P.O. Box 483 New Philadelphia OH 44663 Unit s of News Meeting Agenda: MENARDS Contractor Service Dept. -How they can help us as rehab & housing providers.- Leaving OREIA. Inside this issue: Presidents note 2 2008 Officers & 3 Advisory Board DATE: Thursday, 07/09/2009. Location: Geib Family Center East High Ave. New Phila 7:00 9:00 PM. Josh Boglarsky, Contract Serv. Mgr, and Scott Evans, Acct. Serv. Mgr. will join us for the evening. They will bring information on how they can help us as rehabbers & housing providers. MENARDS of Massillon Contractor Service Department They have a special program to introduce us to which is called Contractor Advantage Come listen to what Program. They will discuss with us the special our members in the Menards has to offer benefits available with way of discounts, regards to delivery, pick rebates & incentive up, computerized services, estimating help & programs. Contractor Credit Card. This credit card has benefits such as rebates through Menards as well as other named businesses. Terri Jones, TuscREIA Executive Director taej_tdsone@yahoo.com or 330/339-3227 TuscREIA Members Benefits Secretary minutes. From May & June 3 4 NEW: Jiffy Pop Smoke Detector Schedule of Events 5 We re Linked 5 Business cards 6 Look no batteries needed in this Smoke Detector. BUT it might come missing at snack time. Just a little something to laugh at JULY MEETING SPONSORS: Door prize: Menards Home Improvements Refreshments: Wendell Wendling
Page 2 A note from our President. The National real estate market is still in a state of turmoil and is expected to continue this way for some time until the economy recovers, credit loosens and confidence in the future returns. This month the bright spot is sales of existing houses rose 2.4 % in May the third straight monthly increase, but the results missed analysts expectations. Nationwide home sales seem to have temporally bottomed out but there may be a host of thorny problems hindering a true recovery. Total housing inventory at the end of May fell 3.5% representing a nationwide 9.6 month supply down from a 10.1 month supply in April, normal supply is 6 months or less. In northeast Ohio the number of houses sold is down 20.7% from last year and prices have dropped 24.8%. With these figures the good news is some sellers seem to finally realize it is a buyers market and they become more realistic in setting a listing price. They understand the importance of gaining a competitive advantage among the limited pool of qualified buyers. Owner occupied home sellers are still competing against a growing number of bargain priced foreclosures. Between 30-45% of all house sales involve a distressed property foreclosures, short sales and bank owned properties. Some hard hit areas have seen as high as 80% of sales as distressed properties. March, April and May were the three largest foreclosure months in history and I believe we may see more in the future Mortgage rates have started to creep up. April showed a record low of 4.81% for a fixed rate 30 year mortgage, May s rate rose slightly to 4.86%. In May 2008 the rate was 6.04%. So far in June it is 5.38%. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have started imposing various fees to recoup their losses driving up rates. Sales are up because the low interest rates have drawn buyers into the market and the first time home buyer s tax credit has helped. Sales are less than expected because poor appraisal valuations are keeping buyers from getting their loans. The appraisal problem is serious. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac set new appraisal standards May 1. Lenders will not be able to pick a local appraiser who knows the market. They have to use a thirdparty appraisal management company. This will drive the appraisal price up while the appraiser will be doing more work for less pay. These companies are using appraisers who may not be familiar with a neighborhood or who compare traditional homes with distressed and discounted sales. Complaints have been coming in from across the country about low evaluations and deals falling through at the last minute. There is a real danger of a delayed housing market recovery and a further rise in foreclosures if the appraisal problems are not quickly corrected. We need realistic appraisals that are based on proper comparisons and done by a local specialist. The National Association of Realtors has asked for an 18-month hold on the new standards arguing the code is hampering the housing market s recovery. On another note I am currently involved with local foreclosed house that is still occupied. This woman is in her late 60s. Her husband passed away several years