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Seven Biggest Mistakes in Short Sale Investing

by Chris McLaughlin on November 10, 2008

Mid-Day Market News & Commentary by Chris McLaughlin, November 10, 2008
http://www.shortsalesriches.com/welcome.html

Don’t miss this webinar!  We’re holding another webinar on The Top 12 Strategies for Short Sales Riches this coming Tuesday at 9 PM EST, 6 PM PST.  This is something you just don’t want to miss!  Register today:
https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/324799291

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The market was higher in morning trading as investors cheered a $586 billion stimulus package from the government of China.  The China bailout is seen as assisting many of the multinational US companies such as Caterpillar or General Electric.   But the sheer size of the stimulus package gives many hope that the US government will also propose a stimulus package that will jump start consumer confidence as well as housing demand.

Meanwhile, the nearly trillion dollar bailout is getting spent faster than many folks can count.  The Federal Reserve and the Treasury Department announced another $40 billion will be committed to help bail out AIG, making the total bailout of the insurance giant around $150 billion.   The additional $40 billion comes out of the $700 billion recently approved by Congress.

In other bailout news, Fannie Mae announced that it is burning cash and might need some more government help.  The mortgage-finance giant reported a staggering $29 billion dollar loss in the quarter.  Ouch.

And shares of automaker General Motors (GM) slid to a 60 year low today after analysts forecast that the company may run out of cash in April 2009.  Analysts slashed their price targets for the company, with Barclays now targeting GM at $1 a share and Deutsche Bank taking its price target to $0.  Some stock commentators believe that there will be limited government intervention to possibly bailout the automakers. 

Circuit City filed for bankruptcy protection.  The nation’s electronics retailer will shed 700 jobs and will close approximately 20% of its stores.  

Yeah, it was a bunch of bad news today … but don’t let it get your down, just learn more about short sales and REO properties.   This is your time.  This is your moment.  Make it happen for you.

I just love this quote I found:

“God grant me the serenity to accept the people I cannot change, the courage to change the one I can, and the wisdom to know it’s me.”  - Unknown

So now that you know it’s you, and that this market is what you make of it, let’s talk about the seven mistakes most Realtors and investors make with short sale investing.

The mistakes in short sale investing might come as a surprise to many in the real estate industry; after all, the media is filled with news about escalating bankruptcies, banks dissolving overnight and loss of consumer confidence…obviously it’s a buyer’s market.  Unfortunately, availability doesn’t translate into information so the majority of would-be buyers simple don’t understand the who, what, how and why of short sales as evidenced by the seven biggest mistakes below:

1.     Thinking rather than doing. Short sale investors that think about buying but don’t actually ever get around to putting a plan into action are not buyers or investors – just dreamers. Stop procrastinating and take action.

2.     Failure to follow the rules. Each and every bank, buyer or broker has a process that must be followed. One of the advantages of dealing with Short Sales Riches is the ability to learn a proven system that gets results rather than having to start from scratch.

3.     Improperly presenting your case. Make no mistake about it; successful short sale negotiations require a solid presentation to the buyer and the bank. Fortunately for you, there isn’t any need to recreate the wheel – simply adopt what has been proven to work and begin building your own short sale profits.

4.     Failure to take risk. Playing it safe has a time and place but there are times in life when risk is rewarded; ask yourself, how have your stocks and bonds performed over the past few years? Is your job keeping pace with inflation? Can you afford to retire if the current financial trends continue? If you are like most Americans then it is time to take a chance on something different; something you are able to control, something everyone needs.

5.     Substituting Attitude for Accomplishment. With enough credit cards and lines of credit it’s easy enough for nearly anyone to “act” wealthy but when times get tough suddenly things fall apart. Successful and wealthy individuals may not always look rich but they have staying power and actual accomplishments to prove their net worth. Forget finding fame and fortune overnight – success is typically the product of planning, preparation and tireless pro-activity. 

6.     Last minute thinking. It never fails; a flood of offers at the final hour. Unfortunately, last minute thinking puts you into direct competition with all the other procrastinators and eliminates the opportunity to fix potential problems that may arise. Instead, jump in early before the sleepers wake up.

7.     Putting all your hopes into one property. This is particularly true of short-sale newbies; don’t fall in love with a property. Keep your options – and mind- open to different types of properties. Keep the real objectives in mind; profit potential.

More tomorrow…

See you at the top!

