I've really been wanting to get back into the shortsale game but was turned off by the entire process. The first 6 of these I did were a huge pain to say the least. I finally took some time and invested in a shortsale process that was essentially a fill in the blanks system. The difference in the process was immediately evident from the start. I got a much better response from the bank, my package moved through their system much quicker with fewer issues. I'm hoping to have a preliminary answer within 3 weeks of submission! I'll keep everyone posted as to the progress and outcome of the deal. If you're in need of selling your problem property follow this link and follow the instructions.   www.stopforeclosurechampaign.com

 it seems like the big bail-outs are reserved for folks in D.C. you aren't alone. Experts have recently noticed that Washington is handing out bonus dollars for bankrupt executives while people on Main Street are getting laid off in record numbers. Meanwhile the federal government is hiring even while small business owners are shutting down the shop. If you are like most American's, chances are the little bit of unemployment alone simply won't suffice in keeping a roof over your head while saving for college and planning for retirement. After all, a mere $400 per week for six months barely keeps a family above the poverty level.

Instead of hoping for a bail-out that actually applies to you, learn how Uncle same can truly help build an investment portfolio with the help of short sales. Skeptical? Good. It shows you aren't likely to fall for the cheap tricks and dime-store strategy promoted by most so-called experts; instead, keep reading to see for yourself how this little used strategy can turn short sales into a long term income, private pension fund or other investment portfolio even while others stake their wealth on  a wing and prayer.

1.      Find a short sale property located in a good rental market. Look for simple starter homes in family oriented areas located close to public transportation, schools and shopping.

2.      Place the minimum down payment and finance the rest using an affordable interest rate fixed for 30 years.

3.      Perform needed maintenance and repairs to bring the property up to a safe and secure living condition. Do not over-invest in the property. Use the KISS formula (keep it simple stupid). The goal is to provide safe and affordable housing.

4.      Market your property to the Section 8 housing program via the local HUD office. Section 8 provides rental assistance to low income households. You will need to fill out a property information sheet and have the home inspected (usually free) by a HUD inspector.

5.      Determine the Fair Market Rent. HUD typically pays all or a portion of the rent for low income households based upon the fair market rent for your area. FMR can vary widely depending upon the area the house is located but a typical 3/2 home in a small town in Florida will go for just over $1,000 while another in California may be double that. Once approved, you can now show the home to prospective tenants just like you would any other program. To determine the Fair Market Rents in your area view the current 2010 FMR schedule at http://www.huduser.org/datasets/fmr.html.

6.      Sign a lease. Collecting rent directly from the federal government dramatically reduces the likelihood of skipped rental payments but it is still important to carefully screen tenants and sign a lease just like you would for any rental. Many tenants may be responsible for only a very small portion of the monthly rent but other issues like damages, repairs etc still should be clearly indicated.

7.       Bottom line...Section 8 rentals are not for the faint hearted but it is often possible to lower the risk of non payment for homes that are both affordable and able to cash flow very nicely due to their location. Rather than going it alone in a tough rental market, partnering with Uncle Sam to provide safe and affordable housing while receiving payments directly from the Federal government builds equity and income while others are cutting back.

I have 3 or 4 qualified buyers who won't get off the fence despite low prices and lower mortgage rates. No matter how good the deal I bring them they still shy away and say they're going to wait. This seems to be the sentiment nationwide as confirmed by a survey by Realtor.com, read below:

According to a survey conducted by Realtor.com, home buyers in the U.S. are hesitant to jump into the housing market, given the current economic downturn. Nearly 53% of the survey participants said they have postponed their home plan on account of their negative outlook. Uncertainty on the job front was the main factor for not buying a house for nearly a third of the survey participants. Nearly 16% said they worry about selling their current home, while 8% said they fear home prices will keep falling. Home buyers recognize that the housing market currently offers great deals; however, financial worries far outweigh attractiveness of the deals available. Nearly 20% said they were interested in foreclosed homes with an attractive price, while nearly 15% said they want to receive incentives such as the $8,000 tax credit for first-time buyers. Errol Samuelson, president of Realtor.com, said buyers feel that purchasing a foreclosed home is more "complex" than other transactions. Among the survey participants, only 28% said President Barack Obama's plan to tackle the foreclosure crisis is working, compared with 41% who said it isn't and 27% who didn't know.

According to analysts, home prices may fall in the near-term and rise only in 2012. "We expect prices to drop for another year and then stabilize before starting to rise with incomes," says Standard & Poor's Chief Economist David Wyss. The S&P/Case-Shiller U.S. National Home Price Index, which tracks the movement of home prices, will fall about 16% this year before stabilizing. Fiserv, a research firm, has forecasted the 2012 home prices in 50 largest metro areas across different states.
In some states such as Wisconsin, Ohio, Indiana, and Michigan, home prices will see a rise by 2012. However, in states such as Florida, California, New Jersey, and New York, prices will fall until end 2012.

Elliot Eisenberg, a senior economist with the National Association of Home Builders says there's still pain to come in states where there's oversupply. "Prices will have to come down further and it will take a while to burn off the excess inventory that's floating around there," said Eisenberg. So what should home buyers do now? Is it a good time to buy? "To generalize, yeah, it is a good time to buy a house. I don't think there's any urgency because I think it'll still be a great time to buy a house a year from now," says economist Richard DeKaser of Woodley Park Research.

