Real Estate at Pennies on the Dollar

By Kevin Chiu California real estate investor Simon Volkov says stick it to the bank, and buy real estate at pennies on the dollar purchasing single family homes at wholesale prices. Volkov is a foreclosure and tax property note specialist, who urges investors to take advantage of the distress in the current marketplace to ring… Continue reading Real Estate at Pennies on the Dollar

Mortgage Fraud Led By California, Florida, Arizona and Nevada

By Mike Colpitts Mortgage fraud is blamed for trillions of dollars in failed loans in the U.S., especially in California, Florida, Nevada and Arizona, where incidents have been the highest and foreclosures make up the largest volume of troubled homeowners, according to federal authorities. But state and federal law enforcement agencies are encountering major problems… Continue reading Mortgage Fraud Led By California, Florida, Arizona and Nevada

California Realtor President Requests Aid in Short Sales

By Kevin Chiu Short sales were hardly ever heard of before the real estate collapse, but these days bank assisted short sales, in which lenders take less than what is owed on a mortgage are failing on at least 40% of those attempted, according to a Realtors organization. In a letter published in seven California… Continue reading California Realtor President Requests Aid in Short Sales

Mortgage Interest Rates Drop on Japan Fears

By Mike Colpitts Interest Rates on home mortgages dropped as a result of investor worries over the disaster in Japan and fears of contagion over financial markets falling across the world. Mortgage rates showed a drop across all types of loans offered to home borrowers, according to Freddie Mac. The average rate on a 30-year… Continue reading Mortgage Interest Rates Drop on Japan Fears

Half of Homeowners Qualify for New Mortgage

By Mike Colpitts Only about half of all homeowners would qualify to buy a new mortgage under current more restrictive mortgage lending guidelines. In the U.S. 54% of homeowners with a mortgage would qualify to put 20% down from the sale of their present home, according to Core Logic, which researches the mortgage industry. The… Continue reading Half of Homeowners Qualify for New Mortgage

Making Money in Real Estate

By Kevin Chiu Real estate has long been the preferred method of safe investing for reliable returns on investors’ money backed by a tangible asset. Not all real estate investing is low risk or will automatically yield high returns as many investors learned during the real estate bubble. But making money in real estate has… Continue reading Making Money in Real Estate

Tight Rental Market Squeezes Tenants

By Mike Colpitts A lack of rental housing for the first time in years in the multi-family residential market is sending the rental market into a recovery. Vacancy rates fell to the lowest level in 2010 in more than four years as a leading rental advisory firm forecasts higher rents in 2011. Witten Advisors, a… Continue reading Tight Rental Market Squeezes Tenants

New Normal in Real Estate Arrives

By Kevin Chiu Like a delivery truck motoring up the driveway the “New Normal” in real estate has arrived packaged as a surprise. You can let it get you down, or make sure that you protect yourself and your family from the financial hand-cuffs that the New Normal may deliver. Real estate economists and analysts… Continue reading New Normal in Real Estate Arrives

Cash Home Sales Hit Record as Sales Decline

By Mike Colpitts Cash home sales hit a new record high in February as sales declined following three consecutive months of rising sales, according to the National Association of Realtors. Existing home sales dropped 9.6% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.88-million units from 5.4 million in January. Home buyers paying cash made up… Continue reading Cash Home Sales Hit Record as Sales Decline

Paying Homeowners Money to Stay Works

By Mike Colpitts A former Wall Street banker, who started a company to save homeowners with mortgages from foreclosure has enrolled just short of 10,000 borrowers in its RH Reward program that is paying cash rewards to hurting homeowners. The plan works with banks and other financial institutions, including hedge funds to work with upside… Continue reading Paying Homeowners Money to Stay Works