It is actually getting hard keeping track of just how much money the government’s various bailout initiatives add up to. An Associated Press report says “total bailout commitments, loans and pledges of backing neared a staggering $7 trillion.”

Of course, much of this is “money” that may never get spent, or will be returned to the government when it sells shares of stocks it has received to bailout many banks or lending institutions. But a lot of that money, of course, will probably never be seen again by human eyes.

The latest is a massive program the purpose of which is to free up credit. That was tried before; but this time the government is sort of saying “we mean it.”

And, perhaps it does.

The part that relates directly to real estate is this: The Fed is going to spent $500 billion to buy mortgage-backed securities. But it is only going to buy the ones backed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which means not the subprime ones that seemingly ignited this financial fire more than a year and a half ago.

Another $100 billion goes to buy mortgages currently held by the mortgage giants, says the A.P.

Not everyone thinks all this is a good idea.

I’ve talked to a few investment experts the last couple of days and some say , though painful, it would actually be best to let home prices sink more rather than keeping them inflated with an infusion of taxpayers’ money. They argue that this will only set up a vicious cycle and we will find ourselves right back where we started from not too far down the road.

Of course, no one really knows what will happen next, least of all the federal government.

Barack Obama has assembled his financial team–he is seeking continuity. But is that such a good idea? Many of the people the President-elect has tapped were involved in the months long bailout effort, much of which has not worked outright or backfired and made matters worse.

Hardly an encouraging reference I’d say!!

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Tags: bailout, banks, barack obama, Economy, paulson, subprime

Well, there’s a least one person who won’t have to worry about his mortgage. Barack Obama goes to the White House, but what happens now to all his fellow Americans who are at the brink of being expelled from their homes?

If the truth be told, probably not a lot. Most experts agree that the real solution to the mortgage debacle is to allow bankruptcy judges to change the terms of a mortgage. But Congress will have to deal with this and the banking lobby is still very strong despite being fiscally weaker.

True, a president can try and bully things through Congress, but will Obama want to get into such a battle so early in his first term? My guess is, he won’t.

So, I think we will see a patchwork of different programs, most offered by the banks themselves, but none that will truly favor the home owner. Hope I am wrong, but something tells me I am not.

Stay tuned

Tags: barack obama, housing, housing crisis, obama

I’m in Florida all this week, and I’ll be spending Halloween in Tampa (so, if I have too much fun and end up in jail or drowned in the ocean, you may not hear from me for a while…..especially if I drowned). By the way, I decided I’m going to be Uncle Sam for Halloween (I love this country, what can I say).

It’s been an interesting week so far. First, I got a call from one of my tenants that they think another of my tenants got murdered……basically, the one tenant disappeared a week ago and the homicide detectives are now involved. Also, I’m in the middle of my first eviction ever. I’d say after 5 years and dozens of tenants, doing my first eviction isn’t too bad…..it’s all part of the business.

Anyways, this week I want to tell you what Barack Obama can teach you about real estate investing (and yes, those of you who know me know that I’m a die hard Republican, but I respect all successful people). Many people wonder how Obama came out of nowhere, defeated Hillary Clinton and is now close to being President. Well, it’s because he has run a brilliant campaign, surrounded himself with brilliant strategists and is raking in millions of dollars in donations. In the last few weeks, I’ve had two Obama supporters knock on my door and zero McCain supporters.

When it comes to being successful it doesn’t matter if you’re the most qualified, have more experience, or are the smartest. What matters is if you know how to “play the game” and run the best systems/strategies. As Obama is getting millions in donations, how much private money are you lining up, or how much private money do you have access to? To be successful you have to have access to other people’s money (never use your own). Also, take a look at your power team. How smart and successful are the people that you’re surrounding yourself with? Do you have a top notch lawyer, accountant, handyman, and title company?

Most importantly, what does your marketing system look like? Obama’s marketing system is one of the main reasons he is almost President. The combination of TV commercials, direct mail, door knockers and radio ads allows him to “touch” millions of people and get his message across. I can pretty much guarantee that if you’ve had a bad year of investing, the majority of it is due to terrible marketing systems (probably a lack thereof).

Alright, I’m off to Clearwater beach. Have a fun and safe Halloween, get your marketing systems in place, and start getting some private money (5 years from now you’re going to shoot yourself if you don’t do everything you can to take advantage of this market). Also, for the new people or those who are struggling, next week I’ll show you the marketing systems you should have in place.

Tags: barack obama, obama, planning, real estate investing, strategy, success

Do you think that John McCain or Barack Obama has better policies for the real estate market?

I’m curious about how folks see the 2 major party presidential handling the real estate marketplace and I’m interested in starting a discussion taking into account, tax policy, monetary policy, and other factors. I don’t want to hear anything about McCain’s 7 houses or Obama’s deal from Rezko (I brought ‘em up so you don’t have to) . . . I want to start an intellectual dialogue based on policy.