ago. At that time she had what would be considered a sizeable sum of money. Now she has lost her home. What happened? Without telling the whole story, she helped various family members pay off debt. I have dealt with several older people who lost their homes in the same way, it is very sad. They all took out different equity loans against their homes to help family members pay off credit card debt, down payments on a home, grandchildren s education, etc. Of course the borrower always said they would pay them back, some did but most did not. She is devastated and we are not sure where she will be able to go. I told her daughter that if I or someone else could have gotten involved sooner we may have been able help. We could have sold this very nice house, which is worth more than what the bank took it back for. In other cases where the debt is more than the value we could look at a short sale. The debt could be restructured, there is mediation and there are organizations that could help in stopping the foreclosure. Sometimes the missed payments can be put at the back end of the loan. Most of these people just do not know where to turn or what to do. Often they are embarrassed and even family and close friends do not know about the foreclosure until it is too late. The point here is if you know of anyone in a foreclosure situation, urge them to contact someone. I can help. Jack Jones is on the Tuscarawas County Foreclosure Task Force Save Our Homes, he can help. Rising foreclosures hurts all of us in the end. Jack Lewis, 2009 TuscREIA President Unit s of News
TuscREIA CONTACT INFORMATION January thru December 2009 2009 Officers President Jack Lewis 330/340-1861 jacklewis20@roadrunner.com Vice President Andy Lee 330/339-4708 andylee@roadrunner.com Treasurer Chris Hopkins 740/922-4028 cmhopkins@roadrunner.com Secretary Jack Jones 330/339-3227 jackj1968@yahoo.com 2009 Advisory Board Patty McCreery 740/922-0319 Tom Wiegand 330/364-6873 Mike Baker 330/343-3332 John McCreery 740/922-0319 Linda Sherer 740/922-1168 Bryan Mitchell 330/756-2695 Newsletter Articles & Info Terri Jones 330/339-3227 taej_tdsone@yahoo.com OREIA Delegates Jack Jones Bryan Mitchell Tom Wiegand, alternate BENEFITS & SERVICES PROVIDED TO TuscREIA MEMBERS WEB SITE: www.tuscreia.com Current forms, newsletters, evictions, court forms, benefits, for sale/for rent ads, & contacts are all located on the web. Contact Terri Jones taej_tdsone@yahoo.com for your user name & password. NEWSLETTER: Members will receive a newsletter prior to each general meeting. Information within the newsletter will update members on items of interest since the last meeting. ADVERTISE YOUR BUSINESS: Members can place an ad in our newsletter and on our web site for their businesses. Drop off, email or fax your Ad. (i.e. business card or other). Please call Terri Jones for advertising fees. CREDIT REPORTS: Price $11.75 per person beginning 04/01/09. Fax a completed Application to Rent (Rev 11/2004) to our 24-hour fax line 330/308-5303. PLEASE NOTE, the information sent to us MUST be readable The applicant must supply us with complete name, social security number, birth date and current physical address. Signatures of all applicants and the owner/ agent along with a return fax number or email address must accompany the request. An Invoice will be sent along with your credit report and must be paid within 30 days or a 10% increase will be added. We suggest you receive an application fee for this service. EVICTIONS: We currently run a report approximately every 60 days for Tuscarawas County. If you think you are missing an update check our web site www.tuscreia.com or please contact Linda Sherer @ 740/922-1168 or email lsherer@roadrunner.com. The information is supplied by Tuscarawas County Public Records. TuscREIA provides this information as a Business Tool and should not be held liable for discrepancies. Any errors should be dealt with directly though the county courts. NEW MEMBER PACKETS: New members will receive our 3-Ring Notebook with all forms, master evictions and legal notices. Contact Jack Lewis 330/340-1861 or email jacklewis20@roadrunner.com for further information. Questions regarding rentals, procedures, evictions, etc., please feel free to contact any officer or advisory board member for help. WEB SITE: A permanent user name & password will be given to each new member which will enable the member to access the Members info section of the web site. The password also acts as the members personal Membership Number. BUSINESS MEMBERSHIP: There are 3 levels of Business Membership to choose from. Contact Jack Lewis 330/340-1861 or email jacklewis20@roadrunner.com for the Business Membership Application and further information on which level best suits your
