Buying a home or office is always been a major decision with several long-lasting implications. We cannot deny that the most important part of it, is its financial aspects. But because of the real estate broker’s help a buyer has successfully estimated and selected a right property to suit his or her needs.
Because of this reason, almost all buyers of real estate have enlist the services of a real estate license school agent or broker to help them with this complex procedure. A real estate agent is a person licensed by the state to handle real estate sales. While a real estate broker licensed by the estate, is the one that may own a real estate company, or is the one that has the overall responsibility for the agent’s actions.
A real estate agent may also require the services of a real estate appraiser to determine the fair market value of a home for sale. But in order for a real estate agents or broker to practice their professions on must take a real estate course then pass a real estate license exam.
Check out Texas real estate courses or visit the website www.celi-edu.com a provider of a convenient online home study courses specifically designed for people with busy schedules.
A person planning to start a training to become a real estate agents or broker, starts at the same point like other people planned to do so. Their big dreams, along with their hope that real estate will be the career for them.
The reason why real estate agents are successful in this field is because of there dicipline, eagerness to learn, strong people skills, and salesmanship. That is why if you really want to be a successful real estate agents as others do, do your own training and go above and beyond the requirements. If ever read books not only about your real estate courses, but also about those successful agents who can show you how to make money. There are lots of real estate brokers nowadays that never made it throught real estate because of their lack of personality, drive and commitment to the business itself.
But remember that before conducting any business, a real estate agent is first required to take an examination for real estate license. In most states, there are online training available to easily complete a pre-licensing requirements.
Check out the texas real estate license courses or visit the website www.celi-edu.com a provider of a convenient online home study courses specifically designed for people with busy schedules.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. - Bank of America said Friday it will buy Countrywide Financial for $4.1 billion in stock, a deal that rescues the country’s biggest mortgage lender and expands the financial services empire of the nation’s largest consumer bank.
The acquisition will make Charlotte-based Bank of America Corp. the nation’s biggest mortgage lender and loan servicer.
Bank of America said it initially plans to operate Countrywide separately under the Countrywide brand, with integration occurring no sooner than 2009.
The transaction represents a 7.5 percent discount to where Countrywide shares ended Thursday after they soared on news that a rescue plan was in the works. It also effectively leaves Bank of America with a big loss on its $2 billion August investment in Countrywide Financial Corp. during the height of the summer’s global credit crisis.
An aggressive dealmaker who has already snapped up behemoths FleetBoston Financial and MBNA, Bank of America chief executive Ken Lewis this time isn’t buying a financial winner. Delinquencies and loans in pending foreclosure are rising in Countrywide’s loan portfolio, and Lewis said Friday “there are near-term challenges” in the nation’s housing market.
But Countrywide’s troubles have allowed Lewis to sweep in and add a major business line to his supermarket of financial products on the cheap.
“Countrywide presents a rare opportunity for Bank of America to add what we believe is the best domestic mortgage platform at an attractive price and to affirm our position as the nation’s premier lender to consumers,” Lewis said in a statement.
It also places Lewis in the position of a market savior. By buying Countrywide, he’s keeping the industry and regulators from the messy task of figuring out who would take on the responsibility of collecting payments for the 9 million U.S. home loans serviced by the Calabasas, Calif.-based lender. Lewis said Friday there was no government support for Countrywide’s loan portfolio.
“There’s still plenty of risk involved,” said Bart Narter, senior analyst at Celent, a Boston-based financial research and consulting firm. “He’s brave to do it. But I think that it’s very likely down the road to be profitable, maybe not immediately, but long-term.”
There was no immediate work on job cuts, but analysts said they expect some among the ranks of Countrywide’s 15,000 employees. Lewis said he would like Countrywide chairman and chief executive Angelo R. Mozilo to stay with the combined companies until the deal is done.
“Angelo has told me that he will do anything that we want him to do,” Lewis said. “I would guess that he’ll want to go have some fun. I will talk with him next week about his personal desires. Many of the senior people will have big operating roles in this company.”
Shareholders of Countrywide will receive 0.1822 of a share of Bank of America stock in exchange for each share of Countrywide. The deal is expected to close in the third quarter and to be neutral to Bank of America earnings per share in 2008 and lift earnings per share in 2009, excluding buyout and restructuring costs.
Bank of America expects $670 million in after-tax cost savings in the transaction, or 11 percent of the expense base of the two companies’ mortgage operations.
The agreement has been approved by both companies’ boards and is subject to regulatory and Countrywide’s shareholders approval.
Shares in Countrywide hit record lows in recent days on persistent rumors that a bankruptcy was imminent, a condition brought on by the widespread spike in mortgage defaults and foreclosures, especially in subprime loans — those made to borrowers with weak credit.
Countrywide shares plummeted more than 13 percent, or $1.04, to $6.71 at the open of trading Friday. Bank of America shares fell 19 cents to $39.11.
