Leadpile’s Blog

House prices have not been on the rise for six straight months in a row. Fourteen out of twenty metro areas saw an increase in homes from the month before. As of November, 2009 was up 3.4 percent from its lowest back in May, 2009. Phoenix (Arizona) and San Francisco (California) have had the highest month over month increase in their housing markets. Both New York and Chicago had the largest declines in the nation. One of the largest reasons for the increase was the first time home buyer tax credit. With the original end date for the tax credit being in November of 2009, there was a rush to purchase a new home (the tax credit ended up being extended to the spring of 2010). The tax credit was a huge incentive to purchase a home, and with the home prices in Arizona being so low, it makes sense that Arizona saw one of the highest increases in their housing markets.
One of the big questions is if the trend is going to continue to increase? Some economists believe that there is going to be another dip in the housing market because of the the high rate of unemployment and foreclosures. It is expected that we will see these results in the beginning of this year. It goes without saying that now is the time to buy. Depending on the area, people are seeing move in ready houses for as low as $50,000. That is less than a college education!
If you find that you are one of the many who are having trouble keeping your home you may want to consider a loan modification or debt consolidation. Leadpile is trying to do it’s part by matching up the consumers with lenders on a daily basis! Heck, we want the economy to be better too!

September was the eight month in a row that the number of home sales rose. It is common knowledge that if you are planning to buy a home, now is the time. The rock bottom house prices and low finance rates are not the only reason that there have been a month over month increase in the market. The first time home buyer tax credit programs had a large influence in the matter. This program gives up to an $8,000 tax refund to the new buyers. Originally the tax break was supposed to end the first of December, but has been extended through the end of June 2010. The plan will also now help current home owners who have lived in a home for at least five years and want to move into a larger home. These individuals will receive up to a $6,500 tax refund. In addition, the income level has also increased. In order to be eligible, a single individual now can make up to $125, 000 and a couple up to $225, 000 per year.
So will this continue to keep the housing market on the rise and help the economy? Personally, I think it could both help and hurt. If the new home owners are smart and are buying houses that are well within their budget, then the increase in sales/increase in house value will be great for the economy. However, there could be a down side. If people are rushing into buying the houses and bite off more than they can chew, they might end up realizing they can not fully afford their house purchase and the foreclosures could start happening again.
For all you eager beavers out there, just remember that prices are still expected to decrease. With the home owner tax break now extended, you can wait for prices to drop a little more and save some money. Want to know if the housing market is supposed to increase or decrease in value where you live? Check out this link from CNNMoney.com

The idea of seeing home prices going up is something all of us continue to wish would come. The housing market appears it might have some positive momentum going on, and we will all need to cross our fingers that this is not too good to be true. There have been home value increase teasers in the past that did not stick, but maybe this is actually going to be the time when we see positive changes continue. According to the S&P/Case-Shiller national index, “Its 20-city index was up 1.4 percent in June compared with May, and up 0.5 percent in May over April – the first incidence of two consecutive monthly gains in more than three years. Eighteen of the 20 markets, including San Francisco, experienced monthly price gains.”
So do we know what is possibly fueling this housing price increase? I would guess that investors out there buying a lot of these homes, that were in foreclosure etc, has helped to create a bidding war on homes. Once you have a high demand and lower supply that creates pricing increase. This is great news for those in the neighborhoods that are hoping to see homes in their area selling for more. This will ultimately help them with their values. How about the government giving a tax credit for those purchasing a home? That has to help, however from what I heard about this program there are some stipulations on this program that eliminate some from getting the tax credit because they make too much. Is that fair? Time will only tell if these two things help to fuel the positive momentum we have going on with our housing market. I think a lot of us are hoping this is the beginning of the end of a struggling housing market. You never really realize how much an impact our housing market has on all sorts of industries, till going through it like we all have.

