Smart Real Estate News & Commentary by Chris McLaughlin October 18, 2010

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DSNews.com – 7 million mortgages past due

There are 7,018,000 mortgages in the United States that are 30 or more days delinquent or in the process of foreclosure, according to new data from Lender Processing Services (LPS).  The Florida-based analytics and technology firm offered the media a preview Friday of its September month-end mortgage performance figures, derived from the company’s loan-level database of nearly 40 million mortgage loans.  Of the more than 7 million home loans in the country currently going unpaid, 2,055,000 have already commenced foreclosure proceedings. LPS reports that 4,963,000 are in the pre-foreclosure default stages, with nearly half of these falling into the 90-plus-days delinquent bucket.  LPS’ measurement of the U.S. loan delinquency rate (loans 30 or more days past due, but not in foreclosure) rose to 9.27 percent as of the end of September. That’s a 0.6 percent increase over the previous month, but down 7.8 percent compared to last September. 

The nation’s pre-sale foreclosure inventory rate stands at 3.84

percent, according to LPS’ market data – up 1.1 percent from the August reading and 3.6 percent above a year earlier.  LPS says the states with the highest percentage of non-current loans (defined as the total number of foreclosures and delinquencies as a percent of all active loans in that state) include: Florida, Nevada, Mississippi, Georgia, and Louisiana.  The lowest percentage of non-current loans can be found in: Montana, Wyoming, Arkansas, South Dakota, and North Dakota.

Republicans will probe home loans for the poor

Darrell Issa, who would head the lower chamber’s main investigative committee, told the Financial Times in an interview: “We should look at financial entities and either reform them or kill them.”  The conservative Republican from California, who would become chairman of the powerful House oversight and government reform committee, said hearings would focus on whether the federal government should be involved at all in sponsoring home loans for the poor.  The investigations would centre on the roles of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the nationalised government-sponsored lending institutions, which Republicans say contributed strongly to the 2008 meltdown by promoting subprime lending.  Mr Issa said the role of Countrywide, the bankrupt subprime lender, would also be investigated. 

He did not spell out whether he would investigate alleged connections between subprime lenders and Democratic politicians.  “We need to look not only at the failure of Freddie and Fannie but even after that whether the federal government should be involved in financing home loans at all,” Mr Issa said.  “By promoting these loans we have artificially raised the price of homes – it is anti-wealth creating. The problem still hasn’t been addressed and everyone assumes it’s a system we are going back to.”  However, Mr Issa, who would replace Henry Waxman, the California Democrat, if the Republicans win next month, tried to play down talk there would be a witch-hunt of the Obama administration, as many Democrats are predicting.

 Credit card delinquencies fall

Credit card bank stocks slumped on Friday, with shares of Capital One Financial posting the worst decline among banks. Shares of other major U.S. banks also fell on Friday, amid investor fears of a growing mortgage foreclosure crisis.  Credit card delinquencies, which indicate that consumers are late paying their bills, are an early sign of future losses, or charge-offs.  Banks file monthly credit card reports with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.  Delinquencies edged down at most major U.S. lenders in this sector, indicating that losses are unlikely to surge again soon. But the rate of decline at most lenders was slower than it had been in previous months this year.  JPMorgan Chase Chief Executive Officer Jamie Dimon told investors and analysts on Wednesday that he did not expect the bank’s credit card portfolio to “bottom out’” until the third quarter of 2011. 

The company and its main competitors are also struggling to grow their credit card businesses because consumers are reluctant to take on more debt.  Bank of America and Citigroup reported the largest declines in overall credit card losses on Friday, but both continued to report some of the highest charge-offs among major U.S. credit card lenders.  American Express said its delinquencies inched up to 2.5% in September from 2.4% in August. But the credit card lender and processing network continued to report the lowest monthly delinquencies and losses of the major U.S. lenders, and its charge-offs dropped to 4.7% from 5.5% in August.  Discover Financial Services said delinquencies ticked down to 4.41% in September from 4.47% in August. Charge-offs also fell to 7.15%, their lowest level this year.  Capital One’s delinquencies were 4.53% in September from 4.56% in August, while the McLean, Virginia-based bank’s credit card losses rose to 8.38 percent from 8.18 percent.

Olick – are Trusts on the hook?

