With the passing of widely publicized and highly contentious health care reform legislation last week, congressional leaders must now refocus efforts to address the interrelated employment and housing crises which continue to impact millions of Americans. While imperfect, there are benefits from
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03/30/2010
The Obama administration on Friday announced changes to its Home Affordable Modification Program. To date, the $75 billion plan has helped only 170,000 homeowners finalize loan modifications, far short of the 3 million to 4 million goal originally intended. With the new changes, the program will
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03/28/2010
The mortgage foreclosure process creates three sets of real estate investment opportunities: the default/pre-foreclosure phase, the action/sale phase, and the REO phase. This post covers the risks and rewards of each. Buying pre-foreclosure homes involves working directly with the homeowner and
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03/26/2010
The new Obama administration program taking effect April 5 is rife with problems that will adversely impact real estate professionals and consumers alike, actually encouraging homeowners to walk away from mortgages. First announced by the U.S. Treasury Department in May 2009, the plan promotes sh
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03/17/2010
When investing in real estate, there are numerous strategies available to help maximize your equity depending on your short and long term investing goals. Designing your exit strategy is as important as the home purchase itself. This post outlines some strategies that can potentially increase you
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03/16/2010
Many new real estate investors hold the misconception that foreclosures are purchased directly from the bank. It is natural to assume that the bank owns the home; however, whether through a Deed of Trust or Mortgage, the title to your home is either held by a third party or pledged as security fo
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03/14/2010
When it comes to investing in foreclosure homes for resale and investing in foreclosure homes for rental income, there isn't a vast difference. Many of the same rules apply and many guidelines remain constant. As with any type of investing, the point at which you enter will determine how profitab
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03/14/2010
There are hundreds of online foreclosure providers. Finding the best sites will depend on your ability to recognize and understand the difference between data and information. Information is actionable data. Data by itself is confusing and can be more aggravating than beneficial. So let's look at
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03/14/2010
Because HUD strives to make more Americans homeowners, an owner-occupant wishing to bid on a foreclosure home is offered an opportunity to bid on a given home during its first five days on the market. During this time, real estate investors are barred from bidding. After the first five days, howe
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03/12/2010
When applying for a mortgage, be sure of your credit. If your credit is not above a certain beacon score (625 +/-), be prepared to pay a high interest rate. Or, if you don't understand the difference between points and interest rate, you may find yourself paying tens of thousands more for the sam
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03/12/2010
