OUR NATIONAL ANTHEM....IN GOD DO WE TRUST!

Uness you know all four stanzas of the Star Spangled Banner you may find this most interesting. Bet most of you didn't realize what Francis Scott Key's profession was or what he was doing on a ship. This is a good brush-up on your history.

NO REFUGE COULD SAVE
BY DR. ISAAC ASIMOV


Editor's Note- Near the end of his life the great science fiction author Isaac Asimov wrote a short story about the four stanzas of our national anthem. However brief, this well-circulated piece is an eye opener from the dearly departed doctor.....


I have a weakness -- I am crazy… absolutely nuts, about our national anthem. The words are difficult and the tune is almost impossible, but frequently when I'm taking a shower I sing it with as much power and emotion as I can. It shakes me up every time.


I was once asked to speak at a luncheon. Taking my life in my hands, I announced I was going to sing our national anthem -- all four stanzas. This was greeted with loud groans. One man closed the door to the kitchen, where the noise of dishes and cutlery was loud and distracting. "Thanks, Herb," I said.


"That's all right," he said. "It was at the request of the kitchen staff."


I explained the background of the anthem and then sang all four stanzas. Let me tell you, those people had never heard it before -- or had never really listened. I got a standing ovation. But it was not me; it was the anthem.


More recently, while conducting a seminar, I told my students the story of the anthem and sang all four stanzas. Again there was a wild ovation and prolonged applause. And again, it was the anthem and not me.


So now let me tell you how it came to be written.


In 1812, the United States went to war with Great Britain, primarily over freedom of the seas. We were in the right. For two years, we held off the British, even though we were still a rather weak country. Great Britain was in a life and death struggle with Napoleon. In fact, just as the United States declared war, Napoleon marched off to invade Russia. If he won, as everyone expected, he would control Europe, and Great Britain would be isolated. It was no time for her to be involved in an American war.


At first, our seamen proved better than the British. After we won a battle on Lake Erie in 1813, the American commander, Oliver Hazard Perry, sent the message, "We have met the enemy and they are ours." However, the weight of the British navy beat down our ships eventually. New England, hard-hit by a tightening blockade, threatened secession.


Meanwhile, Napoleon was beaten in Russia and in 1814 was forced to abdicate. Great Britain now turned its attention to the United States, launching a three-pronged attack.


The northern prong was to come down Lake Champlain toward New York and seize parts of New England.


The southern prong was to go up the Mississippi, take New Orleans and paralyze the west.


The central prong was to head for the mid-Atlantic states and then attack Baltimore, the greatest port south of New York If Baltimore was taken, the nation, which still hugged the Atlantic coast, could be split in two. The fate of the United States, then, rested to a large extent on the success or failure of the central prong.


The British reached the American coast, and on August 24, 1814, took Washington, D.C. Then they moved up the Chesapeake Bay toward Baltimore. On September 12, they arrived and found 1,000 men in Fort McHenry, whose guns controlled the harbor. If the British wished to take Baltimore, they would have to take the fort.


On one of the British ships was an aged physician, William Beanes, who had been arrested in Maryland and brought along as a prisoner. Francis Scott Key, a lawyer and friend of the physician, had come to the ship to negotiate his release.


The British captain was willing, but the two Americans would have to wait. It was now the night of September 13, and the bombardment of Fort McHenry was about to start.


As twilight deepened, Key and Beanes saw the American flag flying over Fort McHenry. Through the night, they heard bombs bursting and saw the red glare of rockets. They knew the fort was resisting and the American flag was still flying. But toward morning the bombardment ceased, and a dread silence fell. Either Fort McHenry had surrendered and the British flag flew above it, or the bombardment had failed and the American flag still flew.


As dawn began to brighten the eastern sky, Key and Beanes stared out at the fort, trying to see which flag flew over it. He and the physician must have asked each other over and over, "Can you see the flag?"


After it was all finished, Key wrote a four stanza poem telling the events of the night. Called "The Defense of Fort McHenry," it was published in newspapers and swept the nation. Someone noted that the words fit an old English tune called, "To Anacreon in Heaven" -- a difficult melody with an uncomfortably large vocal range. For obvious reasons, Key's work became known as "The Star Spangled Banner," and in 1931 Congress declared it the official anthem of the United States.


Now that you know the story, here are the words. Presumably, the old doctor is speaking. This is what he asks Key:


Oh! say, can you see, by the dawn's early light,
What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming?
Whose broad stripes and bright stars, through the perilous fight,
O'er the ramparts we watched were so gallantly streaming?
And the rocket's red glare, the bombs bursting in air,
Gave proof thro' the night that our flag was still there.
Oh! say, does that star-spangled banner yet wave,
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave?

