1st is Good But Who’s on 2nd?!? Hopefully it’s YOU!! Until this post I have only talked about 1st position notes. From a control standpoint, they are the best investment — you have the right to foreclose on the property. That means you essentially have the right to control the asset and your ownership of the note is the highest priority. Now, consider this: Some investors like the low prices of 2nd position notes as an entry point to note investing. So what exactly is a 2nd … [Read more...]
Legislating Disaster in Nevada and Maryland: Good Intentions Gone Wrong
August 1, 2012 By Leave a Comment
Legislating Disaster in Nevada and Maryland: Good Intentions Gone Wrong It stands to reason that if you pass a law delaying something bad for your local housing economy, like foreclosures, in hopes of buying time to help a few defaulting borrowers, you’ll be delaying the inevitable and all other homeowners in the market will eventually pay the price in the form of delayed depressed values and extended pain.That’s pretty much what’s happening right now in several states with new laws … [Read more...]
The Convoluted World Of Real Estate Handouts
July 26, 2012 By Leave a Comment
The Convoluted World Of Real Estate HandoutsTwo weeks ago, we found our company in a position that, somehow, we had not dealt with in our years of buying real estate in Memphis and Dallas. After having completed close to 800 transactions in the last 3 years, last week was the first time we had run into a closing where the seller used a government program to assist in the sale of the home. Not only was a government program used, but the bank involved in the loan got into the act as well and … [Read more...]
Use This One Technique to Ensure Yourself a Good Note Investment
July 22, 2012 By Leave a Comment
Use This One Technique to Ensure Yourself a Good Note InvestmentTwo of the most common questions I get from prospective note investors is how do I find notes in the first place, and when I find them, how do I know it’s a good note? Finding a note can be just like finding a good property. You can go the traditional route of direct mail, talking to brokers or placing ads or you can use this one technique to create the best note possible for yourself. All you will need is an active real estate … [Read more...]
How to Structure a DPA Transaction with No Cash or Credit
July 10, 2012 By Leave a Comment
How to Structure a DPA Transaction with No Cash or CreditLooking for a way to get traditional lending for a deal without cash or credit? It’s called DPA. Before your eyes glaze over in acronym avoidance, hear this one out. It’s a bit complicated, but if you can keep it all straight, you can structure a no cash, no credit deal in no time. This term – DPA – Down Payment Assistance doesn’t really exist anymore, but it’s out there if you know where to look. The Elements of Structuring … [Read more...]
Eight Ways to Find Your Next Hard Money Lender
July 8, 2012 By Leave a Comment
Eight Ways to Find Your Next Hard Money LenderIn an ideal world money would grow on trees, banks would be eager to lend thousands of dollars with just a signature, and my hair would stay in the faux-hawk all day long. Reality, however, is a different pill to swallow. If you are looking to get into house flipping but have little money of your own, chances are you will need to rely on the help of what investors call “Hard Money.”What is Hard Money & How Does it Work?Hard money is a popular … [Read more...]
Opportunities and Risks of a Real Estate Joint Venture
June 3, 2012 By Leave a Comment
Opportunities and Risks of a Real Estate Joint VentureIn the real estate investment business, there are both big opportunities and big risks. And the same goes for joint venture agreements. Here are three opportunities and three risks to consider when deciding to form a real estate joint venture. OPPORTUNITIES 1. Leveraging Your Weaknesses Maybe you are very knowledgeable in one aspect of real estate investment, but don’t know much about other parts. For example, maybe you have a great network … [Read more...]
Financing Your First Real Estate Deal: How to Pitch Your New Business to Banks
May 27, 2012 By Leave a Comment
Financing Your First Real Estate Deal: How to Pitch Your New Business to BanksWould you lend to two recent college graduates who formed a partnership to invest in real estate, with little starting capital, and no business or real estate background? Just a few short years ago I was one of those college grads, eager to get my real estate investing company off the ground, and as you can imagine, securing financing to purchase our first investment property was a major hurdle. The housing collapse … [Read more...]
Value Disputes and Bank of America Short Sales
May 22, 2012 By Leave a Comment
Value Disputes and Bank of America Short SalesIf you have completed more than a handful of short sales, then you have likely have been involved in a value dispute with the short sale lender. During the course of the short sale, the short sale lender sends out another Broker to complete a Broker Price Opinion (BPO) for the short sale listing. The bank then, in most cases, bases their price on the value stipulated in the BPO. However, often times, there is a discrepancy between the value … [Read more...]
What Does a Real Estate Note Buyer Look for in Your Note?
May 18, 2012 By Leave a Comment
What Does a Real Estate Note Buyer Look for in Your Note?Selling a property with a note can be a great way to get market value for your property, after all you are operating as the bank to the homeowner and therefore “lending” your money for their property purchase. Quite often note holders want to sell their notes for an immediate payoff but are not sure of what criteria a potential note buyer will use to judge their note value. It is important to know these items as you have a valuable, … [Read more...]
Using High Interest Private Financing is Still Better Than Cash
May 16, 2012 By Leave a Comment
Using High Interest Private Financing is Still Better Than CashWith investors battling a tight credit market, the opportunity to obtain financing for investment properties can often times prove more difficult than expected for some investors. Five years ago many of these same investors had no problem walking into their local lender’s office and getting approved for a loan. Nowadays, it seems like underwriters need a blood sample to approve a loan for an investor (even when that investor could … [Read more...]
The ABCs of Commercial Loan Modification
May 3, 2012 By Leave a Comment
The ABCs of Commercial Loan ModificationBefore we jump into the meat of this article, let me give you a quick and dirty definition of a commercial loan modification.Definition: A modification to terms of a commercial loan that does not include refinancing. Modification occurs on a case-by-case basis when the borrower is unable to make loan payments due to financial distress.What Does This Mean For The Investor?Commercial loan modification can be an excellent option for the struggling real estate … [Read more...]
What Is a Commercial Loan Modification?
April 28, 2012 By Leave a Comment
What Is a Commercial Loan Modification?A commercial loan modification, also called a Workout Loan, may be considered if a business is in financial distress and unable to pay back a loan.In order to understand what Commercial Loan Modification means, let’s break down each word and define it:Commercial: Related to business. We are only concerned with loans taken out for business purposes. This does not include an individual loan for something like your car, home mortgage or an educational … [Read more...]
Are Short Sales the Next Big Investment Market?
April 26, 2012 By Leave a Comment
Are Short Sales the Next Big Investment Market?In January 2011, an estimated 74,000 homeowners received some form of loan modification. According to Hope Now, a non-profit mortgage relief organization, this number is 27% less than the amount one year ago. And the downward trend continued in February 2012 with 20% less loan modifications than in 2011.Why the decrease? According to Eli Tene, co-founder of Peak Corporate Network, it’s not at all surprising. He says in a company press release, … [Read more...]
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Short Sales Cast a Long Shadow
Short Sales Cast a Long Shadow Yesterday the GSEs, Fanny and Freddie, accelerated the switch to short sales that has been underway for the past two years by announcing new servicing standards to speed up and streamline the processing of short sales for borrowers whose mortgages are held by the GSE’s, which is about half of all mortgages in the nation. The new guidelines, which take effect in November, allow servicers to approve a short sale for borrowers who have certain types of … [Read more...]