July 13, 2008

Paulson statement on Freddie and Fannie

Three point Plan to save these two mortgage giants...

First, as a liquidity backstop, the plan includes a temporary increase in the line of credit the GSEs have with Treasury. Treasury would determine the terms and conditions for accessing the line of credit and the amount to be drawn.

Second, to ensure the GSEs have access to sufficient capital to continue to serve their mission, the plan includes temporary authority for Treasury to purchase equity in either of the two GSEs if needed. Use of either the line of credit or the equity investment would carry terms and conditions necessary to protect the taxpayer.

Third, to protect the financial system from systemic risk going forward, the plan strengthens the GSE regulatory reform legislation currently moving through Congress by giving the Federal Reserve a consultative role in the new GSE regulator's process for setting capital requirements and other prudential standards.

Boy what a week - does any wonder what all this power the Federal Reserve has grab this week - now they oversee all the investment banks and Fannie and Freddie - all this new power in the last 7 days

Mike Lautensack

July 7, 2008

Fannie and Freedie - Good Lord They Need $75 Billion to Stay Alive!!!

Fannie and Freedie - Good Lord They Need $75 Billion to Stay Alive!!!

Can this be good for the real estate market - I believe Congress will have to come thier help and bail them out and that means massive write-offs - can not be good for the real estate prices

Do you want some great tips and stratergies on how to raise private funds to help fund your real estate deals go to http://www.realestatewealthtoday.com/

July 5, 2008

Apartment Rents Up 1%

By Dan Levy

July 5 (Bloomberg) -- The vacancy rate for U.S. rental apartment buildings was unchanged at 5.9 percent in the second quarter as the housing slump and a weakening economy deterred people from buying homes, Reis Inc. reported.

The average monthly U.S. asking rent rose 1 percent to $1,047, the 25th consecutive quarter that rents increased or stayed the same, according to Reis, a New York-based research firm.

Home prices in 20 U.S. metropolitan areas declined in April by the most on record and new home sales fell 40 percent in May from a year ago.

The slumping housing market means apartment rents should remain steady even as gasoline prices rise and U.S. companies cut jobs, Sam Chandan, chief economist for Reis, said in an interview.

``Our projection is rent growth will moderate through 2009, but we don't think it will turn negative as it did in the early 2000s,'' Chandan said. ``The bias will be weighted toward rental, in our view. People fear home prices will fall further.''

The last time U.S. rents fell was the first quarter of 2002, when they declined by 0.2 percent, according to Reis.

The five-year housing boom that ended in 2006 attracted investment to homebuilding, so fewer apartment buildings were constructed, Chandan said.

``There has been very little apartment development because all the money was made in housing development,'' he said. ``We don't have a strong pipeline of apartments.''

June 24, 2008

S&P/Case-Shiller U.S. Home-Price Index Falls 14.4%

The headline number is down by 14% but when you look at the details there is some good news (not much but some) - new home sales are up in April and Charlotte is actually up for the last 12 months - however the bottom is not in for the real estate market

Mike


By Bob Willis

May 27 (Bloomberg) -- Home prices in 20 U.S. metropolitan areas fell in March by the most in at least seven years, pointing to weakness in the housing market that will constrain economic growth.

The S&P/Case-Shiller home-price index dropped 14.4 percent from a year earlier, more than forecast and the most since the figures were first published in 2001. The gauge has fallen every month since January 2007.

Prices continue to slide as record foreclosures put more homes on the market and stricter lending standards make it harder to get loans. Falling home values are slowing consumer spending, threatening to halt the six-year expansion.

``There is excess supply, weakening demand, prices are falling and will continue to fall,'' said Kevin Logan, senior market economist at Dresdner Kleinwort in New York. ``Housing sales are still trending lower.''

Prices dropped 2.2 percent in March from a month earlier, after a 2.6 percent decline in February, the report showed. The figures aren't adjusted for seasonal effects, so economists prefer to focus on year-over-year changes instead of month-to- month variations.

New-Home Sales Rise

A government report showed new-home sales unexpectedly rose in April after readings for the prior month were revised down. Sales increased 3.3 percent to an annual pace of 526,000 from a 509,000 rate the prior month that was the lowest in 17 years, the Commerce Department said today in Washington.
Another report from the Conference Board indicated confidence among U.S. consumers fell this month to the lowest level in more than 15 years.

Treasuries fell, pushing yields higher. The benchmark 10- year note yielded 3.91 percent as of 10:09 a.m. in New York, up 6 basis points. Stocks were higher.

The index was forecast to drop 14 percent following a 12.7 percent drop in February, according to the median estimate of 9 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News. Estimates ranged from declines of 12.9 percent to 15.1 percent.

The group's 10-city composite index, with a history back to 1987, fell 15.3 percent in the 12 months ended in March, also the most ever.