"Ramparts," in case you don't know, are the protective walls or other elevations that surround a fort. The first stanza asks a question. The second gives an answer:


On the shore, dimly seen thro' the mist of the deep,
Where the foe's haughty host in dread silence reposes,
What is that which the breeze, o'er the towering steep.
As it fitfully blows, half conceals, half discloses?
Now it catches the gleam of the morning's first beam,
In full glory reflected, now shines on the stream
'Tis the star-spangled banner. Oh! long may it wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!


"The towering steep" is again, the ramparts. The bombardment has failed, and the British can do nothing more but sail away, their mission a failure. In the third stanza, I feel Key allows himself to gloat over the American triumph. In the aftermath of the bombardment, Key probably was in no mood to act otherwise.


During World War II, when the British were our staunchest allies, this third stanza was not sung. However, I know it, so here it is:


And where is that band who so vauntingly swore
That the havoc of war and the battle's confusion
A home and a country should leave us no more?
Their blood has washed out their foul footstep's pollution.
No refuge could save the hireling and slave
From the terror of flight, or the gloom of the grave,
And the star-spangled banner in triumph doth wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave.


The fourth stanza, a pious hope for the future, should be sung more slowly than the other three and with even deeper feeling:


Oh! thus be it ever, when freemen shall stand
Between their loved homes and the war's desolation,
Blest with victory and peace, may the Heaven - rescued land
Praise the Power that hath made and preserved us a nation.
Then conquer we must, for our cause is just,
And this be our motto --"In God is our trust."
And the star-spangled banner in triumph doth wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave.


I hope you will look at the national anthem with new eyes. Listen to it, the next time you have a chance, with new ears. Pay attention to the words. And don't let them ever take it away .. not even one word of it.


AND IT'S SUNG IN ENGLISH!!!

Realtors Report Surge in Contract Signings in May

The National Association of Realtors’ leading indicator of future home sales rebounded in May after an unexpected downdraft in April.


The Realtors reported Wednesday that its pending sales index jumped nearly 6% in May back to 101.1, the same level in March and the highest this year.


NAR's pending sales index is based on signed contracts, which usually translate into actual sales in a month or two.


Overall, the PSI is up over 13.3% from a year ago.


“The latest increase in home contract signings marks 13 consecutive months of year-over-year gains,” NAR chief economist Lawrence Yun said.


“Actual closings for existing-home sales have been notably higher since the beginning of the year and we’re on track to see a 9% to 10% improvement in total sales for 2012,” he added.


NAR economists are forecasting that existing home sales will total 4.66 million by yearend, up from 4.26 million in 2011.




They also expect the national median existing-home price to rise 3% this year and another 5.7% in 2013.


Give me a call if you want more information or just want to chat about how we can help you. 615-777-4663 or just shoot me an email at george.margrave@migonline.com

Outlook for a Housing Market Recovery

 Home prices may well find a bottom this year, and stronger sales should pave the way for a pickup in single-family construction over the course of 2012.

That’s the assessment made by Harvard University’s Joint Center for Housing Studies (JCHS) in its recently released “State of the Nation’s Housing” report. The report - which has been released since 1988 - is an essential resource for both public policy makers and private decision makers in the housing industry.

The bottom line of the report is that - after several false starts - there is reason to believe that 2012 will mark the beginning of a true housing market recovery.

 

However, employment growth remains a key factor, providing the stimulus for stronger household growth and bringing relief to some distressed homeowners. And, if the broader economy weakens in the short-term, the housing rebound could again stall.

 

Here are just some of the findings in the report:

 

• The monthly mortgage payment for the typical home currently compares more favorably to rents than at any time since the early 1970s.
•  
• By the first quarter of 2012, existing home sales were 5.2 percent above year-earlier levels, with single-family sales up 6.3 percent.
•  
• Sales of newly constructed homes in the first quarter of 2012 stood 16.7 percent above year-earlier levels.
•  
• The inventory of existing homes for sale shrank by some 23 percent in 2011, reducing the supply in the first quarter of 2012 to its lowest level since 2006.
•  
• Single-family permitting, a leading indicator of starts, was also up 16.9 percent in the first quarter of 2012.

The complete report provides a current assessment of:

 

• The state of the housing market and the foreclosure crisis
•  
• The economic and demographic trends driving housing demand
•  
• The state of mortgage finance
•  
• Ongoing housing affordability challenges

 

You can download the full report from the JCHS’s website. You can also download a convenient handout of Key Housing Industry Facts from the website.

 

 

 

~~Mortgage Market Guide

 

 

 

New FHA Streamline Loans...worth the wait!

