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Real Estate Investing

Pre-foreclosures: the Goldmine of the Next Decade

by admin on September 23, 2009

Foreclosure is a process in which a piece of real estate becomes the property of a lending institution due to the legal owner’s inability to make scheduled payments on the mortgage or deed of trust.

Typically, the lender files a notice of default after a homeowner fails to make his or her mortgage payments for several months. If the loan is not reinstated, the lender moves to foreclose. As a result, the lender becomes the new legal owner of the property and has the right to resell the property and recover any outstanding loan balances in addition to foreclosure expenses.

The foreclosure process consists of three stages: pre-foreclosure, which begins the redemption period; foreclosure, which is when the home is sold at a public auction; and post-foreclosure, which is when the property reverts back to the lender if it fails to sell at the public auction. Although each stage offers bargain-buying opportunities, the pre-foreclosure stage is considered by many real estate investors to be the most promising time to purchase during the foreclosure process.

Investing in pre-foreclosures means you will be acquiring property any time before the scheduled public auction. As the investor, you will be buying the property directly from the owner. The earlier you contact a homeowner in pre-foreclosure, the more time you will have to make a connection, structure a deal and purchase the property.

There is a common misconception that real estate investors purchasing homes from owners facing foreclosure are taking advantage of the homeowner’s misfortune. This is simply not true. A Notice of Default is filed only when a borrower (property owner) has broken the terms agreed upon with lender at the inception of the loan in default. This breech gives the lender every right to protect its financial interests. Therefore, an experienced real estate investor becomes the problem solver by finding a win-win solution that will help the homeowner get out of default.

Property owners facing foreclosure are typically scared or in denial. Many of them hope some miracle will happen that will make their ordeal simply go away. Doing nothing will certainly ensure a homeowner’s foreclosure, loss of home, loss of equity and credit rating damage for an entire decade.

When dealing with an owner in pre-foreclosure, talk to them as soon as possible. It is vital to explain the following three benefits of avoiding foreclosure:

1. Protects their credit

By working with an investor, homeowners may be able to avoid foreclosure and begin rebuilding credit. Even if a homeowner endures the process of losing his or her home, the repercussions of a foreclosure on a credit report are far reaching. A poor credit rating affects everything from buying a car to renting a home. With certain businesses, credit is even a factor in employment. Investors often help homeowners protect credit.

2. Make a profit

While it is true that real estate investors purchase at a discount, a homeowner facing default may still be able to recover some of their equity and walk away with profit.

3. Get a fresh start

Stopping the foreclosure allows homeowners to breathe a sigh of relief. As the pain and pressure of the foreclosure lifts, they find it easier to move on and begin rebuilding their life.

Buying in the pre-foreclosure stage can be the most lucrative slice of a real estate investor’s business. Once rapport and trust have been established, a professional real estate investor can determine whether the sale of a property would truly benefit everybody involved.

There are various ways to profit while helping people find viable solutions for their defaults. The following three are most common:

1. Purchase at a discount

Real estate investors are not likely to make a profit by purchasing at full market value. As an investor, it is essential to inform potential sellers that you earn your living from your profits. Therefore, you must buy for less than retail price while taking into account acquisition, sales and holding costs and any necessary repairs. A discount of twenty to thirty percent of full market value is common practice among real estate investors.

2. Buy property “subject to” the existing loan

There are widely spread rumors that it is illegal to purchase property that involves taking over an existing mortgage. This is completely false. While assumable loans are practically extinct, it is perfectly legal to purchase property subject to an existing loan. It is important to be aware of the “due on sale” clause stating the existing lender can call the loan due upon the transfer of title. In other words, the lender has the right to demand full payment of the outstanding loan balance at the time of transfer. In practice, lenders would rather receive their monthly payments than call the loan. Purchasing property subject to the existing financing means a smaller out-of-pocket investment for the real estate investor.

3. Create instant equity utilizing a Short Sale

Structuring a Short Sale can prove profitable when dealing with a homeowner facing foreclosure whose property is equity deficient. In this market, troubled lenders would rather discount their mortgages than increase their already mounting inventory of foreclosed properties. The type of discount you create will largely depend on the quality of your Short Sale package combined with the quality of your negotiating skills.

