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HUD wants a FICO of 500

admin — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 20:18:31 +0000

Smart Real Estate News & Commentary by Chris McLaughlin July 19, 2010

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HUD wants a FICO of 500

The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) said that it intends to require borrowers to have scores of at least 500 to qualify for FHA-insured loans. The agency has not required a minimum score before. “It really is just conforming FHA standards to what FHA lenders have already been doing,” said Michael Fratantoni, vice president of research and economics for the Mortgage Bankers Association. As a result, the practical impact of this move will be extremely limited; during the second quarter of 2010, no FHA-insured loans were issued to borrowers with sub-500 scores. And, in fact, less than 1% of borrowers were below 580; most loans went to borrowers with scores above 620.

The initiative is part of an ongoing effort to reduce default risk to the FHA loan portfolio and to boost the reserves that back those loans, according to HUD Commissioner David Stevens. “These are the latest in a series of changes to allow the FHA to manage its risk better while continuing to support the nation’s housing recovery,” he said. “By protecting FHA’s capital reserves, we can continue providing affordable, responsible mortgage products and will remain the nation’s largest source of home purchase financing for underserved communities.” During May, 8.97% of all FHA loans were seriously delinquent (seasonably adjusted). That was up from 7.93% during May 2009. But defaults have turned downward since January, when they peaked at 9.16%. The defaults have drained FHA reserve, which is funded by insurance payments, to below the 2% minimum mandated by Congress. Taxpayer money could be in jeopardy if the insurance funds are depleted any further.

Hiring up slightly

According to a survey by National Association for Business Economics (NABE), employers grew payrolls for a second consecutive quarter this year. The percentage of firms increasing staff levels grew to 31% in the quarter, versus only 6% in the same period a year ago, while at the same time, the percentage of employers cutting jobs continued to move lower. Looking ahead, the survey showed that 39% of companies expect to add employees over the next six months, the highest level of planned hiring since January 2008. “The labor market continued to improve, with increases in current hiring and a rise in the percentage of firms planning to add workers over the next six months,” William Strauss, an economist at the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, said in a statement.

The U.S. unemployment rate stands at 9.5% as of June. The jobless rate has averaged 9.7% over the first half of the year, and many economists expect it to remain elevated into 2011. The survey, based on responses from 84 NABE economists who work for private-sector firms and industry trade associations, also indicated that the pace of the economic recovery slowed in the second-quarter. Industry demand grew at a slower pace in the quarter, the survey said. Corporate profits grew as price and cost pressures remained tame. About one out of four firms increased capital spending versus the previous quarter, and a growing number expect to continue investing over the next 12 months, according to NABE. While economic activity is expected to remain positive this year, more economists lowered their expectations for 2010 gross domestic product. Only 20% of prognosticators expect GDP will grow more than 3% this year.

Asking prices up slightly

After increasing for the first time in nine months in May, asking prices for active home listings were virtually unchanged in the June reading of the Altos Research 10-city composite price index. In addition, inventory of existing homes for sale increased both in June and for Q210. The June median listing sales price for single-family existing homes was $477,937 in June, down $146, about 0.03%, below the May 2010 median of $478,083 for homes in Boston, Chicago, Denver, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, San Diego, San Francisco, and Washington DC. Altos Research said 13 of 26 markets it tracks reported increases in asking sales prices for homes during the month of June.

For Q210, asking prices were up in 14 markets. San Francisco led both categories with a 2% in June and an increase of 4.4% quarter-over-quarter. Following San Francisco in asking price increases was San Jose (1.5% in June, 2.5% in Q210), Austin (1%, 1.7%), Dallas (0.9%, 2.2%) and Cleveland (0.8%, 1.5%). The market with the biggest decrease was Phoenix, down 2.4% from June and 3.9% in Q210, followed by changes in Miami (-2.3%, -4%), Washington DC (-0.8%, 0.4%), Las Vegas (-0.6%, -0.9%) and Boston (-0.5%, 0.1%). Listing inventory totaled 304,831 properties in the 10-city composite, up 2.8% and 5.4% for the quarter. Chicago was the only market where listing inventory decreased in June, but the area was still up 0.7% for the quarter. While Detroit posted a 1.6% increase in listing inventory during June, it was the only market with a decrease in listing inventory for the quarter, down 2.1%. San Francisco lead all markets in inventory volume, up 7.6% in June and 13.5% for the quarter.

Antidote to an anti-business agenda?

Because of the perception that Obama is anti-business and his policies are causing small and large businesses to hunker down and wait out the witch hunt, House GOP Leader John Boehner said he supports a ban on all new federal regulations, after meeting Friday with business lobbyists who complained about uncertain economic conditions. “I think having a moratorium on new federal regulations is a great idea. It sends a wonderful signal to the private sector they may have some breathing room,” Boehner said. He said any ban would include an exemption for “emergency regulations” for some agencies, and suggested it could last a year. Boehner and Illinois Republicans Peter Roskam and Aaron Schock convened a group of nearly 20 Washington-based business leaders on Friday who represent various sectors — including homebuilders, retailers and manufacturers — as part of their “America Speaking Out” initiative to gather ideas for the GOP legislative agenda. Roskam said those in the meeting reported that a significant obstacle to the economic recovery is “the down-talking of the private sector, the rhetoric.”

“The anti-business rhetoric that they see coming out of Washington is more than just symbolic.” Roskam added. “It’s creating a great deal of uncertainty.” The people in the meeting repeatedly criticized the approach to the economy taken by the Obama administration and congressional Democratic leaders, criticizing excessive federal spending and burdensome government regulations. Jay Timmons from the National Association of Manufacturers maintained the United States is “becoming one of the most risky places in the world in which to do business.” But Timmons did make a pitch for both parties to come together, saying, “It takes a bipartisan effort to get this economy moving again.” Naturally, Ryan Rudominer, spokesman for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, seized on the GOP meeting Friday to argue it would result in “a Republican agenda written for lobbyists by lobbyists.” Apparently it’s better to have a Democratic business agenda written by social activists?

BoA encourages short sales

Bank of America (BoA) reported $35.7 billion in nonperforming loans, leases and foreclosed properties in Q210 – which is 15% above levels measured in the same quarter of last year. These loans and properties increased more than $5 billion in total aggregate balance since Q209. The total did drop by more than $200 million worth of these loans and properties from the $35.9 billion reported in Q110. They represented 3.74% of all outstanding loans, leases and foreclosed properties at the end of Q210. Since 2008, BofA and the acquired Countrywide completed nearly 650,000 loan modifications. During Q210 alone, BofA completed 80,000 modifications, including 38,000 trial modifications that were converted into permanent workouts under the Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP). If a modification does fail, BoA is putting an emphasis on selling the home through a short sale ahead of foreclosure. At REO Expo 2010, Matt Vernon, the short sale and REO executive at BoA said that the bank added 1,000 employees to the short sale staff and will “do everything possible to liquidate property prior to foreclosure.”

Now for our real estate education section…

The 15 Minute Resolution…How to Generate Free Leads with Craigslist

This week’s 15 minute resolution is a simple but super effective way to put the power of CraigsList to work generating free leads. No spam, no expensive software and best of all…hardly no time is involved!

Everyone in real estate has probably tried to use Craigslist to buy or sell real estate; it’s powerful, free and frequently used by people throughout the entire nation. Unfortunately, it’s also slow, behind the times and a major drain on time for those that try to sort through pages and pages of dull links and competitors advertisements.

Now it’s possible to change all that with just 15 minutes of time and these quick steps:

1. Visit Google keywords or any of your favorite keyword finder to create a list of real estate/short sale related keywords. Great examples might include “motivated seller”, “commercial property”, “investment income” or any other relevant words that signify the type of property you are seeking.

2. Visit www.Craigslist.com and select the state and city of your choice. Copy the url exactly as it appears in the url address bar.

3. Visit the Google Advanced Search page at http://www.google.com/advanced_search?hl=en

- In the second line of the advanced search (where is says “this exact wording or phrase”) type in the keywords previously outlined one at a time.

- Scroll down the advanced search page to the bottom where it says “Search within a site or domain” and put the Craigslist.com url exactly as it appears in the address bar.

- Indicate the number of listings, whether you would like to receive results via email (or forward to your phone) and other parameters such as price. Viola’…that’s it! Now you are ready to start receiving instant leads via Craigslist for free. Not only will this save time and money when working with Craigslist but it’s a simple way to begin building a contact list in your local area or across the nation.

See you at the top!

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

http://www.shortsalesriches.com
http://www.shortsalescoach.com
http://www.sixfigurebpo.com
http://www.reomillionaireclub.com
http://www.youtube.com/shortsalesriches

http://www.smartrealestatenews.com (subscribe to this newsletter)

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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
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Diana Olick – Home prices being slashed, more coming?

admin — Fri, 16 Jul 2010 16:48:42 +0000

Smart Real Estate News & Commentary by Chris McLaughlin July 15, 2010

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Fix A Flip Re Opens … If you want your deals funded beyond 1 day,

this is the webinar you need to be on this coming Thursday at 8:30 PM ET, 5:30 PM PST:

https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/618365627

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Diana Olick – Home prices being slashed, more coming?

“As of July 1st, 24 percent of sellers on the market had cut their asking prices at least once, according to Trulia.com. That’s up 9 percent from the previous month and represents about $27 billion worth of vanished national home equity (or home equity hopes). “The market is going to maintain a relatively flat trajectory, if not more like a saw tooth trajectory, for the near future, and meaningful recovery may not happen until some time in 2011, 2012,” says Trulia’s Heather Fernandez. We knew the price stabilization was largely due to increased buying activity on the low end from the home buyer tax credit. The issue now, front and center, is foreclosures. We’ve already seen a few reports, and I expect we’ll see more, that show new foreclosures “stabilizing,” while bank repossessions are increasing.

Let’s face it, banks don’t want to be homeowners, and they certainly don’t want to shell out even more of their dwindling cash on lawn services and handymen. Whatever incentives there are out there to turn these properties over to homeowners who can actually afford them are certainly welcome. The trouble is that there appears to be a dangerous disconnect in the housing market right now: Housing stats are at an all-time low and yet the home vacancy rate is rising. The only way that can happen is if the number of households is shrinking more than we know. Add bank repossessed homes to that mix, and I’m guessing home prices will dip more than some are expecting.”

Foreclosures fall as bank repossessions quicken

According to RealtyTrac, the number of foreclosure filings of all types — including notices of delinquency, auction notices and repossessions — fell during the first six months of 2010. There were 1,654,634 properties with foreclosure filings during that time, a 5% decline compared with the previous six months. That equates to 1 out of every 78 homes. However, the pace of bank repossessions quickened, creating nearly 270,000 homes lost to foreclosure during April, May and June, a 5% increase over the three winter months. James Saccacio, CEO of RealtyTrac, called the report a “tale of two trends.” He pointed out that the filings data showed improvement because fewer properties were entering the foreclosure process. Part of that is because lenders are now more committed to modifying defaulting mortgages or allowing homeowners to sell their homes for less than they owe.

However, there is still much inventory to move through the system and experts aren’t sure how big it will be. “While the foreclosure problem is being managed on the surface,” Saccacio said, “a massive number of distressed properties and underwater loans continue to sit just below the surface, threatening the fragile stability of the housing market.” One in 17 Nevada households, or 64,429, received a filing. That’s the highest rate of any state. The number of California homes with filings came to more than 340,000, the highest total of any state. Florida had more than 277,000 filings, or 1 for every 32 households; Arizona had more than 91,000, or 1 in 30 homes. Lenders repossessed 45,000 Calif. homes during the three months ended June 30, more than in any other state. Nevada, with a much smaller population, had nearly 11,000 repossessions, about twice the rate of the Golden State.

Business vs Obama

A letter posted to the US Chamber of Commerce’s site slammed President Obama’s economic policies yesterday, saying administration officials “took their eyes off the ball” and “neglected” to focus on job creation. The letter further pointed out that the administration “vilified industries while embarking on an ill-advised course of government expansion, major tax increases, massive deficits and job-destroying regulations.” The letter also included “some different approaches to unlock frozen capital and jolt our economy back to life.” The six suggestions are: create a growth and jobs tax policy; restore fiscal health; expand trade and export-driven jobs; rebuild and expand infrastructure; ease regulatory burdens; and eliminate uncertainty for business owners. In a speech at a jobs summit of 500 business leaders, Chamber president Tom Donohue focused on what he considers a glut of recent legislation, including financial reform and health reform. “We must address the cumulative job-killing impact of over-regulation,” Donohue said, stressing the uncertainty he considers rampant in U.S. businesses. Donohue also said lawmakers were “spending at astronomical levels — we’re setting ourselves up to be the next Greece.”

