Ok – so I admit it.  I finally joined Facebook.  I did this mainly because I just didn’t feel the kind of connectivity building with my LinkedIn groups, and I also wanted to start building a bit of “buzz” for our local Haines City, Florida YmPact Young Professionals Group. Visit the Haines City YmPact Group Page here.

So – I set up my Facebook profile , put a March 13th Pre-St. Paddy’s Day Bash event listing on the YmPact page I set up, and have played around with the Pandora and iLike apps.  But I need a bit more steering – some guidance as to how to get the best out of Facebook.

Here are some initial resources I have found.  Please recommend others as you come across them!

How Can I Use Facebook?
Besides the TechSoup article above, here are some good resources to check out:

• Start with Fast Company’s slideshow, “Eight Things You Can Do With Facebook”. You’ll see that you can connect with like-minded users, promote events, start your own groups, etc. You might also want to take a look at this profile of Facebook (scroll down to the features section), which gives a decent overview of the different Facebook elements.

• Read through Rob’s article on how he started his campaign and how he went from 8 supporters to 60 in a few days.

• Try Emily Weinberg’s “How Nonprofits Can Use Facebook”, which offers some ideas and a few mini case studies.

• This article on how educators can use Facebook also has some helpful tips.

• Also read The Chronicle of Philanthropy Special Report, “Face Time”, which looks at how nonprofits are using social networking sites in general.

• Check out Diosa Communications’ Tips for Nonprofits using MySpace. Many (if not most) of these can be adapted to Facebook.

• And if you want to get fancy about it and have access to some programmer types, then you might want to check out these 29 essential developer applications.

Since peaking in July, gas prices are off by 20 percent.

Falling gas prices are an important positive for the U.S. economy because less money spent at the pump means that more money is saved per household for everyday items including food and other staples.

In addition, consumer spending makes up two-thirds of the economy.

Therefore, falling gas prices may lessen the impact of a forecasted recession.  Because Americans are notoriously poor savers, the extra cash-on-hand is likely to get spent which will, in turn, push the economy forward through the upcoming holiday shopping season.

So, just as inflation is bad for mortgage rates, so is recession.  And falling gas prices can keep both scenarios at bay.

Average Gasoline Prices in Winter Haven, FL

This graphic shows the average gasoline prices in the Winter Haven, FL area over the past couple of days.  To keep track of these yourself, visit this link and refresh it daily.

Each month, The National Association of REALTORS^® tracks homes under contract to sell, but whose closing has not yet happened.  It calls them “pending sales” and publishes a monthly report to quantify them.

The Pending Home Sales report is important because it’s meant to predict future home sales activity.  History shows that 80 percent of homes under contract will “close” within 60 days, and most of the rest will close within 120 days.

If Pending Home Sales are up, it’s believed, actual home sales will be up, too.

In August, Pending Home Sales jumped 7 percent from the month prior, returning to levels not seen in over a year.

The report’s strength suggests that buyers are returning to the housing market, continuing the trend that started in March.  This is tremendously good news for sellers because more buyers on the hunt means more demand for homes which, in turn, leads sale prices higher.

The Pending Homes Sales report is not a perfect predictor, however.  For one, it’s not measuring an actual sale — just the expectation of one.  In addition, it only accounts for “used” homes, ignoring new construction.

But that aside, the strong uptick in August tells us that home buyers are re-engaging at a quickening pace and finding that ”now” is a good time to buy real estate.  When buyer demand rises, the real estate market as a whole isn’t usually that far behind.

(Image courtesy: The Wall Street Journal Online)

The Federal Reserve made an “emergency rate cut” this morning, dropping the Fed Funds Rate by one half-percent to 1.500 percent.

The move is meant to stimulate the U.S. economy.

When the Federal Reserve changes the Fed Funds Rate, it often takes 9 months for the changes to work their way through the economy.

On a broad scale, therefore, we won’t know if the cut truly “worked” until Summer 2009.

But, as it relates to the good folks here in Winter Haven and across the nation, the rate cut spurred two immediate changes.

First, because Prime Rate is directly tied to the Fed Funds Rate, Prime Rate fell by 0.500 percent today, too.  That means that interest rates on credit card debt and home equity lines of credit are now lower, reducing monthly interest costs for the majority of American households.

