Social Action
Hobbies & Interests
Miscellaneous
News
Regional
Search
Shopping
|
|
|
Real Estate
Bündchen, Brady Re-List Properties
[24 Jul 2008 at 11:01pm]
Supermodel Gisele Bündchen and quarterback Tom Brady have both re-listed their former Manhattan pads. A homeowner has listed the former Phoenix house of Republican presidential nominee John McCain for $12 million. Photos
|
The Vegetable Patch Goes Luxe
[24 Jul 2008 at 11:57pm]
Home vegetable gardening is surging thanks to rising food prices and health scares with commercial supplies. Some people are paying thousands of dollars to have landscape architects design and install high-end vegetable patches.
|
Official Will Regulate Mortgage Giants
[24 Jul 2008 at 9:42pm]
Congress is finally about to grant more power to the minders of Fannie and Freddie. And housing agency director James B. Lockhart III will have to figure out how best to use that power.
|
The Development of the Superstar Urban Plan
[24 Jul 2008 at 5:19pm]
Architect Zaha Hadid's plan to redevelop Kartal, a postwar industrial area amid Istanbul's Asian sprawl, is the latest example in a new trend in urban development, in which a visionary designer creates a detailed concept for an entire neighborhood.
|
Jobless Claims Soar for Week
[24 Jul 2008 at 9:27pm]
Jobless claims soared last week by 34,000, to 406,000. Existing-home sales fell 2.6% last month from May.
|
Housing Bill Close to Becoming Law
[24 Jul 2008 at 7:43am]
A sprawling bill that reaches deep into the U.S. housing industry is close to becoming law. The bill, which began seven months ago as a modest attempt to help struggling homeowners, will now likely touch a vast array of borrowers, lenders and investors.
|
Battling Beetles in the Garden
[23 Jul 2008 at 9:15pm]
Infestations of Japanese beetles have spread to more than 30 states, wreaking havoc on the foliage of trees and crops. Gardener Steve Stecklow is waging a biological war against these predators.
|
Mortgage Rates Near a Year High
[23 Jul 2008 at 9:06am]
Mortgage rates are nearing their highest levels in a year, adding to pressures on the weakened housing market.
|
Rich Londoners Finally Feel Pain
[23 Jul 2008 at 8:07am]
The credit crunch caught up with the top end of London's home market in the second quarter, when the price per square meter of residential space in the capital's prime locations fell more sharply than in the U.K. as a whole.
|
Mortgage-Lobby Chief Resigns
[23 Jul 2008 at 3:33am]
The chief of the mortgage industry's most powerful lobby group, Jonathan Kempner, resigned Tuesday, just as the industry is defending itself from a hostile Congress and a punishing housing slump.
|
Fannie, Freddie Books Under Scrutiny
[22 Jul 2008 at 3:29am]
Bank examiners from the Federal Reserve and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency are looking at the books of mortgage investors Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
|
The Custom McMansion
[24 Jul 2008 at 8:27am]
Many mass-market home builders are getting into the custom-home game -- once almost entirely the province of boutique builders. The reason is simple: Custom-home building is more profitable for builders and the big attraction for home buyers is the cheaper price.
|
Coles's Death Ruled a Suicide
[24 Jul 2008 at 7:43am]
A medical examiner said that Scott Coles, the late chief executive of real-estate lender Mortgages Ltd., died on June 2 as a result of suicide induced by alcohol, oxycodone and zolpidem.
|
Lender-Liability Suits Rise
[23 Jul 2008 at 5:19am]
Lenders are triggering lawsuits from builders as they clamp down on construction financing. The disputes are turning heated as banks go after the builders' personal assets to recoup losses from soured housing developments.
|
Colleges Hire Specialized Developers
[23 Jul 2008 at 9:45am]
More colleges are starting to loosen their grip on campus housing and strike deals with specialized developers to help meet housing needs. For investors in the bruised world of REITs, student housing can be a defensive bright spot.
|
|
10 Questions on Hard Money Loans
[28 Feb 2008 at 9:36am]
Do you know anything about Hard Money Loans? This article answers in 10 questions enough to give anyone an idea on how Hard Money Loans work.
