Go Back to School...For Free!

Go Back to School...For Free!

As unemployment rises, many adults are heading back to the classroom to retool their skills or learn about new industries. Here are some great tips for getting that education for free.

Scholarships...

Many scholarships don't have age limits, which makes anyone eligible to apply. Check out www.Fastweb.com and www.SuperCollege.com to search for available scholarships.

Professional and Trade Organizations...

Local and national professional and trade organizations often offer grants and scholarships. For instance, The San Diego Foundation (http://www.sdfoundation.org/grant/) has several scholarships for adults. Begin by doing an Internet search for your particular locale and specialty. You can also contact your local Chamber of Commerce to see if they have any information on local grants and scholarships.

Colleges and Universities...

Many schools offer scholarships created especially for adults who are returning to school. Check a school's individual Web site or contact the admissions office for details.

The Government...

Individual states may also provide grants to help people attend re-training programs that they sponsor. Information and links can be found at www.careeronestop.org. In addition, the Obama administration has launched www.opportunity.gov to help unemployed adults return to college. The site includes information on a variety of federal student aid programs.

Employers...

A large number of employers still offer tuition assistance, especially if you can show how the educational program will help your job performance. For adults who want to return to school while they are still working, this is another avenue to consider.

The Bottom Line...

With a little research and a little effort, returning to school may be a whole lot easier...and a whole lot cheaper...than you think!

Look who's getting fancy with the graphs.....

IT'S THE THOUGHT THAT COUNTS...OR IS IT? As we look back at last week, think about this for starters - the housing industry received some welcome good news, as Existing Home Sales came in better than anticipated, and marking the third straight month that Existing Home Sales have increased. And perhaps even better, the supply of unsold homes on the market dropped from the prior reading of 9.8 months down to 9.4 months - which is the best level seen in over a year. With home loan rates still at low levels and homes priced to sell - this is a great time for potential homebuyers to stop thinking, and go ahead and take some action.

Despite that bright spot of news, last week's Consumer Sentiment report - which measures consumers' attitudes and expectations concerning both present and future economic conditions - showed that consumers still think the economy has a ways to go, as the report did come in a bit weaker than anticipated. According to the report last week, Consumer Sentiment came in at 66 for the month of July, down from June's reading of 70.8. Take a look at the chart below for an interesting historical perspective on this report.

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Chart: Consumer Sentiment (University of Michigan)

And one of the major reasons for the decline in Consumer Sentiment was ongoing concern over unemployment - and last week, Initial Jobless Claims reportedly rose by 554,000. While this number was high, it was essentially in-line with expectations of 557,000.

The big news that many headlines featured was the number of Continuing Claims, which fell from 6.31 million the prior week to 6.22 million. And although this drop was reported as positive news, we need to remember that a large number of people are still unable to find jobs, but are no longer being counted in Continuing Claims because their unemployment benefits have expired. The bottom line is that it will be hard for the economy to really turn higher with momentum until the labor market starts to turn around.

Stocks had a good week, with the Dow closing above 9,000 on Thursday for the first time since January 6th, as well as finishing the week with its strongest two-week span for blue chips since 2000. Since Stocks moving higher can drain money away from Bonds, the rally in Stocks - combined with the announcement of next week's Treasury's auction of $115 Billion in Notes - put selling pressure on Bonds toward the end of the week. Despite some volatile mid-week action, home loan rates closed out the week near the level where they had begun the week.

After a heavy dose of corporate earnings reports for the past few weeks, the week ahead will hold quite a few economic reports for traders to chew on. This week starts off with a report on New Home Sales, which is expected to rise modestly from June's reading of 342,000 to 355,000. Particularly following last week's decent Existing Home Sales Report - this will be one to watch closely. Production and manufacturing will also be big headlines in the news this week. Durable Goods Orders, which is considered a leading indicator of manufacturing activity, could move the market mid-week - while Gross Domestic Product (GDP), which measures the total production and consumption of goods and services in the US, is due at the end of the week. The GDP read is expected to come in at -1.5% for the second quarter, which would mark an improvement over the previous quarter's reading of -5.5%. The Chicago Purchasing Managers Index is also due out at the end of the week, and although this report only surveys 200 purchasing managers in the Chicago area, it's used by traders to help predict the more important national Institute of Supply Managers Report, which is a leading indicator of economic health. The Employment Cost Index rounds out the week, which gives an indication of total labor costs - and it has the potential to move the markets if it doesn't come in close to last quarter's reading of 0.3%. What industry experts are really looking for in this report are wage trends that indicate wage inflation and price pressures...and given the continued weakness in the labor market combined with fears of future inflation, you can bet Traders will be keyed in on this report. Finally, the markets may be impacted by the Treasury Department's auction of $115 Billion in Notes this week. This auction was just announced last week and will be held in addition to the $90 Billion worth of T-Bills that are usually auctioned on a weekly basis. Just the announcement of the auction weighed on the entire Bond market last week, and could continue to be a factor this week depending on how well the additional supply hitting the market is received. Remember: Weak economic news normally causes money to flow out of Stocks and into Bonds, helping Bonds and home loan rates improve, while strong economic news normally has the opposite result. As you can see in the chart below, Mortgage Bonds traded higher early last week, but were pushed lower last Thursday after the Treasury announced a record $115 Billion in auctions. Chart: Fannie Mae 4.5% Mortgage Bond (Friday Jul 24, 2009)