Real estate investors prevent a large number of foreclosures every year across the country. There are many ways for investors to make a profit while helping people move on with their lives.

Undoubtedly, the money is there to be made. Pre-foreclosures are a fabulous way to make it.

Brenda Cot

Tagged as: Foreclosure Investing, Real Estate Investing, Real Estate Investing Club, Real Estate Investing Coach, Real Estate Investing Mentor, Real Estate Investing Training, Women In Real Estate, Women In Real Estate Investing, Women Invest In Real Estate

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Profit From the Foreclosure Boom Through Powerful Foreclosure Training

by admin on August 6, 2009

Where do most investors turn to when they seek foreclosure opportunities? Sure, they take a look at free foreclosure listings or even sources of foreclosure listings that they pay for. While these sources may lead to productive and profitable deals, investors often shy away from what I think is an untapped market in the world of foreclosures and foreclosure investing. What is this market? What do you need to know in order to tap into these preforeclosure opportunities.

This often overlooked market niche in the world of foreclosure investing is luxury home foreclosures. Many investors shy away from them, even if they represent good short sale opportunities, because of the bigger price tag. Folks, foreclosures are like any other type of real estate in that it comes down to the quality of the deal. If luxury home foreclosures mean getting deals 30-50% below market value, aren’t these foreclosures at least worth considering?

Foreclosure investing is an amazing opportunity but there are many aspects to consider, especially if you are really going to learn real estate short sales or venture into the deep end of the pool with profitable luxury home foreclosures. Good foreclosure training and good short sale training programs cover all the features you need to learn, including marketing, negotiations, raising capital, and even the emotional aspect of the sale, a natural by-product of foreclosures that can often complicate short sale deals.

My efforts here are to assure you that there are indeed unlimited deals to be found within the realm of foreclosures, and that includes properties of all shapes and sizes. Whether you’re just curious how to make money with foreclosures or really dive in and engage in serious short sale training (sometimes called loss mitigation training), then you owe it to yourself to check out my Preforeclosure Cash Flow System and the many short sale training modules within it that cover how to really launch your foreclosure business.

In closing, the entirety of the foreclosure process is ripe with deals that are there for the picking. In today’s market, the short sale process is as much as part of foreclosures as any other part of the business. This is especially true when it comes to luxury home foreclosures. When you are serious about really building your business, take my advice, and commit yourself to real estate short sale training. You will learn how to make money with foreclosures and you will also learn how to master short sales like a business pro. I wish you the very best in success in real estate investing.

To get a Free Online Foreclosures Training Course in Short Sales

The author is a business building coach to The Foreclosure Industry. To get a Free Online Foreclosures Training Course in Short Sales, Go here Foreclosures short Sales. for more information visit: http://www.realestateforeclosuresinvesting.com

Tagged as: Foreclosures Short Sale, Real Estate Foreclosures Investment, Real Estate Investing, Short Sale Training

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Florida’s Anti-investor Legislation, Stature 501.1377 and the Foreclosure-rescue Consultant

by admin on July 27, 2009

On May 28, 2008, Governor Crist of Florida signed into law Statute 501.1377 (HB 643/SB 992) or so called Anti-Fraud Legislation. The real estate investing community has labeled the new legislation as anti-investor, despite the statute formally being called “Foreclosure-rescue Transactions”. The legislation targets certain types of foreclosure-related transactions including any action or method that postpones or stops a foreclosure transaction, the purchase of a foreclosure property, and the lease optioning of a foreclosure property back to the homeowner.

There are two types of individuals covered by the statute, the first of which are called Foreclosure-rescue Consultants. These individuals may or may not be investors and their efforts are focused on stopping or postponing a foreclosure for the homeowner whether or not they collect a fee. Before this legislation took effect, an individual could charge a homeowner an upfront fee for loan modification, short selling his home, or any service that would stop or postpone the homeowner’s foreclosure. As of October 1, 2008 any person deemed to be doing foreclosure-rescue consulting can no longer collect any fees before all services are complete as specified in a contract between the homeowner and the consultant. This means that if a consultant spends 10 to 30 hours on a case, and the end result is exactly as proposed in the contractual agreement with the homeowner, the consultant may not be able to collect his fee after all. It depends on whether the homeowner decides to abide by the terms of the contract or not.