Imagine this….. you fell behind on your mortgage and you are going to have to move out of the home you spent your hard earned money building to your satisfaction. Out of anger you do some things to this home to express your frustration of the situation you are now in. Broken windows, damaged walls, and you decide on your way out you are going to put a nice little hammer to the A/C unit.
Unfortunately, this consumer’s damaged house needs to be then put up for sale by the bank for some other consumer to purchase. Who is going to want to purchase a home that requires so many repairs before even moving in? Fortunately, someone else’s “garbage” is another person’s treasures. With a great deal on the home, that home sells to a new consumer who sees so much potential with this damaged foreclosed home. The new homeowner also did their homework and found out with the Obama Plan, there are tax credits available to homeowners for things such as windows, HVAC, and a few other home improvements. In an effort to help consumers who are willing to purchase these damaged foreclosure homes, and for those that have to stay in their home and can not sell, the Federal Government rolled out some great tax credits for 2009 and 2010. The tax credits available are up to 30% of the cost of the designated repairs up to $1,500. There have been tax credits available to consumers in previous years, however to this level they have never been available.
Leadpile Lead Exchange works with the home improvement vertical and thinks maybe assistance like this, will only help with the demand for this lead type. Leadpile is currently looking for publishers that can potentially bring in this lead type so we can connect homeowners wanting to take advantage of these credits, with the advertisers that want to provide the services.

In recent conversations with many of my affiliates, the conversations about the economy and the housing market have been very popular. The housing market as we all know has impacted those around us in a very dramatic way. There are short sales, foreclosures, and home sale conversations going on with those on the internet, and with those in our every day lives. If you are one that is in the market to buy a house, this is certainly the time to do that. However, knowing what a short sale , foreclosure and FSBO (for sale by owner) are is very important. To help with finding homes to purchase AND becoming educated on these terms, there is a list of websites that Hitwise.com considers the highest ranked real estate websites ending the week of 3/21/2009:

1. Realtor.com
2. Yahoo! Real Estate
3. Zillow
4. ZipRealty
5. RE/MAX Real Estate
6. US Department of Housing and Urban Development
7. Rent.com
8. Homegain
9. Trulia.com
10. ServiceMagic
11. Homes.com
12. Apartments.com
13. Century 21 Real Estate
14. Foreclosure Store
15. Foreclosure.com
16. Reply!
17. RealtyTrac
18. Coldwell Banker Real Estate
19. RealEstate.com
20. MyNewPlace

Leadpile Lead Exchange is always looking for new partnerships with websites such as these, and any other websites that are looking to be monetized. However, we are also looking for those sites that are great resources for consumers to learn information from, such as the ones listed above. Being educated on a large transaction, such as buying a home, is key to making that transaction that much more successful. These listed websites can certainly help with accomplishing that, so you might want to take a look!

It is official, Yahoo has released it’s 2008 top 10 searches for various industries.  The searches that probably apply the most to Leadpile Lead Exchange and it’s affiliates, are the top 10 “economy” searches.

2008 TOP 10 “economy” SEARCHES  

IRS Stimulus Checks
Oil Prices
Gold Prices
Gas Prices
Dow Jones
Sallie Mae
Stock Market
AIG
Foreclosures
Debt Consolidation

This shows that there is a great opportunity for advertisers and publishers to optimize this by matching up the people needing help in these areas, with the companies that will provide the services they are looking for. Leadpile is the place for both of these parties to come together and truly help the consumers doing all these TOP 10 SEARCHES.

Citigroup announced it is going to be helping some of it’s mortgage customers from going into foreclosure.  According to NPR News, Citi will be lowering mortgage payments on more than 100,000 people who have not yet fallen behind. They said they are looking at getting some sort of similar assistance to those people whose loan they service, but do not own. Other major lenders are also rolling out assistance programs to it’s customers to help try and help control more foreclosures from happening.  Some mortgage customers who are paying their mortgage on time, say what can Citi do for them for being a “good” paying customer?  This is a legitimate question, however at this point if Citi lets more people go in foreclosure, then this will hurt our home values and economy EVEN MORE!  We don’t want that.