INFLATION, ALL WE NEVER WANTED...!

Or so the Go-Go's song "Vacation - All I Ever Wanted" could have been re-written this week, as whispers and glimmers of future inflation as well as some positive economic news roiled the Bond market. Overall, home loan rates worsened by about .25% across the board.

Inflation at both the wholesale and consumer level came in hotter than expected via the Producer Price Index (PPI) and Consumer Price Index (CPI) reports, the latter shown in the chart below. The Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose by more than expected, and was the biggest increase in a year, mostly due to higher gasoline prices.

However, a look back over the past year shows a drop in overall CPI of 1.4%...why is this? It was a year ago that a barrel of oil was $147, and today that barrel stands at $60, up from the $30 range seen earlier this year. But even when stripping out food and energy, the most recent Core CPI rose 0.2%, higher than the 0.1% anticipated - and year-over-year, Core CPI prices were up 1.7% after rising 1.8% in the 12 months ended in May. On the wholesale side, even excluding volatile food and fuel prices, Core PPI rose quite a bit more than anticipated as well. And remember, inflation is bad for Bonds and home loan rates. If this trend continues, it could have a big impact on rates later this year.

Bay Area Home Sales Rise Again

The number of homes sold in the Bay Area in April was higher than a year ago for the eighth month in a row while the median price fell 41.3 percent to $304,000 as bargainpriced foreclosures continue to dominate the market.

While the median prices is down significantly from a year ago, it edged up slightly on a month-to-month basis for the first time in almost two years, said the report released Thursday by MDA DataQuick Information Systems.

In April, a total of 7,139 new and resale houses and condominiums closed escrow in the Bay Area, a 12.9 percent increase from March and a 13.1 percent gain from March 2008. The 13.1 percent year-to-year gain for home sales is significantly smaller than the 29.1 percent year-toyear gain reported for March home sales.

Last month's median price was 4.8 percent higher than in March, the first time there was a month-to-month gain since October 2007, when the median price increased 1
percent from September 2007.

From March to February and from March to April, the median sales price reflected a 1.7 percent drop, compared to an average month-to-month decline of almost 5 percent in the 12 months ending in January 2009.

"When you see units up and prices going up it points toward stabilization and it's very encouraging," said Rick Turley, president of Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage in the Bay Area.

A lower concentration of discounted foreclosure resales helps explain why the median sales price has begun to stabilize, the DataQuick report said.

That said, Turley and other real estate observers expect more foreclosures to come onto the market in the coming months now that temporary foreclosure moratoriums have ended. More foreclosures could drag down median prices, which is the point at which half of homes sell for more and half sell for less.

In April, 47.4 percent of existing home sales in the Bay Area involved properties that had been foreclosed upon at some point in the last 12 months, compared to 50.2 percent in March and 52 percent in February.

Turley pointed out that the recent slowdown in foreclosure sales is likely the result of foreclosure moratoriums that were in place until the end of March. Now that the moratoriums have been lifted, expect to see more foreclosed properties to be put on the market, he said.

"We will see more. They are being released more. There was a buildup," he said.

As far as April home sales that closed, Turley said the low-end market is the strongest in the Bay Area.

"We are seeing that the lower-end market is really on fire," he said. "Multiple offers are being made on the low-end of the market due to lots of well-priced distressed properties and historically low interest rates."

As far as higher-priced properties go, Turley said he is seeing pending sales activity for homes in wealthy areas of the Peninsula such as Portola Valley, Atherton and Hillsborough. In the East Bay, Orinda, Danville and Montclair are also seeing pending sales activity for high end properties.

