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Archive for February, 2009

The Advantage of REO

Friday, February 20th, 2009

Real Estate Owned properties are foreclosed properties owned by banks which aren’t sold thru public auction.

A list of foreclosed properties are given by the bank with details about the property. Most properties are managed by the bank loss mitigation department and others are managed by Realtors.

It’s no surprise that the foreclosure market is at an all time high as it seems that more and more properties continue to face home foreclosure. Because of this increased volume over the past few years and the resulting opportunities the need for a real estate investing guide in foreclosures is tremendous.

When buying REO, you have the flexibility to buy at any given time and make an offer without the need to wait for auction or bidding.

Another big advantage of an REO compared to a foreclosed property is that you can inspect it before you buy, when you cannot do this with the majority of foreclosed homes that you think about purchasing. Being able to inspect the property before you buy will let you know how big of a project you will be dealing with.

Basically, a bank is not set up to deal with real estate. Sure, they give loans to people, but really, they are not equipped to buy and sell real estate. Because banks are not accustomed to dealing with real estate, it often takes them awhile to get the ball rolling so that they can repair the property, and get an agent to sell the property.

What this means is that while the bank attempts to get their business together they are losing money hand over fist and the federal government often penalizes them for each and every REO that they acquire.

The great thing about working with the bank with an REO is that you aren’t buying site unseen. Because you can walk through the house and make all the inspections that you want, you can deal with them in a way that will give you the best deal, and the bank will typically be happy with any serious offer because it will get the house off of their hand and they will stop losing money.

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The Honest Mans Guide To Mortgage Foreclosure Solutions

Thursday, February 19th, 2009

People who are dealing with the issue of foreclosure are usually in need of some guidance in relation to mortgage foreclosure solutions. These solutions can help you keep your home and limit family problems related to foreclosure.

There are lots of nonsensical, dramatically emotionally ways to deal with foreclosure. For example, you could run screaming down the street. The grand majority of these style solutions, however, are not going to do anything to help you in any real way. In order to keep the banks loan officers off of your back, you need a strategy that has been better thought out.

You might feel like you have absolutely no rational solution to your foreclosure problems. Dont be distraught. Dont start to think about crazy solutions like blowing up the bank; those thoughts are the not helpful at all. There are free solutions to foreclosure problems, however, that you can find by reading on.

One practical and effective solution to mortgage foreclosure is to use machine gun nests. This might not seem like a real solution, but it can be. Whenever someone comes to home with the intention of serving you with eviction papers, the machine gun nests will encourage them to turn around and leave you alone.

These machine guns do not have to be loaded or real. The idea is to scare off your foreclosure enforcing enemies. The power of fear can keep you in your home until the police decide to lock you up in jail for using the machine guns.

Open Up the Circus

If you have a big back yard, opening up a circus and using the proceeds you earn to pay off your mortgage is another great idea to go with. It is quite a surprise that more people do not use this method to avoid foreclosure. As long as your backyard is about the size of three football fields and you have access to a canvas tent that can house 5,000 guests and the members of a circus, this can work for you.

Then you need some elephants, clowns, peanuts, and popcorn and your mortgage foreclosure solutions just fall into your lap. It sounds like the perfect and easy solution but it is a lot of hard work as making popcorn just right takes a little effort. But beyond that your own backyard circus is sure to be a big hit with the entire neighborhood and it helps you pay your mortgage as well.

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The Best Bank Foreclosure Properties

Wednesday, February 18th, 2009

The controversy over bank foreclosure properties just keeps growing

As of the end of September reports, the number of bank foreclosure properties is up a whopping 71% over the previous year. The root cause of these astonishing figures lies with the banks and mortgage lenders. During the period of the well-touted ‘ownership society’, just a few years back, banks were making loans to many people who were clearly not qualified to assume a home loan which their income could not support.

It was recently revealed, largely through corporate whistle blowers, that mortgage brokers were encouraging applicants to not supply relevant information and even to inflate their income on paper, so that their loan would go through. Many such borrowers could barely make the payments at the lower initial rate. When the higher rates kicked in, the number of bank foreclosure properties began to rise rapidly, as almost none of these home owners were then able to meet mortgage payments.

It’s disingenuous to believe that the banks did not see this coming. However, they did receive their money for a while, including interest and whatever late fees might be involved. As borrowers began to default, the banks, on the whole, failed to attempt renegotiate lower rates in order for the borrower to avoid foreclosure.

The result? People lost their homes, their investment and their credit standing. Millions of bank foreclosure properties flooded the market. Often, the values of homes, in entire neighborhoods across the country, plummeted. Therefore, people who owned homes and made their payments are now faced with property values that fall far below what they owe on their mortgages. Perhaps these are future bank foreclosure properties in the making.

This $700 billion bailout of the banks is a thinly veiled payoff, leaving the banks hale and hearty, while saddling the taxpayers with this debt for generations to come.

Following the initial approval of this bank bailout, AIG brazenly threw a $440,000 party to celebrate their largess, while they and other failed banks threw millions in ‘golden parachute’ packages at the CEOs, who logically and ethically were accountable for making the loans in the first place. At the same time, banks were still refusing to loan, even to other banks. Now they are reportedly moving $2 trillion amongst themselves and won’t disclose to whom they are lending!

Other controversial issues arise in this scandal of bank foreclosure properties. Falling values make this buyers market. With the current credit crunch, few can qualify. This invites foreign investment, which doesn’t bode well for our economy.

How about all of the people who already lost their homes, pre-bailout? Why did the government wait until bank foreclosure properties had reached such a crises point?

Moreover, this proposed home owner bailout addresses only home owners who are at least 3 months behind, owe more than the property is worth and who face imminent foreclosure. This represents only 20% of mortgage delinquencies. Will this make a real difference to resolving the crises in the end?

It remains to be seen what the final resolution to the problem of bank foreclosure properties will be. The situation begs the question, how much more quickly might the economy be stimulated if some of this $700 billion were paid to working people, instead of buying up the debt of failed and unscrupulous bankers?

instead of the rescue at the top, give some of this money to working people ” this will stimulate economy if no one qualifies, consumers aren’t buying, small business will go out of business, job losses

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