• Mortgage Rates fall to lowest level in three months! It’s a great time to buy. http://bit.ly/AOcPP SC #
• Scholarship applications are flying in! http://bit.ly/1ZzmL #
• Scholarship applications are flying in!http://bit.ly/1ZzmL LY #
• Homebuyer seminar held so much great information! Improving credit to signing the contract. It was great! LY #
• Att. first-time homebuyers: FREE training session tonite (9/3/09 @ 7 p.m. ET)! Find best foreclosures deals near you! http://bit.ly/Sg6dK TM #
• Deal of the Day, Boston-area edition: 4 bed/4.5 br 7,183 sq. ft. mansion. Pot. equity = $485,920 (116% under value!) http://bit.ly/nVY0S TM #
• @nbostic We received your automated message. We’re good to follow. Thank you! #
• Tax credit countdown: T-minus 3 months to get $8,000. Save more with 7 days FREE, 30% off! Promo code = taxcredit http://bit.ly/Ewpod TM #
• Foreclosure.com announces nationwide scholarship program – http://eepurl.com/dkKI #
• Deal of the Day, Denver burbs edition: 4 bed/4 br 3,277sq. ft. retreat. Pot. equity = $203,040 (41% under value!) http://bit.ly/9NuHQ TM #
• Deal of the Day, Atlanta burbs edition: 5 bed/5.5 br 5,204 sq. ft. palace. Pot. equity = $315,525 (55% under value!) http://bit.ly/Koq71 TM #
• Where social media and innovation intersect http://bit.ly/cjlyW SC #
• Clinical Law Professor listserv has picked up foreclosure.com scholarship program, thanks, Kermit! LY #

University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine recently conducted a survey of 250 homeowners in the Philadelphia, Pa., area who are facing foreclosure, revealing that nearly half of them showed symptoms of depression and 37 percent are majorly depressed.

In addition, almost 60 percent reported skipping/delaying meals because they couldn’t afford to eat, 48 percent said they couldn’t afford their medication and 65 percent of smokers are smoking more.

Here’s a snip from the study’s lead author, Dr. Craig E. Pollack:

“The foreclosure crisis is also a health crisis. We need to do more to ensure that if people lose their homes, they don’t also lose their health…. This study raises the stakes of the housing crisis. The policy push to get people into mortgage counseling should be combined with health outreach in order to fully help people during this tremendously difficult period in their lives.”

Perhaps the most troubling takeaway from this report is that it could be “just the tip of the iceberg” — other large cities/metropolitan areas have higher unemployment/foreclosure rates than the “City of Brotherly Love.”

So what can be done to cure this growing mental health problem?

First, do whatever it takes to avoid foreclosure. Use every resource at your disposal, including mortgage counseling agencies and local government assistance programs, to try and workout your situation. Professional foreclosure consultants can also be reached right here.

It’s free help … use it.

If it’s too late and you and/or your head of household are already down in the dumps contact your family physician. Depression is serious and should be treated as such sooner rather than later.

Finally, keep your head up.

Foreclosure is a tough pill to swallow, but over time things will eventually get better. It doesn’t discriminate, affecting all races and colors … even the rich and famous. You’re certainly not alone.

Time is running out to claim the $8,000 first-time homebuyers tax credit! We’re down to three months before the limited-time government-sponsored program expires on Dec. 1, 2009.

That might seem like enough time to get in on the action; however, finding, financing and then closing on a home can take as much as 90 days. And if it’s a short sale then the process will likely take longer … much longer.

So if you have any intentions of saving as much money as possible on the home of your dreams then the time to act is right now.

We decided to sweeten the pot, which will hopefully provide you with even more incentive to search for the best real estate deals in your area before the prices start climbing back up. And before the last-minute rush on the most affordable homes begins … if it hasn’t already.

For the next three months (Sept. 1, 2009 to Dec. 1, 2009) we are giving our blog readers and Twitter followers a special discount offer to search our nationwide real estate database of more than 1.8 million distressed real estate listings. We refer to it as the “Tax Credit Countdown.”

Foreclosure.com is already FREE to search for seven days — no strings attached, cancel at anytime. However, sometimes house hunters need more time to comb through and visit all the awesome deals right in their backyards.

Therefore, we’re slashing our monthly subscription — already among the cheapest in the industry — by 30 percent! That’s savings, on top of tax credits, on top of more savings (you can find homes up to 50 percent off on Foreclosure.com every day).

So how do you get started? It’s simple.

Just visit this registration page: www.foreclosure.com/registration.html?rsp=0 and insert the phrase “taxcredit” (no quotes … just taxcredit) where it says “Click here to enter a promo code” (see screen shot in the extended entry).

That’s it!

Read the rest of this entry »

A couple of years ago, me and our senior writer, Tom Myers, talked about all the business cards we had collected over the years — tradeshows, business meetings, power lunches … you name it.

We accumulated piles and piles of business cards. And we didn’t know what to do with them after we recorded all the information we needed for future reference.

So rather than toss the cards in the garbage, we decided to make these fun little business  boxes out of them.

Download PDF instructions here: How to make a business card box

Each box recycles 12 business cards. If the outer cards are all the same, you can proudly display your company and/or brand.

The next time you have a meeting, toss a custom business card box at your guest. It makes a bigger impact for sure. It’s also a great conversation piece.

Just be careful not to hit the person in the eye. That wouldn’t make a great first impression.