I Survived Real Estate 2008 part 3 #85

Part three of “I Survived Real Estate 2008” picks up with Bruce Norris introducing Philip Tirone who is author of the “7 Steps to a 720 Credit Score” and President of the Mortgage Equity Group. Philip brings to the table experience from the lending and consumer side of the equations.

Philip talks about people still wanting stated income and how much harder consumers are have to work to get financing. Banks are going after co-borrowers more aggressively and doing much more background checking.

Philip discusses the issue of consumers that owe much more on their home as a similar home in the same neighborhood because of the market at the desire to buy the new one and foreclosure on the current home. Philip says that lenders are catching on to this practice and has revised lending policy accordingly. As of August 1st, if a consumer wants to buy a home in the same neighborhood, it needs to make logical sense that the consumer needs the new home due to extra bedroom, more space, etc. And if the consumer has less than 30% equity, the consumer cannot accept rental income on previous home and must have 6 months reserves.

Philip discusses the top three lending strategies for investors. Many investors that have purchased for cash want to refinance. The best financing is available within the first 60 days. If buying in an LLC, Philip says a single member LLC will get an investor a better rate. Philip also says to go to portfolio lenders for loans. They don’t have the limitations that Fannie and Freddie currently have in place.

For sellers, Philip discusses the natural inclination for sellers to drop price if a property is not selling. Instead of dropping price, Philip thinks sellers should consider buying down the buyer’s interest rate. This could save the consumer a great deal of money and also support prices in the area. Philip also addresses buyers that don’t qualify because lack of down payment. If buyers don’t have down payment, FHA allows gifts for down payments. Philip says that although there is a seasoning rule for FHA, investors should make sure all due diligence is done up front so at the 90 day mark the loan will fund quickly.

Philip also says consumers and investors should manage their credit actively. 80% of people have an error on their credit report that could possibly hinder them from getting a loan. Philip says credit is really easy to manage and scores can swing 100 points. Using credit to your advantage isn’t as hard as many people think.

Bruce then introduces Annemaria Allen who is President of the Compliance Group who specializes in loan complains and is the representative for the California Mortgage Bankers Association.

Annemaria talks about the lending industry yesterday being full of unsophisticated borrows, greedy lenders, minimal loan compliance, and inflated home prices. Today, a complete overhaul is taking place. Lending has somewhat stabilized because subprime is gone and full document loans are back. She calls it “back to the basics” of underwriting. Annemaria says automatic underwriting isn’t used as much and lenders are doing much more due diligence.

Annemaria thinks home prices still are too high and that we haven’t seen the worst of it. The adjustable rate mortgages will cause more problems in the next year. HERA (Housing Economic Recovery Act) was signed into law by Bush in July. The Safe Act that passed seeks to protect consumers by requiring loan originators, lenders, and brokers will have to register with the system. Some of these news acts are several hundred pages long and are still being reviewed.

Regulation Z means more disclosures to consumers. It is supposed to capture all subprime and Alt-A loans. There will be more advertising restrictions and more disclosures.

California has 30 bills in legislature to help with current issues. Foreclosure prevention laws are being passed nationwide along with loan modification and servicing laws. The Non-Traditional Mortgage Guidelines are being adopted nationawide.

Annemaria feels it’s a little too late but the biggest solution moving forward will be consumers being more educated and for the industry to prevent fraud. Annemaria feels stronger standards in compliance and safety will prevent this from happening in the future.

Bruce then brings forward the CEO of the California Builders Industry Association of the Southern California, Richard Lambros.

Richard discusses real estate as a speculative investment and the cycles. Richard warns us not to think of it as a cycle because that means we can have no influence over the outcome. Total new home production is down and will produce the lowest number of homes in history. In the building industry, they say it’s a building depression. In three years, production has been cut by one third.

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I Survived Real Estate 2008 part 2 #84

The airing of I Survived Real Estate 2008 continues to air. Video is also available on thenorrisgroup.com.

Part two picks up with Bruce Norris introducing Christopher Thornberg who represents the economics part of the equation. Christopher is a self proclaimed bear and was one of the few that predicted the downturn was coming. Christopher discusses employment, housing starts and how they can only go to zero, consumer sales, exports, his thought on recession and the varying views that exist, if the worst is yet to come, and where he stands.

Christopher talks about the housing market and the false indicator of increases in home sales. Christopher says homes prices got too ridiculous and that prices did not match what people were making. Increases in incomes did not keep up with home price appreciation. The only reason prices got that high was of the crazy financing that took place.

Christopher says the pace of home price declines look to be around 30% per year and the mix of foreclosures to home sales is not looking good. Christopher addresses how far prices will fall.