The second change is that mortgage rates are rising today.

The Fed’s actions today sparked optimism in some corners of Wall Street and money is now flowing into the stock market at the expense of bonds.   Because mortgage rates move in the opposite direction from bond demand, mortgage rates are higher this morning.

As always, mortgage markets and mortgage rates remain on edge.  Therefore, rates are subject to change.  And quickly.  If you see a rate and payment you like, be ready to commit to it because it likely won’t last long.

(Image courtesy: USA Today)

Monday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed below the psychologically-important 10,000 level for the first time since 2004.

Despite the milestone-marker breach, however, there was a large group of Americans with reason to cheer.  As stocks sold off, mortgage markets rallied to the benefit of home buyers and mortgage rate shoppers here in Winter Haven, FL and across the nation.

Why Conforming Mortgages Rates Improved Yesterday

Most interesting here is that rates improved for the same reason that the stock market fell.  Because of lingering concerns about the worlds’ economies, investors lost their collective appetite for risk Monday.  In response, they sold their stock positions and parked the proceeds in the “safe haven” of U.S. government-backed debt.

The extra demand for safe investments pushed up the prices on mortgage bond which, in turn, pushed down mortgage bond rates.

Now, we can’t predict when the market’s risk appetite will return, but when it does, expect money to flow into stocks just as quickly as it left.

All year long, with respect to stock markets, it’s been either “everybody in” or “everybody out” and, for now, it’s everybody out. This is why mortgage rates fell Monday.

But, when the momentum shifts — and it will shift — mortgage rate shoppers would do well to be prepared.  Be ready to lock that mortgage rate because as soon as the stock market reverses course, mortgage rates will head higher.

And if stocks recover as quickly as they tanked, expect mortgage rates to spike badly.

(Image courtesy: USA Today)

If you’re shopping for a mortgage here in Winter Haven or the surrounding Polk County, FL area – you’d do well to lock in a rate as soon as you see one you like.  In other words, a mortgage rate quote from the morning is likely to be “expired” by the afternoon.

Congress approved the $700 billion “Bailout Bill” Friday, answering the question that dogged mortgage markets all week long:

Will they or won’t they pass it?

The uncertainty prior to the vote created huge market swings that ultimately sent the Dow Jones Industrial Average to its worst week since the 2001 terrorist attacks, while causing similar damage in the mortgage markets.

Mortgage rates worsened for the third straight week last week.

However, if we take the congressional vote out of the picture and look strictly at last week’s data, we would have expected mortgage rates to fall instead of rise.

For example, the economy shed another 159,000 jobs, bringing the 2008 total to 760,000 lost jobs.  This reduces the likelihood of inflation and is normally good for mortgage rates.  In addition, the U.S. dollar had its strongest week ever against the Euro.  This usually attracts buyers to the mortgage bond market, driving down rates.

And third, Fannie Mae eliminated one of its mandatory loan fees.  This improves mortgage bond pricing for borrowers, ultimately leading to lower rates.

But, mortgage rates rose didn’t fall last week and that shows how deep the economic uncertainty really ran.  And this week, with the bill now passed into law, we would expect the market to turn its attention back to fundamentals.  But it can’t.

Unfortunately, there’s no new data for release this week so, in the absence of data, markets should take their cues from the following sources:

1. The 8 scheduled Fed speakers, including Bernanke on Tuesday
2. Wednesday’s Pending Home Sales report
3. Persistent rumors of a “surprise” Fed Funds Rate cut

Regardless of to what markets react, though, be prepared for them to react swiftly and for mortgage rates to dip and spike — often in the same day.

Those looking to buy or refinance a home in Winter Haven, Florida and regions across the nation using Fannie Mae Loan Products have a bit more breathing room – thanks to a reduction in one of Fannie’s mandatory loan fees.

In an effort to provide “the most market support possible”, Fannie Mae is cutting one of its mandatory loan fees by 0.250 percent, effective immediately.

Fannie Mae introduced the Adverse Market Delivery Charge in December 2007 to offset foreclosure and delinquency losses.  The initial fee was a quarter-percent of the amount borrowed.

Then, as market conditions worsened, Fannie Mae doubled its across-the-board loan fee to 0.500 percent in August of this this.

