounting methods, and in many cases, simple phone surveys. This report by the FHA is tied solely to applications and contracts that required FHA insurance for home purchases.

SHADOW INVENTORY, A SCARY SHADOW!
The worst kept secret in the real estate industry is the amount of time a delinquent (defaulting) homeowner can live in theirhome without making a payment.No hard numbers are known but estimates are that close to 10,000,000 defaulting owners are living in homes that they are not paying a dime for.Wall Street Journal published a state by state graph showing the average time that borrowers spend in their homes during delinquency and foreclosure: See Graph Here.Here are the states with the highest number of ‘living free’ days:500-600 days: Florida and New York and others400-500 days: California, Nevada, Washington State, Texas, Ohio, Indiana and many others..200-400 days: The rest of the country.Bottom line, the most amount of time someone can live payment free…600+ days. The LEAST amount of time is nearly a year.

Peace of Mind: Title Insurance



Cyborgs are signing documents. The powers that be are scratching their heads in confusion. And MERS is ... well, who knows. In states like California, with its infamous unemployment rate hovering at 12 percent, a real estate industry in an earnest nosedive is the last thing anyone needs.

Unfortunately, that could be the outcome without a swift resolution. And with foreclosures and short sales making up a huge part of the California market, there are many - Realtors, investors, escrow companies, contractors, the surrounding real estate service sectors - whose livelihoods depend on how these issues will ultimately play out.

On this week’s Norris Group Real Estate Radio Show, Kurt Pfotenhauer, CEO of American Land Title Association (ALTA), joins host Bruce Norris for a discussion about the title industry’s take on the situation.

First up, one of the most talked about acronyms in the industry these days: MERS (or Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems).
“Our experience with MERS, speaking on behalf of a broad swath of our membership, is that MERS played an excellent role in bringing some much-needed efficiency to the marketplace,” Kurt said.

The system is fairly simple. A title searcher goes into the public record and finds the MERS name on the mortgage. With it is a MERS Identification Number. Plug that into the MERS system and you know who owns an official interest, who has been assigned the interest, and where the servicing rights are.
Before MERS, every change in assignment would have to be done at the local courthouse, which added cost. Even worse, courthouses would get behind and lien releases could take months.

“MERS was intended to bring order to a fairly chaotic situation,” Kurt said. “It’s delivered on that.”

Having cleared that up, Bruce drives at something many have been wondering:
“We hear rumors of Stewart Title placing restrictions on policies for properties foreclosed on by JP Morgan,” Bruce said. “Was that a temporary concern, or do you think there are insurers that are going to sidestep the issue by not insuring some transfers?”
“I appreciate the opportunity to clear this up,” Kurt said. “The title industry has continued to provide insurance on REO properties. Fidelity, the largest title insurer in the country, last week announced they would not insure any property on which they did not have an indemnity agreement with the bank that owned the property. That’s the first real restriction that I’ve seen on this REO market. “

In an effort to keep REO markets running smoothly, ALTA was working with Fannie, Freddie and lender groups to create an indemnity agreement. Kurt envisioned a handshake where the bank says to the title company: “I warrant that we have followed proper procedure foreclosing on this property. Should there by any issue surrounding the foreclosure, we’ll hold you harmless for the legal costs that you incur defending.”

However, last week the title industry came out against an industry-wide indemnity agreement, as the current operational and procedural review by the banks gave the title industry assurance this wasn’t necessary. As long as confidence in the chain of title can be obtained, title insurance would be insured sans indemnity waiver.

As this story unfolds, we may find overlays in the market depending on the title company and the banks that own the foreclosed properties. Investors who buy at the courthouse steps may find themselves in a position where a lender won’t provide a warranty if required and/or a title company that’s risk averse.

“Every title insurance company has a different appetite for risk. My guess is, if you’re persistent, you’re going to be able to find a title insurance company that’s comfortable with the risk,” Kurt said.

The talk then turns to Bruce’s inbox: “Every weekend I get an email about another lender no longer existing. So what happens to title insurance - let’s say there’s a warranty from a lender who no longer exists on Friday?”
Kurt explained that that it’s an issue individual title companies are considering. While there won’t be a one-size-fits-all solution, title insurers and lenders have equal interest in seeing the market work smoothly.
“And if a title insurance company goes upside down and you’re holding one of those policies?” Bruce asked.
“The title insurance industry is very strictly regulated as to its capital requirements,” Kurt said. “It’s a monoline insurance, meaning we can’t commingle the reserves for title insurance reserves with any other kind of reserves. It’s made the industry extraordinarily solvent even through this down cycle."
“I think you can say the title industry has been a regulatory success story, because it’s still around to provide the protection it promised.”
Bruce then asked about the effect of title insurance binders when exiting a property, and Kurt explained that they provide a company standing behind your ownership claim.
“There’s always some grey area in the law, some nuance to the law and its application,” Kurt said. “I think what that does is give future owners or lenders confidence that the collateral or the property is there. And that’s the whole benefit of this system. Without those guarantees commerce doesn’t move around as quickly.”
In recent months, stories have circulated in the media regarding foreclosed homeowners breaking into their former houses and taking possession. “We know of several cases where a trustee sale buyer buys on the courthouse steps, fixes up the house, and the previous owner attempts to move back in,” Bruce said. “Then these guys are getting sued for quiet title actions. Had they had policies, that legal indemnification would kick in and there would be attorneys from the insurance world protecting their interest. Is that accurate?”
“Exactly right,” Kurt said. “And more importantly, there probably would have been due diligence done to discover any flaws or potential claims against the title prior to getting mugged by it.”
Kurt said it best when he said the real benefit of this insurance is peace of mind. You know what you have is yours. Somebody has done a very thorough job in establishing that - and in the unlikely case it’s challenged - you have somebody there to handle the claim.

ECONOMY AND THE VOTE
This week is one big week for the markets. Since Sept 21st at the conclusion of the FOMC meeting when the Fed announced it was prepared to buy more treasuries the bond and mortgage markets have had a yo-yo ride. On the announcement it set up a big move lower in rates taking the 10 yr down 40 basis points, then markets began to see an easing move as a step to increase inflation and the bond and mortgage markets turned and now sit about where interest rates were prior to the FOMC meeting. On Wednesday the FOMC will actually announce what the Fed intends. Unless there is some form of shock and awe the Fed's easing move may simply be another failed attempt to revive the housing markets and the economy.
Economic data ends the week with the employment report on Friday. In the meantime the data calendar has key data ;points everyday this week except Tuesday, election day. The election is the least of the issues this week as there is little doubt Republicans will take the House but likely not the Senate. Talk of grid-lock with the change in Congress; normally considered good, grid-lock this time is something to avoid with the economy barely holding on. Nothing expected from the elections until January when the new Congress gets underway, in the meantime the lame duck Congress is all about scrambling the eggs. Extending the tax cuts coming at the end of the year is the main event.
Difficult to predict how the bond market will take the FOMC policy statement on Wednesday, in the meantime the rate markets will likely stay about where they are. Friday's Oct employment report is expected with just 60K non-farm private job growth and the unemployment rate unchanged at 9.6%. Unless job growth exceeds 100K a month it doesn't even cover the new entries in the job market let alone those that have lost jobs in the recession.