INSERT INTO `newsdeta` ( `StoryId` , `Category` , `Title` , `BriefDetails` , `Details` , `OriginalDate` , `FullURL` , `adddate` ) VALUES ( 'http://www.fxstreet.com/education/fundamental/lessons-from-the-pros-the-broad-market/2009-12-02.html', 'fundamental', 'Habitat for Humanity - It\'s not a Handout, it\'s a Hand Up', 'I\'m sitting here at my desk writing this article on the afternoon of November 24, two days before Thanksgiving. There are certainly many topics we could explore, but I can\'t stop thinking about giving and gratitude. I was reminded today by our local Rotary that we are the most generous nation in the world. I have chosen to write my article this week on \"Habitat for Humanity.\" This is my subtle way of combining real estate and charitable giving. I\'ve donated to Habitat for Humanity for at least


', 'I\'m sitting here at my desk writing this article on the afternoon of November 24, two days before Thanksgiving. There are certainly many topics we could explore, but I can\'t stop thinking about giving and gratitude. I was reminded today by our local Rotary that we are the most generous nation in the world. I have chosen to write my article this week on \"Habitat for Humanity.\" This is my subtle way of combining real estate and charitable giving.

I\'ve donated to Habitat for Humanity for at least a decade, always feeling a connection with the organization since it was based on providing housing. But in doing a little research to write this article, I have now become a lifelong fan. This charity is run as all should be. It\'s not a handout, it\'s a hand up.

The concept that grew into Humanity International was born at Koinonia Farm, a small, interracial, Christian community outside of Americus, GA. After visiting Koinonia Farms in 1965, Millard and Linda Fuller left behind a successful business and an affluent lifestyle to begin a new life of purpose and Christian service. The Fullers, along with the founder of Koinonia Farms, Biblical scholar and farmer Clarence Jordan, developed the concept of \"partnership housing.\" The concept centered on those in need of adequate shelter working side by side with volunteers to build decent, simple homes.

The homes are built at no profit and interest is not charged on loans. Building costs are financed by a revolving fund called \"The Fund for Humanity.\" The fund\'s money comes from the new homeowner\'s house payments, no interest loans provided by supporters and money earned by fundraising activities.

The thought and the mission behind \"Fund for Humanity\" was simply that the poor don\'t need charity, they needed capital; they don\'t need caseworkers, they needed coworkers; and the rich needed a wise, and honorable way to divest themselves of their over-abundance. So in 1968, 42 half-acre home sites with four acres reserved for a community park and recreation area were set out. Capital was donated from around the country to start the work. Homes were built and sold to families in need at no profit and with no interest loans; hence, the basic model was created.

Habitat for Humanity\'s mission statement is as follows:

\"Habitat for Humanity works in partnership with God and people everywhere, from all walks of life, to develop communities with people in need by building and renovating houses so that there are decent homes in decent communities in which every person can experience God\'s love and can live and grow into all that God intends.\"

Habitat for Humanity has built over 300,000 homes around the world, providing more than 1.5 million people with a decent, affordable home in a safe community. Habitat for Humanity now operates in 90 countries and in all 50 states of the United States. Its board is made up of many impressive individuals. The chairman, Ron Terwilliger, is a national partner of Trammell Crow Residential, one of the nation\'s leading developers for over 60 years; that speaks volumes.

I have also heard (and had myself) a couple of misconceptions about Habitat.

Habitat houses reduce a neighborhood\'s property values. Housing studies show affordable housing has no adverse effect on neighborhood property values. In fact, Habitat houses have proven to increase property values and local government tax income.

Habitat for Humanity gives houses away to poor people. Habitat for Humanity offers homeownership opportunities to families who are unable to obtain conventional house financing. Generally, this includes those whose income is 30 to 50 percent of the area\'s median income. In most cases, prospective Habitat homeowner families make a $500 down payment. Additionally, they contribute 300 to 500 hours of \"sweat equity\" on the construction of their home or someone else\'s home. Because Habitat houses are built using donations of land, material and labor, mortgage payments are kept affordable.

Habitat for Humanity was founded by former U.S. President Jimmy Carter. Former President Carter and his wife Rosalynn (whose home is eight miles from Habitat\'s headquarters and where it was founded), have been longtime Habitat supporters and volunteers who helped bring national attention to the organization\'s house-building work. Each year, they lead the Jimmy Carter Work Project to help build houses and raise awareness of the need for affordable housing.

In this season, I encourage you all to find a way to give back; there is no better feeling.

