The Holidays Are Upon Us !!!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING

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CFR Admin and Accounting will be closed Thursday and Friday ... 11-27 & 11-28 for Thanksgiving ... All the Owners, Brokers, Managers and Staff wish everyone a Happy Turkey Day ... Being with your Friends, Family or love ones is a blessing that we all should cherish and be thankful for ...

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This time of year it is very easy to get depressed when looking at the doom and gloom of the current economy, the job layoffs, the market conditions and uncertainty of the immediate future ... However, we can not escape the responsibility we have to get back up, dust ourselves off and continue to be positive in the face of adversity ...

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I feel the excitement building and the anticipation of the upcoming year is getting stronger and stronger ... Here at CFR we are continuing to grow in transactions completed and our number of agents are increasing each month ...

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We would like to welcome the latest 24 agents to join us ... Yolanda Bailey, Ginger Bergen, Myla Bushman, Seth Carroll, William Conway, Truman Cox, Normando De Halle, Russell Ellis, Brian Epstein, James Fagan II, Ana Fuentes, Leticia Gavira, Tammy Hamilton, Catherine Jay, Shannon Lee, Margarita Perez, Rafael Perez, Monica Placencia, Sergio Polanco, Adrian Regus, Guadalupe Sosa, Cecilia Trujillo, Diane Turner-Martin and Jose Yanez ... We continue to hire very experienced agents which strengthens our position in the market ...

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The acceptance of our latest venture, the 'Clients Assist' Division, has proven to be an undertaking that will be well worth the efforts the CAD member are putting forth ...

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We have had several classes covering the 'Clients Assist' programs and the attendance is appreciated ... The response has be positive and all that have attended stated that they had a better understanding of the current market, short sales, loan modification and short-pay refi programs ...

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We have started processing clients through CAD ... we are finding out that some of the lenders are being very responsive and really want to assist in the different programs but a great many of the banks are still bogged down, waiting for the Federal Gov't to light the way with additional programs that would continue to benefit the banks in dealing with the troubled loans ... the initial bailout was a benefit to the banks but did nothing for the homeowners that are in trouble ... this problem is not going away ... we will be addressing these issues for at least the next three to five years ...

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Even after the lenders modify the loans the homeowners are realizing that they are still in an extreme negative equity position that could take 10 to 20 years to correct with normal real estate appreciation ... most lenders in their modification programs are dealing with length of the loan or the interest rate but are not addressing the equity problem ... there have been several programs that have been started by the gov't and shortly abandoned because they did not work ... this has left the homeowners needing our assistance even more ...

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It's Getting Better and We Are Getting Bigger !!!

Let's welcome our 20 newest agents: Shawn Abadie, Dan Clem, Ana Coggin, Angie Gardner, James Gardner, Katie Gehart, Michael Gehart, 'Bruni' Goettsche, Jennifer Harris, Pat Holt, Jacqueline Klein, Ken McNaughton, Robin Mingle, Sheila Noel, Kim Petrie, Emanuela Regus, Edwin Soriano, Peter White, Jerry and Marla Wicks ... As always we are very proud of the caliber of agents we draw to the company ... Our agents average almost 8 years experience ... this is great for the company and the clients ...

Happy Birthday to our September Agents

09-02 Dean Stevens
09-07 Cliff Allen
09-11 Lester Tang
09-12 Heather Pursley
09-13 Chris Frank
09-13 Gloria Ortega
09-14 Junise Moise
09-16 ‘Angie’ Gardner
09-22 Lina Zavaleta
09-23 Laura Ohmer
09-26 Dan Clem
09-28 Peter Schaumloeffel
09-28 Emma Regus

I would like to take this opportunity to introduce Ana Quintero-Coggin, a new member to Clients First Realty, LLC. Ana is a Managing Broker with CFR and is heading up the 'Agent Acquisition and Development' department out of Corporate. Please assist Ana with her recruiting efforts and feel free to call her.