There are literally thousands of legitimate foreclosure consultants who for many years have saved homeowners from foreclosure or eased the burden of their foreclosure and charged a reasonable upfront fee to do it. The well-meaning sponsor of this legislation was focused on a few scam artists who took foreclosure victims’ money and never made an effort to complete the services promised. Ironically, the true victim in this legislation will be the homeowner who now can only seek the very expensive help of an attorney to do the same work a non-attorney can easily do.

Originally included in the legislation were bankruptcy attorneys who have to charge a fee before the bankruptcy filing. However, attorneys were later exempt by the State’s Attorney General who explained he would not enforce it against attorneys. So every attorney in Florida is now exempt from charging upfront fees for loan mitigation, foreclosure postponement, short sales, and any other service that stops or postpones a foreclosure. This has created a new and vast market that was formerly unprofitable for attorneys in most cases. This legislation now gives attorneys a whole new client base to work on.

When real estate investors realized what the legislation meant to their careers and independent small businesses, they reacted in the only way they knew – to try and find “loopholes” by which they were exempt from the severe penalties of this statute. As with attorneys or wannabe attorneys, if you get five together, you will get five opinions. In this case many were trying to escrow the payment(s) for services rendered or charge in small increments as the work was completed, such as an application fee, submission fee, and other “step-by-step” fees. These are illegal under the statue and subject to fines of $15,000 per incident and possible jail time.

Also included in this legislation was specific wording about contract clauses and the requirements of the foreclosure consultant interacting with a homeowner including:

1.) The homeowner must have the contract for at least 24 hours before signing it and this right cannot be waived or modified, as are the waiver rights for the maximum fees that personal injury attorneys can charge. 2.) The homeowner must receive from the foreclosure consultant a copy of all documents that he signed within three hours of signing them. 3.) The homeowner has a three-day right of recession or cancellation of the contract without penalty and any funds collected by the foreclosure consultant must be returned to the homeowner within ten days. 4.) The date of the agreement must be shown as well as the name and address of the foreclosure consultant and it must be signed and dated by the homeowner and the foreclosure consultant after the date the homeowner received the original contract for review. 5.) The contract must be in 12 point or larger “Upper Case” print which we believed must have been a mistake but after speaking to the Attorney General’s Office, they confirmed the entire contract must be in upper case letters. 6.) The contract must explain the exact nature of the proposed services to be provided, the total charges for each. 7.) The contract contains very specific language that cannot be modified in any way and recommends that the homeowner contact his lender or loan servicer since they may do the same service as the foreclosure consultant for no charge. 8.) No upfront fee, money, property or other form of payment may be accepted by the foreclosure consultant until all services are completed.

This is a brief overview of the first part of Florida Statute 501.1377 and is not meant to be a legal opinion advice and is for educational purposes only.

Dave Dinkel has been a real estate investor since 1975 and is a best selling author who worked with a team of attorneys to produce a disclosure package that complies with the new Florida Anti-fraud legislation. You can see and read more info about it at www.RequiredFLDocs.com.

Tagged as: Bankruptcy, Florida Anti-fraud Legislation, Florida Anti-investor Legislation, foreclosure, Foreclosure-related Transactions, Foreclosure-rescue Consultants, Foreclosure-rescue Transactions, Hb643, Real Estate Investing, Sb 992, Statute 501.1377

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Find Foreclosure Listings Like Investors To Find The Right Real Estate Deal

by admin on June 21, 2009

A foreclosure is the process by way of which a lender can take over the property of a person who has taken a loan. There are many reasons for the owners inability to pay the loan; death of an earning family member, divorce, loss of job and employment, mental illnesses, alcohol or drug addictions and many more.


Foreclosures happen when banks, credit agencies or any other financial institutions repossess property. You can find foreclosure listings for properties that include homes, condominiums, residential properties and commercial properties. The foreclosure process begins when for some reason; the owner of the property fails to pay back the loan amount, the mortgage amount. The lender then takes the property back and forecloses the lien on the property that the lender had placed. Investors find foreclosure listings on website that specialize on finding, listing and maintaining foreclosure listings. You can also use real estate agents that specialize in foreclosures.


