2007 was a tough year for many investors and homeowners. Check out the chart from DQNews showing the dramatic price declines in many cities. In looking at these statistics, look at the number sold since low numbers can dramatically skew the ratios either way. Use these statistics to help you determine future market values for your rehab projects.
continue reading "California Real Estate Investors - Coming Back!"

President Bush signed legislation yesterday removing the 1099 Forgiveness of Debt issue hanging over the heads of homeowners in foreclosure. Previously if a homeowner was foreclosed on, or they did a short sale, the lender could issue a 1099 Forgiveness of Debt. This essentially said that the lender was forgiving the remaining debt that the homeowner owed. This change does not cover investment properties!
continue reading "Santa Comes to Homeowners in Foreclosure - Investors are Visited by the Grinch"

Suggests a San Mateo Attorney in the San Francisco Chronicle.

….But unfortunately, the “freeze” is just another fraud - and like the other bailout proposals, it has nothing to do with U.S. house prices, with “working families,” keeping people in their homes or any of that nonsense.
continue reading "Foreclosure Bailout is a Coverup"

One of the NCREI Investors sent an article to me yesterday referencing an interesting turn of events.

Court rulings may make it tougher for holders of mortgage-backed securities to take back the keys…
The problem stems from a shortcut that many players in the fast-moving securitization business have used in recent years. Normally, when a loan is sold, a simple document is prepared showing that the debt and any collateral attached to it has been transferred to the purchaser. That piece of paper is called an assignment. But in buying up thousands of mortgages at a time, Wall Street commonly skips this step, which requires separate paperwork for each loan. Instead, the industry customarily relies on a lengthy contract, known as a pooling-and-servicing agreement (PSA) to spell out arrangements for all of the loans in a pool. But, as some recent court rulings indicate, a PSA may not be good enough when it comes time to foreclose.
continue reading "Foreclosures Stopped by Courts"

The U.S. Treasury Department led by Henry Paulson, Treasury Secretary is working on a plan to temporarily freeze the interest rate resets common in many sub-prime mortgages. Los Angeles foreclosures predominantly have this type of loan. Will this plan avert a housing disaster locally or nationally?
continue reading "Will the Foreclosure Bailout Plan Save Us?"