She is a real people-person and I believe her knowledge and guidance will be of great value to you and your clients. The attached link will give you additional information on Ana:

http://www.clientsfirstrealty.com/agents_details.php?agent_ID=163

We have doubled the size of CFR since last October and we continue to grow. Our thanks to the Agents, Brokers and Staff Members of this company for all of their support. We are building a strong corporate foundation that will endure the current market conditions and allow us to maintain a positive attitude and approach when conducting business for our clients.

Our strength, as always, is created and generated by our people and the people they bring into our company ... please continue to nudge your fellow REALTORS in our direction ... word of mouth and you have built CFR ... please continue to do the great job you have done in the past ... thus guaranteeing our future ...

Each month, more and more transactions are being turned in ... over 80% of them are getting closed ... this closing ratio is a 30% improvement over last year ... we are tracking currently to write 3 to 4 times the number of transactions over our 2007 volume ...

It is our responsibility to be successful under the conditions as we find them ... we don't control the conditions, but we do control our attitudes and the way we approach our business ... if you say business is great, you are right ... if you say business is NOT great, you are also right ...

Positive breeds positive and negative breeds 10X's faster ... just focus on what you can be thankful for and the current times will continue to improve ...

CLIENTS FIRST REALTY LLC / WMS-DB

ARMLS REQUEST TO EMPLOYING BROKERS

Arizona Regional Multiple Listing Service, Inc. in line with their current Rules and Regulations has ask the Employing Brokers (The Companies) to intensify their control over MLS listings.

In compliance with MLS rules and regulations all listings are to be placed on the MLS within 72 hours of receiving a signed listing contract from a seller, unless seller has in writing, instructed the employing broker not to place the listing on the MLS. This then become what is called a "Office Listing". This is normally used when the house being put under a listing contract is already sold. The listing contract, which is also called a employment contract is used in this instance to insure payment of commission fees being charged.

In compliance with Arizona Regional Multiple Listing Service, Inc.'s Rules and Regulations, no listing is to be placed on the MLS until a signed listing contract is in the office of the employing broker and the agent has acknowledgement of the same.

ARMLS has requested from the employing brokers that they monitor the master property listing roster, furnished daily to each company that are members of the Arizona Regional Multiple Listing Service, Inc. If a property appears on this roster and the employing broker does not have a listing contract, signed by the seller, in the company's possession, the employing broker is instructed to immediately cancel the listing. Possession is consider to be a logged file, located at the Employing Broker's licensed office(s) as authorized by the Arizona Department of Real Estate.

It has come to ARMLS's attention that some Company have become lack in requiring their agents to comply with ARMLS's Rules and Regulations and the Arizona Revised Statutes concerning the handling of required documentation. ARMLS at any time can request a copy of the listing agreement from the employing broker. If the employing broker can not readily furnish and fax a copy to ARMLS then the employing broker (The Company) will be fined. All fines are due within 10 days of levy notice. If the company continues to ignore ARMLS's policies they and all their agents will be barred from their MLS membership.

These are not new rules and regulation. They have been enforce for years. They are reviewed, revised, updated or changed annually as need be, to fit current conditions and industry upgrades.

Clients First Realty, LLC paperwork policy addressed in the company's Policy and Procedure Manual is clear, fair and equitable in the handling of this issue. However, the company's position is to support and comply with ARMLS and any of their administrative requests. All rules, regulations, codes, policies, statutes and laws are put in place to protect our clients.

We as licensed agents, are bound by local, State and Federal controls of one form or another. Primarily our fiduciary obligation to each of our clients, which is a felony if we are in breach.

Remember, under your real estate agency disclosure and election the agent and the company has the fiduciary duties of loyalty, obedience, disclosure, confidentiality and accounting in dealings with either the buyer or seller being represented. Regardless of who the Employing Broker (The Company) or the Agent represents in the transaction, the Broker or Agent shall exercise reasonable skill and care in the performance of their duties and shall be truthful and honest with all clients or customers.