To find foreclosure listings is relatively easy these days, as foreclosures are increasing very rapidly in today’s market. Most experts think that this year foreclosures will reach record highs. An investor can find foreclosure listings for all parts of the country on foreclosure websites that have a nationwide database.


Traditionally April is considered a month where the new home sales pick up. However, the real estate market is very slow as potential buyers are on edge about buying real estate. New sales are down compared to the number of foreclosures. Since foreclosures are nearing an all time high in the United States, an investor or a buyer can make money when they find foreclosure listings.


When an investor can find foreclosure listings and make money, they can buy at discount prices; many of the homes are available at 10-50% below the current market prices. To do this they find foreclosure listings for such homes. There is also a glut in the market and this is the right time to buy and this is true for the entire country. Investors find foreclosure listings as there are more and more properties that are been foreclosed.


You find foreclosure listings at websites that list information about foreclosures and the current real estate market. The first thing to know is where to find the properties that you can invest and make money. These properties are available with various agents and a growing number of resources on the internet. In order to find foreclosure listings where you live find a website that has a nationwide database. This means that you can find foreclosure listings about all the foreclosed properties in the various cities and states in the United States.


For the investor, buying at these low prices will enable them to make money in foreclosures, since they can resell the properties later when the market comes back up. While the home owner can benefit from buying the property and save money too. They can use the money for other purposes such as renovating the property or even fund the education of their children.


You can also find foreclosure listings for Bank foreclosures known as REO’s (Real Estate Owned); properties that are owned by the bank. When bank foreclosures take place, the prices are typically set at the remainder of the amount of the debt or the loan amount. Find foreclosure listings for them on the websites too banks are sometimes willing to take less then what is owed, this is called Short Sale. Depending on which state you are in, the foreclosures deals can take 6-12 months.


You can also find foreclosure listings through the county office these lists are also available on many of the foreclosure websites. It can be difficult to find a reliable source where you can find foreclosure listings giving complete and vital information. Make sure the website where you find foreclosure listings that are updated daily.


For many homeowners it can be an investment in second homes too, when they find foreclosure listings for the right property. Many websites also gives useful tips about when to purchase properties and how to purchase the properties.


Find foreclosure listings from such websites that enable you to locate and find the brokers and agent information as well. When you find foreclosure listings that give you every detail about the foreclosures it will make it much easier to research and purchase the property. The process of buying the foreclosed property is not very difficult. It just takes a bit of research, time and effort to find foreclosure listings that are reliable. Then the prospective buyer or investor can give a written contract to the lender such as the banks or any other credit institutions to start the process of purchase.


Depending on the policies of the banks or the credit institutions, down payments can range from as low as $500 or up to 10-20% of the total amount of the outstanding mortgage amount.


This means that if the outstanding mortgage amount is $156,000, then the investor would need to deposit $15,600 in order to start the purchase process. The remainder of the funds and the financing needs to be worked by the investor. The mortgage rates currently are extremely low and can range from 6% – 6.8%. Depending on your credit history, date, price terms and conditions, great deals can be worked out between the lender and the investor.

Thomas Bladecki is the author and can provide additional information about foreclosure listings and the current real estate markets visit Home Foreclosure Help.

Tagged as: Find Foreclosure Listings, Free Foreclosure Listings, Real Estate Investing

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Investing in Foreclosures for Beginners

by admin on June 15, 2009

Investing in Foreclosures For Beginners

by Lex Levinrad Copyright © 2008

If you are thinking about investing in foreclosures there are some key points for you to consider before you begin investing.

The first step for you to understand is how the foreclosure process works. The foreclosure process can be broken down into three key components.

  • Pre-Foreclosure
  • Foreclosure Auction
  • REO

 Pre-foreclosure

The first step in the foreclosure process is called pre-foreclosure. When a homeowner has not paid their mortgage for more than ninety days the bank that owns the mortgage on that property files what is called a “lis pendens” which means “suit pending” in Latin.

A “lis pendens” is a written public notice that a lawsuit has been filed concerning real estate. This notice is filed in the county public records against a piece of property. This notice is also often listed in the classified ad legal section of certain newspapers. Filing this public notice alerts any potential purchaser or lender that the title to this property is “clouded” or unclear.

