The Committee for Stabilizing America’s Neighborhoods

PAC

Re: The Committee for Stabilizing America’s Neighborhoods

The Board of Directors of Paradigm Default Services and The Mercury Alliance, the two companies which are operated by my partners, Ruben and Tiana Estrada and I, have approved an initial expenditure of $5,000 to initiate and form, a new political action committee (PAC) to offer guidance to lawmakers and the new administration about stabilizing America’s neighborhoods. “The Committee for Stabilizing America’s Neighborhoods” is a broad based coalition of Realtors, Realtists and others interested and connected to the practice of residential real estate and those involved in the housing business. This PAC has been established and registered in Washington. The Committee wants to share what we know and think of how the assaults on the viability of our neighborhoods might best be mitigated. Of course, the Committee’s purview will include suggestions as to the implementation of the “bail out”, suggestions on how the administration of a new RTC-like infrastructure (TARP) might better manage the disposition of assets from failed federally-guaranteed institutions and our belief that Realtors stand to assist their neighborhoods as the best disposition avenue.

Additionally, the Committee will recommend liquidation channels which are supportive of neighborhoods as opposed to auction sales at fire-sale pricing which serve only to exacerbate losses and further downward price spirals. Throughout the history of our country, America’s developing neighborhoods have been well supported and represented by its’ licensed real estate professionals who work and live in these very neighborhoods.

The Committee intends to leverage relationships to force corporate absentee property owners to fulfill tax, assessment and property maintenance responsibilities. The Committee supports education to ensure that loss mitigation alternatives are offered and understood in the same manner, and to the same degree, that RESPA has attempted to inform homebuyers of salient loan details.

We expect to be loud and pro-active in recommending that Federal disposition programs do nothing further to undermine fragile communities and neighborhoods under stress. The Committee hopes to propose and gain support from lenders of a Pledge to Stabilize American Neighborhoods thereby ensuring that the necessary standard of care in the maintenance of bank-owned assets helps to stabilize our neighborhoods as the stakeholder and neighbor the bank or servicer has now become.

The Committee believes that Realtors should play a prominent role in the disposition of assets acquired by the Government. We want to see the government committed to allowing open access for all experienced real estate service providers and not just the well-connected government contractor lobby because they are experts at government contracting and bidding.

No doubt there may, and will likely be, other initiatives and concerns added to our agenda over time. Our PAC is not a one election platform.

If you believe as we that the time is clearly here for us to stand and be counted, please pass this invitation letter to fellow associates who may be interested in having a small part in working toward improving the future of America’s neighborhoods.

Today is the first day of our initiative to stabilize America and its neighborhoods! And we are now collecting contributions for this use.

Note: On Wednesday, November 5, 2008, Ruben and I and L. J. Jennings of the NAREB have a meeting with the Honorable James Lockhart III, Director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, Office of the Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight (OFHEO) who supervises the activities of both FannieMae and FreddieMac. Additionally, we have requested meetings with the Director of the FDIC, the presidents of FannieMae and FreddieMac, several congressmen and senators.

Tom DiMercurio, Chairman
Ruben Estrada, Treasurer

Contributions can be made payable to:

The Committee for Stabilizing America’s Neighborhoods

c/o Ruben Estrada, Treasurer

303 E. 17th Street, Suite 108

Denver, Colorado 80203

The phone is shared with Paradigm Default Services, LLC: 303-551-8980.

A website will be shortly unveiled.

Posted:  10/30/2008.

Paradigm Default Services, and Paradigm Default Systems

PDS Blog

As many of our readers know, Paradigm Default Services (PDS) is an agent-centric default servicing (asset management) business model.  The goal of PDS is to “shift” with the new market, putting a heavy emphasis on the knowledge and expertise of the local real estate professional.  Is that to say that we assume every REO specialist has the best interest and training in mind when it comes to valuation?  Absolutely not.

For this reason Paradigm Default Systems has been implemented.  PDSystems, formerly NFSTI, is an REO training and resources division of PDS.  Our business model has the inexperienced REO specialist in mind for a very specific reason.  First, as many quality agents around the country are finding out, the REO industry is in “lockdown” after a tsunami of licensed agents discovered this niche and began registering for new REO business online in droves.  The initial problem here was that the asset management companies around the world weren’t ready for this influx of agents and had very little in the way of quality assurance when selecting each agent for new business.
PDS realizes that much of the untapped portion of the real estate agent pool contains great potential.  Needless to say, these inexperienced REO agents are hungry, eager, excited, and ready to learn.  PDS has taken on the initiative of pro-active REO education which will be required of all new agent-vendors prior to receiving listing assignments.  Ongoing coaching will soon be made available to the agent-vendor staff, allowing for easy access to experienced leaders in the industry who can quickly offer insight and guidance.

Next Wave of Foreclosures Hits

 

Prime Loans

Well, we’ve all been waiting to see what happens next in the real estate foreclosure market.  Fannie and Freddie have had us on pins and needles.  GW has been working on solutions at the Fed level.  Cities continue to rise in foreclosures.  What next?  How about Prime mortgages going into default?

 

Yes, that’s right, prime mortgages are now following the subprime meltdown.  According to CNN, this news will almost certainly curtail the housing recovery.  

LoanPerformance, a unit of First American CoreLogic, reports that Prime loans under $417,000 have increased in delinquency from 1.38% in May 2007 to 2.44% in May 2008.  That same statistic for prime loans greater than $417,000 went from 1.11% to 4.03%.

On top of everything else, reports that loans issued in 2007 are showing a delinquency rate higher than any prior year, indicating an ongoing default concern that has not reached its slow-down point.