I’m know you’re in tune to the worries of recession and the real estate crisis going on in the US. This has caused a flooding of foreclosures that is surpassing previous highs. Although you still see older foreclosed homes in run down areas, what’s different during this crisis is the quality of foreclosed homes and neighborhoods they reside, has improved drastically. Even nice estates in wealthy neighborhoods can be found at government auctions for prices much lower than market value.

The timing for researching on a great deal for a new house couldn’t be better then it currently is, but first you should be aware of the pros and cons of purchasing homes through a government auction as compared to the traditional way of using a realtor.

Here are some advantages to purchasing a foreclosed or pre-foreclosed home:

- Price is the number one reason to purchase a foreclosed home.

- Many homes are in good condition for much less than their market value.

- Variety and selection is better then it has ever been.

- No realtors or agencies fees to pay (consulting with a real estate savvy person is recommended).

- Some insurances are optional. It could save you hundreds a month.

- Landlord or resell venture opportunities.

- Less risky than trading equities in the stock market.

Disadvantages:

- Borrowing money may be more difficult, unless you have strong credit.

- You need to be aware of any existing liens, judgments, or unpaid taxes still on the property.

Check that the property is free and clear of any debt ahead of time. Also know in advance when the government auction expects payment for the house and have the loan details worked out with your bank. As with purchasing any house if you have enough cash to put down it makes your profit potential more appealing.

Government auctions are being held regularly across North America. Check the Internet to discover information on the upcoming auctions and the property listings at each auction. Many sites will display images of properties that are in pre-foreclosure which are properties you can purchase before the auction, and foreclosures. Buying a foreclosed home through a government auction can be a very rewarding experience, but make sure you do your research first. You may wish to watch during the initial part of your first visit to a government auction to gain experience and get an idea of the procedure.

The recession has had a negative impact on the majority of businesses here in the United States. It has unquestionably changed the way some businesses do things. But there is at least one vital aspect of business that we business owners cannot allow the economy to change.

One of the most significant trends I consistently noticed in my real estate business was the number of homes sold as a percentage of the new leads generated.

This single finding completely transformed my business by allowing me to narrow my focus. Bill Gates and Warren Buffett have both said that “intense focus” was a huge key to their success.

Before this breakthrough, I would run around every day like a chicken with its head cut off. I chased every shiny object. I would hear a new idea and I would be off to implement it. I didn’t focus on any ONE thing, and therefore I didn’t make a lot of progress.

Based upon my coaching and consulting to hundreds of real estate agents, I have noticed that the majority of you have the same problem. Especially now in these tough economic times, people tend to chase whatever they think they can get their hands on.

There are a lot of shiny objects out there for us to chase. You know what I’m talking about, don’t you? Tracking numbers allowed me to break out of this cycle. I finally realized that the most important thing I could do each and every day within my business was to:

Generate New Leads with Marketing

If 100 leads turned into four home sales, then 200 leads would be 8 sales. I finally had instant focus. I realized that I didn’t need fancy business cards or the latest “smart” phone to check the listings on the road.

I simply had to generate leads every single day.

This lesson has been ingrained in me every since. Lead generation remains my No. 1 business focus. I do something every single day to generate new leads. Generating leads for your business is like feeding your body.

No food, you starve. No leads, your business dies.

I realize the real estate market is slow. Do not use this as an excuse to stop marketing. This is a big mistake.

In fact, I am suggesting that you market more now than you have in the past. I’m marketing my business more right now than I’ve ever marketed it before. In fact, I’ve increased my monthly lead generation goals from 2008.

If you want to sell more houses, you must generate more leads.

Do you recall the 1981 hit from “Men at Work called Land Down Under?” (and yes, I was a big Men-at-Work fan.)

I recieved an email from a Korean by the name of Joe and it reminded me of the show.

What Is The Relation To Buying Notes?

The story that Joe shared with me involvd on of the most important lessons in the business of how to find notes. Your relationships matter.

In addition to these relationships, you should find “commonalitites” with your seller. This will also help you when you’re trying to find notes.

These commonalities can be a number of things, they can be social, sports-related, cultural. Any type of activity can be a good point of commonality. Some examples are sports, hobbies, favorite pastimes, favorite foods, music, etc.