Christopher believes financial losses will total over $1 trillion and that several institutions will fail because of overexposure. The leverage of some institutions is 100 to 1 such as Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

Christopher reviews some of the new features of the newly passed housing bill and how little it will actually accomplish. With the money that the government will release to California alone, doing the math it means California will only be able to purchase around 4,000 homes which is a very small piece of the large REO pie. Allowing banks to revise certain consumers loans. The government actually foots the bill. $140 billion lent to banks but they are still a big mess.

Christopher talks about the tax rebate and how it didn’t increase spending enough. He says the consumers are dealing with two bubbles. Savings rates have gone from 8% to 0% and that a great amount of net wealth disappear. Consumers will be forced to save for the first time and will also be bad for the short run. With contraction in spending, it means a slow down in retail and other consumer-driven sectors. Cocktail statement: Keep you’re eye on 2010.

Bruce introduces Rick Sharga who is the VP of marketing for RealtyTrac. Rick talks about foreclosures and the implication of the current glut on the market. Rick talks about the media obsession with foreclosures and the huge interest in foreclosure data.

Rick talks about how we got into the position we’re in; lending. What drove some of the behavior was Fed policy and that money became practically free. People who should never have been able to get a loan got one in the boom. Wall Street securitized these loans and had a voracious appetite to do so. Due diligence was practically thrown out the window. Bankers went from buy and hold strategy to buy, package and sell and do it again.
RealtyTrac captures foreclosure data from 2,200 counties nationwide. 1.2 million foreclosure filings occurred in 2006 and over 2.3 million in 2007. In California the numbers were much worse as a percentage compared to other states. 2008 will be far worse. Rick discusses the areas hit the hardest. He mentions 7 of the top 12 markets hit hardest are in California. In Stockton, 1 in 25 receives a foreclosure notice. Foreclosure homes are outselling the resale of homes at this point. Existing homes sales aren’t increasing like most would think. The resets for subprime will continue. 32 months of foreclosure data increases thus far with no end in sight. Alt A and Option Arms will cause more problems in 2009.

While the market is sure to continue its decline, Rick points out there will be plenty of opportunities for investors in the coming years.

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I Survived Real Estate 2008 part 1 #83

For the next several weeks we’ll be taking a break from our regular interviews to air the I Survived Real Estate 2008 event over the radio. The event took place August 23, 2008 at the Nixon Library in Yorba Linda California. The event proceeds went to benefit the Orange County Affiliate of the Susan G. Komen for the Cure. Over 400 attended the live event, many more online via Proxibid who aired the entire event nationwide online over the Internet, and many more will watch the videos online.

This event was about solutions for our ailing real estate industry and to help an important cause. Eight industry experts from different real estate sectors converged to discuss how we got here, where we're going, and how we move forward together and prosper in the coming years. This is a rare opportunity to hear how leadership from the Realtors, builders, investors, mortgage industry, auctioneers and service providers each would approach and solve issues in the current real estate market.

If you’ve been listening to the past 8 shows on the radio, you’ve been introduced to the panelists one by one. The event officially kicked off on June 21st with the first interview prepping the audience for the live event. Video of the live event is also available at thenorrisgroup.com under free resources.

This first radio segment starts of the show with Aaron Norris introducing the event, introducing the amazing Platinum Sponsors, introducing the speaker from the Orange County Affiliate of the Susan G. Komen for the Cure, the introduction of Bruce Norris, Bruce talking about the importance of this event, the introduction of Christopher Thornberg, Christopher’s presentation on the current state of the real estate downturn and what we should expect in the coming year.

Special thanks to the following partners and sponsors without whom the event would not have been possible:

Platinum Sponsors:
The San Diego Creative Investors Association (SDCIA): sdcia.com
Investors Workshops: investorsworkshops.com
Frye Wiles: fryewiles.com
Proxibid: proxibid.com
White House Catering: whcatering.com
MVT Productions: mvtproductions.tv
Pechanga Resort and Casino: pechanga.com
The Denver Nuggets: nba.com nuggets
The Chicago Bulls: nba.com bulls
The Cleveland Cavaliers: nba.com cavaliers

Gold Sponsors:
7 Steps to a 720 Credit Score and Philip X. Tirone - 7stepsto720.com
Chicago Title - ctic.com
Elite Auctions - sellwithauction.com
Foreclosure Trackers - foreclosuretrackers.com
Investors Resource Center of America LA and Steve and Robyn Love - irca-losangeles.com
Las Brisas Escrow - lasbrisasescrow.com
National Club of Real Estate Investors and Sam Saddat - ncrei.com
Northern California Real Estate Investors Association (Norcalreia) and David Granzella - norcalreia.com
North San Diego Real Estate Investors and Linda Wessels - nsdrei.org
RealtyTrac - realtytrac.com
RE Ventures and Michael Pines - reventuresrealty.com
Real Estate Investors Club of Los Angeles and Phyllis Rockower - realestateclubla.com
Real Wealth Investor and Scott Whaley - realwealthinvestor.com
Saddleback Valley Communities - svc4.com
Silverstar Finance and Janet French - silverstarfinance.com
Sunset Hills Memorial Park and Mortuary - sunsethills.cc
The Mission Inn - missioninn.com
The Mortgage Equity Group - http: themeg.net
The Naked Real Estate Investor Club - Rosie Nieto - nakedrealestateinvestorsclub.com
The Short Sale Processor and Nick Manfredi - theshortsaleprocessor.com
Virtual Real Estate Tour and Layla Tusko - 1wealthcreation.com
Wholesale Capital Corporation - wccmtg.com