Charlotte Up

Nineteen of the 20 cities in the index showed a year-over- year decrease in prices for March, led by a 26 percent slump in Las Vegas and a 25 percent decline in Miami. Charlotte was the only area showing a gain with a 0.8 percent increase.

Compared with February, homes in 18 of 20 areas covered dropped in value.
Prices remained under pressure in April, a report last week showed. The median price of existing homes sold last month fell 8 percent from April 2007, the National Association of Realtors said. Existing home sales fell 1 percent and were 33 percent below their peak in September 2005. The number of unsold homes rose to its second-highest level on record.

Most economists and investors say housing prices have further to fall after more than doubling in the early part of the decade to a peak in 2006.

``The decline in housing prices is still accelerating and is going to overshoot on the downside the same way it overshot on the upside,'' billionaire investor George Soros told a conference at the London School of Economics last week. ``We are not yet halfway in the decline in housing prices.''

Recovery in Demand

The slide in prices may have contributed to a recovery in demand in some areas. Sales in the San Francisco region jumped 29 percent in April from the previous month, the biggest March- to-April gain in at least 20 years, according to DataQuick Information Systems in San Diego. The median price was $518,000, down 22 percent from the $655,000 peak in June and July 2007, the real estate data company said.

The two-year housing recession has reverberated across the economy, hurting job growth, investments and consumer spending. Falling home prices leave Americans with less equity to tap for spending on appliances, cars or home-improvement projects.

Retailers have been hard hit. Home Depot Inc., the largest home-improvement retailer, last week said first-quarter profit fell 66 percent as consumers cut back on remodeling.

``The housing and home improvement markets remained difficult in the first quarter,'' Chief Executive Officer Frank Blake said in a statement. ``In fact, conditions worsened in many areas of the country.''

Declining home prices also leave Americans with mortgage balances that are more than their houses are worth, pushing up new foreclosures to an all-time high at the end of 2007, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. Record foreclosures threaten to drag out and deepen the downturn.

The government is seeking to reduce the foreclosures and limit financial losses. Lawmakers at the Senate Banking Committee last week approved legislation to create a program at the Federal Housing Administration to insure as much as $300 billion in mortgages for struggling borrowers after lenders agree to reduce the loan amount.

June 15, 2008

URGENT - REI Summit 2008 - I am Speaking

I've got something special for you, but it's rather time-sensitive:

On June 19th, at approximately 9 PM (EST), my friend and millionaire real estate coach, Susan Lassiter-Lyons, is kicking off the 2008 REI Summit Teleseminar series… and it's going to be a real eye-opener.

To quote Susan:

"This is your once in a lifetime opportunity to listen in to the most profitable ways to position your REI business for massive success in 2008 from 11 of the world's foremost real estate investment strategists and authorities all FREE!"

---------------------------------------------------
Here's where you can
sign up:http://www.reisummit2008.com
---------------------------------------------------

You see, if you're like most of us, you've probably had your doubts about REI and the "state of the market" over the past 12 months.

Maybe you even "hung it up" and went back to your day job for a bit… until things settle down.

Well, I'm here to tell you…

+++THIS TELESEMINAR COULD CHANGE THINGS FOR YOU+++

Look, when you did your first deal, did you give up at the first sign of trouble?

Heck no.

And if you would have, you wouldn't be where you are today.

Well, it's the same with changes in the market.

You simply side-step the hurdles, and adapt to what DOES work. And thankfully, Susan has lined up 12 speakers (including ME) who are absolute experts in this market right now.

For YOU to learn from and "replicate"

---------------------------------------
Here's where it
all starts:http://www.reisummit2008.com
---------------------------------------

In addition to learning which REI strategies are working RIGHT NOW, you'll also learn:

+++ How to Eliminate the Banks in 2008...and Raise All the Private Money You Could Ever Need for Your Investments!

+++ How to Create a Continuous Flow of Motivated Sellers Online and Off for Your Real Estate Business for Next to Nothing!

+++ How to Pay Off a Mortgage in as Little as 3 to 9 Years, Without Increasing Your Monthly Expenses!

+++ How to Find Hundreds of Discounted, Competition Free Properties in Your Own City!

+++ How to Break Into Commercial Investing Without Fear! (and without cash or credit)

+++ And much MUCH more!

------------------------------------------
Head on over and
sign up now:http://www.reisummit2008.com
------------------------------------------

But you have to act TODAY …

Here's why:A similar email is being sent to 45,000 OTHER savvy real estate investors just like you.

So what's the big deal, you ask?

Well, unless something changes, there are only about 1,000 spaces available for each summit call, and that means you'll have to fight and kick your way over RIGHT NOW to make sure you get a spot.

--------------------------------
Here's the link
again:http://www.reisummit2008.com
-------------------------------

I hope you'll take this opportunity to join Susan (and myself!) on this one-time only event.