“We’ve talked a lot about the robosigning scandal with respect to borrowers’ rights and the possibility that foreclosure documents were signed improperly.  A bigger issue emerging is what those robosigners, perhaps unbeknown to them, were covering up—big flaws in mortgage securitization that could open the floodgates to investor lawsuits against trusts.  In the mortgage process, after mortgage securities are ‘bundled’ and sold to investors, they are then assigned to trusts, which manage the assets of the beneficiaries, i.e. the investors. There are only a few trusts out there, primarily Deustche Bank, Wells Fargo, Bank of New York Mellon and US Bank. They are responsible for holding on to all the documentation of these loans—the mortgage, title, note, etc. subject to mortgage pooling and servicing agreements. The trouble is a lot of the paperwork was not properly transferred, and if not, ‘the ‘true sale’ of mortgages to the trusts that issued mortgage backed-securities would be in question,’ says Josh Rosner of Graham Fisher. 

‘The problem is the MERS system is keeping track of the deed of trust without recording the interest on the deed,’ says Janet Tavakoli, of Tavakoli Structured Finance. ‘You can’t seal a deal with a handshake; we’ve got to have a signed document. It has to be on paper. That’s what all states require.’  All this means that investors in mortgage-backed securities, and about 2/3 of the nearly $11 trillion worth of U.S. mortgage were securitized and traded worldwide, could have a standing to cut their losses.  How?  They could argue that they took losses on securities that the trusts never legally had.  ‘I think you’re going to see investors in securitization trusts suing the trustee, on the grounds that the trustee did not properly inspect all the documents it was supposed to,’ says Georgetown University law professor Adam Levitin. Then you could also have the trustees suing the investment banks that bundled the mortgages and sold them to the trusts on the basis that they may not have delivered what they said they were going to.  ‘Probably the end game is that the litigation all ends up on the heads of the large financial institutions of this country,’ adds Levitin.  Many have already argued that the big banks have prepared for this and have taken the appropriate cash reserves to deal with it.  But what about the trusts?  ‘If it wasn’t correct, these investors did not have a proper asset-backed securitization,’ notes Tavakoli. ‘The trustee is at fault, but the trustees tend not to have any money.’  So then you go after the securitizers, the folks who bundled these—which are of course the big banks.”

Industrial production falls

The Federal Reserve reports that output at the nation’s factories, mines and utilities dropped 0.2% last month. Industrial production grew 4.8% in the July-September quarter, slower than the 7% gains in each of the first two quarter of this year.  Factory output, the largest element of industrial production, fell 0.2% last month. Manufacturing posted monthly gains for the first year after the recession ended in June 2009. But since then it has fallen twice in the past four months.  Manufacturing has helped drive economic growth as businesses restocked and replaced worn-out equipment. September’s decline could slow that trend. Without consumer demand to take up the slack, industry can’t maintain its strong growth.  Production of construction and consumer goods dropped last month as high unemployment made Americans reluctant to spend. Lower production of automotive products, appliances, and energy offset a small gain in business equipment production. Production of machinery and electrical equipment also fell.  American factories were operating at 74.7% of their capacity in September, down 0.1% from August. That was the first drop since June 2009, when the deepest recession since the Great Depression ended.  Production by mines grew 0.7%. Utility output fell 1.9%.

Now for our real estate education section…

The Changing Face of Real Estate – Then & Now

Real estate has changed dramatically in the past 25 years yet some agents are still doing business in much the same manner as when they first hung a newly minted real estate license on the office wall. Today we are going to take a quick trip down memory lane as well as a glimpse into the near future of real estate to see what clients want and how it matters to both agents and investors.

Blast from the Past

The year is 1985 and a desirable fixed interest rate is 9%. A real estate license virtually ensured success despite the low barrier to entry due to the near total domination of the MLS/Multiple Listing Service which was available to only a very select few participants each week. Compare that to today where instant access to millions of homes is instantly available at the click of a mouse. In fact, technology has not just transformed access to listing but the very method in which real estate transactions take place. According to the National Association of Realtors, buyers have completely different expectations when finally making contact with an agent, investor or other professional including:

57% – Help locating a property

22% – Help with price negotiations and/or paperwork

10% – Comps

07% – Affordability

04% – Help with financing or special program incentives

More than Skin Deep

The change have impacted nearly every aspect of the industry including brokerage methods, increased legal risk and even the consolidation and simultaneous fragmentation of the industry at a whole. Competition is much more fierce while agents are able to work at a much more leisurely pace. Clients not just expect greater access to information but demand 24/7 service…a mixed blessing/curse depending upon the level at which agents or investors have embraced new technology versus trying to respond to each inquiry on their own. This trend is reflected in the larger percentage of business dominated by the top producers in the industry as the top 50% of agents typically do 80% or more of all the business.