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Bruce Norris #82

This week we shake things up as Carl Angeloff, a radio celebrity in his own right, interviews Bruce Norris (President and CEO of The Norris Group) in preparation for “I Survived Real Estate 2008” where Bruce will act as investor representative and moderator.

Bruce and Carl discuss how Bruce got started in the business, Bruce’s first foreclosure experience, Bruce’s “California Crash” report written in January 2006, why Bruce wrote the report, Bruce’s mid-90s report called “The California Comeback” predicting the boom, HR3221 and his view of the solutions it presents, what the potential consequences are from HR3221, California being a non recourse state, when Bruce thinks this downturn will end, what things he looks for when predicting a boom, Bruce’s prediction for the remainder of 2008-2009, the percent increase in foreclosure numbers, what 2010 will hold, why this downturn happen so quickly, this downturn compared the 90s downturn, why the inexperienced got surprised, what The Norris Group does today, purchasing California REO properties, the bank taking 31% of what they were owed, what skills are needed, who the typical buyer is in this California market, the good points of HR3221, what kind of house The Norris Group likes in a downturn, why inventory preferences changes depending on the California real estate market, how The Norris Group fixes the houses, why condition and price are important, why cities need inventors to fix properties, what inventory Bruce dislikes, why Bruce doesn’t like corner houses, what we can do now to help solve the problems, the thought behind I Survived Real Estate 2008, isurvived2008.com.

Bruce Norris is an active investor, hard money lender, and real estate educator with over 25 years experience. Bruce has been involved in over 2,000 real estate transactions as a buyer, seller and money partner. Renowned for his ability to forecast long-term real estate market trends and timing, the release of The California Comeback in 1997 gained him much notoriety and its accuracy of the extensive report led many California investors to financial freedom. His January 2006 release, The California Crash, is an in-depth look into the California market correction and the statistics behind Bruce's predictions.

Bruce speaks and debates throughout California and has been a guest speaker at the California Builders Industry Association, Appraisal Institute, Learning Annex, Real Wealth Expo, Foreclosures.com, several local and national investment clubs, and Realtor associations.

Bruce has contributed articles to many real estate magazines and newsletters including RealtyTrac's Foreclosure Newsletter, Creative Real Estate Magazine, AOA Magazine, and the Daily Commerce. He has also been featured in The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Fortune, Mortgage Banker Magazine, Money Magazine, The Orange County Register, and numerous others.

Bruce is now host of his own radio show on KTIE 590am where he interviews real estate industry leaders. Guests have included Frank Nothaft with Freddie Mac, Peter Schiff of Euro Pacific Capital, Leslie Appleton-Young with C.A.R., Alan Nevin with the CBIA, RealtyTrac, PIMCO, PMI Group, REDC, HUD, National Auctioneers Association, and the Center for Responsible Lending to name a few.

Bruce is currently on the Board of Advisors at Chapman University’s Roger C. Hobbs Institute for Real Estate, Law and Environmental Studies.

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Tommy Williams with the National Auctioneers Association #81

Bruce Norris is joined this week by President of the National Auctioneers Association, co-founder of the Williams and Williams Auction Company, and panelist for I Survived Real Estate 2008, Tommy Williams. Bruce and Tommy discuss the extremely volatile past 5 months, the possibility for more unknowns in the coming year, what caused this to happen, innovative financing, homeownership levels, what buyers should have to bring to the table in order to own a home, what would happen if deposits weren’t required at auctions, people taking advantage of government system, HR3221 and some of the benefits, the unintended consequences of HR3221, valuation of properties and how auctions are part of that process, a correct version of an auction and how it brings out true value, overbids during a boom market, why auctioneers get frustrated because they are typically only considered during a downturn, builders releasing phases via auction and the benefits, if Realtors view auctions as partners or competition, how auctions work with Realtors, why auctions aren’t in the MLS, the task force between NAR and NAA, if Tommy can tell from auctions which areas are in trouble, NAA as a vast resource of statistics, how quality holds much more weight than price, if California is getting worse, the two states with the worst declines, ignoring true affordability, how we can do better in the near future, isurvived2008.com

Thomas L. Williams is a graduate of Penn State University (B.S. Animal Science) and the Certified Auctioneers Institute (CAI). Representing the third generation of Williams family auctioneers dating back to the mid-1800s, Williams is also a graduate of the historic Reppert School of Auctioneering. He has over 40 years experience in real estate auctions, land development and real estate investment. He currently serves as President of the National Auctioneers Association.

