Real Estate Investing & Foreclosure News

We have all seen the commercials. In them, there is an everyday Joe who was so down and out that he didn’t know where the money for his bills was going to come from. Still, he purchased and followed in some multimillionaire’s easy x-step program and made tons of money in the real estate investing. Like most people, you probably kept flipping the channel, or kept the television on for the noise, meanwhile refusing to pay attention to that little voice inside asking if these people were for real. In truth, real estate investing can be a very profitable business. [Read more →]

How does a reverse mortgage work? A few years ago, my mom and dad were in a tough spot financially. Living off of a smallpension and an even smaller Social Security Check, they were having trouble keeping up with their bills.

They were still paying off their mortgage and a home equity loan they had taken out for some much-needed repairs. Faced with expensive trips to the doctor, a half dozen prescriptions between them, a rising cost of living, and outrageous New Jersey property taxes, they were deep in the red and falling deeper every month.

I wanted them to sell the house and move to a smaller condo or even a retirement community, but they refused. They’d say, “This is our house and this is where we’re staying!”

The problem was that there monthly expenses were more than their income, and we had already cut their expenses every way we could think of.

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If you are planning on buying a new home, try to save as much money as possible for the down payment. Ideally you will be able to put down at least twenty percent of the purchase price.

If your down payment is less than twenty percent of the sale price, you’ll be required to obtain private mortgage insurance (PMI) from your lender. PMI protects the lender in the event that you default on the loan. It doesn’t protect you from anything.

How much you will pay in PMI charges will vary depending on the lender, the size of the loan, and the size of the down payment. Generally, the charge is equal to about one-half of one percent. [Read more →]

Has anyone ever told you that investing in rental property is easy? Yep, just buy a property with no money down, wait a year and then sell it to the next person in line for a hefty profit, all while collecting monthly rent checks and not getting your hands dirty. Sounds great - ok, my article is finished, finito. But wait, there’s one small fact that’s missing from that prior advice - right, it’s called reality, oops!

The Status of the Real Estate Market Today

The days of getting easy financing from lenders to buy investment properties that experienced double-digit annual appreciation have come and gone. The real estate landscape is currently correcting itself to get back to normal, where the number of buyers in the market equals the number of sellers. Although corrections can be painful, fortunately they don’t last forever. In the long term, they provide market stability and opportunities for buyers. And this is actually healthy - it’s the markets way of applying the brakes to keep the train on the tracks.

Today, as a rental property investor, you’ll need a solid base of knowledge on the subject to be successful, especially in this challenging real estate and economic environment. Knowledge of the business will “let you know what you’re getting into” so that you can avoid potential problems and investment mistakes. [Read more →]

How to finance rental properties. It’s 2008 and much has changed in the mortgage industry. Between the year 2000 and 2007, we could all get zero down mortgages on rental properties. Even if our credit scores were as low as 580. Credit was easy to obtain.

The purpose of this article is to show you the best way to get financing in todays lending climate. First, let me show you the difference between a mortgage broker and a mortgage banker. A mortgage broker will shop around for a mortgage through hundreds of nationwide lenders. Prior to 2007, this was a great route to go. This is where you could get a zero down mortgage with a 30 year fixed rate.

A mortgage banker is an originator of a mortgage. It is a specific lending institution, like a bank, who will lend their own funds. Unfortunately, banks will always require a down payment to purchase a rental property. It is usually 20 percent.So what is the best way for financing rental properties today? It’s by using a Rehab Lender.

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For rehabbers, finding construction financing can be even more difficult than finding the right property to buy. Banks and most other lenders have many rules and regulations to follow. Most offer nothing more than conventional mortgages. Some offer home improvement loans, but one requirement is that the borrower is living in the house. Of course, the real estate investor could not meet that requirement. [Read more →]

With the slow real estate market we are experiencing, you want to make sure that your house is as attractive as possible to potential buyers. You need to remember that when buyers visit your house, they are imagining what it would be like to live in your home.

For instance, if your house doesn’t smell well, buyers will assume that the smell is only an indication on how bad of a shape the house is in. If the bathrooms are dirty, people won’t be able to imagine themselves living in the house; especially, if they see five additional houses the same day.

In the following paragraphs, you can read about a few and inexpensive actions you can take to help buyers imagine themselves living in your home. Most of these tips can be carried out in little time and with very little money. You may want to create a budget of how much you wish to spend, (a few hundred dollars can do miracles,) and begin making the changes right away.

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If you’re a FSBO seller, or thinking about becoming one, you’re asking yourself: exactly what does a real estate agent do to sell a home? Your next question should be: Can I do this myself? Here are some FSBO tips for listing and selling FSBO real estate.

Information is king. Real estate agents provide potential buyers with a lot of information about not only properties for sale, but also mortgage lenders, attorneys, home inspectors, appraisers and other professionals a buyer may need or want to consult with before purchasing a home.

