January 2009

Down Payment Assistance Rears It’s Ugly Head Again

by Rob K. Blake | January 31, 2009

Down payment assistance programs or DAPs are the pet project of every Realtor and home builder lobbyists ever since they came into existence. However, HUD got courageous a few months ago and outlawed them only to them get resurrected by the NAR (National Association of Realtors) in a House bill and now by the home [...]

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Learn Real Estate

How High Is Up? A Look at Real Numbers Defined by the Real Estate Collapse

by Tom Koziol | January 30, 2009

How High Is Up? The answer can be as simple as one flight of stairs. It also can be as grotesque as 300%. Since I’m talking about real estate, I’ll skip the flight of stairs type of answer and concentrate on the 300% side. Unless you’ve been living in a cave in Zimbabwe, you know [...]

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Real Estate

If Your Tenant Can’t Pay the Rent, What Then?

by Brendan O'Brien | January 29, 2009

Last week, I wrote about a call we get all too often from tenants – telling us they can’t pay the rent, and asking for some sort of break. As always in landlording, it makes sense to have some guiding rules in place to handle these calls. You never want to try to think of [...]

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Commentary

Real Estate Investors: Time Is Our Most Valuable Asset – Use the Lock Box!

by Jason Hanson | January 29, 2009

The reason most of us invest in real estate is because we’re ultimately looking to buy time to have money, which will allow us to spend our time however we wish. Now that I am comfortable money wise, I am very fickle about my time and anyone who wastes it. In the past, I have [...]

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Commentary

Housing Prices, Consumer Mood and The Hope Of A Real Estate Turnaround In The Age Of Obama

by Charles Feldman | January 28, 2009

Now what? That’s a pretty fair question to ask as the economic news gets darker with each passing day despite all efforts,thus far, from our government. As a Reuters story says today, “consumer confidence plumbed historic lows in January and home prices fell at a record pace in November…” Of course, a big reason remains [...]

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Real Estate Investing

No Money for Real Estate Investors? What Are We Doing About it?

by Rosie Nieto | January 28, 2009

I have been spending a lot of time over the last couple of months in the trenches of “show me the money.” Right now, there are no loans for investors with 4 or more houses – period. I did find a bank that is still doing loans for investors with more than 10 homes… but what was the [...]

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Commercial Real Estate

Buy an Apartment Building — With Warnings

by Ted Karsch | January 27, 2009

Finding the right apartment building to buy for an investment can seem like an overwhelming and daunting task for the first time apartment building buyer. However, if you know a few things to look for when purchasing an apartment building everything becomes a lot easier. There are good things to watch out for and some [...]

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Economy

Mortgage Rates, Geithner, China and You

by Steve Heideman | January 27, 2009

Mortgage markets deteriorated last week on the heels of weak economic data and uninspiring corporate earnings. Mortgage rates rose for the second week in a row. They’re now measurably higher than the low point set 3 weeks ago. For mortgage rate shoppers, though, last week’s most important stories weren’t necessarily last week’s most reported stories; [...]

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Cool Stuff

5 of The Scariest Wooden Houses You’ve Ever Seen!

by Joshua Dorkin | January 26, 2009

My favorite is the last one . . . that’s a cool pad for the beach, no? Photo Credit: Jan Tik Photo Credit: ccarlstead Photo Credit: Wrote Photo Credit: foto3116 Photo Credit:kowitz

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Mortgages & Lending

Seller Financing: Pros and Cons

by Richard Warren | January 26, 2009

If you absolutely must sell now and are not willing to slash your price, what do you do? What you need to do is stand out in a cluttered and crowded pool of homes for sale. One way to do that is to offer to finance the purchase. The current state of lending makes it [...]

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Economy

“I Can’t Pay The Rent” – A Landlords Take on What to Do

by Brendan O'Brien | January 25, 2009

I am in a very fortunate position right now. All of my 13 units are rented, and all the tenants are paying on time. It’s great! And it’s not going to last. I know that because even in good economic times, I’ve had a couple of tenants every year who found that at some point, [...]

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Commentary

New HUD Secretary, Shaun Donovan, Confirmed

by Rob K. Blake | January 24, 2009

The U.S. Senate confirmed Shaun L. S. Donovan as secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) replacing former HUD chief Steven C. Preston. Donovan Bio Shaun Donovan was born in New York, is 42 and married. Donovan earned undergraduate and post graduate degrees from Harvard. This lead to positions at FHA [...]

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Cool Stuff

New Foreclosure Technique for 2009?

by Joshua Dorkin | January 23, 2009

Will the banks take up this new technique in dealing with foreclosed homes? Photo by: Colin McMillen

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Real Estate Law

22 Types Of Law that May Affect Real Estate Investors

by Tom Koziol | January 23, 2009

That is not a typo. In fact, I may be off by a number or two. Given today’s chaos and confusion in the real estate realm, it is a definite possibility we could find ourselves in a court room answering a complaint under one of the following 22 types of law: Common Law Equity Law [...]

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Real Estate Deals

What Will Make Me The Most Money?

by Jason Hanson | January 22, 2009

I live about 15 miles outside of Washington, DC which means I was trapped in my house all day Tuesday. There was no way I was leaving my house because of the inauguration traffic and all of the road closures. Anyway, most people know that I read one book per week and I just finished [...]

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