You can get the full details and list of speakers here:

http://www.reisummit2008.com/

I'll talk to you soon

Mike Lautensack
http://realestatewealthtoday.com/

June 4, 2008

Business Cards! Learn the 10 Secrets Every Successful Real Estate Investor Must Knows To Make An Ordinary Business Card Into A Marketing Machine!

The purpose of any business card is to get potential sellers to call you. It is not to impress your family and friends, show off creative art work or flash an impressive title you gave yourself. But simply to get motivated sellers to call or email you that they are interested in learning more about how you may be able to solve their real estate problems.

Here are 10 things every real estate investor should include on their business card to be truly effective in getting motivated sellers to call.

1. Business cards should always be two-step marketing; offering a FREE Report or FREE Consulting in exchange for them calling, emailing or going to your website. You cannot make a direct sale with a business card. It is only the first contact in the sales process. You are simply trying to get the potential seller to call, email or visit your website where you can capture their contact information for future follow up.

2. The business card must feature your Unique Selling Proposition (“USP”) as a headline such as “We Buy Houses – FAST” or “How to buy a new home without bank qualifying or a large down payment.” Be compelling with the USP and it will attract attention. The worse thing you can do is to bore your prospect with your headline.
3. The FREE offer or FREE consulting should be of such value that the potential seller actually treats the card like a “gift card” versus a business card. If they do not take immediate action, they will actually make a mental note to save the card for later use if the offer is compelling enough.

4. Attract attention with a business card by making it stand out, such as a $100 bill or use bright fluorescent yellow or orange card stock. You can also make your card stand out by making it oversized, an odd shape or with rounded corners. Again, do things that make your card stand out from other business cards.

5. Tell people what you have to offer, such as a full price offer, quick sale or take over back payments – but always put it terms of benefits to the prospect. Tell them what’s in it for them, and not all about you and the awards you have won.
6. Provide multiple ways to contact you including cell phone, office, fax, toll-free, email, website and snail mail address. Not everyone prefers to communicate in the same way, so be sure to allow them their preferred method.

7. Add social proof by including testimonials from customers, sellers, tenants, or anyone in your network. Just be sure it shows a great customer experience and is clear and concise.
8. Do not waste space telling people how great you are, how long you have been in business, how you offer “great service”, announce an award you won or show a photo of yourself. These are all a waste of valuable space. People do not care about this stuff. They want to know how you are going to help them solve their own problems.
9. Tell people exactly what to do next. Do not assume they will figure it out on their own. Tell to them to “Call xxx-xxx-xxxx” or “Visit www.xxxxxxxx.com for your FREE Report!”. You can also add a post script such as P.S. Don’t forget to get my FREE Report!
10. Lastly, the single most important thing to do with business cards is to get them out to potential sellers. I have never seen a business card create any business sitting in its original box.

About the Author:

Mike Lautensack is a full-time real estate entrepreneur in Philadelphia, PA and creator of the Private Lender PowerPoint Presentation Kit. This powerful done-for-you kit is loaded with tools and techniques to attract and develop a consistent stream of private investors into your real estate business. To learn more about this kit and receive your FREE Real Estate Wealth Newsletter go to Real Estate Wealth Today or visit our blog at Real Estate Investment Blog.

May 18, 2008

The Time Has Come - Rental Markets Are Back!!!

For the last several years I have been saying that the foreclosure epidemic would be a good thing for real estate investors. Real estate investors have such a great opportunity when foreclosure rates go up. What opportunity exists? Real Estate investors can buy foreclosures, of course, and they can also rent to the displaced owners of the foreclosures. They now have “tenants” for their new purchases and their existing properties.

For the most part, from 2000 until early 2007, if you could fog a mirror you could qualify for a mortgage. This easy qualification process lead to two things: 1) The tenant base decreased causing higher vacancy rates and lower rental rates and 2) it put so many people in a situation they couldn’t afford. Many people had no savings and barely squeezed into a home with minimal down. They couldn’t afford any blip in their lives or with their new home. Unfortunately, things happen in life. \ Also, many people got put into the interest only adjustable rate mortgages. They qualified when it was interest only or a negative amortization loan, but when it adjusted, they found themselves way over their heads financially.

The Wall Street Journal published an article on May 3, 2008 that addressed how rental homes are now going for a premium in many markets around the country. Many home owners that have gone through recent foreclosure are having a difficult time finding a rental home. There is now competition of renters added to the market.

The article also addressed how many renters are looking for a new place due to the foreclosure on the home they were renting (they didn’t know their landlord was in foreclosure). Many of them have little or no time to move. Some have only a few days notice, as they did not know the owner was loosing the property.

I have waited for this time with baited breath. I, personally, am excited that lending requirements have tightened. It keeps out many investors that can’t qualify for a loan, AND it keeps many of my tenants renting from me. For investors that can’t qualify for a loan, my lease option and subject to strategies will be key. Over time when the rental rates stabilize, it will drive up property values for landlords/investors. What does this mean for you?

BUY NOW!!!! What are you waiting for?

Wendy Patton