Debunking the Shadow Inventory Myth in the Los Angeles Foreclosure Market

“Shadow inventory” is the term many Real Estate prognosticators have been using to describe homes that were foreclosed on which the bank held on to and did not try to resell right away, in hopes of selling them later on when the market is more favorable to the bank, at a higher price. By taking the number of foreclosures that banks have taken back and subtracting the number of foreclosures they have since resold, one can find the number of foreclosures the banks still have possession of, their “shadow inventory”.  The numbers of such properties were on the rise until September of 2008, when banks began reselling foreclosure properties at a rate higher than the number of foreclosures they were receiving from trustee sales.  Sales transactions have been…

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2010 Extension of the $8000 Homebuyer Tax Credit Explained

Due to the success of the 2009 Homebuyer Tax Credit program lawmakers (on November 6, 2009) have extended and expanded eligibility for the $8000 Homebuyer Tax Credit into 2010. This popular rebate program proved to be an incentive to first time homebuyers and caused a direct increase in home sales at the end of 2009. The original program was due to expire on November 30, 2009. The Worker, Homeownership, and Business Assistance Act of 2009 extends this deadline for closing on the homes until April 30, 2010 or until June 30, 2010 for those buyers who have a binding contract in effect by the end of April 2010.

To qualify as a first time homebuyer the buyer must not have owned a primary residence in three years previous to the purchase date. Lawmakers…

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Los Angeles Short Sales Flooding the Market in late November 2009

Los Angeles Short Sale Market Report

As of 11/26/09 there are over 1,000 short sales being sold publicly via the SoCAL MLS/CARETS IDX data feed in Active status in the city of Los Angeles alone, 1,015 to be exact (this does not include anything listed in Los Angeles County).  790 of the 1,015 are listed below the Fannie Mae traditional conforming loan amount of $417,000 and 945 of the 1,015 are below the new super conforming loan amount limit of $729,000.  Of these 1,015 listings 310 are priced below $200,000.  Only 25 of the properties are listed at $1 million+ price range.  My takeaway:  Short Sales are typically much better suited for the first time FHA approved home buyer than REO's because

1. Most of them fall within a listing price range that there…

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Los Angeles Real Estate Lament

Los Angeles Real Estate Lament

I hesitate to make a list
Of all the countless deals I’ve missed:
Bonanzas that were in my grip-
I watched them through my fingers slip.
The windfalls, which I should have bought
Were lost because I over-thought:
I thought of this, I thought of that;
I could have sworn I smelled a rat.
And while I thought things twice,
Another bought them at the price.

It seems I always hesitate,
Then make my mind up much too late.
A very cautious man I am.

And that is why I never buy.

How Nassau and how Suffolk grew!
North Jersey! Staten Island, too!
While others culled those sprawling farms
And welcomed deals with open arms-
A corner here, ten acres there,
Compounding values year by year.
I chose to think, and as I thought,
They bought the deals I…

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How to find out who the REO lender for a Los Angeles Property is

Although it was originally brought to my attention by Phyllis Rockower of the Real Estate Investors Club of Los Angeles, this article was originally written by County Records Research, an Orange County based company that provides Foreclosure Data for Southern California Real Estate Investors.  The founder of this company Kurt DeMeire is a great source of knowledge on Foreclosure Investing, if you have the cash to buy properties at the courthouse steps, you may want to check out some of Kurts' Foreclosure Investing Training Videos or attend one of Ward Hanigans lectures on Foreclosure Investing.  I used to think this type of investing was too theoretical because nobody had this kind of money laying around but these days its seems like I'm the only chump…

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Changes to FHA Streamline Loan Underwriting Guidelines applicable as of 11-17-2009

The following changes apply to new case numbers assigned on or after November 17, 2009:

o        Seasoning:  At the time of application, the borrower must have made at least 6 payments within the month due on the FHA-insured mortgage being refinanced.

o        Payment History:  At the time of loan application, the borrower must exhibit an acceptable payment history as follows:

§         For mortgages with less than a 12 month payment history, the borrower must have made all mortgage payments within the month due.

§         For mortgages with a 12 month payment history or greater, the borrower must have 0x30 in the last 12 months, and made all mortgage payments within the month due for the three months prior to the date of the loan application.…

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Struggling to get your REO-Foreclosure-Bank Owned property offer accepted? At least you aren't alone...

This is a funny video poking fun at the frusturations felt by many buyers and their agents during this "Unbelieveable, Once-in-a-Lifetime Buyers Market"... yeah right with the internet on the side of the sellers, great deals are no secret.  Everyone can find the deals, closing a great deal only happens from making lots of offers and having a little luck...

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Top 10 ways to know if you are dealing with a Reputable Real Estate Service Company Online

Unfortunately in the real world, there are bad people and unethical business owners.  In tough economic times, laziness and ethical absence can combine with desperation and lead to some really ugly situations.  The Loan Modification industry is a perfect example of a service that should have helped but went drastically wrong some where.

Here are the top 10 steps you can take to try and avoid getting burnt by forming any sort of relationship with a Real Estate Service related business online.

1. Look for verifiable Contact Information:
   • Does the company provide their physical address?  Can you verify the address for their legal entity with the secretary of state?  (i.e.- if the business is in California they should be registered with the California…

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Electronic Signatures for Los Angeles Real Estate Transactions using DocuSign Technology

What is DocuSign?
Anyone who has purchased a home in Los Angeles can tell you about the crazy amount of paperwork involved. Purchasing Los Angeles Real Estate can be a great investment but the paperwork part and coordinating time schedules for signings, fighting through traffic and traveling to and from a realtor’s office after work to sign documents…not so great. Well with DocuSign technology, the days of physically signing a 2-inch stack of papers and wasting time and gas driving to and from the realtor’s office are fast fading. DocuSign, a state of the art electronic signing technology in use since 2004, is now available and has been already used in hundreds of thousands of transactions. Instead of commuting back and forth to sign papers, you can now…

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2016 Olympics in Rio De Janeiro Brazil

I think the fact the IOC wanted to do something avant garde and choose an exotic destination for the Olympics where the game has never been held before is a great idea.  Rio De Janeiro is an unbelieveable city, personally I would love to be in Rio for the games I'm sure the experience would be something special.  In the 2008 China games there was that very unfortunate event where the parents of an american was stabbed randomly.  I gurauntee the violence, robbery, kidnapping and extortion that will take place in 2016 will be 20X worse.  Rio is a beautiful city but very rough and very dangerous.  While the Cariocas will be on their best behavior for the Olympics so will the the street thugs, kidnappers, drug dealers, and theives.  Good luck to anyone who…

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