Dt 15:11 "There will always be poor people in the land. Therefore I command you to be openhanded toward your brothers and toward the poor and needy in your land."
Mt 26:11 "The poor you will always have with you, but you will not always have me."
2008 was by far the worst year of my adult life when it comes to income, provision for my family, stress, worry, and the simple pleasures of a meal with my family. I work in the mortgage industry as a loan officer. 2007 and 2008 revealed many of the flaws of our industry as well as other industries very closely tied to credit.
Unfortunately, as a result of the "economic crisis" facing our country, many families are facing job losses, home losses, as well as retirement savings losses. We certainly do have some challenges before us.
In the last several days and weeks, I've had conversations with lots of people who have not immediately been affected by job loss or home loss, but may have lost money in their stock portfolio or 401k plans. The common denominator with most of the conversations has not been about helping others, but rather looking to the gov't to help clean up the mess. I've even heard many people complain and blame the people losing their jobs and homes for making bad decisions. Kind of a "Sucks to be you" attitude. Neighbors, Family, Friends, etc. are in dire straights these days.
Sure, did some people make some bad decisions? You bet they did. Did some people break the law and fraudulently scam millions from unsuspecting Americans? You betcha. Did honest people who were not beyond their means lose their job due to a down turn in the economy? Millions!
So here is my question? You claim to follow Jesus as Lord? Do you prescribe to his teachings about the poor among us? Have you seen how you can help? Are you looking are feeling sorry for yourself?
Fiscal Stewardship is all about understanding that none of it is ours to begin with. Those who have done well, Congratulations! Consider yourself blessed to have a job and a home. Dig deep and figure out how you can now bless someone less fortunate.
I am confident that the solution to our country's economic crisis lies within each one of us, not the gov't. Reach out your hand to your neighbor and lend a hand where you can. This is your community, someone's father, mother, brother or sister. It could be you.
There are plenty of ways to help. Try taking a meal. Take some groceries. Can you afford someone's house payment for a month to help them with time to find a new job? Is it within your means to provide a short term solution to care for someone?
Remember God's words in DT - "Be openhanded toward your brothers and toward the poor and needy in your land."
May God continue to bless you!
Saturday, February 21, 2009
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Economic Stimulus Plan Benefits the Housing and Mortgage Industries
Revised February 17, 2009
Just signed and sealed…a $787 Billion Stimulus Plan made up of tax cuts and spending programs aims at reviving the US economy. Although the package was scaled down from nearly $1 Trillion, it still stands as the largest anti-recession effort since World War II.
Home owners and potential homebuyers stand to gain from key provisions in this stimulus plan. Here is what we know as of today...
The following discussions are intended for you to use directly with your client either in writing or verbally.
Feel free to copy and paste as you wish
Tax Credit for Homebuyers
First-time homebuyers who purchase homes from the start of the year until the end of November 2009 may be eligible for the lower of an $8,000 or 10% of the value of the home tax credit. Remember a tax credit is very different than a tax deduction – a tax credit is equivalent to money in your hand, as opposed to a tax deduction which only reduces your taxable income.
The tax credit starts phasing out for couples with incomes above $150,000 and single filers with incomes above $75,000. Buyers will have to repay the credit if they sell their homes within three years.
Additional Housing-Related Provisions
Tax Incentives to Spur Energy Savings and Green Jobs — This provision is designed to help promote energy-efficient investments in homes by extending and expanding tax credits through 2010 for purchases such as new furnaces, energy-efficient windows and doors, or insulation.
Landmark Energy Savings — This provision provides $5 Billion for energy efficient improvements for more than one million modest-income homes through weatherization. According to some estimates, this can help modest-income families save an average of $350 a year on heating and air conditioning bills.
Repairing Public Housing and Making Key Energy Efficiency Retrofits To HUD-Assisted Housing—This provision provides a total of $6.3 Billion for increasing energy efficiency in federally supported housing programs.Specifically, it establishes a new program to upgrade HUD-sponsored low-income housing (for elderly, disabled, and Section 8) to increase energy efficiency, including new insulation, windows, and frames.
Expanding Housing Assistance—This provision increases support for several critical housing programs. It includes $2 Billion for the Neighborhood Stabilization Program to help communities purchase and rehabilitate foreclosed, vacant properties.
More Help for Homeowners in the Future
Another thing to keep an eye on in the coming weeks is President Obama’s plan to help struggling borrowers before they are faced with a default on their mortgage.
