As a few of you know, I've been watching the Housing Bill with great interest. This is the Senate's version that has been debated for the past couple weeks. It's hard to follow, in part, because it's massive in scale. Washington Post reported that the current version now weighs in at 631 pages. Some feel that the Senate could have this passed in a few days. Bush is threatening a veto but there's so much bi-partisan support that the chances of that are becoming more slim.

Here are some of the major points of the bill:

• Tax break for first time home-buyers ($4-8K). It may include those who haven't owned in three years.
  

• FHA Refinancing of upside down loans. Allowing persons to take on more affordable loans.
  

• Higher limits for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

• Tax rebates in various sizes and flavors.

That's the raw possibilities. Now for critique... this one from BankRate.com' article - A Wacky Housing Bill.

Author, Holden Lewis, presents the scenario that persons selling their owner occupied home may be at a disadvantage against bank owned and builder properties.

The bill may apply credits to those who purchase unoccupied homes. His contention is that if tax credits are given to the purchasers of empty houses we will, in essence, reward the bank that wrote bad loans or the builder who glutted the market. Lost in the shuffle is the homeowner who has managed to keep up payments. If people receive an $8K tax benefit to buy the neighbor's empty house the owner occupied home will most likely have to be reduced by the same amount in order to compete.

His statement is this, "If Congress wants to reduce foreclosures, why are they giving lenders an incentive to foreclose? That's what that tax credit is. If empty houses have a price advantage, lenders will create more empty houses. How difficult is it to understand that?"

Other issues that the bill may contain include extras, this from BlownMortgages such as:

• rescue refinancing for strapped homeowners 30-year fixed loan at 85% LTV of current loan.

• more money for financial counseling.

• stricter lender guidelines.

Now that some of the basics are finishing the political debate stage I expect the public to chime in. What's your opinion of these points?

Our neighborhood has a few traditions:

• A neighborhood chili cook-off before Halloween
• Luminarias on Christmas Eve
• Flags out front for every holiday.

The last part, the flags, are provided by the local boy scouts. They deliver a large flag to your front yard… a flag that flies from dawn to dusk.

Since my son has been a boy scout for several years now that means I drive while he posts.

It's amazing how different the neighborhood looks during the holidays. The neighbors smile that much more. They wave as you deliver or take down.

More importantly, this act raises questions among the very young. When they ask why we put the flags out front we're able to explain what the flag means to us.

We explain that it's more than a decoration- it's a symbol… and, a feeling. A symbol that this nation succeeded… and a feeling that if our founders could accomplish what they did, well then- so can we.

On our nation's birthday I have a long list of thanks... but let me sum it up this way: I thank every person who has made or is currently sacrificing so that my family can enjoy the pursuit of happiness.

When I drive past these flying colors I could not be more proud of this nation- and the privilege it is to live here.

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Photo Credit: "USA Flags" by Paula Brewer, a very talented photographer.

There's a company called Klimatec that has come up with one of the most eco-friendly solutions I’ve seen in quite a while.

They make a water cooler that is self-replenishing.

It extracts up to five gallons of water per day from the air around it.

The unit contains an ultraviolet light process to kill bacteria and a carbon filter to free it from pollutants.

The results? Drinking water from thin air... and plenty of it.

And if that weren't enough- they also have a version that is solar powered.

There you have it- a-zero energy, zero-refills-required water cooler.

I love it when creative people work with what they have to come up with something worthwhile.

I'm guessing that solutions like these will continue to "pop up" as we become more concerned about conserving energy and saving money.

What's fascinating is that much of the technology in these devices is not entirely new.

Maybe, it's just another case of a technology waiting for the consumer.

"Act surprised" ... that's the command I gave my daughters as they unknowingly became a part of my blog-marketing campaign.

Fortunately they put up with me.

OK... for about 3 seconds... and no do-overs.

This is a brief snapshot with my wrap-up of this week's market news. There's some good... some not so good but, overall I'm pleased with the direction of things.

Here are the good surprises:

• "After-tax incomes and spending show big gains" - That's the market headline from the associated press. Another quote within the article, "The Commerce Department reported that disposable incomes, the amount left after paying taxes, surged by 5.7 percent last month. It was the biggest increase since May 1975." Most of this is due to the economic stimulus package. Other good side benefits included an increase in the personal savings rate to the highest level since May of '95.

• "Existing-home sales rise 2% in May" - That's the headline from the Wall Street Journal. With an increase in sales there was also a decrease in inventory. Hmmm... so that's how supply and demand work? Though it's too early to call this a trend, it is a good sign for home sellers. The next good sign for them would be to see an increase in home prices.

