Alpine News!!

When you're looking to the future, don't look at the national news only. It will depress you. Since MLS is not a reliable source for our area, ask your Realtor what the market is doing and what's really happening in your community. You might be surprised.

The main question is whether there is a healthy and consistent movement of properties in the area.  The point is, all real estate is local.  So, just because Podunk, MI isn't selling doesn't mean your town isn't.  Find the details of your community in your community.  Only use the national and state news when it's appropriate.

City of Alpine & Chamber of Commerce

Unite to Bring Back Nursing Home Care

Texas District 23 Director for Congressman Francisco Canseco will attend.

ALPINE, TEXAS--"We had no idea anything was wrong," says Alpine City Council member Diana Asgeirsson. " Early Monday morning I got phone calls from women crying saying the owners of Alpine Valley Care Nursing Home came into the building and told everyone to clear out by Monday. 'You no longer have a job,' they said. Others called asking me what to do because their parents were being evicted by Friday." I had no idea what happened, but I began making calls immediately.

Asgeirsson was not the only City Council member to receive hysterical calls Monday morning. In response to those calls Alpine's City Council will meet at 6 PM Tuesday, Jan. 17th, in City Hall, 101 N. 13th St., Alpine, TX 79830. "Anyone who has any ideas on how we can have a nursing home back in Alpine is welcome to come and make recommendations," says Asgeirsson.

James Ross Smith, known in Alpine as J.R., says, "We have a very serious problem in our community if we don't have a nursing home." J.R. Smith is Manager of Alpine's Chamber of Commerce. "Until last Monday, when MSC pulled out its nursing home, we were a certified retirement community in Texas and the nation. Without a nursing home we lose that accreditation." Alpine, Texas, with a zero crime rate and annual average daily temperature 70 degrees, has been named by such distinguished news organizations as the Wall Street Journal as the ideal retirement community in America. "At the moment we can no longer make this claim," says Smith.

MSC officials from Lubbock,TX entered their Alpine Valley Care Nursing Home early Monday morning telling 45 employees and 29 residents, "We're out of money. We're shutting down operations Friday." By Friday (tonight) only a handful of residents remained in the building. Most of the employees are out looking for new jobs and applying for unemployment benefits, as MSC told them to do. The nursing home residents, some bedridden, some with dementia and Alzheimer's, and most all confined to wheelchairs, were hurriedly placed in vans and trucks and driven to other far away Texas nursing homes. The nearest one was 67 miles in Ft. Stockton. "Many were sobbing and crying as they were carried out the door," described an employee of the Nursing Home. "They were begging us not to go."

"We don't know what our City can do at this point," says Ms. Asgeirsson, "because MSC is a private business run as a non-profit for the Missionary Baptist Association. "But I can tell you this, not once....to my knowledge.....did anyone ever from MSC come to City Hall and express any kind of financial problem. We were totally caught off guard by their decision to shut down Alpine Valley Care. We certainly would have wanted to know when something of this magnitude was about to happen in our city. We could have held a similar meeting long ago if we'd known anything was wrong. We just did not know."

One citizen commented, "We should let MSC stay in Alpine tax free. That might help." But the response was, "They were exempt from local taxes. That's the first thing I checked. They were paying no taxes at all. That's how the city was helping our seniors and invalids who lived there."

J.R. Smith, speaking from his Chamber of Commerce office in Alpine on Friday said, "The citizens of Brewster County are not the only ones hurt by this event. We are told we cannot qualify for various nursing home government assistance programs because our population is too small....barely 5000 citizens. What they don't realize is we actually represent three different counties with almost 10,000 citizens. We desperately need a nursing home. We want to discuss different ways on how to make this happen at the City Council's meeting on Tuesday. It is very important for us."

Texas U.S. District 23 Congressman Francisco Canseco became aware of the nursing home upheaval in Alpine on that same day, last Monday. The following morning his office began investigating what had happened and is working now to help resolve this hurtful event in Alpine. His District 23 Director Michael Koerner, based in San Antonio, will attend the Alpine City Council meeting on Tuesday.

Anyone impacted by the unexpected closing of Alpine Valley Care Nursing Home is invited to attend the City Council meeting at 6 PM Tuesday to offer suggestions on how Alpine can recoup this critical loss. Not only are former residents and employees of the center adversely impacted, but local businesses that provide goods and services for the home, for its employees and residents are adversely impacted too. So are local doctors, the hospital, workers who process medical and disability claims, Sul Ross University students who study medicine, flower shops, bakeries, churches and utility companies.... just to name just a few of the impacted entities.