When a property has a “clouded” title then the title is not “free and clear” which makes the property less attractive to potential buyers or lenders. In reality, once a “lis pendens” is filed, a property cannot be sold or refinanced without the buyer being fully aware of the fact that the “lis pendens” has been filed.  The only way to get rid of a “lis pendens” is through foreclosure which wipes out a “lis pendens”.

Once a lis pendens has been filed the property is considered to be in pre-foreclosure. If you subscribe to a public database like foreclosures.com, realtytrac.com and many other similar sites you can get access to the properties that are in pre-foreclosure. You can also get a list directly from your county clerk by visiting your county courthouse. In some counties these lists are even available online.

If you are investing in pre-foreclosures you are buying a house directly from the homeowner. This negotiation with the homeowner is usually done without the banks knowledge. If you are investing in pre-foreclosures you will need to negotiate directly with the homeowner about purchasing their house. Since the “lis pendens” filing is public knowledge investing in pre-foreclosures is very competitive.

If the house has no equity then you will need to negotiate a short sale with the bank. A short sale is where a bank agrees to take less than the full amount owed to them. This occurs when a buyer is only willing to purchase the property for less than the amount owed on the mortgage by the seller. In the case of a short sale the bank is aware of the process since you will need to negotiate with them. The department at the bank that is responsible for negotiating short sales is called “loss mitigation”.

There are numerous online sources of pre-foreclosure lists which make the barrier to entry in pre-foreclosure investing very minimal.  Anyone can become a pre-foreclosure investor simply buy purchasing a list of homeowners in foreclosure. Since the information is public record it can even be obtained for free by visiting your county courthouse.

For this reason, pre-foreclosure investing is fiercely competitive. Since there are so many potential pre-foreclosure investors, the homeowners in foreclosure are literally bombarded with offers to purchase their homes. This makes it difficult for investors to differentiate themselves from one another to the homeowner. Additionally there is often hostility and anger from the homeowner since they do not want to be bothered by “foreclosure sharks” or people that they perceive as trying to take advantage of their situation.

For the above reasons, pre-foreclosure investing is a difficult and competitive are of foreclosure investing. If the homeowner cannot do a loan modification or sell their house to an investor then the house goes to the foreclosure auction.

Foreclosure Auction

The foreclosure auction is a public auction that allows any member of the public to bid on a house. Typically you need to register prior to the day of the auction and you need to have a cashiers’ check made payable to the clerk of the court for at least 5% of the purchase price.

If you bid on a house and win the auction you are expected to pay the balance of the amount either later that day or within 24 hours. In the event that you do not pay the balance in time then in most counties you forfeit your deposit.

You cannot get a mortgage to buy a property at the foreclosure auction. You need to have the ability to pay cash for a property and you need to be able to produce both the deposit amount and the full amount within no more than 24 hours after the auction. Since so much cash is required, investing in foreclosures by buying at the courthouse is difficult for new investors.

Investing at the courthouse is also full of risks. When you buy a house at the courthouse you do not get free and clear title. You get a property as is. If there are liens, judgments or code violations recorded against the property then these will not be wiped out by the foreclosure auction. If your property has squatters or unwanted tenants you will need to go through the eviction process prior to even entering your property. In most cases there is no inspection of properties sold at the courthouse so any damages that there might be are your responsibility. You also might purchase a property only to find out later that all the cabinets, appliances, and fixtures have been stolen out of the property.

In some cases beginners at the courthouse are not even aware that they are not bidding on a first mortgage. I have seen bidders bidding on a second mortgage only to find out that there is a first mortgage ahead of them. If you are going to be investing in foreclosures by buying them at the courthouse it is imperative that you understand “position” and which mortgage you are bidding on. It is also imperative to do a very thorough title, lien, utility and code violation search. It is also important to do your homework in understanding the condition of the property, the value of the property and the estimated repairs that the property will need.