If you’re a FSBO seller, you should be doing the same thing. You are your own real estate agent, so be prepared to act like one. FSBO real estate listings should provide complete information about the home and the property it sits on. You’ll need to prepare and provide the same disclosure forms, the same warnings, disclaimers and property descriptions that agents provide. Make purchasing your home easy on your potential buyers. [Read more →]

With the current climate surrounding the real estate world, the number of foreclosures is skyrocketing across the board. The most common are Bank Foreclosures (when the lender seizes a property from the party unable to satisfy the mortgage owed) and Tax Foreclosures (when the Government seizes a property from the party unable to satisfy the property tax owed). The key component to consider as an investor is, “What kind of foreclosure do I want to work with?” My answer to that question is the answer to all great real estate deals… [Read more →]

Helping people stop a foreclosure on their home can save marriages, families and financial hardship. This process is often referred to as “loss mitigation.”You are now in the business of helping people. You are becoming a “workout specialist.” Specifically, you help people work out how to save their homes from foreclosure. You do this without the homeowners having to get a new mortgage on their property, sell their home, or declare bankruptcy. You are saving lives and families. [Read more →]

Lease Purchasing is one of the most profitable and practical ways to be in real estate. You don’t need a bank or an extensive line of credit to get started. There is an absence of Tenant & Toilet problems (if setup correctly)! It’s creative and even fun! Lease Purchasing can also be a nightmare if you do not have the foresight to have well designed, strategically written contracts.

Recently I was asked by a reader of my Lease Purchase Times © newsletter where he could find good generic Lease Purchase contracts.To me that is like asking a neurological surgeon if he can recommend a do it yourself brain surgery kit and combination salad maker! [Read more →]

Let me set the stage for what we are going to talk about in regard to foreclosures. In order to help people stop the foreclosure on their home you need to understand their position and their mindset. What are they thinking, what are they feeling, and how are they reacting to the stress of foreclosure?

When a person is in foreclosure, they are under stress and are probably frightened and worried. They are not sure what they should do to handle their problem. When someone stops paying on their mortgage, they have already stopped paying on all of their other debts. These other debts usually include credit cards and personal loans; the mortgage is always the last thing they stop paying.

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The recent slowdown in the real estate market is causing many home owners to fall behind on their house payments. If you can not sell your house fast and you are losing your home to foreclosure, you have one last option. Have a professional home buyer complete a short sale.

A short sale is a process that will allow you to sell your home and be relieved of the debt. There are many reasons why I suggest having a professional real estate investor perform the short sale process.

1. Most important reason, this is your last chance to stop foreclosure and a short sale can do that

2. You need someone who is an expert in short sales, not just someone who knows the process. A successful short sale will be a combination of factors including negotiating with loan loss mitigation personnel and submitting lots of paperwork

3. Lenders will not even look at the short sale package until you have a signed, accepted offer for your home.

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The term “real estate short sale” is being bandied about more and more as of late. Read the newspapers, or turn on the TV and the odds are high that you will come across stories about declining real estate market conditions and the increasing willingness of banks and other financial institutions to consider real estate short sales as an alternative to foreclosure.

In all parts of the country, real estate prices are down and the time it takes to sell properties has risen dramatically. It is no exaggeration to say that some regions are experiencing a virtual market meltdown (the Detroit market is one good example). Declining real estate markets are the primary reason for the rise in short sale real estate opportunities.

So, what is a real estate short sale? A real estate short sale is when a bank agrees to allow a property to be sold for less than the amount owed on it. There are two conditions that must be met before a bank is likely to approve a real estate short sale:

1. Market values are such that the property’s sale price cannot cover the outstanding mortgage balance(s).
2. The owners find themselves unable to continue to make mortgage payments on the property.

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Purchasing a home that needs to be fixed up can be a great investment if you know how to find the ideal house that needs work. This takes not only research, but knowledge on which type of home is the best choice to fix up. There are usually two home options that can be fixer uppers candidates.

First, you have the home that only needs minor repairs, such as painting, new fixtures, and overall cosmetic changes. Then there are major project fixer uppers, which means you might have to deal with house structural issues by replacing the roof, major plumbing needs, or general repairs that are likely to be more costly. Minor fixer uppers will cost considerably less, therefore affording you greater room for profit than the major fixer upper. Although they can still be a good investment, major fixer uppers will likely result in less of a profit, depending on how inexpensive is the price of the house.

When you find the house you want to fix up, determine exactly what you plan to do with it. For example, you may prefer to keep it to rent for a monthly income, or you may decide that you are going to “flip it,” which means reselling it immediately after all the renovation. Each has its benefits. Flipping gives you an immediate return on your investment, while renting will provide you a profit over a longer period of time.

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