According to reports, the Obama administration is discussing plans to help borrowers who are struggling to stay afloat, but who have not yet fallen behind on their payments. At this point, details are scarce; however, reports indicate that President Obama is looking to spend approximately $50 Billion to directly help homeowners before they face foreclosure and financial disaster.
While this is good news for individual homeowners, it will likely be good for the housing industry as a whole. That’s because, assisting struggling borrowers before they default should help stop the wave of foreclosures, which are estimated to top two million this year. That, in turn, will help stabilize home prices.
The Economic Stimulus Plan is huge, and impacts a number of industries. I’ve highlighted some of the major provisions that may impact you now and in the future.
As always, if you have any questions or would like to discuss how this may specifically impact you, I’d be happy to sit down with you. Just call or email me to set up an appointment.
Just signed and sealed…a $787 Billion Stimulus Plan made up of tax cuts and spending programs aims at reviving the US economy. Although the package was scaled down from nearly $1 Trillion, it still stands as the largest anti-recession effort since World War II.
Home owners and potential homebuyers stand to gain from key provisions in this stimulus plan. Here is what we know as of today...
The following discussions are intended for you to use directly with your client either in writing or verbally.
Feel free to copy and paste as you wish
Tax Credit for Homebuyers
First-time homebuyers who purchase homes from the start of the year until the end of November 2009 may be eligible for the lower of an $8,000 or 10% of the value of the home tax credit. Remember a tax credit is very different than a tax deduction – a tax credit is equivalent to money in your hand, as opposed to a tax deduction which only reduces your taxable income.
The tax credit starts phasing out for couples with incomes above $150,000 and single filers with incomes above $75,000. Buyers will have to repay the credit if they sell their homes within three years.
Additional Housing-Related Provisions
Tax Incentives to Spur Energy Savings and Green Jobs — This provision is designed to help promote energy-efficient investments in homes by extending and expanding tax credits through 2010 for purchases such as new furnaces, energy-efficient windows and doors, or insulation.
Landmark Energy Savings — This provision provides $5 Billion for energy efficient improvements for more than one million modest-income homes through weatherization. According to some estimates, this can help modest-income families save an average of $350 a year on heating and air conditioning bills.
Repairing Public Housing and Making Key Energy Efficiency Retrofits To HUD-Assisted Housing—This provision provides a total of $6.3 Billion for increasing energy efficiency in federally supported housing programs.Specifically, it establishes a new program to upgrade HUD-sponsored low-income housing (for elderly, disabled, and Section 8) to increase energy efficiency, including new insulation, windows, and frames.
Expanding Housing Assistance—This provision increases support for several critical housing programs. It includes $2 Billion for the Neighborhood Stabilization Program to help communities purchase and rehabilitate foreclosed, vacant properties.
More Help for Homeowners in the Future
Another thing to keep an eye on in the coming weeks is President Obama’s plan to help struggling borrowers before they are faced with a default on their mortgage.
According to reports, the Obama administration is discussing plans to help borrowers who are struggling to stay afloat, but who have not yet fallen behind on their payments. At this point, details are scarce; however, reports indicate that President Obama is looking to spend approximately $50 Billion to directly help homeowners before they face foreclosure and financial disaster.
While this is good news for individual homeowners, it will likely be good for the housing industry as a whole. That’s because, assisting struggling borrowers before they default should help stop the wave of foreclosures, which are estimated to top two million this year. That, in turn, will help stabilize home prices.
The Economic Stimulus Plan is huge, and impacts a number of industries. I’ve highlighted some of the major provisions that may impact you now and in the future.
As always, if you have any questions or would like to discuss how this may specifically impact you, I’d be happy to sit down with you. Just call or email me to set up an appointment.
Wednesday, January 7, 2009
Who do You Serve? God or Money?
I'm sorry I haven't posted in quite some time. This message will mean more as I get into it.
Mt 6:24 "No one can be a slave of two masters, since either he will hate one and love the other, or be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot be slaves of God and of money."
As you may know, I am a mortgage banker by trade advising and helping people secure financing for their home purchases and refinances. I've been practicing in the banking and finance since 1996 when I got my start as a teller with a large National Bank.
