A Calm Port in the Perfect Storm
One Example of the Powerful Senior Reverse Mortgage By Steve Aranda I recently got a phone call from a past client of mine. She asked how I’d been doing. I told her about my kids, about business, about the things that people talk about in polite conversation when they haven’t spoken for some time. Appropriately, [...]
Green Shoots or Shot in the Foot
Forget 2010 . . . a major mortgage player predicts falling home prices till 2011. U.S. home prices will likely continue falling all through 2010, says a report from mortgage insurer PMI Group. According to bean counters there, home prices in 30 of the 50 biggest metropolitan areas of the U.S. have at least a [...]
Simultaneous Clothes
It’s hard to keep covered against the chill winds of the market sometimes. Perhaps it’s possible to get a nice, thick sheepskin warming the front half of your body, but investors, builders and developers are increasingly finding their backsides completely exposed to the elements . . . brrrr! If you’re a real estate investor, investing [...]
Dancing Around Default
Is there hope for the real estate market? Yes, and she called me the other day. Hope and her husband bought an ‘architecturally significant’ home near the top of the market as a rehab investment a couple of years ago. Current market value is $775,000 (down from $1,000,000), and escrow is not closing, even after [...]
Rabies in the Park
Have you noticed the banners across Las Tunas between Kauffman and Golden West? There are two, side-by-side: ‘Wednesday Concerts in the Park,’ and ‘Rabies Clinic.’ Isn’t it great that you can go to the park and get bitten by some random rabid dog on Wednesday, and then go for your rabies shot on Saturday? That [...]
Seller Financing on Steroids
Does seller financing give you the willies? There are usually a couple of reasons the average seller (or even real estate professional) is uncomfortable when it comes to seller financing. In fact, many react as if the concept is not only marginal, but borderline illegal. I’m always a bit confused by this, as seller financing [...]
When Even 'Free and Clear' is Too Much
I recently received this email: “Dear Dawn, I saw your recommendations in the Tribune article on waiting for Recovery. My question to you is should we sell our home now or next year? We bought this home 7/2007 for $950,000. We have spent $150,000 plus. The last project is to have the outside of the [...]
Buying REOs with Repairs Needed
Using the FHA 203k loan By Steve Aranda If you’re out shopping for a home today, chances are you’ve had to learn some insider jargon that you would never have heard of two years ago. Terms like Short-Sale and REO seem to be the words of the day in today’s real estate market. And if [...]
