C Tann-Starr's Outside Blog

My e-mail is out of control and I had to turn my cell phone off today. Seems when you write an open letter to the President people think you are a repository for their complaints, suggestions and inquiries.

Since some of my readers were kind enough to take the time to write their questions down and e-mail me their concerns, I shall return the favor and answer them here instead of individually. Thank you for reading my blog. Sam: I am not arbitrary and capricious with my sarcasm and irony. I have no problem saying exactly what I mean, so consider yourself warned. Susan Mangigian's Wordy C is about to make an appearance, so go get comfy people. Ready? Read on. I may surprise some of you with how much I really do know...

1.This is the Fannie Mae site where you can find some of those listings I did a mini-rant about. Notice how it is not a Realtor site, but a Fannie Mae site where you may conduct your REO search and go shopping for a bail-out property: HomePath.com

2. Here is where you can access Fannie Mae Mortgage Tools: Monthly Payment Calculator.

3. Here is where you can access Fannie Mae Mortgage Tools: Affordability Calculator.

4. Foreclosure Prevention information may be found here.

5. Yes, I can do REOs and Short Sales. Call me in the office to set up a listing appointment at 718-483-7339 if it regards a Brooklyn or Queens property. If the property is not located in Kings or Queens County, please do not call me to represent your REOs and Short Sales. I have little minions that need my attention and I like to stay close to home and my kids. My family comes first. It is a personal preference that I have grown less flexible on. :-)

6. The HomePath Mortgage Financing lender official lists may be found here.

7. REAL ESTATE BROKERS AND APPRAISERS WHO WANT TO BE A HOMEPATH FANNIE MAE VENDOR CLICK HERE (LOL).

8. Here is the reason why I am gently ranting: "Vendor Application Process: We only add vendors for our NPDC when there is a need. If we already have an available vendor, we will not add additional vendors. However, if we have a property in an area where there is no vendor available, we will review applications for new vendors." WTF? Does the word MONOPOLY mean anything to you friggin' people? Seriously... Everyone should get a crack at it. EVERYONE! There are businesses in my industry closing their doors for lack of work and you want to give away Fannie Mae bail-out territories? If you have an available vendor you are not going to add additional vendors? Is that double-talk code speak for Realtors need not apply we're giving it to our friends? Who picks and how do they select the VENDORS? Hmm... seems to me if you give a firm work, you should move to the next firm on the list and keep 'em rotating so we all share in the opportunity (or as many professionals as possible)... I would rather see 10,000 firms land contracts to sell 100,000 homes than 1,000 firms selling 100,000 homes. That's just me...

9. BTW, if "they" don't pick your vendor application, then the Realtor has to re-apply in two years... Does this mean when a VENDOR gets an area they have that puppy on lock down for TWO YEARS? WTF!?! A little help here Fannie Mae... seriously! How come you don't define what an area is? Is it a five mile radius? A zip code? Why so weird and mysterious all of a sudden? Is there a cap for how many homes a firm can sell before you move on to the next firm to spread the opportunity for workers to work?

10. Realtors who don't have Microsoft Office better go buy Excel. The Fannie Mae tech people didn't do the application as a PDF file. Noooo buddy-buddy. That would make way too much sense and we can't be convenient and transparent while redistributing all of that wealth around. Geez... It appears that somebody thought it would be a real hoot to make you have to open the application in a Microsoft Office Excel 97-2003 workbook file. Go figure... I don't know why I keep updating my software when the government keeps making me backtrack older versions to deal with their technological lag. Not being user friendly on purpose is two thumbs down. To think I've been sporadically picking on HUD's periodic lack of common sense all of this time (LOL). Fannie Mae has inspired me to mini-rant on this issue. I'm into equal opportunity spankings people. They dropped the ball with that point. Seriously. ;-)

11. Realtors and Appraisers, if you are not an Owner/Officer you can not fill out the application. So before the appraisers, sales agents and associate brokers start doing the snoopy dance, I regret to inform you you've got to be the broker in charge or a corporate officer of the firm. A vendor equals the Firm or a Sole Proprietor. They want your EIN. Need I say more?