Right Moves – Wrong Direction

Despite the recognition that buyers want a “one stop shopping” experience that includes plenty of choices and expert help, most agents and investors alike have responded in exactly the wrong direction. Rather than harnessing technology to address the extra time demands and capture more market share, the majority view it as an extra cost and instead, have responded by trying to work more hours! With nearly 65% reporting the need to either hire additional people or work more days/hours, one wonders why they simply fail to recognize the full potential of technology to do the job instead. Servicing the needs and expectations of an on-the-go consumer is increasingly a necessity but the ability to do the job right is equally important for long term viability in the field.

Remember, instant gratification is not optional for those that wish to grab the most motivated buyers. Research shows that over 90% of prospective buyers that begin an online search for information end up working with a professional…often within a narrow window of the first inquiry. Since buyers are able to gain access to such a large extent of information, the first one that responds to their primary questions is often viewed as the most responsive and available. Make sure it is you! Use this quick quiz to see how you measure up:

1. I routinely send out new information once a…

(a) Week

(b) Day

(c) Several times per day

Correct Response – several times per day! Just a few years ago daily was considered acceptable but that is no longer the case. Serious buyers expect a near instant response and the most up to date information available.

2. I use automated services to notify clients including…

(a) Social media websites like Twitter and Facebook

(b) Automated MLS/IDX and other industry tools

(c) Phone, pre-recorded information and online information.

Correct Response – all of the above. Each has a proper function and target population.

3. Referrals remain an important part of my plan of action so I make it easy by using…

(a) Social media websites that allow friends to share new listings, information and other pertinent data

(b) Traditional referral techniques for the less savvy client group

(c) A handshake and business card is sufficient.

Correct response – A&B. A handshake and business card are terrific but don’t make the mistake of relying on something that is fast becoming as antiquated as recording the deed on papyrus.

See you at the top!

Chris McLaughlin
**************

Copyright Loss Mitigation Institute LLC 2010.

All Rights Reserved.

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About the author:

Chris McLaughlin is widely known as America’s top
Real Estate Attorney and Investment Consultant.

    * As the top Florida foreclosure and pre-
      foreclosure expert, he oversees more than
      100 short sale & REO closings each month
   * Long-time authority on real estate investing
      and rapid reselling of distressed homes.  Owns
      portfolio of nearly 100 high-value, high-profit
     properties
    * Owner of one of Florida’s largest Real Estate firms,
     running 4 different offices, supporting over
     400 agents, uniquely positioning him to help
     thousands of investors make money in the
     biggest market opportunity ever!
    * Highly sought-after speaker, consultant, and
      seminar leader for current trends and hot topics
      in Real Estate Investing, Entrepreneurship, and
      Wealth Building
    * Follow me on Twitter: http://twitter.com/mclaughlinchris
    * Join my Facebook Fan Page: http://www.mclaughlinchris.com
–

Real Estate News & Commentary by Chris McLaughlin, July 1, 2009

http://www.shortsalesriches.com

* Follow me on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/mclaughlinhris

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REITs have a fantastic second quarter

Real estate investment trusts (REITs), which were written off by analysts not so long ago, had a blockbuster second quarter this year. The Dow Jones Equity All REIT Total Return Index, which tracks 114 publicly traded REIT stocks, rose 28.9% in the April-June quarter, the biggest quarterly gain since the index debuted in 1989. Just 5 REITs posted losses while 7 firms posted returns in excess of 100%. The spectacular performance signals a change in investor sentiment. “The fear of REITs going to zero is clearly far less today,” said Alexander Goldfarb, an associate director at Sandler O’Neill + Partners LP. Since March this year, REITs have raised over $13 billion from investors. Jon Bortz, chief executive of LaSalle Hotel Properties, said, “We’d been through a pretty challenging period over the last 12 months. The recovery had to do with belief that the world was not going to come to an end.” REITs have restructured their capital structure by reducing debt in their balance sheet. Some analysts believe REITs have to reduce their debt further if they have to be viable in the long-term. Sectorally, hotel REITs rose 73.8% in the second quarter, regional mall REITs rose 59.3%, retail REITs rose 43.2%, and manufactured homes rose 4.9%.

