The New York Jets quarterback Brett Favre reportedly has a torn biceps tendon in his right arm that will not need major surgery to repair, ESPN said Tuesday. He has overcome the odds many times just as the Home Seller Assist program created by John Alexander and also known as We Provide The Cash has.
After the Jets’ season-ending 24-17 loss to Miami on Sunday, Favre said he’s been feeling discomfort in his strong right arm “for quite a while.” Many times he has had to adapt his game, and that is what John Alexander has done with the Home Seller Assist program in dealing with short sales and foreclosures
Only time will tell with Brett Favre and the New York Jets, but the Home Seller Assist program is leading the field when it comes to foreclosures and short sales!
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
Saturday, December 27, 2008
Commercial real estate is every bit as compromised as residential
Insurance companies are full of toxic financial products
Pension funds are full of toxic products and failing investments
Credit card debts, tuition loans and car loans are going belly up
Fraud remains endemic in our money and our markets
The remaining big banks are on life support
Bailouts have only shored up crony capitalists to date
Derivatives continue to implode behind the scenes
Resetting of mortgage loans is going to cause another round of defaults and foreclosures
Government “solutions” are destined to worsen the problems
Municipal bonds are failing
Numerous states like California, Arizona and Florida are bankrupt
A lot of hedge funds are imploding
Pension funds are full of toxic products and failing investments
Credit card debts, tuition loans and car loans are going belly up
Fraud remains endemic in our money and our markets
The remaining big banks are on life support
Bailouts have only shored up crony capitalists to date
Derivatives continue to implode behind the scenes
Resetting of mortgage loans is going to cause another round of defaults and foreclosures
Government “solutions” are destined to worsen the problems
Municipal bonds are failing
Numerous states like California, Arizona and Florida are bankrupt
A lot of hedge funds are imploding
Thursday, December 18, 2008
Investors Fight Foreclosure On Their Own
BY KATHLEEN DOLER
FOR INVESTOR'S BUSINESS DAILY
Posted 12/4/2008
Investors struggling to make mortgage payments get little help staving off foreclosure, while strapped primary-home borrowers receive more — including unsolicited loan-modification offers.
Lenders and government agencies have started a number of programs to make loans easier to afford. Yet every plan has the stated goal of helping just homeowners borrowing for "owner-occupied" properties.
Investors are never mentioned, but own nearly a third of homes in the foreclosure process, data on default and auction-sale notices, bank repossessions and the like suggest.
It has led some observers to question whether the foreclosure tide can really be tamed, absent some aid to investors.
Players Sidelined
Rick Sharga, senior vice president at foreclosure marketplace RealtyTrac, thinks all borrowers should be eligible for loan modifications.
"I can't think of a single reason that you wouldn't extend these loan-modification programs to investors," he said. "Why not extend the net out as broadly as possible, rather than flood the market with more bank repossessions?"
The latest RealtyTrac data show that in October, U.S. foreclosure filings rose 25% from a year ago to 279,561. Of those, 86,664, about 31%, were on investor-owned properties.
But investment properties are apt to comprise more like half of home foreclosures, in the view of mortgage auditor Moe Bedard, president of Loan Safe Solutions, in Corona, Calif. That's because, he says, many borrowers don't tell the lender that a property is an investment.
A few lenders offer to do short sales and deeds-in-lieu (of foreclosure) for some investment-property owners, says homeowners' loan consultant Eric Rice, chief executive of DyerBeech Enterprises, in San Diego. But he says loan modifications — such as reducing an interest rate or extending the term — have been rare and slow to proceed.
Out of 100 housing investors looking for loan modifications, he says maybe 15 will receive them and it usually takes "five to six months."
"It's not helping anyone by not helping everyone," he said.
But Mark Leyes, spokesman for the California Department of Corporations, says the foreclosure problem is so large, lenders and government agencies have had to focus their approach. The department has been working with 10 California lenders to encourage loan modifications.
"It's not escaped our notice (that investors aren't addressed), but our focus has been on owner-occupied properties. We're trying to preserve people's homes," Leyes said.