FHA has finally done something good. There are lots of folks that bought their homes in the 2000 to May 31, 2009 timeframe that have not been candidates for refinancing. The reasons are usually one of these.


1 The new FHA MIPs made the numbers much worse than they should have been.

2. They owed more than their home was worth

FHA addressed this by announcing that for any person who has an existing FHA loan that was endorsed before May 31, 2009, the streamline FHA MIP will be .55 monthly and .01 up front. This is much lower than people buying a new home today with current MIPS.

So the numbers are going to be drastically better. The catch is that if you want to add closing cost to the loan , the home has to appraise for enough to do that. But if it won’t, then we can build the cost into the rate and do lender paid closing cost with no appraisal.

It is a win win for everybody.

Basically the only qualifying factor is that you have income, a minimum 640 credit score and no mortgage payments over 30 days late in the last 12 months.

Give me a call, 615-777-4663, shoot me an email george.margrave@migonline.com or refer someone you know looking to refinance. Look at the numbers. It will be worth it.

CRACKING THE CODE: DUTY TO DISCLOSE

Do you know your disclosure responsibility? In a recent case, a Hawaii court found that a “Frog Addendum” alerted a buyer to the potential issue of tree frog din. Interestingly, in Brinkwood Land Equities Ltd. v. Hilo Brokers Ltd., the court also determined the broker had no duty to disclose that the surrounding neighborhood was allegedly frequented by drug dealers and prostitutes.


Article 5 of the Code of Ethics says REALTORS® shall not undertake to provide professional services concerning a property or its value where they have a present or contemplated interest unless such interest is specifically disclosed to all affected parties. This could apply to many different areas- for example, frogs. For more on disclosure and article 5, click here.


~~GNAR

Remember, if you want more information or would like to chat, let me know.  I can be reached at 615-777-4663 or via email at george.margrave@migonline.com

Still a Buyer's Market...but HURRY!

In case you missed it, the Greater Nashville Board of Realtors reported that sales for the area were up approximately  25% for both the month of April and year to date.  Inventory was also down by about 12%.   This explains the call I had from an agent this morning wanting to make sure his client had been pre-approved.  He proceeded to tell me that in the areas this young couple was looking that every time they started to look at a certain home it was sold out from under them.  So we are probably reaching a state of the new normal in the real estate industry.   It isn’t like the “good old days”. But there is reasonable hope of a seller to sell their home (average 88 days) and the buyers are still able to contract for good terms. It is still a buyer’s market, but if you are wanting to buy, the edge is slowly but surely moving toward the seller.

FEMA warns Congress clock is ticking on flood insurance program

By Erik Wasson - 04/25/12 11:33 AM ET


The Federal Emergency Management Agency on Wednesday stepped up pressure on Congress to reauthorize the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP).


The program is set to expire at the end of May, and FEMA warned that after that time NFIP will not be able to issue new policies. The program is seen as key for limiting the costs of natural disasters.


“FEMA is urging Congress to reauthorize the NFIP and send a clear signal to citizens, communities, and private sector partners that the federal government will continue to support our nation's efforts to manage flood risk,” David Miller, associate administrator for FEMA's Federal Insurance and Mitigation Administration, said in a statement.


The House and Senate were unable to agree on a NFIP reauthorization last year, and extended the program without changes until May 31.


House Republicans are pushing their reform plan as part of a six-committee effort to replace the automatic spending cuts triggered by the failure of the congressional debt supercommittee last year.


The government will be forced to cut $109 billion in 2013 automatically starting on Jan. 2. The House-passed budget requested six committees to come up with detailed replacements for the across-the-board sequester.


The House Financial Services Committee has proposed a five-year NFIP bill that cuts the deficit by $4.9 billion. Authored by Rep. Judy Biggert (R-Ill.), it would increase rates charged to customers.


It is unclear where the six-committee process is heading. Officially the recommendations of the six committees are to be used as part of a budget reconciliation bill, but because the Senate is not passing a new budget resolution this year, that process appears to be a dead end. More likely, the recommendations will be used in a lame-duck negotiation with the White House on budget, spending and tax matters.


In the Senate Banking Committee Chairman Tim Johnson (D-S.D.) urged passage of his version of the bill.


“The Banking Committee unanimously passed a bipartisan bill that provides long-term stability with a 5-year reauthorization period and makes important reforms that set the program on a more fiscally-sound path, phases in premium increases to assist homeowners, and helps educate consumers about their flooding risks," he said in a statement. "It is my hope that we can find a bipartisan path forward before this critically important program lapses.”


Source:
http://thehill.com/blogs/on-the-money/budget/223619-fema-warns-congress-clock-ticking-on-flood-insurance-program