Lost decade coming?

Disappointing job reports, weakness in housing and consumer spending, and problems in world financial markets have raised concerns about the U.S. economy stalling out later this year. Now some economists are starting to talk about an even worse fate: a prolonged period of very weak growth, a so-called “lost decade.” “The probability of a lost decade is significantly greater than a double dip,” said Sung Won Sohn, economics professor at Cal State University Channel Islands.

“We don’t have too many engines of growth functioning right now — housing, consumer spending, exports are all sputtering. I have a hard time seeing where we can get 3% economic growth back.” A lost decade, or something like it, could feel like a never-ending recession to many Americans, as the economy does not grow fast enough to recoup lost jobs, and investments like homes and stocks continue to lose value. The most famous lost decade occurred in Japan in the 1990s. From 1992 through 1999, the Japanese economy grew by less than 1% a year. It has yet to fully recover from the economic weakness and falling prices it suffered during that period.

1 in 200 mortgages may be fraudulent?

According to projections in the July 2010 edition of the CoreLogic, one in 200 conforming loan applications could still contain misrepresentations in the file that could lead to default. Overall mortgage fraud peaked in Q306, CoreLogic said. But when subprime mortgages were removed from the equation, the peaked shifted to Q309. CoreLogic said its data shows mortgage fraud in prime lending was still on the rise through the peak in Q307, even when many of the largest subprime lenders were going out of business. Since that time, non-subprime mortgage fraud is down 25% at the end of 2009.

The timeline below tracks non-subprime mortgage fraud, along with various milestones in the industry. “Lenders’ aggressive stance against fraud is having an impact. Our 2010 Fraud Index indicates that mortgage fraud risk is on the decline. But with an estimated $14bn in fraud losses experienced in 2009 alone, fraud is still a major issue for the mortgage industry,” said Tim Grace, CoreLogic senior vice president of Fraud Analytics, said in a press statement. “While the industry has done good work there is evidence that fraud patterns are changing and becoming increasingly better hidden,” Grace added. “By sharing fraud patterns with each other through CoreLogic fraud consortium members’ meetings and by statistical pattern recognition fraud scoring, lenders can help stay on top of these new trends and keep risk down.” CoreLogic said its research finds a correlation between fraud risk and subsequent default rates. Of the 12 states with the highest instances of mortgage fraud in 2007, nine were among the top 12 states with the highest mortgage default rates in 2009. Florida, South Carolina, North Carolina, California and Georgia are the highest-ranking states for mortgage fraud, CoreLogic said.

Jobless claims and wholesale prices drop

The Labor Department said Thursday that new claims dropped by 29,000 to 429,000, the lowest level since August 2008. But much of that was the result of seasonal factors. General Motors and other manufacturers skipped their usual summer shutdowns. It was the second straight week that initial claims dropped sharply and the third drop in the last four weeks. Claims fell by 17,000 in the previous week.

Separately, the Labor Department said that wholesale prices fell for a third consecutive month, pulled down by another drop in energy costs and the biggest plunge in food costs in eight years. But excluding those two volatile commodities, inflation was relatively flat. Normally, such a sharp drop in jobless claims would be seen as a positive sign that the job market is improving. But economists will need to see the downward trend continue for several more weeks before drawing conclusions. Another concern is that the latest drop may be the result of temporary seasonal factors. A Labor Department analyst said manufacturing companies reported fewer temporary layoffs than usual this time of year.

Now for our real estate education section…

Becoming an Angel Investor

Do you have what it takes to become an angel investor? Perhaps it’s time to take your own portfolio to the next level by multiplying the returns of both time and money while helping others realize their own dreams. Find out if you have what it takes to become an angel investor with this quick quiz:

1. I have a desire to give back to others. Research found that 15% of angel investors had a strong desire to simply give back to others; altruism is its own reward for those that have gained so much in life. The satisfaction of seeing others realize their dreams and make a difference in their lives…and the lives of their family…is integral to a significant number of angel investors.

2. I have the desire to remain involved in an industry I love…but at a different level. Retirement is a terrific way to enjoy life once you have made your mark on the world but that doesn’t mean you don’t miss the energy and vitality of wheeling and dealing. Angel investors often find the mentoring (and money) provides the perfect balance between involvement and independence.

3. I have the desire to network in a new industry. High net work individuals may benefit from becoming an angel investor by the ability to network in a new industry while still generating impressive returns for their own portfolio. Real estate is an exceptional area to try out since it appeals to such a wide spectrum of other professionals.

4. I have a desire to maximize profits while minimizing involvement. For those that are not satisfied by average returns (and who is these days?), becoming an angel investor is the perfect way to obtain the profits you seek without the excessive time and energy required to do it yourself.

5. I have the desire to make a difference in society. Many angel investors provide funding to entrepreneurs or investors that adhere to a specific societal function, outlook or other value near and dear to the heart of the angel investor. Whether it’s affordable housing for the elderly, eco-friendly sustainable living for the urbanite or something else in between, make the world a better place by supporting those on the cutting edge.

6. I am able to deal with risk and loss. Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose and sometimes you just break even…successful angel investors understand their personal level of risk and are able to emotionally and financially handle it.

7. I have a financial fitness plan in place and can stick to it. Finally, and perhaps most importantly, a successful angel investor has a personal plan in place for their own portfolio and the determination to stick with it. Don’t be swayed by every investment, instead, wait for those that meet your criteria. According to research, the most successful angel investors obtain more than just a return on their money…they enjoy and take personal satisfaction from the entire process.

See you at the top!

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

http://www.shortsalesriches.com
http://www.shortsalescoach.com
http://www.sixfigurebpo.com
http://www.reomillionaireclub.com
http://www.youtube.com/shortsalesriches

http://www.smartrealestatenews.com (subscribe to this newsletter)

*************************************************
About the author:

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

Smart Real Estate News & Commentary by Chris McLaughlin July 2, 2010

admin — Fri, 02 Jul 2010 13:59:12 +0000

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Pending home sales ‘fell off a cliff’

It was expected, but not this bad. Experts did suggest that home sales would drop once the homebuyer tax credit lapsed at the end of April, but no one expected it to be close to a shocking decrease. According to the National Association of Realtors (NAR), pending home sales fell a whopping 30% in May. Their index, which measures signed sales contracts but not closed sales, plunged to 77.6 from 110.9 in April. It’s even off 15.9% from a year ago when the nation was barely emerging from the recession. “The pending home sales report is a disaster,” said Mike Larson, a real estate analyst for Weiss Research. “Sales fell off a cliff after the tax credit expired. It’s the biggest monthly decline ever and the index is at its lowest level since NAR began tracking it in 2001.”

Lawrence Yun, NAR’s chief economist downplayed the damage a bit. According to him, customers rushed into deals to claim the credit, borrowing from May sales. Once the economic recovery comes into full swing, housing markets will heat up. Those conditions include much lower home prices and extremely favorable mortgage interest rates. The question is when — or if — the job market will ever bounce back. “We’re not creating jobs,” said Larson. “The housing problems now are being driven by broad economic problems.

US employment figures continue to threaten

Agreed, getting the economy back on track does mean a lot more than stimulus packages. Is the President listening? The patchy US economic recovery faces a crucial litmus test Friday when fresh unemployment figures are released. Most analysts say the ranks of jobless Americans are likely to have swollen to more than 15 million, pushing the unemployment rate from 9.7 percent to 9.8 percent. With the Congressional elections due in November, that does not sound good for the President. Unemployment is a crucial issue with voters and for the markets, as well. With fears of a double dip recession in recent weeks looming, the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost more than ten percent of its value, over fears about the fate of the US economy.

Goldman predicts that payrolls shrunk by 100,000 last month, the first negative figure this year. Faced with an uncertain outlook and poor access to credit, US firms have been reluctant to rehire workers, as the private sector created just 41,000 jobs in May. Congress is currently locked in a bitter debate over extending unemployment insurance for over one million workers and is likely to balk at a wider spending package. Heidi Shierholz of the Economic Policy Institute, a Washington-based think tank, said “The private sector is not yet poised to takeover and sustain a robust recovery.” Last week, the Labor Department reported that new jobless claims rose to 472,000, an increase of 13,000 from the week before. But Washington is now more focused on elections in which the national debt is also likely to feature prominently, and that may mean that some 1.7 million unemployed and their troubles will have to be ignored.

Home Buyers Get Tax Credit Closing and Flood Insurance Extensions

The National Association of Realtors® worked closely with congressional leaders on both sides of the aisle toward the timely passage of two bills to extend the home buyer tax credit closing deadline and reauthorize the National Flood Insurance Program. Both bills had cleared the House earlier and were passed by the Senate last night, heading for the President’s signature. The tax credit closing deadline and the NFIP reauthorization were extended to September 30. Extending the tax credit closing and flood insurance deadlines will help provide additional stability to real estate markets across the nation, NAR said. The passage of H.R. 5623, the Homebuyer Assistance and Improvement Act, applies the homebuyer tax credit closing deadline extension only to homebuyers who have ratified contracts in place as of April 30, 2010, but could not close before June 30. There will be no gap between June 30 and the date the president signs the bill into law. Senate passage of the National Flood Insurance Program Extension Act of 2010 (H.R. 5569), reauthorizes extension the NFIP until September 30, allowing currently stalled transactions to move forward. The bill is retroactive and covers the lapsed period from June 1, 2010, to the date of enactment of the extension. Any new policy applications or renewals that were signed and submitted during the lapsed period will be effective from the date of application. In the case of waiting periods, the waiting period will start from the date of application.

Diana Olick – Housing’s Powerful Lobby Surges Ahead

“Last week, at the monthly lockup for the existing home sales report, the Realtors’ chief economist, Lawrence Yun, told reporters that if the closing date wasn’t extended, 180,000 home buyers who signed contracts by April 30th, would lose the tax credit due to delays in closing. He blamed these delays on the tough mortgage market, new appraisal rules and the still-complicated short sale process (when a home is sold for less than the value of the loan). So Congress tried to attach a three month extension on the closing date to other legislation last week, but those bills never passed. But the powerful troika of Realtors, builders and mortgage bankers pushed full speed ahead, rallying the troops. So, lo and behold, before midnight last night, a stand-alone measure made its way through the Senate, as the House had passed it the day before.

The Realtors alone are one of the most powerful lobbying forces in Washington, number one in spending in the real estate industry and 13th out of all industry lobbyists. Add the National Association of Home Builders and the Mortgage Bankers Association, and you get a force that spent $5 million in just the first quarter of this year and is on pace to break last years $27 million tab. Many Realtors also moonlight as state legislators, city council members, mayors and school board presidents; if you think members of Congress don’t understand that, think again. Housing represents a lot of jobs, plain and simple, and now is a critical time for the industry. The home buyer tax credit and its extension and its closing extension were all the result of this powerful lobby. Now, as Congress looks forward to tackling mortgage behemoths Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, you can bet these three associations will be buying their lobbyists new shoes for walking the hill. Government may be trying to extricate itself from the business of housing subsidies, but the industry has no such plan. Get ready for a surge in K Street spending, as housing builds itself back from the ground up.”

Swinging Short Sale Discounts

Short sale discounts from regular retail home prices are varying widely from market to market in the US, according to RealtyTrac, an online foreclosure marketplace. This week, RealtyTrac released a report that foreclosure sales took up 31% of all home sales in the US through Q110. According to the report, there were 88,000 pre-foreclosure sales, often short sales, in Q110, for an average discount from retail home prices of 14.7%. By comparison, REO discounts in the US averaged 34%. But while some are seeing large short sale deals above the 14.7%, others are not. Bill Gassett, a broker with RE/MAX Executive Realty in Hopkinton, Mass., said he’s seeing slightly different numbers, suggesting that short sale discounts vary differently even within states. “There are amazing discounts right now for buyers in the Bluffton/Hilton Head Island market if they are willing to pursue a short sale,” said Tisha Chafer, a real estate agent with Century 21 Southern Lifestyle Properties in Bluffton, S.C. Bluffton is on the very southern-most tip of South Carolina. “If you are patient and can handle dealing with the time it takes for the bank to process the file then you will be rewarded at the end with a property that you were able to purchase at a great price,” she added.