Sharga thinks some lenders have wrongly shunned investors as scapegoats for housing's bubble and bust.
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.'s primary focus has been on helping borrowers who are owner-occupants, thus "stabilizing neighborhoods," according to Andrew Gray, a spokesman for the agency.
"These loans are well-suited for a streamlined process where the borrower's income and property value can be readily documented," he said. Investment homes "require more attention on a loan-by-loan basis."
Now many investors and real estate agents are using the Home Seller Assist program created by John Alexander and also known as We Provide The Cash which provides them with 1% funding to purchase short sales and it is not paid back until after they flip the properties to an end buyer.
FOR INVESTOR'S BUSINESS DAILY
Posted 12/4/2008
Investors struggling to make mortgage payments get little help staving off foreclosure, while strapped primary-home borrowers receive more — including unsolicited loan-modification offers.
Lenders and government agencies have started a number of programs to make loans easier to afford. Yet every plan has the stated goal of helping just homeowners borrowing for "owner-occupied" properties.
Investors are never mentioned, but own nearly a third of homes in the foreclosure process, data on default and auction-sale notices, bank repossessions and the like suggest.
It has led some observers to question whether the foreclosure tide can really be tamed, absent some aid to investors.
Players Sidelined
Rick Sharga, senior vice president at foreclosure marketplace RealtyTrac, thinks all borrowers should be eligible for loan modifications.
"I can't think of a single reason that you wouldn't extend these loan-modification programs to investors," he said. "Why not extend the net out as broadly as possible, rather than flood the market with more bank repossessions?"
The latest RealtyTrac data show that in October, U.S. foreclosure filings rose 25% from a year ago to 279,561. Of those, 86,664, about 31%, were on investor-owned properties.
But investment properties are apt to comprise more like half of home foreclosures, in the view of mortgage auditor Moe Bedard, president of Loan Safe Solutions, in Corona, Calif. That's because, he says, many borrowers don't tell the lender that a property is an investment.
A few lenders offer to do short sales and deeds-in-lieu (of foreclosure) for some investment-property owners, says homeowners' loan consultant Eric Rice, chief executive of DyerBeech Enterprises, in San Diego. But he says loan modifications — such as reducing an interest rate or extending the term — have been rare and slow to proceed.
Out of 100 housing investors looking for loan modifications, he says maybe 15 will receive them and it usually takes "five to six months."
"It's not helping anyone by not helping everyone," he said.
But Mark Leyes, spokesman for the California Department of Corporations, says the foreclosure problem is so large, lenders and government agencies have had to focus their approach. The department has been working with 10 California lenders to encourage loan modifications.
"It's not escaped our notice (that investors aren't addressed), but our focus has been on owner-occupied properties. We're trying to preserve people's homes," Leyes said.
Sharga thinks some lenders have wrongly shunned investors as scapegoats for housing's bubble and bust.
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.'s primary focus has been on helping borrowers who are owner-occupants, thus "stabilizing neighborhoods," according to Andrew Gray, a spokesman for the agency.
"These loans are well-suited for a streamlined process where the borrower's income and property value can be readily documented," he said. Investment homes "require more attention on a loan-by-loan basis."
Now many investors and real estate agents are using the Home Seller Assist program created by John Alexander and also known as We Provide The Cash which provides them with 1% funding to purchase short sales and it is not paid back until after they flip the properties to an end buyer.
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
The end of inflated leverage
An extreme relaxation of lending standards inflated the housing bubble.
"Shoddy underwriting on mortgages" is the primary cause of the housing crisis, says York, the Wachovia economist. "People got caught off-guard by how bad it was."
Millions of home buyers — poor, rich and middle class — were approved to buy homes at prices that had been out-of-reach just a few years earlier. Lenders offered low introductory "teaser" rates on adjustable rate mortgages and approved borrowers based on artificially low mortgage payments, not the higher ones that took effect later.
What else changed:
• Optional payments on principal —In 2005, 29% of new mortgages allowed borrowers to pay interest only — not principal — or pay less than the interest due and add the cost to the principal. That was up from 1% in 2001, according to Credit Suisse, an investment bank.