The last 18 months we've seen some amazing things happen in banking and in our economy that have caused many huge financial institutions to fold. Now, I am not going to get into all the nuts and bolts of what happened. However, I will say that my mortgage practice has suffered greatly as a result of many of these events. Our income has been very stable over the last 9 years until this last year when we lost nearly half of our earnings in the fall out.
As you can probably imagine, God is working some pretty amazing lessons into our lives. I believe deeply that we are allowed to face challenges of many kinds to strengthen us and give us wisdom to help others in the future who may be facing many of the same challenges we've gone through.
So all that being said, God and Money. With recent events, we've felt the pinch of this passage more than ever before. We've always directed our earnings towards serving others and helping with the ministry until this year. Suddenly we were not earning enough to cover our expenses. Credit card bills grew. Savings accounts dwindled. Car payments, credit cards, student loans, and our vacation home were eating us alive.
See, when we get caught up in credit to create the appearance of blessings in our lives, money starts to slowly add the links of bondage. When we would like to give to help out, but we have to make decisions to pay the car or credit card bills, we are no longer able to serve God with the money. Rather we are serving money. Our job becomes a means to buy back our financial freedom.
Commercial advertising campaigns talk about how "priceless" memories are when we use their credit card. What about the large National Bank's slogan "I want it NOW" for their credit card campaign? Have you figured out "What's in your wallet?"
All of these lies are creating slaves of our nation. National Debt is growing as well as personal debt. Marriages are failing and health problems are growing due to financial stress.
It is time to break the chains of bondage and slavery so we can truly serve God with the abundance of what he has blessed us with rather than running out to create our own blessings and False Fantasy world that is all financed.
Consider this as we part... Ps 37:11 "The humble will inherit the land and will enjoy abundant prosperity."
Be patient and live life out of the abundance of what God has blessed you with. Don't run out and finance away your future. It may feel good for a while, but a time will come when your true master, MONEY, will come calling. Fire Money and serve the one True GOD who gives richly to those who love him. Money promises prosperity but serves up heartache. God truly does deliver on his promises.
May God bless you richly this year in prosperity like never before!
Mt 6:24 "No one can be a slave of two masters, since either he will hate one and love the other, or be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot be slaves of God and of money."
As you may know, I am a mortgage banker by trade advising and helping people secure financing for their home purchases and refinances. I've been practicing in the banking and finance since 1996 when I got my start as a teller with a large National Bank.
The last 18 months we've seen some amazing things happen in banking and in our economy that have caused many huge financial institutions to fold. Now, I am not going to get into all the nuts and bolts of what happened. However, I will say that my mortgage practice has suffered greatly as a result of many of these events. Our income has been very stable over the last 9 years until this last year when we lost nearly half of our earnings in the fall out.
As you can probably imagine, God is working some pretty amazing lessons into our lives. I believe deeply that we are allowed to face challenges of many kinds to strengthen us and give us wisdom to help others in the future who may be facing many of the same challenges we've gone through.
So all that being said, God and Money. With recent events, we've felt the pinch of this passage more than ever before. We've always directed our earnings towards serving others and helping with the ministry until this year. Suddenly we were not earning enough to cover our expenses. Credit card bills grew. Savings accounts dwindled. Car payments, credit cards, student loans, and our vacation home were eating us alive.
See, when we get caught up in credit to create the appearance of blessings in our lives, money starts to slowly add the links of bondage. When we would like to give to help out, but we have to make decisions to pay the car or credit card bills, we are no longer able to serve God with the money. Rather we are serving money. Our job becomes a means to buy back our financial freedom.
Commercial advertising campaigns talk about how "priceless" memories are when we use their credit card. What about the large National Bank's slogan "I want it NOW" for their credit card campaign? Have you figured out "What's in your wallet?"
All of these lies are creating slaves of our nation. National Debt is growing as well as personal debt. Marriages are failing and health problems are growing due to financial stress.
It is time to break the chains of bondage and slavery so we can truly serve God with the abundance of what he has blessed us with rather than running out to create our own blessings and False Fantasy world that is all financed.
Consider this as we part... Ps 37:11 "The humble will inherit the land and will enjoy abundant prosperity."
Be patient and live life out of the abundance of what God has blessed you with. Don't run out and finance away your future. It may feel good for a while, but a time will come when your true master, MONEY, will come calling. Fire Money and serve the one True GOD who gives richly to those who love him. Money promises prosperity but serves up heartache. God truly does deliver on his promises.
May God bless you richly this year in prosperity like never before!
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