My question is why did it take this long to roll something out like this? Shouldn’t this have been something the major lenders offered before we got to this point?  Some are still asking who is to blame for all this hardship in our economy and mortgage industry, however at this point it might be best to just get the economy headed in the right direction first. Wasting time on trying to place blame is something that Americans need to avoid, and instead focus on how we can get the economy headed in the right direction. Citi and these other mortgage companies, I do commend for helping to start getting the ball rolling!

Leadpile Lead Exchange comes across all sorts of consumers is all sorts of financial situations every day.  However, the number of people submitting requests for foreclosure, loan modification, debt consolidation are increasing dramatically.  These consumers need help and we are going to help in any way we can, just like Citi and these other mortgage companies are trying to do.  Everyone contributing to this resolution, will help us ALL get headed in the right direction.

Recently, while researching the loan modification lead type, I came across some very interesting (and helpful) information about loan modification. This is something that Leadpile Lead Exchange currently is not generating, however we are currently doing the much needed research to roll out this new lead type.
After speaking with a representative (Souban Houn) who is working in the industry, here is what she informed me that are some “events” that would make a consumer potentially eligible for loan modification.
Generally, loan modifications are considered by the lenders under the premise that the borrowers experiences some sort of hardship that resulted in their falling behind on payments. For instance:

Adjustable Rate Mortgage Reset- Payment (uncommon, but we will see more lenders accept this in the future)
Illness
Loss of Job
Reduced Income
Failed Business
Job Relocation
Death of Spouse or Co-Borrower
Death
Incarceration
Divorce
Marital Separation
Military Duty
Reduced Income
Medical Bills
Damage to Property (natural disaster or unnatural)
Overall, these are “events” that could happen to anyone unexpectedly. Therefore, this seems like a good alternative to going into foreclosure. The unfortunate thing is, some went into these mortgages already in a very tight situation financially, and nothing major has happened to them. However, now the rate is about to adjust and that just makes the difference between paycheck to paycheck TO falling months behind on the mortgage. Tough situation for both lenders and consumers.
Stay tuned for this lead type to be rolled out in our marketplace. There are a lot of consumers needing this assistance, and a lot of people like Ms. Houn looking to assist these customers (if they can).

In recent months with all the foreclosures happening around the world, there is unfortunately some that are trying to capitalize on this. According to MSNBC, one in eleven consumers are facing foreclosure or behind on their mortgage payments. Therefore, consumers are trying to get out of this situation in any way they can. However, there are those scam artist that are trying to take advantage of these consumers trying to get out of their tough situation.
There are two types of scams going on right now with home owners. There are the scams where the consumers are asked to put up some upfront fees to pay for the “assistance”, but then the scam artist disappear with their money. “But the more lucrative scam involves seducing homeowners into complicated transactions that allow con artists to steal equity in the house or walk away from the closing table after netting thousands in phony payouts,” according to MSNBC.
This is a huge problem for home owners that are already in a bad situation. Before allowing anyone to assist in “helping”, all consumers need to really know who it is that they are working with. Asking questions and checking out specifics of these companies/individuals can hopefully prevent some from getting scammed. Unfortunately, peoples hardship is another person’s gain. Our home is one of the largest investments we will ever have, and we can’t allow those criminals to take that away. This can not happen if we are all aware and educated on the different types of scams.

Leadpile Lead Exchange does not currently generate a lot of foreclosure leads, however if there is a company out there that is truly wanting to help consumers from going through this sort of situation, we are certainly able to look at generating more leads. Matching up consumers with legitimate companies to help them is also our goal.