• No verification of income —Half of mortgages generated in 2006 required no or minimal documentation of household income, reports Credit Suisse.
• Tiny down payments —In 1989, the average down payment for first-time home buyers was 10%, reports the National Association of Realtors. In 2007, it was 2%.
Low down payments and ARMs gave homeowners enormous financial leverage to pay high home prices. Leverage boosts buying power through debt, the same way a 100-pound woman uses a lever to jack up a 3,000-pound car.
Consider a couple with $20,000 cash. In 2006, they easily could get a 5% down mortgage to buy a $400,000 house. Today, a 10% down payment would limit the couple to a $200,000 house.
"Leverage matters a lot when you buy a house," says University of Wisconsin economist Morris Davis, an expert on housing prices and rents. "We're not going to go back to the days of only 20% (down payment) mortgages, but the days of putting nothing down are long gone."
Easy access to borrowed money reset all housing prices, even those paid by cautious borrowers. People of all income classes moved up a notch, Census Bureau housing data show.
The sale of new homes costing $750,000 or more quadrupled from 2002 to 2006. The construction of inexpensive homes costing $125,000 or less fell by two-thirds. The biggest boom was in the middle. Homes costing $200,000 to $300,000 became affordable to millions of families.
The failed titans of home lending — Countrywide Financial, IndyMac Bank and Washington Mutual — specialized in high-risk, highly leveraged loans.
"The price correction has been severe, rapid and probably permanent because lending standards have changed," says mortgage credit analyst Suzanne Mistretta, a senior director at Fitch Ratings, a bond rating company. "We are not going to see 2006 peak levels for a very, very long time."
"Shoddy underwriting on mortgages" is the primary cause of the housing crisis, says York, the Wachovia economist. "People got caught off-guard by how bad it was."
Millions of home buyers — poor, rich and middle class — were approved to buy homes at prices that had been out-of-reach just a few years earlier. Lenders offered low introductory "teaser" rates on adjustable rate mortgages and approved borrowers based on artificially low mortgage payments, not the higher ones that took effect later.
What else changed:
• Optional payments on principal —In 2005, 29% of new mortgages allowed borrowers to pay interest only — not principal — or pay less than the interest due and add the cost to the principal. That was up from 1% in 2001, according to Credit Suisse, an investment bank.
• No verification of income —Half of mortgages generated in 2006 required no or minimal documentation of household income, reports Credit Suisse.
• Tiny down payments —In 1989, the average down payment for first-time home buyers was 10%, reports the National Association of Realtors. In 2007, it was 2%.
Low down payments and ARMs gave homeowners enormous financial leverage to pay high home prices. Leverage boosts buying power through debt, the same way a 100-pound woman uses a lever to jack up a 3,000-pound car.
Consider a couple with $20,000 cash. In 2006, they easily could get a 5% down mortgage to buy a $400,000 house. Today, a 10% down payment would limit the couple to a $200,000 house.
"Leverage matters a lot when you buy a house," says University of Wisconsin economist Morris Davis, an expert on housing prices and rents. "We're not going to go back to the days of only 20% (down payment) mortgages, but the days of putting nothing down are long gone."
Easy access to borrowed money reset all housing prices, even those paid by cautious borrowers. People of all income classes moved up a notch, Census Bureau housing data show.
The sale of new homes costing $750,000 or more quadrupled from 2002 to 2006. The construction of inexpensive homes costing $125,000 or less fell by two-thirds. The biggest boom was in the middle. Homes costing $200,000 to $300,000 became affordable to millions of families.
The failed titans of home lending — Countrywide Financial, IndyMac Bank and Washington Mutual — specialized in high-risk, highly leveraged loans.
"The price correction has been severe, rapid and probably permanent because lending standards have changed," says mortgage credit analyst Suzanne Mistretta, a senior director at Fitch Ratings, a bond rating company. "We are not going to see 2006 peak levels for a very, very long time."