Walter Mueller, a broker at Exit Realty Charleston Group said the listing price is set differently depending on which lender a broker is working for. Some want the listing price set at market value. Others want it listed at the amount of the mortgage balance, while others still have no preference. But Mueller said buyers are becoming more aware of the opportunities short sales and REO provide.

Fannie’s Appraisal Policies Updated

Fannie Mae updated its selling guide to provide additional appraisal-related guidance. The new policy addresses issues identified with appraisals after reviewing many mortgage loan files. Fannie will now require interior photographs of specific rooms and areas of the house in the appraisal report. The GSE provided guidance on when an appraisal is considered deficient and when a lender can make changes to the opinion of market value based on underwriter judgment, automated valuation models or other methodology. The policy changes take effect for all mortgage loan applications dated on or after Sept. 1, 2010. Additionally, the GSE provided guidance on appraisers’ use of foreclosures, short sales and builder sales as comparable. Fannie clarified that appraisers must be selected based on knowledge of specific geographical markets, access to appropriate data and sufficient experience. Specifically, Fannie said, a qualified employee of the lender may contact the appraiser to provide additional information or explanation about the basis for a valuation.

Now for our real estate education section…

Friday File – 15 Minute Resolution

Are you making the best use of available technology for your commercial real estate endeavors? For this week’s 15 minute resolution, several tools of the trade will be presented including a few novel ways to make the most of each. Pick your favorites and take 15 minutes to sign-up…in no time at all you can be reaping the rewards of your extra effort.

CoStar: Although a subscription is required, this is considered one of the most largest independent commercial real estate sites available. A “must have” for those seeking to break into the retail, office, manufacturing or other commercial real estate venture.

www.costar.com

LoopNet: An easy to use site dedicated to commercial properties, LoopNet has recently upgraded many of their tools including robust property research records, making it a strong competitor to CoStar.

www.loopnet.com

Also check out the LoopNet Commercial Real Estate Search iTunes application; it’s simple to use and allows you to do it all from the convenience of your phone.

http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/loopnet-commercial-real-estate/id349561448?mt=8

Finally, check out the CRE Online list of real estate investment clubs in your area. Not only is it a great way to network and learn from others but it’s also potentially profitable should you qualify to join.

http://www.creonline.com/clubs.htm

See you at the top!

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

http://www.shortsalesriches.com
http://www.shortsalescoach.com
http://www.sixfigurebpo.com
http://www.reomillionaireclub.com
http://www.youtube.com/shortsalesriches

http://www.smartrealestatenews.com (subscribe to this newsletter)

*************************************************
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
–

Smart Real Estate News & Commentary by Chris McLaughlin June 30, 2010

admin — Wed, 30 Jun 2010 20:07:18 +0000

Forward this e-mail to your friends!

Then they can subscribe directly at the following link:

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*** Follow Chris on Twitter–> http://www.twitter.com/mclaughlinchris

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Freddie Mac Short Sales Up 600% from 2 Years Ago

Freddie Mac CEO Ed Haldeman said the company has seen the number of its short sales increase 600% from 2008 as lenders look to dampen the impact of foreclosures hitting the marketplace. In a statement put out this week, Haldeman said Freddie Mac is doing everything it can to prevent more foreclosures, and that short sales are becoming an ever-popular tool in situations where foreclosure is imminent and modifications have failed. That number could increase as the Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternatives (HAFA) program takes hold. The Treasury Department launched it in April to provide cash incentives to servicers for conducting short sales and deeds-in-lieu of foreclosure.

RealtyTrac, an online foreclosure marketplace, is even preparing a short sale report to go long with its usual foreclosure report every month. It won’t be available until the end of 2010 however. “Foreclosure alternatives like short sales and deeds-in-lieu help borrowers to avoid the stigma of foreclosure, shorten the waiting period before they can buy a new home, and may inflict less damage on their credit reports,” Haldeman said. While short sales still add to the housing supply and can put pressure on local home values, they often avoid the lack of maintenance or damage foreclosed homes often display. Since the middle of 2008, Freddie Mac reported total losses of $84.4bn, according to its quarterly reports. The company’s plight has forced a directive from the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), its conservator, to de-list its and Fannie Mae’s common stock from the New York Stock Exchange.

Foreclosures sell at 30% discount

Foreclosures accounted for a third of all sales — and sold at a nearly 30% discount — during the first three months of 2010. According to a new report from RealtyTrac, the marketer of foreclosed properties, 31% of all sales were foreclosures. And homebuyers purchasing those properties paid a whopping 27% less, on average, compared to sales of non-distressed homes. These foreclosure sales include properties sold in short sales or after a bank repossession, known as REOs in industry terms. It does not include transfers from borrowers to banks, as in a sheriff’s auction. Foreclosures have become a dominant feature of many real estate markets, finding willing buyers among young bargain hunters and savvy housing market veterans. Foreclosure sales were highest, expectedly in the bubble states of Nevada, Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Florida. Lenders have been trying to manage their inventories of foreclosed homes to prevent them from flooding the market and dragging down prices. The impact of foreclosure sales on the home sales market can have a depreciating effect on the entire inventory out there.

Wall Street reform bill reformed

Lawmakers came up with an alternative plan to save the Wall Street reform bill falling flat in the Senate. After key moderate Republicans who had supported earlier versions of reforms threatened opposition, Democrats leading negotiations in the Senate and House scrapped an effort to pay for reforms by taxing big banks and hedge funds to the tune of $19 billion. Instead, they agreed to pay for Wall Street reform by ending the $700 billion federal bailout program called the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) immediately upon final passage of the bill. Lawmakers would redirect the stream of bailout repayments as well as untapped dollars to offset shortfalls created by the Wall Street reform bill, which spends money by creating new agencies. The move would offset $11 billion in spending. Republicans involved in financial reform talks balked and tried to get Democrats to cut the federal stimulus program to pay for Wall Street reforms. “This ranks right up there at the top of the list for pure deception for treating the American taxpayer in an inappropriate way,” said Sen. Judd Gregg, R-N.H. The full House is expected to take up the bill Wednesday.

Mortgage Refinance Applications Increase as Rates Continue to Drop in Latest MBA Weekly

The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) today released its Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending June 25, 2010. The Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, increased 8.8 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier. On an unadjusted basis, the Index increased 8.3 percent compared with the previous week. The Refinance Index increased 12.6 percent from the previous week and is the highest Refinance Index observed in the survey since the week ending May 22, 2009.

The seasonally adjusted Purchase Index decreased 3.3 percent from one week earlier. The unadjusted Purchase Index decreased 3.8 percent compared with the previous week and was 36.0 percent lower than the same week one year ago. “Amid continuing financial market volatility, mortgage rates dropped again last week, with rates on 15-year loans reaching a record low for the MBA survey. Refinance applications jumped in response, but remain at about half the level seen in the spring of 2009,” said Michael Fratantoni, MBA’s Vice President of Research and Economics. “Purchase applications declined for the seventh time in the last eight weeks, keeping the purchase index near 13-year lows.”

Diana Olick – Is Home Ownership an American Right?

“Maybe the government doesn’t want to deal with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. just yet, but that doesn’t mean we should all just ignore the fact that these two ticking time bombs continue to support more than half of the mortgages in this country and the bulk of new originations. Is home ownership an American right? The government appears to say yes. In my piece on CNBC today, I relate through the history of just how we got to this ownership society…the politics, policies and politicians behind home ownership. But here I’d like to take the conversation forward. We know how we got here, and we know what happened when home ownership went completely haywire. Now the politicians are calling for “responsible” home ownership, and yet government continues to pour billions of dollars into programs and incentives that push more borrowers into homes that may not be the best fit. Today the S&P Case Shiller Home Price Index showed an improvement in home prices over the same period last year. California is leading the way in recovery.

But in an interview with David Blitzer of S&P, you would have thought prices fell through the floor again. Blitzer’s claim is that prices should be recovering far better and faster than they are. He cites the disappointing fact that nine of the top twenty cities hit new price lows at some point since the beginning of this year. And then there’s the concern that the gains are artificially boosted by the home buyer tax credit which expired April 30th.

Which all brings me back to my original thesis: Government gets involved in the housing market, the housing market surges and then that same housing market inevitably pays the price when government pulls out. This is not to say that there aren’t some good, long-term programs out there to spur home ownership for deserving, low-income buyers, but the idea that the government was somehow going to jump start home buying with a tax credit, and then that car would just keep on driving, really couldn’t work in this market. Government, yes, has a responsibility to save the banking system from a total meltdown due to bad mortgage debt, but the future of housing, of home ownership, needs to reinvent itself without artificial stimuli. Americans have to get back to basics, and by basics I mean affordability, responsibility, and plain common sense. Government is not famous for any of those.”

Now for our real estate education section…

Facts, Figures & Other Tidbits That Make a Real Difference

Admit it. Most people don’t have a head for facts, figures and statistics. Except for a few special people that seem to thrive on data and obscure calculations, just the mere mention of facts and figures tends to cause people to start shifting in their seat and looking for the nearest exit. This is NOT one of those situations. Today we are going to cover a few facts and figures that make a very real difference in your real estate and investing career. Things you can put to work and take straight to the bank. Try these out and see for yourself.

1. Establish a ratio. Not just any ratio…a ratio that has been proven effective. Burn this number into your brain and use it as a foundation for growth and maintenance. Research conducted by top agents and businessmen indicated a 34:1 ratio to successfully close one deal. Notice, these are successful agents so novice investors may need to use a higher ratio when first starting however, nothing says that each contact must be time consuming or made in person. Learn how to use social media to dramatically reduce the time, effort and expense to meet this criteria. Bottom line: make contact with an average of 34 buyers/sellers for every deal you close….but worker smarter not harder by using social media.

2. Increase your odds. One of the biggest mistakes most people make when investing in real estate is to think the little things don’t matter. They do. Take the above ratio as an example. It’s tempting to believe that making contact with only 25 people instead of 34 is sufficient. Don’t believe it. Do the math and you will soon realize the impact on your business at the end of the year is likely to be a full 30 percent less than the person who maintained the 34:1 ratio instead! Take away…to grow your business you must not just meet the standard ratio but rather exceed it. Instead of retaining the 34:1 ratio you might need to adopt a 45:1 ratio but remember, by using social media it is possible to work smarter rather than harder while growing your business and profits.

3. Focus on one skill and delegate the rest. Veteran real estate professionals have learned the fine art of delegation but there is one skill that you should NEVER delegate…do you know what it is? Not only is it one of the most crucial skills to business success but it’s where the money is. In fact, it’s probably not an overstatement to say this is the single most important part of your business…yet the majority of real estate professionals are unable to identify this skill when asked. Even worse, many actually delegate this to others…a practice akin to handing over their business.

Have you guess yet? Plan and simple…lead generation. Consider this, real estate entails several core competencies including lead generation, presentations to buyers/sellers, marketing, negotiation, contracts, coordination of closing etc…nearly all of these are technical considerations that can be clearly defined and cost estimated to a narrow margin because they are predictable in terms of time and cost. Lead generation is different. Research has shown that top agents are able to convert nearly 80 percent of leads into successful transactions…novice agents and outside vendors average as little as 10 to 20 percent. Why pay more for less? Remember, the secret to success is to be in front of a qualified prospect when they are ready to buy – not when you are ready to sell. Learn how to use social media marketing to meet your objectives and find ready buyers by joining one of our free webinars.

See you at the top!

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

http://www.shortsalesriches.com
http://www.shortsalescoach.com
http://www.sixfigurebpo.com
http://www.reomillionaireclub.com
http://www.youtube.com/shortsalesriches

http://www.smartrealestatenews.com (subscribe to this newsletter)

*************************************************
About the author:

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

Smart Real Estate News & Commentary by Chris McLaughlin June 28, 2010

admin — Mon, 28 Jun 2010 18:21:50 +0000

Forward this e-mail to your friends!