As of today, the fee is back to its starting point.

Since the start of the 2008, Fannie Mae has made 21 separate changes to its mortgage guidelines.  Most have been detrimental to borrowers, increasing the difficulty or the cost of qualifying for a conforming home loan.

Today’s change is among the few that are beneficial.

This morning, mortgage pricing is edging higher because of the looming Congressional vote and Wall Street’s reaction to the weak jobs report.  The good news is that price changes could have been worse.

Fannie Mae’s Adverse Market Delivery Charge flip-flip is keeping rates from rising as high as they would have otherwise today.

So there’s a lot of talk out there about the new Verizon Storm that’s on the horizon.  Sorry – the pun was (nearly) unavoidable.  Will its touch screen and 3G network capability provide an experienced to rival that of the new iPhone?  Or – will this represent yet another failed attempt to match the cultish wonderment of all things Apple?

I’ve set up a neat little poll using Twitter via PollDaddy.  You can find it here.  Chime in and let me know what you think?  Do the folks at Research in Motion (RIM) have a snowball’s chance in the “Hot Zone” of besting Apple’s latest darling?  Or – are they destined to roam the technological landscape as a perennial “also ran?”

Take a Poll on this Topic Now!

One major fund group cites a 15 percent increase in activity from this time last year for various reasons including staving off foreclosure and medical emergency.

However, 401(k) loans should only be made with careful consideration.

On the positive side, 401(k) loans don’t require a credit check.  This is helpful feature for people deep in debt, and who may have missed a payment or two to their creditors.  With no credit score requirement, a poor payment history won’t disqualify a plan participant.

In addition, most 401(k) loans can be arranged with just a phone call and a small stack of paperwork.  There’s no “qualification process” like applying for a credit card or a mortgage.  Money can be available, therefore, in as little as a day.

But there are negatives to 401(k) loans and the biggest one relates to taxation.

If you take a 401(k) loan and can’t repay according to its terms, the IRS taxes the loan as ordinary income and slaps on a 10 percent penalty if you’re under 59 1/2.  That can be very costly for a lot of people.

But, even if you do repay the loan on time, it’s still gets expensive.  This is because 401(k) loan repayments are subject to double-taxation.

The first taxation occurs when the loan is repaid because the payback is made with post-tax paycheck dollars.  A person in the 25% tax bracket, for example, would need a $1,333 paycheck to repay a $1,000 loan — the missing $333 goes to taxes.

And the second taxation occurs at retirement when the funds are finally withdrawn.  The IRS taxes that money as ordinary income.

Now, this isn’t to say that taking a loan against your 401(k) is bad, it just may not be the best possible route for a person in trouble.  Especially because of the costs.  If you’re planning to withdraw from your 401(k) for hardship, be sure to talk with a qualified financial professional first.

If you’d like a referral to a trusted professional, call or email me anytime.

Monday afternoon, the U.S. House of Representatives defeated the $700 billion “Bailout Bill”, surprising Wall Street and the world.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average responded by falling 777.68 points — its largest one-day loss in history and, this morning, every newspaper in America is covering the story as front page news.

Lost in the coverage, however, is how the “No” vote created a terrific opportunity for mortgage rate shoppers.

Yesterday, as money fled the tanking stock market, most of it ended up getting parked in the relative safety of government-backed bonds which includes, of course, the mortgage bonds.  This rising demand for mortgage bonds caused rates to fall.

To investors, stock markets represent risk and bond markets represent safety.  So, when market sentiment changes, as it did yesterday, Wall Street players often shift their dollars from one forum to the other.  This is why yesterday’s stock sell-off was good news for mortgage rate shoppers — the added demand for “safe” securities drove down rates.

Conforming mortgage rates were lower by about an eighth-percent Monday.

Now, today, mortgage rates are opening flat, suggesting that markets are in a Wait-and-See Mode.  Wall Streets knows that the defeated bill will re-emerge later this week and, when it does, expect traders to respond accordingly.

If the new-look bill is viewed as favorable to U.S. businesses without harming taxpayers, expect stock markets to improve and mortgage rates to rise.  If the bill fails to accomplish that goal, however, expect mortgage rates to improve.