"For the past few months we've seen faint but growing signs that would normally suggest many markets are nearing price stabilization. But we'll need to see those vital signs continue to strengthen into the fall. Job losses and historically high foreclosures levels continue to pose serious threats to housing stability," DataQuick President John Walsh said in a statement.

Inventory levels are tightening up in markets such as Brentwood, Livermore, Walnut Creek and Pleasant Hill, where the median sales price is in the range of $400,000 to $500,000, said Jeff Sposito, president of J.Rockcliff Realtors, an East Bay real estate brokerage. Inventory levels are a measure of the time it would take for homes to be sold in a particular area.

Back in November, inventory levels in those cities ranged from 12 to 14 months whereas now they are in the four to five-month range, Sposito said.

Steve Dhillon, a Realtor with the Fremont office of RE Realty Experts, said inventory levels are down compared to few months ago. Lower inventory helps explains recent price stabilization, he said.

In January, there were 130 foreclosed homes for sale in the Tri-City area of Fremont, Union City, Newark. In April, that number was 85.

"Inventory is low and what I'm also finding is more buyers are entering the market" to take advantage of lower interest rates, low home prices and tax credits for buying homes, he said. "In a year or so, people will look back and think that was a great time to buy," Dhillon said.

By Eve Mitchell Staff Writer Bay Area News Group
Source: Contra Costa Times, May 21, 2009

Preparing For Your House Hunt: A Buyer's Checklist

Buying a home is one of life’s most important decision and exciting adventures, but there’s much more to it than picking out the perfect floor plan. Even experienced buyers can find the process a bit complex and overwhelming. That’s why the time you spend preparing yourself before you start your search can be the best investment you makein your new home. As a buyer, it’s important to know the potential pitfalls and stumbling blocks that may pop up during your path to homeownership success. A decision you make now could down the road cause difficulties, delays, or worse, the realization that you made the wrong choice. So here are some things to keep in mind before and during your search:

• Do the math and establish your purchasing power.
Before you start cruising the neighborhood for open houses, you need to know which driveways you can afford to pull into. Meet with a lender who will help you determine which type of financing (fixed rate, adjustable, interest only etc.) will work best for you and how much you qualify for with each type. Also, getting pre-approved can put you in a much stronger negotiating position because it shows the seller that you are a committed buyer.

• Make a timeline.
As the old proverb says, “he who fails to plan, plans to fail.” Sit down with a calendar and set up your goals for the months leading up to your potential move date. Plan on getting pre-approved for a loan and looking for an agent three to four months in advance. The next two or three months will be spent looking for a house and the details of your actual move will be made in the few weeks before moving day. By setting up a timeline for yourself, you are more likely to stay organized, on task and goal oriented.

• Start surfing.
One of the most important tools you’ll need for your house hunt can be found right in your own home or office—the Internet. The majority of homes on the market are listed somewhere on the Internet because real estate agents know the majority of people turn to the Web first when looking for a new home. And why not? With just a few clicks of a mouse, buyers can see pictures, take virtual tours and map out locations for homes that contain features they specifically search for. Start looking on websites like AgentLevy.com, CaliforniaMoves.com, Realtor.com, Trulia.com and Zillow.com for homes that fit your particular criteria. You can register for e-mail alerts to have homes sent to you and your agent so he/she can investigate further.

• Location, location, location.
One can make a list of pros and cons for nearly every home in every neighborhood. That’s why it’s important to narrow your search before you start touring every house in town. Decide what neighborhoods work best for you and your family. Check out school districts, shopping and dining,public transportation, recreational areas and crime statistics.

• List your priorities and prepare to compromise.
The dream home you have pictured in your mind might not exist in reality—or at least not in your neighborhood or price range. Unless you are building a home from the ground up, there are often compromises involved in deciding on a property. So, you may have to sacrifice that extra large bathtub or redwood deck in order to get the home located near your child’s school that has the four bedrooms you require. Make a list of the features you are looking for in a house and rate them on a scale of one to five, with five being a feature you can’t live without. Then, bring your list with you as you tour homes to keep score.

• Would you like French doors with that?
Once you’ve found a home you like, consider the costs of upgrades, repairs or remodels and factor those in to your short or long term budgets. Remember that upgrades may add value to your new home. So it may be worth the extra expense up front, if you are planning on selling your home in the foreseeable future. Given the current buyer’s market, there may be no time like the present to purchase a home. In many markets, home prices have stabilized and in some cases even increased. So the perfect time to buy has likely come and to wait much longer could put you at risk of missing out on great deals and excellent inventory. With this checklist and the right market conditions, you are well on the road to home happiness!

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Clarifying the tax credit - up to $8000!
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