“You manage online marketing and social media for a bank?” You may be surprised that any organization in as traditional an industry as banking would ever enter the untraditional arena of social media. But I’m not. Social media is about building community regardless of whether it is online or offline. I believe that it is only logical then that a community development bank, like ShoreBank, would start to engage in social media to develop online communities.
I am consistently surprised by how grounded the online community is in meeting in physical locations. At social media club events, the speakers are often drowned out by attendees’ passionate discussions about their favorite causes. People are no longer ‘Tweeting’ or ’Facebooking’ merely to stay connected with their existing friends. Instead they are implementing social media to find and make new like-minded friends and to invite them to join the conversation. That online conversation often fuels a desire for an action that rallies the most unlikely of allies to a particular location. The impact social media can have on building a crowd is phenomenal.
Take the success of Twestival. On January 8, a ‘tweet’ (or online message sent using Twitter.com) went out asking cities to join in hosting a Twestival on February 12 with the goal of bringing local Twitter communities together both online and offline to kickoff a fundraiser for charity: water. I did not think twice about going. So, with $10 in hand for my donation, I joined the more than 10,000 people across 200 worldwide cities, which raised over $250,000. And almost every person I spoke with at Chicago’s Twestival said, “You manage online marketing and social media for ShoreBank? That is so cool.”
They recognized that ShoreBank’s mission is one about which many people are passionate. We build relationships to develop neighborhoods. Why would we not engage in social media to invite like minded friends to join our conversation? We look forward to building our community with you, your passion, and your ideas.
And we want your ideas to help us turn this blog green in April! David, Joel, and Michelle will blog on environmentally friendly practices that can save valuable financial and natural resources. From economic analysis to green design, there is much that a financial institution can do to positively change behaviors to protect the planet. And no one has a monopoly on good ideas which is why we are inviting you to build a blog post around your input!
Please tell us how are you using the internet and online social networks to help save money and protect the environment.
Comment to this thread or contact me independently and let’s see what impact we can make through our online community.
With more than a million foreclosed and distressed properties expected to hit the market, buying a foreclosed home can be a good investment opportunity for the first-time home buyer and investors. While ShoreBank would rather make a Rescue Loan to help save a home, buying a foreclosed property helps stabilize home prices, strengthens a neighborhood and, at the same time, realizes the dream of homeownership for many.
However, potential buyers should not gamble when buying a foreclosed property. This is not a process for the faint of heart, but if one does their due diligence and goes about it in a responsible way, buying a foreclosed home can be a very good investment opportunity. To help home buyers purchase a foreclosed property and ensure sustainable ownership, I am sharing with you my 10 Steps for Buying a Foreclosed Home.
1. Search for foreclosure listings. Track foreclosures in your area to stay on top of the market so you are able to move quickly when they become available. Use an electronic tracking service like RealtyStore or look for listings in real estate magazines, newsletters, newspapers, and government agencies such as Fannie Mae.com; check public records at the county clerk’s office. 2. Find a real estate agent experienced in foreclosures. Some sellers will not accept offers from unrepresented buyers. 3. Find a real estate attorney. Proceedings and laws can be complex and difficult to understand. Do some homework on foreclosures laws and procedures. Start by using Google or another search engine to research foreclosure laws in your state as well as to contact an attorney. 4. Choose a foreclosed home to invest in. Some factors to consider include how to purchase a home while minimizing risk and determining the safest home to go after However, bank-owned properties carry the least risk for investors seeking foreclosed homes. When the bank takes ownership of the foreclosed property, you know there are not any taxes or liens to contend with and that the home is empty of homeowners. 5. Tour the property. And inspect it as closely as possible. It’s best to bring along a professional inspector to determine the property’s condition. Some foreclosures–unlike fixer-uppers–are in fairly good shape, while others may be way behind in maintenance from sitting empty for an extended period of time that could be quite costly to remedy. 