A founding partner of Williams & Williams, Williams served as president from 1986-2000, and became board chairman in 2001. He also co-founded and served as managing partner of Lowderman & Williams Auctioneers from 1965-85. He has conducted over 10,000 auctions in all 48 of the contiguous United States and Canada, and is an advisor to auctions conducted throughout Western Europe, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand.

An avid cattleman, Williams also owned and operated Bradmar Angus Farms from 1965-85, after which he continued to serve as a herd and genetics consultant for many of the nation's premier Angus cattle breeders.

Williams is a licensed auctioneer and real estate broker in over 20 states, and an active member of the National Association of Realtors.

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Richard Lambros with the Building Industry Association #80

Bruce Norris is joined this week by CEO of the Builders Industry Association of Southern California and panelist for I Survived Real Estate 2008, Richard Lambros. Richard and Bruce discuss the current market, when the slow down was anticipated, how much worse it’s been than expected, percentage off in building permits in Southern California, how this downturn differs from the past downturns, the speed of deceleration, the leading factors causing the problem, the credit market getting tight really causing problems, light at the end of the tunnel, HR3221 and how it will change and help the market, stabilizing credit markets, helping the foreclosure issue, how HR3221 will help builders directly, FHA and the new loan limits, why it’s so important that limits have changed, median home prices, supply shortage of housing, homeownership levels and how California compares to other states, affordability, misconceptions that builders make huge returns on projects, cities adding fees during a boom, cities focusing on product that produce taxes and creating fees for product that does not, how some cities are actually helping by differing fees in this down market, if a big budget deficit is a concern for the building industry, some cities actually putting together incentive packages to stimulate building but a deficit causing a decline, Prop 13 and concerns, the Builders Industry Association and legislation and how the BIA is involved, how builders are highly regulated, green building and zero net energy homes, the BIA’s stance on green, how California already builds some of the most energy efficient homes in the nation, construction loans in the current market and lenders willingness to lend for building, land prices in the current market, how builders took bad outlooks in a booming market, the statistics builders watch that will suggest a comeback, biasc.org.

Richard Lambros is the Chief Executive Officer of the Building Industry Association of Southern California (BIA/SC), a non-profit trade association representing over 2,200 member companies involved in all aspects of the building industry in the six-county Los Angeles metropolitan area. The 38,000-square-mile region is home to over 16-million residents.

Richard is responsible for the day-to-day management of the sixth largest local homebuilding trade association in the nation and the largest local association in the state. He works with BIA/SC’s Board of Directors, six chapters and twelve councils to craft and implement strategies that will grow the size and strength of the association, provide valuable member services, advance industry causes and create a pro-housing climate that is conducive to sustained housing growth in Southern California. At BIA/SC, Richard has utilized his wealth of political, business and association management experience to help the association reestablish itself as the leading regional voice for the homebuilding industry. His efforts and skills were recognized nationally in 2004 when he won the National Association of Home Builders’ (NAHB) “Executive Officer of the Year Award.”

After nearly winning an election in 1996 to represent California’s 56th Assembly District, Richard served a two-year term as Executive Director for the California Republican Party, where he managed the administrative and political activities for the largest state Republican Party in the nation.

Prior to his political post, Richard spent over 10 years representing the interests and efforts of the housing industry. He served as the Vice President and Director of Public Affairs for the Apartment Association of Orange County (AAOC) and as Director of Governmental Relations for the Rancho Los Cerritos Association of REALTORS©. His years of service and contributions to the housing industry earned him special recognition in 1996 as the Alliance of Real Estate Associations’ “Legislative Advocate of the Year.”

A second-generation California native, Richard was born in Los Angeles and raised in Downey, California. He attended the University of Southern California, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science. Richard is married and lives with his wife, Colleen, and four children in Fullerton.

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Annemaria Allen of the Compliance Group #79

Bruce Norris is joined this week by President and CEO of The Compliance Group and panelist for I Survived Real Estate 2008, Annemaria Allen. Bruce and Annemaria discuss if the current mortgage meltdown was caused by relaxed guidelines or cause by lenders not following guidelines, if compliance issues are federal or state in nature, what state auditors look for when doing audits, what auditors are trained to do, where fraud was most prevalent, example of loan fraud, stated income example, what makes a loan more marketable, the important of compliance and quality control in loans, things lenders might do that makes it unlikely they will sell a loan, appraisal issues in the current market, declining values and lenders not understanding markets, the current market for refinancing, the psychology of the consumer when the market is going up, the difference between mortgage broker and a mortgage banker, who decides what the rules are for the mortgage industries, how new ideas and rules are suggested to decision makers, lobbying for change, the loan compliance guide, if passage of HR3221 will change things, how quickly new rules are implemented, non-owner occupied financing currently available, how the industry sees non-owner occupied financing, thecompliancegroup.com, mymortgagelicense.com.