Secretary minutes. On May 14th our regularly scheduled General Meeting was held. For May TuscREIA held a round table discussion on the various challenges rental property owners face in Ohio. Some of the topics included: >The do s & don ts of landlording were re-visited. >Discussion on 3 day notices & 30 day notices were brought up for members in attendance. >Information was provided concerning the First Time Home Buyers Tax Credit from our president. >Legal issues on renting/not renting to registered sex offenders. Refreshments were provided by Jack Lewis of Top Agents realtors. On June 11 2009 the Officers and Board members met to discuss a slate of speakers for the next several months. We have been approached by a representative of the new Menards store in Massillon to offer up some special pricing and rebates for our group. We were informed that Menards has trucks in Tuscarawas County every day so delivery is not a problem and we would have a single point of contact for all our home improvement needs. We have requested a representative bring a presentation to our July meeting so all may hear what they have to offer. A discussion was held concerning TuscREIA resigning from membership in OREIA (Ohio Real Estate Investors Assoc.). OREIA has been a help to TuscREIA, but at the present time, due to their membership fee increases, uncertainty in leadership and unwillingness to listen to the smaller associations we feel it s in the best interest of TuscREIA to step down. We leave our association with the availability to rejoin OREIA at a later time. TuscREIA can still visit the OREIA web site for continued information with state issues. www.oreia.com A speaker on current frauds being used on landlords was discussed for the July meeting How to write for grants from the federal government sponsored by the Salvation Army of greater Cleveland was brought up. Information on this is being forwarded to the Association and should be available for our July meeting. Our Treasurer, Linda Sherer has tendered her resignation due to family illness. Advisory Board Member, Chris Hopkins has offered to complete the remainder of the year for Linda. Linda will remain on the Advisory Board throughout the year. Linda & Chris will be in touch to make the transfer of treasurer position smooth. Linda will also be available to help Chris with any questions that may come up. John & Patty McCreery have agreed to be in charge of visiting the New Phila post office and delivering it to Chris. Thank you Chris, Pat & John for your help! Jack Jones, 2008 & 2009 Secretary Page 4 The Officers, Advisory Board & Exec. Director wish to personal thank Linda Sherer for all the forward improvements & ideas made during her term as TuscREIA treasurer. She is a great benefit to our association, she is always one of the first to step up and lend a hand or a thought. S. PENNY TRIPLETT, Realtor / Broker 2009 President of the Tusc. Cty. Board of Realtors Pissocra Mathias Realty 507 Wabash Avenue, New Phila OH 44663 330/364-7761, 330/343-6187 or 866-364-7761 www.pmsold.com Penny writes a weekly article in the Real Estate section of the Times Reporter.
P.O. Box 483 New Philadelphia OH 44663 2132 Herbert Street SE Phone: 330/339-3227 Fax: 330/308-5303 Through education & experience all things are possible. TuscREIA is a NOT FOR PROFIT educational organization and investors should consult an attorney and/or accountant before making any investment or legal decisions. All members and guests assume the risk of making their own investment decisions. TuscREIA does not endorse any person or organization or the advertisers appearing in this newsletter. Its programs are designed to be educational, motivational and enjoyable. 2009 TuscREIA General Meeting Schedule. Announcing the 2009 TuscREIA Schedule. Mark you calendars and plan to join us. We will continue to meet at the Linn, Hert, Geib Family Center on East High Avenue, New Phila OH. Our meetings will start promptly at 7pm and end at 9pm. Door Prizes & Refreshments from our Business Members will be provided. Watch your Unit s of News newsletters & our web site www.tuscreia.com for a listing of speakers & topics for each meeting. July 9th & Sept. 10th. The 12th Annual Holiday Dinner location, date & time to be announced. WE RE LINKED.. Go to the bottom of our home page www.tuscreia.com We have members business cards displayed. Click on the business cards and it will take you to the advertisers web site. Take a second to check out our business links. If you have a business card you would like displayed on our home page contact Terri Jones for information.