The largest U.S. bank failure ever came last year: Seattle-based thrift Washington Mutual Inc. fell in September, with about $307 billion in assets. It was acquired by JPMorgan Chase & Co. for $1.9 billion in a deal brokered by the FDIC. If they were true assets then why did the FDIC sell them for less than 3/4 of 1% of the actual value. Is this a good use of our tax dollars? I wonder if we offered less than 1% of the value for an FHA foreclosure if FHA would take it? Lets say for example the home has a value of $200,000 and we offer $1800.00 for it, by the standard set by the FDIC, they should take it, right? Yes, I know it's sounds stupid, but why is it good for the big guys and not for the citizenry? http://agentrecruit.com http://kwtyler.com   08/15/2009

This morning it was announced that our Very own Keller Williams in Tyler, Texas was #2 in the region for July of 2009. We strive every day to be the best Real Estate company in East Texas and it is great that the agents achieved this milestone. There are 30 + market Centers in the region and I was taken by surprise when I was told. Every agent at KW Tyler should give themselves a round of aplause. We have a lot of work to do yet, but we are clearly on our way.  Here's to the best Real Estate Agents in East Texas. http://agentrecruit.com http://kwtyler.com     08/10/2009

I happened to read the most incredible post on Active Rain this morning. Please read this and give this guy a comment. He is surely deserving... http://activerain.com/blogsview/1170697/a-farewell-to-freedom-   I found this post very rewarding and appropriate in the times we now must endure. Thanks to all that check it out. I hope you like it as much as I did!   http://agentrecruit.com http://kwtyler.com 07/28/2009

Congratulations to George Bush! You did a great job of increasing home sales by 11% last month. After months of just down right bad numbers, George put up a great number. Everyone has been blaming you since November of last year for all the bad things happening in the Real Estate business. Well here is a big ole atta- boy for George. You stuck to your guns and turned it around for us.   Hey, if you can blame him, you can give him his props too!   http://agentrecruit.com http://kwtyler.com    07/27/2009

Today I was invited to attend a home buying seminar for some folks in Tyler Texas. The general consensus was if the administration is putting all this money into the Banks and such, why are loans so hard to get? Why are property values still dropping in parts of the country? Followed by why didn't they take the money to the people instead of the big Banks and Automakers? I had no answer.... NONE! With the money the administration has put up for the Banks and Car companies a check for $7500.00 to each and every 300 million man, woman and child, in the country could be written. That's $30,000.00 for a family of four. House payments would have been caught up, cars would sell and the economy would have been fixed over night. SO NO, I can't answer those questions, the administration is just ... 07/25/2009

None of that 'Sis'-sy Stuff  Are you tired of those  sissy 'friendship' poems that always sound good,    but never actually come close to reality? Well, here is a series of promises that actually speak of True Friendship. You WON'T see   cutesy little smiley faces on this card- Just the stone cold truth  of our great friendship. 1. When you are sad, I will jump on the person who made you sad like a spider monkey jacked up on Mountain Dew!!!    2. When you are blue, I will try to dislodge whatever is choking you.    3. When you smile, I will know you are plotting something that I must be involved in.    4. When you're scared, we will high tail it out of here.    5. When you are worried, I will tell you horrible stories about how much w orse  it could be until you  quit whining, ya big ba... 07/24/2009

      Now estimates put our exposure at 23.7 Trillion dollars. Yet homes prices continue to plunge and the administration continues to blame and over commit.   Tarp in its present form will put all income under the 100% control of a centralized, socialized government.   The latest from fox news:       The total price tag for federal support stemming from the financial crisis could reach $23.7 trillion in the long run, the government's top bailout watchdog says in a new report to Congress.  Neil Barofsky, the inspector general for the Troubled Asset Relief Program, plans to deliver his report Tuesday to the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee.  The $23.7 trillion figure is admittedly a high-ball number and reflects the total potential gross exposure, but Barofsky in his prep... 07/20/2009

Tom Watson is atop the leader board at the British open and I for one, love it. Now, don't miss understand, I don't think he will win it, but I can dream. If any of the old fellows has a chance, it would have to be Tom. He plays well at the Open and is loved by the locals. So, here's to Tom Watson, may your old legs carry you to victory and history. Thanks for the memories, Tom.   http://agentrecruit.com http://kwtyler.com 07/17/2009

The market seems to be heating up, along with the temperature here in East Texas. We are beginning to see more buyers in the market. The problem remains, loan underwriting and appraisals. We have inventory and we have buyers, the government says we have money. We are having a hell of a time getting money in the hands of buyers. More and more it seems like loan underwriters are trying to decline a loan instead of approve it. In the Tyler area of east Texas we are turning to local lenders and having better results. The big fellows that have dominated the industry for years are to hard to deal with and the local bankers seem to be listening more now than in the past. Sure, they don't buy everything, but what they will buy, gets done light years faster than the big boys who took government ... 07/13/2009

    One day I hopped in a taxi and we took off for the airport . We were driving in the right lane when suddenly a black car jumped out of a parking space right in front of us. My taxi driver slammed on his breaks, skidded, and missed the other car by just inches! The driver of the other car whipped his head around and started yelling at us. My taxi driver just smiled and waved at the guy. And I mean, he was really friendly. So I asked, 'Why did you just do that? This guy almost ruined your car and sent us to the hospital!' This is when my taxi driver taught me what I now call, 'The Law of the Garbage Truck.' He explained that many people are like garbage trucks. They run around full of garbage, full of frustration, full of anger, and full of disappointment. As their garbage piles up, t... 07/10/2009

