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As the saying goes, I will eat steak tomorrow night as I choose regardless of what you do or don’t do; regardless of whether you eat steak or beans.

The same is true for the economy, the financial crisis, and the so called recession. Some people will be eating steak and others will be eating beans. Is this a harsh wake up call for you?

KNOW AND UNDERSTAND THIS

The same ocean of money is in constant motion; it just flows in different directions from time to time. It’s up to you to move where it is flowing!

Have the economic times changed? Absolutely. Is it harder to near impossible to get loans? Yes. This is the constant motion I’m talking about and if you’re old business model required loans then it is time to change models. It is up to you to move to where the money is flowing.

Right now short sales and REO’s are hot and if you are playing in this arena you need to have money to close or real estate investors to flip to and here’s a big surprise: People are still flipping houses and doing very well. Need proof… check out an auction or two and you’ll see folks paying a lot more than you would which means they are a source of potential buyers.

OPPORTUNISM

You, yes you, need to capitalize on the opportunity delivered by the so called financial crisis. Know that all UBER SUCCESSFUL Entrepreneurs and Real Estate Investors are opportunists. There is no difference between “good” or “bad” events in the value offered to opportunists because opportunists take action on the events given without prejudice.

If you are a real estate investor just starting out or even a seasoned pro be sure to get my FREE Online Real Estate Investing Course. There’s no strings attached so you don’t have any excuses.

Author: Gerald Romine

The worst is not over and if you think the real estate markets are in bad shape now it’s going to get a lot worse! Bad news for some and good news for investors that understand how to capitalize on the ever changing real estate markets.

Foreclosure rates are continuing at record levels and there is no end in site. Investors and homeowners of financial means have been hanging on and clinging to the hope and dream that things will soon turn around and get better. Many have been hanging on because they are financially sound, they are too proud to lose a home to foreclosure, or they were dreaming that somehow things would work out. They are waking up to reality in a cold sweat!

The homeowners and investors that have been hanging on and bleeding to death financially by supporting upside down houses are quickly coming to the conclusion that it is financially more prudent to lose a house to foreclosure because there is no point in riding the titanic to the bottom of the sea. If you have negative equity of 50K, 100K, or 250K it does not make sense to make payments on the loan when it would take years and years to recapture the losses by hanging on and hoping the prices return. Foreclosure has become a financial decision that now makes sense.

Walking away from an upside down house may ruin your credit now but many are discovering it is worth it to be rid of the negative equity that would lock them into losses for years! Because of this realization people are walking away from portfolios of houses that will be lost to foreclosure. The good news for investors is we can buy foreclosures and REOs for pennies on the dollar.

The next major setback for the market is effective October 1^st the Housing Act prohibits seller-assisted financing (presumably this includes the Nehemiah program) and this will lock millions of would be homeowners out of the market and add steam to the housing melt down. How many buyers do you know that have 10% available for a down payment?

The good news? Seller financing will return in force. Banks will be forced to accept lower offers on short sales and REO’s as a matter of necessity and many will carry their own financing. Investors will dominate because they have the means, skills, and ability to buy properties.

In fact, it is already happening and there are greater opportunities now in this emerging market that investors can exploit. In many areas it is now possible to buy newer houses at price levels not seen since the 1990’s. Lenders are negotiating as low as 30% of the defaulted debt amounts. Houses are selling for amounts that provide great cash flow for rental properties.

The best part about the so called housing crash is that it has all been manufactured and is not a real reflection of the market. Bold words… maybe. But if you look at the situation intelligently you can see that there is no shortage of people who want to buy houses. What has created the ‘housing crash’ is the money supply has been turned off which prevents buyers from getting loans and buying houses.

It’s just like a water faucet and the availability of money has been turned off and a draught has ensued. And like a water faucet the availability of money can be turned on at any time and when that happens there will be a rush of buyers to take advantage of the lower prices and the rebound will be in full swing. Imagine the popularity of a new President that ‘turned on’ the money supply and rescued the housing markets. It could happen that fast.

With the changing times there will be a changing of wealth as there has always been throughout history.  While most become victims of choice a few will become wealthy by taking action and seizing  the opportunity.

Author: Gerald Romine

The news is filled with doom and gloom about real estate, real estate investing, and the economy.  Home values dropping. Foreclosures at record highs. Mortgage rate is up, etc.

If you read the news don’t believe the hype because contrary to popular belief we are in transition to a new economy, and you must choose whether to make the transition or to stand still. People are making money, big money right now.