Construction defects hit the housing sector

A large number of homeowners across the country are confronting defects in their homes largely on account of construction faults. As the housing sector expanded aggressively in the last couple of decades, the industry has been besieged with a shortage of skilled manpower and quality construction materials. In addition, tardiness of municipalities in inspecting and certifying homes contributed to the problem. Criterium Engineers, a building-inspection firm, has estimated that 17% of newly built houses in 2006 had at least two significant defects, up from 15% in 2003. Paul Amirata, vice president of claims at Axa Insurance, says construction-defect claims being filed are “pretty severe in terms of the total damage alleged.” The drop in real-estate values has exacerbated the problem. Those with faulty houses find that repairs often cost more than the value of the home. In addition, many do not have the equity to leverage in order to pay for repairs. In case of house defects what is the remedy for homeowners? The National Association of Home builders believes litigation is an inefficient way of resolving issue related to construction defects and says homebuyers should consider using “alternative dispute resolution including mandatory, binding arbitration in consumer contracts.”

Home loan modifications rise in the first quarter

According to a report released by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and the Office of Thrift Supervision, the number of loan modifications rose in the first quarter of this year. The report also said there was an increase in mortgage delinquencies and foreclosures in the first quarter. John Dugan, Comptroller of the Currency, said: “While I’m very concerned about the rise in delinquent mortgages and foreclosure actions, the shift in emphasis by servicers to more sustainable, payment-reducing modifications is a positive step that should show significant benefits in the coming months.” Servicers carried out 185,156 loan modifications in the first quarter; this is a rise of 55% from the previous quarter. Seriously delinquent mortgages – loans that are 60 days or more past due – rose 9% from the previous quarter. Delinquencies in prime loans increased by over 20% from the previous quarter and foreclosures stood at 2.5% of all serviced loans. Despite the bad news, analysts believe the loan modification program introduced by the Obama administration is gaining traction and will benefit a large number of homeowners in the coming months.

Consumer confidence drops in June

The Conference Board (TCB), an industry group, said consumer confidence dropped in June after rising in May. TCB’s index of consumer attitudes declined to 49.3 in June from a reading of 54.8 in May. The Present Situation Index, which measures overall consumer sentiments toward the present economic situation, dropped from 29.7 in May to 25.8 in June. Millan Mulraine, economics strategist with TD Securities, said: “On balance, this was a disappointing report as it has clearly bucked the trend of improving consumer sentiments in the past few months. Moreover, with the details of the report uniformly weak, we are left with the impression that this was an outright slump in consumer confidence.” Among the consumers who participated in the survey conducted to gather information on consumer sentiment in the current quarter, 4.6% said they had plans to buy an automobile within 6 months; in contrast to 5.7% in the previous quarter. Those with plans of buying a home dropped from 2.8% to 2.7% while those planning to buy a major appliance dropped to 26.5% from 29.2%. Inflation rate expectations for 12 months rose to 5.9% from 5.6% in May. “Consumers are making a more somber and accurate assessment of the economy and their own financial position,” said Mark Vitner, senior economist at Wachovia. “Consumers may be thinking less bad is not good enough.”

Wall Street firms looking to sublet office space

During boom time, financial firms took office space as though there was no tomorrow. In the current slowdown many firms are giving up or looking at subletting excess space.  According to real-estate brokerage Jones Lang LaSalle, 8.9 million square feet of high-quality, class “A” office space is available in midtown Manhattan for sublet. John Goodkind, a broker with Newmark Knight Frank, says about 10% of the high-end commercial space, amounting to 380,000 square feet, have been given up by financial firms in Greenwich. Analysts say it is a classic buy-high, sell-low situation.

New York private-equity firm Quadrangle Group has offered a three-year sublease for 10,000 square feet at $85 a square foot, a discount of 32% to the 2006 rate. Taconic Capital Advisors has offered 50,000 square feet near Central Park at $80 a square foot, denoting a 22% discount to the rate being paid by Taconic. Hedge funds and other firms, when they sublet space, are likely to lose millions of dollars over the life of the building lease. Buyers looking for space are getting great bargains. Brian Rance, U.S. managing partner of law firm Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, says, “It’s a complete buyer’s market.”

