We had a great weekend in San Francisco. The mood at the last two seminars in San Francisco and Los Angeles was somber, and hesitant because of doubts about the future. This meeting had energy and a bit more certainty. What I really welcomed was the return to sanity. Our first year with ICG was 2005. That year was a high point, or in my opinion a low point in real estate speculation. In seemed that many investors were more interested in flipping and short term gains which usually means higher risk. Many investors are paying a high price in not only negative cash flow, but reduced rents and reduced value. Let me summarize the contrasting market here that I talked about at the seminar. First, OKC appreciated 2.39% in the last quarter alone. The fourth quarter has been strong so overall appreciation is estimated to be 7% to 10% this year. We are yielding positive cash flow on almost all of our 10% down investments. Forbes rated us as the 10th best job market in the U.S., and Tinker AFB and Dell have announced 19,000 new jobs between them. We are about to pass an 858 million dollar infrastructure bond issue for OKC, continuing the most aggressive city upgrade in the nation. Our oil and gas industries are flying, and we have the indian tribes that have turned into corporations are not only one of our significant employers, but are also investing their casino money in urban projects. If you want to invest with us first, you have three years of rental history to get real rates. We will not inflate them. Second, everything right now is positive cash flow with 10% down. Third, if you close quickly we can get you guaranteed rents of 3 to 12 months. This is done for two reasons. First, we know that the overall psychology is still hesitant, and we want to give you no down time to help you balance out other investments you may have that are vacant or negative. Second, at the end of the year builders want to reduce inventory so this is a great time to buy. Call us for more information and spread sheets. 

I am entering my 19th year in real estate. When I first got into the business, I heard about a mortgage banker that was the most knowledgable in the business. he also had a distain for Realtors. I made it a point to tell him that I wanted to learn the business from his perspective, and that one deal was not worth my integrity just to get something sold. With some degree of skepticism, he took me under his wing. Many free lunches later, I appreciated the fact that he was the borrowers most trusted advocate. He lent money based on character, as well as being convinced that the buyer would do everything to make their payments. He also wanted to make sure that they planned for market corrections, so he refused to do adjustable rate mortgages. To paraphrase Simon and Garfunkel, where have you gone Don Broome, the nation's mortgage holders turn their lonely eyes to you. Many things have gone terribly wrong since that time. First, the gene pool of mortgage lenders and realtors have become diluted. We have too many people in this business without experience, a business plan, and so desperate or greedy that they will do anything to make a sale. Most of the mortgage bankers are not knowledgable enough, and many sell mortgages that net the highest commission. Sub-Prime mortgages were very attractive because you could convince borrowers that 4.25% would not change, the market has a long run coming, and you could save so much, just please don't read the fine print with such boring details as accelerator causes, and prepayment penalties among others. They happened to triple their commission on closing. Now many people are stuck with bad paper. This is not going to be solved by government intervention, or freezing rates. Markets like California, Florida, Arizona, and Nevada will keep going done. Even with a freeze, the value of the home is the problem. If you freeze a loan at say 7%, but those markets depreciate at 30% which is coming in many places, your negative equity is going to be like the albatross around the neck of The Ancient Mariner. People will still walk away from their mortgages thereby exacerbating the free fall of value. It will take a long time before this works out in those above markets. Inflated values are not coming back anytime to soon. Even the old timers like Don Broome can't stop that. But going into the future we need to dramatically raise the entry level to both loan originators and Realtors. They both need to make a declaration of who they represent. In Oklahoma as in other states we declare this up front. It is high time that the mortgage industry also has a disclosure of representation. Then maybe potential lawsuits will outweigh the short term gains that are now coming home to haunt them.

Yesterday was a great day in the progress Oklahoma City has made in the last ten years. While Edmond and Norman were doing there usual progress in voting for more school bond issues, Oklahoma City followed up its $249 million dollar bond issue victory for schools with a whooping 835.5 million bond issue victory for roads, parks, sidewalks, and police and fire issues, that passed with an over 80% approval. Infrastructure spending is crucial to the growth of the city. All around this county infrastructure is crumbling, and cities are either unwilling or unable to fund the necessary monies. While Oklahoma City had previously seen the multi-billion dollar MAPS projects rebuild the downtown area, the fairgrounds, and 75% of the Oklahoma City schools to brand new buildings, our sister city Tulsa voted down their downtown projects modeled after MAPS. I congratulate the citizens of OKC for being progressive and business oriented. As a native Oklahoman who grew up in OKC, I can assure you that I never expected what I am seeing now. Combine this with a recent report that Oklahoma, Texas, Louisiana, and Arkansas comprise the top region for appreciation in the U.S. and you have one of the best bets for investment in real estate anywhere.  

$129,900.00 Gwendolyn Lane Mustang, OK 73064 Beds: 4.0 Rooms: 4 Baths: 2.00 Sq. Ft.: 1436.00 Garage: 2.0 Built: 2007   Ready June or July 2007! This is a new listing that I thought you might be interested in. Visit this listing online to see more photos of the property, Google Earth satellite images, and much more.   If you have any questions about this property or require more information, please feel free to call. Joe Pryor Virtual Real Estate Team (405) 359-8700 www.buyinvestmenthomes.com     Visit this listing at Here