"All of us are hurt professionally and financially when Alpine can no longer claim it is a certified retirement community in America. Tuesday's meeting will be very important for our town. We need to unite with each other now, not only to protect our seniors and invalids, but to protect our business community as well," says J.R. Smith.

Now is the time to buy with rates being so low!!!  Call us today for some good purchasing opportunities in real estate.

Alpine has been blessed with rain again!!  Yes, it poured Thursday night and Friday night and actually knocked out a fire that lightning had started last night near Double Diamond.  It feels so cool and crisp now and today was beautiful.

Michelle and I just got back from Austin on Wednesday from the Texas Realtor Convention where we were bombarded with all sorts of neat new things in the tech world and marketing ideas for our clients.  Once we catch up with our normal work we will be able to start implementing these wonderful things.

Jami passed her real estate exam!!  She is just one small step away from getting her license and being able to show & list property and take over Property Management.  She has a lot of great ideas too that will improve our company and get us organized and exposed to the market.

Buyers!!!  Mortgage rates are still low so get out there and start shopping for a house before the rates go up to 6% again and down payment requirements jump to 10% or more.

According to Preston Howard, successful mortgage broker in Pasadena, 40% of all homeowners who have taken out a home equity loan (HELOAN) or HELOC are underwater. A broad majority of all short sales involve a first and a second loan. To carry this point a little further, HELOAN and HELOC lenders are severely taking it on the chin. What motivation do mezzanine lenders have for extending new lines of credit given the severe losses that they are currently incurring with short sales? There have none. Moreover, there are record numbers of foreclosures as well. We all know that unless the 2^nd lien holder pays off the 1^st lien holder and initiates foreclosure proceedings on the subject property, their interest is completely wiped out at the courthouse steps. If the property has a negative equity position (as so many do), there is no reason to pay off the 1^st lien. So once again, the HELOC lender takes a huge loss.

I remember the days when Greenpoint mortgage would provide a stated income HELOC for up to a 90% LTV on a non-owner occupied fourplex. In today’s economy, the idea of such financing sounds insane, but it’s true. Borrowers could get lines of credit on almost any property type: two to four units, apartment complexes, industrial buildings, restaurants, and hotels. Every class of property was on the table and available to be leveraged but raw land. Now, it’s rare to see a HELOC/HELOAN go above 80% on anything but an owner-occupied property at a maximum 80% CLTV! When one considers the serious dialogue on Capitol Hill regarding 20% down payments being the minimum going forward, the only people who will still have access to lines of credit will be those who purchased their properties before 2000.

In the end, it would not surprise me at all if the HELOC industry were curtailed, if not cut off. Lienholders of 2nd mortgages have been burned severely. They haven’t gotten the returns on equity, priority cash flows, cents on the dollar, or the legal protections that would incentivize the various banks, hedge funds, or private lenders into making such a risky investment. So we shall see what the future holds for HELOC/HELOAN. Will it be a buried past or have a resurgent future?

So far, Alpine still suffers a drought...last rain being nearly 10 months ago.  This causes the ground to be dry and the grass mostly dead, a great fuel for a fire.  Therefore, the only fireworks in the plans this year will be in Fort Davis, Friday night.  I suppose they think since the ground has already been burned once, the risk is low for another fire. 

There will be a parade in Fort Davis on July 2nd, parade in Alpine on July 4th at 5:00pm with festival to follow, and Cowboys Baseball all weekend to enjoy.  The Post in Marathon also usually puts on a great 4th of July celebration as well!!

Good chances of rain for the weekend so let's keep our fingers crossed!!  Have a great 4th of July!!

I was fortunate to be able to visit Big Bend last week with a friend of mine.  The weather was perfect and the scenery was stunning.  We ventured to Santa Elena Canyon and walked the river, hiked to the window at The Basin, and then headed to Terlingua and Lajitas.  On the road I saw two bluebonnets blooming which reminded me of last year's visit to Big Bend and how beautiful the wildflowers were.  I've attached a picture so you can see.  If you haven't had the chance to visit Big Bend yet, it's well worth the drive.