Now on to our real estate investor education section…

Sellers – Learn how to Sell Your Home Fast

Whether you are a short sale investor, broker or homeowner these tips for making your home sell fast are sure to streamline the process. Professionals in the field can create a checklist for potential sellers or homeowners can use the following steps to take matter into their own hands and attract legitimate short sale offers with quick closing times.

Begin preparing the paperwork as soon as possible. Your agent or short sale investor is often able to help. Typically you will need the following items:

Hardship letter

Tax Returns

Bank Records

HOA, Property Taxes and other pertinent outlays associated with the property.

Copy of Mortgage, liens or other monies owned on the property.

Put out the word. Let everyone know you need to sell the home – fast. Use works like ‘motivated seller’ or “distressed homeowner” to indicate a willingness to work with buyers able to provide a fast closing.

Contact the lender to let them know your situation.

Perform maintenance and upkeep as you are able. If finances are an issue, try to make the property appear as attractive and well maintained as possible.

Create a list of what you need the most from this deal. For example, if you need a fast closing avoid bankruptcy then say-so when speaking with the agent or potential short sale buyers. If you need a new place to live or rent after closing then mention that as well. Often these items can become part of the negotiation process to help make the deal work.

Identify personal property prior to accepting a final offer. If you intend to take the appliances be sure to specify this in advance. Likewise, it’s important to bring all items that will remain with the home (good and bad) as well as be removed from the home prior to entertaining offers.

Make a folder of all contact information and paperwork. Keep it accessible when speaking with real estate agents or potential buyers. Remember, everything must be in writing and never sign something you don’t fully understand.

Avoid entertaining multiple offers all at once. While this might seem like a good way to increase the odds of a successful sale, it often creates unnecessary delays that could result in your losing the home or growing farther into debt. Instead, ask to see proof of financing or other indication of a quick closing.

Keep it realistic. Even the most reputable short sale offer is likely to be somewhat slow given the large number of sales currently going through the system. A lot of sellers are searching for solid short sale offers so increase your odds by responding quickly to all inquiries and remaining patient throughout the process.

Start Early. The sooner you start the better the odds of selling your property before it becomes critical or urgent.

See you at the top!

Chris McLaughlin

http://www.shortsalesriches.com

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Copyright Loss Mitigation Institute 2009.
All Rights Reserved.

http://www.shortsalesriches.com

http://www.shortsalescoach.com

http://www.sixfigurebpo.com

http://www.reomillionaireclub.com

Finally, a blog for Real Estate professionals
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About the author:

Chris McLaughlin is widely known as America’s top
Real Estate Attorney and Investment Consultant.

* As the top Florida foreclosure and pre-
foreclosure expert, he oversees more than
100 short sale & REO closings each month
* Long-time authority on real estate investing
and rapid reselling of distressed homes.  Owns
portfolio of nearly 100 high-value, high-profit
properties
* Owner of one of Florida’s largest Real Estate firms,

running 4 different offices, supporting nearly

450 agents, uniquely positioning him to help

thousands of investors make money in the

biggest market opportunity ever!
* Highly sought-after speaker, consultant, and
seminar leader for current trends and hot topics
in Real Estate Investing, Entrepreneurship, and
Wealth Building
* Follow me on Twitter: http://twitter.com/mclaughlinchris
* Add me on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/mclaughlinchris

You gotta love John Stewart regardless of your politics. He kinda summed it up best:

“Funny story. You know all that money that we’ve been giving to the banks. They don’t have it anymore.” – John Stewart, The Daily Show

Before we get started, I think it is important that we talk about real estate, Realtors, and investors. Frankly, we got into this business because of the freedom it gave us, the tremendous satisfaction of being our own bosses, and the fun of closing the deal. Most of us never really enjoyed doing HUDs and preliminary closing statements; we don’t particularly like math, right? Hey, I have a MBA from Georgetown, but even I don’t really like math that much.

So what I’m about to talk about doesn’t involve a bunch of math, but it involves some concepts that every single real estate professional needs to understand. Why? Everyone is going to be talking about this, and you need to understand it! You need to understand why there is a crisis in confidence, why capital markets are frozen, and how this all impacts housing and Main Street, not just Wall Street. Arguably the most powerful man in the world is not George Bush today, but rather US Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson. You’re going to start hearing him called “King Henry” and other terms indicating his power and the rise of big government … but you need to know why. It is time to get educated as a real estate investor on topics that really matter to your bottom line. He’s gone from relative obscurity to a name that will be as well known as Obama or McCain before this is all over.