Joe’s Story -A Little Gem Of How To Find Notes

Here’s what he wrote to me today:

“I am the owner of a Korean Investment Club. I do not undertand the note buying business very well and therefore I am not ready to think about buying notes. Last week I was approached by a big Korean bank who wanted me to buy their notes. They told me to offer any amount for the first trust deed. The property is a 79 room motel with attached restaurants. It is worth over $4 million and the defaulted mortgage has a face value of about $2.7 million which includes interest. I am really interested in buying the notes. Thank you for time.”

So what are we looking at here?

There is Joe, the owner of a Korean Real Estate Investment club. And then we have the big Korean Banks offereing an interesting lead.

Does Joe Know Anything About Buying Notes?

No - he admits as much in the first line of his email. So do you think that he pitched to this big Investment Bank that he would be the perfect guy to buy their non performing notes?

No he did not. The note buying opportunity found him. And it also seems that they are willing to accept any offer that he makes on that note.

Just for a little while, try to stop focusing on the fact that Joe might be able to offer a low bid on this note and actually close his first note buying deal. This can be a great a deal! If the value of the collateral is actually $4 million and if the loan is a non performing note, Joe will have the opportunity to foreclose on a motel.

I want to point out something that is so simple when you are trying find notes. It is so simple, you probably looked it over thinking that there is a bigger lesson here.

Joe is from where? Korea. What kind of a bank is this? Korean.

So the fact that this note, which is on a California property, happens to land in Joe’s lap, should actually come as no surprise.

Tips on Finding Notes

Remember when you are trying to find notes, banks often want to sell notes to people that they can talk to.

And sometimes, the people they can talk to look like them, talk like them, act like them, do business like them, live like them, and entertain themselves like them.

The chances are, even a well known investor trying to find notes probably wouldn’t get the same recognition from the Korean Bank that Joe did. They just preferred to deal with him because Joe had that one commonality that you or me could never have. Because of this, getting to know each other was a simpler process for Joe than it would be for you or me.

So start applying this note buying tip today.

Find the Commonalities between You and your Sellers.

Find someone that speaks your language and ask them if they have any notes for sale.

You’ve owned a building for sometime now, but unfortunately its value doesn’t seem to have gone up by much, or maybe, the value has even depreciated. Now you’re beginning to think that this is not what you had signed up for as you had always thought that buying real estate was the best investment option. Fret not, we are here to help. We will show you the remedies to turn your fortune around so that in a matter of a few months, you will see your building’s value going up, up and up.

First things first, get Mother Nature to work for you. There is possibly no sight worse in this field that seeing a barren and bland looking building. Hence, your best bet in appreciating the value of your building is to make use of landscaping. Before you start off however, sit down with representatives of the local community to see what kind of landscaping would be approved within the jurisdiction. Once that has been decided, then get to work and ‘beautify’ your building. At the same time, remember not to overdo it as there’s nothing that hits the eye more than overkill. Take on the help of a professional landscape gardener if you have to, as he/she will be in best position to decide how to go about getting the task done.

So once you’ve ’spiced-up’ your building, you need to look at other ways of appreciating the value. Hence, it will be the ideal time for you to think about hiring a professional management team. Management is a vital aspect in real estate; therefore attaining the help of a team of professionals will allow you to benefit from various viewpoints and management styles.

Also, always remember that proper maintenance of your building will go a long, long way to appreciating your building’s value. There are four basic types of postures you can take as a manager. One; you can completely overlook all the depreciation to your building, thus obviously heading for a world of problems. Two; you can wait until something is broken before you go about fixing it. Although this posture may save costs in the short-run, it does lead to substantial costs in the long-term. Three; maintaining the property such that it remains in the original condition. Four; taking a proactive approach so that constant updates are made to the property.

Ideally, to appreciate the value of your building, you need to take the fourth and last approach. Not only will this lead to lower costs in the long-run, it will also help ensure that your property is in ‘tip-top’ condition always. Moreover, you will also be able to attract tenants at will as well as raise rents if you feel the need to do so. Do not, under any circumstances, settle for the first or the second approach; as these will only lead to insurmountable problems sooner or later.

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Unknown to most home buyers, the agent showing you homes can offer you two forms of representation. Your real estate agent could be working directly for you as in a buyer brokerage arrangement or they could be working in the vendor’s best interest if it is a sub agency arrangement.

In the buyer brokerage arrangement the real estate agent’s sole allegiance is to the buyer, not the seller. In a sub agency arrangement the real estate agent’s legal and fiduciary responsibility is to the seller, not the buyer. The reality is that hardly any buyer agrees to a sub agency arrangement now a days, it is almost exclusively a buyer brokerage arrangement.