You need god quality leads… Leadpile has them! I think most people do not realize the different types of leads that we do generate, and the benefits of a lead exchange.
We are currently generating more than 20 lead types.
Some lead types we are generating:
Payday loan
Auto finance
Debt settlement
Debt consolidation
Credit repair
Refinance
Home purchase
Foreclosure
Security Systems
Bankruptcy
Business Cash Advance
Equipment Leasing
Business Loan
Web Design
Credit Card Processing/merchant account
Health, auto, life and home insurance
Car warranty
Student loan loan/student loan consolidation
Credit Card
Home Based Business

If we don’t have the lead type you were looking for, we are always open to new ideas. JUST ASK!
I read a great statement on the Pontiflex blog, stating something about the fact that online advertising (also lead generation) is like drilling oil… either you hit the oil right away or you move on. The key is to diversify what lead types you are working with, and “hitting oil” is more likely to happen. Take risks as a company, get into new lead types, and create new ideas to change up how you work.
There are many lead companies out there that might just focus on a couple lead types, however Leadpile excels because we have so many lead types to meet so many different demands. One of the things we have learned is that making an effective lead exchange, you need to work with various lead types. Really there is just about any type of advertiser we can work with. We are also able to work with the various types of affiliates that are currently out there.
Think-outside-the-box if you are planning on working with us!
You won’t regret it.

Breaking news in every search engine, channel, and even radio stations.  A 5.4 magnitude earthquake struck East of Los Angeles.  The epicenter was 2 miles of Chino Hills.  It was a moderate earthquake and luckily no one was seriously hurt or injured.  

California’s year has been pretty blemished, gas pricing at over $4.50 per gallon, one of the highest in the nation.  Many homeowners experienced foreclosures, as home values dropped.  Starbucks announced that the majority of stores schedule to close were located in California.  An now an earthquake! 

California is a popular state.  Hollywood and Beverly Hills, where all the stars live.  San Francisco, where the beautiful Golden Gate Bridge stands.  Palm Springs a nice place to relax and take a vacation.  Yet this state has been experiencing a trend of bad luck.  

Many programs are truly helping residence within this states with all the needs.  Bankruptcy, Debt, Home Improvement, Loans, Refi’s and much, much more.  Lots of companies are doing what they can to help, Leadpile looks and searches for well known business that takes pride and commitment in helping people in need.  They look for real companies offering real services so that we can match them with people  in desperate needs when times get tough.

I was at ease to learn that everyone in California was okay and that no one was seriously hurt.  

Market Watch released this afternoon that Coca Cola shares went down .18 cents, that’s 18% down this year so far. But they are not the only ones affected by the Nationwide struggle that’s affecting Millions of consumers and businesses.  

Market Watch also reported J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. second quarter net income fell 53%, the company took over $500 million in costs for its Bear Stearn’s acquisition. Microsoft shares dropped 5.7%.  IBM shares are down .06%. Investment bank Merrill Lynch shares drop 7.1%.  Capital One Financial Corp registered a 4.9% decline. The list goes on and on.

Businesses are also being affected and loosing money.  What’s happening with the market?  These well known companies that were once making millions are now losing millions.  Gas pricing is going up at ridiculous cost. The cost of food has climb.  Unemployment rates are over the hill tremendously.  Debt is at the highest peak.  More Americans are filling for Bankruptcy.  Airline fairs are rising.  Less people are taking vacations.  Student’s are falling behind on their student loan payments.  More families are being affected by bank foreclosures.

Is this truly healthy for America?

I have talked about the consumers battle against the dead end they are facing.  Although its not just consumers its also major firms and corporations, for years investors were glorified to subsidize in these companies but now are selling shares and stocks.   

Everyone in society has somehow been affected.  Its lead exchanges such as LeadPile that are here to assist and help in each way we can.  LeadPile is partnered with some of the best affiliates in the market to provide quality leads.  Within our partnerships we are targeting consumers and businesses that need your help to clear their debt, to help with bankruptcy, to assist with business loan or business cash advance, to aid with credit restoration or a payday loan, to help them get finance to buy a house or a new car! 

LeadPile focuses on targeted traffic and provides applications or contacts to companies that can help consumers or business in the services they are in desperate need of!