6. Line up financing. To qualify for buying a foreclosed home you will need a good payment history with current creditors. If you need to improve your credit, sign up with an experienced credit counseling agency to help budget and to negotiate on your behalf while settling delinquent accounts. Smaller banks are usually more open to working with buyers who have tarnished credit histories. Check your credit report and correct any existing defaults or outdated information. Get pre-approved for a mortgage–speak with three potential lending institutions to obtain a responsible loan. Most sellers of foreclosed properties require a cash offer or pre-approved letter in order to make an offer. 7. MLS Search/Comps. Have your real estate agent check nearby or comparable homes to see if the asking price for a foreclosed home is, in fact, a bargain. 8. Do your homework. Check to see if a foreclosed home has any liens on it, such as unpaid property taxes. Find out who is liable for those costs. 9. Make an Offer. This step involves having your real estate agent or attorney prepare a contract offer to purchase the property with bank financing, bid at a foreclosure auction, or submit a sealed bid to the owner after the foreclosure sale. The key is to decide what the offer or bid price ought to be. You don’t want to pay more than the assessed value, based on the condition and location of the property. The goal in buying a foreclosed property is to buy at a low cost so that you can quickly begin building equity. Foreclosed homes are often sold at discounts of 30 percent or more. 10. Prepare paperwork. Be prepared to deal with more paperwork with a foreclosure than you would with a conventional purchase, particularly when a government agency is involved.
Additional valuable information:
• Find out how foreclosure works in your state. Procedures and legal requirements differ, so get a sense of how soon you can go after a home that appeals to you.
• Be particularly aggressive in negotiating with a bank. Banks are very interested in selling a foreclosed home fast when it’s just sitting on their books doing nothing.
• HUD and other agencies often auction foreclosed homes. However, buyers are frequently unable to inspect any property before making an offer. With so little information, the higher the bid for the property, the higher the risk that you may end up with a money pit.
And finally, it’s important to remember to look for an experienced agent, suitable properties, and outstanding lien issues and be prepared to review a mountain of paperwork.
“Now this is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning.” – Winston Churchill, November 10, 1942, describing the Allied victory at El Alamein in North Africa.
The Census Bureau reported this morning that retail sales in the United States, excluding autos and gasoline, rose sharply for the second consecutive month. The percentage increases were 1.4% in January and 0.5% in February. Sales of electronic equipment, clothing, sporting goods, books, and general merchandise have all risen this year. Gasoline sales are up as well, though mostly because of rising prices following the steep fall late last year. Automobile sales remain in the doldrums. Total vehicle sale in the US fell to an annualized rate of 6.4 million units, the lowest since 1981.
Separately, the Labor Department announced that first-time applications for unemployment insurance remained above 600,000 for the sixth consecutive week. Initial claims of 654,000 brought the total number of Americans collecting unemployment compensation to an all-time high of 5,317,000.
The two-month rebound in retail sales marks one of the first hopeful economic signs in many months. Retail sales are the main driver of our economy and shopping is our national pastime. But, until initial unemployment claims begin to slow down, we won’t know if today’s report foreshadows a real or a false dawn.
It’s certainly an interesting time to be a banker, let alone, one focused on alternative energy and energy efficiency. Even the oft-quoted, “best of times, worst of times” quip doesn’t begin to adequately describe the world at hand. Since there is so much bad news about, I will stick to the “best of times” theme for the moment.
One reason for the “best of times” sentiment relates to provisions in the stimulus package. In particular, the change in the investment tax credit (ITC) from a tax credit to out-right grant opens new opportunities for our triple-bottom line orientation. The ITC is available for the owners of solar, wind, and geothermal systems.
The primary benefit of this change is to eliminate the need for a tax credit investor – which, most often, was a very large bank. Now, instead of selling the tax credit to one of these banks, the owner simply obtains a grant from the US Treasury. While these large banking institutions are often fantastic partners, their involvement presented a challenge for many deals, especially for the small, community-based deals ShoreBank is typically involved with.