The retail industry has been in turmoil with chains such as Mervyn's, Steve & Barry's, Goody's and Gottschalk's filing for bankruptcy in the recent past. Now Eddie Bauer, a chain with 371 stores, joins the list by filing for Chapter 11 protection in Delaware. The company has been struggling to repay its debt due to a decline in its sales on account of economic downturn. Its cost-cutting and restructuring initiatives couldn't prevent bankruptcy. "Eddie Bauer is a good company with a great brand and a bad balance sheet," said Neil Fiske, the company's chief executive. Eddie Bauer plans to sell itself to CCMP Capital Advisors, a private equity firm for $202 million. CCMP Capital Advisors has said it does not want to strip the company's assets. "We're not looking to liquidate the company or close most of the stores," said Jonathan Lynch, a CCMP managing director. "We're trying to help 8,000 employees save an iconic American brand." The company will continue with its operations pe
 nding court's approval for the sale.

Have you been making timely payments to your homeowner association? If no, you may lose your home. There are more than 59 million people living in over 300,000 association-governed communities nationwide. Homeowner associations typically have the foreclosure clause in the purchase agreement signed by homeowners. Many associations have mandated external agencies to collect dues from homeowners, and collection agencies say they go about doing their job in a professional manner. Andrew Schlegel, executive vice president for Merit Property Management, which manages more than 140,000 community homes in California, said: "No one wants to do this. It's only coming up when people are completely obstinate about it." Schlegel said about 6% of homes his company manages have membership dues this year, up from 1% in the previous years. According to Foreclosure Listing Services, homeowner association initiated foreclosure attempts in Texas are up 30% now from 2 years ago. Bob Tankel, an attorney who represents homeowner and condo associations in Florida, says about 20% of the cases which had payment dues to his client associations have reached foreclosure. "We have compassion for those folks. At the same time, we feel for the rest of the homeowners who are paying their dues," said Schlegel.

The Obama administration introduced an $8000 tax credit for first-time homebuyers in February in order to stimulate the housing market. Some believe the government should do more and offer incentives to all homebuyers. Johnny Isakson, a Republican Senator, has submitted a proposal to offer all buyers a $15,000 tax credit for home purchases. Isakson said the rising number of foreclosures "is continuing to precipitate a downward spiral in values, loss of equity by the American people and a protracted, difficult economic time." Analysts believe that the proposal may not find favor with Congress.

"There is bailout burnout across the country," said Brian Gardner, senior vice president at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods. "There's an argument for the stimulus, but the possibility of the bill passing is unclear," said Gardner. The proposal will cost the government $30 billion. Jaret Seiberg, a policy analyst for Concept Capital's Washington Research Group, said that "in an era of record deficits, it will be hard for lawmakers to accept that cost." The National Association of Realtors and National Association of Homebuilders have welcomed the bill since they expect the proposal to eliminate oversupply of homes and stabilize the property market.

Foreclosure filings fell 6% in May from April, according to RealtyTrac, a provider of foreclosure data. "A total of 321,480 properties received a default or auction notice or were repossessed in May, up 18% from a year earlier," said RealtyTrac in a statement. The 18% rise is the smallest annual gain since mid-2006. Foreclosure filings have crossed 300,000 in each of the 3 months until May, and according to experts the total number of foreclosure filings may cross 1.8 million in the first half of this year. Nevada had the highest foreclosure rate with one in every 64 households, more than six times the national average. California ranked second at one in 144 households and Florida had the third-highest rate at one in 148 households. The national average is 1 in 398 households. With unemployment reaching a 25-year high, economists do not expect any reduction in foreclosures in the near-future. "The foreclosure bucket is filling faster than it's emptying," said Jay Brinkmann,chief economist of the Mortgage Bankers Association. "It will continue through next quarter at least." According to analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co., home foreclosures in the U.S. will total 6.4 million by mid-2011, and inventories of foreclosed homes awaiting sale will peak in mid-2010 at 2 million properties.

Unsold homes cost builders money, and hence builders are looking at ways of selling homes as quickly as possible by offering incentives. "Builders used up all their construction loan money, and they're sitting on properties. So they can't build any more houses because they've got to sell these first," says Rhonda Duffy, owner of Duffy Realty.  In addition to offering 5% to 20% discounts off the asking price, builders are giving away freebies to sweeten the deal. Some of the freebies offered are upgrades and appliances (nicer marble, hardwood floors, microwaves, freestanding ranges, cooktops, refrigerators, and washers), vacations to places such as Cayman Islands and Mexico, and cars such as E-Class Mercedes.  Builders are also offering to pay for closing costs, fencing and landscaping, home inspection, and parking and association fees. Brian Lewis, executive vice president of Halstead Property, says buyers are feeling powerful, and they're using the current downturn to get great deals. "They are not necessarily falling in love with homes. They are falling in love with deals," said Lewis.

ccording to Freddie Mac, the 30-year fixed mortgage rate jumped to an average 5.32% this week, from 4.91% last week. While refinancing activity has been hit by the rising rate, home purchases continue to rise. It looks as though home buyers are jumping in now, in case the rates rise further. Diane Saatchi, senior vice president with the Corcoran Group, says, "In the short run, there's an increase in activity to lock in rates. We're seeing a bit of a frenzy to buy." A further rise in rates could slow housing recovery, but the current rates are not high enough to dampen home buyers' interest. Greg McBride, senior analyst at bankrate.com, says the recent rise in rates is not a "barrier to affordability," and home buyers "don't need to panic," as yet. "Down payments and the ability to sell existing homes are the main impediment for home buyers now," said McBride. "There's also the more stringent underwriting rules. If you can get past those, mortgage rates are not a problem." It is important for home buyers not to lose sight of what they are trying to achieve when they shop around for the best rates and prices. "Don't get caught in the trappings of the negotiations and lose the whole package," says Saatchi. "People want a great deal and they forget about the house they're trying to buy."