Countrywide shares have fallen 57 percent since Bank of America made its $2 billion deal in August at $18 per share. That purchase of preferred stock was convertible into a common shares of Countrywide at $18 per share, for roughly a 16 percent stake in the company.
Along with the $2 billion investment from Bank of America, Countrywide was forced to draw on an $11.5 billion line of credit to steady itself in August. It also tightened its credit guidelines and stopped selling some types of adjustable rate loans. But analysts said it wasn’t enough, with one noting this week that Countrywide needed an infusion of $4 billion in capital within the next two weeks to save itself.
Lewis’ bank holds $1.5 trillion in assets and is the nation’s largest bank by market capitalization.
LOS ANGELES - Countrywide Financial Corp., its stock pummeled this week by rumors of bankruptcy and lackluster housing market forecasts, said Wednesday the percentage of borrowers who missed payments on home loans last month rose, signaling worsening trouble for the nation’s largest mortgage lender and for the entire mortgage sector.
The company also reported that it had funded $23.5 billion in loans in December — a steep decline from $42.8 billion in the year-ago period.
“Their new business is down roughly 50 percent,” said Sean Egan, managing director of independent ratings firm Egan-Jones Ratings Co. in Philadelphia.
“The market is fairly concerned whether the company is going to be able to correct the fundamental problems that it’s faced with,” he said.
The new figures drove Countrywide stock down by more than 15 percent at one point in the day before it recovered to end down 35 cents, or 6.4 percent, at $5.12.
The decline followed a loss of $2.17, or 28.4 percent, on Tuesday after the company denied rumors that a bankruptcy filing was imminent.
Wachovia Capital Markets analyst Jim Shanahan suggested Countrywide stock will remain volatile at least until the company reports its financial results for the fourth-quarter later this month.
Countrywide said some 6.96 percent of the loans in its servicing portfolio were delinquent last month, up from 5.02 percent in December 2006.
Loan delinquencies as a percentage of unpaid principal balances jumped to 7.20 percent from 6.52 percent.
About 1.04 percent of the mortgage loans were pending foreclosure, up from 0.65 percent.
The spike in loan delinquencies and pending foreclosures suggests many borrowers continue to struggle to make their payments, despite efforts touted by Countrywide to find ways to keep borrowers in homes.
Countrywide was among the major lenders involved in a Bush administration push to help homeowners with subprime loans avoid mortgage defaults by temporarily freezing their interest rates.
Falling or stagnant home prices, weak demand and a credit crunch following the subprime meltdown last summer has battered the mortgage sector and other financial institutions, leading to billions in losses.
“Mortgage quality is fast eroding and will continue to erode despite policy efforts to stem the surge in delinquency and foreclosure,” said Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody’s Economy.com.
Nearly 2 million adjustable-rate mortgages are expected to reset to sharply higher payments in the next two years. A weakening job market, particularly in the hard-hit Midwest, could also lead to more home loan defaults.
Countrywide said its loan fundings during December rose 1 percent from November, ahead of internal forecasts.
Average daily mortgage applications for December slipped from the year-ago period, however. Countrywide and some analysts attributed the dip to a typical seasonal decline.
“We are a little disappointed to see purchase activity not really reacting to lower home prices, but December is traditionally a weak month for purchase activity,” Frederick Cannon, an analyst with Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Inc., wrote in a research note.
Countrywide continued to shift away from risky subprime loans to people with shaky credit histories, with fundings totaling just $6 million last month, down from $3.73 billion in December 2006.
Home equity loan originations also declined last month to $1.26 billion, down 61.3 percent from $3.27 billion in the year-ago period.
Countrywide’s slate of adjustable rate mortgages fell by 75 percent to $3.68 billion, from $15.22 billion a year earlier.
In all, the lender originated 116,577 home loans in December, down from 212,566 in the year-ago period.
On a brighter note, deposits at Countrywide’s banking subsidiary rose by $2.3 billion in December. That money has become a key source of capital for loan funding since the collapse of the secondary market for mortgage-backed securities.
Management pointed to the bump in loan fundings and rising bank deposits as evidence the company was heading in the right direction.
“Our fourth quarter ended with a number of positive operational trends,” David Sambol, Countrywide’s president and chief operating office, said in a statement. “Management is pleased with the progress we have made in positioning the company to navigate the current challenging environment.”
Countrywide previously reported a $1.2 billion loss for the third quarter of last year, but management forecast a profitable fourth quarter and 2008.
Analysts polled by Thomson Financial are estimating Countrywide will post a fourth-quarter profit of 12 cents per share on revenue of $1.9 billion.
Egan-Jones warned in a report on Tuesday that the lender is on precarious financial footing, contending it could fail unless it gets an infusion of $4 billion in capital within the next two weeks.
Unprecedented real estate development in Graham County continued through 2007.