Investing in foreclosures at the courthouse is not for the faint of heart and certainly not for beginners. You need to be very knowledgeable about real estate law, the foreclosure process, and have access to a good title agent that will run title searches for you. Since buying at the courthouse requires cash it has a high barrier to entry. Anyone without access to cash cannot buy at the courthouse. This effectively eliminates a lot of the competition. If you are willing to be diligent and do the work, buying at the courthouse can be very rewarding. However this is not an area for beginners. Anyone can watch a foreclosure auction by going to the courthouse on the day of an auction. You do not need to be a bidder to enter the room where the auction is being held.

Buying at the courthouse can be frustrating since foreclosure auctions are often cancelled at the last minute. Auctions can be cancelled because one or both of the parties was not served correctly, the seller has filed bankruptcy or the seller has negotiated a loan modification with the bank. Doing a lot of research on properties and then watching them get cancelled at the last minute can be very time consuming and frustrating.

Usually the bank is prepared to let a property get sold at the courthouse for eighty to ninety percent of its market value. Depending on economic times, this number can be higher or lower. The attorney representing the bank will protect the banks interest by bidding up to the value of the amount that they are willing to sell their property for. It is a myth that foreclosures get sold at the courthouse for pennies on the dollar. In reality, the bank will protect their interest up to almost the full amount that is owed to them. This is another reason why bidding can be very frustrating at the courthouse. If the bank is the highest bidder, then the property goes back to the bank and becomes a bank owned or REO property.

REO

 Real estate owned or REO properties are properties that are owned by the bank. Since banks are not landlords the first thing that they do with a property that comes back to them is they try and sell it. The way that they do this is by using “asset managers” or asset management companies which are companies that represent the banks in dealing with their REO properties.

These asset managers submit their REO properties to pre-established realtors that only work with REO properties. These realtors give their asset managers a “brokers’ price opinion” (BPO) which lets the bank know at what price the realtor thinks the house should be listed. Usually bank owned properties are listed at competitive prices in order to facilitate a quick sale. REO properties are cash only deals meaning any potential buyer needs to be pre-qualified by the bank and needs to show a “proof of funds” like a bank statement. Buyers need to show that they have the cash available to purchase a property.

Buying REO properties is not as competitive as pre-foreclosures but is more competitive than buying at the courthouse. The reason is because all of the properties are listed on the multiple listing service (MLS) so any member of the general public can have access to REO properties through websites like realtor.com and zillow.com. This makes purchasing REO properties fairly competitive although the barrier to entry is high since you need to be a cash buyer.

You cannot get a mortgage to buy a property that is owned by a bank. In fact if a bank is faced with two offers they will always take the cash offer even if it is substantially lower than any other offer. The reason is because banks need to liquidate REO properties quickly in order to avoid a bottleneck of owning too many properties. Federal regulations limit how many bad loans a bank can have on their balance sheet so banks try and get rid of their REO properties as quickly as they can.

For this reason, cash buyers that are prepared to close quickly and waive contingencies like inspections will always get the best deals. One big advantage of purchasing REO properties is a relatively free and clear title. I use the word relatively since the banks use their own title companies to close on their REO properties. Sometimes these title companies do not search for code enforcement and utility bill liens. However the marketability of the title is never in question.

The popularity of purchasing REO properties changes depending on the current state of the real estate market. Presently in 2008 the best opportunity for buying foreclosed properties is with REO properties. In some situations these houses are being sold at ridiculously cheap prices. Since there is so much turmoil in the banking sector many banks are reluctantly being forced to “dump” properties are very low prices. If you have the cash to invest you should begin looking for an REO bargain while they are still available. It is estimated that there is enough supply still entering the market that you can probably purchase an REO property relatively cheaply and easily over the next two years.

For patient long term real estate investors, buying REO properties directly from the bank could have significant upside potential.

 

Lex Levinrad has been a full time distressed real estate investor since 2003. He has been involved in buying, rehabbing, wholesaling, renting, and selling hundreds of houses in South Florida. Lex is the founder and CEO of the Distressed Real Estate Institute, LLC, which trains beginning distressed real estate investors about how to find wholesale real estate deals. Lex is an active buyer of real estate throughout the state of Florida and is doing deals every day through his companies Lex Holdings, LLC, and www.lexbuyshouses.com.

Tagged as: Bank Owned Properties, Foreclosures, Investing In Foreclosures, Investing In Real Estate, Real Estate Florida, Real Estate Investing, Reo, Short Sale

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