Saturday, December 13, 2008
Fannie Mae to Suspend Foreclosures Until January 2009
WASHINGTON, DC -- In order to support the streamlined modification program announced on November 11, 2008, Fannie Mae (NYSE:FNM) today issued a notice to its loan servicing organizations and retained foreclosure attorneys directing them to suspend foreclosure sales on occupied single-family properties as well as the completion of evictions from occupied single-family properties scheduled to occur from November 26, 2008 until January 9, 2009.
The temporary suspension of foreclosures is designed to allow affected borrowers facing foreclosure to retain their homes while Fannie Mae works with mortgage servicers to implement the streamlined modification program scheduled to launch December 15. Foreclosure attorneys and loan servicers will be instructed to use the additional time to reach out to borrowers who have defaulted on their loans and continue to pursue workout options. The initiative applies to loans owned or securitized by Fannie Mae.
The streamlined modification program is aimed at the highest risk borrower who has missed three payments or more, owns and occupies the primary residence, and has not filed for bankruptcy. The program creates a fast-track method for getting troubled borrowers into an affordable monthly payment through a mix of reducing the mortgage interest rate, extending the life of the loan or even deferring payments on part of the principal. Servicers have flexibility in the approach, but the objective is to create a more affordable payment for borrowers at risk of foreclosure.
"The streamlined modification program by Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, Hope Now and 27 mortgage servicers is an important step forward in addressing the systemic issues driving the increase in foreclosures," said Fannie Mae President and Chief Executive Officer Herb Allison. "Until the streamlined modification program is fully implemented, we felt it was in the best interest of both borrowers and Fannie Mae to take this extra step to ensure that homeowners with the desire and ability to prevent a foreclosure have an opportunity to stay in their homes. We encourage other servicers of non-GSE mortgages to participate in the streamlined modification program to bolster our collective efforts to stem the foreclosure crisis."
Fannie Mae will be working with foreclosure attorneys and servicers to reach out to the more than 10,000 borrowers the company estimates would be affected during this period. Borrowers who have Fannie Mae loans that are scheduled for foreclosure between November 26, 2008 and January 9, 2009, will be contacted directly by the attorney handling the foreclosure. If the home is occupied, Fannie Mae has instructed servicers and attorneys to suspend the foreclosure.
Allison also said Fannie Mae's loan servicers are prepared to work with borrowers during this period, even if previous workout efforts have been unsuccessful. As part of the company's "Second Look" initiative, Fannie Mae personnel have been reviewing seriously delinquent loans to determine if the borrower has been contacted and all workout options have been exhausted.
The streamlined modification program and temporary suspension of foreclosures are two of a series of steps Fannie Mae has taken to expand its foreclosure prevention efforts, which are designed to give loan servicers and foreclosure attorneys tools to find the best solution for a borrower in financial trouble. Fannie Mae and its many partners in the housing industry urge borrowers in financial difficulty to reach out to their loan servicers, regardless of whether they are facing imminent foreclosure. Solutions may be available that could make an existing mortgage more affordable.
"Fannie Mae is committed to working with FHFA to implement the streamlined modification program as quickly as possible to help prevent unnecessary foreclosures," Allison said. "We must and will do more."
Fannie Mae exists to expand affordable housing and bring global capital to local communities in order to serve the U.S. housing market. Fannie Mae has a federal charter and operates in America's secondary mortgage market to enhance the liquidity of the mortgage market by providing funds to mortgage bankers and other lenders so that they may lend to home buyers. In 2008, we mark our 70th year of service to America's housing market. Our job is to help those who house America.
The temporary suspension of foreclosures is designed to allow affected borrowers facing foreclosure to retain their homes while Fannie Mae works with mortgage servicers to implement the streamlined modification program scheduled to launch December 15. Foreclosure attorneys and loan servicers will be instructed to use the additional time to reach out to borrowers who have defaulted on their loans and continue to pursue workout options. The initiative applies to loans owned or securitized by Fannie Mae.
The streamlined modification program is aimed at the highest risk borrower who has missed three payments or more, owns and occupies the primary residence, and has not filed for bankruptcy. The program creates a fast-track method for getting troubled borrowers into an affordable monthly payment through a mix of reducing the mortgage interest rate, extending the life of the loan or even deferring payments on part of the principal. Servicers have flexibility in the approach, but the objective is to create a more affordable payment for borrowers at risk of foreclosure.