Just last week a good friend of mine made over 30K on one little house deal. Here are his steps. 1) Bought REO. 2) Blow and Go (quick rehab normally 10K or less spent). 3) sell best property a little lower than comps(about 10-15K).  It’s quick and easy and the biggest catch is you might have to hold the property 90 days to meet lender’s seasoning requirements.

How To Make Money With Bad News In The Media

When you see a short article that serves your purpose (like the one below) send it to the lender with your short sale or REO offer.  Simply highlight the most important parts and let the article speak volumes for you.

In this case one paragraph talks about houses losing 25% of their value and that goes a long way to justify a low offer!

Author: Gerald Romine

Banks have a real big ugly problem because foreclosures are at record highs, property values are falling, there is a shortage of real buyers, and once they foreclose on a property it becomes there dead asset. What’s a bank to do???

When the market was booming banks scoffed at the idea of selling properties at a discount through foreclosures or REO’s. Many banks laid off most of the loss mitigation staff because they had grown fat and lazy with the market boom. But oh how the times have changed.

Short sales are now hotter than ever and I’m going to let you in on a dirty little short sale secret. Sometimes a bank can do a shortsale and sometimes they can’t . You see… it all depends on who the “investor” is on the loan, if it is tied to a security, and a few other important behind the scene facts most investors are never privy too.

To keep it simple just understand that a bank could have two houses side by side with the exact same loan balances and with one house they can short sale and with the other house their hands are tied and they can do little or nothing other than foreclose on the house.

Does that mean you should not pursue short sales? No! It means you should understand that the “bank” is not always calling the shots. Personally, I love short sales because you can get some TREMENDOUS BARGAINS… But today I’m going to focus on REO’s because not only can you get phenomenal deals they can be quick and easy too!

ANALYZING and MAKING OFFERS On REO PROPERTIES LIKE A PRO

Whether you are buying a house to live in, to hold as an investment, or to flip for a quick profit, knowing your profit BEFORE your offer is the key to making a great deal! As easy as this sounds most investors do not take the time to “run the numbers” on a property before making an offer and in today’s market it has never been more important because with the changing markets you could go into a NEGATIVE EQUITY position if you do not buy right.

Bottom line is you have to run the numbers and know your profits before you even make an offer.

The Art Of Presenting The Offer

Let’s face it, nobody likes to lose money!

While it is true that the banks are writing off losses faster than the ink can dry that does not mean the bank is going to just give you an REO property for pennies on the dollar. The key to your REO success is presenting the offer in such a manner that the bank sees your offer as a fair and reasonable solution to their problem of holding a non performing asset – AKA a vacant house that is bleeding them dry.

Sounds simple enough, but presenting the right offer to the bank is not nearly as easy as you think. The key is to do the bank’s job for them and put together “the right” package presented in the right manner with the right words so it is easy for the bank to JUSTIFY accepting your offer.

Basically, you are doing the banks job of justifying your offer for them. When you make the REO departments job easy to say yes then it goes without explanation that your offers will be accepted faster.

Fortunately there is the Ultimate Real Estate Investing System available where it takes you just 5 short minutes to analyze and put together near perfect REO offers that are worded and justified so the bank can easily say yes and accept your offers!

Here’s what happened when John Pierro used the Ultimate Real Estate Investing System to make an REO Offer:

“My Very First Offer Using UREI”

“I can describe my very first offer I made on an 2 Family REO property using the UREI software. The offer was accepted on the first try because of the Justification that UREI explains for you. I was actually expecting to receive a counter offer from the bank, and was prepared to go up an additional 10K. To my surprise the offer was accepted at $ 204,343.00. The ARV(true property value) on this property is $ 380,000. I spoke with the REO agent afterwards and she was blown away, and said she had never see an offer quite like the one I provided, she (REO AGENT) went on to say it made her job a whole lot easier, because the bank called her, and ask her opinion and she was able to justify it by simply confirming what was written on the offer as the bank rep followed along.” John Pierrro - Ronkonkoma, New York

The Advantage of REO’s Over Short Sales

When attempting a short sale the cooperation of the lender and property owner are required to complete the short sale. The bank does not own the property and the only power they really have is to foreclosure on the note (which takes time) or to negotiate a short sale or other workout program. In short the bank may want to work something out but because the bank is not the property owner they have limited options.