Let me be very clear. This is the worst financial crisis our nation has ever faced since the Great Depression. We’re talking about a lot of things in jeopardy. Home loans, retirement accounts, 401(k)s, pension funds, credit card debt, and job creation. So please forward this e-mail on to your colleagues at your real estate firm. As long as you provide attribution to www.shortsalesriches.com/blog you can post this anywhere and everywhere. My goal is real estate investor education … and hey, if I sell a few more courses of our short sale system courses, all the better.

Now, let’s get busy talking shop…

I received an interesting question from a reader over the weekend:

“Chris, you are a lawyer, so can you tell me what the difference between the RTC that helped bail out the S&L and with this proposed huge $700 billion bailout. How will it affect me as a real estate investor doing short sales? How will it affect the realtors that I use to help re-sell my properties? Will we have less inventory?”

First, let’s make sure folks understand the difference between the RTC and the proposed bailout. When the RTC was formed, it actually took possession of the assets and sold them. They would hold auctions and if you can recall, they had some nice fire sale prices for them.

Have you ever done a short sale and the loss mitigator says “Well, I have to check with the investor and I’ll get back with you…” You see, the mortgage that Countrywide might be negotiating isn’t necessarily owned by Countrywide Home Loans. It could very well be Mortgage Backed Security #122433542 owned by a Singapore or Hong Kong investment bank for all we know.

In this case, the government isn’t going to own real estate. It will own the actual derivatives or securities that own the real estate. They will then give this mortgage backed-security to another lender to run on their behalf. So perhaps the government will say, “Ok Goldman Sachs, you run this $60 billion dollars worth of mortgage back securities on our behalf.” So who wins? A lot of people. The bank or investor that is saddled with securities that aren’t liquid will now have a purchaser – the government. Then they can turn around and get hired by the government to sell these. They then continue to hire realtors to perform REOs and continue to hire loss mitigators to get the pre-foreclosures off the books, too.

But let’s add up our spending related to bad home loans, ok?

$700 billion for mortgage assets
$85 billion for AIG
$300 billion for Fannie Mae & Freddie Mac
$300 billion for FHA insurance for loans
$29 billion for Bear Stearns

For a total of approximately $1.3 TRILLION dollars. Wow, that’s a lot of cash huh?

But before you start thinking we’re all spending this money, let’s remember that King Henry used to be the CEO of Goldman Sachs, the venerable real estate investment firm. He doesn’t like to leave money on the table or lose it. So the $700 billion for mortgage back securities isn’t a total loss of $700 billion. The government will buy them cheap, then try to resell them at least for what they bought them for. The government is buying illiquid assets which are clogging up the financial system.

The taxpayer isn’t necessarily on the hook for $700 billion. This is money purchasing illiquid assets. The assets will be held and resold. The ultimate cost will be well below $700 billion. The effort is to stabilize the market, not to solve the crisis right away.

How will this impact us as realtors and real estate investors?

Folks, we just received another gift of the market shift. Why? Now you’re going to start seeing banks actually lend again. Within the year you’ll see banks come out with loan products that compete against FHA. Why? Now that their balance sheets will be improved, and the financial system will get unclogged, the banks will begin to lend again and take some amount of risk. So that person with a 700 credit score, who can’t obtain 100% financing but has a track record of making her payments, will get that loan again.

So financing is going to become more available … but guess what else is going to happen? In my opinion, more and more Americans are going to fall victim to this economy. Oil just spiked with a record $25 to $130 increase today over all the anxiety surrounding this bailout. The Dow Jones Industrial Average tanked 372 points today (Monday). Consumers just don’t feel “wealthy” anymore as the equity in their home … as well as the equity in their 401(k) has vanished. So get ready for a lot more short sales … and a lot more REOs. We’re in this for the next few years at minimum. That’s great news for Realtors who are focused on this market and great news for real estate investors. For others … well, we won’t go there.

More tomorrow …

Chris McLaughlin, J.D., M.B.A.
Attorney at Law, Licensed Real Estate Broker
http://www.shortsalesriches.com/welcome.html
e-mail: info@shortsalesriches.com
phone: (800) 452-7627

P.S.: The best way to get ahead of the curve in this economy is to master the market of the moment. That market is short sales and REOs. If you’ve been sitting on the sidelines and want the competitive edge to get your business back up the speed and start making serious money, check out http://www.shortsalesriches.com/welcome.html