"The streamlined modification program by Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, Hope Now and 27 mortgage servicers is an important step forward in addressing the systemic issues driving the increase in foreclosures," said Fannie Mae President and Chief Executive Officer Herb Allison. "Until the streamlined modification program is fully implemented, we felt it was in the best interest of both borrowers and Fannie Mae to take this extra step to ensure that homeowners with the desire and ability to prevent a foreclosure have an opportunity to stay in their homes. We encourage other servicers of non-GSE mortgages to participate in the streamlined modification program to bolster our collective efforts to stem the foreclosure crisis."
Fannie Mae will be working with foreclosure attorneys and servicers to reach out to the more than 10,000 borrowers the company estimates would be affected during this period. Borrowers who have Fannie Mae loans that are scheduled for foreclosure between November 26, 2008 and January 9, 2009, will be contacted directly by the attorney handling the foreclosure. If the home is occupied, Fannie Mae has instructed servicers and attorneys to suspend the foreclosure.
Allison also said Fannie Mae's loan servicers are prepared to work with borrowers during this period, even if previous workout efforts have been unsuccessful. As part of the company's "Second Look" initiative, Fannie Mae personnel have been reviewing seriously delinquent loans to determine if the borrower has been contacted and all workout options have been exhausted.
The streamlined modification program and temporary suspension of foreclosures are two of a series of steps Fannie Mae has taken to expand its foreclosure prevention efforts, which are designed to give loan servicers and foreclosure attorneys tools to find the best solution for a borrower in financial trouble. Fannie Mae and its many partners in the housing industry urge borrowers in financial difficulty to reach out to their loan servicers, regardless of whether they are facing imminent foreclosure. Solutions may be available that could make an existing mortgage more affordable.
"Fannie Mae is committed to working with FHFA to implement the streamlined modification program as quickly as possible to help prevent unnecessary foreclosures," Allison said. "We must and will do more."
Fannie Mae exists to expand affordable housing and bring global capital to local communities in order to serve the U.S. housing market. Fannie Mae has a federal charter and operates in America's secondary mortgage market to enhance the liquidity of the mortgage market by providing funds to mortgage bankers and other lenders so that they may lend to home buyers. In 2008, we mark our 70th year of service to America's housing market. Our job is to help those who house America.
Thursday, December 11, 2008
Help Yourself by Putting Your Customers First
By Paul Lawrence
An insurance agent named Tolbert had a remarkable ability to sell insurance. He'd been trained to sell people the most insurance that he could and he did it well, according to Stedman Graham in his book Build Your Own Life Brand. But although Tolbert was very successful, he was not happy.
Deep in his heart, he didn't feel right about pushing people to buy more insurance than they probably needed. So, he changed his ways and started telling prospects the truth. If they asked him about policies they didn't really need, he told them why he didn't recommend them - even if it cost him a larger commission.
Then something happened that Tolbert hadn't anticipated. His income didn't drop. In fact, it shot way up. Turns out his clients had learned to trust him so much that they not only took all their insurance business to him, they enthusiastically recommended him to their friends and relatives.
I'm not surprised. I've found that whenever I've truthfully told a customer that the product he was interested in really wasn't right for someone in his particular situation, I may have lost that sale... but almost always ended up gaining a long-term customer who bought many more of my products down the road.
Certain people skills are a crucial factor for success in business - and putting the needs of your customers first is one of them. You'll find that your own interests will get served in the process.
Selling is not about making money - it's about solving your customers' problems.
An insurance agent named Tolbert had a remarkable ability to sell insurance. He'd been trained to sell people the most insurance that he could and he did it well, according to Stedman Graham in his book Build Your Own Life Brand. But although Tolbert was very successful, he was not happy.
Deep in his heart, he didn't feel right about pushing people to buy more insurance than they probably needed. So, he changed his ways and started telling prospects the truth. If they asked him about policies they didn't really need, he told them why he didn't recommend them - even if it cost him a larger commission.