|
First Time Real Estate Investing - The Contract Phase
[28 Feb 2008 at 8:28am]
If you are averse to paper work, formal agreements and legalese, get over it. You can’t avoid it and it’s vitally important. Find out more about the contract phase of real estate investing.
|
|
The Foreclosure Process: Understanding Foreclosures
[31 Aug 2006 at 5:04am]
A foreclosure occurs when a property owner cannot make principal and/or interest payments on his/her loan, typically leading to the property being seized and sold. Learn about the entire foreclosure process.
|
Five Critical Mistakes Private Mortgage Investors Make
[14 Jun 2006 at 3:13am]
The five critical mistakes listed here are certainly not the only mistakes private mortgage investors make, but they are common mistakes that are repeated over and over until a hard lesson is learned. Avoid these critical mistakes and you will be a much better private mortgage investor.
|
10 Questions to Ask a Remodeling Contractor
[5 Apr 2006 at 12:22am]
Thought about hiring a contractor? Asking these questions will give you a good idea if someone is worth hiring or not. All newbies should read this before working with contractor on a remodel.
|
What is the real Net Operating Income?
[19 Mar 2006 at 8:22pm]
The net operating income number is the key number in multifamily investments. This number is used to determine value, profitability, and overall strength of the multifamily unit . . .
|
Wholesaling — A Strategy for Real Estate Investors
What is Wholesaling? It is simply finding a bargain property and passing it on to a bargain hunter. That bargain hunter will be an investor who will either purchase the property to resell it or purchase it to hold it for rental income. . .
|
Buying Pre-Foreclosures
Buying properties in pre-foreclosure can be the most profitable segment of a real estate entrepreneurs business! Unfortunately, it is the most misunderstood.
|
|
Real Estate Appraisal
Real estate appraisal is an estimate of the value of property using various methods. An appraisal is determined with one of three approaches, a cost approach, a comparison approach, or an income approach. . .
|
Bird-Dogging 101
I want to try again to help the new birddogs and those "pros" that are getting frustrated because their contracts are not closing, see what they can do differently to ensure that most if not all of the properties they place under contract will be assigned and will close. Here are my rules of bird-dogging . . .
|
11 Secrets to Choosing a Remodeling Contractor
Though price is a consideration, you should be more concerned with value, that is, getting the best contractor you can find and the highest quality work for your money. Read the 11 important things to consider when choosing your contractor.
|
Raise Your Income AND Keep Your Tenants
Any way that you can increase your income on a property is worth looking into. There are many ways to increase your income without increasing the rent itself. You may know some of these and you may not but sometimes it is just as important to be reminded, as it is to learn something new.
|
Wholesaling Properties
If you need to earn some extra cash to get started investing in real estate, wholesaling is a great way. Even if you are not sure of values, repair cost, potential rents, etc. you can still wholesale as many properties as you can find as long as its a deal.
|
|
RE: NO BOTTOM in sight!! Bad NEWS!!
Posted: Thu Jul 24, 2008 11:37 pm (GMT -7)
So we get 5 more years of this awesome buying market? Sweet!   I was looking at my next target market this week and properties were running about 40 fmv. I told my partner I didn't think it was time to buy there yet. I think we had about 6 months to a year to wait for them to drop further. It's looking like that way with this news....
|
RE: Prospecting tools
Posted: Thu Jul 24, 2008 11:33 pm (GMT -7)
1. Realtor. And yes - he's a tool but I know his idiosyncracies so I'll keep using him.
|
Misled Home Owner Association fee
Subject: Misled Home Owner Association fee
Posted: Thu Jul 24, 2008 10:59 pm (GMT -7)
Am in the process of purchasing a SFH that my agent had never once informed me any HOA fee involved, though he’d checked those boxes that said seller shall pay for HOA transfer fee and seller pay HOA document preparation fees on page 2 0f 8 from purchase contract; item 4 E.3) & 4) (which I later found out from my friend who‘s an agent also); where I’d let it slipped; just went by his verbalization when he’d went over the contract with me; he did told me none of those fees on page 2 concerned me and they’re all paid by seller with the exception of 50/50 escrow fee; without further scoping into the itemizations which he should’ve had; so should I. In addition to I’d always asked if there’s HOA upfront before I’ll consider checked out any properties which answer he gave me was no; took his words for granted again…
Comes the escrow acceptance letter needed to be signed, the $45/mo HOA fee only then caught my eyes, I asked my agent what’s it about since I wasn’t at all aware of it up until this point, he then told me that’s just the escrow’s letter template, it doesn’t apply on the purchasing property.