Buying REO properties can be much easier because the bank is the owner and they alone make the decisions to sell the house. Once a property becomes an REO the bank now becomes responsible for property upkeep, HOA dues, utilities to have the property show ready, property insurance, etc. Once the property becomes an REO the bank has real property owner expenses and for most banks the only option is to sell the property. And since banks make their money by creating and servicing loans they want/need to get rid of REO’s fast so they can be in the loan making business and not have the expenses, risks, and liabilities of vacant houses. REO properties are prime for major SWEET deals!

Not since the 1980’s have we seen REO opportunities like we have in today’s market. So long as the foreclosure rates are high the REO opportunities will be plentiful. For an REO buyer the part is we are in an election year and much of the real banking fiasco is being swept under the rug as politicians battle for the presidency and control of the house and senate. This translates to the banking fiasco not being answered anytime soon and no end in sight for REO Investors to make extreme deals and profits.

The REO Investing System

The Ultimate Real Estate Investing System(UREI) is the most complete real estate investing system ever created and includes a NEW REO Module. Go here for more information on REO’s and UREI.

Note: The New REO Package has just been released and is not shown in the above link… but is part of the system.

EXISTING UREI SYSTEM OWNERS can request the NEW REO MODULE be uploaded to their account free of charge by completing a support ticket request for the REO PACKAGE for Existing UREI Users.

Author: Gerald Romine

When I first heard the news that the FHA waived the 90 day seasoning rule I thought it was cause for celebration because right now approximately 90% of the buyer loans are reported to be FHA loans. Dropping the 90 day seasoning requirement would be huge for flippers and the market in general.

Say it Ain’t So Joe!

The government who thinks they know more than anybody else put the 90 day seasoning requirement in place for FHA Loans because they thought this would deter flipping schemes. Chalk this up as another government screw up.

Seasoning had nothing to do with “flipping” schemes because the value of a property is determined by the property and not the time it has been owned. If an investor buys a 100K property for 50K and wants to sell it the next day for 100K what’s the problem. Definitely not the seasoning or time the property was owned.

The real problem has been fraudulent appraisals. After all, it is the appraiser setting the value for the new loan. The problem is obvious to anyone of intelligence… which by default rules out the government.

Check The New Waiver From HUD For Yourself

Who Really Benefits?

The lenders. Big surprise right? The bottom line is the lenders are now able to sell their REO’s that were acquired by foreclosure to FHA buyers without having any seasoning requirements. Which brings us back to the government screwing things up again. Funny how the lenders can quick turn a property but you and I cannot buy and sell a property with an FHA loan unless it is seasoned for 90 days.

What About Investors?

No change. You still can’t buy and sell a property to an FHA Buyer unless you meet the seasoning requirements.

Author: Gerald Romine

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.

Opportunities abound and if you watch and believe the news you should go out and buy your cemetery plot and check in early.

Statistically the hardest hit areas are California, Florida, Nevada and Arizona where prices shot up during the housing boom and are now returning to reality. In these markets foreclosures, REOs, vacant new homes and other distressed properties lead the charge for great deals and falling values. Living in Arizona I know the reality of the markets very well!

A relatively new trend for REO properties offers huge opportunities for investors and homeowners; Many banks are setting the property prices extremely low to generate interest and create a multiple offer bidding wars. Houses that sold for $350,000 two and three years ago are going to market for $175,000.

“It’s not uncommon to have 10 to 20 offers on one house, and for the house to end up selling for more than its market price,” said Erin Attardi, a Sacramento Realtor. The strategy, she said, allows the bank to be selective, picking buyers with solid financing or those able to pay in cash.

Same goes for short sales. Many lenders are encouraging extremely low listing prices and in some areas buyers are getting frustrated because the low price attracts multiple buyers and a bidding war. Imagine wanting to buy a house in today’s market and being beat out by a higher offer in a bidding war. It’s happening every day!

For those who follow my writings you know I’ve long said we do not have a housing slump, the problem has been artificially created by making it very difficult for buyers to get loans. Once the financing is made available to the masses the markets will “bounce back” very quickly.

Note: Imagine being the new President and taking over the presidency then putting a program in place that returns financing to the masses where 95-100% loans were easy to obtain. The housing market would recover overnight and the President would be the hero for saving the economy. The housing market leads the American economy and when money is pumped into houses everyone benefits financially.

If you want to buy bargain properties the time is now! In a report by Fitch Ratings last month they stated lenders lose an average of 56% of a property’s value through auctions and 40% for ordinary sales. Huge losses for the lenders represent tremendous gains for real estate investors.

What You Should Do Right Now!