Then something happened that Tolbert hadn't anticipated. His income didn't drop. In fact, it shot way up. Turns out his clients had learned to trust him so much that they not only took all their insurance business to him, they enthusiastically recommended him to their friends and relatives.
I'm not surprised. I've found that whenever I've truthfully told a customer that the product he was interested in really wasn't right for someone in his particular situation, I may have lost that sale... but almost always ended up gaining a long-term customer who bought many more of my products down the road.
Certain people skills are a crucial factor for success in business - and putting the needs of your customers first is one of them. You'll find that your own interests will get served in the process.
Selling is not about making money - it's about solving your customers' problems.
Monday, December 8, 2008
Proof of Funds Letters!
As a Platinum Member of HSA, you are entitled to
use our Investor’s Private Funds.
Cost to use the funds is 1% plus $300
The fee is paid out of closing!
Which means Nothing is paid uprfront and there are No CREDIT checks!
Now as you may already know, Banks won’t consider your offer on
Short Sales or REO’s without a “Proof of Funds” Letter.
This is the part that stops most investors dead in their tracks…until now.
Here’s a 2 minute video on how to obtain and print out as many of your Proof of Funds Letters as you need:
Click Here for 2 Minute Video!
If you are not a Platinum member yet, visit us at:
http://www.FUNDSFORSHORTSALES.COM
and find out how you can be flipping short sales and
REO homes using NO CREDIT AND NO CASH!
Make sure you sign up for the FREE 30 Day Trial!
It’s time to think big…really BIG!
Larry Potter
Home Seller Assist
847-872-4047
What makes a successful short sale?
Everybody has to believe that they are a winner.
The seller needs to know that they've gotten out of a bad situation with less credit damage and a new start.
The buyer wants to make a purchase of a property below the true market value, at least in the near future.
The lender must believe that the short sale will net them at least the same or more money than a foreclosure auction.
If we're the buyer, then our interests are best served by a purchase at the lowest possible price that will be approved by the lender. And remember, the seller gets no cash, so we are just showing them a way out of a foreclosure action.
Here's what you're looking for as the buyer in a short sale transaction:
A homeowner upside-down in their loan. Their home is worth less than they owe on it.
Clear title and no massive liens or claims against the property that can't be negotiated away.
Enough time to complete the short sale before foreclosure auction.
A willing seller with a desire to help in order to avoid foreclosure.
A current valuation that will allow you to buy the home for a huge discount, creating instant equity.
True hardship on the part of the seller to convince the lender a short sale is the best option.
If VA or FHA, the situation meets their criteria for short sale.
In short, you are looking for a homeowner owing more on their home than they can get in a sale, and a situation where the lender will approve a purchase price that meets your investment goals. And with today's economy, that's easy to find.
Friday, December 5, 2008
Networking Conversation Tips
Just about any event - whether a holiday cocktail party or industry conference - can be a major networking opportunity. Many partnerships and multimillion-dollar deals have started as impromptu and informal five-minute conversations. Here are four tips to help turn your small talk into something more:
When describing yourself and your business, focus on details that could benefit the other person.
Don't talk their ear off. Give and take is essential to good conversation.
Maintain eye contact. And try to smile only when it's appropriate. (No non-stop grinning.)
Don't talk too fast, too quietly, or in a monotone. Remember you are communicating.
http://www.A-ZShortSales.com
When describing yourself and your business, focus on details that could benefit the other person.
Don't talk their ear off. Give and take is essential to good conversation.
Maintain eye contact. And try to smile only when it's appropriate. (No non-stop grinning.)
Don't talk too fast, too quietly, or in a monotone. Remember you are communicating.
http://www.A-ZShortSales.com
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
Get Rid Of Your Non-Performing Assets
We Buy Non-Performing Assets
...We have billions to buy your non-performing assets...
Simply send a spreadsheet of your portfolio...
...Mortgage loans, car loans...
Credit card debt, installment loans....
...Our hedgefunds are looking to buy now...
Contact Larry Potter Now At lpotter33@gmail.com
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