Nevertheless, I’d wrote “ N/A “ right next to that paragraph with his approval before I’d signed at the bottom of that page for the peace of mind.
A couple of days later, upon calling the escrow to confirm they’ve everything they needed from me. Only then found out from them that they’re waiting on the HOA’s info which they assured me its existence and will be included, despite I’d wrote “ N/A “ next to its mentioning paragraph on the escrow acceptance letter. Followed by a phone call to my agent with frustration; his reply was “ Oops! Sorry about that, WE (meant me and him) both had missed it from the listing” (which I’ve never gotten one from him) and he rationalized it by tried to have me offsets the $45/mo by increasing the rent to my tenants to justify his negligent and inconsistence informing. He’d also told me the escrow is just going to bypass my dispute on the escrow acceptance letter and will go through its process as if I’d agreed to it completed.
Any fix to this twist at this point? Or I have to live with the $45/mo for my entire ownership? Though I didn’t read the signed contract that I should have for my bad.
Am I suppose to be informed what kind of services comes with the HOA before asking me to sign the contract’s page 2? Let along the misled. I wouldn’t have had offered such generous price for this house in order to ruled out my competitions; $13K above its REO listing price; only if the agent isn’t seemingly tried to pulled a fast one on me to avoided most buyer’s HOA syndrome, besides the seller’s agent was manipulating the selling price as well… my agent is just now requesting the HOA service coverage from the escrow for me…
Any thoughts / advises would be appreciated.
TIA
|
RE: I'm so confused
Posted: Thu Jul 24, 2008 10:14 pm (GMT -7)
Hi LadyMarshall
I wish I had done some deals in areas near San Diego, but no. I myself am starting out so there isnt much I have done... Actually, NONE. :-). However, I used to go to an investment club meeting - Marshall Reddick and I used to get emails from them about Foreclosures in Ventura County (if I remember right), places near La Jolla maybe. I cant recollect exactly. Also, I remember seeing in the news or on the internet places like Thousand Oaks, Oxnard were hit bad due to the subprime downturn. I stayed in Oxnard for a week's vacation and I am quite certain some of them are vacation homes which you might find a deal.
Those are the pointers I can give you. Sorry that I am not of much help.
Good Luck, again!
Cheers
Ram
|
Borrowers...After the Auction
Subject: Borrowers...After the Auction
Posted: Thu Jul 24, 2008 10:10 pm (GMT -7)
I've heard differing opinions on this.
What happens when the property doesn't pull enough at auction? Do banks put deficency judgments on all the borrowers who's properties fail to bring in enough at auction? If it's a Foreclosure Judgment, doesn't that mean the ruling has already been made and the property is the item being sold to fulfill it.
|
RE: Is it true you can buy from the bank at the court house?
Posted: Thu Jul 24, 2008 10:07 pm (GMT -7)
Here in Florida it is usually some para-legal attending the auction for the attorney handling the foreclosure. If it's a institutional lender foreclosuring I would be willing to bet the person holding the file at the courthouse does not have permission to sell the property.
Now if the foreclosing party is a private lender, that might be the case.
|
RE: David Lindahl - Apartment Houses
Posted: Thu Jul 24, 2008 10:06 pm (GMT -7)
I've not bought his material, but I've seen and listened to his pitch a couple of times. I've also read one of his books. He seems pretty reasonable. He actually does recommend using 50% of rent as the minimum expenses, and recommends purchasing at 10X annual NOI. That amounts to 5X gross rent, if expenses really are only 50%, or 60X monthly rent. A little higher than the
"2% rule of thumb", but far closer than any other guru I've heard actually address this level of detail.
|
RE: ANY LENDING OUT THERE FOR NOO WITH OVER 4 PROPERTIES
Posted: Thu Jul 24, 2008 10:00 pm (GMT -7)
Wachovia exited the wholesale business this week and is no longer doing broker loans. If you had planned on using them you should check with your broker, if using one.