Take action. Find a realtor or resource so you can pull up the lowest cost 3 bedroom 2 bath homes in your area with over $1,000 square feet. Determine the market rent (easy for most realtors). Now compare the PITI payment of a 30 year fixed loan to the market rent. This will tell you two very important facts about the market and what you should do.

Can you tell name the two important facts? Why is this important? COMMENT BELOW.

Author: Gerald Romine

If you are already actively buying and selling houses in the current market consider this message an update of what you are already experiencing in the market.

If you are NOT currently an active real estate investor you will find this message helpful to move you from thinking about taking action to improve your income and life…to actually taking action to do so.

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

First, I want to start off with a WARNING:

This is a warning that you could easily be locked out of possibly the biggest real estate buying opportunity ever due to sheer ignorance. The truth hurts and before you discredit those harsh words realize I am not trying to sell you anything.

Have the markets changed? Definitely.

Is it harder to get financing on properties? Absolutely.

Are investors making money? Yes… and lots of it. Are you???

Between my involvement in the market and the feedback I get from successful investors using the Ultimate Real Estate Investing System I have an understanding of what’s really happening in the markets like no other.

Now, I want to tell you about what’s really working in the real estate markets.

1) Short Sales: With record foreclosures and REO properties backing up the lenders are seeing the need to play ball and move short sales whenever possible. Make no mistake that short sales are a REAL opportunity and unbelievable deals are being done. Understand that some lenders are easy to work with and other lenders are nearly impossible. UREI users have a distinct advantage because it takes less than 5 minutes to prepare complete short sale packages and if you are in the short sale game be sure to have an efficient system.

Note: UREI users are even getting short sales accepted on properties that are current on the payments.

2) Subject To: A VERY successful strategy in today’s market is to find a price range of a properties that will cash flow as rental property then go after that range with offers to take over the existing financing.

Example: A 3/2 in Phoenix may rent for $1000 per month. Searching the MLS I found 67 homes in the city of Phoenix that are 3 bedrooms and 2 baths and have 1000 square feet or more with a price that is under $90,000. The lowest priced property is $37,500! The second home is $45,500 and is an REO offering a $1000 bonus to the buyer’s agent.

Let’s look at the possible numbers for a house with a $90,000 loan. If the loan was a 30 year fixed at 6.5% the monthly principle and interest payment would be $569. Add another $200 for taxes and insurance and the PITI would be $769. If the property rents for $1000 per month the cash flow after reasonable expenses would be positive and let’s assume $100 per month. Not bad for a nothing down deal and taking over the payments.

Huge opportunities abound and subject to’s do not require you to get new loans or qualify for financing.

3) REOs: I can’t say enough about the opportunities to buy REO properties. Banks are leading the pack with price reductions and the opportunities to make once in a lifetime deals are everywhere.

WHY IS THIS SO IMPORTANT?

For many, for a growing number of would be real estate investors, the news about a bad economy is keeping them out of the market and stopping them from what may prove to be the biggest opportunity and fastest way to wealth ever presented through real estate!

The three types of investing outlined above can be the solution to negative developments and news in the real estate industry that we are constantly bombarded with by American TV and media.

It can permit profitable focus on small niches or sub-niches of the real estate market.

I’ve put hundreds of real estate investors on this fast track, one way or another, and I’m on top of the markets daily and aware of the latest developments.

You may think real estate success is beyond you in the current market but you may change your mind if you learn to focus on what’s really working and ignore all of the media noise. And if you have any thoughts of actually building a thriving real estate investing business that can secure your financial future now is the time to tune in and get involved.

Author: Gerald Romine

Note: Your comments are encouraged.

Bank REO’s are hot right now as many banks are accepting low offers on houses in their REO inventory - often the same houses they refused to short sale (that’s a topic for another day).

I remember back in the 80’s when my Mother had banks calling her to buy properties. She named the price and terms because they just wanted out of the properties and they carried the loans. It was like nothing down owner financing except she was buying from the bank.

The other day I found this site that was reportedly created by a Boston programmer who want to remain anonymous. With this site you can find foreclosed(REO) properties. Right now there are 11 lenders listed including Countrywide, CitiMortgage, Chase, Downey Savings, HSBC, Indymac, Ocwen, Regions Bank, and Wells Fargo.

Warning: searching the websites is easy but takes some time. With Countrywide you can search by state. Some sites have pictures(B of A and Indymac) and some let you search by city or zipcode.

For those using the UREI Software this is a goldmine. Crank out justified REO offers in 5 minutes or less and work with the lenders that will play ball.

If you’ve got a success story please share it for everyone’s benefit.

Author: Gerald Romine

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