A buyer’s real estate agent is usually compensated by the vendor through the listing broker. The buyer brokerage agreement that you sign will clearly outline the payment of commissions. As the purchaser it is your responsibility to discuss these different arrangements with you real estate agent.

In the vast majority of cases the selling agent also gets paid by the vendor through the listing broker. Commission is normally discussed and agreed upon when the vendor lists the property and it covers the purchaser’s and vendor’s agents. When this is the arrangement (as it is in the majority of situations) than as the purchaser it does not cost you anything to use a real estate agent.

Dual agency is another possible arrangement you may find yourself in as a buyer or seller. This is when an agent brings both sides of the deal together. One of his/her clients wants to buy the property of another one of his/her clients.

As the buyer what you should do to avoid any conflict of interest is keep the highest price that you will pay confidential from your real estate agent. As your agent has a legal obligation to disclose to the vendor any know price information. This works both ways though, as the vendor you would have to keep your lowest price confidential as your agent would have the responsibility to disclose that information to the purchaser.

In a dual agency situation most of the vendor’s information will remain confidential. The agent does not need to disclose the vendor’s motivation to sell, number of offers, value of other offers, or negotiation strategy. On the purchaser’s end some of the information will remain confidential. The agent does not need to disclose the buyer’s your urgency to buy, details about other offers they have made and their negotiation strategy.

The single greatest impact of a dual agency situation is that you as the purchaser or vendor should not disclose your final price to your agent. It may sound like a sticky situation but in the end it is pretty straight forward and should not impair your ability to buy the property that you want.

Although purchasing a home is a big step for some families, it is getting easier to work with lenders in finding the right program for you to mortgage a home. You don?t need to have a lot of money in the bank or a huge sum to put down in order to get the home of your dreams at a reasonable cost.

Many people view the buying process as a scary and complicated process, that really is not so. Simply put you find the house you want at a price you can reasonably afford. Then you make a down payment, which can be as little as $500 in some cases. However, the more you put down as an earnest money deposit, the less you have to borrow from the bank and pay interest on it.

Renting is still a very popular way of living for many people, especially young people. While it seems like a good idea at the time, because you don?t have to worry about owing the bank any money and it is sometimes less of a cost per month, it still is money out of pocket every month that is not going into something of value that you own. Mortgage financing can be affordable for practically anyone, even low income and first time home buyers.

Stop financing your landlord?s new car and home and start financing your own home. Lenders are there to help you find financing, that?s what they are in business to do. You can go to a local bank or even go online and find lenders willing to finance a new home for you at a reasonable rate.

The smartest first step in finding and purchasing a home is to find a real estate broker to help you. They make their money by locating a home that you are happy with, and helping you find a lender to work with you. Want to know the best part of working with a real estate broker when you are the buyer? The seller typically pays their commission so they work for you for free. Make sure your broker knows what your budget is, so they don?t waste your time showing you houses beyond your means.

Homeownership is the American dream; one that you can be living too no matter what your budget is. Work with your broker or a lender to figure out what you can reasonably afford for a monthly payment and then get your target purchase price range. Then be prepared to do some comparison shopping among all the homes that are for sale out there. One of them could be your dream home.

Loan modifications, specifically principal write-downs will be the answer to many people’s mortgage needs.

Interesting.

Will Loan Mofications Be The Solution For Negative Equity?

The Hope for Homeowners initiative passed by Congress in July and officially launched a month-and-a-half ago to much acclaim, is a potentially positive FHA insurance package aiming to insure $300B of new mortgages for borrowers in a “negative equity” position.

Negative equity refers to loans that are worth more than the home.

If the home owners have a DTI of 31% or less and made at least 6 payments on time, they can qualify for a Loan Modification.

What do they get if they meet those magic criteria? (Oh, by the way, if I had to hazard a guess at the average DTI for loans originated in 2007, it would probably be 40-45%, and most of these loans are non performing mortgages).

Who Will Acutally Get Approved For Loan Modifications?

Not that many at all.

In the first 2 weeks of the program, exactly 49 people applied, and… none were approved.

FHA Secure Program Provides Help to Home Owners With Non Performing Mortgages

The FHA Secure program had a total of 203 applicants. Out of that number on 49 applications were approved.

In California around the same time, a Notice of Default was filed on about 1,300 homes.

So what’s the big deal here? Can’t we just give the H4H program some time?

Yes.

Remember that H4H, along with the lenders participating in these loan modifications will be looking for federal backing on these 90% principal reduction plans.