Annemaria is President and CEO of The Compliance Group as well as the Founder of the company (2001). Annemaria has an extensive 20-year background in the mortgage lending industry and has worked for several large financial institutions as Compliance Manager and in mortgage banking. She is an ABA Compliance Graduate from the University of Oklahoma, and has received training in MBA, ABA, and FNMA and Freddie Mac requirements. She is a member of the MBA, CMBA and has Chaired the Sub-Compliance Committee of the Mortgage Quality Assurance and Compliance Committee. She is much in demand as a public speaker, is a published author and seminar participant, and has attended both the University of Oklahoma and Palomar College.

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Joel Singer of CAR #78

Bruce Norris is joined this week by Executive Vice President for the California Association of Realtors, Joel Singer. Joel will also be a panelist at the I Survived Real Estate 2008 event. Bruce and Joel discuss how financing helped the huge California boom, the psychology of demand, the trade-up market, cheap money, lending standards, the last boom markets, down payments in last cycles, no documentation loans in this cycle, if lenders compensated too far the other way, lending practices today, the ease of borrowing, the long boom and the consumer forgetting about risk, home ownership for those that can afford it, speculation throughout the system, putting blame on certain groups, the current finance market, FHA, Fannie, and Freddie, seller financing in a down market, simple assumptions of the past, the unlikely chance it will come back, the Wellencamp Wars being phased out by the Garn-St Germain Act, the 203k loan program, the Nehemiah Program, why having skin-in-the-game is required by lenders, FHA loan limits and if they will be permanent, inventory levels in California, what makes a balanced market, sales activity up, if declining in inventory is healthy or if it means retail consumers are pulling their homes off the market, what happened to the median price and why it got hit so hard, the risk of people walking away, the different ways of rescuing people and their homes, the unintended consequences of government fixes, the market not being in full recovery mode just yet. Please see isurvived2008.com.

C.A.R. Executive Vice President Joel Singer has held the Association’s top staff position since November 1989 after serving as C.A.R.’s chief economist and heading the Association’s public affairs department. Singer was instrumental in developing Real Estate Business Services Inc. (REBS), C.A.R.’s for-profit subsidiary, and serves as its president. He also is president and chief executive officer of RE FormsNet LLC. Singer joined C.A.R. in 1978.

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Scott Whaley #77

Bruce Norris is joined by Real Wealth Expo president and REI Club supporter, Scott Whaley. Bruce and Scott discuss when Scott started in the business, the attitude of the investor when the Expo started, the change in attitude at events, the crowd and sophistication level change, what is working for investors in this market, short sales in the current market, being a professional in the investor world, psychology in the market, Scott’s involvement with the RTC in the last cycle, contrarian decision makers, current examples of capitulation, the value of not making a mistake, the length of the downturn, the lenders that waited and the ramifications they are now facing, why chasing the market is not a good idea, The Real Wealth Revolution project, the mental part of the investing business, why this business is not the same for everyone, hanging around people who are making this business work and who have a positive attitude, the investor being the speculator, people looking to blame, how this cycle mimics the last downturn, doing the right thing at the wrong time in the lender world, reigning in financing for people that could actually help the market, legislation that could change how investors work, politics in this market, realwealthonline.com, realwealthexpo.com. Scott will be writing in our next newsletter about upcoming legislation that could affect our industry.

Scott Whaley is President of the Real Wealth Family of Cos., acting Vice President of the National Real Estate Investors Association (National REIA), and the producer of the Real Wealth Mind Revolution program for superior personal performance and achievement.

For over 25 years, Scott Whaley has studied, implemented and coached others on the use of enhanced performance psychology tools. These tools include certifications as a trainer of NLP, Master Hypnotherapist and numerous other change focused systems. He was the first coach hired and helped design and implement the coaching program for the highest paid coach in the world, Anthony Robbins. He was promoted to the position of Master Coach for that organization within one year and is an authority on the Science of Achievement and Peak Performance. Scott has an extensive 14 year background in real estate from land development, owning his own investment and brokerage firm and mortgage loan officer as well as working as an asset manager for the RTC (Resolution Trust Corporation-the cleanup for the failed S&L Bubble).