Then they can subscribe directly at the following link:

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*** Follow Chris on Twitter–> http://www.twitter.com/mclaughlinchris

*** Join Chris’ Facebook Fan Page–> http://www.mclaughlinchris.com

**********************************************************

X-Bank Foreclosure Attorney And Millionaire Real Estate

Investor “Attorney X”… Who has over 15 years of proven

Success under his belt… Is going to Reveal Insider Investor

Secrets The Banks Don’t Want You To Know…

On this Free Content Packed Webinar You’ll Learn…

- How To Acquire As Many Properties As You Want, Without

Ever Needing To Apply For A Loan Or Use Any Of Your

Own Money… (This is an absolutely REVOLUTIONARY strategy)

- How “Attorney X’s” student “Will”, picked up 71 properties

in less than 6 weeks using this EXACT strategy… (Unbelievable!)

- How another one of “Attorney X’s” students got a 65%

PRINCIPAL REDUCTION on her property… (Amazing!)

…And so much more, simply enter your info below and

reserve your spot now for FREE this Tuesday at 3 PM ET, NOON PST:

https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/710760107

**********************************************************

Weekend News From Here, There and Housing Wire

The House Financial Services Committee issued a statement Sunday urging “bold action” on the Dodd-Frank bill, the reconciled financial reform bill agreed to by a Congressional committee last week and named after Sen Christopher Dodd (D-CT) and Rep Barney Frank (D-MA). The final bill now travels to separate House and Senate votes and then, upon passage by Congress, to a Presidential signature into law. Part of financial reform will involve ultimately winding down government support of Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae, which are still in conservatorship. Speculation remains as to how the mortgage finance industry will look post-conservatorship.

The Royal Bank of Scotland, in commentary Friday, noted that conservatorship will likely end as financial reform is extended to government-sponsored entities (GSEs) Fannie and Freddie. Regulators shut down three depository banks – The Peninsula Bank, First National Bank of Savannah, Georgia, The High Desert State Bank – on Friday, bringing the running 2010 total to 86 banks shuttered so far. By the same time last year, 45 banks had failed. Friday’s failures, located in Florida, Georgia and New Mexico, are estimated to cost the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC) a combined $284.6m. Federal disasters were declared on June 24 for some municipalities in Puerto Rico where flooding occurred in late May, and for selected counties in West Virginia where mudslides and landslides began on June 12.

Central banks warn of new crisis

The Bank for International Settlements warned governments that if budget deficit issues are not addressed decisively, the very same measures meant to tackle global recession could end up becoming the next crisis. The BIS, which acts as a bank to central banks and a discussion platform for policymakers, said reforms of the financial system remained key to prevent further crises. In its annual report published today, the BIS said, that the global economy as well as financial markets were on the mend, though the recovery remained fragile in the advanced economies and in the euro zone the debt crisis put the recovery at risk. Global leaders meeting in Toronto agreed to take different paths for shrinking budget deficits and making banking systems safer though Washington has warned against cutting too fast. “We cannot wait for the resumption of strong growth to begin the process of policy correction. Delaying fiscal policy adjustment would only risk renewed financial volatility, market disruptions and funding stress,” BIS general manager Jaime Caruana told the bank’s annual general meeting.

The BIS said if the extraordinary measures were kept in place for too long, policymakers ran the risk of creating “zombie” banks or companies, dependent on direct support. The banking system was still far from sound, as recent profits from fixed income and currency trading and the low interest rate environment were hard to repeat and not all crisis-related losses may have been booked. “But the longer that policy rates in the major advanced economies remain low, the larger will be the distortions they create, both domestically and internationally,” the BIS said. The Greek debt crisis had highlighted that many governments had to consolidate their finances immediately as highly indebted countries would not be able to rescue banks as a buyer of last resort in another crisis.

Diana Olick – Home Tax Credit Closing Extension Dead

“The proposal was simple and necessary: Extend the closing date for the home buyer tax credit from June 30th to September 30th — not the tax credit itself, which required buyers to sign a contract by April 30th, just the closing date. Anybody who has ventured into the real estate market in the past year knows that tighter lending standards, new appraisal rules and general banking backlogs are making a two month contract-to-closing period very difficult. This week the chief economist for the National Association of Realtors said 25 to 30 percent of the buyers who signed in April will not get to closing by June 30th; that translates into roughly 180,000 home purchases. The credit is $8000 for first time buyers and $6500 for repeat buyers.

This is not to say that all those buyers will pull out of the deals, but they will lose the incentive that may have gotten them to the table in the first place. June 30th is still the current deadline, and that means an awful lot of buyers will not get what the government promised, and many will likely pull out of deals. Here you have a federal tax break, designed to stimulate a housing market in total freefall, but it somehow fails to recognize just how bad the current market conditions are. The housing industry spent millions and millions of dollars lobbying Congress for said stimulus and its extension. So how is it that nobody mentioned that in today’s market it can often take longer than 8 weeks to close on a house?”

G-8 Warns Recovery Remains Fragile

The Group of 8 industrialized countries agreed the global recovery remains “fragile” but made few suggestions about how they would strengthen it. The joint communique at the end of a two-day G-8 summit in Huntsville, Ont., said progress is being made to restore the health of the global economy and financial system. But it acknowledged continued strains. “This economic crisis exposed and exacerbated vulnerabilities already embedded in integrated global economies,” the statement said.

The G-8 includes the U.S., Russia, Canada, Britain, Germany, France, Italy and Japan. The G-20 includes all the G-8 plus big developing countries including China, India and Brazil. G-8 leaders used much of their public statements to address what they would try to do in the G-20, where the main drama is the pace at which stimulus spending will be withdrawn. While the other countries talk of reducing debt-to-gross domestic product ratios by 2016, the U.S. talks more vaguely about cutting deficits and debts in the “medium term,” meaning three to five years from now. Over the years, the G-8 has focused increasingly on development issues, partly to damp criticism that industrialized nations were giving short shrift to the rest of the world. G-8 initiatives have given a political boost to debt relief in poor nations and increases in foreign aid, though never enough of a boost to satisfy critics on the left.

Now for our real estate education section…

Freddie and Fannie Delisted! What Does it Mean for Real Estate?

You might have missed this little item in the nightly news report; government home mortgage giants Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae are delisting from the New York Stock Exchange. Despite $145 billion in taxpayer funds spent to shore up the pair, shares have dropped so significantly they no longer qualify for inclusion on the exchange but will continue to be traded via the infamous bulletin board instead. In order to participate in the traditional exchange, shares must trade above $1…Fannie has been below that level for well over a month making delisting a legal necessity. Freddie has continued to struggle at just over the $1 level but will also be delisted given the eventual prospects. Given the difficulty of becoming profitable…much less an actual attempt to repay the government aid, it’s unlikely any serious effort to revive the failing entities will be forthcoming.

Since January of 2010, Freddie and Fannie (with some help from the Veterans Administration) have underwritten nearly all new home mortgages for the year; throw in the assumption of non-performing assets and bail-outs and the combined total for the defunct duo now accounts for nearly half of all the mortgages in the entire nation. With bank lending standards showing little sign of relief, experts are wondering what the delisting of Fannie and Freddie may mean for the future of a struggling real estate industry.

Aside from the loss of shareholder value…which is expected to be significant as neither entity has retained any level of significant value…the immediate impact is expected to be minimal. “Business as usual” is the anticipated motto for the time being. However, experts predict the long term consequences could dramatically alter the landscape of mortgage lending for years to come. There is significant support for privatizing the role of Freddie and Fannie while liquidating assets to recoup some of the anticipated $1 Trillion in losses currently shouldered by the tax payers.

But what would that really entail? According to AEI think tank guru Peter Wallison, a combination of liquidation followed by privatization is the preferred method of reform and would allow both to compete in the marketplace for securitization and the goal of providing affordable housing. Bernake is also an advocate of the privatization plan but suggests the prior operational model was unsustainable prior to the collapse but suggest the new footing would establish a firm foundation going forward. Critics argue this is a rehashing of the same trends that put us here in the first place and seek nationalization instead. Time will tell but as of this writing, it appears there is strong support for a push toward privatizing. Stay tuned for more information or sign-up for a free newsletter and Twitter updates to stay informed on the latest news you need to know in real estate.

See you at the top!

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

http://www.shortsalesriches.com
http://www.shortsalescoach.com
http://www.sixfigurebpo.com
http://www.reomillionaireclub.com
http://www.youtube.com/shortsalesriches

http://www.smartrealestatenews.com (subscribe to this newsletter)

*************************************************
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
–

Smart Real Estate News & Commentary by Chris McLaughlin June 21, 2010

admin — Mon, 21 Jun 2010 15:37:40 +0000

Forward this e-mail to your friends!

Then they can subscribe directly at the following link:

http://www.smartrealestatenews.com/

*** Follow Chris on Twitter–> http://www.twitter.com/mclaughlinchris

*** Join Chris’ Facebook Fan Page–> http://www.mclaughlinchris.com

**********************************************************

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New Monthly National Housing Scorecard Announced

The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the Treasury Department will announce the creation of a new monthly national housing scorecard. The initiative will combine housing market indicators along with the progress of the administration’s homeowner assistance programs, including efforts by the Federal Housing Administration and the Making Home Affordable programs. Last week, senators passed an amendment to the American Jobs and Closing Tax Loopholes Act of 2010 that would extend the June 30 deadline to close on a house sale to Sept. 30 for first-time and existing homebuyers to be eligible for the homebuyer tax credit. The legislation also includes spending on extended unemployment benefits and spending on educational initiatives. New commercial mortgage-backed security (CMBS) issuance was one of the most popular topics discussed during last week’s Commercial Real Estate (CRE) Finance Council’s June convention, according to analysis published by Barclays Capital (BarCap). A number of speakers agreed that the new origination and securitization volume year-to-date is lighter than what was initially expected, BarCap said, adding on the origination side, loan supply remains low, as borrowers’ demand for conduit-style loans is not as high as initially expected and as the availability of properties not encumbered by debt and suitable for conduit securitization remains somewhat limited.

Another concern at the conference was the future of warehousing, as the accumulation of loans for further securitization is still challenging for the conduit platforms, the report continued. On the residential side of the market, it appears residential rental yields are returning to “normal” levels, according to weekly commentary published by JPMorgan. Rental yields bottomed in 2007, but are now back to pre-housing bubble levels, JP Morgan analysts wrote. The impact of this is that as foreclosures force more homeowners to become renters — JPMorgan puts that number at more than 2m during the next three years — the market needs real estate investors. For the second week in a row, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC) reported only one bank failure over the weekend. The Nevada Financial Institutions Division closed Reno-based Nevada Security Bank.

Is the recovery stalling out?

Economists are more nervous about the chances of another recession. And the Federal Reserve seems to have, “some ammunition left, but it’s not going to pack a lot of punch,” according to Mark Zandi, chief economist with Moody’s Economy.com. As financial problems in Europe led to a sell-off in U.S. stocks in the past six weeks, weaker-than-expected readings on job growth and retail sales have added to concerns that the recovery is stalling out. “Whenever the next recession comes, it is very important that policymakers have had the opportunity to reload their gun to fight the downturn,” said Lakshman Achuthan, managing director of Economic Cycle Research Institute. “Today it’s not clear that there’s a lot more policymakers can do.”

The typical first step to spur a faltering economy is for the Fed to cut the cost of borrowing money in order to encourage spending. But the federal funds rate, its key interest rate used as a benchmark for a wide range of consumer and business borrowing, is already near 0%. Fed policymakers are widely expected to leave rates near zero at the conclusion of their two-day meeting on Wednesday. Longer-term rates set by the market, such as Treasury yields and mortgage rates, are also nearing historic lows. So the Fed can’t make money much cheaper. Achuthan said he is worried that neither the Fed nor Congress have the resources and political will necessary to stimulate the economy if that’s needed. And despite the growing worries about the economy, Fed officials have to be careful not to raise too many alarms. Too much attention to problems that have arisen since the Fed’s last meeting on May 9 could be more dangerous than ignoring the growing threats, according to experts.

