Archives for March 2008

Foreclosure Activity up 60% from Feb 07

March 28, 2008 by Marco Santarelli

There is a lot of media attention on foreclosures these days. It seems everywhere you turn the radio, TV and newspapers have increasingly more negative news.

Although there are many markets offering great real estate investment opportunities, it is true that there is a significant increase in foreclosures, and nationally the housing market has slowed down significantly.

February foreclosure activity was down 4 percent from the previous month but still up 57 percent from February 2007 according to the latest RealtyTrac U.S. Foreclosure Market Report. That equated to 1 out of every 557 households having a foreclosure filing of any sort. Nevada, California, and Florida posted the top state foreclosure rates, with California and Florida metro areas accounted for nine of the top 10 metro foreclosure rates in February.

I've put together a short list of links if you are interested in more information on the current state of foreclosures:

Donald Trump’s Top Ten Rules of Success

March 26, 2008 by Marco Santarelli

I know a lot of people who couldn’t care less about Donald Trump. I happen to like him. Not because of his wealth but because of his mind set for success. But whether you like him or not, there are very few people who could disagree with his rules of Success.

Here's Trump’s complete top 10 list he gives when speaking at colleges:

Never give up! Do not settle for remaining in your comfort zone. Remaining complacent is a good way to get nowhere.
Be passionate! If you love what you're doing, it will never seem like work.
Be focused! Ask yourself: What should I be thinking about right now? Shut out interference. In this age of multitasking, this is a valuable technique to acquire.
Keep your momentum! Listen, apply and move forward. Do not procrastinate.
See yourself as victorious! That will focus you in the right direction.
Be tenacious! Being stubborn can work wonders.
Be lucky! The old saying, “The harder I work, the luckier I get” is absolutely right on.
Believe in yourself! If you don't, no one else will either. Think of yourself as a one-man or one-woman army.
Ask yourself: What am I pretending not to see? There may be some great opportunities right around you, even if things aren't looking so great. Great adversity can turn into great victory.
Look at the solution, not the problem. And never give up! Never, never, never give up. This thought deserves to be said (and remembered and applied) many times. It's that important.

And there you have it!

It's a Great Time to Invest in Real Estate

March 24, 2008 by Marco Santarelli

If you've been sitting on the sidelines wondering if you should jump into the real estate market, stop wondering. This is a prime time to pick up some great deals.

It's a buyer's market, interest rates are near record lows, and prices a attractive in many markets around the country. But you should not be focused on looking for quick-flip properties as you probably won't find any. You may catch a good buy on the front end but your exit strategy might hurt you if you can't unload it quick enough. The right strategy today is to buy and hold with a medium to long term horizon.

Take a look at today's new article: Make Money Today In Real Estate.

Continued Success!

Subprime – What Went Wrong?

March 21, 2008 by Marco Santarelli

Subprime loans were initially aimed at people with weak credit. But by 2005 and 2006, lenders encouraged many types of better-off borrowers to take such loans, including people with large incomes who chose to speculate on the real estate market.

But many subprime loans were made to refinance lower income borrowers who already owned homes, which often loaded them up with more mortgage debt than they realistically could manage and creating a risk of foreclosure.

Today there are very few lenders with loan products aimed at the subprime borrower, but they do exist and the lending criteria required by those lenders are far stricter than in years past. I’m sure we’ll see the day over the next few years where many lenders announce subprime loan products, but for now we’ll have to wait for the market dust to settle and confidence to rise once again.

Can the Feds Save the Real Estate Market?

March 18, 2008 by Marco Santarelli

Once again, the Feds dropped interest rates another 0.75% today.

The U.S. credit crunch has sent financial markets swaying and stock prices to some new record lows. But the Federal Government's priority has clearly become a balancing act to heal the nation’s real estate markets, which have been in recession for more than a year through most of the country, while simultaneously aid the financial markets. But the shift has clearly occurred as the nation's economy has worsened away from real estate and into the overall economy. [Read more…]