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Philip Tirone of The Mortgage Equity Group #76

Bruce Norris is joined this week by president of 7 Steps to a 720 Credit Score, The Mortgage Equity Group, and panelist for I Survived Real Estate 2008, Philip X. Tirone. Bruce and Philip discuss his term mortgage lifestyle dilemma, the consumer and disposable income, people trying to get out of loans, the percentage of people now able to get financing, the speed of the credit dry up, issues funding even with a large down payment, risk level exaggerations, the current state of home equity lines of credit, credit cards becoming the next line of liquidity, credit limits being reduced if a consumer’s credit score is not good, credit card companies looking into a consumer’s industry where they work, certain industries falling out of favor with credit issues, the Universal Default Clause and the interest rate associated with this clause, the different types of lenders, wholesale brokers, how the collateralized debt was put together, the main liquidity in the market, the price difference between a fixed and unfixed home, how lenders feel about unfixed homes, the national and local bills being discussed to help, who people are blaming for this mess, non-owner occupied financing, solutions being aimed at the wrong crowd, how lenders are dealing consumers looking to walk away even though they are current, ISurvived2008.com

Philip's commitment to educating homebuyers prompted the “7 Steps Licensing Program,” which allows mortgage brokers nationwide to become licensed in the 7 Steps and in turn help improve their clients' credit scores. He is also developing the 7 Steps Foundation, a charitable foundation that will allocate funds to help low-income and underserved Americans increase their credit scores and buy homes.

Philip has been featured in articles on credit and mortgage trends in the Los Angeles Times, New York Times.com, Wall Street Journal, Newsday, Woman's World Magazine, San Jose Mercury News, Bottom Line Magazine, Bankrate.com, and several others.

Philip created the Complete Financial Navigator™, a tool to analyze his borrowers' needs and financial picture, thereby helping borrowers overcome barriers to achieving their real estate goals. As a frequent guest lecturer at the University of California Los Angeles, Philip has authored and delivered numerous speeches regarding the “Mortgage Lifestyle Dilemma,” a phrase he coined to describe an emotional buying decision that results in overextension and a life that revolves around high mortgage payments. By analyzing industry-specific buying trends, he has devised a series of questions to help borrowers avoid this dilemma.

Philip was named Arizona State University's Man of the Year upon graduating with a real estate degree in 1994. Since then, he has continued to receive acclaim, most recently in the New York Times best-seller, Secrets of the Young & Successful.

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Rick Sharga with RealtyTrac #75

Bruce Norris is joined by Vice President of Marketing for RealtyTrac and panelist for I Survived Real Estate 2008, Rick Sharga. Bruce and Rick discuss preventive measures currently in the works to help the current real estate downturn, how these solutions are structured, market psychology, lenders being risk averse, social trends contributing to problems, lenders and the dance with Wall Street, the consumer and lenders as the true speculators, the definition of market value being skewed, RealtyTrac keeping up with the sheer numbers of foreclosures, military foreclosures and issues because of volume and people falling through the crack, fraud in the marketplace, how RealtyTrac counts foreclosures, conversation rate for notices of default, alt-A loans and what’s coming next, equity positions and behavior of different consumers, percentage of consumers buying with the intent to walk away from another home, the unintended consequence of adjusting principle on loans, percentage of US housing units facing foreclosure, REOs dictating prices in a market when they are the majority of listings, looking at the rest of 2008 and 2009, other areas not in the same position as California, other states that are doing well, California adjusting to allow for massive migration, why California could be extremely attractive in the coming years, underestimating the impact real estate had on jobs, auction attendance, the Internet and auctions in the coming years, bid4assets and RealtyTrac, shill bidding and the Internet auctions, realtytrac.com, isurvived2008.com

Rick joined RealtyTrac in 2004 as the Vice President of Marketing. He is responsible for building and maintaining the RealtyTrac brand, corporate positioning and messaging, public and investor relations, and marketing communications activities. As a spokesman for the company, Rick has been quoted extensively in the press on foreclosure, mortgage and real estate trends, and appeared on NBC Nightly News, CNN, CBS, ABC World News and NPR.

Prior to joining the company, Rick spent more than 20 years developing corporate and product branding strategies for technology start-up companies and international corporations such as DuPont, Fujitsu, Hitachi and Toshiba. Rick created and executed successful sales and marketing programs in B2B, technology, consumer electronics and retail for companies like JD Edwards, Philips, Cox Communications and Honeywell.
Rick began his career with one of the world’s largest ad agencies, Foote, Cone and Belding, and also had successful engagements with Ketchum Communications and McGraw-Hill. He founded his own consulting firm, CJ Patrick Company, in 2002 to help companies develop business and brand strategies that clearly communicate a unique value proposition, create a position of competitive advantage, and leverage the strength of their brands in the marketplace.

A nationally-recognized speaker on Branding, Rick spends his spare time taking Tae Kwon Do classes with his 10-year-old son, and trying to keep up with his increasingly-mobile 4-year-old daughter. He also continues in his lifelong quest to find the perfect wine to compliment his BBQ'd baby back ribs.