Diana Olick – New Hurdle to Housing: No Flood Insurance

Who knew you needed flood insurance in Bergen County, NJ – located on a 100 year flood plain – to get a mortgage? Andrea Mantia, a producer on CNBC’s Street Signs, called to tell me she is supposed to close on a home, but her lender is denying the mortgage without flood insurance. She can’t get flood insurance, because “apparently, all insurers get flood coverage via the government/FEMA. Now that Congress has let it lapse, NO insurers are offering new policies,” she says. “It’s putting a lot of closings in doubt.” 1400 homes per day in the United States require flood insurance and cannot go to closing without it. That according to the Texas Association of Realtors.

The National Flood Insurance Program hasn’t issued a new policy since May 31st, when the most recent extension ran out. Mantia tells me it gets updated every five years, but since it ran out in 2009, Congress has just been issuing temporary extensions. The latest extension is mired in the jobs bill, which is itself still mired in the Senate. “State Farm has had it with the government,” she says. “They just announced it will not write any new flood policies, even if Congress gets their act together.” I found this part of a post put up yesterday by Relocation.com: It’s unlikely that State Farm would begin to write flood insurance policies again, even if the NFIP were extended for a longer amount of time. Phil Supple, a spokesperson for the insurance company, told Insurance Journal that “the flood program distracts and pull[s] resources away from other needs of the company.” State Farm announced on June 3rd that it would stop administering the government policies entirely this fall, but now it can’t anyway because there’s no money. I wonder about all those folks trying to close on homes that they bought with the home buyer tax credit. They have to close by June 30th. The summer market wasn’t going so well as it is. Just more grief for buyers, sellers, and this very tenuous housing recovery.

Minorities hit hard by foreclosure crisis

About 2.5 million homeowners have lost their homes to foreclosure in the housing crisis so far, and black and Latino borrowers have been disproportionately affected, according to a new report released by a nonprofit research group. The study by the Center for Responsible Lending was based on an analysis of government and industry data on millions of loans issued between 2005 and 2008 – the height of the housing boom. It found that whites made up the majority of foreclosures completed between 2007 and 2009, about 56 percent, but that minority communities were affected more.

The disparity holds even when comparing “high-income” borrowers, the report found. High-income black borrowers were 80 percent more likely to lose their homes to foreclosure than their white counterparts, while high-income Latino borrowers were 90 percent more likely. Traditionally, minority communities have fewer financial resources to fall back on during a crisis, making foreclosure a more likely outcome, housing experts have said. The report comes as government foreclosure prevention efforts falter and banks have begun to make their way through a backlog of seriously delinquent homeowners and repossess homes at a higher rate. Economists expect distressed properties to be a drag on the housing market for years, particularly if high unemployment levels persist.

DSNews.com – Lenders Reclaim $10 Billion of Commercial Property: Report

Distressed commercial real estate is being reclaimed by lenders at a rapid pace, but relatively few assets are being marketed and re-sold. According to the research firm Real Capital Analytics, lenders acquired some $10 billion of commercial property during the first five months of this year – via foreclosure or negotiated settlement. But they disposed of just $2.6 billion of commercial REO during the same period. The company’s analysts estimate that commercial REO inventory resulting from this cycle now exceeds $28 billion. Real Capital said in its report, “There is a large amount of capital that is eager to acquire these assets from the lenders, at appropriately discounted prices, but lenders do not have pressure to sell their REO immediately, and most are content to wait for conditions to improve further before selling.”

While a good number of equity funds are seeing problems with their earlier investments and losing assets to foreclosure, Real Capital says a new vintage of equity funds have raised significant capital for opportunistic acquisitions. But one of the uncertainties in the market is how patient that capital will be if distressed opportunities remain scarce, the company says.

Now on to our real estate education section…

Mortgage Interest Tax Deduction On the Cutting Block…Again

Much to the relief of many homeowners, Congress rejected the White House proposal to reduce the home mortgage deduction when it came up for vote last year. Unfortunately, the need to raise taxes in any way possible has put this popular program on this year’s budget agenda.

With nearly $210 Billion at stake, the rhetoric from Washington has a decidedly negative overtone, recently referring to them as “tax entitlements” in an effort to compare these age old strategies to a form of welfare for the rich. Unfortunately, these are not tax breaks enjoyed merely by the rich but rather long held forms of financial planning often worked into the budgets of average middle class American households.

Democrats on the financial commission are currently reevaluating a plethora of permanent tax breaks including the mortgage deduction and corporate deferral, arguing they should be part of the financial reform package and treated just like other entitlement programs such as Medicare, Social Security, Medicaid and discretionary spending packages.

Current proposals for the tax deduction include a tiered approach which would first reduce deduction rates for itemized expenses on those that earn more than $250,000 annually and eliminate or severely reduce mortgage interest tax deductions in general. Critics of the popular mortgage interest tax deductions claim this will further hurt an already weak real estate market by eliminating one of the remaining incentives for people that wish to own a home rather than rent.

Others go so far as to say this will force borderline homeowners to default on their current mortgages…especially those that are struggling to maintain their homes during the current downturn in the economy. Still others believe it is just “bad form” to change the rules of the game after others have locked in long term expenses…and anticipated tax deductions.

Advocates of the bill claim it favors the wealthy and that low to middle income Americans’ rarely benefit from the tax deduction anyway while still others claim it is a tax on the poor that benefit the rich. One thing is certain; Washington is searching everywhere for much needed ways to raise cash…quickly.

When formerly “untouchable” tax deductions are suddenly on the table for two years in a row, it’s time to sit up and take notice. Not only is the home mortgage deduction up for grabs but according to industry insiders, “everything must be on the table” including Social Security and Medicare. The anticipated outrage from SS and Medicare/Medicaid recipients is likely to create such backlash that the mortgage interest issue is likely to get lost in the shuffle…or worse, used as a bargaining chip for those attempting to calm the clamoring masses. Will any of these measures be enough? According to experts…probably not.

See you at the top!

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

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Smart Real Estate News & Commentary by Chris McLaughlin June 3, 2010

admin — Thu, 03 Jun 2010 14:15:59 +0000

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Pending Home Sales Surge Continuing

Pending home sales have risen for three consecutive months, reflecting the broad impact of the home buyer tax credit and favorable housing affordability conditions, according to the National Association of Realtors®. The Pending Home Sales Index, a forward-looking indicator, rose 6.0 percent to 110.9 based on contracts signed in April, from an upwardly revised 104.6 in March, and is 22.4 percent higher than April 2009 when it was 90.6. That follows gains of 7.1 percent in March and 8.3 percent in February. The data reflects contracts and not closings, which usually occur with a lag time of one or two months. Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, said “The housing market has to get back on its own feet and now appears to be in a good position to return to sustainable levels even without government stimulus, provided the economy continues to add jobs. A big concern surfacing recently is insufficient time to close the deal at the settlement table. However, the recent housing cycle has brought long delays related to the short sales approval process by banks, and from ongoing appraisal issues.”

According to him, homebuyers who responded to tax credits may encounter problems meeting the settlement deadline by June 30. Because of these market challenges, NAR has asked Congress to provide flexibility on the deadline for closing.

Retailers Post Another Month of Disappointing Sales

Analysts have failed in estimating inadequate consumer spend and the impact it will have, on the economy. After a disappointing April, the results from retailers in May underscores how fragile the economy recovery is at this stage. Analysts on average are expecting same-store sales to rise 2.6 percent in May from the prior year, according to Thomson Reuters. That compares with a decline of 4.8 percent in May 2009. Among the department stores, Nordstrom is expected to report the strongest year-over-year same-store sales growth, with sales expected to be up 4.8 percent, while Costco Wholesale was expected to report the strongest monthly increase among the discount chains, with sales expected to rise 7.3 percent, excluding gas sales, according to a Thomson Reuters survey.

However, the warehouse club store reported sales rose only 5 percent, excluding gas sales. Hot Topic was expected to post the biggest decline in same-store sales with an 8.3 percent drop, but its actual performance proved even worse. Same-store sales fell 9.0 percent. Although the monthly sales reports will be closely watched for their insights into consumer spending, the reports aren’t the gauge they used to be as many retailers, including Wal-Mart Stores, the world’s largest retailer no longer report monthly sales results.

Diana Olick – BofA: Mortgage Walkaways Have Huge Incentive

“Bank of America rolled out their new “Principal Reduction Enhancement” program, which is an earned principal forgiveness plan for borrowers behind on their mortgages and whose loans are at least 20 percent underwater in value. The plan is in conjunction with the government’s Home Affordable Modification Program, but the government’s principal reduction plan isn’t in place yet. What makes BofA’s plan so proactive is that it employs, “a principal reduction as the first step toward reaching HAMP’s affordable payment target of 31 percent of household income when modifying certain NHRP-eligible mortgages — ahead of lowering the interest rate and extending the term.” Why are they getting more aggressive on modifications? Because more borrowers are walking away. BofA’s credit loss mitigation executive, Jack Schakett, said the amount of strategic defaulters (those who can pay their loans but opt not to) are “more than we have ever experienced before.” He went on to say, “there is a huge incentive for customers to walk away because getting free rent and waiting out foreclosure can be very appealing to customers.”

Schakett says the foreclosure process is still taking 13 to 14 months (and by my estimates that’s an optimistic assessment), and so there’s over a year of free rent. While the banks are trying to improve the time, they’re just not there yet. 31 percent of foreclosures in March were deemed to be “strategic default” by researchers at University of Chicago and Northwestern University. We also learn from those same researchers that the likelihood of walking away increases by 23 percent when homeowners learn that a neighbor got some principal forgiveness. I’ll let you all argue that one.”

Fed’s Lockhart Says Rates May Rise With Unemployment Still High

Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta President Dennis Lockhart said the central bank, to counter inflation, may eventually need to raise its target interest rate from near zero even with U.S. unemployment still high. “The policy rate may have to begin to rise even while unemployment is considerably higher than before the recession,” Lockhart said today in a speech in Atlanta. According to a Bloomberg News survey of economists, the U.S. economy strengthened in May amid the worsening in Europe’s debt crisis, as employment likely climbed during the month by more than 500,000 workers. The unemployment rate likely dropped to 9.8 percent from 9.9 percent, the survey found ahead of tomorrow’s government report. “The time is approaching when it will be appropriate to consider recalibrating interest rate policy,” he said in remarks prepared for the Atlanta Technical College. “I do not believe that time has yet arrived.” “However, extraordinarily low policy rates will become inconsistent with maintaining price stability,” he said.

Policy makers are debating when to begin withdrawing record liquidity from the financial system as the economy emerges from the worst recession since the Great Depression. The Fed’s preferred inflation gauge — the core personal- consumption expenditures price index, which strips out food and energy — rose at an annual rate of 0.6 percent in the first quarter, the slowest pace since records began in 1959.

DSNews.com – Commercial Defaults Hit Record for Both Investors and Banks

Pressures continue to drive up commercial mortgage defaults. The economic downturn has choked off demand for retail and office space, with vacancy rates rising and prospects of new occupants limited by the duress of today’s job market. At the same time, commercial real estate (CRE) values have dropped more than 40 percent in some markets, pushing a growing number of property owners severely underwater. According to new data from Real Capital Analytics, the default rate for commercial real estate loans owned by the nation’s FDIC-insured banks increased from 3.83 percent in the fourth quarter of 2009 to 4.17 percent in the first quarter of 2010. Real Capital says this is the highest default rate reported since 1992, the first year for which data is available, when it was 4.55 percent.

Year-over-year, the default rate is up by 192 basis points. By contrast, at its cyclical low in the first half of 2006, the commercial mortgage default rate was 0.58 percent. As of the first quarter of this year, $45.5 billion of bank-held commercial mortgages were in default, according to Real Capital’s tally. A separate study released this week by Trepp LLC shows that the share of past due loans held by investors in commercial mortgage-backed securities (CMBS), including those already in foreclosure and REO, jumped 40 basis points in May to 8.42 percent – the highest in the history of the CMBS industry. To put the delinquent CMBS universe into perspective, Trepp says that just six months ago, the delinquency rate was 5.65 percent. One year ago, it was 2.77 percent.