"If your actions inspire others to dream more,learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader". John Quincy Adams   What do your actions tell other people about you? Are you confident and approachable or maybe cocky and arrogant?  Trust me, there is fine line between the two and I have been on both sides. You always want to be confident and approachable in your business dealings with customers and other agents alike. As you become more successful you will struggle with this more than anything else. I find the best way for me to deal with not getting to cocky or arrogant is to teach classes at our office to new agents. You will find that some of the things you take for granted every day, they haven't experienced yet. In the process of training them I begin to feel humble and gratef... 07/10/2009

The U.S. government has tens of billions of dollars left in the eye-popping $700 billion bank bailout fund created last year, prompting a debate in Congress over what to do with it. The Government Accountability Office, the nonpartisan investigative arm of Congress, estimated on Thursday that the government has about $328 billion left in the fund that has not been spent or legally committed. I have a great sugestion; Either pay off some of our debt. Or give $1100.00 to each person in the country all 300 million of us. I bet you anything niether happens. I can see Barney Frank and Chris Dodd saying we need it for this or that and it never reaching the debt or the public. http://agentrecruit.com http://kwtyler.com 07/10/2009

I have been in Tyler, Texas for about 3 months now and I can only say one thing. I LOVE IT!!    Our Market Center is growing and the agents in Tyler are really beginning to grasp the concept of what we are trying to do. I wondered about the homes in Tyler when I came here and to my surprise, the market is actually very strong. Oh, you have the agents in town that think the customer works for them, but that's everywhere. As a whole Real Estate agents in Tyler want to learn how to deal with a shifting market. That works great for the business model we offer at Keller Williams, Tyler. Thanks for all that have made the move a success.    http://agentrecruit.com http://kwtyler.com 07/09/2009

The 4th of July is one of my favorite holidays. Of course its a great day in our country, but it also was the first holiday after school was out. It was always great to take the kids and have a long weekend. My kids are grown now, but I love to see families at the water-park or just going to the movies. This morning already you can see Dads and sons playing golf and starting the weekend off right. Please be safe and have a blast with the family this weekend.   http://agentrecruit.com http://kwtyler.com   07/03/2009

You are what your deep, driving desire is.As your desire is, so is your will. As your will is, so is your deed. As your deed is, so is your destiny.Brihadaranyaka Upanishad IV 4.5 If we would see the color of our future, we must look for it in our present; if we would gaze on the star of our destiny, we must look for it in our hearts. Canon Farrar Everywhere man blames nature and fate, yet his fate is mostly but the echo of his character and passions, his mistakes and weaknesses.Democritus http://agentrecruit.com http://kwtyler.com   07/01/2009

As some of you know, I played golf for many years and am just now getting back to playing. Well I played in a tournament on Friday as a guest of Boren & Scott title company in Tyler, Texas. Now I need a 12 step program for this $%^&* addiction. We won! We actually played OK, with nothing special happening until the very last hole. The I mainlined the game throughout every vein in my body. It was a simple little par 5, about 520 yards or so. I drove it up the left side of the fairway and we played my drive. OK good so far, right? Everyone hit and did a great job, we were in a very good position to make a birdie. The yardage was 227 uphill over a bunker so I decided to hit a smooth 3 wood for the back of the green and we might make a long eagle putt. Good plan I thought. Well I hit it and... 06/29/2009

I have a buyer that has been preapproved through a local lender and recently found a Bank of America REO.  The MLS listing states that the buyer must submit a prequal letter from Bank of America with the offer.  I find this to be too time consuming and frustrating for my client, who already has his financing in place. Firstly, I don't know any Bank of America loan officers in the Tyler area to refer him to to get pre-qualified.  I did go online and referred him to a link to get prequalified but only to get a referral to someone in Dallas who kept him on the phone for an hour or so and who tried to charge him $60 (for what I don't know). Secondly, we have a preapproval from a repituable local lender and ready to negotiate. My question:  Why waste our time getting prequalified from Bank o... 06/23/2009

It is not work that kills men, it is worry. Work is healthy; you can hardly put more on a man than he can bear. But worry is rust upon the blade. It is not movement that destroys the machinery, but friction.Henry Ward Beecher Be just, and fear not. Let all the ends thou aim'st at be thy country's, Thy God's and truth's.William Shakespeare Never let life's hardships disturb you ... no one can avoid problems, not even saints or sages.Nichiren Daishonen Ask yourself this question:"Will this matter a year from now?"Richard Carlson, writing in Don't Swe http://agentrecruit.com http://kwtyler.com 06/22/2009

Knowing yourself is the beginning of all wisdom.Aristotle Our ideas, like orange-plants, spread out in proportion to the size of the box which imprisons the roots.Edward Bulwer Lytton In learning to know other things, and other minds, we become more intimately acquainted with ourselves, and are to ourselves better worth knowing.Philip Gilbert Hamilton What progress, you ask, have I made? I have begun to be a friend to myself.Hecato, Greek philosopher To conquer oneself is the best and noblest victory; to be vanquished by one's own nature is the worst and most ignoble defeat.Plato Everybody wants to be somebody;nobody wants to grow.Johann Wolfgang von Goethe http://agentrecruit.com http://kwtyler.com 06/09/2009

Tyler is known for roses. They have the rose garden and there is row after row of just perfect roses. If your ever in Texas, I recomend it. It's free and worth your time for sure.        While your here don't forget the great zoo.                                                    I thought a feel good community post would be fun for a change. Have a great week to all and by all means stop and smell the roses along the way!   http://agentrecruit.com http://kwtyler.com 06/03/2009