If that kind of stat doesn’t blow you off your feet than you haven’t been paying enough attention. I’m gonna spell it out for you a little more so you really understand what’s happened and what you need to be doing about it.

Basically the wisdom has been for the last few years that it’s the age of the renter. Homeownership is dead and it’s time to focus on commercial real estate and residential rentals. (This is assuming we’re leaving out cleaning up the foreclosure mess and letting short sales do the real work.)

But it turns out that if someone is planning to stay in a home for at least 3 years, then it’s actually smarter to buy. That kind of number is like pre-crash days. It’s totally doable for most of the people you’re likely to meet and you definitely need to be pushing home ownership.

I know that everyone I teach and talk to has realized what a goldmine economy we’re living in. People are relocating and looking for a new place to settle down. But your job is to show them the wisdom of buying. It’s the time. Get in now and you’ll be looking at happy tenants and fat profits.

Buying Pays Off More Than Renting is a post from: Short Sale Fundamentals

It may seem a little silly to jump on either side of the question at first because it really depends on your area. Some of the latest reports coming out of major metro areas is that bidding wars are on the decline.

From sea to shining sea, from San Francisco to Washington DC, bidding war rates are falling, anywhere from 0.8% to 5.8%. This means that competition for the best homes is dropping.

Good for you, maybe bad for the economy.

If we’re looking to see prices rise we want to see every property get a healthy dose of bidding. But if we want to grab a bargain and turn it for a hefty profit we want to avoid the attention of the wider market.

So which is it? Where do we stand now?

Well, if you want my two cents, we’re really at a crossroads. On the one hand, no matter the economy, good or bad, weak or strong, there are always deals to be had. You may find them locally or you may need to contact me and my team to help you out. But the deals are always there.

So don’t despair. Keep your eyes open, make smart contacts in the industry, and be prepared to bid if necessary.

If you have a good story on either side of the aisle, please share it below.

Bidding Wars for New Properties is a post from: Short Sale Fundamentals

Not only do they forget the real purpose of their work, to help struggling homeowners and improve the balance in the economy, they give the entire industry a bad reputation and make it harder for us to do our jobs.

Here are the latest tricks that people are using to pull one over on the system. It used to be that they would set up a straw buyer who looked like he was buying the home at one price and then would immediately turn around and sell the home for a higher price. But things have gotten even more sophisticated.

They eliminate the straw buyer completely. They simply leave the lower price out of the record and it looks like the house was sold for a higher price.

Another is the “short sale and stay” where the couple will pretend to sell but will actually remain in the house.

The lowest trick I’ve seen is actually bribing the REO broker to report a lower value for the property or making the home appear in worse condition than it is. These tricks through the entire industry off and really give us all a bad name.

So I want you to remember the sacred role you have in the housing market. We’re restoring balance and order and giving needy people a fresh start. So if you keep that in mind, you’ll do great.

Short Sale Fraud is a post from: Short Sale Fundamentals

The usual logic for this is that as people have more money to spend they buy more expensive houses. So we see the two things rising. The missing factor in this equation is that it’s very vague, meaning no one knows where or when and this kind of phenomena is very hard to quantify.

But here’s the interesting twist. Basically it says that as job centers and metro areas need to hire more people, demand rises for qualified workers in the area. The more people that need to work in an area, the more demand for housing and the higher the home prices rise.

It’s kind of a simple idea but it gives you one really awesome thing to look out for. You can expect a specific place for home prices to rise. Look for bigger employers or places where job growth it likely. Check local stats in your area and you’ll have a good signpost for where to invest.

If you have any other good tricks of the trade you want to share with everyone please leave a comment. We’re all learning and helping each other.

Jobs and Homes Rise is a post from: Short Sale Fundamentals

It’s such a horrific story that it almost defied understanding. How can some people be so cruel? How can they be so depraved? As our nation hears about each new tragedy it breaks our hearts.

Please send your support and love to these brave women who endured such hardship but never gave up hope. If there’s room in your heart to love the good in humanity, please hug your loved ones tight and thank God for your blessings.