Now on to our real estate education section…

All About Commercial Risk

Commercial real estate has been making headlines as the next step for short sale investors but as many novice commercial investors are learning, there are substantial differences required to close the deal. First and foremost is the question of finance. Typically, commercial real estate has more stringent requirements and/or often requires substantially larger sums of money however, the basic process is still the same. The lender wants to reduce risk and remove a non-performing asset from their books.

Demonstrate the ability to pay the loan and you are halfway toward becoming a commercial investor. Critical is an understanding of the major risks associated with commercial loans from the lenders perspective. Use this as a quick checklist when putting together an offer or evaluating your own potential.

1. Credit Risk. Perhaps the most common type of risk, this simply indicates the ability of the borrower to meet the contractual obligations as outlined in the loan documents…aka, the ability to pay. However, because you are dealing with commercial loans, the credit risk can be impacted by several items including competitive market factors (ie, the inability of the property to lease as expected, increased or decreased demand etc), interest rate sensitivity, rollover of leases (long term leases may be stable but are also more prone to declining values), changes in regulatory environment including zoning and tax laws.

2. Interest Rate Risk. The majority of commercial real estate is financed on a floating rate basis so interest rate risk is a very real threat depending upon the timing of cash flows, yield curves and other economic conditions that may adversely impact the economic climate.

3. Liquidity Risk. Banks must meet obligations the same way that private individuals are required to do so; loss of liquidity means the bank is unable to extend credit or must call loans in order to raise capital. For an investor, liquidity risk is typically isolated to the ability of the bank to loan money in the future should you require it in order to roll-over or refinance a loan.

4. Compliance Risk. Once the domain of elusive economic theory, compliance risk has risen to disproportionate levels thanks in large part to the current crisis as well as outside influences. Examples are broad but range from potential liability of bad debts during the mortgage boom to the current oil spill at BP; a bank may be held responsible for assets held as collateral. High risk assets will be assessed a premium.

Short sale investors seeking entry into the exciting world of commercial real estate should review each property from the perspective of the lender; examine risk levels and potential threats through the eyes of the bank in order to maximize your prospect for success.

See you at the top!

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

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Smart Real Estate News & Commentary by Chris McLaughlin, May 28, 2010

admin — Fri, 28 May 2010 15:40:37 +0000

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Want a loan modification? Get your paperwork ready.

Your woes do not end with delinquency. You now need to get better at your paper work too, if you want to avail the administration’s mortgage modification program. With effect from June 1, New Treasury Department guidelines require loan servicers to verify applicants’ income and financial hardship before placing them into trial modifications. This will make it much tougher to get temporary relief from unaffordable mortgage payments. But if you make it into a trial modification, you’re more likely to get long-term assistance, providing you send in your check on time. Of the 1.2 million people who’ve started trial modifications, fewer than 300,000 have received permanent assistance. Another 278,000 have washed out of the program either because they didn’t send in timely payments, hand in the required documents or meet the eligibility criteria.

Paperwork has caused all sorts of problems for the president’s signature foreclosure rescue program. In order to get the effort off the ground quickly, administration officials allowed servicers to place people in trial modifications before verifying that they were indeed eligible for the program. Many homeowners have been stuck in trial modifications for months and months while they wrestle with servicers over the documentation requirements. The financial institutions say that borrowers aren’t sending in the needed forms; homeowners contend the servicers are losing them. Many loans didn’t require much documentation when they were originated, which makes gathering the paperwork during the modification process that much more difficult, said Paul Koches, executive vice president at Ocwen. The pace of people entering trial modifications has already slowed as servicers have started requiring the paperwork in advance. Only 47,160 trials were started in April, down from more than 72,000 in February. Among the documents Chase and other servicers require are hardship affidavits, two recent pay stubs, a bank statement, a tax return, proof of occupancy and a 4506T-EZ form.

Congress Has Hands Full With FinReg Compromise Bill

The upcoming conference to merge the House and Senate bills on sweeping financial reform, has the potential to be both fractious and divisive with a number of minefields to cross. Amendments–tacked on or ignored during earlier rounds—will be disposed of, adding to the existing frustration of Senate members in particular. “There are too many issues to horse trade on,” says bank analyst Bert Ely. “What’s going to happen is that because the Senate bill was so poorly drafted—there was no committee markup…is that many portions of the bill will be substantially rewritten in resolving the differences.” Meanwhile, additions will be made, even though the bills already run 1,400-1500 pages.

Republican conference members are also already setting the table. Sen. Bob Corker of Tennessee—who negotiated with Dodd for weeks at the committee level and is a conference member—has already criticized the President for taking a non-partisan approach, while Sen. Judd Gregg has called the bill “a disaster.” And, if all this weren’t enough, extraneous events and personal circumstances may play a sizable role in the negotiations and their outcome. Potential minefields include, the Derivatives Regulation that covers personal fortune, politics and policy converge, the so-called Volcker rule—whose primary purpose is to limit the proprietary trading of big firms, Capital Requirements amendment by Maine Republican Susan Collins, that would essentially tighten capital requirements for banks and Consumer Agency Exemption by Sen. Sam Brownback of Kansas, who wants auto dealers exempted from new regulations that would protect consumers from abusive practices in the sale of financial products.

Diana Olick – Are Investors Souring on Housing?

“Last year, when the rest of the nation’s housing was still reeling from recession, California started to show signs of life. Sales increased and prices stabilized, despite the fact that it was one of the hardest hit states with one of the highest foreclosure rates. California’s savior was investors. They came in fast, cash in hand, and started snatching up distressed properties at a fast pace. That interest appears to be waning. While sales of existing homes shot up across most of the nation in April, they fell in the West, down 6.2 percent. “The sales are lower because of lack of inventory on lower-priced homes,” says Lawrence Yun of the National Association of Realtors. “The California market was one of the first markets to go down sharply but also the first market to rebound.” The inventory of low-priced homes is low because of big investor demand initially and because banks are being very careful with REO (bank owned) properties, releasing them slowly onto the market so as not to tank prices. But that’s not all of it. “We know the tax-credit has pushed low-priced houses up sharply and investors have backed away big-time in recent months, not wanting to compete with a bunch of first-timers and their Obama coupons,” says mortgage analyst Mark Hanson. “Perhaps this is the end of the demand cycle from first timers and investors who have had their fill.”

On the other hand, some of the numbers may be skewed due to the increasing prevalence of short sales, where the bank allows the home to be sold for less than the value of the mortgage. “The proportion of damaged foreclosed properties or so-called real estate owned (REO) sold during April plunged,” according to the latest Campbell/Inside Mortgage Finance Monthly Survey of Real Estate Market Conditions. “Damaged REO accounted for 15.4 percent of transactions in March, but only 12.8 percent in April. One reason for the drop in damaged REO may be increasing numbers of short sales.” Now that the tax credit is over, and foreclosures are moving through the bank pipelines more quickly, perhaps investors will come back in larger numbers. Prices are certainly low enough!”

Consumers Hold Their Wallets Tight

U.S. consumer spending was unexpectedly flat in April, a government report showed on Friday. The Commerce Department said spending was the weakest since September, when it fell 0.6 percent, after increasing by an unrevised 0.6 percent in March. Analysts polled by Reuters had expected consumer spending, which normally accounts for over two-thirds of U.S. economic activity, to increase 0.3 percent last month. Spending adjusted for inflation was also flat in April after a 0.5 percent increase the prior month, the Commerce Department said. Personal income rose 0.4 percent, the report showed, after rising by the same margin in March. Markets had expected income to rise 0.5 percent last month. The saving rate rose to 3.6 percent from 3.1 percent in March. Savings rose to an annual rate of $398.5 billion. The report also showed the personal consumption expenditures price index, excluding food and energy, rising 1.2 percent in the 12 months to April, the smallest rise since September. The index, which is a key inflation gauge monitored by the Federal Reserve, increased 1.3 percent in March.

Mortgage Lenders Seek Relief on Bad Debt Repurchases

Mortgage lenders are seeking relief from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac as the government-supported companies force them to buy back more soured debt, said John Courson, president of the industry’s largest trade group. The Mortgage Bankers Association has started to “aggressively” push the two companies and their regulator to ease up. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, propped up by unlimited taxpayer capital, should acknowledge lenders are unfairly absorbing too many losses, with unemployment that reached a 27- year high among the causes of defaults unrelated to loan quality. Last quarter, the companies forced lenders to repurchase $3.1 billion of loans, up 63 percent from a year earlier, after defaults surged to the highest since the Great Depression, according to regulatory filings. Bank of America Corp. and JPMorgan Chase & Co. are among banks that reported setting aside money to cover such demands.

Freddie Mac, based in McLean, Virginia, had $4.8 billion of repurchase requests pending as of March 31, up from $3.8 billion on Dec. 31. Washington-based Fannie Mae hasn’t made a similar disclosure. The company is creating new upfront lender requirements to “promote improved loan delivery data that is complete, accurate, and fully reflective of the terms of the mortgage,” which should reduce future repurchase demands, said Janis Smith, a Fannie Mae spokeswoman. The so- called loan quality initiative takes effect June 1. The U.S. government seized Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which own or guarantee almost $5 trillion of U.S. housing debt, in September 2008, and has guided their actions during their so called conservatorships. They’ve drawn $145 billion in aid from the Treasury Department.

State Group Estimates 37% of California Foreclosures Involved Renters

The foreclosure crisis in California has taken a toll on not only homeowners, but a large number of tenants in the state. According to a new study from Tenants Together, California’s statewide organization for renters’ rights, at least 37 percent of residential units in foreclosure in the Golden State last year were rentals, directly affecting over 200,000 tenants – most of whom were displaced. Tenant Together’s research is based on California property records for every foreclosure in 2009, and the organization says its estimates are “conservative.” The report – California Tenants in the Foreclosure Crisis Report – concludes that while the largest percentage of renter-occupied foreclosed properties were single-family homes, the percentage of renter-occupied, multi-unit buildings is growing at a faster pace. The organization says this trend is likely to increase as more loan modification programs target owner-occupied properties, which are primarily single-family homes and condominiums, while multi-unit rental properties continue to fall by the wayside and into foreclosure. Tenants Together says that the new federal law Protecting Tenants at Foreclosure Act comes short of providing long-term security for tenants and has been mired by implementation problems arising from banks’ non-compliance with the new law. Among the various proposals, the report notes that ‘just cause for eviction’ laws are a particularly effective and cost-free way to stop the displacement of tenants whose lenders have been foreclosed on and provide greater stability to California communities.

Now on to our real estate education section…

Friday File – Assessing a Mobile Home Park

This week we have explored the commercial side of short sales with a special look at the use of mobile home parks as one easy entry into a frequently ignored alternative. For today’s Friday file we will show a quick and easy way to assess whether or not a mobile home park would enhance your portfolio. Not only are a large number of “mom and pop” parks wanting to retire but many larger properties are coming on the market thanks to REO and generalized foreclosures. Use these quick calculations to compare the cost and outcome:

1. Determine the Density. Expect an average density of roughly 4 to 10 units per acre. Long term residential areas tend to be less dense while part-time, resort and/or RV rental areas tend to be more dense.

2. Decide who will be responsible for utilities? If tenants will pay for the utilities, multiple the average monthly lot rent by 70. If the investor will pay for utilities, multiple the average monthly lot rent by 60. These are industry norms with a built-in “cushion”.

Tip: Average monthly lot rent for most mobile home parks average $250 to $400 per month. So, if you own a ten acre mobile home park that has 40 units and rents for $300 per month with tenants paying utilities, the park would generate an anticipated $12,000 per month multiplied by .70 or $8,400 anticipated monthly net.

3. Evaluate the “Break Even” point. As a general rule of thumb some mobile home park investors like to cap the cost at an arbitrary number such as $5,000 per $100 of lot rent (less for vacant lots) however, it’s often possible to find a diamond in the rough for significantly less especially if it has been poorly managed or the owners are looking to liquidate. Using the same example from above, a 40 unit park with rents of $300 per month would expect to sell somewhere in the neighborhood of $600,000 before taking vacancies into account. Discount for average vacancy rates, assess the impact of accelerated depreciation and other tax advantages plus down payment to determine your “break even” point.

4. Add in the cost of appreciation, rentals and other ancillary services such as laundry, RV lots, sales of mobile homes, rentals of mobile homes, wi-fi or other potential sources of income.