Now the mixed bag:

• From Fox Business- "Enjoy the Stealth Good News" we see this nugget, "The Case-Shiller index reported last Tuesday showed home prices dropped 1.4% in April in the 20 cities tracked by the index, the smallest drop since October. More significantly, values rose in eight cities, up from two in March. And, in the 12 cities in which values did not increase, only two experienced steeper declines than in March." In other words, prices dropped less sharply than they have been. This means we may be approaching a pricing bottom... something we'll know for sure after-the-fact.

As for my market- the Phoenix Metro area... Here are the things I'm seeing from my customers:

• Shock at the competition in the bank owned properties. We've been seeing multiple offers and full time offers being rejected in some areas- mostly in the cities at the center of the valley.

• A renewed interest in condos- this market has been pretty flat and all of a sudden I have several potential buyers who like the idea of low prices/low maintenance/low transportation expenses.

• Astonishing prices on new homes. I can hardly believe it. New homes with yards in the low 100's.

Well... these are a few of the surprises in my market... do you have a report from yours?

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Chuck Willman is an Arizona real estate agent based in the Phoenix area. Looking for a home in Phoenix, Mesa, Scottsdale, Chandler, Gilbert, Queen Creek? Reach Chuck at 480.292.0600 or www.AZvest.com.

Many congratulations to Arizona State University. The Tempe institution has achieved it's best-yet finish in the Sports Academy Director's Cup ... claiming a number four ranking among all university sports programs.

Every year the NACDA ranks each university's sports program. Results are based on national championships and placement within the polls of each athletic event. Arizona State finished in the top ten eight times while bringing home a national championship in Women's Softball, and the Men and Women's Track and Field programs.

I must congratulate ASU's VP of Athletics, Lisa Love; she has managed to build a successful program in very little time. Also, as a big Pac Ten fan I'm happy to point out that the conference claimed three of the top four positions. Not bad!

Here are this year's Top Five:

1. Stanford, 1461.00

2. UCLA, 1182.00

3. Michigan, 1160.00

4. Arizona State, 1146.00

5. Texas, 1129.5

The complete list can be found here: NACDA final standings

We purchased a tree for the edge of our lawn because we loved the yellow flowers that sometimes bloomed.

It was a narrow tree with a single trunk that barely managed to sustain the weight of the foliage.

A violent wind blew and we watched from the front window.

First the tree bent back and forth.

It bent further, then broke...

...leaving nothing more than a pointed stick in the ground.

Lazily, I snapped the remainder of the trunk from view and told myself I would dig out the roots later.

Then branches emerged from the ground. These branches looked bush-like, so I let it go.

Now we have a multiple trunked tree which is always green- with occasional yellow blooms.

This tree, with its multiple trunks, is impervious to the strongest winds.

So much in life hinges on such strength- the ability to weather the tempest and to remain upright.

I like the analogy of the many trunks.

Each real estate transaction stands on the strength of diverse trunks. My happiest clients have found more than a trustworthy agent. I seek to provide, or work with, hard working loan officers, trustworthy title agents, capable home warranty specialists and excellent builders.

Each of us, working together, can get the job done.

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Chuck Willman- Arizona Real Estate & Investment Specialist - 480.292.0600 - www.AZvest.com.

With the pending arrival of Brian DeHamer’s first child he had a decision to make:

... Decide how to make room for the newborn while finding space to move his home office.

For many the first thought is to find new housing… for others it’s to add on.

Brian met the decision half-way.

He bought a shed.

And boy did he ever deck it out.

Nearly $6,000 and quite a few man hours later- he found himself working in what could, arguably be described as the world’s coolest shed.

He did the wiring himself, which saved a great deal. The most expensive component was the shed.

Check out his story here: DeHamerspace.

Also, check out his Flickr Series:

Brian's Office on Flickr.

That's some great work Brian... your "relocation solution" is quite impressive!

During my childhood, I was fascinated by a series of commercials for a mosquitoe repellant- they were quite compelling.

A man would stick his arm into a "cage" full of thirsty mosquitoes.

They would quickly land and get to work on his unprotected arm.

I practically shouted at the screen, "don't do it! ... you'll get malaria!"

Then the man would spray on some mosquito repellant and re-insert his arm.

The mosquitos would stay clear.

The announcer would say, "They don't bite. They don't even light!"

This imagery came to mind in the past week when I began to notice a significant change in the real estate investor market. Investors are suddenly everywhere.

The popularity of the market can change so quickly. There were times when anyone who owned a hammer began to think of picking it up and doing "fix and flips". Then the market was saturated with people looking to make easy money in this manner. Then supply and demand kicked in. Too many investors- too few opportunities.