12. Appraisers, yes, there really is an application for you. It's the same one. Seriously (LOL). Go get that puppy and fill it out if you are interested. Just remember the Owner/Officer rule. If you are a company of one, then hurry up and get busy bay-bay! You have to e-mail the application in. E-mailing it is mandatory. :-)

13. Fannie Mae Q&A regarding them selling homes can be found here. My darling public, this is a very good page of information for you to wrap your brain around. The bail-out bad debt properties will be up for grabs and they let you make arrangements for bulk purchases. What does that mean? Hell if I know. Maybe you should just take me literally there. Since you need to learn all you can about that and other points you may want to Google HomePath and keep reading  because the rules will shift as we go along. After all, that's what the Gov does. Make sure you read the entire Q&A. It is a short but interesting list.

14. Fannie Mae is swamped, which may explain some of their hypothetical stupidity. I encourage you to help them. Here's what and who they need: * appraisers, * real estate brokers/listing agents, * repair contractors, * eviction attorneys, * maintenance companies, and * closing agents/title companies. Wishing you well on securing your tentative two year slots. I have provided you with the links, get your paperwork in and start moving that inventory.

In the meantime I am going to be making a stink and carrying on about that two year stint. The rotation should have been truncated to allow more firms to participate in the program and nip nepotism, cronyism and I'm a contributor to your Political PACS sooooo hook me up crap in the bud.

Question: How many VENDORS get to populate an area? Where's the freaking grid so we can see how many vendors own a territory of bail-out REO business?

Question: How do we find out the ratio of properties to each company? What if vendor A only gets one home while vendor B gets one thousand? This set up whomps! I want to know where the transparency is in all of this. Who rates the vendors and determines if they are doing a decent job or need to be replaced. Where is the standard check list on evaluating performance? Inquiring minds want to know...We all have bills to pay and want an opportunity to move some bail-out REO inventory and install those For Sale signs on location. BTW, they have special promotional signs and material we have to buy to do this. Making more money off of us, eh? My Realtor sign not good enough so I gotta go hang your sign too? It appears so if I want to participate...

Now you know why I said what I said. More professionals will be out in the cold than included. That totally whomps! I thought you guys wanted to create more jobs? Making me wait two years for the possibility of being selected for work after you've selected someone ahead of me doesn't seem too promising to me... There are better ways of spreading the work around and it makes me wonder who benefits the most from this arrangement. Obviously the scales are tipped in an unbalanced direction for a reason. I'm gonna have to yell now. I want to feel better... Maybe if I virtually yell someone of influence will hear me.

(A) EVERYONE SHOULD HAVE A SHOT AT MAKING SOME MONEY.

(B) THE PUBLIC NEEDS AFFORDABLE QUALITY HOUSING!

(C) IT SHOULD BE A MONTHLY LOTTERY ASSIGNING GROUPS OF INVENTORY SO NO ONE BUSINESS CAN WIPE THE FLOOR WITH THE OVERWHELMING MAJORITY OF US LOCKED OUTSIDE LOOKING IN WISHING WE WERE SHARING IN AN OPPORTUNITY TO WORK ON THIS PROJECT.

(D) MORE FIRMS PARTICIPATING WOULD FOSTER COMPETITION AND CREATE INCENTIVES TO DO WELL.

(E) HAVING TO WAIT TWO YEARS TO MAYBE GET A CRACK AT SELLING SOME OF THE BAIL-OUT REO INVENTORY IS RIDICULOUS. IT MAKES ME THINK POLITICIANS STILL WANT TO HOARD THE HOUSING INVENTORY AND NOT MOVE IT BACK INTO THE PUBLIC'S POSSESSION BECAUSE POLITICOS WITH ANOTHER AGENDA ARE NOT WILLING TO USE EVERY AVAILABLE RESOURCE TO DO SO.

WHAT THE HELL WERE THEY THINKING?

I know what I am thinking...  This limited vendor plan whomps. We should compete for that business in an open, transparent market. We all deserve a shot to earn a living.

Before I go, I want the public to know that they sell 'em as is, maybe making a repair here and there, but Fannie Mae will not repair the majority of the REOs, SO BUYERS BEWARE! Get yourself a good buyer's broker to represent your best interests in hunting for REO properties and processing your paperwork. Have lots of fun window shopping at the site and stop freaking out in my e-mail account. This is not the end of the world and real estate markets will do what ever they are going to do regardless how any of us personally feel about it.

I have to go finish writing my letter to the President now... Maybe I'll mini-rant again later. So many issues, so little time... :-)