Sure you can wait for the news on H4H along with everyone else, or you can make an offer on the 49 notes that weren’t approved.

And most likely, there will be more non-performing mortgages (to buy) where they came from.

Real estate trends are often good indicators of how the economy is doing. They are also good predictors of what will happen in the future. Current real estate trends point to a down market, with record foreclosures, fewer new home starts, and lower prices. What this means for you depends on what your position is.

The recession has brought on a decline in new home starts, which has adversely affected the construction industry. Real estate trends point to this and the fact that contractors who are building homes are building them smaller means that the days of McMansions are gone and more practical housing is being built.

One of the real estate trends that is most interesting to watch is the decline in home prices. This is bad news for current homeowners who have invested in their home and were hoping to reap the benefits of the home once they were ready to sell it.

The decline in home prices has led to a buyers market, and many bargain hunters who can get financing are taking advantage of this trend to buy an affordable home, provided they can get financing and have a substantial down payment.

Real estate trends across the country keep showing a slow down in home sales as well. This is not a great time to have a home on the market because prices have bottomed out. With record layoffs, less people are looking to buy a new home and are staying put or downsizing to rentals. Those that are looking to purchase a home are looking at hurdles in terms of financing. They can expect to put down a much larger down payment than what was required, and their credit scores have to be high.

When reading into these real estate trends, it’s hard to see where there will be a turnaround and prices will become more stable. Everyone is waiting for the stimulus package to kick in and the spring market may be telling as to how long these real estate trends will continue.

Boomers Bank In investment finance, private equity real estate is an asset class consisting of equity and debt investments in property. Investments typically involve an active management strategy ranging from moderate reposition or releasing of properties to development or extensive redevelopment. Investments are typically made via private equity real estate fund, a collective investment scheme, which pools capital from investors. These funds typically have ten-year life span consisting of a 2-3 year investment period during which properties are acquired and a holding period during which active asset management will be carried out and the properties will be sold.

History and evolution There is a long history of institutional investment in real estate both through direct ownership of property and through pooled investment funds. Initially institutional real estate investments were in core real estate, however, market conditions in the early 1990s led to the emergence of opportunistic funds which aimed to take advantage of falling property prices to acquire assets at significant discounts.[1] Private equity real estate emerged as an independent asset class in the beginning of the 21st century and has experienced huge growth in recent years. Strategies Private equity real estate funds generally follow core-plus, value added, or opportunistic strategies when making investments.

Core Plus: This is a moderate risk/moderate return strategy. The fund will generally invest in core properties, however some of these properties will require some form of enhancement or value-added element. Value Added: This is a medium-to-high risk/medium-to-high return strategy. It will involve buying a property, improving it in some way, and selling it at an opportune time for a gain. Properties are considered value added when they exhibit management or operational problems, require physical improvement, and/or suffer from capital constraints.

Opportunistic: This is a high risk/high return strategy. The properties will require a high degree of enhancement. This strategy may also involve investments in development, raw land, and niche property sectors. Investments are tactical. Features Considerations for investing in private equity real estate funds relative to other forms of investment

Include: Substantial entry costs, with most funds requiring significant initial investment (usually upwards of $1,000,000) plus further investment for the first few years of the fund. Investments in limited partnership interests (which is the dominant legal form of private equity real estate funds) are referred to as “illiquid” investment’s, which should earn a premium over traditional securities, such as stocks and bonds. Once invested, it is very difficult to gain access to your money, as it is locked-up in long-term investments, which can last for as long as twelve years. Distributions are made only as investments are converted to cash; limited partners typically have no right to demand that sales be made. If a private equity real estate firm can’t find suitable investment opportunities, it will not draw on an investor’s commitment. Given the risks associated with private equity real estate investments, an investor can lose all of its investment if the fund performs badly.

For the above-mentioned reasons, private equity fund investment is for those who can afford to have their capital locked in for long periods of time and who are able to risk losing significant amounts of money. This is balanced by the potential benefits of annual returns, which are often above 20% for successful opportunistic funds. Investors in private equity real estate funds tend, therefore, to be institutional investors or high net worth individuals.

Size of Industry

The popularity of private equity real estate funds has grown since 2000 as an increasing number of investors commit more capital to the asset class. In 2000 private equity real estate funds raised $12 billion in equity commitments from investors. By 2005 this had increased to $58 billion and in 2007 private equity real estate funds raised a total of $79 billion. Private Equity Real Estate is a global asset class and in 2007, 46% of capital raised was focused on the US, 26% was focused on Europe and 27% was targeting Asia and the rest of the world. By providing online real time services one on one client attention is always in mind.

