Short Sales: A Target for Fraud
Short sales – a sale in which a property is sold for less than the mortgage value to avoid foreclosure – can be a legitimate way to secure a viable investment property. But more than in other kinds of housing sales, the short sale market is especially vulnerable to fraudulent practices by all parties...
The Long and Short of Short Sales
What’s a short sale? Before the mortgage crisis of 2008-2010, few people besides those directly involved in the real estate market knew much about specialized real estate deals such as short sales. But as mortgages collapsed and the number of foreclosures mounted, these kinds of sales made headlines...
The Reason Gold Bugs Are Wrong
The price of gold today is $1,712.82 USD. When considering how this precious metal has surged in value over the past decade (it was below $500 in 2001), it’s no wonder millions of Wall Street investors have begun to put a bit of gold in their portfolio, while millions of others remain sitting on the...
Fannie Mae Changes the Foreclosure Market
Federal mortgage entities Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae played a major role in the housing collapse of 2008-2011, supporting a large number of the subprime loans that crashed, pushing massive numbers of homes into foreclosure. Now, Fannie Mae continues to play a major role in the housing market with its...
Mortgage Changes Open Doors for Investors
A September 2012 report by CNBC on the state of mortgage lending in the US, in the wake of the well-publicized housing collapse, states that although mortgage rates are nearing record lows, fewer mortgage applications are currently being processed. While the reasons for this decline indicate bad news...
Federal Mortgage Buyup: Impact on Investors
According to numerous reports, the US housing industry appears to be recovering. Housing prices in most markets have leveled off and new construction is on the upswing. But the mortgage market continues to fluctuate, as the US Federal Reserve embarks on a program to buy up mortgage based securities,...
Mortgage Lending Changes Mean Investor Opportunities
A recent Reuters article on small business finances reported that a number of leading US financial institutions are hiring additional staff in response to a surge in demand for home loans, and profit margins for institutions dealing in home lending are at double their usual level. But this upswing in...
More is Better? Multifamily Housing as Income Property
New housing statistics reported by Forbes indicate that the US is becoming a nation of renters, who outnumber homeowners in many cities across the country. This means good news for first responders and other public sector investors following the recommendations of Jason Hartman to buy and hold income...
Rental Income Property: Where’s the Best Market?
Any property exists in relation to the larger context of the neighborhood, the city, and the state where it’s located, and its viability as an income producing property depends on factors on all those levels. These factors determine issues including the pool of potential tenants, the maximum rent to...
Why Debt is an Advantage for Investors
For many years, staying debt-free has been at the cornerstone of American beliefs about financial security. Purchasers are advised to pay off loans, buy with cash, and avoid taking on additional debt on things they already own. But in the world of income property investing, keeping properties financed...