Cornerstone Funding

With the real estate economy in shambles, many would be home flippers have been forced to ditch their plans to sell and take up the business of landlording.  In addition, home owners not able to sell their homes after they have moved are also now landlords.

There are more and more landlords across the entire United States. "We have become a landlord nation," says attorney and author Thomas E. Moorhead.

Unfortunately the rental housing business (being a landlord) is one of the most regulated businesses in the United States and not knowing the rules and regulations can get you into trouble fast.  

There are many areas of liability for landlords, and those who rent property, even their own homes, should treat it as a business.  While renting your home or investment property may be your only option, you should not make the decision lightly.  You should get the facts as soon as possible, and learn all the rules and regulations for your area.  There are certain federal and state mandated laws that will apply to any property once it become a rental.  You should protect yourself with the right rental/lease paperwork, know how and when to evict, and which expenses are covered by the tenant instead of you, the landlord.

For those new landlords who want to learn the rules, you might want to check out a new book by Moorhead entitled "Owner's Manual for Landlords and Property Managers."  Moorhead has been a practicing attorney for over 30 years, and in his book he shares his vast experience in assisting landlords and property managers with various legal issues.

Read the full article here.

Several nationally known experts in real estate and the economy shared their perspectives during a recent forum and charity event for the Orange County affiliate of Susan G. Komen for the Cure.

Among them, real estate analyst and investor Bruce Norris of The Norris Group in Riverside, CA, recommended that Congress do several things to boost the real estate market. These include:

1. Increase the number of loans made available to well capitalized investors: Expand Fannie and Freddie loan programs from a maximum of 10 loans per investor to an unlimited number of loans for qualified investors.
2. Make the 203K FHA loan program available to investors: A 203K loan allows a property needing work to be purchased "as is," but included in the loan amount is money for repairs. The loan funds both the purchase and rehab of the property. Investors need this loan now, but this loan is currently only available to owner occupants. FHA previously made this loan available to investors, but stopped the practice in 1996 when HUD ran out of lender owned, fix uppers. Banks could solve the vacant house problem by giving investors back the 203K loan program.
3. Eliminate the 90-day waiting period before a repaired property can be sold to a buyer using an FHA loan: Investors who purchase fixer uppers can often completely repair the property in a matter of weeks. But the current law prohibits investors from reselling the property within 90 days. The assumption is that fraud must be taking place if a property is resold within 90 days. It's ridiculous to assume that every investor who purchases a property, improves and resells it is committing fraud. All this policy does is increase investors' costs of purchasing and rehabbing vacant homes.
4. Allow loans to be taken over by credit-qualified new buyers with no down payment. Through this process, which was successfully used in the 1980s, new buyers simply step in and take over the loan payments. The only stipulation is that the loan has to be made current at the close of escrow. The U.S. currently has about one million owners who will not be capable of keeping their homes without a huge discount on the principle balance. Many of these properties have fixed rates at very favorable rates. Allowing willing and capable buyers to come in and take over these loans would help contain the spread of foreclosures across the country.

There are several business loan options for businesses in every stage of enterprise.

The particular program and amount of loan for which you and your business may qualify will vary depending on the stage and financial status of your company.

The SBA provides loan guarantees in conjunction with loans from commercial lenders in the same locality as the business applying for financing. Financing offered through the SBA and local lenders are the most common type of financing for companies in the start-up or expansion phases.

Read the full article here.

Read more business and real estate finance related articles in my column at the examiner.

Many hard money commercial loan lenders have chosen to take their business online, offering streamlined application processes, easy document collection, and efficient underwriting.

Before you decide to apply for a hard money commercial loan online you should collect all the relevant documents and do your research on each particular lender.

Read the full article here.

Read more business and real estate finance related articles in my column at the examiner.