The lawful handling of the clients paperwork falls under the skill and care area of our fiduciary duties. We do have a obligation to fulfill our duties and keep our clients represented in a professional manner. This means we will follow the laws, rules , regulations, codes, statutes and policies dictated by our profession and the agencies that we deal with in behalf of our clients.

If you are not clear about your responsibility or about the company's position concerning this matter, please feel free to call or come by the office.

WMS / DB - CLIENTS FIRST REALTY, LLC

FINISHING JANUARY 2008

Welcome aboard to Chris Frank and Shannon Schipull that was left off of the earlier posting.

Thank you Mario for bring this to my attention ... My Opps ...

We finished January with 20+ new residential sales and from the activity I believe there are 4 to 5 already working for February ... Keep talking up the REO and Short Sale opportunities to your potential buyers ... the values available are real ... Engle Homes announced their Chapter 11 Bankrutpcy ... big companies with large overheads will be reorganizing over the next couple of years ... you will see more of these headlines ... stay on top of the market, look for value opportunities caused by the market conditions, protect your clients and call if you need assistance ...

HAPPY FEBRUARY BIRTHDAYS TO:

02-02 Bruce Johanson
02-06 Daryl Pilcher
02-08 John Jeffrey
02-10 Anita Taylor
02-11 Gustavo Cardenas
02-12 Jorge Flores

Here is a link to my "February Real Estate Update":

http://realtytimes.com/111/BillSlaughter

This Newsletter is full of interesting and useful information that I think you will enjoy.

This month's issue includes topics such as:

"Home Selling Tips For Spring Buyer's Market";
"Are You Leaving a Tax Deduction on the Table?";
"Five Reasons Houses Beat Stocks";
"Provide An Honest, Complete Mortgage Application";
"Six Signs It's Time For Home Buyers To Buy";

Plus a roundup of January real estate activity as well as much more advice and information.

Historic Fed Move Cuts Both Ways for Borrowers

Hot on the heels of its surprise inter-session rate cut of 75 basis points last week, the Federal Reserve cut key interest rates again, the fifth straight cut since September 2007. In its statement last week, the Fed said it had decided to cut the federal funds rate "in view of a weakening of the economic outlook and increasing downside risks to growth." In other words, economic data suggests the US is on the brink of recession, and the Fed is acting accordingly.

Who benefits from this cut?

If you have a loan that is directly tied to the Prime Rate, you will see an immediate benefit. Home equity lines of credit (HELOCs) and variable rate charge cards are the types of loans that will have an interest rate reduction on their next statement.

What does this mean for long-term rates?

Long-term mortgage rates, the lowest we've experienced in years, could actually increase after this cut, based on historical performance and recent trends.

So if you're waiting for long-term rates to fall further, don't count on it. Your best chance to lock in the lowest rates since 2005 is now. Getting your application in process now will allow you to capture a great rate before it's too late.

What REALLY moves mortgage rates?

Fixed-rate mortgage rates aren't directly tied to Fed interest rate moves. Instead, they tend to follow in the direction of other long-term government bond yields, such as the 10-year Treasury, which historically moves in accordance with the economic outlook and in advance of Fed actions.

The performance of Mortgage Backed Securities, issued by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, is what really determines long-term mortgage rates.

How does the economic stimulus package fit into the picture?

The economic stimulus package from Congress and the White House could be a double-edged sword for borrowers. Combined with recent Fed actions, the package could create inflation and bring about higher long-term interest rates.

On the positive side, conforming loan limits are likely to be raised from the current $417,000 to upwards of $625,000. This means great potential savings for purchase and refinance candidates who live in 20 high-cost areas across the country.

What should you do next?

If you're unsure how the rate-cut or the proposed legislation affects your mortgage, don't worry, you're not alone. There's no one-size-fits-all answer. (This article contributed by "The Cox Mortgage Group")