For one, the large banks weren’t interested in smaller deals because the transaction costs (and hassle) far outweighed the limited upside for these institutions. With billions of tax liability to offset (hard to believe the good old days were just a few quarters ago), smaller deals were simply too onerous to complete given staffing and time constraints. And since even small deals required hundred of thousands of dollars of tax liability, few alternative investors existed. Consequently, it became very difficult to monetize the ITC credits for deals between $250,000 and $5,000,000 in size.
Secondly, the large banks were very risk averse and had numerous limitations on the deal structure – most of these were not unreasonable, given the risks to them, but cumbersome enough that deals were very hard to put together. Probably the most onerous related to restrictions on other loans needed for the transaction and on requirements of the owner/manager. Again, neither worry was necessarily unwarranted, but both definitely made life complicated.
Now that the large banks aren’t needed, we see lots of potential for smaller firms to become the owners of these systems, especially qualified installers who have been active in the energy industry for some time. If the installers are going to provide 5-year warranties anyway, why not collect a portion of ITC grants as additional compensation – this piece of the pie could be worth several hundred thousand dollars.
We believe the change in the ITC structure from tax credit to grant should unlock lots of entrepreneurial potential and open the door for green job opportunities that simply weren’t possible before the passage of the stimulus bill. It’s one reason to be excited to be a banker nowadays.
Where did February go? February may be the shortest month but it seemed to really fly by this year. The news stories of the economy and the new administration seemed to whisk it away. So now we find ourselves in March and only a few weeks away from the official start of spring…and tax season. “Tax day” is now only a month and a half away. While the thought of preparing a tax return may not be the most tantalizing topic it is a reminder that there is still time to look into IRA contributions for 2008. And these days an IRA through a bank might be a good fit.
An IRA allows you to prepare for retirement by investing for the long term in a tax advantaged way. Investment gains are not taxed until disbursements are made. And in some cases the contribution may be deductible as well. (The main types of IRAs are Traditional and Roth – there are differences between the products with Roth IRAs offering a bit more flexibility but there are tighter restrictions on who can qualify). In general IRAs provide an additional way for anyone to save for retirement. They can be particularly effective for employees of small businesses who may not have retirement plans available at work.
The IRA structure can be used to invest in a range of assets. As a bank we offer cash investment products – meaning that an IRA at a bank can be invested in CDs. You can choose a CD with a fixed rate of return and guarantee your results. Or you can choose a floating rate that responds to change in the interest rate environment. Both approaches can be done inside of an IRA. And all of these cash investments at a bank like ShoreBank are FDIC insured up to $250,000, a limit which is not impacted by your funds in other accounts.
As you prepare for taxes spring forward to some long term planning and see if an IRA invested in a CD is a good fit. IRA contributions for 2008 can be made up until April 15th.
If you are looking for the official descriptions of IRAs, here is a link to the IRS introduction http://www.irs.gov/publications/p590/ar01.html#d0e412
If this year has been particularly difficult, the IRS has information on helping financially distressed taxpayers http://www.irs.gov/newsroom/article/0,,id=202244,00.html
“You manage online marketing and social media for a bank?” You may be surprised that any organization in as traditional an industry as banking would ever enter the untraditional arena of social media. But I’m not. Social media is about building community regardless of whether it is online or offline. I believe that it is only logical then that a community development bank, like ShoreBank, would start to engage in social media to develop online communities.
One reason for the “best of times” sentiment relates to provisions in the stimulus package. In particular, the change in the investment tax credit (ITC) from a tax credit to out-right grant opens new opportunities for our triple-bottom line orientation. The ITC is available for the owners of solar, wind, and geothermal systems.
An IRA allows you to prepare for retirement by investing for the long term in a tax advantaged way. Investment gains are not taxed until disbursements are made. And in some cases the contribution may be deductible as well. (The main types of IRAs are Traditional and Roth – there are differences between the products with Roth IRAs offering a bit more flexibility but there are tighter restrictions on who can qualify). In general IRAs provide an additional way for anyone to save for retirement. They can be particularly effective for employees of small businesses who may not have retirement plans available at work.