', 'Thu, 03 Dec 2009 06:54:58 GMT', 'http://www.fxstreet.com/education/fundamental/lessons-from-the-pros-the-broad-market/2009-12-02.html', NOW() )

INSERT INTO `newsdeta` ( `StoryId` , `Category` , `Title` , `BriefDetails` , `Details` , `OriginalDate` , `FullURL` , `adddate` ) VALUES ( 'http://www.fxstreet.com/education/fundamental/lessons-from-the-pros-the-broad-market/2009-11-25.html', 'fundamental', 'News on Homebuyer Tax Credit Extension and Expansion', 'On November 6, 2009, President Obama signed a bill to extend the tax credit for first-time homebuyers through June 30, 2010. The bill also opens up opportunities for others who are not buying a home for the first time. In this article, I\'ll give an overview of this tax credit. Once again, a first time homebuyer, someone who has not owned a home within the last three years may be eligible for the credit. The credit for the first time homebuyer is 10% of the purchase price of the home, with a


', 'On November 6, 2009, President Obama signed a bill to extend the tax credit for first-time homebuyers through June 30, 2010. The bill also opens up opportunities for others who are not buying a home for the first time. In this article, I\'ll give an overview of this tax credit.

Once again, a first time homebuyer, someone who has not owned a home within the last three years may be eligible for the credit. The credit for the first time homebuyer is 10% of the purchase price of the home, with a maximum available credit of $8000. Single taxpayers and married taxpayers filing a joint return may both qualify for the full tax credit.

A tax credit is a direct deduction in tax liability owed by an individual to the IRS. And, in the event the homebuyer owes no taxes they are then owed this credit, which means the IRS will issue a check for the amount of the tax credit. Unlike the tax credit that existed in 2008, this credit does not require repayment unless the home is sold at any time in the first 36 months, and is no longer the individual’s primary residence. However, if you are “qualified military personnel,” the 36 months does not apply.

Another change to the extension of the tax credit is the income cap. The amount of income someone can earn and qualify for the full amount of the credit has been increased. Single tax filers who earn up to $125,000 are eligible for the total credit amount. Those who earn more than this cap can receive a partial credit. However, single tax filers who earn $145,000 and above are ineligible. Joint tax filers who earn up to $225,000 are eligible for the total credit amount. As the joint tax filer, you may receive a partial credit if you earn above $225,000 but below $245,000. Over $245,000 you become ineligible.

The new deadlines are as follows: To be qualified for the credit, all contracts need to be in effect no later than April 30, 2010, and they must close no later than June 30, 2010. If the buyer is “qualified military personnel,” the deadline is April 30, 2011.

The maximum allowed home purchase price is $800,000, which won’t be as useful to move-up buyers in high-cost areas.

When and how does this affect a buyer’s 2009 and/or 2010 tax return? Another nice advantage of this extended credit is that the buyer can claim the credit on their 2009 taxes, even if the purchase is made in 2010.

A big addition to this bill is that of the tax credit for “qualified existing homeowners” to buy a new primary residence (or have one built). The homeowner must have owned their existing home for five of the last consecutive eight years. Second homes don’t qualify for the credit. The deadline, income qualifications and maximum allowed home price remain the same.

All of this is positive news for the housing market. The National Association of Realtors says that as many as 400,000 resale transactions (1.2 million for both new and resale homes) were completed at this point in the year because of the first-time buyer credit.

The one big concern I had when reviewing the tax credit, its extension and expansion was how were “WE” going to pay for it. I was glad to see that President Obama in his speech on November 6th from the Rose Garden stated, “…now, it’s important to note that the bill I signed will not add to our deficit. It is fully paid for, and so it is fiscally responsible. It builds on the Recovery Act that’s already saved or created over 1 million jobs, and it will lead to even more in the weeks and months ahead.”

I have had students asked me, “How does this affect me as an investor?” If you have been in my class or heard me speak you know one of my biggest mantras – WHO IS YOUR END USER? If you are quick-turning (trading) properties, then this credit gives your end user an incentive to be a buyer now and get off the side lines.