In the unincorporated areas of the county, 17 subdivisions are in various phases of the approval process, according to information from the Graham County Planning and Zoning Department. Four of those developments were eventually annexed into either the town of Pima or Safford.
Orchard Park and Alder Heights Phase 1 were annexed into Pima after receiving final plat approval from the Graham County Board of Supervisors. Alder Heights Phase 2 was annexed into Pima after receiving pre-plat approval.
Montana Vista Estates was annexed into Safford after it received final plat approval from the Board of Supervisors.
The remaining 13 developments include Sierra del Sol, a 6,432-unit master plan development proposed by Silver-Prina LLC. The development is planned for a 1,700-acre site south of Safford and will be geared to retirees.
The conceptual plan for Sierra del Sol includes trails, parkways, a golf course and commercial property in addition to the residential development.
Ted Prina of Silver-Prina LLC said in March that the preliminary plat could be ready for consideration by the Graham County Planning and Zoning Commission in about eight months.
The county is not alone in grappling with the challenges of residential growth.
The city of Safford issued a record number of permits and completed a record number of building inspections during 2007.
Through Nov. 30, Safford issued 196 permits for single-family houses with a total value of $20.421 million, and 33 commercial permits were issued with a total value of $10.574 million.
A combined total of 297 building permits for residential and commercial projects with a valuation of $32.338 million were issued by the Safford Building Department during the first 11 months of 2007 — the most current information available.
In comparison, only 144 permits with a total value of $20.289 million were issued during the same time period in 2006, according to statistics provided by the city.
To keep pace with the new construction in Safford, the Building Department has increased the number of building inspections it conducts. As of Nov. 30, 2,397 building inspections were conducted, compared to 2,156 during the first 11 months of 2006.
Reader Comments
retired realtor wrote on Jan 5, 2008 10:57 PM:
” Looking Forward… record real estate development in county fails to find record new home buyers in 2008. Lots of vacant lots and filed permits but few completed and occupied homes and sub-divisions. “
If taking an examination for your licensing , you should always be prepared for any test format because test format can change at any time. Though you can may say that most estate test comes in a multiple choice. The test will either be one part or broken into two parts. If the test you take comes in two parts, one part will generally cover key points and the other will get into specifics.
If you really want to pursue this real estate career, the first step is finding out how to take the licensing test and how to prepare for it. Once you obtain your real estate license you are now on your way to an exciting career.
Check out Texas real estate courses and real estate appraisal license courses for courses offered or visit the website www.celi-edu.com a provider of a convenient online home study courses specifically designed for people with busy schedules.
At their annual Christmas event, Realtors with the Black Hills Association of Realtors donated $7,610.00 to two local charities.
The donations were presented to the Rapid City Club for Boys and the Meals On Wheels program.
The Realtors had a cash contribution for event attendance and held a silent auction with more than 50 auction items donated by various Realtor firms, individual Realtors, or affiliate members.
A realtor, showing a house Saturday morning, discovered someone living inside the home.The realtor told police a young man came out of a locked bedroom and said his friend had permitted him to stay at the house. He then left the home on foot.
There was a lawn chair inside the house and several items discarded in a toilet.
The realtor said the “polite” man left behind garbage, soiled clothes and a “foul” smell.
The test for taking a real estate license is administered by a state agency and the name of the actual test varies form state to state. For you to determine your estate exam licensing procedure, you should go to your testing agency. Because before you can take the test, there are many variations on requirements like age, background and education.
If education is required you should find out the specifics about this requirement. In some states college course work is required, while other estate only requires you a special real estate courses.
You can now save some of your valuable time and complete an entire course from your home or office instead of sitting in a classroom for countless hours. Check out home inspection training courses and irrigation home study course or visit the website www.celi-edu.com for more information.
Investors from the financial industry are helping establish a new $16 million fund that will address foreclosures, help revitalize neighborhoods and increase housing opportunities for families in the Twin Cities.
US Bank, Wells Fargo, TCF Bank and Thrivent Financial announced Tuesday that they are investing in the Family Housing Fund’s new loan program called the Home Prosperity Fund.
The fund will, in part, provide money to assist organizations working in neighborhoods threatened by foreclosure. They will acquire vacant, boarded homes to repair and sell to responsible owners.
The new loan will also help create new affordable housing opportunities in the metro and provide gap loans to families so they can afford to buy a home.
The Home Prosperity Fund has initial investments of $16 million with a goal of reaching $50 million by 2012.
The Dayton’s Bluff Neighborhood Housing Services, Greater Metropolitan Housing Corp., Twin Cities Habitat for Humanity and the Minneapolis/St. Paul HOME Program have been awarded the first loans from the Home Prosperity Fund.
The Family Housing Fund is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to provide safe, affordable, sustainable homes to families and children in the Twin Cities through ongoing partnerships with the public and private sector.