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Christopher Thornberg of Beacon Economics #74

Bruce Norris is joined by Principle at Beacon Economics and panelist for I Survived Real Estate 2008, Christopher Thornberg. Bruce and Christopher discuss how Christopher got started in the prediction business, letting the data speak to you and street smarts, how this journey caught so many off guard, the duration of bubbles, how the downturn is worse then expected, looking at past real estate bubbles and how they compare, the chance that people who can afford home payments walk away because their neighbor owes half what they do, looking at what caused most of the damage, subprime being the fuel for the fire, the main problem being people paid too much, how falling prices will eventually allow people to get back in the market, home prices and consumer spending, unemployment and what that can mean for migration, when it might turn, if downturns hit coastal regions, the price decline and how it works its way out to coastal regions, returning to more reasonable ownership levels, following the foreclosure lists and realizing that investors weren’t the problem, how lenders are tightening financing, how Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are exposed in volatile markets, the large amount of leverage within banks, equity position of banks, the story behind pent up demand, commercial real estate in the coming years, the land price bubble, false wealth and consumer spending, how to notice a commercial bubble is popping, the Federal Reserve and how they’re dealing with the market, dealing with inflation compared to past cycles, and what policy Christopher would change in the current market.

Christopher Thornberg is a founding partner of Beacon Economics. Dr. Thornberg is an expert in the study of regional economies, real estate dynamics, labor markets and business forecasting. He has been involved in a number of special studies measuring the impact of important events on the economy, including the NAFTA treaty, the California power crisis, port security, California water transfer programs and the September 11th terrorist attacks. Prior to launching Beacon he worked with the UCLA Anderson Forecast where he regularly authored the outlooks for California, Los Angeles and the East Bay as well as performing a number of specialized forecasts for regions and industries. Dr. Thornberg lectures on a regular basis at a variety of public and private events, has appeared on CNN, Fox News and CNBC and is widely quoted in the press. He received his Ph.D in Business Economics from The Anderson School and his B.S. in Business Administration from the State University of New York at Buffalo. He specializes in International and Labor Economics. Dr. Thornberg continues to teach in the MBA program at UCLA and previously held a faculty position in the economics department at Clemson University.

Christopher Thornberg will join our panel of experts on August 23, 2008 at the fundraiser, "I Survived Real Estate 2008." Proceeds will go to the Orange County Affiliate of the Susan G. Komen for the Cure. See iSurvived2008.com for more information.

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Marsha Norris #73

Bruce Norris launches this week a very special event for a very special cause. On August 23rd, 2008, The Norris Group along with support from generous partners and panelists will host an event entitled, “I Survived Real Estate 2008.”

Proceeds from the event will benefit the Orange County Affiliate of the Susan G. Komen for the Cure. The event seeks to bring together the real estate community including Realtors, auctioneers, investors, mortgage professionals, economists, service providers, and builders to discuss how we got here, how the respective industries are changing, and how we move forward and prosper together in 2008 and 2009. This is about solutions and synergy, not bad news.

The TNG radio interviews for the next several weeks leading to the event will seek to introduce the audience to the panelists that are participating in the live event. Many have been guests on the radio show before and we appreciate their willingness to help us with such a worthy cause.

The week, Bruce Norris is joined by wife of 38 years, Marsha Norris. Marsha is a cancer survivor and has been fighting for 13 years. Her cancer battle started with breast cancer and she is now fighting bone cancer. Marsha and Bruce discuss how they found out, the initial reaction to finding out, the journey they've taken trying to find a doctor who would listen, protocols, the important of self education when it comes to illness, surrounding yourself with people who believe you'll survive, how the real estate community has been a HUGE support system, spirituality and getting through the tough times, believing in a cure, pursing health versus buying time, the Susan G. Komen website and the resources that help, treatments she's tried along the way, and how believing in your treatment is important.

Marsha Norris has four children, seven grandchildren, and has been married to Bruce Norris for 38 years. Marsha is a trained massage therapist and loves reading on holistic medicine, different massage techniques, and numerous other topics. She enjoys traveling and looks forward to seeing Egypt for the first time this coming Fall.

Official site launch of www.ISurvived2008.com and tickets for the live event will launch early July. Thank you for your patience and we’ll keep you posted on the radio show and TNG website. There will be numerous ways for you to get involved so we look forward to sharing them with you soon.

Special thanks to the following partners who are helping make this event possible: the San Diego Creative Investment Association and Bill Tan (sdcia.com), the Investors Workshop in Orange County and Shawn Watkins (investorsworkshops.com), Frye Wiles, the results-oriented web design, Internet marketing, branding and creative design firm helping us with the web (fryewiles.com), MVT Productions who always does an amazing job with our audio/visual needs (mvtproductions.tv), Proxibid who has graciously offered to air this event nationwide live via the Internet (Proxibid.com), White House Catering (whcatering.com), and finally, the Nixon Library for allowing us to use their wonderful White House Replica of the East Room to hold the live, black tie event (nixonlibraryfoundation.org).