There is a requirement for needed experience to switch to self-directed retirement plans; The investment Group can help investors chart a new - and potentially more profitable - course for their retirement years.

The investment Group that finds sound investments for self-directed Individual Retirement Arrangements (IRAs), KEOGHs, and SEPs fund inreal estate trust deeds note opportunities in limited partnerships.

The investment Group who is on top of changes in the fields of IRAs and investing - the principals were among the first to tackle the Roth IRA and the effects it had and is having on IRA -401k investing. Finding Investments for YouThe investment Group, Inc.’s primary service is finding and analyzing real estate-related investments for purchase by our clients.

We are investment real estate brokers and have been in business doing this since 2002. In 2002 we started working with IRA clients to assist them in finding appropriate investments in the real estate arena.

Investment Group’s find these assets by their network of investment real estate brokers throughout the U.S. (a network built through the Real Estate Cyber Space Society). They meet with these investment brokers online daily. These networking arrangements are with 11,000 brokers; take place in Cyber Space in real time. By being an active member of the Real Estate Cyber Space Society we can satisfy their clients’ investment needs no matter how diverse.

The Groups clients give direction on what it is they would like to purchase; when the Group finds it they do a complete analysis of the investment and forward their due diligence to the respective clients. The client can review the information, take it to any other advisors they have and make a decision. If they wish to purchase the product the Group will go forward with the acquisition. If not, the Group finds another investment property for the clients review.

On occasion their clients have requested that they pay their fee’s on real estate acquisitions and then work as a buyer’s broker. As a free service to their IRA clients who use their investment services, the Group assist them in finding the correct custodian to service their account. Not all custodians are the same and it is vitally important to choose the right one the first time. In Today’s world, to make things happen now, we need to be in Real Time Mode for your Clients

The answer is yes! The Employee Retirement Income Security, ERISA, Act of 1974 passed the responsibility of retirement saving from the employer to the employee. Created in 1975, IRAs provide individuals a chance to direct where their retirement funds were invested.

The IRS code, instead of distinguishing which investments are allowed, identifies which investments are not permitted under these laws. Under both ERISA and IRS Codes, there are only two types of investments excluded: Life Insurance Contracts and Collectibles such as works of art, rugs, jewelry etc. Refer to Internal Revenue Code Section 401 (IRC 408(a) (3)).

How come I haven’t known about this?

The securities markets, when the ERISA was passed, were responsible for bringing the IRA and 401(k) to the public. Brokerage houses and banks created a misconception that buying stocks, bonds and mutual funds was all that was allowed through retirement products. This is 100% false! Brokerage houses and banks have a vested interest in having you invest in stocks, bonds and mutual funds-not real estate, businesses and other non-traditional investments. Don’t limit your ability to maximize the investment potential because of the lack of knowledge of your financial advisor. There are infact many great brokers who do understand that true diversification occurs when your funds are invested in a variety of different markets.

What are the different retirement funds I can use?

Traditional IRA Roth IRA SEP IRA Keogh 401(k) 403(b) And much more!

It needs to be noted that most employer sponsored plans like 401(k) will not let you roll your account into a new vehicle while you are still employed. Some employers, however, will allow you to roll a portion of your funds. To be certain you will need to contact your current 401(k) provider.

Are there a lot of people who have self-directed IRA accounts?

The self-directed industry is growing very strong and is expected to see around $2 trillion enter the market in the next two years. In the U.S. there are over 45 million IRA holders and less than 4% of those are held in non-traditional assets. This number is expected to grow significantly over the next 5 years as more individuals and their financial advisors attain a greater awareness of self-directed IRAs.

What are the limits to the investments I can make?

You cannot invest in Collectibles or Life Insurance Contracts. There are also certain transactions in which you cannot participate when using IRA funds. These transactions are referred to as “prohibited transactions”. Prohibited Transactions are defined in IRC 4975(c)(1) and IRS Publication 590. These transactions were established to maintain that everything the IRA engages in is for the exclusive benefit of the retirement plan. Sometimes professionals refer to these as “self-dealing” transactions. Self-dealing happens when an IRA owner uses their individual retirement funds for their personal benefit instead of benefiting the IRA. If you violate these rules, your entire IRA could loose its tax-deferred or tax-free status. It is important that you work with a competent Retirement Account Facilitator to avoid violating these rules.

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