Archive for October, 2009

I am giving my 2 cents on the article (link below) on the “here we go again” analyst’s predictions.  The ability to tie the GDP to the housing market’s performance has merit, but is it really enough of a trend to tell?  Since there is new inventory being released by  the banks (REO’s) and we are ready to reset with the 5 year ARM (over 1 million mortgages, and more than half the country will be effected by the seasonal change in sales (it’s called winter) for the 5 months, and the Unemployment rate still carries itself in the 9’s, and so on…

So the real question is how low will it go from here?  And, will it be best to invest in a home later.  Well here is the way I look at it….it depends on how and why you invest.  if you are investing in your home for a place to live and hold for a while, then yes the time has been and will be NOW.  If you are buying to flip (as in fix it up, wholesale it etc.) then it will depend on your strategy.  The reason why I do short sales is because it is the BEST WAY to create a discount and resell for a profit. I can even say that if you were to short sale and buy the property for an investment it is great way to DO IT NOW (see the 1st reason I said buying now was good).  Now this main seem elementary, but I have to tell you that confusion and fear play a major factor in buyers decisions to buy.  When I first started real estate investing I remember a seasoned investor telling me, Mike, “You want to deal in motivation, that is motivated sellers and motivated buyers, but you have to get past their fear of getting screwed, versus their motivation of needing to decide.”  And ,yes that told me the historical truth of people not doing the obvious until they are absolutely sure.  We’ll that is when you trust an expert and go off their advice, even in this crazy market.  So whether you NEED to SELL, or WANT to BUY, I suggest this one question.  When would NOW be a good time to do it?

http://realtytimes.com/rtpages/20091020_realestateoutlook.htm

So it doesn’t take Nostradamus to predict (or continue to forecast) the driection of the market.  Sure, we have had some growth and some positive results from the Government programs, but that still will not stop the NEXT WAVE of inventory about to FLOOD the market.  The prediction is pretty clear becuase of the factors with reset ARM, unemployment, poor results with HAMP (sepcifically Loan Modifications), and the deappreciation of housing values….That is why they call it a CORRECTION.  The market has to correct itself to the point of bottoming out and then gradually returning to a median price for a period of time, and then (of course) graduate in incrementss where values of properties come back.  The benefit of Short Sales is to accelerate the correction (beating the decline) so that buyers see the value of buying a dicount price today….make sense?  So why aren’t more people taking advantage of the short sale syndrome (I just made that up)?  Becuase FEAR is what holds people back from making steps TODAY, and they usually catch on when the WAVE has subsided.  Take it from an expert (yes, me) that this is the time to JUMP IN….here is an article to only support my commentary.  Keep it short,  Mike “Knows”

http://money.cnn.com/2009/10/15/real_estate/foreclosure_crisis_deepens/index.htm?postversion=2009101507

Yes of course I was a big roller in my younger days….but only in board games. Think about the game of Yahtzee for a second. You always wanted to roll the higher numbers right? Sure, that meant getting bigger scores to ultimately WIN THE GAME. The luxury home market is affected in this market as well. Well isn’t that what we should be doing in the short sale market? You betchya! But, unlike a board game (or the online games of Texas Hold em”) this is real stuff. However, so are the profits. I am currently looking at higher end homes to generate greater spreads for a great profit. We are epxerienced and staffed to roll for the FIVE 6’s! Mikeo@lmsgnow.com. Keep it short, Mike Ouellette

http://www.reuters.com/article/rbssFinancialServicesAndRealEstateNews/idUSN1354170020091014?pageNumber=2&virtualBrandChannel=0

Hey there steppers (ya I know corny)…

I am going to comment briefly on this article (*see the link below). After working in short sales for the last 2 years, I finally see that there is a support by the Government to have homeowners (in distress) seek this as a viable option. Now what they do not tell you is that Short Sales involve steps and a process that cannot be “short cut” (like the pun?). It takes a methodical system and steps to follw what the lender requires (and that is just the paper work). The it requires an offer, then a negotiation and…then the approval…to close. This is a process that leaves most homeowners and real estate professionals frustrated and forced to walk away from the attempt. I am not denying that short sales are one of the better ways to stop foreclosure, save your credit, and move on. I think that is involves a process that, if you are not weel versed in doing, and have had the experience (plus the track record of SUCCESS) then you should leave to the ones who do…..and that would be me and my crew. Feel free to hit me up on email at MikeO@LMSGNow.com and check out my site @ www.LossMitigationSpecialistGroup.com.

Keep it short,
Mike
* article = http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20091002/bs_nm/us_treasury_foreclosures_plan

I tend to think thaat Mike Knows somethings, and with real estate I can say that I watch my market closely. That being said I do know that we are not done with the fall in prices and the rise in inventory (I am referring nationally and locally). But the fact for buyers is that you should not and do not have to wait…if you have an opportunity to buy a short sale. Why, well if you have a strong investment company that works with short sales (see www.LossMitigationSpecialistGroup.com) and working on discounting an overleveraged property (see 1 out of 6 homes) then chances are you can get something that adjusts much quicker to the market than a conventional sale. Why? Because the lenders and LMSG are negotiating on TODAY’s values plus a discount. We specifically negotiate and get a 10-20% discount so that we can offer it on the retail (and the wholesale) market…BELOW MARKET. See below for more information on the inventory. Until next time…Keep it short, Mike

http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%253A%252F%252Frealestate.aol.com%252Farticle%252Ffinance%252F_a%252Fwill-prices-rise-near-you%252F20090929001&h=abaa8837006f936fc9a6ca2127484632&ref=mf