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Nancy West of HUD #72

Bruce Norris is joined once again by marketing and outreach specialist for U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Nancy West. Bruce and Nancy discuss home owner month and the outreach FHA is involved in for the event and throughout the year, foreclosure prevention workshops, who the buyer is now entering the market, FHA rehabilitation loans to consumers willing to rehab homes, rehabilitation loan program 230k, streamline rehabilitation loans, how no special inspection is necessary if under $15,000 in repairs, which loan is appropriate depending on the amount of work needed, how the consumer can receive up to 110% of after approved value, the way the Realtor would structure the transaction if these loans are used, if an investor can take over an FHA loan, how FHA was replaced by other loan products, the seasoning period for FHA loans and why it exists, tweaks to the property flipping rule in 2003, if FHA loans are assumable between two owner occupants, the 1980s and the simple assumption and the elimination of the program in 1989, why the program was eliminated, if HUD was satisfied working with investors in the last cycle, why the last downturn was different and why we could be hurt because the financing can’t move forward, if bankruptcy prevents consumers from getting an FHA loans, how FHA requires at least two years to laps but less time granted if consumer had extenuating circumstances, how the consumer typically waits two years for bankruptcy and three years for foreclosure to receive an FHA loan, talk of FHA buying defaulted loans by Barney Frank with the Banking Committee, how it will take an act of Congress and Senate and President approval, daily proposals trying to create solutions, how FHA is not really talking about these solutions until something looks real, if an election year will matter, other states that are still appreciating, the states with the most problems, how states and local areas differ, how FHA focuses on the positive things when dealing with consumers, rent approximating rent for first time in some areas, how the interest rate might become more important than the price, how the consumer needs to be educated, if FHA will be hiring, and FHA.gov.

Nancy West has been in mortgage lending industry since 1977, and has worked in a variety of positions within the industry from branch manager, small business owner, account executive, and mortgage loan underwriter. Nancy underwrote mortgage loans for major U.S. lenders; both government insured and non-government backed. Nancy holds two degrees; Real Estate, and in Education. Nancy is also a licensed California Real Estate Broker.

Nancy joined the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development in 2004 in the Processing and Underwriting Division. In 2006, Nancy accepted one of four nationwide Marketing and Outreach Specialist’s Positions for the Department. Nancy currently works out of the Santa Ana Homeownership Center, which services the eight western United States. Nancy travels throughout the Santa Ana Homeownership Center’s jurisdiction, providing presentations and information on FHA and FHA programs to consumer groups, industry partners, external agencies, as well as providing internal staff with up-to-date information on industry changes and practices.

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Nancy West of HUD #71

Bruce Norris is joined by marketing and outreach specialist for HUD, Nancy West. Bruce and Nancy discuss when HUD was created, the FHA program and its primary goals, how home ownership levels and foreclosure levels are related, hud.gov compared to fha.gov, the FHA Secure program that allows borrows who have fallen delinquent to come into an FHA program if the delinquency was caused by reset, what happens if the consumer owes more than the house is worth, when FHA secure is due to expire, the three option for delinquent consumers, renegotiations and modifications, loan forgiveness, how well the program is going, where money comes from when an FHA loan is funded, loan correspondents when working with FHA, how FHA differs from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, how FHA differs from PMI, the enacted Stimulus Act, FHA and manual underwriting, how FHA views a consumer’s willingness to pay obligations, FHA as a more common sense approach to lending, FHA requirements and standards for property, the process to become an approved FHA appraiser, gift programs for down payment allowable for FHA, single family for FHA includes up to four units and manufactured loans, loan limits in FHA, how often loan amounts are revisited, current loan limits and the Stimulus Act, how limits will go back to original limits on December 31, 2008, loan limits set by Congress, Section 8 rental program, foreclosing on FHA loans and when FHA steps in to protect a lender’s loss, if there’s a situation when the lender would be forced to take a loss, if fraud has been a problem with FHA, where the money come from when a claim is made, if FHA is expecting a huge number of foreclosures, the issue of the consumer being a victim in the mortgage mess, how long the FHA Secure process takes, loans available through FHA including fixed rate, adjustable, energy efficient, rehabilitation program (203K), and the streamlined rehabilitation program, why the 203K loan is not available to investors, why the program was available to investors in the 90s, how can investors get involved to get that reversed, do most buyers obtain fixed rate loans, and fha.gov.

Nancy West has been in mortgage lending industry since 1977, and has worked in a variety of positions within the industry from branch manager, small business owner, account executive, and mortgage loan underwriter. Nancy underwrote mortgage loans for major U.S. lenders; both government insured and non-government backed. Nancy holds two degrees; Real Estate, and in Education. Nancy is also a licensed California Real Estate Broker.

Nancy joined the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development in 2004 in the Processing and Underwriting Division. In 2006, Nancy accepted one of four nationwide Marketing and Outreach Specialist’s Positions for the Department. Nancy currently works out of the Santa Ana Homeownership Center, which services the eight western United States. Nancy travels throughout the Santa Ana Homeownership Center’s jurisdiction, providing presentations and information on FHA and FHA programs to consumer groups, industry partners, external agencies, as well as providing internal staff with up-to-date information on industry changes and practices.

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