Never let the lowest of humanity kill your belief in its best. We as a people can rise above hate and cruelty and be the envy of everyone else. It requires being a servant to your fellow man, loving your brothers and sisters, and standing up for what’s good and just.

I hope you all learned a lesson from this story, as I did. I’m wishing these 3 women only happiness from now on and if you feel that same way please reach out and leave them a message. The entire world is listening.

Cleveland Kidnap Victims Rescued is a post from: Short Sale Fundamentals

Some folks put together a handy list based on how much profit on average homes are pulling in. Here’s the list, and if you live in these areas I suggest you get moving.

San Jose $103k
San Fran $80k
Las Vegas $70k
Orlando $64k
Phoenix $63k
Santa Rosa $53k
Miami $51k
Sarasota $40k
Tucson $39k
Nashville $38k
Tampa $34k
Memphis $28k
Lakeland $25k

House Flipping Profits is a post from: Short Sale Fundamentals

Here’s the latest nonsense they decided to lay on us:

The gist of it is like this. They say that the house gains we’ve seen lately aren’t going to cause a housing bubble.

Sounds innocent enough, but here’s why it’s totally ridiculous to even make such a statement.

1) They haven’t learned anything from history. If they think they can really see a bubble coming, they’re hopeless.

2) It’s so so so so premature to even think that the gains we’ve been seeing are leading us anywhere. It hasn’t been going on for long enough to know.

3) Price haven’t risen high enough to be at “bubble” levels and won’t be for a long while. So let’s hold the speculation till then.

4) They think the house gains will be held down by high inventory, foreclosures, reluctance from investors, etc.? They should know it’s wide open market where anything is possible, and money is made and value increases in any market if you know what you’re doing.

So clearly they don’t know what they’re doing. Which isn’t surprising. But then again, the only thing surprising is competence, and that’s hard to find.

Housing Bubble Predictions? is a post from: Short Sale Fundamentals

Your check is in the mail.

To keep score, this is the 4th wave of foreclosure settlement checks that all those naughty robo-signing companies were forced to pay. Checks range in size from $300 to $125,000 so if you’ve been holding your breath, go check your mailbox.

That is, if you managed to stay in your house through the whole controversy. If not, they may not be able to find you to send you the check. But I’m sure they have your best interests at heart so I’m not too concerned.

Heheheh.

A ton of other banks are still shelling out their checks so there’s money flying all over the place. In the end though, nothing can undo the suffering caused by all the illegal foreclosure proceedings. But I hope the checks help a little bit.

Please leave a comment if you’ve received a check and let everyone know what you’re feeling.

Foreclosure Checks are in the Mail is a post from: Short Sale Fundamentals

You’ve all heard about the strong push from real estate investors and you may be thinking of getting a piece of the action. That’s cool but there are other angles you could be exploring. Take this latest poll result:

37% of all new home purchases of non-distressed properties are first-time homebuyers.

These are non-investors, regular Joes looking for a home for their families.

You can be uniquely positioned to give them exactly what they’re looking for. If a young family needs a deal, why not be there for them? I’ve trained my students and friends to find deals throughout their neighborhoods. From investors to primary residence homebuyers the supply is really endless.

If you need more statistics to get you in the game then I think you should just sit this economic recovery out. It’s probably not for you. But if you’re ready to take action now, give me a call and we’ll get you started.

Investors Lose Top Spot in Home Buying is a post from: Short Sale Fundamentals

That’s a really sizable chunk of the underwater market and just the idea that it might happen has gotten the real estate market buzzing.

Some of the big questions we’re grappling with now are:

- What does this mean for the mortgage insuring industry?

- Where will short sales land in the post-recession world?

- Will demand for rental begin to trend back down?

All of these are going to be issues to watch out for as we head into the summer. It may be a slow time of year transaction-wise but the financial side of things is moving along at a nice clip.

What are your thoughts? Are you confident that rising prices will increase? Do you think we’re about to see a bubble burst, even a short term one? Some of the experts think so, but I want to hear from you guys.

So leave a comment below and let’s see where we stand.

1.8 Million Homes are Moving Up is a post from: Short Sale Fundamentals