', 'Wed, 25 Nov 2009 07:33:32 GMT', 'http://www.fxstreet.com/education/fundamental/lessons-from-the-pros-the-broad-market/2009-11-25.html', NOW() )

INSERT INTO `newsdeta` ( `StoryId` , `Category` , `Title` , `BriefDetails` , `Details` , `OriginalDate` , `FullURL` , `adddate` ) VALUES ( 'http://www.fxstreet.com/education/fundamental/lessons-from-the-pros-the-broad-market/2009-11-17.html', 'fundamental', 'Have We Seen the Bottom of the Commercial Real Estate Market?', 'As many of you know who have seen my presentation on the current residential real estate market, I think we\'ve hit a bottom for residential. I\'m also quick to say that the market may fluctuate downward a few more percentage points, but that the freefall is over and the market will remain somewhat flat for the next 12 months. This creates a great deal of opportunity. But what about the commercial real estate market; has it hit its bottom yet? There are two major factors that are impacting the


', 'As many of you know who have seen my presentation on the current residential real estate market, I think we\'ve hit a bottom for residential. I\'m also quick to say that the market may fluctuate downward a few more percentage points, but that the freefall is over and the market will remain somewhat flat for the next 12 months. This creates a great deal of opportunity.

But what about the commercial real estate market; has it hit its bottom yet? There are two major factors that are impacting the commercial market: Unemployment and the credit markets. Let\'s first take a look at unemployment and its effect.

The national unemployment rate in October reached 10.2% for the first time since 1983. October made 22 straight months that the nation\'s economy has shed jobs, the longest streak for 70 years. However, over the last three months, the number of jobs lost has been declining. Still, the mounting job losses affect the demand for commercial real estate space and pose a major concern for potential buyers. Job losses have an indirect effect on residential real estate because a job loss makes it hard for a person to pay the mortgage or buy a new home. But job losses directly impact commercial real estate. For example, companies that downsize require less office space and therefore, offices go vacant.

One of the biggest barriers to the commercial real estate market recovery, according to a LoopNet (a San Francisco-based operator of online commercial real estate services) survey, is a lack of access to debt financing.

Washington is aware of this issue and its impact on commercial real estate. Federal bank regulators have been working on issuing guidelines that would encourage lenders to rework troubled commercial real estate loans, leaving it easier for new loans to be made. The chairman of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), Sheila Bair, said, \"We are encouraging banks to restructure these (troubled) loans.\" The regulators are bracing for more bank failures, particularly the small banks that have high exposure to commercial real estate loans. Commercial real estate loans are the second largest loan type after home loans. More than half the $3.4 trillion in outstanding commercial real estate debt is held by these banks. Ms. Bair said, \"Failures in 2010 would likely track the levels in 2009,\" which has seen 98 banks collapse so far. Federal Reserve Governor, Daniel K. Tarullo, said, \"The loans seeing the most problems are construction and development loans, not investments on existing properties. One reason is that construction and development loans are likely not bringing in any income or revenue for the borrower, making it much easier to fall behind.\" So it\'s clear that the FDIC and Federal Reserve are being pro-active regarding this issue and hopefully, that will allow sound loans to continue to be made, but that is yet to be seen.

Values and the number of transactions have certainly suffered in 2009. There has been a steep decline in transaction volume during the first seven months of 2009; roughly $22.4 billion in commercial real estate properties have traded hands, about one fourth of the $99 billion in property sales during the same period in 2008, according to REO Capital Analysts of New York.

Investors report that property values have been hit hard. The hardest hit sector has been undeveloped land which reports a sharp 20.6% drop in valuations just over the past six months. The vast majority of investors anticipate that values will remain flat or experience a further decline over the next six months, with hotels the most likely to experience a decline in value, followed by office space, then by retail and lastly by mixed-use property. The most optimistic are apartment investors, as one in five expects values to begin increasing over the next six months.

There are signs that the investors that have been sitting on the sidelines because of the effects of the deep recession and the credit crunch are preparing to jump back into the commercial real estate market. Results of a recent online survey conducted by National Real Estate Investor newsletter and Marcus & Millichap Real Estate Investment Services found that slightly more than half the respondents (56%) plan to increase their commercial real estate investments within the next 12 months, up from 51% in the fall of 2008. The recent numbers show positive movement, and we\'re seeing more buyers and sellers wanting to execute transactions as the pricing gap begins to narrow.

\"The good news is that it looks like the worst is over,\" says Hessam Nadji, Managing Director at Marcus & Millichap. Typically, the commercial real estate sector lags behind the national economy by 6 to 9 months, Nadji notes. One encouraging factor is that there is a lot of capital on the sidelines. Once confidence improves, that capital returning to the economy should be very positive.

So if I was hard pressed to give you an answer to the question \"Has the commercial real estate market hit the bottom?\" I would have to say, not quite yet.

', 'Tue, 17 Nov 2009 13:29:24 GMT', 'http://www.fxstreet.com/education/fundamental/lessons-from-the-pros-the-broad-market/2009-11-17.html', NOW() )