Feel free to share your ideas here in the comments, or if you’ve got your own blog, write your thoughts and point to the post so we can discuss. We’ll link to any posts out there that take a serious, and hopefully, non-partisan look at these two gentlemen and their policies affecting the market.

Things to consider: capital gains tax, real estate tax, inflation, interest rates, dollar strength, leanings on regulation, position on Fannie/Freddie and bank bailouts, effects on investors, homeowners, real estate agents, lenders, etc.

I look forward to hearing all of your opinions, and I hope that everyone is mature enough to stick to the topic at hand!

Tags: barack obama, john mccain, mccain, mccain real estate, obama, obama real estate, real estate

As the never ending presidential debates go on and on and on and on and on and on — and on, it only seems fair to find out what the candidates think about the expanding subprime mortgage/housing/credit/banking/stock market/unemployment/recession crisis (or, SMHCBSMUNRECR, for short) we currently find ourselves in. But, since none of the YouTube questioners picked by CNN seemed to care enough to ask the questions about this (perhaps because none of them actually live in homes???), I have taken it upon myself to find out what the major candidates think about the SMHCBSMUNRECR and what, if any, solutions they might have.

Here are just some of their answers:

BARACK OBAMA:

I think we need to show the mortgage industry that we are one people, one nation. There are no Democratic foreclosures, or Republican foreclosures, or even Independent foreclosures–everyone gets kicked out of the homes they really can’t afford in the same way.

I am about change…I am about changing the old banking system. I am about changing the credit markets. I am about…..well, actually, I’m not really sure what I am about, but, know this, whatever it is I am about, it is about change.

Change is how we will fix this mortgage mess. Change is how we will repair the world’s credit system. Change—-does anyone have change for a five??

HILLARY CLINTON

It’s easy to talk about changing the nation’s mortgage system; but, talk is not action. I am about action…well, I am also about change, of course, but, mostly about action.

Bill and I know something about living in a house that was way beyond our means. Some of you may have actually seen this house. We called it the White House because, well, it’s painted white. Now, the mortgage on this house was enormous and , to be honest, when we moved in, Bill and I were in so much debt from the campaigns, we needed a subprime mortgage and a very low initial percentage. It was a Godsend…until, that is, the rates started to go up and up. Well, it got so darn expensive, Bill and I couldn’t afford it anymore so, before it went into foreclosure, Bill and I just moved out of that sucker and let it become someone else’s headache.

Only now, Bill and I really miss that old house and would like to move back in. Only, no bank in its right mind will give us a mortgage on it, so, we may have to settle for something a little smaller in not such an up-scale neighborhood.

JOHN EDWARDS

First of all, when it comes to fixing this mortgage mess, I agree with my good friend Obama. We are both about changing the mortgage system in this country. We are both about changing how lenders lend their money. And, Obama, I happen to have the change of that five you wanted. Now, Hillary and Obama will tell you they have a plan for getting us out of this housing crisis. But, we don’t need another plan. We need radical action. Now, I can’t exactly tell you what that action might be, but I do know we need action to fix it. And, my friends, if I keep talking like this, I just might end up being someone’s Vice-President someday. Does anyone know how much the Veep’s house goes for?

JOHN McCAIN

My friends . . . I say, get our troops out of Iraq and bring them back here to help people move out of the homes they can’t afford. I mean, a lot of good folk are going to get kicked out of their homes pretty soon and they are going to need help moving their belongings. Why not use our brave men and women in the armed forces to help do this work. America can’t afford to have all those people sitting out on the curb all night with their coffee tables and such.

Now, I always thought we should use our troops to help with this mortgage crisis. I still think it is the right thing to do. Now some people may not want to hear that and they don’t have to vote for me. Of course, in the end, I will have the last laugh because those people who don’t vote for me will all get kicked out of their homes if I become President. I swear to God.

MITT ROMNEY

First, let me say, when I was governor of that real liberal northeastern state that I’d rather we not talk about thank you, I was all for fair and low priced mortgages for everyone who wanted to live the American dream of home ownership. But, now that I am running for President, I say, to hell with them all. Let them live in shelters.

I actually felt that way when I was governor, I just couldn’t say it or all those Kennedy relatives living there would have kicked my ass. Now, however, I can speak the truth. The thing is, I am really, really,really rich. So, to be honest, I really don’t care all that much about this mortgage crisis because, heck, I’ll never be homeless.

One thing I do plan on doing , I can tell you, is to use my own personal money to buy up all those vacant homes and flip em real quick and pocket a fortune.

MIKE HUCKABEE

What mortgage crisis?

 
 

 

 
 

 

Anyone Else??

Tags: barack obama, hillary clinton, john mccain, mike huckabee, mitt romney, mortgage crisis