We're in a changing time. From the activity I'm seeing the investors are swooping in... not just the newcomer, but the serious institutional investor.

They, like the mosquitoes, are hovering over the scene and choosing from the many available prospects. Currently they're making offer of land to the troubled builder or the small private lender who holds too many notes. They're taking buy-and-hold positions in land or creating leaseback arrangements with condo-conversion groups.

If you're an investor looking for opportunities in the Phoenix metro area, contact me. There are portfolios large and small to consider.

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Chuck Willman is an agent in the Phoenix metropolitan area of Arizona. Visit his site: www.AZvest.com.

During the cold war spies for the Soviet Union and the United States had opposite problems.

Their predicament could be summarized with the analogy of the black box and white noise.

The Black Box: American spies complained that there were too few people who knew what was really going on. It was if the dignitaries, the powers that be, met within a black box, made important decisions and few others had access to information.

It was almost impossible to discover what went on inside the black box... yet within those confines everything was decided. The American spies did everything they could to crack the mystery of the black box.

White Noise: Soviet spies were faced with a different problem. Information was everywhere. They had to sift through all of it to try to make sense of the situation. It seemed everyone knew something- the problem was deciding what information proved to be most valid. In science speak, this equation is called "signal to noise."

Short Sales have both conditions.

Agents who work short sales quickly discover that there are cadres of people involved in screening the short sale agent. They will give little information or contradictory information. Yet, there is a black box situation as well... this is what goes on between the loss mitigation specialist, the bank and the investor who considers purchasing the note. The agent and the client are very often left in the dark.

I don't see this changing any time soon- short of changes to the current condition, I advise clients who wish to pursue a short sale to take this into consideration:

1. Keep all of your important financial documents available. They include, among other things: recent bank records, tax returns (past two years), mortgage information, documentation for other assets (401k, stocks, etc.)
2. Stay in constant contact with your agent and the lender.
   
3. Be aware that you'll often hear conflicting information from the lender. Sometimes I wonder if I'll ever hear the same explanation twice.
4. Be prepared for a potentially long process- some short sales can drag on for many months.
5. Know that short sales are not automatic- many of them fail to produce an acceptable offer.
6. Never give false information to the lender or the agent pursuing the short sale.
7. Don't attempt to purchase another property with the intent to stop paying on your existing home... this act "buying and bailing" could lead to severe consequences.

When short sales manage to be accepted the seller is spared from the greater consequence of foreclosure. For most it will have been worth the effort. So... hang in there. Be aware of the white noise and the black box. Be patient, yet persistent ... and wish you all the best fortune through this arduous process.

Every once in a while someone will tell me something ... a "truism". These are assumed nuggets of wisdom... sage pronouncements accepted as researched fact.

I hear several variations, all postulating the same thing:

• It's an election year- government will make sure houses are affordable.

• As long as politicians own more than one home they'll protect housing.

• The President will want to keep interest rates low just before elections.

I would love to think that it were that easy.

However, we live in a free enterprise system. There are separations of powers as well as the market forces of supply and demand, counterbalanced by perception and levels of consumer confidence.

In spite of every political effort, markets will run whichever direction they care too run.

Of course, politicians have a tendency to proudly stand behind any economic progress and claim personal victory for themselves or their political affilation. Where is the same politician when markets sour? Probably pointing fingers in many directions. For the Democrats it's easy to blame the President. For the Republicans it's easy to blame Congress. For the independants it's easy to claim no responsibility. It's politics vs. capitalism... not a pretty thing to watch but very much a pretty thing to experience when it works.

Now... fast forward to last hour. We can see the political machinery hoping to live up to a truism.

The Senate overwhelmingly voted in favor of a Rescue plan. In a lopsided bipartisan vote (83-9) they hope to stimulate the housing situation by backing the FHA with $300 billion worth of home loans. With this, they intend to bring less qualified borrowers back into the buying pool. In other words, they are creating a government insured backbone of fixed rate loans for higher risk buyers.

Is it good? Time will tell. However, is anyone ready to express the motive for the vote? Here's a good quote,

[the lending measure] "would allow us to begin to put a tourniquet on the hemorrhaging of foreclosures in this country." "We need to demonstrate to people in this country that have lost an awful lot of faith in almost everything, but certainly in (Congress), that we can get something done, that we can put aside differences and make a difference in their lives".

-Sen. Christopher J. Dodd, D-Conn., the Banking Committee Chairman

I'm not so jaded to completely discount the words of a politician and call it pure "spin". However, I'm also a little interested in seeing how one can strengthen the market by assuming greater financial risk. As I said, time will tell how this will play out. I'd love to hear your opinion on the latest potential legislation.

Cure or panacea? You tell me.