The MERS Mess . . .

I'd be interested in your comments on a couple of videos from the guys at TkinkBigWorkSmall:

http://www.thinkbigworksmall.com/mypage/archive/1/53929

I have a message into my Title Officer to see whether MY CLIENTS who buy bank owned homes are protected by Title Insurance in the case of a broken chain of title. I'll let you know what she says. This would be for California which is not a judicial state. I don't know if that makes any difference in this or not. There is a law firm in Sacramento (I'm sure other places too), collecting clients who have been, or are in the process of being foreclosed upon to bring suit against their lending institutions. From what I hear, these cases have not been successful, it's leagal manuvering, but this HAS stalled transactions. (case in point - BofA has put a halt foreclosures in ALL 50 States). This has the potential to make a HUGE mess of the lending industry making it even harder and more expensive to get financing for our clients. NOT ONLY THAT, there is a bill before Congress (HR3808) that would indemnify Banks and mortgage processors from any liability in this "chain of title" mess. See this video from a couple of weeks ago too:

http://www.thinkbigworksmall.com/myp...chive/1/53413/

The videos explain things way better than I ever could. VERY interesting times. The story continues . . .

Existing Home Sales Plummet In December, But It Was Expected

Just one month after from blowing away Wall Street, December's Existing Home Sales hit the skids, shedding nearly 17 percent and falling to a 4-month low.

Don't be alarmed, though. The plunge was expected. And not just because Pending Home Sales cratered last month.

When November's Existing Home Sales surged, it was clear to observers that an expiring $8,000 federal tax credit was the catalyst. At the time, the tax program was slated to expire November 30 and the looming deadline pushed a lot of would-be buyers from a December time frame into November.

The expiration date has a cannibalizing effect on December's sales figures. It was only later that Congress extended the tax credit to June 30, 2010.

So, with home sales plunging in December, it's no surprise that home supplies rose for the first time in 9 months.  Home Supply is calculating by dividing the number of homes for sale by the current sales pace.

The national housing supply now rests at 7.2 months.

Despite December's Existing Home Sales report appearing shaky, it's actually terrific new for home buyers.

See, for the past few months, as housing has been improving, sellers nationwide have been bombarded by messages of "hot markets" and rising home prices by the media.  Psychologically, a seller is more likely to hold firm on price if he believes the housing market is improving and now December's data is deflating that argument.

This is why we say there's always two sides to a housing story -- the buyers' side and the sellers' side. And, usually, what's good for one party is bad for the other. It's what we're seeing now.

Because of soft data like December's Existing Home Sales, buyers may retake some negotiation leverage that's been lost since Spring 2009, helping to improve home affordability and, perhaps, spur more sales.