There are several other lenders that allow more than 4 financed properties. Some that done have any restrictions to how many are owned/financed.
|
Intellibiz?
Subject: Intellibiz?
Posted: Thu Jul 24, 2008 9:50 pm (GMT -7)
Has anyone invested in Intellibiz? It's a web based real estate mentoring program. They only have online mentoring and no phone number to call.
I read on another site that even though they give a money back guarantee it's basically bogus. You have to stay with them for a year and use the mentoring service at least once a month. Aside from the price of the program they also charge you $10.00 a month. On the web site it indicates that you could opt out of the $10.00 monthly fee, and you still have mentoring privileges, but once you opt out they make it clear that it's not guaranteed that the mentor will answer your e-mail since he
answers paying clients first. So much for a money back guarantee.
The information given in the course leaves out a lot of detail.
The web site makes it seem really enticing but after reading this, I'm not so sure. Any comments would be greatly appreciated.
|
RE: Investing in beach front condos
Posted: Thu Jul 24, 2008 9:49 pm (GMT -7)
I have a beach condo (not on the water) but we rent it out for 2000 per week at peak season and drop it down to 1300 during the offseason. This is our first summer doing it and it is more work than our other properties that have 12 month leases but i think after working the kinks out we will cashflow on a property that we were about to take a serious hit on. hope that helps!
|
RE: Financing for Property?
Posted: Thu Jul 24, 2008 9:34 pm (GMT -7)
I think you may be in the wrong subsection as to wholesale you generally do not need financing, hence the beauty of it.
I would go up and check out the financing subsections.
Needless to say, financing can be one of the most daunting parts of REI, if you can get it straitened out, you have won half the battle.
|
RE: Wholesaling out of state?
Posted: Thu Jul 24, 2008 9:33 pm (GMT -7)
fedex and fax machines are your new best freind
no they do not have to be notarized, atleast where I do business
|
RE: President BUSH " Wall Street got DRUNK"
Posted: Thu Jul 24, 2008 9:25 pm (GMT -7)
I saw that drunk comment this afternoon on the news and actually it was a rare moment of candor from the President. He was dead on.
|
RE: "BULK REO" looking for the seller
Subject: Re: "BULK REO" looking for the seller
Posted: Thu Jul 24, 2008 9:21 pm (GMT -7)
hondal22 wrote: I am the Buyers mandate for bulk REO. I looking for the real seller
Here's Fortune magazines list of the Top 25 banks and securities firms by 2007 revenue.
Start calling.....as a mandate you should have all the legal knowledge to get a contractual obligation written and setting up a meeting at these institutions is simply.......well you're a mandate I don't need to tell you anymore
Right?
1. ING Group -
2. Fortis -
3. Citi -
4. Dexia Group -
5. HSBC Holdings -
6. BNP Paribas -
7. Credit Agricole -
8. Deutsche Bank -
9. Bank of America Corp. -
10. UBS -
11. JPMorgan Chase -
12. Royal Bank of Scotland -
13. Societe Generale -
14. HBOS -
15. Santander Group -
16. Goldman Sachs -
17. Morgan Stanley -
18. Barclays -
19. Credit Suisse -
20. Unicredit Group -
21. Merrill Lynch -
22. Lloyds TSB -
23. Lehman Brothers -
24. Mitsubishi UFJ Financial -
25. Wachovia -
|
RE: countrywide asset manager
Subject: Bring the listings on!
Posted: Thu Jul 24, 2008 8:25 pm (GMT -7)
AlphaFox...
I don't have a lot of REO listing experience but my first one was a huge hassle and costly until I was reimbursed. I know REO listing agents cry a river over this stuff but if they don't like it, I will happily do the work! I LOVE cashing commission checks!
I know it's impossible for an asset manager to know everything about how bad some of their agents are but I would love to hear from a few asset managers as to what criteria they use to choose agents.
Any asset managers out their that want to provide some insight??
|
|
|
|
|
|