 

Chris McLaughlin, J.D., M.B.A.
web:
http://www.shortsalesriches.com/welcome.html
e-mail:
info@shortsalesriches.com

Phone: (800) 452-7627

 

P.S.: You are going to be on our Webinar tomorrow night aren’t you?  As Jim Rohn said: “If someone is going down the wrong road, he doesn’t need motivation to speed him up.  He needs education to turn him around.”  Get that education now:

https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/324799291

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A Case of Stupidity: A Two Month Review

by Chris McLaughlin on November 3, 2008

Mid-Day Market News & Commentary by Chris McLaughlin, November 3, 2008
http://www.shortsalesriches.com/welcome.html

Get your own personal short sale coach!

 

If you already have the system, are you ready to really take it to the next level?  Go to http://www.shortsalescoach.com to learn how.  For just $7 a day you can begin implementing an amazing system!  And that $7 just got even cheaper … be one of the first 8 clients to use coupon code “SILVER50” to take $50 off the Silver Level Membership up until 2 PM EDT today (Monday)!  Click on http://www.shortsalescoach.com quickly!

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There was some positive news out of the US Department of Commerce this morning.  Construction spending dropped, but it fell by less than many economists had been expecting.  The spending fell by .3% when many analysts had expected .8%.   Housing continued to be soft with a 1.3% decline in new construction.

 

Circuit City announced that it plans to close 155 underperforming stores by the end of the 2008.  James Marcum, acting President & CEO, said in a statement that “[t]he weakened environment has resulted in a slowdown of consumer spending, further impacting our business as well as the business of our vendor…The combination of these trends has strained severely our working capital and liquidity.”

 

Now … let’s recap what the heck happened over the last two months…


Goldman Sachs reported the worst quarter since they went public with their 3rd quarter profit plunging 71%.

Lehman Brothers now trades for pennies and is bankrupt. 

Bank of America scooped up Merrill Lynch.

Washington Mutual was purchased by JP Morgan Chase for pennies on the dollar. 

And the government decided to bail out not just Fannie and Freddie, but also insurance giant AIG.  My former colleague at TheStreet.com, Jim Cramer, said “AIG is too big to fail” and that the government needed to come to the rescue.  AIG has a trillion, that’s with a t not a b, in assets.  A meltdown of a trillion dollars would have sent shock waves throughout our economy.  On the other hand, now everyone wants a bailout.  Automakers are clamoring for a bailout, and consumers behind on mortgages say they need one, too.  All of this becomes a slippery slope, doesn’t it?

And in a move reminiscent of the Resolution Trust Corporation (remember the good ole’ days of the S&L Crisis), US Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson developed a plan to take the bad debts from banks and investment houses and package them up for an orderly sale.  That gave some stabilization to the markets for about a week or so, but then Paulson took a cue from his European counterparts and said heck with the mortgage purchases, we’ll just give the banks the money directly by buying stock in them.  And that worked … for a week or so.  Now the banks are hoarding the cash instead of lending it.  So the credit crisis continues.    

So let’s get this straight.  Mom and Pop don’t have much money anymore, but what little money they do have is now is in jeopardy.  Credit has tightened beyond all recognition and the thought of getting a loan that isn’t government backed is laughable.

You know what really frosts me?  The Congress gives billions for bailouts, a problem created because of its poor oversight of the SEC and Fannie and Freddie, but then they totally screw up what should be something simple: a tax credit for first time homebuyers.  Sure, they’ll allow the folks at AIG to waste $400,000+ on a huge party at the St. Regis with the people’s money, but no way are we going to just “give away” money to folks buying a home for the first time!  Instead we’ll complicate it and make it an interest free loan that has to be paid back over the next 15 years, $500 a year.  That way it won’t really cost the government anything … please…

Do these “lawmakers” really understand consumers?  Consumers do not want to owe the government anymore.  I can’t tell you how many times we explain the $7,500 to purchasers and the buyers tell us they don’t even want it!  Yes, they don’t want to owe the government the money back.  Either give it or don’t.  You sure give all your friends on Wall Street enough.  How about Main Street, too?

Ok, I’ll get off my soapbox about all this stupidity.  What I can tell you is that after tomorrow consumers will be more interested, not less, in getting in a new home.  Whether McCain or Obama wins, it will be a welcome change from the status quo, and I expect more consumer confidence to help us sell more distressed properties and short sales.

So let’s get excited about moving more short sales!

See you at the top!

 

Chris McLaughlin, J.D., M.B.A.
web:
http://www.shortsalesriches.com/welcome.html
e-mail:
info@shortsalesriches.com

Phone: (800) 452-7627

P.S.: 

Want to learn how a 27 year old kid with no formal education makes over $100k a month flipping short sales?  Join our Webinar tonight at 9 PM EDT/6 PM PST by clicking here right now:

 

https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/869392054 

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