X-Paste Toothpaste Dispenser

know this has nothing to do with Real Estate or Mortgages but I think that it is such a cool gadget that it was worth sharing.  I have seen it around the net, but never able to buy one.  Finally I found it on Ebay and ordered one. 

It is a Toothpaste Dispenser designed by X-Paste.  It is made of a high quality chrome and functions with ease.  Installation was a piece of cake.  Simply took it out of the box and pressed the suction cups on my tile wall.  I then inserted my favorite toothpaste and it worked like magic.

My bathroom looks so nice and clean and when it comes to brushing your teeth, all you do is pickup your toothbrush and insert it in the base of the unit and press until you get the desired amount of toothpaste.  It really makes things simple.  I can’t understand why it has take so long for someone to invent this.  I would think that all of us thought of this at some point or another.  If you want one check out the link below.

I did check out TouchandBrush and will take your order but never deliver the product.  It also seems to be in a cheap ABS imitation.  Make sure your stay away from that site.  Their customer service will tell you its on order and should be in anytime now.  I ended up waiting for over 3 months and they still don’t have it.

Since the news on February 13 that the President signed into law the Economic Stimulus Act of 2008 which included a "temporary" increase in the conforming loan limits of Fannie and Freddie everyone has hoped that it would be a major boost to the Real Estate market.  So far it seems to be the big disappointment that I expected.

I have spoken to 5 wholesale representatives of major lenders and they say volume is not there.  The main reason is that rates start around 7.25% and nobody is buying.  Most of the loans that were originated with the old Wall Street programs were priced just around .25 to .375 above the conforming loan programs.  Based on todays market that should give you a jumbo loan rate of about 6 to 6.25% as of 4/17/08.  Currently the difference in rates between a conforming loan and a Jumbo loan are over one full percent or more.  Who wants to buy in this market when the rate is high and prices are dropping.  

I think that they need to bring back stated programs for the self employed at a rate that is only .25 to .375 above the conforming rate.  Keep the stringent credit score requirements and lower the down payment required to around 10%.  Most lenders now require 20% for stated income loans and this creates a hardship on the most buyers in todays market with the prices of homes were they are.  I am not saying that they should go back to the way things were but the new model is not going to work.  What is more likely to happen based on the current programs available to consumers in the higher price range is that they will just sit out and wait till the market drops some more.   This will eventually lead to the Economic Stimulus Act of 2008 being nothing more that a paper weight on the "desk" of our economy.   The word "temporary" will definitely have been appropriate.

As Posted in the New York Times

"Although many Southern metropolitan areas have high percentages of subprime mortgages, homeowners in those areas have largely been able to pay their bills, so subprime foreclosure rates are low.

Not so in the Rust Belt, where subprime mortgages are less common but foreclosure rates are sky-high, mostly a result of rising unemployment.

And overbuilding in regions of Florida, California and other states with housing bubbles lured overeager residents to become speculators, buying up many homes with the expectation that their values would rise. Getting subprime loans was all too easy.

But paying the loans as housing prices fall is all too hard, and many economists believe that foreclosures will continue to rise.

“The collapse will affect other markets, like New York, Boston and D.C.,” said Dean Baker, co-director of the Center for Economic and Policy Research. “Suburban areas near those cities are already seeing prices plunge.” "

I think that this article is premature and most people are hanging on by a thread.   What has happened historically is that lower income areas are hit first and the hardest.  For example, in Southern California, Riverside and San Bernardino have already felt the impact of the foreclosures and the market in general has seen a 30-45% drop in prices.  This will gradually move into Los Angeles county  and then migrate up into the higher end market. 

Property values in South Bay are near Torrance, Redondo have already seen some 15-30% drops.  The prices will continue to drop until 2010 and then remain flat until at least 2013.

FHA raised its loan limits for single family residence to $729,750. 

What does this mean to you? 

For most of California this will have little impact.  The primary reason is that the underwriting guidelines are more strict than loans in the lower price range.  FHA is accepting larger loan amounts but the guidelines require better scores, more down and tougher appraisals.  Furthermore, FHA loans are full doc only.  The higher percentage of loans closed in California above $500,000 were done through stated income product with little or no money down.  Those same loans are currently facing reduced property values which will not meet the FHA loan to value guidelines.  

The pressure becomes two fold.  The property values are upside down and the consumer can’t qualify based on full doc programs.  The government has acted two little two late in fixing this mess.  The  fix  will come from  the  market  itself.

There will be some that have the good fortune to benefit from this change.  A few in the higher price range and most in the lower price range between $300-550K.   In addition units  will see a  nice  bust  in  needed  loan  flexibility.

Reuters reported that Countrywide Financial Corp the largest U.S. mortgage lender was being investigated by the FBI for possible securities fraud.  Share followed by dropping 14 percent to a 13-year low on Monday.

Bank of America Corp, No. 2 U.S. bank, will move still continue forward with its roughly $3.7 billion acquisition of Countrywide regardless of the news.  Investors showed concern that Bank of America may cancel its purchase, but when all said and done it is still expected to conclude by end of third quarter.

Scott Silvestri, a Bank of America spokesman, said Monday: "The transaction is on track."

Countrywide, based in Calabasas, California, is currently in battles on several lawsuit fronts and regulatory compliance issues. 

Countrywide in my opinion will become a memory soon, but not before it become a time bomb for Bank of America.  Sure Bank of America is strong and has deep pockets, but will it be worth it for them in the long run.  Knowing first hand how poorly Bank Of America has handled its Wholesale department in the past, they had better not make the same mistake again.  Bank of America invested the first 2 Billion into Countrywide knowing that they would soon be up for grabs.  Countrywide has a great infrastructure that has made them the bohemian that they are.  I am sure that Bank of America will make the same mistake with Countrywide that they did with its own Wholesale division.  In the end they will dilute any benefit that Countrywide’s current systems have and end up with only the tax write-offs.