Many investors are surprised to learn how affordable and easy investing in a mobile home park can be; it’s just one quick example of another alternative to breaking into commercial real estate investments. This week, perform a quick search for a small mobile home or RV park to see what’s available in your area. Remember, it’s easy to trade free lot rent for an on-site manager to keep the headache and hassle down while rapidly increasing the income and appreciation.

See you at the top!

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

http://www.shortsalesriches.com
http://www.shortsalescoach.com
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About the author:

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

Smart Real Estate News & Commentary by Chris McLaughlin, May 25, 2010

admin — Tue, 25 May 2010 14:19:59 +0000

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Existing-Home Sales Continue to Improve in April

Existing-home sales rose again in April with buyers motivated by the tax credit, improving consumer confidence and favorable affordability conditions, according to the National Association of Realtors®. Existing-home sales, which are completed transactions that include single-family, town homes, condominiums and co-ops, increased 7.6 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.77 million units in April from an upwardly revised 5.36 million in March, and are 22.8 percent higher than the 4.70 million-unit pace in April 2009. Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, said the gain was widely anticipated. “The upswing in April existing-home sales was expected because of the tax credit inducement, and no doubt there will be some temporary fallback in the months immediately after it expires, but other factors also are supporting the market,” he said. “For people who were on the sidelines, there’s been a return of buyer confidence with stabilizing home prices, an improving economy and mortgage interest rates that remain historically low.”

Total housing inventory at the end of April rose 11.5 percent to 4.04 million existing homes available for sale. The national median existing-home price for all housing types was $173,100 in April, up 4.0 percent from April 2009. Distressed homes accounted for 33 percent of sales last month, compared with 35 percent in March. Single-family home sales rose 7.4 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.05 million in April from a pace of 4.70 million in March. NAR President Vicki Cox Golder, owner of Vicki L. Cox & Associates in Tucson, Ariz., said buyer traffic is mixed. “It looks like the level of home sales that close in May and June will stay elevated, but many buyers remain in the market even without the tax credit,” she said. “Some Realtors® tell us they are very busy with clients who are entering the market now as a result of improved conditions, while others are welcoming a slowdown from frantic market conditions in recent months.”

Diana Olick – Existing Homes Sales are Up-But Realtors are Still Down

“Today’s existing home sales report should have had analysts, experts, economists, and Realtors dancing in the streets. Sales were higher than expected, prices respectably up, but then there was that sticky inventory number that seemed to befuddle the Realtors’ chief economist Lawrence Yun: “The latest inventory increase is somewhat puzzling, because I had anticipated it steadily declining,” he said in an interview following the monthly presser. And then all the analysts reports came flooding in, which included adjectives, “Troubling,” “Concerning,” “Not healthy,” “Not meaningful.” I think this, from Credit-Suisse’s Dan Oppenheim, really sums it up: “Total months’ supply increased to 8.4 from 8.1 in March, driven by an 11.5% increase in absolute inventories. This reflects a larger increase than the typical 6% rise in inventories from March-April, as we think people listed more homes for sale in anticipation of tax credit demand and foreclosures continued to come on to the market. However, we think inventories are likely even higher, as the NAR does not fully capture total foreclosure levels.

The concern of course, nationally, is that all the positive numbers we’re looking at today, that is sales and prices, are all heavily influenced by the already-expired tax credit. The only number not under that spell is inventory, and that’s the one that went the wrong direction. “The figure that puzzles are sales in the West, where sales soared just before the first tax credit expired, but have hardly responded to the second tax credit,” writes Patrick Newport at IHS Global Insight. I think part of that puzzle is that so much of California’s sales over the past year were driven by investors…investors who would not be eligible for the home buyer tax credit. Remember, the existing home sales report is based on closings, not contract signings, so you will see these elevated sales numbers through June, still juiced by the credit. After that, most are expecting a drop off, and given the high inventories, that will put pressure back on home prices.”

Regulators May Never Know Cause of ‘Flash Crash’

U.S. regulators may never know what caused the recent market crash and still have not found evidence trading errors or system malfunctions triggered the brief free fall, on May 6^.More than two weeks after the Dow Jones Industrial average lost nearly 700 points in minutes before recovering, regulators and exchange operators are still searching for answers. “I think that’s possible” that we may never know what happened on May 6, Jill Sommers, a commissioner with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, told Reuters. The CFTC and fellow market regulator the Securities and Exchange Commission have been forced to set aside long-standing differences over jurisdiction. For more than a year their respective chairmen have worked together on new derivatives rules and were thrust back into the spotlight after the market crash.

The SEC will meet on Wednesday to propose rule to improve market surveillance. Currently the dozens of market venues are supervised by exchanges and market regulators such as the SEC, CFTC and broker dealer watchdog the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority. The investigation by regulators into the unexplained crash has been hampered by their inability to see clearly across all markets and obtain trading data from a single source. The panel set up to advise regulators on emerging regulatory issues is made up of former and current regulators and other financial luminaries, including Nobel laureate economist Joseph Stiglitz and Richard Ketchum, a market regulator for more than 30 years and currently the head of Finra and Brooksley Born, who has been praised for trying to regulate the $615 trillion over-the-counter derivatives market when she was the chairman of the CFTC.

Show Down for GSEs?

A house resolution (HR) currently under consideration in Congress details the timeline to take the government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs) out of conservatorship and eventually wind down Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. However, even if passed in current form, as sponsored by Jeb Hensarling (R-TX), the bill will still contain provisions that may prevent the GSE from going totally out of business. If passed, the “GSE Bailout Elimination and Taxpayer Protection Act” — HR 4889 — directs the director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) to remove the GSEs from conservatorship, two years after the bill is signed into law. Three years after that, the bill would revoke the charters for both entities and establish a 10-year-long wind down of the entities. During that 10-year period, the FHFA director and the Treasury secretary would be responsible for imposing regulations that would divest the GSEs of their holdings.

The bill is currently under consideration in the House Financial Services Committee and comes on the heels of a Senate that approved the Restoring American Financial Stability Act. That bill calls for the end to government ownership of the GSEs by the end of 2011. The house resolution would also amend the 1992 legislation and repeal GSE housing goals. When the 1992 law passed, it established HUD-imposed housing goals for financing of affordable housing and housing in central cities and other rural and underserved areas, according to Fannie Mae’s website. Those goals would be repealed.

The bill also sets down payment requirements for homebuyers. When the GSEs exit conservatorship, the bill requires borrowers to make a 5% down payment. One year later, it increases to 7.5% and after two years out of conservatorship, the bill requires borrowers make a 10% down payment.

MBA Reacts to Passage of Financial Regulatory Reform

Robert E. Story, Jr., CMB, Chairman of the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) issued the following comment today, reacting to passage of S. 3217, the Restoring American Financial Stability Act of 2010. Here are a few key comments: “MBA has long supported a more efficient regulatory regime for the financial services industry, and passage of the bill is another important milestone. However, the bill, as we view it, still has flaws that will negatively impact borrowers and the real estate markets. The next step will be to reconcile the differences between the House bill and the Senate bill. MBA believes the American people would be best served by Congress convening a formal conference committee. Of particular importance to us is ensuring that the final language on risk retention does not discourage prudent, responsible lending. If not, we risk doing long-term damage to our single-family, multifamily and commercial real estate markets. The bill could be improved by creating one consistent standard for the purpose of regulating residential mortgages.

If legislators insist on moving forward with mandating additional risk retention, setting credit criteria and restricting certain loan products and features, they should use one consistent standard that works across the board to identify what is and what is not subject to the new rules. Unless improvements are made during the Senate-House negotiations, this bill will likely bring regulations that will only further constrain credit for borrowers, make real estate purchases more expensive and drag out the ongoing turmoil in the real estate markets. All through this process, we have worked with members of Congress on both sides of the aisle to try and craft the best possible bill that will create a new regulatory structure that will better protect consumers without limiting product choices and increasing borrowers’ costs to finance a real estate purchase. We look forward to continuing those efforts.”

76% of Consumers Favor Renting to Homeownership

For many, homeownership is a dying dream. According to a new online survey of more than 2,000 U.S. adults conducted in May by Harris Interactive and commissioned by the Arlington, Virginia-based National Apartment Association (NAA), 76 percent of consumers deemed renting to be the more favorable option to owning a home in the current real estate market. “While some may want to declare the housing crisis over, consumer patterns of behavior are showing otherwise,” said Douglas Culkin, NAA president. “The findings in this survey mirror what our members are seeing throughout the country, especially in areas of the country that are experiencing the first signs of economic recovery.”

Of those who favored renting, 64 percent cited having no responsibility for major repairs or maintenance as the primary benefit to renting a home versus owning one, up from 57 percent in 2008. In addition, 50 percent cited financial reasons such as not being impacted by an unpredictable real estate market and not being susceptible to foreclosure. Going forward, 60 percent of renters surveyed said they plan to continue renting their current resident or rent a new residence within the next year, and just 12 percent said they have plans to buy a new home this year. As for homeowners, 71 percent said they will stay in their current home over the next year. As renters and homeowners are not eager to make any changes in their housing status signifies low consumer confidence and uncertainty in the housing market, NAA said. According to the survey 93 percent of respondents said they feel the financial security of homeowners is more or equally affected by the current state of the housing market. NAA said this indicated that the economic impact of the foreclosure crisis has not shifted or improved.

Now on to our real estate investing education section …

Understanding Triple Net Leases

Intrepid short sale investors searching for new ways to expand their portfolio are increasingly turning an eye toward retail and other commercial properties. Key to their success is the concept of Triple Net Lease; plain and simple…they are the life blood of the investment sector as they continue to outperform nearly all other comparable assets and generate double digit returns.

Triple Net Lease Defined

Unlike a standard lease where the property owner pays for required maintenance, taxes and insurance a triple net lease removes these major expenses from the equation by making the tenant assume full responsibility. Not only does this result in enhanced appreciation but generated income is substantially higher since taxes, insurance and maintenance remain the most costly expenses associated with any property.

What Type of Properties Qualify?

A triple net lease can be negotiated for nearly any type of commercial property but is commonly used in conjunction with retail, manufacturing and professional office space where the tenant may require extensive modifications of the space.

Savvy real estate investors interested in pursuing a long term approach (or searching for ways to maximize the attractiveness of an income producing property in anticipation for a resale) would do well to look into starter properties that could be used for physician offices, retail outlets and even major manufacturing. Remember, these are long term leases with an emphasis on tenants that rarely relocate.

Finding Triple Net Properties

Don’t listen to the naysayers who try to tell you it is impossible to locate a triple net property via short sale. Here are a few facts to keep in mind; due to the global recession and economic downturn, the commercial sector as a whole has experienced nearly 40% decline…triple net leases have held their value to a better extent but have still declined in value by nearly 15 percent or even more in some hard hit areas of the nation.

Benefits Galore

In addition to appreciation and enhanced income opportunities, a triple net lease tends to attract the most financially stable and least mobile types of tenants. Without maintenance, taxes and insurance to deal with, owners literally sit back and collect the cash. With the recent influx of short sale commercial properties hitting the market, now is the time to take the next step.

See you at the top!

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

http://www.shortsalesriches.com
http://www.shortsalescoach.com
http://www.sixfigurebpo.com
http://www.reomillionaireclub.com
http://www.youtube.com/shortsalesriches

http://www.smartrealestatenews.com (subscribe to this newsletter)

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About the author:

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

Smart Real Estate News & Commentary by Chris McLaughlin, May 19, 2010

admin — Wed, 19 May 2010 19:09:06 +0000

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FIX A FLIP OPENS AGAIN THIS THURSDAY!

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webinar Thursday at 3 PM ET, NOON PST:

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Home Loan Demand Sinks to 13-Year Low

Demand for loans to buy U.S. homes shriveled to a 13-year low last week, following the expiration of federal tax credits, while near-record low mortgage rates stoked refinancing, the Mortgage Bankers Association said on Wednesday. Mortgage purchase applications sank 27.1 percent to the lowest level since May 1997 in the absence of the popular government support, the group said. U.S. housing groped for footing after more than a year of homebuyer tax credits worth up to $8,000 expired on April 30. Requests for home purchase loans have fallen almost 20 percent over the past month despite low borrowing costs. “The data continue to suggest that the tax credit pulled sales into April at the expense of the remainder of the spring buying season,” Michael Fratantoni, the industry group’s vice president of research and economics, said in a statement.

Overall loan requests were down 1.5 percent, on a seasonally adjusted basis, in the week ended May 14, cushioned by a 14.5 percent jump in mortgage refinancing applications as home loan rates neared historic lows. Average 30-year mortgage rates fell 0.13 percentage point last week to 4.83 percent, the lowest since last November, the MBA said. The record low was 4.61 percent in March 2009, based on the group’s survey, which has been conducted since 1990. Low borrowing costs and stabilizing home prices are being offset by near double-digit U.S. unemployment and a looming supply of foreclosed properties yet to hit the market. The worst of the housing crisis is over but recovery will be long and slow, most economists agree.

SEC moves to expand stock circuit breakers

The Securities and Exchange Commission proposed new rules Tuesday that would pause trading in certain stocks that experience extreme swings. The move is in response to the brief but historic stock market crash of May 6, in which the Dow Jones industrial average fell nearly 1,000 points, its biggest intra-day drop on record, before the index rebounded within a matter of minutes. Under the proposed rules, trading in an individual stock would pause across all U.S. stock markets for a five-minute period in the event that the stock experiences a 10% change in price over the preceding five minutes.

The pause, also called a circuit breaker, would give the markets the opportunity to attract new trading interest, establish a reasonable market price, and resume trading of an affected stock in a fair and orderly fashion, according to the SEC. The proposal would create uniform, market-wide standards for individual securities in the S&P 500 stock index. In the current system, circuit breakers are triggered under various circumstances depending on which exchange a stock trades on. The SEC said about 30 stocks in the S&P 500 (SPX) fell at least 10% in a five-minute period in an event which has become known as the “flash crash.” The new rules reflect a “consensus” that was achieved in that meeting, the SEC said. The new rules, which are subject to Commission approval following the completion of a comment period, will be rolled out as a pilot program running through Dec. 10, 2010. The SEC did not state when the program would start.

DSNews.com – Moody’s: Distressed Sales Key to Speed of Recovery

The future of U.S. home prices is acutely tied to the speed and the manner in which distressed sales work through the system, Moody’s Economy.com stressed in a report issued this week. “We expect that house prices will continue to decline because the pipeline of distressed mortgages is substantial and because the price discounts for distress sales weaken all house prices,” the forecasting and credit risk unit of Moody’s Analytics wrote. While the overall housing market has largely bottomed, Moody’s Economy.com says home prices aren’t there just yet. The company projects home sales and new construction to rise slowly this year, but “[n]onetheless, we foresee a 5 percent additional house price decline nationally. Regions with increasing foreclosure volumes will suffer more,” Moody’s said in its report. During the course of this housing correction, home price trends have been closely tied to distressed transactions, including foreclosure sales and short sales.

The greater the number of foreclosures in a market relative to total home sales, the greater the downward pressure on prices, Moody’s says. Banks discount the price of foreclosed properties in order to dispose of them quickly, and Moody’s says the typical markdown has doubled since the beginning of the housing bust. The report noted that short sales have a more muted impact on the downward pace of home prices since the discount is far smaller than price cuts associated with a foreclosure sale. The administration’s Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternatives (HAFA) program is expected to drive up the number of short sales this year as compared to last year.

Mortgage Default Rates Lower as Consumers Choose Property Over Plastic

The monthly default rates for first and second mortgages fell in April, but climbed for bank card loans for the third consecutive month, according to the latest data from credit-rating agency Standard & Poor’s and national credit bureau Experian. Defaulting balances of bank card loans rose to 9.1% in April, from 8.9% in March and from 7.7% a year earlier, according to S&P. First and second mortgage default rates slipped to 3.7% and 2.5%, respectively down 6% and 11% from March levels. At the same time, the share of borrowers delinquent on credit cards but current on their mortgages slipped to 3.6% from 4.1%.

“Consumer defaults continue to moderate in the key big ticket items of first and second mortgages and auto loans,” said David Blitzer, managing director and chairman of the index committee at S&P Indices. “In these areas, defaults bottomed out around the same time as the stock market in the first half of 2009. Bank cards on the other hand continue to worsen and are at levels not seen in the history of these indices.” The S&P/Experian default index for first mortgages fell 6.2% from last month and 31.1% from the same time last year, while that of second mortgages posted similar declines of 11% and 45.4%. At the same time, however, the default index for credit cards grew 2.4% from last month and 19.3% from last year. According to the S&P/Experian indices, consumer credit defaults vary across major cities and regions of the US. Among the five major Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs) studied for the April report, Chicago showed the smallest decrease of 5.8% in the past year. The sharpest decline was in Miami where defaults declined 40.5% in the last 12 months and 7.9% in the past month. It marks a reversal of recent trends of borrowers paying down credit cards before mortgages, as seen by national credit bureau TransUnion.

Investor confidence takes a hit

U.S. futures and European shares fell sharply early Wednesday after Germany announced restrictions that prevent traders from betting against some government debt securities and financial shares. Germany’s DAX lost 1.7%, the FTSE 100 in Britain fell 1.7% and the CAC 40 in France declined 1.9% in morning trading in Europe. In the United States, Dow Jones industrial average (INDU), S&P 500 (SPX) and Nasdaq (COMP) futures were all lower. Futures measure current index values against perceived future performance and offer an indication of how markets may open when trading begins in New York.

Companies: Target reported Wednesday that net earnings for its most recent quarter were $671 million, up from $522 million in the year-ago quarter. The retailer also reported earnings per share of 90 cents, up 30% from 69 cents in the same quarter last year. This fell just short of the 91 cents EPS expected by a Thomson Financial’s analyst consensus. Dollar and commodities: The euro partly pulled out of its slump, after hitting a four-year low on Tuesday. Against the shared currency, the dollar fell 0.5%. The greenback was down 0.3% on the British pound and fell 1% versus the Japanese yen. Bonds: Treasury prices were higher early Wednesday, pushing the benchmark 10-year note’s yield down to 3.36%. Bond prices and yields move in opposite directions.

Now on to our real estate investing education section …

Commercial Real Estate Jargon Buster

Real estate can be a complex and confusing area but in our ever expanding effort to follow the KISS directive, we are proud to present a real life interpretation for modern day real estate lingo. While you may not find these definitions in sync with the latest version of Webster’s Dictionary, we think you will agree they accurately reflect the state of affairs.

PAD: A stand alone building in a prime location of a large shopping center…or, what banks are doing with bail-out funding while waiting for the next shoe to drop.

Anchored Tenants: A big brand-name national tenant…or a commercial tenant that can’t afford to relocate across the street much less across town.

Gross Lease: A lease where the tenants are supposed to pay the rent while the landlord or property owner pays the taxes, insurance and maintenance. Given the rising cost of property taxes and insurance, the standard definition will suffice.

GRM: Gross Rent Multiplier or the ratio of purchase price over annual income. In many commercial divisions that bought during the boom, the GRM can perform the rare and somewhat elusive feat of multiplying negative numbers.

LOI: Typically this stands for Letter of Intent or a non-binding offer letter use to purchase a commercial property. In today’s tough commercial market it could also stand for “Loss of Interest” as short sales continue to climb among many retail spaces.

Absorption: The amount of inventory or units of a specific commercial property type that become occupied during a specified time period…or the amount of money being soaked up by the under-performing property.

Cash Flow After Taxes/ES – The net operating income less mortgage, improvements, property taxes etc…or, a non-existent state among many retail operations bought over the past several years.

See you at the top!

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

http://www.shortsalesriches.com
http://www.shortsalescoach.com
http://www.sixfigurebpo.com
http://www.reomillionaireclub.com
http://www.youtube.com/shortsalesriches

http://www.smartrealestatenews.com (subscribe to this newsletter)

*************************************************

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
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–

Short Sales Riches Blog » inflation

HUD wants a FICO of 500

Smart Real Estate News & Commentary by Chris McLaughlin July 19, 2010

********************************************************** HUD wants a FICO of 500

Hiring up slightly

Asking prices up slightly

Antidote to an anti-business agenda?

BoA encourages short sales

Now for our real estate education section…

The 15 Minute Resolution…How to Generate Free Leads with Craigslist

Diana Olick – Home prices being slashed, more coming?

Smart Real Estate News & Commentary by Chris McLaughlin July 15, 2010

Fix A Flip Re Opens … If you want your deals funded beyond 1 day,

Diana Olick – Home prices being slashed, more coming?

Foreclosures fall as bank repossessions quicken

Business vs Obama

Lost decade coming?

1 in 200 mortgages may be fraudulent?

Jobless claims and wholesale prices drop

Now for our real estate education section…

Becoming an Angel Investor

Smart Real Estate News & Commentary by Chris McLaughlin July 2, 2010

IT’s BACK: NO FLIP RICHES REOPENS THIS SATURDAY!

********************************************************** Pending home sales ‘fell off a cliff’

US employment figures continue to threaten

Home Buyers Get Tax Credit Closing and Flood Insurance Extensions

Diana Olick – Housing’s Powerful Lobby Surges Ahead

Swinging Short Sale Discounts

Fannie’s Appraisal Policies Updated

Now for our real estate education section…

Friday File – 15 Minute Resolution

www.costar.com

www.loopnet.com

http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/loopnet-commercial-real-estate/id349561448?mt=8

Smart Real Estate News & Commentary by Chris McLaughlin June 30, 2010

********************************************************** Freddie Mac Short Sales Up 600% from 2 Years Ago

Foreclosures sell at 30% discount

Wall Street reform bill reformed

Mortgage Refinance Applications Increase as Rates Continue to Drop in Latest MBA Weekly

Diana Olick – Is Home Ownership an American Right?

Now for our real estate education section…

Facts, Figures & Other Tidbits That Make a Real Difference

Smart Real Estate News & Commentary by Chris McLaughlin June 28, 2010

Weekend News From Here, There and Housing Wire

Central banks warn of new crisis

Diana Olick – Home Tax Credit Closing Extension Dead

G-8 Warns Recovery Remains Fragile

Now for our real estate education section…

Smart Real Estate News & Commentary by Chris McLaughlin June 21, 2010

Tax Lien Certificates: The Guaranteed Solution for Financial Freedom

Join us TODAY at 3:00 PM ET, NOON PST:

**************************************************** New Monthly National Housing Scorecard Announced

Is the recovery stalling out?

Diana Olick – New Hurdle to Housing: No Flood Insurance

Minorities hit hard by foreclosure crisis

DSNews.com – Lenders Reclaim $10 Billion of Commercial Property: Report

Now on to our real estate education section…

Mortgage Interest Tax Deduction On the Cutting Block…Again

Smart Real Estate News & Commentary by Chris McLaughlin June 3, 2010

HELP US HELP YOU!

ENCORE: Find Private Lenders NOW

TONIGHT, June 3rd at 8:30 PM ET, 5:30 PM PST

Pending Home Sales Surge Continuing

Retailers Post Another Month of Disappointing Sales

Diana Olick – BofA: Mortgage Walkaways Have Huge Incentive

Fed’s Lockhart Says Rates May Rise With Unemployment Still High

DSNews.com – Commercial Defaults Hit Record for Both Investors and Banks

Now on to our real estate education section…

Smart Real Estate News & Commentary by Chris McLaughlin, May 28, 2010

FIX A FLIP WILL CLOSE THIS SATURDAY AT 3 PM ET!

Want a loan modification? Get your paperwork ready.

Congress Has Hands Full With FinReg Compromise Bill

Diana Olick – Are Investors Souring on Housing?

Consumers Hold Their Wallets Tight

Mortgage Lenders Seek Relief on Bad Debt Repurchases

State Group Estimates 37% of California Foreclosures Involved Renters

Now on to our real estate education section…

Friday File – Assessing a Mobile Home Park

Smart Real Estate News & Commentary by Chris McLaughlin, May 25, 2010

FIX A FLIP ENCORE THIS WEDNESDAY AT 3 PM ET, NOON PST!

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HUD wants a FICO of 500

**********************************************************
Pending home sales ‘fell off a cliff’

**********************************************************
Freddie Mac Short Sales Up 600% from 2 Years Ago

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New Monthly National Housing Scorecard Announced